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Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja is seemingly booked for his second title defense.

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Pantoja recently defended his flyweight strap for the first time against Brandon Royval in a rematch at UFC 296 in December. The Brazilian put on a dominant showing, this time securing a unanimous decision victory against “Raw Dawg.”

Interestingly, less than a month following his first title defense on Dec. 16, “The Cannibal” is already booked for his next title defense.

Pantoja revealed details regarding his return on Friday while attending an event featuring the Brazilian soccer team Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in Orlando.

“I’ll be defending the belt in Rio, on May 4,” Pantoja told soccer striker Gabriel Barbosa. However, the champ did not mention his opponent.

UFC 301 is scheduled to go down on May 4 in Rio De Janeiro and would be an ideal title defense location for Pantoja, who hails from Arr…

Tony Ferguson says he wasn't at his best going into UFC 296, where he clashed with Paddy Pimblett.

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The former interim champion revealed that he'd suffered an MCL tear a month away from his scheduled meeting with “The Baddy.”

“F*cked my sh*t up during a practice [session,] MCL tear,” Ferguson wrote on social media. “I kept it to myself and put it behind me ‘til after the fight. I trained like no one knew, sh*t hurt so good. Three weeks before fight time I told a few of my crew. Nothing changed.

“I recently took care of [my MCL] and had surgery last Thursday one week after my elbow/arm surgery [both arthroscopies]. Thought I would get them both done and double down. Got it over with so I can do what I do best. Beyond rage is an understatement. I feel no despair, just repair.”

Despite the setback, “El Cucuy” (25-10) elected to keep the injury under wraps and compete on the Dec. 16 pay-per-view event, ultimately recording a unanimous d…

Kayla Harrison is grateful for the opportunity to compete under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner.

UFC CEO Dana White recently announced Harrison's signing with the Las Vegas-based promotion along with other details regarding her debut. Harrison (16-1) is slated to make her first UFC appearance on the marquee UFC 300 card in a bantamweight clash against former champion Holly Holm (15-6).

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The two-time Professional Fighters League champion recently posted a video on social media after her signing was announced, saying:

“When I started competing, my goal was to be the best…the Olympic champion of MMA. The UFC presents me with the opportunity to be just that. It’s been an amazing journey to reach this point, and I’m grateful for every step along the path. The highs and lows have all shaped me and made me an even better version of myself. God’s timing is perfect, and I am sure of one thing: My time is now. Let’s goooooo!”

Harrison will e…

An all-action battle in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s talent-rich strawweight division will treat the fans in April.

The UFC announced on Friday that Jessica Andrade (25-12) would be coming to blows with fellow striker Marina Rodriguez (17-3-2) at UFC 300. The two women will collide at strawweight in a key tilt in that division on April 13, with their clash taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Given the nature of the lineup, it is unclear if their battle will be placed on the main card or prelims.

Former champ Andrade bounced around the flyweight and strawweight divisions the last few years, fighting for the 125-pound strap after losing her 115-pound belt. In 2023, “Bate Estaca” competed five times—more than any other competitor—although she bookended her year with wins while suffering three straight defeats in the middle. Andrade ran roughshod over Lauren Murphy before running into the buzzsaw that is Erin Blanchfield, suffering a deflating loss tha…

A rematch nine years in the making has been added to the already stacked UFC 299 billing.

At UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami, flyweights Joanne Wood (16-8) and Maryna Moroz (11-5) will run back a fight that took place in 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64. In that first meeting, Moroz snagged an armbar in the first round. Per the UFC on Wednesday, Wood vs. Moroz 2 will play out inside of the Kaseya Center at 125 pounds. Since then, Wood has posted on her Instagram about the matchup, with the caption of “Last one, best one” to hint that this might be her retirement fight.

Scotland’s Wood has struggled as of late, although she broke out of a three-fight skid by claiming a split decision over Luana Carolina at UFC 286. “Jojo” will be looking to end her run with the promotion with a record above .500 should she prevail. The 38-year-old has beaten names including Seo Hee Ham, Jessica Eye and Andrea Lee over the years.

Moroz has also found herself on hard times, having dropped two…

Brazilian Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Joaquim Silva is getting a home game for the first time in ages.

A lightweight scrap between Silva (13-4) and Drakkar Klose (14-2-1) has been added to the UFC 301 card. The show is slated to take place on May 4 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The news was first reported by Silva’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post on social media on Thursday. Silva confirmed this 155-pound affair on his Instagram Stories later on Thursday, with this being his first fight in his native Brazil since September 2014.

Silva will enter the Octagon on the heels of a unanimous decision win against longtime veteran Clay Guida in December. This bounced him back into the win column, as he had previously suffered a third-round knockout to top-ranked Arman Tsarukyan that June. The lightweight known as “Netto BJJ” has not notched a victory via submission in nearly a decade, with the lion’s share of his triumphs in that stretch …

It was as if Namo Fazil had carving knives for hands.

