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Umar Nurmagomedov put the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division on notice and cemented himself as a legitimate title contender with perhaps his most complete bell-to-bell performance to date.

Efficient standup, tactical takedowns and doggedness in the scrambles carried the undefeated Russian to a unanimous decision over Elevation Fight Team’s Cory Sandhagen in their five-round UFC on ABC 7 headliner on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges sided with Nurmagomedov (18-0, 6-0 UFC): 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.

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Sandhagen (17-5, 10-4 UFC) competed from start to finish but failed to shake the American Kickboxing Academy star’s steely resolve. Nurmagomedov excelled, on the feet and on the ground. He routinely dragged Sandhagen down from behind, putting him in potentially compromising situations and forcing him to burn energy through intricate, drawn-out scrambles. Nurmagomedov also proved superior in a maj…

Sherdog's live UFC on ABC 7 coverage will begin Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dumas (-218), Tiuliulin (+180)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Herbert (-155), Bedoya (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTIN…

Azamat Murzakanov gets the KO in the 2nd right as he appeared to be fatiguing a bit #UFCAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/9J0v2ZRn9o

— The Underrated MMA Tribal Chief (@MMAUnderrated) August 3, 2024

Azamat Murzakanov made his most significant move yet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he disposed of Alonzo Menifield with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ABC 7 prelim on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Menifield (15-5-1, 8-5-1 UFC) met his end 3:18 into Round 2.

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In his first appearance in more than a year, Murzakanov (14-0, 4-0 UFC) picked up apart the Fortis MMA standout with a variety of weapons, uppercuts and knees chief among them. His handiwork resulted in a cut near Menifield’s left eye. Murzakanov stepped on the accelerator in the second round, absorbed the return fire and set his counterpart on skates with a slashing left uppercut. He l…

Ilia Topuria will make his first featherweight title defense against former champ Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking on Saturday morning. In the evening’s co-headliner, Robert Whittaker will square off against Khamzat Chimaev in a rebooked middleweight showdown. Other featured bouts on the card include Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic at light heavyweight and a previously reported heavyweight bout pitting Ciryl Gane against Alexander Volkov. UFC 308 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26.

Topuria claimed featherweight gold with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. The Spainard is undefeated in 15 professional outings, a run that includes victories in his first seven Octagon appearances and other notable triumphs against the likes of Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell.

Holloway, 32, hasn’t held the featherweight belt since 2019, when he relinquished…

The date for Islam Makhachev’s next title defense remains uncertain due to a hand injury.

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Makhachev is coming off a fifth-round submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 303 this past June. While most lingering effects from the fight against Poirer gradually wore off, Machachev’s right hand continued to bother him. An MRI scan revealed that he had partially torn a ligament in his hand, which is currently in a cast.

Makhachev is scheduled to remove his cast in a couple of weeks and another subsequent MRI will tell how to proceed with the injury. Makhachev recently said that a potential defense at UFC 308 in October in Abu Dhabi seems doubtful, which was confirmed by the announcement that Ilia Topuria will face Max Holloway in the event’s headliner. However, the lightweight champ hopes to defend his strap again by the end of 2024.

“I just waiting what my doctor say. After 10 days I remove this thing and we will see what he say,” Makhachev told …

Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-5) will make his promotional heavyweight debut against Marcos Rogerio de Lima (22-9) at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

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The matchup was first announced by de Lima on Instagram.

“Get ready for an epic night at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi! On October 26th, two titans will meet in the Octagon!” de Lima wrote. “I’m ready to give my all and bring another victory!”

De Lima is coming off a second-round knockout win over Junior Tafa at UFC 298 this past February. The win saw the Brazilian bounce back from a 33-second KO loss against Derrick Lewis and better his record to 3-1 in his past four.

Meanwhile, Nzechukwu is 6-5 since his UFC debut in 2019. “American Savage” is currently on a two-fight skid, which comes on the heels of a three-fight finishing streak.

After some significant changes in his training camp, Tony Ferguson says he is a “brand new person” going into his fight against Michael Chiesa at UFC on ABC 7.

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Ferguson will trade leather against fellow veteran Chiesa in a welterweight matchup at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Once the owner of a 12-bout winning streak, Ferguson has since dropped seven bouts in a row. Ferguson will surpass BJ Penn for the longest losing streak in UFC history if he falls to Chiesa.

However, “El Cucuy” has made some significant changes in his training regimen, starting with joining Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. Ferguson claims to have sparred over 120 rounds, which was facilitated by a feeling of safety with trusted training partners. The 40-year-old also says he underwent two surgeries this past January. He has since fully recovered from those procedures.

