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It remains to be seen if or when Jake Paul will make his mixed martial arts debut, but there was one recent rumor involving the YouTube personality turned boxer that generated some discussion in the combat sports community.

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Last week, BJJ World published a report from justbleedmma.com that Paul would be making his MMA debut against retired UFC welterweight contender Demian Maia. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, who works now as UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator, replied immediately.

“I´m totally in,” Maia wrote, while tagging Paul.

Carlos Barreto, who is Maia’s broadcast partner, analyzed the report on his Papo de Luta podcast.

“Demian is retired, but he keeps training hard. He is totally in shape,” Barreto said. “I dont think it's true just because I think it would be a terrible choice for Jake. Demian would grab him fast, get his back and submit him with a rear-naked choke. People must understand that it’s one thing for an MMA fighter to …

👀🔥Jorge Masvidal announces his UFC return in April in Miami and hopes to know who his opponent will soon:

“Hopefully by December we got the opponent and April, Miami card”

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🎥@jakeshieldsajj 🔹 pic.twitter.com/s7T5qIQQ7a — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 2, 2024

Jorge Masvidal has his sights set on making a Ultimate Fighting Championship return in his hometown.

“I’ll be back April next year in the UFC,” Masvidal recently said on the Fight Back podcast. “We don’t have the opponent yet. Hopefully by December we’ve got the opponent. April, Miami card.”

The 40-year-old Masvidal hasn’t competed in MMA since April 2023, when he dropped a unanimous verdict to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, which also took place in Miami. “Gamebred” announced his retirement after the defeat, a decision which was which was endorsed by UFC CEO Dana White. However, Masvidal returned to combat sports this past July, losing a majority …

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Professional Fighters League isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

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In a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, PFL CEO Peter Murray outlined the organization’s plans for expansion, which includes a significant increase in the total number of events held in the coming years.

“We have a regular cadence for every property. This year, we had 28 events,” Murray said. “Next year, we’ll have 36 events. Come 2026, we’ll have 50 events. So we’re focused on our global franchise events and then regional league events.”

This past year marked the debut of PFL MENA, which Murray said will soon be holding events “throughout the Middle East” after using Saudi Arabia as its home base to start. The overseas growth is far from complete, as PFL plans to have a total of “six international leagues up and running in the next two years,” according to Murray.

One of the biggest stories at the end of 2023 was PFL’s purchase of Bellator MMA. The organ…

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Ciryl Gane claims he wasn’t completely himself when he lost to Jon Jones at UFC 285.

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Gane was the interim heavyweight champ when Jones returned to the Octagon after a three-year hiatus to fight for the vacant title. “Bones” barely crossed the two-minute mark in the first round before taking Gane down and securing a guillotine submission victory. It was a disappointing performances from “Bon Gamin,” whose only other career loss came against Francis Ngannou.

Looking back at the loss, Gane doesn’t recognize himself. Gane claims he was totally disoriented on fight night, which was reflected in his performance. Known for his elusive movement and range control, Gane didn’t display any of that against Jones. However, Gane believes the loss was eventually beneficial, as it allowed him to refocus on himself and return with a vengeful spirit.

“When I look back at it, it was obvious that I was not there,” Gane said on the UFC 310 Count…

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Renowned coach Firas Zahabi believes Shavkat Rakhmonov won’t lose his perfect record against fellow undefeated contender Ian Garry.

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Rakhmonov and Garry will trade leather at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will see one of the undefeated welterweights lose their perfect record. And Zahabi doesn’t think it’ll be Rakhmonov, at least for now.

Zahabi has been impressed with Rakhmonov for a while now, acknowledging the Kazakh as the enigma that he is. Zahabi recently praised Rakhmonov’s toughness yet again, which he believes will be too much for Garry. While Zahabi has seen lapses in Rakhmonov’s defense, he believes “Nomad” will make up for it with sheer grit.

“I think Shavkat’s gonna beat [Ian Garry]. After watching his fights it’s kind of obvious,” the Tristar Gym coach said on YouTube. “He has a relentless pressure, the man is an animal. He doesn’t have the best defense, but when he gets hit, h…

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The origin of Kai Asakura’s MMA career is quite fascinating.

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Asakura will challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight strap in the main event at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former Rizin Fighting Federation champ will also be making his UFC debut against “The Cannibal.”

Asakura recently revealed how a street fight against his elder brother helped him realize his true MMA potential. Asakura’s elder brother, Mikuru Asakura, is a street fighter turned pro MMA fighter. On one fateful day, Mikuru challenged his younger brother to a street fight after he ran out of other opponents. Kai claims he was able to dodge almost every strike from Mikuru, who was throwing with serious intent. That’s when the future UFC title challenger realized he could earn his bread and butter through fighting.

