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A rematch between Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana will serve as the main event for UFC Fight Night on May 20.

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The promotion on Tuesday announced the bantamweight pairing — which had initially been rumored for UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and the card will air in its entirety on ESPN+. Pennington and Aldana initially squared off at UFC on ESPN 4 in July 2019, with Pennington prevailing via split decision.

Pennington is currently on a five-bout winning streak in UFC competition. The former bantamweight title challenger was successful in her first venture of 2023, as she garnered a split verdict against Ketlen Vieira at UFC Fight Night 217 on Jan. 14. Her current run also includes victories over the likes of Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, Pannie Kianzad and Marion Reneau.

Aldana, meanwhile, has been victorious in four of her last five Octagon appearances. The Lobo Gym MMA representative…

A bantamweight clash pitting Ricky Simon against Yadong Song that was originally slated to be this Saturday’s co-headliner has been shifted one week later to serve as the UFC Fight Night 223 main event.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the change on Monday evening. UFC Fight Night 223 was initially supposed to feature a lightweight clash between Renato Carneiro and Arman Tsarukyan before “Moicano” was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury. Tsarukyan will be removed from the event rather than receiving a replacement opponent.

UFC Fight Night 222, which takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, will move forward with 12 fights, including the Sergei Pavlovich-Curtis Blaydes heavyweight headliner. Simon vs. Song will now be contested over five rounds at UFC Fight Night 223, which is also set for the UFC Apex.

Anchored at American Top Team Portland, Simon has been victorious in his last five Octagon appearances. Most r…

Three fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 card are facing 60-day medical suspensions following knockout defeats.

Billy Quarantillo, Matheus Nicolau and Ed Herman were all handed two-month terms by the Missouri Office of Athletics. Each of those suspensions also comes with a 45-day period of no contact. Those three were the longest terms from the event, but the exact nature of each’s fighters suspension was not disclosed.

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UFC on ESPN 44 took place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and saw Max Holloway defeat Arnold Allen via unanimous decision in the evening’s main event. Both Holloway and Allen received 30-day sits following their bout.

UFC on ESPN 44 Medical Suspensions:

Max Holloway: suspended 30 days

Arnold Allen: suspended 30 days

Billy Quarantillo: suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact

Tanner Boser: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact

Clay Guida: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact

Mat…

Charles Oliveira isn’t taking any chances when it comes to his matchup with Beneil Dariush.

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The former lightweight champion revealed in a video on his Instagram stories Monday that a “small injury” kept him from preparing properly for what was originally supposed to be the UFC 288 co-main event on May 6. The bout has since been pulled from the card with plans to reschedule it for a future event.

“I wasn’t able to train, I got injured during wrestling practice,” Oliveira said in Portuguese (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I tried to train, I tried to do everything I could but we couldn’t, so we pulled out of the fight. [Fighting at UFC 288] would be great because I would be fighting on the same night of two teammates, ‘Willycat’ [Daniel Santos] and Rolando [Bedoya], but God knows all things. We’ll continue working and stay focused.”

Oliveira last appeared at UFC 280 in October, when he lost the lightweight belt to Islam Makhachev in a seco…

Here are your Heavyweight standings after the first half of the season #PFLRegularSeason pic.twitter.com/aHnGoaHnGn

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 17, 2023 Heavyweights Denis Goltsov and Bruno Cappelozza, light heavyweights Marthin Hamlet and Joshua Silveira, women’s featherweight Amber Leibrock and welterweights Magomed Magomedkerimov, Magomed Umalatov and Carlos Leal Miranda all banked the maximum six points in the first leg of the Professional Fighters League regular season. All eight have put themselves in prime position for a playoff push and a shot at a $1 million payday in their respective weight classes.

The PFL kicks off the second half of its 2023 campaign on June 8 in Atlanta. Only the Top 4 competitors in each division advance to the playoffs, which are scheduled to begin in September.

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An up-to-the-minute look at the standings at heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and women’s fe…

[embedded content] Bruno Silva’s five-bout run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde experience.

The former M-1 Global champion will attempt to snap a two-fight losing streak when he confronts Brad Tavares in a UFC Fight Night 222 middleweight showcase on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Silva’s recent struggles are made all the more maddening by the fact that he kickstarted his campaign inside the Octagon with consecutive finishes of Wellington Turman, Andrew Sanchez and Jordan Wright, with two of those victories resulting in $50,000 performance bonuses.

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“Those three fights in a row were unforgettable,” he told Sherdog.com. “The bonuses improved and changed my family’s life. I invested the money in our future. It was one of the most incredible periods of my career.”

