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WHAT A FIGHT TO END THE PRELIMS AT #UFC287 👏 pic.twitter.com/mJEdGcKA5k

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2023

Kelvin Gastelum needed a win in the worst way possible, and Chris Curtis made him go through heavy fire to earn it.

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“The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner went toe-to-toe with Curtis for three entertaining rounds, earning a unanimous decision triumph in the featured UFC 287 prelim at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday night. Gastelum, who had lost five of his previous six promotional appearances, received scorecards of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 from the cageside judges. Both middleweights traded willingly for the duration of the contest. Gastelum (18-8, 12-8 UFC) enjoyed success landing quick punching combinations to the head — opening a cut over Curtis’ eye in the process — and low kicks. Curtis (30-10, 4-2 UFC), meanwhile, stood in the pocket and fired back, doing some of his best work digging to the body o…

An instant classic is headed to the #UFCHOF :raised_hands:@Ruthless_RL vs @Rory_MacDonald 2 will officially go down in UFC history!

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/x546ghwaH8

— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023

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An incredible welterweight title clash is being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced during the UFC 287 pay-per-view that Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald's incredible UFC 189 fight is being immortalized in the UFC Hall of Fame's fight wing. The five-round war saw Lawler successfully defend his welterweight title against the Canadian that left both men forever changed. The back-and-forth battle would see Lawler eventually overcome his foe and pick up a TKO victory one minute into the fifth round.

One of the most dramatic moments came at the end of Round 4 as Lawler spit blood on the ground and glared at MacDonald. Eventually, a damaged nose of MacDonald became too…

#ANDNEW Middleweight champion of the world! 🏆@stylebender gets his belt back at #UFC287!!

[ B2YB @RE_Games ] pic.twitter.com/WzTsvdP7C5

— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC 287 pay-per-view card.

Israel Adesanya received an extra $50,000 for his impressive middleweight championship win. "The Last Stylebender" scored an incredible knockout over Alex Pereira in the second round with a series of crushing punches. Additionally, Rob Font pocketed $50,000 for his TKO stoppage over Adrian Yanez.

Meanwhile, fight of the night honors went to Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis. The two middleweights had a back-and-forth featured prelim, with Gastelum ultimately taking home the decision win.

UFC 286 Bonuses: Israel Adesanya - $50,000Rob Font - $50,000Kelvin Gastelum - $50,000Chris Curtis - $50,000

Highly-touted middleweight prospect Bo Nickal will make his sophomore Octagon appearance against Tresean Gore at UFC 290.

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Nickal revealed the booking to Betr Combat, and the fight has subsequently been confirmed by multiple outlets. UFC 290 takes place on July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also includes a featherweight title tilt pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Yair Rodriguez.

Nickal enjoyed a successful promotional debut at UFC 285, where he submitted Jamie Pickett with an arm-triangle choke 2:54 into Round 1 of their clash. The victory was not without controversy, as Pickett initially considered appealing the result after claiming Nickal turned the tide of the bout with a knee to the groin. Pickett and his team ultimately decided against filing an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. A three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Nickal is 4-0 in his pro MMA career, with all of those triumphs …

It was closer than most anticipated, but Larissa Pacheco did enough to get by.

The 2022 Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight champion downshifted to 145 pounds and began her quest for gold in a second division with a unanimous decision over Julia Budd in the PFL 2 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27—all for Pacheco (20-4, 9-2 PFL).

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Budd (16-6, 1-3 PFL) made it competitive. She punctuated occasional punching volleys with powerful right hands and at times outscrambled Pacheco in back-and-forth grappling exchanges. In the end, she failed to muster enough consistent offense to spring the upset. Pacheco staggered the former Bellator MMA titleholder with a clean left hook in the third round, dragged her to the canvas and secured an advantageous position behind her. Budd escaped and moved on top, only to be reversed soon after. Pacheco eventually settled in half guard, made a …

The 2023 Professional Fighters League marches on with 2023 PFL 2 at 7 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN+ and then continues on ESPN.

Discuss the event in the MMA forums, the world’s largest combat sports community, here.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian K…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title will be on the line in the UFC 287 main event.

Both champion Alex Pereira and challenger Israel Adesanya successfully made weight for the upcoming championship rematch. All of the fighters except one for the 13-fight card, which is co-headlined by a welterweight scrap between Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal, also made weight. The lone miss was Christian Rodriguez, who checked in at 137 pounds. Due to being one pound over the bantamweight limit, he has been fined 20% of his purse for his bout against Raul Rosas Jr.

