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What a comeback victory for @MerabDvalishvil

[ #UFC266 | Live on @ESPNPlus & ESPNews ] pic.twitter.com/tk1wM7wgbi

— UFC (@ufc) September 26, 2021 Merab Dvalishvili now has the world wondering whether or not he is human. The Serra-Longo Fight Team product staged a remarkable comeback and climbed another rung on the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight ladder, as he put away Marlon Moraes with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 266 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili (14-4, 7-2 UFC) brought it to a close 4:25 into Round 2, extending his current winning streak to seven fights.

Moraes (23-9-1, 5-5 UFC) slammed kicks into the former Ring of Combat champion’s lower leg, ripped combinations to the head and connected with a crippling left hook in the first round. He swooped in for a potential finish on the Georgian but emptied his gas tank and conceded a takedown. The indomitable Dvalishvili cle…

The long-awaited bantamweight championship rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan won’t happen at UFC 267 as originally anticipated.

Sterling has withdrawn from the bout due to lingering issues with his neck. “The Funk Master” underwent surgery in April to repair a herniated disc in his neck that has plagued him for years dating back to his collegiate wrestling career. MMAFighting.com was first to report Sterling’s exit from the card.

Sterling captured bantamweight gold at UFC 259 on March 6, when Yan landed an illegal knee that rendered the Serra-Longo Fight Team member unable to continue. Yan, who had claimed the vacant belt with a stoppage of Jose Aldo, could remain on the UFC 267 card in an interim championship clash against Cory Sandhagen, according to a report from MMAjunkie.com. Bout agreements have not yet been issued to either Yan or Sandhagen, however.

Sterling is on a six-bout Octagon winning streak that also includes triumphs over the lik…

Keeping up with the Joneses is a full-time job, in light of ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Jon Jones’ latest arrest.

ESPN broke the news on Friday that Jones had been arrested in Las Vegas on Friday morning for battery domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle to cause damage of greater than $5,000. Jones came to Las Vegas for his induction to the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday night, for his 2013 title tilt against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. “Bones” is still in custody, according to Clark County court records, and he is awaiting a probable cause DNA review for drug or alcohol intoxication. Jones' bail is currently set at $8,000, and he will be brought into court on Saturday.

In an interview before his Hall of Fame induction, Jones joked with media that at heavyweight he needed to “do more legally controversial s---” to stay relevant. This incident is one in a long chain of arrests throughout his career for various offenses. In 2020, he was …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STVsX7_ayL8&w=640&h=360] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view with a duo of title fights and the return of Nick Diaz.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 266 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

UFC 266 is headlined by two title fights as featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski faces Brian Ortega and flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko looks to add Lauren Murphy to her lengthy highlight reel. All fighters on the card made weight for the event, including Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast, who both arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Topping the card is the second title defense for Volkanovski (22-1). The Australian is undefeated inside the Octagon and hasn't lost a fight since 2013. "The Great" will go up against Ortega (15-1, 1 NC), who returned to fighting after a two-year layoff by defeating Chan Sung Jung via a dominant decision. T…

Silveira's headkick KO #LFA115 pic.twitter.com/9y3MsahdvP

— Hands like Ngannou (@likengannou) September 25, 2021 Joshua Silveira is the new Legacy Fighting Alliance light heavyweight champion.

Silveira (6-0) showed why he's an impressive prospect worth watching in the LFA 115 main event against Tee Cummins. The American Top Team product landed a beautiful head kick knockout just 49 seconds into Round 1 to claim his first championship. This also marks the first defeat for Cummins, whose record now sits at 4-1.

In the co-main event, Chad Johnson landed a gorgeous soccer kick knockout against Jordan Heiderman, which was also blatantly illegal. The stoppage came after just 25 seconds of action and since Heiderman (5-0) couldn't continue it was ruled a disqualification win for the Nebraskan. "Big Rig" falls to 6-3 with the failure to follow the rules.

Lucas Clay picked up his eighth professional win in impressive fashion over Jake Kozorosk…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Deiveson Figueiredo has finally locked down his next training camp. After having the door closed by Team Alpha Male, as team staple Cody Garbrandt decided to move down to 125 pounds, Figueiredo decided to make his next camp in Arizona with wrestling coach Eric Albarracin. Figueiredo will be facing Brandon Moreno for the third time in a row in December at UFC 269. The ex-champ’s manager, Wallid Ismail, spoke to Sherdog on Friday about his camp change. “Daico” was originally planning on staying in his home country of Brazil, but he elected to come to the U.S. for two months of his training.

“We are traveling on Oct. 9,” said Ismail. “He will train for almost two months in there. Albarracin has [Henry] Cejudo and his brother there, and a nice group of sparring. Deiveson is also bringing hi…

The result of the latest One Championship headliner is already under protest by the losing party.

In the One: Revolution headliner on Friday morning, Christian Lee (15-4, 15-4 One) was dethroned by Rae Yoon Ok (16-3, 3-0 One), the only ranked opponent “The Warrior” had yet to face. The fight took a while before taking off, as both fighters respected each other’s power in the opening frames. Lee attempted several takedowns in the early going, pushing his opponent against the fence and dragging him on the canvas on multiple occasions. Ok strenuously resisted, never laying with his back flat on the mat, and he was to get back to his feet each time. When he did, he displayed sharp muay Thai skills with effective knees every time he bounced back. Lee did have Ok in a spot of danger in Round 2, when he snared the South Korean with a rear-naked choke, but he could not elicit a tap.

ROCKET RIGHT-HAND from Christian Lee! @ChristianLeeMMA #ONERevolution …

Kleydson Rodrigues earns the UD win following an impressive striking performance

[ #DWCS live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/SQ5uxPoL01

— UFC (@ufc) September 22, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The sky is the limit for Kleydson Rodrigues, according to friend and mentor Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Growing up in the slums of the Amazon region in the Brazilian state of Amapa, Rodrigues had a very tough childhood, living in a house on stilts raised over a river. When he was 14 years old, he would to sell bread as soon as the sun was up in order to help his family, before going to school. In the afternoon, after returning from school, he sold homemade ice cream. Passionate about fighting, “K.R.” saved every cent his parents gave him to buy Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships DVDs.

Inspired b…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. An all-action five-round featherweight frenzy is now officially capping off an upcoming November Ultimate Fighting Championship show. In August, UFC President Dana White expected that the UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 13 – an event currently unnumbered – would likely receive a headliner of Max Holloway (22-6) vs. Yair Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC). The two were previously booked at UFC on ESPN 26, but Holloway suffered an injury and the pairing was bumped. The organization’s broadcast partner of ESPN has confirmed on Friday that this matchup will serve as the marquee billing of this Fight Night card.

Former champ Holloway bounced back from a pair of close decision losses to Alexander Volkanovski by battering Calvin Kattar for five rounds and setting several records in the process. Those records include the most significant strikes lan…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NnqaR9I7bM&w=640&h=360] Outside of the top bouts, not much professionalism was on display during the LFA 115 weigh-ins.

The Legacy Fighting Alliance's latest event will be headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between Joshua Silveira and Tee Cummins, who both made weight. Both fighters vying for the belt are undefeated. Silveira sports a 5-0 record, and most recently choked out Rafael Viana and Matthew Paul. Cummins is 4-0 and has finished all four of his past opponents. Neither man had trouble making weight, as Silveira tipped the scale at 204 pounds, and "The Experiment" weighed 203.8 pounds.

However, five fighters on the card missed weight and caused a slew of changes to the card. This includes Bryan Bautista withdrawing from his bantamweight bout against Mando Gutierrez due to issues cutting weight. Other fighters that missed weight include Hilarie Rose, James Roland Waller, Reshal Malik and Anteze Howard. All their re…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ever the optimist, Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras had plenty to say about his students, namely one former champion who has been with him for many years. With many fighters scheduled at upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship fight cards, the leader of Nova Uniao gave an exclusive interview to Sherdog on Wednesday. Like always, “Dede” was happy to talk openly about all subjects ranging from his team to his involvement with the Shooto Brazil promotion.

He first wanted to lead off with his star pupil, Jose Aldo, who has big things in mind for the bantamweight division. Former featherweight champion Aldo turned 35 earlier in the month, and he is riding a two-fight win streak over Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. Aldo is currently the #7 bantamweight on the Sherdog Official Rankings, and both he and his coach had no shortage of na…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. At 41 years of age with a career often derailed by injury, Leonardo Santos once more has to withdraw from an upcoming appearance. On Monday, Santos (18-4-1) posted on Instagram that his fight would likely be postponed for undetermined reasons. Sherdog has learned from sources close to the situation on Thursday that Santos has been forced out of the matchup against Alexander Hernandez (12-4) due to a calf injury. Per a subsequent promotional release, it does not appear that Hernandez will receive a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 193 on Oct. 2, and it is unclear if the matchup will be preserved for a later date. The two lightweights were booked against one another at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Santos was aiming to bounce back from his first knockout defeat in nearly 15 years when he succumbed to a literal last-second knockout …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. It appears that Francisco Trinaldo is staying at welterweight for the foreseeable future. According to MMA DNA on Thursday, Trinaldo (26-8) will be stepping in for Gabriel Green at UFC Fight Night 196. At welterweight, “Massaranduba” will face Dwight Grant (11-3) on the card staged at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 23. Trinaldo has since confirmed this pairing on Instagram.

