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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUCzZM8QMWc&w=560&h=315] Bellator MMA featherweight king Patricio Freire firmly believes he is the best featherweight on the planet, regardless of organization.

Three months after regaining his belt in a unanimous decision win over AJ McKee, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire does not yet know who will be his next opponent. According to the champion, Adam Borics may vie for the strap before McKee moves forward into the rubber match. “Pitbull” claimed his title back from the man who wrested it from him in McKee in April, making him the first fighter in Bellator history to have four reigns as champion. Freire spoke to Sherdog about that second McKee fight as well as what he thinks will come in his future.

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“What the organization told me is that to make a trilogy, it’s necessary to have some[thing] ‘spicy,’ and they are not sure if it’s occurring now,” the champ explained. “Once Borics defeated Burnell…

BREAKING: @MatheusBuffa replaces Bruno Cappelozza in the #PFLPlayoffs! Scheffel faces Denis Goltsov in the Heavyweight Semifinals on Saturday, August 13th in Cardiff!

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 28, 2022 The Professional Fighters League’s card in Wales has just experienced a number of shakeups to its lineup.

The PFL sent out a press release on Thursday announcing or confirming a slew of changes to the PFL 8: 2022 Playoffs. The Aug. 13 card that will take place in the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, has lost one of its heavyweight semifinalists: 2022 champion Bruno Cappelozza (15-6). Due to injury, he has been forced out of the million-dollar playoffs, and in his stead will be the man who beat him in June in Matheus Scheffel (16-8). Due to playoff tiebreaker rules, Cappelozza advanced despite suffering a head-to-head defeat to Scheffel, but Scheffel will now be the one moving on. “Buffa” will square off with Denis Goltsov (29-7) on the main card …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3DFU4jMly4&w=560&h=315]

Nominees for the fan-selected World MMA Awards have been announced, and your favorite outlet—hopefully—is on the ballot for MMA Media Source of the Year.

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Fighters Only Magazine, which has covered mixed martial arts since 2005 and launched its annual awards in 2008, on Wednesday announced the nominees in over 20 categories for the 14th edition of the World MMA Awards. The contest year covers July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. In addition to unveiling the nominees, Fighters Only announced its plan to return to a full in-person awards ceremony in Las Vegas, of the type that had long been a yearly tradition, but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are back to a full-strength awards show this year, that will be our biggest to date,” Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt said in a press release. “Las Vegas will once again be home to the world’s best MMA fighters and celebrity fans who will al…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3DFU4jMly4&w=560&h=315]

Nominees for the fan-selected World MMA Awards have been announced, and your favorite outlet—hopefully—is on the ballot for MMA Media Source of the Year.

Fighters Only Magazine, which has covered mixed martial arts since 2005 and launched its annual awards in 2008, on Wednesday announced the nominees in over 20 categories for the 14th edition of the World MMA Awards. The contest year covers July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. In addition to unveiling the nominees, Fighters Only announced its plan to return to a full in-person awards ceremony in Las Vegas, of the type that had long been a yearly tradition, but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are back to a full-strength awards show this year, that will be our biggest to date,” Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt said in a press release. “Las Vegas will once again be home to the world’s best MMA fighters and celebrity fans who will all come togethe…

Joseph Pyfer did everything he was supposed to do, and he was rewarded for it.

The former Ring of Combat titleholder nailed down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he wiped out Osman Diaz with punches in the second round of their featured middleweight pairing on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Diaz (7-2) bowed out 1:39 into Round 2, his five-fight winning streak at an end.

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Pyfer (8-1) seized the reins early in the first round and never truly released them. He struck for a takedown inside 45 seconds, threatened with an arm-triangle choke, advanced to the back and secured his position with a body triangle. Diaz eventually reversed into top position but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Pyfer rattled the reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a crisp one-two at the start of the middle stanza and reset himself for his next assault. He leveled Diaz with a beautiful left hook,…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 1 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.

ODDS: Costa (-265); Luna (+225)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result ODDS: Buzukja (-190); Romero (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result The scheduled bout between Basharat and Souza was canc…

Someone close to the situation confirmed to me that the clash between Manon Fiorot and Katlyn Chookagian scheduled for #UFCParis has been moved to the #UFC280 card on Oct. 22. Story coming to @sherdogdotcom.

First reported by @RMCsport pic.twitter.com/R3M7Jcd8Qj

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) July 26, 2022

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Fans attending the upcoming UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris, France, won’t see Manon Fiorot competing on the card. French media outlet RMC Sport reported that the fighter wouldn’t be taking on Katlyn Chookagian as initially scheduled after Fiorot injured her knee. Instead, their 125-pound clash has been moved to UFC 280, which will go down in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22. Sherdog confirmed the news through a source close to the situation.

