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ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO FOR @JudoRazak!

Less than 30 seconds in #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/1boiMBLTfB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 29, 2021 Abdul Razak Alhassan is back on track, and his bank acount is a primary beneficiary.

Alhassan ended a three-bout skid in style, capturing a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a spectacular knockout of Alessio Di Chirico at UFC on ESPN 30 in a middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Judo Thunder” wasted little time before connecting with a head kick that landed shin-on-face and instantly rendered his Italian opponent unconscious 17 seconds into Round 1. Alhassan is one of seven fighters in UFC history with three knockouts in less than one minute.

Meanwhile, Giga Chikadze earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his third-round stoppage of Edson Barboza in the featherweight main event. The Georgian displayed superior speed throughout the contest before dropping his…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Giga Chikadze sent a clear message to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division: Time to pay attention. The Kings MMA export disposed of former Ring of Combat champion Edson Barboza with punches in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 30 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barboza (22-10, 16-10 UFC) bowed out 1:44 into Round 3, his modest two-fight winning streak at an end.

Chikadze (14-2, 7-0 UFC) was quicker on the draw. He routinely beat Barboza to the punch, withstood the Brazilian’s sustained attack on his body and hit the accelerator as soon as the situation called for it. He followed a knee to Barboza’s chest with a clubbing right hand to the head and gave chase early in the third round. Chikadze staggered the American Top Team ace with a straigh…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 30 ​coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. 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 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 …

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO FOR @JudoRazak!

Less than 30 seconds in #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/1boiMBLTfB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 29, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Abdul Razak Alhassan needed no time to warm up.

Now operating out of the Elevation Fight Team camp, Alhassan brought down Alessio Di Chirico with a head kick in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 30 featured prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Di Chirico (13-6, 4-6 UFC) melted 17 seconds into Round 1, the unwitting victim in one of the most memorable finishes of 2021.

Seeking his first victory in nearly three years, Alhassan (11-4, 5-4 UFC) backed the Italian into the fence and caught him ducking. Shin met skull, Di Chirico hit the deck in a semi-conscious state and referee Herb Dean called for the stop…

Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang will square off with strawweight gold on the line for a second time at UFC 268.

The promotion announced the rematch during the UFC on ESPN 30 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6. A previously reported welterweight championship rematch was also made official.

Namajunas and Zhang first fought at UFC 261, where “Thug” Rose scored a shocking head-kick KO just 78 seconds into the April 24 bout. It is the second 115-pound championship reign for Namamunas, who initially captured the strap with a first-round TKO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The 29-year-old 303 Training Center representative has been victorious in five of her last six promotional appearances, with wins over Zhang, Jessica Andrade, Jedrzejczyk (twice) and Michelle Waterson.

Zhang saw a 21-fight professional winning streak come to an end at the hands of Namajunas. The 32-year-old Chinese star began her UFC car…

The UFC 268 lineup continues to grow with the addition of Germaine de Randamie vs. Irene Aldana at bantamweight and Bobby Green vs. Al Iaquinta at lightweight.

The matchups were announced during the UFC on ESPN 30 broadcast on Saturday. UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 and is headlined by a welterweight championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas will face Weili Zhang in a strawweight title rematch.

The UFC’s inaugural female featherweight queen, de Randamie has won six of her last seven promotional outings. Most recently, “The Iron Lady” submitted Julianna Pena in the third round at UFC on ESPN 16.

Aldana, meanwhile, rebounded from a lopsided loss to Holly Holm last October to defeat Yana Kunitskaya by first-round technical knockout at UFC 264 on July 10. Aldana has won three of her last four fights, including a first-round KO of Ketlen Vieira at UFC 245.

Green drop…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

UFC Fight Night 191 has a new co-main event.

The promotion confirmed on Saturday night that Sergey Spivak will step in for Sergei Pavlovich and meet Tom Aspinall on Sept. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, Pavlovich was forced out of the card due to visa issues. UFC Fight Night 191 is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson and Darren Till.

Spivak has built some momentum since a loss to Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 169, as he has won his last three promotional appearances. Most recently, “The Polar Bear” outpointed Alexey Oleynik at UFC on ESPN 25.

Aspinall, meanwhile, is on a six-bout winning streak that includes finishes of Jake Collier, Alan Baudot and Andrei Arlovski in UFC competition.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRvRSXi3s2M&w=560&h=315]

The time has arrived for Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley to settle their beef in the ring.

