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Michael Chiesa called out Colby Covington after his win over Tony Ferguson:

"I want to fight Colby Covington... the guy can sit on the sidelines and say whatever he wants...

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Are you gonna idly sit around and do nothing, or are you gonna come back and fight. Keep your ranking, I… pic.twitter.com/nDy1iDfUzW — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 4, 2024

Michael Chiesa is eyeing a step up in competition after returning to the win column this past Saturday.

UFC on ABC 7 saw Chiesa rebound from a three-fight slump with a first-round submission win over Tony Ferguson at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. “Maverick” subsequently called out former interim welterweight champ Colby Covington.

Chiesa claims that the matchup has nothing to do with rankings. The Spokane, Washington, native wants to fight Springfield, Oregon’s Covington in order to determine the best welterweight in the Pacific Northwest.

“I want to figh…

The Professional Fighters League welterweight playoffs have a new entrant.

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The promotion announced on Sunday that Don Madge has pulled out of his semifinal bout against Magomed Umalatov due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Neiman Gracie will step in and face Umalatov on Aug. 23. Additionally, Luca Poclit, who was originally slated to fight Gracie, will remain on the card against Eric Alequin.

PFL 9 takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., and features semifinal bouts at featherweight and welterweight. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Gracie went 1-1 during his 2024 PFL campaign. After dropping a unanimous verdict to Goiti Yamauchi at PFL 3, the Bellator MMA veteran rebounded to outpoint Madge in his second outing at PFL 6 on June 28.

Undefeated in 16 professional bouts, Umalatov is still seeking his first PFL champi…

Rafael dos Anjos will return to the welterweight division for a clash against Geoff Neal at UFC 308.

The pairing was revealed during the UFC on ABC 7 broadcast on Saturday. UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a featherweight championship bout between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

Dos Anjos has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot in a lightweight bout at UFC 299 on March 9. The former 155-pound champion is 5-5 at welterweight since making his first appearance in the weight class in 2017.

Neal will attempt to get back on track after dropping back-to-back fights against Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov. “Handz of Steel” won his first five fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion but has gone 2-4 in UFC competition since 2020.

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Dana White remains insistent that Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is the fight to make in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division.

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Jones was originally scheduled to defend the undisputed heavyweight title against Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023 before pulling out due to an injury. Tom Aspinall went on to knock out Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title fight put together to help save the card.

Despite no clear timeline in sight for Jones’ return to the Octagon, “Bones” wasn’t stripped of his title. Meanwhile, Jones remains adamant on facing Stipe Miocic, who hasn’t fought in more than three years, in his return to action. That bout has been rumored for November, but nothing is official at this point in time.

The UFC CEO not only continues to vehemently defend that matchup, but is visibly irked about Jones losing his status as UFC pound-for-pound king due to inactivity. The UFC rankings are decided …

Umar Nurmagomedov was surprised by multiple aspects of his opponent’s game in a unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7.

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Nurmagomedov put on an MMA masterclass en route to an impressive unanimous decision win over Sandhagen in the main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The Dagestani star subsequently admitted being surprised by both the stand up and grappling aspects of Sandhagen’s game. According to Nurmagomedov, while Sandhagen’s grappling defense was better than he expected, “The Sandman” surprisingly didn’t impress him with his striking.

“He was more tough than I expect,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN. “And his defense much better than I [anticipated]. When I take his back, he almost defense, he go out. I was surprised. It was very hard to hold him, take him down. He is very good. But my strike is much better than him. That I accept. I think he will be much better than me, but I’m not bad. I was not bad today.”

…

Tony Ferguson doesn’t want to retire despite suffering his eighth consecutive loss against Michael Chiesa at UFC on ABC 7.

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Ferguson suffered a first-round submission loss against Chiesa at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Ferguson revealed that he was feeling nauseous due to nervousness leading up to the fight.

“Well, I thought it was gonna go a lot further,” he told Full Send MMA. “Time difference is kind of crazy. Right before we walked out I kept on feeling like I was throwing up, kind of feeling just a little bit bad. Lot of nerves going into this s—t. I got 12 [wins] and eight [losses] now, so it’s kind of crazy. Not very happy with my performance. Obviously, could have did a little bit more resting and warming up today. But what the f—k you gonna say man? Good job Mike.”

Ferguson left one of his gloves in the Octagon after his loss to Chiesa, labeling it a “see you later” instead of a retirement. While “El Cucuy” was riding the l…

Steve Garcia (16-5) will look to further raise his stock with a quick turnaround.

Garcia steps up to fight Kyle Nelson (16-5) at UFC Fight Night 242 at the promotion’s Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, replacing Calvin Kattar (23-8), who pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. The change was first reported by MMA media member Robert Tellez and subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

This will mark a decently quick turnaround for Garcia, who comes off a first-round knockout win over Seung Woo Choi last month. The win put “Mean Machine” on a four-fight knockout streak, bettering his overall promotional record to 5-2 — with all of his wins coming via finish.

Meanwhile, Nelson comes off a first-round knockout win over featherweight veteran Bill Algeo this past March. Currently riding a three-fight winning streak, the Canadian is 4-4-1 in the UFC so far.

Joel Alvarez simply doesn’t go to the judges when he wins fights, and his latest effort in that regard made him $50,000 richer.

The Spaniard earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his third-round stoppage of Elves Brener in the main card opener at UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Alvarez gradually built momentum before rocking his foe with a left and unleashing a stream of knees to the head in Round 3. “El Fenomeno” polished off his victory with a pair of punches on the ground to bring an end to the lightweight bout at the 3:36 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, Azamat Murzakanov received a $50,000 “Peformance of the Night” award for putting away Alonzo Menifield in their preliminary light heavyweight clash. “The Professional” sent his adversary tumbling to the canvas with a series of heavy shots, and he needed just two follow-up ground strikes before the contest was halted 3:18 into the second stanza.

Finally, Sharabutdin Magomed…

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…