Cody Garbrandt Withdraws from UFC Vegas 100 Co-Main Event

Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of a scheduled co-main event clash against Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 100.

BJPenn.com was first to report the news. The reason for Garbrandt’s withdrawal is currently unknown. While Johns reportedly hopes to remain on the card against a short-notice foe, it is unclear if he will get his wish. UFC Vegas 100 — also known as UFC Fight Night 247 — takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight bout between Carlos Prates and Neil Magny.

Garbrandt had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a second-round submission loss to former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 on April 13. “No Love” is 3-6 in his last nine Octagon appearances dating back to 2017.

Johns, meanwhile, has lost just once in his last seven promotional appearances. Most recently, “Chapo” outpointed Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15.

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Manager: Petr Yan Looking to Make a Statement Against Deiveson Figueiredo

Petr Yan is looking to remind people of who he is in his next outing.

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Yan lost his bantamweight title via disqualification against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in 2021. While Yan bounced back with a decision win over Cory Sandhagen, he subsequently came up on the short side of a split decision in a rematch against Sterling. The Russian then dropped consecutive decisions against Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, losing relevance in title talks.

However, Yan started his climb back up with a unanimous decision win over rising Chinese contender Yadong Song at UFC 299 this past March. “No Mercy” is now scheduled to fight former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3) at UFC Macau on Nov. 23 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. Yan’s manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov, says the former champ is looking to making a statement in the fight. While Abdrakhmanov isn’t expecting an immediate title shot for Yan with a potential win over Figueiredo, he is certain t…

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UFC Vegas 100 Headliner Carlos Prates Reveals How His Career Turned Around

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While Carlos Prates (20-9) is one of the most exciting welterweight prospects in the UFC today, his early career wasn’t as promising.

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Prates made his pro debut in 2012 and went 5-4 in his first nine bouts, alternating between wins and losses. However, “The Nightmare” has since turned his career around, winning 15 of his last 17 with 14 finishes. Prates credits the time he spent in Thailand for the abrupt turnaround in his career. The Brazilian also admits that he was still very young and susceptible to making mistakes during the early phase of his career.

“I think after I spend a lot of time in Thailand because Thailand give me a lot of experience,” Prates recently told Kevin Iole. “And make me more confident to fight [in] muay thai or MMA. Also, I was really young when I was losing a lot. And was fighting in wrong weight division. And didn’t train too much, spend a lot of time with things that don’t make me better. Then I get a l…

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Bo Nickal Built Gym Near Penn State to Stay Close to Wrestling Roots

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Bo Nickal refuses to let go of his wrestling roots even after transitioning to MMA.

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Nickal is a former three-time NCAA Division I national champion from Penn State University. Nickal made his pro MMA debut in 2022 and found himself in the UFC after just three outings, which included two in Dana White's Contender Series.

Despite being primarily a wrestler, Nickal has two knockouts to his name and is showing progress in his striking. However, unlike many other wrestlers who focus only on striking after finding success on the feet, Nickal knows wrestling is his bread and butter. In order to practice pure wrestling regularly, Nickal reached out to American Top Team owner Dan Lambert. They built a gym just 10 minutes away from Penn State so that Nickal can train MMA in the mornings and join the university team for wrestling practice in the afternoons.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

“I wrestled…

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Chihiro Suzuki-Kleber Koike Erbst Title Rematch to Headline Rizin’s NYE Show

Featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki will defend his title in a rematch against ex-title holder Kleber Koike Erbst in the main event of Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve card.

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The Japanese promotion announced the bout during a press conference on Tuesday. The event, entitled Rizin 49 "Decade",” takes place on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and is available via pay-per-view. No other fights were announced for the card.

Erbst was the reigning 145-pound champion for the first matchup with Suzuki in June 2023. However, the Brazilian lost the title on the scale when he missed weight one day prior to their meeting at Rizin 43. As a result, the belt remained vacant following Erbst’s first-round submission victory, which was declared a no contest due to Rizin rules.

