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While Mackenzie Dern entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a fair amount of hype behind her, it has taken some time for her to develop into more of a complete mixed martial artist.

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That evolution was on display in the UFC Vegas 101 headliner on Saturday, as Dern outstruck Amanda Ribas on the feet before eliciting a tapout from her Brazilian foe with an armbar at the 4:56 mark of Round 3. The triumph allowed Dern to avenge a previous defeat against Ribas that occurred in October 2019. Though Dern believes she is improving in all facets, the ultimate goal remains the same.

“I feel like the striking and everything is setting up more of my jiu-jitsu. I feel like when I get a submission, it’s not because I was focusing on being a striker. But I think it means my striking and my takedowns are getting better. It’s giving me more opportunities to still get the fight to the ground,” Dern said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“I’m a…

A video of retired UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov being escorted off an Alaska Airlines flight has gone viral.

It appears staff reported feeling 'uncomfortable' with his apparent grasp of English as he sat in an exit row seat where he would need to assist in an emergency. pic.twitter.com/Bf7S7jLji6

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 12, 2025

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Former UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov champion was apparently forced to exit a Frontier Airlines flight following a dispute regarding his seat in an exit row.

In a video uploaded from the TikTok account viceplayer28, Nurmagomedov is seen arguing with a flight attendant about his seat on the plane. The area of disagreement appears to be regarding Nurmagomedov’s ability to assist others in the event of an emergency. While Nurmagomedov did not agree with the flight staff’s assessment, he appears to exit the plane without further incident.

The conversation with the flight …

Carlos Prates sends a message to Belal Muhammad 👀🔜

(via. IG / @thenightmare170) #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/isshDoAAVI

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 11, 2025

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Carlos Prates (21-6) has lofty aspirations early into his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Prates recently sent a warning to Belal Muhammad after exchanging a few words with the welterweight champ last year. Muhammad was cornering teammate Charlie Radtke, who was riding a six-fight winning streak when he took on Prates at UFC Louisville in June 2024. “The Nightmare” finished Radtke with a devastating knee to the body in the closing seconds of the opening round. Muhammad’s reaction of a bewilderment immediately after was captured on camera. Prates walked towards the champ and exchanged a few words, which weren’t audible.

Prates recently reminded Muhammad of their exchange, warning him of a potential meeting soon.

“Remember my words champ,…

Giga Chikadze (15-4) is set to return to action against David Onama (13-2).

Chikadze and Onama will trade leather in a featherweight matchup at a UFC Fight Night on April 5 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The matchup was first reported by @MagicM_MMABets on X. Onama subsequently confirmed the pairing via social media.

Chikadze started his UFC journey on a seven-fight unbeaten streak, a run that included a few spectacular finishes. However, the Georgian has since dropped two out of his last three, albeit against top-tier competition. “Ninja” last suffered a unanimous decision loss against Arnold Allen at UFC 304 in July 2024.

Meanwhile, Onama is riding a three-fight winning streak after going 2-2 in his first four UFC bouts. “Silent Assassin” is coming off a unanimous decision win over debutant Roberto Romero at UFC 309 this past November.

The second verse was different from the first.

Mackenzie Dern avenged a 2019 decision defeat to Amanda Ribas and continued to reassert herself as serious contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division, as she submitted the Brazilian with an armbar in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 249 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Ribas (13-6, 7-5 UFC) raised the white flag 4:56 into Round 3.

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The rivals traded strikes, takedowns and positional control through two competitive rounds. Ribas grounded the 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships gold medalist early in the third, only to slowly wander into danger. Dern swept into mount under threat of an armbar and pounded away with elbows and punches before once again isolating a limb. She sat back on the armbar, activated her hips with time running out and left Ribas no choice but to capitulate.

Meanwhile, American Top Team mains…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 101 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 249. Round 1 The UFC is back in your life, which means the glorious Sherdog play-by-play is in full swing again. Around 42 events from this promotion in 2025 will be covered in this fashion, plus the major offerings of the PFL and other big shows dropping this year. The first of all of them comes in the world-famous Octagon, although the cage is plopped down in the UFC Apex instead of in front of thousands of adoring fans. Those few in the building—before the major renovations begin—will be given their money’s worth in terms of actual bouts, with 14 on the docket, although only two combatants of the 28 are ranked, while around half are coming off losses. Combat commences in the overstuffed lightweight category, as unbeaten Tajikistan native Aliev (9-0, 1-0 UFC) tries to emerge from the pack against relative divisional veteran Solecki (13-5, 5-3 UFC). The two w…

Jacobe Smith managed to exceed the hype.

