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Jose Aldo will face Aiemann Zahabi in a bantamweight bout at UFC 315.

The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 315 takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 10 and is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight crown against Manon Fiorot.

This is the third consecutive bout in which Aldo has been booked against a rising 135-pound talent. In 2024, the former featherweight king took a unanimous decision over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 before dropping a split verdict agianst Mario Bautista at UFC 307. The Nova Uniao standout is 4-4 since moving to bantamweight in 2019.

A native of Laval, Quebec, Canada, Zahabi will take a five-fight winning streak into the matchup with Aldo, with four of those victories coming at 135 pounds. Most recently, the Tristar Gym member earned a unanimous decision victory agai…

The UFC 313 card as taken a significant hit, as Dan Hooker will not be competing on the March 8 card.

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Hooker was supposed to face Justin Gaethje in a five-round, non-title bout in the evening’s co-headliner. However, “The Hangman” announced via his daughter’s YouTube channel that an injury has forced him to withdraw from the event.

“Dad had a fight, or was supposed to have a fight,” Hooker said. “But I’ve busted my paw.”

The UFC has not formally announced Hooker’s exit, so it’s unclear if Gaethje will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. UFC 313 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship bout between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

Hooker had won his last three Octagon appearances, posting successive victories over Claudio Puelles, Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot. Prior to that, the 35-year-old Kiwki had lost four of his previous five promotional outings. Hooker …

WE'RE BACK 💪🔥https://t.co/MtQtlR4dBb#CombateGlobal

— Combate Global (@combateglobal) February 25, 2025

Combate Global’s events will be available on YouTube next month.

The promotion on Tuesday announced that it will air its live events for free on the platform, beginning with “Combate Female” on March 13. According to a release, Combate Global is “YouTube’s first premium producer of live MMA programming for global distribution.” The Combate Global Events will be broadcast in Spanish.

“With YouTube in our corner as it grows its interest in live sports, Combate Global will be able to achieve its mission of delivering ‘Much More Action’ to a global Spanish-speaking audience via the biggest streaming video platform on the planet,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren in a release.  “Combate Global couldn’t ask for a better partner than YouTube as we launch full speed into the future and spearhead the rapid growth and engagement …

A flyweight showdown pitting Jasmine Jasudavicius against Jessica Andrade has been added to the UFC 315 lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bout on Monday. UFC 315 takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is headlined by a welterweight title bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.

Canada’s Jasudavicius has been on a roll of late, winning her last four UFC outings. The 35-year-old Niagara Top Team represenative kicked off her 2025 campaign with a unanimous decision triumph over former bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Fight Night 250 on Feb. 1. She has also bested Ariane Lipski, Fatima Kline and Priscila Cachoeira during her current winning streak.

After posting back-to-back strawweight victories over Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez, Andrade returned to 125 pounds in her most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 242, where she dropped a three-round verdict to Natalia Silva this pa…

Shortly after his hard-fought triumph against Brendan Allen in the UFC Seattle co-headliner, Anthony Hernandez alluded to struggling with some illness-related issues leading up to the bout.

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“I plan on getting better for the next one,” Hernandez told Michael Bisping in the Octagon. “I’m sorry about the performance. I just finished my antibiotics yesterday. I was sick as f—k. But I came here and I made the s—t happen. Hope you guys enjoyed the show.”

“Fluffy” was able to elaborate on what he was dealing with during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, while also revealing some additional injury issues that hindered his performance.

“Let’s just say I got off amoxicillin Friday,” Hernandez said. “I felt like s--t, and I’m not going to lie: I messed up my ribs two weeks ago. My ribs were f---ed before. It was just thank God for the [UFC Performance Institute]. They were here and they helped me every f---ing day. We got it to be good enough for th…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA competitor Guilherme Vasconcelos took his own life last year.

According to TMZ Sports, the case report from Oct. 15 reveals that police determined that Vasconcelos committed suicide the previous night at approximately 11:45 p.m. local time. “Bomba” was found by an unidentified woman in the garage of the Illinois residence at 9 a.m. the next day.

A suicide note was not found, and a toxicology report only revealed the presence of caffeine in Vasconcelo’s system. The house was searched and several vials of anabolic steroids were recovered. Two were nearly empty and two were unopened, according to the report. Vasconcelos was 38 years old.

