Blog

[embedded content]

Brad Tavares jokingly expressed disappointment in teammate Dan Ige for accepting a short-notice fight at UFC 303.

Advertisement

Tavares (20-9) is scheduled to fight Jun Yong Park (17-6) in a middleweight matchup at UFC on ESPN 60 at the Apex in Las Vegas this weekend. Tavares was originally scheduled to share the card with Xtreme Couture teammate Ige, who was slated to trade leather with Jose Mariscal.

However, Ige ended up replacing Brian Ortega against Diego Lopes on four hours’ notice in the co-main event at UFC 303 last month. While Ige went on lose by unanimous decision, he gave Lopes a run for his money, putting the Brazilian in survival mode in the final frame. Ige subsequently asked for a spot on the highly sought-after UFC 306 card in September at the Sphere, which he was guaranteed by Dana White.

Tavares revealed that he and Ige had discussed potentially fighting at UFC 306 even before “50k” accepted the short-notice matchup.…

Ramon Taveras announced on Instagram that he is out of his UFC 304 booking against Caolan Loughran due to an injury.

Newcomers Taveras (10-2) and Loughran (9-1) were scheduled to trade leather in a bantamweight matchup at UFC 304 on July 27 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The bout is now off.

Advertisement

Ireland’s Loughran hopes to stay on the pay-per-view card close to home and is open to fighting anyone.

Catch deez hands just pulled out

I text him a few days after the bout was signed saying he would

This Games not for everybody

The UFC are the best in the world and they’ll sort it 👍

Been here before will fight anyone

Yeno that ☘️

— Caolan Loughran (@DonCaolan135) July 17, 2024

Taveras holds a unanimous decision win over Serhiy Sidey in his promotional debut at UFC 297 this past January, avenging a Contender Series knockout loss from last year. Meanwhile, Loughran suffered the…

The cards for the Professional Fighters League playoffs appear to be complete.

Advertisement

The promotion on Wednesday announced alternate and showcase matchups to fill out each of the three events scheduled for next month. The PFL had previously only confirmed semifinal matchups in each weight class.

At PFL 7 on Aug. 2 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Sergey Bilostenniy will square off against Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight alternate bout.

Meanwhile, PFL 8 will take place on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida and will include a light heavyweight alternate clash pitting Antonio Carlos Jr. against Karl Albrektsson. Additionally, Mads Burnell will meet Elvin Espinoza in a lightweight alternate pairing.

Finally, PFL 9 will be held on Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. and features a pair of alternate bouts: Neiman Gracie vs. Luca Poclit at welterweight and Tyler Diamond vs. Enrique Barzola at …

A strawweight clash pitting Tabatha Ricci against Angela Hill has been booked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 24.

Hill initially announced the bout on her ”2Straws” podcast, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and does not currently have a headliner.

Ricci has been victorious in five of her last six Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Baby Shark” took a split decision against Tecia Pennington at UFC on ESPN 56 on May 11.

Hill, meanwhile, has won four of her last five outings in UFC competition. The former Invicta FC champion is coming off a second-round submission triumph against Luana Pinheiro at UFC Fight Night 241 on May 18.

Jon Jones has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from an encounter with a drug-testing agent at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

Advertisement

During a virtual hearing in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Wednesday, Jones pleaded not guilty to a petty misdemeanor for assault and a misdemeanor for interference with communications. Jones was in attendance with attorney Christopher Dodd, while Judge Brittany Maldonado was in charge of the hearing.

A date for a bench trial is still yet to be determined. The conditions for Jones’ release until said date are as follows: Jones is not allowed to possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, he’s not allowed to possess or consume any alcohol or illegal drugs, he has to notify the court if his address changes and he has to maintain contact with his attorney. Additionally, Jones must avoid contact with the alleged victims in the case.

If Jones is convicted on both charges, h…

Maurice Abevi will welcome undefeated newcomer Samat Mamedov to ONE Championship when they meet at the promotion’s upcoming event in Denver on Sept. 6.

Advertisement

The organization recently announced the lightweight (170-pound pairing). ONE Championship 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver and features a muay thai title bout between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9. The card will stream on Prime Video in the United States.

After dropping a unanimous decision to Halil Amir in his promotional debut, Abevi has rebounded to score back-to-back triumphs against Blake Cooper and Lipeng Zhang under the ONE banner. The 24-year-old Switzerland native has been victorious in eight of his nine professional appearances overall.

Kazakhstan’s Mamedov will take a 6-0 make into his first ONE Championship foray. The 25-year-old Mamedov has finished all of his victories inside of a round, including a stoppage of one-time UFC competitor Will Chope this past December.

Julian Erosa largely credits teammate Andy Varela for refining his guillotine choke to a lethal weapon.