Prosperity proved fleeting, however. Silva followed a decision defeat to Alex Pereira at UFC Fight Night 203 on March 12, 2022 with a sub…

Former UFC light heavyweight Karl Roberson was arrested in connection with a residential burglary resulting in the theft of more than $200,000 of jewelry and valuables, according to a release from the Howell Township Police Department.

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Roberson was arrested during a motor vehicle stop in Neptune, New Jersey, while driving a vehicle that was connected to the burglary. The vehicle was then searched and found to contain a defaced 9mm handgun with an extended magazine, several packages of suspected “crack cocaine,” marijuana and items related to the burglary. As a result, Roberson was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of controlled dangerous substance and several weapons offenses. MMAFighting.com confirmed Roberson’s identity with Detective Ryan Jackson, who revealed that the fighter was released on bail after being at the county jail for “two to three weeks.”

Roberson and another suspect, Dathan Thompson, were arrested for …

pic.twitter.com/a7oilAULRe

— ROBERT DRYSDALE (@robertdrysdale) January 13, 2023

Following the success of his first book, “Opening Closed Guard,” multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Robert Drysdale has released its sequel, “The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: From Vale-Tudo to Carlson Gracie to its Democratization.”

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The new book is divided into four parts —or four waves of practitioners (1930-1967; 1967-1993; 1993-2007 and 2007-present) — as these practitioners were exposed to different brands of jiu-jitsu as the art evolved over time, in both cultural and technical terms.

For this, the author takes a dive into the importance of vale-tudo (anglicized into “MMA”) in shaping the Gracie fighting system away from judo and into a more reality-based approach to combat. It also investigates jiu-jitsu’s continuous evolution inside its first federation as well as how the family feud between Helio and Carl…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: M-1

The undefeated Movsar Evloev will step in for the injured Jonathan Pearce and face Bryce Mitchell at UFC 288.

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The new featherweight booking was announced during the UFC on ESPN 44 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 288 takes place on May 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and is headlined by a bantamweight title tilt pitting Aljamain Sterling against Henry Cejudo.

Evloev has kicked off his professional tenure with 16 consecutive triumphs. He is 6-0 in UFC competition and is coming off a unanimous verdict over Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 207 on June 4. The former M-1 Global champ also owns wins over the likes of Hakeem Dawodu, Nik Lentz and Enrique Barzola.

Mitchell, meanwhile, suffered the first loss of his career at UFC 282, falling to Ilia Topuria via second-round submission this past December. Prior to that, “Thug Nasty” was victorious in his first six Octagon appear…

For all intents and purposes, Arnold Allen performed well in his first five-round fight.

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It just wasn’t well enough to get the win, as the Englishman dropped a five-round verdict to ex-featherweight champ Max Holloway in the UFC on ESPN 44 headliner at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday night. UFC president Dana White came away impressed with Allen’s performance but would have liked a little more urgency from “Almighty” down the stretch.

“I thought he looked good,” White said. “He kept the pace, kept the distance, controlled the tempo of the fight. I thought that Allen looked incredible. If you think about it, it’s his first big night ever in a main event, the whole crowd’s against him and he came on too late.

“If he’d have fought the way [he fought] in the fifth round [from] the third round on, he would have had a better chance of winning that fight. I’m not a cornerman or a coach, but I think there should have been a s…

It’s unlikely that Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will square off this summer, but the heavyweight title bout could wind up at one of the most historic arenas in all of professional sports.

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Jones teased a potential booking at Madison Square Garden in New York on Twitter, and UFC president Dana White later confirmed that the venue is now the target for the fight.

“As far as I know everything is good and hopefully we have a fight with him and Stipe very soon,” White said at the UFC on ESPN 44 post-fight press conference. “That’s where we’d like to do it.”

Jones captured the vacant heavyweight strap with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March. It was the first Octagon appearance for “Bones” in more than three years. Jones signed an eight-fight UFC deal ahead of the bout, but it’s possible that his fighting career will end much sooner than that.

“How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight…

By halting the momentum of an up-and-coming contender, Max Holloway proved the doubters wrong at UFC on ESPN 44.

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The Hawaiian veteran outstruck Arnold Allen for five rounds at in their featherweight headliner at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City Missouri, on Saturday night to earn a unanimous decision triumph and reaffirm his position as the best featherweight in the UFC not named Alexander Volkanovski. While “Blessed” is 0-3 against the reigning featherweight champion — including a clear-cut decision loss to Volkanovski in his last outing at UFC 276 — he also owns recent wins over featherweight contenders such as Allen, Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

“You’re only as good as your last fight and I told you guys I had that [third Alexander Volkanovski] fight, that was the last taste that they had of me. I was here with that Kattar fight, I heard the same thing all over again — that Arnold’s going to be the guy who’s going to break my chin, who’s …

Three BIG finishes earn your #UFCKansasCity POTN bonuses 💰

[ B2YB @BattleMotors ] pic.twitter.com/Doo4nW3I1z

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded five fighters performance bonuses on the UFC on ESPN 44 card.

