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Valentin Moldavsky seconds Khabib Nurmagomedov’s past claim that combat sambo is a better base for mixed martial arts than Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

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Moldavsky (12-3) is scheduled to headline PFL 1 against Ante Delija (24-5) at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday.

A former European and Russian combat sambo champion, Moldavsky shares his combat roots with the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Nurmagomedov.

Combat sambo has proven to be one of the best bases for MMA throughout history, with fighters transitioning extremely well. Moldavsky believes combat sambo is the more well-rounded discipline than Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“So when I was in school I was attending different classes, I was doing some wrestling, sambo, judo. And then when I was progressing I realized that fight sambo was something that I really liked and as I was improving, I went all the way to become a medalist. And yeah, I think it's one of t…

Ante Delija was impressed with Tom Aspinall’s caliber after training with the Englishman ahead of his upcoming clash against Valentin Moldavsky.

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Delija (24-5) and Moldavsky (12-3) are slated to headline PFL 1 at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday. Delija trained with Aspinall before entering fight camp and heaped praise on the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion’s skillset.

“I trained with Tom Aspinall before my training camp,” Delija said during a PFL media day session. “I was impressed with his physical strength and also he is very, very technical. His father is training him since he was a kid so he deserves the place where he is right now.”

Delija is currently riding a five-fight winning streak topped off by a decision victory over Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Maurice Greene. Delija went on to win the bout despite breaking his leg in the opening round. “Walking Trouble” was able to mak…

Surging ONE Championship women’s atomweight contenders will meet in a potential title eliminator at ONE Fight Night 22 on May. 3.

Sherdog learned that Japan’s undefeated Chihiro Sawada (7-0, 2-0 ONE) will cross paths with French atomweight contender Noelle Grandjean (5-1, 2-1 ONE) in a three-round meeting at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Sawada, currently on a seven-fight win streak, is coming off a clear decision win over Jihin Radzuan in March. The Tokyo native made her promotional debut in February 2023, going up against Sanaz Fayazmanesh and it didn’t take long for the 26-year-old to secure an impressive Round 2 keylock submission to announce her arrival on the ONE stage.

Meanwhile, Grandjean will enter on the heels of a unanimous decision over Victoria Souza at ONE on Prime Video 20 in March. The victory marked her return to winning ways after suffering the first loss of her professional mixed martial arts career via Round 2 triangle chok…

Manuel Kape - OUTAlex Perez - IN@NicolauMatheus vs @AlexPerezMMA is your NEW #UFCVegas91 Main Event 🔥 pic.twitter.com/d8Umh7yiNM

— UFC (@ufc) April 2, 2024

UFC on ESPN 55 has a new flyweight main event.

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The promotion announced on Tuesday that Alex Perez will replace Manel Kape and lock horns with Matheus Nicolau at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on April 27. A reason for Kape’s exit from the card was not given. Perez had been slated to face Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15 before the new pairing was announced.

A former title challenger at 125 pounds, Perez has lost his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Team Oyama product dropped a unanimous verdict to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 6-4 during his promotional tenure.

Nicolau, meanwhile, had a six-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a first-round KO defeat to Brandon Ro…

The stakes will be different, but the opponent will be familiar when Liz Carmouche and Juliana Velasquez square off at PFL 1 on Thursday night.

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The flyweight rivals previously met twice in title bouts under the Bellator MMA banner. The first ended in controversial fashion, as Carmouche claimed the 125-pound belt with a fourth-round stoppage of Velasquez at Bellator 278. Velasquez, who was finished with elbows from the mounted crucifix, appealed the ruling on the grounds that none of the blows were significant enough to warrant a stoppage. That appeal was denied, and Carmouche retained the title in more emphatic fashion in the rematch, winning via second-round submission at Bellator 289.

Carmouche wasn’t especially excited to learn that Velasquez would be her first PFL regular season opponent, but she ultimately found the right mindset as she prepared for the trilogy.

“Initially I was disappointed,” Carmouche said during a media call on Wednesd…

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Mark Coleman.

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Coleman, who recently risked his life to save his parents from a fire at his childhood home in Ohio, will be in attendance for UFC 300 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. The UFC Hall of Famer was hospitalized due to severe smoke inhalation — and again for pneumonia — before being released from the hospital last month.

“I’m so excited today,” Coleman wrote on Instagram. “The UFC is bringing me in, giving me and my daughters tickets to the biggest show ever: UFC 300 in Las Vegas. So stoked, let’s go. The BMF belt, that’s the one I’m excited about. The main event is huge as well. The whole card is sick. See you there. What a great day to be alive. Be the best version of yourself you can be. You never know when you’re gonna need it.”

While nothing is confirmed, it’s now possible that Coleman will be able to grant Max Holloway’s request and present the BMF belt to the winner of the …

It will be a new beginning of sorts for Linton Vassell on Thursday night.

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The 40-year-old Englishman will make his Professional Fighters League debut at the organization’s first regular season event of 2024 when he meets Denis Goltsov in a featured heavyweight bout at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas.

It wasn’t initially the matchup “Big Swarm” had in mind, but things changed when Ryan Bader suffered a first-round knockout loss to Renan Ferreira at PFL vs. Bellator on Feb. 24. Instead, Vassell will take part in the PFL season.

