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UFC Fight Night 232 has undergone a couple of changes less than a week before Saturday’s card.

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Christian Leroy Duncan (8-1) was originally scheduled to welcome undefeated Brazilian debutant Cesar Almeida (4-0) to the Octagon at Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex. However, Almeida withdrew due to an infection and has now been replaced by Russia’s Denis Tiuliulin (10-8).

Duncan is coming off the first professional loss of his career via unanimous decision against Armen Petrosyan in June. The former Cage Warriors middleweight champ will look to return to the win column with a decisive victory over Tiuliulin, who is on a two-fight skid with a 1-3 promotional record so far.

The update was first reported by Vestnik MMA on Instagram and subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

Meanwhile, promotional newcomer Jonny Parsons (9-3) has withdrawn from his scheduled welterweight clash against Uros Medic (9-1) due to undisclosed reasons. Parsons wil…

A welterweight matchup has been added to the first Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event of 2024, which is set to go down at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20.

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Sam Patterson (10-2) will face Canada's Yohan Lainesse (9-2) in what will mark the Englishman's first professional fight in the welterweight division at UFC 297. The matchup was first reported by Eurosport Nederland’s Marcel Dorff on Nov. 3 but was just recently confirmed by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Patterson, a Brave Combat Federation alum, made his Octagon debut at UFC 286 on the heels of a six-fight win streak, including a Round 2 submission victory against Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci in Dana White’s Contender Series.

Unfortunately for Patterson, his promotional debut didn't go as planned as the Team Crossface product suffered a brutal Round 1 knockout loss at the hands of Israeli fighter Yanal Ashmoz. Meanwhile, Lainesse is 2-2 in his last four. The Canadian …

For the most part, Kayla Harrison has been an extremely active competitor since making her professional mixed martial arts debut in 2018.

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With the exception of the COVID-altered 2020 campaign, the two-time Olympic gold medalist fought at least three times a year — and usually four — from 2018 through 2022. That changed this year, when Harrison was sidelined as the Professional Fighters League introduced a featherweight division. The two-time 155-pound champion revealed earlier in the year that it wasn’t necessarily her choice to sit out the season. However, she gained valuable perspective in multiple aspects of her life during her downtime.

Much of that had little to do with fighting.

“I was still in the gym training every day. I went from training twice a day pretty much year round to training once a day, focusing on where I can get better — a lot of the holes in my game,” Harrison said during a PFL media day. “But the biggest gains I feel li…

Clay Collard is probably more qualified than most to comment on Francis Ngannou’s professional boxing debut.

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Collard, who owns a 9-6-3 record as a professional boxer, was just as surprised as anyone to see Ngannou hold his own against Tyson Fury in their match on Oct. 28 in Saudia Arabia — especially after training alongside “The Predator” in the past.

“I’ve got to give him props,” Collard said during a recent PFL media day. “I trained with him a little bit back at Xtreme Couture, and I never would’ve guessed that would’ve been the case, him going in there and dropping Fury. A lot of people might have him winning.

“I wish him all the success. I think he can take it as high as he wants to go in boxing or mixed martial arts. Baddest man on the planet, PFL.”

While Collard has plenty of experience in the Sweet Science, his current focus is winning the PFL lightweight championship against Olivier Aubin-Mercier on Nov. 24 in Washington, D.C. Their …

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has adopted new thresholds for several previously prohibited substances, according to a report from MMAjunkie.com.

During a meeting on Tuesday, thresholds were approved for the following substances: GW1516, dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) long-term metabolite (M3), clomiphene, epitrenbolone (trenbolone metabolite), and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS). The new policy is designed to help distinguish between drug tests results that are “atypical” and those that are “adverse.”

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NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen offered further details on the newly-approved policy in a statement.

“Any positive test of a proposed substance which is below the respective proposed threshold would be considered atypical requiring additional investigation,” Mullen said. “This investigation may include, but not be limited to, review of the fighter’s test history, interviews, and possible additional testing. The resu…

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UFC Fight Pass commentator Carlos Barreto was disappointed by Alex Pereira’s decision to call out Israel Adesanya for a trilogy fight following his championship victory at UFC 295.

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“Adesanya tried to come up to light heavyweight and lost his first fight against Jan Blachowicz. ‘Poatan’ moved up, defeated Blachowicz and got the belt after beating another former champion, [Jiri Prochazka],” Barreto said on his weekly videocast, Papo de Luta. “Adesanya already said he is taking some time off and in addition, he has unfinished business to solve at middleweight with [Sean Strickland or Dricus Du Plessis).

