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Alex Pereira Reunites with Fan Who Prevailed in Battle with Cancer

Alex Pereira recently had an emotional reunion with a fan.

Pereira initially met Ashton during a visit to a cancer treatement center in Australia in June 2024. Ashton was battling cancer and expected to lose his hair due to the treatments. An avid Pereira fan, Ashton asked his idol to shave his hair, and the UFC champ obliged with tears in his eyes.

However, the story seemingly has a fairytale ending, as Pereira was much happier when he reunited with Ashton during a recent trip to Australia. While he had to once leave muay thai practice to battle cancer, Ashton confirmed that he is now three months cancer-free. While “Poatan” is a two-division UFC champ, the Brazilian hailed Ashton as a real fighter.

“I’m here with Ashton,” Pereira said in a video on Instagram. “I don’t know if you remember, about a year ago or so I came to Australia… I cut his hair at the institute of cancer here in Australia. It was something very emotional, very heavy fo…

Merab Dvalishvili: Dagestani Fighters Are Not Invincible

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Dagestani fighters are unbeatable, and he has the recent proof to back up that assertion.

Dvalishvili is the only fighter to have beaten a Dagestani in a major title fight in recent times. After winning the UFC bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 last year, Dvalishvili was initially loathe to immediately defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. “The Machine” claimed that the undefeated Dagestani was being gifted a title shot because of the legacy of his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

However, Dvalishvili eventually agreed to the matchup, which took place in the co-main event at UFC 311 in California last month. While Nurmagomedov didn’t lack in skills, Dvalishvili’s legendary cardio was enough to hand the challenger his first pro loss.

Dvalishvili has subsequently refuted the popular aura of invincibility surrounding Dagestani fighters. While he admits that the region has produced great athlet…

Yaroslav Amosov, Curtis Millender to Clash at Fightality ‘Legacy Revival’ on March 14

Yaroslav Amosov will return from a lengthy hiatus to square off against Curtis Millender at Fightality “Legacy Revival” on March 14.

The promotion recently announced the pairing on social media. Fightality “Legacy Revival” takes place at Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois. It’s expected to be a potential showcase for Amosov before moving on to the UFC.

Amosov hasn’t competed since relinquishing the Bellator MMA welterweight strap to Jason Jackson in a third-round knockout loss in November 2023 — his first setback in 28 professional appearances. “Dynamo” did not compete at all once Bellator resumed operations under Professional Fighters League ownership last year. Amosov owns notable wins over the likes of Logan Storley (twice), Douglas Lima, Ed Ruth and Erick Silva.

Millender is a well-traveled veteran who has enjoyed stints in the UFC, Bellator and PFL. He is coming off an 0-2 campaign in 2024 that saw him suffer first-round defeats at…

UFC Vegas 102 Bonuses: Cannonier, Rodrigues Get $50K Apiece for Main Event Battle

The UFC Vegas 102 headliner was a fight of major momentum swings.

While the last of those belonged to Jared Cannonier in a fourth-round technical knockout victory, both he and opponent Gregory Rodrigues received an additional $50,000 for their efforts. The middleweight clash, which saw Cannonier recover from two first-round knockdowns to put “Robocop” away 21 seconds into Round 4, was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night” honors on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Edmen Shahbazyan earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his quick finish of Dylan Budka in a featured middleweight clash. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum sent his foe to the canvas with a perfectly-timed counter right hand, then sealed his victory with a few follow-up strikes on the floor 1:35 into the opening period.

Finally, Gabriel Bonfim secured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by putting Kalinn Williams to sleep in their preliminary welterweight bout. The Bra…

Jared Cannonier Turns Away Gregory Rodrigues in UFC Vegas 102 Main Event

Jared Cannonier may not be as far over the hill as some thought.

The 40-year-old MMA Lab star stood his ground in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he punched out Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth round of their UFC Fight Night 251 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cannonier (18-8, 11-8 UFC) closed it out 21 seconds into Round 4, rebounding from back-to-back defeats to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in resounding fashion.

