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The main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming card in Abu Dhabi has suffered a massive blow with just 10 days to go before fight night.

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Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (34-9) has withdrawn from his UFC 294 title rematch against Islam Makhachev (24-1) due to a cut suffered in training. Featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski (26-2) will step up on short notice to take on Makhachev in his second bid for lightweight gold. The news was first reported by OverDogs Podcast on Instagram and subsequently confirmed by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes.

UFC President Dana White officially confirmed the news on Tuesday at the post-fight press conference for DWCS 2023, Week 10. White revealed that “do Bronx” was forced to pull out after having his eyebrow split open during sparring the night before he was supposed to fly down to Abu Dhabi. The UFC president also expressed his displeasure with Olivei…

One of the world’s top grappling events is on the calendar for next year, and fittingly, the world’s top grappler will be the main attraction.

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The 2024 Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Championships have a fixed date and venue as trials have started for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and East Coast regions. The event will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Aug. 17-18 and will premier exclusively for fans on FloGrappling.com with a subscription. Tickets for the mega grappling show will go on sale on Black Friday, Nov. 24. The promotion also plans to host the ADCC youth in the same week.

The biggest star in the sport, Gordon Ryan, will defend his Super Fight title in the main event of the night against reigning ADCC absolute champion Yuri Simoes. Ryan dethroned four-time ADCC Super Fight champ Andre Galvao in 2022 along with winning the 99kg division. Ryan now has two unique proposals for ADCC to further cement his legacy, which already in…

Aljamain Sterling believes he isn’t getting an immediate rematch against Sean O'Malley, but he thinks O'Malley may not hold the title for long anyway.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight king lost his strap to O’Malley by second-round TKO in an upset at UFC 292 in August. Since then, Sterling has since been calling for either an immediate rematch or for his close friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili to get his own his long overdue title shot. However, O’Malley is plotting his first title defense against Marlon Vera, who handed “Sugar” his lone professional loss back in 2020 and rumors have recently surfaced of a potential booking between O’Malley and “Chito” for UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto.

In a live stream on his YouTube page on Monday, Sterling revealed that he is almost sure of a rematch snub against O’Malley. The 34-year-old “Funkmaster” also believes Vera will pull off an upset against O’Malley, whose knockout power he c…

Ramon Taveras stood toe to toe and fought fire with fire when the stakes were highest.

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The Bulldog Boxing export was one of five hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he buried Cortavious Romious with first-round punches on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Taveras (9-2, 1-1 DWCS) sank the St. Charles MMA rep 29 seconds into Round 1.

Romious (5-2, 0-1 DWCS) went out on his shield. He cut loose with power punches and body kicks, but left too many defensive holes for his opponent to exploit. Taveras dropped him twice in the middle of violent exchanges, then connected with a devastating left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas in a dazed and confused state. More punches followed, prompting referee Herb Dean to call for the stoppage.

Flyweight Andre Lima, featherweight Connor Matthews, lightweight Marquel Mederos and bantamweight Lucas Rocha are set to join…

Sherdog’s coverage of DWCS 2023, Week 10 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben…

Nobody so far has managed to defeat Islam Makhachev, but one former opponent believes he now knows the key.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Drew Dober faced the current champ at UFC 259 in March of 2021. Makhachev put on a dominant showing, notching over nine minutes of control time before submitting Dober with an arm triangle in the third round. Dober, who got back in the win column by knocking out Ricky Glenn this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 229, learned from the loss and, despite being best known himself as kickboxer with knockout power, believes he made a mistake in approaching their fight as a striker-versus-grappler affair.

According to Dober, several elite grapplers in the 155-pound division have the required skills to beat Makhachev—if they are willing to grapple with him. Dober believes Makhachev’s opponents need to stop focusing on staying on the feet and start wrestling the undefeated Dagestani. The 34-year-old recently t…

Several fighters from the recently concluded Bellator 300 may be forced out of action for a while due to long medical suspensions.

Former Bellator MMA flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-3) took on her longtime friend former training partner, current champ Liz Carmouche (20-7) on Saturday’s main card a Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Macfarlane suffered a possible fracture to her left knee en route a fifth-round TKO loss, resulting in a 180-day medical suspension, unless cleared by a physician earlier.

