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Former American Top Team coach Andre Benkei is headed back to Florida.

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The Brazilian recently signed a three-year contract to work as an MMA head coach at the new UFC Gym in Largo, Florida, and big plans are in store.

“It´s gonna be huge — 30,000 square feet,” Benkei told Sherdog.com. “Besides an amazing gym with all facilities you can imagine, the gym will have an MMA training center with a top team of coaches. We already signed Dorian Price (muay thai), who has been living in Thailand for the last 20 years, and Adam Mazin (jiu-jitsu), who represents Dean Lister. Cuban boxer Pedro Dias will be with us, and soon we will announce a [decorated] American wrestler.”

Benkei also revealed that an MMA-themed reality show will be filmed at the facility.

“The grand opening will be in August, but we will start filming a reality show called ‘Road to the Cage ‘ before that,” he said. “The reality show will consist of the training routine of our…

.@MoheganSun Get Ready 🔥

Playoff spots are on the line as Heavyweights & Women's Flyweights kick off the second half of the 2024 #PFLRegularSeason on June 13th!

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Tickets On Sale Now! 👇🎟️https://t.co/agkCcio2Xy pic.twitter.com/6Mh0wVz7DN — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 22, 2024

A heavyweight trilogy between Valentin Moldavsky and Linton Vassell will serve as the main event when Professional Fighters League begins the second leg of its regular season on June 13.

The organization on Monday announced the two featured bouts for PFL 4, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. In addition to Moldavsky vs. Vassell, Dakota Ditcheva will meet Chelsea Hackett in a women’s flyweight contest in the evening’s co-headliner. More fights for the card, which features heavyweights and women’s flyweights, will be announced in the coming weeks.

A former Bellator MMA interim champion, Moldavsky kicked off hi…

Cedric Doumbe will make his Bellator MMA debut against Derek Anderson in the Bellator Champions Series Paris co-headliner on May 17.

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The bout is part of a multi-fight extension signed by Doumbe with Professional Fighters League, which purchased Bellator late last year. A former two-time Glory Kickboxing welterweight champion, Doumbe has quickly emerged as one of PFL’s biggest stars in Europe.

"Re-signing Cedric Doumbe to a multi-year contract extension has been one of our highest priorities since he joined the promotion last year," PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. "Cedric is a large part of our continued growth in France, and now he will compete at Bellator Champions Series Paris on a fight card that can be streamed by fans in the U.S. on Max, as he continues his trajectory through our global leagues.”

The addition of Doumbe vs. Anderson is part of some significant shuffling at the top of the Bellator Paris card. The event’s original…

Lightweights Trey Ogden (17-6) and Loik Radzhabov (18-5) are slated to clash at a UFC Fight Night event on July 20.

The matchup was first announced by Ogden’s management, Iridum Sports Agency. The card has not been formally confirmed by the promotion and does not yet have an official location or headliner.

Ogden is coming off a unanimous decision win over Kurt Holobaugh at UFC on ESPN 53 that saw him bounce back from an unfortunate no contest against Nikolas Motta last November. Holobaugh was minutes away from a unanimous decision win over Motta when he caught the Brazilian in an arm-triangle choke. Referee Mike Beltran prematurely stopped the fight, mistaking Motta to be unconscious, and the bout was ultimately declared a no contest.

Meanwhile, Radzhabov will also look to build a winning streak after a KO win over Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady at UFC Fight Night 238. The Tajik fighter made his promotional debut with a unanimous decision win over Esteban Ribov…

Gabriel Bonfim (15-1) and Ange Loosa (10-3) will trade leather at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on July 13.

The booking was first announced by Bonfim’s management, Iridium Sports Agency. UFC Fight Night takes place on July 13 and will likely be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card does not currently have a headliner.

Bonfim will look to bounce back from his lone career loss, which came via second-round TKO against Nicolas Dalby in November 2023. Prior to that, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champ finished all 15 of his career wins — 12 via submission — including two in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Loosa will also look to set his trajectory right after a controversial no contest against Bryan Battle last month. Battle was getting the better of Loosa on the feet before accidentally poking the Congolese fighter in the eye. Loosa was unable to continue, and Battle later accused “The Last Ninja” of using the eye poke as an excuse to avoid a poten…

Manon Fiorot is adamant on fighting for a title next — even if it is an interim belt.

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Fiorot made a legitimate case for a gold bid with a unanimous decision win over top contender Erin Blanchfield in the main event at UFC on ESPN 54 last month. But the French standout will have to wait for a trilogy clash between champ Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, who are expected to compete after their stints as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 32.” While Fiorot would like to serve as the backup for that bout, “The Beast” is also open to another matchup if it has interim title implications.