The undefeated Fortis MMA prospect filled in for Andreas Gustafsson on short notice and flashed blue-chip talent in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he punched out Preston Parsons in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 249 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Parsons (11-6, 2-4 UFC) checked out 73 seconds into Round 1.

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A onetime NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith (10-0, 1-0 UFC) pressed forward behind leg and body kicks, crisp punches and a stepping knee to the body. He lured Parsons into range, set off an exchange in the center of the cage and floored the Floridian with a sweeping left hook. Smith, 28, pounced with a few more punches before referee Mike Beltran could arrive on the scene to wave it off.

Meanwhile, Marco Tulio put away former World Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Ihor Potieria with punches in the first round of…

😳Victoria Dudakova slapped one of her coaches after her loss

pic.twitter.com/JJ6f29RZ5W

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 11, 2025

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Victoria Dudakova seemingly didn’t take her first technical knockout loss too well.

Dudakova was dominated by Fatima Kline on the ground at UFC Vegas 101, managing to land only one significant strike throughout the nearly 10-minute affair. Kline took the Russian down twice in the second round and landed vicious elbows to earn the finish at the 4:27 mark of Round 2. Dudakova was then seen slapping one of her coaches, who came to console her after the official verdict was announced.

Dudakova has now dropped two fights in a row after beginning her professional career with eight consecutive triumphs — including two under the UFC banner.

According to one translation on X, Dudakova told her coach the following: "You didn't even come over. You just sat there. That's how little y…

Cesar Almeida rallied from the brink of defeat to author a very early candidate for 2025 “Knockout of the Year.”

The 36-year-old Brazilian received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his one-punch knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan in a featured middleweight bout at UFC Vegas 101 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After being rocked during an early exchange, Almeida kept his wits and rendered his opponent unconscious with a vicious counter left hook at the 4:16 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Mackenzie Dern garnered the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for her submission of Amanda Ribas in the evening’s strawweight main event. After two competitive rounds, Dern went to work in Round 3, methodically working her way into position for an armbar to force the tap from her Brazilian foe 4:56 into the period.

Finally, Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their back-and…

ASTRO BOY IS BACK 🚀

Australia's Steve Erceg will take on Asu Almabayev at #UFCVegas103! pic.twitter.com/DxN6EjDjld

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) January 10, 2025

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Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will be back in against against rising contender Asu Almabaev at UFC Vegas 103.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently confirmed the 125-pound pairing. UFC Vegas 103 — also known as UFC Fight Night 253 takes place on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight showdown between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape.

Erceg won his first three Octagon appearances before receiving a surprise title shot at UFC 301, where he was competitive in a unanimous decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja last May. His next outing was less encouraging, as he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Kai Kara-France at UFC 305 in August.

Kazakhstan’s Almabaev has kicked off his promotiona tenure with four consecutive t…

Johnny Walker won’t be competing at UFC 311 as originally planned.

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The Brazilian light heavyweight recently announced that he has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Bogdan Guskov due to a “bad injury.” Walker did not reveal the exact nature of the ailment. It is unclear if Guskov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. UFC 311 is currently scheduled to take place on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan.

“Bad news. I’ve been pulled out by a bad injury next week at UFC 311. So I’m not going to be competing. I’m devastated,” Walker said in a video on social media. “A lot of hard work I put in a few months, trained a lot, and I really want to come back and do the show for you, but not this time. I wish Bogdan good luck, hopefully he can find an opponent because he probably put a lot of hard work as well, so hopefully …

👀Islam Makhachev thinks it's more likely he'll fight the winner of Belal vs. Shavkat for the welterweight title than face Ilia Topuria in 2025:

“Topuria doesn't make sense. For what? For belt, for money. I have money, I don't need. I need the second belt.”