“I lost track after a 120 [rounds]. So to be real, finding a comfortable enough area w…

Your 2024 #PFLWorldChampionship Women’s Flyweight matchup is set!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @dakotadofficial 🆚 Taila Santos 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/SgR1w6pgt0

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 3, 2024 Dakota Ditcheva paid no mind to the raised stakes in the Professional Fighters League playoffs. If anything, she seemed amused by them.

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The burgeoning American Top Team star kept her professional record intact and did so in scintillating fashion, as she buried Jena Bishop with strikes in the first round of their PFL 7 women’s flyweight semifinal on Friday at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Ditcheva (13-0, 8-0 PFL) brought it to a close 3:54 into Round 1 with a surgical knee strike from the clinch, a front kick to the body and a right cross.

Bishop (7-2, 1-2 PFL) made her earn it. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt delivered a high-amplitude takedown inside the first 100 seconds and briefly progressed to half guard before th…

Sherdog's live PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs coverage will begin Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Jaleel Willis (172.6: Missed Weight) vs. Anthony Ivy (172.8: Missed Weight) Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scor…

Jarred Brooks gets it done in one. First round RNC for the Monkey God #ONEFightNight24 pic.twitter.com/ShwDQCETHP

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 3, 2024 The One Championship interim 125-pound mixed martial arts world championship was up for grabs, but only for one half of the One on Prime Video 24 main event.

American Jarred Brooks took on Cuba's Gustavo Balart. While Brooks (21-3) made weight, Balart (12-5) came in a pound over the promotion's 125-pound limit and was thus ineligible. The fight went on, though, and Brooks was given extra motivation to defeat his overweight foe for championship gold.

"The Monkey God" wasted no time putting Balart on his back by securing a takedown after the opening bell rang. This gave Brooks a blueprint to follow, as he was clearly the superior grappler. Balart would give up his back late in the first round. This led to a rear-naked choke that ended the night for "El Gladiador."

The tap came at…

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Coming into the 2024 Professional Fighters League Global Season, Dakota Ditcheva was a name many had heard about, but she still was improving and came in ready to capitalize on the opportunity. The 2023 PFL Europe champ has made a statement in her first year on the PFL’s Global roster and led the charge as the top seed in the 2024 women’s flyweight season.

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Leading the way with two first-round finishes and a total of 12 points in the regular season, Ditcheva handled business while becoming appointment-viewing television. Heading into the 2024 Playoffs, Ditcheva will take on Jena Bishop and believes her experience in PFL Europe has made her ready for the moment.

Talking with the media ahead of PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs in Nashville, Tennessee, Ditcheva told Sherdog that she believes her experience in PFL Europe back in 2023 has helped her prepare for the rigorous 2024 Global season.

“Definitely, I think it prepared me. As well, …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Abu Dhabi for its latest card, which is headlined by an intriguing bantamweight clash.

The main event of UFC on ABC 7 will see Cory Sandhagen take on the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight, and the rest of the 13-fight card did as well.

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Sandhagen (17-4) is on a three-fight winning streak since back-to-back defeats to Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw. The 32-year-old's current run has seen a TKO win over Yadong Song and decisions over Rob Font and Marlon Vera. "Sandman" officially stepped on the scale at 136 pounds, taking full advantage of the one-pound allowance.

A perfect 17-0 as a professional, Nurmagomedov has looked great inside the Octagon so far. This marks a big step up, though, as previous wins came over the likes of Raoni Barcelos and Brian Kelleher. The 28-year-old will look to prove he's a contender and weighed 135 pounds o…

A new Ultimate Fighting Championship mom will have her last dance in October.

Both Carla Esparza (19-7) and Tecia Pennington (13-7) have agreed to compete on Oct. 5 at UFC 307, according to MMA Junkie on Thursday. The strawweights have not signed bout agreements but the pairing should be complete within a few days. This will not be their first meeting, as they ran into one another on Season 20 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2014, with Esparza getting the upper hand after their two-round exhibition. The bout has since been confirmed by Esparza on Instagram on Friday, who explained that this would serve as her retirement fight.

Former two-time strawweight queen Esparza will be looking to go out with a win after a suffocating second-round submission loss to Weili Zhang in 2022. That defeat surrendered her title, one she claimed earlier that year courtesy of a tepid split decision over Rose Namajunas. “Cookie Monster” had amassed a five-fight win streak, including two spli…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated at 8 p.m. ET to include weigh-in information of every competitor.

