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One of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history was quite profitable for Sean Strickland.

In addition to some championship hardware, Strickland received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his shocking unanimous decision triumph over Israel Adesanya in the UFC 293 headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Saturday night. A significant underdog heading into the fight, Strickland outlanded Adesanya over the course of five rounds to become the 13th middleweight title holder in promotion history.

Elsewhere, Manel Kape and Felipe dos Santos garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their spirited flyweight scrap. Kape, who was originally supposed to face Kai Kara-France, got all he could handle from dos Santos. Ultimately, the ex-Rizin Fighting Federation champion landed with superior power and accuracy to get the nod on the scorecards.

Finally, Justin Tafa captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night…

Sean Strickland set a pace an all-time great could not match and authored one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

The Xtreme Couture export outboxed and outwitted Israel Adesanya to a stunning unanimous decision, as he captured the undisputed middleweight crown in the UFC 293 headliner on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Strickland (28-5, 15-5 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46 marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary.

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Adesanya (24-3, 13-3 UFC) never established a rhythm. Strickland leveled him with a clean one-two at the end of an otherwise-uneventful first round, swarmed for a potential finish and then settled in for the long haul. The Californian’s standup defense was virtually bulletproof, limiting Adesanya to one shot at a time in the vast majority of their exchanges. Strickland moved forward the entire fight, wore down the champion with pressure and kept him on his back foot. When the final …

Sherdog's live UFC 293 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Jousset (-155), Crosbie (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Young (-166), Miranda (+140)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Radtke (-310), Mathetha (+250…

Carlos Ulberg looks the part of an emerging threat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

The City Kickboxing representative put a fifth consecutive victory in the books, as he disposed of Da Woon Jung with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their featured UFC 293 prelim on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Jung (15-5-1, 4-3-1 UFC) conceded defeat 4:49 into Round 3.

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Ulberg (9-1, 5-1 UFC) controlled much of the first 10 minutes with superior distance management and accurate power punches. He decked Jung with a stiff right hand in the first round and opened a cut under his right eye with a consistent jab in the second. The Korean Top Team upped his pace down the stretch, but Ulberg was up to the challenge. He struck for a takedown late in Round 3, climbed to full mount and unleashed his ground-and-pound before cinching the choke.

Meanwhile, Elevation Fight Team standout Jose Mariscal slammed onetime Eternal M…

Sergio Batarelli, the creator of International Vale Tudo (IVC), is back on the mixed martial arts scene with a new promotion called MMA Fight Sport.

"It will be a cage-style event, with weekly editions starting from November 2023 and a pay-per-view event every three months,” Batarelli said in August.

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Batarelli on Friday announced the first 20 names slated to fight in MMA Fight Sport’s 32-man, single-elimination tournament. The winner of the bracket will receive a $1 million prize.

“We already selected 20 names but still have 12 spots, so every fighter weighing more than (176 pounds) and interested in participating is welcome to send his (credentials) to my email: [email protected],” Batarelli said.

According to Batarelli, he first edition will be held at the Katara Amphitheatre in Doha, Qatar on Nov. 23.

MMA Fight Sport Tournament Participants

Rodrigo Carlos De Lima Santos (Argentina)Artur Ribas (Brazil)Carlos Alberto da Silva…

The final faceoff is upon us 🤬🏆@Stylebender vs @SStricklandMMA #UFC293 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/X3HkEdBjIb pic.twitter.com/Bz9Oc2lrOg

— UFC (@ufc) September 8, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title will be on the line in the main event of UFC 293.

Champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Sean Strickland both made weight for the event tomorrow, which marks the UFC's return to Australia. All fighters on the card made weight, with the exception of prelim fighter Shane Young. The fight against Gabriel Miranda will move forward, although Young has been fined 30 percent of his purse for coming in 3.75 pounds over the featherweight limit at 149.75 pounds.

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This marks the first middleweight title defense for Adesanya (24-2) since reclaiming the title by knocking out Alex Pereira. Prior to the setback to "Poatan," Adesanya had won three straight fights and had made five title defenses. "T…

Georges St. Pierre is about to become the first mixed martial artist ever inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

On Thursday, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced that St. Pierre (26-2) would be a part of the 2023 membership class. The legendary mixed martial arts fighter, who is also a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, will be one of 11 individuals to receive this Canadian honor on Oct. 19. Among the hundreds inducted in the athlete or “builders of the sport” categories, “GSP” joins an impressive list of names including hockey greats Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Guy Lafleur, basketball star Steve Nash and fellow 2023 classmate 9th dan judoka Hiroshi Nakamura.

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In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, he will be receiving the Order of Sport award, which is “Canada’s highest sporting honor that…recognizes Canadians who have achieved the highest level of sporting accomplishment and who have the purpose and passion for going beyond t…

Lineal boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former Ultimate Fighting Championship king Francis Ngannou will throw hands in the ring on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The pair stood face-to-face on Thursday in London to raise awareness of October’s card, and the buzz is starting to gain momentum. Please tell us in the poll above who you think will come out on top as the two heavyweight rulers engage in battle under Marquess of Queensberry rules: Will it be the “Gypsy King,” or Professional Fighters League’s prized signing?

