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It was an Octagon debut to remember for Ismael Bonfim.

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The Dana White’s Contender Series alum earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his spectacular finish of Terrance McKinney in a preliminary lightweight bout at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night. Bonfim put his foe away with a flying knee 2:17 into Round 2 in what will likely end up on many “Knockout of the Year” lists at year’s end.

Meanwhile, Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their five-round battle in the evening’s headliner. Hill battered and bloodied Teixeira for the better part of five rounds, but the Brazilian veteran showcased his trademark resilience throughout the contest and survived until the final horn. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as Hill claimed the vacant light heavyweight throne in a unanimous decision triumph.

Finally, Jailton Almeida captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of th…

Jamahal Hill showed his quality and then some.

“Sweet Dreams” captured the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title, as he punished Glover Teixeira to a clear-cut unanimous decision in the UFC 283 headliner on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Hill (12-1, 6-1 UFC), the first Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to strike UFC gold, swept the scorecards with 50-44 nods from all three cageside judges.

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Teixeira (33-9, 16-7 UFC) absorbed a horrific amount of punishment. Hill shredded the Brazilian’s face with punches, elbows and knees, opening cuts near both eyes and spilling blood all over the Octagon. He scrambled Teixeira’s circuits with head kicks on more than one occasion, switched stances to great effect and kept the John Hackleman protégé at bay with a potent jab. Hill nearly finished it in the third round and again in the fourth, but his Brazilian counterpart refused to go away under the direst circumstances. …

Sherdog's live UFC 283 coverage will begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Oliveira (-170), Marcos (+145)Round 1 For the first time since right before the pandemic, the UFC is back in Brazil, and it is a long time coming. Fittingly, every one of the UFC record-tying 15 matches contains at least one Brazilian, while two fights pit countrymen against one another. This marathon of a pay-per-view offering begins in the bantamweight division, as Santa Catarina native Oliveira (18-4, 0-1 UFC) tries to make good in his second try in the Octagon. He faces promotional newcomer Marcos (13-0, 0-0 UFC), who will look to keep his spotless record intact in hostile territory. The first assignment of this show in the Jeunesse Arena goes to referee Fernando Portella, who observes a clap of hands to get the night started. Oliveira is the initial aggressor, and he scores first with a sweeping low kick. Marcos responds with a front kick that smacks his man ri…

Ihor Potieria does not believe in storybook endings.

The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate evened his Ultimate Fighting Championship record, as he cut down Mauricio Rua with punches in the first round of their featured UFC 283 prelim on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Potieria (18-4, 0-2 UFC) slammed the door on the Brazilian legend 4:05 into Round 1.

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Rua (27-14-1, 11-12-1 UFC)—who announced his intention to retire prior to the match—cracked the Ukrainian with a left hook but offered little else of substance, the 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner looking painfully slow on the draw at 41 years of age. Potieria clipped him with a right hook that scrambled his circuits, swarmed with punches and forced “Shogun” to his knees and into a defensive shell. More punches followed, prompting referee Herb Dean to intervene.Debuting Ferreira Stuns Rodrigues Evolucao Thai standout Brunno Ferreira remained undef…

The King of Rio's road to the #UFCHOF 🇧🇷👑

[ @JoseAldoJunior | Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/WiyNDLIe8Z

— UFC (@ufc) January 22, 2023

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Jose Aldo is headed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Aldo will be enshrined during a ceremony on International Fight Week this coming July in Las Vegas. Aldo be inducted into the “Modern Wing.”

A two-time UFC featherweight champion and a long-reigning WEC featherweight kingpin, Aldo is regarded by many as the top 145-pound fighter in MMA history. Aldo from MMA in September following a loss to Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight bout at UFC 278. The Nova Uniao standout will continue his combat sports career in the boxing ring, with his debut expected to come in February.

