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UFC on ESPN 58 was a memorable night for Tatsuro Taira in more ways than one.

Not only did the Japanese prospect earned his first main event triumph in UFC competition, but he also secured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts. Taira improved to 16-0 as a professional with a second-round technical knockout victory against Alex Perez on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Taira used a body triangle and back control to wrench his foe to the canvas, a maneuver that resulted in a knee injury for Perez at the 2:59 mark of Round 2.

Elsewhere, Brady Hiestand rallied from a second-round knockdown to earn a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a submission triumph against Garrett Armfield in a featured bantamweight affair. Hiestand brought an end to the contest with a rear-naked choke at the 1:52 mark of Round 3.

Finally, Gabriella Fernandes and Carli Judice received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for putting on a striking …

Tatsuro Taira took another significant step toward title contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.

The Japanese prospect kept his undefeated record intact in the UFC on ESPN 58 headliner with a second-round stoppage victory against former title challenger Alex Perez on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While the fight ended in unfortunate fashion due to a knee injury, Taira certainly played a part in making that happen when he wrenched his foe to the canvas while making Perez carry him like a backpack. With 16 consecutive victories to begin his professional tenure, Taira has emerged as one of the most intriguing talents in the sport at 125 pounds.

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Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on ESPN 58, with statistics courtesy of UFCStats.com.

5: Consecutive flyweight victories for Taira, the third-longest active winning streak in the division behind reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja (six) and Muhammad Mokaev (six).…

Tatsuro Taira entered the cage on Saturday looking to complete the transition from prospect to contender, and he succeeded, though not in the way anyone would have wished for.

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In the flyweight headliner of UFC on ESPN 58 at the UFC Apex, Taira faced resurgent former title challenger Alex Perez. Perez immediately took the fight to the young phenom, coming at him with big punches and some hard low kicks, shoving him to the fence with underhooks, and generally putting on a frantic pace. Taira was up to the test, holding his own in the clinch and sticking Perez with long, straight punches in space. Perez scored a takedown late in the round, scooping the Okinawan up and depositing him on his back in the center of the cage, but Taira popped right back to his feet. Taira was cautioned for eye pokes twice in the first round and a half of the fight, but his composure was otherwise exemplary for a 24-year-old in his first UFC main event. Nonetheless, Perez se…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 58 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Knutsson (-225), Polastri (+185)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Costa (-170), Shayilan (+142)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW…

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Nathan Maness appears to be a growing problem for the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division.

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Maness (16-3) outworked Jimmy Flick (17-8) in a flyweight attraction that felt much closer than the final scores indicated, or than the nearly 5-to-1 odds in Maness’ favor seemed to predict. Maness plied his huge frame for the division, working with his jab from the outset to keep dangerous submission artist Flick on the outside. Flick seemed more than willing to engage in a striking battle, throwing big punches and trying to close the distance. Maness defended Flick’s first real takedown attempt with a standing guillotine choke attempt, managing to stay upright. Flick secured a takedown later in the round, taking advantage of another guillotine attempt to set up a Von Flue choke, but the round expired before the sequence could play out. The second and third rounds followed a similar pattern, with Maness and Flick bo…

Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC,… pic.twitter.com/ACNnbvr27p

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 15, 2024

While Conor McGregor’s absence from mixed martial arts will now extend beyond three years, the Irishman remains optimistic regarding his future.

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The former two-division champion released a statement on Saturday addressing his withdrawal from the UFC 303 headliner against Michael Chandler. The June 29 welterweight bout was expected to be McGregor’s first Octagon appearance since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,” McGregor wrote on social media. “I picked up an injury prior to the …

A number of ailments will keep Jamahal Hill from competing at UFC 303.

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The former light heavyweight champion recently revealed on social media that two tears in his meniscus, a sprained ACL and a Baker’s cyst — which leaked fluid into the back of his knee — led to him withdrawing from a proposed clash against Carlos Ulberg on June 29.

“This is only making me hungrier,” Hill added on Instagram. “Be back soon!!!”

Hill captured the vacant 205-pound belt with a unanimous decision triumph over Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in January 2023. However, a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in a pickup basketball game sidelined him for more than a year, forcing him to vacate the belt. His bid to regain the title at UFC 300 came up short, as he suffered a first-round knockout loss to reigning champion Alex Pereira on April 13.

Hill was initially slated to face Khalil Rountree in the UFC 303 co-main event before Rountree was removed from the event due t…

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Brunno Ferreira has learned that there is a certain value to making yourself available.

