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Six of the seven billed fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship show on Mexican Independence Day have one competitor repping Mexico.

Iridium Sports Agency, the management team of Raul Rosas Jr. (9-1), announced on Friday that Rosas would be squaring off against Qileng Aori (25-11, 1 NC) at UFC 306. The Sept. 14 event, also titled “Noche UFC,” will take place inside of The Sphere in Las Vegas as part of a 10-bout attraction. The bantamweight affair has since been confirmed by other outlets.

“El Nino Problema” burst onto the scene after picking up a contract on Dana White's Contender Series by becoming the youngest UFC fighter to pick up a win. Currently 19 years of age, Rosas Jr. suffered his first pro loss in April 2023 against Christian Rodriguez. He bounced back with a first-round knockout of Terrence Mitchell, and most recently tapped Ricky Turcios in June.

With a .500 record in the Octagon, Aori’s last outing in the cage went poorly when he was bludge…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has started building its Salt Lake City event.

The first fight of UFC 307 is on the books, as Movsar Evloev (18-0) will come to blows with Aljamain Sterling (24-4) in a pivotal featherweight affair. While the two hinted at this fight coming together this past month, French social media account MMA Propagande first reported on the matchup on Wednesday. Sterling confirmed the bout on social media on Friday. This fight card is expected to take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5, and the double championship main event is rumored to be Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway with the co-headliner of Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena.

Evloev has not tasted defeat as a pro, including eight appearances in the Octagon since debuting in 2019. The Russian has gone the distance in eight straight outings as well, accounting for the lion’s share of his career decision wins. Now training out of American top team, Evloev celebrates recent…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Cody Garbrandt is getting back on the horse after his first career submission loss.

Eurosport NL broke the news on Thursday that Garbrandt (14-6) would be returning to the Octagon against Miles Johns (15-2, 1 NC) at a currently unnamed UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 12. The fighters have confirmed this collision at the UFC Apex on their Instagram pages. There is currently no main event on the books for this show.

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Garbrandt saw a two-fight win streak—his longest since 2016—come to a crashing halt when former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo tapped him out at UFC 300. In the process, “No Love” suffered the first submission defeat as a pro, and he has still not registered a sub in the win column. His two wins came in 2023 came over Trevin Jones on the scorecards and Brian Kelleher via blistering one-punch knockout. Garbrandt came into the promotion undefeated and won a belt against Dominick Cruz in 2016, but h…

Let the record show that Ultimate Fighting Championship up-and-comer Jean Silva is tough beyond words.

On Thursday, days after a three-round thriller against Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59, Silva shared on Instagram X-ray images of his hands. While Silva ended up finishing Dober due to a doctor stoppage technical knockout due to elbows slashing open a massive cut on Dober’s eyebrow, Dober was not the only one with a souvenir. Silva revealed that he broke both hands in the first round of their “Fight of the Night”-winning encounter.

“As everyone saw, the fighter with Dober was very tough,” Silva said in a video on Instagram. “[Between] the first and second round, I told my corner that I had broken both hands, and they instructed me to continue using knees and elbows, and that’s what I did. No way I was going to lose that fight, and no way I was going to lose [for] any of you. I am coming [back].”

The three-fight run for Silva with the promotion has been as memo…

Two all-time great Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters have been selected as some of the best athletes this century.

Revealing the list of 100 athletes by sections of 25 at a time, ESPN concluded its Top 100 list of pro athletes since 2000 on Thursday. Two MMA fighters were listed: Jon Jones (66) and Georges St. Pierre (76). In ESPN’s past list of SportsCentury for the 20th century, no fighters were selected although multiple boxers including Muhammad Ali (3) and Joe Louis (11) made the list. Jones and GSP were passed by Floyd Mayweather (25) but the former was ranked higher than Manny Pacquiao (71) and both came in above Bernard Hopkins (78).

Often considered to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Jones’ lone loss as a professional came against Matt Hamill via disqualification in a fight he was dominating. Failed drug tests, criminal activity and legal issues plagued a career that could have been even more exceptional without lengthy patches of inactivity a…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers decided this ranked heavyweight match needed five more rounds.

On the prelims of 2020’s UFC Fight Night 169 card, Marcin Tybura (25-8) faced and defeated Sergey Spivak (16-4) via grinding decision. Since then, the two have gone on similar runs of 7-2 and 6-2, respectively, to establish themselves in the top 10 at heavyweight. News broke in June that the two would run it back at the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and the promotion announced Thursday morning that it would serve as the main attraction.