“‘Poatan’ should understand that the best storyline for him is undoubtedly Jamahal Hill. Glover [Teixeira] was beaten by Prochaska, and ‘Poatan’ avenged him. It would have been a perfect time to use the microphone to say ‘Hill get well soon, I ́m waiting for you and I ́m going to beat you up and avenge Glover again.’ That's the narrat…

From visa complications to crippling back pain, Tom Aspinall had a lot going on in the lead up to his short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

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While Pavlovich was supposed to be the backup for the originally scheduled title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, Aspinall stepped up on less than three weeks’ notice when that fight fell through. The Brit recently revealed that he couldn’t even train for most of whatever little time he had due to severe backache.

Aspinall shared footage of when his back suddenly stiffened up during training due to no apparent reason. Unable to train or even walk for a couple of days after, Aspinall revealed on "The MMA Hour” that he considered pulling out of the fight.

“I just wanted to get one good spar under my belt before we basically leave and travel to the U.S.” Aspinall said. “This was in the fourth round of sparring. Never experienced anything like it before. I just had a c…

Dustin Poirier believes that the version of Charles Oliveira he faced can dethrone Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Islam Makhachev.

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Oliveira was coming off finishes of Michael Chandler, Poirier and Justin Gaethje when he was submitted by Makhachev in the second round of their title bout at UFC 280 in October 2022. The Brazilian bounced back with a first-round KO over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 in June, securing a rematch against Makhachev.

Oliveira was 12 days away from having a chance to avenge his loss against Makhachev at UFC 294 when a gruesome cut suffered in sparring forced him out of the fight. Oliveira was replaced by featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who went on to suffer a brutal first-round KO loss.

Poirier believes “do Bronx” has what it takes to defeat the Dagestani champ if they run it back. According to the Louisiana native, Oliveira didn’t show up at his best when he lost the strap to Makhachev at UFC 2…

Leon Edwards claims there is no one exciting enough left for him at welterweight after his upcoming title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

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Edwards dethroned Kamaru Usman in a shocking upset at UFC 278 before defending the belt via decision in a rematch at UFC 286 in March. While many expected Belal Muhammad to get his long due title shot next, Dana White was adamant on giving it to Covington, who hasn’t fought since a decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

If he defeats Covington at UFC 296, Edwards is no longer interested in defending his title at 170 pounds. “Rocky” recently told Sky Sports that he is eyeing double-champ glory with a middleweight title shot in his next outing.

Edwards will be keenly watching the upcoming UFC 297 title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, both of whom he considers to be good matchups.

"One hundred percent, definitely [moving up to challenge the middleweight cha…

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Paddy Pimblett claims the ongoing feud between Leon Edwards and Ian Garry has already been settled inside the gym.

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Garry recently revealed that he was no longer welcome at Edwards’ Team Renegade, which has been one of his two major training homes along with Kill Cliff FC in South Florida. “The Future” called Edwards a “b—ch” for allegedly throwing him out of the gym to avoid “doubts and insecurities.” Meanwhile, Team Renegade said that the decision was primarily due to Garry’s nomadic nature, which wasn’t in line with the gym’s vision.

Pimblett has now added fuel to the fire by dropping a massive gym rumor. While discussing potential opponents for Edwards during a recent interview, Pimblett agreed that Shavkat Rakhmonov could go on to challenge “Rocky” if he gets past Stephen Thompson at UFC 296. However, Pimblett dismissed Garry’s name, claiming that debate has allegedly been settled with “The Future” getting knocked out by Edwa…

Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker will attempt to settle some unfinished business in the headliner of an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 13.

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John Kavanagh, Walker’s coach, announced the pairing on"The MMA Hour," and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The card hasn’t been announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion, so it doesn’t have an official location or venue as of yet.

The first meeting between Ankalaev and Walker ended in controversial fashion at UFC 294. After Ankalaev landed an illegal knee on his opponent in the opening stanza, a cageside physician was called in to examine Walker. After a series of questions, the fight was waved off — much to the displeasure of both combatants.

It was the second straight disappointing outcome for Ankalaev, who battled Jan Blachowicz to a majority draw with the vacant light heavyweight title on the line at UFC 282. As a result, the belt remained vacant, and both Ankalaev and Blacho…

The possibility of Conor McGregor competing at UFC 300 now seems like a long shot at best.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour,” SBG Ireland head trainer John Kavanagh revealed that McGregor’s Octagon return has been delayed yet again.

“We were hoping for April. That was the hope. That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime,” Kavanagh said.

“I don’t know [why]. That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forward [about] today.”

April is the expected month for UFC 300, which will likely be one of the promotion’s biggest events to date. McGregor re-entered the drug testing pool in October, which would align with an April return, and the former UFC two-division champion also targeted that timeframe for his first fight since breaking his leg in July 2021.