In addition to Macfarlane, six others from the prelims card also faced medical suspensions of six months or until cleared by a doctor: Jesse Roberts (left knee and left jaw), Davion Franklin (left knee), Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (right knee), Herman Terrado (rib), Romero Cotton (right orbital), and Miguel Peimbert (right foot, left hand, right ankle) Other medical suspensions from Bellator’s marquee event included Cat Zingano, who received a 45-day suspensi…

RandyBrown will fight MuslimSalikhov at #UFC296 on December 16th. (per Brown's Discord & @Full_Violence) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/XO63nbtKDI

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 9, 2023

The final Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event of 2023 has picked up a potential banger of a welterweight matchup.

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Randy Brown (17-5) and Muslim Salikhov (19-4) are reportedly booked to meet at UFC 296 in December. Brown broke the news of the booking on his Discord along with @Full_Violence on Twitter. “Rude Boy” had a four-fight win streak snapped at UFC 284 in February, thanks to a first-round submission by Jack Della Maddalena. “Rude Boy” has since regained some momentum with a decision victory over Wellington Turman in June.

Salikhov went on a five-fight win streak starting with his sophomore UFC outing which included wins over the likes of Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Francisco Trinal…

How strong are u? U never really know until you get tested by fire 🔥 of life.I did surgery 3 weeks ago , 10 seams size . But I know how tough I’m and continues improving and overcoming myself. It doesn’t stop me, still doing my things sparrings and everything. I’m so blessing… pic.twitter.com/gbClA66K7l

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 9, 2023 Recent unplanned surgery will not keep Paulo Costa from his fight in November.

Renzo Gracie recently informed Sherdog that Costa had arrived to his apartment in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Additionally, he mentioned that Costa had received surgery on his elbow in a procedure that would not put his UFC 294 appearance in jeopardy. On Monday, Costa posted publicly about his operation, with photographs showing his condition before and his training after.

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“How strong are [you],” Costa asked. “[You] never really know until you get tested by fire of life. I …

Former champ Cain Velasquez offered high praise for Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight standout Sergei Pavlovich.

Pavlovich (18-1) and fellow contender Tom Aspinall are widely regarded as part of the next generation to potentially rule over the UFC’s heavyweight division. Recently asked about his opinion on the division, Velasquez hailed Aspinall and especially Pavlovich as future champ prospects.

Velasquez also revealed that he had trained with Pavlovich at American Kickboxing Academy several years ago. The former champ noted that while he still acquits himself well in training, Pavlovich was one of the few he found “difficult” to deal with. He also lauded the wrestling skills of Pavlovich, who is currently on a six-fight first-round KO streak. The 41-year-old recently told The Schmo:

“With Sergey, I’ve actually trained with him,” the former UFC heavyweight kingpin stated. “It was a couple of years ago too. So obviously, when he wasn’t at this level yet.…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brass should be ready to hand out a post-fight bonus check after this upcoming scrap.

On Sunday, management team Iridium Sports Agency announced that Mario Bautista (13-2) and Ricky Simon (20-4) will meet in the first UFC card of 2024 on Jan. 13. The bantamweights will square off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The bout has subsequently confirmed by Bautista, who posted about the matchup on his Instagram, while opponent Simon remarked that he had signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion on his own Instagram page.

MMA Lab product Bautista is riding a five fight win streak that includes three submissions over Brian Kelleher, Benito Lopez and Guido Cannetti. Of note, his reverse triangle armbar of Lopez in 2022 served as just the second of its type in company history. Most recently, the 30-year-old Arizonan picked up a hard-fought decision win over Da’Mon Blackshear at UFC 292 in August.

Simon will be hunting for his first win si…

Jailton Almeida will be going from a grappler to a striker on a month’s notice.

Per Ag. Fight on Monday, Curtis Blaydes will no longer be competing in the headliner of UFC Sao Paulo, also known as UFC Fight Night 231. In his stead will be Derrick Lewis (27-11, 1 NC), who will be stepping in on short notice against Almeida (19-2). The reason for Blaydes’ withdrawal has not yet been made public. News of this change in the heavyweight headliner on Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Lewis saw his career-long three-fight skid come to a crashing halt in July when he smashed Marcos Rogerio de Lima in 33 seconds. This marked his first win since 2021, with stoppage losses to Tai Tuivasa, Sergei Pavlovich and Sergey Spivak along the way. With his speedy finish of Rogerio de Lima, Lewis reestablished himself as the UFC’s knockout king, with 14 victories via strikes in his storied tenure with the company.

Since joining the UFC off t…

It was smooth sailing for the 12 men on the scales ahead of the last week of the 2023 Dana White's Contender Series season.

