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A potential bantamweight title eliminator between Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili has been booked for UFC 298.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing after Cejudo initially announced the bout on his YouTube channel Sunday. UFC 298 takes place on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria.

Cejudo returned from a three-year retirement at UFC 288 this past May, where he dropped a split decision to Aljamain Sterling in a bantamweight championship clash. The Olympic gold medalist had been unbeaten in six previous Octagon appearances from 2017 to 2020. “The Messenger” owns notable wins over the likes of Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes, T.J. Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson, Sergio Pettis and Jussier Formiga, to name a few.

Dvalishvili will take a nine-fight promotional winning streak into the matchup with Cejudo. In his last outing, “The Machine” ou…

Irish prospect Ian Garry is worried about the safety of his family in the United States after having received a lot of flak from American fighters in recent times.

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Garry came under scrutiny after fans dug up a book written by his wife, Layla Anna-Lee, in 2010. Anna-Lee, who is 14 years Garry’s senior, is the author of an 11-page booklet, “How to be a WAG,” which advises women on the best way to seek out relationships with rich and famous athletes.

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ Sean Strickland, who is known for his unabashed opinions, subsequently advised Garry to immediately separate from his wife on social media. The Irishman did not take to Strickland’s comments kindly, leading to a drawn-out online feud. Garry also allegedly stared at Strickland during a run-in at the UFC Performance Institute, which prompted the middleweight champ to ask him to slide into his DMs if he wanted things “handled.”

Personal life aside, Ga…

Khalil Rountree believes he is deserving of a title shot following his spectacular win over former title contender Anthony Smith in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 233 on Saturday.

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Smith stepped up on 15 days’ notice after Rountree’s original opponent, Azamat Murzakanov, pulled out due to pneumonia. Rountree clearly outstruck “Lionheart” from the outset of the fight before brutally knocking him out with an uppercut and left hook combo early in the third round. This marked the fifth consecutive victory for “The War Horse,” a streak which includes finishes against Modestas Bukauskas, Karl Roberson and Chris Daukaus.

In the aftermath of his latest victory, the streaking light heavyweight shot for the stars by calling for a title shot against Alex Pereira. However, the Tiger Muay Thai rep is also aware that he might have to pass other tests before making a gold bid.

“I came in with high hopes I would have a good performance,” the 33-year-old…

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Leon Edwards recently offered some insight into his perceived dispute with rising welterweight prospect Ian Garry.

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Garry got into a feud with Edwards after being barred from the Englishman’s Team Renegade gym. While Garry claimed to have been thrown out over Edwards’ “insecurities,” the champion entirely dismissed the narrative.

“I feel like once he came to the gym, he just didn’t fit into the gym,” Edwards told MMAFighting.com. “This is like the third gym now he’s been kicked out of. It is what it is. He’s just a different kind of guy. He’s hard to blend with. Everywhere he goes there’s a camera there. Everywhere he goes, his wife is there, his kid is there. There’s a lot going on. There wasn’t any bad blood. He came out and made it into a big thing and it wasn’t. He’s been kicked out of more gyms than mine. Like, why are you making such a big deal out of it? Because I’m the champion, he wants to ri…

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Islam Makhachev would prefer adding new names to his resume than taking on rematches.

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Surging contender Arman Tsarukyan recently announced his arrival at the top of the 155-pound division with a brutal KO win over Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin on Dec. 2. While Tsarukyan’s subsequent demand for a title shot was acknowledged by Dana White, Makhachev believes the Georgian has to pass another test in impressive fashion first.

Asked about Tsarukyan’s prediction of a first-round KO, Makhachev noted that he had won all three rounds against “Ahalkalakets” in their initial encounter back in 2019.

“Well it was a good knockout to be honest. After that fight I think he said loudly that he had won the top [ranking],” Makhachev told Ushatayka. “Well, he is approaching the title chance I would say… He already had the chance to knock me out. But he didn’t succeed. He didn’t win a single round. Let him train mor…

Khalil Rountree got paid a little extra for the most significant victory of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career to date.

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“The War Horse” received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his fifth straight triumph, a third-round technical knockout of Anthony Smith in the UFC Fight Night 233 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Rountree ended the contest 56 seconds into the final stanza when he dropped his opponent with a right uppercut followed by a left hook.

Elsewhere, Nasrat Haqparast pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a quick finish of Jamie Mullarkey in a featured middleweigh affair. The Tristar Gym representative sat his foe down with a straight left, then put Mullarkey away with a volley of uppercuts at the 1:44 mark of Round 1.

Tim Elliott stepped in on short notice against Su Mudaerji and was compensated an additional $50,000 for his efforts in a bantamweight scrap. Afte…

Yadong Song sees himself as a serious contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division. Perhaps he has a point.

