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Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos will return from suspension to face Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC on ESPN 45.

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Canal Encarada was first to report the welterweight booking, and Zaleski’s coach, Cristiano Marcello, later confirmed the bout to MMAFighting.com. UFC on ESPN 45 takes place on June 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt pitting Jack Hermansson against Brendan Allen.

Zaleski is coming off a one-year USADA suspension after testing positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition sample. Zaleski blamed the failed test on a contaminated supplement but was unable to secure a reduced sanction. The 36-year-old Brazilian last competed at UFC 267, where he earned a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Benoit St. Denis in October 2021. “Capoeira” is 9-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion and 23-7 as a professional overall.

A veteran of the Professional Fighters League and World Series of Fight…

Defending featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane will lock horns with Jesus Pinedo in the evening’s featured bout when Professional Fighters League resumes its season on June 8.

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The league announced the full lineup for the card, which features featherweight and light heavyweights, on Wednesday. PFL 4 takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta and will also see defending 205-pound champion Rob Wilkinson take on Will Fleury in the co-main event. The main card airs on ESPN and includes three additional matchups: Thiago Santos vs. Mohammad Fakhreddine at light heavyweight; Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Daniel Torres at featherweight and Marthin Hamlet vs. Sam Kei at light heavyweight.

Loughnane began his 2023 campaign with a second-round technical knockout victory against former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes at PFL 1 on April 1. The Englishman has won five straight PFL appearances and 12 of his last 13 professional outings.

A two-time UFC vete…

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Like his famously elusive namesake, Marcos Rogerio de Lima is lurking just outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Top 10, ready to sneak up on a suddenly wide-open division.

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De Lima (20-8-1; 9-6 UFC), who is set to face 9-0 rising prospect Waldo Cortes-Acosta on the main card of UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, spoke to Sherdog about his history as well as his future with the promotion, and shared some insights on his approach to fighting. The 37-year-old Brazilian who goes by “Pezao” — that’s Portuguese for “Bigfoot” — is a 15-fight veteran of the Octagon, but the first half of his UFC run was contested at light heavyweight. Speaking to him today gives the sense that he is happier in his new weight class, and perhaps even wishes he had made the move sooner.

“Thankfully, I have a blessed career,” he said. “I’m very dedicated to my work. There was a time when I’d drop to light h…

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Legacy Fighting Alliance will now be able to promote its events in Las Vegas.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday approved a promoter’s license for LFA, which has long been one of the top regional promotions in mixed martial arts. LFA debuted in 2017 following a merger between Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Allliance and consistently has served as a talent pipeline to larger organizations. Notable fighters who have competed under the LFA banner include Brandon Moreno, Brendan Allen, Geoff Neal, Brandon Royval and Joaquin Buckley, to name a few. Prior to the LFC/RFA merger, other notable alumni included Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman, Derrick Lewis and Sergio Pettis.

“These guys are the top,” NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen said during the meeting (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “They are just under the UFC and supply more fighters to the UFC and the upper levels – PF…

"I want to be one of the greatest knockout artists ever seen at middleweight."

Bruno Silva reacts to his KO win over Brad Tavares at #UFCVegas71 🔊🆙

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All Fight Results ➡️: https://t.co/9oT9pvl2lP — UFC News (@UFCNews) April 23, 2023

After back-to-back losses in the Octagon, Bruno Silva returned to the win column last Saturday by knocking out Brad Tavares at UFC Fight Night 222.

“I've never been good on strategy, but this time every step was planned with my trainer, Andre Dida. I didnt want to brawl. My focus was in finding the right distance and getting to Tavares in the cage, and that’s what I did,” Silva said in an interview with the UFC Fight Pass Brazil reporter Evelyn Rodrigues.

Silva is known for asking announcer Bruce Buffer to dance with him in the Octagon after his victories, and he showed his sense of humor by speaking directly to the UFC Fight Pass team in the Sao Paulo Studio — Andre Azevedo, Anto…

A clash pitting Natan Levy against Pete Rodriguez has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 223 event.

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The bout was canceled due to an undisclosed issue affecting Rodriguez. The matchup has been rescheduled for UFC on ABC 4 in Charlotte. MMAFighting.com was first to report the cancellation, while MMA Mania of the new date.

UFC Fight Night 223 will proceed with 11 bouts. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight duel between Yadong Song and Ricky Simon.

