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Not only did Amanda Ribas move up a weight class on Saturday night, but it sounds as though she was competing at less than 100 percent.

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Ribas was competitive against flyweight contender Katlyn Chookagian at UFC on ESPN 36, ultimately losing a split decision in a bout that received “Fight of the Night” honors at the end of the evening. Marcelo Ribas, the father of the Brazilian fighter, took to Instagram to reveal that Ribas suffered a “total rupture of the biceps tendon” 25 days before the fight.

“A very stressful month,” Marcelo wrote on Instagram. “A golden opportunity to fight world number one. At 25 days, an injury ‘total rupture of the biceps tendon’ comes in, then physical therapy 3 times a day to try to get [her] to fight. ... 25 days without training our strength which is jiu jitsu and judo. And we’d arrive in Las Vegas not knowing if we’d be able to handle grappling or wrestling on the ground.”

Ribas landed three takedowns and contro…

Aleksandar Rakic’s night ended in unfortunate fashion at UFC on ESPN 36, as a knee injury resulted in a third-round TKO defeat to Jan Blachowicz in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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As it turns out, the injury was not completely unfamiliar to the American Top Team-trained Austrian, who revealed in a post-fight statement that it was a reoccurrence of something that had affected him during camp.

“A great battle took place in the Octagon tonight but unfortunately, it ended not the way Jan and I or the fans wanted,” Rakic wrote on Instagram. “The same damn injury from [three] weeks ago in camp showed up again tonight.”

Prior to the injury, Rakic felt that he deserved to be ahead on the scorecards in what was shaping up to be a competitive fight.

“I felt I won both rounds, round one being close but round two was just mine then I opened up really good even in the third before my knee buckled,” he wrote. “Knowing the fact tha…

pic.twitter.com/Y2BoxuNz1l

— Sober Costa (@EraserBy) May 15, 2022

Tony Kelley has received widespread criticism from the MMA community for comments he made while cornering Andrea Lee against Viviane Araujo at UFC on ESPN 36 on Saturday.

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Cameras captured Kelley making what were widely perceived to be derogatory remarks toward Brazilians as he coached Lee between rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Araujo is from Ceilandia, Brazil.

“That’s what they’re gonna do,” Kelley said. “They’re dirty f——ing Brazilians. They’re going to f—-ing cheat like that.”

Among those who called out the UFC fighter on social media were Cristiane Justino, Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad. Upcoming opponent Adrian Yanez also criticized Kelley. Kelley has since responded to the backlash his comments received.

“Cancel Culture is real,” Kelley wrote on Twitter. “What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any typ…

Jan Blachowicz admittedly would have preferred a clean finish against Aleksandar Rakic in the UFC on ESPN 36 main event, but the Polish light heavyweight was nontheless pleased with the final result.

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The fight ended prematurely when Rakic suffered an apparent right knee injury while stepping backward, and the bout was halted immediately at the 1:11 mark of Round 3. The matchup was competitive to that point, with Blachowicz having success on the feet in Round 1 and Rakic controlling positioning following a takedown in the second frame. Blachowicz made a point at Saturday’s post-fight press conference that durability is part of being a successful fighter — and he had the obvious edge in that category on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“Of course, I’m a fighter, I’m a warrior. It’s better when you win by TKO, KO, submission, clean,” Blachowicz said. “But my body was tougher tonight, that’s it. End of story. I was ready for third, fourth,…

Ryan Spann made short work of Ion Cutelaba in the UFC on ESPN 36 headliner, and for that, “Superman” is now $50,000 richer.

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Spann weathered multiple takedowns from his opponent before locking in a standing guillotine choke and powering Cutelaba to the canvas with the submission in place. Cutelaba tapped out seconds later, earning Spann a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Elsewhere, Katlyn Chookagian and Amanda Ribas received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for a competitive flyweight clash. Ribas kept the pressure on Chookagian throughout the 15-minute affair, but her multiple takedowns were offset by “Blonde Fighter’s” rangy striking. Utimately, Chookagian edged Ribas, who was moving up from 115 pounds, via split decision.

Finally, promotional newcomer Manuel Roberto Torres pocketed the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a quick finish of Frank Camacho in a lightweight slugfest. The 27-year-old En…

Jan Blachowicz may have just re-entered the championship conversation in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, though it probably wasn’t the method he would have chosen.