Fiorot, a former UAE Warriors titleholder (9-1, 4-0 UFC), is currently pursuing a run at Valentina Shevchenko’s flyweight crown. “The Beast” is riding an impressive nine-…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpGr6GgwUA&w=560&h=315] Someone should have told Willian Souza Guadalupe that his fight was scheduled at bantamweight, not featherweight.

Four fights remain on the first jaunt of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. The event, titled DWCS 2022: Week 1, held its weigh-ins on Monday with one surprising result. While nine fighters hit their proper marks, and a light heavyweight came in at 201 pounds, Souza tipped the scales at 146 pounds for his bantamweight bout with Farid Basharat (136). The official 10-pound weight miss stands as the highest in the short history of DWCS, surpassing Victor Reyna's seven-pound blunder during the 2019 season. As a result, the Nevada Athletic Commission has scratched that fight from the event’s lineup.

The featured bout of the evening will still remain as a middleweight clash between Osman Diaz (7-1) and Joseph Pyfer (8-2). Weighing 186 pounds, Diaz comes into this main event pairing on a five-…

Seven months after the loss to Julianna Pena that cost her the bantamweight belt and, for many, put in doubt her status as the greatest female fighter in MMA history, Amanda Nunes returns to the Octagon next Saturday in Dallas, Texas, for a long-awaited rematch with the American in the main event of UFC 277. Last week the “Lioness” received Brazilian journalist Evelyn Rodrigues from Rede Globo for an exclusive interview at her new gym in Sunrise, Florida. The six-minute report was shown last Sunday on Esporte Espetacular, the most watched sports program by the largest Brazilian broadcaster.

In addition to introducing her new coaches and her new gym to Brazilian fans, Nunes claimed that she is much better prepared than in her first fight. “In the first fight I had Covid and soon after I recovered I jumped into the camp with all my energy. I ended up injuring my knee which prevented me from making a correct camp. I trained one day and rested two days because the knee co…

Hey Jimi,I thought you were still asleep?#UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/ebdKQv4QQm

— AleksandarRakic (@rakic_ufc) July 24, 2022

Apparently, there was some backstage beef at the recent UFC Fight Night 208. Shortly after “UFC London” ended, current Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pounder Aleksandar Rakic and former light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa had an alleged altercation when Manuwa attempted to assault his onetime rival, after which security personnel quickly intervened. Rakic took to Twitter to share a video in which he told about what had happened, stating that he was “sucker punched” by Manuwa.

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“Jimi Manuwa, you piece of s**t. You son of a b**ch. What a p**sy move you did last night on me. Guys, I’ll just let you know that after the event at UFC London, the security was escorting me to the transfer to the hotel, and ‘Mr. Still Sleep’ was sitting in my row at the end of the row, so I needed to pass him by. And…

🚨 BREAKING: Per source, former two-time Glory welterweight champion is set to make his UFC debut as he takes on Darian Weeks in a 170-pound contest at #UFCParis on Sept. 3. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/cKpvK4jD86

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) July 23, 2022

One of the best kickboxers ever will soon make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. According to a source close to the situation, two-time Glory kickboxing welterweight titleholder Cedric Doumbe is facing Darian Weeks at UFC Fight Night 209, a.k.a. “UFC Paris,” which will go down in Paris, France, on Sept. 3. The source asked to stay anonymous since the promotion hasn’t officially announced the matchup yet.

Doumbe is walking out to the Octagon for the first time bearing a record of two wins and no defeats. The French fighter fought for a long time under the Glory banner, where he won the 170-pound championship on two occasions. After piling up a 75-7-1 record, he transitioned to mixed marti…

🚨 BREAKING: Per source, former two-time Glory welterweight champion is set to make his UFC debut as he takes on Darian Weeks in a 170-pound contest at #UFCParis on Sept. 3. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/cKpvK4jD86

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) July 23, 2022

One of the best kickboxers ever will soon make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. According to a source close to the situation, two-time Glory kickboxing welterweight titleholder Cedric Doumbe is facing Darian Weeks at UFC Fight Night 209, a.k.a. “UFC Paris,” which will go down in Paris, France, on Sept. 3. The source asked to stay anonymous since the promotion hasn’t officially announced the matchup yet.

