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

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

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

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

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 8 coverage will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Norma Dumont! pic.twitter.com/xdVRfg6D6P

— Alex Davis (@Alexdavismma) September 11, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One on Prime Video 6 has a location and venue.

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

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

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

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

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Allan Bego…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For a moment, Irene Aldana wasn’t even sure what she had done.

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When Aldana landed the upkick to the liver that ended Macy Chiasson’s night at UFC 279, the Mexican standout was a little confused to see her opponent shut down instantly. However, the Lobo Gym MMA product wasn’t completely surprised to see the maneuver be successful, because it is something that she practices on a consistent basis.

“It was bizarre. I knew the kick hit well, and it hit in the liver, but it was a little confusing for me to see her reaction like that,” Aldana said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“So I was like, ‘I’m sure I kicked her in the liver, but maybe I kicked her somewhere else. I’m not sure because of her reaction.’ But we trained the kick a lot, I’m glad it came out this night.”

While the bout was contested at a 140-pound catchweight due to Chiasson missing weight, it was still the type of statement victory that could propel Aldana to a tit…

While Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev didn’t end up meeting in the UFC 279 main event as originally anticipated, both gave performances to remember on Saturday night.

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Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of the card’s new headliner to fulfill the final fight on his UFC contract. After the victory, Diaz hinted that he would be willing to return to the UFC some time in the future after he explores other options. If that’s the case, UFC president Dana White would welcome him back with open arms.

“No matter what Nate does from here on out, this is his house,” White said at the post-fight press conferene. “He’s been here forever. It’s been a blast having him here. I wish him well. He and I had this discussion months ago at the offices. Whatever he moves on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. If he’s starting his own organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I wish him nothing but the best of lu…

For someone who missed weight by a considerable amount, Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t exactly remorseful following his victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279.

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Chimaev was initially supposed to face Nate Diaz in Saturday’s headliner, but the card was restructured when “Borz” tipped the scales at 178.5 pounds on Friday. As a result, the Allstars Training Center product was booked against Holland in a 180-pound catchweight clash.

While Chimaev claimed the he could have made weight but was advised by doctors to stop his cut, he also didn’t seem to think it mattered all that much. That ultimately led to fans at T-Mobile arena showering Chimaev with boos, which also didn’t seem to bother him.

"You care about that s—t? I don't care,” Chimaev said at Saturday’s post-fight press confernece. I care about my family, I care about my family, I care about my career, I care about my money... One day they're with me, one day they're not with me.”

In his post-fight i…

Irene Aldana made history and padded her bank account in the process at UFC 279.

The Lobo Gym MMA representative became just the third UFC fighter to finish a bout with an upkick — and the first to do so by going to the body — when she dispatched Macy Chiasson with a heel kick to the liver from her back 2:21 into the third round of their 140-pound catchweight bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. That effort earned Aldana of $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus — one of four handed out by the promotion.

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Meanwhile, Nate Diaz garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to his submission of Tony Ferguson in the evening’s welterweight main event. The Stockton, Calif., upped the volume of his punching combinations in Round 4, forcing Ferguson to shoot for a takedown. That allowed Diaz to lock in a guillotine choke and force a tapout at the 2:52 mark of the period.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESP…

Nate Diaz saw the opening and threaded the needle.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner dismissed Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of their UFC 279 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he fulfilled the final bout on his current Ultimate Fighting Championship contract and gazed towards greener pastures. Diaz (21-13, 16-11 UFC), who sounds very much like a man who intends to enter professional boxing at some level, sewed up the submission 2:52 into Round 4.

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Ferguson (25-8, 15-5 UFC) was effective in spurts, especially with repeated kicks to his opponent’s legs. Diaz weathered the damage to his lower extremities, uncorked some of his patented multi-punch volleys and stayed competitive as the fight drifted into the fourth round. There, Ferguson moved in for an ill-advised takedown and wandered into the awaiting guillotine. Diaz tightened his grip, brought his hips into play and let his squeeze do the rest…

Order UFC 279 "Diaz vs. Ferguson" exclusively on ESPN+ Sherdog's live UFC 279 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

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Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 The UFC was blessed with a drama-free week for this fight card, with absolutely no funny business taking place the last few days leading up to UFC 279. It’s a good thing, too, because this event might not have been able to afford some shakeups or bout changes. We start this totally normal fight card off in the welterweight division, with two men searching for their first win inside the Octagon. Weeks (5-2, 0-2 UFC), who came into the UFC in 2021 undefeated only to lose his first two fights, wants the third time to be the charm at the expense of Canada’s Lainesse (8-1, 0-1 UFC). Weeks celebrates a 100% finish rate, while “White Lion” responds with a 75% knockout rate, so the judges may not be needed while referee Mike Beltran almost certainly…

Juicy J closing out the prelims 👏

Here’s your 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑻 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 📸

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[ #UFC279 | B2YB by @JoseCuervo ] pic.twitter.com/cHlXt2IgZL — UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2022

Hakeem Dawodu failed on the scales, then failed in the cage.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist Julian Erosa shined as an underdog in perhaps his most complete performance as a member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, as he cruised to a one-sided unanimous decision over Dawodu in their featured UFC 279 featherweight prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Erosa (28-9, 6-5 UFC), who suddenly finds himself on a three-fight winning streak.