The win over Spivak in 2020 was the start of a run for Poland’s Tybura, who won his next four after the Spivak victory to put himself in title contention. Alexander Volkov spurred him at UFC 267, but he bounced back to claim decisions over Alexander Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov to stay in the picture. “Tybur” went on to headline UFC Fight Night 224 against Tom Aspinall, and the Brit smashed him in…

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Cody Durden recently revealed why he accepted a fight against teammate Bruno Silva after initially turning it down.

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Durden (16-5) and Silva (13-5) are slated to lock horns in a flyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 60 at The Apex in Las Vegas this weekend. Durden revealed that he was initially hesitant to accept a fight against his American Top Team teammate.

However, when their manager Ali Abdelaziz proposed the matchup, Silva allegedly accepted it, saying they were adults. That permanently flipped the switch for Durden who now wants to see blood come fight night. The 33-year-old said on the UFC on ESPN 60 media day:

“I didn’t really want to fight a teammate but we got the same manager Ali Abdelaziz,” Durden said at UFC Media Day. “And at first I turned the fight down. I don’t want to fight a teammate. But then Bruno, he accepted the fight and said we’re not boys. And that really lit a fire in me. I was like, ‘Alright motherfuc*…

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Brad Tavares jokingly expressed disappointment in teammate Dan Ige for accepting a short-notice fight at UFC 303.

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Tavares (20-9) is scheduled to fight Jun Yong Park (17-6) in a middleweight matchup at UFC on ESPN 60 at the Apex in Las Vegas this weekend. Tavares was originally scheduled to share the card with Xtreme Couture teammate Ige, who was slated to trade leather with Jose Mariscal.

However, Ige ended up replacing Brian Ortega against Diego Lopes on four hours’ notice in the co-main event at UFC 303 last month. While Ige went on lose by unanimous decision, he gave Lopes a run for his money, putting the Brazilian in survival mode in the final frame. Ige subsequently asked for a spot on the highly sought-after UFC 306 card in September at the Sphere, which he was guaranteed by Dana White.

Tavares revealed that he and Ige had discussed potentially fighting at UFC 306 even before “50k” accepted the short-notice matchup.…

Ramon Taveras announced on Instagram that he is out of his UFC 304 booking against Caolan Loughran due to an injury.

Newcomers Taveras (10-2) and Loughran (9-1) were scheduled to trade leather in a bantamweight matchup at UFC 304 on July 27 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The bout is now off.

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Ireland’s Loughran hopes to stay on the pay-per-view card close to home and is open to fighting anyone.

Catch deez hands just pulled out

I text him a few days after the bout was signed saying he would

This Games not for everybody

The UFC are the best in the world and they’ll sort it 👍

Been here before will fight anyone

Yeno that ☘️

— Caolan Loughran (@DonCaolan135) July 17, 2024

Taveras holds a unanimous decision win over Serhiy Sidey in his promotional debut at UFC 297 this past January, avenging a Contender Series knockout loss from last year. Meanwhile, Loughran suffered the…

The cards for the Professional Fighters League playoffs appear to be complete.

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The promotion on Wednesday announced alternate and showcase matchups to fill out each of the three events scheduled for next month. The PFL had previously only confirmed semifinal matchups in each weight class.

At PFL 7 on Aug. 2 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Sergey Bilostenniy will square off against Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight alternate bout.

Meanwhile, PFL 8 will take place on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida and will include a light heavyweight alternate clash pitting Antonio Carlos Jr. against Karl Albrektsson. Additionally, Mads Burnell will meet Elvin Espinoza in a lightweight alternate pairing.

Finally, PFL 9 will be held on Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. and features a pair of alternate bouts: Neiman Gracie vs. Luca Poclit at welterweight and Tyler Diamond vs. Enrique Barzola at …

A strawweight clash pitting Tabatha Ricci against Angela Hill has been booked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 24.

Hill initially announced the bout on her ”2Straws” podcast, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and does not currently have a headliner.

Ricci has been victorious in five of her last six Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Baby Shark” took a split decision against Tecia Pennington at UFC on ESPN 56 on May 11.

Hill, meanwhile, has won four of her last five outings in UFC competition. The former Invicta FC champion is coming off a second-round submission triumph against Luana Pinheiro at UFC Fight Night 241 on May 18.

Jon Jones has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from an encounter with a drug-testing agent at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

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During a virtual hearing in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Wednesday, Jones pleaded not guilty to a petty misdemeanor for assault and a misdemeanor for interference with communications. Jones was in attendance with attorney Christopher Dodd, while Judge Brittany Maldonado was in charge of the hearing.

A date for a bench trial is still yet to be determined. The conditions for Jones’ release until said date are as follows: Jones is not allowed to possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, he’s not allowed to possess or consume any alcohol or illegal drugs, he has to notify the court if his address changes and he has to maintain contact with his attorney. Additionally, Jones must avoid contact with the alleged victims in the case.

