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A middleweight showdown pitting Robert Whittaker against Darren Till has been targeted to headline UFC Dublin on Aug. 15.

ESPN was first to report the booking. No other bouts have been announced for the event, which takes place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Contracts have not yet been signed, but the UFC is in the process of finalizing the matchup.

Whittaker was slated to face Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 but had to withdraw from the bout due to personal reasons. “The Reaper” last competed at UFC 243, where he relinquished the middleweight crown in a second-round knockout loss to Israel Adesanya on Oct. 5. Prior to that, Whittaker had compiled a nine-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Till, meanwhile, made a successful 185-pound debut at UFC 244, where he took a split decision against Kelvin Gastelum on Nov. 2. The 27-year-old Englishman went 5-2-1 at welterweight, earning notable wins over Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone.

Giga Chikadze is a name that the striking combat sports fans already knew way before he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

After accumulating valuable experience in the kickboxing world, Chikadze switched to the four-ounce gloves in 2015. Thus far, the transition has been a smooth one. Chikadze is 9-2 in his MMA tenure and is still undefeated in his Ultimate Fighting Championship foray. In his latest Octagon appearance, he edged Jamall Emmers via split decision in their featherweight encounter at UFC 248.


 “I’m very happy about the result, of course,” Chikadze said. “It was a great match, I think the fans enjoyed it because it was a controversial fight. We both came to fight, we are both warriors. He never backed up even though he knew I was a high-level striker. He came in and started exchanging with me on the feet. I was impressed with this. It was a really fun fight. I beat the guy in the first round and the second, the third round I think it was …

The feud between Brian Ortega and Korean rapper Jay Park may be drawing to a close.

After a tumultuous weekend saw Ortega allegedly slap Park in the fighter’s section at UFC 248 and get escorted from the arena, “T-City” has offered a brief apology to the man who also serves as Chan Sung Jung’s translator on occasion. In doing so, Ortega also turned his attention toward a fight with “The Korean Zombie.”

“I want to officially apologize to JPark for Saturday night, when Zombie is ready we can fight,” Ortega wrote on Twitter.

I want to officially apologize to JPark for Saturday night, when Zombie is ready we can fight.

— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) March 11, 2020

Ortega initially threatened to slap Park following an ESPN interview with “The Korean Zombie” in which the fighter claimed Ortega was ducking him. Park served as Jung’s translator during the interview.

“When I saw him in Korea, he apologized and said sorry for t…

A lightweight clash pitting Diego Ferreira against Drew Dober has been targeted for UFC Fight Night 174.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking, and both fighters have since confirmed the bout on social media. UFC Fight Night 174 takes place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., on May 2 and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson.

Ferreira has been on a roll since losing to Dustin Poirier in 2015, winning his next six bouts within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Fortis MMA product earned a signature triumph ta UFC 246 submitting former 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their Jan. 18 encounter.

Dober, meanwhile, has won five of six Octagon appearances dating back to 2017. The Elevation Fight Team representative is coming off back-to-back first-round TKO stoppages of Marco Polo Reyes and Nasrat Haqparast.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SARjMdZfX7s&w=560&h=315]

Logan Paul felt the heavy hands of UFC contender Paulo Henrique Costa, and it’s an experience the YouTube celebrity likely won’t soon forget.

Paul, who owns an 0-1 professional boxing record, posted a video on Monday of his sparring session with Costa at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. The match didn’t end well for Paul, as he was knocked out cold by a right hand from the middleweight.

At least @LoganPaul wore headgear ‍ (h/t @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/l29Ab8RqaV

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) March 9, 2020

The video also shows Paul in some grappling exchanges with Costa, and the footage there appears to be a little bit better for the Ohio native, who does have a high-school wrestling background. Paul faced British YouTuber KSI in a professional boxing match televised on Dazn, falling via split decision on Nov. 9, 2019.

Costa is expected to challe…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Abel Trujillo has accepted a plea agreement in a child sexual exploitation case in Castle Rock, Colo.

The update in the case was first reported by 9News. As a result of the plea deal, Trujillo will avoid felony charges. He was initially arrested last July and charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, promotion of obscenity to a minor and sexual exploitation of a child – self/publish – all of which are felonies.

On Friday, Trujillo pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of promoting obscenity. His sentencing is scheduled for April 6.