Trinaldo made his 170-pound debut in June when he took on Muslim Salikhov at UFC Fight Night 189. The decision loss to Salikhov ended a three-fight win streak for the Brazilian, who beat Bobby Green and John Makdessi on the scorecards before knocking Jai Herbert out in July 2020. A longtime UFC vet that made his organizational debut in 2012 after the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” the 43-year-old has competed at middleweight and lightwe…

And we are in with a shot....they have granted me an appointment Monday. All goes well and I get my passport back, I can jump on the only flight out of NZ Thursday night.

Arrive in Vegas Thursday night, weigh in Friday morning, fight Saturday.#MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/37l4Ajfba7

— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) September 17, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 266 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. It may be a photo finish, but both Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast are en route to Las Vegas as of Thursday afternoon.

New Zealand’s Hooker (20-10) expressed his concerns a week ago on social media for getting a visa in time to compete at UFC 266. After contacting his appropriate consulate, Hooker was given his passport to travel on Thursday, where he flew out of his home country.

Passport and visa picked up Las Vegas we’re coming !…

At the age of 40, James McSweeney has hung up one set of gloves and is already lacing up another.

McSweeney announced on social media on Wednesday evening that he has signed with Glory Kickboxing. With his last MMA appearance in June 2019, and on a five-fight skid, “The Hammer” has also decided to stop competing in MMA. career was finished. Although McSweeney began his MMA in 2007 and made his way to the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” a few years later, he began kickboxing a few years before that.

As McSweeney started training with Rashad Evans, he switched gears from K-1 competition to full-time MMA. The 33-fight MMA vet, who may have retired with a record below .500, faced a litany of tough names including Travis Browne, Tai Tuivasa, Thiago Silva and more as he toured the Ultimate Fighting Championship, One Championship and KSW.

On his social media, McSweeney wrote:

“Ok guys here it is.....I have signed with the biggest Organization in Kickboxing (k1…

The bantamweight clash between Miesha Tate and Ketlen Vieira that was originally slated for UFC Fight Night 195 on Oct. 16 has been postponed.

Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the situation that Tate caught COVID-19, which has resulted in the bout being pushed back to November. It is currently unclear at which event Tate vs. Vieira will take place.

Tate ended a five-year retirement at UFC on ESPN 26, where she returned with a third-round TKO triumph over Marion Reneau on July 17. “Cupcake” is a former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight queen with notable wins over the likes of Holm, Sara McMann, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Julie Kedzie and Marloes Coenen, to name a few.

After beginning her promotional tenure with four consecutive victories, Vieira has lost two of her last three UFC appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Brazilian was outpointed by Yana Kunitskaya at UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20.

Recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Kleydson Rodrigues will make his Octagon debut against Zarrukh Adashev at a UFC event on Jan. 15.

Sherdog.com learned of the booking from a source close to the situation. The card does not yet have a location or headliner.

A former Jungle Fight flyweight champion, Rodrigues earned a UFC contract on the basis of a lopsided unanimous verdict over Santo Curatolo on Sept. 21. The 25-year-old Brazilian is 7-1 over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2015.

Adashev, meanwhile, halted a two-bout skid with a three-round verdict over Ryan Benoit at UFC on ESPN 28. The Lion Martial Arts Gym representative went 3-0 in Bellator before signing with the Las Vegas-based promotion, where he would fall to Tyson Nam and Su Mudaerji in his first two appearances.

The UFC 266 card has undergone a couple of changes.

A proposed flyweight clash pitting Manon Fiorot against Mayra Bueno Silva has been canceled after Fiorot and her team tested positive for COVID-19. ESPN Deportes was first to report the news. According to MMAjunkie.com, Fiorot vs. Bueno Silva is expected to be rebooked for the UFC’s Oct. 16 event.

Meanwhile, Karl Roberson announced his withdrawal from a middleweight bout against Nick Maximov due to “medical issues.” As a result, Cody Brundage will step in and face Maximov at UFC 266. MMA DNA first brought word of the new pairing. In a video posted on Instagram, Roberson attributed his exit from the card to a difficult weight cut.

