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Alex Pereira is headed to the light heavyweight division.

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“Poatan” announced the move on his YouTube channel on Wednesday night. Pereira is coming off a loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight championship rematch in the UFC 287 headliner this past Saturday.

I think I did my work [at] 185 and now I’m feeling good to go up to 205,” Pereira said. “Like I told you, when I’m feeling good — this will be something natural … and now I think it is.

“But as well I want to make one thing clear. This division 185 … I always made weight. A lot of people had doubts, but I always fulfilled my obligation. But not it’s the moment to go up to the next division. This will be better for me.”

It was the first victory for Adesanya against Pereira in a series spanning four bouts in kickboxing and MMA. Pereira had won his previous seven MMA appearances, a run that saw him claim middleweight gold with a fifth-round stoppage of his rival at UFC 28…

Cezar Ferreira hasn’t competed in MMA since a 13-second technical knockout loss to Marthin Hamlet in the 2021 Professional Fighters League playoffs.

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That will change on Friday night after “Mutante” received a short-notice offer to replace Patrick Brady against Denis Goltsov in a heavyweight bout at PFL 3.

"My manager called me Monday night offering a fight at heavyweight,” Ferreira told Sherdog.com. “And I didn’t think twice. The most difficult thing was doing all the medicals on time. It was such a marathon. But here I´m at the airport. The guy has two legs and two arms like myself. I love challenges and I’m going there to take that Russian’s place and get into the $1 million dollar [competition].”

Weighing 228 pounds compared to approximately 245 for Goltsov, “Mutante” thinks speed might be an advantage for him.

"He is heavier but I’m faster,” Ferreira said. “I’ve already fought at welterweight, middleweight, …

T.J. Dillashaw says that ongoing shoulder issues forced him to call it quits before he truly wanted to leave mixed martial arts.

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The former bantamweight champion announced his retirement late last year following a loss to Aljamain Sterling in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 280. Dillashaw admitted afterward that he entered the matchup with a shoulder injury and that it popped out during the fight. He also revealed that he dislocated the shoulder at least 20 times during training camp.

In a post on Instagram, Dillashaw lamented the injury that led to him exiting the sport while revealing that he will likely need a second shoulder surgery.

“This is retirement,” he wrote. “But in all honesty I’m pretty pissed that I didn’t get the chance to choose to retire. I feel that I’m [too] good to hang ‘em up. Haven’t told many people but I have to go under the knife again for surgery because my first surgery didn’t take. Being told that my shoulder will ne…

Defending Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier will get first crack at prized free-agent signing Shane Burgos.

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Aubin-Mercier vs. Burgos will serve as the featured bout for PFL 3: 2023 Regular Season at the Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Friday. The main card airs early on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. It will be Burgos’ PFL debut after compiling an 8-3 mark in the UFC.

While Aubin-Mercier is well aware of his opponent’s entertaining fighting style, he thinks that could work against Burgos during the grind of the PFL season, which requires more activity than a typical MMA schedule.

“I think it’s gonna be tough for him since he’s kind of a kamikazee in the ring,” Aubin-Mercier said during a PFL media day. “He’s a really fun fighter. He has a big heart. PFL is four fights in eight months, so I think it’s gonna be tough for his style. Everybody is gonna tune in to see the fight and se…

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Nate Diaz’s first venture since leaving the UFC figures to draw plenty of eyes.

Most Valuable Promotions and Real Fight Inc., announced on Wednesday that Diaz will square off against Jake Paul in a boxing match on Aug. 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The bout will be contested at 185 pounds over eight rounds, with both athletes wearing 10-ounce gloves, according to a release. The event will air live on pay-per-view via DAZN as well as all major cable and satellite providers.

Diaz ended his Octagon tenure last September following a fourth-round submission victory against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. That fulfilled Diaz’s contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion. Diaz emerged as one of the UFC’s biggest stars over the course of promotional tenure that began in 2007 after he won “The Ultimate Fighter 5.” He compiled a 16-11 mark in the Octagon and reached the pinnacle of his star power when he submitted McGregor at UFC 196.

“Bes…

A heavyweight tilt pitting Daniel James against Gokhan Saricam is among several additions to the Bellator 297 bill.

