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The upcoming Professional Fighters League tournament event has undergone a few changes.

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The promotion announced Monday that Taila Santos has withdrawn from a first-round flyweight pairing against Juliana Velasquez at PFL World Tournament 2 on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. As a result, Ekaterina Shakalova will step in and face Velasquez in the 125-pound bracket. Santos vs. Velasquez was slated to be the evening’s featured bout; instead a bantameight tilt pitting Leandro Higo against Josh Rettinghouse will now serve as the main event. Saray Orozco was originally supposed to face Shakalova, but it’s currently unclear if she will receive a replacement opponent.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 11 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2..

PFL Tournament 2 features tournament bouts at women’s flyweight and men’s bantamweight. The prelims air on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while the main card begins o…

A middleweight showdown pitting Joe Pyfer against Kelvin Gastelum has been rebooked for UFC 316.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after an announcement on Monday from Pyfer’s coach on MMA Today on Sirius XM. Pyfer and Gastelum were initially slated to square off at UFC Mexico on March 29, but Pyer withdrew on the day of the event due to illness. UFC 316 takes place on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and is headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley.

Pyfer has been victorious in six of his last seven professional outings. After earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022, “Bodybagz” finished his first three Octagon foes before fallling to Jack Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 236 main event this past February. The 28-year-old Pennsylvania native rebounded in his most recent appearance, when he knocked out Marc-Andre Barriault in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC 3…

Add this one to the list of unusual pre-fight injuries.

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Trevor Peek has been forced to withdraw from a proposed featherweight clash against Jeong Yeong Lee at UFC Des Moines after suffering an injury while jumping rope last week. The five-time UFC veteran shared the details in a video on his Instagram account over the weekend.

“I actually fractured my leg at the Performance Institute on Friday. It’s not a bad fracture, I still have to go get CT scans in the next day or two and figure out if I’ve got any kind of ligament damage or anything like that,” Peek said.

“I wish I had a cool story how I did it, but I got on some soft mats and was jump roping. I was alternating each leg. I’d been jump roping 20-something minutes — got a little tired, a little careless, and wasn’t paying attention. Come down with all my weight on my left leg and it sounded like a shotgun whenever it went off, it popped.”

The 30-year-old Alabama native has lost three of…

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Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think a newfound sense of discipline will help Sean O'Malley (18-2) against Merab Dvalishvili (19-4).

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O’Malley has always been known for his flashy lifestyle, which included smoking marijuana. However, things have seemingly changed for “Suga” since he lost his title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last year.

O’Malley will get chance to reclaim his title against Dvalishvili in the main event at UFC 316 on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The former champ, rather uncharacteristically, recently thanked Dvalishvili for making him a better fighter and human being by beating him. O’Malley also claims to have introduced major lifestyle changes going into his rematch against “The Machine.” O’Malley claims he hasn’t masturbated or smoked marijuana this year.

However, Dvalishvili’s teammate Sterling doesn’t think any of that will matter. The former bantamweight champ believes it will all even…

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Michael Chandler is taking a slightly different approach going into his fight against Paddy Pimblett.

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Chandler will take on Pimblett at UFC 314 on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. While Chandler is known for his entertaining style, it has now cost him four out of six UFC outings. However, Chandler’s latest loss against Charles Oliveira hit him different.

Chandler claims to have felt the lowest after dropping a split decision against “Do Bronx” at UFC 309 last November. But “Iron” also felt good about being more composed and measured in that fight.

“I feel like I was more let down in my entire career than any other fight in this last fight with Charles Oliveira,” Chandler told Teddy Atlas. “But I saw glimpses of more composure in that fight… There was a loss, but there was a growth in that fight. So it’s hard because your heart says ‘You lost, therefore you’re not good enough.’ But if I use my brain, I think I…

Having an MMA legend as your neighbor can really be a blessing.

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That was the case for Henry Cejudo’s neighbor, who is in his 60s. Cejudo recently shared a clip of his neighborhood, where a policeman can be seen pinning someone down. Cejudo revealed that he was coming out his house when he heard a car rushing by at 80 miles per hour. The car then crashed into the yard of Cejudo’s neighbor.

A teenager who was in the car attempted to flee the scene and attacked Cejudo’s neighbor when confronted. Cejudo intervened and allegedly took the boy down and slapped him a few times before the cops took over.