If Jones is convicted on both charges, h…

Maurice Abevi will welcome undefeated newcomer Samat Mamedov to ONE Championship when they meet at the promotion’s upcoming event in Denver on Sept. 6.

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The organization recently announced the lightweight (170-pound pairing). ONE Championship 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver and features a muay thai title bout between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9. The card will stream on Prime Video in the United States.

After dropping a unanimous decision to Halil Amir in his promotional debut, Abevi has rebounded to score back-to-back triumphs against Blake Cooper and Lipeng Zhang under the ONE banner. The 24-year-old Switzerland native has been victorious in eight of his nine professional appearances overall.

Kazakhstan’s Mamedov will take a 6-0 make into his first ONE Championship foray. The 25-year-old Mamedov has finished all of his victories inside of a round, including a stoppage of one-time UFC competitor Will Chope this past December.

Julian Erosa largely credits teammate Andy Varela for refining his guillotine choke to a lethal weapon.

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An underdog going into the fight, Erosa tagged Christian Rodriguez on the feet before submitting him with a guillotine late in the first round at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver last weekend. Erosa recently weighed in on his guillotine, which has now earned a quite reputation for itself around Las Vegas.

Erosa claims to have already had a decent guillotine choke when he started training at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Las Vegas. There Erosa met Varela, who according to him has one of the best guillotines in the world. “Juicy J” credits Varela for helping him make small adjustments to his own guillotine, which he claims is now nearly “unstoppable.”

“I would say I moved to Vegas about almost seven years ago now,” Erosa said on UFC Unfiltered. “And when I first moved to Vegas, I walked into 10th Planet in Henderson here and met a kid named Andy Varela. And…

Virna Jandiroba recently elaborated on the significance of her unique headgear and her nickname, “Carcara.”

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Jandiroba will headline UFC on ESPN 60 — her first main event in the promotion — against fellow Brazilian Amanda Lemos at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While walking out, the strawweight contender will be sporting her signature traditional leather hat usually worn by Brazilian cowboys.

Born and raised in the countryside of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, Jandiroba takes pride in her ancestry. Jandiroba explained that her signature hat is a common headgear among cowboys in “backlands” of Bahia. According to the 36-year-old, the hat is a representation of her home.

“I’m from Brazil. Born and raised in the countryside of Bahia,” Jandiroba told ESPN. “My parents are from there. My mother came from a farming family. From the fields. I think our ancestry is very strong here in the northeastern region. From my family, all t…

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Muhammad Mokaev believes Tom Aspinall’s father, Andy Aspinall, can hold his own against ranked UFC fighters.

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Mokaev and Aspinall will share a card in their hometown of Manchester, England, at UFC 304 on July 27 as the promotion returns to the city after nearly eight years. While Mokaev takes on Manel Kape in a flyweight matchup, Aspinall will put his interim heavyweight title on the line against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event at the Co-op Live Arena.

As two elite MMA fighters hailing from the same region, Mokaev and Aspinall go back a long way. Mokaev was training in Wigan when he first met Aspinall and his father Andy, who were coaching at a different gym. Mokaev revealed that “Honey Badger” was working security at a pub then and would give him a ride home after practice for several years.

“Yeah, I met Tom Aspinall, he was coaching the kids session… And then his father was coaching adult session next session… And once…

Sean Strickland believes his unhinged rants could be the only impediment on the road to his next middleweight title shot.

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Strickland dethroned Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September 2023 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Strickland’s short-lived title reign came to an end via a split-decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 this past January. Strickland has since bounced back with a split-decision win over Paulo Costa last month, which many believe should have been scored unanimously in favor of “Tarzan.”

Meanwhile, Du Plessis puts his title on the line against Adesanya in the main event at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. Strickland is now adamant on fighting the winner of that bout next instead of a title eliminator against Robert Whittaker. “Bobby Knuckles” rebounded from a stoppage loss against Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Costa followed by a knockout over surging newcomer Ikram Al…

A couple of highly-touted prospects will be in action at the Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 16.

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Biaggio Ali Walsh will face Korey Taylor in a lightweight showcase bout on the evening’s main card, while Jordan Oliver will lock horns with Braydon Akeo in a preliminary contest at featherweight. MMAjunkie.com was first to report Ali Walsh vs. Taylor, while BJPenn.com initially brought word of Oliver vs. Akeo. Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed both bookings with a promotion official.

The grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Ali Walsh compiled a 6-1 record as amateur, with five of his victories coming under the PFL banner. He made his pro debut at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs event in February, earning a unanimous decision triumph against Emmanuel Palacio.

Taylor, meanwhile, owns a 4-0 professional mark and has finished all of his opponents inside of a round on the regional circuit.