The bonus for fight of the night went to Bill Algeo and T.J. Brown. The two had a back-and-forth war that eventually ended after Algeo rocked Brown with a short elbow and then sank in a rear-naked choke for the submission win in the second round. Algeo has now won three of his last four fights inside the Octagon.

Meanwhile, three fighters received individual performance bonuses. A mainstay of such bonuses, Edson Barboza once again dazzled with a perfect knee KO of Billy Quarantillo for an extra $50,000. Additionally, flyweight contender Brandon Royval picked up an extra 50 grand for his annihilation of Matheus Nicolau, which saw him land a knee and then follow up with a series of punches. …

Once again, Max Holloway proved that he is simply too much to handle for every featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship but one.

In the main event of UFC on ESPN 44 on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, the 31-year-old Hawaiian (24-7) took a decision over streaking contender Arnold Allen. However, it was a memorable scrap for all 25 minutes, as Allen (19-2) had more apparent success against Holloway than any featherweight not named Alexander Volkanovski has in nearly a decade.

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In a fight contested completely on the feet, “Almighty” landed in volume and with stinging power and, just as importantly, kept Holloway from getting his usual forward march truly going.

Nonetheless, Allen was clearly behind on the scorecards going into the final frame, and with his head coach Firas Zahabi’s acknowledgement between rounds that he needed a finish, the Brit did his best to oblige. Allen came out with a furious pace, landed numerous hard punches and s…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 44 coverage will begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Pudilova (-135), Edwards (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Bolanos (-190), Phillips (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Brasil (-…

Bill Algeo forces the tap in round 2️⃣ #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/36IOGVLvsM

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 16, 2023

Bill Algeo got the best of an entertaining featherweight scrap, throttling T.J. Brown in the second round of the top preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 44.

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Both men had their moments in Round 1, as Algeo (17-7) landed a flying knee and a resounding slam takedown, but took plenty of clean punches from Brown, including one that busted his nose midway through the frame. Brown won the period with a late flurry that had Algeo hurt against the cage, and appeared to have the momentum going into Round 2, but “Senor Perfecto” turned things around in a flash, dropping the onrushing Brown with a left elbow, pouncing and taking a crucifix position. From there he moved to the back, cinched up a rear-naked choke and elicited the tap at 1:40 of the stanza.

The win brought Algeo’s promotional mark to 4-3, while fellow …

THIS KNEE 🤯@EdsonBarbozaJR isn’t going anywhere! #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/bRXF0So8Io

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Edson Barboza may be in the final act of his career, but there is always room for one more on his legendary highlight reel.

Barboza (23-11) needed barely half a round to victimize Billy Quarantillo in their UFC on ESPN 44 co-headlining featherweight affair. The Brazilian, who turned 37 in January, came out looking as sharp and serious as ever, meeting Quarantillo’s pursuit with lateral movement, punch counters and some of his trademark leg kicks. On several occasions in the brief fight, Quarantillo looked to close the distance with an overhand right before changing levels. Halfway through the round, Barboza sniffed out one such attempt, ate the punch and met the level change with an intercepting right knee.

Quarantillo was separated from his senses instantly, collapsing in a heap at the base of the fence. No foll…

Still undefeated!!

Azamat Murzakanov moves to 13-0 with a decision win over Dustin Jacoby #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/yjqAg0838Z

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Azamat Murzakanov kept his professional record spotless at UFC on ESPN 44, though Dustin Jacoby certainly made it interesting.

In their main card light heavyweight showcase, Murzakanov’s aggression, hand speed and power clearly had Jacoby uncomfortable, which was only exacerbated by the Russian’s sporadic but timely takedown attempts. “The Professional” dropped Jacoby with punches in Round 1, busting up his nose in the bargain. Murzakanov knocked him again late in Round 2, in a flurry that might have precipitated the end of the fight if time had not expired.

Clearly behind on the scorecards, Jacoby came roaring back in the final frame, fighting with aggression, hurting Murzakanov and even hitting a takedown of his own, but it was not enough. The judges awarded the fi…

HULK SMASH 👊 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/io3sTjOhmH

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 16, 2023

Tanner Boser took over two years preparing to drop to light heavyweight at UFC on ESPN 44; Ion Cutelaba took barely two minutes to show him that his new division is not short on power, either.

