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As he prepares to face A.J. McKee in the quarterfinals of the Bellator lightweight grand prix, Patricky Freire says he has learned from his championship loss to Usman Nurmagomedov this past November.

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"Never approach the fight based on what my opponent is going to do and always impose my game,” Freire said. “Going forward, have a better believe in myself and what I do. That's what I’m bringing from the fight against Usman to the fight against McKee.”

Patricky revealed that the bad blood between McKee and his brother was solved when they traveled to Japan to represent Bellator against Rizin.

"Patricio explained to him some misunderstanding they had because of a signature in a cartoon. My brother asked for his signature in a magazine. He did the same with Patricio, and they ended up taking a picture together,” Patricky said. “Our faceoff was cool. As I said at the press conference, trash talk is not my style. No matter what we say…

A matchup of longtime Octagon veterans is on tap for UFC Fight Night on May 13, as Matt Brown is expected to square off against Court McGee in a welterweight tilt.

Brown revealed the pairing on "The Fighter vs. Writer” podcast. The event, which doesn’t have a confirmed location or venue, will be headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker.

The 42-year-old Brown competed once in 2022, falling to Bryan Barberena via split decision at UFC on ESPN 33 in March. “The Immortal” has lost three of his last four promotional appearances dating back to 2020. The Ohio native is 23-19 over the course of a professional tenure that began 2005 with notable wins over the likes of Ben Saunders, Diego Sanchez, Tim Means, Mike Pyle, Mike Swick, and Stephen Thompson.

McGee, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a first-round KO loss to Jeremiah Wells at UFC on ESPN 37 this past June. The 38-year…

According to Andre Pederneiras, the wheels are in motion for a boxing showdown between Jose Aldo and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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During a backstage interview with Sherdog.com at UFC 283, the Nova Uniao coach stated that Aldo was already negotiating for an international fight that would follow his debut against Argentina native Emmanuel Zambrano under the Shooto Brazil Boxing banner on Feb. 10. Pederneiras’ statement led to speculation that Aldo could be close to facing the biggest name in Brazilian boxing, four-time world champion Acelino Popo Freitas, who had been using social media to challenge the former UFC featherweight champion for a long time. Instead, Aldo revealed the suprise opponent to media shortly after he defeated Zambrano via unanimous decision last week.

“Negotiations are progressing for me to fight Mayweather in June or July,” Aldo said.

Shortly after that announcement, Sherdog contacted Pederneiras, who serves as co-manager of Aldo, …

The return of undefeated welterweight Joey Davis highlights several new additions to the Bellator 293 lineup.

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Davis will square off against Jefferson Creighton in a 170-pound preliminary clash, the promotion announced Tuesday. Three other contests were also confirmed for the Bellator 293 prelims: Maria Henderson vs. Mackenzie Stiller at strawweight; Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Vladimir Tokov at lightweight and Sullivan Cauley vs. Luke Trainer at light heavyweight.

Bellator 293 takes place on March 31 at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif., and is headlined by a heavyweight duel pitting Marcelo Golm against Daniel James. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A four-time NCAA Division II national champion wrestler, Davis will return to active competition for the first time in more than two year…

Mark your Calendars. @PFLEurope is 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗢 📆

4️⃣Weight Divisions2️⃣Regular Season events1️⃣Playoff Event1️⃣Championship100K Prize on the Line 💰🏆

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It all starts from the UK’s @VertuArena

[ #PFLEurope | Sat, March 25th | Live on @daznmma ] pic.twitter.com/HXlhjWnL7C

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 14, 2023 Professional Fighters League on Tuesday unveiled the full roster of fighters for its inaugural PFL Europe Season.

The lineup spans four weight classes and includes 32 athletes from 14 countries. PFL Europe will include four events, with winners in each division earning $100,000 and a spot on the main PFL roster.

PFL Europe regular season cards are set for Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England, on March 25 and Vetri Music Hall in Berlin, Germany, on July 8. PFL Europe 1 will feature light heavyweights and women’s flyweights, while PFL Europe 2 includes lightweights and bantamweights. The PFL Europe playoffs ta…

Pancrase featherweight champion Isao Kobayashi has signed with Bellator MMA, the promotion announced on Monday.

