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The 2023 Professional Fighters League Playoffs continue Friday in new York City with PFL 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN+ and then continues on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. Round 1 Tommy Santana is the referee for tonight's first fight. Mazar comes out swinging but comes up short. Neil throws a kick that is caught, and the two clinch against the cage. They separate, with not much happening besides a few knees. Neil lands a nice right hand that rocks Mazar. Neil is staying on the outside and using her range, forcing Mazar to try to swing to close the distance. Neil works the jab, although she's mostly punching air rather than connecting. Mazar lands a leg kick. Neil catches Mazar as she comes in and once again stumbles her opponent. Neil puts together her offense, connecting with a right hand after throwing a left high kick. Mazar clinches against the cage and the round expires after Neil lands a solid knee in the clinch. Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round: 1…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view with UFC 292.

Both title fights are official for the card, including the main event that sees bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley, as all fighters made weight. The co-main event will see titleholder Weili Zhang look to defend her strawweight strap against the surging Amanda Lemos.

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Sterling (23-3) is riding an impressive nine-fight win streak that dates back to 2018. Since claiming the title via DQ, "Funk Master" has picked up wins over Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo. The champion weighed 135 pounds on the dot for what will be his fourth attempt at defending the belt.

Looking to make history is O'Malley (16-1, 1 NC). The 28-year-old is coming off a split-decision win over Yan, which cemented him as the number one contender. Prior to a no contest against Pedro Munhoz, O'Malley had strung together three straight TKO wins. "Sugar" officially w…

Peleón para coestelar de #NocheUFC!!! 🇲🇽

💥💥💥 Señor Kevin Holland vs Señor Jack Della Madalena 💥💥💥

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Boletos a la venta: https://t.co/qoFbHJ1LKh pic.twitter.com/8llGb2X6Ip — UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) August 18, 2023 On about a month’s notice, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has found a replacement co-headlining match for its Noche UFC event.

Per the organization on social media on Friday, Kevin Holland (25-9, 1 NC) will take on Jack Della Maddalena (15-2) in a potentially thrilling welterweight clash on Sept. 16. The two ranked 170-pounders will duke it out inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of UFC Fight Night 227, which has also been titled “Noche UFC” to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. This fight replaces a welterweight tilt between Kelvin Gastelum and Shavkat Rakhmonov that fell through due to a compound fracture to Gastelum’s nose suffered during training.

Fan-favorite Holland put himsel…

[embedded content] In 2022, Lorrany Santos captured titles from two organizations in Brazil, which ultimately earned her a place on the Bellator MMA roster.

At 26 years of age, Santos (6-1) recently signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator, according to sources close to the situation. The featherweight is targeting her promotional debut in October or November, but no destination or opponent has been set yet. Winner of six straight, Santos trains both at the Russao Muay Thai gym as well as the renowned Parana Vale Tudo, home of top talents Jessica Andrade, Karol Rosa and others. Additionally, she joins Team D.O.M. for sessions, where she rolls with black belts like Marcelo Maciel Quines Junior as well as Davi Costa.

Before signing with Bellator, Santos rattled off three victories under the Favela Combat and Mr. Cage organizations in Brazil, where she claimed championship belts in both leagues. Earlier into her pro tenure, she picked up a win over current Ultimate Fighti…

A Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter has taken it upon himself to unveil the news of his recent positive drug test.

Late Thursday night, Daniel Rodriguez (17-4) announced on Instagram that he had failed an out-of-competition drug test for ostarine. Due to the active investigation, he will no longer be competing at the upcoming Sept. 16 event, UFC Fight Night 227, also called “Noche UFC,” at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rodriguez claimed that he did not intentionally take the banned substance, and that the low levels of ostarine in his system could be attributed to certain dietary supplements he takes.

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Rodriguez is not currently suspended by USADA or the UFC, but during the course of the review process, he will not be allowed to compete. This specific substance has been linked to multiple “tainted supplement” suspensions handed down by the organization, where the fighter did not intentionally ingest the substance, but it was inadvertently …

[embedded content] Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki returns for its August offering that features two championship fights.

Both title fights are now official, including the featherweight headliner that will see titleholder Salahdine Parnasse take on interim champion Robert Ruchala, as both men weighed in at 145 pounds. The co-main event puts the spotlight on light heavyweight champion Ibragim Chuzhigaev, who goes up against Bogdan Gnidko. Two undercard fighters missed weight, though. Sandra Succar came in .5 kg over the flyweight limit and was fined 20% of her purse. Meanwhile, Lukasz Rajewski was fined 40% of his purse for missing a catchweight limit by 1.9 kg.

