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There was actually another memorable fight besides what happened in the aftermath of the UFC 229 headliner.

Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their lightweight scrap in the evening’s co-main event. Pettis dropped Ferguson in the second frame, but ultimately it was Ferguson’s pressure and creative striking that won the day. The contest was halted when Pettis wasn’t able to continue for the third round after suffering a broken hand.

Elsewhere, Derrick Lewis’ come-from-behind victory over Alexander Volkov in a featured heavyweight tilt netted him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award. Likely way behind on the scorecards in the waning seconds, Lewis blasted Volkov with a right hand and sealed the victory with follow-up ground-and-pound at the 4:49 mark of round three.

Finally, bantamweight prospect Aspen Ladd garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for an emphatic stoppage of ex-Invicta…

All hell breaks loose at #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/F4G2r00jdl

— ZombieProphet (@GIFsZP) October 7, 2018

The biggest fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship more than lived up to the hype, but it was marred in mass chaos in the aftermath.

Khabib Nurmagomedov took Conor McGregor down repeatedly in the fight and brutalized him with vicious ground-and-pound. The Irishman was able to block most of the punishment and get back to his feet, but he was never able to deliver the crushing power he’s known for. The two stood toe-to-toe in spurts on the feet, each giving as good as the other, but “The Eagle” scored another takedown in the fourth to end the fistic fireworks.

Nurmagomedov (27-0) eventually slithered to McGregor’s back, applied a rear-naked choke/crank and forced “Notorious” to tap out. The end came officially at 3:03 of the fourth, allowing the Dagestani native to retain his UFC lightweight championship.

What…

UFC 229 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Sherdog's live UFC 229 coverage kicks off Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scor…

Phil De Fries defends his KSW heavyweight title in a dominant way!#KSW45 pic.twitter.com/YBfvoYZYXH

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) October 6, 2018

Polish MMA promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki made its return to the United Kingdom on Saturday, and delivered an entertaining card in London with just two fights that went the distance.

In the KSW 45 main event, Philip De Fries retained his heavyweight crown after submitting Karol Bedorf with a key lock at 4:26 of round two. The defending KSW champ took down and controlled his opponent for the majority of the first round.

Former KSW heavyweight belt holder Bedorf tried to change the course of the fight in the second, but he found himself taken down again by De Fries, who landed a number of punches and elbows from top position. With 30 seconds remaining on the clock in the second round, De Fries managed to get a crucifix position and secured the fight-ending submission.

Elsewhere, Bosnia native Erko…

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

UFC 229 is now available on Amazon Prime.

UFC 229 and Conor McGregor’s long awaited return is nearly upon us, with “Notorious” having been out of action since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt at UFC 205 back in 2016.

On Saturday, McGregor (154.5) will have a chance to reclaim that very same belt as he takes on incumbent champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (155) in the main event.

UFC 229 airs live on pay-per-view Saturday night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC 229 Weigh-in Results: Khabib Nurmagomedov (155) vs. Conor McGregor (154.5)Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (156)Ovince St. Preux (205.5) vs. Dominick Reyes (204.5)Derrick Lewis (265.5) vs. Alexander Volkov (251)Michelle Waterson (115) vs. Felice Herrig (115.5)Jussier da Silva (125.5) vs. Sergio Pettis (125)Vicente Luque (170.5) vs. Jalin Turner (169.5)Tonya Evinger (136) vs. Aspen Ladd (134.5)Scott Holtzman (1…

There was nothing cuddly about Josh Copeland.

The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion knocked out Alex Nicholson in the first round of their Professional Fighters League Season 1 heavyweight tournament semifinal at PFL 8 on Friday at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Copeland (18-5) -- who upset top-seeded Francimar Barroso in the quarterfinals -- drew the curtain 1:27 into Round 1.

Nicholson (13-7) disposed of Jack May with a leg kick and follow-up punches to advance out of the quarterfinals but could progress no further. He opened an enormous gash above Copeland’s right eye with a spinning backfist, gave chase and walked into a devastating overhand right that froze him instantly. No additional punches were necessary.

The win, Copeland’s third straight, pushes him into the heavyweight tournament final on Dec. 31 in New York, where he will meet Philipe Lins with $1 million on the line. Lins (13-3) put away Jared Rosholt with punches…

On Saturday night, Sergio Pettis will fight on the same card as his brother, former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, for the fourth time. “Showtime” has at times said that arrangement has proved to be too much of a distraction for him, as he always fights after his younger brother.