Armed with a punishing jab, clean combinations and sublime standup defense, the Tiger Muay Thai export shined in his ONE Championship debut and laid claim to a unanimous decision over Jae Woong Yoon in their three-round ONE Friday Fights 49 welterweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. All three cageside judges scored it for Fazil (4-1, 1-0 ONE).

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Yoon (5-4, 0-1 ONE) meandered forward with no regard for his own well-being, winging power punches at an elusive target. He flurried successfully at times but failed to lure Fazil into a brawl and mostly wasted energy with wild shots that were either blocked or missed the mark entirely. All the while, Yoon sustained significant damage to his left eye and nose. Fazil stayed disciplined under duress, piled up points with crisp punches and mixed in a few stepping elbows, leg kicks and close-range knee strikes to diversify h…

Claressa Shields, arguably the greatest female boxer of all time, claims her desire to move to mixed martial arts was sparked by comments made by Amanda Nunes, who many feel is the women’s mixed martial arts GOAT.

Shields (1-1), a multiple-time boxing world champion across three weight classes, lobbied for a boxing match against Nunes several years ago. However, the former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship queen instead invited Shields to an MMA bout, vowing to choke her out. Shields recently said that Nunes’ comments made her realize that MMA fighters fighting her inside the squared circle was a rare possibility. Hence, she decided to try her hand at MMA to prove herself as a true fighter in all aspects.

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“I wanted to fight Amanda Nunes in a boxing match and when they asked her if she would fight me she said, ‘tell Claressa Shields to come to my world and I’ll choke the s--- out of her,’” Shields recalled during the PFL vs. Bellator Champio…

Impa Kasanganay is one of a rare breed of fighters that can remarkably move across multiple weight classes.

The most memorable moment of Kasangnay’s Ultimate Fighting Championship career, a spinning back kick knockout loss against Joaquin Buckley came in a middleweight clash. Kasanganay then dropped to welterweight, won one, lost one and then was released.

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After another forgettable loss against Raimond Magomedaliev under the Eagle FC banner, “Tshilobo” signed with a Professional Fighters League, where he won the 2023 season light heavyweight championship. Kasanganay then went on to call out PFL’s star signing, former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou.

Kasanganay will now move down to 185 pounds to face Bellator MMA middleweight king Johnny Eblen at the PFL Champs vs. Bellator Champs card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24.

In an appearance at the PFL vs. Bellator champs press conference Wednesday, the Congolese American reiterated his fo…

While many have opined that the UFC 297 main event clash between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis could have been scored either way, Robert Whittaker (24-7) disagrees.

Strickland (28-6) looked to defend his middleweight strap against du Plessis (21-2) at UFC 297 in Toronto last weekend. While the American looked impeccable in the opening frame, “Stillknocks” made adjustments as the fight progressed to rope in a closely-contested split decision win.

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However, fans and pundits alike were divided on the scoring of the fight. Even Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White and color commentator Joe Rogan had Strickland winning.

However, Whittaker said du Plessis won every round except the first. The former middleweight champ saw du Plessis as the hungrier fighter, which he finds praiseworthy.

“I don’t know why it’s controversial,” Whittaker declared on his “MMArcade” podcast. “I’ve seen a lot of other fighters and even Dana White himself…

Mayra Bueno Silva believes an injury suffered during her championship clash against Raquel Pennington led to her defeat.

Silva (10-3) took on Pennington (16-8) in the co-main event at UFC 297 with the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title on the line. While “Sheetara” won the first round on all three official scorecards, attempting a submission along the way, she never won another round. Pennington went on to earn a unanimous decision victory in a lackluster affair.

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Silva has revealed that a strike from Pennington partially ruptured her eardrum early in Round 2, impairing her ability to make reads. The Brazilian told MMA Fighting on Wednesday:

“I had a minor ear injury, but aside from that, I feel great and ready to come back. Raquel hit me hard in the ear and partially tore my eardrum and I kind of lost balance. But it’s part of the game.”

Silva continued, “I couldn’t read the fight and know what was happening af…

Two of the top women in MMA’s lighter divisions are set to meet in a champ vs. champ superfight with pound-for-pound implications.

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Deep Jewels atomweight champ Si Yoon Park (6-3) will defend her title against her strawweight counterpart, Seika Izawa (12-0), at Deep Jewels 44 on March 24 in Tokyo. The promotion made the announcement on Jan. 23, just days after “Sankaru” added the Black Combat atomweight title to her hardware collection by defeating Moeri Suda at Black Combat 10.

