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UFC 305 debutant Stewart Nicoll recently revisited his childhood growing up in the Solomon Islands, which was then embroiled in turmoil.

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The Solomon Islands were in political and ethnic chaos in the late 90s, leading to a coup d'état in 2000 and subsequent years of violence involving rape, murder, torture and abductions. While Nicoll’s family was caught right in the middle of it, the undefeated flyweight, who makes his UFC debut this weekend, doesn’t remember much of the trauma. What he vividly remembers is an image of his father sailing away in a dugout canoe from a beachfront in the Solomons, unsure whether he’d return.

“Because my memory, it isn’t that great. I’m forgetting things all the time,” Nicoll told Fox Sports Australia. “But that image of dad leaving? Man, it’s seared onto my brain. As if it happened yesterday. Like maybe I was asleep for the other stuff.”

The reason Nicoll’s father went away was because dangerous…

Usman Nurmagomedov is more than grateful for the guidance of his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Usman looks to defend his lightweight title against Alexandr Shabliy in the main event at Bellator Champions Series on Sept. 7 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. While Khabib had taken a short hiatus from all things MMA last year, “The Eagle” has recently taken a more active role in helping his teammates and relatives from Dagestan, including the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.

Khabib is also helping the undefeated Bellator lightweight champ for his upcoming title defense and will be cornering him as well. Usman says the training environment is just different in Khabib’s presence. According to Usman, Khabib’s knowledge of the sport is second to none and it is a divine gift to have the UFC Hall of Famer by his side.

“For us, this is gift from God,” Usman said during a recent Bellator media call. “People like Khabib, this …

BREAKING: Dana White confirms that Sean Strickland will fight the winner of Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight

(Via @jimrome) pic.twitter.com/htxyio6dL2

— Cageside Access (@CagesideAccess) August 13, 2024

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Dana White has provided some clarity to the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title picture — at least for now.

Dricus Du Plessis will put his middleweight strap on the line against former champ Israel Adesanya in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. A few candidates appear to have a legitimate claim to the next title shot once that fight has concluded.

One potential contender would be the winner of a bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev scheduled for UFC 308 in October. However, No.1 ranked contender Sean Strickland remains adamant on fighting for the title next, even turning down a potential matchup against Whittaker if “Bobby Knuckles” defeats Chimaev. During an appearan…

Lone’er Kavanagh knows how to make an entrance.

The Great Britan Top Team prospect was one of four hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he punched out An Tuan Ho in the first round of their flyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Kavanagh (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) froze the MMA Lab export with a wicked left hook 2:35 into Round 1.

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A brief feeling-out process gave way to a series of leg kicks and a few standup exchanges between the two men. Kavanagh stepped into a lightning bolt of a lunging left hook midway through the first round, connected with surgical precision and separated his previously unbeaten counterpart from his senses. Ho (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) remained prone and motionless for several tense moments before exiting the cage.

Featherweight Jose Delgado, middleweight Mansur Abdul-Malik and light heavyweight Bruno Lopes are set to join Kavanagh on the UFC r…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2024 Week 1 coverage will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Round 1 Herb Dean will get the assignment for the first bout of the eighth season of Contender Series, and it’s a matchup of undefeated flyweights that may both be UFC ready. Kavanagh absorbs a leg kick from Ho, who misfires on a head kick. Kavanagh counters an inside leg kick, and the Englishman follows up with a front kick to the body. Ho cracks his man with a straight right and absorbs a calf kick in return. It’s been a kick heavy approach early — especially for Kavanagh — but both men are still trying to make reads on their opponent. And then just like that, Kavanagh lands a front kick and then leaps in with a left hook that detonates on Ho’s chin. The MMA Lab product collapses in a heap on the canvas, so there’s no need for any follow-up blows. Meanwhile, Kavanagh punctuates his victory with a superhero back flip in the Octagon. Ho stays down for a couple minutes until he is helped to his feet. T…

The last time Kai Kara-France was in the Octagon, he ended up on the wrong end of a split decision against Amir Albazi.

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While that June 2023 bout could have easily gone in favor of Kara-France, the 31-year-old Kiwi hasn’t dwelled on the defeat.

“The difference is I haven’t [let] the weight of that decision define me. People will see the loss next to my name. I guess you’ve got to take the positives and negatives from the performance and see how you can get better,” Kara-France said in an interview with UFC.com. “That’s the fight game. You can’t really hold on to things. You’ve just got to let it go, adapt and keep moving forward. I’m sure me and Amir will cross paths in the future, but I’ve got a fight in front of me so that’s all I’m putting my energy into.”

