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Nate Diaz Removed from UFC Roster, Officially Becomes Free Agent

Nate Diaz is officially free to pursue career options outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Diaz completed his contract with the promotion at UFC 279, where he submitted Tony Ferguson in the fourth round of their bout on Sept. 10. Though his contract ended, the UFC still maintained exclusive negotiating rights with Diaz until recently, when it waived the rest of the negotiating period. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news of Diaz becoming a free agent.

Diaz’s manager, Zach Rosenfield, told MMAjunkie.com that a return to the UFC is not out of the question, particularly for a Conor McGregor trilogy.

“Nate is going to be looking at the biggest fights possible,” Rosenfield said. “He has stated that completing the trilogy with Conor McGregor is something that interests him, and that has not changed.”

Rosenfield added that Diaz plans to compete “multiple times” in 2023 with a combat sports schedule that “will include boxi…

Andre Pederneiras: Rafael dos Anjos Can Be Competitive at Welterweight, Lightweight

Just 24 hours after promoting Shooto Brazil 113, Andre Pederneiras was on his way to Orlando to corner Rafael dos Anjos and Matheus Nicolau at UFC on ESPN 42.

Dos Anjos faces Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout at Saturday’s event, while Nicolau will lock horns with Matt Schnell at flyweight. Pederneiras is optimistic about the prospects of both athletes heading into the card, including dos Anjos’ ability to remain at contender at 155 pounds.

“Sometimes the coach disagrees with the fighter, but it's up to him to make the final choice,” Pederneiras told Sherdog.com. “In my opinion RDA still has all [capabilities needed] to fight for the lightweight title; everything just depends on the matchup of the next fights. In my opinion, he can keep fighting in both divisions.”

The Nova Uniao leader believes Barberena is a good stylistic matchup for dos Anjos’ return to the welterweight division. Dos Anjos last appeared at UFC on ESPN 39, where he su…

2022 PFL Championships Medical Suspensions: Multiple Fighters Get Indefinite Terms

Eleven fighters from the 2022 PFL Championships will need doctor clearance of some kind before they can return to action.

The New York State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions — which included 11 indefinite terms — from Friday’s event, which took place at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The exact nature of each suspension was not revealed. Everyone on the card received at least a seven-day mandatory sit, including lightweight headliners Larissa Pacheco and Kayla Harrison.

Steven Ray, Omari Akhmedov and Katherine Corogenes received the longest mandatory medical suspensions of anyone on the card at 90 days apiece.

2022 PFL Championships Medical Suspensions:

Bubba Jenkins: suspended mandatory 45 days, suspended indefinitely pending neurology clearance.

Matheus Scheffel: suspended mandatory 45 days, suspended indefinitely pending neurology clearance.

Steven Ray: suspended mandatory 90 days, suspended inde…

Matheus Nicolau Hopes Win Over Matt Schnell Puts Him in Title Contention

Matheus Nicolau is hoping that a victory at UFC on ESPN 42 will put him among the top contenders in the promotion’s flyweight division.

Nicolau will take a three-fight UFC winning streak into his showdown with Matt Schnell at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday. The bout is slated for the evening’s main card, which airs on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

“A win will put me in a great position in the division,” the Nova Uniao product told Sherdog.com. “There are some guys in front of me, like Kai Kara France, who just lost his interim title bout to [Brandon] Moreno. There's Brandon Royval, who lost to [Alexandre] Pantoja and Moreno. Alex Perez just lost to Pantoja. I believe that Pantoja is ahead, yes, but I think I will be the next name.”

Nicolau believes he is ready to be considered among the elite in the weight class. He’ll approach the matchup against Schnell will all possible scenarios in mind.

“The bes…

Jiri Prochazka Plans to Prove He is ‘Rightful Champion’ After Returning from Injury

It could be some time before Jiri Prochazka returns from the shoulder injury that forced him out of the UFC 282 headliner, but when he does, “Denisa” vows to reclaim what was once his.