McGregor coached on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” opposite Michael Chandler, and the two were initially supposed to meet at some point in 2023. McGregor …

It might not happen anytime soon, but the odds slightly favor Jon Jones in a potential bout against newly-crowned interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

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According to online oddsmaker BetOnline, Jones is listed as a -140 favorite against Aspinall, who is a +120 underdog. That is a stark contrast to odds for Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, where “Bones” is a far more significant favorite at -400.

In the case of Jones vs. Aspinall, the fight must take place by Aug. 31, 2024 for any betting action to be valid, and odds are subject to change based on various circumstances.

The far more likely option is that Jones will defend his heavyweight crown against Miocic next year once he heals from a torn pectoral suffered in training. Jones has targeted Miocic, who owns the all-time record for title defenses at heavyweight, as a legacy fight, and UFC CEO Dana White has been adamant that the promotion will rebook the bout at a later date.

Aspinall clai…

Bellator MMA’s final event of 2023 will proceed without a pair of its originally scheduled preliminary matchups.

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The California-based promotion announced on Monday that a flyweight bout between Juliana Velasquez and Paula Cristina dos Santos Silva and a heavyweight clash pitting Daniel James against Ali Isaev have both been canceled. As a result, the card will move forward with 16 fights.

Bellator 301 takes place on Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and is headlined by a welterweight championship showdown between Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson. In the co-main event, Sergio Pettis and Patrick Mix will square off in a bantamweight title unification bout. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on the Bellator YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Velasquez, 38, is coming off back-to-back losses to Liz Carmouche in flyweight title bouts, the most recent of which occurred this pas…

To the naked eye, it appeared that Jiri Prochazka deserved a little more time to recover against Alex Pereira in the UFC 295 main event.

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Prochazka was hurt by a short left hook from his foe in the second stanza, which prompted the Czech Republic native to shoot for a takedown. From there, Pereira transitioned to a series of hard elbows to the side of the head, and Prochazka toppled backward to the canvas with his Brazilian foe on top of him.

At that point, veteran official Marc Goddard had seen enough, and he waved off the light heavyweight title bout at the 4:08 mark of Round 2. Prochazka still appeared to be scrambling to defend himself in that moment, but it was to no avail — because the call had already been made. While many observers thought the ending came early, Prochazka did his best to put an end to the stoppage controversy in a video on Instagram.

“Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you thank you for your support,” Prochaz…

The lineup for Rizin Fighting Federation’s traditional New Year’s Eve card continues to grow, as the Japanese promotion recently announced three new additions to the lineup.

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Two of those bouts — Tsuyoshi Kamiyama vs. Mikio Ueda and Shinobu Ota vs. Ryusei Ashizawa — will be contested under MMA rules, while the third —Rukiya Anpo vs. Minoru Kimura — is a kickboxing affair.

Rizin 45 takes place on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and features a bantamweight title tilt pitting reigning champ Juan Archuleta against Kai Asakura. The event will also see Kyoji Horiguchi square off against Makoto Takahasi for the flyweight crown.

Kamiyama has been victorious in eight of his 10 professional outings — all under the Rizin banner. Most recently, “Sudario” defeated Dong Hwan Lim via third-round technical knockout at Rizin Landmark Vol. 6 on Oct. 1. All but one of his triumphs have come by way of KO or TKO.

Ueda has won two straight b…

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Dana White has doubled down on rebooking Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic even after Tom Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title against Sergei Pavlovich on Saturday.

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While Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to headline UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden, “Bones” was forced off the card due to a torn pectoral tendon. An interim title fight between Aspinall and Pavlovich was put together at the last minute, with White claiming that it would have been disrespectful to offer an interim fight to Miocic.

Aspinall went on score a massive first-round KO win over Pavlovich, with Jones praising the newly-crowned interim champ. Many fans and pundits believe Aspinall and Pavlovich should have been fighting for the undisputed title to begin with, as Jones’ recovery is likely to take a while.

However, White has previously stated that he plans on rebooking the Jones vs. Miocic fight, with the winner potentially facing the interim champ…

Sergei Pavlovich seems to be coping well with his failed bid for interim heavyweight gold against Tom Aspinall.

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Pavlovich and Aspinall were booked to co-headline UFC 295 on less than three weeks’ notice at Madison Square Garden after the originally scheduled main event title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic fell through. Pavlovich was also supposed to be the backup for Jones vs. Miocic, which many believed could give him a slight edge over Aspinall.

Instead, Aspinall put Pavlovich to sleep 69 seconds into the fight to become the interim UFC heavyweight champ. The defeat marked the end of a six-fight first-round KO streak for the Russian.

Pavlovich has now issued an official statement on Telegram addressing the loss while also providing a health update. The 31-year-old appears to be an absolute sport in the aftermath of his first failed gold bid.