The fight that currently has Kara-France’s attention is a UFC 305 co-main event matchup with Steve Erceg on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Erceg, a native of Australia, is comi…

Joilton Lutterbach’s Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure has ended before he was able to set foot into the Octagon.

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On Tuesday, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced that Lutterbach tested positive for a metabolite of the anabolic steroid drostanolone in an out-of-competition sample collected on June 8. That test occurred two weeks before Lutterbach was scheduled to face Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia.

Lutterbach was notified of his positive test on June 20 at the fighter hotel in Saudi Arabia, where he admitted use of the banned substance. Because he did not declare the use of drostanolone before being tested, he received a two-year suspension from CSAD. Additionally, the UFC has terminated his contract with the promotion. Lutterbach will be eligible to return to active competition on June 23, 2026.

“I actually used juice [three] months ago and had no idea I would sign with the UFC,” Lutterbach wrote on Instag…

Highly-touted prospect Paul Hughes will be taking a significant step up in competition for his next fight.

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A lightweight clash pitting Hughes against A.J. McKee has been targeted for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming pay-per-view event on Oct. 19. MagicM MMABets first brought word of the pairing on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. The promotion has yet to formally announce the bout.

The PFL Super Fights Event, entitled "Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact,"is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira. In the co-main event, Cristiane Justino will square off against Larissa Pacheco. The card will air on pay-per-view, likely through ESPN+.

A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes ended a high-profile free agent period by signing with the PFL. He made his debut with Bellator – which is also owned by PFL – on June 22, when he defeated Bobby King via second-round TKO. “Big News…

Antonio Carlos Jr. won’t be fighting on Friday night as originally expected, but the Brazilian will remain an alternate for the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight playoffs.

Carlos Jr. was slated to face Karl Albrektsson at PFL 8 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, but the promotion recently announced that the 205-pound clash has been removed from the card. However, “Cara de Sapato” will be available to fill in should anything go awry for the four light heavyweight semfinalists.

PFL 8 features semifinal bouts at both light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a rematch of a 2023 final, as Impa Kasanganay squares off against Joshua Silveira at 205 pounds. The main draw airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream via ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Carlos Jr. returned from a hiatus that lasted nearly two years for the 2024 PFL season. After submitting Simon Biyong at PFL 2, the 34-year-…

Dan Hooker claims that Israel Adesanya is physically different going into UFC 305.

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Adesanya challenges Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia. Hooker, who is his City Kickboxing teammate, also competes on the same card against Mateusz Gamrot in matchup of lightweight contenders.

Hooker recently revealed that Adesanya has primarily been working on his strength and conditioning during his 10-month layoff, the longest of his career. And Hooker can not only see the effects of that in Adesanya’s physique but also feels them in sparring.

“So honestly, he’s hitting like an ox right now,” Hooker told Fox Sports Australia. “And hitting harder than I’ve ever seen before. He really is looking scary. In all the time off, Izzy did nothing but work with his strength and conditioning coach, lift weights, doing all of this stuff.

“There’s just a voice in the back of your head now that’s sayi…

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Steve Erceg’s father initially provided the motivation for one of the world’s best flyweights to not give up on mixed martial arts.

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Erceg will look to get back into title contention against Kai Kara-France in the co-main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. The Australian looks to bounce back from a hard-fought title loss against Alexandre Pantoja, where he silenced his doubters who considered him undeserving of the title shot in the first place.

Erceg recently revealed that he was about to leave the sport almost as soon as he started training. Erceg was first intrigued by the sport of MMA when he saw Frank Mir submit a visibly larger Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 in 2008. The urge to figure out how Mir did what he did led Erceg to Wilkies Martial Arts at the age of 14.

While Erceg had started training with the intention of competing, he was joined by his father Matthew Erceg, who needed to lose some weight. However, …

Israel Adesanya expects Dricus Du Plessis to immediately shoot for a takedown in their upcoming title fight.

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Adesanya will challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. A well-versed mixed martial artist, Du Plessis has an almost equal number of knockouts (nine) and submissions (10) among his 19 career finishes. While he is primarily considered a wrestler, Du Plessis has proven his ability to strike at an elite level with knockout wins over the likes of Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker in the UFC.