The burgeoning Team Alpha Male star handled his business with all-terrain expertise and laid claim to a unanimous decision over Chris Gutierrez in the UFC Fight Night 233 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Song (21-7-1, 10-2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45 marks from the cageside judges, winning for the fifth time in six assignments.

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Outside of a steady diet of leg kicks and a sensational front kick to the face in the second round, Gutierrez (20-6-2, 8-3-1 UFC) was not much of a factor. Song connected with the heavier punches, controlled the center of the cage and kept the Factory X rep in a constant state of retreat. He incorporated takedowns in the second, third and fourth rounds, pairing them with positional control and ground-and-pound. Gutierrez, in what can only be describ…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 233 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dos Santos (-148), Alencar (+124)Round 1 The penultimate UFC card of 2023 is upon us, and it is certainly an event. Road to UFC 2 Finals UFC Shanghai UFC Vegas 83 will bring a small crop of Asian prospects to the forefront, but it will start with two Brazilian ladies going head-to-head at 115 pounds. Invicta FC atomweight champ Amanda (14-6, 0-0 UFC) will be moving up in weight for her promotional debut, while Alencar (4-0-1, 0-0 UFC) was signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series—from a draw. High finish rates from the ladies mean that referee Keith Peterson might have to get involved before it is all said and done, but before they get after it, the strawweight leave their nonsense at the door and wade towards one another without a glove touch in sight. Alencar sticks out a front kick to introduce herself, and Amanda backs off and flicks out a jab. Ama…

Tatsuro Taira once again served notice to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division.

The undefeated former Shooto champion put away VFS Academy rep Carlos Hernandez with punches in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 233 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Hernandez (9-3, 2-2 UFC), who had never before been stopped by strikes, succumbed to blows 55 seconds into Round 2.

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The 23-year-old Taira (15-0, 5-0 UFC) countered a takedown into top position in the first round, and the rout was on. He progressed from half guard to full mount, then advanced to the back while consolidating his efforts with ground-and-pound. Early in the second, Taira stepped into a beautifully timed right hook. The impact froze Hernandez where he stood and left him defenseless to follow-up attacks. Taira drove him to the mat with punches and sealed the deal with ground-and-pound.

Taira was not the only unbeaten flyweight prosp…

A lightweight showdown pitting Drew Dober against Renato Carneiro has been added to the UFC Fight Night 235 lineup.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after “Moicano” initially announced the bout on his YouTube channel. UFC Fight Night 235 takes place on Feb. 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov.

The 35-year-old Dober has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Elevation Fight Team product defeated Ricky Glenn via first-round technical knockout at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7. Dober owns the most KO/TKO victories in the UFC’s lightweight division with nine.

Carneiro, meanwhile, is 3-1 in his last four UFC bouts but did not compete at all in 2023. The 34-year-old Brazilian is coming off a first-round submission triumph over Brad Riddell at UFC 281 in November 2022.

A flyweight meeting between former Dana White’s Contender Series competitors Ode Osbourne and Jafel Filho has been added to a UFC Fight Night event on March 16.

The meeting was first announced by Filho’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a social media post on Friday. The card is set to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Currently 4-4 in the promotion, Osbourne has had his share of ups and downs inside the Octagon. The Wisconsin native is coming off a Round 2 rear-naked choke submission loss to Kazakhstan's Asu Almabaev in August. Before that, Osbourne recorded a split-decision victory against Charles Johnson at UFC Fight Night 220 in February.

Meanwhile, Filho most recently secured a Round 1 arm-triangle submission win against Daniel Barez at UFC Fight Night 224 in July. This came after the Brazilian took on surging flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev in his promotional debut. While Filho ultimately lost the bout due to a Round 3 submission, “Pa…

A women's bantamweight matchup between Montserrat Rendon and Nora Cornolle is set to go down at a UFC Fight Night Event scheduled for March 23.

The booking was announced by Rendon's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a social media post. The event will take place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Rendoni is undefeated in six professional outings and is coming off a split-decision victory against Tamires Vidal in her promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 228. All of Rendon's professional mixed martial arts wins have come by way of decision.

Cornolle is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Joselyne Edwards in her promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 226 in September. Cornolle's lone professional MMA loss came in her pro debut, where she competed in the featherweight division.

A flyweight bout between Nathan Maness and undefeated Kazakhstani prospect Azat Maksum has been finalized for next year's UFC Fight Night 235 card.

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The booking was first announced by Maksum's management, Underdog Management, in a post on social media and subsequently shared by Maksum as well.

Maness kicked off his Ultimate Fighting Championship career with three consecutive victories. However, the Kentucky native has gone 1-2 in his last three outings, with losses at the hands of Tagir Ulanbekov and Umar Nurmagomedov. Maness is coming off a Round 1 technical knockout victory against Mateus Mendonca at UFC Fight Night 229 that saw him bounce back from his two-fight skid.