“If I have to choose, the best choice for me is to be backup on the fight,” Fiorot told MMAjunkie.com. “I think it’s a good thing if Valentina or Alexa have an injury or miss weight or stuff like that. I think the best choice for me now is to be backup for this fight so I can see the fight and perhaps do a faceoff after against the winner. If not, I can fight but for…

Joshua Van appears to be in need of a new opponent after announcing that his proposed 125-pound clash against Su Mudaerji has been canceled.

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The flyweight booking was scheduled for UFC 302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. A reason for Mudaerji’s exit is currently unknown.

“Fight is off for June 1 I need a real opponent,” Van wrote on social media.

Joshua Van posts on his IG that his fight between him and Sumudaerji is off for #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/RKvRwG9zmU

— Octagon Update (@octagonupdate) April 21, 2024

Van made his UFC debut with a split decision win over Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June 2023 and followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Kevin Borjas in November. Most recently ,“The Fearless” scored his first UFC finish via TKO against Felipe Bunes this past January.

Meanwhile, Mudaerji bounced back from a foiled UFC debut against Louis Smolka in 2018 by mounting a three- fi…

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Aljamain Sterling recently picked Brian Ortega over Movsar Evloev as his next preferred opponent, a decision that incited a callout from the Russian.

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Sterling earned a lopsided unanimous decision win against Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut at UFC 300. The former bantamweight champ subsequently called out Ortega.

Sterling weighed out the technicalities of the potential fights, both of which are a “grappler’s delight,” according to him. Sterling lauded Ortega’s aggressive guard, which always makes for wild grappling exchanges. While Sterling also lauded Evloev’s wrestling, he believes he can “easily” match the Russian’s ground game. “Funkmaster” also claims to have fared well in grappling against some of the guys that Evloev trained with even while out of shape.

“Both of these fights are a grappler’s delight,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “If I were to fight Ortega, if you take him down, he ain’t gonna hang out…

Justin Gaethje doesn’t regret fighting Max Holloway instead of waiting for a title shot that will now go to Dustin Poirier.

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Gaethje defeated Poirier via a vicious head-kick KO last year to earn the BMF title and bolster his relevance in the lightweight title picture. Poirier bounced back from the loss with a highlight-reel knockout win over surging contender Benoit St. Denis at UFC 299 last month, making a case for the next title shot.

While Gaethje would also have a legitimate claim to the next lightweight gold bid, “The Highlight” put his BMF strap in the line against Max Holloway at UFC 300 earlier this month. With champ Islam Makhachev adamant on defending his title this summer, the turnaround would be unlikely for the winner of that fight.

Gaethje admits that he ruled himself out of the next title shot by accepting the UFC 300 booking against Holloway. Makhachev will now defend his title against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on Ju…

Welcome to the League in 2025, @paulhughesmma 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/P4vAyHHpaC

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 20, 2024

The Professional Fighters League has signed top prospect Paul Hughes (11-1).

PFL president Ray Sefo was recently asked if there was any truth to reports of the promotion courting free agents Hughes and Salahdine Parnasse. Sefo replied in the affirmative while revealing that they had already secured the Hughes signing. The report was also officially confirmed by the PFL via social media.

Hughes exhausted his Cage Warriors contract with a first-round knockout win over Fabiano Silva earlier this month, extending his winning streak to five — a run which includes a win over UFC prospect Morgan Charriere. The former CW featherweight champ had teased a UFC clash against Paddy Pimblett while a free agent. However, “Big News” had also clarified that he would chose the promotion which valued him the most instead of limiting himself to …

[embedded content] Brendan Loughnane had to adapt and overcome some mental hurdles after suffering the first stoppage loss of his career.

In the 2023 regular season, the Brit was lumped up in 94 seconds by Jesus Pinedo, with a defeat that left Loughnane with five playoff points—and not enough for the featherweight top four in the playoffs. This put the 34-year-old on ice until April, when he returned for the 2024 Professional Fighters League 145-pound tourney. On Friday, Loughnane (27-5) bounced back in style at PFL Chicago, drumming out Pedro Carvalho in 86 seconds to get back in the win column.

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While his first fight of 2024 went his way, Loughnane explained in the post-fight press conference that the loss to Pinedo haunted him. Loughnane mentioned that he even considered leaving the sport behind after the crushing defeat.

“That was the best Brendan Loughnane,” he said during the post-fight press conference. “I don’t make excuses for fights, but t…

A bantamweight clash pitting two promising competitors has been added to UFC Fight Night 241.

China’s Heili Alateng (16-9-2) will take on Brazil’s Kleydson Rodrigues (8-3) in a three-round meeting on a Fight Night card scheduled to go down on May. 18 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The news was first announced by Alateng’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). Rodrigues confirmed news of this pairing on his Instagram shortly after its announcement.

Rodrigues will hope to make his way back to the win column, coming off a submission loss against Farid Basharat in September last year. “K.R” has gone 1-2 in his first three Octagon outings, including a loss to C.J. Vergara and a first-round knockout victory over Shannon Ross.