However, Adesanya, who is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of the sport, doubts Du Plessis will be willing to stand with him. The former Glory Kickboxing standout believes “Stillknocks” will be looking for the takedown from the get-go, a strategy for which he is prepared. Boasting a takedown defense rate of 77%, “The Last Stylebender” recalls handling a number of top-…

Are these the best ones yet?! 😍

Buy your own pair here: https://t.co/CEOVt2EWZD | #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/ylUWbhjuez

— UFC (@ufc) August 13, 2024

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Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will have some special attire for their championship headliner at UFC 305.

The Las Vegas-based promotion revealed the custom fight shorts that the middleweight combatants will wear for their bout at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night. The shorts are specially made by Venum, the official outfitter of the UFC.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Du Plessis claimed the middleweight crown with a split-decision triumph over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 on Jan. 20. The 30-year-old South African will carry a nine-bout winning streak into his grudge match with Adesanya. He also owns notable victories over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Darren Till.

Adesanya is returning to…

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Mateusz Gamrot claims Dustin Poirier’s last fight against Islam Makhachev is proof that “Gamer” is the best wrestler in the lightweight division.

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Gamrot is scheduled to take on veteran contender Dan Hooker at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. Gamrot believes a potential victory over Hooker sets him up for an interim lightweight title fight, and then an eventual title unifier against the champ Makhachev, who is temporarily sidelined due to a hand injury.

While “Gamer” acknowledges Makhachev’s elite grappling skillset, he considers himself the best wrestler in the lightweight division. And Gamrot highlights Makhachev’s last title fight against Poirier, whom he helped train, as testament to that. Poirier gave Makhachev a stern test en route to a fifth-round submission loss at UFC 302 this past June. While cornering Poirier for the fight, Gamrot had it 2-2 going into the final frame — although the judges saw it differently. Ga…

Ricky Glenn appears to have reached a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career.

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The Marshalltown, Iowa, native has lost consecutive bouts for the first time in his professional tenure, falling to Drew Dober and Christos Giagos via KO/TKO in his last two UFC appearances. Those defeats were also the first two knockout losses of Glenn’s career, which began in 2006.

Glenn will look to return to the win column for the first time in three years when he squares off against Kenan Song in a preliminary lightweight bout at UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night.

“I’ve never been TKOed or KOed, so that’s kind of weird,” Glenn told UFC.com. “F—k man, you can control everything you can control, but then when you get in there, you just kind of gotta roll the dice, do the best you can do.

“Obviously the best I can do wasn’t enough, and I lost my last couple fights, and I’m just looking at this one as going in there, having fun; tryin…

Former Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza has been suspended one year for failing an out-of-competition drug test.

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Cappelozza tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolite, desethyl-clomifene, in a urine sample collected on April 17, 2024. Clomiphene is in the category of hormone and metabolic modulators and is banned at all times under the PFL anti-doping policy. Cappelozza will be eligible to return to active competition on April 17, 2025.

It’s the second failed drug test for Cappelozza, who tested positive for drostanolone in relation to a PFL regular season bout against Matheus Scheffel on April 7, 2023. That resulted in a nine-month suspension for the Brazilian, whose knockout of Scheffel was also overturned to a no contest.

Cappelozza returned to action for the first time since that sanction at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs event on Feb. 24, when he suffered a second-round submission loss to former Bel…

Dana White's Contender Series is officially back for another season.

All 10 competitors slated to fight on Week 1 made weight without issue ahead of their respective bouts on Monday. The show awards UFC contracts to fighters who impress Dana White with their performance.

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The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday and airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a middleweight showdown pitting Mansur Abdul-Malik (186) against Wesley Schultz (185).

Anchored at MMA Masters, Abdul Malik will take a 5-0 mark into the matchup with Schultz. He last appeared at LFA 176 on Feb. 9, when he defeated Allan St-Gelais via first-round knockout. All five of his professional triumphs have come inside of a round.

Schultz, meanwhile, has competed primarily for LFA while compiling a 6-1 record. He’s won his last three outings inside of a round, including a stoppage of Adland Benson at LFA 181 on April 5.

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While he might have been viewed as an unlikely title challenger in just his fourth Octagon appearance, Steve Erceg proved that he belonged on that stage this past May.

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The 29-year-old Australian gave Alexandre Pantoja all he could handle in the UFC 301 headliner, ultimately dropping a competitive unanimous decision to the reigning flyweight champion in Rio de Janeiro.

“Showed people that, despite the apparent pressure, I’m not going to wilt,” Erceg recently told the New York Post. “Although it looked too soon and all that nonsense, it probably wasn’t. I’m going to be a contender and then, eventually, champion one day.”