Rodrigues (16-6, 7-3 UFC) roared out of the gate with an overwhelming first round, as he decked “The Killa Gorilla” twice with right hands. However, it proved to be an unsustainable pace for the Brazilian. Cannonier called upon his guile and big-fight experience to push the former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder out of his comfort zone and beyond his bounds. He leveled Rodrigues with a standing elbow and followed up with ground-and-pound near the end of the third round, and as th…

UFC Vegas 102 ‘Cannonier vs. Rodrigues’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 102 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 251. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cavalcanti (-440), Avila (+340)Round 1 There still ain’t no gettin’ offa’ this train we’re on until the middle of April, so strap in and enjoy the ride. We surge through February with a UFC Apex offering, the first of three in the next five weeks for better or worse. Suitably, the event only features a couple ranked competitors and a few names could be on the chopping block should they come up short. Potentially with her back against the wall is bantamweight Avila (9-3, 3-2 UFC), who took 2024 off instead of completely retiring, having lost two of her last three. The same cannot be said for Portugal’s Cavalcanti (8-1, 3-0 UFC) who will be nine years the younger. The ladies touch ‘em up over the oversight of referee Chris Tognoni, and the fights begin. As a note, the old gloves are officially in effect for every UFC…

UFC Vegas 102 Prelims: Jose Delgado Wrecks Connor Matthews in Octagon Debut

Jose Delgado sent a loud-and-clear message to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division: He intends to stick around awhile.

The MMA Lab prospect made quite the impression in his organizational debut, as he wiped out Connor Matthews with elbows and punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 251 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Matthews (7-3, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 2:58 into Round 2.

Delgado (9-1, 1-0 UFC) took his time, probed for openings and unleashed his hands. He floored Matthews with an overhand right and immediately powered into full mount, prompting the New England Cartel product to surrender his back. A few elbow strikes and punches from Delgado were enough for referee Dan Miragliotta to wave it off.

Meanwhile, Alliance MMA standout Angela Hill rebounded from an Aug. 24 loss to Tabatha Ricci and did just enough to skate past fellow former Invicta Fighting Championships title…

Julia Avila Announces Retirement Following UFC Vegas 102 Defeat

Gracias! @RagingPandaMMA anuncia su retiro de la competencia #UFCVegas102 pic.twitter.com/vWHqyo6dXS

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) February 15, 2025

UFC bantamweight Julia Avila (9-4) called it a career inside the Octagon on Saturday.

Avila fought streaking up-and-comer Jacqueline Cavalcanti on the prelims at UFC Vegas 102 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Portuguese prospect beat up Avila for three rounds to earn a dominant unanimous decision victory, which makes her unbeaten in four Octagon trips.

Avila subsequently laid down her gloves inside the Octagon and announced her retirement from the sport.

“This is it. I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to fight on the world’s best stage,” Avila told Daniel Cormier in her post-fight interview. “Usually I start my fight with the Psalm 144:1 — May God strengthen my fists for battle and my fingers for warfare. But today I say, God says, ‘Well do…

Three Bouts Announced for UFC Mexico City on March 29

The UFC Mexico City card continues to take shape with the addition of three new fights.

The Las Vegas-based promotion on Friday announced the following bouts: Drew Dober vs. Manuel Torres at lightweight; Lupita Godinez vs. Julia Polastri at strawweight and Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas at flyweight.

UFC Mexico City — also known as UFC on ESPN 64 — takes place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 29 and is headlined by a flyweight showdown pitting Brandon Moreno against Steve Erceg.

Dober has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances, including a third-round TKO defeat to Jean Silva at UFC on ESPN 59 this past June. Mexico’s Torres had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC 306.

After winning all four of her fights under the UFC banner in 2023, Godinez dropped back-to-back decisions to Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern last year. P…

Islam Makhachev Wants Ilia Topuria to Earn Lightweight Title Shot

🗣️ Islam Makhachev on Ilia Topuria:

“I heard [Ilia] has problems cutting weight… he’s probably already gained fat from the good life…

Let him move up, and when he earns his chance we will definitely fight.”

🎥 @MatchTV #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/7RjHW94szK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 14, 2025

Islam Makhachev believes Ilia Topuria’s primary motivation to move up is his inability to cut weight.

Topuria has recently been planning a move up to lightweight to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title. The ever-confident featherweight champ believes he can have his way with Makhachev, currently the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

However, Makhachev isn’t willing to offer Topuria an immediate title shot upon moving to lightweight. The lightweight champ believes Topuria’s plans to move up to 155 pounds stem from an inability to make 145 pounds due to the “good life.” While he is willing to fight T…

Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes Booked for UFC 313

UFC 313 is turning into quite the striker’s delight showcase.

