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OZZY DIAZ IS THE NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!!#LFA127 pic.twitter.com/2UbTecahUl

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 26, 2022

The fight card is official for the opening week of Dana White’s Contender Series.

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Week 1 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on July 26 and is topped by a middleweight clash between Osman Diaz and Joseph Pyfer. The event streams on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. The show, which sends prospects to the UFC based on their performance, is entering its sixth season in 2022.

The rest of the lineup, which was confirmed during the UFC on ESPN 39 broadcast on Saturday, is as follows: Farid Basharat vs. Willian Souza Guadalupe at bantamweight; Anton Turkalj vs. Acacio dos Santos at light heavyweight; Dennis Buzukja vs. Kaleio Romero at featherweight and Alessandro Costa vs. Andres Luna at flyweight.

Diaz, 31, owns a 7-1 professional mark that includes stints in Legacy Fighting Alliance …

Jamie Mullarkey and Michael Johnson kicked off the UFC on ESPN 39 main card with a bang, and they were compensated accordingly for their efforts.

Mullarkey and Johnson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their lightweight battle at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Johnson scored the only knockdown of the bout early in Round 1, but Mullarkey recovered to mount a rally and hurt “The Menace” later in the frame. From there, both men traded liberally for the rest of the fight, but it was Mullarkey who emerged with a split-decision triumph.

Meanwhile, Rafael Fiziev pocketed $50,000 for his fifth-round technical knockout victory against ex-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos in the evening’s main event. After four hard-fought frames, Fiziev floored his opponend with a left hook and sealed his victory with one standing-to-ground punch 18 seconds into the period for his sixth consecutive triumph.

Finally, Chase Sherman garnered the card…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 39 “Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev” coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

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

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Lawrence (-135), Kakhramonov (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Nzechukwu (-125), Roberson (+105)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores …

Rafael Fiziev appeared to be on his way to a solid-but-not-spectacular decision triumph over Rafael dos Anjos. Then lightning struck.

Fiziev took another significant step toward title contention in the lightweight division with a fifth-round technical knockout victory against dos Anjos in the UFC on ESPN 39 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Referee Mark Smith waved off the fight 18 seconds into the fifth round, giving the Tiger Muay Thai standout his first main event victory in the Octagon. Fiziev has won six straight fights at 155 pounds, the fourth-longest active winning streak in the division.

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Exhibiting stellar defensive wrestling in addition to his multi-faceted striking arsenal, Fiziev appeared to be build a solid lead on the scorecards heading into the championship rounds as he stuffed multiple takedowns while attacking with punching combinations, kicks to all levels, leaping knees and standing elbows. Dos Anjos made a …

Cody Brundage SAID NO MORE WRESTLING pic.twitter.com/RSN7DPzBHI

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 10, 2022

Cody Brundage made short work of “The Ultimate Fighter 29” cast member Tresean Gore in a middleweight encounter, winning via knockout in the featured UFC on ESPN 39 preliminary bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The Factory X member unleashed a salvo of ground-and-pound from mount to seal his victory at the 3:50 mark of Round 1. Brundage has authored back-to-back first-round finishes in UFC competition.

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Brundage (8-2, 2-1 UFC) forced Gore (3-2, 0-2 UFC) to wrestle early, but that approach changed as the bout progressed. While the early grappling exchange appeared to have fatigued the Brighton, Michigan, native, he was merely biding his time. Brundage set the stage for the final sequence when he countered a Gore low kick with a right hook. That sent Gore to the canvas and Brundage pounced…

A proposed flyweight clash between Nina Nunes and Cynthia Calvillo won’t be happening at UFC on ESPN 39 as originally planned.

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The bout has been removed from today’s card after Nunes withdrew from the bout due to what she called a “stomach virus” on social media. The cancellation was subsequently confirmed by promotion officials. According to MMAjunkie.com, the UFC hopes to rebook the fight for its Aug. 13 event.

“Hey everyone, I had an amazing camp and the best weight cut yet,” Nunes wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately I picked up a stomach virus and have been sick since right after weigh ins. I tried as much as I could to make this better and still be able to fight. Sadly it has taken a tear on my body and I won’t be able to perform tonight. Sorry to my opponent. We are rescheduling it as we speak.”

Nunes was slated to make her 125-pound debut against Calvillo. The former strawweight contender returned to the Octagon after nearly two years…

Alfonso Leyva looks like the real deal.

The two-time Olympic wrestler remained undefeated in his wildly successful Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he dispatched Daniel Reis with elbows in the second round of their LFA 135 headliner on Friday at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix. Reis (8-2, 0-1 LFA) bowed out 1:10 into Round 2, his modest two-fight winning streak having run its course.