In the challenger, Park will face a fellow multi-divisional champion, as Izawa owns the Rizin Fighting Federation super atomweight (108 lbs.) belt in addition to her Jewels title. A win by Izawa would make her a simultaneous three-division champion, a feat nearly unprecedented in top-level MMA.

On the other hand, a successful defense by Park would reaffirm her status as one of the world’s top atomweights and continue her shocking rise over the last year. Park, who wen…

It’s safe to say that Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira have their eyes on the prize. In this case, that can apply to more than thing.

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Bader, the reigning Bellator heavyweight champ, and Ferreira, the defending PFL 2023 heavyweight king, will square off in the main event of the PFL vs. Bellator card on Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both men recognize the magnitude of a cross-promotional event that features some of the top talents in PFL and Bellator.

“It’s a huge deal,” Bader said at a press conference in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday. “It doesn’t happen in MMA. All the fans are wanting these superfights. A lot of organizations don’t want to risk putting there champions out there. I love it. The whole card if you look at it, it’s stacked.”

Added Ferreira: “It’s a special moment for the fans. it’s a special moment for the sport. I feel honored to be in this position as the main event to fight against a guy with the credentials that Ryan Bade…

Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray believes the inaugural PFL-Bellator card will be a monumental event to kick off a stacked 2024 — including pay-per-view powerhouses and aggressive expansion — for the promotion.

At the first PFL-Bellator press conference on Wednesday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, Murray spoke on PFL’s plans to host an annual PFL-Bellator card and plans to re-imagine the Bellator brand with the Bellator International Champions Series.

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“[Bellator’s] a beloved brand of MMA,” Murray said to a collection of reporters. “We have an opportunity to re-imagine the Bellator brand, support these great fighters and the property fits into our portfolio.”

The PFL vs. Bellator card takes place on Feb. 24 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bellator champions Johnny Eblen, Ryan Bader, Jason Jackson and Patricio Freire are defending their promotion’s honor against the likes of PFL’s season champions such as Impa Kasang…

A featherweight showdown pitting Diego Lopes against Sodiq Yusuff has been added to the UFC 300 lineup.

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Lopes confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Freak MMA. UFC 300 takes place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will see Justin Gaethje defend his “BMF” belt against Max Holloway in a featured lightweight bout. Additionally, Weili Zhang will lock horns with Xiaonan Yan in a strawweight championship tilt.

After giving Movsar Evloev a tougher-than-expected test in his short-notice Octagon debut at UFC 288, Lopes emerged as a person of interest at 145 pounds thanks to back-to-back first-round finishes of Gavin Tucker and Pat Sabatini. The 29-year-old Brazilian owns a 23-6 career mark with 21 victories coming inside the distance.

Yusuff is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Edson Barboza in the UFC Fight Night 230 headliner this past October. Prior to that, the Dana White's Contender Series…

Legacy Fighting Alliance is renowned as a pipeline for talent to the UFC, making it a prime destination for many burgeoning fighters.

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Rafael Cavalcante, the South American president of the organization, recently revealed LFA’s plans for 2024 in an interview with Sherdog.com.

“In 2023 we did 26 events, 20 in the USA and six in Brazil [while] putting a monthly average of 3.4 fighters in UFC,” Cavalcante said. “This year our goal is to keep around the same number of events in Brazil and USA.”

The first event on the promotion’s calendar in Brazil is set for Saturday with LFA 175 in Cajamar, Sao Paulo. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between reigning champion Bruno Lopes and Marcos Brigagao.

“Both are very aggressive and look for the knockout all the time. I have no doubt this fight will not reach the fifth round,” Cavalcante said.

According to Cavalcante, LFA is planning to hold the same number of events in…

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While Max Holloway was eyeing a title shot, he also wanted to be on the UFC 300 card.

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A “BMF” title fight against Justin Gaethje was good enough to make the latter a reality.

Holloway has bested the majority of the UFC’s featherweight division with the exception of reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, who owns three victories over the Hawaiian. After earning consecutive victories over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung, Holloway had been rallying for yet another shot against Volkanovski. However, the promotion decided to book “The Great” against undefeated Spanish contender Ilia Topuria for UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California.

Things eventually worked out well for Holloway with a booking against Gaethje on the marquee UFC 300 card.

“Oliveira and Islam was booked, I just came off a big win with ‘Korean Zombie,’ and then the 45 title was booked too at the same time,” Holloway told Kevin Iole. “So, he had the ‘BMF’ belt…

Yair Rodriguez believes he is not very far from title contention.

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Rodriguez is coming off a third-round stoppage loss against Alexander Volkanovski in his first shot at featherweight gold at UFC 290 last July. The Mexican standout will next face Brian Ortega in a rematch in front of his home fans at UFC Mexico on Feb. 24.

“El Pantera” believes a title shot could be waiting on the other side of a win over Ortega.