“I actually thought I would be fighting him [Bader] next. But he lost,” Vassell said during a media call. “… Who wouldn’t want to be in the tournament where you get a belt, you get money and you get to fight the champion at the end? I don’t think the Bader fight will happen now, to be honest. I’m on a different road.”

While Vassell will be competing under the PFL banner, he stil considers himself a Bellator ath…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: @Savmarshall1 finally makes the walk to the PFL SmartCage

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 June 8th LIVE from the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England

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Get your tickets today! 👇🎟️ https://t.co/uSa9X28XO5 pic.twitter.com/eFlh7i9xH9 — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 2, 2024

Savannah Marshall will make her first Professional Fighters League foray a little more than two months from now.

The organization announced on Tuesday that the boxing champion will compete at PFL Europe Newcastle on June 8 in the main event against an as yet to be announced opponent. PFL Europe Newcastle takes place at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England, and airs on DAZN. The card will showcase bantamweights and women’s flyweights, with more bouts expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. Marshall will compete at 155 pounds.

“The Professional Fighters League prides itself on having the best athletes in the world on its roster and on June 8, PFL welcomes boxing wor…

Joaquin Buckley is looking to take big career steps in a short amount of time.

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Buckley scored a Round 2 technical knockout win over Vicente Luque in the co-main event at UFC Atlantic City on Saturday, which put him on a three-fight winning streak. Buckley then called for a quick turnaround to fight at UFC St. Louis which goes down at the Enterprise Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 11.

“I can’t wait to get to St. Louis man and do the same thing… That’s the plan. We got to talk to the UFC and see what they're talking about, but yeah, I’m open to fighting in May,” said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

UFC St. Louis is currently scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento. However, Buckley believes the UFC might promote him to the main-event spot for the first five-rounder of his career.

“They might change that. They will switch it up,” he said. “If I fight in St. Louis, they’re…

Max Holloway wants “real life BMF” Mark Coleman to wrap the belt around the winner of his UFC 300 clash against Justin Gaethje.

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Gaethje puts his BMF title on the line in a lightweight clash against “Blessed” at the milestone event on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The BMF title has historically been presented by a notable personality, first by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to Jorge Masvidal and then a retired Masvidal presenting it to Gaethje after the latter’s victory.

When asked whom Holloway would like to present the belt for his fight against Gaethje, the Hawaiian said there’s only one correct answer: Coleman. Holloway labeled Coleman a “real life BMF” owing to the former UFC heavyweight champion’s recent heroic actions.

Coleman’s childhood home in Fremont, Ohio, recently caught fire when the former Olympian was visiting his parents. It was the family pup, “Hammer,” that awakened Coleman, who then saved both his parents. Coleman …

Nate Landwehr wouldn’t advise anyone to become a professional fighter even though he admittedly loves his job “more than he probably should.”

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In his first fight as a father, Landwehr scored a come-from-behind Round 1 technical knockout win over Jamall Emmers (20-8) at UFC Atlantic City on Saturday. However, the Ultimate Fighting Championship fan favorite would never even wish for his worst enemy to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, let alone his son. Landwehr would in fact start by discouraging his son, which he believes is the first test to pass.

“That’s a tough one. I almost wouldn’t even wish this life on my worst enemy,” he said "The MMA Hour”. “I would try to discourage him [son], as that first little discouragement. And if he could get past, then he [could go ahead]. That’s why I always tell people, ‘Don’t do it.’ If me telling you, ‘Don’t do it,’ is gonna break you then you ain’t got what it takes. That’s always my go to. Somebody tel…

Ten fighters from UFC on ESPN 54 have been suspended indefinitely following Saturday’s card.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board on Monday released a full list of medical suspensions from the event. UFC on ESPN 54 took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and saw Manon Fiorot defeat Erin Blanchfield via unanimous decision in the evening’s flyweight main event.

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Fiorot is one of the fighters facing an indefinite term, as she must have her right arm cleared by an orthopedic doctor befoe she can compete. At a minimum, the French standout is out 60 days with no contact. Blanchfield, meanwhile, is suspended 30 days due to facial lacerations.

Nine other fighters from UFC on ESPN 54 are also facing indefinite terms, which can be lifted through doctor clearance: Chris Weidman (needs head CT scan); Bruno Silva (left eye), Sedriques Dumas (right eye), Herbert Burns (needs neurologist clearance); Connor Matthews (needs neurologist clea…

Marcelo Golm will step in for Tyrell Fortune and face Daniel James at PFL 1 on Thursday night.

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The organization announced the new heavyweight bout on Monday. Golm vs. James is scheduled for the evening’s preliminary card. A reason for Fortune’s withdrawal was not given.

