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Nassourdine Imavov is $50,000 richer for vanquishing a legend.

The Frenchman received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round technical knockout of Israel Adesanya 30 seconds into Round 2 of the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner on Saturday at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Imavov rocked his foe with an overhand right and then sealed his surprising triumph with a barrage of follow-up punches near the cage.

Elsewhere, Vinicius Oliveira and Said Nurmagomedov earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featured bantamweight clash. In a bout that saw both combatants trade willingly, it was Oliveira’s ability to mix in effective grappling that secured him a unanimous nod on the scorecards.

Finally, Bogdan Grad garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a technical knockout victory over Lucas Alexander at featherweight. After surviving a difficult opening stanza, Grad rallied to put his foe away wit…

pic.twitter.com/8M2y2Pl9Vb

— Fights (@FIGHTZSS) February 1, 2025 “The Sniper” has just bagged some huge game.

Capping of what was on paper an excellent offering from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Riyadh, Saudi, Arabia, the two men in the main event made sure to leave a lasting impression. Riding the first losing streak of his career, Israel Adesanya (24-5, 13-5 UFC) looked to bounce back in his first non-championship headliner in years. Standing his way was rising French talent Nassourdine Imavov (16-4, 1 NC; 8-2, 1 NC UFC), a worthy test for the ex-champ but one many prognosticators expected he would surpass comfortably. That was not meant to be, as Imavov punched his ticket to massive opportunities by shocking “The Last Stylebender” in the second round, scoring the flash knockdown and forcing referee Marc Goddard to step in.

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As the fight began, Adesanya looked every bit of his former self, showing that at the …

Sherdog's live UFC Saudi Arabia coverage will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 250. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the ro…

Outspoken Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters are having quite a week.

Former two-division champ Conor McGregor took to social media on Friday, attacking ex-foe Khabib Nurmagomedov while hurling racial slurs and other insults towards Nurmagomedov and his family. While the two had been going back and forth lately due to the performance of Usman Nurmagomedov over McGregor’s fellow countryman Paul Hughes, this briefly posted diatribe was deleted minutes after it went up.

“15 minutes I done [Jose] Aldo 15 seconds. Show yo wife n---a. Show yo kids n---a,” the Irishman wrote, with the screenshot of his post preserved by MMA Junkie. “Cousin f----n motherf----n hidin motherf----r. Show us you and your cousins kids together because we have kids here in Ireland that wanna smoke them in competition. Are they competing or what are you saying Ireland vs Dagestan? Where’s your offspring, we can’t wait to see them . The best of Dagestan offspring ? Dagestan, what do we think? Is…

The #UFCSaudiArabia main event is LOCKED IN 😤@StyleBender weighs in at 185lbs!

[ Live TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 12pmET | @RiyadhSeason | #RiyadhSeason📷 ] pic.twitter.com/fpx1ucC6Fp

— UFC (@ufc) January 31, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Saudi Arabia with 11 fights that are all official following the UFC Saudi Arabia weigh-ins.

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This includes an intriguing main event featuring Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov. Both middleweight headliners successfully made weight for the five-round fight. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight with the exception of Lucas Alexander. The would-be featherweight came in 2.5 pounds over the limit for his fight against Bogdan Grad. Alexander will be fined 30% of his purse as a result.

This marks the first non-pay-per-view headlining fight for Adesanya (24-4) since 2018. "The Last Stylebender" is coming off the first back-to-back defeats in his career …

Ultimate Fighting Championship tweener Kevin Holland is opting to move back down to the weight he claims will make him more disciplined.

Per an initial report by social media user realkevink on Tuesday, Holland’s (26-13, 1 NC) relocation to 170 pounds will have him squaring off against jiu-jitsu ace Gunnar Nelson (19-5-1) at UFC London. The two will battle it out at the O2 Arena in London on March 22, with confirmation of the pairing coming on Thursday from multiple outlets. Per those outlets, the fighters have verbally agreed but the contracts have not been signed.

Holland competed four times in 2024, winning just once after getting dropped by Michal Oleksiejczuk and snaring a limb-snapping armbar. A decision loss to Michael Page, a corner stoppage defeat against Roman Dolidze and a quick rear-naked choke setback to Reinier de Ridder put the Texan’s back against the wall. As a pro, “Trailblazer” still presents a dangerous finish rate of 85%, with each of his last s…

Despite his absurd comments, Ultimate Fighting Championship 145-pound contender Bryce Mitchell will still be on the roster going forward.

