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Felipe Lima credits his corner for helping him find the second wind in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Saturday.

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Lima replaced Melsik Baghdasaryan against Muhammadjon Naimov on five days’ notice at UFC on ABC 6 on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian ,who usually fights at bantamweight, also stepped up to 145 pounds for his UFC debut against Naimov. While Lima wasn’t particularly concerned about his opponent’s six-fight winning streak going into the bout, he admitted to being a little nervous about fighting under the UFC’s bright lights.

“I mean yeah, I kind of was nervous, yeah,” Lima told ESPN. “It’s not because of the guy or anything like that. I was nervous [about] how I’m gonna perform in the UFC. Many people, bigger cage, it’s a dream come true. And just everything in less than one week, five days. It was hard but I managed.”

Lima went toe-to-toe with Naimov for two …

Sherdog's live Bellator Champions Series Dublin coverage will begin Friday at 12 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Stein scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Christian Ste…

Robert Whittaker reminded everyone why he’s still one of the best in the sport at 185 pounds.

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Faced with a last-minute opponent change in the UFC on ABC 6 headliner, “The Reaper” pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for making short work of Iskram Aliskerov on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former middleweight king, who was originally slated to face Khamzat Chimaev, knocked his foe out at the 1:49 mark of Round 1 to secure his ninth career bonus with the UFC.

Meanwhile, Sharabutdin Magomedov received a $50,000 check for his finish of Antonio Trocoli in a featured middleweight affair. “Shara Bullet” began the fight-ending sequence with a knee to the chin before unloading with a series of punches to force the stoppage 2:27 into the third frame.

Elsewhere, former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his knockout of Johnny Walker in a 205-p…

AND NEW! 👑

Ramazan Kuramagomedov continues on his unbeaten streak and captures the Bellator Welterweight Title after his unanimous decision win over Jason Jackson!#BellatorDublin | LIVE NOW on MAX🌍 https://t.co/Dpuq4Xv6Jh pic.twitter.com/APSUTfEcSm

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 22, 2024

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The Ramazan Kuramagomedov era has begun.

The undefeated Russian dethroned Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jason Jackson by a gritty unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in Saturday’s Bellator Champions Series Dublin main event at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Kuramagomedov (13-0) jumped out to an early lead with his dominant wrestling and slick southpaw counter-punching. Jackson (18-5) seemed hesitant to move forward, where he was often met with a left hand, calf kick or takedown attempt. It wasn’t until Round 4 when Jackson started to find momentum. The Kill Cliff FC staple took Kuramagomedov to the mat and threatened a gui…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Robert Whittaker (26-7, 17-5 UFC) was unfazed by a late opponent change and he proved again tonight that he is still one of the premier 185-pound competitors in mixed martial arts. Whittaker knocked out rising star Ikram Aliskerov (15-2, 2-1 UFC) in the UFC on ABC 6 main event, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Whittaker, who was originally slated to face Khamzat Chimaev, sent a message to the rest of the division by becoming the second man – after Chimaev – to defeat Aliskerov. After establishing his jab during the opening minute, Whittaker badly wobbled Aliskerov with a right hook. The Russian stumbled backward against the cage and Whittaker closed in with an uppercut that dropped him to his knees. Whittaker then landed three left hands to the side of a dazed and defenseless Aliskerov’s face before referee Marc Goddard waved off the fight at the 1:49 mark of Round 1. Whittaker has won two in a row this year…

Sherdog's live UFC on ABC 6 coverage will begin Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Xiao (-115), Lee (-105)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gadzhiyasulov (-325), Ribeiro (+260)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: G…

A heavyweight scrap pitting Tai Tuivasa against Jairzinho Rozenstruik has been added to the UFC 305 lineup.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing after Tuivasa initially revealed the matchup on Alex Pereira’s video blog. UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17 and is headlined by a middleweight championship bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.

🚨 Tai Tuivasa says he has a fight booked against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at #UFC305 in Perth 👀

🎥 YT / @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/3GYA7a4vjX

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 21, 2024

Tuivasa is mired in a four-fight losing streak under the UFC banner. During that stretch, “Bam Bam” has been finished by the likes of Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane. That skid was preceded by a five-fight Octagon winning streak for the affable Aussie.

