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As Raufeon Stots continued to rack up the victories in reputable regional promotions like Legacy Fighting Alliance and Victory Fighting Championship, he still found himself overlooked when it came to making it to the next level.

That was in large part, Stots admits, because he had a singular focus on reaching the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As a wrestling coach at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Stots crossed paths with the Las Vegas-based promotion’s matchmakers on numerous occasions at events, yet he never seemed to receive a satisfying response during their interactions.

“I went up to matchmakers to their face and was like, ‘Hey bro, what’s going on? Because I’m being told that I’m next. What’s the deal?’ I kept getting runaround answers,” Stots told Sherdog.com. “I’m not in this thing forever. I can’t just sit and wait on somebody to feel like I’m worthy. You’re gonna hop on or you’re gonna miss out. That’s where I was at.

“I was getting the runaround. [They’d …

Enrico "The Killing Machine" Cortese just tapped his opponent due to some VICIOUS elbows. DAMN! #BRAVECF35 pic.twitter.com/gX4wHYDtg5

— Al Zullino (@phre) July 20, 2020

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The first of the many shows Brave Combat Federation is scheduled to hold in Europe this summer went down at the Beraria H in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday. 

In the main event of Brave CF 35, Enrico Cortese (7-2) forced Claudiu Axinte (0-1) to tap in the latter's MMA pro debut. Cortese should have initially faced Mohammad Fakhreddine, but "The Latest" was unable to travel to Romania due to Covid-19 flight restrictions. The Italian fighter adjusted his game plan and shot for a takedown early in the opening round, exploiting the fact that Axinte is a kickboxing veteran. On the canvas, "The Killing Machine" …

Just getting started

@KChimaev gave us a debut to remember!

Watch the main card on @ESPN / E+. #UFCFightIsland1 pic.twitter.com/AUZvVbHZPn — UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2020

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After an impressive Octagon debut last Wednesday, Khamzat Chimaev will compete for the second time in 10 days when he faces Rhys McKee at UFC on ESPN 14.

The welterweight pairing was announced by the promotion on Saturday. UFC on ESPN 14 takes place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a middleweight tilt pitting Robert Whittaker against Darren Till. The card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PT.

Chimaev will return to his natural weight class after submitting John Phillips with a brabo choke in the second round of their matchup at UFC on ESPN 13 on July 15. The Brave CF veteran…

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With a surprising heel-hook submission of Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday night, Jack Hermansson re-established himself as a person of interest in the UFC’s middleweight division.

“People don’t know, the heel hook has been part of my game for a long time,” Hermansson said at the UFC Fight Night 172 post-fight press conference. “But you don’t see me on bottom too much. That’s why you haven’t seen the heel hook so much before. Should I end up there again, you’re going to see another heel hook.”

Hermansson has won five of his last six Octagon appearances, with his lone setback coming at the hands of Jared Cannonier this past September. In the aftermath of his most recent triumph, “The Joker” targeted the winner of this weekend’s middleweight headliner between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.

“The winner between Robert …

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Joseph Duffy is calling it a career after 21 professional MMA bouts.

The 32-year-old Irishman took to Instagram to announce his decision following a first-round submission loss to Joel Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 172 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. It was Duffy’s third consecutive defeat within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“Thank you all so much for all your messages of support all week. I have been blessed on this journey in MMA and am truly grateful for every experience,” Duffy wrote. “I felt great all through camp and even warming up. I believed I was back to my former self then when I went in there it just falls to pieces.

“I think it’s time to realize that I haven’t got what it takes any more. Congrats to Joel Alvarez and thank you to the UFC for all the opportunities. I’m sorry I didn’t achieve what I set out to…

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Not only did Deiveson Figueiredo claim the vacant flyweight belt on Saturday night, but he’s also $50,000 richer for his work.