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A date for Kobayashi’s debut is currently unknown. It will be the 34-year-old Osaka, Japan, native’s second stint with the California-based promotion. He went 0-2 with Bellator from 2015 to 2016, falling to Goiti Yamauchi and Justin Lawrence in back-to-back outings. All Bellator events featuring Kobayashi will be streamed live in Japan via U-Next.

“Even prior to our successful New Year’s Eve event in Japan, we’ve been signing the top available talent in the region and that has led us to this reunion with Isao Kobayashi,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a release.

“Since his last stint with Bellator, Kobayashi has been tearing through competition culminating in a Pancrase championship win now and we’re looking forward to seeing him back in the Bellator cage.”

Kobayashi will return to Bellator riding the momentum of a six…

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With UFC 284 in the rearview mirror, the countdown has already begun for UFC 285.

The Las Vegas-based organization on Monday released a promo video for the event, highlighting the Octagon return of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones will make his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in the UFC 285 main event.

“This next chapter will where I show the world how great I can possibly be,” Jones says in the video. I’m coming back to get what’s mine.”

UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will also see Valentina Shevchenko defend her flyweight crown against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event. The main card will be available via pay-per-view on ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

FREE FIGHT! Didn't take long, so you get the whole thing!

Amorim must have had somewhere to be. pic.twitter.com/TXuk8we5pk

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 3, 2021

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Undefeated former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Jaqueline Amorim will make her first promotional forway against Sam Hughes at UFC 287.

Multiple outlets confirmed the strawweight pairing following an initial report from MMA Ideas. UFC 287 takes place at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Fla., on April 8 and is headlined by a middleweight title rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.

Amorim began her professional MMA career in 2020 and has finished all six of her opponents inside of a round. She claimed strawweight gold with a kneebar submission of Lovethapatra Young at LFA 125 before tapping Ashley Nichols with an armbar in a title defense at LFA 142 this past September.

Hughes, meanwhile, is 2-4 in the Las Vegas-based promotion since m…

Thus far during his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure, Jack Della Maddalena has shown a knack for putting opponents away in short order.

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That continued at UFC 284, where ended Randy Brown’s four-fight winning streak with a submission victory 2:13 into Round 1. All four of the Perth native’s promotional triumphs have ended inside of a round.

I honestly think it’s just my style,” he said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “I’m trying to get finishes, I’m trying to damage my opponent from the get-go. I think I’ve got accurate punches. With the small gloves, if I land accurately, people go down and then I’ve got a good finishing ability I believe.”

While Della Maddalena briefly struggled with his opponent’s reach, he eventually closed the distance and dropped Brown with a perfectly-placed right hook behind the ear. From there, he unloaded with hammerfists until Brown gave up his back, providing the necessary opening to securing the fight-en…

Before he moved on to thinking about a future title unification bout against Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodriguez took a moment to encourage Josh Emmett following their bout in the UFC 284 co-headliner.

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Rodriguez was impressive in victory, as he survived being rocked early to author a complete performance that was capped off by a triangle choke submission 4:19 into the second stanza. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, “El Pantera” shared what he said to Emmett during their Octagon exchange in the immediate aftermath.

“This is a really important moment for us, and when I finished the triangle, I could see in his expression the desperation of like, ‘F—k, I lost,’” Rodriguez said. “It’s like he saw his opportunity go away, but I just wanted to say to him, ‘No.’ I told him, ‘No, No. Hey, no. Stop that thinking that you have right now. You’re a warrior. You will overcome this. You got this.’

“So the only thing I could say to him was, ‘You’r…

Bryce Mitchell will attempt to bounce back from the first loss of his professional career when he meets Jonathan Pearce in a featherweight bout on May 6.

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Mitchell confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report by BRKKZ via Instagram. The event does not have a confirmed location or venue, but it is rumored to be UFC 288.

Mitchell last appeared at UFC 282, where he was submitted in the second round by Ilia Topuria. “Thug Nasty” later revealed that the flu hindered his performance in the Dec. 10 bout. Prior to that setback, Mitchell won his first 15 fights — including six in UFC competition.

Pearce, meanwhile, has won five consecutive bouts since dropping his Octagon debut to Joe Lauzon at UFC on ESPN 6. The Fight Ready product is coming off a 3-0 campaign in 2022 that featured triumphs over Christian Rodriguez, Makwan Amirkhani and Darren Elkins.

Back at it May 6 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/KyFUo90FI5

—…

Alexander Volkanovski gave Islam Makhachev all he could handle. It wasn’t quite enough.