Per a Friday report from ESPN Deportes, Jalin Turner (14-8) will take on Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5) on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 155-pound pairing on UFC 313 was confirmed shortly after its posting by Bahamondes on Instagram.

Currently ranked in the top 15 on Sherdog’s Official Rankings at 155 pounds, Turner has dropped three of his last four within the past two years. After consecutive split decision losses against Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker, “The Tarantula” bounced back by blasting Bobby Green at the end of 2023. His lone 2024 outing did not go his way, as Renato “Money” Moicano put the screws to him and handed Turner his first stoppage loss since 2018.

Meanwhile, Bahamondes is coming off back-to-back first round knockouts over Christos Giagos and Manuel Torres, both taking place in 2024 and the latter at UFC 306, also known as Noche UFC. Since debuting in the league in 2021…

PFL on a ‘Mission’ to Develop Next Generation of Mixed Martial Artists

[embedded content] The Professional Fighters League listened to the mixed martial artists who comprise its roster, to the fans and to the critics. One year after their purchase of Bellator MMA, the PFL decision makers moved to abandon their season and points-style format in favor of a single-elimination World Tournament in 2025.

While it was easy to bring over Bellator fans and some of the company’s well-known veteran fighters, the PFL gave rise to its own stars in 2024, most notably Dakota Ditcheva. The American Top Team standout proved she was the best women’s flyweight in the promotion by cruising to the 125-pound championship in convincing fashion. The PFL leaned into Ditcheva and other young talents, including Ireland’s Paul Hughes, who shined in a closely contested defeat to Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in January.

By altering its format, moving on from some of the biggest names on the integrated roster and building toward …

UFC Vegas 102 Weigh-in Results: Main Card Good; Gordon vs. Ruziboev Off

You can't miss this middleweight main event tomorrow night 🤩

Jared Cannonier vs @Gregory_MMA

[ #UFCVegas102 | TOMORROW | 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/E9kW8lPTpI

— UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its busy February with UFC Vegas 102, which had one speed bump at the weigh-ins before its otherwise quick conclusion.

The main event is a middleweight showdown between former title challenger Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues. Ever the professionals, both men made weight for the five-round headliner. Every fighter that hit the scales made their proper marks, however Mashrabjon Ruziboev never weighed in due to illness and his match with Jared Gordon was nixed.

Cannonier (17-8) is looking to snap a two-fight losing streak against Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. "The Killa Gorilla" had previously won four of five fights, with key wins over Marvin Vettori, Sean Strickland, Der…

Caio Borralho on Possible Dricus Du Plessis-Alex Pereira Fight: “‘Poatan’ Would Kill Him”

Count Caio Borralho among those who think Dricus Du Plessis should stay in his lane at 185 pounds.

Right after cornering Bruna Brasil at UFC 312, top-ranked middleweight Borralho, conducted an interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana. There, the top contender broke down what he thought about the champion of his division, Du Plessis, as well as what the future lies for him and the rest of the weight class.

“He doesn’t have a beautiful game but he makes it work,” Borralho said of the champ. “He has heavy hands [and] a strong chin. His biggest quality in my opinion is that even [when] tired, he keeps the same pace. [He is] always very disciplined on his strategy and never leaves a punch without an answer.”

Outside of the top five and looking in courtesy of his latest win, a decision over former title challenger Jared Cannonier, Borralho has his sights on the best middleweight currently offers. Even if he does not want a specific fight for hims…

Rodolfo Vieira Expects to Submit Andre Petroski at UFC Vegas 102

It might come as a surprise that the man known as “The Black Belt Hunter” is expecting to pick up a submission win in his next outing.

Rodolfo Vieira (10-2) will make his Octagon return against Andre Petroski (12-3) at UFC Fight Night 251, which is scheduled for Feb. 15 inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The middleweight grapplers are expected to ply their trade on the main card of an event also headlined by 185ers. Vieira talked with Sherdog about this upcoming pairing, who discussed what he expected and where he wanted to go from a win.