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🎥 @Shak_Fu ▫️ pic.twitter.com/OOcl72Us5I — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 10, 2025

Islam Makhachev prefers a move up to welterweight over a clash against featherweight champ Ilia Topuria.

Makhachev is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. In recent times, the Dagestani has been vocal about a move up to welterweight for a double-champ bid.

Meanwhile, Topuria is contemplating a move up to lightweight after defending his featherweight title only once. However, Makhachev isn’t interested in fighting Topuria with very little to gain. While it could potentially be a mega…

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Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Merab Dvalishvili has any reason to hate him.

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Nurmagomedov challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Dvalishvili was initially adamant about not fighting Nurmagomedov in his very first title defense. According to “The Machine,” the undefated Nurmagomedov is undeserving of a title shot despite six UFC wins under his belt. Dvalishvili accuses Nurmagomedov of being favored by the UFC due to the legacy of his family name.

Dvalishvili ultimately accepted the fight, citing intolerable insults from Nurmagomedov. The two also went off on the same topic during a promotional presser last month. However, it remains slightly unclear what insults Dvalishvili is referring to, as Nurmagomedov hasn’t seemed to cross any boundaries in terms of trash talking. Dvalishvili has vowed to slap Nurmagomedov if he doesn’t receive an apolo…

👀Merab Dvalishvili’s coach predicts Umar won’t keep up with Merab’s relentless pace:

“3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, I think it’s gonna be Merab’s fight. I expect a hard couple of rounds, but I also expect Merab to do what he does best and take over.”

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🎥 @Home_of_Fight ▫️ pic.twitter.com/jbVm0TGHCl — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 10, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach is confident that the champ will retain his title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili will put his bantamweight title on the line against Nurmagomedov in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Many expect Nurmagomedov’s elite wrestling to be Dvalishvili’s toughest test to date. While Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood doesn’t expect an easy night at the office for Dvalishvili, he believes “The Machine” will get his hand raised.

According to Wood, Dvalishvili’s cardio is going to be the gam…

Mackenzie makes the main event OFFICIAL 😮‍💨@MackenzieDern weighs in at 116 lbs!

[ #UFCVegas101 | LIVE tomorrow 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/F8SdUJVGNs

— UFC (@ufc) January 10, 2025 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:35 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 to reflect the fine amounts for the heavy fighters.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns for its first mixed martial arts event of the year.

Headlining the UFC Vegas 101 main event is a five-round strawweight fight between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. Both women successfully made weight, although two fighters on the undercard did not. First was Jose Johnson, who came in 2.5 pounds over the flyweight limit for his fight against Felipe Bunes. Also overweight was Ihor Potieria, who came in two pounds over the limit for his middleweight bout versus Marco Tulio. While Johnson has received a 20% fine of his overall fight purse, Potieria's fine totals 25% of…

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Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz allegedly had a cordial interaction months before nearly getting into a brawl last December.

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Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Makhachev was in Las Vegas for a promotional presser in December when he almost got into an altercation with Diaz, who was in town to corner teammate Kron Gracie the following weekend at UFC 310. Diaz and Makhachev’s teams threw water bottles at each other before security broke them up without letting it escalate further.

Nate Diaz and Team Makhachev threw water bottles at each other backstage 😳 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/gr3TDd5abt

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 7, 2024

While Makhachev didn’t have any animosity with Diaz, he believes Khabib Nurmagomedov might have had something to do with the incident. According to Makhachev, Diaz fli…

The UFC 312 card has undergone a change a month before fight night.

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Jimmy Crute (12-4) was originally scheduled to face Marcin Prachnio (17-8) at UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. However, Prachnio is now out of the bout due to unknown reasons. Rodolfo Bellato (12-2) will instead take on Crute in front of the latter’s home fans. The change was first reported by Laerte Viana.

Crute is 0-3-1 in the Octagon since 2020 and is coming off a submission loss against Alonzo Menifield in his most recent outing at UFC 290 in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Bellato graduated from Dana White's Contender Series with a technical knockout over Murtaza Talha Ali and followed it up with another stoppage win against Ihor Potieria in his UFC debut in December 2023.

Prachnio is 4-6 in the UFC and fresh off a submission loss against Modestas Bukauskas at UFC 304 in July 2024.