Prochazka vacated the light heayvweight belt last week out of respect to the rest of the division, as it is possible that he could be sidelined for up to a year. As a result, Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will square off for the vacant 205-pound belt in the new UFC 282 main event on Dec. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

That doesn’t mean Prochazka is giving up his throne entirely, however. In a series of tweets over the weekend, the Czech fighter vowed to return to the top of the division upon his return.

Grateful. There are no obstacles, just an opportunity to see the same path from a different angle and be stronger and more human. Once you accept the path of the warrior or simply be absolutely honest to yourself, then you know deep inside what is…

Ovince St. Preux Gets Third New Foe, Meets Antonio Trocoli at UFC 282

Ovince St. Preux will remain on the UFC 282 card against a third different opponent, as the light heavyweight veteran will now square off against Antonio Trocoli on Dec. 10.

Multiple outlets have confirmed the new booking, and it has been updated on broadcast partner ESPN’s event page. St. Preux was booked first against Alexander Gustafsson and then against Philipe Lins before both opponents withdrew from the card for undisclosed reasons.

UFC 282 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a showdown for the vacant light heavyweight title between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.

A veteran of 28 Octagon appearances, St. Preux is coming off a split-decision victory over Mauricio Rua in a rematch at UFC 274 this past May. “OSP” will look to put together his first winning streak since besting Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Yushin Okami and Corey Anderson in succession in 2017.

Trocoli has competed just once since a 2019…

Larissa Pacheco: Kayla Harrison Has a Rematch ‘Whenever She Wants’

Although she become the first person to defeat Kayla Harrison in 16 professional appearances, Larissa Pacheco still saw plenty of room for improvement in her unanimous decision triumph at the 2022 PFL Championships.

“It was good, but it wasn’t great,” Pacheco said through a translator at the post-fight press conference (video via MMA Sucka). “There’s a lot of things that happened this fight that I thought were going to go one way for me and they didn’t. I obviously noticed that she was being frustrated with a lot of her takedown attempts, and with that, I gained confidence. I’m just happy I was able to stick with the strategy, stick with what we had planned in order to come out on top.”

Harrison still owns a 2-1 career mark against Pacheco, and the 28-year-old Brazilian is more than willing to face the two-time Olympic gold medalist for a fourth time if the situation calls for it.

“Kayla has a rematch whenever she wants,” Pacheco said. “I’m h…

Kayla Harrison Admits First MMA Loss Is ‘Going to Hurt for A While’

Kayla Harrison ran into a different verison of Larissa Pacheco at the 2022 PFL Championships, and the end result was her first career defeat as a mixed martial artist.

After Harrison dominated Pacheco over eight rounds in their first two meetings, the trilogy was far more competitive, with the Brazilian emerging with a back-and-forth unanimous decision triumph to claim $1 million and the 155-pound throne.

“She was just extremely physical this fight,’ Harrison said of Pacheco at the post-fight press conference (via MMAFighting.com). “I feel like it was a different person in there, to be honest. I don’t know. She was much bigger, much stronger than I recalled. Much more patient, obviously. There were a couple times she flurried and blitzed, but she kept her conditioning really well. She did a great job. She’s a champion.”

A two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, Harrison entered Friday night with a 15-0 career record in MMA. She was a significa…

Larissa Pacheco Shocks Kayla Harrison in 2022 Professional Fighters League Final

Never tell Larissa Pacheco the odds.

The heavy-handed and resourceful Brazilian sprang a monumental upset under the Professional Fighters League banner and captured a unanimous decision from two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, as their women’s lightweight final headlined the 2022 PFL Championships on Friday at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York. Pacheco (19-4, 8-2 PFL) swept to power behind 48-47 scorecards from all three judges, earning $1 million in the process.

Harrison (15-1, 14-1 PFL) followed a familiar path in the first round, where she looked to be in prime form. She tripped Pacheco to the canvas, applied oppressive top control and racked up points with body-head ground-and-pound, throwing punches with varying intensity. However, Harrison did not exact enough of a toll to discourage the former Jungle Fight champion. Pacheco rebounded in the second round, seized the initiative with an attempted guillotine choke and pu…

PFL 2022 Championships Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Stream Nov. 25's 2022 PFL World Championship exclusively on ESPN+. Purchase now at https://plus.espn.com/pfl/ppv.

