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Brandon Moreno will serve as the backup fighter for the flyweight championship bout set for the UFC 296 co-main event.

Alexandre Pantoja will defend his 125-pound belt against Brandon Royval on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Should anything go awry with either athlete, Moreno will be available to serve as replacement. Multiple outlets confirmed Moreno’s status following an initial report from Eurosport Nederland.

Moreno relinquished the flyweight strap to Pantoja via split decision at UFC 290 in a “Fight of the Year” candidate. “The Assassin Baby” is expected to face Amir Albazi in a five-round, co-main event at UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24. That could change, however, if he is called upon at UFC 296.

Pantoja previously faced Royval at UFC on ESPN 29, winning via second-round rear-naked choke in August 2021. Royval has won three straight fights since that defeat to secure a shot at flyweight gold.

Josh Emmett will get to remain on the UFC 296 card after all.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Wednesday that Bryce Mitchell will replace the injured Giga Chikadze and face Emmett in a featherweight bout on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Chikadze was forced to withdraw from the event after suffering a torn groin in training.

Mitchell was successful in his first appearance of 2023, as he outpointed Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 228 on Sept. 23. “Thug Nasty” has lost just once in a 17 professional outings — a second-round submission defeat to Ilia Topuria at UFC 282.

Emmett, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losses against Ilia Topuria and Yair Rodriguez in his last two Octagon appearances.

UFC 296 is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. Emmett vs. Mitchell is currently slated for the preliminary draw, which airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Trainer Diego Lima says Charles Oliveira has a date in mind for his rematch against reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

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“My plan was to start talks with the UFC [Wednesday], but [Ian] Garry just arrived, so possibly [Thursday] we will have a meeting to decide. Charles wants that rematch with Makhachev in March [at UFC 299] before Ramadan, so that will be our main focus,” Lima said. “But if the UFC wants us to wait for Ramadan, we will do it. We are not in a hurry. The most important thing for us is to have Charles face Islam next.”

Lima has also considered the possibility of a rumored card in Brazil, which according to American Top Team trainer Marcos da Matta will be announced for May 4 in Rio de Janeiro.

"It´s gonna be a chess match. Fighting in March would be our priority, but for sure one of Charles’ dreams is to fight for the belt in front of his home fans. The UFC already announced [Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2] as title f…

A flyweight clash pitting Muhammad Mokaev against Alex Perez is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural visit to Saudia Arabia.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an initial announcement from Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to be held at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, on March 2. A headliner for the card has not been announced.

With victories in his first five promotional appearances, the 23-year-old Mokaev is one of the rising stars in the UFC’s flyweight division. In his last outing, “The Punisher” submitted former title challenger Tim Elliott with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their matchup at UFC 294. Mokaev has won four of his five UFC fights by way of submission.

Perez hasn’t competed since suffering a first-round submission defeat against current 125-pound champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 277 in July 2022. That was preceded by a title…

A flyweight clash pitting Muhammad Mokaev against Alex Perez is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural visit to Saudi Arabia.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an initial announcement from Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to be held at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 2. A headliner for the card has not been announced.

With victories in his first five promotional appearances, the 23-year-old Mokaev is one of the rising stars in the UFC’s flyweight division. In his last outing, “The Punisher” submitted former title challenger Tim Elliott with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their matchup at UFC 294. Mokaev has won four of his five UFC fights by way of submission.

Perez hasn’t competed since suffering a first-round submission defeat against current 125-pound champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 277 in July 2022. That was preceded by a title f…

Molly McCann is headed to the strawweight division for a rematch against Diana Belbita at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Feb. 3.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight duel between Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov.

McCann and Belbita initially squared off in a 125-pound contest at UFC on ESPN 6, where “Meatball” captured a unanimous decision triumph in October 2019. The 33-year-old Liverpool, England, native is 6-5 in the Octagon and is coming off back-to-back losses against Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko.

Belbita dropped to strawweight after losing her first two UFC appearances at 125 pounds. She has since gone 2-2 in the promotion, including a unanimous decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in her most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

Raul Rosas Jr. believes that while Sean O'Malley brings a lot of attention to the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, there is also a downside to his championship reign.

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O’Malley (17-1) won the title with a highlight-reel knockout win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August. “Sugar” is now set to defend his strap at UFC 299 in March in a rematch against Marlon Vera (21-8-1), who handed the champ his lone professional loss in 2020. The booking happened mainly based on the history between the two, even though Sterling’s teammate Merab Dvalishvili, who is on a nine-fight win streak, is widely considered to be the rightful contender.