A strawweight matchup pitting Angela Hill against Ketlen Souza has been added to the UFC Vegas 102 bill.

Souza confirmed the bout on social media following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. UFC Vegas 102 ? also known as UFC Fight Night 251 -- takes place on Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight duel between Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues.

Hill will be making her 27th walk to the Octagon when she faces Souza. The former Invicta FC title holder had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent outing, when she fell to Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 62.

After dropping her promotional debut to Karine Silva, Souza has rebounded to post back-to-back triumphs against Marnic Mann and Yazmin Jauregui in UFC competition. The 30-year-old Brazilian has been victorious in seven of her last eight professional appearances overall.

A recent video posted by Alex Pereira created quite the uproar among UFC fans.

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In the clip, “Poatan” was seen leaving the UFC offices with manager Ed Soares — presumably with a fight agreement in tow. If Pereira wanted to return to fight in March as rumored, it seemed to rule out a title defense against top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, who would not be available due to Ramadan. One website speculated that Khamzat Chimaev would be the opponent, but that possibility was not confirmed by either side or any MMA journalist.

It won’t be Ankalaev ! 😭

— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) December 19, 2024

In the first week of 2025, Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana revealed on his YouTube channel that he received information from people close to “Poatan” that his next opponent would be heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov. That rumor was analyzed by UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto on hi…

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Bo Nickal recently made some bold claims about a potential clash with Khamzat Chimaev.

Nickal has been touted as a potential foil to Chimaev’s wrestling since he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2023. The former three-time NCAA Division I national champion delivered on those expectations until recently. While Nickal has finished six of his seven pro outings, the Penn State alum eked out a unanimous decision win over Paul Craig in his most recent fight at UFC 309 this past November. In that bout, Nickal was hesitant to engage on the ground against “Bearjew,” who is known for his tricky jiu-jitsu.

Nickal’s latest performance has led to doubts that the 28-year-old will be a match for Chimaev, who is on the brink of receiving a title shot. However, Nickal is confident that he can beat the Chechen-born Swede. According to Nickal, he will be able to win the majority of potential grappling exchanges with Chimaev. Nickal believes Chimaev’s…

Movsar Evloev is coming for Ilia Topuria.

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The UFC featherweight title picture is in a bit of a fix right now. Topuria won the title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 last year and defended it by handing Max Holloway his only career knockout loss at UFC 308. With Holloway considering a permanent move to lightweight, Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev are in the running for title contention next.

However, Topuria has expressed an interest in moving up to lightweight soon, citing a lack of contenders at 145 pounds. Evloev is not bothered by Topuria’s comments, as he is currently focused on becoming world champion — regardless of the opponent he has to face. However, the Russian wants “El Matador” at some point and is willing to chase him across weight classes. But most importantly, Evloev believes Topuria isn’t going to move up before defending his featherweight throne at least once more.

“Ilia start talking that he’s moving up also, …

Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans will settle their old rivalry inside the squared circle.

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Jackson and Evans are expected to meet in a boxing bout in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sometime in 2025. The exact date for the fight is yet to be announced. The promotion Influencer Crossover Series made it official on social media for their first event, which is entitled ICS Mania I. Jackson and Evans also both announced the fight via social media.

“Rampage” and Evans starred as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 10 “in 2009. The two met in a non-title main event clash at UFC 114 the following year, where “Suga” emerged victorious via a unanimous decision.

Over the course of career that spanned two decades, Jackson has competed in a number of major promotions, including the UFC — where he captured light heavyweight gold — Bellator MMA and Pride Fighting Championships. “Rampage” hasn’t fought since a knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 2…

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White is joining forces with Mark Zuckerberg.

It was announced on Monday that White — along with Exor CEO John Elkann and technology investor Charlie Songhurst — have been elected to Meta’s board of directors. One of the largest information technology companies in the U.S., Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, among other things.

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“Dana, John, and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection,” said Zuckerberg, who is the founder and CEO of Meta.

White has long been the frontman of the UFC, both when it was previously owned by Zuffa and now under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella. He expressed enthusiasm about his new venture in a release.

“I’ve never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the offer to join Meta’s board. I am a huge believer that social…