Doumbe is walking out to the Octagon for the first time bearing a record of two wins and no defeats. The French fighter fought for a long time under the Glory banner, where he won the 170-pound championship on two occasions. After piling up a 75-7-1 record, he transitioned to mixed marti…

Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann both delivered in a big way at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second London event of 2022.

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Pimblett received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award after surviving a rough opening stanza to submit Jordan Leavitt in a featured lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 208 on Saturday at the O2 Arena. The former Cage Warriors champion hurt his foe with a knee to the head before taking Leavitt’s back and trapping one arm in a body triangle. Shortly thereafter, “The Baddy” forced a tapout with a rear-naked choke 2:46 into the second stanza.

Meanwhile, McCann captured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a technical knockout victory against Hannah Goldy in their flyweight bout. “Meatball” rattled her foe with an overhand right and spinning back elbow before swarming with punches to get the stoppage at the 3:52 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Nikita Krylov earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night”…

An injury to Tom Aspinall derailed the UFC Fight Night 208 main event against Curtis Blaydes.

The fight was extremely brief, lasting only 15 seconds. Blaydes (17-3, 1 NC) opened the fight well landing several punches. After Aspinall (12-3) countered with a leg kick, he then recoiled to the floor. On the step back, the British fighter appeared to have hurt his right knee, clutching it, and the fight ended. Doctors attended to Aspinall, who was able to get up and be assisted to the back after several minutes on the ground.

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With the TKO victory, Blaydes has now won three straight.Hermansson Schools Curtis The co-main event saw middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Chris Curtis clash for three rounds. "The Joker" controlled the fight early by landing kicks from a distance and some solid right hands. Curtis (29-9) failed to adjust between rounds, which allowed Hermansson (23-7) to really amp up his offense and land slashing standing elbows. Despite…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 208 coverage will begin Saturday at 12 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: Dalby (-250), Silva (+210)Round 1 The venue isn’t completely full for the first prelim of the card in London, but those who are present seem to be fully engaged. Lukasz Bosaki will be the third man in the cage for this welterweight bout. Silva takes the center of the cage and shoots for a takedown, driving Dalby into the fence. Silva clings to a single leg, but Dalby hops around and maintains his balance while fighting his opponent’s hands. “Hannibal” finally yanks his foe down and passes quickly to full mount. Silva stays heavy on top as Dalby attempts to buck him off. Thus far, those efforts are unsuccessful. Dalby stays active and recaptures half guard, but Silva is still in control. Dalby posts in hopes of standing, but Silva grabs the …

Ludovit Klein woke up feeling 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 💥 #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/gKN51qee3v

— UFC (@ufc) July 23, 2022

UFC Fight Night 208's prelims were capped off with a lightweight bout between Ludovit Klein vs. Mason Jones.

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Both men came out looking to strike, but it was Jones (11-2, 1 NC) that was able to control the distance and eventually back "Mr. Highlight" against the cage. When at a distance, Klein (19-4) showed off some impressive striking that included a jumping high kick that landed. Klein was in full control of the second frame, as he was able to drop Jones with punches and did the most damage. The final frame saw Jones pull guard and work off his back, which was a risky move that didn't pay off with a submission.

After three rounds of action, all three judges scored the fight 30-27 in the favor of Klein.

Diakiese vs. Hadzovic Marc Diakiese showed plenty of skills on the ground against Damir Hadzovic.

Showi…

Jason Jackson is just relentless with the takedowns tonight!#Bellator283 is LIVE on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/2nW7cUN2ID

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) July 23, 2022

Jason Jackson has been on a roll lately, having conquered such foes as Benson Henderson, Neiman Gracie and Paul Daley. He can now add former Bellator MMA champion Douglas Lima to his ledger.

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Jackson (16-4) dominated Lima from start to finish, taking the former three-time champ down in every round and controlling the action from there, winning a horribly lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of Bellator 283 on Friday night in the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington.

Lima (32-11) had little in the tank in terms of fighting back; he seemed resigned to just accept the takedowns and survive. The crowd angrily booed the lack of action for most of rounds three through five, but Lima never had the desire to try and turn the tides. Lima instead lai…

Sherdog's live Bellator 283 coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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Round 1 Bellator 283 begins with a 160-pound catchweight bout between Archie Colgan and Bryan Nuro refereed by Steve Newport. Both men take the center of the cage with Nuro throwing more punches yet not connecting with anything of note. Colgan is able to start landing his jab, which is piercing through the guard of Nuro. Colgan continues to stun Nuro with jabs, then throws some hooks after grabbing a clinch. A nice right hand to the body lands for Colgan, who is in complete control. Nuro hasn't been put in real danger, but Colgan is in total control and dishing out damage that is only accumulating further. A clear 10-9 in the favor of Colgan.Round 2 Nuro comes out a bit more aggressive to start Round 2 by throwing a head kick. Colgan goes back to the jab, which continues to be his strongest weapon. N…

The Joker 🃏 is in Kielce! #KSW72

🇵🇱 Romanowski vs. Grzebyk 🇵🇱

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Tomorrow | KSWTV | @viaplaysportpl pic.twitter.com/C5TMWqEjTz — KSW (@KSW_MMA) July 22, 2022 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's KSW 72 weigh-ins were marred by unprofessional conduct on the scale, including one half of the main event missing weight by six pounds.