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Parnasse (17-1) enters the title defense on a four-fight win streak. Since being knocked out by Daniel Torres, the French fighter has gotten revenge via unanimous decision and submitted three other fighters via rear-naked choke. Looking to claim the belt is the undefeated Ruchala (9-0). The Polish fi…

[embedded content] The weigh-ins ahead of Professional Fighters League's heavyweight and women's featherweight semifinals were far from drama-free.

The PFL 8 main event will see Renan Ferreira battle Maurice Greene at heavyweight. The lone semifinalist to miss weight was Olena Kolesnyk (147.8), who checked in 1.8 pounds over the featherweight limit. She will be fined 20% of her purse and docked a point for her trilogy match against Larissa Pacheco (146). As for the rest of the card, preliminary heavyweight Daiqwon Buckley (272.4) came in 6.4 pounds over the 266-pound cap, changing his matchup with Louie Sutherland (250.6) to a super heavyweight fight and earning Buckley at 20% fine. Additionally, a 155-pound pairing between Chris Mixan and Eddy George fell through when Mixan reportedly failed to attend the weigh-ins.

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Ferreira (10-3, 3 NC) is coming off a knockout win over Matheus Scheffel that came just 50 seconds into the fight. The towering 6-foot…

Bantamweight prospect Raul Rosas Jr. will attempt to bounce back from the first loss of his professional tenure when he faces Terrence Mitchell at UFC Fight Night 227.

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The 135-pound booking was first reported by ESPN Deportes. UFC Fight Night 227 takes place on Sept. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight title rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

Rosas Jr. generated a great deal of buzz when he earned a UFC contract at 17 years old after besting Mando Gutierrez on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He submitted Jay Perrin in the opening round of his Octagon debut at UFC 282, but dropped a three-round verdict to Christian Rodriguez in his last outing at UFC 287.

Mitchell, meanwhile, had an 11-bout winning streak snapped in his promotional debut, when he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Cameron Saaiman at UFC 290.

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Rivals for over three decades — even considering themselves to be fierce enemies — Hugo Duarte and Renzo Gracie are now partners at a gym in the United States.

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The duo has rented a spot in downtown Houston, where Duarte will be the head instructor. It’s one of 12 gyms owned by Gracie. The new partners spent six days together last week.

Renzo and Hugo were on opposite sides in three highly significant clashes of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu vs. Luta Livre rivalry. Renzo stood with the Gracie side in the conflicts between Hugo and Rickson: one at Pepê Beach, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, and another one a week later when Hugo sought a rematch and gathered over 50 students to invade the Gracie academy. At Pentagon Combat in 1997, Renzo faced Eugênio Tadeu and Hugo was in the Luta Livre representative’s corner. The event ended in a brawl that led to the banning of MMA in Rio de Janeiro.

After many, many years of rivalry, a friends…

Larissa Pacheco proved the doubters wrong in 2022 when she upset Kayla Harrison to win the Professional Fighters League lightweight crown.

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Now she’s the odds-on favorite to become a two-division champion heading into a featherweight semifinal matchup against Olena Kolesnyk at PFL 8 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday night. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

“Winning the belt and championship last year was my way of proving that I was right, that I should not have given up on my dream. I’m so happy I didn’t,” Pacheco said during a PFL media day. “This is the continuation of me building a legacy, me writing my name in the MMA history books.”

The first task at hand is to improve to 3-0 against Kolesnyk, whom Pacheco has already defeated twice via first-round stoppage. While some might want to draw parallels to Pacheco’s breakthrough against Harrison in their trilogy last year…

Jordan Heiderman might be most unknown commodity among the PFL heavyweight semifinalists.

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The former college football player fought just once during the PFL regular season, earning a spot in the playoffs thanks to a first-round finish of Patrick Brady on June 16. That has earned him a showdown with Denis Goltsov — perhaps the favorite in the field — on Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT following prelims on ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

“I love being the new guy, the darkhorse,” Heiderman said during a PFL media day. “It’s a perfect fight. I love being the no-name. I’m gonna come in and turn some heads with my performance.”

Some might remember Heiderman from “The Ultimate Fighter 30,” where he fell to Zac Pauga in the semifinals of the reality show. The 31-year-old says he’s “evolved tremendously” since then.

“I definitely think I’m light years better …

Anthony Hernandez has a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 227.

