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Sean O’Malley @SugaSeanMMA is handling his defeat to Merab like a boss! Respect, Suga! pic.twitter.com/xo10jjTVy3

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) September 15, 2024

Sean O'Malley is taking his title loss against Merab Dvalishvili in stride.

O’Malley put his bantamweight strap on the line against Dvalishvili in the main event at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. With the exception of visibly hurting Dvalishvili in the final round with front kicks to the body, O’Malley was thoroughly dominated by the Georgian on the way to a unanimous decision loss.

While a title loss is bound to take a toll on everyone, O’Malley is seemingly not letting it break him mentally. O’Malley is treating it as his first professional loss, as he refuses to acknowledge a prior loss against Marlon Vera that occurred after he suffered a leg injury in the August 2020 bout.

“Sugar” was seen getting teased by his friend who mocked takedown attempts, …

#PFLSuperFights drops teaser trailer for Oct. 19 #BraceForImpact PPV 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/Okt3C5qDcg

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) September 16, 2024

Anticipation for the biggest fight in Professional Fighters League history continues to grow.

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In a teaser video released Monday morning, the “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view event on Oct. 19 is featured with no words needed as the impact of former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou breaks through city streets and buildings.

It will be a historic night for PFL, with their reigning heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira welcoming former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to the SmartCage.

The co-main event will feature mixed martial arts’ only grand slam women’s champion back in action for the first time since Bellator 300 when Cris Cyborg collides with knockout artist Larissa Pacheco, who is also the …

Tom Aspinall reacts to the announcement of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic:

“I of course will be there… if I need to I’ll fight both of them on the same night. No problem.

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Give me my undisputed title.”

🎥 YT / @AspinallMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/qz37InwewI

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 15, 2024 Tom Aspinall plans on being ready if anything goes wrong with the UFC 309 headliner.

UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that Jon Jones (27-1) will defend his title against Stipe Miocic (20-4) in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Interim champion Aspinall is glad that the long overdue matchup is finally confirmed and has already asked the UFC for a backup spot in case someone pulls out.

“The heavyweight title’s on the line at long last,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Finally we’re confirmed for it. I, of course will be there to watch these two gentlemen go a…

Umar Nurmagomedov’s camp is confident that he fights Merab Dvalishvili for the title next.

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Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley to win the bantamweight title via a dominant unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. Nurmagomedov has been discussed as the next likely title challenger for Dvalishvili.

However, Dvalishvili has consistently downplayed the undefeated Dagestani’s claim to a title shot. “The Machine” claims Nurmagomedov was quickly moved up the rankings because he is the cousin of former lightweight champ and MMA GOAT contender Khabib Nurmagomedov.

After Dvalishvili’s win over “Suga,” UFCcommentator Joe Rogan asked him about potentially defending his title against Nurmagomedov, who was also in attendance at UFC 306. Understandably emotional after his title victory, Dvalishvili wanted to soak in the moment, refusing to plot his next move immediately. The Georgian also downplayed Nurmagomedov…

Valentina Shevchenko felt she was robbed at the inaugural Noche UFC event, so she wasn’t about to leave anything to chance on Saturday night.

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Shevchenko dominated Alexa Grasso through takedowns and positional control to earn a unanimous decision victory in their trilogy fight in the UFC 306 co-headliner at Sphere in Las Vegas. Shevchenko, who is already widely regarded as the top women’s flyweight in UFC history, says she felt better than ever in reclaiming the belt she lost more than a year ago.

“It was my third fight with Alexa and I don’t know, I just feel so different, so powerful, so strong — even better than I was a few years ago,” Shevchenko said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “This strength, I just felt it through my veins, through everything. I think it’s something good for a fighter. If you’re not evolving, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, it’s time for retirement.’ But if you feel strong and powerful and continue to do these hard thi…

While the UFC 306 headliner was largely a clear-cut victory for Merab Dvalishvili, the bout also included a couple of unusual moments.

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The first occurred early in Round 1, when referee Herb Dean halted the bout to warn both Dvalishvili and Tim Welch for their interactions during the fight. According to Dvalishvili, Sean O'Malley’s coach was trying to distract him from his cageside position.