Both Pettis brothers have a shot at elevating their stock in their respective divisions on a blockbuster card featuring a main-event title fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The younger Pettis (17-3) will take on a formidable opponent in Jussier da Silva (21-5), in one of the few pairings of top-10 fighters that haven’t yet faced each other in the relatively shallow flyweight division.

As for making the most of his placement on a McGregor-headlined card, Pettis was blunt in his breakdown of the importance of the “Formiga” fight.

“I just have to go out there and deliver,” Pettis told Sherdog.com’s Anthony Walker on Thursday at …

UFC 229 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Tony Martin is one of the rare fighters who aren’t literally sweating it out the week of a fight. Having moved up from lightweight, Martin will continue his run at welterweight on Saturday against Ryan LaFlare at UFC 229, and he claims the change thus far has been life changing.

Fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, who fights in the main event on Saturday night, and countless others struggle to make weight in a way that won’t compromise their performance, but as MMA fans have seen time and time again, fighters missing weight is becoming more and more common. This April, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Max Holloway couldn’t even cut to lightweight on short notice after attempting to fill in at UFC 223, and was deemed medically unfit to compete.

Martin spoke exclusively with Sherdog.com’s Anthony Walker on Thursday and explained the benefits of the move up to welterweight.

“I’m moving up t…

PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League PFL 8Credit: Pro Fight League After an exciting debut season, the playoffs have finally arrived for Professional Fighters League. Ten fights are set to kick off the playoffs Friday night in New Orleans. Before the playoffs commence, 20 fighters weighed in in order to have a chance at the million dollar prize.

The event gets the ball rolling in the heavyweight and featherweight division as eight fighters from each class square off in both the first and second round of the playoffs.

The card sees notable heavyweights Francimar Barroso, Alex Nicholson, Kelvin Tiller and Jared Rosholt all make their entry into the playoffs.

While notable featherweights Steven Siler, Andre Harrison, Lance Palmer and Max …

Conor McGregor got tongues wagging earlier this week when he discussed potential future opponents inside the Octagon after his clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov this weekend at UFC 229. One name that stood out from his comments was Brazilian legend and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

The Irishman spoke with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani from ESPN and after claiming he’d beat Nurmagomedov this weekend by “devastating KO” he talked about his next challenge.

"I would be interested in an Anderson Silva bout. I swear to God. Anderson is a legend in the game. What's the difference between him and Georges? Same damn thing. I'm going to do fights that interest me or have meaning."

The comments caught the eye of the 42 year-old Brazilian, who has not fought since UFC 208 last February, where he defeated Derek Brunson by decision to put an end to a streak of four losses and one no-contest. Silva responded to the challenge in Portug…

He's Back! @TheNotoriousMMA talks about his return, getting the title back... and fighting Nate Diaz at 165 Lbs? pic.twitter.com/Ma4KBlRDn1

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 4, 2018

The announcement that Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks would headline UFC 230 came as a surprise to the MMA community, especially considering some of the other available options.

Prior to that announcement, Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier proposed that their scheduled matchup could serve as the main event for the Madison Square Garden card with a newly-created 165-pound belt on the line, but UFC President Dana White shot down that notion.

Conor McGregor, with his blockbuster fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov just days away, weighed in on the UFC 230 controversy and the possibility of more weight classes within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I think Diaz-Poirier should be main event personally,” McGregor said on UFC Tonight. “But it’s great for t…

The Notorious! McGregor takes the stage at #UFC229 Open Workouts! @TheNotoriousMMA https://t.co/QM6mENtHq9

— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2018

Conor McGregor knows his best path to victory against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 is to put him away early.

During Thursday’s open workouts at Park Theatre in Las Vegas, the “Notorious” predicted a quick start against the reigning lightweight champion.

“It’s good to be back,” McGregor said UFC reporter Megan Olivi following his workout. “I’m going to have a proper fight. I’m going to come out there fast. I don’t give a f--k about anything – any wrestling, any technique – anything. I’m coming for that man’s head from the f---ing bell. Trust me on that.”

Seven of McGregor’s nine UFC victories have come inside two rounds. He went five rounds in a majority decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 202 and outpointed Max Holloway over three frames in an August 2013 contest. Everything else has been a …

Now that he has a new long-term deal with the UFC, Conor McGregor wants big, meaningful fights.

One of the foes he mentioned was former middleweight champion and pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva.

"I would be interested in an Anderson Silva bout,” McGregor recently told ESPN. “I swear to God. Anderson is a legend in the game. What's the difference between him and Georges [St. Pierre]? Same damn thing. I'm going to do fights that interest me or have meaning.”