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the news on Wednesday evening. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Yusuff has been victorious in six of seven UFC bouts. The 30-year-old Team Lloyd Irvin product is coming off a 2-0 2022 in which he submitted Don Shainis at UFC Fight Night 211 and outpointed Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 203.

Barboza, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round KO of Billy Quarantillo at UFC on ESPN 44 on April 15. The 37-year-old Brazilian is 3-3 since moving to 145 pounds from lightweight, with wins over Quarantillo, Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani.

Grant Dawson will make his first main-event appearance when he faces Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the lightweight booking following an initial report from Fight Bananas. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a bantamweight showdown pitting Chris Gutierrez against Montel Jackson.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Dawson is unbeaten in eight promotion appearances — with a draw against Ricky Glenn the only blemish on his ledger. Most recently, the 29-year-old American Top Team representative took a unanimous decision over Damir Ismagulov at UFC on ESPN 48 on July 1.

Green, meanwhile, ended a three-bout winless streak with a third-round submission of Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 on July 29. The well-traveled “King” is 11-9-1 during his UFC tenure with wins over the likes of Al Iaquinta, Clay Guida and Josh Thomson.

https://t.co/ugzMj38HIV

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 6, 2023

The UFC is taking further steps to prevent those associated with the promotion from betting on its fights.

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The Las Vegas-based organization announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with ProhiBet, a program launched earlier this year that monitors prohibited bettor activity. According to a release, ProhiBet’s utilizes an advanced notification platform that is “designed to safeguard sports integrity and ensure adherence to state-specific regulations.” In this case, the program will monitor “UFC athletes, coaches, employees and officials who are prohibited from placing bets on UFC events.”

ProhiBet is able to monitor compliance using “an encrypted decentralized cross-monitoring and notification platform.”

“We are thrilled to partner with UFC -- the combination of ProhiBet's state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and UFC’s dedication to upholdin…

Two more fights are official for UFC 295, as Derek Brunson will face Roman Dolidze at middleweight, while Matt Schnell will take on Steve Erceg in a flyweight tilt.

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The promotion confirmed the bouts in a release on Wednesday. UFC 295 takes place on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Brunson has lost his last two Octagon appearances, suffering KO/TKO defeats at the hands of Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis. Prior to that, the North Carolina native won five straight bouts from May 2019 to September 2021.

Dolidze saw a four-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he dropped a unanimous verdict against Marvin Vettori at UFC 286 in March. “The Caucasian” is 6-2 during his UFC tenure.

Schnell has won just once in his last four bouts, a second-round submission of Su Mudaerji at UFC on ABC 3 in July 2022. Most recently, “Danger” suffered …

Earlier this week, Sean Strickland claimed to have punched a trash-talking Israel Adesanya fan.

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“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland told Fox Sports Australia. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo. Because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your f—-ing mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.

“Uppercut to his stomach. Then I walked away. But if I see the guy again, man, no problems. ... I’ll thank him for not pressing charges.”

Strickland, who will face Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title in the UFC 293 headliner, is known for making outlandish statements to garner attention. In this case, the “punching” was more in jest, according to UFC president Dana White.

“Do you know where the news came from that he punched a fan?” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Conte…

Dricus Du Plessis is far from certain to receive the next UFC middleweight title shot.

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After Du Plessis handily defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 291 and subsequently engaged in a heated confrontation with Israel Adesanya in the Octagon, it looked like the promotion had a ready-made storyline at the top of the division. However, it appears that some parties — namely, Dana White and Adesanya — involved have cooled on the possibility of Du Plessis as the No. 1 contender after the South African balked at facing “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 due to lingering injuries.

Now, Adesanya will defend his crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday night in Sydney. While the reigning champion is heavily favored to dispatch his opponent, it’s not a given that Du Plessis will be next in line.

“You know how much I love when guys turn down fights,” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Contender Series on Tuesday night. “I don’t kno…

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Those who choose to exchange with Brendson Ribeiro do so at their own risk.

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Rose Namajunas isn’t listening to the naysayers – and that includes UFC Fight Night 226 opponent Manon Fiorot.

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The former strawweight champion revealed during a video on social media that she plans on remaining at 125 pounds following a unanimous decision loss to Fiorot in the UFC Fight Night 226 co-main event this past Saturday.

“I’m definitely going to stay [at flyweight],” Namajunas said. “I want to put a little more muscle on. I don’t want to go back down [to strawweight], definitely not. I felt so much better not cutting that weight.

“I already did conquer 115 and to go and do that again, that just seems harder than conquering 125 because of that freaking weight cut. Seriously. Draining your body like that is not good. Your kidneys and your brain and all that stuff. Plus I have a little more time. I’m going to definitely be lifting some freaking weights more. I’ve already been lifting a lot and I got a lot stronger but next time will be …

Sean Strickland’s trip Down Under has apparently already included a run-in with a fan.

