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Charles Johnson claims he had a lot more than five minutes left in him when he turned the switch for a third-round comeback win over Joshua Van at UFC Denver.

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Johnson took on Van in the featured preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver on Saturday. The visuals weren’t looking good for Johnson early on in fight that was otherwise even on the judges’ scorecards. However, “InnerG” came out with guns blazing in the final round, knocking Van out just twenty seconds into the period to score a come-from-behind win.

While Johnson believes he was never quite out of the fight, he credits his coach for flipping a switch in his mind going into the third frame. When Justin Hardy asked him to go all in for five minutes, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champ knew he was capable of that and more. Johnson also hailed himself as the best five-round flyweight fighter in the world, though he hasn’t had the chance to show it yet.

“I was never g…

A fight that began with promise quickly turned to disappointment for Abdul Razak Alhassan.

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The 38-year-old Elevation Fight Team product had opponent Cody Brundage reeling as he landed elbows after stuffing a takedown early on during their middleweight contest at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver on Saturday night. Alhassan was warned by referee Dan Miragliotta for landing elbows to the back of Brundage’s head during the salvo, and the fight was halted when “Judo Thunder” continued to land what the veteran official perceived to be illegal blows.

It was ultimately determined that a dazed Brundage would not be able to continue, and the bout was ruled a no contest. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Alhassan, who might have been on the verge of a stoppage even without the fouls. Alhassan reacted to the ruling on his Instagram Stories.

“Sorry to all my fans, all my people. I wanted this bad. I wanted this win. I wanted this fight so bad,” he said. “I have…

Rose Namajunas is gradually getting more comfortable as a flyweight.

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The former strawweight champion earned her second victory at 125 pounds, as she captured a unanimous decision triumph against Tracy Cortez in the UFC on ESPN 59 headliner at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday night. Namajunas dropped Cortez in the opening stanza and then cruised from there, blending striking and takedowns to keep her short-notice opponent off balance.

“Absolutely I’m happy with it. I’m happy with one, having very little injury, two, being able to win and three, I feel like it was a pretty exciting fight,” Namajunas said at the post-fight press conference. “I wanted a finish, of course. It’s been a while since I have finished somebody. It’s been since what like, 2020, [2021] or something? I felt like I was pretty close at least and dropped her at first. Overall, very happy.”

Cortez, who stepped in for Maycee Barber, was a resilient adversary who had some of her b…

Jean Silva’s stoppage win over Drew Dober at UFC Denver took a toll on Brazilian.

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Silva stepped up on short notice and moved up a weight class to replace Mike Davis in a lightweight bout against Dober at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denveron Saturday. This also marked a two-week turnaround from Silva’s brutal knockout win over Charles Jourdain at UFC 303.

Silva was faster and cleaner on the feet, opening Dober up above the right eye in the opening round, eventually leading to the finish. Silva continued landing more damage and despite an immense display of grit from Dober, his cut kept worsening, forcing referee Herb Dean to call in the cageside doctors in the third round. Dober was deemed unfit to continue and Silva earned a stoppage win in what was also awarded the “Fight of the Night.”

Silva had missed weight by 1.5 pounds for his featherweight win over Jourdain, which made him ineligible for a bonus. However, the Brazilian has no plans of permanently …

Ultimate Fighting Championship A-listers have come out in support of Donald Trump after an apparent assasination attempt on the former U.S. President.

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Multiple shots were fired at the Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. Trump was seen dropping to the ground and was escorted to safety with visible blood on the right side of his face. The shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents. Meanwhile, one attendee died in the gunfire, while another was severely injured.

Dana White and prominent stars from the organization extended their support to Trump, who shares a close bond with the UFC CEO and several fighters. A familiar face at UFC pay-per-view cards, Trump was most recently in attendance at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey, last month.

White shared a photo of Trump waving at the crowd one last time before being put into his vehicle.

“I’m on a plane right now flying to Italy and my phon…

MONTEL JACKSON 1-2 PUTS BLACKSHEAR OUT COLD IN UNDER 20 SECONDS #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/NiJI7wxOHX

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 14, 2024

Montel Jackson authored one of the fastest knockouts in UFC bantamweight history on Saturday night, and he received a little extra compensation for his efforts.

“Quik” garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his 18-second stoppage of Da’Mon Blackshear in their preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 59 at the Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday night. Jackson put his foe’s lights out with a straight left hand during an initial exchange, entering the record books as the second-fastest finish in UFC bantamweight history.

Meanwhile, Jean Silva and Drew Dober received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their lightweight slugfest. Moving up a division, Silva had a faster and more diverse striking arsenal than his foe, bloodying Dober with lead hooks and spinning el…

It may not have been the barnburner they had hoped for, but for the hometown Denver crowd, Rose Namajunas could do no wrong.

