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[embedded content] For now, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship' return to the United States will carry on with eight bouts after the weigh-ins for CW 143 took place.

Lightweights have been given the main event spotlight as promotional newcomer Erick Sanchez will take on James Lynch, who has become a mainstay of Cage Warriors' San Diego events. Both California-based headliners made weight for the main event, but same could not be said for one of the competitors in the other marquee matchup.

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A veteran of Combate Global and Bellator MMA, Sanchez (10-6) finds himself in a high-profile bout for his Cage Warriors debut. The Sacramento native is 2-2 in his last four outings, but is coming off a rear-naked choke win over Jordan Beltran. The 31-year-old will look to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since 2016. Sanchez officially weighed 155.7 pounds.

Meanwhile, Lynch (5-2) will compete in his fifth bout for the promotion. The lightweight that call…

[embedded content] The recent domination of this year’s Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Championship event by Gordon Ryan has blown away the jiu-jitsu community.

The 14th edition of the ADCC Worlds, which were held on Sept. 17 and 18 in Las Vegas, delivered for fans of the gentle art. Several competitors made names for themselves, including Amy Campo for her victory over Gabi Garcia and Kade Ruotolo by winning the 170-pound championship at only 19 years of age. No star shone brighter, however, than Ryan, who triumphed over the field in the 99+ kg division (218.25 pounds) with four victories in no-gi competition to win the gold. After pulling that off, Ryan submitted one of the greatest champions ADCC had ever seen in Andre Galvao, landing the rear-naked choke in their superfight after racking up 12 points.

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Multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends and past ADCC competitors Fabricio Werdum, Fabio Gurgel and Carlos Barreto, all had something to say about this do…

While Islam Makhachev is the most accurate takedown artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, not everyone believes he is guaranteed to take his next opponent down.

In August, Chute Boxe head coach Diego Lima revealed to Sherdog that ex-UFC champ Charles Oliveira had a secret weapon in his training camp. The Iranian wrestler known as Alireza Noei had joined the team some years before, with the singular goal of helping fighters in the camp train their wrestling. Noei specifically devoted a great deal of focus on Oliveira, especially ahead of the Brazilian’s October meeting with Makhachev, and Noei believes that Oliveira’s chops on top and bottom are exceptional.

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“We have been working together for the last four years and I’m really impressed by how he has evolved,” Noei admitted to Sherdog. “Even for myself, who always competed in high level wrestling, [it] is hard to take him down. He is good both attacking and defending.” Read more about Coach Alireza Noei Believes Charles Oliveira Will Not Be Taken Down at UFC 280

UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos has been suspended for one year by USADA after failing an out-of-competition drug test.

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The 35-year-old Brazilian tested positive for ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator, on April 8. MMAFighting.com was first to report the positive test, which has not been yet been formally announced by USADA. Zaleski denies knowingly taking the banned substance, blaming the result on a contaminated supplement.

While Zaleski’s manager, Tiago Okamura, told MMAFighting that even though the supplement in question was identified, the compounding pharmacy that produced it denied responsiblility. As a result, dos Santos was unable to secure a reduced suspension from USADA.

“The talks with Elizeu and the doctor went as expected but the pharmacy denied compounding ostarine and later questioned the tested sample and even the packaging it was sent to the lab in,” Okamura wrote in a statement. “With the pharmacy …

Dana White believes Raul Rosas Jr. proved he was ready for the bright lights of the UFC with his victory on the Contender Series Tuesday night.

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The 17-year-old Las Vegas resident put on a grappling clinic en route to a three-round verdict over Mando Gutierrez, an opponent who was eight years his senior. Rosas Jr. was active on the canvas, threatened with submissions and never appeared to fatigue, and that was enough to earn a UFC contract from White.

“For a 17-year-old to conduct himself the way he did in this fight, I was blown away by it. Blown away,” White said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “After what I just saw, this kid’s ready to fight in the UFC.”

With that, Rosas Jr. becomes the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. According to White, a lack of experience shouldn’t be an issue when someone is as talented as Rosas Jr.

“He’s absolutely special,” White said. “The amount of fighters that were blowing me up, going, ‘Oh my G…

These days, Floyd Mayweather prefers to be in the exhibition business.

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As his matchup with Mikuru Asakura this weekend at Super Rizin draws near, the retired former boxing champion discussed what the future holds for him — and that could include a rematch with Conor McGregor.

'I want to go out there this weekend and have fun,” Mayweather told Sportsmail. “Then I have another exhibition Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023.

“We don't know if it's going to be an exhibition or a real fight,” he said of a potential rematch with McGregor. “But there's been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition.’”