Meanwhile, Alateng will enter the contest on the heels of a unanimous decision loss against Chris Gutierrez that snapped a three-fight undefeated streak. The Chinese national has wins over the likes of Chad Anh…

Magomed Umalatov has been one of the Professional Fighters League’s best-kept secrets for the last three years, but few will overlook him after ragdolling former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov for three rounds Friday night.

Umalatov (15-0) cruised to a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the PFL 3: 2024 Regular Season main event at Wintrust Center in Chicago. Despite taking Koreshkov down in the first round, Umalatov’s inactivity cost him the round on the judges' scorecards. “Prince” wouldn’t make that mistake again. Over the next 10 minutes, Koreshkov dominated Koreshkov on the mat while smothering all his potential offense. Although the two had 23 knockouts between them coming into the fight, Umalatov wisely decided to turn the fight into a wrestling match. With the win, Umalatov picked up three points in the welterweight standings but trails Murad Ramazanov and Don Madge, who each earned six points in the 2024 PFL Welterweight Regular Season…

The Professional Fighters League’s regular season marches on with the final event of the first leg of the 2024 Regular Season. The card is primed for an enthralling display on April 19 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, where featherweights and welterweights will battle it out for their stab at fame and glory with $1 million prize money elevating the stakes. Sherdog brings live coverage and play-by-play updates as the action unfolds live at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Business picks up at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN with the main card. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is building up its card for International Fight Week one large brick at a time.

The organization announced on Friday the addition of a major light heavyweight collision on UFC 303. Former champ Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 NC) will look to get back in the win column against the surging Khalil Rountree (13-5, 1 NC), with the latter riding a career-long win streak. The two will do battle on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and they will likely be seated on the main card.

Hill vied for his old belt—one he vacated due to injury, and not because he suffered a loss—against Alex Pereira in the UFC 300 headliner, and he came out on the wrong end of a first-round knockout. That defeat put an end to a four-fight win streak that culminated with him capturing the vacant 205-pound throne against Glover Teixeira in a one-sided five-round effort. On his way up, the Dana White's Contender Series graduate wrecked Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and T…

Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship star Nate Diaz will be going to court after all.

In April 2023, Diaz was arrested in New Orleans for second-degree battery. Multiple videos showed Diaz choking Logan Paul impersonator and amateur MMA fighter Rodney Petersen Jr. unconscious in the midst of a violent incident on Bourbon Street. Diaz and his team claimed he acted in self-defense, with Petersen allegedly pursuing him to fight. Charges from the Orleans Parish District Attorney were later dropped in September. On Thursday night, news broke that Petersen had filed a lawsuit against Diaz for the damage he sustained during the altercation.

According to initial reports, Petersen stated he suffered physical and emotional damage from the fracas. Of note, Petersen seeks compensation for damages and trauma, including a loss of income and his medical expenses. His wife, Bobbi Petersen, is also on the suit, where she seeks damages for loss of consortium—or the lack of love and suppo…

Some people knew Alexandre Pantoja was going all the way to the top when he was just a youngling.

Pantoja, the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion, defends his title on May 4 in his home country of Brazil. “The Cannibal” lived part of his life in Copacabana and later in Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently residing in Florida to train at American Top Team, Pantoja will compete in Brazil for the first time since 2013 when he faces surging contender Steve Erceg in the UFC 301 main event.

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Pantoja's first coach, Petterson Melo, taught in the beach town of Arraial do Cabo. He highlighted that his pupil already showed signs of a promising future from his first steps inside the Luiz Alves Training Center, which to this day remains a staging ground for the formation of new talents in the Lakes Region. Melo spoke to Sherdog about his student’s past, and others that trained with him over the years.

“The boy was pure bravery,” …

Avazbek Kholmirzaev outclassed Zayundin Suleymanov on the feet and on the ground before recording a third-round technical knockout in their ONE Friday Fights 59 catchweight feature on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Kholmirzaev (6-1, 2-0 ONE) finished the 128-pound clash 16 seconds into Round 3.

Kholmirzaev, the taller fighter, came out light on his feet and attempted to pick his opponent off from the outside, occasionally blitzing with punching combinations. A minute and a half into the first frame, Suleymanov managed to get a body lock and slam Kholmirzaev to the mat, eventually securing mount. However, the Uzbekistani managed to make it back to his feet after offering his opponent his back and instead shot in for a takedown of his own. Once Kholmirzaev trapped his opponent against the ropes with back control, the 23-year-old unleashed a barrage of knees before the Russian managed to break away and avoid extensive damage. Despite the shots sustaine…

📣 #Yogibo presents #RIZIN47💥💥 Matchup Announcement 💥💥

RIZIN MMA Rules 61.0kg

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🟥 #KyojiHoriguchi / @kyoji1012First-ever RIZIN Flyweight Championーーー🆚ーーー🟦 #SergioPettis / @sergiopettisFormer Bellator World Bantamweight Champion

🏟️ Yoyogi National Gymnasium,… pic.twitter.com/SnFB3SvWAu

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 19, 2024 Rizin Fighting Federation is not messing around with its trip to Tokyo this June.