“The story of how I got into MMA is quite crazy,” Asakura said on the UFC 310 Countdown show. “My older brother…

A bantamweight clash pitting Payton Talbott against Raoni Barcelos has been confirmed for UFC 311.

The promotion announced the booking over the weekend. UFC 311 takes place on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and includes a light heavyweight showdown between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

Talbott has emerged as a prospect to watch since earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2023. The 26-year-old Reno, Nevada, native has kicked off his promotional tenure with finishes off Nick Aguirre, Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri in his first three Octagon appearances. Talbott is 9-0 since beginning his professional career in 2021.

Barcelos, meanwhile, was successful in his lone outing of 2024, as he scored a third-round submission triumph against Cristian Quinonez at UFC Fight Night 237 this past February. Prior to that, the 37-year-old Brazilian had lost four of his previous…

"When I am a champion, I would like to fight with Charles... I would like to finish him" 👀

Arman Tsarukyan foresees defending the lightweight belt against Charles Olivieira if he defeats Islam Makhachev...

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🎙️ @CarolinePearce pic.twitter.com/7W4zDt14DC — UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 29, 2024

Arman Tsarukyan wants a more decisive win over Charles Oliveira.

Tsarukyan is expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 311 in January, although the promotion has yet to make the fight official. “Ahalkalakets” believes the UFC will officially announce the bout within the next week.

“My manager said I’m gonna fight for the title beginning of the next year,” Tsarukyan recently told TNT Sports. “I’m so excited. And hopefully after this event they gonna announce like official, when I’m gonna fight. But they already told me the place where I’m gonna fight, the date when I’m gonna fight. We know…

#UFC310 is right around the corner!

Flyweight gold is on the line! 😤

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[ WATCH Countdown on ESPN2 | SAT | 1pmET ] pic.twitter.com/DfdXKuzuYg — UFC (@ufc) November 30, 2024

Kai Asakura (21-4) believes knockout power is his greatest advantage over Alexandre Pantoja (28-5).

Asakura will challenge Pantoja for the flyweight title in his promotional debut in the main event of UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champ claims he can knock “The Cannibal” out cold with one clean shot. According to Asakura, Pantoja just needs to have one lapse for him to end the contest with his proven knockout power.

“My advantage over Pantoja is that I can finish him in one shot,” Asakura said on the UFC 310 Countdown show. “So if he makes even one mistake, I’m confident that I can KO him in one shot.”

Asakura has finished 16 of his 21 career wins, which incl…

It appears that Leon Edwards will headline the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card in London.

During a recent interview with DAZN Boxing, Edwards revealed that he will be headlining the UFC card scheduled for March 22 at the O2 Arena in London. The opponent remains unknown. The news was first by Ariel Helwani.

Edwards put his welterweight title on the line against Belal Muhammad in front of his home fans at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester at UFC 304 this past July. The Englishman suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Muhammad, putting an end to their longstanding rivalry. The loss also saw Edwards’ 13-fight winning unbeaten streak snapped.

Meanwhile, Muhammad was scheduled to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, “Remember the Name” was forced out with a bone infection and replaced by Ian Garry. With Garry and “Nomad” squaring off in a potential title eliminat…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title picture has turned into an online battleground.

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Former champs Jamahal Hill (12-2) and Jiri Prochazka (30-5) are scheduled to fight at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Hill, Prochazka and fellow contender Magomed Ankalaev (19-1) have been recently trading multiple barbs, with champ Alex Pereira (12-2) also joining the fray on occasion.

Hill took multiple digs at Prochazka and Ankalaev in recent interviews, although not entirely unprovoked. Hill went off on Ankalaev in an expletive-laden rant in response to the Russian mocking him for being passed on for the title shot. While both Hill and Prochazka are coming off losses against Pereira, “Sweet Dreams” claims the Czech was dominated while he got caught by a lucky shot.

Pereira responded to Hill’s recent comments, promising him a rematch if he gets past “BJP.”

The Brazilian wrote on X: “Calm down, my son…

👀Ian Garry talks on his fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov:

“Everybody thinks the guy is boogeyman of the division. I’m going to go out there December 7th and shock everyone’s else world.”🔥

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🎥 YT @iangarryMMA ▫️ pic.twitter.com/QuVRbXUrKF — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 29, 2024

Ian Garry (15-0) sees himself upsetting Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) at UFC 310.

Garry and Rakhmonov will meet in a clash of undefeated welterweight contenders at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite both being undefeated, Rakhmonov is a -400 betting favorite against Garry’s +290 underdog status.

However, Garry vows to shock the world by taking the Kazakh’s ‘0’ in their UFC 310 fight. The Irishman is also excited about the bout, as rarely do two undefeated contenders meet in such a high stakes matchup inside the UFC.