“These weight cuts really don’t agree with me any more,” Roberson said. “I’m pretty sure I f—ed my body up from cutting weight wrong early in my career. So for a y’all f—-ers who think this s—t won’t catch up with you, pay attention, because it will.”

Last year, Roberson pulle…

Yoel Romero’s Bellator MMA debut didn’t go as planned, but the former UFC title challenger was nonetheless the highest-paid fighter on Saturday’s card.

Romero earned a disclosed $150,000 salary for his split-decision loss to Phil Davis in the Bellator 266 headliner at the SAP Center in San Jose. Davis, meanwhile, took home $100,000 for his victory in the light heavyweight bout. The California State Athletic Commission recently released salary figures from the event.

Neiman Gracie was the only other six-figure earner from the card, as he garnered $100,000 for a first-round technical knockout of Mark Lemminger ($40,000) in a featured welterweight affair.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deductions made by the commission for taxes, insurance, etc., and do not include …

Three fighters who have recently competed under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner received fines and suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday.

Heavyweight Chris Barnett was suspended four-and-a-half months and fined $1,036.80 after testing positive for marijuana in relation to a submission loss to Ben Rothwell in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22. Although the NSAC voted in July to no longer sanction fighters who test positive for marijuana, that measure does not exclude fighters like Barnett who faced punishment before the ruling.

Barnett’s suspension is retroactive to the date of his bout and will end on Oct. 6.

Meanwhile, Brazilian heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento received a six-month sanction and a $1,945.36 fine after testing positive for ritalinic acid, a metabolite of the banned stimulant methylphenidate, in relation to a July 17 bout against Baudot.

Nascimento defeated Baudot via second-round TKO at…

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Last week in an interview with Brazilian outlet Portal do Vale Tudo , former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva advised Paul Costa, his former pupil on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3,” to potentially seek out a new camp.

"I sent him a direct message on Instagram asking him to train with a big team. I really believe that, with the level the sport has reached today, it is really important for a top contender to have a hard time at the gym everyday with different sparring partners,” Silva said. “’Borrachinha’ was my second choice on ‘TUF: Brazil 3’ against [Chael] Sonnen. I know this guy is special. He has a champion’s heart. Imagine a guy with his potential training at Kings MMA, Evolução Thai or CM System.”

After listening to the advice of his idol in the PVT interview, Costa responded with a comment in the timeline of the video.

"Wanderlei is a Brazilian and world legend. I had the privilege of living with …

Veteran official Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage for the UFC 266 headliner on Saturday night.

Dean was selected the oversee the featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega during a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Michael Bell, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo will serve as judges for the fight.

Keith Peterson will officiate the co-main event, a women’s flyweight championship clash between Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy, while Dave Hagen, Eric Colon and Chris Lee will score the fight from cageside.

Both Dean and Peterson will earn $2,500 on Saturday night, while all six judges will receive $2,000 apiece for their work.

UFC 266 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims begin on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and continue on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

This Thursday, @GeorgesStPierre is set to take his rightful place amongst the legends in the UFC Hall of Fame.

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires | Thursday 7:30pmPT | Live on @UFCFightPass | https://t.co/Omnn5v2rYm ] pic.twitter.com/0Gmpx1qddI

— UFC (@ufc) September 21, 2021 A memorable UFC Hall of Fame class will be enshrined during a ceremony at Park Theater in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

The event, which is hosted by UFC commentator Jon Anik, will stream live on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. Hall of Fame inductees include former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre, UFC Senior Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman and the 2013 light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.

St. Pierre is part of the “Modern Wing” of the UFC Hall of Fame; Ratner will enter the “Con…

Oh no Conor

(via @PitchingNinja)pic.twitter.com/VrHefKzBNV

— br_betting (@br_betting) September 21, 2021 Conor McGregor definitely doesn’t have a future as a pitcher if he seeks an early retirement from combat sports.

The former UFC two-division champion was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago Cubs game against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field on Monday night. The result was disastrous, to say the least.

Decked out in a suit, McGregor launched the pitch well over the head of Cubs player Patrick Wisdom. The ball hit the backstop just a few inches from a couple of fans seated in the first row.

Some might recall that McGregor wasn’t much better at throwing a football, as he launched an awkward toss while attending a Dallas Cowboys game in 2018:

Conor McGregor tried to throw a football at the Dallas Cowboys game. #ufc #mma #ConorMcgregor pic.twitter.com/6QyD9zB75d

— The…