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In the flyweight main event of UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena, former strawweight champ Namajunas (13-6, 11-5 UFC) looked to make her case for a title shot in her new division against rising contender Tracy Cortez (11-2, 5-1 UFC). The first round went solidly in favor of “Thug Rose,” who sidestepped Cortez’s advances, denied her the clinch and shot takedown opportunities she sought, and caught her repeatedly with clean punches. One of those, a clean left hook, sat Cortez down in the middle of the round, but she recovered quickly. Cortez had a slightly better Round 2, taking Namajunas’ back in a scramble and briefly threatening before Namajunas shook her over the top. Nonetheless, the story of the first half of the fight was Cortez struggling to find Namajunas on any consistent basis, while Namajunas used her superior footwork and…

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Charles Johnson sent a message to Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights: Count him out at your own peril.

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Johnson (16-6, 4-4 UFC), who took the fight on 11 days’ notice, capped off the UFC on ESPN 59 undercard with a rousing knockout of red-hot phenom Joshua Van (10-2, 3-1 UFC), handing Van his first Octagon loss and snatching victory from the jaws of probable defeat. “InnerG” got off to a solid start, taking advantage of Van’s penchant for starting slowly and hacking away at his lead leg. However, Van gradually took over as the round wore on, exploding out of his compact stance with his patented body punch flurries and a couple of right hands upstairs that hurt Johnson. Van kept building momentum in the middle frame, marching down the taller fighter and continuing to catch him with clean punches. Johnson was game, weathering Van’s offense and landing some solid blows of his own, but the fight was clearly trending i…

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Belal Muhammad recently slammed Sean Strickland while weighing in on the former UFC middleweight champion’s feud with David Goggins.

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Strickland drew the ire of the Navy SEALs by stating that none of them could endure a week of training with him. Mitch Aguiar, a Navy SEAL turned mixed martial artist, recently showed up to spar Strickland and suffered a one-sided beatdown.

Former SEAL turned fitness influencer David Goggins then challenged Strickland to a training session, which Strickland initially seemed to have accepted. However, Muhammad, who has his own feud with Strickland, dismissed the former middleweight champ as a mere troll. According to “Remember the Name,” Strickland has lost relevance since losing his title and is trying to gain clout by beefing with internet celebrities.

“I wouldn’t call it a beef. That’s what Sean is, right? He’s a troll,” Muhammad told The Schmo. “Nobody cares what he says anymore because he do…

A heavyweight rematch between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov is in the works for UFC 308.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report Ag.Fight. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout, but contracts have yet to be signed. UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Gane and Volkov initially squared off in the main event of UFC Fight Night 190 in June 2021, with the Frenchman winning a five-round unanimous decision.

A former interim heavyweight king, Gane has twice come up short in bids for the undisputed belt, falling to Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision at UFC 270 and to Jon Jones via first-round submission at UFC 285. “Bon Gamin” rebounded from the loss to Jones by scoring a second-round TKO triumph against Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night 226 this past September.

A former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global champion, Volkov has yet to challenge for UFC gold since joining the promotion in 2…

Your BKFC 66 Main Attractions just dropped 🔥#BKFC66 | Sept 13 | Tix on sale now ➡️ https://t.co/LJX5urGkRW pic.twitter.com/FzictmuVql

— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) July 13, 2024

Muhammed Lawal will make his first combat sport appearance in nearly five years when he faces Dave Mundell at BKFC 66 on Sept. 13.

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The promotion recently announced the pairing, which will take place at lightweight heavyweight. Lawal initially retired from MMA in June 2019 but briefly returned a few months later, falling to Andrew Kapel via first-round KO at Bellator 233. It will be the first bare knuckle boxing match for Lawal.

The 43-year-old Lawal is a former Division II national champion wrestler at the University of Central Oklahoma and an NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State University. “King Mo” compiled a 21-10 record with one no contest in MMA and has recently served as a coach at American Top Team.

Lawal was a Strikeforce mid…

A middleweight matchup pitting Brendan Allen against Nassourdine Imavov has been added to the UFC Paris lineup.

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Multiple outlets recently confirmed the booking following an initial report from Fight Minds. Allen initially revealed that he had been offered the bout but wouldn’t accept it unless it was elevated to the main event. However, UFC Paris is still expected to be headlined by a lightweight scrap between Benoit St. Denis and Renato Carneiro.

Allen has won his last seven fights under the UFC banner. “All In” kicked off his 2024 campaign with a split-decision triumph against Chris Curtis in the UFC Fight Night 240 headliner on April 6. The Dana White's Contender Series alum has finished five of his seven opponents by way of submission during his current winning streak.

Imavov, meanwhile, is coming off a fourth-round technical knockout triumph against Jared Cannonier in the UFC on ESPN 57 headliner on June 8. The Paris native is 6-2 with…

A lightweight showdown pitting Mateusz Gamrot against Dan Hooker is in the works for UFC 305.

Multiple outlets recently confirmed that the bout has been verbally agreed to after Hooker initially announced the booking on social media. 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.

A former KSW champion, Gamrot has been victorious in seven of his nine Octagon appearances. The 33-year-old Pole is currently in the midst of a three-bout UFC winning streak that includes triumphs over Rafael dos Anjos, Rafael Fiziev and Jalin Turner. “Gamer” also owns a victory over current lightweight No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.

After losing four of five promotional outings from June 2020 to March 2022, Hooker has rebounded to post consecutive triumphs against Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner. The 34-year-old City Kickboxing representative hasn’t competed since a sp…

She cut off her hair to make weight! 126 #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/C01B7fYOTe

— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) July 12, 2024 The UFC on ESPN 59 main event is now official, but there was some drama on the scales.

While former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champion Rose Namajunas made flyweight easily, opponent Tracy Cortez did not. Cortez was initially overweight at 126.5 pounds but later weighed 126 pounds on the dot after cutting off some of her hair. All other fighters made weight as well.

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Namajunas (12-6) recently rebounded from a two-fight skid by winning a unanimous decision over Amanda Ribas. Now 1-1 at flyweight, "Thug Rose" will look to become a title contender in a second division. The 32-year-old stepped on the scale at 124.75 pounds.

Meanwhile, Cortez (11-1) is riding an impressive 11-fight win streak. Cortez is undefeated inside the UFC, having gone 5-0 in the promotion. Most recently, the 30-yea…

Welterweights and Lightweights did not disappoint in Riyadh!

All The Finishes From PFL MENA 2 #PFLMENA pic.twitter.com/HalC5XdDNZ

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 12, 2024

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Semifinals matchups for the Professional Fighters League’s first season in the Middle East and North Africa are now in place.

Welterweights Mohammad Alaqraa, Jarrah Al-Silawi, Badreddine Diani and Omar El Dafrawy punched their respective tickets, along with lightweights Mohsen Mohammadseifi, Souhil Tahiri, Abdullah Saleem and Georges Eid at PFL MENA 2 on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A $100,000 grand prize goes to the winner of each weight class, along with consideration to be included on the PFL’s global roster in 2025.

Alaqraa (6-0, 1-0 PFL) made his intentions known, as he disposed of Youcef Ouabbas with punches in the third round of their welterweight quarterfinal. Ouabbas (3-1, 0-1 PFL) met his end 53 seconds into Round 3. The A…

Gokhan Saricam Accepts Sanction for Violation of PFL Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/U5STdxlebp

— USADA (@usantidoping) July 11, 2024 The 2024 Professional Fighters League campaign for Gokhan Saricam was over before it could begin.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Thursday that Saricam had failed a pair of out-of-competition tests in April and May. The heavyweight from Turkey tested positive for clomiphene and its related metabolites, which are banned both in and out of competition under USADA and PFL policies. As a result, Saricam has been issued a one-year suspension effective the date of the first failed test, April 29.

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Saricam last competed under the Bellator MMA banner, doing so for his previous seven matchups. Planning on joining the PFL heavyweight bracket, he was once booked against Steve Mowry as a late addition to the season. When Mowry withdrew from the fight, Danilo Marques stepped in his place, but …

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 59 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: N/ARound 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 BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fremd (-110), Petroski (-110)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 BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Santos…

With the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title picture in flux, the victor of this affair might be a couple wins away from a crack at gold.

Ranked 135ers Karol Rosa (17-6) and Pannie Kianzad (16-8) will toe the line at a currently unnamed UFC Fight Night card on Aug. 10. The two will square off inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with the first report on Wednesday from Brazilian outlet Ag Fight. Kianzad subsequently posted about the pairing on social media on Thursday to confirm its veracity.

Having alternated wins and losses in her last six, Brazil’s Rosa is coming off of a titanic tussle with Irene Aldana at UFC 296 in December. The two slugged it out for 15 violent, bloody minutes, and although Aldana picked up the nod on the scorecards, both ladies scored $50,000 bonus checks for their handiwork. As the Parana Vale Tudo fighter remained a contender in her division, she has bested the likes of Yana Santos, Lina Lansberg and Bethe Correia, all via dec…

THE WAIT IS OVER 🚨 Tickets are on sale NOW for ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8, featuring THREE World Championship bangers and more massive fights to be announced 👉 https://t.co/UzqKRWrAxK

Don’t miss this blockbuster event as two-division MMA World Champion Christian Lee… pic.twitter.com/HHa7KlGs0r

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) July 12, 2024 One Championship is going for broke in Hotlanta this November.

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Atop ONE 169 in Atlanta on Nov. 8, three championship affairs will sit on the marquee. The main attraction at the State Farm Arena is already released, in a battle for the heavyweight throne between champ Anatoly Malykhin and “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane. The co-main event, first reported by MMA Fighting on Friday and subsequently confirmed by the promotion, will put the 170-pound strap up for grabs between two-division beltholder Christian Lee (17-4) and interim champ Alibeg Rasulov (15-0). Additionally, Tawanchai P.K…

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHTS! 💪

🇺🇸 Keri Melendez 🆚 Sumiko Inaba 🇺🇸 @KeriMelendez415 returns to the Bellator Cage on September 7th, where she puts her undefeated record on the line against Sumiko Inaba! 🔥@sumikoinaba will be looking to give Keri her first loss at #BellatorSanDiego.… pic.twitter.com/gv27pHIP2S

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 11, 2024 A pair of talented Bellator MMA flyweights will grace the cage at the Pechanga Arena this September.

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The promotion released a number of fights this week, bolstering a lineup for a show held on Sept. 7 in San Diego. The first of three for this next Bellator Champions Series event comes at 125 pounds between flyweights Keri Melendez (6-0) and Sumiko Inaba (7-1). MMA Junkie first broke the news of this pairing, with Bellator locking it down shortly thereafter.

Melendez, 40, has put together an unbeaten record since debuting in the sport in 2016. The former kickboxer has seen her wh…

Gadzhimurad Amirzhanov knows how to impose his will, and ONE Championship stands to benefit from his exploits.

Dogged takedowns, suffocating top control and effective ground-and-pound carried the undefeated Russian prospect to a unanimous decision over Matheus Pereira in a three-round ONE Friday Fights 70 lightweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. All three ringside judges scored it for Amirzhanov (6-0, 3-0 ONE), who was forced to go the distance for the first time since his December 2020 professional debut.

Pereira (7-3, 3-1 ONE) could not stay upright. Amirzhanov sat him down with an overhand left and threatened with a brabo choke in the first round, then settled into a rinse-and-repeat cycle across the final 10-plus minutes. Pereira did all he could from bottom position, even though he received a yellow card for repeated punches to the back of the head. Those efforts—they included a powerful upkick in the third round—proved futi…

. @Jon_Anik has to get a 337 tattoo if I win https://t.co/gzuBwZRWsR

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) July 9, 2024

While Dustin Poirier (30-9) appears interested in fighting Nate Diaz (21-13), he believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship won’t do business with the younger Diaz brother.

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After parting ways with the UFC in 2022, Diaz (21-13) has been dabbling in boxing, dropping a controversial split decision against Jake Paul before bouncing back with a unanimous decision win over fellow UFC alum Jorge Masvidal last weekend. Meanwhile, Poirier (30-9) is at a crossroads in his career after having come up short in his third and likely final lightweight title bid against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 last month.

While he has been contemplating retirement, Poirier admits that it’s difficult for him to stay away from fighting. UFC color commentator Jon Anik recently suggested Diaz as a potential opponent that would make sense …

Having shared the Octagon with Ian Garry, Michael Page believes the Irishman will never win an Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Page (22-3) faced a steep step up in competition when he took on Garry (15-0) in his sophomore promotional clash at UFC 303 last month. Despite getting dominated by Garry on the ground, “MVP” put on a valiant effort in the striking exchanges en route to a unanimous decision loss. While he doesn’t want to make excuses, Page claims he wasn’t quite himself on fight night.

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“There’s a lot of mistakes I made,” Page said on The MMA Hour. “Don’t want to make too many excuses but there was a bit of a weird build up as well. And I always tried to stay focused on what I need to get done. But I had a few issues I needed to overcome in the build up to the fight… Wasn’t quite myself.”

While Garry had vowed to outstrike Page, the former Bellator MMA star was evidently faster and landed the more damaging shots in the striking exchang…

YOUR CO-MAIN EVENT. Only one will make it through to the Playoffs.

Mohammed Alaqraa 🇰🇼 WEIGHED IN ✅ 170 LBS

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Youcef Ouabbas 🇩🇿 WEIGHED IN ✅ 169 LBS

WHO’S READY FOR THE WELTERWEIGHT CLASH? 🔥🥊#PFLMENA | Friday, July 12 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Tickets via 🔗… pic.twitter.com/8PZx8lLu4c

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) July 11, 2024 Mohammad Alaqraa has traveled over 7,000 miles to train with the best. He’s sacrificed a ton for his opportunity to shine on a major stage, and it’s finally starting to pay off.

Despite the initial setback of not having sponsorship to travel to the United States, Alaqraa's determination was unwavering. He applied to multiple schools and was eventually accepted on scholarship at San Jose State University. But he didn’t settle for a major that couldn’t help him as an athlete. He chose industrial engineering, a field that would challenge his mind the same way training challenged his body.

“I thoug…