Advertisement

An underdog going into the fight, Erosa tagged Christian Rodriguez on the feet before submitting him with a guillotine late in the first round at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver last weekend. Erosa recently weighed in on his guillotine, which has now earned a quite reputation for itself around Las Vegas.

Erosa claims to have already had a decent guillotine choke when he started training at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Las Vegas. There Erosa met Varela, who according to him has one of the best guillotines in the world. “Juicy J” credits Varela for helping him make small adjustments to his own guillotine, which he claims is now nearly “unstoppable.”

“I would say I moved to Vegas about almost seven years ago now,” Erosa said on UFC Unfiltered. “And when I first moved to Vegas, I walked into 10th Planet in Henderson here and met a kid named Andy Varela. And…

Virna Jandiroba recently elaborated on the significance of her unique headgear and her nickname, “Carcara.”

Advertisement

Jandiroba will headline UFC on ESPN 60 — her first main event in the promotion — against fellow Brazilian Amanda Lemos at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While walking out, the strawweight contender will be sporting her signature traditional leather hat usually worn by Brazilian cowboys.

Born and raised in the countryside of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, Jandiroba takes pride in her ancestry. Jandiroba explained that her signature hat is a common headgear among cowboys in “backlands” of Bahia. According to the 36-year-old, the hat is a representation of her home.

“I’m from Brazil. Born and raised in the countryside of Bahia,” Jandiroba told ESPN. “My parents are from there. My mother came from a farming family. From the fields. I think our ancestry is very strong here in the northeastern region. From my family, all t…

[embedded content]

Muhammad Mokaev believes Tom Aspinall’s father, Andy Aspinall, can hold his own against ranked UFC fighters.

Advertisement

Mokaev and Aspinall will share a card in their hometown of Manchester, England, at UFC 304 on July 27 as the promotion returns to the city after nearly eight years. While Mokaev takes on Manel Kape in a flyweight matchup, Aspinall will put his interim heavyweight title on the line against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event at the Co-op Live Arena.

As two elite MMA fighters hailing from the same region, Mokaev and Aspinall go back a long way. Mokaev was training in Wigan when he first met Aspinall and his father Andy, who were coaching at a different gym. Mokaev revealed that “Honey Badger” was working security at a pub then and would give him a ride home after practice for several years.

“Yeah, I met Tom Aspinall, he was coaching the kids session… And then his father was coaching adult session next session… And once…

Sean Strickland believes his unhinged rants could be the only impediment on the road to his next middleweight title shot.

Advertisement

Strickland dethroned Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September 2023 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Strickland’s short-lived title reign came to an end via a split-decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 this past January. Strickland has since bounced back with a split-decision win over Paulo Costa last month, which many believe should have been scored unanimously in favor of “Tarzan.”

Meanwhile, Du Plessis puts his title on the line against Adesanya in the main event at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. Strickland is now adamant on fighting the winner of that bout next instead of a title eliminator against Robert Whittaker. “Bobby Knuckles” rebounded from a stoppage loss against Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Costa followed by a knockout over surging newcomer Ikram Al…

A couple of highly-touted prospects will be in action at the Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 16.

Advertisement

Biaggio Ali Walsh will face Korey Taylor in a lightweight showcase bout on the evening’s main card, while Jordan Oliver will lock horns with Braydon Akeo in a preliminary contest at featherweight. MMAjunkie.com was first to report Ali Walsh vs. Taylor, while BJPenn.com initially brought word of Oliver vs. Akeo. Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed both bookings with a promotion official.

The grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Ali Walsh compiled a 6-1 record as amateur, with five of his victories coming under the PFL banner. He made his pro debut at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs event in February, earning a unanimous decision triumph against Emmanuel Palacio.

Taylor, meanwhile, owns a 4-0 professional mark and has finished all of his opponents inside of a round on the regional circuit.

Oliver was a two-time NCAA national …

One of the main highlights of UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver was Jean Silva moving up a weight class to score his third knockout in six months against Drew Dober, a victory that came just two weeks after “Lord” finished Charles Jourdain at UFC 303.

Advertisement

In an interview with Ag.Fight shortly after the bout, Jean revealed that the UFC had already nominated a veteran in the Top 15 to be his next opponent.

“Unfortunately, I still can't say anything, just that it will be at featherweight,” said the Fighting Nerds member.

Silva also promised that if the UFC needs him to step up again in the coming weeks, he will be available. His lone condition would be that the short-notice fight would take place at 155 pounds.

“My plan this year is to have three more fights at featherweight, but if the UFC asks me, exceptionally, to face a striker at lightweight, that could be a possibility,” Silva said. “But my focus is on my division.”

In a separate interview with …

Sean O'Malley's selection as “Fighter of the Year” at the recent ESPY awards was heavily criticized by the Brazilian media.