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Leyva (6-0, 1-0 LFA) was stoic and methodical in his approach. He powered into top position late in the first round, unleashed his ground-and-pound and nearly finished it in the waning seconds. Only the bell saved Reis. The dejected Sombra Team-trained Brazilian emerged for the middle stanza with little left in the tank. Levy moved on top again early in Round 2 and blasted Reis with elbows until the job was done.

Meanwhile, Pitbull Brothers rep Felipe Bunes consolidated multiple takedowns with effective ground-and-pound and suffocating top control, as he picke…

Depending on how this October headliner shakes out, the Ultimate Fighting Championship could have a top strawweight contender on deck.

According to ESPN on Friday, the Oct. 1 UFC Fight Night event – one that does not currently have a location designated – will have a strawweight headliner. The five-round main draw comes between Mackenzie Dern (12-2) and Xiaonan Yan (15-3), which comes between two women currently ranked in the top five of their division.

Dern bounced back from a 25-minute decision defeat to Marina Rodriguez in October 2021 by claiming a split verdict over the resurgent Tecia Torres in April. That loss to Rodriguez halted a four-fight win streak with three submissions, as she tapped Nina Nunes, Randa Markos and Hannah Cifers on her way up the 115-pound rankings. Beyond Rodriguez, the only other woman to beat Dern is Amanda Ribas, who also snagged a decision win over Dern in 2019. As a pro, the Arizona native celebrates nearly 60% of her wins by submissio…

Photographs of one of the more important but unknown progenitors of the Gracie legacy have been unearthed.

In 2008, Reila Gracie was the first to discuss a secret, one hidden under lock and key for more than five decades by the Gracies, in her book, “Carlos Gracie: The Creator of a Dynasty.” In this publication, Reila identified a woman simply named Ms. Belinha, who played a major factor in how the Gracie family came together and grew into what it is today. Many years later, Rickson Gracie addressed the subject in his own book, titled “Breathe: A Life in Flow,” which came out in 2021. While most believed that Margarida Gracie gave birth to the legendary BJJ masters Rorion Gracie, Relson Gracie and Rickson Gracie, that is not the case.

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Per both Reila and Rickson’s books, Margarida could not have children. Armed with this news, Helio’s brother Carlos had quite the suggestion to proliferate the family name. Carlos already created a massive family of …

Big business here at welterweight. No. 5 vs. No. 9 in the official rankings. Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) vs. Sean Brady (@seanbradymma) is verbally agreed for Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, per sources. pic.twitter.com/z2DodT19HS

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 8, 2022 A high-stakes welterweight matchup is the first fight booked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the United Arab Emirates in October.

In March, the promotion announced that it would be heading back to the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Since then, no fight had been booked for that UFC 281 lineup until Friday. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN broke the news that Belal Muhammad (21-3, 1 NC) will square off with Sean Brady (15-0) in a pivotal battle at 170 pounds. The Oct. 22 fight has been verbally agreed to, and contracts are expected to be signed soon.

Muhammad is currently riding a stellar eight-fight unbeaten streak, with a t…

BREAKING: Antonio Carlos Jr. is out of his Light Heavyweight Semifinals bout. #5 in the standings @jmdasilv enters the #PFLPlayoffs against ATT teammate Omari Akhmedov! pic.twitter.com/KsqGUks1gc

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 8, 2022 The Professional Fighters League light heavyweight bracket has just experienced a massive shakeup.

Per the promotion on Friday morning, Antonio Carlos Jr. will no longer be vying for the million-dollar prize in the 205-pound division. In his own statement on Instagram, Carlos Jr. explained that he suffered a knee injury that will require surgery and keep him out action for quite some time. In his stead will be fellow American Top Team teammate, unbeaten Joshua Silveira (9-0), who will be squaring off with Omari Akhmedov (23-7-1), with the latter a member of ATT as well. The two light heavyweights will square off at PFL 7: 2022 Playoffs on Aug. 5 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York.

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A pair of injuries to Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters has forced an unplanned matchup up a division in a week.

On Thursday night, Bill Algeo (15-6) posted on his Instagram Stories that his opponent, Billy Quarantillo, had been forced out of their featherweight match. Per MMA Junkie shortly after Algeo’s post, the reason was reportedly due to injury. Additionally, Khusein Askhabov posted a photo of himself on Instagram still in Thailand with his brother, where he was wearing a sling on his arm. His bantamweight bout with Herbert Burns (11-3) was at risk of falling through as well, and according to MMA Fighting, Burns will no longer be facing Askhabov.

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Algeo announced on his OnlyFans page that he will be squaring off with Burns at this event on July 16. The fight card, titled UFC on ABC 3, will go on at the UBS Arena in Long Island, N.Y. Their clash has been changed to a featherweight matchup in Algeo’s initial weight class, and Burns will not…

First to the scales, the legend @RdosAnjosMMA is in at 156 pounds

[ #UFCVegas58 | TOMORROW | Prelims 6pm ET Main Card 9pm ET LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/ioUYh1hMLu

— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2022

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves on Saturday with a lightweight showdown between former champion Rafael dos Anjos and rising contender Rafael Fiziev. All 24 fighters made weight for UFC on ESPN 39.