It appears that Silva has been made aware of McGregor’s comments, and “The Spider” would be interested in pursuing the bout down the road.

“It would be a great honor to test myself for ‘fighting’ with Conor McGregor,” Silva wrote on Instagram. “He is an eclectic fighter, and has already proven that he has to be respected. Let's make this happen!

“The UFC wants super fights, I'm sure fans from all [four] corners of the world want to see this fight. I professionally believe it would be awes…

Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com

Darren Till entered his title fight against Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 last month full of confidence, and that confidence remains undiminished despite his in-cage setback.

Many fans believed it would be a close fight and that Till offered a legitimate threat to the throne of Woodley. However, it did not play out that way. Woodley produced a flawless performance on the night, not only finishing “The Gorilla” by second-round submission but also completely nullifying Till’s striking game with the 25-year-old landing only one strike on the champion.

Till recently spoke to his sponsors at Paddy Power and despite the one-sided loss, says his confidence has not wavered, as he always expected he’d get beaten at some point in his career.

“My confidence hasn’t changed or taken a knoc…

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The most anticipated press conference of 2018 took place approximately two weeks ago, and it went off without a hitch.

Still, that didn’t stop UFC President Dana White from worrying when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were on the dais at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sept. 20.

“It’s intense and a lot of people were telling me it’s the first time they’ve seen me look really nervous up there,” White said on “The Jim Rome Show” Tuesday. “I was so nervous that something was gonna explode.”

The last time Nurmagomedov and McGregor were in the same building in New York, things didn’t go as smoothly. Prior to UFC 223 in April, McGregor hurled a dolly through a bus window carrying fighters and employees — including Nurmagomedov. As a result, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were injured and had to withdraw from the event. McGregor was arrested and went through the legal process, eventually avoiding jail time with a plea deal.

A…

Alexander Gustafsson is ready to get the ball rolling on his rumored UFC 232 bout with Jon Jones.

The Swedish light heavyweight taunted his rival on Tuesday, posting a picture of Jones’ head on a chicken’s body on the label of a milk carton. Gustafsson then revealed that he has signed his bout agreement to face Jones.

“[Jon Jones] you are pissing me off. I signed my agreement,” Gustafsson wrote. “Where are you?? Are you chickening out?? Stop being a coward!”

Last week, it was reported that a Jones-Gustafsson rematch was being targeted for UFC 232 in Las Vegas on Dec. 29. Jones was recently given a reduced suspension for his second anti-doping violation and will be eligible to return on Oct. 28. Current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier said he expects to be stripped of the title by the promotion so Gustafsson and Jones can vie for the vacant 205-pound belt.

While White didn’t make mention of a title bout, he did confirm that the UFC is hoping …

Fresh off his triumph at Bellator 206, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi has called for a rematch against one of Bellator MMA’s newest acquisitions in Lyoto Machida.

Machida signed with Bellator in June after a highly successful eleven-year career under the banner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he captured the light heavyweight title in 2009. Machida and Mousasi met in 2014 at UFC Fight Night 36, with the Brazilian winning via unanimous decision.

“The Dragon” told Fox Sports Brasil he’d be open for a rematch fight with Mousasi but is focusing now on his fight with Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 211 on Dec. 15.

“Let’s make the second fight happen, then,” Machida said. “Mousasi has that loss stuck in his throat. In interview he says he’s upset, that he wants to fight me. It’ll be a pleasure, because my goal is the Bellator belt. I’m not here to play around, to have small fights. I’m here to be the champion. I have a very serious appointment in D…

A rumored featherweight championship clash between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega is official for UFC 231.

Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following a report from TSN. MMAjunkie.com initially brought word of the matchup.

UFC 231 takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 8 and also features a women’s flyweight championship tilt between Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The promotion also announced two other bouts for the event: Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos at light heavyweight and Elias Theodorou vs. Eryk Anders at middleweight.

Holloway and Ortega were initially slated to meet at UFC 226 on July 7. The bout was scrapped after Holloway began suffering concussion-like symptoms days before the event. Ortega then turned down a short-notice fight in favor of waiting on Holloway to return to full health.

Holloway last appeared at UFC 218, defending his 145-pound title with a third-round TKO of Jos…

Last week, reports surfaced that the UFC was looking to book a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at the promotion’s year-end card.

Now it appears that the Las Vegas-based organization wants to have Jones and Gustafsson vie for the vacant light heavyweight crown at UFC 232 on Dec. 29. According to current 205-pound king Daniel Cormier, things are “tense” between him and the UFC because the promotion wants him to relinquish the belt. Cormier revealed the situation during an appearance on "Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” on Monday.

