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At the very least, Sean Strickland knows he’s a fresh face in in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight title picture.

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Given a high-risk, low-reward matchup in the UFC on ESPN 48 main event, Strickland delivered in a big way, as he defeated Abusupiyan Magomedov via second-round technical knockout on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. With back-to-back triumphs over Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov in 2023, the 32-year-old pleaded his case for a 185-pound title shot against Israel Adesanya.

“F—k, man. It needs to happen, you guys. “We know Izzy is on f—king repeat, dude,” Strickland said at the post-fight press conference. “They try to bring Abus [in]. This is what the UFC said, ‘Man, the middleweight division is stagnant. Let’s get Abus in here. He might beat Sean.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah right, mother f—ker. Wait until you see what happens. Every time they’ve tried to bring new blood, [like] the Frenchie [Imavov] I fought before…

Two incredible finishes 🔥

💰 @SStricklandMMA & Nursultan Ruziboev earn tonight's POTN! #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/lE7XF3XOGa

— UFC (@ufc) July 2, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC on ESPN 48 card.

Sean Strickland made the most of his UFC main event slot as he finished off Abusupiyan Magomedov in the second round with an overwhelming display of punches. As a result of his impressive TKO finish, Strickland took home an extra $50,000 after being awarded a Performance of the Night bonus. The TKO win officially came at 4:20 of Round 2.

The other Performance of the Night bonus went to Nursulton Ruziboev. The Uzbekistan native quickly knocked out Brunno Ferreira with a right hand after catching a kick. Finally, Fight of the Night went to Guram Kutateladze and Elves Brener. While Kutateladze had the advantage early, Brener would put away his opponent in Round 3. The…

After a slow start, Sean Strickland turned Abusupiyan Magomedov into his personal punching bag.

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Strickland weathered his opponent’s sprint — along with a fairly deep eye poke — in Round 1, then turned up the heat for a technical knockout victory in the UFC on ESPN 48 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. “Tarzan” brought the show to a close behind a flurry of punches on the canvas 4:20 into the second period.

Magomedov (25-5-1, 1-1 UFC), who was widely viewed as a questionable choice of opponent when the fight was announced, came out firing in the opening stanza — though an inadvertent eye poke from the Russian in the opening moments almost ended the contest before it began. Strickland (27-5, 14-5 UFC) was able to recover, and he spent most of the frame on his heels as Magomedov attacked with low kicks, front kicks to the body and looping hooks to the head. The 2018 PFL finalist ended the stanza with a takedown, but the grappli…

Rinat Fakhretdinov made sure it wasn’t a happy homecoming for Kevin Lee.

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The American Top Team-trained Russian made short work of the former interim lightweight title challenger, winning via technical submission 55 seconds into their 170-pound bout at UFC on ESPN 48 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Fakhretdinov (21-1, 3-0 UFC) has won 20 straight professional outings dating back to June 30, 2013.

Related Content: UFC on ESPN 48 ‘Strickland vs. Magomedov’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring Lee (19-8, 11-8 UFC), who was making his first Octagon appearance since August 2021, never had a chance to make his mark. Fakhretdinov dropped “The Motown Phenom” with a perfectly-placed right hand on the chin early in the opening stanza. From there, Lee attempted to shoot for a desperation single-leg, but that only allowed Fakhretdinov to lock in a power guillotine. When Herb Dean moved in to take a closer look, Lee had been rendered unconcious …

What a way to close out a three-round war 😅

📺 Watch #CW156 LIVE on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/9Hfz5dKG8A

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) July 1, 2023

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Darren Stewart has Cage Warriors gold in his crosshairs.

Stewart staked his claim to a middleweight title shot with a unanimous decision triumph over Matthew Bonner in the Cage Warriors 156main event in Cardiff, Wales, on Saturday. It was the promotion’s first event in Wales since 2019.

Stewart, a 14-time UFC veteran, relied heavily on his wrestling skills and was relentless with his double-leg takedowns to move the action to the canvas whenever he felt the necessity. Former Cage Warriors titleholder Bonner looked to punish his adversary with punches, but “The Dentist” was elusive throughout the clash. “The Beast” heavily landed in the third frame and looked to have Stewart in serious difficulty before his opponent shot for another successful takedown, disrupting…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 48 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Romanov (-135), Ivanov (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Petrovic (-210), Carolina (+180)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Kutateladze (-600), Brener (+450)Round 1 …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has lost part of a big fight on its upcoming pay-per-view, but the line of interested replacements seems to be growing longer by the hour.

