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Ali Abdelaziz isn’t happy that Magomed Ankalaev was bypassed for a light heavyweight title shot at UFC 307.

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Ankalaev is 10-0-1 with one no contest in his last 12 Octagon appearances, but the Dagestani standout won’t be facing reigning champion Alex Pereira at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead, that opportunity went to Khalil Rountree, who has won five straight in UFC competition but also recently failed a drug test.

“Certain fighters have a long road to the title, like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], like Kamaru Usman, like Islam Makhachev. But when they get there, they become dominant,” Abdelaziz recently told ESPN. “Listen, the UFC has different views about what they want to do with Alex Pereira. They want him for Utah. Magomed Ankalaev will fight in Abu Dhabi, in his market he fights in. Magomed has a new deal he’s very happy with. He deserves a title shot.”

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN…

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According to John Wood, Khalil Rountree came pretty close to calling it quits before his career could really pick up momentum.

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“I think, it was you know, third or fourth fight, he was talking to me about wanting to retire and going to construction,” the Syndicate MMA coach recently said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I think I got this good construction job. It’s gonna pay money.’ I said ‘Whoa, whoa, bro, no no no.’ I was like, ‘Just give me a year. Give me a year and I promise you do whatever I’ll support you after that. Just give me a hard year.’ And you know, through that process, ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ came.”

It was still a bumpy road for Rountree after appearing on Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” as he had inconsistent results for the first five years of his UFC tenure. That led to him considering retirement again in late 2019 before eventually having a change of heart and extending his contract…

Reinier de Ridder didn’t take long to get his first Ultimate Fighting Championship opponent.

The former ONE Championship two-division title holder will square off against Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 247 on Nov. 9. UFC op Eurosport NL was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 247 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and does not currently have a headliner in place.

De Ridder began his professional career with 17 consecutive triumphs, a run that included a 7-0 start to his ONE tenure. He bested Aung La N Sang on two different occasions to become a two-division champion but would lose both belts to Anatoly Malykhin in technical knockout defeats. “The Dutch Knight” fought outside the ONE banner for the first time since 2018 on July 27, when he defeated Magomedmurad Khasaev via first-round TKO at UAE Warriors 51.

A veteran of 54 professional outings, Meerschaert has finished 29 of his 37 career triumphs by way of sub…

A bantamweight clash pitting Petr Yan against Deiveson Figueiredo will likely serve as the main event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s event in Macau on Nov. 23.

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The booking was initially reported by Leo Guimaraes on social media. The UFC Fight Nightevent takes place at Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.

A former bantamweight champion, Yan snapped a three-bout skid in his most recent Octagon appearance when he outpointed Yadong Song at UFC 299 on March 9. The 31-year-old Russian owns other notable victories over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson during his promotional tenure.

Figueiredo, meanwhile, has found success at 135 pounds after two championship reigns in the UFC’s flyweight division. Since moving to bantamweight, the 36-year-old Brazilian has bested Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera in succession. While Figeuiredo was mentioned by newly-crowned champ Merab Dvalishvili as a …

Kevin Vallejos wants to avenge the lone career defeat that delayed his Ultimate Fighting Championship signing.

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Vallejos earned a UFC contract on Tuesday with a first-round technical knockout win over the previously undefeated Cam Teague at Dana White's Contender Series. However, this wasn’t the Argentine prospect’s first appearance on the Contender Series. Vallejos suffered his only pro loss via unanimous decision against streaking UFC featherweight Jean Silva in September 2023. Vallejos then racked up consecutive stoppage wins on the regional circuit to earn another shot on the Contender Series, where he made a strong impression. While “El Chino” is ready to fight anybody the UFC offers for his debut, he wants his shot at redemption against Silva at some point.

“I’m an employee of this company and I will fight wherever they ask me to… There’s a revenge that I think I should get and I want that,” Vallejos said during a post-fight media scrum. “Bu…

As the days count down to the biggest Professional Fighters League event of 2024, there’s another teaser trailer to excite the combat sports universe. #PFLSuperFights #BraceForImpact pic.twitter.com/h3yVn2FfuX

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) September 25, 2024

As the days count down to the biggest Professional Fighters League event of 2024, there’s another teaser trailer to excite the combat sports universe.

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In a newly released video, its main event of the “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view on Oct. 19 is highlighted, with no words needed as the impact of former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou and PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira draws the attention of spectators and helicopters as they tear through the streets leading towards their clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It will be a historic night for the PFL, with Ngannou’s promotional debut and a stacked main card. The co-main event will …

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Brendan Allen is hopeful of a middleweight title shot if he gets past his next opponent.

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Allen will go to enemy territory to co-headline UFC Fight Night 243 against French contender Nassourdine Imavov at the Accor Arena in Paris on Saturday. While Allen acknowledged Imavov’s striking speed, “All in” believes he is a better fighter overall.