In the first episode of his “Arkansanity” podcast along with former UFC talent Roli Delgado on Friday, the Arkansan went on a tangent about Adolf Hitler and Germany in the early 1900s during a discussion of Elon Musk’s salute some considered reminiscent of a Nazi salute. His comments ranged from praising Hitler to complete Holocaust denial. Since then, UFC chief Dana White weighed in on what Mitchell had to say, and explained that Mitchell will face no punishment from his organization due to “free speech.”

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“I really don’t think that [Musk] was [hailing the Nazis], because I honestly think that was a good guy based upon my own research,” Mitchell spouted. “Not my public education—indoctrination—I really do think before Hitler got on meth, he was a guy to go fishing with. He fought for his country, he wanted to purif…

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Colby Thicknesse, who trains with ex-featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, has agreed to face Aleksandre Topuria on short notice at UFC 312.

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Thicknesse is a replacement for Cody Haddon, who withdrew from the bantamweight pairing due to injury. The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the change via social media on Wednesday. The booking contains added intrigue since Topuria is the older brother of current UFC 145-pound king Ilia Topuria, who knocked out Volkanovski to claim the featherweight throne at UFC 298. Ilia Topuria and Volkanovski are rumored to be scheduled for a rematch at UFC 314 in April.

“How good is this? I’m very excited for Colby,” Volkanovski said in a video on the UFC’s Instagram. “There’s not a more deserving person than Colby Thicknesse. He’s probably the hardest worker I know on the planet. He’s got heart. He’s got the discipline. No one’s more committed than this guy …. He’s been my main training partn…

Asu Almabayev will get a different matchup than originally anticipated at UFC Vegas 103.

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The promotion initially announced that Almabayev would lock horns with former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg at the March 1 event. However, the Kazakhstan native will instead lock horns with Allan Nascimento on the same card. The new pairing was confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN on its event page. Erceg has reportedly been moved to the UFC Mexico City card to face Brandon Moreno on March 29, but that booking has not been formally announced.

Almabaev has kicked off his promotiona tenure with four consecutive triumphs. He concluded a 3-0 2024 campaign with a three-round verdict over Matheus Nicolau at UFC Fight Night 245 this past October. The Brave Combat Federation veteran has won 17 straight professional outings dating back to September 2017.

After dropping his Octagon debut against Tagir Ulanbekov, Nascimento has rebounded to post back-to-…

🇮🇪🤔 Paul Hughes tells Khabib (referring to Conor Mcgregor):

"I am not like this other guy. I am my own man."🎥 @WillHarrisAOAF pic.twitter.com/bjJIkhgbyS

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 29, 2025

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Conor McGregor was not pleased with Paul Hughes after post-fight video showed “Big News” engaging in a respectful post-fight conversation with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Hughes squared off against Usman Nurmagomedov in the PFL Road to Dubai main event last Saturday, losing a closely-contested majority decision in a widely-praised lightweight title clash. In a video captured by Anatomy of a Fighter, Hughes appears to refer to McGregor while speaking with Khabib, who was in his cousin’s corner for the bout.

“I’m not like this other guy,” Hughes says. “I’m my own man.”

Shortly after the bout, McGregor praised Hughes’ performance, claiming that his countryman “dominated the fight” while trashing the Nurmagomedovs in a since…

Chase Hooper will look to add another veteran name to his ledger when he locks horns with Jim Miller at UFC 314.

The lightweight bout was first reported by McGregorRousey2 on X. UFC 314 takes place on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and also includes and women’s strawweight showdown between Virna Jandiroba and Xiaonan Yan.

The 25-year-old Hooper has won four straight in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a first-round submission of Clay Guida at UFC 310. “The Dream” has also bested the likes of Viascheslav Borshchev, Jordan Leavitt and Nick Fiore during his current winning streak.

Miller, who holds the record for most wins (27) and appearances (45) in UFC history, has won three of his last four outings. Most recently, the 41-year-old New Jersey native scored a first-round submission victory against Damon Jackson at UFC 309 last November.

Mauricio Ruffy is expecting a return to form against Bobby Green at UFC 313.

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At UFC 309, Ruffy defeated James Llontop via unanimous decision in his second Octagon appearance. It was the first time that the Brazilian had gone the distance in 11 professional victories. The Fighting Nerds standout vows that the result will be different against Green.