Castle Rock police were initially notified in October 2018 that the victim received inappropriate messages via social media from Trujillo. The girl first made contact with Trujillo in March 2018 and received a follow request from him on Instagram. According to an affidavit, she accepted the request “because Abel is a celebrity.”

Shortly thereafter, the girl began rec…

A rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson will serve as the headliner for Bellator 244.

The promotion announced the lightweight booking during a press conference on Monday. Bellator 244 takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on June 6 and will see A.J. McKee lock horns with Darrion Caldwell in a featherweight grand prix semifinal bout.

Chandler and Henderson initially squared off in a lightweight title bout at Bellator 165 in November 2016, with Chandler retaining the belt in a grueling split-decision triumph. Chandler has since lost, regained and lost the 155-pound belt again while winning four of his last six Bellator appearances. Most recently, he scored a first-round knockout of Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 237 on Dec. 29.

Henderson will bring a four-bout winning streak into the rematch with Chandler. In his most recent outing, “Smooth” outpointed UFC veteran Myles Jury at Bellator 227. His current tear also includes wins against Adam Piccolotti,…

Dana White confirma que Brian Ortega fue retirado de la arena por una disputa con Korean Zombie en la sección de peleadores de la arena. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/rtOM04mBBB

— C. Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) March 8, 2020

Brian Ortega apparently made good on a vow to slap Korean rapper Jay Park at UFC 248, and the alleged incident has drawn the ire of featherweight rival Chan Sung Jung.

Jung released a statement via Instagram after the altercation occurred in the fighter’s section during Saturday’s card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Park, who served as a translator for Jung during a recent interview, was slapped by Ortega while “The Korean Zombie” was in the restroom. Ortega was escorted out of the arena following the incident.

“Last night, you sat 10 meters away from me and Jay Park. For two hours nothing happened, so I thought everything was fine. But you fucking attacked Jay Park while I went to the bathroom. Jay Park …

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

The No. 1 contender for the middleweight crown sat cageside during the UFC 248 headliner between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero, and he was none too impressed by what he saw from the reigning champion.

Adesanya retained the 185-pound belt with a five-round verdict over Romero at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night in a contest that featured little in the way of action. Paulo Henrique Costa is virtually assured of being next in line to face Adesanya, and he didn’t have anything flattering to say about “The Last Stylebender” in the aftermath of the event.

“Horrible fight, Costa said. “I was ashamed to watch that fight. Adesanya is nothing. Adesanya is the most shameful champion I have seen ever. He just run. He’s nothing. He’s nothing. He’s scared. I think he doesn’t deserve to talk about him. But it was s--t, that fight was s--t.

“I will make him cry. I will hit him very badly. And he…

Even Muhammad Ali had stinker or two, as did Micky Ward. Every great fighter is allowed to have an off night, and Saturday was clearly an off night for the wildly popular Israel Adesanya.

Adesaya remained undefeated while retaining his middleweight world title in the main event of UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Nigerian star slowly picked apart Yoel Romero (13-5) over five horribly dull and uneventful rounds. The lack of action was exacerbated by the fact that it followed the insane war between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, an epic battle that could possibly wind up being 2020’s ‘Fight of the Year.’

Romero barely mounted any sort of offense over the course of the allotted 25 minutes and, with Adesanya (19-0) being a master counterstriker, the title affair caused an angry crowd to launch boos into the Octagon. Adesanya wound up winning a unanimous decision to remain champion, but virtually nobody was thrilled about the fight, including UFC president D…

Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on a show for the ages in the UFC 248 co-main event.

The strawweight title bout was a no-brainer selection for “Fight of the Night,” as both fighters added an extra $50,000 to their respective bank accounts. The combatants traded blows for five grueling rounds, but ultimately Zhang’s power earned her a memorable split-decision triumph at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Elsewhere, Beneil Dariush earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round knockout of Drakkar Klose in a preliminary lightweight affair. After threatening with a rear-naked choke for much of the opening stanza, Dariush put his stamp on a brief second-round slugfest, winning via knockout 60 seconds into the period.

Finally, Sean O’Malley pocketed the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award on the strength of a quick finish of Jose Alberto Quinonez in a preliminary bantamweight clash. “Sugar” overwhelmed his foe with a ri…

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 248 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Sherdog's live UFC 248 coverage will begin at 6:15 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:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ja…

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“ I just heard tha Emily is out of the fight with me today. I also heard she had to be taken to the ER. I hope she is alright and I wish from the bottom of my heart that she recovers from whatever it is that she is suffering from.