“One attribute that definitely stands out for him is, he’s fast. I just think I’m better,” Allen recently told TMZ Sports. “I’m sure he probably thinks he’s better than me. I just think I’m better than him everywhere. I don’t think he’s fought anyone like me that possesses the skills that I possess and the athletic abilities that I have, the experience. I don’t think he’s fought anyone with all those things lumped in one. I know he’s probably thinking he’s gonna come out here and run through me and beat me up or whatever, that’s fine. Lot of people have thought that before and lot of people hav…

Renato Carneiro believes Paddy Pimblett is deserving of at least “some respect.”

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Carneiro is slated to headline UFC Fight Night 243 against Frenchman Benoit St. Denis at the Accor Arena in Paris on Saturday. The Brazilian recently revealed that the two most prominent potential opponents in his mind going forward are Pimblett and Dan Hooker.

Pimblett has consistently expressed interest in fighting “Moicano,” regardless of the outcome the latter’s clash against St. Denis. Meanwhile, Carneiro first called out Hooker after “The Hangman” and Israel Adesanya picked Jalin Turner to beat “Moicano” at UFC 300. Carneiro made “The Tarantula” pay for a failed walk-off KO attempt, coming from behind to submit him in the second stanza.

While Hooker had agreed to fight Carneiro, the Kiwi ended up fighting Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 this past August, earning an upset split-decision win. However, Carneiro didn’t see Hooker winning that fight. “Moicano” is mor…

Diego Lopes recently laid down his immediate career plans.

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Lopes is coming off a unanimous decision win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 that saw the Brazilian enter the featherweight title picture. It was Lopes’ fifth consecutive win — including three finishes — after coming up on the short side of a unanimous decision against Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut.

Meanwhile, Evloev has offered Lopes a rematch after originally scheduled opponent Aljamain Sterling pulled out of their UFC 307 matchup set for Oct. 5. However, having fought Evloev on short notice once, Lopes is unwilling to do it again unless the UFC guarantees Lopes a title shot with a potential win over the undefeated Russian.

“The only possibility this fight happens is if the UFC really says, ‘OK, you fight him and win, and you’re next for the belt,’” Lopes recently told MMAFighting.com. “That’s the only way this fight happens at the moment, and I want a full camp. It’s very easy for h…

Danylo Voievodkin laughed in the face of the oddsmakers.

The 6-foot-3, 263-pound Ukrainian—a prohibitive 8-to-1 underdog on some books—was one of five hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he turned away the heavily favored Bailey Schoenfelder with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Schoenfelder (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) raised the white flag 73 seconds into Round 1.

Voievodkin walked the former University of Minnesota linebacker backward and leveled him with a sweeping left hook. A dazed-and-confused Schoenfelder was powerless to defend against the follow-up attack. Voievodkin (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) wheeled to the back, cinched the choke and elicited the tapout. Featherweight Kevin Vallejos, welterweight Daniel Frunza, light heavyweight Kevin Christian and women’s strawweight Alexia Thainara are set to join Voievodkin in the UFC ro…

Sherdog’s live coverage of DWCS 2024: Week 7 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Herb Dean will ref the evening’s first bout. Thainara lands a low kick to begin the action. Another low kick lands for Thainara, and this one has more impact. Thainara punches into the clinch and easily trips Conceicao to the mat. Thainara lands in half gaurd. Conceicao creates some space and is able to scramble up when her opponent stands. They’re back in the clinch, and Thainara shoves her foe into the fence. They separate and move back to distance. Conceicao just misses a knee in close quarters. Thainara again lands a low kick. Thainara times a takedown nicely and plants Conceicao on her back. Conceicao lands a couple elbows from her back. Thainara is in full guard. She makes Conceicao uncomfortable with a can opener before standing and letting her foe back to her feet. Conceicao lands a straight right. Thainara continues to chop away at the lead leg of Conceicao. More low kicks leand fo…

Former One Championship two-division title holder Reinier de Ridder has signed a contract to compete for the UFC.

Multiple outlets confirmed the news after UFC Roster Tracker brought word of the signing via X. De Ridder, who held titles at 205 pounds and 225 pounds in ONE, is expected to compete at middleweight within the Las Vegas-based promotion. A date for his debut has not been confirmed.

De Ridder began his professional career with 17 consecutive triumphs, a run that included a 7-0 start to his ONE tenure. He bested Aung La N Sang on two different occasions to become a two-division champion but would lose both belts to Anatoliy Malykhin in technical knockout defeats.

“The Dutch Knight” fought outside the ONE banner for the first time since 2018 on July 27, when he defeated Magomedmurad Khasaev via first-round TKO at UAE Warriors 51.