Due to a weight issue for one of the combatants in Week 9, the organization rescheduled that fight for this event. The show will proceed with six bouts, with the rebooked tilt between Davi Bittencourt (134.5) and Lucas Rocha (133) extending the card beyond its usual five affairs.

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Week 10 of the Contender Series takes place on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a bantamweight battle pitting Ramon Taveras (136) against Cortavious Romious (136).

Taveras will try to maximize his second chance to make a first impression, as the Floridian succumbed to strikes in half a round to Serhiy Sidey on DWCS in September. The defeat snapped a four-fight win streak in the Combat Night promotion in Florida, which included three stoppages – with one of tho…

🚨 #TeamIridium News 🚨

Our man @MeanMachine505 eyes his 3rd straight stoppage victory vs. Melquizael Costa on Dec. 2 ✍🏽 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/dUIqb1G5aj

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) October 8, 2023

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The lineup of “UFC Austin” continues to take shape, with the addition of a compelling scrap between two up-and-coming featherweights.

Steve Garcia (14-5) will take on Melquizael Costa (20-6) as the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Texas capital on Dec. 2. The matchup was first announced by Garcia’s management firm, Iridium Sports Agency. After going 1-2 in his first three UFC outings, the Jackson-Wink MMA export seems to have found some momentum. “Mean Machine” will look to extend the first win streak of his UFC run, as he carries the momentum of back-to-back knockout wins over Chase Hooper and Nuerdanbieke Shayilan into the bout.

Costa stepped up on short notice for his promotional de…

N.Ruziboev out. Caio Borralho will now fight Abus Magomedov at #UFCSP on November 4th. (per @MMAFighting) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFCSaoPaulo #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/P0qNF9UrwQ

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 8, 2023

Caio Borralho will not have to miss out on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to Sao Paulo in four years.

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“The Natural” (14-1) was originally scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev (35-8) at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. However, MMA Fighting recently reported that Ruziboev pulled out of the matchup for undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by former Professional Fighters League standout Abusupiyan Magomedov.

Borralho is undefeated in four UFC outings with a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in his most recent walk to the Octagon on April 29. The 30-year-old Brazilian, who has not fought in his native country in nearly three years, will look to put on a showing in front…

N.Ruziboev out. Caio Borralho will now fight Abus Magomedov at #UFCSP on November 4th. (per @MMAFighting) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFCSaoPaulo #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/P0qNF9UrwQ

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 8, 2023

Caio Borralho will not have to miss out on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to Sao Paulo in four years.

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“The Natural” (14-1) was originally scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev (35-8) at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. However, MMA Fighting recently reported that Ruziboev pulled out of the matchup for undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by former Professional Fighters League standout Abusupiyan Magomedov.

Borralho is undefeated in four UFC outings with a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in his most recent walk to the Octagon on April 29. The 30-year-old Brazilian, who has not fought in his native country in nearly three years, will look to put on a showing in front…

Terrance McKinney will be fighting at UFC Fight Night 230 this weekend, after all.

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“T. Wrecks” (14-6) was originally slated to face Chris Duncan at the UFC Apex on Oct. 14, but that matchup fell through days after it was announced. The Ultimate Fighting Championship had since been trying to find a new opponent for McKinney and finally found one in Brendon Marotte (8-1), who steps up on less than a week’s notice to make his promotional debut. The news of the booking was first reported by McKinney on an Instagram live session with The Schmo.

This will be a quick turnaround for McKinney, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over Mike Breeden in August. It will also be the fourth outing of the year for the 29-year-old, who suffered stoppage losses against Ismael Bonfim and Nazim Sadykhov in January and July respectively. McKinney also stated that he’d ideally would like to make another walk to the Octagon before the year ends.

Marotte re…

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Joseph Pyfer (12-2) became the first fighter to submit Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

Pyfer looked nearly flawless as he outperformed Alhassan on the feet in the opening frame before submitting him with an arm-triangle 2:05 into Round 2. During his post-fight interview, “Bodybagz” revealed that the arm-triangle is his go-to move and that he saw the finish coming the moment Alhassan’s coach advised him to let go of the trapped arm.

Going into the bout, Pyfer had called for “real money” before accepting fights against ranked opponents. While Pyfer claims he isn't unhappy with his current deal, the 27-year-old would like to renegotiate his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship based on three consecutive stoppage wins in as many outings.

