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After a rough beginning, Jose Aldo has found his stride in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

The former UFC and WEC featherweight champion earned his second consecutive triumph at 135 pounds, as he showcased his skilled hands in a three-round verdict against Pedro Munhoz in the UFC 265 co-main event at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. The Nova Uniao star moved to the new weight class in late 2019 and began his bantamweight tenure with losses to Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan.

Since then, Aldo has authored back-to-back decision victories over Munhoz and Marlon Vera at 135 pounds to regain some much-needed momentum. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Brazilian credits some tweaks to his training for his performance at UFC 265.

“After I lost a fight, I felt I needed to incorporate more things into my repertoire and that’s how I got into Navy-sponsored boxing in Brazil,” Aldo said. “I feel that’s how it made better my punches and obvious…

Ciryl Gane’s performance in the UFC 265 headliner against Derrick Lewis was about as flawless as one could get at the sport’s highest level.

The Frenchman chopped away at his opponent’s legs with kicks to hinder his movement before unloading with heavy punches to the head as Lewis covered up near the fence, forcing a stoppage 4:11 into Round 3. When all was said and done, Gane’s 98-to-16 advantage in significant strikes was the largest ever for a UFC heavyweight title fight. About the only adversity “Bon Gamin” suffered was a couple inadvertent eye pokes from his opponent.

“He touched me maybe one time [or] two times. He gave me a poke [in my] eyes. My vision was blurring for all of the fight. It was not easy to manage this, but I think it was a masterclass,” Gane said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“The feeling was exactly what we expected – exactly what we expected. That’s why he never touched me. He never touched me. Every time, maybe 10 times, it…

Six fighters from UFC 265 boosted their bank accounts with bonus checks on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Not only did Ciryl Gane claim interim heavyweight gold, but he received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his dominant win over Derrick Lewis in the evening’s main event. Gane outlanded his opponent by a whopping 98-to-16 count in significant strikes en route to a third-round technical knockout victory, much to the chagrin of a vocal hometown throng in attendance to support Lewis.

Elsewhere, Vicente Luque garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a first-round submission of Michael Chiesa in a featured welterweight contest. After nearly being trapped in a rear-naked choke, Luque turned the tables to submit his opponent with a brabo choke at the 3:25 mark of Round 1.

Earlier, Rafael Fiziev and Bobby Green received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their high-octane preliminary scrap at lightweight. …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ciryl Gane was on another level. The undefeated Frenchman captured the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title, as he put away Derrick Lewis with punches in the third round of their UFC 265 headliner on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Having been effectively drawn and quartered in his hometown, Lewis (25-8, 16-6 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:11 into Round 3. Gane (10-0, 7-0 UFC) chipped away at “The Black Beast” with kicks to the legs and body, powerful jabs, occasional combinations and slashing knees from the clinch. He flummoxed Lewis with routine stance switches, controlled the center of the cage and went about dissecting one of the most feared men in the sport’s history. Gane finally broke down the former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder with leg kicks in the third round, forced him to turtle at …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 265 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 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:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:…

This fight is UNREAL #UFC265 pic.twitter.com/L1b0maDhxx

— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Rafael Fiziev cleared another significant hurdle in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The once-beaten Tiger Muay Thai star leaned on a sustained body attack and clean power punches, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green in the featured UFC 265 prelim on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. All three cageside judges sided with Fiziev (10-1, 4-1 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Green (27-12-1, 8-7-1 UFC) held his own with the highly touted prospect but lacked the horsepower necessary to fight fire with fire. Fiziev staggered him twice with clubbing right hands in the second round and opened a cut across the bridge of his nose w…

For the second time, a proposed welterweight clash between Sean Brady and Kevin Lee has been canceled.

Brady announced via Instagram that a foot infection has forced him to pull out of the UFC on ESPN 30 bout on Aug. 28. It’s unclear if Lee will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news.

Brady and Lee were initially slated to square off at UFC 264 before “The Motown Phenom” pulled out of the event due to a broken rib.

Brady’s post is as follows:

Hey guys so last Friday I got a small cut on my foot training. I didn’t think anything of it but it turns out I had an infection in the cut causing cellulitis. I was out on antibiotics that were unsuccessful in treating the infection.