Suzuki has won three straight contests since that defeat, beginning with a first-round knockout of Bellator champ Patricio Freire in a lightweight affair. H…

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Victim, Doctor Testify Against McGregor in Civil Trial Related to Sexual Assault Case

Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor is due to appear before the High Court for a personal injury case against him https://t.co/D8XpT8kq8X

— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) November 5, 2024

The alleged victim and the emergency room doctor who treated her testified against Conor McGregor during the beginning of a civil lawsuit related to an alleged sexual assault committed by the former UFC champion in 2018.

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McGregor and the alleged victim, Nikita Ni Lamhain (Hand), were both present in Dublin High Court on Tuesday. The civil lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Hand, who alleges that McGregor and James Lawrence raped her in a hotel room in December 2018. Both McGregor and Lawrence, who are not facing criminal charges, have denied the accusations. The beginning of the trial was covered by multiple outlets, including The Irish Times and the Irish Mirror.

According to testimony from Hand, she was an acquaintance of McGrego…

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Macy Chiasson vs. Ketlen Vieira Set for UFC Event on Feb. 22

A women’s bantamweight tilt between Macy Chiasson and Ketlen Vieira has been rebooked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 22.

Chiasson and Vieira were initially slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 234 on Jan. 13 before a knee injury forced Vieira to withdraw from the bout. Ag.Fight was first to report the new booking. The UFC Fight Night card does not currently have a confirmed location or headliner.

Chiasson is 2-0 thus far in 2024. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner kicked off her campaign with a first-round submission of Pannie Kianzad at UFC Fight Night 239 on March 16 before earning a second-round TKO stoppage of Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 303 on June 29. The 33-year-old is 8-3 during her promotional tenure, which also includes fights at 145 pounds.

Vieira, meanwhile, returned at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, where she dropped a three-round verdict to two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison. Vieira’s resume includes notable wins over the likes of…

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Former WEC Welterweight Title Challenger Hiromitsu Miura Dead at 43

World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Hiromitsu Miura died recently following a battle with acute leukemia.

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In a statement on social media, Miura’s family revealed that he “passed away suddenly” on Oct. 26 after fighting the disease since mid-September. Miura was 43 years old.

“The funeral was attended only by his immediate family,” the statement read. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness you extended to the deceased during his lifetime.”

Miura compiled a 13-8 record over the course of an MMA career that began in 2004. He was best known for a five-bout WEC stint, where he fell to Carlos Condit via fourth-round technical knockout in a welterweight title bout on Aug. 3, 2008. It was an entertaining, back-and-forth affair in which Miura dumped Condit on the canvas several times with judo throws before succumbing to a knee and follow-up punches at the 4:43 mark of Round 4.

Miura also competed for Pancrase, K-1 and …

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Zach Scroggin Steps in on Short Notice to Face Elizeu Zaleski at UFC Vegas 100

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Zach Scroggin will replace the injured Nicolas Dalby and square off against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on short notice at UFC Vegas 100.

The promotion announced the change to the welterweight bout on Tuesday. The nature of Dalby’s injury was not revealed. UFC Vegas 100 — also known as UFC Fight Night 247 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Carlos Prates against Neil Magny.

Scroggin will take a 7-0 record into his promotional debut. The Kansas native has competed exclusively for the Fighting Alliance Championship organization during his professional tenure, finishing all but one of his opponents inside the distance.

Dos Santos is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Randy Brown at UFC 302 this past June.

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Michael Chandler Explains Why He Accepted Charles Oliveira Matchup

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Michael Chandler had to move on from a long-anticipated booking with Conor McGregor to a matchup against Charles Oliveira.

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McGregor hasn’t fought since suffering a leg break in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. “Notorious” starred opposite Chandler as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” in 2023 with a future clash planned between the two.

After multiple delays in McGregor’s return timeline, they were finally scheduled to headline UFC 303 this past June. However, the Irishman pulled out two weeks before fight night due a toe injury. Meanwhile, Chandler also hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in 2022, mostly due to awaiting a fight against McGregor.

