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[embedded content] Someone’s block will get knocked off come October.

Robelis Despaigne (5-1) is slated to trade leather against Austen Lane (12-5) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas in Oct. 19. The matchup was first announced on Monday by Despaigne on Instagram, and later confirmed by multiple outlets. The two will tangle on a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night show that currently only has its headliner announced between Michel Pereira and Anthony Hernandez.

2012 taekwondo Olympic bronze medalist Despaigne started his MMA career with four consecutive first-round knockouts, combining for 5:13 of total cage time. His UFC debut in March went swimmingly, as the Cuban crushed Josh Parisian in 18 seconds at UFC 299. “The Bad Boy” was then matched up against Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a quick turnaround at UFC St. Louis in May, but that did not go so well for him. Cortes-Acosta derailed the 6-foot-7 striker by outwrestling him to earn a unanimous decision win.

Meanwhile, for…

A pair of formerly ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights will try to get a number next to their name in September.

Two large 205ers will come to blows on Sept. 7 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas as part of UFC Fight Night 242, as first reported by MMA Junkie on Monday. Both Ryan Spann (21-10) and Ovince St. Preux (27-17) are 2-3 in their last five respective outings, but a statement performance could still rebound them to fringe contender status. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

The 32-year-old Spann has dropped three straight outings, with a triangle choke loss to Nikita Krylov, a close decision to Anthony Smith and a stunning knockout at the hands of Bogdan Guskov sullying his recent ledger. Before the trio of setbacks, Spann maintained his status as a top-15 light heavyweight by hitting a quick guillotine choke on Ion Cutelaba and crushing Dominick Reyes in 80 seconds in 2022. As a pro, “Superman” has earned stoppages in 18 of…

Two action fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division will clash in October.

The organization has added Chris Curtis (31-11, 1 NC) vs. Kevin Holland (26-11, 1 NC) to the billing of UFC 307 on Oct. 5, courtesy of an initial announcement by Curtis’ management team Iridium Sports Agency on Monday. The former welterweights who have swum in the same circles for years will finally throw down, likely doing so in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City—although that venue is not official. The middleweight pairing has since been confirmed by Holland on social media.

“The Action Man” is coming off a pair of split decisions leading up to this expected main card excursion, winning one against Marc-Andre Barriault in January and dropping a five-rounder to Brendan Allen in April. While the well-traveled Curtis had experienced success introducing himself to the promotion in 2021 and 2021, beating Phil Hawes, Allen and Rodolfo Vieira, he has struggled since then,…

The noble Merab Dvalishvili would rather go out on his shield whenever possible.

Winner of 10 straight in the talent-rich bantamweight division, Dvalishvili (17-4) will get a crack at the title held by Sean O'Malley (18-1, 1 NC) at UFC 306. While friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling held the strap from 2021 to 2023, the pathway is now open for the Georgian to pursue undisputed gold. He will try to do so in the main attraction of the card titled “Noche UFC,” which takes place on Sep. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

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When Sterling was dethroned by O’Malley at UFC 292 in September, he immediately protested his knockout loss to referee Marc Goddard, proclaiming it was too early. Dvalishvili watched that result closely, and vows to prove that O’Malley “got lucky” putting away “Funk Master,” with a light touch from Goddard. “The Machine” told The Schmo on Sunday that he prefers his fight handled a bit differently.

“I’m going to beat Sean O'Malley,…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has enough with flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev.

Mokaev (13-0, 1 NC) defeated Manel Kape (19-7) in his adopted home country of England on Saturday, picking up a less-than-stellar decision win over his bitter rival. Ahead of UFC 304, the flyweights had brewed plenty of bad blood between them, even getting into multiple scuffles prior to their actual fight. However, that aggression was nowhere to be found once the Octagon doors closed, with referee Mike Beltran even calling for more action in the opening frame. The UFC brass was not impressed by his performance, and even less so by his conduct behind the scenes.