A heavyweight rematch between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov will no longer take place at UFC 308 as originally anticipated.

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Volkov recently announced that he suffered a knee injury, which forced him to withdraw from the event. La Sueur was first to report that the fight was off the UFC 308 bill. While the French outlet revealed that the heavyweight bout was postponed to UFC 310, that has not been finalized, according to MMAFighting.com. UFC 308 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26 and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

“I have to inform you that my fight on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi is canceled due to my knee injury,” Volkov wrote on Instagram. “I will try to return to the gym and fight as soon as possible.”

Gane and Volkov initially squared off in the main event of UFC Fight Night 190 in June 2021, with the Frenchman winning a five-round unanimous decision.

A former int…

😅Renato Moicano tells the story of how he got his name 'Moicano':

"I used to use the mohawk and Moicano means mohawk so when I started to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, they used to give nicknames to everybody, and then they started to call me Moicano because of the hair"… pic.twitter.com/HuVXJ9KEHD

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 23, 2024

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Renato Carneiro recently revealed how he got his nickname.

Carneiro says “Moicano” is not his real name, although that is a popular misconception in the mixed martial arts world. According to the Brazilian, “Moicano” translates to mohawk, the hairstyle he was sporting when he started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a kid. Since it was tradition to give everyone nicknames in BJJ, Carneiro got “Moicano” based on his hairdo. And it has stuck with him to the point where his father also refers to him by the same moniker.

“Everybody thinks [it’s my real name]. But this is…

Belal Muhammad is confident he can beat Darren Till on the feet.

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Muhammad dethroned Till’s fellow countryman, Leon Edwards, via a dominant unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July. From his experience fighting “Rocky,” Muhammad has arrived at the conclusion that Englishmen aren’t good at striking.

This led him to challenge Till, who is primarily a striker, to a stand-up sparring match. Ready to put his money where his mouth his, “Remember the Name” offered a wager of $100,000 for the potential spar, which would be live streamed. Muhammad even more boldly offered to go southpaw against “The Gorilla” for five rounds.

“I realized after going with Leon that people in the U.K. don’t have striking, you guys aren’t good at it,” Muhammad said on X Spaces. “I’ll put $100,000 that I’ll beat you in a five-round sparring match. We’ll just do stand up sparring; we’ll go live stream it… I won’t even wrestle and I will go…

Jamahal Hill tells the story of how Weili Zhang thought he was Khalil Rountree😭😭

🎥 YT / @funkmasterMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/xK2fn9HEyp

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 23, 2024

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Jamahal Hill recently recalled a hilarious interaction with Weili Zhang.

Hill was recently in attendance for Dana White's Contender Series, where he came across the women’s strawweight champ. Currently recovering from a knee injury, “Sweet Dreams” was surprised when Zhang wished him luck for an apparent fight next month. When Zhang specified that it was a title fight, Hill realized that she had mistaken him for Khali Rountree Jr. Rountree challenges Alex Pereira for light heavyweight gold in the main event at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hill was surprised by “Magnum’s” confusion, as Rountree is considerably shorter and also has facial hair. However, the former light heavyweight champ knows…

Aljamain Sterling has his eyes on surging contender Diego Lopes if a potential clash against Movsar Evloev falls through.

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Sterling was originally scheduled to fight Evloev at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, “Funkmaster” was forced out due to an injury suffered in training camp. Sterling would prefer rebooking his matchup with Evloev, who will reportedly not remain on the UFC 307 card, at a later date.

If Evloev doesn’t wait for him, Sterling wants to face Lopes. The former bantamweight champ has commended Lopes’ quick rise to stardom within the span of a year. While Sterling perceived Lopes as a nice, polite guy while training together in the past, he can now sense the tension that’s common for two potential opponents when they now come across each other.

Sterling had always eyed Brian Ortega as the matchup that could catapult him into title contention. However, Lopes beat Ortega via unanimous decision …

Week 7 of Dana White's Contender Series Series is now official, as all 10 athletes slated to compete on the card hit their contracted marks on the scale Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a heavyweight clash between Danylo Voievodkin (263) and Bailey Schoenfelder (231). The card airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Ukraine’s Voievodkin has kicked off his pro career with six consecutive triumphs. He has finished all of his opponents inside of a round.

Schoenfelder, meanwhile, is undefeated in five professional outings. He has competed for Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Legacy Fighting Alliance and Bellator MMA since making his debut in 2021. He is coming off a second-round TKO of former Contender Series competitor Greg Velasco this past April at CFFC 131.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results: Danylo Voievodkin (263) vs. Bailey Schoenfelder (231)Daniel Frunza (170) vs. Vadim Kutsyj (171)Kevi…

Raul Rosas Jr. thinks he is ready for a Top 15 opponent next.

