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Don’t tell Manel Kape that his latest victory was marred by a few uncalled fouls.

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“Starboy” won for the sixth time in his last seven outings, defeating Asu Almabayev via stoppage at the 2:16 mark of the third round in the UFC Vegas 103 headliner on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Kape was sharp throughout the contest, replays showed that that Almabayev suffered multiple eye rakes prior to the finish. However, despite Almabayev’s protests, none of those were acknowledged by referee Mike Beltran. According to Kape, it was up to the veteran official to step in if a foul was committed.

“That’s not my job,” Kape said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I didn’t see nothing. I think the [referee] should be more attentive. I’ve suffered so [much] stuff in the Octagon, so I don’t know. It was clear, for what I’ve seen, it was good. [He] could see me good. If he was not able to fight, if I think he was really stopping, so he was c…

UFC Vegas 103 was an entertaining affair with four fighters earning bonuses.

Manel Kape (20-7) earned an extra $50K Performance of the Night bonus for a stoppage over Asu Almabayev (21-3) in the flyweight headliner. Kape thoroughly outstruck Almabayev from the opening bell, never allowing the Kazakh to implement his wrestling. “Starboy” eventually delivered too much damage on Almabayev, forcing the referee to step in at 2:16 of the third round, ending his undefeated streak that dated back to 2017. However, the Angolan seemingly scraped Almabayev twice in the left eye, which went unpenalized.

The second POTN bonus went to undefeated heavyweight debutant Mario Pinto (10-0) for his knockout win over Austen Lane (13-6). Pinto got dropped by Lane in the opening frame before rallying back to put the former football defensive end to sleep with a left hook-straight right combo early in the second round.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Nasrat Haqparast (18-5) and Argentina’s Esteba…

Manel Kape may have cleared the final obstacle between him and a long-sought shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown.

The former Rizin Fighting Federation titleholder was awarded an anticlimactic technical knockout over Asu Almabayev in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 253 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to wave it off 2:16 into Round 3, even though Almabayev (21-3, 4-1 UFC) seemed to be lucid and defending himself.

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Kape (21-7, 6-3 UFC) was the aggressor from the start. He unleashed lightning-fast punches from odd angles and called upon bulletproof takedown defense against the Kazakhstani grappler. Almabayev—who entered the cage on a 17-fight winning streak—emerged for the second round clearly bothered by the damage he sustained to his left eye. Kape zeroed in on it, sometimes with punches and sometimes with what appeared to be clear fouls—replays showed he raked the eye…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 103 coverage will begin Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 253. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Temirov (-115), Johnson (-105)Round 1 A bit leaner than originally intended, the UFC rolls into the Apex station with an even 10 fights on the billing. The event is light on ranked relevance and meaningful matchups from a championship perspective, but each bout means the world to the participants so they cannot be dismissed before they happen. The action starts off in the flyweight division, with a solid fight that has no place in the curtain jerker spot. With four straight wins in his pocket, rising talent Johnson (17-6, 6-4 UFC) wants to go five in a row and stamp himself as a contender at 125 pounds. Standing in his way will be streaking Uzbekistan native Temirov (18-3, 1-0 UFC), who may have only earned one win in the UFC thus far but enters the bout the victor in his last 10 outings. Someone’s win streak is…

Mario Pinto entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division with a bang.

The undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series graduate punched out Austen Lane in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 253 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A former Levels Fight League titleholder, Pinto (10-0, 1-0 UFC) drew the curtain 39 seconds into Round 2.

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Lane (13-6, 1-3 UFC) dropped his adversary with a straight right in the first round, but his inability to finish came back to bite him mere minutes later. Early in Round 2, Pinto tagged the American Top Team representative with a left hook and followed it with a devastating overhand right. Lane was unconscious before he hit the canvas. Meanwhile, Elevation Fight Team standout Jose Mariscal climbed another rung on the 145-pound ladder with a unanimous decision over Ricardo Ramos in a three-round featherweight scrap. The surging Mariscal (18-6, 5-0 UFC) swept the cards with 30-…

Merab Dvalishvili says he loves Alexander Volkanovski and doesn’t want to fight him out of respect 🤝

“It’s nothing like I don’t want to take a risk, it’s nothing like I’m scared… I just have so much respect.”

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🎥 @ManoukAkopyan #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/q9ZWMyaQjx — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 28, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili respects Alexander Volkanovski too much to fight him.

Dvalishvili (19-4) is currently looking for fresh contenders to defend his bantamweight title against. Former featherweight champ Volkanovski (26-4) is not a name that excites “The Machine.” While Dvalishvili claims he isn’t ducking the matchup, he respects “The Great” too much to want to fight him. The Georgian also mentioned a callout from flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.