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The California-based promotion announced multiple bouts for the event, including the James-Saricam clash that is set for the evening’s main draw. Additionally, the following seven contests were confirmed for the prelims: Roman Faraldo vs. Bobby Nash at welterweight; Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Pieter Buist at lightweight; Jaleel Willis vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov at welterweight; Alex Polizzi vs. Karl Moore at light heavyweight; Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez at lightweight; Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Kamil Oniszczuk at middleweight and Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen at featherweight.

Bellator 297 takes place on June 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and is headlined by a light heavyweight title clash between Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero. In the co-main event, Sergio Pettis will defend the bantamweight strap against reigning featherweight k…

A trilogy of sorts is on tap for UFC 290, as Brandon Moreno will defend his flyweight crown against Alexandre Pantoja on July 8 in Las Vegas.

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UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell confirmed the booking to promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday. Freak MMA first reported the title bout. UFC 290 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also features a featherweight championship clash pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Yair Rodriguez. According to ESPN, Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez is expected to be the evening’s headliner, while Moreno vs. Pantoja will serve as the co-main event. That likely means that the rumored heavyweight championship showdown between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic has now been targeted for another date.

Moreno and Pantoja have already squared off twice in MMA, though only one of those was an official bout. Both men were on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and Pantoja submitted Moreno via second-round submi…

Once a highly-touted prospect, Cynthia Calvillo has been released from the UFC roster.

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Twitter account UFC Roster Watch initially brought word of Calvillo’s release, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com.

Calvillo suffered her fifth consecutive defeat at UFC 287 this past Saturday, as she dropped a split decision to Lupita Godinez in a preliminary strawweight bout. Based on a statement released on her Instagram, Calvillo seemed to be in good spirits following the setback.

“Hell of a fight. Physically and mentally this was the best I’ve felt in a long time,” she wrote. “Didn’t get the result we worked for but still gained a lot. It feels good to be back at strawweight and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Calvillo vacillated between strawweight and flyweight during a 13-bout UFC tenure. She made her promotional debut with just a 3-0 professional mark and proceeded to go 6-1-1 in her first eight UFC appearances. She fell on hard…

After winning $1 million and the lightweight championship in the 2021 PFL season, Raush Manfio was prevented from taking part in last year’s postseason due to a loss against eventual 155-pound winner Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

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Ten months have passed since that defeat, and now the Brazilian is ready to kick off his 2023 campaign against Alex Martinez as part of the PFL 3 card. PFL 3 takes place on Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Manfio vs. Martinez is part of the “late card” that begins on ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The main card airs earlier, on ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

"Since last year I’m working hard in all areas in order to evolve technically, and that’s what I’m bringing Friday, a much better version of myself for this season,” Manfio told Sherdog.com.

Even though close friend and two-time PFL champ Natan Schulte will face Steven Ray on the same night, Manfio says the American Top Team stablemates…

Taking this moment to apologize to @GamebredFighter and his team @mikebrownmma @AmericanTopTeam pic.twitter.com/jNZva97ugO

— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) April 11, 2023 Gilbert Burns has walked back his claim that Jorge Masvidal was greasing during their UFC 287 matchup.

At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, “Durinho” said that Masvidal was especially slippery, which made grappling more difficult than usual. He then insinuated that his opponent might have applied lotion multiple times on Saturday before their co-main event bout.

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“I know those old tricks those guys do. You know what they do? They wake up on [Saturday] and they take the first shower and they put a lot of lotion on the body,” Burns said at the press conference. “The skin absorbs the lotion, and then after three hours, you do it again, and then after you do it again, and then after you do it again, and your body absorbs. Whenever you start swea…

It appears that Deiveson Figueiredo won’t be moving to the bantamweight division just yet.

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After his loss to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 in January, it was expected that the former flyweight king would move to 135 pounds for his next promotional appearance. Case in point: On the heels of a victory against Adrian Yanez at UFC 287, Rob Font called for an opportunity to weclome the Brazilian to the bantamweight division.

Not so fast, says Figueiredo.

“That will not happen for now,” Figueiredo told Sherdog.com in response to Font. “After talking to my manager, Urijah Faber, and my trainer, I’ve decided to stay in flyweight division. I still have a story to write there. I want to have my three next fights at flyweight.”

According to the former champion, his initial plan is face the winner of the possible next title bout between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno vs. Pantoja has not been formally announced by the UFC, …

By most accounts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event in Miami since 2003 was a smashing success.