Chandler will finally return to action in a rematch against Oliveira in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. “Iron” recently revealed how he moved on from the McGregor figh…

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Yadong Song Believes Fight Against Umar Nurmagomedov is Likely for UFC 311

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Yadong Song believes Umar Nurmagomedov will most likely have to go through him to secure a bantamweight title shot.

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While Nurmagomedov has been demanding a title shot against Merab Dvalishvili, the champ thinks the undefeated contender still has more to prove for a gold bid. Nurmagomedov was then reportedly on the verge of finalizing a UFC Tampa headliner matchup against Song in December. However, Nurmagomedov announced soon after that the booking was off as Yadong won’t be ready to fight at that event.

Nurmagomedov has since been going back and forth with Dvalishvili, who has consistently accused the Dagestani of enjoying privileges due to his relation to cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov has verbally agreed to postpone the Song matchup to UFC 311 in January if Dvalishvili doesn’t agree to fight him. And “Kung Fu Kid” is positive that Nurmagomedov will have to fight him in January, unless Dvalishvili accepts the matchup be…

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Shavkat Rakhmonov Questions Timing of Belal Muhammad’s Withdrawal from UFC 310

Shavkat Rakhmonov has his doubts about the timing of Belal Muhammad’s exit from UFC 310.

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Rakhmonov was scheduled to challenge Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, Muhammad pulled out of the matchup, citing a bone infection that led to severe swelling in his foot.

Rakhmonov has now questioned the recency of Muhammad’s injury. The undefeated Kazakh believes Muhammad’s injury is older than he advertised, as he claims to have heard of the champ training recently. According to “Nomad,” Muhammad could have fought at UFC 310 if he wanted to but chose to exercise more caution.

“From what I heard and what I know, he got injuries even earlier before it went public,” Rakhmonov recently told Ariel Helwani. “Because I [heard about] him train recently. Maybe he just posted his picture recently, but the problem occurred even earlier. So I think he [would be] able to fight in De…
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Stipe Miocic: More People Want to See Jon Jones Fight Me Than Tom Aspinall

Stipe Miocic (20-4) recently responded to critics of his UFC 309 title shot booking against Jon Jones (27-1).

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Miocic was originally scheduled to challenge Jones for the heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November 2023 before “Bones” was forced out with an injury. Tom Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title fight on the same card.

While Aspinall initially called for Jones to be stripped of the title, he later started rallying for a title unification bout against Jones. “Honey Badger” even defended his interim strap with a KO win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 this past July. However, Jones remained adamant on fighting Miocic upon his return, leading to their main-event booking at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Miocic last fought at UFC 260 in 2021, when he lost his strap to Francis Ngannou via brutal KO. While many consider Aspinall the rightful title contender, the UFC has defended the book…

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Michael Chandler: Lengthy Layoff Waiting for McGregor Fight Was Much Needed

While it might appear that Michael Chandler wasted valuable years of his MMA career waiting on a Conor McGregor fight that has yet to materialize, the former Bellator MMA champion has a different perspective on that time away.

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“Having that much time off, I needed it. I really needed it,” Chandler told the New York Post. “Six training camps in a 26-month period, every single fight was do or die — Top 3, Top 5 guy, world title fights, fights of the night, fights of the year. And I love the sport; I am so blessed to do the sport of mixed martial arts as a professional and get paid for it and feed my family with it, but it was taking a toll on me. I needed some time off.”

Chandler hasn’t competed since November 2022, when he suffered a third-round submission loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. He was then booked to coach opposite McGregor on “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” seemingly setting the stage for a big-ticket fight after the show. However, the b…

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UFC 310 Update: Doo Ho Choi vs. Nate Landwehr to Clash in Las Vegas on Dec. 7

A featherweight showdown pittng Doo Ho Choi against Nate Landwehr has been added to the UFC 310 lineup.

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MMA Mania was first to report the booking. UFC 310 takes place on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and features a flyweight championship bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.

Choi earned his first victory since 2016 at UFC on ESPN 60, where he defeated Bill Algeo via second-round technical knockout on July 20. “The Korean Superboy” began his promotional tenure with three consecutive first-round finishes but went 0-3-1 in his next four Octagon appearances, though his loss against Cub Swanson was eventually inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing.” The 33-year-old Busan Team Mad representative owns a 15-4-1 career mark, with 12 of those triumphs coming via KO or TKO.