“Every time I fight, my goal is to finish my opponent,” Ruffy told Sherdog.com. “I tried to do that in my last fight, but it’s no secret to anyone that my opponent [missed weight] and I had to approach more cautiously — but always looking for the KO. With Bobby Green, it will be no different. My range and his [aggressive] style will be the perfect [combination] for me to finish that fight.”

However, Ruffy makes it clear that winning by any means — not just a knockout — is his main priority.

"I want to build up to the knockout with lots of patience, but he is such a tough opponent, so I don’t …

Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ

— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) December 8, 2024

Dennis Buzukja could face sanctions for scuffling with someone in the crowd at UFC 310.

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During a meeting on Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended the four-time UFC veteran for throwing punches at a man on his way back to the locker room after cornering Aljamain Sterling on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was also seen being restrained during the altercation.

Dvalishvili later posted evidence that the fan had ties to Umar Nurmagomedov and his team, and he claimed that the incident was orchestrated by his UFC 311 opponent. The fan involved was later identified as Arman Tugaev. Dvalishvili would go on to retain his bantamweight title with a unanimous decisi…

Bobby Green will square off against Mauricio Ruffy in a lightweight showdown at UFC 313.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC 313 takes place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje will face Dan Hooker in a five-round, non-title affair.

Green, who now goes by his former moniker of “King,” has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 38-year-old veteran of 50 fights suffered a first-round submission loss against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 this past July.

After earning a UFC deal on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2023, Ruffy has kicked off his promotional tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Jamie Mullarkey and James Llontop. The 28-year-old Fighting Nerds representative has been victorious in 11 of his 12 professional outings…

Islam Makhachev doesn’t think an eventual move to 185 pounds is unrealistic.

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The reigning UFC lightweight champ hasn’t been shy about his desire to eventually become a two-division champion. However, a friendship with current 170-pound king Belal Muhammad complicates matters. If Muhammad holds on to the welterweight belt, Makhachev sees another path to two-division gold.

“My height allows [a move to middleweight],” Makhachev recently told Ushatayka. “I think my physical data allows it, too. I just need to work with my specialists, gain muscle mass, add a little weight. I think I can try. As I already said at the press conference after the fight, if they offered it to me tomorrow and say they will give me time to gain weight, I would not turn it down. I would 100% agree to fight at middleweight.

“I’m not saying that I have a better chance, that I can 100% finish [Dricus] Du Plessis, but watching his fights, watching his style, I think I have the…

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Those who have followed mixed martial arts for any period of time know that retirements rarely last.

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However, Chris Weidman’s farewell was short-lived even by MMA standards. Approximately one week after announcing his retirement ahead of UFC 311, Weidman was selected in the Global Fight League draft. According to the former UFC middleweight champion, it was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

“The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC. A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn’t know,” Weidman said on the GFL draft stream. “I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but they had to be good.”

A lot of that had to do with some of the other athletes who are currently expected to be part of the fledgling promotion.

“This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a history with,” Weidman said. “You’ve got Luke Rockhold, you’ve got Gegar…

Alexandre Pantoja was able to benefit from a different perspective at UFC 311.

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The reigning flyweight champion was in Renato "Money" Moicano’s corner for his lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Even though his teammate lost via first-round submission, Pantoja found it to be a valuable experience.

“As a fighter it's very important to have the opportunity to see a fight from the trainer's point of view,” Pantoja told Sherdog.com. “I told ‘Moicano’ that he gave a child a VIP ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.”

Pantoja also revealed an interesting detail regarding the night American Top Team training partner Arman Tsarukyan had to withdraw from the main event, which resulted in him being replaced by “Moicano” on one day’s notice.

 "When I woke up I got a voice message from Parrumpa [coach Marcos da Matta] saying, ‘Call me as soon as you wake up,’” said Pantoja, who initi…

It’s officially the end of an era in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as longtime Octagon competitor Clay Guida confirmed his departure from the Las Vegas-based promotion in a lengthy Instagram post over the weekend.

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“This is not my retirement,” Guida wrote. “This is simply a thank you for now and a passing of my UFC torch to the next generation of warriors and wrestlers. We were built to last. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The best is yet to come!”

It’s unclear if Guida was released or if his UFC contract wasn’t renewed. Twitter account UFC Roster Tracker initially brought word of Guida’s exit from the promotion.