The organization broke the news on Friday morning, announcing a trio of noteworthy pairings for Rizin 47 on June 9. The event will be held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. The main attraction will come at the bantamweight division, when Sergio Pettis (23-6) and Kyoji Horiguchi (32-5, 1 NC) run back a thrilling encounter in 2021.

Horiguchi and Pettis first met atop Bellator 272, with Pettis defending his Bellator MMA bantamweight throne against his Japanese counterpart. The America…

While Pedro Carvalho believes one aspect of the Professional Fighters League ruleset will take some adjusting to, he also sees an upside to it.

The former Bellator MMA featherweight is scheduled to make his PFL debut against former champ Brendan Loughnane (26-5) in the co-main event at PFL 3 on April 19 (Tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET for the main card.) Along with its unique season format, PFL also follows the unified rules of mixed martial arts, with some exceptions. PFL doesn’t allow any elbow strikes, significantly affecting ground and clinch exchanges. While Carvalho is mostly concerned about adapting to elbows being banned, he also sees an upside in not standing the threat of getting elbowed himself.

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“Well, clearly the biggest one that I have to mention is the elbows, you know, we can’t elbow,” the 28-year-old said during PFL Chicago media day. “But I prefer to think that I’m not going to get elbowed, you know, I prefer to think the …

[embedded content] Bellator MMA has retained the services of a high-flying, hard-swinging Brazilian.

A fighter billed as one of the more talented featherweight prospects of Brazilian MMA, Jonas Bilharinho (11-2-1) will make his Bellator debut on May 17 against Frenchman Yves Landu (20-9). The 33-year-old first made a splash on the big stage in the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series. While he won by spinning wheel kick, he was not signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bilharinho spoke to Sherdog about this new fight, where he discussed his expectations of competing in a major organization and about the fight at Bellator Paris itself.

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“I’m very anxious for that debut and it will be against a Frenchman in Paris,” Bilharinho told Sherdog. “It just recalled my debut in Jungle Fight where I fought a local from Sao Paulo in his homeland with all the cheering against me. But I really love to fight in that position because I like to use that…

Did they really give her Smelling Salts #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/q7nYsp1VO1

— D H (@diegomayra) April 14, 2024

Xiaonan Yan has issued a clarification about the chaotic end of the first round of her UFC 300 clash against Weili Zhang.

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Yan (18-4) challenged her compatriot for the strawweight title in UFC 300 co-main event last weekend. “Fury” showed an immense display of grit en route to an emphatic unanimous decision loss against the champ. Yan was caught in a deep rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the opening frame and appeared to have passed out as the clock expired. She was visibly struggling while walking back to her corner but managed to gather herself and go hard for four more rounds. The Chinese standout admits that she had almost passed out but not quite.

“I think since she took my back and she got the rear-naked choke position very quickly. But I still believe I can defend that,” the 34-year-old said on …

Alex Pereira appears to have ruled himself out of competing again in a few weeks.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king prevailed at UFC 300, punching out Jamahal Hill to defend his throne. After the victory, “Poatan” expressed that he would like to make a short-notice turnaround for the May 4 pay-per-view event in Rio de Janeiro. On Wednesday, however, Pereira spoke with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, where he discussed another injury sustained during the bout that will likely keep him out of action for the near future.

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“I broke the toe of the right foot 15 days before the fight,” Pereira explained. “It was during my penultimate sparring [session], so it didn’t affect my preparation at all. The problem is when it occurs at the beginning of the camp. But during the fight, I broke my left toe as well, when I kicked his leg the second time.”

With two broken toes, Pereira believes he would not be medically cleared, and could ri…

According to Logan Storley, the vast experience of competing in high-level wrestling tournaments for most of his life will offer him an upper hand in the Professional Fighters League season format.

Storley (15-2) is set to make his PFL debut against undefeated Russian prospect Shamil Musaev (14-0-1) at PFL 3: 2024 Regular Season on April 19 (tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET for the main card.) Like most Bellator MMA fighters making the switch to PFL, Storley will also have to adjust to the season format, which requires them to compete at a much higher frequency.

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However, “Storm” believes his impressive wrestling pedigree will help him adapt well to the PFL’s tournament structure. An accomplished wrestler, Storley was a six-time South Dakota High School Activities Association title holder and a four-time NCAA All-American at the University of Minnesota. Storley believes his experience of competing in back-to-back grappling matches, while havi…