Both fighters made weight without issue on Saturday ahead of their headlining bout. Paul checked in at 190 pounds, while Woodley tipped the scales at 189.5 for the 190-pound catchweight affair. The fight will take place on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, and airs on pay-per-view for $59.99 via Showtime at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m PT. The contest is scheduled for eight three-minute rounds.

Paul, who recently inked a multi-fight deal with Showtime, is coming off a first-round knockout off former Bellator and One Championship title holder Ben Askren in April. Woodley was in Askren’s corner for that bout. After rising to prominence as a YouTube personality, Paul has gone 3-0 as a professional boxer, including a KO of NBA veteran Nate Robinson.

on weight pic.twitter.com/nzfZafvxYO<…

Movlid Khaybulaev remains an unsolved mystery.

Repeated takedowns and suffocating control carried the Dagestani grappler in the 2021 Professional Fighters League featherweight semifinals, as he took a split decision from Brendan Loughnane in the PFL 9 main event on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Judges John Rupert and Eliseo Rodriguez cast 30-27 and 29-28 scorecards for Khaybulaev, while Daniel Torres saw it 29-28 for Loughnane.

With few exceptions, the unbeaten Khaybulaev (18-0-1, 4-0-1 PFL) was the dominant participant. He executed a takedown inside the first 20 seconds, corralled Loughnane on the canvas and applied his ground-and-pound. Khaybulaev was at peak strength in the middle stanza, where he dragged the Dana White’s Contender Series alum back to the mat, handcuffed his arm behind his back and unleashed a volley of punches to his exposed face. Loughnane (21-4, 4-1 PFL) managed to bloody his counterpart’s nose with an …

The main event is in the judges hands! #LFA114 pic.twitter.com/4dQ1alpJNZ

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 28, 2021 The main event of LFA 114 saw a new Legacy Fighting Alliance featherweight champion crowned.

Javier Garcia made the most of his shot at the vacant title out the gate as he was able to damage Bruno Souza on the feet and look for submissions on the ground. However, Souza (10-1) started to find momentum on the feet in Round 2 and was able to control the action standing. Souza continued to land the harder shots in the final three rounds, while Garcia (7-4) was able to land several takedowns. In the end, the judges preferred Souza's work on the feet and awarded him a unanimous decision with score of 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46.

The co-main event saw interim flyweight champion Charles Johnson defend his belt against Joao Antonio Camilo Neto. Johnson (10-2) repeatedly hurt Neto (7-5) on the feet while the Brazilian repeatedly loo…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live PFL 2021 9 coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Opening the card, Brandon "The Human Highlight Reel" Jenkins (13-6) faces very recent UFC veteran Jacob Kilburn (8-4), who fought in that organization in January of this year. Keeping a close eye on them will be referee Gary Copeland. Jenkins starts the fight with a leg kick, and Kilburn returns one, only harder. Kilburn lands a sneaky left hook soon after. They get into a clinch, and the longer Jenkins gets a Thai clinch, partially landing a few knees. Eventually, Kilburn gets out of it and pushes Kilburn into the fance, with Kilburn holding an underhook. They jockey for position, and eventually Jenkins gets away, landing a nice knee to the…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight brawl is on the slate for Madison Square Garden. Per the promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Friday, Frankie Edgar (24-9-1) will be returning to competition after a nine-month layoff to take on Marlon Vera (17-7-1) at bantamweight on UFC 268. The two will throw down inside of Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 for the organization's first New York-based event since 2019. The bout is not yet official, per ESPN, but both have agreed to face one another.

Edgar has dropped three of four dating back the last three years, but a pair of setbacks to Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung led to “The Answer” searching for the answer at bantamweight. His debut at 135 pounds came against Pedro Munhoz, in a five-round thriller where the two pocketed “Fight of the Night” honors, …

Dumped #ONEBattleground3 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/OKQi8SgRzg

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 27, 2021 The pre-recorded third part of the “One: Battleground” series featured some entertaining striking clashes that took place nearly a month ago.

The One: Battleground 3 main event saw former Lumpinee Stadium champ and Glory kickboxing champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong edging Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym in a One featherweight muay Thai clash. Sitthichai pushed forward in the first exchanges, but it was the 22-year-old Tawanchai who landed the more precise shots in the opening stanza. In the second frame, Tawanchai landed a well-executed roundhouse kick on his opponent, and proceeded to sting him with kicks for much of the next few minutes. “Killer Kid” turned to his boxing combinations, while mixing in elbows as he kept advancing and scoring with his hands. It all came down to Round 3, where Sitthichai bloc…

Hittin' the scales at 145 @EdsonBarbozaJr makes your main event official for #UFCVegas35!