Cutelaba (17-9-1) came out in typically aggressive fashion, moving forward and trying to land big right hands, while Boser (20-10-1) circled out and looked to counter. Ninety seconds in, the Moldovan mauler caught Boser with a right that staggered him badly, and from there the end was not long in coming. “The Hulk” flung Boser down and threw a torrent of punches as he tried to stand back up. Caught against the fence and eating a stream of unanswered blows, Boser was rescued by referee Keith Peterson, who stopped the mugging at 2 minutes, 5 seconds of Round 1.

The quick and brutal beating got Cutelaba back on track from a career-worst three-fight losi…

Unanimous for the Young Punisher!@PedroMunhozMMA takes the decision over Chris Gutierrez at #UFCKansasCity 👏 pic.twitter.com/ChmGYA1Xqa

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Pedro Munhoz righted the ship at Chris Gutierrez’s expense at UFC on ESPN 44, reminding the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division that he is one of its very best fighters.

Munhoz (20-7, 2 NC) entered the Octagon having won just once in his last six fights. Desperately in need of some positive momentum, he fought like it, using relentless pressure and pace to win what seemed like every minute of the fight. Munhoz got off to a hot start, dropping Gutierrez (19-5-2) with a big left and dominating the rest of the first round with ground-and-pound, submission attempts and a brief advance to side control.

There would not be another single moment of game-changing offense from “The Young Punisher,” but the tone had been set: Munhoz marched Gutierrez down for the…

Clay really had us in the first half 😮‍💨 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/g6fuTwkaAb

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Perhaps reasoning that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Rafa Garcia used a rinse-and-repeat approach to sweep all three rounds against the ageless Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 44.

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Garcia (15-3) leaned heavily on his jab, punctuated by a few judiciously applied low kicks and right crosses, to frustrate Guida (38-23) in the UFC Kansas City main card opener. Guida, newly shorn of his trademark locks, was his usual self on the feet, bobbing and weaving while looking to bounce into range and land hooks, but his usual ground assault was nowhere to be seen, especially in Round 1, when he did not attempt a single takedown.

Garcia took the fight “The Carpenter” gave him, nearly doubling his previous personal best in terms of strikes landed and leaving Guida’s face bloodied and swollen by the end. After three rounds, …

George Hardwick with the first round KO ✅2nd successful title defence ✅10-punch combo for the highlight reel ✅🏆 What a moment for the Lightweight King 🏆#CW152 pic.twitter.com/oYYWnzTMHf

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) April 15, 2023

George Hardwick showed once again why he is one of Europe’s best lightweights at Cage Warriors 152 in Manchester, England.

In the CW 152 main event, Hardwick secured a victory over Yann Liasse with a first-round technical knockout at the 4:12 mark. Hardwick displayed both his grappling and striking prowess, landing clean, powerful punches with both hands that overwhelmed Liasse.

Nathan Fletcher also had a successful night, defeating Daan Duijs via triangle choke in Round 1 at 4 minutes and 15 seconds. The bantamweight prospect showcased his grappling skills, utilizing a well-executed triangle choke to force Duijs to tap out, earning him a submission victory.

In other notable matchups, James Power…

This finish from @BrandonRoyval was BRUTAL #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/Mh09lpSdAC

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Brandon Royval made his case for a flyweight title shot, blasting Matheus Nicolau with a gorgeous knee-to-punch combo in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 44 prelim encounter.

“Raw Dawg” (15-6) was his characteristic hyper-aggressive self immediately, taking the fight to his more measured foe. However, things appeared to be settling into an intriguing chess match on the feet when, out of nowhere, Royval clipped Nicolau with a perfect right knee to the chin, followed by a long right hand that caught the Brazilian as he fell. Royval pounced immediately, tacking on several elbow strikes before referee Nick Berens jumped in for the righteous stoppage at 2 minutes, 9 seconds of Round 1.

The win brought Royval’s record in the Octagon to 5-2, while Nicolau fell to 19-3-1 overall, 4-1 in the UFC, and saw a six-fight win str…

#UFCKansasCity Official Scorecard: Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) vs Ed Herman

See every scorecard from Fight Night ➡️: https://t.co/nxcHo6EnUA pic.twitter.com/gPOObuBARU

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 16, 2023

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Fighting for the first time in nearly three years in front of an adoring hometown crowd in Kansas City, 37-year-old Zak Cummings put an emphatic stamp on a pillar-to-post smashing of 41-year-old fellow grizzled veteran Ed Herman at UFC on ESPN 44.

The first round was characterized by Cummings’ speed advantage on the feet, as he landed cleanly with both hands, but especially with his left, including one that dropped Herman. The round was also marked—of course, on this bizarre night—by controversy, as the supine Herman struck the kneeling Cummings with an illegal upkick to the face, only to have referee Dwayne Bess restart the two on the feet afterward.

The diet of left hands continued in Round 2, as Cummings r…