Vasconcelos went 10-6 over the course of an MMA career that began in 2012. After competing on “TUF Brazil 3,” his lone Octagon appearance came at UFC 175, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Luke Zachrich on July 5, 2014. “Bomba” also went 3-3 during a six-bout stin…

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A welterweight clash between Mike Malott and Charlie Radtke has been added to the UFC 315 lineup.

The booking was recently confirmed by the Las Vegas…

While Fabricio Werdum prepares for his Global Fight League debut against Frank Mir, he has decided to hold a special event for up-and-coming mixed martial artists.

The MMA challenge will take place on Wednesday and features fighters weighing between 65 and 75 kilograms (143 to 165 pounds). The winner will get the opportunity to compete for the Brazil-based Jungle Fight promotion.

“When I started [fighting] I was so eager to have an opportunity,” Werdum said. “In some cases, I even paid my ticket to fight. The idea of the ‘Werdum Challenge’ is to provide that opportunity for fighters. I talked to Wallid [Ismael], who was the first to give me an opportunity, and he liked the idea. So we will start in Jungle Fight, but the idea is also to do it in other MMA promotions and also include grappling.”

According to Werdum, the first iteration of his challenge will air on his YouTube channel.

“The event will take place in Sao Paulo at the training center of …

Jean Silva and Bryce Mitchell appear to be on a collision course after UFC Seattle.

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Silva fought Melsik Baghdasaryan, who was returning after almost two years, at UFC Fight Night 252 on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Silva starched Baghdasaryan with a right hand to score his fourth straight stoppage win in as many UFC outings. Silva then called out Bryce Mitchell in his post-fight Octagon interview.

Silva targeted Mitchell for his recent anti-semitic comments. Mitchell is flat earth theorist who recently praised Adolf Hitler and went on a widely criticized anti-semitic and homophobic rant. “Thug Nasty” later apologized for his remarks.

Silva elaborated on his callout of Mitchell at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Lord” acknowledged Mitchell’s skillset while also criticizing his recent comments.

“I think that Bryce Mitchell is somebody who would offer me an opportunity for a very good renewed contract if I beat hi…

In the immediate aftermath of his controversial victory over Henry Cejudo in the UFC Seattle headliner, Yadong Song seemed more than willing to run it back against the Olympic gold medalist.

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It might not matter.

Song defeated Cejudo via technical decision when an inadvertent eye poke rendered “Triple C” unable to continue after three rounds. While the “Kung Fu Kid” appeared to be on his way to victory, Cejudo had been competitive enough up to that point to where the championship rounds might have been interesting had they occurred.

However, UFC CEO Dana White doesn’t appear interested in seeing a rematch between Song and Cejudo at a future event.

“Not at all,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Not even a little bit. I just don’t want to see it again.”

After Song committed the inadvertent foul in the third round, Cejudo took the full five minutes given to him by referee Jason Herzog to recover. When the round resumed…

🤝Paddy Pimblett squashes his beef with Dustin Poirier:

"I don’t feel disrespected. I understand what he’s saying… 'legends only.' I’m not a legend.

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Why retire after one fight? Stop being a b*tch arse. Fight a contract out."

🎥 @PaddyTheBaddy ▫️ pic.twitter.com/AgEabNtISb

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 22, 2025 Dustin Poirier believes Michael Chandler will end Paddy Pimblett’s winning streak at UFC 314.

Chandler will look to return to the win column in a lightweight clash against Pimblett at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Both Chandler and Pimblett have opened at nearly even odds on most sportsbooks. And Poirier advises bettors to wager heavy on former opponent Chandler for easy money.

“Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money,” Poirier wrote on X.

Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money https://t…

Alex Pereira responds to DC pic.twitter.com/QTMvuK5ae0

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) February 22, 2025

Alex Pereira recently alleviated Daniel Cormier’s concerns about his upcoming fight.

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Pereira will puts his light heavyweight title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Cormier recently expressed some concern about Pereira’s preparation for the upcoming fight based on his recent activity.

Pereira was spotted in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month when the promotion returned to the country for UFC 312. “Poatan” was also seen meeting and greeting rapper Drake during his concert in Sydney.