“The camp was excellent,” Vieira admitted. “We just have to make some adjustments, because I was initially scheduled to face Jacob Malkoun, [Robert] Whittaker’s training partner, but five weeks to the fight he got injured, so Andre Petroski replaced him. [Considering] Petroski is a southpaw, we had to make some adjustments.”

With only a few weeks to prepare for an entirely new styled opponent, the Brazilian stuc…

UFC Seattle Lineup Shifts Due to Injury, New Added Matches

.@UFC announces updates to #UFCSeattle ⤵️https://t.co/ZiBGw71mlYhttps://t.co/ZiBGw71mlY

— UFC News (@UFCNews) February 13, 2025 Editor's note: The article was updated at 3:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 13 to add another fighter withdrawal.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Seattle comeback is falling apart at the seams.

Over the last few days, rumors or reports have come up about numerous alterations to UFC Seattle, also known as UFC Fight Night 252, going down on Feb. 22. Most notably is the breaking of the news that Macy Chiasson suffered an injury and has been forced out of her bantamweight contest with Ketlen Vieira, without replacement planned for either woman.

The UFC announced on Thursday that fight’s cancelation along with two new pairings and the confirmation of one bout shifting to a later event. Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev were expected to battle in this Seattle showdown, but they have been bumped to UFC 313…

Sean Strickland Says Eric Nicksick Likely Won’t Be in Corner After Public Critique

pic.twitter.com/vflbCX75a8

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) February 12, 2025

Eric Nicksick’s very public critique of Sean Strickland could have consequences for the Xtreme Couture coach.

Nicksick, who has been Strickland’s main coach during his rise to becoming middleweight champion, wasn’t pleased with his charge’s performance against Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 312 main event this past Saturday. Nicksick made that very clear when he referred to it as "uninspired fighting” during a recent interview on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”

Strickland, who lost a clear-cut unanimous decision in his rematch with Du Plessis, has responded to the criticism via social media. It appears that the ex-UFC champ will no longer have Nicksick in his corner going forward.

“I like Eric. He’s a friend of mine and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he probably be in my corner? Probably not,” Strickland said in a video …

Flyweight, Welterweight Cast Announced for ‘The Ultimate Fighter 33’

The Good Guy vs The Bad Guy 👊@DC_MMA and @ChaelSonnen will coach Season 33 of #TUF! pic.twitter.com/x2Lo53ycx9

— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2025

The cast for the 33rd season of “The Ultimate Fighter” is now official.

The UFC on Wednesday unveiled the full 16-fighter roster for “TUF 33,” which will feature flyweights and welterweights. The new season will debut on May 27 via ESPN2 and ESPN+. Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will serve as opposing coaches on the long-running reality show.

With three prior UFC appearances on his resume, Joseph Morales is a familiar face on the flyweight cast. He went 1-2 during that stint but has since put together three consecutive triumphs on the regional circuit.

“TUF” 33 will also feature a pair of Dana White's Contender Series alums: flyweight Roybert Echeverria, who suffered a third-round TKO defeat to Jafel Filho in September 2022, and welterweight Matt Dixon, who suffered a thir…

Josh Emmett Returns from Hiatus, Meets Lerone Murphy in UFC Headliner on April 5

A featherweight clash pitting Josh Emmett against Lerone Murphy is expected to headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s event on April 5.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the bout. The UFC Fight Night event will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a 145-pound tilt between Giga Chikadze and David Onama.

Emmett will be back in action for the first time since December 2023, when he scored a brutal first-round knockout victory against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296. Prior to that, the Team Alpha Male product had suffered back-to-back losses against current featherweight champ Ilia Topuria and former No. 1 contender Yair Rodriguez. Emmett owns notable victories over the likes of Calvin Kattar, Dan Ige, Shane Burgos, Michael Johnson and Ricardo Lamas during his Octagon tenure.

Murphy is unbeaten in 16 professional outings, with the lone blemish on his ledger coming via split draw against Zubaira Tukhugov in his Octagon debut at UFC 242.…

Welterweight, Featherweight Rosters Set for 2025 PFL World Tournament

Professional Fighters League has officially revealed the fighters who will compete in the upcoming welterweight and featherweight tournaments.