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Rosas made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the age of 17, the youngest in the history of the promotion. After a first-round submission win over Jay Perrin in his debut at UFC 282 in 2022, Rosas suffered his lone pro loss in an upset against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in 2023.

Rosas has since racked up a three-fight winning streak including two finishes. Rosas most recently earned a unanimous decision win over bantamweight veteran Qileng Aori at UFC 306 on Sept. 14. The 19-year-old now believes he is ready for ranked opponents. If he can’t immediately get a ranked opponent, “El Nino Problema” wants someone who can get him closer to Top 15 opposition.

“Personally, I know I’m ready. But even if I’m not ready, I’ll figure out a way to be ready for that date and opponent,” Rosas told MMAjunkie.com. “If I’m ready, which I think I am, I can still get even more ready, so I…

Jorge Masvidal wants to settle his old beef with Leon Edwards inside the Octagon.

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Masvidal and Edwards’ feud dates back to a Ultimate Fighting Championship card in London in 2019. They met backstage after Masvidal knocked out Darren Till and Edwards roped in a split-decision win over Gunnar Nelson. Masvidal was conducting a post-fight interview with ESPN before leaving the set to confront Edwards. The two proceeded to trade blows backstage, and “Gamebred” landed a three-punch combo, which he iconically named “three piece and a soda.”

While this was the perfect setup for a matchup between the two, it never quite came to fruition. According to Masvidal, he had accepted an outing against “Rocky” but the Englishman turned it down.

“I know he wouldn’t fight me. He got offered and turned it down,” Masvidal recently told MMAFighting.com. “He don’t want this. I tried [to fight him]. Leon Edwards don’t want this. He had other options, he went for othe…

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Alex Pereira has a knack for turning former foes into friends.

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Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pereira recently uploaded footage of his first week of training in Utah, where former kickboxing foe Yousri Belgaroui was in his camp. Belgaroui defeated Pereira via unanimous decision in their first Glory kickboxing matchup, while the Brazilian exacted revenge via knockout the next two times they fought.

However, Belgaroui isn’t the only former foe joining Pereira’s camp leading up to UFC 307. The champ revealed that Sean Strickland, whom he knocked out in 2022, will also be joining him next week. Strickland has openly acknowledged Pereira’s power multiple times since the loss and has also seemingly developed a camaraderie with “Poatan.” Strickland will be joining Pereira’s team, which includes the likes of his sis…

Just caught up with @TheNotoriousMMA here at Wembley for @DAZNBoxing.

We talked about whether he'll fight this year, Chandler taking another fight, and his pending free agency. pic.twitter.com/3Di04yS5X4

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 21, 2024 Conor McGregor is uncertain of his future once he exhausts his current Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Arguably the greatest star in the history of the sport, McGregor has now been sidelined for over three years since breaking his leg in a loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor starred opposite Michael Chandler as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” last year, with a clash between them scheduled for UFC 303 this past July. However, “Notorious” was forced out due to a broken pinky toe. After waiting for McGregor for almost two years, Chandler has now accepted a clash against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 on Nov. 16, casting further doubt on the Irishman’s return time…

Umar Nurmagomedov is eager to stay active instead of waiting for a title shot against Merab Dvalishvili.

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Dvalishvili recently won the bantamweight title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Sean O’Malley in the main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14. Joe Rogan asked Dvalishvili about potentially defending his strap against Nurmagomedov immediately afterwards as the camera focused on the Dagestani, who was attending the event.

While the UFC appears keen on setting up a clash between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov, the newly-crowned champ has been critical of the undefeated contender for a while now. Dvalishvili has accused Nurmagomedov of being promoted by the UFC due to his relation to his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov. “The Machine” also stalled Rogan when asked about a potential Dvalishvili matchup and later went on to call out former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo.

While Dvalishvili’s camp is rallying hard for the champ to call his own …

Jean Silva is rallying for a wild-card entry into the UFC featherweight title picture.

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Silva has called for a clash against undefeated contender Movsar Evloev, who is in search of an opponent after Aljamain Sterling withdrew from their scheduled bout at UFC 307.“Funkmaster” pulled out of the contest last week due to an injury suffered in sparring.

Silva has now called out Evloev, although he won’t be able to replace Sterling at UFC 307. The Brazilian would instead like to fight Evloev at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"Evloev, I know your fight is off and I will accept to fight you but I cannot fight on [Oct. 5] as the UFC staff and my doctor Daniel didn't allow me to fight, but on [Nov. 16], if you agree on the Jon Jones card, I guarantee you will have a war. Let’s go,” Silva said on Instagram.

Evloev is 8-0 in UFC competition, going the distance in all of his victories. Meanwhile, Silva has finished his firs…