“Money” has squared off against the likes of Tenshin Nasukawa, Logan Paul and Don Moore in exhibition bouts over the past few years. He defeated Nasukawa via TKO at Rizin 14, while the fights with Paul and Moore were both declared draws. Mayweather explained his reasoning for wanting exhibitions over professional bouts at this point …

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If Dana White goes, so does Joe Rogan.

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The longtime UFC commentator revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience” that his time with the Las Vegas-based promotion will come to an end when White steps down.

“If Dana leaves, I’m gone,” Rogan said (via MMAjunkie.com). “It’s in my contract.”

Rogan has been with the organization since 1997, when he debuted as a backstage interviewer at UFC 12. The 55-year-old stand-up comedian has reduced his duties over the years, as he now generally only works broadcasts for pay-per-view events in the United States. He inked a lucrative deal with Spotify in 2020 for his podcast valued at more than $100 million, and is one of the most recognizable figures associated with the UFC.

White remains a figurehead of the UFC and has cashed in since the company was sold to Endeavor. He hasn’t publicly mentioned a plan for stepping down, so it’s likely that Rogan will be around for the foreseeable future.

Eddie Alvarez is no longer under contract with One Championship, according to the South China Morning Post.

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Alvarez and the Singapore-based promotion reportedly agreed to an early release from his contract, though it is unclear how many fights “The Underground King” had remaining on his deal. Alvarez was in attendance for the press conference in Los Angeles to announced the joint-partnership between One and Amazon Prime, and at the time it sounded like he intended to remain a part of the organization.

“The goal has always been the triple crown,” Alvarez said of his dream to win titles in three promotions. “I have fought for every organization. I’ve pretty much become the champion in every organization. That’s always been the main goal from the gate.

“But I think One is making strides and for right now I think it’s about getting a footprint here in the United States and this is the start of it right here with Amazon Prime.”

Things didn’t go a…

One clubbing right hand was all Brunno Ferreira needed to shift momentum—permanently.

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The undefeated Brazilian was one of five competitors signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship from Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he wrecked Leon Aliu with punches in the first round of their middleweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Aliu (10-2, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 95 seconds into Round 1.

Ferreira (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) tested the water with kicks, then connected with a right hook to the temple that set the Albanian on rubbery legs. Aliu never recovered, his equilibrium having been shaken beyond repair. Ferreira gave chase with punches, denied a desperate single-leg takedown attempt, drove his compromised counterpart to the canvas and connected with a diving standing-to-ground right hand that drew the curtain.

In addition to Ferreira, the UFC also linked arms with bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr., lightweight Nurullo Aliev, flyw…

Cody Garbrandt will not remain on the UFC Fight Night 211 card following an injury suffered in training.

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Multiple outlets confirmed Garbrandt’s exit from the event following an initial report from ESPN. Garbrandt was originally expected to face Rani Yahya at the event, but Yahya pulled out of the fight as a result of a neck injury. Garbrandt was initially going to stay on the card against a replacement opponent.

A former 135-pound champion, Garbrandt is returning to the division following a short-lived stint at flyweight. In his lone 125-pound appearance, “No Love” fell to Kai Kara France via first-round technical knockout at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The 31-year-old Ohioan has lost five of his last six in UFC competition.

UFC Fight Night 211 takes place on Oct. 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight tilt pitting Mackenzie Dern against Xiaonan Yan.

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 9 coverage will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Round 1 Venezuela’s Echeverria has compiled a 7-0 mark while competing exclusively under the Titan FC banner. Filho is a veteran of the Shooto Brazil promotion and has been victorious in seven of his last eight professional appearances. Mark Smith is your referee for this flyweight clash. No glove touch and Filho takes the center of the cage. Filho with an inside leg kick to begin the offense. Echeverria moves forward behind a left hook and a front kick. Filho is focusing on the leg kicks at the start. Echeverria with a hard outside low kick of his own. Filho shoots and presses his foe into the fence. Echeverria defends and gets an underhook in. Echeverria turns off the fence, but Filho maintains his grip. Filho looks for a takedown, but Echeverria winds up on top in a scramble. They’re …

Jailton Almeida and Shamil Abdurakhimov will lock horns at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22.

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Almeida confirmed the heavyweight booking on his Instagram account following an initial report from AgFight. Almedia and Abdurakhimov were initially slated to square off at UFC 279 before Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw from the event due to visa issues.

Almeida has been on a tear since earning a UFC contract with a second-round submission of Nasrudin Nasrudinov on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. He has kicked off his promotional tenure with first-round finishes of Danilo Marques, Parker Porter and Anton Turkalj. The 31-year-old Brazilian known as “Malhadinho” has won his last 12 professional outings overall.