“I just had a group of teenagers, maybe doing about an 80 miles an hour. I was just coming out with my producer Dylan Ruff. Happened to see this car going by 80 miles per hour… And they smashed into my neighbor’s yard,” Cejudo said on social media. “The guy got up, the guy tried to leave. And he ended up assaulting the owner. I don’t know if these g…

A week ago, it was announced that Fabian Edwards was out of the PFL middleweight tournament. Now the former Bellator MMA title challenger is back in his original spot.

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The promotion announced over the weekend that Edwards will face Impa Kasanganay in the PFL World Tournament 3 headliner on April 18 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Edwards had briefly been replaced by Jordan Newman for undisclosed reasons. The main card, which features first-round pairings at middleweight and lightweight, airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 11 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2..

Edwards is a two-time middleweight title challenger in Bellator. He fell to Johnny Eblen on both occasions, most recently dropping a five-round verdict to Eblen at PFL Super Fights "Battle of the Giants." The younger brother of ex-UFC champ L…

Lerone Murphy couldn’t put Josh Emmett away, but he was nonetheless pleased with the way he executed his strategy in the UFC Vegas 105 headliner.

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“That was the exact game plan what you saw there,” Murphy said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Pick him off at range, catch him on the way in. Obviously, I wanted the finish. The finishes are just not coming at the minute. But a masterful performance anyway. We’re just chasing them finishes, chasing them wins, racking up the wins and aiming for that title.”

Murphy relied on intelligent movement and a varied striking arsenal to frustrate Emmett on Saturday. The heavy-handed Team Alpha Male product, who was coming off a massive knockout of Bryce Mitchell in December 2023, spent much of the fight stalking his opponent in search of a similar opening, but it was Murphy who staggered Emmett in the waning moments of the bout.

“I took a few shots on the gloves, really didn’t take anything clean,…

Rhys McKee’s first UFC triumph came with some additional perks.

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The Cage Warriors veteran floored Daniel Frunza three times in the opening stanza of their UFC Vegas 105 clash and while a finish didn’t arrive, the bout was halted before the second frame when the cageside doctor determined that a battered Frunza shouldn’t continue. After losing his first four Octagon appearances, “Skeletor” takes home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his work.

Meanwhile, Chang Ho Lee relied on his tenacious ground-and-pound to earn a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check in a stoppage of Cortavious Romious at bantamweight. The “Road to UFC” Season 2 winner went to work in the second stanza, when he took Romious’ back and battered his opponent with punches and elbows to secure at the 3:48 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, Ode Osbourne garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his finish of newcomer Luis Gurule in a featured flyweight…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 105 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC on ESPN 65. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Alencar (-112), Demopoulos (-108)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Buday (-166), Satybaldiev (+140)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tris…

Lerone Murphy danced with one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division’s heaviest hitters for 25 minutes and walked out of the Octagon no worse for it.

The undefeated Manchester Top Team linchpin stayed undefeated with a unanimous decision over Josh Emmett in the five-round UFC on ESPN 65 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46—all for Murphy (16-0-1, 8-0-1 UFC), who has rattled off seven straight victories since his split draw with Zubaira Tukhugov in 2019.

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Emmett (19-5, 10-5 UFC) completed multiple takedowns but could not track down the elusive Englishman on the feet. Murphy blasted him with a variety of kicks to the legs and body, traded punches occasionally and circled out of danger. He countered effectively, mixed in close-range elbows at times and, most importantly, kept himself out of harm’s way against an opponent with nuclear punching power. Frustration overtook Emmett late …

Rhys McKee finally put an elusive check in the Ultimate Fighting Championship win column.

The former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder racked up three knockdowns and forced a doctor stoppage on Daniel Frunza in their featured UFC on ESPN 65 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was waved off in between the first and second rounds.

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McKee (14-6-1, 1-4 UFC) cut loose with multi-punch bursts and floored the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with a left hook, a clean one-two and an overhand left. Frunza (9-3, 0-1 UFC) steadied himself amid the abuse but retreated to his corner after the first round with serious damage to his right eye and a gnarly cut to his upper lip. It was enough to warrant fight-ending concern from the cageside physician. Meanwhile, Dione Barbosa put her Olympic-level judo skills to use and put away Diana Belbita with an arm-triangle choke in…

Hotlanta, we are BACK! 🔥

We’re bringing the Octagon to ATL!

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For all info on #UFCAtlanta: https://t.co/8HQfIg4b0R pic.twitter.com/4GLYCl6zJU — UFC (@ufc) April 6, 2025

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed to the Peach State later this year.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday night that it will hold an event at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 14. It marks the fifth time the Octagon has touched down in Atlanta. One significant bout that has been confirmed for UFC Atlanta is a flyweight clash between Rose Namajunas and Miranda Maverick.