Figueiredo received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his first-round submission of Joseph Benavidez in the UFC Fight Night 172 main event at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian floored Benavidez on multiple occasions before choking him unconscious at the 4:48 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Rafael Fiziev and Marc Diakiese earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featured lightweight scrap. In a bout that featured a number of entertaining standup exchanges, it was the brutal body work and aggression of Fiziev that earned the nod from the cageside judges.

Finally, former KSW champion Ariane Lipski lived up to her “Queen of Violence” moniker, as she …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 172 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Crit…

RUN IT BACK! @Daico_Deiveson vs @JoeJitsu

Prelims on ESPN / E+ | Main Card on E+ #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/ELl8gRfyrv

— UFC (@ufc) July 17, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. There were no complications this time as Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez will once again face off for the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight championship at UFC Fight Night 172.

Figueiredo (18-1) would be the current champion had he not missed weight for his previous bout against Benavidez (28-6). After an unintentional clash of heads, the Brazilian knocked out the Xtreme Couture ace in Round 2 of their February 2020 encounter. “Daico” will look to do it again on Saturday night, only this time he made weight by coming in at 125 pounds.

Benavidez has been one of the most accomplished mixed martial artist…

Vanessa Demopoulos! #LFA85 pic.twitter.com/rpF6jPD90m

— ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho) July 18, 2020

Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos exploited the narrowest opening.

The Black House rep laid claim to the inaugural Legacy Fighting Alliance women’s strawweight championship and did so in spectacular fashion, as she choked Sam Hughes unconscious with an inverted triangle in the fourth round of their LFA 85 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Demopoulos (5-1, 4-1 LFA) cut off blood flow to the brain 2:21 into Round 4.

Hughes (4-1, 1-1 LFA) built a commanding lead across three-plus rounds with volume punching, leg kicks and merciless pressure. She also benefitted from a foul at the end of Round 2, where Demopoulos connected with an upkick that resulted in her being deducted a point. It mattered not. Bleeding from her nose and mouth, Demopoulos remained true to her submission grappling roots in the fourth round, a…

Per sources, UFC adding Macy Chiasson (@macy_chiasson) vs. Sijara Eubanks (@SarJnCharge) to a UFC Fight Night on Sept. 5.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 17, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A women’s bantamweight matchup between two women eyeing the top 10 has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming show in September. On Friday, ESPN announced that the promotion has added a bantamweight battle between Macy Chiasson (6-1) and Sijara Eubanks (5-4) to its Sept. 5 event. The UFC Fight Night card on this date is scheduled for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters” featherweight winner Chiasson bounced back from her first career defeat with a one-sided drubbing of late replacement Shanna Young in February. For that bout, Chiasson was originally set to square off against former flyw…

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Calvin Kattar experienced Dan Ige’s trademark durability firsthand in the UFC on ESPN 13 main event on Wednesday night.

Coming off a devastating KO victory over Jeremy Stephens, “The Boston Finisher” gradually pulled away from Ige for a unanimous decision triumph at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. Though Kattar connected with numerous combinations and landed a career-best 105 significant strikes, he couldn’t put his tenacious Hawaiian foe away.

Regardless, Kattar was pleased to go five rounds for the first time in his career. It’s the type of preparation he will need as he nears the top of the UFC’s featherweight division.

“I feel great, my lungs were great, my cardio felt good,” he said. “It was good to go and get five rounds because we’re eyeing that belt and we’re ready for five round fights. We had to do that w…

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2020 hasn’t been the best year for anyone, but it’s been especially rough for Jimmie Rivera.

Things took a turn for the positive on Wednesday, as he earned a three-round verdict over Cody Stamman in a featured featherweight contest at UFC on ESPN 13 at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Both Rivera and Stamann were fighting up a division after accepting the fight on extremely short notice.

While Rivera wasn’t overly pleased with his performance, he nonetheless delivered a workmanlike effort to capture his first victory since September 2018.