After an up-and-down stay at welterweight, Dos Anjos has found new life after dropping back down to lightweight. The former 155-pound king has won back-to-back five-round decisions over Paul Felder and Renato Carneiro. He'll look to improve his win streak to three against Fiziev. Ever the professional, dos Anjos weighed 156 pounds on the dot.

Fiziev enters his first UFC main event with an impressive 11-1 record. "Ataman" bounced back from his first career defeat in 2019 with five straight wins, inc…

There goes my rematch....

🤣🤣🤣

— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) July 7, 2022 Those that celebrated Tony Kelley’s recent defeat will rejoice with the news that his Ultimate Fighting Championship run has ended.

Automated Twitter account UFCRosterWatch posted on Thursday that Kelley (8-3) has been removed from the UFC roster. This does not necessarily mean that he was cut, as he competed four times from 2020 to 2022 – the UFC often provides fighters with four-fight contracts – but it does indicate that he has not been re-signed if his contract ended. Recent opponent Adrian Yanez posted on Twitter about the ending of Kelley’s UFC deal, stating, “There goes my rematch,” accompanied by laughing emojis.

Kelley suffered a loss in a grudge match with Yanez in June, where the Texas native destroyed him in less than four minutes. The defeat snapped a two-fight win streak that saw him beat Ali AlQaisi and Randy Costa inside the Octagon. After losing t…

Fast-rising Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Andre Muniz is not shying away from a challenge.

At UFC 276, Muniz (23-4) earned his fifth win in as many attempts in the UFC, deflating powerful striker Uriah Hall by a clear-cut unanimous decision. The victory elevated Muniz to the no. 10 spot in the UFC’s rankings, and the #13 position on Sherdog’s Official Rankings at 185 pounds as well. Muniz, who spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday, is already thinking about his next opponent and his return to the cage.

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“That camp to face Uriah Hall was especially very long, almost five months of hard training,” Muniz admitted. “Hall unfortunately had a problem and it needed to be postponed, but thank God everything went out exactly how my team predicted. My foot is hurting after I kicked Uriah’s elbow, but I don’t think it's something serious, I’ve just got some exams this week and I’m waiting for the results to know exactly what happened. My plan is to be bac…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RWSaAiRzmI&w=560&h=315] On just over a month’s notice, YouTuber Jake Paul has a new opponent for his upcoming boxing match at Madison Square Garden.

Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) had been previously linked to a cruiserweight battle against Tommy Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) on the Aug. 6 pay-per-view boxing event in New York. In June, however, Fury found that he was not allowed to enter the U.S. due to his ties to notorious crime boss Daniel Kinahan and the Kinahan Cartel, and he has been forced out of the fight for these reasons. In his stead, according to ESPN on Thursday, will be Hasim Rahman Jr., a professional boxer with a 12-1 record sporting six knockouts. The fight will now be contested at 200 pounds, and it has been scheduled for eight rounds.

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Rahman Jr., the son of two-time heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman, has followed in his father’s footsteps with decent results thus far. While only three of his first 12 opponents held w…

Max Rohskopf is going to get another chance on the big stage.

The one-time UFC competitor has signed a multi-fight contract to compete in Bellator MMA. Multiple outlets confirmed the deal following an initial announcement from the fighter’s management. A date and opponent for Rohskopf’s debut is currently unknown.

After winning his first five professional bouts, Rohskopf debut in the Octagon at UFC on ESPN 11, where he famously quit on his stool after two rounds in a loss to Austin Hubbard. Rohskopf accepted the bout on one week’s notice and fatigued badly in the second round, which led to him absorbing a beating from Hubbard in the frame. The former North Carolina State University wrestler was released from the UFC following the defeat.

The 27-year-old Zenith MMA product has fought twice since that infamous bout, besting Jefferson Creighton and Jordan Bailey under the Cage Warriors banner. He owns a 7-1 career mark overall.

Anthony Pettis may not have been victorious in his second regular season appearance for the Professional Fighters League, but he was nonetheless the promotion’s top earner.

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The former UFC and WEC lightweight champion took home $750,000 for a second-round submission loss to Steven Ray ($80,000) at PFL 5 on June 24.

The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission released a full list of salaries to MMAjunkie.com from the PFL’s second set of regular season events, all of which took place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

Other top earners included two-time women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison, who garnered $500,000 for a first-round stoppage of Kaitlin Young ($20,000) at PFL 6 on July 1 and Rory MacDonald, who pocketed $250,000 in a decision loss to Sadibou Sy ($52,000) at the same event.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded…

Darren Till is out of his scheduled UFC London co-main event bout with Jack Hermansson due to an undisclosed injury, sources told ESPN. More coming shortly to @espnmma.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 6, 2022

The Ultimate Fighting Championship show will have to go on without one of its best-known native sons later this month in London.