The 41-year-old Abdurakhimov will enter the matchup with Almeida on a three-bout skid in the Octagon. The Dagestani last appeared at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich. Abdurak…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will spend much of the rest of 2022 on its home turf.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday approved licenses for seven UFC events in Nevada. Six of those will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, while the seventh, UFC 282, will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The promotion currently has 10 events remaining on the calender for the rest of the year. Those not slated for Las Vegas include UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22; UFC 281 in New York on Nov. 12 and UFC Fight Night on Dec. 3 in Orlando.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas dates feature Fight Nights on Oct. 1, Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, while UFC 282 is slated for Dec. 10.

If Germaine de Randamie does return to the Octagon, it won’t be any time in the near future.

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The former UFC featherweight champion announced via Instagram that she is pregnant and expected to give birth in March 2023.

“Woohoooo we can finally scream it from the top of our lungs, ‘WE ARE PREGNANT,’ de Randamie wrote. “We are blessed with our little miracle.”

The 38-year-old de Randamie hasn’t competed since a third-round submission victory over ex-bantamweight queen Julianna Pena at UFC on ESPN 16 in October 2020. The Netherlands native was a top contender at both 135 and 145 pounds. She claimed the UFC’s inaugural featherweight belt with a decision triumph against Holly Holm at UFC 208 but would vacate the throne without defending the title.

De Randamie later challenged for bantamweight gold at UFC 245, dropping a five-round verdict to Amanda Nunes. “The Iron Lady” owns a 10-4 career mark that includes triumphs over the likes of Pena, A…

Former UFC and Bellator MMA talent Chris Avila will square off against social media influencer Mikhail “Doctor Mike” Varshavski on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva undercard.

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Showtime announced the booking on Tuesday. The bout will be contested over four rounds at 185 pounds. The event takes place at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on Oct. 9 and is headlined by the aforementioned clash between Paul and Silva. It will be available on pay-per-view via Showtime.

Avila, who gained a measure of notoriety as a disciple of UFC star Nate Diaz, is 8-9 in MMA and 1-1 in professional boxing. The Cesar Gracie Fight Team export went 0-2 in the UFC and 1-2 in Bellator. He is coming off back-to-back first-round KO/TKO wins under the North Iowa Fights banner in 2021 in MMA, while he took a majority decision over former Bellator foe Anthony Taylor in the boxing ring this past December.

“Hmmmm, let’s see. I am giving him a height advantage, a reach advant…

Askar Mozharov was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday for a failed drug test in relation to his lone Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

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Mozharov tested positive for the substance GW1516 sulfone, which is a hormone and metabolic modulator. According to USADA, the substance can modify how the body metabolizes fat and was “originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and other disorders caused by metabolic problems.” Mozharov was not sanctioned by USADA because the sample he submitted was below the organization’s threshhold for an anti-doping violation.

In addition to a six-month suspension, Mozharov was fined 10 percent of his purse from his first-round technical knockout loss to Alonzo Menifield at UFC Fight Night 207 on June 4. Salaries from the event were not disclosed.

Mozharov gained notoriety for falsifying his MMA record prior to facing Menifield, and once…

Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 fighters set to compete made weight without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series Takes place on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a middleweight showdown between Leon Aliu (186) and Brunno Ferreira (184).

Italy’s Aliu has been victorious in 10 of his first 11 professional appearances — with all of his victories coming inside the distance. In his last outing, the 33-year-old knocked out James Webb in the opening round at Cage Warriors 138 on May 28.

A native of Curitiba Brazil, Ferreira brings an 8-0 mark into the Contender Series. The 29-year-old Evolucao Thai product has six first-round finishes to his credit since beginning his professional tenure in 2019.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Leon Aliu (186) vs. Brunno Ferreira (184)Raul Rosas Jr. (134) vs. Mando Gutierrez (135.5)Austen Lane (240.5) vs. Richard J…

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A heavyweight bout pitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik against Chris Daukaus has been moved to UFC 282.

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The fight was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night 211 on Oct. 1 but was shifted for undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news. UFC 282 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 10 and is expected to feature a light heavyweight championship rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.

Roze…

Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion Juntaro Ushiku will defend his crown against Kleber Koike Erbst in the Rizin 39 main event on Oct. 23.

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The Japanese promotion recently announced the booking, along with the following bouts: Koji Takeda vs. Zach Zane at lightweight; Motonobu Tezuka vs. Mehman Mamedov at bantamweight; Vugar Karamov vs. Yoshiki Nakahara at featherweight and Daichi Abe vs. Yukinari Tamura at welterweight.