The welterweight division is highlighted by former Bellator MMA champion Jason Jackson, who won eight consecutive fights before relinquishing the belt to Ramazan Kuramagomedov in a unanimous decision defeat at Bellator Champions Series Dublin last year. Also part of the field is Magomed Umalatov, who reached the welterweight finals of the 2024 PFL season, where he suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to Shamil Musaev. Former Bellator 170-pound champion Andrey Koreshkov and ex-interim title holder Logan Storley will also be part of the bracket.

Meanwhile, the featherweight field features the return of 2023 PFL champion Jesus Pinedo, who did not compete at all in 2024. Pinedo’s opponent in the 2023 finals, Gabriel Braga, is also part of the 2024 lineup. Another featherweight favorite figures to be M…

‘Citizen of the World’ Khamzat Chimaev Praises Countries He’s Called Home

Khamzat Chimaev recently cleared the air about his citizenship after acquiring a new passport.

Chimaev became an official citizen of the United Arab Emirates last week. This is the third country that “Borz” can now call his home. Born in the Chechen Republic of Russia, Chimaev moved to Sweden at just 19 years of age and now most recently to the UAE. Chimaev says both Russia and the Emirates are dear to him and he would love to be an inspiration to the youth in both countries.

“I’m grateful to the people who trusted me and gave me the opportunity to live both here and there,” Chimaev recently told Ushatayka. “Russia is my motherland and I represent the UAE. They always help me when I have fights. Abu Dhabi became a sporting hub. There are always events here. I’ll be happy to help the youth in these countries.”

After having built up his MMA career at the All Stars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden, Chimaev has been blamed for deserting the c…

Javier Mendez Reveals Generous Gift From Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s kindness even extends to his fellow coaches.

American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez recently revealed yet another benevolent gesture from the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ. During a recent episode of Mendez’s podcast, his co-host congratulated him on his new apartment.

“Thank Khabib. He got me a new apartment,” Mendez replied.

The relationship between Nurmagomedov and Mendez goes back to 2012, when the Dagestani’s father first brought him to the U.S. Mendez played a key role in shaping Nurmagomedov’s career, their relationship transcending that of just a coach and pupil. While Nurmagomedov retired from the sport in 2020, he continues to coach his cousins and teammates from Dagestan alongside Mendez.

Mendez also shared a close bond with Khabib’s father, the legendary Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Abdulmanap had envisioned his son to become a world champion and for his other pupils like Islam Ma…

Belal Muhammad Gives Breakdown of Strategy to Beat Dricus Du Plessis

Belal Muhammad claims to have the strategy to beat Dricus Du Plessis.

Muhammad is the latest of several UFC champs who are looking to move up a weight class to fulfil double-champ aspirations. “Remember the Name” is teasing a move up to middleweight to challenge Du Plessis, who recently defended his title with a dominant decision over Sean Strickland at UFC 312 last weekend.

According to Muhammad, he’ll beat “Stillknocks” in every aspect of the game for the first two rounds, leaving him frustrated by the third round. When Du Plessis attempts to implement his awkward style, Muhammad plans on taking his back and submitting him in the third frame.

“I'd come out him with a 1-2, then he'd wing an overhand. I'll duck it, change levels and take him down. Then he'd shrimp and get the underhook to get out, but he'll be too weak to get up, so then I'll hit him with ground-and-pound for the rest of Round 1,” Muhammad wrote on social media. “Round 2 start…

Coach on Sean Strickland’s Performance at UFC 312: ‘It Was Uninspired Fighting’

Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick didn’t mince words while addressing Sean Strickland’s latest loss.

Strickland faced Dricus Du Plessis in a title rematch at UFC 312 this past weekend in Sydney. Du Plessis dominated Strickland for 25 minutes to earn a unanimous decision win. While Strickland is typically known as a defensive striker, the output seemed to be below his usual standards. Nicksick could be seen visibly frustrated in the corner as he failed to motivate Strickland to go for broke even in the championship rounds.

Nicksick didn’t sugarcoat his disappointment with Strickland when speaking of the loss. According to Nicksick, it was just “uninspired fighting” on Strickland’s part on such a massive stage. Nicksick urges Strickland to decide whether he really wants to become a champ or is just in it for a payday.

“It was uninspired fighting,” Nicksick told Ariel Helwani. “It just seemed like he was sleepwalking. It was tough man. I was j…

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