“Everybody's turning him [Rakhmonov] down. 18-0, 18 finishes. That excites me,” Garry sa…

Dakota Ditcheva is a problem.

In the span of less than 365 days, the mauler from Manchester has won the Professional Fighters League Europe championship, five straight fights by KO/TKO, and on Friday at the PFL 2024 Season Championships, she became the youngest PFL global champ in history when she demolished Taila Santos (22-4) in two rounds.

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We could be watching the birth of a bonafide superstar in the world of women’s mixed martial arts. Ditcheva (14-0) is a monster. She showed that she has the wrestling to shut down a recent Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger and the striking prowess to put anyone in her way into the dirt. Santos is a world-class fighter, who was one round away from winning the UFC flyweight title, and Ditcheva blew her out of the water. Her muay thai skills are deadly, and she shows no mercy.

You can etch Timur Khizriev’s name in the history books of the Dagestani empire. The undefeated featherweight claimed the…

Coverage of Friday’s 2024 Professional Fighters League MENA Finals and Global Season Championships will begin at 7:15 a.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Roun…

The Professional Fighters League on Friday descended on King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the PFL Middle East and North Africa finals serving as the appetizer for the PFL 2024 Season Championships. Four regional fighters were crowned as PFL MENA champions and could potentially find themselves a part of next season’s global showcase.

Ali Taleb quickly and brutally won the PFL MENA bantamweight title in one round after catching Rachid El Hazoume with an uppercut from the underworld. With the Moroccan staggered, Taleb put the finishing touches on his beatdown with a crispy right hook that put El Hozoume down for the count. The win marked Taleb’s second-straight first-round knockout.

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Mohsen Mohammadseifi claimed the PFL MENA lightweight title after unanimously outpointing Lebananon’s Georges Eid: 50-45, 50-45, 49-46. Despite the lopsided scores, the fight was much closer. Eid’s length kept Mohammadseifi at range, and the fight w…

[embedded content] Ultimate Fighting Championship great Fabricio Werdum is preparing to make the transition into coaching as he grows older.

At the tender age of 47, Werdum knows his time in competition is coming to a close. He is not quite done, despite last competing at Gamebred FC 5 in 2023 in a bare-knuckle match with Junior dos Santos. His slate predictably less packed given that he is no longer regularly fighting, Werdum is ready and willing to train other fighters to give back to the sport in a different way. In an interview with Sherdog on Thursday, Werdum discussed who he has his sights on to work with in the near future as well as what lays in store for him.

One can count “Vai Cavalo” among the many impressed by Jon Jones’ recent performance against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, and he thinks he might be able to have what it takes to help a standout competitor get the edge on Jones. That fighter? Alex Pereira, who is considering his next test between Jones and Ma…

The first Professional Fighters League show of the new year will make use of its merged roster well.

The promotion announced via press release the top two bouts for PFL’s Road to Dubai, also known as Champions Series Dubai. This event, the rebranding of the Bellator MMA Champions Series from 2024, will be held on Jan. 25 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The main attraction will be a lightweight championship attraction as Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1 NC) puts his Bellator belt on the line against Paul Hughes (13-1). Additionally, the co-headliner comes at heavyweight as ex-Bellator kingpin Vadim Nemkov (17-2, 1 NC) battles PFL veteran Ante Delija (24-6).

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Nurmagomedov returned following a failed post-fight drug test for an undisclosed substance that resulted in his lightweight title defense against Brent Primus turning to a no contest. The promotion allowed him to keep his belt and continue defending it, as he staved off Alexandr S…

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As the Professional Fighters League prepares for the PFL 2024 Season Championships, there will be six $1 million award winners, several showcase bouts, and for the first time ever, PFL MENA will crown four champions.

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It’ll be a night to remember under a new legacy for the Professional Fighters League, with talent at each level. The event will also show how the PFL is looking to keep develop its regional leagues for integration in the global season.

One of those central to the plan is Dan Hardy, color commentator, host and head of fighter operations for PFL Europe. Ahead of the special and unique night for the PFL, Hardy talked with Sherdog.com about what to expect, how the first year with the Bellator roster has gone, and what to look forward to moving forward.

Winding down on their 2024 PFL season, Hardy acknowledges that not everything was perfect in the first year after acquiring the Bellator roster, but room for improve…

⚖️2024 PFL Featherweight World Title bout is official

Brendan Loughnane: 144.8 lbsTimur Khizriev: 144.7 lbs

[ #PFLWorldChampionship | Friday, Nov 29th | 1PM ET | ESPN+] pic.twitter.com/MGwp9CWXYz

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 28, 2024 The Professional Fighters League will wrap up its 2024 season with all the title fights.