— Polyana Viana (@Polyana_VianaDF) March 7, 2020

Emily Whitmire has been forced to pull out of a scheduled clash with Polyana Viana at UFC 248 due to medical issues.

Viana initially announced the cancellation via social media, and multiple outlets have since confirmed the news. As a result, UFC 248 will move forward with 11 bouts. Whitmire vs. Viana was initially slated for the ESPN+ preliminary portion of the card.

Whitmire missed weight by 1.5 pounds on Friday, and according to Viana, the strawweight had to be taken to the hospital on Saturday. The Xtreme Couture representative is coming off a submission loss to Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN 3 last June to fall to 2-2 within the Las Vegas-based promot…

Carmouche makes her Bellator debut in May at #Bellator243 pic.twitter.com/dFO3PUPsFJ

— Carbazel MMA (@Carbazel) March 6, 2020 Bellator MMA is returning to California in May with a high-stakes flyweight matchup in the main event.

The promotion announced via press release on Friday that Liz Carmouche (13-7) will be making her Bellator debut against Mandy Bohm (6-0, 1 NC) at Bellator 243. The event will take place at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, on May 29. No other bouts have been announced for the event.

Carmouche left the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a lackluster championship defeat to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 156 in 2019. Across their 25-minute encounter, Carmouche landed an unprecedented 18 significant strikes, and the UFC was so disappointed with her performance that she was released while doing media obligations with the company. Bellator signed the WMMA pioneer and two-time…

Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to The Bomb Factory in Dallas for LFA 83, and every fighter has successfully made weight.

The card is headlined by a featherweight bout that will see former champion Damon Jackson take on Mauro Chaulet. Jackson (16-3-1, 1 NC) never lost his LFA title, and instead vacated it in order to sign with the Professional Fighters League. However, his $1 million aspirations shattered in just 10 seconds as he was knocked out by Movlid Khaybulaev with a flying knee. This is the first fight back in LFA for “The Leech” since his crushing defeat.

Chaulet (13-6) successfully made his LFA debut last year as he won a split decision over Samson Phommabout. The Brazilian will look to make his mark inside the LFA cage at the expense of Jackson. He’s successfully finished 10 of his opponents, so the featherweight remains a dangerous finisher.

LFA 83 airs live on Friday on UFC Fight Pass starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

LFA 83 Weigh-in Results Damon …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWdvhz2kBvg&w=671&h=377] Invicta Fighting Championships returns to Kansas City, Kansas, for its third tournament, and all participants have made weight.

The third installment of the Phoenix Series is headlined by a bantamweight title tilt between Lisa Verzosa and Julija Stoliarenko. The championship is currently vacant as Sarah Kaufman left the promotion for the Professional Fighters League in 2019.

The undefeated Verzosa (5-0) has four wins inside the Invicta cage. She picked up two last year as she won decisions over Kerri Kenneson and Katharina Lehner. “Battle Angel” has yet to finish a professional fight, although the 24-year-old will look to win her first championship on Friday night.

Stoliarenko (8-3-2) is a one-time Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor, and has strung together four straight victories since losing to Leah Letson. This will mark the Invicta debut for the Lithuanian fighter. All eight of her victories ha…

Breaking: Per sources, UFC rebooking last week’s controversial bout between Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev to UFC 249 in April in Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/UUGqAf65rY

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 5, 2020 Hot off the heels of a controversial result, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is rebooking a high-stakes light heavyweight match for April.

On Thursday, ESPN announced that the UFC will be running back the 205-pound collision between Magomed Ankalaev (13-1) and Ion Cutelaba (15-5, 1 NC). The two met at UFC Fight Night 169, and the controversial ending saw Ankalaev awarded the victory when Cutelaba was apparently “playing possum.” The two will meet UFC 249 in April, seven weeks after their first.

Ankalaev has stopped his opponent in three of four victories inside the Octagon. Prior to the Cutelaba result, he finished Dalcha Lungiambula with a front kick and follow-up punches in November. His promotional debut saw …

The two women accusing Abdul Razak Alhassan of sexual assault testified against the UFC fighter in Tarrant County (Texas) Court on Tuesday, according to a report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Alhassan was indicted on two counts of sexual assault by a Tarrant County jury on Sept. 24, 2018.