Rozenstruik, meanwhile, has won two of his las…

ITS OVER. IMPA GETS THE VICTORY AND IS BACK IN THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW🇺🇸 ESPN & ESPN+🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/9WMp6uMrgc

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 22, 2024

Impa Kasanganay’s bid for a repeat is in full effect.

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The Kill Cliff FC standout secured the top seed in the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight playoffs with a second-round doctor stoppage victory against 2023 PFL Europe kingpin Jakob Nedoh at PFL 5 on Friday night at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“I told myself this: How would I fight if I was leading Heaven’s armies? God put me here and God’s gonna take me out of here,” Kasanganay said. “No other man will. He’s a champion; you’ve got to take it from him.”

After besting Joshua Silveira to win the PFL title a year ago, Kasangany will get a rematch with the fourth-seeded “Coninha” in the light heavyweight semifinals on Aug. 16 at Hard Rock Live i…

Clay Collard came into the 2024 PFL 5 main event having already clinched a spot in the Professional Fighters League's lightweight playoffs but that didn't stop Mads Burnell from crashing the party.

Ever the composed striker, Collard (25-12, 1 NC) came out working his jab and landing body punches to establish his attack against Burnell (18-6), who would look to grapple later in the round. This late success gave Burnell a game plan to follow, as the Danish fighter would take the back of "Cassius" in Round 2. Likely even going into the third, Collard would use his volume punching to land more strikes than his opponent before being taken down and controlled for the final moments, with Burnell taking the back of the fan-favorite lightweight.

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After 15 minutes of action, Burnell took a unanimous decision win with a trio of 29-28 scorecards but won't make the playoffs. Instead, Collard will face top seed Brent Primus in the lightweight semifinals.

Read more about 2024 PFL Playoffs Set for Lightweight, Light Heavyweight Brackets

The Professional Fighters League’s regular season marches on with 2024 PFL 5 Regular Season at 5 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knap…

While Conor McGregor is renowned for showing up on fight night no matter the circumstances, he wanted to make sure that he will be 100% healthy for his long-awaited Octagon return.

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In a post on social media, the Irish star revealed that a broken toe forced his late withdrawal from the UFC 303 headliner against Michael Chandler.

“Man we were so f—ing super ready for this fight, it is absolutely gut wrenching to take,” McGregor wrote on Instagram. “I want that new Bugatti! How I gone justify to myself getting that now without banking these fights. We had a lapse in concentration and engaged in a training session without wearing the full protective gear and I hit the toe off the elbow and broke the toe clean. It needs a few weeks that’s it. I couldn’t justify to my team, or fans, that I make the walk hindered again. That walk has been seen.

“This next walk has got to be, and it will be, 100 percent Conor McGregor. The fans deserve it and we are ge…

Roman Dolidze is moving up a weight class to face Anthony Smith on short notice at UFC 303.

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Dolidze will replace Carlos Ulberg, who withdrew from the event due to an undisclosed injury. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new light heavyweight bout on Friday. UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

Dolidze earned triumphs over Khadis Ibragimov and John Allan at 205 pounds in UFC competition before transitioning to the middleweight division. The 35-year-old Xtreme Couture representative has gone 4-3 since then and is coming off back-to-back decision defeats against Nassourdine Imavov and Marvin Vettori.

A former light heavyweight title challenger, Smith has been victorious in two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Lionheart” submitted the previously unbeaten Vitor Petrino in the opening sta…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its Saudi Arabia debut with an intriguing 11-fight card that is now set after the official weigh-ins took place.

The main event will see former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker take on short-notice replacement Ikram Aliskerov, who is filling in for an ill Khamzat Chimaev. Both men stepped on the scales looking ready to go all five rounds, with Whittaker coming at 186 pounds and Askerov arriving at a svelte 184 pounds. All 22 fighters on the card successfully made weight.

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This marks the second fight this year for "Bobby Knuckles." The Australian previously beat Paulo Costa to rebound from his defeat to now-champion Dricus Du Plessis. Whittaker, who is still just 33 and holds a record of 25-7, will look to show he's still a dangerous contender. The former titleholder comes into the fight having won two of his last three.

This is easily the biggest fight in the career of Aliskerov (15-1…

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The main event for PFL 5 is official, as both Clay Collard and Mads Burnell hit their contracted marks on Thursday.