“I’m a professional fighter,” Dvalishvili said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m focused and it never happens to me. I never pay attention to other corner. But Tim’s voice was very familiar because he was doing the same thing to [Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292]. There’s the clip on social media everybody saw that. He was doing the same thing. He was doing already, disrespectful, ‘Merab, you’ve got to go.’

“He was talking s—t to me. I told him, ‘Stop it.’ Nobody was telling him to stop. He just kept doing this. If you do the same thing in basketball or s…

Sean O'Malley has been marketed as a star since his arrival in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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While he has largely delivered on that promise, he couldn’t live up to the hype in the UFC 306 main event on Saturday night. The “Suga” show was derailed at the Sphere in Las Vegas, as he had no answer for the grappling and pressure of Merab Dvalishvili in a unanimous decision defeat in the evening’s championship headliner. O’Malley didn’t find much success until the final frame, when he hurt Dvalishvili with a front kick to the body and continued to target that area for much of the round. By then, it was too late for the MMA Lab product to sway the scorecards in his favor.

“He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t look crisp until the last round,” UFC CEO Dana White said at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference. “He hurt him with that body shot. He knew he hurt him with the body shot and kept going, trying to finish. I looked at the punch s…

Bo Nickal will take a step up in competition when he locks horns with Paul Craig at UFC 309.

The promotion announced the middleweight booking during the UFC 306 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

One of the most highly-touted prospects in recent memory, Nickal has kicked off his professional tenure with six straight triumphs. The former three-time NCAA national champion from Penn State University is 3-0 in Octagon, including a second-round submission of Cody Brundage in his most recent appearance at UFC 300. That fight marked the first time Nickal has been outside of the first round in his MMA career.

Craig enters the matchup having lost four of his last five fights. He is 1-2 since moving to 185 pounds from light heavyweight and has been finished by Caio Borralho and Brendan Allen in back-to-back outings. The Scot…

Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber brought the Sphere to life with their memorable clash at UFC 306 on Saturday night.

As a result, the lightweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece. Ribovics and Zellhuber traded willingly throughout the contest, culminating in a wild final frame that saw both men hurt at different points in the stanza. Ultimately, Ribovics was able to pour it on down the stretch to emerge with a split-decision triumph in a fight that will end up on plenty of year-end awards lists when all is said and done.

Elsewhere, Ignacio Bahamondes garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round stoppage of Manuel Torres in a preliminary lightweight affair. Bahamondes was able to floor his foe with clean counters on two separate occasions, the second of which set the stage for a technical knockout victory at the 4:06 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Ketlen Souza captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performan…

“The Machine” rolls on, and “The Suga Show” is on hiatus, at least for the time being.

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In the main event of UFC 306 inside Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Merab Dvalishvili (18-4, 11-2 UFC) plied his relentless wrestling and his legendary pace and cardio to dethrone Sean O'Malley (18-2, 1 NC, 10-2, 1 NC UFC) and claim the bantamweight belt. The first round was a tense affair, with both men feeling out the range and rhythm, but the challenger landed two takedowns with relative ease in the second half of the frame, landing some solid strikes as O’Malley worked his way back to his feet and briefly threatening with a mounted guillotine choke late. Dvalishvili wasted little time bringing things back to the canvas in Round 2, timing the champ for an easy double-leg and doing work from top position for the balance of the round. By the end of the second frame, Dvalishvili was grinning and clowning, planting a kiss on the head of the seated champ and dra…

Sherdog's live UFC 306 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Rosas Jr. (-850), Aori (+575)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Van (-218), Chairez (+180)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Be…

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Norma Dumont is becoming impossible to ignore in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.

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In the top preliminary bout of UFC 306 on Saturday at Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Dumont (12-2) took a hard-fought unanimous decision over Irene Aldana (15-8). From the outset, Aldana had difficulty finding Dumont, as she struggled with Dumont’s speed, lateral movement and diversity of strikes. The already competitive fight took on some added drama in the second round when Dumont opened up a huge cut on Aldana’s forehead. The deep, vertical gash, right between the Mexican’s eyes, immediately began pouring blood all over both fighters. The cageside physician allowed the fight to go to Round 3, and it ended up being Aldana’s best round, as she fought through the distraction of the cut and landed clean punches on the Brazilian. It was not enough to carry the day, however, and Dumont won the decision w…

Jon Jones will face Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at #UFC309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden, UFC announced. pic.twitter.com/KzdtNoOXIx

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 14, 2024

The heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic is finally official. UFC CEO Dana White announced the title bout to Complex Sports on Saturday evening. UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden and will also see Charles Oliveira square off against Michael Chandler in a five-round, co-main event tilt.