Alhassan is accused of raping two women inside of their homes after meeting them at the Varsity Tavern in Fort Worth, where he was working as a bouncer on March 23, 2018. The women, ages 20 and 22 at the time, were allowed by Alhassan to enter the club,after the fighter asked the older of the two, “What are you going to do for me?” The 22-year-old gave him her phone number and they were allowed to enter.

The women were there to celebrate the birthday of Fort Worth police officer Joshua Yates, who sometimes worked security at the establishment. They would become intoxicated over the course of the night and witnesses said they saw Alhassan and the older woman kissing in a hal…

The Professional Fighters League continues to boost its talent pool for the upcoming season.

UFC veteran Olivier Aubin-Mercier revealed to ESPN that he has signed with the PFL with designs on competing at lightweight during the promotion’s 2020 campaign. The champion in each PFL weight class earns a $1 million prize at the end of the season.

"I liked it [the PFL format] so much that during those two years, I was trying to first win my last three fights in the UFC to finish my contract, but then get in PFL after that," Aubin-Mercier told ESPN. "So I'm happy they still took me. I'm really happy to be with them, and it's gonna be a hell of a ride for the next year.”

Aubin-Mercier exited the UFC on a three-fight skid after dropping successive decisions against Alexander Hernandez, Gilbert Burns and Arman Tsarukyan. “The Canadian Gangster” went 7-5 in the Octagon and is 11-5 as a professional overall.

A pivotal clash between top 135-pound contenders Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan will reportedly headline the UFC’s first-ever trip to Kazakhstan.

MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the matchup. Both Moraes and Yan have verbally agreed to the bout, but contracts have not yet been signed.

UFC Kazakhstan is expected to take place on June 13 at Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Neither the event nor Moraes vs. Yan has not been formally announced by the promotion.

Moraes is coming off a contentious split-decision triumph over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 245. Prior to that, the ex-WSOF titlist was stopped in the third round by Henry Cejudo in a clash for the vacant bantamweight championship at UFC 238. “Magic” is 5-2 in UFC competition with other notable wins over Raphael Assuncao, Jimmie Rivera, Aljamain Sterling and John Dodson.

Yan, meanwhile, is unbeaten six Octagon appearances and has won 14 of his 15 professional fights overall. T…

Dana White wants to see Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez run it back.

The flyweight division remains in limbo after no champion was crowned at UFC Fight Night 169 last weekend in Norfolk, Va. Figueiredo defeated Benavidez by second-round technical knockout in the evening’s main event but was ineligible to win the flyweight belt because he missed weight one day prior.

Benavidez was cut open by an accidental clash of heads during an exchange in the second frame, and moments later, Figueiredo dropped his foe with a powerful right hand. A few follow-up hammerfists ended the contest at the 1:54 mark of Round 2.

During a media scrum in Las Vegas, White said that he believes a rematch is the way to go due to both the failed weight cut and the accidental head butt.

“That was a great fight,” White said (video via the Las Vegas-Review Journal). “Absolutely, I think the head butt had a lot to do with the knockout too. Not taking anything away from [Figueiredo]…

A featherweight clash pitting Ryan Hall against Ricardo Lamas has been added to the UFC Oklahoma City lineup.

The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 174 takes place at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 2 and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson. The promotion also on Tuesday confirmed a light heavyweight booking between Alonzo Menifield and Devin Clark though The Oklahoman.

The winner of Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Hall has been victorious in his first four Octagon appearances. The 35-year-old jiu-jitsu ace is coming off a three-round verdict against Darren Elkins at UFC Fight Night 155 on July 13. Hall also owns wins over B.J. Penn, Gray Maynard and Artem Lobov in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

A former featherweight title challenger, the 37-year-old Lamas enters the matchup with Elkins having lost three of his last four bouts. “The Bully” last competed at UFC 238, where he suffered a fi…

Despite suffering his third defeat in a flyweight title bout, Joseph Benavidez was the top earner from this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 169 card.

Benavidez took home $180,000 following his second-round technical knockout defeat at the hands of Deiveson Figueiredo in the evening’s headliner at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. That figure included $30,000 of Figueiredo’s show money on account of the Brazilian missing weight last Friday. Figueiredo, meanwhile, earned $120,000 even with the deduction but did not capture the flyweight belt due to his transgression on the scale.

The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation recently released salary figures from the event.

The only other six-figure earner from UFC Fight Night 169 came from the prelims. Ten-time Octagon veteran Marcin Tybura garnered $136,000 for a unanimous decision victory over Sergey Spivak ($14,000) in a heavyweight duel.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athl…