Israel’s Levy has won back-to-back UFC appearances after dropping his promotional debut. Most recently, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum took a decision over Genaro Valdez at UFC on ESPN 42 this past December.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, earned his first Octagon triumph at UFC Fight Night 212, where he knocked out Mike Jackson in the opening stanza last October.

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane wasn’t sure the scorecards were going to go her way following a hard-fought bout against Kana Watanabe in the Bellator 295 co-main event.

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Ultimately, Macfarlane emerged with a split-decision triumph, her second consecutive victory within the California-based promotion. “The Ilimanator” came away impressed with her opponent, even though winning on the scorecards wasn’t especially satisfying.

“Her control was so good on the ground. We were prepared for her judo sweeps and everything. We prepared that as soon as it hit the ground, we’d have to scramble. She wasn’t giving me any space,” Macfarlane said at the post-fight press conference. “I honestly thought I lost, but I always think that in the fights that go to a decision because I’m so used to finishing, that when it goes to a decision I consider it a loss.”

In a closely-contested bout, neither fighter was able to gain a clear advantage. Macfarlane believes her fight is a …

Three fights in five months.

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Gilbert Burns is just a few weeks away from making history as one of the most active fighters in UFC history for that short timeframe. After submitting Neil Magny in the first round at UFC 283 on Jan. 21 and outpointing Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 on April 8, Burns is scheduled to face Belal Muhammad in the UFC 288 co-main event on May 6.

“Thank God I had three days in Tulum with my wife right after UFC 287, otherwise she would kill me,” Burns quipped in an interview with Brazilian outlet Mais MMA.

While the vacation was welcome, Burns revealed that he didn’t spend too much time basking in the glow of his recent win over Masvidal.

"Sunday I came back home; Monday I took the kids to Disneyland; Tuesday we went to Tulum; Saturday we returned, rested Sunday and returned to the gym Monday.”

While Burns was ready to get back to work, the Kill Cliff FC product claims the UFC had a hard time convincing Muhammad to ac…

Molly McCann’s next Octagon appearance will be on home soil when she meets Julija Stoliarenko at UFC London on July 22.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion on Tuesday announced the booking. UFC on ESPN 48 takes place at the O2 in London. A headliner for the card has not been revealed.

McCann had a four-fight winning streak snapped in her last outing, when she suffered a first-round submission defeat to rising flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield at UFC 281 this past November. Prior to that, “Meatball” scored back-to-back spinning back elbow KO/TKO victories over Hannah Goldy and Luana Carolina — both in London. The Cage Warriors veteran is 6-4 over the course of a UFC tenure that began in 2019.

A cast member on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Stoliarenko has struggled in UFC competition with losses in five of her six Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Lithuanian suffered a first-round TKO loss against Chelsea Chandler at UFC Fight Night 2…

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A four-part documentary series covering Conor McGregor’s career and return from a devastating broken leg will air on Netflix on May 17.

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The series, which is entitled “McGregor Forever,” is produced by Religion of Sports and directed by Gotham Chopra. In the past, Chopra has worked on documentaries involving sports luminaries such as LeBron James and Tom Brady.

The synopsis from Netflix is as follows:

“As UFC champion Conor McGregor embarks on the most important point of his career, McGregor Forever charts his epic journey back to the top of the UFC ladder. This documentary series is an all-access look at this controversial superstar, along with the deeper history of what brought him to this point.”

The preview clip shows McGregor speaking from a hospital bed shortly after suffering a broken leg in his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021. At the time, the former UFC two-division champion thought his fighting ca…

UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar’s death late last year was a result of an accidental fentanyl overdose.

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The Clark County (Nev.) coroner’s office informed MMAFighting.com via email that Bonnar’s death was a result of “Fentanyl, Parafluorofentanyl and Mitragynine intoxication.” Bonnar died on Dec. 22 at 45 years old. Further details regarding Bonnar’s death were not available due to medical privacy laws.

According to DEA.gov, fentanyl is a “potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.” Fentanyl has been linked to numerous overdoses in the United States and is currently a focal point of the country’s opioid crisis.

The UFC initially announced Bonnar’s passing in a statement, adding that the cause of death was “presumed heart complications while at work.…

‼️ Nate Diaz choking a man out in a street fight after attending his teammate Chris Avila’s fight on the Misfits Boxing show in New Oreleans last night…

[🎥 @PaulLABamba] pic.twitter.com/3sgu3Fac6F

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 22, 2023

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An arrest warrant has been issued for Nate Diaz for his role in a brawl on Bourbon Street in New Orleans over the weekend.