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Makhachev won a closely-contested unanimous decision over Volkanovski in a champion vs. champion clash at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night, staking his claim to the sport’s No. 1 pound-for-pound spot in the process. Volkanovski nonetheless raised his stock in defeat, as he held his own against a larger opponent in all aspects of the fight.

In the aftermath of the defeat, Volkanovski acknowledged that there were missed opportunities that could have swung the scorecards in his favor.

“I could’ve done more, so I’m going to be hard on myself. A lot of people probably counted me out, like, ‘Oh, wow.’ But I never counted myself out. I expected to win, so I’m disappointed,” Volkanovski said at the UFC 284 post-fight press conference.

“I know I could’ve done more, could’ve capitalized on things earlier as well. I did think he was going to be stronger…

The UFC 284 main event was billed as a battle of the sport’s pound-for-pound best, and it more than lived up to the hype.

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After five competitive rounds, Islam Makhachev emerged with a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph over 145-pound champ Alexander Volkanovski to retain his lightweight crown. Perhaps more importantly, the Dagestan native believes he can rightfully assume his place as the No. 1 fighter in all of MMA.

“Doesn’t matter how I won today. Now, I’m not just the champion, I’m the best fighter in the world,” Makhachev said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I’m very happy. Now people are going to call me not just champ, but best fighter in the world. This is my dream. It doesn’t matter how I won. I’m very happy. … Now, I’m the best fighter and champion.

While many expected Makhachev to impose his will on Volkanovski due to his size advantage, that was never the case. Volkanovski held his own in all aspects of the fight, and…

Jens Pulver is the latest addition to the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame class.

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The promotion announced on Saturday that the former lightweight champion will be inducted into the “Pioneers” Wing as part of a ceremony held during International Fight Week in July. The “Pioneers” Wing recognizes athletes who turned professional before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old and have been retired for a minimum of one year.

“Jens Pulver is a pioneer of the sport who was not only the first lightweight champion in UFC history, but someone who delivered some of the sport's most memorable moments,” said UFC President Dana White. “No one will ever forget his knockout of John Lewis or his win over B.J. Penn in their first fight, and his fight against Urijah Faber in 2008 was the biggest fight in WEC history at the time. Jens could do it all in the Octagon, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Pulver compiled a 27-19-1 ma…

With less than a week to go before the event, UFC Fight Night 219 has a new headliner.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Jessica Andrade will step in on short notice for Taila Santos and face Erin Blanchfield in the flyweight feature next Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos withdrew from the contest after her cornermen were denied visas into the United States.

Andrade will be making a quick turnaround after earning a lopsided unanimous decision triumph over Lauren Murphy in a 125-pound bout at UFC 283 on Jan. 21. The former strawweight queen has been victorious in her last three Octagon appearances — including two at 125 pounds.

Blanchfield, meanwhile, has has kicked off her promotional tenure with successive triumphs over Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick, J.J. Aldrich and Molly McCann. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu representative is 10-1 over the course of a professional career that includes stints in Invicta FC and Cage Fury Fighting Champions…

It took former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Anthony Smith a few more months to get a fight than he expected.

The report first came from MMA Island on Thursday, that Smith (36-17) would be getting his next Octagon assignment in May. Atop the unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on May 13, Smith will be taking on Johnny Walker (20-7) in a pivotal light heavyweight clash. The location of the event has not yet been determined. News of this five-round pairing has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Smith was previously slated to take on Jamahal Hill atop an event in March, but the promotion pulled Hill to slot him into the title fight atop UFC 283 in January – and Hill ended up winning the championship. This unexpected change in plans left Smith stunned on the live broadcast that announced the new matchup, with the expectation that the UFC would give him a suitable replacement. Smith comes into this headliner with three wins in his last four outings, a…

UFC 284’s champ vs. champ headliner did not disappoint.

The promotion saw seven out of the card’s 13 fights go the distance on Saturday night. Out of the six finishes, it was Yair Rodriguez’s triangle choke to win the UFC interim featherweight championship, as well as Jack Della Maddalena’s stunning first-round finish over Randy Brown that were awarded the promotion’s traditional $50,000 bonuses.

Meanwhile, the event’s headliner, which saw Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound fighters respectively, compete in a legitimate superfight in Perth, Australia, was awarded “Fight of the Night.”

The bout saw Makhachev in unfamiliar territory, as Volkanovksi was able to counter his wrestling more than anyone in recent memory. By the end of the contest, it was Makhachev who took home the unanimous decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).

Islam Makhachev still rules 155 pounds.

The American Kickboxing Academy star retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown with a hard-earned unanimous decision over reigning featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in the five-round UFC 284 headliner on Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it for Makhachev (24-1, 13-1 UFC): 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

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It was a tactical struggle from start to finish. Makhachev countered effectively with both hands throughout the 25-minute affair and executed multiple takedowns, advancing to the back and threatening the neck on more than one occasion. He did his best work in Round 4, where he ducked into a takedown, progressed to the back when Volkanovski tried to escape and secured his position with a tight body triangle. Makhachev bottled up the outwardly frustrated Australian for more than three minutes, much to the chagrin…

Sherdog's live UFC 284 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Tukhugov (-540), Oliveira (+420)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Young (-135), Bilder (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Suph…

Modestas Bukauskas returned to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time in more than a year and laid claim to a unanimous decision over Tyson Pedro in the featured UFC 284 light heavyweight prelim on Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. All three judges sided with Bukauskas (14-5, 2-3 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Pedro (9-4, 5-4 UFC) executed a takedown in the first round and consolidated it with positional control and modest ground-and-pound. However, he seemed to run out of gas quickly, and from there, a painfully plodding encounter developed between the two men. A late replacement for Mingyang Zhang, Bukauskas allowed the visibly fatigued Aussie to stay competitive through relative inactivity, though he managed to pick up his pace down the stretch. The two-time Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder connected with two- and three-punch combinations on the flat-footed Pedro in the third round before eventually pinning him to the fence and …

Manchester Top Team export Abraham Bably landed a Professional Fighters League contract during Week 3 of the PFL Challenger Series, as he brutalized, embarrassed and ultimately put away Hassan Graham with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando. Graham (1-1, 0-1 PFL) succumbed to blows 3:56 into Round 1.

The unbeaten Bably (3-0, 2-0 PFL) seized the reins at the start and never let go. He delivered a takedown with an inside trip, progressed to the back and eventually climbed to full mount. From there, Bably cut loose with punches, increasing the ferocity and frequency of his shots with each passing moment. Graham turned away from contact and surrendered his back in one final defensive move but found no refuge there.

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Meanwhile, Louie Sutherland cut down Dana White’s Contender Series alum Alton Meeks with a knee strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their heavyweight affair. …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads down under with two title fights atop UFC 284.

First on the scale was UFC featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski, who is moving up in weight to take on Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship. Both champs made weight, as well as interim featherweight challengers Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett, who will look to become the next fight for "Alexander the Great."

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Elsewhere on the card, two prelim fighters missed weight. Kleydson Rodrigues came in one pound overweight at 127 pounds for his flyweight bout against Shannon Ross, and has been fined 20 percent of his purse. Additionally, Zubaira Tukhugov hit the scales at 157.5 pounds ahead of his lightweight contest against Elves Brener Oliveira, and has been fined a percentage of his purse.

Having defeated Charles Oliveira via arm-triangle choke in his last outing to claim UFC gold, Makhachev (23-1) is on a roll. The Dagestani fi…

Sherdog's live PFL Challenger Series 3 coverage kicks off Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The action will be broadcast live and free on fuboTV. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2…

It's 𝗚𝗢 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘. WIN and 𝗜𝗡😤

Week 3⃣Heavyweights are ready to throw down inside the SmartCage for a PFL Contract ✍️

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Fights are 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 & 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 on @fuboSports

[ #PFLonFubo | Heavyweights | Fri, Feb 10th | 9pm ET] pic.twitter.com/HtGjh8cr99

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 9, 2023 The latest Professional Fighters League Challenger Series show will feature eight fighters in the heavyweight division.

As expected, no fighters missed weight, as all eight came in under the 265-pound limit. The main event will see two veteran heavyweights go at it as Danilo Marques takes on Ras Hylton.

Marques (12-4) will be the lighter man at 247 pounds, while "The Jamaican Shamrock" came in at 255.2 pounds. Hylton (9-6) is riding a three-fight win streak that all came via knockout. Meanwhile, the Brazilian UFC castoff recently rebounded from a two-fight skid with a submission in the Gladiator Challenge promotion.

PFL Challenger Ser…