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Collard tipped the scales at 155.8 pounds, while Burnell checked in at 155.6 ahead of their lightweight headliner, which is scheduled for Friday at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. PFL 5, which features regular season bouts at lightweight and light heavyweight, begins with a preliminary card on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT before moving to the main draw on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

A 2023 PFL lightweight finalist, Collard kicked off his current campaign with a second-round technical knockout victory against Patricky Freire on April 12. He currently sits xth in the PFL lightweight standings with five points.

Burnell has some work to do if he is to advance to the posteason. The UFC and Bellator MMA veteran had a two-bout winning streak snapped at PFL 2, where he suffered a second-round …

Ian Garry is not buying into any of the hype behind Michael Page.

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Garry (14-0) and Page (22-2) are slated to trade leather at UFC 303 on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is a high-stakes matchup that could catapult the winner into the conversation for welterweight title contendership.

While rallying for the booking, Page aimed multiple shots and promised to punish Garry in “10 different ways,” also calling out the “fake” online image of the Irishman, who has been a dividing personality since the beginning of his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure.

Responding to “MVP,” Garry has now declared himself levels above the former Bellator MMA star in every aspect.

“He’s a legend? You said that to line me up… I believe I’m levels above him in every single way, shape and form,” Garry said in an Instagram post. “And this is just an opportunity to show, to prove to people. I go, ‘You guys think this guy’s good? OK: I’ll use him a…

Saturday’s dynamic UFC on ABC 6 card has seen yet another change.

Joilton Lutterbach (38-9) is out of his fight against Sharabutdin “Shara Bullet” Magomedov, 12-0, which was scheduled to go down in Riyadh on June 22. Fellow Brazilian Antonio Trocoli (12-3) has stepped up to replace Lutterbach against Magomedov on three days’ notice. The change was first announced by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White on social media. Lutterbach subsequently revealed that he wasn’t allowed to fight due a substance found in his urine.

This is Magomedov’s third opponent for his sophomore UFC outing after Ihor Potieria, who accepted a short-notice matchup against Michel Pereira at UFC 301. Meanwhile, Trocoli was scheduled to fight Ikram Aliskerov last weekend before the Dagestani agreed to replace Khamzat Chimaev against Robert Whittaker in Saturday’s main event. While this will mark Trocoli’s UFC debut, “Malvado” has been with the promotion for two years and has no…

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Ikram Aliskerov (15-1) claims Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coaching style is similar to that of his father.

Aliskerov is scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker (25-7) in the UFC on ABC 6 headliner on June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hailing from Dagestan, Aliskerov often trains with former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and his protégé Islam Makhachev. Like most other elite fighters from the region, Aliskerov has also had had the privilege of training under Nurmagomedov’s late father, Abdulmanap, who is widely regarded as the pioneer of mixed martial arts in the region.

Aliskerov recently detailed what made Nurmagomedov arguably one of the best coaches in the world. According to Aliskerov, it was Abdulmanap’s emphasis on discipline over talent that set him apart.

“You know the biggest thing about him and I always say this, he put a huge emphasis on discipline,” Aliskerov told Shakiel Mahjouri. “He even had this saying that ‘disci…

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Sharabutdin “Shara Bullet” Magomedov (12-0) had an interesting encounter with local law enforcement on a previous visit to Saudi Arabia.

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Magomedov is slated to face Brazilian debutant Antonio Trocoli (12-3) at UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, this isn’t Magomedov’s first visit to the region, where he has achieved surprising popularity. The Russian has previously been to the country for Hajj, which is the annual Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. While Magomedov hasn’t been out of the fighter hotel much this time, he was overwhelmed by fan support the one time he journeyed beyond.

“Yes, I’m surprised that people recognize me here like they do in Russia,” Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “People ask to take pictures in the most unusual places. It’s nice. We’ll be taking over the whole Arabian peninsula. People know me in Saudi and the UAE. We’re conquering more shores. There’s nowher…

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Longtime mixed martial arts veteran Shannon Ritch shot and killed a man in a parking lot dispute outside of Phoenix restaurant, according to a report from Fox 10 Phoenix.

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According to a police investigation, Ritch, 53, and Alejandro Samplina, 32, were involved in a confrontation regarding an issue over parking outside of a Twin Peaks on June 15. Ritch allegedly shot and killed Samplina after he claimed that Samplina chased him around his car with a knife.

"Ritch was able to retrieve his handgun from the open door of his vehicle. Samplina proceeded to walk towards Ritch with the knife in a threatening manner. In response, Ritch fired one round, striking Samplina," Phoenix Police Sgt. Mayra Reeson told Fox 10.

Samplina died at a local hospital, per the report. Police released Ritch after he “provided a self-defense claim consistent with witnesses and surveillance video.” The exact nature of the argument remains unclear.

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Joshua Silveira isn’t leaving anything to chance.

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The American Top Team export arrived in Salt Lake City more than a week ahead of his PFL 5 encounter with Rob Wilkinson in order to get acclimated to the Utah capital’s 4,265 feet of elevation.

“I know Rob trains out of Colorado, so I had to give myself that same type of elevation workout,” Silvera said during PFL media day. “We’re high up in the mountains. I’m from Florida. You’re like 100 feet above sea level [there]. I’m not used to 5,000 feet, but I came out early, [to] be responsible. We’re at the top level here, so I want to be responsible. I made my investment.”

One of the advantages of training at American Top Team is that Silveira can call upon a whole stable of training partners who have experienced fighting at elevation. Silveira took advantage of that knowledge and put it to use.

“At the end of the day, it’s science. I wasn’t gonna find out on fight night,” Silveira said. “But it…

A bantamweight showdown pitting Chris Gutierrez against Javid Basharat has been added to the UFC on ABC 7 lineup.

Gutierrez confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Marcel Dorff. UFC on ABC 7 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3 and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Gutierrez is coming of a unanimous decision loss to Yadong Song in the UFC Fight Night 233 headliner this past December. Prior to that, “El Guapo” had been victorious in five of his previous six Octagon appearances dating back to 2021.

Basharat, meanwhile, suffered his first defeat in 16 pro outings at UFC Fight Night 238, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to Aiemann Zahabi on March 2. Basharat owns victories over Mateus Mendonca, Tony Gravely and Trevin Jones in UFC competition.

ONE Championship three-division title holder Anatoly Malykhin will defend his heavyweight crown against Oumar Kane when the promotion heads to Atlanta on Nov. 8.

ONE announced the main event booking in a release on Wednesday. ONE Championship 169 takes place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta and marks the organization’s second trip to the United States in 2024. In the evening’s co-headliner, Tawanchai PK Saenchai will defend his featherweight (155-pound) muay thai belt against Joe Nattawut. The card will air live on Prime Video in the United States.

Malykhin is coming off a third-round technical knockout victory against Reinier de Ridder to claim the middleweight (205-pound) title at ONE 166 on March 1. The 36-year-old Russian owns a 14-0 professional mark — which includes six victories under the ONE banner. He captured heavyweight gold with a third-round stoppage of UFC veteran Arjan Singh Bhullar in June 2023.

A native of Senegal who is commonly known a…

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Colby Covington has slammed Sean Strickland for criticizing the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s fighter pay.

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Strickland recently engaged in a back-and-forth with Mike Perry over fighter pay in the BKFC. When Perry responded by calling out the UFC’s fighter pay, Strickland admitted that both promotions needed to better their fighter salaries.

However, Covington disagrees with Strickland. Covington noted that while the UFC typically pays $10,000 + $10,000 to show and win to entry-level fighters, Strickland is probably drawing close to $1 million per fight. “Chaos” believes it is hypocritical of the former middleweight champ to criticize UFC fighter pay when he has built a comfortable life for himself with that.

“My thoughts are, Sean changed his life, so he’s kind of hypocritical to be saying this,” Covington said on the SOSCAST with Adam Sosnick. “Now he lives in like a really nice mansion-style type house, you know, has gr…

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Carlos Prates began his habit of smoking cigarettes at a young age.

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Prates recently shut down Charlie Radtke with a violent knee to the body in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 57 clash earlier this month. The Brazilian was seen smoking a cigarette when he learned that his victory earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus. Prates also revealed that smoking before and after a fight is a fairly common ritual for him..

Prates recently opened up further on his smoking habits during an appearance on the ”Show Me the Money” podcast. Prates revealed that he had started smoking at the age of 12 or 13 — though the habit has increased over the years. The pandemic affected Prates, and “The Nightmare” started smoking a lot of marijuana. When he noticed adverse effects of cannabis on his mental health, Prates decided to stick to cigarettes.

“I think I started to smoke when I was 12 or 13. Not like today, of…