Landwehr, meanwhile, been victorious in four of his last five UFC bouts. In his first appearance of 2024, “The Train” scored a first-round knockout of…

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Coach: Alexander Volkanovski’s Layoff Has Been ‘A Bit Too Long’

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Joe Lopez can’t wait to see Alexander Volkanovski back in action.

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Volkanovski suffered a brutal knockout loss in a short-notice failed double-champ bid against lightweight champ Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023. “The Great” put his featherweight title on the line soon after against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 this past February, where he suffered another brutal knockout. Many believe Volkanovski knockout loss to Topuria had to do with the quick turnaround from his loss against Makhachev.

Volkanovski has since taken some time off and will seemingly not fight at least before early next year. While Lopez also felt Volkanovski needed some time off, he thinks it’s been too long now.

“I would have said six to eight months was plenty, you know,” the Freestyle MMA Coach told Submission Radio. “Now we’re coming up to nearly 12 months. And it’s a bit too long.”

Meanwhile, Topuria defended his strap by knocking out Max Holl…

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Daniel Cormier at Peace Without ‘Perfect Happy Ending’ to Jon Jones Rivalry

A fan told Daniel Cormier that he’s “the son of Jon Jones”, and DC replies “F*** you” 😭

He also explains why he’ll never be cool with Jon Jones:

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“People need to stop longing for the perfect happy ending.”

🎥 @SevereMMA #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/TKkwVFBBTW

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 3, 2024 Daniel Cormier thinks it’s fine that he and Jon Jones have never settled their feud.

Cormier and Jones share one of the most iconic rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, which started with “Bones” saying he could take the former All-American wrestler down. They were supposed to share the Octagon for the first time at UFC 178 but the matchup was postponed when Jones suffered an injury in training. Jones and Cormier finally clashed at UFC 182 in 2015, where “Bones” successfully defended his light heavyweight title via unanimous decision. Jones also tested positive for a cocaine metabolite but wasn’t p…

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Jon Jones’ Coach Sees MMA Championship Potential in Decorated Training Partner

It’s humbling having some of the world’s best athletes supporting me throughout this camp. “Be comfortable being uncomfortable”. pic.twitter.com/q0vqcfiNIF

— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 8, 2024

Jon Jones’ longtime coach Brandon Gibson believes wrestling superstar Gable Steveson could be a future mixed martial arts champion.

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Jones (27-1) will defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic (20-4) in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Many, including Gibson believe that this could be the last walk to the Octagon for “Bones,” who has hinted at retirement on multiple occasions leading up to the bout.

In preparation for UFC 309, Jones has assembled a cadre of talented training partners from various discipines of combat sports. Included in that group are multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion Gordon Ryan and wrestling Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Gibson sees championship poten…

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From Fan Engagement to Movie Star Roles, Alex Pereira’s Star Continues to Grow

Considered to be one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts today — despite not speaking English — Alex Pereira put his popularity to the test during an autograph session at Shopping Eldorado in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this past Saturday.

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Up arriving at the mall, “Poatan” was gretting by a crowd that had already gathered in the shopping center’s corridors. With shouts of “Chama! Chama! Chama!”, the crowd waited patiently to take a photo or receive an autograph from their idol. In a video published on Instagram, Poatan spoke of the emotion of receiving affection from his hometown fans.

“It was beyond what I expected, to see all these people leaving their home on a holiday to stay in such a long line waiting to take a picture with me. See a small child crying when taking a photo with me. I´m really speechless,” Pereira said.

The UFC light heavyweight champion also recently participated in one of the most popular podcasts in the country, "Podpah…

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Brandon Moreno Assesses Title Hopes, Potential Foes Following UFC Edmonton Win

After taking some time off, Brandon Moreno came back looking rejuvenated at UFC Edmonton.