Oliver was a two-time NCAA national …

One of the main highlights of UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver was Jean Silva moving up a weight class to score his third knockout in six months against Drew Dober, a victory that came just two weeks after “Lord” finished Charles Jourdain at UFC 303.

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In an interview with Ag.Fight shortly after the bout, Jean revealed that the UFC had already nominated a veteran in the Top 15 to be his next opponent.

“Unfortunately, I still can't say anything, just that it will be at featherweight,” said the Fighting Nerds member.

Silva also promised that if the UFC needs him to step up again in the coming weeks, he will be available. His lone condition would be that the short-notice fight would take place at 155 pounds.

“My plan this year is to have three more fights at featherweight, but if the UFC asks me, exceptionally, to face a striker at lightweight, that could be a possibility,” Silva said. “But my focus is on my division.”

In a separate interview with …

Sean O'Malley's selection as “Fighter of the Year” at the recent ESPY awards was heavily criticized by the Brazilian media.

On his weekly podcast, "Papo de Luta", UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto, said he did not understand the reasons for O'Malley to surpass the achievements of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“I'm not discussing the quality of O'Malley, who is undoubtedly talented and a great fighter, in addition to being very popular in the U.S. What must be taken into question here are the facts. In the period in question, O'Malley knocked out [Aljamain Sterling] and beat ‘Chito’ Vera on points, while ‘Poatan’ knocked out Jiri [Prochazka] twice, Jamahal Hill once and beat Blachowicz on points, becoming double champion,” Barreto said.

“If the award went to the greatest American fighter of the year, that would be fine, but here it is a global award. Unfortunately, it even takes away the credibility of the award.”

Recently inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame, Wanderlei Silva participated this week on the Combate Podcast, Mundo da Luta, and spoke of his desire to do a “real” boxing challenge.

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Silva expressed disappointment with the recent duel between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, an exhibition that ended in a draw.

“It is a new range of entertainment that is opening up,” Silva said. “What I can say is this: when Wanderlei Silva has an exhibition fight, you will see what a real exhibition is. It has to be real. If I had the opportunity to beat up Chael Sonnen, what do you think I would do? I was going to beat Sonnen up, the guys had to give me that opportunity (laughs). I'm not his friend, I'm just an acquaintance.”

While the Pride Fighting Championships veteran had some intense moments with Sonnen on the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” in 2014, he makes it clear that he now has a good relationship with the American.

"He's a nice guy. I l…

Khamzat Chimaev has a date in mind for his next Octagon appearance, and he wants the stakes to be significant for that fight.

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Chimaev hasn’t competed since October 2023, when he took a majority decision over former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman in his middleweight debut at UFC 294. “Borz” was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia on June 22 before a severe illness forced Chechen-born Swede to withdraw from the event.

While a victory in that fight would have likely placed Chimaev near the top of the contender’s queue at 185 pounds, he still believes he should have an opportunity to challenge for middleweight gold in his next bout. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Chimaev expects that will be at UFC 308 on Oct. 26.

“Most likely [my return will happen] in October in Abu Dhabi,” Chimaev told Match TV. “[The opponent is] unknown so far. I would like to fight for the title.

“I have seven fights, seven victor…

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Belal Muhammad is grateful to have renowned nutrition coach Ian Larios in camp for his upcoming title fight against Leon Edwards.

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Muhammad gets his long overdue title shot against Edwards in the main event at UFC 304 on July 27 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Representing the closely-knit Chicago Fight Team, Muhammad couldn’t have asked for a more motivating group of individuals with which to train.

Muhammad’s team pushes him for that last extra bit of effort, which he believes will bear fruit when he potentially goes into deep water against Edwards. As a fresh addition to the team, Larios is no different.

“The thing about my team is we’re a small group, we’re all like family,” Muhammad recently told Helen Yee. “When one of us have a fight, we all have a fight. And one of us needs to be pushed, we all push each other… There’s a lot of people that’ll quit after you hit your stairs, your legs are tired, you’re …

Santiago Ponzinibbio has seemingly lost some faith in judges’ scorecards after his split-decision loss against Muslim Salikhov on Saturday.

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Ponzinibbio met Salikhov in the welterweight co-main event at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver, Colorado. “The Argentine Dagger” came up on the short side of a controversial split decision after technical striking affair that was somewhat lacking in action.

Ponzinibbio slammed the decision, as he believes he did enough to get his hand raised. With three of his last four losses coming via split decision, Ponzinibbio is starting to believe that his only way to victory is a finish.

“We think we won the fight,” the 37-year-old said in a video on Instagram (translation via MMAjunkie.com). “We at least had two clear rounds. In many MMA places that specialize in this, most people gave me two rounds and some even three. But oh well. Whenever we go to the judges, this is how it goes for me. If I don’t knock my opponent ou…