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Chris Curtis has withdrawn from the Sept. 16 card after suffering an injury in training and as a result, Roman Kopylov will step in against Hernandez in a new middleweight booking. Hernandez confirmed the change on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 227 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight championship rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

“[Word’]s out, had to pull out from September 16. I jacked a rib up wrestling and [Ian Garry] landed the perfect kick to finish it off,” Curtis wrote on social media regarding his injury. “That’s the fight game sometimes... if I didn't have bad luck I would have no luck at all. Good luck and my apologies to Fluffy. Next time brotha.”

Words out, had to pull out from September 16. I jacked a rib up wrestling and @iangarryMMA …

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady was virtually flawless in terms of execution.

The Fortis MMA lightweight was one of five prospective competitors to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship Championship contract during Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over George Hardwick on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Al-Selwady (15-3, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from all three judges.

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Hardwick (12-2, 0-1 DWCS) was never out of it but simply lacked enough of the necessary answers. Al-Selwady leaned on educated feints and stellar lateral movement, all while mixing in leg kicks and clean punching combinations. The former Fury Fighting Championship and Brave Combat Federation titleholder’s footwork kept him out of danger and allowed his hands and gas tank to work to maximum effect. When Hardwick landed, he was limited to single shots.

The 28-year-old Al-Selwady will carry a five-fight…

The possibility of a mixed martial arts bout between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk has generated a fair amount of attention — both from the mainstream audience and the mixed martial arts community.

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Recently, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong shared his thoughts on how a fight between the two billionaires might look.

"I normally don't like to get involved in other people's spats, but I am compelled to say something on the latest development of the potential fight between Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk,” Sityodtong wrote on Facebook. “A few hours ago, Elon said that he was planning to show up to Mark's house to fight him. Elon is one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history and I have a lot of respect for his guts, accomplishments, and intellect. However, I dislike bullying of any kind.

“First, Elon genuinely knows nothing about fighting or martial arts despite his claims to the contrary. As a lifelong expert martial artist who has been in my…

Confira bastidores da pré-estreia do documentário “Dos Samurais ao MMA”; saiba onde e quando assistirhttps://t.co/H6C5wDYwTd pic.twitter.com/JQdv8tUmur

— Portal do Vale Tudo (@portaldovt) August 10, 2023

Those interested in the history of combat sports in Brazil have just gained a significant option for knowledge.

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Tuesday marked the premiere of the documentary “From Samurai to MMA —500 Years of Fighting." Conceived by journalist and Sherdog.com contributor Marcelo Alonso and produced by Brazilian company Ciranda Filmes, the documentary is the result of three years of work. It traces the origins of jiu-jitsu, grappling and MMA, highlighting protagonists Jigoro Kano, Mitsuyo Maeda and four generations of Gracie family, culminating in the modern MMA era. The screening at a cinema in Rio de Janeiro was attended by 350 guests from various fighting disciplines: luta livre, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and MMA.

Prominent figures such…

Confira bastidores da pré-estreia do documentário “Dos Samurais ao MMA”; saiba onde e quando assistirhttps://t.co/H6C5wDYwTd pic.twitter.com/JQdv8tUmur

— Portal do Vale Tudo (@portaldovt) August 10, 2023

Those interested in the history of combat sports in Brazil have just gained a significant option for knowledge.

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Tuesday marked the premiere of the documentary “From Samurai to MMA —500 Years of Fighting." Conceived by journalist and Sherdog.com contributor Marcelo Alonso and produced by Brazilian company Ciranda Filmes, the documentary is the result of three years of work. It traces the origins of jiu-jitsu, grappling and MMA, highlighting protagonists Jigoro Kano, Mitsuyo Maeda and four generations of Gracie family, culminating in the modern MMA era. The screening at a cinema in Rio de Janeiro was attended by 350 guests from various fighting disciplines: luta livre, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and MMA.

Prominent figures such…

One week after earning just the third twister submission in promotion history, Da'Mon Blackshear will attempt to give an encore performance at UFC 292.

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Blackshear will replace Cody Garbrandt and square off against Mario Bautista on Saturday at TD Garden in Boston. BJPenn.com was first to report the new bantamweight booking. UFC 292 is headlined by a 135-pound title clash between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.

Blackshear is coming off his historic submission win over Jose Johnson at UFC on ESPN 51, his second consecutive triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion. If he were to defeat Bautista, he would be the first UFC fighter to win two bouts in a seven-day span.

Bautista enters the matchup with plenty of momentum. The MMA Lab representative has won four straight fights since 2022, with three of those victories coming by way of submission. Most recently, Bautista tapped out Guido Cannetti in the opening stanza of their UFC Fight Nig…

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Sharabutdin Magomedov, otherwise known as “Shara Bullet” will make his first promotional foray against Bruno Silva at UFC 294.