While “El Nino Problema” (8-1) acknowledged the attention O’Malley’s stardom brings to the division, he believes “Sugar” might hold up the title shots of rightful contenders who are tough stylistic matchups for him.

“The truth is that there are a lot of tough styles for him that are in title co…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida believes his next fight should be against interim champ Tom Aspinall.

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Aspinall scored a Round 1 knockout win over Russian standout Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title booking at UFC 295 on Nov. 11. A week prior, Almeida earned a lopsided decision win over Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 231 and proceeded to call out former interim champ Ciryl Gane in the aftermath of that victory.

While “Malhadinho” is still interested in a clash against Gane, he believes his next outing might be against Aspinall after he recently heard the Brit mention his name in an interview. While Aspinall is arguably one of the most agile and speedy heavyweights to step inside the Octagon, Almeida believes he can match up with the interim champ in that aspect.

“Against Ciryl Gane would be ideal, but Tom Aspinall already spoke to the media or whoever and is already talking about a fight wit…

Brandon Royval believes Youssef Zalal is one of the best bantamweights at Factory X who just hasn’t gotten his share of recognition yet.

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Royval (15-6) is currently gearing up to challenge Alexandre Pantoja (26-5) for the Ultimate Fighting Championshipflyweight title in the co-main event at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Raw Dawg” has been training with elite bantamweight contenders like Chris Gutierrez and Jonathan Martinez at the Factory X gym in Colorado. However, Royval claims former UFC fighter Youssef Zalal is probably the best of the lot.

“Being on the rise with some of these guys is – like I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I’m at without having the best 135ers around me. And that’s including Youssef Zalal. Youssef Zalal is probably better than all of us, it's just that he’s not getting his opportunity yet,” Pantoja told Sportskeeda MMA.

Zalal was released by the UFC on the back of an 0-3-1 streak which star…

Alexander Volkanovski is eager to remind the world of his greatness when he defends the featherweight strap against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.

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Volkanovski will look to return to the win column against Topuria on Feb.17 after his second failed bid at earning double-champ status against lightweight king Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October. “The Great” stepped up on short notice as a replacement for Charles Oliveira and went on to suffer a brutal Round 1 head-kick knockout loss.

Volkanovski was on a collision course with Topuria before stepping up for the double-champ bid. In the meantime, the undefeated Spanish standout opted to wait for his title shot. “El Matador” even uploaded a theatrical video implying he will maintain his undefeated record against Volkanovski.

Volkanovski believes his last loss against Makhachev is being perceived as a sign of weakness by some, and the Australian icon wants to shut them up. “The Great” discussed that per…

Amanda Serrano remains steadfast in her demand for women to compete under the same rules as men in the sport of boxing.

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Serrano, who is also signed to compete for Professional Fighters League in its Super Fight Division, has now vacated her World Boxing Council strap in protest against the organization not allowing women to compete under the same rules as women.

While men typically compete for 12 three-minute rounds, women’s bouts are for 10 two-minute rounds. Serrano is among a long list of female boxers demanding the choice to compete under the same rules as men.

The WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine title holder beat Danila Ramos via a lopsided decision in October, which was the first time a women’s title bout was stipulated for 12 three-minute rounds since 2007. However, Serrano’s WBC title was not on the line, as the organization refused to sanction the fight. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman compared the difference in stipulation t…

UFC Fight Night 233 is down to 11 bouts following the cancellation of a 140-pound catchweight clash between Daniel Marcos and Carlos Vera.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report that visa issues for Marcos nixed the bout, which had only been recently added to the event. UFC Fight Night 233 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Yadong Song and Chris Gutierrez.

Peru’s Marcos owns a 15-0 professional mark that includes wins over Saimon Oliveira and Davey Grant in his first two UFC appearances. He has finished eight of his career triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

Vera was set to make his Octagon debut after winning his last four outings under the Fury FC banner. The 36-year-old is 11-3 over the course of a pro tenure that began in 2014.

While Rodolfo Bellato’s comeback victory over Ihor Potieria at UFC on ESPN 52 earned him a $50,000 bonus, 2023 didn’t start out so well for the Brazilian light heavyweight.

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"If someone told me in February that 2023 would be the best year of my life, I would think it was some kind of [joke]. After all, I had lost to [Vitor] Petrino in September 2022 and my dream of going to UFC looked far away,” Bellato told Sherdog.com.