The promotion reportedly tried to convince Aldo to compete the final fight on his contract at UFC 283, but the Brazilian elected to call it a ca…

Spread the news!! ADCC has a new home!!#UFCFIGHTPASS @ADCC_Federation pic.twitter.com/Abw04HA8dK

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) January 22, 2023

One of the world’s premier grappling organizations is headed to UFC Fight Pass.

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The streaming service announced on Saturday that it has signed a multi-year agreement with ADCC Submission Fighting World Federation to air the organization’s events. As a result, UFC Fight Pass will broadcast more than 40 ADCC events through 2024 beginning with the ADCC Opens in Mexico this March. The ADCC Championship in Las Vegas will stream on Fight Pass in September.

“Apart from UFC events, grappling is among the most popular content on UFC Fight Pass,” said vice president and general manager of UFC Fight Pass Crowley Sullivan in a release. “We’re excited to add ADCC, which is arguably the most prestigious submission grappling competition in the world, to UFC Fight Pass.”

ADCC was found…

No doubt this time! XTB #KSW78

🇵🇱 Michal Materla finishes a valiant 🇺🇸 Kendall Grove! pic.twitter.com/gAyTDxbJwY

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 21, 2023

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A rematch nearly 10 years in the making headlined KSW 78 as Michal Materla locked horns with Kendall Grove.

The emotionally charged second clash between “Cipao” and “Da Spyder” ended with another victory for Materla (32-9, 21-7 KSW). Unlike their first fight—a bloody affair that ended with Materla pocketing a unanimous decision victory at KSW 23 in 2013—the Polish fighter finished his foe inside the distance this time. 40-year-old Grove (24-19, 1 NC, 0-3 KSW) made his cage return after a three-year hiatus but showcased decent condition and performance for as long as he survived in the 195-pound catchweight affair, blocking all his foe’s takedown attempts in the opening frame. Materla’s punching power was the key in the contest as he adopted a different game plan in Round 2…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion is hungry, in several senses of the word.

At 125 pounds, one of the largest struggles for Deiveson Figueiredo is to make certain he is on championship weight ahead of his fights. Measuring 5-foot-5, the Brazilian often appears like he is chiseled out of marble like an old Roman statue. It is no secret how tough it is to keep him at flyweight, so much so that he has flirted with moving up to bantamweight several times over the years.

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“Eating is one of the biggest pleasures of my life,” Figueiredo said proudly during UFC 283 media day on Wednesday.

Aware about the importance of keeping the champion’s weight under control, his boxing coach Jose Carlos Maizena and wife, Valbenice, decided it would be prudent to simply move into Figueiredo’s house.

“The camp itself was perfect; the most difficult part was control Deiveson’s mouth,” coach Maizena shared with Sherdog on Wednesday. “It was a war! As …

Two high-intensity Ultimate Fighting Championship 135ers with drastically different trajectories will meet in April.

The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN Deportes first announced on Friday that Chris Gutierrez (19-4-2) will come to blows with Pedro Munhoz (19-7, 2 NC) at a UFC Fight Night card on April 15. The location and designation are still currently in the works. Not long after the announcement was made, Gutierrez’ management team of Iridium Sports Agency confirmed the matchup.

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Gutierrez is unbeaten in his last eight walks to the UFC cage, with seven victories and a 2020 draw to Cody Durden building his resume. Dating back to 2021, the last four appearances for Gutierrez have gone his way, most notably demolishing Batgerel Danaa with a spinning backfist in March 2022 and landing a crushing knee knockout on Frankie Edgar at UFC 281. In the former, Gutierrez became the ninth fighter in company history to score a knockout stemming from that strike, a…

A crackerjack battle in the lightweight division is headed to a Ultimate Fighting Championship event in late April.

On Friday, MMA Junkie broke the story that Jared Gordon (19-6) vs. Bobby Green (29-14-1) will be colliding at a UFC Fight Night card on April 22. This event has yet to receive a formal destination, or its broadcasting details to determine if it is a “UFC Fight Night” event or one billed as “UFC on ESPN.” This 155-pound pairing has since been confirmed by Green’s management team of Iridium Sports Agency shortly after its announcement.

