Blog

Yadong Song will likely bear the evidence of his encounter with Cory Sandhagen forever.

The 30-year-old Sandhagen kept his spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight line, as he prompted a cut stoppage against the fast-rising Team Alpha Male contender in their UFC Fight Night 210 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came between the fourth and fifth rounds, and it certainly seemed justified.

Advertisement

The fight was competitive from start to finish. However, Sandhagen (15-4, 8-3 UFC) landed the signature blow in the second round, where he stepped into an elbow strike in the center of the cage and hacked open a ghastly diagonal gash above his counterpart’s left eye. Song (19-7-1, 8-2-1) fought through adversity initially, but the cut only widened and deepened as the bout progressed. By the time Round 4 was over, it became clear that he should go no further. Resilient Rodrigues Dismisses Njokuani Former Legacy Fighting Allian…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 210 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

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

Advertisement

BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Motta (-205), VanCamp (+175)Round 1 The UFC is having a bit of a comedown from the last week’s ridiculous pay-per-view mess, trotting out a low-key Fight Night with one single ranked matchup that sits atop the event – to top it off, a plurality of the competitors came straight off or are one fight in from Dana White’s Contender Series matches. This includes the first fight on the card, where 2020 signee Motta (12-4, 0-1 UFC) had the misfortune of drawing motivated Jim Miller in his UFC debut earlier this year. Motta was not the only man to get a tough first out, as VanCamp (15-6-1, 1 NC; 0-1 UFC) squared off against power-punching welterweight Andre Fialho a few months ago only to get punched out. Both of these two lightweights will try to r…

ACTION JACKSON WASTED NO TIME 👊 #UFCVegas60 pic.twitter.com/VV0lo2o06b

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2022

Neither grief nor Pat Sabatini could slow down Damon Jackson.

Advertisement

Roughly a week after the sudden death of his older brother, the Fortis MMA representative strengthened his position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division and struck Pat Sabatini into submission in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 210 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 69 seconds into Round 1.

Jackson (22-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) unleashed a devastating front kick to the face that staggered the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder, then went to work. He sprawled on an attempted takedown and climbed to full mount before advancing to the back and flattening out a clearly compromised Sabatini (17-4, 4-1 UFC). Jackson uncorked a series of unanswered punches to the side of the …

Ultimate Fighting Championship great Anderson Silva believes his old boss should lace up the gloves and do some fighting for himself.

UFC head Dana White recently stated that Silva might be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame in the future, and Silva had some thoughts about his former employer he wanted to get out. Silva is planning on boxing Jake Paul at the end of October, and White was not entirely sold on the whole endeavor while expressing his distaste for the YouTuber-turned-boxer. “The Spider” spoke with Brazilian outlet Combate this week, initially to promote his boxing match with Jake Paul, scheduled for Oct. 29 in Phoenix.

Advertisement

“If the two of them have a problem, I think Dana should agree to fight Jake, that would end all this controversy,” Silva remarked. “Put [on] the gi, do MMA. Jake understands a lot about MMA, so I think it would be a nice MMA fight for the two of them.”

Getting the topic back on track to his own upcoming fight, Silva had som…

1️⃣3️⃣5️⃣.5️⃣ for @SongYadongLFG - your #UFCVegas60 main event is official 👏 pic.twitter.com/elPAeVTAOj

— UFC (@ufc) September 16, 2022 After a hectic pay-per-view offering, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to relative normalcy with UFC Fight Night 210.

The now 13-fight card is headlined by a bantamweight contest between contenders Cory Sandhagen and Yadong Song. Both main event fighters successfully made their contracted weights, which was a stark contrast to the drama last week. All fighters made weight except for Aspen Ladd (138), who weighed in two pounds heavy for her bantamweight fight against Sara McMann, and middleweight Alen Amedovski (186.5), who initially clocked in half a pound over for his 185-pound scrap with Joseph Pyfer. Ladd vs. McMann has since been canceled by the UFC, while Amedovski came back to weigh 185.5 pounds.

Advertisement

While a title shot seemed inevitable after back-to-back stunning knockou…

Once again, a fighter’s retirement came to an end just a few months after saying goodbye to the sport.

On Thursday night, ESPN announced that Marlon Moraes (23-10-1) has come out retirement to sign with the Professional Fighters League. The report mentioned, that per Moraes’ manager Ali Abdelaziz, the contract was not finalized but was expected to come together shortly. Minutes later, Moraes publicized his return to the organization, and he will be competing at 145 pounds when he does come back. There is no currently announced event or opponent for his first fight back, although PFL recently picked up fellow ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Shane Burgos as well.