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It’s official:@danawhite tells us @JonnyBones will return to the octagon at Madison Square Garden vs. @stipemiocic in November 😳 pic.twitter.com/CwaI14i2bc

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 14, 2024

A long-reigning light heavyweight champion, Jones returned to action following a three-year hiatus at UFC 285, where he claimed the vacant heavyweight crown with…

Bellator MMA has a new No. 1 contender at women's featherweight.

Fan-favorite Leah McCourt took on the undefeated Sara Collins in the Bellator London main event. "The Curse" came out looking to use her jab, but Collins (6-0) was able to strike first. The Australian put down McCourt (8-4) with a well-timed right hook. McCourt would survive some ground-and-pound, but Collins took her back and sunk in a rear-naked choke to get a submission win.

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The tap came just 2:25 into the first round and has lined up a potential fight against "Cyborg" Cristiane Justino.Powell Edges Xavier The light heavyweight co-main event saw Simeon Powell get back into the win column following his first career defeat. Powell (10-1) came out aggressive on the feet, but it was Rafael Xavier that was able to score a flash knockdown after landing a perfectly-placed front kick. More adversity would happen at the bell, as a left hook from Xavier (13-8) floored the London native. Powel…

Sherdog's live Bellator Champions Series London coverage will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp …

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Michael Chandler has moved on from Conor McGregor — at least for now.

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The former Bellator MMA lightweight champion will face Charles Oliveira in a rematch at UFC 309 on Nov. 16. Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report from Barstool Sports. UFC 309 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York. A heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic is expected to headline the card, but that bout has not been confirmed by the promotion. Chandler vs. Oliveira 2 will reportedly be a five-round, co-main event.

Chandler addressed the decision to take a different opponent after waiting to face McGregor since their coaching stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” in the summer of 2023.

“I got more promo, more eyeballs, more of everything in the last year and half than I would have gotten in three fights, and now I get the opportunity to take a title run,” Chandler said on his YouTube channel. “I beat Ch…

Merab Dvalishvili says he wouldn't move up to 145 lbs to fight Ilia Topuria, and says Ilia "destroys" him in sparring

He also says he could potentially move down to flyweight, but doubts he'll ever challenge for a feathweight belt

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🎥 @pound4poundshow #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/ANNpuytg0p — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 13, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili has no plans of moving up to featherweight to challenge Ilia Topuria for the 145-pound title.

Dvalishvili gets his long-awaited gold bid at bantamweight against Sean O’Malley in the main event at UFC 306 on Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas. “The Machine” will get a chance to become the second Georgian to win a UFC title after Topuria, who knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to be crowned featherweight champ at UFC 298 this past February.

O’Malley has consistently been plotting a move up to featherweight to challenge Topuria for the title if he gets past Dvalishv…

If you’re going to @spherevegas to watch @RiyadhSeason #NocheUFC, look out for the 5 Easter eggs for a chance to win $25,000!!!!! pic.twitter.com/INL15ZsaoO

— danawhite (@danawhite) September 13, 2024

Dana White recently dropped a clue about the UFC 306 Easter egg hunt worth $25,000.

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UFC 306, which goes down at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday, has been confirmed by the promotion to be a one-time extravaganza. The card billed as Noche UFC Riyadh Season — marking the promotion’s first partnership with Saudi Arabia — is also a tribute to Mexico’s contribution to combat sports.

The main event will see Sean O’Malley put his bantamweight title on the line against Merab Dvalishvili. Meanwhile, Alexa Grasso defends her women’s flyweight strap against Valentina Shevchenko in the co-headliner.

The main card will have films playing, which have been termed “worlds,” with the fights as chapters in them. White recently ann…

[embedded content] UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is pulling out all the stops for its highly-anticipated UFC 306 card, which will take place from The Sphere in Las Vegas and now the card is official after the weigh-ins took place.

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The historic card will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O'Malley and top contender Merab Dvalishvili. Both men made championship weight, as did women's flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and former 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko for their five-round co-main event. All other fighters also made their contracted weights.