“Everybody knows how I feel about Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “It’s been tense, to say the least, with my interaction with the company if indeed they offer a title fight to him. I have to maintain a sense of professionalism.”

Cormier lost to Jones in a title bout at UFC 214 but was reinstated as light heavyweight champion when “Bones” failed a drug test. Although he was facing as much as a four-year suspension as a repeat o…

Last month, Fabricio Werdum was given a two-year suspension by USADA after testing positive for the anabolic steroid tenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone in an out-of-competition screening conducted in April.

“Vai Cavalo” won’t be able to return to action until May 2020, when he is 43 years old. The former heavyweight champion recently told Combate that USADA presented an option during a meeting that could have resulted in a reduced suspension.

“What surprised me the most was at the end of the interview, it was something that I found absurd,” Werdum said (translation via MMAjunkie.com). “They said, ‘Werdum, here’s the thing: If you tell on someone …’ It was what you could call ‘delacao premiada’ [plea bargain]. ‘Werdum, if you tell on someone’ – using the slang, if you’re a snitch – ‘we’ll shorten your suspension. Because you’re going to have to pay something. Even if we find the substance in any of the products we test, even if we find it, you’ll have to p…

Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com

Sean O’Malley will not be competing at UFC 229 after failing a drug test, the fighter announced Sunday.

In the past, the UFC or USADA would have announced O’Malley’s anti-doping violation, but a recent change in policy means that failed drug tests won’t be revealed until the case is resolved. That revision came about because approximately one third of adjudicated cases were eventually found to be a result of non-intentional use of a banned substance.

O’Malley’s full statement is as follows:

Hey guys, Sugar Show here…I want to be the first to let you know about what’s going on. As many of you may have seen, the UFC announced this weekend that they are no longer announcing potential violations of the USADA program, because of the high number of unintentional use cases under the program, and are instead waiting until the end.

<…

Gegard Mousasi expected to emerge from Bellator Bellator 206 with his hand raised. But he also expected a little bit more resistance from Rory McDonald.

“The Dreamcatcher” dictated the action with his jab throughout before finishing the fight with elbows and punches from full mount 3:23 into round two. Not only was Mousasi dominant, but MacDonald never got untracked before the finish.

“I knew I was faster,” Mousasi said at the post-fight press conference. “The game plan was to throw straight punches, no hooks, and hurt him and make him come and maybe put pressure on him to shoot and take over. Actually, the fight went pretty much the way we planned.

“It surprised me he didn’t do much. He didn’t punch that much. I was the more active fighter. He was the lighter fighter, I thought he would do more.”

Mousasi has now won eight consecutive bouts, establishing himself as one of the top middleweights in the world. That run includes triumphs over MaDonald, Ra…

Cro Cop vs Roque Martinez #RIZIN13 pic.twitter.com/9Adyq2mBqp

— ZombieProphet (@GIFsZP) September 30, 2018

Kyoji Horiguchi came up short in his kickboxing debut on Sunday, as the former UFC flyweight title challenger lost on points to 20-year-old striking phenom Tenshin Nasukawa in the main event of Rizin 13 in Saitama, Japan.

Horiguchi, 27, held his own against fellow Rizin poster boy Nasukawa for the majority of the three-round, 128-pound contest. Through six minutes, the most significant strikes landed were two accidental low blows committed by Nasukawa, the second of which left Horiguchi on the ground in agony.

Nasukawa’s best moment came in the final frame, when he put Horiguchi on wobbly legs with a spinning heel kick. Horiguchi slowed the assault by instinctively double-legging Nasukawa to the canvas, but the American Top Team product appeared unable to fully clear the cobwebs. The judges sided unanimously with Nasukawa (30-28, …

Reigning Bellator MMA middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi utterly dominated Rory MacDonald in the superfight main event of Bellator 206 on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

MacDonald, the current promotional welterweight titlist, could not get past the Dutchman’s reach and never found any rhythm to his offense. “The Dreamcatcher” peppered the Canadian with stiff jabs and leg kicks, but when MacDonald (20-5) missed a rolling leg lock attempt in the second round, he was doomed. Mousasi (45-6-2) wound up on top, moved to full mount and unloaded a thunderstorm of elbows. “The Red King” could not defend himself, and after about a dozen or so elbows connected, referee Herb Dean had to halt the mugging.

The end came at 3:23 of the second, allowing Mousasi to retain his title.

Quinton Jackson evened the score with archnemesis Wanderlei Silva (35-14-1), as he stopped his rival in the co-main event.

Fighting at heavyweight and well past their primes…