“I love Alex Volkanovski man, he is one of the greatest,” Dvalishvili told Manouk Akopyan. “And I just really respect him. It’s nothing like I don’t want …

Michael Chandler reacts to the clip of Dustin Poirier calling him "fake" and "a cheater":

"I don't lose a wink of sleep thinking about Dustin Poirier and how he thinks about me.

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Obviously I live rent free in his head and he does lose sleep over me."

🎥 @ZachGelb #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/i7aIx5DxXk

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 28, 2025 Michael Chandler wants to run it back with Dustin Poirier.

Poirier beat Chandler (23-9) via third-round submission in their initial meeting at UFC 281 in 2022. Things have since been sour between the two as Poirier (30-9) accused Chandler of fish hooking and other alleged fouls.

Poirier went on a rant about Chandler, calling him a “fake mother*cker” in a recent interview. While discussing the alleged fishhook, “The Diamond” claimed to have bitten Chandler’s finger so hard that he might have ripped a piece off if not for his mouthpiece.

Responding to Poirier…

🎙️Sadibou Sy said he would like to fight Impa Kasanganay in the PFL MW World Championship, but not for the reasons you might think…

“As soon as the cage door closes, we’re gonna fight. So I don’t have to hate you (to fight you).”

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🎥 @JakeNoeckerMMA x @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/6nJuTcL9rz — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 28, 2025

Sadibou Sy wants to face Impa Kasanganay out of his admiration and respect for his fellow fighter.

Sy (17-8) and Kasanganay (18-5) will compete in the light heavyweight bracket as the PFL kicks of its 2025 campaign on April 18 in Florida.

Sy wants to fight Kasanganay in the finals as he really the likes the former light heavyweight champ and his family. However, “The Swedish Denzel” vows to show no mercy once the cage door closes on them.

“Impa [Kasanganay] because I really like Impa,” Sy told Home of Fight. “Whenever I meet his family, his mom and dad, they’re gr…

Starboy is set! ✅@ManelKape hits the scale at 126lbs!

[ #UFCVegas103 | LIVE Tomorrow 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/RdvR5PhZJG

— UFC (@ufc) February 28, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off its March 2025 schedule with 10 fights emanating from the UFC Apex, which is two fewer than planned.

Headlining the UFC Vegas 103 event is a flyweight battle between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev. Both men made weight for their first UFC headliner, which has potential title shot implications. However, the undercard wasn't as professional as the women's flyweight fight between Luana Carolina and Montana De La Rosa was scrapped after Carolina had weight management issues. Additionally, Lucas Almeida came in two pounds over the featherweight limit for his fight against Danny Silva. Almeida will be fined 20% of his purse as a result. Finally, the bantamweight bout pitting John Castaneda against Douglas Silva de Andrade was shifted to a…

Iowan UFC fans will be treated to some great bantamweight action this May.

The news first coming from social media user TuckTalksMMA on Friday, Marlon Vera (23-10-1) and Mario Bautista (15-2) will throw down in Des Moines on May 3. The top-ranked 135ers will compete inside of the Wells Fargo Arena, where they will serve as the co-main attraction to Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo. The pairing at this current unnumbered UFC Fight Night show has since been confirmed by Bautista on Instagram.

2024 was a tough year for Vera, who did vie for the bantamweight strap but could not win it. After coming up short in his rematch to Sean O'Malley, Vera went on to drop a decision to Figueiredo. Before those setbacks—just his second career losing streak—“Chito” had beaten names like Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Pedro Munhoz to keep himself anchored among the elite of the 135-pound ranks.

While Vera has struggled as of late, Bautista comes into this battle with plenty of…

I have the longest history of bringing boxers into MMA going back to Art “One Glove” in UFC I. Combate brought in World Champ Amanda Serrano. Now I welcome boxing champ Kenia Enriquez for her MMA debut with Combate Global in March - Yahoo Sports https://t.co/C2HYV42gvY

— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) February 26, 2025 A once-beaten champion in the realm of boxing is making her way to MMA in a few weeks.

According to a release from Combate Global on Thursday, Kenia Enriquez will be making her professional MMA debut on March 13. She will compete in the main attraction of the “Combate Female” event run by the Florida-based league, where she will face off against British grappler Hayley Valentine (5-0). This comes following the news on Tuesday that all upcoming Combate events will air free on YouTube. No other bouts have been announced for this fight card, which will be the organization’s first since July 2024.

Enriquez (0-0; 28-1, 11…

Everybody and their brother tried to step up and fight UFC star Justin Gaethje.