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Approaching this event in Manchester, England, Mokaev revealed that the bout with Kape was the last fight on his UFC contract. While he hoped it would be renewed, he claimed that UFC matchmakers were not a fan of his grappling-heavy style and allegedly told him that his re-signing hinged on his UFC 304 per…

At 33 years of age, Curtis Blaydes still has plenty of time to develop and climb back up the heavyweight division.

Blaydes (18-5, 1 NC) challenged Tom Aspinall (15-3) for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event at UFC 304 in the latter’s home of Manchester, England. The two previously clashed in 2022, with Blaydes picking up an injury stoppage TKO win after Aspinall blew out his knee in 15 seconds. In the rematch, Blaydes fared well in the initial exchanges, but a single jab set “Razor” down, and Aspinall finished the job with ruthless ground-and-pound to notch the stoppage one minute into the fight.

Addressing his defeat, Blaydes apologized for throwing his premeditated gameplan out the window after landing on Aspinall early. “Razor” remained confident that he would have defeated the Brit had he stuck to the strategy designed by his coaches.

“Sorry guys,” Blaydes wrote, “I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplay that my…

Paddy Pimblett targets Renato “Moicano” Carneiro next after his win over Bobby Green at UFC 304.

Pimblett (22-3) choked Green (32-16-1, 1 NC) to sleep in the opening round of their lightweight matchup in front of a home crowd in Manchester, England. The Liverpudlian had a name ready when given the opportunity to call someone out in his post-fight Octagon interview: “Moicano.” Pimblett hopes to face the Brazilian before the end of the year or early next year, provided the fighter who also calls himself “Money” gets past his upcoming opponent of Benoit St. Denis at UFC Paris in September.

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“I have a name that everybody wants me to fight, Renato ‘Moicano,’” Pimblett said. “Hopefully he gets through [Benoit St. Denis]. We’ll see if we can set it up before the end of the year or in the new year.”

Pimblett and Carneiro have been teasing a matchup for a while now, with the Englishman having issued the initial callout. However, Carneiro didn’t include Pimble…

Muhammad Mokaev’s post-fight admission might have cost him his job.

Unbeaten youngster Mokaev (13-0, 1 NC) picked up a lackluster win over rival Kape (19-7) in front of his home fans in Manchester, England, on the prelims of UFC 304. Leading up to the fight, UFC featherweight Jean Silva reported Kape punched Mokaev outside the UFC Performance Institute. However, Kape dismissed the reports as mere exaggeration by his friend to help promote the fight.

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On fight week, Mokaev and Kape’s teams were captured on video brawling at the fighter hotel after the UFC 304 weigh-ins. While Kape subsequently posted a picture of Mokaev with a cut on the forehead, the Dagestan-born Brit shared a photo of his unscathed face along with a screengrab of a seemingly downed Kape. Kape’s coach, Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture, subsequently accused Mokaev of sucker punching the Angolan on the pretext of taking a photo together.

Kape and Mokaev looked primed to attack one an…

REN HIRAMOTO IS THE LAST MAN STANDING!!!

HE STOPS MIKURU ASAKURA IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND!

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Watch on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/CXiPKkswl0

[ #SuperRIZIN3 ] pic.twitter.com/IEUWvFUMaG

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) July 28, 2024 Competing in front of 48,111 fans inside a packed Saitama Super Arena, Ren Hiramoto scored the biggest victory of his young MMA career in devastating fashion Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: Super Rizin 3 in Saitama, Japan. Hiramoto knocked out heated rival Mikuru Asakura in the featherweight main event to win the Rizin FF ‘Last Man Standing’ title. Leading in to tonight’s headliner, both Hiramoto (4-3, 4-3 Rizin) and Asakura (17-5, 1 NC; 11-4 Rizin) had pledged to retire if they were not victorious. Hiramoto was viewed by many as an underdog due to his comparable lack of experience, but he looked like a seasoned veteran tonight and needed just 2:18 to dispatch of Asakura.

Early on, Asakura lande…

REN HIRAMOTO IS THE LAST MAN STANDING!!!