While Andrzej Grzebyk made weight for his welterweight main event, clocking in at 170 pounds, Tomasz Romanowski hit the scales at a shocking 177 pounds. The massive weight miss came with quite the fine, as "Tommy" has been fined 50% of his purse. Additionally, Oumar Sy substantially missed the light heavyweight limit by five pounds, and he was also hit with a 50% fine of his own purse. Modest in comparison was Hubert Szymajda, coming in one pound over the lightweight limit, and his fine was levied at 30%.

Romanowski (15-8, 1 NC) is on a two-fight win streak having won a decision over Michal Pietrza…

16-0! 👑 Reinier de Ridder puts Vitaly Bigdash to SLEEP with an inverted triangle to retain his ONE Middleweight World Title!#ONE159 | https://t.co/eBUfsODAFL pic.twitter.com/YDbzk92pGM

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) July 22, 2022 Reinier de Ridder proved why he is the most dominant titleholder in One Championship at the moment.

In the One 159 headliner, de Ridder (16-0, 7-0 One) notched a defense of his 205-pound title as he overcame former divisional kingpin Vitaly Bigdash. The challenger started with a bang, cracking the champ with a heavy blow in the early going. “The Dutch Knight” recovered and moved the action against the fence, where his opponent quickly captured his neck. Bigdash (12-3, 5-3 One) opted to go for broke, attacking with a tight guillotine choke. The submission attempt seemed quite deep, but de Ridder fought out of the sticky situation. The defending champion landed a few punches after popping his head out, and Bigdash…

It's the return of an @AspinallMMA #UFCLondon main event!

⚖️ He's officially in at 251 lbs.

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[ Tomorrow | Main Card 3pm ET | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/NweZkMIc3d — UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to London for UFC Fight Night 208, where all 28 fighters on the card made weight.

The event is headlined by a heavyweight fight between contenders Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall. Blaydes (16-3, 1 NC) has won six of his last seven bouts, with the lone defeat coming to former title challenger Derrick Lewis. "Razor" weighed 260 pounds and will be the larger fighter by nine pounds. Meanwhile, Aspinall (12-2) is undefeated inside the Octagon at 5-0. The English fighter most recently submitted Alexander Volkov with a straight armbar and will look to continue his momentum. The Team Kaobon product weighed 251 pounds.

The UFC Fight Night 208 main card begins on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET/1…

A pair of top Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweights have changed representation, and their new manager holds them in extremely high regard.

This week, management team Dominance MMA, helmed by Ali Abdelaziz, has just brought two more recruits for his team of athletes: top strawweight contenders Marina Rodriguez and Jessica Andrade. The partnership took place after a meeting between Gilliard Alfredo Fagundes, also known as Gilliard “Parana,” the head coach of Parana Vale Tudo who managed both in a partnership between his Top Fight agency and Brazilian manager Tiago Okamura. “Parana” spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday about his fighters being signed to the international management organization of Dominance MMA.

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“I sat with Ali in a meeting and saw his numbers, his involvement with the UFC,” Fagundes explained. “For those who are at a high level [and] close to the belt, it is very worthwhile to deal with him. I talked to Okamura, who continues to be a gr…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypr0KoMFusk?start=136&w=560&h=315] The violence potential for this newly released Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight rumble is almost off the charts.

On his YouTube channel, UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker (18-7) announced on Thursday that he would be facing off against Ion Cutelaba (16-7-1, 1 NC) in an all-action 205-pound battle on Sept. 10. They will be colliding at UFC 279, which will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on pay-per-view. Both of these strikers celebrate career knockout rates at 75% or higher.

Walker has hit a rough patch over the last few years, but not for lack of trying. The high-flying Brazilian put himself on the map with a trio of dynamic knockouts in 2018 and 2019, where he put Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov away in the span of less than four months and only 2:50 of combined fight time. Since then, four defeats in his last five outings have quelled his momentum…