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Erceg will return to action for the first time since then when he meets Kai Kara-France in the UFC 305 co-main event on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth. A victory over another top contender could put “Astro Boy” right back into the middle of the title discussio…

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As a coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov is known for running a very tight ship. Belal Muhammad recently just learned firsthand how strict Nurmagomedov’s workouts can be.

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Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick recently revealed details of one of Nurmagomedov’s “invite only” training sessions that he attended at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Nicksick said that Nurmagomedov’s training sessions are extremely strict, with everyone laser focused only on training throughout. Nicksick admits drawing valuable insights from those practices regarding changes he can implement at his own gym.

“It’s invite only… It’s very serious, but very regimented. There’s no music, there’s no bulls—ing. Like, they’re not there to talk s—t with one another and joke around,” Nicksick told Red Corner MMA. “You’re there and it’s work, from the moment you step on the mat until the moment you’re off the mat…It taught me a lot on how to improve some of our…

It’s a tough pick for Robert Whittaker to make between former foes Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya for their upcoming title fight.

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Du Plessis looks to defend his middleweight title for the first time against Adesanya in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, this weekend. The South African knocked out Whittaker at UFC 290 last year to earn the title shot and dethroned then champ Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 297 this past January.

Whittaker is finding it increasingly difficult to make a pick for the UFC 305 main event as the fight draws near. However, judging by Du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, Whittaker expects the champ to retain his title. Regardless of the outcome of the fight, “Bobby Knuckles” expects it to go the distance as both fighters are too skilled to be finished.

“If Dricus pushes the same plan, uses the same style he had against Strickland, he has to be my pick to win,” Whittaker told Fox Sport…

Dricus Du Plessis recently addressed the possibility of a future rematch against Sean Strickland.

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Du Plessis dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 this past January via split decision in a middleweight title fight that could have easily been scored either way. Strickland later claimed to have been robbed due to the fight taking place in “liberal” Canada.

Strickland has since been calling for a rematch, strengthening his case with a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. Meanwhile, Du Plessis is set for his first title defense against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia.

When it comes to a potential rematch against Strickland, Du Plessis says he doesn’t owe the American anything. The South African claims to be surprised by the controversy surrounding the scorecards, which according to him, shouldn’t have been split in the first place. However, that doesn’t mean Du Plessis will shy away from a rematch agai…

🚨 New Opp 🚨@KingCaseyMMA will now take on Brazil’s Luana Santos at #UFC305! pic.twitter.com/h6DgbQoiM6

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) August 12, 2024

Luana Santos will step for Tereza Bleda and face Casey O'Neill at UFC 305 on Saturday.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion recently confirmed the new flyweight booking after it was initially announced by All In Sports Management. UFC 305 takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Santos will make a quick turnaround after appearing at UFC on ESPN 59 on July 13, when she defeated Mariya Agapova via first-round submission. The 24-year-old Brazilian has won five straight contests, including three in UFC competition.

O’Neill, meanwhile, began her professional tenure with nine consecutive triumphs. After winning her first…

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Alexander Volkanovski is expecting a return to form for Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

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“The Last Stylebender” will return to action on Saturday for the first time since relinquishing the middleweight strap to Sean Strickland in the UFC 293 headliner last September. It was perplexing effort from Adesanya, who was building a resume at 185 pounds that rivaled some of the best in the sport’s history.

Volkanovski, who has trained with Adesanya at City Kickboxing, believes his teammate is capable of putting on a highlight reel performance against current 185-pound champ Dricus Du Plessis.

“I’m expecting a performance from Israel Adesanya, like a proper performance like you’ve seen [in] the Paulo Costa [fight]. A fight like that where he goes out and just does it in impressive fashion,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “Because Dricus is very awkward, very un…

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Israel Adesanya has benefitted from a much-needed recharge since his upset loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last September.

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“I’ve definitely evolved,” Adesanya told TMZ Sports. “And just taking my time to heal myself: mind, body and spirit. Patience has been my friend throughout this whole thing. I’m a very patient man, so I’m just able to sit, watch and plot.”

When Adesanya relinquished the middleweight strap to Strickland, it ranked as one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Shortly thereafter, he revealed that he wouldn't be fighting for “a long time.” In addition to mental healing, Adesanya revealed that he has been focused on eating healthier and getting the proper amount of sleep.

“Now I’m living like a proper athlete and it’s nice,” he said.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Adesanya will return for the first time since that loss when he challenges Dricus Du Plessis for …