Pereira (7-1) has been perfect inside the Octagon, and dispatched his former kickboxing rival in their first mixed martial arts meeting. It wasn't easy, though, as it took a late TKO rally for "Poatan" to claim the belt. The Brazilian will look to dispel any notions of the victory being a fluke in the rematch. Pereira stepped on the scale at 185 pounds on the dot.

The impressive…

Sherdog's live UFC 287 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Amorim (-245), Hughes (+205)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Nuerdanbieke (-200), Garcia (+170)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BE…

Hey Canada! 😃 pic.twitter.com/7ah0IFQAa4

— danawhite (@danawhite) April 7, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is officially going back to Canada this year.

On Friday, UFC President Dana White – who was caught on video slapping his wife on Dec. 31, 2022 – announced on social media that UFC 289 will be held at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. White then told Canadian outlet TSN that the main attraction for that show would be the rubber match between Amanda Nunes (22-5) and Julianna Pena (11-5) for the women’s bantamweight throne. Other matches recently booked for the card include Hakeem Dawodu (13-3-1) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-1) at featherweight, and Aiemann Zahabi (9-2) vs. Qileng Aori (24-9) in the bantamweight division.

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The promotion had been rumored to instead be holding the card at Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but due to the playoff picture for the NHL team Calgary Flames, the Scotiabank Saddl…

Two fan-favorite Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights will battle it out for top-10 contention this June.

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A report from Combate first broke the news on late Thursday that Amanda Ribas (11-3) would be returning to the cage on June 24. The flyweight will be taking on Maycee Barber (12-2), reportedly in Jacksonville, Florida, which would likely put it at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. This event is rumored to air on the ABC airwaves in some fashion, and therefore is currently titled UFC on ABC 5. The 125-pound pairing has since been confirmed by both ladies on their respective Instagram pages.

Both women are coming off decision wins in March. For Brazil’s Ribas, she rebounded from her first loss on the scorecards – coming against perennial contender Katlyn Chookagian – to claim a unanimous verdict against Viviane Araujo. Before the 2022 Chookagian setback, Ribas had won five of six in the Octagon, with the lone defeat in her rise a knockou…

⚖️@JuliaBudd weighs in at 145.6 lbs for her main event Women’s Featherweight bout

[ Friday, April 7th | 10pm ET on ESPN 2 | #PFLRegularSeason |🎟 https://t.co/hxZi2fEbA9] pic.twitter.com/fEB6uSO0MX

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 6, 2023 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 4:15 p.m. ET to reflect that Kolesnyk did not continue cutting weight to reach the featherweight limit.

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The 2023 Professional Fighters League season is about to begin for the heavyweight and women's featherweight competitors.

The 10-fight PFL 2 card is headlined by an intriguing 145-pound women's pairing between Larissa Pacheco and Julia Budd. Both women had no trouble making weight, as did the rest of the event with the exception of Olena Kolesnyk, who came in .4 pounds over the featherweight limit for her bout against Aspen Ladd. Additionally, one fight was moved, as PFL announced that Michal Andryszak was out of his encounter with Patrick Brady…

Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing promotion paid out nearly $3 million in disclosed salaries for its most recent event.

According to a release from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Unarmed Combat Sports branch, salary totals from Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1 combined for $2,827,700, per MMA Junkie. The event held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, played host to a baker’s dozen boxing matches, featuring several Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans and even a few ex-champions.

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The top salary figure from the event came for headliner Roy Jones Jr. ($700,000), who dropped a majority decision to Anthony Pettis ($650,000) in the main attraction. While the fight was Pettis’ pro boxing debut, it was the 54-year-old Jones Jr.’s 76th and first since 2018. The two discussed a rematch after the match concluded, although Jones Jr. might elect to return to retirement instead.

The majority of the competitors featured flat …

[embedded content] A number of Brazilian talents including a few Ultimate Fighting Championship greats voiced their thoughts on the upcoming title fight this weekend.

Atop UFC 287 on April 8 in Miami, Alex Pereira (7-1) and Israel Adesanya (23-2) will collide for the second time in the cage, in their fourth meeting across combat sports. “Poatan” has gotten the better of Adesanya on all three prior engagements, winning a close decision in 2016 in kickboxing, and the second ended with Pereira landing a vicious one-punch knockout. Pereira joined up in the MMA ranks and stopped his rival late at UFC 281 in 2022 to claim the title, and the promotion decided to run it back immediately. Sherdog spoke to several notable Brazilian competitors about this matchup, who all had plenty to share about their countryman ahead of his first middleweight title defense.