Cormier is worried about Pereira catching the infamous “Drake curse” if the musician bets on him. A betting enthusiast, Drake putting his money on an athlete or team is believed to be bad luck for them, often leading to loss. Fighters like Conor McGregor, Mike T…

Belal Muhammad believes he’s “better everywhere” compared to Jack Della Maddalena

“I think they just underestimate my hands and my striking…

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I think I’m gonna go in there and walk through [Jack].”

🎥 @remembertheshow #UFC315pic.twitter.com/UBOh6lG7xf

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025 Belal Muhammad (24-3) thinks he is better than Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) in every aspect.

Della Maddalena challenges Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was originally expected to fight Muhammad, was offered the shot but missed out due to injury.

While Muhammad is one of the best grapplers on the entire UFC roster, Della Maddalena possesses devastating knockout power in his hands. While the Australian is expected to have an advantage over Muhammad on the feet, the champ disagrees. “Remember the Name” …

If Diego Lopes is to be believed, the era of two-division champions is over in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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While some fighters have won belts in two weight classes, only a few have enjoyed the privilege of holding two belts simultaneously, such as Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. However, Lopes claims that will no longer be the case.

Featherweight champ Ilia Topuria recently vacated his belt to move up to lightweight, setting the stage for Lopes to face Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant 145-pound title at UFC 314. UFC CEO Dana White announced that Topuria felt he had accomplished enough at 145 pounds and has difficulty making the weight now.

However, Lopes claims Topuria was forced to vacate his belt in order to move up to lightweight.

“They were very clear to us that they said that they are no longer giving [fighters the] chance to jump from one weight class to another,” Lopes told ESPN. “If you want to move up, y…

Michael Chandler predicts an early KO in his fight against Paddy Pimblett 👀

“It’s a bad matchup stylistically for [Paddy]… I’m gonna land a right hand or a left hook and put his lights out within the first couple rounds.”

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🎥 @espnmma #UFC314pic.twitter.com/XoQZoHXEUx — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025

Michael Chandler (23-9) vows to derail Paddy Pimblett’s (22-3) hype train at UFC 314.

Chandler and Pimblett will meet in lightweight matchup at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Chandler intends to make Pimblett feel from the very first exchange that he’s fighting at a different level.

While Chandler admits that Pimblett is on a streak now, he intends to end it in Miami. “Iron” believes the Liverpudlian will fold under his pressure and go on the backfoot. Chandler will then look for the knockout blow to end the night early.

“I believe he’ll know within his very first exchange h…

There were not many bonuses handed out at UFC Seattle despite being a finish-heavy card.

Also known as UFC Fight Night 252, the bill went down at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. While none of the seven fights on the prelims card went the distance there were only two Performance of the Night bonuses doled out.

Bantamweight veteran Ricky Simon (21-6) was the only prelims fighter to earn an extra $50k bonus for his knockout win over Javid Basharat (14-2). While Simon had difficulty implementing his signature wrestling, he landed a perfect right hand to send Basharat to the shadow realm in the very first round. The win saw the 32-year-old rebound from a three fight skid.

Meanwhile, Jean Silva (15-2) received the second performance bonus of the night for the only stoppage on the main card. “Lord” was thoroughly entertaining right from his walkout, even engaging in a slap-fest with Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-3) before dropping the Armenian. Silva even waited for the ref…

Yadong Song took another step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division—albeit an anticlimactic one—and settled for a technical unanimous decision over Henry Cejudo in the UFC Fight Night 252 headliner on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it for Song (22-8-1, 11-3-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

An inadvertent eye poke left Cejudo (16-5, 12-5 UFC) unable to continue after the third round. Fans in attendance lustily booed the outcome.

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Song seemed to be in control up until the finish. The Team Alpha Male standout tore into Cejudo’s lead leg with damaging kicks, often forcing him to switch stances to shield the appendage from further exposure. Song countered effectively throughout, used occasional level changes to keep the onetime Olympic gold medalist honest and leaned into potent jabs. Cejudo was effective in spurts but seemed to be trending downward at the time th…

Sherdog's live UFC Seattle coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 252. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay P…

Ion Cutelaba excels in chaos.

“The Hulk” continued to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he dismissed Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 252 prelim on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Cutelaba (19-10-1, 8-9-1 UFC) slammed the door 2:51 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission win since April 4, 2015.

