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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…

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Cody Brundage (10-6) might have to bear the wrath of Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) due to no fault of his own in their upcoming bout this weekend.

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Both Alhassan (12-6) and Brundage (10-6) will be fighting in front of a home crowd at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver on July 13. Alhassan vented out a lot of pent-up anger at UFC Denver media day, promising to unleash the worst of it on Brundage come fight night.

“I have some demons in me that I’m trying to unleash on that motherfuc*er,” Alhassan said. “Of course, my word is going to make it sound like I hate him. I have nothing against him. I swear to God, I’m going to unleash some fuc*ing demons on that motherfuc*er.”

The anger in Alhassan stems from past sexual assault allegations which he was later acquitted of. Alhassan was working as a bouncer at a Fort Worth, Texas, bar in 2018 when two women, aged 20 and 22, accused him of raping them at one of their houses after a…

Jarrah Al-Silawi’s chance to regain his Professional Fighters League roster spot could rely on him winning the eight-man PFL MENA Welterweight Season. Despite his setbacks during the previous two years, Al-Silawi says he’s become a brand-new fighter.

“I feel that I’m one of the most experienced fighters in the field,” Al-Silawi told Sherdog.com. “This camp, however, gave me the chance to improve and work on new things to become Jarrah 2.0. With that comes the responsibility to perform and do well in this tournament.

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“I’m very excited to fight in an Arab country again,” he added. “I think it gives me a chance to prove that I’m one of -- if not the best -- Middle Eastern fighters, and who knows, maybe this will lead to me fighting on the big show again.”

Al-Silawi (19-6) will face Algeria’s Rayan Atmani (4-2) at 2024 PFL MENA 2 Regular Season on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armani has never been outside the first round and coul…

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Sean Strickland’s back-and-forth with Navy SEALs has pulled David Goggins into the fray.

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Since February, Strickland (29-6) has been trading barbs with Navy SEALs after he claimed that none of them could endure one week of training with him. While Strickland expectedly received severe backlash from SEALs, one even recently showed up to spar the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ. Strickland showed no mercy, putting an absolute beating on former Navy SEAL turned mixed martial arts fighter Mitch Aguiar.

Now Goggins, a former Navy SEAL turned fitness motivational influencer, has issued Strickland a challenge.

“Cause this is your opportunity to show the world that you can f*ck me up. I will have camera crews out there,” Goggins said in a video released on TalkSport. “You make sure you bring your f*cking camera crew out there because you’re going to want to get this on camera. Cause a 49-year-old, broke down …

Matt Frevola will lock horns with Fares Ziam in a lightweight bout at UFC Paris.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Marcel Dorff. UFC Fight Night takes place at the Accor Arena in Paris on Sept. 28 and features a lightweight showdown pitting Benoit St. Denis against Renato Carneiro.

Frevola is coming off a first-round knockout loss against St. Denis at UFC 295 this past November. Prior to that, “The Steamrolla” had earned consecutive opening round stoppages against Genaro Valdez, Ottman Azaitar and Drew Dober in the Octagon.

Ziam, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of his last six UFC bouts. In his first appearance of 2024 Kill Cliff FC-trained Frenchman garnered a split-decision triumph over Claudio Puelles at UFC Fight Night 237 on Feb. 24.

🗓️ Coming 2025#PFLAfrica pic.twitter.com/oAWhQpCMwL

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 10, 2024

The groundwork has been laid for Professional Fighters League to plant its flag in Africa.

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The organization announced on Wednesday that PFL Africa will debut in the second quarter of 2025. Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who hails from Cameroon, will serve as chairman for the league. PFL Africa will follow a format similar to that of affiliate regional leagues PFL Europe and PFL MENA, with a regular season and postseason featuring fighters from throughout Africa.

“I am excited and honored to serve as Chairman of PFL Africa, a league that will shape the very foundation of African MMA,” Ngannou said in a release. “As we have seen there is a great wealth of talent in Africa just waiting to be given a global stage. I am so very proud to give back to my homeland and to provide great content to a region with such a passionate a…

Some prominent names have been confirmed for Bellator Champions Series San Diego.

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The promotion announced on Wednesday that Douglas Lima, Lorenz Larkin and Raufeon Stots will all be competing on the card, which takes place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Sept. 7. Lima will face Aaron Jeffery at middleweight, while Larkin will lock horns with Levan Chokheli in a welterweight clash. Stots, meanwhile, will take on Marcos Breno at bantamweight in the evening’s co-main event.

Bellator Champions Series San Diego is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Usman Nurmagomedov and Alexandr Shabliy. The card will air in its entirety on Max in the United States.

A former Bellator welterweight champion, Lima will return to action for the first time in more than a year. In his last outing, the 36-year-old Brazilian snapped a four-fight skid with a unanimous decison triumph over Costello van Steenis at Bellator 296 in May 2023.

Jeffery, meanwhile, …

Six contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in seven appearances on Dana White's Contender Series. Twenty victories in 24 fights. Four bonuses in 2024.

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Although The Fighting Nerds debuted in the Octagon less than two years ago, there is no doubt that the Brazilian team has made a significant impact in the sport in a short period of time. Captained by former boxer Pablo Sucupira, the team already has seven athletes in the UFC: Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy, Bruna Brasil, Carlos Prates, Thiago Moises, Jean Silva and Kaynan Kruschewsky.

In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Sucupira revealed that the team emerged from his frustration as a fighter.

“I always say that a good coach is a frustrated fighter, as frustration in the ring leads him to develop solutions for his athletes,” he said. “And it was like that with me. I started boxing when I was 29 years old. I achieved good results, but when I realized that I wouldn't be able…

Andre Petroski has been calling Bo Nickal out since before the decorated wrestler’s Ultimate Fighting Championship debut — and he continues to do so.