In his first bout since losing the 205-pound belt, Blachowicz (29-9, 12-6 UFC) returned to the win column when Aleksandar Rakic (14-3, 6-2 UFC) suffered an apparent knee injury in the UFC on ESPN 36 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Rakic crumbled to the canvas after sliding backward and putting weight on his right leg, prompting referee Mark Smith to wave off the bout 1:11 into the third round.

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Prior to the unlikely ending, it was shaping up to be a competitive bout. Rakic opened a cut on the inside of his opponent’s left eye with a jab during an initial exchange, which had Blachowicz pawing at the wound for the rest of the first round. That didn’t slow the Pole’s offense, as he chopped away at Rakic’s leg with kicks and clipped th…

Dominating her way to the decision! 👏@ViviAraujoMMA started with some adversity before getting the dub! #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/iJ7wJvve7f

— UFC (@ufc) May 15, 2022

Viviane Araujo took a major step toward contention in the flyweight division at UFC on ESPN 36, garnering a unanimous decision triumph over Andrea Lee at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Araujo received scorecards of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 to win for the third time in her last four promotional outings.

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Lee (13-6, 5-4 UFC) threatened to finish the bout early, as she dropped Araujo (11-3, 5-2 UFC) with a counter left hook and then rocked the Brazilian with a head kick when she returned to her feet. Araujo regained her senses in relatively short order, however, and gradually imposed her will the rest of the way. Working behind a stiff jab, Araujo bloodied her opponent’s nose and successfully transitioned to land multiple takedowns as the fight …

Dominating her way to the decision! 👏@ViviAraujoMMA started with some adversity before getting the dub! #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/iJ7wJvve7f

— UFC (@ufc) May 15, 2022

Viviane Araujo took a major step toward contention in the flyweight division at UFC on ESPN 36, garnering a unanimous decision triumph over Andrea Lee at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Araujo received scorecards of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 to win for the third time in her last four promotional outings.

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Lee (13-6, 5-4 UFC) threatened to finish the bout early, as she dropped Araujo (11-3, 5-2 UFC) with a counter left hook and then rocked the Brazilian with a head kick when she returned to her feet. Araujo regained her senses in relatively short order, however, and gradually imposed her will the rest of the way. Working behind a stiff jab, Araujo bloodied her opponent’s nose and successfully transitioned to land multiple takedowns as the fight …

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 36 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 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: Maximov (-380), Petroski (+290)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Taira (-240), Candelario (+195)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry s…

Bellator MMA’s return to SSE Arena in London saw an American imposing his will on British soil.

The headliner featured an interim welterweight championship affair between Michael Page and Logan Storley as 170-pound titleholder Yaroslav Amosov is involved with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. From the opening seconds of the fight, it was clear that Storley (14-1, 9-1 Bellator) wouldn’t exchange with "Venom" on the feet as the American relied on his wrestling and moved the action to the canvas. "Storm" didn't secure much damage, but he kept himself busy and constantly looked to improve his position. Page (20-2, 16-2 Bellator) scored a few points thanks to his peculiar style in Round 2, but he couldn’t prevent his foe’s takedown attempts. Page smiled every time he was taken down while Storley accumulated some precious control time.

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Round 4 was the closest round for the Page as he connected with several weapons in his arsenal while his adversary l…

Sherdog's live Bellator 281 coverage kicks off at 1 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 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Bellator Welterweight Interim Title Fight:Michael Page (168.6) vs. Logan Storley (169.4) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

🇵🇱 @JanBlachowicz is in at 205.5 - we have a main event!

[ #UFCVegas54 | Tomorrow | Main Card 10pmET | LIVE on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/1uqlbxre8P

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2022 Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves on Saturday with another evening of mixed martial arts action with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz taking on contender Aleksandar Rakic.

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It was a largely an uneventful weigh-in as all fighters, including the headliners, made weight except for one. The lone unprofessional mixed martial artist was Carlos Candelario, who came in .5 pounds over the flyweight limit. Candelario's bout against Tatsuro Taira is still set, though, with Candelario being fined a percentage of his purse.

This is the first fight for Blachowicz (28-9) since dropping his light heavyweight title in a shocking upset against Glover Teixeira. Prior to the setback, the Polish fighter had picked up…

Excitement will be on the menu for this upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight tilt.