Advertisement

Moraes initially wrote a thorough retirement message in April, when he stated that he was going to hang up his gloves.

“I want to thank everyone – Sean Shelby, Dana White and the UFC for giving me so many opportunities,” Moraes wrote. “I want to thank my family, my coaches, my manager…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC One of these two Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweights’ undefeated records will come to an end soon.

The news broke on Thursday from Fight Bananas that Bryce Mitchell (15-0) is now booked against fellow unbeaten 145-pounder Movsar Evloev (16-0) on Nov. 5. The two will battle it out on UFC Fight Night 214, which does not currently have a headliner and is not expect to be capped off by this matchup. Mitchell spoke of his fight news on his social media shortly before the report came out, and other outlets have also confirmed this pairing.

Advertisement

“Thug Nasty” Mitchell has rattled off five straight wins since prevailing in the 27th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he beat Tyler Diamond by majority verdict to earn the fabled “six-figure contract.” Mitchell started off his career with nine straight wins, with his first eight coming by submission within two rounds. Since then, he has gone the dis…

A featherweight showdown pitting Arnold Allen against Calvin Kattar is in the works to headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Oct. 29 card.

Advertisement

UFC president Dana White revealed to promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday that the bout has nearly been finalized. The UFC Fight Night 213 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also is expected to include a 145-pound co-main event between Edson Barboza and Ilia Topuria.

The 28-year-old Allen has lost just once in 19 professional outings. The Englishman is 9-0 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a first-round technical knockout victory against Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19. His record includes other notable wins against the likes of Sodiq Yusuff, Gilbert Melendez, Nik Lentz and Mads Burnell. This will be Allen’s first five-round main event in the UFC.

Kattar, meanwhile, has been in four consecutive headlining bouts — all of which have gone the full fi…

Sodiq Yusuff will not remain on this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 210 card following the withdrawal of co-main event opponent Giga Chikadze.

Advertisement

Instead, Yusuff will relocated to UFC Fight Night 211 two weeks later, where he will welcome newcomer Don Shainis to the Octagon in a featherweight bout. The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the update. UFC Fight Night 211 takes place on Oct. 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight scrap between Mackenzie Dern and Xiaonan Yan.

The 29-year-old Yusuff has been victorious in five of his first six promotional appearances — with his lone setback coming to ranked featherweight Arnold Allen. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is coming off a three-round verdict over Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 203 on March 12.

A native of Stoughton, Mass., Shainis will take a five-fight winning streak into his Octagon debut. Shainis is a Cage Titans featherweight champion and has earn…

After a controversial ending to their first meeting, Liz Carmouche and Juliana Velasquez are going to run it back at Bellator 289.

Advertisement

The California-based promotion confirmed the booking on Wednesday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Bellator 289 takes place on Dec. 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and the evening’s main card airs on Showtime. The card will feature the bantamweight grand prix semifinals, as Raufeon Stots meets Danny Sabatello, while Magomed Magomedov takes on Patrick Mix.

Carmouche took the flyweight crown from Velasquez in their first bout at Bellator 278 this past April. Velasquez appeared to be well on her way to a decision triumph when Carmouche trapped in her in a mounted crucifix and landed a series of elbows to earn a technical knockout victory 4:48 into the fourth round of their clash at Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Velasquez protested the stoppage and ultimately filed an appeal, …

OFFICIAL: @BiaggioAli1234, Muhammad Ali's grandson, Signs Contract with the Professional Fighters League! pic.twitter.com/UUQB6EpXO1

— PFL (@PFLMMA) September 14, 2022

Professional Fighters League is hoping to tap into a legendary legacy with its latest addition.

Advertisement

The promotion announced Wednesday that it has signed Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of boxing great Muhammad Ali. Walsh is currently an amateur MMA fighter and is expected to compete on the undercard of the PFL Championships on Nov. 25 against an as yet to be announced opponent. He is expected to eventually make his professional debut under the PFL banner, as well.

“The Professional Fighters League is committed to growing the league and the sport of MMA, it is incumbent upon us to look for the future stars of our sport, we have found one of those stars in Biaggio” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “We are excited to watch Biaggio’s journey from amateur to professiona…

Ikram Aliskerov waltzed into the Ultimate Fighting Championship and nearly took someone else’s limb with him.

One of five prospective mixed martial artists signed by the UFC on Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, the Eagle Fighting Championship alum submitted Mario Filipe de Sousa with a kimura in the first round of their middleweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Filipe de Sousa (15-3, 1-2 DWCS) raised the white flag 2:09 into Round 1 but not before suffering some apparent damage to his left shoulder.

Advertisement

The 29-year-old Aliskerov (13-1, 1-0 DWCS) waded through considerable fire from the lanky Brazilian, attacked the hips and secured a takedown. The onetime victim of Khamzat Chimaev landed in side control, isolated the arm and torqued it behind Filipe de Sousa’s back for the tapout. Aliskerov has rattled off five consecutive victories and will be joined on the UFC roster by Farid Basharat, Trevor Peek, Bruna Emanuele Brasil …

A matchup of between middleweight contenders Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland has been rebooked for UFC Fight Night on Dec. 17.

Advertisement

Strickland initially revealed the news in an interview with MMA journalist Helen Yee. Cannonier and Strickland were initially slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 212 before Strickland was forced to withdraw due to a finger infection. A venue for the event has not been made official.

Cannonier is coming off a failed attempt at middleweight gold at UFC 276, where he dropped a five-round verdict to Israel Adesanya on July 2. Prior to that, “The Killa Gorilla” had been victorious in five of six promotional appearances, earning wins over the likes of Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum, Jack Hermansson and Anderson Silva.

Strickland had a bid for title contention shot down at UFC 276, as he suffered a first-round KO defeat to former Glory Kickboxing champ Alex Pereira in his most recent Octagon appearance. That defeat snappe…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 8 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.

Advertisement

Round 1 Lewis is making his second appearance on the Contender Series after falling to Mo Miller in September 2021, while Peru’s Marcos, a title holder in the 300 Sparta organization, brings a sparkling 12-0 record to the bout. Mike Beltran gets the evening’s opening referee assignment. Marcos takes the center of the cage but it’s Lewis who strikes first with a couple jabs and a leg kick. Marcos lands a hard kick to the lead leg of Lewis. Lewis with a front kick and a left hook, but Marcos responds with a combination. A kick up the middle by Marcos wobbles Lewis, and he shoots for a single leg out of desperation. He clings to the leg for a few moments before separating. marcos lands hard 2-3 combination. Marcos is pressuring Lewis with combinations and an uppercut gets through nicely. Ma…

Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras recently expressed confidence that Jose Aldo would not retire following his loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. However, he was not able to confirm that Aldo would compete at UFC 283 in Rio De Janeiro in January.

Advertisement

Three weeks have passed since that fight and Aldo’s next move remains uncertain. In an interview on the YouTube talk show "Cara a Tapa," Aldo told journalist Rica Perroni that he still hasn’t decided on his next step. The former featherweight champion revealed that he has been approached by the UFC to fight in Rio de Janeiro, but he hasn’t given the promotion an answer because he hasn’t yet decided if he is going to retire.

During the interview Aldo was also asked about who he considers to be the greatest Brazilian fighter of all time, and he didn't think twice in his response.

“That´s easy, myself,” he said. “I won the title twice, dropped my weight, and I could very well get an opportunity to fi…

Norma Dumont! pic.twitter.com/xdVRfg6D6P

— Alex Davis (@Alexdavismma) September 11, 2022

The real cause of the backstage melee that forced Dana White to cancel the UFC 279 pre-fight press conference last week may have come from an unlikely source.

Advertisement

According to long-tenured manager Alex Davis, a discussion between Darren Till and another Englishman triggered the incident.

“I was informed backstage that what started the fight was a discussion about the death of Queen Elizabeth between Darren Till and another British guy,” Davis told Sherdog.com. “As you know, some people in England support the Royal Family and others hate them and that was the cause. Till and this other British guy started the fight and eventually it spread.”

Davis was in Las Vegas with Norma Dumont, who earned a dominant unanimous victory against Danyelle Wolf in a featherweight bout at UFC 279. Thanks to that triumph, the manager believes Dumont cou…

While Khamzat Chimaev didn’t show any ill effects from a failed weight cut during his victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279, coach Andreas Michael saw enough behind the scenes to follow the doctor’s recommendation to quit cutting weight one day prior.

Advertisement

“We took the first [eight pounds] quite easy, and then it’s like, ‘We’re going to take the rest in the morning. So we had about [five to six pounds] left. But then some complications started happening during the night,” Michael told ESPN. “[Chimaev] started getting cramps, started throwing up, he started being dizzy. His body was seizing up, and we called the UFC. We called the physician and we wanted the advice from them, because I’m not a doctor. I don’t know what’s safe and not safe, and I always take the safe route. We’re playing with people’s lives here – it’s not a joke.

“Actually, he had about six pounds to lose, but we drank before because he needed to hydrate a little bit before we weighed in…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills Credit: Keith Mills

Parker Porter will welcome Tunisian heavyweight Slim Trabelsi to the Octagon at UFC 280 on Oct. 22.