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Neither man will be coming into this bout with a win at their back, but in Gordon’s case, he was the recipient of a “Robbery of the Year” candidate decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282. In that three-rounder, 23 of the 24 scoring media members awarded the win to Gordon, with a large portion of those scoring all three rounds in favor of the New Yorker. In his last four, “Flash” had alternated wins and…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first pay-per-view of 2023 will hopefully crown a light heavyweight titleholder this time around.

Competing for 205-pound gold atop UFC 283 is former champ Glover Teixeira and contender Jamahal Hill. All fighters successfully made weight for the event, which will also see the flyweight championship unification match as champ Deiveson Figueiredo squares off with interim titleholder Brandon Moreno for a historic fourth time.

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An impressive career resurgence for Teixeira (33-8) was put on ice in his last outing, where he suffered a fifth-round submission defeat to Jiri Prochazka in what was Sherdog's 2022 "Fight of the Year." The 43-year-old Brazilian will look to return to form and establish himself on top of the division again against Hill (11-1, 1 NC), who is riding a three-fight win streak. "Sweet Dreams" has shown devastating power, and will look to use it to claim his first championship insid…

A rematch ten years in the making!

🇺🇸 @kendallgrovemma shares his thoughts on the fight he has wanted for ten years - the rematch with 🇵🇱 Michal Materla! XTB #KSW78 pic.twitter.com/Vns51x0uTt

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 19, 2023

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Leading Polish mixed martial arts organization Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's first card of 2023 is now official with nine fights.

The KSW 78 main event will see former middleweight champion Michal Materla take on MMA veteran and former "The Ultimate Fighter" participant Kendall Grove at a 195-pound catchweight. There was no drama on the scales, as all fighters successfully made weight for the show at the Netto Arena in Szczecin, Poland.

The headlining fight is a rematch, as Materla (31-9) previously defeated "Da Spyder" back in 2013 via unanimous decision. Materla is coming off a knockout loss to Mariusz Pudzianowski, but has won four of his last six bouts. Meanwhile, Grove (24-18) hasn't co…

Ultimate Fighting Championship youngster Raul Rosas Jr. may get in three fights in the promotion before his 19th birthday at this rate.

The news first broke on Thursday from Eurosport Nederland that Rosas Jr. (7-0) will be returning to the Octagon in April. At UFC 287 on April 8, “El Nino Problema” will square off against Christian Rodriguez (8-1) in the bantamweight division. The destination for this fight card is not yet official, as it could take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but Miami has also been discussed as a possible location. Rodriguez confirmed this pairing on Instagram shortly after its announcement.

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Rosas burst onto the scene courtesy of a dominant, contract-winning performance on the 2022 season of Dana White's Contender Series. At the age of 17, Rosas handled Mango Gutierrez to earn what is still his only decision as a pro. His debut went swimmingly, as he hit a face crank on Jay Perrin without even needing to comp…

Featherweights set to kick off the action in week 6⃣‼️

[ #PFLonFuboTV | Featherweights | Fri, March 3rd | 9pm ET] pic.twitter.com/GtenaAZj0N

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 19, 2023 The sixth week of Professional Fighters League’s Challenger Series now has its lineup.

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Per a PFL press release sent out on Thursday, the four tilts on Week 6 of the PFL Challenger Series have been put together. The 145-pound-centric fight card will air on Fubo TV on March 3, and like all the other Challenger Series events, it will be held inside of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The main attraction brings unbeaten up-and-comer Brahyan Zurcher (4-0) against promotional newcomer David Evans (5-1).

The three other tilts on the league’s marquee for the sixth week of its Challenger series include: SBG Ireland prospect Nathan Kelly (6-2) vs. Aries Fight Series vet Zachary Hicks (8-4), 2022 PFL tourney participant Ago Huskic (8-5) vs. undefeated…

Bellator MMA is bolstering its lineup in a hurry for its return to Paris in May.