Per Jack Della Maddalena (14-2) on his Instagram on Friday, his opponent Sean Brady for UFC 290 has pulled out of their welterweight bout. Around the same time, Brady posted on his own Instagram Stories with the caption of “Day 4” with a photograph of him receiving IV treatment with an elastic bandage wrapped around his elbow. It is not clear at this time if the promotion will replace Brady for this fight card, but multiple names have already lobbied publicly for a slot on the billing or against the Aussie at a later date.

Maddalena has strung together 14 consecutive victories since losing a pair of fights at the very beginning of his career. Along the way up, 13 of those 14 wins have come inside the distance, including four inside the Octagon. The 2022 campaign for the welterweight went swim…

[embedded content] Joanderson Brito knows little about his latest opponent.

The 28-year-old Brazilian will face Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Westin Wilson in a UFC on ESPN 48 featherweight prelim this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Wilson, 34, steps in as a short-notice replacement for Khusein Askhabov and enters his promotional debut on the heels of three straight victories, all of them first-round submissions. The late change in opponent complicates matters for Brito.

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“It’s going to be an interesting fight since he’s someone I don’t really know,” he told Sherdog.com. “He’s pretty tall. I’ve been facing taller opponents for some time now, so I don’t believe that will be a problem. The biggest challenge is still not knowing him. It’s going to be very interesting since I’ve been getting ready in all areas.”

Brito has built some momentum of his own with back-to-back wins over Andre Fili and Lucas Alexander. His 41-second technical…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship needed a little under 30 minutes to complete its weigh-ins.

Headling UFC on ESPN 48 is a five-round fight between Sean Strickland and Abusupiyan Magomedov. Both men successfully made weight for the main event, as did the rest of the fighters on the 12-fight card, with a weigh-in ceremony that went down extremely quickly on Friday morning.

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Strickland (26-5) bounced back from a two-fight skid by defeating Nassourdine Imavov in his last outing up a division. The win followed back-to-back defeats to Jared Cannonier and Alex Pereira. Prior to the setbacks, "Tarzan" had won six straight fights inside the Octagon. Strickland officially weighed 186 pounds on the dot.

This marks the first UFC main event for Magomedov (25-4-1). "Abus" won his company debut back in September 2022 in just 19 seconds, delivering a front kick that knocked out Dustin Stoltzfus. The Russian, who claims a headlining spot in jus…

The stage is set for our middleweight main event! ⚖️#CW156 Weigh-in Results ⤵️

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 30, 2023 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship appears to be seriously cracking down on those that miss weight, handing down a 50% purse fine for one heavy competitor.

CW 156 is headlined by a fight between Darren Stewart and Matthew Bonner. Both middleweights successfully made weight for the main event. All other fighters on the nine-fight card hit their proper marks except for Marcondes Bastos, who came in at 146.5 pounds for his featherweight fight against Milad Ahady. The fight will continue, although Bastos was fined half of his purse.

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An Octagon veteran, Stewart (14-9, 2 NC) is riding a two-fight win streak. "The Dentist" most recently defeated Guilherme Cadena Martins and Leon Aliu, and weighed in at 183.6 pounds. Meanwhile, Bonner (14-8-1) has won four of his last five fights. Most recently, "The Be…

[embedded content] Not much was expected from Elves Brener in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as evidenced by the fact that he closed as a 4-to-1 underdog against Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 284 in February. Four-plus months and a contentious split decision over Tukhugov later, and the oddsmakers continue to show him precious little respect.

Brener will draw his second Octagon assignment when he meets the heavily favored Guram Kutateladze as part of the UFC on ESPN 48 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Having established a modest foothold in the organization’s lightweight division, the Brazilian vowed to take a more aggressive approach in his sophomore appearance.

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“Now that I’m on my second bout, I can go for a knockout or a submission,” Brener told Sherdog.com. “It’s what I like. I like feeling like I’m in a war. Against Tukhugov, I found my distance early on, so it was easier to keep scoring points without exposing myself …

Craig Jones needed overtime to defeat 2017 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Felipe Pena in the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 headliner on Thursday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Jones, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor for reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Alexander Volkanovski, was credited with the fastest escape time in OT and awarded the victory. Neither man budged during regulation, as they dug in their heels in a virtual stalemate.

