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The budding rivalry between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya reached a boiling point following the South African’s triumph over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last summer.

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In that moment, tensions flared when Adesanya entered the Octagon to confront Du Plessis, setting the stage for a future title bout between the two middleweights. Du Plessis had drawn Adesanya’s ire when he referred to himself as “the African fighter in the UFC” during a media day event in 2023, and that anger was reflected when the Nigerian-born Kiwi addressed Du Plessis in the cage that night.

The highly-anticipated showdown between Adesanya and Du Plessis took some time to materialize, but the two will finally meet more than a year later in the UFC 305 headliner on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Now, however, their roles are reversed: Du Plessis is the champion and Adesanya is the challenger. In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Du Plessis…

Eric Nicksick shares the story of how a thoughtful gesture from Francis Ngannou brought one of his coaches to tears 👏

🎥 @MMAFighting #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/9UR5dzj31g

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 10, 2024

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Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick recently revealed how a gesture from Francis Ngannou moved one of his other coaches to tears.

Nicksick shared how fellow coach Nate Pettit is one of the hardest working guys in the gym, devoting his whole life to the Las Vegas-based camp. A couple of weeks ago, a teary-eyed Pettit walked up to Nicksick in the gym and said Ngannou had just handed him a check.

When Nicksick later thanked Ngannou for looking out for Pettit, “The Predator” said he didn’t want the coach’s efforts to go unreciprocated. Nicksick also credited Pettit for a significant role in preparing Ngannou for his knockout title win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in 2021.

“Nate Pettit’s one …

Jose Mariscal was so embarrassed by missing weight for his clash against Damon Jackson on Saturday that he almost pulled out of the fight.

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UFC on ESPN 61 allowed only one hour for fighters to weigh in instead of the usual two. Mariscal, who weighed in at 3.5 pounds over the featherweight limit, was one of three fighters who missed weight for the event. However, Mariscal doesn’t blame the short weigh-in window and instead takes responsibility for his weight miss.

A lifetime martial artist, Mariscal knows the importance of making weight. “Chepe” didn’t even want to be seen in the arena, but his coaches put his mind back on track. An undisclosed portion of Mariscal’s purse was offered to Jackson, who agreed to proceed with the fight. Mariscal went on to earn an impressive unanimous decision win over Jackson in a high-paced, entertaining affair.

“We kind of calculated the weight cut kind of wrong, especially with the Vegas heat and everything — …

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Dricus Du Plessis credits coach Morne Visser for the tip which helped him finish Robert Whittaker to earn a UFC middleweight title shot.

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“Stillknocks” scored a second-round stoppage of Whittaker in their title eliminator matchup at UFC 290 in July 2023. The South African revealed that it was his coach’s plan to fight southpaw that earned him the finish.

While Du Plessis admits Whittaker is almost technically flawless, his team noticed “Bobby Knuckles” getting clipped against southpaws even when the Australian emerged victorious. Du Plessis listened to his coach’s advice to go southpaw and was rewarded perfectly.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “All credit to my coach for that fight,” Du Plessis said on the UFC 305 Countdown show. “There’s very very few holes in the game of Robert Whittaker. Fighting southpaws, he beat all of them but he got caught a few times coming in. And we went thro…

Impa Kasanganay won’t dwell on his initial meeting with Joshua Silveira going into their upcoming clash next weekend.

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Kasanganay and Silveira will headline PFL 8 in a light heavyweight semifinal matchup on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The two previously met at last season’s final in November 2023, when Kasanganay earned a unanimous decision victory to win $1 million and rise to stardom as the promotion’s light heavyweight champion.

However, Kasanganay is considering their upcoming clash a “new hunt” rather than a rematch. Acknowledging his opponent’s skillset, “Tshilobo” says he expects Silveira to have put the previous loss behind him.

“I expect Josh to be the best version of himself. Josh is a solid fighter; he’s smart and coached well. To me, it’s not a rematch. It’s a whole new hunt. Last year is behind us. I always say burn the ships, so, what title?” Kasanganay told Sherdog.com.

“For me, I could care less …

Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be part of the broadcast table for UFC 305 while Joe Rogan takes his customary absence during an international event.

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Cruz will join Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik for the pay-per-view event on Aug. 17. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Rogan will likely return to his usual role for UFC 306, which is scheduled for The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. In the co-main event Kai Kara France will square off against Steve Erceg in a matchup of flyweight contenders.

The UFC 305 main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims will begin on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT before shifting to ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Sergehi Spivac wasted little time exacting revenge on Marcin Tybura.

