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Dana White: "I think if Khamzat Chimaev wins this weekend we see him and Colby Covington next." #UFC273 (via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/sRzLhXGewN

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 8, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship already has plans in motion should one fighter get his hand raised on Saturday.

UFC 273 will take place at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 9, with 12 fights going down in Jacksonville, Fla., that night. Besides the two title fights atop the billing, a much-anticipated battle between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will take place on the main card. According to UFC head Dana White on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, the promotion is already looking at what’s next for Chimaev should he get past Burns.

“I think…that if Khamzat Chimaev wins this weekend, we see him and Colby Covington next,” White stated.

Chimaev has yet to taste defeat as a professional, racking up 10 finishes in 10 fights while nev…

Due to illness, Marcin Tybura has been removed from his heavyweight bout with Jairzinho Rozenstruik at #UFC273.

As a result, this bout has been cancelled from the event. pic.twitter.com/kO1pTWaovz

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 8, 2022 These days, Ultimate Fighting Championship fights are not official until the cage door locks behind the competitors. Shortly after the UFC 273 weigh-ins concluded, the promotion announced that the heavyweight contest between Marcin Tybura and Jairzinho Rozenstruik had been canceled. Tybura suffered an undisclosed illness, and the promotion did not state if it was related to COVID-19 like it has for other recent illness scratches. Tybura (253) and Rozenstruik (252.5) both made weight without issue.

This is the second time this matchup has been nixed, with the two first booked against one another for UFC Fight Night 202 in February. For undetermined reasons, the fight was pushed back to the April 9 event…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxk0YjzM48?start=7017&w=560&h=315] On short notice, Bellator MMA was able to find someone to take on Aaron Pico in a little over a week.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Jeremy Kennedy has been forced out of his match with Pico for currently undisclosed reasons. TSN Sports reported on Thursday night that Adli Edwards (9-1) will be stepping in for Kennedy to face Pico (9-3) at Bellator 277. The match will remain at featherweight, and it will go down on April 15 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Edwards confirmed this pairing on his Instagram shortly after its announcement.

Edwards will be making his promotional debut less than two weeks removed from his victory at XMMA 4 on April 2. At that event in Louisiana, he submitted Josh Harvey, despite Harvey missing weight by nearly a full weight class to extend his win streak to seven. With a shade over half his wins coming by stoppage, all of his finishes have come in the ope…

First to the scales, the champ is in at 144.5 🏆

[ @AlexVolkanovski | #UFC273 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/KOluT78H6K ] pic.twitter.com/o5UFaTomzg

— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2022 UFC 273's two title fights and main card bouts are all good to go after the official weigh-ins. While headliners Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung had no issue making championship weight, a pair of preliminary fighters struggled to hit their marks. The most notable miss came from Kay Hansen, who weighed in 2.5 pounds above the strawweight limit for her bout against Piera Rodriguez and has been fined 20% of her purse as a result. Additionally, Julio Arce missed the bantamweight limit by half a pound, and he will have to forfeit 20% of his purse to Daniel Gustavo Santos.

The defending featherweight champion Volkanovski (23-1) is on a remarkable run, having won every fight he has had in the Octagon. His impressive win streak dates back to 2013, al…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_IeIG8ktQc&w=560&h=315] Count the most recent opponent of Alex Pereira among those that believe the ex-kickboxer will smash his way through the rest of the division.

At UFC Fight Night 203 in March, Pereira (5-1) and “Blindado” Bruno Silva (22-7) threw down for three hard-fought rounds to open up the main card. Pereira ultimately had his hand raised after the judges handed down matching 30-27 scores in his favor. Silva did have his moments in the fight, landing a pair of takedowns and getting off some heavy shots of his own, but he could not so much as win a round. Silva’s loss snapped a three-fight knockout win streak for him, but he very nearly had an opportunity for a high-stakes, short-notice opportunity because of his performance. “Blindado” spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday about his last fight and how he sees Pereira going forward.

“Some fights you enter to win, and others, to make history,” Silva noted. “I promised a great fi…

ONE is back on 22 April with another STACKED lineup headlined by two World Title fights 🙌 Which matchups are YOU excited about?#WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/M0koXDTpn4

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 7, 2022 With any luck, the days of tape-delayed One Championship fight cards are now completely in the past.

Via press release on Thursday morning, One has announced the entirety of the lineup of its next fight card, which will air live on April 22. Titled both “Reloaded” and “Eersel vs. Sadikovic,” 16 fights of various disciplines will go down inside of the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The main event will draw a 170-pound kickboxing title fight between Regian Eersel and Arian Sadikovic, while the co-headliner comes under muay Thai rules when Smilla Sundell and Jackie Buntan vie for the vacant 125-pound strap. Additionally, 10 MMA fights will be sprinkled throughout the card.

The top-billed MMA mat…

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor has been charged with six traffic offenses after his latest incident this March.

According to Dublin Live on Thursday, McGregor appeared in court in Dublin, where he was charged with six driving-related offenses. On March 22, he was stopped in his Bentley and arrested for alleged dangerous driving, where he was handed two counts of this violation. Four more came on Thursday, including driving without a license and operating a motor vehicle without insurance. Per to his lawyer, Michael Staines, the police have subsequently been shown his license and proof of insurance.

Via MMA Fighting, McGregor’s representative, Karen Kessler, stated that McGregor was stopped on his way to his gym for “alleged road traffic violations” and that he had passed his field sobriety tests. McGregor has been released on bail, and he will be due to appear in court in June. His lone statement to reporters was simple: “Just straight back into tr…

🔥 Introducing the new https://t.co/vCNztABJoG @UFC Fan Bonus of the Night 🔥

💰60K in #Bitcoin shared by the top 3 UFC athletes🎁Fans can win exclusive prizes

Check it out: https://t.co/svOHGBUBIp#UFC273 pic.twitter.com/kj8BOAWeBq — Crypto.com (@cryptocom) April 7, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will put some bonus awards in the hands of the fans again.

At UFC 124 in 2010, the promotion announced that fans could vote on their preferred “Fight of the Night,” which would give $100,000 checks to the fighters that fans selected. In a move subsequently maligned by UFC head Dana White, the fans voted on the headliner of Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck instead of the other deserving options. White took the option away after just one event, but according to the promotion on Thursday, a version of fan-voted bonuses will return on Saturday.

The bonuses, which will come from the partnership of the UFC and Crypto.com, will not impac…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFiTxgI1dhU&w=560&h=315] A former middleweight and an ex-lightweight will meet in the middle at the first of two Bellator MMA Hawaii shows in April.

According to sources close to the situation, Bellator 278 will be gaining an interesting preliminary match in the welterweight division on April 22. Dante Schiro (8-3) will be making his return to the Bellator cage, and he will be taking on Hawaii’s Scotty Hao (5-3). The two will come to blows inside of the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Schiro made his organizational debut in August 2021 when he took on top contender Logan Storley, and fought the vaunted wrestler to a close split decision. That win snapped a two-fight finish streak for the Wisconsin native, who has previously tapped Victor Moreno in 2020 and then knocked Kenny Robertson out earlier in 2021. As a pro, the Chosen Few Gym representative celebrates a finish rate of 87%, with none of his stoppages coming any later…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxG_eACYQCw&w=560&h=315] Several current or former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters wanted to weigh in on a hotly anticipated contest this Saturday.

Even having two belts on the line on Saturday in the main and co-main events of UFC 273, much of the attention on the fight card is on the welterweight battle between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev. Burns (20-4) will come in as a huge betting underdog despite being in the top three of his division and a former title challenger. He will take on unbeaten wrecking machine Chimaev (10-0), a man has never needed more than two rounds to dispatch an opponent. On Wednesday, Sherdog spoke to several Brazilian fighters that either currently fight for the UFC or did so in the past to get their opinions on the matchup.

Fabricio Werdum, former UFC heavyweight champ: “No doubt Chimaev is one of the most talented fighters that appeared in UFC lately. And it’s not for being undefeated, bu…

The Challenger Series Week 8 Main Event!

Carlos Leal vs @chrisbreezymma #PFLonFuboTVFri, April 8th | Live 9pm ET pic.twitter.com/bFFDXsMzLV

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 7, 2022 Several fighters ahead of the Professional Fighters League's "Second Chance" event are not making the most of their opportunities. Headlining PFL Challenger Series 8, with a billing that was announced on Thursday, is a catchweight bout between Carlos Leal Miranda and Chris Brown. The main event was initially announced as a welterweight contest on Thursday morning, but neither fighter hit their scheduled marks. Beyond the main eventers coming in over the welterweight limit, Ali Zebian also missed weight, who weighed in 2.2 pounds heavy for his featherweight bout against Aaron Blackie.

Miranda (15-3) is coming off a quick 56-second TKO win over Korey Kuppe and is undefeated since 2015. "The Lion" officially weighed 171.2 pounds for the main event, just a shade over the …

Middleweight Rodolfo Vieira has been cleared to resume his mixed martial arts career after an abnormal brain scan earlier this year forced him to withdraw from UFC 270.

Vieira revealed via Instagram that he was at AdventHealth Orlando to receive a cerebral angiography, which provides images of blood vessels around the brain and can detect abnormalities such as aneurysms.

“After months of waiting I just had the cerebral angiography I needed, everything went well,” Vieira wrote. “Now I'm here in the room waiting for the doctor to come and tell me what I really have and if I'm going to be able to continue fighting MMA.

Without a doubt today is the hardest day of my life. Whatever it is, I trust in my God and I know that he will do the best for my life as hd always did!”

According to MMAFighting.com, Vieira received medical clearance to compete after the examination. The 32-year-old Brazilian withdrew from a proposed clash against Wellington Turman at UFC 27…

Andre Muniz will not remain on the UFC on ESPN 34 card against a replacement opponent.

MMAFighting.com was first to report Muniz’s exit from the card. Promotion officials were reportedly seeking a replacement opponent for the Brazilian after original foe Uriah Hall pulled out of the matchup. While Dricus Du Plessis revealed on “The MMA Hour” that he was among those offered the fight, ultimately no one accepted a short-notice matchup with the Brazilian submission specialist.

UFC on ESPN 34 takes place on April 16 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad. Muniz vs. Hall was slated to be the card’s co-main event.

Muniz, 32, has won his last eight professional bouts. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has bested his last three UFC opponents — Eryk Anders, Ronaldo Souza and Bartosz Fabinski — via first-round submission. “Sergipano” is 22-4 over the course of a career that began in 2009, wit…

Francis Ngannou is on the road to recovery after recently undergoing knee surgery.

The UFC heavyweight champion shared a video on Instagram of his rehabilitation folllowing the procedure. Ngannou suffered a torn MCL and a damaged ACL in sparring ahead of his unanimous decision victory over interim title holder Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. Ngannou underwent surgery last month and could be sidelined for nine months.

UFC president Dana White admitted that the promotion could create another interim heavyweight title as a result of Ngannou’s absence. “The Predator” fought out his eight-fight deal with the UFC at 270 and hasn’t reached a new agreement with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

The Professional Fighters League has issued a statement pertaining to April 1’s PFL Challenger Series 7 event, which was actually recorded on March 25 in Orlando, Florida.

“Week 7 of the Professional Fighters Leagues' (PFL) 2022 Challenger Series was pre-recorded on Friday, March 25, 2022,” read a statement sent from PFL to Sherdog Tuesday evening. “As such the PFL did not include any betting lines, content, or promotion in connection with the program. Further, PFL did not distribute any betting data, lines, or content to its partners.

“Any sports books that took bets on the prerecorded program did so without the consent or knowledge of the PFL.

“The PFL will further evaluate the matter. The PFL continues to advocate for responsible sports gaming.”

Sherdog staff was able to obtain a recording of April 1’s tape-delayed broadcast and independently verified that PFL gambling personality Ian Parker, who was present for prior editions of the Challenger Series, was n…

Due to conflicting schedules, welterweight contender Vicente Luque was not able to help friend and teammate Gilbert Burns with preparation for his highly-anticipated bout against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273.

"We normally do most of our camps together, but this time was different,” said Luque, who is scheduled to face Belal Muhammad in the UFC on ESPN 34 main event on April 16. “While he stayed in the U.S., I came to Brasilia, but we talked almost every day about our daily routine since I’ll fight Belal seven days after [his bout].”

  Despite not being able to help Burns, Luque has no doubt that his teammate’s strength and cardio will force Chimaev to answer questions that he is not accustomed to answering.

“Chimaev's first round is very strong. On the other hand, ‘Durinho’ is not easy to take down and dominate,” Luque said. “I’ve trained with him for a long time, and it's really impressive the pace he can keep fighting five rounds. In my opini…

Kayla Harrison will begin her bid for a three-peat as Professional Fighters League champion on May 6.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will face Marina Mokhnatkina in a 155-pound bout that will serve as the PFL 3 main event at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. In the co-headliner, 2021 welterweight champion Ray Cooper III will square off against Magomed Umalatov at 170 pounds. The main card airs on ESPN2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Two other bouts complete the evening’s main card: Anthony Pettis vs. Myles Price in a rescheduled lightweight bout that was originally supposed to take place at PFL 1, and Rory MacDonald vs. Brett Cooper at welterweight.

Seven bouts were announced for the preliminary draw: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino at welterweight; Genah Fabian vs. Julia Budd at lightweight; Sadibiou Sy vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin at welterweight; Larissa Pacheco vs. Zamzagul Fayza…

Kyle Daukaus and Roman Dolidze will try it again on June 18.

Daukaus revealed via social media that a middleweight clash with Dolidze has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night on June 18. Daukaus vs. Dolidze was initially slated for November, but the bout was scrapped due to COVID-19 protocols.

Daukaus rebounded from a no contest against Kevin Holland at UFC 193 in his most recent outing, as he used a brabo choke to tap Jamie Pickett in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 201 on Feb. 19.

Dolidze has kicked off his promotional tenure with victories in three of his first four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old Georgian outpointed Laureano Staropoli at UFC Fight Night 189 on June 5.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A heavyweight duel pitting Josh Parisian againt Alan Baudot is on tap for a UFC Fight Night card on June 25.

Both fighters announced the bout via social media. The event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a flyweight clash between Tim Elliott and Amir Albazi. A headliner for the card has not been confirmed.

A two-time winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, Parisian has come up short in two of three UFC appearances thus far. Most recently, the 32-year-old Scorpion Fighting System product suffered a third-round TKO loss to Don’Tale Mayes at UFC Fight Night 199 this past December.

France’s Baudot is still looking for his first Octagon triumph after a pair of losses and a no contest in his initial three promotional outings. Baudot is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Parker Porter at UFC Fight Night 201 on Feb. 19.

A middleweight matchup pitting Joaquin Buckley against Abusupiyan Magomedov has been targeted for the UFC’s June 4 offering.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The event doesn’t have an official location at this time but is likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card is also expected to include a featherweight clash between Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev.

Buckley, who gained fame for his viral knockout of Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night 179 in October 2020, has been victorious in four of his last five promotional appearances. Most recently, he defeated Abdul Razak Alhassan via split decision at UFC Fight Night 201 on Feb. 19.

Magomedov is slated to make his first Octagon foray against Buckley after previously scheduled bouts against Gerald Meerschaert and Aliaskhab Khizriev fell through. The 31-year-old Germany-based fighter notably reached the PFL middleweight finals in 2018 before falling to Louis Taylor at the promotion’s champions…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEE0BfgPQUM&w=560&h=315]

Aljamain Sterling has heard all the naysayers over the past year.

Sterling’s championship victory over Petr Yan at UFC 259 in March 2021 has come with an asterisk for many in the MMA community due to the nature of the “The Funk Master’s” victory, which came when he was rendered unable to continue due to an illegal knee in the fourth round. As a result, Sterling was able to take the 135-pound belt home thanks to a disqualification victory. Yan was ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

The rematch between the two bantamweights has been delayed as Sterling recovered from neck surgery, a procedure that helped to alleviate an issue that has plagued him for years. Sterling was sidelined longer than originally anticipated, which of course subjected him to more negative comments.

Sterling will finally get the chance to settle the score when he faces Yan for a second tim…

A pivotal light heavyweight showdown pitting Jan Blachowicz against Aleksandar Rakic has been rescheduled for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on May 14.

Blachowicz and Rakic were initially slated to meet at UFC on ESPN 33 on March 26 before Blachowicz withdrew from the card due to a neck injury. Multiple outlets confirmed the new date following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a women’s flyweight tilt between Katlyn Chookagian and Amanda Ribas.

Blachowicz saw a five-bout winning streak come to an end at UFC 267, when he relinquished the light heavyweight crown to Glover Teixeira in a second-round submission defeat. The 38-year-old Pole claimed the vacant strap with a second-round stoppage of Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 before outpointing middleweight king Israel Adesanya in his lone title defense at UFC 259. Blachowicz has won nine of his last 11 UFC appearances dating back to October 20…

Andre Fili will lock horns with Joanderson Brito in a featherweight scrap at UFC on ESPN 35.

Brito announced the pairing via Instagram and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC on ESPN 35 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on April 30 and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown pitting Rob Font against Marlon Vera.

Anchored at Team Alpha Male, Fili will return for the first time since UFC Fight Night 190, when his clash with Daniel Pineda ended 46 seconds into Round 2 due to an accidental eye poke. Fili has been up-and-down during his promotional tenure, compiling a 9-7 mark while never winning more than two straight fights in UFC competition.

Brito earned a UFC deal with a technical decision triumph over Diego Lopes on Dana White’s Contender Series this past August. The Brazilian saw a 10-bout winning streak snapped in his Octagon debut, when he fell to Bill Algeo via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 32.

Christian Leroy Duncan with the flying Knee KO! 🔥Incredible scenes at #CW136, a new middleweight champ is crowned!!#AndNew pic.twitter.com/I0DtGxIPUl

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) April 2, 2022

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship put on a serious Event of the Year candidate for its latest card at BEC Arena in Manchester, England, concluding with all 13 bouts ending before the final horn.

The main attraction at CW 136 was a middleweight championship affair between defending titleholder Djati Melan and Christian Leroy Duncan. Things appeared to be going the champion’s way as Melan (8-1, 2-1 CW) secured an excellent takedown early in the first frame and kept the challenger on the ground for almost the whole round before Duncan made his way up on the feet. The situation changed in the following stanza as Duncan pushed forward right out of the gate. The Englishman looked more at ease in hitting his adversary with a variety of punches and ki…