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The lineup for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view is practically changing day by day.

On Thursday night, BJPenn.com reported that Ramiz Brahimaj (10-4) had been forced out of his welterweight scrap with Michael Morales (13-0) on UFC 277. Per Brahimaj on his Instagram on Friday, he suffered an injury that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future. A replacement has not yet been found, but the UFC is looking for someone to step in. This follows the news on Wednesday where Diego Ferreira – the teammate of Brahimaj – and Mariya Agapova withdrew from this July 30 event.

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“Breaks my heart to have to confirm that I am off UFC Dallas due to an injury,” Brahimaj wrote. “Unfortunately these injuries can happen during fight prep. I will rehab, and come back stronger. Thank you to Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard, Dana White, and the phenomenal medical/sports medicine team that is helping me to get back to 100 percent [of Heather Lind…

We have ourselves a main event, ladies and gentleman

[ @BrianTCity | #UFCLongIsland | Tomorrow | Main Card 2pmET LIVE on @ABCNetwork ] pic.twitter.com/lInHooIWBS

— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship holds its first network television event of the year on Saturday.

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Headlining UFC on ABC 3 is a featherweight bout that promises action between contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. A key divisional bout, the winner will be in a position to potentially make another run toward the title. The 12-fight card is now official with all 24 fighters successfully making weight.

While just 1-2 in his last three fights, Ortega (15-2, 1 NC) has proven himself as one of the division's top mixed martial artists. His recent unanimous decision defeat to champ Alexander Volkanovski saw him lock up a tight guillotine choke, although one that the champion shockingly escaped from. "T-City" officially weighed 146…

Fight announcements for RIZIN 37 from 2pm JST! Live translation thread will be provided here on our official English Twitter account!

Stay tuned for some great matchups! https://t.co/zTXgTaVeB9

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) July 7, 2022 Rizin Fighting Federation has made the lineup for its 2022 return to the Saitama Super Arena one to remember.

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The organization sent out its press release on Thursday morning confirming the 15-bout listing for Rizin 37. This July 31 fight card will post up inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and it will feature the opening round of its first women’s atomweight tournament since 2017. A few matchups have been added, including Marcos Yoshio Souza vs. Daichi Abe at a 176-pound catchweight, while Sora Yamamoto will also be joining the event against Vugar Karamov by replacing Rikuto Shirakawa.

While much of the event had already been put together earlier in July, th…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cgJMSU2zP0&w=560&h=315] If the Professional Fighters League’s Larissa Pacheco is accurate in her assessment, a million-dollar prize may be within her grasp.

In 2019, Pacheco joined the PFL and entered into its inaugural women’s lightweight bracket. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight had moved up 10 pounds in her lone regional bout after leaving the UFC, beating future UFC talent Karol Rosa at featherweight. Over one year later, she stepped into the PFL cage at lightweight, and she drew the 3-0 Harrison only to drop a decision. The Brazilian bounced back with a quick armbar over Bobbi Jo Dalziel to reach the playoffs, and a decision win over Sarah Kaufman slotted her into the finals, in a rematch against Harrison.

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This time, it took Harrison the full five rounds to get the win, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist cleanly swept every round and even earned a 50-43 score on one judge’s card.…

While Professional Fighters League will hold a pair of playoff events in the United Kingdom this year, it will be going international in a much bigger fashion in 2023.

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The organization announced on Thursday the launch of PFL Europe, which will debut next year. According to a release, all events will be held and broadcast in primetime in Europe, with cards featuring top emerging fighters from the region. PFL Europe is expected to provide an avenue for the best fighters from the league to make it to the “PFL global talent roster.”

“I am pleased to announce the PFL will launch PFL Europe in 2023 to further advance the sport of MMA and fuel PFL’s next phase of global expansion starting in Europe, the number one international MMA growth region,“ said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “Europe is rich with top fighters who are ready to compete in the PFL’s season format on a major stage and passionate MMA fans throughout the region will now have access to premium ev…

The UFC 277 card has undergone some shuffling, as both Diego Ferreira and Mariya Agapova have been forced to withdraw from their respective bouts.