On his weekly podcast, "Papo de Luta", UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto, said he did not understand the reasons for O'Malley to surpass the achievements of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“I'm not discussing the quality of O'Malley, who is undoubtedly talented and a great fighter, in addition to being very popular in the U.S. What must be taken into question here are the facts. In the period in question, O'Malley knocked out [Aljamain Sterling] and beat ‘Chito’ Vera on points, while ‘Poatan’ knocked out Jiri [Prochazka] twice, Jamahal Hill once and beat Blachowicz on points, becoming double champion,” Barreto said.

“If the award went to the greatest American fighter of the year, that would be fine, but here it is a global award. Unfortunately, it even takes away the credibility of the award.”

Recently inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame, Wanderlei Silva participated this week on the Combate Podcast, Mundo da Luta, and spoke of his desire to do a “real” boxing challenge.

Advertisement

Silva expressed disappointment with the recent duel between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, an exhibition that ended in a draw.

“It is a new range of entertainment that is opening up,” Silva said. “What I can say is this: when Wanderlei Silva has an exhibition fight, you will see what a real exhibition is. It has to be real. If I had the opportunity to beat up Chael Sonnen, what do you think I would do? I was going to beat Sonnen up, the guys had to give me that opportunity (laughs). I'm not his friend, I'm just an acquaintance.”

While the Pride Fighting Championships veteran had some intense moments with Sonnen on the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” in 2014, he makes it clear that he now has a good relationship with the American.

"He's a nice guy. I l…

Khamzat Chimaev has a date in mind for his next Octagon appearance, and he wants the stakes to be significant for that fight.

Advertisement

Chimaev hasn’t competed since October 2023, when he took a majority decision over former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman in his middleweight debut at UFC 294. “Borz” was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia on June 22 before a severe illness forced Chechen-born Swede to withdraw from the event.

While a victory in that fight would have likely placed Chimaev near the top of the contender’s queue at 185 pounds, he still believes he should have an opportunity to challenge for middleweight gold in his next bout. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Chimaev expects that will be at UFC 308 on Oct. 26.

“Most likely [my return will happen] in October in Abu Dhabi,” Chimaev told Match TV. “[The opponent is] unknown so far. I would like to fight for the title.

“I have seven fights, seven victor…

[embedded content]

Belal Muhammad is grateful to have renowned nutrition coach Ian Larios in camp for his upcoming title fight against Leon Edwards.

Advertisement

Muhammad gets his long overdue title shot against Edwards in the main event at UFC 304 on July 27 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Representing the closely-knit Chicago Fight Team, Muhammad couldn’t have asked for a more motivating group of individuals with which to train.

Muhammad’s team pushes him for that last extra bit of effort, which he believes will bear fruit when he potentially goes into deep water against Edwards. As a fresh addition to the team, Larios is no different.

“The thing about my team is we’re a small group, we’re all like family,” Muhammad recently told Helen Yee. “When one of us have a fight, we all have a fight. And one of us needs to be pushed, we all push each other… There’s a lot of people that’ll quit after you hit your stairs, your legs are tired, you’re …

Santiago Ponzinibbio has seemingly lost some faith in judges’ scorecards after his split-decision loss against Muslim Salikhov on Saturday.

Advertisement

Ponzinibbio met Salikhov in the welterweight co-main event at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver, Colorado. “The Argentine Dagger” came up on the short side of a controversial split decision after technical striking affair that was somewhat lacking in action.

Ponzinibbio slammed the decision, as he believes he did enough to get his hand raised. With three of his last four losses coming via split decision, Ponzinibbio is starting to believe that his only way to victory is a finish.

“We think we won the fight,” the 37-year-old said in a video on Instagram (translation via MMAjunkie.com). “We at least had two clear rounds. In many MMA places that specialize in this, most people gave me two rounds and some even three. But oh well. Whenever we go to the judges, this is how it goes for me. If I don’t knock my opponent ou…

Rose Namajunas recently weighed in on arguably the most memorable moment of her latest win over Tracy Cortez.

Advertisement

Namajunas faced Cortez, who replaced Maycee Barber on short notice, in the main event at UFC on ESPN 59 at the Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday. Namajunas landed the crisper strikes and even got the better of Cortez in most grappling exchanges to earn a unanimous decision victory. However, the most memorable moment of the fight was arguably when Namajunas dropped Cortez with a left hook in the opening frame, which also sent one of the latter’s fake eyelashes flying.

Rose Namajunas done knocked down & punched the eyelash off Tracy Cortez damn face 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/5WOPqcprpj

— JrRanks (@RealJrRanks) July 14, 2024 While Namajunas didn’t recognize it during the fight, zoomed in clips of Cortez sporting one fake eyelash after the other went flying have since flooded the internet. “Thug” made light o…

Tom Aspinall is drawing from traditional gypsy fighting to prepare for his upcoming title defense.