The PFL 2022 Season Championships commence Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores…

Nikita Krylov-Ryan Spann Rumble to Headline UFC Fight Night Event on Feb. 25

One of these surging Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights may be a win away from a crack at gold after this melee.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie first broke the news that the UFC event on Feb. 25 has its marquee attraction. Coming to blows in the light heavyweight division, Nikita Krylov (29-9) will throw down with Ryan Spann (21-7) in a contest that will receive five rounds if necessary. The specific venue and location have not yet been announced. The fight has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Krylov finds himself on his first win streak inside the Octagon since his five-win stretch from 2014 to 2016. In July, Krylov flattened former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in 67 seconds, and he went on to outwork Volkan Oezdemir by decision three months later. Before that pair of wins, Krylov had fallen short to Paul Craig and Magomed Ankalaev, losing to the former by the Scot’s vaunted triangle choke. As a pro, “The Miner” posts a stellar finish rate of…

2022 PFL Championships Weigh-in Results: 6 Title Fights Set

⚖️ Main Event is official. @KaylaH weighs in at 154.2 lbs for her Women Lightweight World Title Bout#PFLWorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/qkaugGmG7K

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 24, 2022 The Professional Fighters League's debut pay-per-view is set as all fighters made weight for the 2022 PFL Championships.

The card features six championship bouts that will serve as the conclusion of the 2022 season. However, a familiar face is in the main event as Kayla Harrison will look to win her third women's lightweight title in the promotion as she once again faces Larissa Pacheco. Other title fights include Brendan Loughnane going up against collegiate wrestling standout Bubba Jenkins at featherweight, Ante Delija vs. Matheus Scheffel at heavyweight, Steven Ray against Olivier Aubin-Mercier at lightweight, Dilano Taylor clashing with Sadibou Sy at welterweight and Omari Akhmedov taking on Rob Wilkinson at light heavyweight.

While Pacheco sports an im…

Gilbert Burns Discusses UFC 283 Options, Surveys Welterweight Landscape

Top Ultimate Fighting Championship 170-pound contender Gilbert Burns is watching his division very closely.

Burns intended on fighting at UFC 283 in Jan. 21, no matter the opponent. Luckily for him, the UFC also intended on placing the fighter from Niteroi, Brazil, on that event in Rio de Janeiro. Burns (20-5) was offered and accepted to face off against multiple opponents in the upper echelon of his division, and he finally found someone that would match his “anyone, anywhere, anytime” mentality: Neil Magny. At UFC Fight Night 214 in November, Magny (27-9) broke the promotion’s welterweight record for the most wins with 20, passing Georges St. Pierre.

“I understand that Neil was not the opponent most Brazilian fans were expecting, but make no mistake, Magny is one of the most experienced guys in the division,” Burns stated. “The ‘king of the cardio’ will be another great challenge to me.”

The lower-ranked Magny, who is unranked on Sherdog and the n…

UFC Strawweight Tecia Torres Announces Pregnancy With Wife Raquel Pennington

Ultimate Fighting Championship contenders Tecia Torres and Raquel Pennington wanted to make this year’s Thanksgiving one to remember.

On Thursday, the two simultaneously announced on their Instagram pages that Torres (13-6) was pregnant, and that the baby is due June 2023. According to a statement made to MMA Junkie shortly after the announcement, Torres plans to continue fighting, with her return slated sometime in 2024.

“We have a little extra to be thankful for this year,” Torres wrote. “Happy Thanksgiving from our growing family to yours. Baby Pennington coming June 2023. We are beyond excited and feel incredibly blessed. Mommies love you so much sweet baby and we can’t wait for this life with you.”

Pennington stated, “We have an extra turkey in the oven this year. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. Baby Pennington June 2023.”

Although they joked about it all the way back in 2016 in a series of since-deleted social media pos…

Glover Teixeira Explains Why He Declined New Opponent at UFC 282

Glover Teixeira had an opportunity to fight for the light heavyweight title at UFC 282 even after Jiri Prochazka exited the card, but the Brazilian veteran ultimately declined the alternative option.