After a pair of victories under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner earlier this year, Bellato got a second chance on Dana White’s Contender Series this past October. This time, he earned a UFC contract after scoring a technical knockout victory against Murtaza Talha Ali.

“A few weeks later, the UFC invited me to debut against Potieria, a guy who knocked out [Mauricio Rua] and had twice as many fights as I did. I knew it would be a war, but I decided that the only way he was going to beat me was to knock me out,” Bellato said. Read more about Rodolfo Bellato Thanked Referee Jacob Montalvo Following Victorious UFC Debut

Lipeng Zhang will square off against Maurice Abevi in a 170-pound tilt at ONE on Prime Video 18 on Jan. 12.

Promotion officials confirmed the booking to Sherdog.com. ONE on Prime Video 18 takes place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok and features a 135-pound kickboxing title bout between Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Elias Mahmoudi. Additionally, UFC veteran John Lineker will compete in muay thai against Liam Harrison at 145 pounds.

Zhang has been victorious in three of his four appearances under the ONE banner. Most recently, the 33-year-old China native scored a first-round technical knockout win against Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE on Prime Video 15 on Oct. 6. “The Warrior” notably went 2-2 during a four-bout UFC stint from 2014 to 2015. Zhang is 25-3-1 since parting ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

After winning his first six professional outings on the regional circuit, Abevi split a pair of appearances with ONE in 2023. The Swiss fighter began his …

Further details have emerged regarding Jamahal Hill’s alleged assault of his brother in Michigan last month.

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According to a police report initially obtained by MMAFighting.com, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and his brother, James, had a dispute stemming from an agreement Hill had for his brother’s wife to clean his vacant house for $300.

That reportedly progressed into “other family matters,” including James accusing Jamahal of not texting his daughter on Thanksgiving and “being disrespectful to women and abandoning his own daughter.” The situation allegedly escalated when Jamahal took off his shirt and got in James’ face before allegedly punching his brother.

The confrontation continued when James returned to his feet and his wife attempted to stand between the brothers. According to the police report, Jamahal “reached around James’ wife and punched James in the face once again causing him to fall and become dazed.” The report a…

Tim Elliott will take his next Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment on less than a week’s notice.

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The former flyweight challenger will replace Allan Nascimento and lock horns with Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 233 on Saturday. Elliott recently confirmed the news on social media. The new matchup was initially reported by Patrick McCorry, while Ag.Fight brought word of Nascimento’s withdrawal. Elliott vs. Mudaerji will be contested at bantamweight.

UFC Fight Night 233 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight scrap pitting Yadong Song against Chris Gutierrez. The main card airs on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Elliott will make a relatively quick turnaround after suffering a third-round submission defeat to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 on Oct. 21. Prior to that, “The Ultimate Fighter 24” winner had been victorious in four of his previous fi…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Darren Till might grace the Karate Combat pit sometime next year, according to company president Asim Zaidi.

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Till was granted his UFC release earlier this year on the heels of three consecutive losses. While “The Gorilla” revealed that he was still on good terms with the promotion, his future in MMA remains unclear.

A longtime muay thai practitioner, Till recently sounded dismissive of Karate Combat fighters, claiming he could beat anyone on the roster. The promotion’s 185-pound champ, Ross Levine, challenged Till in response, leading to the promotion courting the Liverpudlian regarding a title fight debut.

Zaidi recently revealed that Till’s title fight with Levine was originally being targeted for Karate Combat 43 on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. However, that fell through and Levine will now defend his strap against UFC vet Sam Alvey. The card will be headlined by a rubber fight between former UFC champs…

Dan Hooker believes Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ Islam Makhachev won’t risk having his throne challenged by Arman Tsarukyan.

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Tsarukyan recently announced his arrival in the lightweight title picture with a spectacular knockout win over Beneil Dariush in the main event at UFC Austin on Dec. 2. “Ahalkalakets” subsequently called for a rematch against Makhachev, who defeated Tsarukyan in his UFC debut in 2019. UFC CEO Dana White also admitted that Tsarukyan’s win over Dariush complicates the question of the next title shot at lightweight, which was expected to be given to Charles Oliveira until now.

Hooker, a former opponent of Makhachev’s, said on "The MMA Hour” that he believes the champ will hang up his gloves before facing Tsarukyan. Hooker also thinks that Tsarukyan is too risky a stylistic matchup for Makhachev while not being a big draw.