Meanwhile, Nicky Rodriguez submitted Dan Manasoui with a rear-naked choke in overtime to win the $30,000 absolute tournament. Rodriguez turned away Roberto Jimenez in the quarterfinals, then tapped Vagner Rocha with an overtime rear-naked choke in the semis. Manasoui had put away Gabriel Arges with a heel hook in 3:21 and dispatched Fedor Nikolov with a kneebar in 38 seconds to punch his ticket to the final.

In other action, Glover Teixeira took a unanimous decision f…

Since Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Tracy Cortez last fought, her upcoming opponent has competed three times.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, Cortez (10-1) will return to the cage to take on fellow 125er Jasmine Jasudavicius (9-2) at UFC Fight Night 227. This event, a Fight Night card playing out at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will be a rare show to feature a championship bout without a pay-per-view attached. News of this ranked flyweight pairing has since been confirmed by Cortez on her social media.

This will be Cortez’ first jaunt to the Octagon since May 2022, where she picked up a unanimous decision over Melissa Gatto. Since dropping her professional debut back in 2017, Cortez has not lost. Victor of 10 straight outings, including four in the UFC – one per year since joining the league in 2019 – Cortez has reached the rankings courtesy of four decisions wins over the likes of Gatto, Justine Kish and Stephane Egger. Each of the last six appearances fo…

Some important news...

Unfortunately, I won't be able to compete on Aug 19 at UFC 292. I have a tear in my right shoulder that requires rehab.

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I wish I could've got in there w/ Chito, but I won't be able to make a full recovery in time.@jimmybars

📽️: https://t.co/Ar7JQbsQPL pic.twitter.com/06ZEoKE7b4

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 29, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return show in Boston has taken a big hit on the main card. On Thursday, Henry Cejudo announced that a shoulder injury will be keeping him from competing at UFC 292. The ex-two division champ stated that he will require around six to eight weeks for recovery, and does not plan on getting surgery if he can help it. The promotion has not currently indicated if a replacement will be sought to face Marlon Vera on that Aug. 19 show at the TD Garden in Boston.

“August 19th is the 15-year anniversary when ‘Triple C’ won his Olympic gold medal,”…

OFFICIAL: PFL San Antonio card is set as Featherweights and Light Heavyweights look to book their ticket to the 2023 #PFLWorldChampionship 🏆💰

[Fri, August 4th |#PFLPlayoffs | 🎟️https://t.co/FD4ZBDPl3o] pic.twitter.com/GeZw1elvmX

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 29, 2023 The first of the three Professional Fighters League playoffs events is now on the books.

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Per a release from the promotion on Thursday, it has populated its Aug. 4 billing at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. Featherweights and light heavyweight semifinal matches are slated atop the PFL 7: 2023 Playoffs event, along with six additional “showcase” bouts to prepare for future tournaments or even potential Challenger Series slots. The company will then switch gears after this playoff card for two shows in New York later in the month.

Headlining the ESPN-based evening will be a 145-pound semifinal between top seeded Bubba Jenkins (21-6) and no. 4 s…

[embedded content] Heightened stakes stare right back at Luana Carolina when she looks in the mirror every day.

The 30-year-old Brazilian flyweight could be battling for her spot on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster when she toes the line against undefeated promotional newcomer Ivana Siric Petrovic as part of the UFC on ESPN 48 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Carolina’s immediate concerns are clear.

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“My goal is to win, renew my contract and fight on the Sao Paulo card in Brazil in November,” she told Sherdog.com. “With each camp, my main objective is to improve upon my previous performance, both physically and technically. It won’t be any different this time. As an MMA fighter, I train to be prepared for any situation that may arise in the Octagon.”

Recent history has not been kind to Carolina. She has suffered back-to-back setbacks, including a vicious spinning back elbow knockout defeat to onetime Cage Warriors Fig…

Rising welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov will welcome Kelvin Gastelum back to 170 pounds in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Sept. 16.

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UFC president Dana White announced the booking on Wednesday evening. The UFC Fight Night event is being held in honor of Mexican Independence Day and is headlined by a flyweight championship rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. The card takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will air on ESPN+.

Undefeated in 17 professional appearances, Rakhmonov is a rising star in the UFC’s welterweight division. The 28-year-old Kazakhstan native is coming off a third-round submission of Geoff Neal in his last outing at UFC 285 this past March. The former M-1 Global title holder also owns wins over Neil Magny, Carlston Harris, Michel Prazeres and Alex Oliveira in the Octagon.

Gastelum has endured his share of struggles in recent years, going 2-5 in UFC competition since 2019. Mos…

Cris Lencioni is out of the intensive care unit after going into cardiac arrest during training earlier this month, but plenty of uncertainty remains regarding the Bellator fighter’s recovery.