Meanwhile, undefeated Kazakhstani prospect Maksum is coming off a split-decision victory against UFC veteran Tyson Nam in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 49. The former Octagon Promotion flyweight champion owns a 17-0 career mark that includes 12 victories inside the dis…

#ONEFightNight17 highlight video: Roman Kryklia clocks Alex Roberts pic.twitter.com/6tAUVGBVG0

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) December 9, 2023

ONE Fight Night 17 was a pure muay thai affair, featuring eight bouts of the martial art and set in its chief temple, the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. It also served as validation for more such cards, as an amazing 7 of the 8 contests featured knockouts, most of which were sensational. And the only fight which went to the judges was not only the fight of the night but a candidate for fight of the year in any combat sport.

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In the main event, the inaugural ONE muay thai heavyweight crown was at stake. On one side was the tough Australian striker Alex Roberts. On the other was the formidable Roman Kryklia, already the ONE kickboxing heavyweight champion. The first round was a back-and-forth, full-blooded affair. Kryklia scored a solid knockdown with a right cross, but Roberts ca…

Sherdog's live ONE Fight Night 17 coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Barbosa opens with a leg kick. A nice push kick lands by Barbosa. Saenchai answers with heavy leg kicks of his won. A big left hook lands for Saenchai. Barbosa is composed and lands a nice body kick before eating a right hand from Saenchai. Barbosa uses push kicks to keep Saenchai at range. Very composed performance by Barbosa. Saenchai unloads and breaks the guard. Saenchai throws a left hook and lands a right uppercut in a combination. Barbosa gets caught while trying to throw a leg kick. Saenchai is countering well and now punching to the body. Nice low kick from Barbosa. The round ends with a nice right hand landing for Barbosa. Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 SaenchaiLev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 SaenchaiScottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Saenchai Round 2 Nice body shots from Saenchai to start the second round. Barbosa fires back some elbows that land. Nice left …

DAKOTA DITCHEVA CLAIMS GOLD! She is your 2023 PFL Europe Women's Flyweight Champion! #AndNow#PFLDublin LIVE NOW:flag-eu: DAZN:earth_americas: https://t.co/9MHmogryaf pic.twitter.com/GOMhzffRKv

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) December 8, 2023

Dakota Ditcheva’s offensive arsenal was simply too much for Valentina Scatizzi to handle.

The British muay thai stylist completed an impressive run through the Professional Fighters League European season, as she defeated her opponent via technical knockout to claim the women’s flyweight crown and the accompanying $100,000 payout at the 2023 PFL Europe Finals. With Scatizzi’s left eye completely swollen shut after five minutes, the cageside doctor waved off the contest before the start of Round 2. Ditcheva (10-5, 5-0 PFL) has finished all but one of her pro triumphs inside the distance.

Ditcheva was in peak form for as long as the fight lasted. While she battered Scatizzi (2-2, 1-1 PFL) with straight pu…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas this weekend with an 11-fight card.

Headlining UFC Fight Night 233 is a bantamweight fight between Yadong Song and Chris Gutierrez. Both UFC mainstays successfully made weight for the headliner. As for the rest of the card, only Luana Santos missed weight. She came in three pounds over the bantamweight limit, weighing 139 pounds for her fight against Stephanie Egger. The bout will move forward, although Santos will be fined 20% of her purse.

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Song (20-7-1, 1 NC) is 4-1 in his last five fights. After losing via doctor stoppage against Cory Sandhagen, "Kung Fu Kid" rebounded with a fifth-round TKO win against Ricky Simon. Prior to the setback, Song had picked up wins against Marlon Moraes, Julio Arce and Casey Kenney. The Chinese fighter officially weighed 136 pounds.

This marks the first UFC main event for Gutierrez (20-5-2). "El Guapo" is 5-1 in his last six and most recentl…

A bantamweight meeting between Daniel Marcos and Qileng Aori has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Feb. 10 UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas. The booking was first reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday.

Marcos (15-0) was initially booked to face Carlos Vera (11-3) at UFC Fight Night 233. However, the last-minute catchweight booking was scrapped due to visa issues faced by the undefeated Peruvian.

A Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 contract winner, Marcos has managed to maintain his spotless record with back-to-back wins inside the Octagon. Following a Round 2 knockout victory against Saimon Oliveira in his Octagon debut at UFC 283, the 30-year-old went on to secure a split-decision win against Davey Grant in July.

Meanwhile, Aori (25-11) currently sports a promotional record of 3-3, most recently securing a unanimous decision win against Johnny Munoz Jr. at UFC Fight Night 229 in October. Before this, the Fight Ready product suffered the firs…

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight veteran Dan Hooker won't be rushing his return to the Octagon this time around.