Kristen and my mom told me to go to the ER so that we could get it under control, thinking I would be out the hospital next day. Turns out, the infection got worse and spread to my tendon and my ankle joint which caused me to…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA_8f5-M85A&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The UFC 265 weigh-ins were largely uneventful, but there was still some drama before the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view to crown an interim heavyweight champion. Twenty-five fighters on the card officially made weight, with Manel Kape the lone exception. Kape came in at 129 pounds for his flyweight bout against Ode Osbourne. There was little concern for the main eventers, but Derrick Lewis did come in just half a pound under the 265-pound championship limit. "The Black Beast" will be the far bigger man on fight night, as he was 17.5 pounds heavier than Ciryl Gane prior to rehydrating.

A fan favorite inside the Octagon, Lewis (25-7, 1 NC) is known for delivering shocking knockouts. He most recently demolished Alexey Oleynik and Curtis Blaydes…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DoKwXfPnJU&w=560&h=315] Former Bellator MMA featherweight king Patricio Freire wants to run it back with A.J. McKee one day, but he is not in a rush to line it up.

Freire (23-5) and McKee (18-0) met at Bellator 263, for the finals of the featherweight grand prix with a championship, tournament belt and $1 million check on the line. In their meeting, McKee stunned “Pitbull” with a head kick, and finished him off with a guillotine choke in under two minutes. The Brazilian, after taking a few days off to spend time with his family, spoke to Ag. Fight on Thursday about his defeat and prospects going forward.

Freire was none too thrilled by the stoppage in that bout, when referee Mike Beltran intervened believing that “Pitbull” went limp from the choke. While Freire did ultimately congratulate McKee, crediting the younger fighter for his successes, he believes he was not given the full opportunity to get out of the perilous situatio…

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. Although Abusupiyan Magomedov did not earn a million dollars when competing for Professional Fighters League, he did work his way up to a Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. The Dagestan-born German Magomedov (24-4-1) announced on his Instagram on Friday that he has signed with the UFC. In the last five years, Magomedov has amassed a record of 11-1-1, and the lone defeat came in a PFL title fight. His opponent has not yet been announced, nor has his debut date, but he is expected to compete at middleweight.

“I am happy to announce that I have signed with the UFC,” Magomedov wrote. “A big thanks to my management for giving me this opportunity. I am looking forward to fighting with the best athletes in the world and I am excited to announce my first UFC Octagon appearance soon.”

“Abus” worked his way up the ranks with…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights with their eyes on the prize will come to blows in October. MMA Fighting first announced on Wednesday that Alexander Volkov (33-9) will be squaring off with Marcin Tybura (22-6) on UFC 267. This Oct. 30 card will likely be held inside the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tybura confirmed the pairing on his Instagram on Thursday.

Russia’s Volkov had a two-fight knockout victory streak crumble at the hands of Ciryl Gane in June, when he came up short and lost a unanimous decision. Before then, he put Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem away, both in the second round. “Drago” charged into the UFC and strung together a four-fight win streak, with a knockout of Fabricio Werdum to thrust him into a title eliminator with Derrick Lewis. Volkov celebrates a fi…

BREAKING

Fedor Emelianenko returns against No. ranked heavyweight @TBearTim in the #BellatorMoscow main event, Saturday, Oct. 23 at the VTB Arena

Tickets on sale NOW https://t.co/wh48J9HfEO pic.twitter.com/noLYPKWBED — BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 5, 2021 Recent Bellator MMA interim title challenger Timothy Johnson is the winner of the Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes.

On Thursday, Bellator announced that Emelianenko (39-6, 1 NC) now has an opponent for his headliner atop Bellator Moscow in October. The Oct. 23 show, which will be held inside the VTB Arena – barring any COVID-19 related concerns – will be capped off by a heavyweight battle between Emelianenko and Johnson (15-7). While this will be the final bout for “The Last Emperor” in his home country of Russia, he will reportedly take one more match to say goodbye to the sport.

The Pride Fighting Championships legend had multiple different foes suggested or offered for his f…

There has been a shakeup in the bracket for the Professional Fighters League welterweight playoffs.

Joao Zeferino has suffered an undisclosed injury and will not be able to face Magomed Magomedkerimov in a scheduled 170-pound semifinal bout on Aug. 13. As a result, Sadibou Sy will step in as an alternate and square off against Magomedkerimov.

Sy went 1-0 with one no contest during the 2021 PFL season. Most recently, the 34-year-old Pancrase Gym Sweden representative earned a unanimous decision over Alexey Kunchenko on June 17.

