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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…

The fans in Paris made a strong impression at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second event in France on Saturday.

The Accor Arena was rocking from the card’s opening fight, all the way until Ciryl Gane dispatched Sergey Spivak in the UFC Fight Night 226 heavyweight headliner. The numerous French fighters on the card drew loud ovations and brought a palpable energy to the audience — something that was noticeable to UFC officials.

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“That felt louder than last year,” said UFC senior vice president for international operations and content David Shaw at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“Last year our feeling was it’s first time in market, we worked so hard to get legalization in France. First time effect — great,” he added. “The event was a huge success. Coming here tonight and having the performance all the athletes put on and the performance also of the fans, it kind of validated what the thesis was from the very beginning, which is we make…

After once being one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the heavyweight division, Ciryl Gane ran into more than his fair share of doubters following a quick submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285 in March.

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Gane took a step toward restoring his image at UFC Fight Night 226, as he was dominant in a second-round technical knockout victory against Sergey Spivak in Saturday’s headliner at Accor Arena in Paris. “Bon Gamin” admitted that he felt pressure heading into the fight.

“I’m not going to lie. I’ve got the pressure, and I want to do well,” Gane said at the post-fight press conference. “This is not a game of basketball or soccer. That’s different. Just that, you have some emotion that’s really different.Yeah, a little bit afraid, a little bit pressured. You want to do well.”

With that being said, Gane claims that he wasn’t focused on proving the doubters wrong with his performance against Spivak. It was more about correcting mistakes mad…

Dios santo!!! Aviso que son imágenes muy fuertes para los sensibles, Dylan Reischman se ha fracturado la pierna de una forma horrorosa, de las peores lesiones que he visto nunca #CombateGlobal pic.twitter.com/LPijs2vFfO

— Pelunaton (@pelunaton) September 3, 2023

Dylan Reischman suffered a gruesome leg break at a Combate Global event on Saturday.

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Reischman was attempting to defend a takedown from Jamie Mora in the second round of their featherweight bout. When Mora attempts to lift his opponent for a takedown, Reischman’s leg gets caught awkwardly underneath him and snaps, ending the fight immediately at the 1:47 mark of Round 2. It appears that the injury causes Reischman’s bone to protrude from his leg.

The injury can be viewed in the video above, but it is not for the faint of heart.

The 21-year-old Reischman was making his professional MMA debut. Combate Global “Ferreira vs. Morales” was held at Mediapro Studi…

Rose Namajunas was at less than 100% for most of her flyweight debut.

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Namajunas’ manager, Brian Butler-Au of SuckerPunch Entertainment, confirmed on social media that the ex-strawweight queen suffered a broken right hand in the first round of her loss to Manon Fiorot at UFC Fight Night 226 on Saturday in Paris.

“Rose is in good spirits,” Butler-Au wrote. “Broke her right hand early in the first round and couldn’t fully execute because of it.”

Despite the injury, “Thug” Rose was still competitive against Fiorot in her first 125-pound foray. She outlanded her opponent 60 to 58 in significant strikes and won the third round on two of the three cageside judges’ scorecards. Butler-Au later posted a photo that showed Namajunas’ mangled right pinkie finger once she removed her gloves.

The very first clash in the first round this happened to @rosenamajunas The mental battle to keep going began right then and varied…

Benoit St. Denis and Thiago Moises received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 226.

After a frenetic opening stanza that saw St. Denis open a cut near his foe’s eye with an elbow, the Frenchman delighted the crowd at Accor Arena in Paris by punctuating his victory with a barrage of ground-and-pound for a stoppage at the 4:44 mark of the second frame.

Meanwhile, former interim heavyweight king Ciryl Gane captured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his technical knockout victory over Sergey Spivak in the main event. “Bon Gamin” kept the fight upright, and battered his foe with strikes to all levels before putting Spivak away with a salvo of punches to the head and body 3:44 into Round 2.

Finally, Morgan Charriere garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his finish of Manolo Zecchini in a featured featherweight affair. A series of kicks to the body sent…

Ciryl Gane operated on an entirely different level from the man on the other side of the cage.