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The former flyweight king outstruck Amir Albazi for the better part of five rounds in a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph in Saturday’s headliner at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Albazi, who lost for the first time in six Octagon appearances, was unable to match his Mexican opponent during exchanges on the feet, and he was also unable to ground “Assassin Baby.”

For Moreno, it was a much-needed return to the win column after back-to-back losses. Those struggles prompted him to announce in March that he would be taking a break from MMA to allow his body and mind to rest.

“What can I say? I feel just amazing, All the vibes, all the environment around my training camp was on point. It was just perfect. I wanted to show that in my performance tonight, and I feel I did it,” Moreno said at the post-fight press conference.

“I felt so connected,…

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Coach: Jon Jones Deserves to Walk Away from MMA ‘Any Time He Wants’

Nothing is set in stone at this point in time, but Brandon Gibson is treating the UFC 309 fight camp like it’s going to be Jon Jones’ last dance.

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Jones will defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 headliner on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. “Bones” has indicated on more than one occasion that this could be his final mixed martial arts bout. Gibson, who is one of Jones’ longtime coaches in Albuquerque, New Mexico, isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I think physically, mentally, he could go in there and have five or six more great performances,” Gibson told MMAFighting.com. “There’s nothing left for Jon to prove. I think he really wants this fight with Stipe. I think this fight will help solidify Jon’s status as that great heavyweight champion but it’s not something we talk about every night at the gym. We’re definitely all eyes on Nov. 16. But each time I go to a practice, I’m approaching it as this is my las…

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UFC 309 Featured Preliminary Card to be Available on FX, Hulu

Those planning on watching the final four preliminary bouts for UFC 309 will have multiple viewing options.

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In addition to ESPN+ and ESPNEWS, the featured preliminary card at UFC 309 will also air on FX and Hulu. The promotion announced the options during the UFC Edmonton broadcast on Saturday night. Typically, the main preliminary card for a pay-per-view is only broadcast on ESPN+ and one of the ESPN channels. Like ESPN, both FX and Hulu are owned by The Walt Disney Company.UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

The featured UFC 309 preliminary card is topped by a light heavyweight clash between Nikita Krylov and Azamat Murzakanov. The other three bouts are as follows: Mauricio Ruffy vs. James Llontop at lightweight; Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee at bantamweight and Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson at lightweight. Meanwhile, the five-bout early preliminary draw will air exclusively on ESPN+.

UFC 309 takes place …

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Belal Muhammad: Interim Welterweight Title Fight Doesn’t Makes Sense

Belal Muhammad says an interim title fight at #UFC310 doesn’t make sense, but doesn’t mind it:

“Interim title bro? It’s 6 weeks, not 6 months that I’m off.”

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🎥 @remembertheshow #UFC #MMA

pic.twitter.com/NKIbl1onkK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 2, 2024

Belal Muhammad believes an interim title fight doesn’t make sense in his absence.

Muhammad was scheduled to defend his welterweight strap against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, “Remember the Name” was forced out of the event due to an infection in his foot that caused severe swelling in one of his toes.

Rakhmonov has since been looking for a replacement opponent for a potential interim title fight at UFC 310. While Ian Garry had been calling out Rakhmonov, the Irishman was recently booked against Joaquin Buckley for a headlining bout at UFC Tampa on Dec. 14. That leaves former champ Kamaru…

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Max Holloway Confirms Permanent Move Up to Lightweight

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It’s unlikely that Max Holloway will compete at featherweight again.

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After going 0-3 against Alexander Volkanovski in their title fight trilogy, Holloway wasn’t in featherweight title conversations until recently. However, the title picture changed with Ilia Topuria’s knockout win over Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February.

Meanwhile, Holloway went on score an iconic knockout win over Justin Gaethje for the BMF title in a lightweight matchup at UFC 300 in April, securing himself a featherweight gold bid. The former champ challenged “El Matador” at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. While Holloway was seemingly getting ahead on the scorecards, Topuria handed “Blessed” his first career KO loss in the third round.

Holloway expressed interest in moving up to 155 pounds immediately afterward. The Hawaiian has now confirmed that he is moving up to lightweight for good. While Holloway had a nice weight cut for…

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