“I think it’ll put me right there for the title shot again,” Rodriguez told Middle Easy. “Of course, that would have a lot to do with the [Ilia] Topuria vs. Volkanovski fight. I think that will dictate where the division will go and what fights there are to make. If 'Volk' wins, which I think he will and I win my next fight, I think a rematch could be a potential reality.”

Rodriguez acknowledges that the possibility of a title shot depends on the outcome of the UFC 298 title fight, where Volkanovski will look to defend his th…

ONE Championship’s share of viewership from mixed martial arts fans in the United States has grown significantly in recent months.

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The Singapore-based promotion partnered with consumer research company GWI for a case study on how to increase brand awareness among fans in the U.S. market. With the insights it acquired, ONE was able to grow its audience in the U.S. by 46% over the course of a six-month period from December 2022 to May 2023.

“We've always known there was a passionate group of combat sports fans in the U.S. Year-on-year, we could see our metrics increasing organically there, and we knew there was a growing fan base,” said Jane Guo, vice president, head of analytics and insight at ONE. “It was really about finding the right partner to take it to the next level in terms of scale.”

Based on the data from ONE’s brand tracker study with GWI, the promotion was able to identify Amazon Prime as the ideal broadcast partner.

“Amazon is pro…

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis’ camps have the utmost respect for each other following their UFC 297 clash.

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Strickland defended his middleweight strap agianst Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 297 last weekend in Toronto. Following a lot of drama, ranging from trash talk to a brawl leading up to the fight, the two delivered a competitive bout on fight night. “Stillknocks” eventually secured a closely-contested split-decision win to be crowned the new middleweight champ.

Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick believes his fighter did enough to get his hand raised against Du Plessis. However, the renowned trainer also thinks Strickland needed to win the “optics battle,” as it was an extremely close contest.

“Congratulations to [Dricus Du Plessis] and his team. I never met a more classy opposing fighter during fight week, along with the skills to back it up. I’m happy for you, your team, and your country, you made them proud,” said Nicksick…

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A light heavyweight clash has been added to UFC Fight Night 238.

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Undefeated Brazilian standout Vitor Petrino (10-0) will take on Australian veteran Tyson Pedro (10-4) at the UFC Fight Night event, which is set to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 2. The matchup was announced by Petrino on Instagram.

Petrino earned his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a technical knockout win over Rodolfo Bellato in an appearance on Dana White’s Contenders Series in September 2022. The Brazilian has since picked up three victories in the last year, including two finishes. In his most recent outing, Petrino scored a brutal Round 2 knockout win over Modestas Bukauskas in November.

Meanwhile, Pedro has gone 6-4 in hi…

Two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison has signed with the UFC for an Octagon debut on the biggest stage possible.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday night that Harrison will make her bantamweight debut against former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 on April 13. Harrison has competed at both lightweight and featherweight but never at 135 pounds during her 17-fight professional tenure.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Harrison fulfilled her PFL contract at the 2023 Championships, where she earned a unanimous verdict against Aspen Ladd in a 150-pound catchweight affair. Harrison was twice a PFL champion at 155 pounds but came up short in her third title bid, falling to Larissa Pacheco in a massive upset at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Thus far, Harrison has only cut to 145 pounds once, when she defeated Courtney King via second-round TKO at Invicta FC 43.

Holm, meanwhile, is coming off a second-round submission …

Alonzo Menifield will step in for Dominick Reyes and square off against Carlos Ulberg at UFC on ESPN 54.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new light heavyweight booking on Tuesday. A reason for Reyes’ withdrawal was not given. UFC on ESPN 54 takes place on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Sean Brady against Vicente Luque.

Menifield is 4-0-1 in his last five Octagon appearances dating back to June 2022. Most recently, the 36-year-old Dana White's Contender Series alum scored a unanimous verdict against Dustin Jacoby at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

Ulberg, meanwhile, has won five straight contests since dropping his promotional debut to Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 259. In his last outing, the City Kickboxing representative submitted Da Woon Jung in the third round of their clash at UFC 293.

Reyes has not competed since November 2022. The two-time light heavyweight ti…

In recent years, “Big” John McCarthy was a consistent presence on Bellator MMA broadcasts.

That is likely to change following Professional Fighters League’s purchase of the California-based promotion. McCarthy, who was a longtime official before transitioning to the broadcast table, will remain with the company but expects that his role will change in the coming months.

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“I am going to be staying with the PFL because I had a contract with Bellator, and it still has a year on it, so the PFL picked that up,” McCarthy told MMAjunkie.com. “Will my role be the same? I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

“I think it’s going to be more towards rules and regulations, scoring the fights and doing those things – making sure everyone understands what’s being done, if it’s being done in the correct way and what options do the officials have.”

In addition to a career as a referee, McCarthy helped to develop the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts…