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A middleweight showdown pitting Andre Muniz against Brendan Allen has been added to the UFC Fight Night 220 lineup.

Ag.Fight was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 220 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Feb. 25 and is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Nikita Kyrlov and Ryan Spann.

Muniz is in the midst of a nine-bout winning streak that dates back to December 2017. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 5-0 in the UFC since his promotional debut in 2019, with notable wins over the likes of Uriah Hall, Eryk Anders and Ronaldo Souza. “Sergipano” is 23-4 as a professional, with 15 victories by way of submission.

Also a former competitor on the Contender Series, Allen has compiled an 8-2 mark during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 26-year-old Sanford MMA export is coming off a 3-0 campaign in 2022 that featured victories against Sam Alvey, Jacob Malkoun and Krzysztof Jotko.

The UFC Fight Night 216 headliner wasn’t the type of bout that produced a definitive winner.

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That was reflected in the final scorecards, as Jared Cannonier captured a contentious split-decision triumph over Sean Strickland on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The verdict drew harsh criticism from Strickland in the aftermath, and not a single round was scored unanimously by cageside judges Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo. Cannonier, whose approach included a barrage of low kicks and occasional bursts of power punches, believed that he did enough to earn the nod on the scorecards.

“I definitely thought I won at least three of the five rounds,” Cannonier said at the post-fight press conference. “I felt confident that I won three out of five rounds. On top of that, I felt confident that I won the fight in general.”

As expected, Strickland did some of his best work with his jab while confounding his opponent with moveme…

While beating someone like Damir Ismagulov might not move the needle in the eyes of the casual fan, Arman Tsarukyan was well aware of the significance of his latest victory.

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Tsarukyan relied on takedowns and clinch work to end Ismagulov’s 19-bout professional winning streak in the UFC Fight Night 216 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The American Top Team-trained Russian took his opponent’s back in both the second and third rounds, but a finish didn’t materialize.

“I felt like if I get his back I’m going to choke him right away because I heard he doesn’t have good wrestling, grappling. But today I understood he’s tough on the ground too, and it’s difficult to hold him there,” Tsarukyan said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He was really good. Nobody stopped him or knocked him out in the UFC. Nobody [beat] him in the UFC, and I’m the first guy who beat him here. I think it’s a big fight for me and big name. Ye…

Sean Strickland is admittedly a “sore loser” following his split-decision loss to Jared Cannonier in the UFC Fight Night 216 main event.

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In a bout where neither middleweight made a definitive statement, Strickland did his best work with a consistent jab and movement that at times confounded his opponent. According to UFCStats.com, Strickland outlanded Cannonier in every round but the first — though the totals were close in each frame. Ultimately, Cannonier’s power and varied striking made more of an impression with the cageside judges.

Shortly after the loss, Strickland ripped the scoring in a video on his Instagram account.

“I’m a f—-ing sore loser,” Strickland said. “Hat’s off to Jared, but you have judges that don’t know how to f—-ing do their job. You actually look at the scorecard and you look at the significant strikes and you look at how many times I wobbled him. You have experts in the field come up to me and say, ‘Yeah man, I don’t …

DREW DOBER LAID OUT BOBBY GREEN #UFCVegas66 pic.twitter.com/3z600Cvjk0

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 18, 2022

Drew Dober’s knockout power ultimately won out against Bobby Green’s superior volume at UFC Fight Night 216, but both men received a little extra compensation for their work.

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Dober and Green earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining lightweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Green ran out to an early lead, as he kept his opponent off balance with punching combinations in Round 1, but Dober struck the decisive blow when he knocked out “King” with a left hook and one follow-up punch at the 2:45 mark of the second stanza.

Elsewhere, Alex Caceres garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a nearly picture-perfect finish of Julian Erosa in a featured featherweight encounter. “Bruce Leeroy” dropped his foe with a head kick that was expertl…

Jared Cannonier’s performance was not the kind that inspires long-term hope in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, but it was enough to get the job done.

Thudding leg kicks and occasional bursts of power punches spurred Cannonier to a split decision over former King of the Cage champion Sean Strickland in the UFC Fight Night 216 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the cageside judiciary struck 49-46 scorecards: Sal D’Amato for Strickland, Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo for Cannonier.

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Neither man established much of a framework for victory, hence the discrepancies in the scorecards. Cannonier (16-6, 9-6 UFC) was effective with kicks to the lower extremities for much of the back-and-forth affair. Strickland (25-5, 12-5 UFC), meanwhile, managed distance with a consistent jab, then picked up the pace in the middle rounds. He aimed his shots almost exclusively at the head. Cannonier continue…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 216 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Morozov (-280), Newson (+235)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Kape (-240), Dvorak (+200)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fakhretd…

Cory McKenna found the weakness and exploited it.

The Team Alpha Male standout leaned on takedowns, positional dominance and spotty ground-and-pound, as she took a step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division with a unanimous decision over Cheyanne Vlismas in the featured UFC Fight Night 216 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. McKenna (8-2, 3-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28 nods from all three judges.

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Vlismas (7-3, 2-2 UFC) kept it standing for much of the first round, countered effectively and pieced together two- and three-punch combinations. McKenna wisely switched gears in the second, controlled the Xtreme Couture rep in the clinch and slowly but surely turned the tide in her favor. She powered into top position in Round 3 on an ill-advised choke attempt from Vlismas, attacked with short punches and walked away with her sixth win in seven outings.Semelsberger Handles Favored Matthews Crazy…

Former bantamweight queen Holly Holm will lock horns with Yana Kunitskaya at UFC on ESPN 43 on March 25.

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MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. UFC on ESPN 43 takes place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. A headliner has not been announced, but the card is expected to include a middleweight tilt between Chidi Njokuani and Albert Duraev as well as a women’s flyweight duel pitting Maycee Barber against Andrea Lee.

Holm had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her lone appearance of 2022, as she fell to Ketlen Vieira in a closely-contested split-decision defeat at UFC Fight Night 206. Prior to that, the Jackson-Wink MMA standout had posted back-to-back decision triumphs over Irene Aldana and Raquel Pennington.

Kunitskaya sat out the entirety of 2022 after announcing her pregnancy with husband Thiago Santos. In her last outing, the 33-year-old Russian suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Aldana at UFC 264 in July 2021.

Size didn’t matter to Mamed Khalidov.

𝐌𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐕 just beat 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒𝐙 𝐏𝐔𝐃𝐙𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐒𝐊𝐈!!! XTB #KSW77

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The King of the KSW Legends 👑 pic.twitter.com/RLqhKipBLr — KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 17, 2022

Billed as the biggest fight in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki history, former KSW two-division champion Khalidov faced five-time “World’s Strongest Man” titleholder Mariusz Pudzianowski in the KSW 77 main event on Saturday at a fully-packed Arena Gliwice in Gliwice, Poland. Khalidov (36-8-2, 20-4-2 KSW), who weighed 53 pounds less than his foe on the scale, was lighter on the feet as he wisely opted to move around Pudzianowski (17-8, 1NC, 17-7, 1NC KSW) rather than directly attacking him. “Pudzian” shortened the distance and clinched with his foe, allowing Khalidov to showcase a remarkable judo throw that grounded the 259-pound colossus. On the mat, Khalidov quickly captured Pudzianowski’s back and poured a barrage of strikes on his flattened a…

A women’s flyweight showdown pitting Joanne Wood against Luana Carolina is on tap for UFC 286 in London.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Ag.Fight. UFC 286 takes place on March 18 at the O2 Arnea in London and also includes a middleweight clash between Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

A former strawweight competitor, Wood is 5-5 at 125 pounds in the Octagon. The 36-year-old Syndicate MMA representative has lost three straight bouts and is coming off a first-round submission loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC on ESPN 33 on March 26.

After a 2-0 campaign in 2021, Carolina was on the wrong end of a spinning backfist KO against Molly McCann at UFC Fight Night 204 in her lone appearance of 2022. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 3-2 during her tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa 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: Getty/UFC 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: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator M…

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is limiting how far its judges and referees can travel when working consecutive events.

CSAC executive officer Andy Foster issued a memorandum on Friday that officials who work in the state can only travel as far as Nevada — or vice versa — if they are planning on working events on back-to-back days. Ariel Helwani was first to report the news. The memorandum is as follows: While the Commission understands that, as Officials you may also work in other states. It is imperative that you be at your best for those assignments and keep in mind the travel distance between locations when accepting consecutive assignments. If you work in California on a Friday, the Commission finds it acceptable for you to work as far as Nevada on Saturday or vice versa. If you accept an out of state assignment that is within one day of an assignment in California, you may be removed from the California assignment if you are being required to tr…

🚨 Breaking! Per source, The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove is making his cage return to take on Michal Materla at #KSW78 on Jan. 21. The pair first collided in June 2013 in a hard-fought contest won by Materla via decision. Story coming to @sherdogdotcom. pic.twitter.com/tdwwLYWeRL

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) December 17, 2022

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Kendall Grove will get a chance to avenge a defeat at the hands of former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki titleholder Michal Materla on Jan. 21 in a rematch nearly-10-years-in-the-making at KSW 78. A source close to the situation informed Sherdog about the matchup.