The Moldovan made short work of Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 headliner, submitting his Polish opponent in the opening stanza of their heavyweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. An armbar from Spivac (17-4, 8-4 UFC) elicited a verbal tap from Tybura (25-9, 12-8) at the 1:44 mark of Round 1. “The Polar Bar” has finished 15 of his 17 career triumphs — including 11 inside a round. Tybura defeated Spivac via unanimous decision in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 169 in February 2020.

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Spivac closed the distance quickly and made his way to Tybura’s back early in the fight. However, Tybura was able to reverse into top position shortly thereafter. That success proved to be short lived, as Spivac worked his guard up, flipped his opponent over and locked in the decisive hold.

Spivac has won four of his last five promotional appearances, while Tybura has dro…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 61 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Luciano (-185), Alencar (+154)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Zalal (-395), Errens (+310)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Resul…

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Sometimes, a fight comes down to the winning fighter having one elite technique, the moxie to use it, and an opponent who cannot or will not make adjustments.

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In the final fight of the four-bout undercard of UFC on ESPN 61 on Saturday in Las Vegas, Karol Rosa (18-6) brutalized Pannie Kianzad (16-9) for three rounds with a barrage of calf kicks. From the opening seconds of the fight, Rosa went to work on the lead leg of Kianzad and those kicks defined the round, as Kianzad first ignored them, then began trying to pull the threatened limb out of danger, and finally, late in the round, had her leg buckle. The onslaught continued in Round 2, with Rosa pouring on the low kicks and meeting “Banzai” with punches and elbow strikes when she tried to close the distance. By the midpoint of the round, Kianzad was limping and bleeding badly from a cut opened by a Rosa elbow, but remained game, marching forward and throwing punches ev…

The three fighters who didn’t need to go to the judges — Serghei Spivac, Toshiomi Kazama and Youssef Zalal — all received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work on Saturday.

Spivac got his revenge on Marcin Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 main event, as he submitted the Pole in their heavyweight rematch at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. An armbar ended the contest at the 1:44 mark of Round 1.

Kazama, meanwhile, had to push through some serious adversity to earn his post-fight bonus. After being dropped by Charalampos Grigoriou early in the second stanza and then absorbing some heavy elbows on the canvas, Kazama rallied to secure a triangle choke submission at the 1:55 mark of the period.

Finally, Zalal continued his resurgence at the expense of Jarno Errens in a preliminary featherweight matchup. Zalal took Errens to the canvas and then transitioned to the back. When his opponent elected to stand, “The Moroccan Devil” was able to secure the fight-end…

Brendan Loughnane has been with the Professional Fighters League since 2019 and has grown with the company to a point where both parties are thriving in the present day.

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Loughnane, who has only lost twice in the PFL, has figured out a method to the promotion’s regular season and playoff format, and five years later he’s prepared for business once again.

Loughnane will begin his bid to become a two-time PFL champion when he takes on UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Kai Kamaka III in the featherweight semifinals at PFL 9 on Aug. 23. During a recent media call, Loughnane discussed his veteran status with the promotion and how he feels this is the time for business with the playoffs having arrived.

“Yeah, this is the business end of the tournament now,” Loughnane said. “I’m feeling great. Another great camp, I’ve managed to stay healthy all year.”

When it comes to experience, it’s not just what he’s done in the PFL. Loughnane noted he has more car…

Caio Borralho expects that a title shot could be imminent if he finishes his upcoming opponent.

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The next middleweight championship bout is already set, as Dricus Du Plessis will put his 185-pound strap on the line against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia on Aug. 17. Borralho admits that while he has always mentally wagered against Du Plessis, the champ has proven him wrong time and again. And yet, Borralho predicts that “Stillknocks” will be dethroned by Adesanya due to a stylistic disadvantage.

“I always bet against Dricus you know, but I always lost,” Borralho told MMAjunkie.com. “Not money, but I always think that he was going to lose the fights that he got, but he did an amazing job and won the fights… But this time I think I’m gonna be again against him. I think Adesanya – stylistically I don’t see this fight match. I think Adesanya can manage the distance a lot, can kick him a little bit more. Because all of [his] previous oppon…

A matchup of light heavyweight veterans is in the works for UFC 310.

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Former title challengers Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes are expected to trade leather at UFC 310 on Dec. 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The matchup was first reported by MMA Mania.

Smith is 2-4 in the Octagon since 2022. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 this past June. Prior to that, “Lionheart” submitted Vitor Petrino in the first round of their bout at UFC 301 on May 4.