[ #UFCVegas35 | Tomorrow | Live on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/v8rgIfPkxy

— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The UFC on ESPN 30 weigh-ins were largely devoid of drama, although Leomana Martinez blew weight by four pounds.

The 12-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship card is headlined by a featherweight bout pitting Edson Barboza against Giga Chikadze. The card also features two "The Ultimate Fighter 29" finals as Bryan Battle faces Gilbert Urbina at middleweight, and Brady Hiestand goes up against Ricky Turcios in the bantamweight finals.

Going into his third UFC main event, Barboza (22-9) is riding a two-fight win streak. The Brazilian most recently knocked out Shane Burgos and won a decis…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two fringe top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights looking to climb back up the division will be meeting in a few months. Late Thursday night, MMA Junkie broke the news that Jessica Eye (15-10, 1 NC) would be taking on Andrea Lee (12-5) at flyweight on Nov. 13. The UFC Fight Night card on that date should go on inside the UFC Apex. The pairing has been confirmed by other outlets since its announcement.

Eye’s UFC career has been anything but consistent, recording just a single victory in her first seven tries inside the Octagon. A drop down to flyweight in 2018 prompted a three-fight win streak that culminated in a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko, but that was not meant to be when Shevchenko leveled her early into the second round in 2019. “Evil Eye” has struggled of late, missing weight on multiple occasions wh…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAJ7h4pRvbg&w=567&h=319] The Legacy Fighting Alliance is back for its only card in August, and all 26 fighters made weight for LFA 114, which is headlined by two title bouts.

The main event features a featherweight title bout that will see Bruno Souza and Javier Garcia battling for the vacant belt. Souza (9-1) has been perfect since dropping his first professional fight, and most recently picked up a split decision over Elijah Johns. Meanwhile, Garcia (7-3) has won three straight, while submitting Timothy Teves in his last outing. Souza weighed in at 145 pounds on the dot, while Garcia came in at a lean 144.4 pounds.

The co-main event draws an interim championship affair as Charles Johnson looks to defend his interim strap against Joao Antonio Camilo Neto. Johnson (9-2) won the interim belt with a split decision over Yuma Horiuchi in July, and has won two straight bouts. Neto (7-4) is 2-2 in his last four, and is coming off of a …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVDRMjkSYc8&w=640&h=360] After today's weigh-ins, the featherweight and light heavyweight semifinals are now set for the Professional Fighters League's third season. The 10-fight card features four semifinal bouts in the two divisions with Brendan Loughnane vs. Movlid Khaybulaev atop the card. While all semifinalists made weight for PFL 9, Bobby Moffett missed weight by 2.2 pounds for his featherweight bout against Jason Knight.

Loughnane has been perfect inside the PFL having won four straight bouts and picking up an impressive knockout win over Sheymon Moraes. Meanwhile, the undefeated Khaybulaev (17-0-1, 1 NC) is coming off a decision win over former PFL champion Lance Palmer. The other featherweight semifinal sees two veterans battle as Chris Wade (19-6) takes on Bubba Jenkins (16-4). On the light heavyweight side, submission specialist Antonio Carlos Jr. (11-5, 2 NC) will face off against Emiliano Sordi (23-8-1), and Cezar Ferr…

Updated fight card for Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero - Saturday, Sept. 18 - @SAPCenter in San Jose. pic.twitter.com/uFXOfVc1H5

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 26, 2021 The next Bellator MMA event in September is beginning to shape up nicely.

Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion has added several matches to its upcoming Bellator 266 show. The event, which will take place inside the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., has gained Neiman Gracie (10-2) vs. Mark Lemminger (12-3) at welterweight as its co-headliner. A Bellator official has since confirmed this booking and a few others to Sherdog.

Gracie will be looking to rebound from a contentious decision loss to Jason Jackson in April, which marked the first non-title tilt he had ever lost. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu prodigy has largely excelled in the Bellator cage, racking up seven submissions in eight victories, including tapouts of Ed Ruth and Jon Fitch over the years…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQdhYLH4nA0&w=640&h=360] A duo of title fights are now official as Invicta Fighting Championships returns to pay-per-view with Invicta FC 44: A New Era.