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The middleweight booking was initially reported by Laerte Viana. UFC 294 takes place on Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and features a lightweight championship tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Charles Oliveira.

Anchored at GOR MMA, Magomedov is 11-0 as a professional. The Moscow native has finished 10 of those victories by knockout or technical knockout, including an eight-second KO of Kushal Vyas in his last outing at Thailand Fighting Championship 10 on Dec. 11.

After beginning his UFC tenure with three consecutive triumphs, Silva has lost three of his last four bouts. Most recently, the former M-1 Global title holder suffered a first-round submission defeat to Brendan Allen at UFC on ABC 5 on June 24.

Sherdog's live DWCS 2023 Week 2 coverage will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result

Renan Ferreira stands just two victories away from a life-changing moment.

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The Brazilian known as “Problema” will square off against Maurice Greene in the heavyweight semifinals at PFL 8 on Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, with Ferreira vs. Greene serving as the featured attraction. Ferreira is well aware of the magnitude of what lies ahead.

“I’ve gone through phases in my life where I didn’t have something to eat, I didn’t have a place to sleep. This for me is a culmination of a dream already,” Ferreira said through a translator during a press conference on Monday. “To be out here fighting in the semifinals, to have an opportunity to hold the belt, to be fighting in a major promotion, this is already the culmination of my dream. Going out there and winning $1 million, changing the financial status of my family, this is what matters to me.”

F…

There was a time when Maurice Greene would take virtually any fight offered in hopes of a payday.

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Greene admits that approach had its downside, but things have changed in recent times now that the “The Crochet Boss” is training alongside current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“I’ve been fighting for a long time, and for a long time it was literally just I was trying to get the biggest bag,” Greene said at Professional Fighters League press conference. “Sometimes you don’t get a full fight camp to get the bag, you have to just take fights as they come. Sometimes you don’t have all the training partners in the room, you don’t have all the resources.

“It’s hard not to do it right when you’re training with Jon Jones. It’s hard not to do it right when you’re in his camps,” Greene added. “There’s a bunch of things I do different now that I never did before. Training with Jon and the small group of guys that we’re with, it kind of resparked the f…

All but one athlete made weight on Monday ahead of Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Emrah Sonmez tipped the scales at 147 pounds for a proposed featherweight clash against Hyder Amil (146). The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not clear Sonmez to continue cutting weight following his initial attempt, so he will be fined a percentage of his purse and the fight will proceed as scheduled.

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The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Next week, the event will return to its regularly scheduled time of 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. This week’s card is topped by a lightweight clash pitting Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (155.5) against George Hardwick (155).

Anchored at Fortis MMA, Al-Selwady enters the Contender Series on a four-bout winning streak. In his last outing, the Amman, Jordan, native took a five-round verdict over Mike Murphy at Fury FC 75 to claim the promotion’s 155-pound belt…

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ONE on Prime Video 15 has gained an intriguing clash as Timofey Nastyukhin and Lipeng Zhang will collide in ONE Championship’s lightweight division, learned Sherdog Monday morning.

Nastyukhin (14-7, 7-6 One), a former ONE lightweight championship challenger, boasts a victory over former Ultimate Fighting Championship 155-pound titleholder Eddie Alvarez in 2019. After also defeating Pieter Buist, the Russian fighter challenged Christian Lee for the divisional belt, losing via technical knockout in 73 seconds at One on TNT 2.

Zhang (33-12-2, 2-1 One) has been on the sidelines since September when he dropped a unanimous decision to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé, Saygid Izagakhmaev. It marked the UFC vet’s first loss in four years as “The Warrior” had amassed six straight positive results prior, including a draw with Ednilson de Jose Barros and a dominant performance over two-time One titleholder Eduard Folayang.

One on Prime Video 15, als…

OFFICIAL: Updated August 23rd Fight Card

•Magomed Umalatov is out•New Welterweight Semifinal: Magomed Magomedkerimov will now face @RenfroSolomon

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[ Wednesday, August 23rd | 6:30pm ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLPlayoffs] pic.twitter.com/uaWUNd0DRe — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 11, 2023

The Professional Fighters League has lost an intriguing welterweight semifinal matchup.

The organization recently announced that Solomon Renfro will replace Magomed Umalatov and face Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL 9 on Aug. 23. A reason for Umalatov’s withdrawal was not given. PFL 9 takes place at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and features lightweight and welterweight semifinals on the main card.

With victories in his first five PFL appearances, Umalatov has emerged as a talent to watch at 170 pounds. He clinched his spot in the postseason with victories over Dilano Taylor and Nayib Lopez, but will now have to wait another…