HE STOPS MIKURU ASAKURA IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND!

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Watch on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/CXiPKkswl0

[ #SuperRIZIN3 ] pic.twitter.com/IEUWvFUMaG

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) July 28, 2024 Competing in front of 48,111 fans inside a packed Saitama Super Arena, Ren Hiramoto scored the biggest victory of his young MMA career in devastating fashion Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: Super Rizin 3 in Saitama, Japan. Hiramoto knocked out heated rival Mikuru Asakura in the featherweight main event to win the Rizin FF ‘Last Man Standing’ title. Leading in to tonight’s headliner, both Hiramoto (4-3, 4-3 Rizin) and Asakura (17-5, 1 NC; 11-4 Rizin) had pledged to retire if they were not victorious. Hiramoto was viewed by many as an underdog due to his comparable lack of experience, but he looked like a seasoned veteran tonight and needed just 2:18 to dispatch of Asakura.

Early on, Asakura lande…

Paddy Pimblett will need a caddy for the bonuses he won Saturday night.

The rising lightweight prospect cashed $200,000 in bonuses for submitting Bobby Green in the first round at UFC 304 with an uber-slick triangle. Pimblett frustrated Green on the feet before Green unwisely level changed and took him to the mat. Pimblett seized his opportunity and snatched up the submission, putting him to sleep in front of the screaming fans at the Co-Op Arena in Manchester, England.

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UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall raises his stock every time he steps in the Octagon, and he upped his bank account by $100,00 on Saturday with a first-round knockout over Curtis Blaydes. While Dana White still seems set on making the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight, Aspinall has only raised the pressure on Jones to fight him for the undisputed title.

It was a good night for heavyweights as Michael “Mick” Parkin also took home a $100,000 bonus for his devastating first…

It’ll be harder to forget the name now.

Belal Muhammad did what many thought couldn’t be done and dethroned Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Leon Edwards by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the UFC 304 main event Saturday night at the Co-op live in Manchester, England.

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Muhammad backed Edwards up with the jab and routinely took him down with a high-crotch single leg. Edwards looked lethargic but had Muhammad in danger in Round 3 and in the final minute of the fight when he cut the challenger with a nasty elbow. Outside of those moments, the former champion was dominated by the disciplined Chicagoan, who capped off his 10-fight win streak with UFC gold.Aspinall Avenges Fluke Loss Tom Aspinall has his eyes on Jon Jones and he refused to let Curtis Blaydes get in the way. The interim heavyweight champion avenged his knee injury loss to Blaydes two years ago with a devasting first-round knockout (1:00) to retain his belt in the…

Sherdog's live UFC 304 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:15 p.m. ET.UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Bannon (-185), Ardelean (+155)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Parkin (-245), Brzeski (+200)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the…

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Nathaniel Wood continued his quiet climb up the UFC featherweight ranks—but Daniel Pineda made things interesting, as he always seems to do.

In the top preliminary bout of UFC 304 on Saturday in Manchester, England, “The Prospect” entered as a prohibitive four-to-one favorite and, for a few minutes at least, fought like it. Wood (20-6; 8-3 UFC) got out to a hot start, nailing Pineda (28-16, 3 NC; 5-7, 1 NC UFC) with a front kick to the body that folded him in half. “The Pit” managed to snare Wood in his guard as the Englishman swarmed to finish, buying himself time to recover. Pineda did a good job working his way back from the near finish, sweeping Wood and landing some hard ground shots as the round expired. Wood picked the gauntlet right back up in Round 2, hurting Pineda with a pinpoint punch that left him blinking and pawing at his right eye. Again, Pineda plied his veteran savvy and toughness to ride out the storm and recover, but Woo…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to England this weekend with a pay-per-view event, although local fans will have to deal with quite the late start time.