The Professional Fighters League playoffs kick off with heavyweight and women's flyweight fights.

Heavyweight headliners Denis Goltsov and Tim Johnson both successfully made weight for their three-round main event, where Johnson will be the bigger man by over 18 pounds. However, the biggest news from the PFL 7 weigh-ins was that Liz Carmouche missed weight for the first time in her career. The 40-year-old came in at 127 pounds for her fight against Taila Santos. The "Girl-Rilla" will be deducted one point during the bout itself and fined 20% of her purse as a result. All other semifinalists successfully made weight.

Goltsov (34-8) enters the main attraction on a two-fight win streak after knocking out Linton Vassell and Thiago Santos. He came up short at the 2023 championships against Renan Ferreira and will look to keep his title hop…

The eighth non-title Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight headliner will play out in October.

At the UFC 304 weigh-in show last Friday, the promotion let slip during the broadcast that Brandon Royval (16-7) and Tatsuro Taira (16-0) were going to collide in the future. On Thursday, both Royval and MMA Junkie confirmed that this contest would serve as the main event for the UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 12. The flyweights will come to blows at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with Royval expecting the fight to be “most likely a title eliminator,” while remarking that he had planned on facing Amir Albazi instead.

Royval bounced back from a championship defeat to Alexandre Pantoja in December by outhustling Brandon Moreno in February. Royval picked up a close split decision, avenging a contentious last-second knockout loss to the former champ in 2020. Before falling short to Pantoja, Royval rattled off a decision over Rogerio Bontorin followed by first-round finishes over …

A Ultimate Fighting Championship scrap once expected to go down in February will now play out this October.

At UFC Fight Night 236 in February, Lerone Murphy (14-0-1) was booked against Dan Ige (18-8) in a high-stakes featherweight showdown. Murphy ultimately suffered an injury and was replaced by Andre Fili. After both men faced other opponents this year, the company has decided to put this bout back together. Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, Murphy and Ige will square off at UFC 308. The two will handle their business on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and their collision has been confirmed by other outlets.

Britain’s Murphy has yet to taste defeat as a professional, and currently brings a six-fight win streak’s worth of momentum into this clash. In May, Murphy staged a breakout performance by outworking Edson Barboza across five rounds in their UFC Fight Night 241 headliner. Before then, Murphy had gradually worked his way up the lead…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not messing around with its return to Salt Lake City.

A pair of major fights at 135 pounds will play out at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5—the venue is still not confirmed by the promotion—as announced on Friday. The first comes between former featherweight king Jose Aldo (32-8) and Mario Bautista (14-2), first reported by Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight. The second brings top contender Kayla Harrison (17-1) into a likely title eliminator against Ketlen Vieira (14-3), and Super Lutas broke the news on that pairing. Both UFC 307 bouts have since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

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Aldo hung up his gloves in 2022 following a loss to Merab Dvalishvili, and briefly tested the waters in boxing in 2023. Over in the sweet science, Aldo fought to a draw with former MMA foe Jeremy Stephens, and he captured a six-round decision over Esteban Gabriel Espindola before coming back to the cage. His return, which he st…

A former beltholder wants to take advantage of the historically quicker path of fighting for another Ultimate Fighting Championship crown.

Riding a two-fight win streak in his new division of bantamweight, former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo plans on fighting for a title sooner than later. On the main card of UFC on ABC 7 on Saturday, Figueiredo (23-3-1) will come to blows with Marlon Vera (23-9-1) in a high-stakes 135-pound affair. The two will tangle inside of the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Speaking with Sherdog on fight week, Figueiredo discussed his plans to beat the top-ranked Vera and what could come after.

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“I totally left my comfort zone in this camp,” the Brazilian explained. “I spent almost three months in Natal doing my camp with Patricio [Freire] and Patricky [Freire] ‘Pitbull,’ who helped me build my strategy for this fight and also improving my kickboxing skills to surprise ‘Chito.’ He has never been knoc…

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Sharabutdin Magomedov, also known as “Shara Bullet,” doesn’t like the fact that his upcoming opponent has wins over his fellow countrymen.

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Magomedov (13-0) will face Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8) in a short notice co-main event matchup at UFC on ABC 7 on Aug. 3, after the originally scheduled co-headliner between Nick Diaz and Vicente Luque fell through. As Magomedov was already seeking an experienced opponent, the Polish veteran is an ideal matchup. However, “Bullet” doesn’t like that those fights include first-round KO wins over his fellow countryman Gadzhimurad Antigulov (2019) and Shamil Gamzatov (2021). Magomedov vows to avenge the Russian losses against Oleksiejczuk at UFC Abu Dhabi.