Hooker (23-12) was slated to face Bobby Green (31-14) in the co-main event of the recently concluded UFC Fight Night event in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, the Kiwi was forced to withdraw from the bout merely 10 days ahead of the scheduled date after breaking his arm during one of his final sparring sessions.

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According to Hooker, this is the same arm that went under the knife following a hard-fought split-decision win against Jalin Turner at UFC 290 in July.

“It’s the exact same spot... Speaking with the surgeon, it just never healed properly. It actually never healed. It never set into place and by the time that I realized that it’s not healing, I was too deep in,” Hooker said on the MMA Hour. “I was too close to the fight, everything was booked, so I was just kind of going out of my way to protect it and not let it get hurt.”…

One Championship might want to take a closer look at Carlo Bumina-ang. The Team Lakay rep wiped out Ilyas Dursun with a sensational one-punch knockout in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 44 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Dursun (2-1, 0-1 ONE) met his end just 23 seconds into Round 1.

The 29-year-old Bumina-ang (3-0, 3-0 ONE) sat down the Amir Team product with a counter right hook, gave chase and uncorked a devastating straight left. The concussive blow rendered Dursun unconscious in an instant and left him draped over the ropes. Somewhere, Wanderlei Silva smiled and Quinton Jackson shuddered.

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Bumina-ang has finished two of his first three opponents in less than a minute.

Meanwhile, Kak’s Fight Club export Babar Ali leaned on repeated takedowns, suffocating top control and heavy ground-and-pound, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Fritz Biagtan in a three-round flyweight attract…

The upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Canada has taken a huge hit.

According to his UFC 297 opponent Aleksandar Rakic (14-3) on social media this Thursday, Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1) has been forced out of their light heavyweight matchup. The two were expecting to face off on Jan. 20 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Blachowicz expressed his disappointment about the surgery-requiring shoulder injury he sustained in a post on Instagram, while Rakic was quick to call out another opponent in hopes of staying on the lineup next month.

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“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” a crestfallen Blachowicz wrote. “It’s hard to express how I feel because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Withdrawing from a fight due to injury is one of the most difficult decisions a fighter can make. However, sometimes there is no other option, especially when you are competing in the TOP 5 and want to put on a show at the highest level.”

The Polish fighter contin…

1⃣WEEK OUT

The Biggest Night In European MMA finally goes down in Dublin🏆💰

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[ 🇮🇪 #PFLDublin l 🗓 Fri Dec 8 l 🏟 @3ArenaDublinl 📺 LIVE on @DAZNMMA ] pic.twitter.com/DBnlyWEYMN — PFL (@PFLMMA) December 1, 2023 The Professional Fighters League returns for its final event of the year as it wraps up its European league's first season.

PFL Europe 4 will feature four finals and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Nathan Kelly and Dimitry Solimeis. All finalists made weight, with Frans Mlambo vs. Khurshed Kakhorov at bantamweight, John Mitchell vs. Jakub Kaszuba at lightweight, Dakota Ditcheva vs. Valentina Scatizzi at flyweight and Simeon Powell vs. Jakob Nedoh at light heavyweight.

The lone fighter to miss weight was Andreeas Binder. The would-be lightweight came in 5.7 pounds over the 155-pound limit at 161.7 pounds. This forced the cancellation of his fight against Daniele Scatizzi.

PFL Europe 4 will …

ONE Championship is coming to you LIVE from Qatar 🇶🇦 for the first time on March 1 with FIVE World Championship fights! Who do YOU want to see headline this historic card? 🏆✨#ONE166 | March 1 at 3:30PM AST🎟️ Early bird tickets:https://t.co/Wcx1ykvL1Jhttps://t.co/9mAnyrbScE… pic.twitter.com/GVsiv2aQRd

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 7, 2023 One Championship will be breaking new ground in 2024 in the Middle East.

Per the organization on Thursday, ONE will be running ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. The event at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, will bring five separate championship bouts across their four disciplines. The league has not yet stated which titles will be on the line, but that belts will be up for grabs through their MMA, muay thai, kickboxing and submission grappling disciplines. No fights have currently been announced.

Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, the chief marketing and promotion officer for Qatar Tourism, spok…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship has not had its fill of its flagship reality show just yet.

According to the organization on Thursday, the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” is on deck. Season 32, which will feature featherweights and middleweights, has opened casting. Unlike past seasons, tryouts will entirely be done remotely, with no physical sessions until the finalists are picked. Prospective competitors can apply through this link. The show will air sometime in June 2024 on ESPN and ESPN+, with the date still to be determined. The coaches of the teams have not been selected yet.

This season will follow one that ran from May to August, with teams captained by Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, for bantamweights and lightweights. The theme of Season 31 placed former UFC fighters against prospects, and veterans ran the table to the semifinals with the exception of Rico DiSciullo—who lost in the semis to Cody Gibson. Seven of the eight quar…