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Ferreira has pulled out of a proposed lightweight clash against Drakkar Klose due to an undisclosed injury. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for Klose. BJPenn.com was first to report Ferreira’s exit.

Ferreira went 0-3 in 2021, falling to ranked lightweights Beneil Dariush, Gregor Gillespie and Mateusz Gamrot in succession. Prior to that skid, the Fortis MMA product own six consecutive bouts in UFC competition from 2016 to 2020.

Klose has won four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 34-year-old Fight Ready representative scored a second-round TKO of Brandon Jenkins at UFC on ESPN 34.

Elsewhere on the UFC 277 bill, Joselyne Edwards will replace Agapova and lock horns with Ji Yeon Kim in a women’s flyweight bout. MMAFighting.com reported the news, adding…

Nate Diaz hasn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure with the UFC in recent months.

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The popular Stockton, Calif., native discussed his difficulties dealing with the promotion during an appearance on "The MMA Hour," sounding like a fighter who was ready to fulfill his obligations to the UFC and move on to other endeavors.

“I was trying to get this s—t on the road, but they don’t want me out of contract and they’re keeping me in there and they’re holding me hostage,” Diaz said. “And I want out. That’s my main objective here.”

Diaz last competed at UFC 263, where he suffered suffered a unanimous decision loss to current welterweight No. 1 contender Leon Edwards in June 2021. Since then, he claims the UFC hasn’t come through with a concrete offer for a fight, despite plenty of suggestions from his side.

“They haven’t offered me anybody,” Diaz said. “I’ve been asking for fights since whenever. I asked for a lot of fights. I asked for [Vicente] …

If Rafael Fiziev is going to fight again in 2022, it won’t be until the end of the year.

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The surging lightweight suffered a broken nose in his fifth-round knockout victory against Rafael dos Anjos this past Saturday and will require surgery. “Ataman” is expected to undergo the procedure on Wednesday and is targeting a return by November or December. Ariel Helwani was first to report Fiziev’s injury.

Fiziev referenced a possible injury following his win over dos Anjos at the UFC on ESPN 39 post-fight press conference on Saturday night.

“This is first time in 20 years of fighting and he broke my nose,” Fiziev said then. “I can't breathe now. I think I might need to go to hospital and need surgery.”

Fiziev also called for a fight with two-time title challenger Justin Gaethje. If that comes to fruition, it won’t be until the end of 2022 at the earliest. Fiziev has won six consecutive fights in UFC competition, currently the fourth-longest …

Kayla Harrison will begin her run for a third consecutive Professional Fighters League lightweight championships in earnest on Aug. 20.

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The card for the PFL playoff event at the Copperbox Arena in London has been finalized, and Harrison will square off against Czech kickboxer Martina Jindrova in the evening’s featured bout. On the other side of the women’s 155-pound bracket, top seed Larissa Pacheco will face Helena Kolesnyk.

PFL 9 will also include the men’s featherweight semifinals, as Chris Wade takes on Brendan Loughnane, and Ryoji Kudo meets Bubba Jenkins. The main draw airs at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on ESPN and ESPN+.

“Heading to London is huge for the expansion of the League,” said PFL president of fighter operations Ray Sefo. “We are bringing our brand of MMA to the UK and I’m sure they are going to be as excited as I am to see elite fighters like Kayla Harrison, Chris Wade and Brendan Loughnane compete with so much on the line.”

On…

A proposed welterweight clash pitting Abubakar Nurmagomedov against Philip Rowe will not happen this Saturday on UFC on ABC 3 as originally planned.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced that troubles for both fighters resulted in the cancellation of the bout. Visa issues forced Nurmagomedov out of the fight, while an injury led to Rowe’s withdrawal.

As a result, UFC on ABC 3 will proceed with 12 fights. The event takes place at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. The main card airs on ABC and ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, while prelims are broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+ at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.

The 32-year-old Nurmagomedov is 1-1 in UFC competition. He debuted in the Octagon with a first-round submission loss to David Zawada at UFC Fight Night 163 in November 2019 before outpointing Jared Gooden at UFC 260 in March 2021. The Dagestani has compiled a 16-3-1 career …

The mixed martial arts world is eagerly awaiting the date and opponent for Charles Oliveira in a fight for the vacant UFC lightweight title.

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Chute Boxe coach Diego Lima recently made it clear that Oliveira had his preferences, which included Conor McGregor in Brazil at the top of the wish list. The backup plan was Islam Makhachev in Brazil, while the least desirable option was to face Makhachev in Abu Dhabi. However, Lima added that the UFC had the last word.

Last Friday in Las Vegas, Oliveira told Combate TV that if the UFC met his payment demands, he would accept a fight with Makhachev in Abu Dhabi.

“It would be great to fight in Brazil against Conor. Everybody knows I’m interested in that fight because of the money and business,” he said. “But if UFC really wants that fight with Makhachev, just put [enough] money in my bank account so that I´ll fight no matter the location. I´m professional, I´m the champion, I’ll fight.”    …

After winning the Legacy Fighting Alliance grand prix in Brazil in 2021, Carlos Leal Miranda made his way to the Professional Fighters League, where he has gone farther than expected in a short period of time.

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Miranda earned a spot on the PFL roster with a pair of victories on the Challenger Series before upsetting two-time champion Ray Cooper III on May 6. Now he finds himself in the PFL playoffs and one fight away from competing for a $1 million prize. In an ideal world, the Brazilian would square off against Rory MacDonald in the PFL finals. Miranda faces Sadibou Sy in one welterweight semifinal, while MacDonald meets Magomed Umalatov in the other half of the bracket on Aug. 13.

“I would like to face MacDonald because he was a guy I always watched fighting,” Miranda told Sherdog.com. “I can say I'm a fan. I always watched his fights, and beating a guy I saw on TV would be a great achievement.”

But the welterweight knows that he will h…

The pairings are set for Professional Fighters League’s second playoff event on Oct. 13.

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PFL 8 takes place at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, and will see welterweights and heavyweights vie for a birth in the PFL Championship. Rory MacDonald and Magomed Umalatov will square off in one half of the bracket at 170 pounds, while Sadibou Sy and Carlos Leal Miranda will lock horns in the other welterweight semifinal. Meanwhile, Ante Delija will square off against Renan Ferreira in one heavyweight playoff bout, while Denis Goltsov will face Bruno Cappelozza in the other semifinal.

The PFL confirmed the matchups on Tuesday, along with a complementary lineup of eight showcase bouts for the undercard. The full lineup for PFL 8 can be viewed here. The main card will air on ESPN and ESPN+, while the non-tournament bouts will stream on ESPN+.

“The Playoffs are always an exciting time and I can’t wait to see these amazing fighters compete for a chance…

One Championship and Amazon Prime will hold a joint press conference on Wednesday to officially launch their broadcast partnership.

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One Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Amazon vice president of global sports video Marie Donoghue and One vice president Rich Franklin are all expected to be in attendance at the event, which takes place at the Novo in Los Angeles and begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The presser is free and open to the public and will stream on One’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

In April, One announced a five-year broadcast deal with Amazon Prime to broadcast 12 events annually live in primetime in the United States and Canada. That partnership kicks off with One Championship 161 on Aug. 26, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium and is headlined by a 135-pound title clash between Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson.

A number of One athletes are also scheduled to attend the presser, including Moraes, …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Nate Landwehr will lock horns with Zubaira Tukhugov in a featherweight tilt at UFC on ESPN 40 on Aug. 6.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the pairing. UFC on ESPN 40 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown pitting Thiago Santos against Jamahal Hill.

A former M-1 Global champion, Landwehr is 2-2 during his UFC tenure thus far. “The Train” has bested Darren Elkins via decision and submitted Ludovit Klein while suffering first-round KO/TKO defeats at the hands of Herbert Burns and Julian Erosa. The 34-year-old Tennessee native is 15-4 as a professional.

Tukhugov has won two of his last three Octagon appearances dating back to 2020 and is 5-2-1 in UFC competition overall. Most recently, the 31-year-old Tiger Muay Thai product outpointed Ricardo Ramos at UFC 267 this past October to run his professional mark to 20-5-1.

Former middleweight No. 1 contender Austin Vanderford will return to action against Anthony Adams at Bellator 284 on Aug. 12.

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Promotion officials confirmed the pairing following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 284 takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Neiman Gracie and Goiti Yamauchi. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

The promotion announced several other bouts for the preliminary card: Pat Downey III vs. Jeff Souder at middleweight; Said Sowma vs. Gokham Saricam at heavyweight; Bailey Schoenfelder vs. Mark Currier at heavyweight; Josh Hill vs. Matheus Mattos at bantamweight; Mitchell McKee vs. Tony Ortega at bantamweight and DeAnna Bennett vs. Justin Kish at flyweight.

Vanderford last appeared at Bellator 275, w…

For many years Leandro Vieira was responsible for sharpening the jiu-jitsu of American Kickboxing Academy athletes, but last year, that partnership came to an end.

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“No hard feelings, but basically they changed [plans] after years of partnership,” explained Vieira, brother of the legendary Leonardo Vieira, leader of the Checkmat team. “When they invited me to take care of jiu-jitsu at AKA, there were no plans of having their own jiu-jitsu school so I came with Checkmat. But suddenly they decided to change the plans and built their own jiu-jitsu team.”

Vieira is now working at his own Bay Area gym in Morgan Hill, Calif.

“In the beginning it was very tough, but now I recognize it as the best thing that could happen in my life,” he said. “The philosophy of MMA is totally different from what we learn in martial arts. Now I´m almost 100% focused on my jiu-jitsu school. The only MMA fighter I´m working with is Marlon Vera.”

According to Vieir…

The stakes could be quite high for Yair Rodriguez in the UFC on ABC 3 main event this Saturday.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Rodriguez revealed that promotion officials have told him that a victory over Brian Ortega will earn him a featherweight title shot against reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“Yes, that has been said to me,” Rodriguez said. “Yeah, that’s what we’re looking for. First things first, I’m going to win this fight and then give the champ some time to heal and yeah, go for it. For now, let’s take it step by step, first things first, July 16, Brian Ortega, that’s for now.”

Rodriguez hasn’t competed since UFC Fight Night 197, where he dropped a five-round verdict to Max Holloway this past November. The Mexican standout’s last victory came in October 2019, when he outpointed Jeremy Stephens at UFC on ESPN 6. Still, it may be possible that a victory over Ortega, a two-time title challenger, would be enough to prop…

The lineup for One Championship’s debut on Amazon Prime is now complete, and it includes the fourth mixed martial arts appearance for grappling ace Marcus Almeida.

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The Singapore-based promotion recently announced that “Buchecha” will square off against Kirill Grishenko in a heavyweight bout on the evening’s main card. Also set for the main draw is another heavyweight MMA clash pitting Amir Aliakbari against Mauro Cerilli.

One Championship 161 takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Aug. 26 and is topped by a 135-pound title rematch between reigning champion Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson. In the co-main event, Nong-O Gaiyanghadao will lock horns with Liam Harrison for the promotion’s bantamweight muay Thai championship. The main card will also include a flyweight muay Thai grand prix semifinal between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Savvas Michael and a muay Thai tournament alternate clash pitting Amir Naeri against Jonathan Haggerty. The event s…

It wasn’t the most exciting of fights, but Caio Borralho was in complete control for the majority of his unanimous decision triumph over Armen Petrosyan in the UFC on ESPN 39 co-main event this past Saturday.