Prochazka vacated the 205-pound belt after suffering a serious shoulder injury that could sideline him for up to a year. Teixeira revealed in an interview with ESPN that the UFC offered him a matchup against Magomed Ankalaev in place of the rematch with Prochazka. The 43-year-old opted against the fight because he felt like it was too short of notice to prepare for a completely different opponent.

"I told them I needed more time for this guy, that he has a different style," Teixeira said. "The guy is a southpaw. I said, 'What about fighting him in Brazil?' They denied that and said they needed someone to fight in Vegas. I said, 'OK, I'll fight Jan [Blachowicz] in Vegas. If you're going to throw me off, Jan has a regular stance. Ankalaev is a totally …

Injured Prochazka Vacates Title; Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev Elevated to UFC 282 Main Event

A severe shoulder injury suffered in training has prompted Jiri Prochazka to exit the UFC 282 headliner and vacate his light heavyweight belt.

As a result, a 205-pound clash pitting Jan Blachowicz against Magomed Ankalaev has been elevated to the UFC 282 main event on Dec. 10 after Glover Teixeira, Prochazka’s original opponent, declined to accept a title fight against a new adversary. Yahoo Sports was first to report the changes at the top of the UFC 282 card. Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev will be for the vacant 205-pound championship.

According to ESPN, Prochazka’s injury will keep him out of action for up to a year. The former Rizin champion decided to vacate the belt out of respect to the other contenders in the light heavyweight division. Prochazka claimed the crown by rallying for a fifth-round submission of Teixiera in the UFC 275 main event on June 12 — his 13th consecutive victory as a pro.

"It was actually Jiri's decision," Prochazka’s ma…

Jamahal Hill vs. Anthony Smith Tops UFC Card on March 11

Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith will lock horns in the main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s card on March 11.

MMA Island was first to report the light heavyweight booking, while MMAFighting.com confirmed the date. A location and venue for the event have not been revealed.

Hill has lost just once in UFC competition and is currently riding the momentum of a three-bout finishing streak in the Octagon. Most recently, the former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor defeated former title challenger Thiago Santos via fourth-round TKO in the UFC on ESPN 40 headliner on Aug. 6.

Smith is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277 on July 30. Prior to that, “Lionheart” was on a three-fight winning streak that saw him score successive finishes of Devin Clark, Jimmy Crute and Ryan Spann.

Kayla Harrison Disputes Notion That She Won’t React Well to Being Hit in PFL Final

Stream Nov. 25's 2022 PFL World Championship exclusively on ESPN+. Purchase now at https://plus.espn.com/pfl/ppv. While it didn’t surface in their two previous bouts, it’s common knowledge that the great equalizer for Larissa Pacheco in her third meeting with Kayla Harrison is her knockout power.

Pacheco is currently in the midst of a five-bout winning streak in Professional Fighters League competition, with all of her victories coming via knockout or technical knockout. Harrison disputes the idea that she won’t respond well if Pacheco connects with something significant when they square off for the women’s lightweight title at the PFL Championships on Friday.

“Just because you don’t see me get hit in a fight, doesn’t mean I don’t get hit,” Harrison said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I train hard. I train harder than pretty much anyone I know. I put in the work so that on fight night it looks easy. I get hit. I’m not worried about getting hit. I’…

Paulo Costa Says He Hasn’t Signed Contract to Face Robert Whittaker at UFC 284

One of the most highly-anticipated fights at UFC 284 is apparently not yet official.

While the Las Vegas-based promotion announced a middleweight bout between Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker for Perth last month, Costa revealed in an interview with AgFight that he has not received a contract from the UFC as of yet. According to Costa, he had a meeting with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell about renewing his deal with the organization, but his request for an increase in pay was not met.

“They recognized the current value is wrong and promised to give me feedback,” Costa said.

During the interview, Costa also revealed that his lawyers who are handling the contract told him to consider that possibility that he might not fulfill the last fight on the deal.

"There is one fight left, but the contract can also be finished [over a certain period of time],” he said. “I truly hope we can come to an agreement because I would love to fa…

Maycee Barber, Andrea Lee to Clash at UFC Event on March 25

A flyweight showdown pitting Maycee Barber against Andrea Lee is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on March 25.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking. A location and venue for the card have not been confirmed.