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Paulo Costa: “Every time they face each other, they are very even,” Costa noted. “Adesanya has the spe…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight strap will be unified once again come July.

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International Fight Week for the UFC now has its first bout coming together, although it has not yet been signed by the competitors. At UFC 290 on July 8 inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) will look to unify his 145-pound belt against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC). The news was first reported on Thursday by Ariel Helwani, and it has since been confirmed by other outlets. It has not yet been determined if that match will headline the tentpole event.

Volkanovski saw his bid for a second strap fall to pieces when he moved up to pieces to take on Islam Makhachev. The Aussie fell short against the 155-pound king in hopes of becoming a two-division champ. According to Fox Sports Australia back in March, Volkanovski had been pushing for an immediate rematch, but the promotion wanted him to return to his form…

Jorge Masvidal fight with Kevin Holland in lobby ufc Miami#ufc #ufcmiami #ufc287 #jorgemasvidal #kevinholland #fight #mma #miami pic.twitter.com/yJHv5UOxZR

— Florida Man (@BarryMacokner94) April 5, 2023

UFC 287 is a few days away, but tensions are already high.

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Video surfaced on Wednesday of Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland engaged in a shouting match at the UFC fight hotel.The two athletes were separated by security, and according to multiple reports, the altercation never got physical.

It’s unclear what started the incident, but it is reportedly common knowledge that Masvidal and Holland are not on the best of terms. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Holland commented on the altercation.

“That video is going to come out,” Holland said. “Then, they’re probably going to do an opponent change again.”

Masvidal is slated to meet Gilbert Burns in Saturday’s welterweight co-main event, while Holland will f…

While she was competing for Bellator MMA, Julia Budd always hoped to be involved in a tournament.

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Though that didn’t come to fruition with the Scott Coker-led promotion, Budd will get that opportunity — in a sense, at least — with the Professional Fighters League season format at 145 pounds. It will mark the debut of the weight class in the league after the PFL previously held women’s fights at 155 pounds.

“This is something I always wish Bellator did,” Budd said during a PFL media day. “When I fought for them for seven years and they started doing those tournaments, I thought it would be so cool if they did a female 145 tournament. Now PFL is doing it and I’m here. It just feels like the perfect timing.”

Budd will square off against defending lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco in the PFL 2: 2023 Regular Season headliner on Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN 2 beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.…

Diego Ferreira will lock horns with Michael Johnson in a lightweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on May 20.

MMA Mania was first to report the booking. The UFC Fight Night event does not yet have a location or headliner.

Ferreira, 38, hasn’t competed since December 2021, when he suffered his third consecutive promotional defeat at the hands of Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 199. The ex-Legacy Fighting Championship title holder enjoyed his greatest success in the Octagon when he authored a six-bout winning streak from 2016 to 2020 that include triumphs over the likes of Anthony Pettis and Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Johnson, meanwhile, won two of his three UFC appearances in 2022. Most recently, “The Menace” outpointed Marc Diakiese at UFC on ESPN 42 this past December. Johnson has struggled in recent years overall, going just 2-7 in the promotion before his mini-resurgence last year.

After relinquishing the lightweight crown to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Charles Oliveira is scheduled to return to the Octagon against Beneil Dariush at UFC 288.

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Oliveira’s coach, Diego Lima, likes the matchup.

"That was the fight that made sense for us,” Lima said. “Dariush is coming from an impressive sequence and is a complete fighter. Good everywhere, just like Charles. I have no doubt it's going to be a great war that will not last three rounds.

While the fight with Dariush will be tough, the Chute Boxe leader still dreams about a rematch with Makhachev for Oliveira.

"Sooner or later that fight must happen,” he said. “Unfortunately that was not our night. Everything we planned didn’t work out, but Charles is training harder than ever and evolving everywhere. If that rematch happens, you can bet it will be a different fight. But the level in the UFC is really high. Let´s have one [battle at a time]. Our…

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It doesn’t look like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship will be an option for ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

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During a press conference for BKFC 41 on Tuesday, promotion president David Feldman briefly addressed the possibility of signing Ngannou. The topic initially arose when Ben Rothwell was asked about fighting Ngannou under the BKFC banner.