“He ain’t gonna fight him. I guarantee he’ll retire,” Hooker said. “He’ll retire b…

Regardless of the outcome of his upcoming clash against Shavkat Rakhmonov, Stephen Thompson is looking forward to having a few battle scars after their fight.

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After turning down a booking against Rakhmonov on multiple occasions in the past, “Wonderboy” is slated to meet the undefeated Kazakh sensation with a 100% finish rate at UFC 296 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 16.

Rakhmonov is heavy -500 betting favorite going into the clash, which could be attributed to his superior grappling skillset. One of the most elite strikers in MMA, Thompson believes “Nomad” will eventually prefer going to the ground against him. However, “Wonderboy” is glad that Rakhmonov is the kind of fighter who Will Hunt for the finish, giving him the opportunity to go out on his shield.

“Now, do I feel like Shavkat is going to stand there bang with me? I don’t think so,” Thompson told Submission Radio. “I think eventually he’s going to shoot. He’s going to s…

Gilbert Burns claims to have fully recovered from his shoulder injury and is plotting a return to the Octagon, with a specific foe in mind.

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Burns (22-6) is coming off a decision loss against Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 in July after appearing to damage his left hand early in the fight. “Durinho” went on to severely injure his shoulder in training, which has kept him on the shelf ever since. The Brazilian now claims to have fully recovered from the injury and is now back to training. Burns told MMA Junkie:

“I’m 100 percent and back to training. I’m in no pain and injury free. I didn’t get surgery. I almost did. My ligament was barely hanging on my shoulder. My deltoid and my AC joint was very compromised, so I had to rest a lot. I couldn’t do anything for like three months, and then I started my (physical therapy), and then I put a couple of stem cells, and now I’m back to training.”

While Burns is eyeing a return in March or April and is alread…

Jon Jones has taken notice of Tom Aspinall’s suggestion that he be stripped of the UFC heavyweight crown.

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Jones, who was forced to withdraw from the UFC 295 headliner against Stipe Miocic due to a torn pectoral, issued a strong response on Monday to the recently-crowned interim champion on social media.

“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now,” Jones wrote. “During camp for a title defense I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that’s hilarious.

“In my 15 year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”

I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now…

Giga Chikadze has withdrawn from a proposed UFC 296 clash against Josh Emmett on Dec. 16.

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Emmett initially announced that Chikadze had pulled out of the event on social media, and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. The exact nature of Chikadze’s exit is currently unknown.

Giga’s Out ❌-Who’s ready Dec 16th? #UFC296

— JOSH EMMETT (@JoshEmmettUFC) December 4, 2023

UFC 296 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend the flyweight crown against Brandon Royval.

After a hiatus that lasted more than a year and a half, Chikadze returned to action at UFC Fight Night 225, where he outpointed Alex Caceres on Aug. 26. The 35-year-old Kings MMA product is 8-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Emmett, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losses a…

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Jamahal Hill has broken his silence regarding his arrest for allegedly assaulting a family member.

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Hill was arrested on charges of misdemeanor aggravated domestic violence in Michigan for inflicting “serious or aggravated injury” upon his brother, James Anthony Hill Jr. The former UFC light heavyweight champion recently released a brief statement on his YouTube channel regarding the situation.

“There’s been a lot of reports out today about the situation that happened when I was back home in Michigan, visiting for the holidays,” Hill said. “I will just say this, at this time it is an open case. I’ve been advised not to speak on it, which I know not to speak on it.

“I just can’t wait for the truth to be told in court. I will wait for that day and I look forward to that day. The people who know me and know my character and truly, truly rock with me and know who I am, hold onto that and stay true to that. That’s all I’m a say on …

Deiveson Figueiredo is weighing his options after a successful bantamweight debut at UFC on ESPN 52 this past Saturday night.

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Figuereido, who defeated Rob Font via unanimous decision at UFC Austin, discussed his desire to face some of the bantamweight division’s biggest names in an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com.

"Font had great fights with former champions and some top of the division,” he said. “Many people thought I was too small for him, and I showed what I'm capable of when I’m happy and healthy.

“As a former champion, if UFC wanted to set me up to challenge for the title I would surprise many fans again. [Sean] O’Malley is an excellent striker, but I believe a lot in my team’s strategy. When I enter the Octagon I love to exchange, but against O'Malley I believe my jiu-jitsu would make the difference. If I get a hold of him, I would submit him.”

Figueiredo realizes that the UFC is more likely to want him to face another Top 1…