On Wednesday, UFC 313 took a major hit when Dan Hooker was forced out of his co-headliner against Gaethje (25-5) due to injury. The two lightweights were set to collide for a non-championship five-round affair at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After much consideration and several names offered to the UFC, the promotion selected Rafael Fiziev (12-3) as Hooker’s replacement, setting up a rematch dating back a few years.

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According to Gaethje on Thursday, multiple names were in contention as new foes. Some were shut down by the organization, and others ultimately declined the offer. “The Highlight” stated that Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier all were offered to step in and declined for unknown reasons. Mateusz Gamrot also publicly campaigned for the spot. Even ex-featherweight king Ilia Topuria was floated as a possible adversary. Instea…

Rafael Fiziev and Justin Gaethje are going to run it back.

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Fiziev will replace the injured Dan Hooker and face Gaethje in the lightweight co-main event at UFC 313. While Hooker vs. Gaethje was slated for five rounds, the new booking is scheduled for three. The promotion announced the bout on Wednesday.

UFC 313 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

Fiziev dropped a majority decision to Gaethje in their first meeting at UFC 286 in March 2023. In his next outing, “Ataman” suffered a knee injury in a TKO loss against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 228 in September 2023. The 31-year-old Kazakhstan native, who won six of his first seven Octagon appearances, has been sidelined since then.

Gaethje, meanwhile, is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Max Holloway in a BMF title bout at UFC 300. The two-time lightweight…

Jean Silva called his shot, and his request was granted in short order.

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The surging Brazilian knockout artist will lock horns with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314, the promotion announced on Wednesday. Silva called for a matchup with “Thug Nasty” immediately after his first-round stoppage of Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC Seattle this past Saturday.

UFC 314 takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 12 and is headlined by a showdown between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight strap. In the co-main event, Michael Chandler will meet Paddy Pimblett in a five-round, non-title affair.

In addition to Baghdasaryan, Silva has scored KO/TKO triumphs over the likes of Drew Dober, Charles Jourdain and Westin Wilson during his promotional tenure. The Fighting Nerds standout owns a 15-2 professional mark, with 14 of those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Mitchell, meanwhile, recently made headlines for making pro-A…

Khalil Rountree and Jamahal Hill will square off in the UFC Kansas City main event.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the light heavyweight booking on Wednesday night. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 26 and will see Anthony Smith face Mingyang Zhang in his retirement bout in the evening’s 205-pound co-headliner.

Rountree is coming off a fourth-round technical knockout loss to Alex Pereira in a title bout at UFC 307 this past October. Prior to that, the 35-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative had won five straight contests in the Octagon, finishing all of his opponents inside the distance.

A former light heavyweight champion, Hill came up short in his attempt to regain the crown at UFC 300, where he was stopped by Pereira in the opening stanza. More recently, “Sweet Dreams” suffered a third-round TKO defeat to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18. Hill lost just one of his…

Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ

— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) December 8, 2024

Dennis Buzukja has been suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for an incident with a fan at UFC 310 last December.

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In addition to the suspension, Buzukja was fined $2,500 — along with an additional $157.04 in legal fees. Buzukja would be eligible to return on Sept. 6, but he can have the sanction reduced to six months if he completes an NSAC-approved community service plan.

Buzukja, a four-time UFC veteran, was seen throwing punches at a man on his way back to the locker room after cornering Aljamain Sterling on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was also restrained during the altercation.

Dvalishvili later posted evidence that the fan had ties to Umar Nurma…

Marc Goddard will be the third man in the cage when Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight belt against Magomed Ankalaev.

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday approved the referee and judging assignments for the UFC 313 main event, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8.

Goddard has officiated three of Pereira’s bouts since the Brazilian moved up to 205 pounds, including his most recent championship defense against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 this past October. He’s also overseen five of Ankalaev’s UFC appearances.

Meanwhile, Mike Bell, Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato will serve as cageside judges for the title tilt. Pereira has only gone the distance twice in 10 UFC outings — and never in a championship fight.

“Poatan” has defended the light heavyweight strap three times since claiming the vacant belt with a second-round stoppage of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. Ankalaev will enter his second champio…

One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE 🏆

Get to know the Lightweights set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ #PFLWorldTournament | Friday , April 18th | 📺 7 PM EST | ESPN | B2YB @atturotires ] pic.twitter.com/A2NFQXAqMT — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 26, 2025

The lightweight field is official for Professional Fighters League’s 2025 World Tournament.

The promotion announced the eight competitors and two alternates in a release on Wednesday

The field is highlighted by Gadzhi Rabadanov, who navigated his way through the old PFL season format to capture a title at 155 pounds in 2024. Rabadanov scored at third-round knockout of Brent Primus, who will also be in the bracket, at the PFL Championships this past November. The 31-year-old Dagestani is in the midst of a 10-bout professional winning streak that dates back to February 2021.