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In their first clash, Materla (31-9, 20-7 KSW) upended Grove on all scorecards at KSW 23 on June 8, 2013, notching the second defense of his 185-pound championship. “Cipao” is coming off a nasty first-round knockout loss to Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 70 in May. Before that, he stopped Ja…

Our last main event of 2022 is official! ⚖️✅

Jared Cannonier in at 185.5lbs for #UFCVegas66 tomorrow pic.twitter.com/fELKHGiRsc

— UFC (@ufc) December 16, 2022 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 4:25 p.m. ET on Dec. 16 to reflect the purse fine amount.

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The final Ultimate Fighting Championship event of the year is now official.

UFC Fight Night 216 is headlined by middleweight contenders Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland. While the main event fighters and the rest of the main card all made weight, preliminary competitor Maheshate Hayisaer came in 2.5 pounds over the lightweight limit for his bout against Rafa Garcia. He has been fined 20% of his purse, and the match will otherwise continue as scheduled.

"The Killa Gorilla" is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Israel Adesanya, while Strickland (25-4) was knocked out by now-champion Alex Pereira. Both will look to bounce back into contention a…

Well I tore my meniscus, tore my MCL when I got the first takedown & fractured my fibula in the fight… but I still had a great vacation in the Turks and Caicos with my family pic.twitter.com/voVpA4LtLD

— Darren Elkins (@DarrenElkinsMMA) December 16, 2022 Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite “The Damage” Darren Elkins put his nickname to the test in his last fight.

In early December, Elkins (27-11) faced off against Jonathan Pearce (14-4) at UFC on ESPN 42. Elkins made it to the final horn to ultimately lose a unanimous decision, but not before suffering a myriad of injuries and absorbing heavy damage from bell to bell. While the lacerations and ample plasma deposits across the Octagon floor looked daunting, the major issues for Elkins occurred internally. According to Elkins on social media on Thursday, he tore his meniscus and MCL when landing a takedown in Round 1, and also fractured his fibula sometime during the melee.

Acco…

🤩 The Main Event 🤩

Icon vs. Icon. Legend vs. Legend.🇵🇱 𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐕 🆚 𝐏𝐔𝐃𝐙𝐈𝐀𝐍 🇵🇱

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XTB #KSW77 | KSWTV | Viaplay pic.twitter.com/hz3ZqjSGGN — KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 16, 2022 The biggest fight in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki history is now official as both Mamed Khalidov and Mariusz Pudzianowski weighed in for their superfight.

Fresh off a brutal knockout of Michal Materla, Pudzianowski (17-7, 1 NC) will bring his power to KSW legend Khalidov (35-8-2), a former light heavyweight and middleweight champion. The 45-year-old former strongman competitor weighed in at 259 pounds, and enters the main event on a five-fight win streak. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old Khalidov is coming off a defeat to Roberto Soldic, and is just 1-4 in his last five contests.

In addition to the main event, there are two title fights, as Sebastian Przybysz will put his bantamweight title on the line against Jakub Wiklacz, and light heavyweight champion …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Robert Whittaker will be ready no matter who gets thrown at him in Australia.

Back in October, the UFC confirmed the booking of Whittaker (24-6) against Paulo Costa (14-2) for UFC 284. The event will be held at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, in what is a home game of sorts for Whittaker. However, the middleweight matchup did not appear to be set in stone when Costa revealed on his social media that he had not signed to fight. Instead, he claimed he “politely” declined the multi-fight contract that the promotion offered. While the pairing has not been officially scrubbed, Whittaker and his team are already preparing for the possibility of other foes. Sherdog spoke to Whittaker’s coach, Alex Prates, about this situation on Thursday.

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“I see Costa using that fight to renegotiate his contract and I truly hope he can do that, [as] what [is good for him] is good for everybody,” coach Prates explained to Sherdog…

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 15 to reflect the match's total cancelation.

The year-end Ultimate Fighting Championship show is down one preliminary matchup.