The former UFC star is facing a charge of second-degree battery after a video of Diaz choking YouTube personality Rodney Peterson went viral. Diaz is not currently in custody, according to the New Orleans Police Department. Second-degree battery is a felony in Louisiana and can be punished by up to eight years in prison and a $2,000 fine.

Police spokesperson Karen Boudrie told ESPN that officers were informed of a “large altercation” on the 400 block of Bourbon Street at approximately 2:10 a.m. Saturday morning. EMS responders attended to a white male …

Count Patricio Freire among those who was impressed by Patrick Mix’s first-round knockout of Raufeon Stots in the finals of Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix on Saturday.

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"No doubt it was a spectacular knockout,” Freire told Sherdog.com. “I have to admit that I was expecting a long, technical fight, but Mix knew what he was doing when he [timed that knee]. Very impressive. Mix is definitely a great opponent.”

Freire is scheduled to face Sergio Pettis for the undisputed bantamweight crown in the Bellator 297 co-main event on June 16 in Chicago. The reigning featherweight king revealed that his weight cut is going better than expected.

"I should be weighing [156 pounds] by Monday, but I reached that weight one week ago. Now it’s just a question of following the plans of my nutritionist, losing [11 pounds] in eight weeks naturally and leaving around [10 or 11 pounds to cut] during fight week. The most important thing is not to have my…

Sara McMann looked to be quite comfortable making the transition to featherweight at Bellator 294 on Friday night.

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The former UFC bantamweight title challenger earned a unanimous decision triumph against Arlene Blencowe in a 145-pound clash at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was also the Bellator debut for the Olympic silver medalist, who left the UFC after compiling a 7-6 mark in the Las Vegas-based promotion from 2013 to 2022.

“It wasn’t as big of a difference as I thought,” McMann said of the change in weight class. “[Opponent Arlene Blencowe] is on caliber with all the girls I fought in the UFC. What a freaking introduction to a new promotion. I got one of the toughest chicks here.”

McMann relied on her takedowns, pressure and clinch work to control the first two rounds, but she had to survive being rocked early in Round 3 before making it to the final bell.

“I flashed for a second, but I did that in the first two ro…

Aaron Pico appeared to be back to 100 percent at Bellator 295.

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One bout removed from a shoulder injury suffered in a loss to Jeremy Kennedy last October, Pico was in peak form on Saturday night, as he earned a unanimous decision triumph over James Gonzalez at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu Hawaii. According to Pico, the injury never entered his mind during the bout.

“That thought is out of my head,” Pico said at the Bellator 295 post-fight press conference. “I had surgery. If you have that hesitation going into the fight, you probably shouldn’t be fighting. I don’t let that thought enter my head. I throw with a lot of power, and I can’t have that kind of hesitation. No hesitation; we always say that in practice. No hesitation.”

Though Pico was in control of the fight throughout, he was unable to finish Gonzalez, a Longo and Weidman MMA product with wins over the likes of Pat Sabatini and Cody Law on his ledger.

“I knew this guy was …

Liz Carmouche was in serious dangerous of losing her flyweight belt as the Bellator 294 main event headed into the championship rounds.

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That’s when the Team Hurrican Awesome product found another gear, as she rallied to submit DeAnna Bennett with an arm-triangle choke at the 4:29 mark of Round 4 on Friday night at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Carmouche was down 3-0 on the scorecards before the finish, and though her opponent missed weight, the champion had agreed to vacate the flyweight title in defeat. Instead, she extended her Bellator MMA winning streak to six.

“I dug deep in myself. I’m not a quitter,” Carmouche said at the Bellator 294 post-fight press conference. “I’m gonna show them what it means to be a Marine. No matter what it takes, no matter how hard it gets, you get it done. I could see she was getting tired. My coach was like, ‘That’s it. You’ve given her three, now finish it and get it done.’ Once I got her clos…

The lineup for UFC 290 continues to grow, as a welterweight bout pitting Jack Della Maddalena against Sean Brady is in the works for the July 8 event.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after an intial report surfaced via Twitter on Sunday. UFC 290 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno will defend the flyweight crown against Alexandre Pantoja.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Della Maddalena has emerged as a talent to watch at 170 pounds following four consecutive victories — all inside of a round — within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 26-year-old Aussie submitted Randy Brown in the opening stanza of their clash at UFC 284.