Fan favorite Clay Collard is also part o…

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An unfortunate accident in sparring led to Dan Hooker’s withdrawal from UFC 313.

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Hooker, who was scheduled to face Justin Gaethje in a five-round, co-main event bout on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, offered further detail regarding the injury in a recent interview with Sky Sport New Zealand.

“One of the paws is not doing too well,” Hooker said. “I was sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle. I don’t think too much of it but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan and they told me my hand is fractured.”

Hooker is unsure of the promotion’s plans in the aftermath of the injury. At the moment, a replacement opponent for Gaethje has not been announced with less than two weeks to go before UFC 313.

“So yeah, I obviously still would fight, but with the medicals they sque…

Melquizael Costa will make his second Octagon appearance in a little more than a month when he squares off against Christian Rodriguez at UFC Mexico City on March 29.

Ag.Fight was first to report the featherweight booking. UFC on ESPN 64 takes place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City and is headlined by a flyweight clash between Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg.

Costa is coming off a first-round submission victory against Andre Fili at UFC Seattle this past Saturday. The 28-year-old Brazilian has won three of his last four Octagon appearances after falling to Thiago Moises in his promotional debut.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, has won five of his last six in UFC competition. The Roufusport representative last appeared at UFC Fight Night 249, where he removed Austin Bashi from the ranks of the unbeaten in a unanimous decision triumph.

Cristiane Justino’s next boxing match is just around the corner.

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“Cyborg” will face Karen Fernandes in a four-round bout on March 3 in Medellin, Colombia, at 154 pounds. The 39-year-old Brazilian announced the booking via social media. The bout is expected to stream via criscyborg.com.

Justino’s last appearance in the Sweet Science came in an exhibition bout against Aria Wild this past June, which she won via second-round stoppage. Her last professional outing occurred in January 2024, when she defeated Kelsey Wickstrum via first-round TKO.

The Chute Boxe standout’s lone MMA bout of 2024 occurred at PFL Super Fights "Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact,” where she took a five-round verdict over former PFL two-division champion Larissa Pacheco. With a 28-2 record and titles in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA, Strikeforce and Invicta FC, “Cyborg” is one of the most accomplished female mixed martial artists of all-time. A…

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Robert Whittaker recently made his case for a matchup against Sean Strickland.

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While both Whittaker and Strickland have long been among the top middleweights in the UFC, they haven’t fought during their respective promotional tenures. Both are now at a crossroads in their careers and coming off losses. Whittaker believes it is the right time for a bout against “Tarzan.”

During a recent appearance on the "On Paper” podcast podcast with Anthony Smith, Whittaker revealed that he is excited by the idea of trying to figure out Strickland’s trademark defensive style.

“I think Strickland makes a good argument to have. Because I feel like we’ve both been in that top sort of pond for a while, circling each other,” Whittaker said. “For whatever reason we haven’t been matched up, but we’ve both been in proximity for a while. And it’s most likely the fight to make. I’m excited by that fight. I look at his style, and I find it curious. …

Elisandra Ferreira de Oliveira will defend her atomweight belt against Ana Palacios in the Invicta FC 61 main event.

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The promotion announced the bout on Wednesday. Invicta FC 61 takes place on April 4 at the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and will also see Jamie Edenden square off against Jackie Cataline in the evening’s featherweight co-headliner. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on Invicta’s YouTube and Facebook page at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Five other bouts were confirmed for the event: Emily Ducote vs. Sofiia Bagishvili at strawweight; Riley Martinez vs. Jaeleen Robledo at featherweight; Taynara Silva vs. Claire Lopez at atomweight; Joy Pendell vs. Marilia Morais at featherweight and Zoe Nowicki vs. Kellie Marin at flyweight.

Ferreira will take a four-bout winning streak into her first title defense. “Lili” claimed atomweight gold with a five-round verdict …

One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE 🏆

Get to know the Middleweights set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ #PFLWorldTournament | Friday , April 18th | 📺 7 PM EST | ESPN | B2YB @atturotires ] pic.twitter.com/DtfGVmhmwR — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 25, 2025

The lineup is official for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming middleweight tournament.

The bracket features 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay, who is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov in the 205-pound finals this past November. Kasangany last competed at 185 pounds in February 2024, when he dropped a split decision to former Bellator champ Johnny Eblen.

The 185-pound roster also includes Fabian Edwards, a two-time title challenger under the Bellator MMA banner and Joshua Silveira, who lost to Kasanganay in the PFL light heavyweight final in 2023. Additionally, ex…