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In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, the UFC middleweight revealed that he punched a supporter of the middleweight champion in the stomach after he told Strickland “Izzy is gonna f—-k you up.”

“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland said. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo. Because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your f—-ing mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.

“Uppercut to his stomach. Then I walked away. But if I see the guy again, man, no problems. ... I’ll thank him for not pressing charges.”

Strickland has risen to prominence in the UFC thanks in large part to an outspoken persona known for making controversial remarks. Whether this particular claim proves to be true remains to seen, but ac…

Sherdog’s coverage of DWCS 2023, Week 5 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian…

While he might not have a date set for his UFC return, Conor McGregor is still working on his overall game.

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The former UFC two-division champion announced Monday on social media that he received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“Received my black belt tonight from my coach, friend, and mentor, [John Kavanagh] of [SBG Ireland]. 20 years of hard work!” McGregor wrote. “Thank you John for everything over the years, and to all of my team mates throughout this incredible jiu jitsu journey! Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart! A Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, wow! Praise be to God and then Helio. I’ll be in the Gi in it tomorrow Helio, I promise, and I cannot wait.”

McGregor, who is best known for his knockout power, hasn’t displayed his grappling often during his MMA career, as he has just one submission among 22 professional triumphs — and none in the UFC. McGregor is supposed to face fellow “Ultimate Fighter 31” coach Michael C…

If something goes awry with the scheduled UFC 293 headliner, the promotion has a contingency plan in place.

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According to MMAjunkie.com, Jared Cannonier is in Sydney and will weigh in as the backup fighter for Saturday’s middleweight championship clash between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.

Cannonier challenged for middleweight gold at UFC 276 in July 2022, when he dropped a five-round verdict against Adesanya at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He has since rebounded to earn a split-decision triumph over Strickland at UFC Fight Night 216 and a unanimous verdict against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 47 on June 17. “The Killa Gorilla” has won seven of his last nine Octagon appearances dating back to November 2018.

UFC 293 takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and will also see Alexander Volkov lock horns with Tai Tuivasa in the evening’s heavyweight co-main event. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

It wasn’t completely smooth sailing, but all 10 athletes are official for Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Ramon Taveras tipped the scales at 136.25 pounds on his first attempt but was able to check in at 136 when given additional time for his bantamweight bout against Serhiy Sidey (135.5). All other competitors made weight without issue on Monday.

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Dana White’s Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The card is topped by a light heavyweight showdown pitting Bruno Lopes (204) against Brendson Ribeiro (205.5).

Lopes takes a perfect 11-0 career mark into the Contender Series. He last appeared at Legacy Fighting Alliance 143, where he defeated Willyanedson Paiva via second-round TKO last September. He has finished nine of his triumphs inside the distance.

Ribeiro, meanwhile is coming off back-to-back first-round technical knockout victories on the Brazilian …

The home of Ciryl Gane was reportedly robbed while the French heavyweight competed at UFC Fight Night 226.

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According to French outlet Le Parisien, approximately 150,000 euros — more than $160,000 — of valuables were taken from Gane’s residence, including a Rolex and other jewelry. Police arrived at Gane’s home in Nogent-sur-Marne at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Sunday to discover the break-in and theft.

An investigation is ongoing, and a source close to the case believes that a member of Gane’s entourage may have informed the burglars of his absence prior to the break-in. No arrests have been made at this time.

It was a successful night for Gane in the Octagon, as he defeated Sergey Spivak via second-round technical knockout in the UFC Fight Night 226 headliner at the Accor Arena in Paris. “Bon Gamin” has won nine of 11 promotional appearances since his UFC debut in 2019.

Retired mixed martial artist Jason Miller continues to run into trouble outside of the cage.

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According to TMZ Sports, the UFC and Strikeforce veteran known as “Mayhem” was arrested for allegedly choking a fan at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood on Aug. 29. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records, Miller was arrested on Aug. 30 at 5 a.m. on a misdemeanor charge before being released on bail at 11:25 a.m.

The incident allegedly began when a fan approached Miller to say hello but a “verbal confrontation” ensued, according to the report. From there, Miller was accused of putting the fan in a chokehold before security intervened to separate the two parties.

Miller reportedly left before law enforcement arrived on the scene, but he returned to the club the next day. The police were called by someone who recognized the former fighter, and Miller was subsequently arrested. The case is still under investigation as detectives …

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The rematch between former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabrício Werdum is attracting the attention of Brazilian fans.

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The bareknuckle MMA fight, which will be the main event of Gamebred Fighting Championship 5, takes place almost 15 years after the first showdown and will be broadcast live on the Combate channel in Brazil on Friday. In the first confrontation, at UFC 90 in October 2008, dos Santos made his debut in the promotion and knocked out the favored Werdum, who was on the last fight of his contract and close to a title shot.

“Since I lost, the UFC made an unreasonable proposal and ended up forcing me to leave the promotion and restart my career at Strikeforce,” Werdum told Sherdog.com.

This first fight and its ensuing consequences ended up forging a great rivalry between Werdum and “Cigano. While dos Santos started a meteoric career in the UFC, earning six more victories that would culiminate in a f…