One of the biggest stars in the sport, O'Malley (18-1, 1 NC) is coming off an impressive title defense over Marlon Vera, avenging the lone defeat of his career. "Suga" has been unbeaten in his last seven fights and holds victories over Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. The 29-year-old weighed 135 pou…

𝙈𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝙄𝙎 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇!

Leah McCourt and Sara Collins both officially made weight ahead of their featherweight no.1 contender bout tomorrow night! #BellatorLondon | TOMORROWLive on DAZN & MAX | 5:30PM BST pic.twitter.com/qkGWuioF68

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 13, 2024 Bellator MMA wraps up its busy September by returning to the United Kingdom for Bellator London.

All fighters, including headliners Leah McCourt and Sara Collins, successfully made weight. However, one fight was scrapped with no exact reason given. The official X account announced that "Eman Almudhaf vs. Daiane Silva is off the card." As a result, the card will proceed with nine fights.

McCourt (8-3) enters the main event off a TKO win over Sara McMann. It was a bounce-back win for "The Curse," as the Northern Ireland fighter previously lost a decision to Cat Zingano. McCourt officially weighed 145.9 pounds for the featherweight main event.

Mean…

Leah McCourt wants the fight she’s already earned and deserved: she wants Cris Cyborg. After Cyborg’s last win at Bellator 300 last year, McCourt, who also won earlier that night, entered the cage and faced off with the featherweight champion. However, to start 2024, the fight was not booked and McCourt is back again to prove herself as the top contender.

At Bellator Champions Series London this weekend, McCourt returns to take on undefeated prospect Sara Collins, while Cyborg prepares for her pay-per-view showdown with Larissa Pacheco at Professional Fighters League’s “Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact” PPV set for Oct. 19. Talking with the media ahead of Saturday, McCourt reiterated her desire to fight the Brazilian and how prepared she is to prove her place after dealing with a serious injury.

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After a scheduled middleweight title fight between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards was pulled from Bellator London, McCourt’s bout against Collins w…

Luke Trainer is knocking on the door of light heavyweight contention in Bellator MMA, but his goal and purpose is much more defined by what he’s doing outside of the cage. Trainer, whose parents have fostered children since he was 12-years old, has just as much focus on creating foster homes than he does his fighting career. So much so, he’s prepared to stop fighting when he’s made enough money to achieve those goals.

Talking with reporters at this week’s Bellator Champions Series London media day, Trainer explained that his focus on creating foster homes is something he takes just as seriously as a fight camp.

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“I do a bunch of work with schools now. I work with children in care. My role is to go in there as a mentor figure, teach them martial arts, and then we have time after the session where they can confide in me. I’m just an outside party where I can give advice or just be a listening ear. Actually, after this fight, [I’m going to] get the win, …

Highly-touted prospect Paul Hughes will be taking a significant step up in competition for his next fight.

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A lightweight clash pitting Hughes against A.J. McKee has been targeted for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming pay-per-view event on Oct. 19. MagicM MMABets first brought word of the pairing on Aug. 13, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. The promotion formally announced the bout on Sept. 12.

The PFL Super Fights Event, entitled "Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact,"is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira. In the co-main event, Cristiane Justino will square off against Larissa Pacheco. The card will air on pay-per-view through ESPN+.

A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes ended a high-profile free agent period by signing with the PFL. He made his debut with Bellator – which is also owned by PFL – on June 22, when he defeated Bobby King via second-round TKO. “Big News” has won s…

Here’s a 4 minute live beaming demonstration Proto founder @theNuzzy did on TikTok yesterday. Proto Hologram technology being used in the education, healthcare, artificial intelligence, language translation, and entertainment categories discussed. Watch and comment please. pic.twitter.com/IxBjkWsgyt

— Proto Hologram (@ProtoHologram) July 27, 2024 UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Ahead of the blockbuster September show, the Ultimate Fighting Championship dipped into the science fiction bucket for a little extra flair.

According to a press release by the UFC and Proto Inc. on Thursday, the promotion will be setting up a series of holograms. The individuals, including UFC chief Dana White, will appear on life-size screens that can interact with fans and the general public. While the release stated “top names from the UFC roster will appear” those names have not been disclosed. These machines will be …