The last time the promotion was in Atlanta was April 13, 2019 for UFC 236. At that event, Dustin Poirier captured the interim lightweight crown with a five-round verdict over Max Holloway in the evening’s featured bout. In the co-headliner, Israel Adesanya claimed interim middleweight gold with a memorable decision triumph over Kelvin Gast…

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t like the new, polite version Sean O'Malley.

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Dvalishvili took O’Malley’s bantamweight title via a dominant unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024. The two seemingly had some bad blood leading up to the fight, although no one crossed any limits. Dvalishvili also openly voiced his dislike for O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, even calling him out for barking instructions to “The Machine” mid-fight.

However, O’Malley and his corner have seemingly buried the hatchet with Dvalishvili. O’Malley recently called Dvalishvili a “nice guy” while expressing gratitude for making him a better fighter and human being by defeating him.

“Merab’s a nice guy, he really is… I’ll forever be grateful for Merab in the sense that he beat me, made me become not just a better fighter, a better human,” O’Malley said. “Losing is a weird thing.”

However, Dvalishvili would rather have “Suga” trash talking like old times as they head into…

Movsar Evloev is determined to return next month, regardless of who his opponent is.

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Evloev recently revealed that his next fight will potentially be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 17. The Russian claims to have waited for a matchup against Brian Ortega for three months, but that fight didn’t come to fruition for unknown reasons. However, Evloev has seemingly been offered a new opponent now, and he is willing to fight anyone on the May 17 card.

“Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17,” Evloev wrote on X. “I have been waiting for Ortega for three months. I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17 against anyone.”

Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17th.

I have been waiting for Ortega for 3 months I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17th against anyone.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) April 4…

Elite flyweights are set to trade leather at UFC 317.

Manel Kape (21-7) and Brandon Royval (17-7) are slated to fight at UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Laerte Viana. Kape and Royval were initially scheduled to meet on March 1 before Royval withdrew due to multiple concussions.

Kape has finished 18 of his 21 pro wins so far. “Starboy” is 6-3 in the UFC, though all of his losses came against elite competition. The Angolan is coming off consecutive finishes over Bruno Silva and Asu Almabayev that saw him rebound from a loss against Muhammad Mokaev.

Meanwhile, Royval is 7-3 in the UFC and has only lost to former champ Brandon Royval and reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja. “Raw Dawg” dropped a title bid against Pantoja at UFC 296 in 2023 and has since rebounded with back-to-back split decision wins over Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.

First to weigh-in! ⚖️@JoshEmmettUFC hits the scale at 146lbs

[ #UFCVegas105 | Live SAT on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/EcQrAp0L4o

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off a relatively light April schedule with its return to Las Vegas after two international events. The 12-fight card is now official after the UFC Vegas 105 weigh-ins took place, although one fight has been removed from the event.

Headlining the card is a key featherweight fight between Josh Emmett and the undefeated Lerone Murphy. Both main event fighters had no issue making weight, as both came in under 146 pounds. Also classified as a featherweight is Cortavious Romious, who missed the bantamweight limit by 3.5 pounds for his fight against Chang Ho Lee. As a result of the weight miss, Romious will be fined 20% of his purse that will go to Lee. Additionally, Daniel Santos was not medically cleared and could not weigh in, so his fight…

In the world of competitive sports, Jason Jackson proved Jamaica has more than just a bobsled team.

The main 2025 season of Professional Fighters League is officially underway, with semifinalists for featherweights and welterweights on the books. The evening concluded with the sole remaining seat at 170 pounds up for grabs, with former Bellator MMA champs colliding in this new single-elimination tourney. Jackson (19-5, 2-0 PFL) tangled with Andrey Koreshkov (28-6, 1-2 PFL) for the next slot on the bracket, and Jackson proved to be too much for the Russian. A combination of takedowns and varied striking from “The Ass-Kicking Machine” put Koreshkov on the defensive early, welting up Koreshkov all over his body and taking little damage on the comeback in the first round.

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Midway through Round 2, still in the driver’s seat, Jackson hacked down with three illegal strikes to shred open a sizeable cut on the crown of Koreshkov’s dome. Referee Keith Peterson d…

According to his coach, Patricio Freire’s next two victories are money in the bank.

Currently in Miami preparing for Freire’s highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 314, coach Eric Albarracin spoke with Sherdog about his fighter. The wrestler known as “Captain Americas” mentioned, among other things, the high expectations set for “Pitbull” when he sets foot in the Octagon against former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. He also touched on what could lie ahead for the Brazilian if he prevails on April 12, including facing the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes headlining that same show.