A duo of title fights for vacant championships headline the card. The bantamweight title bout will main event as Emily Ducote faces Danielle Taylor, while the co-main event sees strawweight Lisa Verzosa square off against Taneisha Tennant. All fighters made weight except for Liz Tracy, who was 1.2 pounds over the strawweight limit for her bout against Jodie Esquibel. She's been fined 25 percent of her purse as a result.

This is the second vacant title fight for Ducote (9-6), who rebounded from a split decision loss to Kanako Murata by winning a decision against Juliana Lima. Taylor (11-5) hasn't shown much "Dynamite" as late, as her last eight bouts have all gone to the scorecards. She has won two of her last three since being cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both made…

2nd fight contract signed in less than a week. Anyone anywhere anytime.pic.twitter.com/tU8eig2vIa

— Jack 'Tank' Shore (@jackshoremma) August 25, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A competitor on the most recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be getting a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on short notice. MMA DNA and MMA Fighting were the first to report the news that Zviad Lazishvili has suffered an ankle injury and has been forced out of his bantamweight match against Jack Shore (14-0). In his stead at UFC Fight Night 191 will be Liudvik Sholinian (9-1-1), who is in turn the second replacement for Said Nurmagomedov. The portion of the report that claimed that Lazishvili has been released from the promotion altogether has been disputed, while the news of this booking itself has been subsequently confirmed by the …

Stipe Miocic is a little bit upset that he wasn’t part of the conversation when the UFC decided to book an interim heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis earlier this month.

After all, Miocic is the owner of the longest heavyweight championship reign in promotion history and is coming off a loss to Francis Ngannou in a title bout at UFC 260 on March 27.

"It does bother me, because I just wish they would have at least came to me," Miocic told ESPN. "Even if I wasn't able do it, I would have just loved to be given the opportunity. I think I deserved it. But I'm not gonna bitch and moan about it.”

Miocic’s next move is to fly to Las Vegas for a meeting with UFC president Dana White, where he will express his disappointment at being excluded from the heavyweight title picture.

"I just have to sit down and have a conversation with him," Miocic said. "And everything will fall into place.”

Gane defeated Lewis via third-round technical…

Two of the big winners from UFC on ESPN 29 could be facing potentially lenghty medical suspensions.

Jared Cannonier, who captured a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, must have a right foot X-ray after his latest middleweight triumph. If the result is positive, he needs orthopedic clearance or he will be sidelined until Feb. 18. Gastelum, meanwhile, is suspended until Sept. 21 with no contact until Sept. 12.

Meanwhile, Alexandre Pantoja is also facing a six-month term following a submission victory over Brandon Royval in a battle of flyweight contenders. Pantoja must have a left knee MRI and receive doctor clearance or he too will be out of action until Feb. 18. At a minimum, the Brazilian is sidelined until Sept. 21. Royval is also facing a six-month suspension pending the result of an orbital catscan and doctor clearance.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medica…

After an exciting back and forth first round, Mohamad Said Maalem lands a beautiful counter follow up with devastating GnP to finish Fakhreddine and become the BRAVE CF Light Heavyweight World Championship pic.twitter.com/iUBK05hV0b

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2021

Brave Combat Federation’s first foray into Italy wasn’t without controversy.

In the Brave CF 52 headliner, Mohamed Said Maalem locked horns with Mohammad Fakhreddine with the vacant 205-pound championship on the line. The clash ended after “L’Ambiance” stopped Fakhreddine with ground-and-pound punches in the opening stanza. However, the Algerian fighter landed multiple punches behind his Lebanese opponent’s head, changing the fate of the fight. Considering that referee Declan Larkin didn’t warn Maalem nor interrupted the action, Fakhreddine filed a formal complaint to the Italian Federation of Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts (Federazione Italiana Gr…

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!

What a debut from Terrance McKinney! #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/dJrXCD8pCg

— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2021 Terrance McKinney will face Fares Ziam in a lightweight contest at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 20.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMA DNA. The event does not yet have an official location or headliner.

McKinney is coming off a spectacular Octagon debut, where he knocked out Matt Frevola in seven seconds at UFC 263 on June 12. The Sikjitsu representative is currently on a four-fight winning streak in which he has finished all four of his opponents by knockout or technical knockout inside of a round.

After falling to Don Madge in his Octagon debut, Ziam has rebounded to post consecutive decision victories over Jamie Mullarkey and Luigi Vendramini. The 24-year-old Frenchman has won seven of his last eight professional outings.