There have been several changes to the preliminary portion of the PFL Playoff 1 card, as well. With Sy moving into the playoffs, Gleison Tibau will now face Curtis Millender in a welterweight contest. Additionally, Darrell Horcher will step in for Natan Schulte and meet Olivier Aubin-Mercier at lightweight, while Tyler Hill will replace Nikolay Aleksahkin and lock horns with Brett Cooper at welterweight.

Finally, a lightweight clash pitting…

Luke Rockhold will make his return from a lengthy hiatus against Sean Strickland in a middleweight bout at UFC 268.

UFC broadcast partner ESPN confirmed the booking following an initial report from TSN. Both Rockhold and Strickland have verbally agreed to the bout. UFC 268 is expected to take 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.

Rockhold will fight for the first time since a move to 205 pound resulted in a second-round knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 on July 6, 2019. The 36-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product is a former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion but has lost three of his last four appearances. Rockhold owns notable wins over the likes of Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping, Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy and Keith Jardine.

Strickland, meanwhile, is coming off a decisive five-round victory over Uriah Hall in…

Chad Mendes is returning to combat sports, but his next fight won’t be inside the Octagon.

The former UFC title challenger revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience” that he has signed a multi-fight contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Mendes is expected to compete at 155 pounds and has targeted Chandler, Ariz., on Oct. 22 for his BKFC debut.

“I just signed a big contract – I’m coming back to fighting,” Mendes told Rogan. “But I’m not coming back to MMA. … I’m coming back to boxing. I want to try something different. I think we’re going to throw some bareknuckle in there, bro – just mix it up and get real crazy. This is something that’s kind of been in the works for probably a year now.”

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, the contract is “the most lucrative deal” of Mendes’ fighting career. The Team Alpha Male product had existing fights on his UFC contract but was granted his release by the Las Vegas-based promotion to sign with BKFC.

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Nicco Montano is no longer part of the UFC roster following her latest debacle on the scales.

The promotion released the former flyweight queen on the heels of Montano missing weight by seven pounds for a scheduled clash with Yanan Wu at UFC on ESPN 28 this past weekend. Montano later released a statement regarding her weight miss and the subsequent cancellation of the bout.

“So I’ve been eating less for my workout sessions, training up until I had to come to the quarantine bubble and had to start my cut pretty high. I have done this cut before but unfortunately it just didn’t work out this time around. I think the most important thing for me to do is focus on getting my weight down healthily,” Montano wrote on Instagram.

“Believe me I didn’t want this to happen and did everything in my power to make sure it didn’t but sometimes life kicks you in the balls over and over and over. But I’m learning that it’s only making me stronger and more resilient for what’s t…

Both components of this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 28 headliner are facing potential six-month medical suspensions.

Sean Strickland needs an X-ray of his left thigh and knee as well as dental evaluation of his lower prosthetic tooth, and if he doesn’t receive clearance, he will be out until Jan. 28. At a minimum, Strickland is sidelined with no contact until Aug. 31. Hall, meanwhile, must have a right orbital fracture cleared by an ENT doctor or he will be out until Jan. 28. At a minimum, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist is suspended until Sept. 30 with no contact until Sept. 15.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions to mixedmartialarts.com. Strickland captured a clear cut unanimous verdict against Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Eight other fighters from UFC on ESPN 28 are facing possible six-month terms pending medical clearance: Jared Gooden (hands), Melsik Baghdasaryan (left …

Contract signed drunks#chivas #blacklabel pic.twitter.com/2s8J268tHd

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) August 3, 2021

Paulo Costa isn’t taking himself too seriously in the lead-up to his recently announced matchup against Marvin Vettori.

After some controversy regarding his pay in recent months, “Borrachinha” has signed a contract to return to the Octagon. The former middleweight title challenger poked some fun at himself on social media, posting a picture of himself signing the agreement with an empty bottle of whiskey in the vicinity.

“Contract has been signed and tasted,” Costa wrote on Instagram. “Salute.”

The post is a nod toward the Brazilian’s post-fight comments following a second-round technical knockout loss to Israel Adesanya last September, when Costa claimed that he drank an entire bottle of wine because he was having difficulty sleeping the night before the middleweight title bout.

Costa vs. Vettor…

A proposed featherweight clash between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez that was supposed to take place this summer has a new prospective date.