Guida, 43, has 37 UFC appearances to his credit, a figure that current ranks No. 4 all-time. He compiled an 18-19 mark since beginning his Octagon tenure in 2006, earning victories over the likes of Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, Anthony Pettis, B.J. Penn and Michael Johnson, to name a few. His 2009 lo…

Two of the sport’s all-time greats took time to exchange pleasantries backstage at Road to Dubai on Saturday.

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In a video posted on the Bellator MMA Instagram account, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov are seen exchanging pleasantries and posing for a photo in the locker room at the Coca-Cola Arena. Emelianenko was on hand to corner Vadim Nemkov in the co-main event, while Nurmagomedov was coaching a number of Dagestani fighters — most notably lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Emelianenko is a former Pride Fighting Championships standout who is widely regarded as perhaps the best heavyweight in MMA history. He famously went unbeaten in 28 consecutive fights from 2001 to 2009.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, retired from the sport in 2020 as the reigning UFC lightweight champion. “The Eagle” went 29-0 over the course of a career that began in 2008. Like Emelianenko, the Dagestani star is considered to be one of the top pound-for-po…

Paul Hughes’ first championship opportunity in Professional Fighters League resulted in a near miss.

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The Irish standout suffered a closely-contested majority decision defeat in a lightweight title bout against reigning champion Usman Nurmagomedov in the Road to Dubai headliner on Saturday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Hughes gave his thoughts on the ruling and his overall performance.

“We all thought I won that one,” Hughes said in a video on Instagram. “I think the judges’ scorecards were pretty ridiculous. But I’ll watch it back with a clear mind. I’m just judging from the energy of the arena and everyone surrounding the cage that thought it was mine. I’m not going to make excuses, though. I should’ve pushed harder. And I will the next time. I know we’ll fight again.”

“Big News” pointed to a pause in the action that occurred due to an accidental clash of heads in Round 4 as…

While Usman Nurmagomedov gives credit to Paul Hughes for pushing him in the Road to Dubai headliner, he isn’t interested in giving the Irishman an immediate rematch.

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Nurmagomedov edged Hughes via majority decision in a thrilling lightweight title bout at the Cola-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday. Though it was arguably the toughest test of his career to date, the unbeaten Dagestani would like to see Hughes earn his way back to a rematch.

“No, he have to earn with a couple two, three, four fights in [PFL],” Nurmagomedov said in a backstage interview after the event (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “He had only two fights and they gave him title shot. But Paul Hughes, this is all my respect to this guy. I think if he even go to the tournament for $1 million, he 100 percent [has a] chance to take this belt. Then, we can talk rematches.”

Nurmagomedov appreciated the test that Hughes provided, but he admits that he didn’t …

UFC Saudi Arabia has lost a proposed middleweight clash between Andre Muniz and Ikram Aliskerov one week before the event.

Muniz announced via Instagram stories that the fight has been postponed due to passport issues, but he expects it to be rescheduled at an unspecified date in the future. UFC Fight Night 250 takes place on Saturday at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is headlined by a 185-pound showdown pitting Israel Adesanya against Nassourdine Imavov. The event will proceed with 12 fights.

Muniz snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he took split verdict over Jun Yong Park at UFC Fight Night 233 in December 2023. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace is 6-2 since debuting in the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019.

Aliskerov hasn’t competed since falling to Robert Whittaker via first-round knockout in a short-notice main event appearance at UFC on ABC 6 last June. Prior to that, he scored consecutive stoppages against Warlley Alves and Phil Hawe…

When it came to Dagestan vs. Ireland, to paraphrase the great Tito Ortiz, there was never no rivalry.

The Professional Fighters League introduced itself to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with a showcase event pitting competitors from Dagestan against their Irish counterparts. The Russians largely ran through their opposition, culminating with a Bellator MMA lightweight championship defense. Usman Nurmagomedov (19-0, 1 NC; 1-0 PFL) carried the weight of the defunct league on his shoulders, and he approached that challenge with a stoic intensity. In the face of the toughest test of his professional career, Nurmagomedov held on and secured the victory by majority verdict.

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ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!#RoadToDubai | LIVE NOW🇺🇸 MAX🇬🇧🇮🇪 DAZN🇷🇺 OKKO pic.twitter.com/6evoCG5cgl

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 25, 2025 The champ and Paul Hughes (13-2, 1-1 PFL) chewed up the lead legs of one another with kicks in the opening round when no…

Sherdog's live Professional Fighters League PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai coverage will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. The event streams live on the Max app in the U.S. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp …