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Even though he fell two spots in the UFC welterweight rankings after a unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273, Gilbert Burns doesn’t regret the decision to take the fight.

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"That was my 18th fight in eight years in the UFC. I fought some of the toughest guys in two divisions, fought for the belt once and have never been invited to lunch with Dana White like I was right after the war against Chimaev," Burns told Sherdog.com.

According to Burns, big fights and also the possibility of signing a more lucrative new contract were also on the menu during lunch with the UFC president. While Burns says White didn’t give him a list of potential matchups, he already has his own preferences in mind.

"We didnt talk about specific opponents, but I would consider big fights [against] Colby [Covington], [Jorge] Masvidal, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and the rematch with Chimaev,” he said. "If I could choose, the immediate rematch with C…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfN1D7oLS-0&w=560&h=315]

Paul Daley’s retirement fight at Bellator 281 suddenly has a little less marquee value.

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After originally being slated to face ex-welterweight champ Andrey Koreshkov, Daley will instead lock horns with Wendell Giacomo at the May 13 event. The promotion confirmed the change on Tuesday following an initial report from Metro News. No reason was given for Koreshkov’s exit.

Bellator 281 takes place at OVO Arena Wembley in London and is headlined by an interim welterweight title tilt pitting Michael Page against Logan Storley. Also confirmed was the postponement of a co-main event showdown between Douglas Lima and Jason Jackson. A date for the rebooking is currently unknown.

Anchored at the Pitbull Brothers camp, Giacomo enters his Bellator debut with a 9-2 career mark. The man known as “White Walker” last appeared at LFA 112, where he defeated Uyran Carlos via unanimous decision thi…

Nate Diaz is getting restless.

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The popular UFC star is ready to fight someone in the Las Vegas-based promotion — as long as it’s not Conor McGregor. Diaz took to Twitter recently to voice his frustration with his current situation.

“I been trying to fight everybody and no go, what’s the hold up UFC?” Diaz wrote. “I’m not fighting Conor, he sucks. I’l fight some one. Quit slow rolling me please. Thanks.”

I been trying to fight everybody and no go what’s the hold up ufc ?I’m not fighting Conor he sucks.I’ll fight some one quit slow rolling me pleaseThanks

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 26, 2022

After sitting out all of 2020, Diaz returned to the Octagon at UFC 263 last June, where he dropped a decision to welterweight contender Leon Edwards in a five-round, non-title bout. The Stockton, Calif., native had been linked to a potential matchup against Dustin Poirier, but after UFC 273, Dana White indicated that the …

Francis Ngannou has provided some clarity as to what he wants from the Ultimate Fighting Championship regarding contract negotiations.

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“The Tyson Fury fight has to be part of the discussion,” Ngannou said during on appearance on "The MMA Hour" on Monday. “That’s not an option. It has to be part of the discussion, because if that’s not part of the discussion now, it will never be. If I sign another contract now, and basically the same model of a contract, I’m screwed. It’s not happening ever. So we have to figure out a way to implement this into a contract.”

Ngannou was in attendance for Fury’s farewell fight against Dillian Whyte and joined the heavyweight champion in the ring after his sixth-round knockout victory. Fury, who officially retired from professional boxing, later said Ngannou is on the "hit list" for some type of exhibition bout, with the rule set still to be determined.

Ngannou expressed displeasure with his UFC contract followi…

Ben Rothwell is the latest prominent UFC veteran to sign with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

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The promotion confirmed the deal after Rothwell initially announced the news during an appearance on ”The MMA Hour.” A date for Rothwell’s BKFC debut is expected to be announced soon.

Rothwell was scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson on May 21, but the bout was canceled after the Kenosha, Wisc., native was released from the UFC for at the time were unknown reasons. Rothwell offered some clarity to the situation on Monday, when he revealed that the Las Vegas-based promotion told him it would not negotiate a new contract until after the fight, which was the last on the existing deal.

“Even if I go in and perform well, knock out Gustafsson in the first round, look great, what’s gonna happen next?” Rothwell said. “They came back and we asked, ‘Are we gonna sign a deal?’ They came back and said, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens after this fight.’ … Th…

While Patrick Mix did get the nod from the cageside judges in his Bellator bantamweight quarterfinal matchup against Kyoji Horiguchi, he still believes he deserved a little more generosity on the scorecards than he received.

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“Patchy” defeated Horiguchi via unanimous decision in their Bellator 279 clash at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Saturday night, receiving a trio of 48-47 tallies to advance to the 135-pound semifinals. Mix took the ex-Rizin and Bellator champion’s back on multiple occasions in the bout, most notably in a dominant first round in which controlled positioning and threatened with multiple chokes.

“I’m not in charge of the judges, but I thought I had a 10-8 round in the first,” Mix said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I had the back to the entire round, trying to threaten chokes. I brought him from his feet to his back while I was on his back, bent him back twice. I had his back I think in the third rou…

On a busy weekend in MMA, no moment caused more controversy than referee Mike Beltran’s decision to wave off the flyweight championship clash between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche.

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Carmouche claimed the title when she landed a takedown, moved to the mounted crucifix position and began dropping elbows on her opponent late in Round 4 of the Bellator 278 headliner on Friday night. Though the strikes didn’t appear to be especially damaging, Velasquez had no means to defend herself in the period’s waning seconds, which prompted Beltran to step in on her behalf at the 4:47 mark.

Velasquez immediately protested the ruling in the aftermath of the bout. While action was limited in the initial three rounds, the ex-champ dropped her adversary in the second round and was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

“What an odd night!!” Velasquez wrote on Instagram. “I dominated the fight, I dropped her twice on her ass, judges had me up 3-0 and the fight…

Jessica Andrade made history in her first strawweight bout since 2020.

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Andrade became the first fighter in the promotion to win a bout via standing arm-triangle choke when she used the manuever to submit Amanda Lemos in the opening round of their headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 205 on Saturday. “Bate Estaca” had to endure some damage on the feet to close the distance against Lemos, who entered the bout on a five-bout winning streak, but that was all part of the plan. Andrade was just able to put everything in motion a little bit sooner than expected.

“We knew how dangerous she was, especially in the first round. We were very much aware of it,” Andrade said at the post-fight press conference.

“The plan was to tire her out in the first round, maybe second round, so then I could take over in the third. Luckily that happened. I knew that she was going to hurt me, and I had to be cautious about it in the first round, but as soon as I get close qu…

Cristiane Justino has been talking about boxing for quite some time now, and now it appears that “Cyborg” is ready to make her foray into the Sweet Science.

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After a convincing five-round verdict in a rematch against Arlene Blencowe in the Bellator 279 main event on Saturday, the reigning featherweight queen discussed her next move at the post-fight press conference. While there are a few options that interest the Brazilian in MMA, she seems intent on boxing, as well.

“For me, my next fight I’d like to do a boxing fight,” she said. “It’s been one of my dreams. Maybe it’s going to be the next one I’m working on. I don’t know. I don’t know who is going to be next or who Bellator will put in front of me – Cat Zingano, Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison. I like to be [part of] the big shows for my fans and enjoy every time I step in there for the title.”

According to Bellator president Scott Coker, allowing “Cyborg” the opportunity to box was always pa…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4F0YBnVdno&w=560&h=315]

Tyson Fury wrapped up his professional boxing career in style on Saturday.

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Fighting in front of a packed house at Wembley Stadium in London, the heavyweight champion improved his career mark to 32-0-1 with a sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte on Saturday. In the aftermath, the 33-year-old Englishman seemed at peace with his choice.

“I come back for a big, big fight at home. It’s been amazing,” he said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I couldn’t have topped it off. It’s been a fairytale few years. It’s been absolutely more than I ever dreamed of as a kid and as an adult. I won every belt there is to win. There isn’t nothing more I can do. I won every belt in the game. If this was a computer game, it would definitely be completed for sure.”

However, Fury isn’t necessarily completely done with combat sports. While he doesn’t plan on defending his title again, he would b…

This fight between @criscyborg and @arleneangerfist has it all! 🌶#Bellator279 is LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/Plp9Y3huPA

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022

Arlene Blencowe wore various shades of red and purple on her face and body. A gash above her left eye needed a bridge to cover the expanse. Her nose was bloodied and battered. Yet after 20 minutes in the cage with Cris Cyborg at Bellator 279, the stout 39-year-old Australian pounded her chest and wanted more.

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Against Cyborg, generally speaking, there's always more hurt if that's what you're looking for, and Blencowe got what she wanted. By the end of the fifth round Saturday evening at the venerable Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Cyborg (26-2) had done more than enough to earn a sweeping unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45). A point deduction in the opening round was the only blemish for the Brazilian mauler, who scored her fourth consecuti…

🤑 @JessicaMMAPro & @Prince_of_Peru react to their #UFCVegas52 POTN bonuses! pic.twitter.com/3qFuFnxVZU

— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC Fight Night 205 card.

Former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade took home an extra $50,000 thanks to her historic standing arm-triangle choke. "Bate Estaca" needed just 3:13 to force Amanda Lemos to submit in the main event. Her victory wound up being the first-ever standing arm-triangle choke inside the Octagon.

The other performance of the night bonus went to co-main event winner and lightweight standout Claudio Puelles. The "Prince of Peru" managed to pick up a slick kneebar submission over UFC mainstay Clay Guida just 3:01 into Round 1. The Peruvian fighter has now won five straight fights inside the promotion.

Finally, fight of the night honors went to Dwight Grant and Sergey Khandozhko. The two wel…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champion Jessica Andrade made a statement against Amanda Lemos in UFC Fight Night 205's main event.

After nearly three minutes of back-and-forth action on the feet, Andrade (23-9) locked in an extremely tight standing arm-triangle choke. While Lemos (11-2-1) attempted to fight the submission, she was forced to tap in her first main event bout. The finish came at the 3:13 mark of the first round, and Andrade called for a title shot after the emphatic victory.

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History equaled, as @JessicaMMAPro ties Amanda Nunes for the most wins in women's UFC history (14) 📖 #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/AYQwnzhKPa

— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2022 This marks the first standing arm-triangle choke in UFC history. Puelles Kneebars Guida The co-main event saw UFC lightweight division mainstay Clay Guida go up against Claudio Puelles. Guida (37-21) came out against Puelles (11-2) with his trademark …

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 205 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET.

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

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BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad 2. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 S…

Sherdog's live Bellator 279 coverage kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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

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BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for Bellator and UFC. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better. Round 1 The first fight at Bellator 279 features undefeated lightweight prospect Gibson, Jr., facing native Hawaiian Dung. The referee is Frank Trigg. They touch gloves and set up in mirrored stances, Gibson in southpaw and Dung in orthodox. Both men land leg kicks in the opening seconds. Sixty seconds in, play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo has already dropped references to deceased rapper Nipsey Hussle and hair metal kings Motley Crue. Dung tags the onrushing Gibson with a sharp left hand that buckles his knees, then follows up with a right hand and a glancing flying knee. Gibson manages to clinch and recover his wits. …

Khandozhko delivers a brutal blow 💥 #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/xqDkI4DGMS

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2022 The featured UFC Fight Night 205 prelim bout saw Sergey Khandozhko make a statement against Dwight Grant.

Grant (11-5) opened the fight aggressively and swung wildly at Khandozhko (27-6-1). However, it would be Khandozhko that would floor Grant with a nasty left hook early in Round 1. Despite the adversity, Grant would battle back into the fight and managed to crack the Russian as well. Grant would be the busier fighter in Round 2, but Khandozhko would clip the American with a left hook that clearly hurt. Khandozhko would then unload with punches until the fight was stopped at 4:15 of Round 2.

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Khandozhko improves to 2-1 inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Pedro Demolishes Villanueva The second light heavyweight bout of the evening saw Tyson Pedro make his comeback against Octagon veteran Isaac Villanue…

What an INSANE main event!!👏 @przybyszmma & Martins 👏

Did you all enjoy!? #KSW69 pic.twitter.com/iOJrKfiXL1

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 23, 2022

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Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki’s latest event went down at the ATM Studio in Warsaw and ended with an entertaining bantamweight championship battle.

In the KSW 69 headliner, 135-pound titleholder Sebastian Przybysz notched his second title defense after submitting Werlleson Martins Ribeiro. Round 1 saw the fighters studying and testing each other's reactions as Przybysz (10-2, 7-1 KSW) switched guards often while aiming at his foe’s body. The fight took off in the second frame as both fighters started landing more significant strikes. Przybysz's more precise and effective striking allowed him to knock down Martins and unleash some hammer fists and elbows on the mat. In turn, Martins (16-5, 0-1 KSW) dropped Przybysz with a left hook right out of the gate in the third period. Przyby…

Your new flyweight champ is @IAmGirlRilla!

Liz gets it done tonight with a hard-fought win at #Bellator278. pic.twitter.com/u7c4p4NK5V

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2022

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Patience paid for Liz Carmouche.

The Team Hurricane Awesome export dispatched Juliana Velasquez with a volley of elbows and captured the undisputed Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship in the fourth round of their Bellator 278 headliner on Friday at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Carmouche (17-7, 4-0 Bellator) brought it to a close 4:47 into Round 4 and completed her long journey to a major mixed martial arts title.

The first 15-plus minutes were inconsequential, outside of a Velasquez knockdown in the second round. However, the undefeated champion appeared to be in control entering the fourth. There, Carmouche executed a takedown, progressed to the mounted crucifix and strung together enough elbows to bring referee Mi…

Sherdog's live Bellator 278 coverage kicks off at 9 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 The Bellator 278 prelims begin with a welterweight scrap between Makoa Cooper and Blake Perry refereed by Dayne Furuta. Cooper (1-0) quickly gets Perry (0-0) on the ground. "Koa" is landing short strikes on top and is comfortably in half guard. Perry regains guard but isn't trying to get off his back, instead comfortable eating small shots. Cooper passes to side control and starts landing elbows before looking for an Americana that wasn't meant to be. Perry tries to shuck his opponent off but eats several right hands for his effort. The round ends with Cooper getting mount position but not doing anything of note with it.Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 CooperBrian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 CooperMike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Cooper Round 2 The two welterweights come…

#Bellator279 Weigh-In Results: Arlene Blencowe @arleneangerfist (144.6) pic.twitter.com/FReS5WwwKG

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) April 22, 2022 Bellator MMA's busy weekend in Hawaii will be capped off by Bellator 279, which features two title fights.

The main event will see featherweight queen Cristiane Justino look to defend her title once again against Arlene Blencowe, while the co-main event draws an interim bantamweight title tilt and tourney match between Juan Archuleta and Raufeon Stots. The card also features a second bantamweight grand prix bout between Kyoji Horiguchi and Patrick Mix. All fighters on the main card made weight, although prelim competitor Whittany Pyles (128) came in two pounds heavy for her flyweight contest against Sumiko Inaba (125.2).

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"Cris Cyborg" has been undefeated since joining Bellator. After claiming the featherweight title from Julia Budd, she's since submitted Blencowe in…

The @UFC makes history in Singapore this June with the launch of 'Road To UFC'

Read more about the ground-breaking “win and advance” tournament here:

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 22, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is finally bringing back the tournament format for an event series other than “The Ultimate Fighter.”

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Back in the beginning of April, reporter John Hyon Ko broke the news that the UFC was putting on a series of eight-man tournaments spread across four divisions in June. The UFC then announced on Thursday night its plan of this series, titled “Road to UFC.” The two events on the books will be held on June 9 and June 10 during the fight week of UFC 275 that goes down June 11. All three of these fight cards will go on at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

The four divisions include flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight, while the competitors hail all across Asia from J…

After nearly a month away, One Championship returned with a thrilling card that went down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

The One 156 — previously known as One “Reloaded” — headliner saw Regian Eersel putting his 170-pound kickboxing belt on the line against Arian Sadikovic. Eersel softened up his opponent’s defense with some nasty leg kicks early in the fight, while concluding all of his combinations with a kick or a knee. The Surinamese champion seemed in control for the first stage of the fight, but Sadikovic came back with a flying knee that dropped his foe in Round 2. Eersel kept to his “Immortal” nickname and surged back to his feet following the referee’s count, but the second period was all about the challenger. Eersel made the proper adjustments in the third round, keeping Sadikovic’s aggression at bay thanks in part to his experience.

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In the championship rounds, Sadikovic landed with punches but struggled to deal with…

First to the scales, @JessicaMMAPro is in at 115.5 pounds ⚖️

[ #UFCVegas52 | TOMORROW | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/4aR3i9PtIl

— UFC (@ufc) April 22, 2022 The UFC Fight Night 205 card is now official after all 24 fighters made weight.

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The 12-fight event is headlined by a strawweight fight between Amanda Lemos and Jessica Andrade. This marks the first main event for Lemos (11-1-1), who will come into this high-stakes five-rounder on a five-fight win streak. "Amandinha" most recently took a split verdict over Angela Hill, and before edging "Overkill," she put Montserrat Ruiz and Livinha Souza away in the first round with punch salvos. As if to make a statement, Lemos stepped on the scale weighing 115 pounds on the dot -- championship weight.

A former strawweight champion, Andrade (22-9) reached the top of the mountain at flyweight, only to get cast down by the division's queen, Valentina Shevchenko, in 2021. He…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhkpCxf6UwQ&w=640&h=360] Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki has a nice card set for its 69th event and all 16 fighters successfully made weight.

KSW 69 is headlined by a bantamweight title fight that will see Sebastian Przybysz look to defend his championship for a second time. The Polish fighter will enter the cage 9-2 and is on a career-best five-fight win streak. Przybysz captured the title last year by winning a unanimous decision over Antun Racic and then submitted Bruno Augusto Dos Santos with an inverted triangle choke to retain it later that year. The champion weighed 135 pounds.

Looking to dethrone the Polish fighter is Ribeiro, who holds a 16-4 record. The Brazilian rides a three-fight win streak into the biggest bout of his career and will be making his KSW debut. Most recently, "Zico" won decisions over Nidzhat Imanov and Manuel Silva, while he stopped Gadzhimurad Gasanov with punches. Ribeiro also weighed 135 pounds.

K…