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Lencioni’s wife, Marca, revealed to MMAFighting.com that her husband suffered a heart attack during a jiu-jitsu exercise on June 8. An MRI later revealed that Lencioni suffered also brain damage as a result of the heart attack.

Lencioni has made some physical progress, including smiling and removing his hand from a bag of ice, but he remains in a “state of disordered consciousness” due to the traumatic brain injury. At this point, doctors are unable to give a clear prognosis on his recovery.

“The neurologists were basically like, ‘We have to wait to see what he can do and what he shows us,’” Marca told MMAFighting. “Because he was so, so healthy when this happened and is young and an athlete, they’re not really sure what’s gonna happen.

“The brai…

After more than a year on the sidelines, Michel Pereira will return to the Octagon against Stephen Thompson at UFC 291 on July 29.

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The Brazilian is not accustomed to such a lenghty layoff.

"Since I entered in UFC I´m used to fighting three times a year,” he told Sherdog.com. “Man, I’m living in Las Vegas with a high [cost of living]. I cannot go 15 months without fighting. But finally the UFC found a ranked oponent with the balls to face me.”

Pereira, who did part of his camp at Xtreme Couture, is especially excited at the stylistic matchup with “Wonderboy.”

"I love to entertain the fans and when I face grapplers, they want to avoid my stand up game,” Pereira said. “I cannot show my new skills, [but] that will not happen with Stephen ‘Wonderboy.’ He is a karate black belt just like myself.”

Pereira is confident that their similar backgrounds will work in his favor.

"As a karate fighter, I know exactly what a karate fighter doesn’…

Both Ilia Topuria and Josh Emmett have been suspended indefinitely following their featherweight headliner at UFC on ABC 5 this past Saturday.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation released a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Topuria was impressive in taking a dominant unanimous verdict over Emmett in the evening’s featured bout. The FDBPR does not disclose the exact nature of each fighter’s medical suspension, but indefinite terms can typically be shortened with doctor clearance.

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Four other fighters from UFC on ABC 5 are also facing indefinite terms: Amanda Ribas, Wellington Turman, Mateusz Rebecki and Loik Radzhaboz.

UFC on ABC 5 Medical Suspensions:

Ilia Topuria: Suspended indefinitely

Josh Emmett: Suspended indefinitely

Amanda Ribas: Suspended indefinitely

Justin Tafa: Suspended indefinitely

Gabriel Santo…

Cub Swanson will return to the featherweight division for a clash with Hakeem Dawodu at UFC on ESPN 51.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after Swanson initially announced the bout via Instagram. UFC on ESPN 51 takes place on Aug. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Vicente Luque against Rafael dos Anjos.

Swanson is coming off a bantamweight appearance at UFC Fight Night 212, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Johathan Martinez this past October. Prior to that, the World Extreme Cagefighting veteran had won three of his last four Octagon appearances dating back to October 2019.

Dawodu has lost two of his last three under the UFC banner. Most recently, the 31-year-old Canadian dropped a three-round verdict to Julian Erosa at UFC 279 last September.

Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA Credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator …

Credit: One Championship Credit: One Championship Credit: One Championship

One-time UFC heavyweight competitor Braxton Smith has accepted a two-year USADA suspension after multiple failed drug tests.  

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Smith tested positive for exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors in out-of-competition samples on April 19 and May 4 and in-competition on May 6. According to USADA, Smith’s three positive tests were combined into one violation because he was not notified of his first positive test when he second and third samples were collected.

“Smith’s urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin,” the USADA statement read. “The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its metabolites of external origin in Smith’s urine sample. A…

It was an afternoon to forget for Justin Tafa.

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The Australian’s heavyweight clash with Austen Lane ended just 29 seconds into Round 1 of their UFC on ABC 5 clash when Tafa was rendered unable to continue after being poked in the eye. As a result, the bout was ruled a no contest.

It was one of the more gruesome eye pokes in recent memory, and Tafa later expressed his frustration on Twitter. “I deserve my win bonus. That’s a DQ, man,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Lane apologized shortly thereafter.

Fortunately, it appears that Tafa won’t suffer any permanent damage as a result of the foul. “Bad Man” recently offered a relatively positive update on his condition via social media.

“Cleared of any major damage to both eyes but both eyes did suffer some damage,” Tafa wrote. “Right eye still in some pain, sensitive to light and blurred vision on the [left] but I thank God nothing that was going to end my career or cause serious damage to my eye. Than…