Meanwhile, Reyes suffered three straight knockout defeats against Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Ryan Spann following his controversial loss against Jon Jones in February 2020. While “The Devastator” was scheduled to return to action after a 19-month hiatus this past February, his return was delayed due to a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially life threatening situation. Reyes return to action in June with a first-round knockout win over Dustin …

UFC middleweight Bruno Silva has accepted a six-month suspension for a “likely unintentional” drug testing failure.

The UFC’s drug testing partner, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), announced on Friday that Silva tested positive for 3a-Hydroxy-2a-methyl-5a-androstan-17-one — a metabolite of drostanolone — in an out-of-competition sample he provided to Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) on April 11, 2024. “Blindado” also provided negative samples before being informed of the failure on March 30 (the date of his last fight), April 30 and June 14.

Silva’s positive sample also had extremely low levels of the banned substances, which led CSAD to conclude that the Brazilian did not inject drostanolone and was likely exposed to contamination. That combined with Silva’s co-operation during the entire process led to his anti-doping violation being deemed “likely unintentional.”

While this is Silva’s first drug violation under CSAD, he was suspended for two years…

"The guy needs to be Joe Biden'd, he's too old" 🤣

Tom Aspinall says Stipe Miocic should pull out of his fight with Jon Jones 🫣

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Watch Tom Aspinall’s Fight Lab: #UFC305 edition, with @AspinallMMA, @ugomonye & @AdamCatterall on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ on Sunday at 5:30PM 📺 pic.twitter.com/OA99wzZWMw — UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) August 9, 2024

While Tom Aspinall respects Stipe Miocic, he doesn’t want the veteran to stall his way to a title shot.

Miocic was originally scheduled to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November 2023 before an injury forced “Bones” out of the event. Aspinall stepped up for a short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich on the same card, where he knocked out the Russian in the first round.

Aspinall initially called for Jones to be stripped off his title. “Honey Badger” later changed track and has been calling for a title unification mat…

Tomorrow's #UFCVegas95 main event is official 🚨@MarcinTybura weighs in at 252 pounds! pic.twitter.com/3tUO5lNkPR

— UFC (@ufc) August 9, 2024 Chelsea Chandler just cannot seem to find the bantamweight limit.

After back-to-back weeks overseas, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas for UFC on ESPN 61. The 10-fight card will be headlined by a heavyweight fight between Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac. Tybura will be the larger man inside the cage, weighing in 14 pounds heavier than Spivac.

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While both heavyweights comfortably made weight, three other fighters on the card did not. Most notable was co-main event competitor Jose Mariscal, who came in 3.5 pounds over the featherweight limit for his bout against Damon Jackson. That wasn't even the biggest miss, though, as Chelsea Chandler came in five pounds over the bantamweight limit for her fight against Yana Santos, with this being her second time missing …

Utah, we're coming BACK 👊#UFC307 is headed to Salt Lake City!

For more info: https://t.co/FLA3QMZl6f@StateOfSport #StateOfSport | @DeltaCenter #DeltaCenter pic.twitter.com/6JbaXCjfcD

— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2024 For the third year in a row, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is posting up a pay-per-view party in Salt Lake City.

In 2016, the promotion first took to the city once coined “The Crossroads of the West” with a Fight Night card featuring Yair Rodriguez and Alex Caceres. Six years later, the league staged UFC 278 in the same building, then named the Vivint Arena. The company came back for UFC 291 in 2023, and UFC 307 will be the next one in the line of consecutive yearly cards. This show will be held at the Delta Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz, on Oct. 5, with this venue officially confirmed by the promotion on Thursday. There is currently no headliner on the books.

Several marquee matches …

🚨 BREAKING 🚨

HE'S BACK!👑The Return of @francis_ngannou4⃣𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒2⃣𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘1⃣Gigantic night of MMA

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and it all goes down on October 19th #PFLSuperFights pic.twitter.com/mDHCFd6PBp — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 7, 2024

Professional Fighters League is going big for its second pay-per-view event of 2024.

The organization announced on Wednesday that the card will be headlined by a heavyweight clash between former UFC champ Francis Ngannou and 2023 PFL champion Renan Ferreira. In the co-main event, reigning Bellator MMA featherweight title holder Cris Cyborg will square off against 2023 PFL 145-pound queen Larissa Pacheco.

The PFL pay-per-view event — which is titled “Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact” — takes place on Oct. 19 and is available via ESPN+. A venue and a price point for the card were not announced. In both bouts, PFL Super Fights Championship Belts will be on the line.

Ngannou…

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman will return to action against Eryk Anders at what is expected to be UFC 309 on Nov. 16.

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Anders’ management, Iridium Sports Agency, first brought word of the booking. While UFC 309 has not been officially announced by the promotion, it is likely to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Weidman will be making his second appearance of 2024 and third overall since suffering a gruesomely broken leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021. In his last outing, “The All-American” earned his first victory since August 2020, as he took a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 on March 30.