Dawodu (13-3-1, 6-3 UFC)—who missed weight for the bout by nearly four pounds—endured a difficult first round in which he was twice badly hurt by right hands and never seemed to recover. Erosa incorporated takedowns in the second and third rou…

He does it again!

KSW HW Champion@phildefriesmma #AndStill #KSW74 pic.twitter.com/H4xvpDnPQh

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) September 10, 2022

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Philip De Fries' dominant reign as the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight champion continued on Saturday in Poland. 

In the KSW 74 headliner, De Fries (22-6, 1 NC; 8-0 KSW) notched his seventh title defense after overcoming Ricardo Prasel. After some quick exchanges, De Fries stuffed a timid takedown attempt from Prasel (13-4, 2-1 KSW), and from there, the Brazilian was more than willing to fight off his back. On the mat, De Fries landed several shots from half-guard as he controlled his foe. In turn, Prasel worked to close the guard from where he unsuccessfully attempted to sweep De Fries. Once he stabilized a dominant position, De Fries started hitting Prasel with heavy shots that left an immediate mark on the Brazilian’s face. During a scramble phase, Prasel left an opening for his…

#UFC279 has a new top part of its card, per UFC president Dana White on the @SportsCenter Instagram.

-- Diaz vs. Ferguson-- Chimaev vs. Holland-- Li vs. Rodriguez

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 9, 2022 Khamzat Chimaev’s failure on the scales has forced the Ultimate Fighting Championship to scramble in unexpected ways.

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On Friday, Chimaev tipped the scales at 178.5 pounds at the early UFC 279 weigh-ins, for 7.5 pounds above the non-title welterweight cap. His headlining matchup against Nate Diaz, who weighed 171 pounds, has been scuttled as a result, as first reported by BJPenn.com. In the new five-round UFC 279 main event, per UFC President Dana White on UFC's Instagram page, Diaz (20-13) will now be squaring off Tony Ferguson (25-7), who also weighed in at welterweight. This event, which remains a pay-per-view will carry on at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Diaz will be looking to get back on…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated at 5:15 p.m. ET on Friday to add additional information.

Khamzat Chimaev has fumbled the biggest opportunity of his career.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship was slated to return to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a highly anticipated welterweight clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz, but that may not be the case for long. Weight concerns plagued many competitors ahead of UFC 279, and even though only three officially missed weight, one of the most important players tipped the scales way over the limit.

This marks the first UFC main event for Chimaev, who is a perfect 11-0 as a professional mixed martial artist. "Borz" faced the first significant obstacle of his career in his last outing as Gilbert Burns gave the Allstars Training Center fighter everything he could handle in a back-and-forth war. However, Chimaev passed that test and will look to prove he's ready for a titl…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday to add additional information.

Khamzat Chimaev has fumbled the biggest opportunity of his career.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship was slated to return to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a highly anticipated welterweight clash between Chimaev and Nate Diaz, but that has now changed. Weight concerns plagued many competitors ahead of UFC 279, and even though only three officially missed weight, one of the most important players tipped the scales way over the limit. As a result, the final three bouts of the evening have changed, with new matchups in each. Now, Diaz will fight in the five-round main event against Tony Ferguson.

Despite losing his last two fights, and with his last win coming in 2019, Diaz (20-13) finds himself in another pay-per-view main event. The fan-favorite fighter from Stockton, Calif., is on the last fight of his UFC contract and will…

[embedded content] The Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight championship will be on the line at KSW 74.

Philip De Fries is looking to make his seventh straight defense of the KSW heavyweight title. In his way is Ricardo Prasel, who has put together back-to-back wins in the promotion. Both heavyweights had no trouble making weight, although two fighters down the card missed weight. Pawel Politylo came in heavy for his bantamweight bout against Werlleson Martins Ribeiro and has been fined 40 percent of his purse, plus Anita Bekus has been fined 30 percent of her purse for coming in heavy for her strawweight bout against Sofiia Bagishvili.

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Having not lost since 2017, De Fries (21-6, 1 NC) is currently on a roll with a nine-fight win streak. The champion will be the larger man by 26 pounds after weighing in at 264 pounds. Meanwhile, Prasel (13-3) is coming off a TKO win over Michal Kita and an ankle lock submission victory against Daniel Omielanczuk. The…