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They traded barbs throughout their brief but eventful encounter. Cutelba sat down the Gym 23 product with an overhand right and later delivered a double-leg takedown. He laced the legs, climbed toward mount and scrambled into position for the arm-triangle. It soon became clear that there was no escape for Aslan (14-2, 2-1 UFC), who tapped with resignation.

Meanwhile, onetime Predador Fighting Championship titleholder Melquizael Costa turned away Andre Fili with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight confron…

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

Get to know the Bantamweights(135lbs) set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ Friday , April 11th | 📺 11:30 PM EST | ESPN 2 | B2YB @Cloudbet ] pic.twitter.com/Ky2dBRg666 — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 21, 2025 Fighters from a total of eight weight classes will vie for the top prize in Professional Fighters League’s 2025 tournament.

In previous years, the PFL ran its tournaments with six divisions up for grabs. A new development for 2025, the promotion announced on Friday that the bantamweight division would officially be opened, setting the stage for eight weight categories in this season of the tourney. Eight participants, several of whom pulled over from the Bellator MMA-PFL merger, will be part of the 135-pound bracket. A few notable names are absent, including champion Patchy Mix and former beltholders Raufeon Stots, Sergio Pettis and Kyo…

Main event READY 🔒@HenryCejudo weighs-in at 135lbs!

[ #UFCSeattle | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/MLdYfIlZVU

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's final card of February is now official after the UFC Seattle weigh-ins finalized 12 fights.

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The main event will see former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo look to continue his comeback against Yadong Song. Both men came in under the 136-pound limit for the five-round headlining fight. All of the rest of the fighters made weight, as well, making it an entirely professional weigh-in.

Cejudo (16-4) is 0-2 since returning from retirement. However, the losses were a close split decision defeat to then-champ Aljamain Sterling and current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili. "The Messenger" will look to show that he still has another run left in him at 38 and stepped on the scale weighing 135 pounds on the dot.

Mea…

A key top-10 contest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division is booked for its May return to Canada.

In January, Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Gilbert Burns (22-8) would square off with Michael Morales (17-0) in Miami on April 12. The promotion changed course for this 170-pound pairing, shifting it one pay-per-view later to UFC 315 on May 10. The two will collide inside of the Bell Centre in Montreal, likely as part of the main card. The pairing was confirmed on Thursday by the promotion.

Former title challenger Burns has struggled as of late, recording his last win in April 2023 when he outworked Jorge Masvidal. Since then, Burns fell short to future champ Belal Muhammad, got knocked out by Jack Della Maddalena and dropped a decision to Sean Brady. Despite the recent setbacks, the Brazilian finisher can still hang his hat on wins over names like Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson over the years, and he had then-champ Kam…

Just a day on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, and Patricio Freire is already calling his shots.

After months of mystery, Freire was announced on Wednesday by Dana White as a new UFC featherweight. The former Bellator MMA great will make his new promotional debut at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12, where he will come to blows with former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. Full of vim and vigor, “Pitbull” talked to multiple Brazilian YouTube channels on Thursday, revealing details about the negotiation process and where he sees himself in the landscape.

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“This [matchmaker] thought I was old, but my manager was able to convince him on the contrary by recalling that I was born in the same, day, month and year as [Alex Pereira],” Freire explained to “Sexto Round.”

The fighter believed that he was being held out of the UFC because one of the matchmakers did not want him on the roster. When that concern fell away, Freire wanted to hit the ground …

Bantamweights will be on the marquee for the UFC’s first trip to Iowa since 2000.

Brazilian journalist Leo Guimaraes first broke the news on Thursday that Cory Sandhagen (17-5) and Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) would be throwing down on May 3. The two 135ers will serve as the main attraction to UFC Des Moines, which will take place in the Wells Fargo Arena in Iowa’s capital city. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Both fighters are coming off five-round decision losses to top contenders. In August 2024, Sandhagen came back after a year layoff to face Umar Nurmagomedov, falling short to the Russian in a bout closer than the scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 indicated. That defeat halted a three-fight victorious stretch for the Colorado native, who had forced the doctors to intervene in his 25-minute match against Yadong Song before claiming decision verdicts over Marlon Vera and Rob Font.

Former flyweight king also saw a three-fight win st…