“I’m a perfectionist, I’m very hard on myself when it comes to things,” Rivera said. “Even the wins I’ve had in the past, always in my head, there’s more I can do, there’s better than I can do. It was tough, taking the fight on three days’ notice and not being where I…

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Mounir Lazzez, Khamzat Chimaev, Lerone Murphy and Modestas Bukauskas walked away with $50,000 bonus checks for their work at UFC on ESPN 13 on Wednesday night.

Lazzez’s welterweight duel with Abdul Razak Alhassan received “Fight of the Night” honors, but only Lazzez, who won via unanimous decision in a featured contest, was eligible for a bonus on account of Alhassan missing weight on Tuesday. As a result, the promotion handed out three other “Performance of the Night” awards.

Murphy took home a “Performance of the Night” bonus by making short work of Ricardo Ramos in a preliminary featherweight scrap. The Englishman took his foe down and ultimately vanquished the Brazilian with heavy ground-and-pound at the 4:18 mark of Round 1.

Chimaev impressed in his Octagon debut, earning a performance bonus for a second-rou…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Calvin Kattar navigated a minefield for five rounds to at least maintain his position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight pecking order. The New England Cartel rep utilized a robust jab, clean punching combinations and airtight takedown defense, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Dan Ige in the UFC on ESPN 13 headliner on Wednesday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges struck scorecards in Kattar’s favor: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. He has posted 14 wins across his past 16 outings.

Ige (14-3, 6-2 UFC) acquitted himself well in his first main event assignment. He appeared to break Kattar’s nose with a left hook in the second round and countered effectively in spurts. However, fatigue became an issue in the second half of the fight. Kattar (22-4, 6-2 UFC) stalked the Hawaii…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 13 coverage will begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Re…

VICIOUS! @BulldozerBoser with a BRUTAL combo to end the night!

Action continues on @ESPN. #UFCVegas4 pic.twitter.com/Y6uCSOhCMN

— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Tanner Boser will setp in for the injured Justin Tafa and face Raphael Pessoa at UFC on ESPN 14.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the change to the heavyweight bout. UFC on ESPN 14 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on July 25 and is headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.

Boser will make a quick turnaround after scoring a first-round knockout of Philipe Lins at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27. The 28-year-old Canadian has won three of his last four professional outings and is 18-6 over the course of a career that began in 2012.

Pessoa bounced back from a submission loss to Ciryl Gane in his Oc…

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

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 251 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Former Bellator MMA talent Jahreau Shepherd was stabbed to death at his 30th birthday party in London, according to the Evening Standard.

Shepherd was found with stab wounds on the Black Prince Estate in Kennington a little after 10 p.m. local time on Saturday. After efforts from paramedics to stop the bleeding, Shepherd was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fighter was reportedly celebrating with family and friends at a barbecue on the lawn of the estate. Scotland Yard is treating the death as a murder and has launched an investigation, but no arrests have been made. Shortly after Shepherd’s death, a 26-year-old man arrived at a local hospital with stab wounds believed to have been suffered at the same party.

“Jay was a great friend, fighter, trai…

WELCOME TO THE UFC @jiri_bjp!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!? #UFC251 pic.twitter.com/tL5DEfYe56

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) July 12, 2020

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Saturday’s four-hour preliminary card for UFC 251 attracted an average audience of 851,000 viewers to ESPN, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The preliminary card aired on ESPN from 6 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and featured a light heavyweight bout between ex-Rizin champion Jiri Prochazka and former UFC title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Prochazka enjoyed a successful Octagon debut, defeating Oezdemir by second-round technical knockout. Viewership peaked at 1.3 million during Prochazka vs. Oezdemir.

The ratings represent an improvement over the those for the UFC 250 prelims, which averaged 775,000 viewers on ESPN. However, the UFC 251 prelims rank only fifth out of sixth pay-per…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQieJ0gf_U&w=560&h=315]

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 251 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The UFC welterweight was accused of raping two women in Forth Worth, Texas, on March 23, 2018 after taking them home from a club where he worked as a bouncer. Alhassan claimed that he had consensual sex with only one of the women, and he was finally found not guilty of all charges in court this past March.