“Francis Ngannou, he’s somebody we’ve certainly reached out to,” Feldman said. “We’ve reached out to him, we’ve reached out to his team, and we just feel like he’s asking for unrealistic money, and we’re not willing to pay that kind of money for him.”

Ngannou was released from his UFC contract at the beginning of the year after failing to come to terms with the Las Vegas-based promotion for a fight with Jon Jones. Ngannou recently said that he is in talks for a boxing match against Deontay Wilder this summer, but thus far nothing has been announced. Ngannou has also rep…

Not all that long ago, Kayla Harrison seemed ready to leave the grind of the Professional Fighters League season format in the rearview mirror at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

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It appears that sentiment has changed.

Harrison revealed on "The MMA Hour" that she hoped to take part in the PFL’s 2023 season format. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won two PFL championships at 155 pounds before being upset by Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 final. It was Harrison’s first defeat in 16 professional MMA bouts.

“I wanted to be in the season,” Harrison said. “Of course I wanted to be in the season. The second the tournament was over, the second I lost, I wrote down my goals. I was like: ‘145-pound champ. Going to be in the season. Avenge my loss.’ I had all my key areas of focus, and that’s not in the cards for me. That’s not what they want to do. They want me to fight on the pay-per-view.

Harrison added that she has two fights remaining on her cu…

A heavyweight showdown between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida is the new main event for UFC Fight Night on May 13.

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Previously, a light heavyweight tilt pitting Anthony Smith against Johnny Walker had been slated as the card’s headliner, but the promotion on Tuesday announced Rozenstruik vs. Almeida as the evening’s featured bout. Additionally, Smith informed MMAFighting.com that he was told his fight was getting moved to the co-main event.

𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑽𝒀𝑾𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺 take center stage in Charlotte! 💥@JairRozenstruik and @Malhadinho_UFC will headline May 13th!

[ #UFCCharlotte | Sat. May 13 | @SpectrumCenter ] pic.twitter.com/pLgqkI9zVM

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2023

UFC Fight Night takes place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carollina, and is also expected to include a welterweight bout between Ian Garry and Daniel Rodriguez.

Rozenstruik snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ch…

A welterweight clash pitting Stephen Thompson against Michel Pereira is in the works for UFC 289 on June 10.

The bout was initially reported by MMA Sucka and later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. Pereira also announced the pairing via Instagram. UFC 289 doesn’t have an official location, but it will reportedly take place in Canada.

A two-time welterweight title challenger, Thompson ended a two-bout skid with an entertaining fourth-round technical knockout victory against Kevin Holland at UFC on ESPN 42 on Dec. 3. Since joining the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2012, “Wonderboy” has earned victories over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, Jorge Masvidal, Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.

Pereira will take a five-bout UFC winning streak into the matchup with Thompson. Most recently, “Demolidor” garnered a split verdict against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Fight Night 206 in May 2022. The 29-year-old Brazilian is 8-2 dur…

Eleven-time UFC veteran George Sotiropoulos is expected return to professional MMA competition in nearly nine years when he faces Josh Togo at Hex Fight Series 26.

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The Australia-based promotion recently announced the lightweight booking. Hex Fight Series 26 takes place on May 26 at the Melbourne Pavilion.

The 45-year-old Sotiropoulos hasn’t fought since Aug. 22, 2014, when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Mike Ricci at Titan FC 29. The Victoria, Australia, native appeared on Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and began his UFC tenure with seven consecutive triumphs from 2007 to 2010. He dropped his last four Octagon appearances before being released from the UFC, and he would fight just once more after that. Sotiropoulos owns a 14-7 career mark that includes victories over the likes of Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson and George Roop.

Anchored at Australian Top Team, Togo brings a 12-4 mark into the matchup with Sotiropoulos. He last appeare…

A familiar face will be in a new role on Saturday night at UFC 287.

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UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier will make his debut in studio as a desk analyst for the event alongside Michael Eaves and Din Thomas. Poirier’s duties will include breaking down the card on the post-fight show. MMAjunkie.com was first to report news of the UFC 287 broadcast assignments.

A former interim lightweight title holder and a two-time challenger for the undisputed 155-pound strap, Poirier is known as one of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s most reliable action fighters. He last appeared at UFC 281, where he submitted Michael Chandler in the third round of their bout this past November. His resume includes victories over the likes of Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller, among others. His next fight has yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, the UFC 287 broadcast team will include Jon Anik on pla…