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The 29-year-old Brazilian landed multiple takedowns and spent long periods of the fight attached to Petrosyan’s back in a drama-free victory. Borralho has won nine straight professional outings, including two in the UFC and two on Dana White’s Contender Series. Winning, not entertaining, was the primary objective against a dangerous kickboxer like Petrosyan.

“I got the job done, that’s what matters,” Borralho said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “This is my fourth fight in 10 months, my fourth fight at a high level, and my fourth domination win.

“…I feel blessed, I’m happy with my performance, I did what I needed to do. I got the job done. I’m happy with my performance. I’m a fighting nerd, I will calculate everything and I wil…

Jiri Prochazka believes he still has unfinished business with Glover Teixeira.

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The Czech Republic native claimed light heavyweight gold with a rear-naked choke submission of Teixeira at the 4:32 mark of Round 5 in the UFC 275 headliner last month, but “Denisa” had to survive more than a few moments of adversity to get to that point. In a post on his Instagram account, Prochazka offered Teixeira a rematch, vowing to be much more decisive in a potential return date against the Brazilian veteran.

“I want to fight Glover my next fight,” Prochazka said. “Not because it will be another big fight, but just one reason: My performance was bad the first fight, and I will show you why I’m the champion clearly, decisively. And I think Glover deserves it. So here’s the offer: I will show you why I am the champion.”

A former Rizin Fighting Federation 205-pound champion, Prochazka has won his last 13 professional outings, including stoppages of Teixeira, D…

A featherweight showdown pitting Giga Chikadze against Sodiq Yusuff is official for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s event on Sept. 17.

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The promotion announced the co-main event pairing on Saturday. UFC Fight Night takes place at an as yet to be determined location and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Cory Sandhagen and Yadong Song.

The 33-year-old Chikadze had a nine-bout professional winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he fell to Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision in the UFC on ESPN 32 headliner on Jan. 15. The Kings MMA product is 14-3 overall, a record that includes noteworthy finishes of Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson at 145 pounds.

Yusuff, meanwhile, authored a bounce-back effort in his first appearance of 2022, when he outpointed Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 203 on March 12. That victory comes on the heels of a decision defeat to rising featherweight contender Arnold Allen at UFC on ABC 2. The Dana White’…

Rafael Fiziev made a strong impression in his first UFC main event appearance.

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After four hard-fought rounds, the lightweight contender put an emphatic stamp on the fight when he knocked out Rafael dos Anjos 18 seconds into the final stanza of their UFC on ESPN 39 clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. At the post-fight press conference, Fiziev revealed that his corner gave him a fiery pep talk heading into Round 5.

“In Round 5, my friend and manager and corner, he started to talk to me like his dog, and he started to say to me bad words,” Fiziev said. “‘He said, ‘Hey, what the f—-k are you doing? Go in and f—k him up, or I’ll f—k you up when we go back to the hotel.’ I think, oh, I need to go to Round 5 and do something. ... He always talks with me like this.”

While Fiziev was ahead on the scorecards prior to the finish, he didn’t emerge from the bout unscathed.

“This is first time in 20 years of fighting and he broke my nose…

Rafael dos Anjos liked the direction his fight against Rafael Fiziev was headed going into the final round, but that changed in a matter of seconds.

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Fiziev put an emphatic stamp on the bout by dropping dos Anjos with a left hook and finishing the contest with a standing-to-ground punch 18 seconds into Round 5 in the UFC on ESPN 39 headliner at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. It was the sixth straight win for the Tiger Muay Thai product, and it was a damaging blow to dos Anjos’ hopes of making another title run at 155 pounds.

“He’s a tough dude,” dos Anjos said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I didn’t expect any less from him. I knew guys from east Europe, they’re always tough and I knew it would be a hard fight. Actually his takedown defense impressed me a little bit but I got him down in the fourth [round], hit him with the flying knee, too.

“The fight was pretty close leading up to the fifth. I think I was probably a little bit ahead of him b…