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“Obviously, the UFC would not make it easy for the Bellator GOAT to make his debut,” the coach remarked. “In my opinion, Yair is a tougher opponent than Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. In addition to being tall, he has an unpredictable game based on taekwondo.”

To prepare for such a dynamic threat, Albarracin and the Pitbull Brother…

𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗙𝗟 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦! 🔥

🇩🇪 Alex Luster (9-2)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dean Garnett (12-3-1)🇵🇱 Jan Ciepłowski (8-0)🇫🇷 Julien Lopez (7-4-1)🇫🇷 Mahio Campanella (7-1)🇱🇻 Matiss Zaharovs (7-3)🇫🇷 Anas Azizoun (5-1)🇵🇹 Gustavo Oliveira (10-2)… pic.twitter.com/7qgnpPHQdT

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 4, 2025 The second of two Professional Fighters League Europe tournament brackets is now a matter of record.

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On Friday, the PFL put out the entirety of its 135-pound division for the upcoming Europe tournament. The winner of each weight class—bantamweight and lightweight—will take home a $100,000 check along with a chance to graduate to the World Tournament next year. All opening round pairings will take place at PFL Europe 2, which will be held on May 24 at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The frontrunner to win it all may come from the matchup between Dean Garnett (12-3-1) and Alexander Luster (9-2). The former battled Lewis McGr…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 1 coverage will begin Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 The first featherweight quarterfinal in the PFL 2025 World Tournament kicks off the action at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, as Kelly (11-3, 4-1 PFL) squares off with Kim (10-1, 0-0 PFL) at 145 pounds. Andrew Glenn serves as the third man in the cage. They touch gloves, and we are underway. Kim sets up in the southpaw stance while Kelly probes with the lead hand. Kelly fends off a head kick and closes the distance, pressing the Korean into the cage. Kelly scores with a few knees to the body, then tries to power his way into a takedown. Kim denies it. They remain chest to chest, with Kim’s back to the cage. Kelly troubles him with foot stomps. Kelly stays patient. They jockey for position along the fence. Kim turns the Irishman into the fence. Kelly r…

The only heavyweight bout on the UFC’s fight card this weekend has changed days before it was set to go down.

Per the organization on Thursday, Kennedy Nzechukwu has sustained an injury that has ejected him from UFC Vegas 105, also known as UFC on ESPN 65. In Nzechukwu’s stead will be the debuting Uran Satybaldiev (8-0), who meet Martin Buday (14-2) above 206 pounds.

Slovakia’s Buday competed once in 2024, putting his first knockout loss behind him by swiping a split decision over ex-champ Andrei Arlovski. Before losing to Shamil Gaziev in the Octagon, Buday had racked up a 12-fight win streak that included names like Josh Parisian and Chris Barnett, with four in the Octagon including his 2022 debut. Buday made his way to the Las Vegas-based league courtesy of a knee-based knockout of Lorenzo Hood on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Satybaldiev, who fights out of the Uulu Kyrgyz Team in Kyrgyzstan, made the jump stateside in 2023 when he appea…

The 2025 #PFLWorldTournament keeps rolling!

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗛 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚‼️🏆

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For more information 👇https://t.co/eCMG4faqPw pic.twitter.com/f0N3QMNDoy — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 3, 2025 When all is said and done, the 2025 Professional Fighters League will conclude in four and a half months.

The promotion released the locations and dates for its three Finals events to conclude its World Tournament series this year. While the dates were already rumored to be Aug. 1, Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, the league confirmed them on Thursday. The first finals event will be held at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey; the second takes place at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina; the season ultimately concludes at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In the first of three shows, the Aug. 1 card will feature the five-round tournament finals matches for the welterweight and f…

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The stage has been set for the debut of Professional Fighters League’s new tournament format.

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The lineups have changed slightly after Wednesday’s weigh-ins, when Magomed Umalatov checked in for his first-round matchup with Logan Storley (171) at 173.6 pounds — more than two pounds over the welterweight limit. As a result, Umalatov will be replaced by Joseph Luciano, who tipped the scales at 170.4 pounds. Everyone else on the card hit their contracted marks without issue.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

PFL World Tournament 1 takes place on Thursday at Universal Studios Florida and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Jason Jackson (170.8) and Andrey Koreshkov (171). The event will feature tournament bouts at welterweight and featherweight. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. PT. Read more about PFL Tournament Weigh-in Results: Umalatov Exits Bracket After Miss on Scales