The 33-year-old Frenchman steadied himself among the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight elite, as he tracked down and systematically dismantled Sergey Spivak in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 226 headliner on Saturday at Accor Arena. Spivak (16-4, 7-4 UFC) met his end 3:44 into Round 2, losing for the first time in nearly two years.

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Gane (12-2, 9-2 UFC), in his first appearance since being throttled by Jon Jones in March, was virtually flawless in his execution. He shut down an attempted takedown from Spivak with his sprawl in the first round and never looked back. Gane abused the Moldovan with clubbing shots to the head and body, targeted the legs on occasion and broke him down piece by piece. He pinned Spivak to the fence late in Round 2 and slammed a brutal knee into his guts, setting off the finishing sequence. Standing hammerfist…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 226 coverage will begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cavalcanti (-375), Fairn dos Santos (+295)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Basharat (-325), Rodrigues (+260)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOU…

Taylor Lapilus was not going to let anyone ruin his fairytale return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A crisp jab, clean combinations and stout takedown defense carried the respected French bantamweight to a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Caolan Loughran in the featured UFC Fight Night 226 prelim on Saturday at a raucous Accor Arena in Paris. In his first Octagon appearance since 2016, Lapilus (19-3, 4-1 UFC) carried all three cards with 29-28 scores.

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Loughran (8-1, 0-1 UFC) had considerable difficulty navigating a five-inch reach deficit. The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder secured takedowns in the first and second rounds, only to see avenues to create offense dry up in a hurry. Lapilus stayed upright enough to handle business, firing away with jabs and surgical left hands to cruise to the checkered flag.

Meanwhile, Kill Cliff Fight Club rep Ange Loosa banked two rounds and held on for a unanimous …

[embedded content] No matter where he competes, Demetrious Johnson always seems to excel.

On Thursday in Las Vegas, the 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship kicked off, and Johnson was among its numerous competitors. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship great and current One Championship titleholder entered into the featherweight category of 154.6 pounds at the Master 2 division for brown belts. Four brackets needed to be established for the 38 men that took part in this specific tourney, and over the course of the day, Johnson won out to stand atop the pedestal.

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Johnson, who entered as a low 36 seed, started off his branch of the tournament by running the table in the second bracket. His first match came against Lukas Cherep, and the AMC Pankration fighter pulled off the win. A mere 15 minutes later, “Mighty Mouse” faced the overall no. 1 seed, Josue Lopez, and he was not denied the victory. A subsequent armbar over Walter Diaz propelled him…

Bon Gamin looking good on the scale @Ciryl_Gane comes in at 250 pounds to make this #UFCParis main event official!

[ Saturday | 3pmET / 12pmPT Main Card | Live on ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/F5EX60L59F

— UFC (@ufc) September 1, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Paris with an intriguing heavyweight headliner.

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The UFC Fight Night 226 main event will see former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane return to the Octagon against Segey Spivak. Spivak will be the heavier fighter by six pounds. No fighters missed weight for the 11-fight card.

Gane (11-2) is looking to rebound from a one-sided defeat against Jon Jones that saw "Bon Gamin" submitted in just 2:04. The dangerous striker weighed 250 pounds. Meanwhile, Spivak (16-3) is on a three-fight win streak that saw him most recently submit Derrick Lewis with an arm-triangle choke. The Moldovan fighter weighed 256 pounds.

UFC Fight Night 226 will air …

When it comes to main events involving Jon Jones, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is leaving nothing to chance.

Prior to UFC 285 this past March, the promotion made certain it had a top contender available to make weight and compete should Jones or Ciryl Gane fall out of their main attraction. That fighter was Sergei Pavlovich, and he hit his proper marks and ended up watching from the stands the next day. First reported by Igor Lazorin, the organization is doing this for Jones’ next title tilt atop UFC 295, and Pavlovich (18-1) is once again the man on standby. This news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Russia’s Pavlovich last competed in April, where he decimated Curtis Blaydes in just over three minutes to put himself in the top echelon of the heavyweight division. Pavlovich’s lone career defeat came in his UFC debut to Alistair Overeem back in 2018. Since then, Pavlovich has crushed the competition, stringing together six consecutive first-round …

Dropping a quick excerpt from Monday’s @MMAOnSiriusXM podcast to give everyone an update on my .