Sitting atop the 2024 Season PFL Championships card is a featherweight title fight between Brendan Loughnane and Timur Khizriev. Both men successfully made championship weight, as they came in under the 145-pound limit. The rest of the card was just as professional as the 10 other title fight participants on the card also hit their marks.

Loughnane (30-5) previously won the 2022 PFL featherweight tournament. He'll now look to gain his second season title after his 2023 outing was derailed by a knockout defeat to Jesus Pinedo. The British fighter has rebounded nicely by picking up wins over Pedro Carvalho, Justi…

نهائيات بطولة "PFL MENA" | الفيثر ويت

عبدالله القحطاني: 144.3 رطلًامروان بلكَويط: 144.4 رطلًا

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29 نوفمبر | #PFLMENA | جامعة الملك سعود، الرياض، السعودية | التذاكر عبر https://t.co/aZbvEPijAb🔗 | بث مباشر على منصة شاهد، قنوات إم بي سي أكشن و SSC#نصنع_التاريخ #السعودية… pic.twitter.com/qoXOQY2A6M — PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) November 28, 2024 The Professional Fighters League's inaugural Middle East and North Africa season is coming to an end with four championship fights.

While the bill has gone through some slight transformations on weigh-in day, all eight title fight participants successfully made weight for the event. This show serves as the preliminary portion to the 2024 Season PFL Championships event later that day. It will see PFL MENA fighters compete for gold in five-round fights in the welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight divisions. Two fighters missed weight: Lilia Osmani, who came in 2.3 pound…

The lineup for UFC Saudi Arabia continues to grow, as a bantamweight clash between Vinicius Oliveira and Said Nurmagomedov and a lightweight tilt pitting Terrance McKinney against Damir Hadzovic have been added to the Feb. 1 event.

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Ag.Fight was first to report Oliveira vs. Nurmagomedov, while McKinney and his management announced the matchup with Hadzovic. The UFC Fight Night event takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and features a heavyweight clash between Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Oliveira, who is known as “LokDog,” will take a four-bout winning streak into his fight with Nurmagomedov. The 28-year-old Brazilian has kicked off his UFC tenure with a knockout of Bernardo Sopai and a unanimous decision win over Ricky Simon.

Nurmagomedov has won five of his last six Octagon appearances and is coming off a first-round submission of Muin Gafarov at UFC 294 in October 2023. The Dagestani has endured bad luck in 2024, with three po…

There have been a couple changes to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s final pay-per-view of 2024.

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The promotion announced on Wednesday that Kennedy Nzechukwu will replace the injured Talisson Teixeira and face Lukasz Brzeski in a heavyweight clash at UFC 310. Additionally, Martin Buday has been removed from a proposed heavyweight matchup against Rizvan Kuniev due to injury and as a result, the bout has been canceled. The nature of the injuries to Teixeira and Buday were not revealed.

UFC 310 takes place on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight title tilt pitting Alexandre Pantoja against Kai Askaura. In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov will square off against Ian Garry.

After competing at 205 pounds for the majority of his promotional tenure, Nzechukwu made his heavyweight debut at UFC 308, where he defeated Chris Barnett via first-round TKO on Oct. 26. That snapped a two-bout skid for the Fortis MM…

Robert Whittaker recently gave due credit to former foe Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling.

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Whittaker faced Chimaev in potential middleweight title eliminator at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. Chimaev wasted no time in taking Whittaker down before sinking in a face crank that injured the former champion’s jaw, forcing a stoppage in the opening frame.

Whittaker was immensely impressed by Chimaev’s takedowns. While “Bobby Knuckles” felt comfortable for a while on the feet, there was no getting away once Chimaev committed to the takedown. Despite having worked on his wrestling a lot in training camp, Whittaker couldn’t find anyone to replicate the Chechen-born Swede. Whittaker further noted that it isn’t Chimaev’s strength, but his chain wrestling that is most difficult to defend.

“I felt real comfortable standing with him,’ Whittaker recently said on the MMA Arcade podcast. “Then, the dude drops like a millimeter — how do you stop that takedown?... We did a lot …

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Considered the greatest representative for jiu-jitsu practitioners in the 1980s and 1990s, Rickson Gracie revealed in 2023 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. And it was the battle against the disease that motivated him to launch his second book, “Comfort in the Dark: The Power of Invisible Jiu-Jitsu” in July 2024.

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In an interview on the “Mundo da Luta” podcast on Monday, Gracie spoke about the launch of his new book. In the interview conducted by journalist Ana Hissa, the jiu-jitsu legend revealed how his learning in the world of martial arts strengthened him in the battle against the recently discovered Parkinson's disease, which inspired the new work.

“The idea was that, with the story of my life, after this biography (in the previous book called “Respira”), it was missing that I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and I am going through a, let’s say, evolutionary phase of my life,” he said.”And I would like to pass on t…