Regardless of what happened in court, life will never be the same for Alhassan. The public nature of the testimony has a way of sticking in people’s heads even after the accused’s name is cleared.

“It’s forever changed, because your name can never be the same,” Alhassan said while speaking to media on Monday. “But for me, life is back to normal. The reason I say that is the past two years life was not normal. The only thing I pretty much did cry, slee…

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Nobody was more disappointed in the final verdict of the UFC 251 co-main event than Max Holloway.

The Hawaiian had an improved strategy in his rematch with reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and it showed, as “Blessed” rocked his opponent in both the first and second round while displaying a versatile offensive arsenal. The title bout was closely contested the rest of the way, but Volkanovski attacked with a sense of urgency down the stretch to earn a contentious split-decision triumph.

Many in the MMA media scored the contest for Holloway, and it appears that quite a few fans felt the same way, too. However, Holloway issued a statement on social media urging those disgruntled fans to find the proper perspective.

“Just landed in Vegas for another quarantine and was told some guys in the media a…

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While the headliner itself was something of a disappointment in terms of action, UFC 251 was nonetheless a massive pay-per-view success.

According to a report from The Athletic, Saturday’s event did 1.3 million buys on ESPN+ for a card topped by a welterweight championship clash between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. That even surpasses Conor McGregor’s return at UFC 246 in January, which drew approximately 1 million pay-per-view buys to the streaming platform.

UFC pay-per-view events have generated 1.3 million buys or more on only five occasions. McGregor’s submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov set the record with 2.4 million buys at UFC 229 in October 2018. Other blockbuster events include UFC 202 (1.6 million buys), UFC 196 (1.317 million) and UFC 205 (1.3 million). Outside of Saturday’s UFC 251 card, all of th…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 251 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The circumstances aren’t always ideal when a golden opportunity arises.

Such was the case for Jorge Masvidal, who was accepted a welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman on six days’ notice after originally-scheduled foe Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19. Masvidal tested negative for coronavirus, flew to Abu Dhabi, made weight and threatened the champion for about a round in the UFC 251 headliner on Saturday night.

After that, “Gamebred” ran out of gas and Usman imposed his will through takedowns and clinch work to earn a dominant unanimous decision triumph. Still, Masvidal took away some positives from his performance and came away motivated to eventually secure a rematch with “The Nigerian Nightmare.”

“I hate coming up short. I ain’t going to make no excuses,” Masvidal said at the UFC 251 post-fig…

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Alexander Volkanovski’s second triumph over Max Holloway wasn’t nearly as clear as the first, but the Australian champion put together a strong finish to earn a contentious split-decision triumph in the UFC 251 co-main event on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi.

Of the 27 media scorecards tracked by MMADecisions.com, 18 thought that Holloway won the fight, while nine scored it for Volkanovski. Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White didn’t agree with the judging for the bout.

“Listen, man, you can’t leave it to these guys,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “We’ve got some bad judging. Has Max been in here yet? I’m sure he’s devastated.”

Holloway did his best work early, buckling the champion with a high kick late in Round 1 and again with an uppercut in the later portions of the second frame. Volkanovs…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 251 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A pair of bantamweight bouts have been confirmed for the UFC 252 main card, as Sean O’Malley will face Marlon Vera, while Frankie Edgar will meet Pedro Munhoz on Aug. 15. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the pairings during the UFC 251 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 252 is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight championship trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.

O’Malley, who was originally supposed to face Vera at UFC 239 before a failed drug test, has been victorious in his first 12 professional outings. Most recently, “Sugar” Sean scored a first-round knockout of Eddie Wineland at UFC 250 on June 6.

Vera, meanwhile, had a five-bout UFC winning streak snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Yadong Song at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 16. “Chito” is 9-5 during h…