If you want the full story (and all the ), hit that link below and check out the full episode on @SiriusXM! https://t.co/OuEwonYM3z pic.twitter.com/TsBqm3tEfK

— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) August 30, 2023

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Chris Weidman didn’t emerge unscathed from his first mixed martial arts bout in more than two years — but it’s not as bad as initially expected.

The former middleweight champion revealed on his Sirius XM show that he suffered a fracture in his left leg during a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on Aug. 19. That comes on the heels a gruesomely broken right leg in a loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021.

“I got MRIs done on my tibia and fibula on both legs, got MRIs on both of my knees, X-rays, and I’ve been waiting for a result – and I got the results back. There was no ligament tears at all…

After facing adaptation problems in Abu Dhabi for his fight against Israel Adesanya in September 2020, Paulo Costa has a different schedule for his upcoming bout against Khamzat Chimaev in the same city at UFC 294 on Oct. 21.

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In an interview on the Thunder Voice podcast, the Brazilian fighter stated that he intends to arrive in the United Arab Emirates almost two months prior to the fight for acclimatization and adjustment.

"We want to go to Abu Dhabi at the end of August or the beginning of September, nearly 50 days before the event. We'll be there with everything we need," said Costa, who in 2020 famously resorted to wine to help him sleep before the fight against Adesanya at UFC 253.

Always active on social media, “Borrachinha” fired back at Gilbert "Durinho" Burns, who had expressed doubts in an interview about whether his fellow Brazilian had signed an unprecedented million-dollar contract with the UFC.

"Durinho is limited! He doe…

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 226 lineup has undergone some shuffling.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that Muin Gafurov has withdrawn from a proposed clash with Taylor Lapilus due to visa issues, while Lucas Almeida has pulled out of a bout against William Gomis due to a “medical issue.”

As a result, Lapilus will now face Caolan Loughran at bantamweight, and Gomis will lock horns with Yanis Ghemmouri at featherweight. Loughran and Ghemmouri will originally slated to meet at 135 pounds at UFC Paris.

Lapilus, who previously won three of four Octagon appearances from 2015 to 2016, returns to the UFC riding the momentum of a five-bout winning streak. A four-time Cage Warriors veteran, Loughran enteres his first promotional foray with an 8-0 mark.

Gomis has won 10 straight outings, kicking off his UFC tenure with back-to-back triumphs against Jarno Errens and Francis Marshall. Ghemmouri, a veteran of the Brave Combat Fede…

A lightweight clash pitting Mansour Barnaoui against Jay-Jay Wilson is among six new additions to the Bellator 299 lineup.

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The California-based promotion announced the finalized card — up to a whopping 21 fights — on Wednesday. Bellator 299 takes place on Sept. 23 at the 3Arena in Dublin and is headlined by a middleweight championship tilt between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards. The main card airs in the United States on Showtime at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 11 a.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.

The other five newly-announced bouts are as follows: Luca Poclit vs. Roman Faraldo at welterweight; Asael Adjoudj vs. Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan at featherweight; Khasan Magomedsharipov vs. Martin McDonough; Davy Gallon vs. Attila Korkmaz at lightweight and Sergei Bilostennyi vs. Kasim Aras at heavyweight.

A former lightweight champion in BAMMA, M-1 Global and Road FC, Barnaoui is 1-1 under the Bellator b…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥

𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 about the game changing deal between the PFL and @srjsports pic.twitter.com/P2osh5SFl7

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 30, 2023

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Professional Fighters League has partnered with SRJ Sports Investments for an investment agreement that will assist with the organization’s goals of global expansion.

According to a release, SRJ has acquired a minority stake in PFL and will become an investor in a new regional league set to launch in 2024 — called PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa). SRJ will also support the PFL’s expansion in the Middle East and collaborate with the league to host PFL pay-per-view events in Saudi Arabia.

“PFL’s mission is to become the global co-leader in MMA with our fighter-first mission and disruptive sport-season format,” said PFL Founder and Chairman Donn Davis. “This investment by SRJ continues the monumental growth that PFL has experienced t…