Brazil’s Ferreira (12-1) is coming off his third win in the Octagon, where he blasted Dustin Stoltzfus with a spinning back elbow to claim a “Performance of the Night” bonus along with his show and win money. “The Hulk” revealed to Sherdog that he decided to stay in Las Vegas to attend Wanderlei Silva’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 27.

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“Besides being a friend and a longtime training partner of my master Dida [Andre Amado], Wanderlei is an idol to all Brazilian fighters. So, I wouldn't lose the opportunity to stay two more weeks in Vegas and testify to such an important moment of his career,” Ferreira said gleefully.

Ferreira’s team has already informed the promotion that he is available to serve as a late replacement in a fight in the middleweight division falls through in the next few weeks. While one oppor…

The sky might be the limit for grappling great Beatriz Mesquita as she crosses over into MMA this weekend.

A 10-time jiu-jitsu world champion, Mesquita is joining the ranks of MMA on Saturday at Spaten Fight Night. She faces fellow debutant Jorgina Ramos, in a matchup highly anticipated by the BJJ community as well as a litany of fans in Brazil. Considered one of the greatest female champions in the history of jiu-jitsu, the IBJJF Hall of Famer has been training MMA at American Top Team for nearly a year with coach “Parrumpinha” Marcos da Matta.

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“She arrived raw but her evolution is impressive,” Da Matta told Sherdog. “She helped Kayla [Harrison], ‘Sheetara’ [Mayra Bueno Silva]. She started getting beaten up a lot, and today she’s already making girls like Michelle [Montague], who has five MMA fights, look like [a] white belt training with her.”

According to the Carlson Gracie black belt, while training at ATT, Mesquita took matches at various …

PFL @MoheganSun ✅🔥

The second half of the 2024 #PFLRegularSeason started with a 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗚#PFLRegularSeason | B2YB @Join_AFReserve pic.twitter.com/egtY2zBpKc

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 14, 2024 Forget the third. Denis Goltsov hopes the fifth time’s the charm.

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The well-traveled Russian sambo practitioner nailed down the No. 1 seed in the Professional Fighters League playoffs, as he swiped aside Thiago Santos—a short-notice replacement for Sergey Bilostenniy—with punches in the first round of their PFL 4 heavyweight showcase on Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Goltsov drew the curtain 2:22 into Round 1.

“Like they say in our country, you prepare for the worst and you go from there,” he said. “He didn’t really feel that strong. Once I was like a backpack on him and I was really controlling him, I was able to maul him. I was always in a good position.”

It marks the fifth time Goltsov has qualified f…

Kaito Oda looks like a potential problem for the rest of the ONE Championship flyweight division.

Repeated takedowns, torturous control and sustained ground-and-pound carried the 26-year-old Japanese prospect to a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Ngoc Luong Tran in their ONE Friday Fights 67 showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangok, Thailand. All three ringside judges turned in scorecards for Oda (5-1, 2-0 ONE), who has rattled off four consecutive victories.

Tran (4-1, 0-1 ONE) found danger wherever he turned. Oda floored him with a clean one-two in the first round, powered into top position and piled up points with punches and hammerfists. When Tran escaped to his feet and pursued the clinch, he was greeted with short-range elbows and shoulder strikes. Oda flexed his superiority in the wrestling and grappling departments as time wore on. The Carpe Diem Fukuoka representative executed multiple takedowns, explored the Tran guard fearlessl…

First to the scale this morning ☀️@AlexPerezMMA weighs-in at 126lbs!

[ #UFCVegas93 | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/WdZn4tU0wH

— UFC (@ufc) June 14, 2024 After a turbulent week of high-profile fight cancellations, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is hoping for some better headlines coming out of UFC on ESPN 58.

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The 11-fight card is headlined by a fight between flyweight contenders Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira. Both fighters successfully made weight for the five-round affair, which will pit a former title challenger against an undefeated contender. As for the rest of the card, everyone made weight with the exception of Tagir Ulanbekov, who came in 3.5 pounds over the flyweight limit for his fight against Joshua Van. As a result, the bout has been canceled.

This marks the third UFC main event for Perez (25-8), who recently snapped a three-fight losing streak by knocking out Matheus Nicolau in…

UFC 303 International Fight Week June 29th pic.twitter.com/P47PSsKcg0

— danawhite (@danawhite) June 14, 2024 Any fight fan that purchased tickets to this Ultimate Fighting Championship show can receive a full refund if requested.