ESPN reported Wednesday evening that Liverpool native Darren Till, a former welterweight title challenger and current middleweight contender, had withdrawn from his scheduled co-main event against Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 208 on July 23 with an undisclosed injury. The fight for Till would have been his first since last September, when he succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Derek Brunson in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 191. The 28-year-old Team Kaobon product will have to wait at least a while longer to attempt to snap his current two-fight losing streak.

The report added that the…

A clash between bantamweight grand prix semifinalists Naoki Inoue and Kenta Takizawa is among several fights that were recently announced for Rizin Fighting Federation 37.

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Rizin 37 takes place on July 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and will also see Hideo Tokoro take on Makoto Takahasi in a flyweight feature. It is the Japanese promotion’s eighth event of 2022.

Inoue had a six-bout winning streak snapped in the grand prix semifinals, where he fell to eventual winner Hiromasa Ougikubo via unanimous decision at Rizin 33 on Dec. 31. The 25-year-old Inoue’s 15-3 career mark includes stints in the UFC and Deep.

A former Pancrase title challenger, Takizawa dropped a three-round verdict to Kai Askaura in the other half of the bantamweight bracket at Rizin 33. Prior to that, the 27-year-old Tokyo native earned back-to-back triumphs over Yuki Motoya and Masakazu Imanari under the Rizin banner.

Other confirmed bouts for Rizin 37 are …

Massive match-ups headline the #pflplayoffs and our first trip to the UK. Go get your tickets now! @LiveNationUK https://t.co/7vJkvuIIWW pic.twitter.com/EVePibKOCe

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 6, 2022

Barring injury or other unforeseen circumstances, the playoff pairings are set for Professional Fighters League’s venture into the United Kingdom next month.

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PFL 7 takes place on Aug. 13 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, and features welterweight and heavyweight semifinals. Rory MacDonald will face Magomed Umalatov in one 170-pound matchup, while Sadibou Sy will face Carlos Leal Miranda in the other half of the bracket. At heavyweight, Ante Delija takes on Renan Ferreira, while Denis Goltsov squares off against Bruno Cappelozza.

Meanwhile, PFL 8 will go down on Aug. 20 at Copperbox Arena in London and is highlighted by the women’s lightweight and men’s featherweight semifinals. Two-time champ Kayla Harrison will meet Martina…

A middleweight showdown pitting Joaquin Buckley against Nassourdine Imavov is on tap for UFC Fight Night 209 on Sept. 3.

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Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night 209 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa.

Buckley has won three straight and five of his last six in UFC competition. The 28-year-old St. Louis native is coming off a second-round doctor stoppage victory against Albert Duraev at UFC on ESPN 37 on June 18. Buckley is 15-4 over the course of his professional career, with 11 triumphs coming via knockout or technical knockout.

Imavov, a native of Paris, will get to face Buckley on home soil. The 27-year-old MMA Factory representative is 3-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with his only defeat coming via majority decision against Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 185. Imavov rebounded from that setback with back-to-back TKO wins over Ia…

Luke Rockhold is well aware of the narrative that seems to have propelled Alex Pereira into a middleweight title shot after just three Ultimate Fighting Championship appearances.

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Pereira appears to be next in line to face Israel Adesanya following a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland on the UFC 276 main card last weekend. The former Glory two-division champion owns a pair of victories against Adesanya in professional kickboxing, which has made him an interesting challenger for the middleweight throne. Rockhold gets it, but he isn’t overly impressed by Pereira.

“Yeah, it’s an intriguing story, Alex Pereira has beat Izzy twice,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “And so you’re looking at any level of intrigue, and so they’re looking for someone that they can throw in the mix, even though Alex Pereira would get mauled by, 20 guys in the UFC would probably maul him. But yeah, it’s a compelling story if you get him past a brawler like Sean Stric…

It was a rough night at the office for Kyle Daukaus at UFC Austin last month.

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In addition to losing to Roman Dolidze via first-round knockout, Daukaus revealed that he suffered multiple facial fractures as a result of absorbing a knee to the face from his opponent in the finishing sequence on June 18.

“During the fight, I got kneed, obviously,” Daukaus said in a video on his Instagram account. “As soon as the knee landed, it kind of broke my face in three places. The scans I got, I had two orbital fractures, and I think I had a fracture in my eye socket as well underneath.”

Daukaus returned home to Philadelphia after the event and underwent surgery last week, where he had plates inserted into his face.

“Surgery went well, it was last Thursday,” he said. “I got three plates put in, unfortunately, in my face. I got three plates on my actual face, and then I have one underneath my eyeball, too, but the one underneath my eyeball isn’t real…