The city of Dallas is expected to play host to UFC 277, a pay-per-view card that will go on at the end of July. Joining the loaded lineup is a fight at 155 pounds, as first reported by Ariel Helwani on Thursday, between Diego Ferreira (17-5) and Drakkar Klose (12-2-1). The pairing has since been confirmed by Klose on his Instagram account.

At 37 years of age, Ferreira has fallen on hard times of late, losing three straight fights during a disappointing 2021 run. A split decision defeat to Beneil Dariush, in a rematch of their 2014 meeting, started the skid that included stoppage setbacks to Gregor Gillespie and Mateusz Gamrot. In the latter, Ferreira became the first and only competitor inside the Octagon to tap to strikes that year.

Klose bounced back from the first stoppage loss in his career by taking over two years away from the sport. This layoff did includ…

In the works … Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA) vs. Geoff Neal (@handzofsteelmma) for a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 6, location TBD. Fun, important matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division. pic.twitter.com/paN8sYEklY

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 12, 2022 A spot inside of the top 10 of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s ultra-competitive welterweight division will be up for grabs in early August.

The promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN broke the news on Thursday that Vicente Luque (21-8-1) would be taking on Geoff Neal (14-4) at a UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 6. ESPN did note that the contracts had yet to be signed, but verbal agreements are in place. The destination of the event has not been announced, but it may be staged in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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Brazil’s Luque saw a four-fight finish streak come to a grinding halt in a rematch with Belal Muhammad in April. In their five-round battle, Muhammad won the …

Our #UFCLondon card gets even bigger!@PCraigMMA vs @Volkan_Oezdemir is signed!

🎟️ https://t.co/SBdaztkmfe pic.twitter.com/jDjoN5Uc4F

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 12, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is stacking the deck when it comes to its return trip to London this July.

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On Thursday, the organization announced a high-stakes light heavyweight battle for the UFC Fight Night event on July 23. The event currently has no title, but it does have its headliner as well as a destination. It will be held at the O2 Arena in London, for a card that has gained Paul Craig (16-4-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (17-6) on a billing that already includes multiple intriguing fights.

“Bearjew” Craig will make his way back to action on a six-fight unbeaten streak that includes victories over the likes of Mauricio Rua, Jamahal Hill and Nikita Krylov on his way up. The Scotland native has yet to win a fight on the scorecards, with all 16…

#Bellator281 Official Weigh-In Results: Logan Storley (@storleystorm) (169.4) pic.twitter.com/NW8k3a9344

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) May 12, 2022 Bellator MMA's return to England will see Michael Page look to finally have championship gold, albeit of the interim variety, wrapped around his waist.

The main event of Bellator 281 will see Page take on Logan Storley for the interim welterweight championship. The five-round title fight, like the rest of the card, is now official after the weigh-ins took place on Thursday morning, although prelim fighter Alan Carlos came in 3.2 pounds overweight for his middleweight bout against Charlie Ward. The rest of the mixed martial artists all made weight.

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Page (20-1) has rebounded from his first career defeat, a brutal knockout at the hands of Douglas Lima, by rattling off six wins in a row. Most recently, "Venom" exacted revenge via split decision over Lima. It's now ti…

UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credit: Getty/UFC UFC 274Credi…

Called the best middleweight in the world by Anderson Silva in 2006 and referred to by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as his toughest ground training partner during the Brazilian Top Team era, Paulo Filho has been retired from MMA since 2018.

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However, he still continues to follow the sport, and he was an interested observer in the UFC 274 headlining bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, which “Do Bronx” won via first-round submission.

"The ground level Charles has reached in MMA is something really special,” Filho told Sherdog.com. “The way he moves and reaches submission positions against such high-level opponents is really beautiful to see. It looks like he is playing. I truly don’t see anyone in the division taking this title from him now.”

The only advice the Carlson Gracie black belt has for Oliveira is to take the amount of time of necessary to rest his body before stepping into his next bout, which will be for the now vac…

Michael Page doesn’t need a belt around his waist to make him the biggest star in U.K. MMA. In his mind, he’s already reached that pinnacle.

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“Anybody that doesn’t understand that already is blind. I don’t believe I need a belt to do that,” Page said at Bellator media day. “That was my goal anyway. I think I’ve done enough to have proven myself.”