News of the cancelation of UFC 303’s main event—and co-headlining match as well—was announced by the UFC on Thursday, stating that Conor McGregor suffered an injury and his match with Michael Chandler has been canceled. Additionally, Jamahal Hill suffered an injury and was forced out of his second-to-last pairing against Carlos Ulberg. Due to these changes, the promotion has booked three fights on about two weeks’ notice for this blockbuster event. The new main attraction for this June 29 card will be Alex Pereira (10-2) defending his 205-pound strap against Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1) atop the billing at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Pereira, who suffered multiple broken toes during his UFC 30…

Linton Vassell managed to dig just a little bit deeper.

In his first headlining assignment with the Professional Fighters League, the Kill Cliff Fight Club standout scratched, clawed and willed his way to a split decision over Valentin Moldavsky atop PFL 4 on Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Eric Colon for Moldavsky, Sal D’Amato and Bryan Miner for Vassell (24-9, 1-1 PFL).

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Moldavsky (13-4, 1-1 PFL) leaned on takedowns, intermittent ground-and-pound and positional control but ultimately failed to establish a sense of superiority in the trilogy bout between the two rivals. Vassell connected with the most significant strike of the match late in the second round, where he broke free from a clinch and decked the Fedor Emelianenko protege with a perfectly timed knee strike on the break. Otherwise, the two combatants struggled to separate themselves in a grimy back-and-forth af…

The Professional Fighters League’s regular season marches on with 2024 PFL 4 Regular Season at 5:30 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp sc…

The timing was right for Ikram Aliskerov.

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Originally scheduled to face Antonio Trocoli at UFC on ESPN 58 on Saturday, Aliskerov will instead get a much more high-profile booking when he faces Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia on June 22. The change was necessitated when Khamzat Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the event. UFC CEO Dana White announced the new headliner —while adding that Chimaev was “violently ill” — on Thursday.

UFC on ABC 6 takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will also see Sergei Pavlovich square off against Alexander Volkov in the heavyweight co-main event.

Aliskerov’s lone defeat in 16 professional outings came against Chimaev at Brave Combat Federation 23 in April 2019. He has won seven consecutive fights since then — including two within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 31-year-old Dagestani stopped Warlley Alves in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC 294. …

Tony Ferguson claims Khabib Nurmagomedov intentionally pulled out of their scheduled UFC 209 outing in 2017.

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Ferguson (25-10) and Nurmagomedov (29-0) share one of the more interesting rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history that never got settled inside the Octagon. Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were initially set to meet on the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 in December 2015, but “Eagle” pulled out due to a rib injury.

While the two were rebooked for a UFC on Fox event in February 2016, Ferguson pulled out due to a lung issue. After overcoming several complications, the promotion booked them for the third time as the co-main event at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017, this time with the interim lightweight title on the line.

However, Nurmagomedov pulled out just before the weigh-ins, citing weight cut issues.

While Dana White blasted Nurmagomedov’s team for not relying on the UFC to deal with the issue, Ferguson was more empa…

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Darren Till (18-5) doesn’t think very highly of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.

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Till parted ways with the UFC in February 2023 on the heels of a three-fight skid, vowing to return to the promotion and win a title in the future. The former UFC welterweight title challenger, who also competed at middleweight, was recently asked to weigh in on the current rosters of both divisions.

“I think middleweight is wide open mate,” Till recently told TalkSport. “This is going to [make people] mad. I know for a fact I can beat [Dricus Du Plessis], I know I can beat Sean Strickland, I know I can beat Paulo Costa. They’re all the guys at the top. Now I missed Izzy’s [Israel Adesanya] name out there cause that’s a fight that could have, would have or should have happened. Who knows one day? But that division I know is wide open for me to be the champion. It’s quite frustrating to be honest.”

However, Till isn’t…

Raul Rosas Jr. recently reflected on his relationship with late coach and teammate, Trevor Cooper.

Rosas Jr. (9-1) picked up a second-round submission of Ricky Turcios at UFC on ESPN 57 on June 8. “El Nino Problema” dedicated the win to Cooper, who passed away in April.