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Petroski started calling out the three-time NCAA national champion for a grappling or MMA matchup before his unanimous decision win over Wellington Turman in November 2022. Petroski doubled down on his callout after a spilt-decision win over Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 292 in August 2023.

However, Petroski has since suffered consecutive stoppage losses against Michel Pereira and Jacob Malkoun. Petroski will now look to return to the win column against Josh Fremd at UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday. Petroski believes a win over Fremd could put him right back into talks of a potential matchup against Nickal.

Malkoun recently announced a matchup with Nickal for UFC 302 in New Jersey, which was immediately denied by the latter’s management and ultimately didn’t come to fruition. However, Petroski had deeme…

More than halfway into 2024, top contender Magomed Ankalaev has vowed to knock out UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira before the year ends.

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Ankalaev is the only one of top contenders in the division who hasn’t fallen prey to Pereira. After recently defeating former champ Jiri Prochazka for the second time at UFC 303, Pereira will most likely face Ankalaev next.

However, Ankalaev has been levelling shots at Pereira since “Poatan” merely asked Anthony Joshua’s to suggest potential opponents for a future boxing move.

“[Alex Pereira] kept away from me for a reason, and I do understand this is business,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “[In the UFC the] best fight the best, and he is the best for now. I will keep my work. I will knock him out. [Mick Maynard] [Dana White] nothing better than you’ve seen an event somebody going to sleep.”

@AlexPereiraUFC kept away from me for a reason, and I do understand this is business @ufc best …

Drew Dober (27-13) is looking to make the most out of upcoming opponent Jean Silva’s (13-2) unusual walkout.

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Silva will step up a weight class to replace Mike Davis for a short-notice lightweight clash against Dober in the co-main event at UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday. It will also be a quick turnaround of two weeks for Silva, who brutally knocked out Charles Jourdain at UFC 303 on June 29 but missed weight for the fight.

In addition to his nearly perfect finishing rate, Silva is also known for a bizarrely long walkout that approaches five minutes in length. Dober will be walking out second and waiting in the tunnel while Silva takes his time on his way to the Octagon. However, Dober believes Silva might end up at a disadvantage at UFC Denver because of the long walkout. Despite having started his early fighting career in Denver, Dober will be fighting in the city under the UFC banner for the first time this weekend. Dober claims he will draw more mo…

Rose Namajunas believes she isn’t far away from a title shot in her new weight class.

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Namajunas moved up to flyweight after her second strawweight title run ended with a split-decision loss against Carla Esparza at UFC 274. Namajunas dropped a unanimous decision loss against Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut at UFC Paris in September 2023. However, Namajunas has since bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Amanda Ribas this past March to regain relevance in the flyweight division.

Namajunas revealed that winning a second title has certainly motivated her move up to flyweight — though that wasn’t the only reason.

“When I first started my career in the UFC, that was kind of like my vision that I had in mind,” Namajunas told MMAjunkie.com. “It wasn’t like super solid, but I definitely wanted to become champion. And then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought to become champion in two divisions as well. But that was so far in the…

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Flyweight prospect Stewart Nicoll (7-0) has been booked for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in August.

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The undefeated Australian will make his promotional debut against Jesus Santos Aguilar (10-2) in front of a home crowd at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The matchup was first reported by MMAjunkie.com.

Nicoll’s UFC signing was initially announced by "From the Stands” and confirmed by Beatdown Promotions, where he has fought for most of his career.

“Stoked to see the man that has worked so hard and consistently for years to achieve a dream. Stayed the course. Well done [Stewart Nicoll],” wrote UFC alum and Beatdown Promotions owner Damien Brown on Instagram.

Nicoll has finished six of his career wins so far — four via technical knockout and two by way of submission. A former Xtreme Fighting Championships flyweight champion, Nicoll most recently scored a first-round TKO win over Japan…

A 185-pound mixed martial arts clash between Hiroyuki Tetsuka and Isi Fitikefu has been added to the ONE Championship 168 lineup.

Sherdog confirmed the booking with a source close to the situation. ONE 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver, and features a muay thai title bout between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9 and a 125-pound MMA championship clash between Stamp Fairtex and Jingnan Xiong.

Japan’s Tetsuka will take a five-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Fikitefu. Most recently, the 34-year-old known as “Japanese Beast” scored a second-round submission victory against Valmir da Silva at One on Prime Video 21 on April 5.

Australia’s Fitikefu has been victorious in eight of nine professional appearances since beginning his career in 2015. The 31-year-old earned his first promotional win in April 2023, when he submitted da Silva in the opening stanza at ONE on Prime Video 9.

𝙄𝙏’𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉 𝙊𝙍 𝙂𝙊 𝙃𝙊𝙈𝙀 🏆💰

The #PFLPlayoffs are here as the road to the 2024 #PFLWorldChampionship heats up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sHnjlcrGCh

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 9, 2024

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The pairings are officially set for the Professional Fighters League postseason.

While the brackets were initially determined during last month’s final series of regular season events, there has been one significant change to the playoff matchups. The PFL announced on Tuesday that Linton Vassell will replace the injured Valentin Moldvavsky and face Oleg Popov in a heavyweight semifinal on Aug. 2 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The PFL 7 postseason event will be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Denis Goltsov and Tim Johnson. The main card will also include a pair of women’s flyweight semifinals: Dakota Ditcheva vs. Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche vs. Taila Santos.

Two weeks later, light heavyweights and lightweight…