“I didn't suffer any damage to my health, I'm fine,” Pavlovich wrote. “Tom turned ou…

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Israel Adesanya doesn’t seem very interested in Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight title shot offer.

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Pereira won the vacant light heavyweight strap with a second-round knockout win over former champ Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 on Saturday. “Poatan” called out Adesanya in his post-fight interview, urging the Nigerian-born Kiwi to move up to 205 pounds.

“I know that I’m not going to do what he did to me and make me fight three times to fight him at middleweight,” Pereira said in his post-fight interview. “I know it’s a guy we have a lot of history. I want to make this fight happen. Adesanya, come to daddy.”

“The Last Stylebender” responded with a meme of his UFC 287 KO win over Pereira with the Brazilian dressed up as Elsa from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

“Let it gooo,” Adesanya wrote.

Adesanya lost his middleweight strap to Sean Strickland in a shocking upset at UFC 293 in September. Adesanya has since stated that he i…

Jan Blachowicz took issue with Alex Pereira issuing a callout to Israel Adesanya after his title win at UFC 295 over the weekend.

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Pereira took on Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York with the vacant light heavyweight title on the line. The Brazilian scored a second-round TKO win over Prochazka to become the fastest double champ in UFC history, taking just seven fights to win titles in two weight classes.

Pereira then went on to call out Adesanya, inviting his longtime rival to the light heavyweight division. In addition to two kickboxing victories over his rival, “Poatan” also dethroned Adesanya at UFC 281 last November before getting knocked out by “The Last Stylebender” earlier this year.

Regardless of the history, Blachowicz wasn’t happy with Pereira’s callout and voiced his thoughts on social media.

“[Alex Pereira] I know you're a slimy one,” Blachowicz wrote. “Calling out Izzy. Great performanc…

Two-time light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes will return to action against the surging Carlos Ulberg at UFC 297.

The promotion announced the booking during the UFC 295 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 297 takes place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20 and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash pitting Sean Strickland against Dricus Du Plessis.

Reyes is in the midst of a four-bout skid that dates back to a competitive championship loss to Jon Jones at UFC 247 in February 2020. More recently, “The Devastator” suffered a first-round KO defeat to Ryan Spann at UFC 281.

Ulberg, meanwhile, has quietly been building momentum at 205 pounds. The City Kickboxing representative has won his last five Octagon appearances, including a third-round submission of Da Woon Jung in his last outing at UFC 293.

Alex Pereira believes he has what it takes to motivate Israel Adesanya.

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After claiming the vacant light heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 295 headliner, “Poatan” called for his longtime rival to meet him at 205 pounds.

“I know that I’m not going to do what he did to me and make me fight three times to fight him at middleweight,” Pereira said in the Octagon. “I know it’s a guy we have a lot of history. I want to make this fight happen. Adesanya, come to daddy.”

Adesanya last appeared at UFC 293, where he relinquished the middleweight crown in a surprising unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland. Not long after, “The Last Stylebender” hinted that he might take an extended break from MMA. Pereira’s callout didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the City Kickboxing stalwart, as he simply responded by trolling his rival on social media.

Let it gooooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/gv9ZYliKwH Read more about Alex Pereira Calls Israel Adesanya’s Self-Imposed Hiatus ‘A Waste of Talent’

Tom Aspinall didn’t leave much for Jon Jones to dissect at UFC 295.

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The Englishman claimed interim gold in emphatic fashion, as he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich 69 seconds into Round 1 of their co-main event bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Jones took to social media to praise Aspinall following the victory. ‘

“Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!” Jones wrote.

Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!

— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 12, 2023

It’s not the first time Jones, the regining heavyweight king ,has praised Aspinall, and the the Team Kaobon product appreciates the accolades. But he’d like one more thing from the man known as “Bones.”

“I’ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast, as well. It’s really nice,” Aspinall said at Saturday’s post-fight press conferen…

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Benoit St. Denis is eyeing a who’s who of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division after a spectacular knockout win over Matt Frevola.

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Saint-Denis (13-1) took on Frevola (11-4) on the UFC 295 main card at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday. “God of War” floored the New York native 1:31 in the opening frame into with a shin-to-chin left head kick before following up with some ground-and-pound that was hardly necessary before referee Mike Beltran stepped in.

St. Denis claims he was on the lookout for striking opportunities while on the break from scrambles.

“I knew he was not going to exchange too much in the scrambles with me,” the Frenchman said in his post-fight Octagon interview. “… I knew that he doesn’t win the scrambles, there’s going to be opportunities after the scramble.”

St. Denis also put elite lightweight contenders on notice, which included cageside guests Dustin Poirier and Just…