Advertisement

Aspinall puts his interim heavyweight title on the line against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 on July 27 in front of a home crowd at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Aspinall claims to have some gypsy roots, which he is resorting to in preparation for UFC 304.

“Honey Badger” picked up a few tricks shown by Irish traveling bare knuckle boxing legend Big Joe Joyce in the 2011 documentary “Knuckle,” which is about the secretive world of Irish traveling bare knuckle boxing shot over a period of 12 years.

Drawing from that, Aspinall now shadowboxes early in the morning with rings of hay bales wrapped around his hands. Aspinall also dips his knuckles in petrol for twenty minutes as the sun is coming up, which allegedly makes them rock hard.

“Have you ever seen the documentary Knuckle? It’s a documentary about traveling communities in the…

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Jennifer Maia will move up to 135 pounds for a showdown against Mayra Cantuaria at Invicta FC 56 on Aug. 9.

Advertisement

The all-women’s promotion announced the headlining bout on Tuesday. Invicta FC 56 takes place at the Stockyards Event Center in Denver and will also see former strawweight title holder Valesca Machado face Yulia Ostroverkhova in the co-main event. The Invicta FC 56 main card will air on CBS Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT, while prelims stream on the Invicta Facebook page and YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT.

Five other bouts were confirmed for the card: Riley Martinez vs. Kelly Jennifer Ottoni at featherweight; Kate Bacik vs. Paula Cristina dos Santos Silva at flyweight; Flor Hernandez vs. Ana Palacios at atomweight; Ailed Zubieta vs. Giulliany Perea at atomweight and Ali Pellegrini vs. Marissa Ellis at featherweight.

A former Invicta flyweight queen, Maia returns to the organization…

[embedded content]

While it’s an amibitious endeavor overall, Noche UFC will likely have less fights than the promotion’s typical pay-per-view offerings.

Advertisement

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday, UFC CEO Dana White provided additional details regarding the organization’s highly-anticipated event at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. That included the number of fights for the card.

“We’re going to do 10 (fights),” White said. “There will be a main, co-main, and obviously this card will be very Mexican-heavy.”

As it stands, six fights have been reported for UFC 306, but a headliner has not been announced. According to a report from Ariel Helwani, the plan is for a bantamweight title clash between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili to serve as the main event, while Alexa Grasso will defend her strawweight belt in the co-headliner, potentially against “TUF 32” opposing coach Valentina Shevchenko in a trilogy. However, nothing is of…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Nate Diaz is feeling a little light in the wallet following his recent boxing match against Jorge Masvidal.

Advertisement

According to a report from TMZ Sports, Diaz has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami alleging that Fanmio CEO and founder Solomon Engel is unwilling to pay the full $10 million that was agreed upon prior to the July 6 bout. Diaz has claimed that Engel has only paid $1 million of that purse. The Stockton, California, native was expected to receive the remainder of the sum, which he was told was being held in a collection account, from Fanmmio after the fight.

“Diaz and his representatives were skeptical that Fanmio and Engel had the financial resources to fund the payments, but they were assured repeatedly that Fanmio and Engel had the financial resources to pay Diaz and that any payments owed to Diaz for participating in the boxing event would be fully guaranteed,” read a copy of the laws…

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from a confrontation with a drug-testing agent at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

Advertisement

According to online records from Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, Jones has been charged with assault and interference with communications. He is scheduled for a virtual bond hearing at 9:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday, where he will enter a plea and be given conditions for his release. The case will then be set for a bench trial (trial by judge) in 30 to 45 days. Jones could face less than one year in jail as well as a $500 fine for the assault charge and a $1,000 fine for the interference with communications charge. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news.

The case stems from an incident between Jones and agents from Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), the UFC’s new anti-doping partner. According to a police report, the drug-testing agent, who was identi…

Arman Tsarukyan will be on the set of Hype Reality 3 with Khamzat Chimaev, and says he'll ask Khamzat to help him prepare for Islam Makhachev 👀

"To be honest, [Khamzat] is there [on the set] and if there is an opportunity to train with him, it would be good. Since he is tall… pic.twitter.com/gQxWa28vPP

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 14, 2024

Advertisement

Arman Tsarukyan welcomes an opportunity to train with Khamzat Chimaev to prepare for a potential clash against Islam Makhachev.

Tsarukyan earned his ninth win in 11 promotional outings with a split decision over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 this past April to earn a title shot against Makhachev. However, Tsarukyan, who dropped a unanimous decision against Makhachev in his UFC debut in 2019, turned down a rematch at UFC 302 last month due to the quick turnaround from his win over Oliveira.

Tsarukyan was also fined $25,000 and issued a nine-month suspension for throwing a p…