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Deron Winn (7-3) was initially slated to take on Julian Marquez (9-3) in a middleweight pairing on the UFC Fight Night 216 prelims, but on Wednesday, disaster struck for Winn. Per a Thursday statement on his social media, Winn fell down stairs at the UFC Performance Institute on Wednesday, resulting in head and neck trauma and inflicting him with a concussion. Upon medical review at the hospital, Winn has been pulled from the fight. The promotion will not seek a replacement to face Marquez on short notice, despite Marquez posting about the ease of his weight cut on his own Instagram mere hours before Winn’s post.

“Hey all-,” the statement from Winn wrote, “yesterday at the UFC PI, I fainted and had a freak accident. I fell down the stairs, hit my head…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to London has its first fight put together, and it is quite a good one.

The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN broke the news on Thursday that UFC 286 has gained its first matchup of the billing. At the O2 Arena in London, top-10 middleweights collide as Marvin Vettori (18-6-1) battles it out with Roman Dolidze (12-1). Georgia’s Dolidze has since confirmed this pairing on his Instagram page.

Boisterous Italian Vettori has alternated wins and losses in his last four appearances, albeit against some of the best opposition his weight class has to offer. While he topped Kevin Holland in April 2021 to put him on a five-fight win streak, a title fight and rematch against Israel Adesanya three months later did not go his way, as he dropped a five-round verdict to the then-champ. In a victorious rebounding effort – albeit at 205 pounds when his opponent announced he would not make the middleweight limit – he topped Paulo Costa in a 25-m…

Seoul, South Korea, is no longer on the slate for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in early 2023.

Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion is moving on from a slated event in Seoul on Feb. 4. After Chan Sung Jung succumbed to a shoulder injury, the organization has decided to change this event’s location to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Headlining this UFC Fight Night event will be a rescheduled heavyweight battle as Derrick Lewis (26-10, 1 NC) takes on Sergey Spivak (15-3). Spivak has since confirmed this news on his Instagram Stories. Lewis and Spivak were initially set to throw down in the main event of UFC Fight Night 215 on Nov. 19, but Lewis suffered a medical issue on fight day that ejected him from the billing.

Lewis will be looking to rebound from a pair of knockout losses to Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich in 2022, putting him on the first multiple-fight skid since 2019. The UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts, “The Black Beast” set that record in Decem…

“The partnership between Iowa wrestling and UFC is a perfect fit. We both celebrate tough, physical athletes who compete at the highest level." -- Tom Brands@ufc 🤝 #Hawkeyes

➡ https://t.co/QCZFwSc0yG pic.twitter.com/JO8eFGJIEw

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) December 15, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is getting into the college wrestling business.

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According to a press release on Thursday, the promotion has issued its first-ever college sponsorship to the Iowa Hawkeyes. In particular, the UFC will be issuing support and marketing for the wrestling departments of the University of Iowa, which recently created a women’s wrestling program a year ago. The organization will place signs inside the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, as well as running content on its radio shows and social media services.

The head coach of the men’s wrestling team, Tom Brands, was thrilled about the arrangement, say…

James Krause and Darrick Minner had temporary extensions extended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission during a Wednesday meeting.

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A full disciplinary hearing will take place at a later date. Currently, Krause, the head trainer at Glory MMA & Fitness, and Minner, a former UFC featherweight, are suspended for failing to disclose an injury to the fighter in relation to his first-round technical loss to Nuerdanbieke Shayilan at UFC Fight Night 214 on Nov. 5.

Those are potentially the least serious sanctions facing both Krause and Minner. The bout is currently under investigation for suspicious activity after the betting odds shifted significantly just hours before the fight — and manny bettors wagered on Shayilan to win inside of a round. Minner appeared to be hobbled during the bout, and speculation ensued that he entered the bout against Shayilan with a pre-existing knee injury.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Nevada deputy attorney general …

A bantamweight clash pitting Cody Garbrandt against Julio Arce has been booked for UFC 285.

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Eurosport was first to report the pairing. UFC 285 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4 and includes a women’s flyweight showdown between Amanda Ribas and Viviane Araujo as well as a middleight tilt between Bo Nickal and Jamie Pickett. A headliner for the card has not been confirmed.

Garbandt has struggled since 2017, losing five of his last six UFC appearances — a slump that began when he relinquished the 135-pound belt to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217. Most recently, “No Love” came up short in his flyweight debut, as he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Kai Kara France at UFC 269 last December. Four of his last five defeats have been via knockout or technical knockout.

Arce, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last eight promotional outings. The Team Tiger Schulmann representative went 1-1 in 2022, outpointing Daniel…