Advertisement

ESPN was first to report the booking. UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Porter was initially slated to face Ha…

One on Prime Video 6 has a location and venue.

Advertisement

The Singapore-based promotion announced Monday that the event will take place at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 13 and will feature a superfight blending MMA and muay thai rule sets between Nong Stamp and Anissa Meksen. One muay thai world champions Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Rodtang Jitmuangnon are also expected to compete on the card, which streams live in primetime in the United States via Amazon Prime Video.

One Championship also announced plans to produce a weekly show entitled “One Lumpinee” in conjunction with a partnership with the Royal Thai Army. The promotion will host 52 events in Thailand beginning in 2023, with each card being broadcast in more than 150 countries.

According to a release, “the landmark partnership will help transform muay thai and the martial arts ecosystem in Thailand into a global attraction, while establishing Lumpinee Stadium as the mecca of muay thai an…

Footage of the altercations that ensued behind the scenes before the #UFC279 press conference (via @UFC) pic.twitter.com/kTNF1XiyMK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2022

The backstage scuffle that ultimately led to the cancellation of the UFC 279 pre-fight press conference is now under investigation by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Advertisement

The NSAC issued a statement on Monday indicating that disciplinary action could be taken if it is determined that any “licensees acted improperly.” Last Thurday’s presser was cut short by UFC president Dana White, who revealed that it was an “absolute s—tshow” backstage. The melee reportedly began with an altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland and escalated from there, with multiple groups taking part. Including fighter entourages, White claimed that there were up to 100 people involved in the incident. Former fighter Tiki Ghosn played a significant role in breaking …

All 10 fighters scheduled to compete on Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series hit their contracted marks at weigh-ins on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a bantamweight tilt pitting Allan Begosso (135.5) against Farid Basharat (135.5).

A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who trains at Team Alpha Male, Begosso is 7-1-1 thus far in his professional career. That stint includes a 3-1 mark in Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he suffered his lone career defeat in a 135-pound title bout against Richard Palencia this past December.

Basharat, meanwhile, carries an 8-0 mark into the Contender Series. The 25-year-old London Shootfighters representative has competed for a handful of organizations on the European regional scene, capturing gold under the Ultimate Challenge MMA banner along the way.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Allan Bego…

For the most part, Tony Ferguson with pleased with his performance against Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 headliner on Saturday night.

Advertisement

There was one exception, however. “El Cucuy” regrets the takedown attempt that led to him being caught in the fight-ending guillotine 2:52 into the fourth round of their welterweight bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“My corner went for the shot, but should’ve kept it standing,” Ferguson said at the UFC 279 post-fight press conference. “Little details to expand on and to grow from. Nate is a game fighter. I can’t say anything else. It’s not like he’s old and slow and stuff. Hopefully, the crowd that was at UFC 279 there present got some blood splattered on them or something. I had fun in there.

“I guarantee you Nate was looking for that guillotine the whole entire camp,” Ferguson added. “They had a full camp to be able to do stuff. It is what you practice. We did a lot of wrestling practice and we did a lot of …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Elias Theodorou has died from cancer at 34 years old.

Advertisement

According to TSN, Theodorou had been battling Stage 4 liver cancer, but only a few people were aware of his diagnosis. BJPenn.com was first to report Theodorou’s passing.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Theodorou rose to prominence by winning “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations.” He would go on to compile an 8-3 mark in the UFC before his suprising release from the Las Vegas-based promotion following a loss to Derek Brunson in 2019. His Octagon record included wins over the likes of Cezar Ferreira, Sam Alvey and Eryk Anders, among others. He would go 3-0 outside the UFC, with his last victory coming against Bryan Baker at Colorado Combat Club 10 in December 2021.

Theodorou was a well-known advocate for medical cannabis and became the first professional athlete to receive a therapeutic use exemption for it in January 2020. “The Spartan” also served…

[embedded content]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship could be breaking new ground in the near future.

Advertisement

At the UFC 279 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that the Las Vegas-based promotion is working on staging its first-ever event in Africa.

“We literally just had a meeting the other day, and we’re seriously talking about Africa now,” White said. “We’re actually starting to look at venues and cities to hold an event. So Africa is going to happen very soon.”

While an exact location is currently unclear, the UFC does have a few fighters with African roots who could headline such a card, including middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (Nigeria), heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (Cameroon) and ex-welterweight king Kamaru Usman (Nigeria). The promotion recently reached another milestone when it traveled to France for the first time for UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris on Sept. 3.