Ushiku, who is also the reigning Deep champion, claimed Rizin gold with a second-round stoppage of Yutaka Saito at Rizin 31 this past October. He defended the crown with a unanimous verdict against Saito in a rematch at Rizin 35 on April 17. The 27-year-old Tokyo native has won 10 of his last 11 professional outings and is 20-6 over the course of his career.

A former KSW title holder, Erbst has kicked off his Rizin tenure with five consecutive submission triumphs. Most recently, he dispatched Kyohei Hagiwara in th…

Jose Aldo is retiring from mixed martial arts following a decorated career in the sport.

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Sherdog.com confirmed the news with sources close to the fighter following an initial report from Combate.com. The UFC has agreed to grant Aldo his release even though the former featherweight champion still had one fight remaining on his contract, which will allow him to puruse other combat sports endeavors if he so chooses.

Aldo was reportedly offered a fight at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21, but he hadn’t made a decision about his career at that time.

The Nova Uniao standout exits the sport at 36 years old with a 31-8 mark following an 18-year career. He captured 145-pound gold in World Extreme Cagefighting and the UFC and was a top contender during his recent transition to bantamweight, falling short in a title bid against Petr Yan at UFC 251.

It’s likely that Aldo continues to test his skills in other combat sports going forward. There …

Gregory Rodrigues had to dig deep to earn victory at UFC Fight Night 210.

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The Brazilian absorbed a heavy knee early on in his co-main event encounter with Chidi Njokuani, and that blow opened a massive cut on his forehead. The man known as “Robocop” admitted that he needed a moment to regain his bearings.

“I know I was dizzy,” he said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I was like, ‘Man what happened?’ The blood starting coming down. i was kind of blind, trying to figure out [what I was going to do] … After that cut, everybody is gonna be confident to try to finish the fight. Then I started to throw my hands to show him I’m still there.”

Rodrigues did exactly that. His rally began in the second half of Round 1, as he hurt and dropped the Bellator veteran. That set the stage for a relatively quick finish in the second frame, when he tripped Njokuani to the canvas and unloaded with ground strikes for a stoppage at the 1:27 mark of the pe…

Cory Sandhagen was mostly happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 210, but he can also empathize with Yadong Song’s situation.

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Sandhagen emerged with a technical knockout win after four rounds when the cageside doctor determined Song couldn’t continue due to a significant cut over his left eye. Sandhagen caused the gash when he landed an elbow early in the fight, and the wound got progressively worse as time passed. Sandhagen was confident that he had already seized momentum and would’ve have continued to take control in a fifth round.

“It was definitely a step forward. Song’s a hell of a fighter. I knew that he was gonna be super tough. The guy hits really hard. He defended my takedowns really well,” Sandhagen said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think I was starting to figure him out as the fight went on, so I was really looking forward to a fifth round.

“That [stoppage] was kind of a bummer. These people that I’m fightin…

[SENSITIVE STOMACH WARNING]

These before and after pics of Greg Rodrigues' getting stitched up are WILD #UFCVegas60

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(via @danawhite) pic.twitter.com/6juxEbRZtj — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 18, 2022

A nasty gash didn’t faze Gregory Rodrigues, but the wound isn’t for the faint of heart.

The Brazilian known as “Robocop” suffered a signficant cut on his forehead early in the opening round of his middleweight clash with Chidi Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 210 when his opponent connected flush with a knee. Rodrigues kept fighting and rallied to defeat Njokuani via second-round TKO in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After the bout, UFC president Dana White shared before-and-after photos of Rodrigues’ cut (via Bleacher Report), which was pretty gruesome until it was stitched up. The former Contender Series competitor has won four of five Octagon appearances, and he proved tha…

WHAT A COMEBACK #UFCVEGAS60 pic.twitter.com/lIrFPnZpq4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 18, 2022

Gregory Rodrigues and Chidi Njokuani delivered on their pre-fight hype — and then some — in the UFC Fight Night 210 co-main event.

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The middleweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their slugfest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Njokuani opened a nasty cut on Rodrigues forehead with a knee early, but the Brazilian known as “Robocop” rallied to drop his foe later in Round 1 before ending the fight with ground-and-pound at the 1:27 mark of Round 2.

Elsewhere, recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Joseph Pyfer garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his quick finish of Alen Amedovski in a featured middleweight affair. Pyfer stalked his opponent near the fence, dropped him with a massive right and sealed his win with one follow-up strike 3:55 into the opening stanza. Read more about UFC Fight Night 210 Bonuses: Rodrigues, Njokuani, Pyfer, Jackson Receive $50K