A former linebacker at the University of Alabama, Anders has competed at both middleweight and light heavyweight during his promotional tenure. The 37-year-old has won two of his last three Octagon appearances, including a three-round verdict over Jamie Pickett in his most recent outing at UFC Fight…

Belal Muhammad doesn’t see himself being very far from a potential move up to middleweight to fight for his second title.

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Muhammad got his welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards at UFC 304 after mounting a 10-fight unbeaten run. “Remember the Name” outdueled Edwards throughout five rounds in front of the latter’s home crowd in Manchester to earn a unanimous decision win.

Muhammad is already discussing a future move up to middleweight to attempt to become a two-division champion. Muhammad believes he is just two more title defenses away from being able to make that goal a reality.

Making his case, the Chicago native argues that neither of the two potential opponents for his first title defense, Kamaru Usman or Shavkat Rakhmonov, is a clear No. 1 contender. Muhammad notes that when he fought Edwards for the title, he was the undeniable title challenger. With Muhammad having already beaten several top 10 contenders on his way up to title c…

Umar Nurmagomedov has fired back at Merab Dvalishvili after the “The Machine” accused him of getting privileges in the UFC because of his connection to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Nurmagomedov climbed eight spots to No.2 in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings with an impressive unanimous decision win over top contender Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7 last weekend. Nurmagomedov is expected to be fight for the title next against the winner of Sean O'Malley-Dvalishvili, which headlines UFC 306 on Sept. 14.

However, Dvalishvili isn’t excited about a potential clash against Umar Nurmagomedov, as he believes the Dagestani has been fast tracked on his way to title contention. Dvalishvili claims Nurmagomedov hasn’t paid his dues as much as other elite contenders and has been pushed because of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is his cousin.

“He has a push because we all know why,” Dvalishvili recently told heavywgt MMA. “Because he’s Khabib’s cousin. He’s a good fighte…

While Kai Kamaka III hasn’t had the worst of it, the Hawaiian has seen the Professional Fighters League season format take a toll on fellow fighters.

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Kamaka headlines PFL 9 opposite Brendan Loughnane in a featherweight semifinal on Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. It will mark Kamaka’s third outing within a span of four months, a campaign that began with back-to-back decision wins to advance to the PFL postseason.

“The Fighting Hawaiian” says his gym, Xtreme Couture, which has built a reputation for preparing fighters for short-notice outings, has been of help while fighting so frequently in the PFL season format. However, Kamaka has also seen the format take on toll on others like his teammate, PFL light heavyweight Sadibou Sy. Kamaka revealed that the Swede, who dislocated his thumb in a freak injury loss to Joshua Silveira to start off the 2024 season, has been “banged up” all season. However, “The Swedish Denzel “has since bounced b…

Let's get it on! 🏆

Head to https://t.co/VeFJNoH35S to cast yours.#worldmmaawards #fightersonly pic.twitter.com/I4S77fCR00

— Fighters Only (@FightersOnly) August 6, 2024

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Nominees for the 16th annual World MMA Awards have been announced, and Sherdog.com is among the candidates for Best MMA Media Source.

Fighters Only Magazine, which launched the awards in 2008, announced the full list of nominees in more than 20 categories on Tuesday. In addition to Best MMA Media Source, winners will be selected for Fighter of the Year (in multiple categories), Fight of the Year, Knockout of the Year, Upset of the Year, Coach of the Year, Gym of the Year, Referee of the Year, Best Promotion — and much more. Award nominees are selected by a panel of insiders based on their performances between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Voting is now live and continues through Sept. 30. Fight fans can visit the World MMA Awards website and cho…

Fans of the UFC and Professional Fighters League are going to have to endure another price hike in they want to keep watching the events held by those organizations.

Disney on Tuesday announced that the ESPN+ monthly subscription fee will increase from $10.99 to $11.99 on Oct. 17. The majority of UFC events and PFL offerings are available through ESPN+, though some can be viewed on ESPN lineal networks, as well. Meanwhile, an ESPN+ subscription is required to be able to access UFC pay-per-view events — which, of course, include an additional charge to purchase.

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When the UFC initially became broadcast partners with ESPN, the price for ESPN+ was $4.99 per month. Subscription price increases have become the norm over the years, as the price was raised to $6.99 per month in 2021 and to $9.99 in 2022. Last October, it went up to $10.99.

The UFC’s broadcast deal with ESPN will expire in 2025. UFC CEO Dana White recently indicated that the promoti…