“There’s a new sheriff in town, ladies and gentlemen,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference. “Miami beat [the last] Madison Square Garden [gate at UFC 281 in November] – last gate there was $11.5 [million] and it was the same [headliner]. Unbelievable. When you think that last time we came here, we did a gate of $446,000, and now we just beat Madison Square Garden.

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UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center in Miami marked the promotion’s first venture to the city since UFC 42 in April 2003, when Matt Hughes defeated Sean Sherk in a welterweight title bout in the evening’s main event. This time around, Israel Adesanya provided an electric ending to the festivities with a second-round knockout of Alex Pereira.

While the action in the Octagon was memorable, White praised the city for providing a great atmosphere througho…

After finally getting over the hump against Alex Pereira at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya admittedly had no issue with being petty.

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In the moments immediately after his second-round knockout of “Poatan” at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday, Adesanya pointed to the Brazilian’s son in the crowd and collapsed to the canvas. The taunt was a response to a similar move Pereira’s son did in the ring some six years earlier after the Brazilian knocked out Adesanya in a kickboxing match.

“I’m petty,” Adesanya said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference. “I remember. The first time he knocked me out in Brazil, his son came into the ring and then just started to lie dead next to me. I’m like, ‘You f—-ing little a—hole, I’ll whoop your ass if your dad don’t do it for you.’ I looked for his kid, I pointed at him, and I saw him and I was like, ‘Hey, hey, hey,’ just to remind him.”

Alex Peireira son learn a valuable lesson tonight …

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After breaking his right hand in a loss to Stephen Thompson this past December, Kevin Holland wasn’t exactly sure how he would feel against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 287.

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Things turned out pretty well for Holland, as he knocked out Ponzinibbio 3:16 into the third round of their featured welterweight encounter on Saturday night in Miami.

“It felt pretty good, especially going in there against a knockout artist like Ponzinibbio. No excuses, but I really didn’t know how my right hand was gonna be playing into this fight,” Holland said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “[After I] had broken it the last time, as soon as I got cleared I was in here about a week or two later. I didn’t think it was gonna play out right, but thank God I’ve got a left hand as well.”

Indeed, it was a left hook from Holland that proved to be the decisive blow, as he evened his mark at 170 pounds to 2-2 in the UFC. “The Trailblazer” admitted to h…

Rob Font entered a firefight with Adrian Yanez at UFC 287, and after a little less than three minutes, emerged with an enthralling technical knockout victory.

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“I don’t know how not to get into something like that,” Font admitted at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I believe he’s the same way. I like to say I want to stay calm, it just never happens. It felt good to be back. Big ‘W,’ just all smiles right now.”

Font entered the matchup with Yanez on the heels of back-to-back losses to Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo. To maintain his footing at bantamweight, he had to hold off a surging contender who was previously unbeaten in five UFC appearances.

“Obviously losing to Chito and Aldo sucked,” Font said. “I needed to bounce back for myself, for my team, for my family. To go out and do it on a big pay-per-view against a dangerous guy like Adrian, I’m all smiles. I can’t stop cheesing.”

More than anything, Font needed to prove to himself that he…

The hype slowed for Raul Rosas Jr. on Saturday night.

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The 18-year-old prospect started quickly, then hit a wall in a unanimous decision loss to Christian Rodriguez in their bantamweight bout, which opened the pay-per-view card at UFC 287 in Miami. Rosas Jr. issued a brief statement on his Instagram stories after the defeat.

“My bad bros,” Rosas wrote. “I didn’t have the energy to do what I know or even try. Things happen for a reason (and) God knows. My opponent was better tonight. Thank you guys.”

Rosas Jr. generated plenty of attention when he received a UFC contract at 17 years old after a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He followed that up with a first-round submission victory against Jay Perrin in his Octagon debut at UFC 282 in December, perhaps raising expectations to an unreasonable level. His loss at UFC 287 tempered that outlook somewhat, but the UFC president pointed out that it isn’t the end of the world for a …

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Amanda Nunes wasn’t expecting an immediate trilogy against Julianna Pena.

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After suffering a shocking upset loss to Pena at UFC 269, Nunes avenged that defeat with a dominant five-round verdict in their rematch at UFC 277 this past July. Late last week, the promotion announced that Nunes-Pena 3 would headline UFC 289 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 10. Initially, Nunes thought Irene Aldana, who has won four of her last five promotional appearances, would be next in line to face her.