Brady, meanwhile, is coming off his first defeat in 16 professional outings: a second-round TKO loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 this p…

With six consecutive first-round finishes under his belt, Sergei Pavlovich believes he’s done enough to be the UFC heavyweight division’s No. 1 contender.

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The heavy-handed Russian earned his most significant victory to date in the UFC Fight Night 222 headliner, stopping Curtis Blaydes with punches 3:08 into the opening stanza of their encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. At the post-fight press conference, Pavlovich said he wouldn’t accept anything less than a heavyweight title fight in his next Octagon appearance.

“I’ll rest,” Pavlovich said through a translator. “I’ll eat. I’ll sleep. I’ll rest some more. I’ll wait.”

At the very least, it seems likely that Pavlovich will have to wait until the UFC schedules a heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. That bout is not official, but it has been targeted for Madison Square Garden in New York, at an event that could potentially occur in November. When it c…

Though he’s known primarily as a submission specialist, Patrick Mix proved he has other weapons in his arsenal in the Bellator 295 headliner on Saturday night.

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The New York native completed his run through the Bellator bantamweight grand prix by knocking out Raufeon Stots with a perfectly-timed knee 1:20 into Round 1 of their encounter at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. While it was just the second career KO/TKO triumph for Mix, it was something he anticipated heading into his matchup with Stots.

“I’ve been working that shot. Right before we walked out, we were drilling good, and it landed. We put him out,” Mix said at the post-fight press conference. “I developed that knee because, as a southpaw, I’m going against orthodox styles. I’ve been working that shot since 18 months ago in Ireland. I knew that Stots shoots. He’s so naive to think that I’m just a grappler. I’m a dog in the gym. No one outworks me. I know I don’t have a lot…

Sergei Pavlovich is beginning to make first-round knockouts look routine, even while picking up the biggest win of his career.

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In the main event of UFC Fight Night 222 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the 30-year-old Russian (18-1) faced longtime heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes (17-4, 1 NC), with a future title shot very possibly at stake. The narrative entering the “UFC Vegas 71” headliner was that of wrestler Blaydes versus Pavlovich the striker, but the American made only one earnest attempt at bringing the fight to the canvas, a double-leg in the center of the cage which Pavlovich snuffed out with ease. The rest of the action was conducted entirely on the feet, with both men having their moments of success, but Pavlovich’s advantage in power was glaringly obvious to all, including Blaydes, who never appeared fully comfortable. After a series of exchanges in which Pavlovich’s punches appeared to hurt Blaydes significantly, the ball t…

OUT COLD! 😱@TeamMixMMA KNOCKS OUT @RaufeonStots to win the #BellatorBWGP $1,000,000 crown.#Bellator295 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/l0smOYG2yr

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2023

So, who wants to be a millionaire?

Patrick Mix answered that question in a hurry after brutally knocking out Bellator MMA interim bantamweight champion Rafueon Stots with a devastating knee in the first round of the Bellator 295 main event Saturday night at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Fresh off choking out Magomed Magomedov last December, Mix showed a few extra layers to his bag after catching a backpedaling Stots with a flush left knee to the chin 1:22 into the first round. With the shot, Mix claimed the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix title and the $1 million prize.

Mix (18-1) is arguably one of the best bantamweights on the planet after cruising through the tournament. Dispatching Magomedov and Stots with ease …

OUT COLD! 😱@TeamMixMMA KNOCKS OUT @RaufeonStots to win the #BellatorBWGP $1,000,000 crown.#Bellator295 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/l0smOYG2yr

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2023

So, who wants to be a millionaire?

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Patrick Mix answered that question in a hurry after brutally knocking out Bellator MMA interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots with a devastating knee in the first round of the Bellator 295 main event Saturday night at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Fresh off choking out Magomed Magomedov last December, Mix showed a few extra layers to his bag after catching a backpedaling Stots with a flush left knee to the chin 1:22 into the first round. With the shot, Mix claimed the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix title and the $1 million prize.

Mix (18-1) is arguably one of the best bantamweights on the planet after cruising through the tournament. Dispatching Magomedov and S…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 222 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Danaa (-140), Hiestand (+120)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Marshall (-205), Gomis (+175)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Tafa (-115)…

Sherdog's live Bellator 295 coverage will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Score…