UFC president Dana White recently informed TSN that the bout will likely take place on Nov. 13 at an as yet to be announced location. The 145-pound fight, which has not yet been finalized, is expected to headline the card.

Holloway and Rodriguez were intially slated to lock horns at UFC on ESPN 26 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. However, Holloway suffered an injury approximately one month out and the fight had to be postponed.

A former featherweight champion, Holloway rebounded from back-to-back losses against current title holder Alexander Volkanovski in his last outing at UFC on ABC 1, where he authored a dominant five-round verdict over Calvin Kattar on Jan. 16. Holloway’s ledger also includes victories over the likes of Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Charles Oliveira and …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jHi7QbiJu8&w=560&h=315]

A documentary starring Nicco Montano, the UFC’s inaugural women’s flyweight champion, is set to premiere in Las Vegas on Friday.

The film, which is entitled “Warrior Spirit,” is directed by Landon Dyksterhouse and will focus on the dangers of extreme weight cutting in the UFC. The documentary has already been featured in a segment on “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” that dealt with the extreme weight cuts. The film also examines issues such as fighter pay, insurance and unionization. Dyksterhouse has previously directed MMA-themed documentaries “The Proving Grounds,” which examines the success of the camp now known as Jackson-Wink MMA, and “El Pantera,” which looks at the rise to prominence of UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez.

In the clip above, Montano is shown struggling to make weight ahead of her first 125-pound title defense against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. Ultimately, Montano was hospitali…

Women’s lightweights and men’s heavyweights will be in the spotlight during the second Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 19.

PFL Playoffs 2 will be headlined by a 155-pound clash between second-seeded Kayla Harrison and No. 3 Genah Fabian, while No. 1 Larissa Pachecho will square off against No. 4 Taylor Guardado on the other half of the bracket. In men’s heavyweight action, top seed Bruno Cappelozza will lock horns with No. 4 Jamelle Jones, while No. 2 Denis Goltsov will face No. 3 Ante Delija.

The semifinal winners will advance to the PFL Championship, where they will have a chance to earn a $1 million prize.

“PFL’s second playoff event on Thursday, Aug. 19 will feature an incredible and action-packed card that only the PFL can deliver to the 550 million MMA fans worldwide,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “These athletes are putting it all on the line to secure a spot in the PFL Championship. Nothing in sports compares to the intensity of a must-w…

A high-profile lightweight matchup between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been added to the UFC 267 lineup.

According to ESPN, both fighters have agreed to the bout. UFC 267 takes place on Oct. 30 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship showdown between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. The event does not yet have an official location but is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev vs. dos Anjos was previously scheduled twice in 2020, but was scrapped on both occasions, once because dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and later when Makhachev withdrew due to illness.

Makhachev is currently in the midst of an eight-bout winning streak and is one of the hottest talents in the UFC lightweight division. The Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner is coming off his first main event appearace, where he submitted Thiago Moises in the fourth round of their UFC on ESPN 26 showdown on July 17.

A former lightweight champion, the 36-year-old…

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has joined forces with Wimp2Warrior, the grassroots training program that works to increase participation in MMA.

As part of a multi-year partnership, the Daniel Cormier Wrestling Academy in Gilroy, Calif., will host “multiple in-person series for the W2W program,” according to a release. The first season is slated to begin later this year. W2W vice president and former Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou announced the news on Tuesday.

“‘DC’ has a true love of the sport and his knowledge and understanding of MMA is second to none,” Chou said. “Whether it be his accomplishments in the Octagon, his broadcast work, or his dedication as a coach developing young athletes, he has solidified his standing as one of MMA’s most visible global ambassadors. As W2W continues to accelerate our growth, being able to have a 360 partnership with ‘DC’ further validates our commitment to growing the sport by converting fandom to participation wo…

Joanne Calderwood is expected to lock horns with Alexa Grasso in a flyweight affair at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 20.

ESPN was first to report that the bout is in the process of being finalized. The card does not yet have an official location but will likely take place in Las Vegas.

Calderwood has alternated wins and losses in her last six promotional outings. Most recently, the Scotland native dropped a split decision to Lauren Murphy in a title eliminator bout at UFC 263. Calderwood recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, according to ESPN.

After beginning her UFC tenure as a strawweight, Grasso has scored back-to-back decision victories against Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber at 125 pounds. The Mexican fighter is 5-3 in the Octagon and 13-3 as a professional overall.