“I did [think it would be Aldana]. I thought it was gonna be her,” Nunes told ESPN over the weekend. “Everything changed to Julianna and I was okay with it, too. No matter what, whatever UFC showed me the opponent, I’m gonna be happy to defend my belt.”

While it wasn’t necessarily the opponent she expected, Nunes is more than willing to face Pena for a third time.

“I always say I leave it to what UFC decides,” Nunes said. “I’m ready, I’ve bee…

Jorge Masvidal hinted ahead of UFC 287 that it could be his swan song if things didn’t go his way against Gilbert Burns in his hometown.

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Following a unanimous decision loss to Burns in Saturday’s co-main event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, “Gamebred” officially called it a career after 52 documented professional MMA bouts.

"I love everybody here," Masvidal said. “This is where I started my career. It's been a long 20 years, 50-some fights. Sometimes your favorite basketball player don't have that 3-pointer no more. Your favorite quarterback loses that rifle. I don't feel the same when I get in here no more. It's been 20 long years.”

Long a favorite among hardcore fans, Masvidal gained mainstream appeal with a breakout 2019 campaign that saw him defeat Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz inside the distance. The victory over Askren, in particular, was a star-making effort, as Masvidal set a UFC record for fastest finish with a five-second, fl…

Im just here to let u know that I’m fine ! I want to thank my family, my team and all the people who are supporting me during my journey.

Now I just have to rest and continue with the plans that are already on motion. Thanks god 🙏 pic.twitter.com/xU4nELWPBj

— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) April 9, 2023

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Even though he suffered a vicious knockout loss at the hands of Israel Adesanya at UFC 287, Alex Pereira would like his supporters to know that he is doing well.

“Poatan” released a brief statement via social media on Sunday. He was not in attendance at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. Accompanying the statement was a video of Pereira and Adesanya sharing a moment together backstage after UFC 287.

“I’m just here to let [you] know that I’m fine!!” Pereira wrote. “I want to thank my family, my team and all the people who are supporting me during my journey.

“Now I just have to rest and continue …

While championship trilogies have been all the rage in the UFC, the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira might follow a different path.

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On the heels of Adesanya’s second-round knockout of Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner, the newly-crowned middleweight champion shot down the notion of a potential trilogy between the two rivals.

“I don’t keep score. I settle it, and now it’s settled,” Adesanya said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference. “I gave him a fast track to the belt. I could’ve said, ‘Naw, who’s he fought? He only fought one top five.’ But no. He did well. He fought some top guys. He beat [Sean] Strickland, and I was like, ‘Well, fine, There’s no one else.’

“I was looking for that challenge. He beat me in kickboxing and I got the immediate rematch because of what I’ve done in the game. … I did the hard yard and I earned my f—-ing rematch. Now he has to do the hard yard and earn it, but I don’t think he’s going to. Go ca…

Gilbert Burns gave Jorge Masvidal an unhappy farewell on Saturday night, winning a unanimous decision over the popular Miami native in the UFC 287 co-main event.

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Though he didn’t get the finish, Burns had the edge in all aspects of the fight, as he tagged Masvidal with right hands while landing takedowns in every round. However, “Durinho” claimed that Masvidal might have done something to make grappling exchanges a little more challenging.

“I was really looking forward for a finish, but I think it was a good fight. I try to put on a show every single time. I was really, really looking forward to a finish,” Burns said at the post-fight press conference. “I hit him with good shots, took him down a couple of times – if I’m not wrong, I had three takedown attempts, and I finished all three. A lot of wrestlers didn’t do that. A lot of guys, high-level wrestlers that he fought had trouble taking him down, and I didn’t.

“I think I showed a lot of impr…

It took seven years, but Israel Adesanya finally has his first win over Alex Pereira.

And oh, what a win it was.

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Adesanya regained the middleweight crown with a massive knockout of Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday night. “The Last Stylebender” brought the show to a close 4:21 into Round 2 with a finish that will likely end up on many “Knocokout of the Year” lists when all is said and done. In victory, Adesanya (24-2, 13-2 UFC) rebounds from a fourth-round TKO loss to Pereira at UFC 281 this past November.

“They say revenge is sweet, and if you know me, I’ve got a sweet tooth,” Adesanya said.

After a measured opening round for both men, the action picked up considerably in the second stanza. Emboldened by his success landing calf kicks, Pereira (7-2, 4-1 UFC) stalked Adesanya after buckling his foe’s legs near the fence. As Adesanya shelled up against the cage, Pereira became careless, unloading…

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…