Two title fights are now set for the top of the UFC 304 card. The main event will see Leon Edwards attempting to defend his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad. Meanwhile, the co-main event will see interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall go up against the last man to defeat him, Curtis Blaydes. All four title fight participants made weight, as did the rest of the card with the exception of would-be bantamweight Jake Hadley, who came in at 137 pounds for his fight against Caolan Loughran. Hadley will be fined 20% of his purse as a result.

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Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) previously fought Muhammad to a no contest after an accidental eye poke stopped the fight early into Round 2. "Rocky" had been fully in control up to that point and will look to get a definitive win in t…

#NocheUFC from @SphereVegas on September 14th!!!! Fight Club Pre sale Monday. pic.twitter.com/jABnXWAUPw

— UFC (@ufc) July 26, 2024 The 20 participants for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s extravaganza at The Sphere have all been selected.

On Sept. 14, the promotion will stage UFC 306, also known as “Noche UFC,” at The Sphere in Las Vegas. This venue with a reported 18,600 seats will serve as the one-off location for a pay-per-view card headlined by Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight throne. On Friday, the organization announced the full, ordered lineup of all 10 matches, with remade pairing between Brian Ortega (16-3, 1 NC) and Diego Lopes (25-6) in the “featured fight of the night” slot.

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Ortega and Lopes were originally slated to compete at UFC 303, but a fight week snafu involving Ortega’s weight ballooned into an issue with Ortega’s health. The bout, once set for featherweight and then 15…

#NocheUFC from @SphereVegas on September 14th!!!! Fight Club Pre sale Monday. pic.twitter.com/jABnXWAUPw

— UFC (@ufc) July 26, 2024 An even 20% of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts on Mexican Independence Day will be for gold.

The organization formalized the entire lineup of UFC 306 on Friday, announcing on video the complete 10-fight billing. Serving as the main event will be a bantamweight championship battle between Sean O'Malley (18-1, 1 NC) and Merab Dvalishvili (17-4), in a fight long-since rumored to be headlining this show. The co-main attraction will come at 125 pounds as Alexa Grasso (16-3-1) puts her belt on the line against ex-flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1) in their trilogy match. This gala event will go down at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.

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135-pound champ O’Malley has amassed a seven-fight unbeaten streak since his lone career loss, a knockout to Marlon Vera in 2020. As he wo…

UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! The Ultimate Fighting Championship has no interest in letting one of its young stars test free agency.

Ahead of UFC 304, lightweight Paddy Pimblett mentioned repeatedly that he was nearing the end of his current UFC deal, with the final fight of it coming on Saturday. The 29-year-old opined that he would get re-signed, expecting that the promotion will hold onto him tightly. According to manager Graham Boylan on Friday—also the promoter of Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, where Pimblett competed before joining the UFC—his new contract is in place with the promotion. The terms were not disclosed, other than Boylan remarking that his athlete was “handsomely rewarded.” Pimblett also mentioned on Episode 5 of “UFC 304 Embedded” that he will remain under contract with the company.

“The Baddy has signed a new deal with [the] UFC,” Boylan wrote on social media, “he’s very happy to see his value has be…

A day before the official announcement, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is shifting things around for its card at the Sphere.

On Friday, MMA Fighting first reported that Michel Pereira (31-11, 2 NC) vs. Anthony Hernandez (12-2, 1 NC) would no longer be taking place at UFC 306—which will have all 10 of its bouts set in stone on Saturday. Instead, for currently undisclosed reasons, the middleweights will do battle a month later at the main attraction of a newly announced UFC Fight Night show on Oct. 19. They are expected to compete for five rounds inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Fluffy” has since confirmed the rescheduled booking on his Instagram Stories, while remarking that it would be taking place around his birthday of Oct. 18.

The high-flying Pereira will come into this pairing on an eight-fight win streak, as the victor of three in a row since relocating himself to the 185-pound division. At this new weight class, the Brazilian has dispatched three foes…

Sumit Bhyan was in no mood for warm welcomes.