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Cooper was Rosas Jr.’s teammate at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Las Vegas when the Mexican suffered his lone career loss against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in April 2023. According to Rosas Jr., it was Cooper who contributed the most in identifying his mistakes from that loss and correcting them. Rosas Jr., who has earned 6 of his 9 career wins via submission, fondly admits that Cooper could submit him 10 times within a couple of minutes. Cooper, who also believed in Rosas Jr., had predicted an easy outing for the Mexican against Turcios, unlike the rest of their gym. Rosas Jr., 19, said on The MMA Hour:

“He meant a lot to me, he was like my brother, like my coach,” Rosas Jr. said o…

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The stage is set for Professional Fighters League to begin the second leg of its 2024 regular season.

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PFL 4 headliners Valentin Moldavsky and Linton Vassell made weight without issue on Wednesday for their trilogy bout. Moldvasky tipped the scales at 243 pounds, while Vassell checked in at 231.5.

PFL 4 takes place on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and features regular season fights in the heavyweight and women’s flyweight divisions. In the co-main event, Dakota Ditcheva (125.5) will square off against Chelsea Hackett (125.75). The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Moldavsky bested Vassell via unanimous decision in their first meeting at Bellator 218 in March 2019, but “The Swarm” got his revenge in March 2023, when he knocked out his Russian adversary in the opening stanza at Bellator 292.

Moldavsky began hi…

Linton Vassell (23-9) believes his recent win over Valentin Moldavsky (13-3) gives him the edge going into their trilogy bout.

Vassell and Moldavsky will headline 2024 PFL 4 Regular Season, featuring heavyweights and women flyweights, on June 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The pair clashed for the first time at Bellator 218 in 2019, when Moldavsky beat Vassell via unanimous decision. “Big Swarm” exacted revenge in their rematch at Bellator 292 in March 2023, starching Moldavsky with a right hand followed by some ground-and-pound in the very first round. The two will now look to settle the rivalry in a trilogy clash.

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While Moldavsky has since rebounded with back-to-back wins, Vassell expects the Russian’s lone stoppage loss to loom large in the back of his mind going into PFL 4. Vassell also deemed Moldavsky shy to trade in his unanimous decision over his Kill Cliff FC teammate Steve Mowry.

“One hundred percent. I’m the only gu…

Dricus Du Plessis (21-2) says Robert Whittaker (25-7) doesn’t deserve an immediate title shot even with a potential win over Khamzat Chimaev (13-0).

Whittaker will headline UFC Saudi Arabia against Chimaev on June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. This is the second top-tier matchup in the middleweight division in a single month, after Sean Strickland’s split decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 on June 1.

Clearing some of the confusion in the middleweight title picture, du Plessis expressed interest in fighting Chimaev if he defeats Whittaker. However, for “Stillknocks” the same doesn’t apply to Whittaker if he beats Chimaev. The South African would like Whittaker to face Strickland in a title eliminator to earn another shot at the crown. But at the end of the day, Du Plessis being the champion is willing to face whoever the UFC puts him up against.

“Obviously, I have the world’s respect for Whittaker, I think he’s one of the greatest athletes ever,” Du Plessis…

Cory Sandhagen (17-4) believes bookmakers did not decide the odds of his upcoming clash against Umar Nurmagomedov (17-0) based on the caliber of the two fighters.

Sandhagen will confront Nurmagomedov in the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3 in what has been billed as a No. 1 bantamweight contender matchup. Sandhagen is a +215 underdog going into the fight against Nurmagomedov, who is a -265 favorite.

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While Sandhagen doesn’t like the disparity in the odds, he isn’t much bothered by it. “Sandman” believes much of Nurmagomedov’s favorite status has to do with the success of the latter’s teammate, Islam Makhachev, who recently retained his lightweight title with a Round 5 submission over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

Sandhagen believes the stellar success of the Dagestani contingent influenced the odds for his upcoming clash against Nurmagomedov. While Sandhagen says the hype behind the Dagestani brigade is justified, he is against building an invincib…

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Taila Santos (20-3) declared that getting a Professional Fighters League championship belt wrapped around her waist would be the epitome of her career.

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A former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title challenger, Santos’ signing with the PFL in March came as a surprise to many. The Brazilian took a huge lead in the race to the PFL 2024 regular season playoffs with a first-round submission win over Ilara Joanne in her SmartCage debut in April.

Santos now takes on undefeated prospect Jena Bishop (7-0) at 2024 PFL 4 Regular Season on June 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. A win over Bishop would likely secure a playoff spot for Santos, where a path to the $1 million is laid. Santos claims a PFL championship victory will fulfill a lifetime of hard work and dedication.

“The experience with the PFL has been nothing short of amazing,” Santos said at PFL media day. “The guys up here are great; it’s be…