According to a release from the organization on Thursday, two additional matches have been added to the Bellator Paris billing. This event will be held at the Accor Arena in May 12, with a non-title main event pitting Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2) against Fabian Edwards (11-2) in the middleweight division. The co-headliner will see one branch of the lightweight grand prix play out as well, as Sidney Outlaw (16-5) squares off against France’s Mansour Barnaoui (20-4). The two newly announced fights include a 185-pound pairing on the main card, and a preliminary contest at 205 pounds.

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Having lost his last four, former welterweight kingpin Douglas Lima (32-11) will return to middleweight to test himself against Costello van Steenis (14-2). Lima made his 185-pound debut in 2020, when he attempted to become a two-division champ, only to get staved off by Mousasi. That loss put an en…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to be taking necessary procedural steps to prevent future betting scandals from unfolding.

In October 2022, the promotion released its first policy about wagering on UFC fights, as it did not have one on the books prior to then. It adapted its UFC Athlete Conduct Policy, to prohibit its fighters from betting on any UFC fight including their own. It also noted – but did not strictly ban – that some U.S. states would apply that policy to immediate local family members, their coaches, managers and trainers, or even individuals that had close ties to a fighter.

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On Thursday, the organization sent out a press release announcing a new set of procedures that will be in place. Teaming up with betting firm U.S. Integrity – the organization initially consulted to review the controversy involving Darrick Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan – it tightened up the policy’s language effective immediately. Among the changes we…

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Talita Bernardo forced Taneisha Tennant out of her comfort zone.

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The former UFC competitor landed multiple takedowns, transitioned to dominant positions and threatened with submissions en route to a unanimous decision triumph in the Invicta FC 51 headliner at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night. All three cageside judges submitted 48-46 tallies in favor of Bernardo (10-4, 3-0 Invicta), who claims the promotion’s bantamweight crown. The final scorecards included a Round 5 point deduction issued to Tennant for a fence grab with her toes early in the period. The fight was tied heading into the final stanza according to open scoring, but Bernardo quickly turned the tide in her favor with an early takedown, and she spent much of the frame on top in north-south position.

Bernardo set the tone early when she caught a Tennant (5-2, 4-1 Invicta) kick, dumped her to the canvas and spent the majority of the opening stanza…

Edson Barboza will lock horns with Billy Quarantillo in a featherweight duel at a UFC event on April 15.

Quarantillo initially announced the pairing on his OnlyFans page. The event does not currently have an official location or headliner. Two other bouts were confirmed for the card on Wednesday. MMAFighting.com brought word of a featherweight tilt between T.J. Brown and Bill Algeo, while MMAjunkie.com first reported a light heavyweight showdown between Dustin Jacoby and Azamat Murzakanov.

Barboza is 2-3 since transitioning to the featherweight division from 155 pounds. The Brazilian is coming off back-to-back losses against Giga Chikadze and Bryce Mitchell in his last two UFC appearances. Barboza also owns wins over Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani at 145 pounds.

Quarantillo, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of his seven UFC bouts. Most recently, the Gracie Tampa South representative defeated Alexander Hernandez via second-round TKO at UFC 282.

Valentina Shevchenko will make her next flyweight title defense against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285.

ESPN Deportes was first to report the booking. UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane.

Shevchenko is currently No. 1 in Sherdog’s female pound-for-pound rankings and has rarely been challenged during her reign atop the flyweight divison. However, “Bullet” is coming off arguably the most difficult test of her career in a split-decision triumph over Taila Santos at UFC 275 this past June. Shevchenko has won nine consecutive fights and has seven successful title defenses to her credit.

Grasso, meanwhile, has won four consecutive fights since moving to 125 pounds from strawweight. In her last outing, the Lobo Gym MMA representative earned a unanimous decision triumph against Viviane Araujo in the UFC Fight Night 212 main event on Oct. 15.