That said, the flamobyant British striker will get his first opportunity to vie for championship gold when he faces Logan Storley for the interim 170-pound strap in the Bellator 281 main event at the SSE Arena in London on Friday. Storley is a replacement for reigning welterweight king Yaroslav Amasov, who withdrew from the event to defend his native Ukraine against Russian invasion.

“It’s a crazy situation. That fact that I can sit here and tell anybody the reason I’m not fighitng this particular opponent is because they’ve gone out to war is crazy in itself,” Page said. “It shows you the place in the…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNF6fIQVLqM&w=560&h=315]

Unbeaten Mexican strawweight prospect Yazmin Jauregui has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Jaurequi’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, announced the signing on Wednesday. A date for her debut with the Las Vegas-based promotion is currently unknown.

A native of Tijuana, Jauregui trains at Entram Gym, which is notably home to former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and multiple other Octagon veterans. The 23-year-old has kicked off her professional tenure with eight consecutive triumphs, including six by way of knockout or technical knockout.

Jauregui has competed primarily for Combate Global and emerged with a trio of victories against Stephanie Frausto, Criszaida Adames and Claire Lopez as part of a one night tournament last August.

Please help us welcome undefeated #TeamIridium killer Yazmin Jauregui (8-0) to the @ufc #TheDarks…

PFL Regular Season comes to Atlanta & @OvertimeElite

Buy Tickets Now! https://t.co/SJJTGiOAHb pic.twitter.com/fx2Ffoq0bk

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 11, 2022

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The excitement is building in earnest for the second half of the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday for events scheduled for June 17, June 24 and July 1 at the OTE Arena at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Ga. All cards will air on ESPN and ESPN+, according to a release. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Fighters competing in six different weight classes such as Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, Brendan Loughnane, Antonio Carlos Jr., and Rory MacDonald will continue their push to make the PFL playoffs at these events. Matchups have not been announced at this time but are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“The PFL is excited to bring the second half of our 2022 regular season to …

Big fight incoming!@KrylovUFC vs @AlexTheMauler is official for #UFCLondon

https://t.co/SBdaztkmfe pic.twitter.com/kQMXyp33YW

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 11, 2022

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After a brief foray at heavyweight, Alexander Gustafsson will return to 205 pounds for a matchup against Nikita Krylov at UFC London on July 23.

The Las Vegas-based promotion officially announced the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 Arena in London and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall.

Gustafsson hasn’t fought since July 2020, when he was submitted by Fabricio Werdum in the opening round of his heavyweight debut at UFC on ESPN 14. The Swede was initially slated to face Ben Rothwell on May 21, but that fight was scrapped after Rothwell was granted his UFC release. The three-time 205-pound title challenger has lost three straight bouts dating back to a third-round KO defeat in a remat…

Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon will get their chance to fight — only it will be a little more than a month later than originally anticipated.

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The lightweight clash has been rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas, on June 18. ESPN was first to report the new date. Cerrone vs. Lauzon was originally set for UFC 274 before a non-COVID related illness — believed to be food poisoning — forced “Cowboy” to withdraw just hours before the bout.

Shortly after his exit from the card, Cerrone announced that he plans to fight two more times before calling it a career. The BMF Ranch founder is winless in his last six promotional appearances and is coming off a first-round TKO defeat to Alex Morono at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

Lauzon hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he halted a three-bout skid with a first-round stoppage of Jonathan Pearce at UFC on ESPN 6.

UFC on ESPN 37 takes place at the Moody Center and is headlined by a featherwei…

Decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Leo Vieira has been named as Vice President of Grappling for One Championship, the Singapore-based promotion announced Tuesday.

Vieira is a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Pan American champion and ADCC world champion. Additionally, he is a co-founder of the renowned grappling team CheckMat along with his brothers Ricardo and Leandro.

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“I am thrilled to join One as Vice President of Grappling. I appreciate the trust and opportunity that Chatri and the One team have given me to shape One’s submission grappling divisions,” Vieira said.

“As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for over 25 years, I have been able to positively impact lives as a competitor, professor, and team leader, and I will continue to do so at One. It is a dream come true to work alongside people who share similar values and beliefs about martial arts as I do. I am committed to building the world’s most exciting submission grapp…