“I want to get a new contract. I won three; finished three, Pyfer said. “Let’s talk. I don’t say it disrespectfully. And the clickbait media t…

Dana White has lifted the flag ban saying having no flags at Noche UFC "flipped a switch" #UFCVegas80 pic.twitter.com/K2GIB7LyzN

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

Dana White confirmed that Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters can now carry their country flag in the Octagon once again.

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The promotion had initially banned fighters from carrying flags last year amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, even taking Weili Zhang’s flag away from her following a victory. However, middleweight prospect Joseph Pyfer (12-2) proudly waved the American banner following a stellar submission of Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

Asked about the topic during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, White confirmed that “flags are back.” He also shared that his decision to end the ban was inspired by the recently concluded Noche UFC event, held in honor of Mexican Independenc…

Dana White says Conor McGregor has submitted the paperwork to rejoin USADA 👀 pic.twitter.com/1N3oHVXv3E

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

The gears finally appear to be shifting in the right direction for Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion has been out of action for over two years, nursing a broken leg suffered in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier (29-8). After months of back-and-forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency about returning to their testing pool, McGregor (22-6) finally seems to have taken some significant steps.

“Notorious” recently claimed to have submitted the paperwork for re-entering the USADA testing pool to the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky. UFC CEO Dana White has now confirmed the same while noting that the Irishman will be officially back in the pool next week.

“He’s …

Dana White says Conor McGregor has submitted the paperwork to rejoin USADA 👀 pic.twitter.com/1N3oHVXv3E

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

The gears finally appear to be shifting in the right direction for Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion has been out of action for over two years, nursing a broken leg suffered in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier (29-8). After months of back-and-forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency about returning to their testing pool, McGregor (22-6) finally seems to have taken some significant steps.

“Notorious” recently claimed to have submitted the paperwork for re-entering the USADA testing pool to the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky. UFC CEO Dana White has now confirmed the same while noting that the Irishman will be officially back in the pool next week…

Daniel Santos is out of his #UFCSaoPaulo bout vs. Daniel Marcos, per multiple sources. The promotion is seeking a replacement for Nov. 4. pic.twitter.com/MsJ14KVmEd

— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 7, 2023

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Daniel Santos (12-2) will not be a part of the festivities as the Las Vegas-based promotion returns to Sao Paulo on Nov. 4 after four long years.

Santos was originally scheduled to face undefeated Peruvian prospect Daniel Marcos (15-0) on the bill. However, Nolan King of MMA Junkie has now reported that “Willycat” is out of the matchup. The reason for the withdrawal currently remains unknown. The 28-year-old is riding a two-fight win streak after coming up short against Julio Arce in his Octagon debut last year.

Meanwhile, Marcos graduated from Dana White’s Contender Series last year with a decision win over Brandon Lewis. “Soncora” went on to pick up a stoppage win over Saimon Oli…

Bassil Hafez vs Preston Parsons booked for the UFC card on January 13, per multiple sources confirmed to myself and @MikeHeck_JR

Story coming to @MMAFighting

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) October 7, 2023

Welterweight newcomer Bassil Hafez (8-4) is set to clash against Preston Parsons (10-4) at an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight night event on Jan. 13, according to a report from MMAFighting’s Damon Martin.

The meeting will mark Hafez's sophomore walk to the Octagon following a short-notice debut earlier this year against elite prospect Jack Della Maddalena. A +525 underdog going into the matchup, “The Habibi” dropped an impressively close Fight of the Night split decision against Maddalena.

Meanwhile, Parsons made his UFC debut in 2021 on the heels of four consecutive submission wins. “Pressure” ended up suffering a Round 1 knockout loss against perennial contender Daniel Rodriguez before bouncing back with a decision wi…

The champ @Usmannmgdv gets the takedown! #Bellator300 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/WzEu18YC3h

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 8, 2023

Bellator MMA lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov believes he’s the best in the world and he made a strong case for it after picking apart former champion Brent Primus in the Bellator 300 main event at Perchanga Arena in San Diego, California.

Primus had no answers for Nurmagomedov (18-0) throughout the fight. Coming off the most well-rounded win of his career over Mansour Barnaoui in the lightweight grand prix quarterfinals, Primus thought he could upset the champ by getting inside and making it an ugly contest.

Unfortunately for Primus (12-4), the champ would have none of it. Nurmagomedov kept Primus at bay on the outside with long body kicks and straight right hands down the pipe. He roughed him up at midrange with knees and hooks, and dominated him on the inside with pinpoint accu…