After back-to-back losses to Roxanne Modafferi and Alexa Grasso halted her momentum, Barber has righted the ship in recent months. The 24-year-old former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor has rebounded to post successive triumphs over Miranda Maverick, Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Eye to improve her UFC mark to 6-2 overall. Her last appearance was a decision win over Eye at UFC 276 this past July.

Lee, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped at UFC on ESPN 36, where she dropped a unanimous decision to Viviane Araujo on May 14. Prior to that, “KGB” went 2-0 in 2021 with finishes of Cynthia Calvillo and Antonina Shevchenko.

Artem Lobov Suing Conor McGregor Over Proper No. 12 Whiskey Sale

Artem Lobov is suing close friend and training partner Conor McGregor regarding a dispute over the sale of McGregor’s Proper No. 12 Whiskey, according to the Irish Independent.

McGregor, along with partners Audie Attar and Ken Austin, sold their majority share of the whiskey brand for $600 milion in 2021. Lobov is suing for five percent of the revenue from the sale, as he claims he was key in helping develop the brand. Lobov claims McGregor offered him $1 million, but he turned it down.

Lobov’s attorney, Dermot McNamara, released a statement on the matter.

“My client is a retired professional fighter with a master’s degree from DCU in Finance and Capital Markets,” the statement read. “We have issued High Court proceedings on his behalf to enforce an agreement with Mr McGregor regarding the Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand. My client was the initial creator and co-founder of the concept to launch an Irish whiskey brand associated with Mr McGr…

PFL Challenger Series Set to Return for Second Season on Jan. 27

Stream Nov. 25's 2022 PFL World Championship exclusively on ESPN+. Purchase now at https://plus.espn.com/pfl/ppv.

The PFL Challenger Series will be back for a second run early next year.

The show, which gives fighters a chance to earn a Professional Fighters League contract, will begin its second season on Jan. 27. The eight-episode competition will air on Friday nights through March 17 on FuboTV. A judging panel of combat sports champions and celebrities determines each week who receives a PFL deal.

The PFL Challenger Series debuted on Feb. 18 and ran through April 25. Perhaps the most notable fighter to appear on the first iteration of the Challenger Series was welterweight Dilano Taylor, who was not awarded a contract after his victory but will be facing Sadibou Sy for the 170-pound championship on Friday night. Other noteworthy PFL Challenger Series competitors from Season 1 include Joshua Silveira, Jarrah Al-Silawi, Carlos Leal Miranda, Mart…

UFC Fight Night on Jan. 14 Gets Umar Nurmagomedov-Raoni Barcelos Matchup

A bantamweight clash between Umar Nurmagomedov and Raoni Barcelos has been booked for a UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 14.

ESPN first brought word of the booking. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight duel between Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov.

The 26-year-old cousin of former UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov is undefeated in 15 professional bouts. He’s been victorious in his first three Octagon appearances, posting submission triumphs against Sergey Morozov and Brian Kelleher before outpointing Nathan Maness in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 38.

Barcelos snapped a two-bout skid in his last bout, as he garnered a unanimous decision triumph over Trevin Jones at UFC Fight Night 211. The former Resurrection Fighting Allliance champion is 6-2 in UFC competition and 17-3 as a professional overall.

Gilbert Burns vs. Neil Magny Targeted for UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro

A welterweight tilt pitting Gilbert Burns against Neil Magny is in the works for UFC 283.

Multiple outlets confirmed the targeted bout following an initial report from promotion broadcast partner ESPN. The booking is expected to be finalized shortly. UFC 283 takes place on Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and features a flyweight championship matchup between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

Burns’ lone appearance of 2022 came at UFC 273, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a memorable fight. “Durinho” previously rode the momentum of a six-bout winning streak to a welterweight title shot, but he suffered a third-round TKO loss to then-champ Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in February 2021.

Magny, who owns the most victories in UFC welterweight history with 20, has won three of his last four fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 35-year-old Elevation Fight Team member is coming off a third-round sub…

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