“Frankly speaking, I wanted to fight such an experienced fighter who has 8-10 fights [in the UFC],” Magomedov told a group of reporters in Abu Dhabi. “And he, as far as I know, has around 12-13 UFC fights and also beat two Russian fighters or eve…

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Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4) faces a potential fine for jumping the cage at UFC 303.

Silva suffered a second-round stoppage loss against Macy Chiasson at UFC 303 in June after the cageside doctor deemed her unable to continue due to a gruesome cut. “Sheetara” immediately jumped over the Octagon to show her cut to Dana White, who gave her permission to do so.

In a monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed that it temporarily withheld $2,500 from Silva’s total purse of $100,000 for jumping the Octagon despite explicit instructions to not do so. The commission is expected to reach a final resolution in their next monthly meeting, scheduled for Aug. 27.

Featherweight star Diego Lopes was also fined $2,500 plus attorney fees for the same offense after his win over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 this past April. White, who had also permitted Lopes to jump the fence, had then agreed to bear the fine imposed by the athletic …

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Fabian Edwards is not a fan of Johnny Eblen’s antics.

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Edwards (13-3) will challenge Eblen (15-0) in a middleweight title rematch at Bellator Champions Series London on Sept. 14. Eblen successfully defended his Bellator MMA 185-pound title with a third-round TKO in the pair’s initial meeting at Bellator 299 in September 2023. “Pressure” immediately started trash-talking a fallen Edwards, whose brother Leon Edwards entered the fray, leading to a heated exchange that needed security intervention.

Edwards then made headlines by going on a $85,000 shopping spree with his then-rumoured girlfriend, OnlyFans model Jessenia Rebecca, days prior to his title fight against Impa Kasanganay at Bellator vs. PFL Champions this past February. While Rebecca had threatened to dump Eblen if he lost, the champ went on to defend his strap with a narrow split decision.

Going by Eblen’s antics outside of fighting and a few interactions out of the…

Colby Covington revisited the onset of his beef with Dustin Poirier that caused him “pain and suffering.”

Covington (17-4) and Poirier (30-9) were former teammates at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where “The Diamond” continues to train. However, a part of ATT since 2011, Covington parted ways with the gym over feuds with Poirier, Jorge Masvidal and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

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Covington claims Poirier used to initially utilize him as a wrestling partner, where he allegedly toyed around with the Louisiana native. According to Covington, Poirier started becoming egotistic once his UFC stardom started growing. While Covington wasn’t quite there yet, he claims to have stood his ground against Poirier.

“When we were training together, he was using me everyday just for wrestling. Never wanted to do anything else but just wrestle with me. I was giving him knowledge, giving him information, obviously toying with him like he was an amateur,” Covington…

Usman Nurmagomedov believes his wrestling is different and better than Arman Tsarukyan’s.

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Nurmagomedov (17-0) is scheduled to defend his Bellator MMA lightweight title against Alexandr Shabliy at Bellator Champions Series San Diego on Sept. 7 in Southern California. Shabliy is training with No. 1 Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Tsarukyan (22-3) for his upcoming fight against Nurmagomedov.

However, Nurmagomedov believes Tsarukyan doesn’t possess the skillset to counter his wrestling. While both Nurmagomedov and Tsarukyan started their combat sports journey with freestyle wrestling, the Bellator lightweight champ later took up combat sambo, like most fighters from his region of Dagestan.

Nurmagomedov claims his wrestling is on a different level than Tsarukyan’s, which he deems one-dimensional. Nurmagomedov believes he wouldn’t make the same mistakes that “Ahalkalakets” did in the sophomore UFC loss of his career again…

We received word back from the UFC matchmaker last week about why we weren't re-signed.

We were told the Flyweight division is comprised of exciting fighters and he doesn't view me as exciting 🥴 I suppose half your fights being finishes/bonuses isn't good enough now.

— Nate Maness (@MayhemManess1) July 29, 2024

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Flyweight prospect Nathan Maness did not get his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract extended despite his best effort.

Maness (16-3) fought out his contract with a unanimous decision win over Jimmy Flick last month. While “Mayhem” was expecting to get his contract extended, he did not hear anything from the UFC. Maness voiced his hopes of getting re-signed even after the exclusive period for the UFC to renew his contract had expired. Despite getting offers from other promotions, Maness was awaiting the UFC’s renewal offer or at least an explanation for the lack of one.

Maness has now allegedly been t…