A clash between Chelsea Hackett and Desiree Yanez will top the women’s flyweight lineup for PFL Challenger Series on Feb. 24.

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The promotion announced the pairings for the event on Wednesday. The card will mark the debut of the 125-pound division in the PFL and streams exclusively on Fubo Sports. In the co-main event, muay thai stylist Kaytlin Neil will face Belgian fighter Griet Eeckhout.

Two other bouts will round out the card, as Invicta FC veteran Helen Peralta squares off against Team Oyama product Lisa Mauldin, while four-time UFC competitor Shanna Young faces Contender Series alum Sandra Lavado.

“As we approach the kickoff to the 2023 PFL Challenger Series, we are excited to introduce our new women’s flyweight division as a part of this year’s eight-week competition being held live from Universal Studios Florida,”PFL president of fighter operations Ray Sefo said in a release.

Australia’s Hackett is coming off a second-ro…

Former interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky will square off against Linton Vassell in a rematch on the Bellator 292 main card.

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Promotion officials announced the pairing on Wednesday. Moldavsky defeated Vassell via unanimous decision in their first meeting at Bellator 218 in March 2019. Additionally, two preliminary bouts were confirmed for the event: James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo at bantamweight and Keri Melendez vs. Bruna Ellen at flyweight.

Bellator 292 takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on March 10 and is headlined by a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal matchup pitting Usman Nurmagomedov against Benson Henderson. Another 155-pound quarterfinal between Tofiq Musayev and Alexandr Shabliy is also set for the card. The Bellator 292 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.

Read more about Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell, Two Other Bouts Added to Bellator 292 Lineup

A pivotal bantamweight matchup is in the works for UFC Fight Night 221, as Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are expected to meet on March 11.

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The Las Vegas Review-Journal was first to report the bout. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the pairing. UFC Fight Night 221 takes place at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Yan, a former 135-pound champ, has lost three of his last four promotional appearances. Most recently, “No Mercy” suffered a controversial split-decision loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 this past October. Yan’s resume includes triumphs over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson.

Dvalishvili, a training partner of reigning bantamweight champ and two-time Yan opponent Aljamain Sterling, enters the matchup on an eight-fight UFC winning streak. In his lone appearance of 2022, “The Machine” outpointed Aldo at UFC 278.

After three years away from the UFC, Jon Jones isn’t looking too far ahead — but he does have a plan in place for his short-term future.

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Jones will return to the Octagon to face Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight championship at UFC 285 on March 4. After a lengthy reign at 205 pounds, Jones admits that he feels newly motivated competing in a new division.

“I’m excited. I’m grateful. I feel humble. I feel appreciated by the company I work for. I feel like I’m in a really good place,” Jones said in an interview with MMA Underground. “MMA feels fun to me again. Obviously, with being out for three years and in a new division, there’s a lot of questions that cause me to stay up long nights, but it keeps me sharp. It’s something that I feel like I didn’t have at light heavyweight towards the end. Towards the end it just felt like another day at the office. This doesn’t feel like another day at the office. This feels very different. The nerves, the an…

A championship doubleheader is now official for Invicta FC 51.

Taneisha Tennant tipped the scales at 134.4 pounds for her bantamweight title defense against Talita Bernardo (135), while both Kristina Williams (124.3) and Ketlen Souza (123.6) hit their contracted marks without issue in their matchup for the vacant flyweight crown.

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It wasn’t all smooth sailing at Tuesday’s weigh-ins. Serena DeJesus (137.3) missed weight by 1.3 pounds for her bantamweight clash against Olga Rubin (136) and has been fined 25 percent of her purse. Meanwhile, Tanya Niijar (118.1) was 2.1 pounds heavy for a strawweight showdown with Sayury Canon (113.1) and as a result, the bout has been removed from the card.

Invicta FC 51 takes place at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night and airs on the Invicta FC YouTube channel and AXS TV in the United States beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tennant has been victorious in five of her six professional outings. …