The Warrior’s Cove MMA export spoiled the ONE Championship debut of Will Drewitt, as he rode a hyperactive bottom game to a split decision in their three-round ONE Friday Fights 72 lightweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Two of the ringside judges struck scorecards for Bhyan (2-1, 1-1 ONE), who rebounded from his Nov. 23 technical knockout loss to Matheus Pereira.

Drewitt (0-1, 0-1 ONE) employed takedowns and top control but failed to consolidate those efforts with meaningful damage. Bhyan attacked with elbows off his back and a variety of submissions. He did his best work in Round 2, where he threatened Drewitt with a triangle armbar and a kimura that undoubtedly drew the attention of those entrusted with tallying points. Bhyan conceded a takedown inside the first 20 seconds of the third round but answered with elbow strikes from mission control and managed to dodge the occasional b…

[embedded content] UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is willing to open its pocketbooks a little more for the most exciting results on Saturday.

Ahead of UFC 300 in April, MMA Junkie raised the question at the pre-fight press conference of if the UFC would offer $300,000 bonus checks for the victors. The organization agreed on the spot, and the triumphant headliner Max Holloway ended up an additional $600,000 richer at night’s end for his spectacular knockout of Justin Gaethje. Since then, pay-per-view event press conferences have seen this type of request repeat, and the promotion has obliged to a degree—granting additional “Performance of the Night” checks at UFC 303.

At the UFC 304 pre-fight press conference, media did not have to ask. Instead, main card participant Bobby Green brought it up.

“Uncle Dana, let’s spice it up a little bit,” Green remarked, joined by cheers from …

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Curtis Blaydes laid down his gameplan to show Alex Pereira what time it is in a potential matchup.

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Pereira (11-2) has won the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight and light heavyweight title and defended the latter three times in less than three years of his debut with the promotion. The Brazilian’s unprecedented rise to stardom has led to talks of a potential move up to heavyweight to chase three-division glory. Watching Pereira spar heavyweight boxers like Australia’s Demsey McKean and China’s Zhilei Zhang led many to believe that “Poatan” can hold his own against heavyweights.

However, Blaydes (18-4) strongly warned Pereira against a move up to heavyweight. “Razor” explained that his strategy against Pereira would be to immediately shoot for a takedown, which he believes he can get at will. Blaydes believes Pereira is also well aware of that and is seeking specific fights at heavyweight instead of random matchups. Acco…

Team Mokaev and Team Kape got into a scuffle at the fighters' hotel in Manchester. This comes amid numerous reports about their conflict earlier this year at the UFC PI#UFC304 #UFCManchester pic.twitter.com/3aCBCrzMvo

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) July 24, 2024 UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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Two of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most talented flyweights can’t seem to understand that they aren’t allowed to fight until the cage door closes.

On Wednesday during UFC 304 fight week, the teams of Manel Kape (19-6) and Muhammad Mokaev (12-0, 1 NC) threw down inside of the fighters’ hotel in Manchester, England. This is not the first time the two entourages reportedly scrapped, as UFC featherweight Jean Silva claimed that a scuffle erupted at the UFC Performance Institute earlier in the month. Per MMA Fighting, Kape later suggested that rumors of that encounter might have been gr…

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Caolan Loughran is not buying into the hype behind Payton Talbott.

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Going into his upcoming UFC 304 clash against Jake Hadley (10-3), Loughran (9-1) questioned the hype behind fellow bantamweight prospect Talbott (9-0). While the Irishman acknowledges Talbott’s skillset, he has noticed certain shortcomings in the latter’s game. Loughran claims that while all rising stars in history had their ground game doubted initially, Talbott’s grappling actually got exposed in his debut against Nick Aguirre. Talbott was outgrappled by Aguirre in the first round before coming back to score a third-round stoppage win in his first UFC outing in November 2023.

“Talbott is a good fighter – 100 percent a good fighter. Fair play to him going well, but [expletive] man, cool the jets,” Loughran said at the UFC 304 media day. “I watched his debut. Whenever the Mac [Conor McGregor] was coming up, people were saying when he fights a grappler, he’ll get …