PFL 1 takes place at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas, and features regular season bouts for heavyweights and women’s flyweights. The card is headlined by a heavyweight clash pitting Ante Delija against Valentin Moldavsky. The main card airs at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and ESPN+, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your Updated PFL San Antonio Fight Card

•Tyrelle Fortune is OUT•New Matchup: Marcelo Golm v. Daniel James•𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: Early Card starts at 6:30pm ET | Main Card starts at 10pm ET

[ #PFLRegularSeason |Thursday , April 4th |10PM ET | 🎟️… pic.twitter.com/sw8yUgRyb0

— PFL (@PFLMMA) …

Guilherme Bravo has weighed in on the eye-poke controversy that occurred in the bout between Chris Weidman and Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54.

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Bravo, a key figure in MMA judging and refereeing in Brazil, offered some critiques of referee Gary Copeland on his weekly YouTube program, “Momento Bravo.” While the bout was initially a stoppage win for Weidman, it was later changed to a technical decision victory for the ex-middleweight champion when it was determined that Silva was affected by eye pokes during the stoppage.

"He clearly used double standards,” Bravo said of Copeland. “In Herbert Burns' fight against Julio Arce, he made perfect use of the video replay. Immediately after warning Burns that he had applied an illegal knee, he used the replay to check a second knee and removed the points immediately.”

Bravo also criticized Copeland’s attitude in the Weidman-Silva fight.

"Lately we have had a change in the conduct of fouls caused by finge…

Bruno Silva wasn’t pleased with referee Gary Copeland’s approach during his controversial loss to Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 54.

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"Before the fight, the referee comes to the dressing room and advises all fighters that open hands are not allowed and can be considered a foul,” Silva told Sherdog.com. “Weidman was unfair during the whole fight.”

“Blindado” pointed out that Copeland wasn’t as lenient earlier in the evening, when he took a point from Herbert Burns for an eye poke in the opening round of his bout against Julio Arce.

"He took one point from him after the second eye poke,” Silva said. “I got eye poked four times, and he did absolutely nothing.”

Silva said that his team didn’t initially understand why he fell to the ground during the final sequence against Weidman until they viewed the replay. While the bout was initially a stoppage win for Weidman, it was later changed to a technical decision victory for the ex-middleweight champio…

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes is ready to return to action after battling through potentially serious issue.

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Reyes revealed in a video post on Instagram that he has received a “clean bill of health,” clearing the way for him to fight again in the near future. “The Devastator” had been dealing with blood clots in his leg, which put a potential booking against Carlos Ulberg at UFC on ESPN 54 on hold.

“Hey everyone, I just got out of my appointment at Victor Valley Imaging and I got a clean bill of health. No evidence of deep vein thrombosis anymore. I’m pretty excited,” Reyes said. “I just got to finish off these next few days of blood thinners and I’m good to go, 100%. Thank you, everybody, for the kind words, the love, and reaching out and everything. Time to get back at it, baby. I’m ready to go.”

Reyes, who is perhaps best known for taking Jon Jones to the brink of defeat at UFC 247, has lost four straight O…

Urijah Faber’s return to combat sports has been confirmed.

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Faber announced in March that he would be returning to action under the banner of his own promotion, A1 Combat, but he didn’t specify an opponent. The promotion on Sunday officially announced a rematch between Faber and Jeff Curran that will headline A1 Combat 21 on May 25 at the Visalia Convention Center in California. The matchup will take place under combat jiu-jitsu rule set, which allows open palm strikes.

Faber and Curran faced each other for the first time at WEC 31 in 2007 with Faber’s featherweight title on the line. “The California Kid” went on to successfully defend his strap via a second-round submission.

Faber initially announced his retirement in 2016 following a unanimous decision win over Brad Pickett at UFC on Fox 22. He returned to competition in 2019, knocking out Ricky Simon in under a minute. Faber then suffered a brutal knockout loss to Petr Yan later that sa…

Julio Arce had a lot of pressure to deliver going into his UFC Atlantic City bout against Herbert Burns, and deliver he did.

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Arce scored a second-round KO win over Burns in his first bout since November 2022. Arce’s return was delayed when he was forced out of a UFC 285 booking against Cody Garbrandt in January 2023 due to an ACL tear that required surgery.

With the undeniable jitters of coming back from an injury already in his mind, Arce also had a bizarre weight miss. Arce initially weighed in at 147 pounds, a pound over the non-title featherweight limit, and was given an hour to shed the extra weight. While Arce claims to have tried his best to sweat it out, he miraculously gained half a pound the second time he weighed in. However, Arce doesn’t want to make any excuses about the odd weight miss and vows to make weight in future.

“I got on the scale, it said 147, we had an hour,” Arce said during a post-fight media scrum. “Because I know…

Igor da Silva is looking for a second chance after being cut from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for biting his opponent.

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Da Silva and Andre Lima squared off during the UFC on ESPN 53 preliminary card on March 23. The fight got off to a promising start, but the bout was called to stop in the second round with Lima complaining of a bite from da Silva. Referee Chris Tognoni briefly halted the contest before calling it off, as Lima’s right bicep showed an evident bite mark. Lima was declared the winner via disqualification and da Silva lost his UFC contract along with his perfect record.

While da Silva doesn’t have any explanation for his actions, he claims to have gone into “autopilot mode” after absorbing an elbow from Lima.

“There’s no plausible explanation [for the bite], right? I remember exchanging strikes with him, a close fight, but I was in autopilot mode after that elbow,” da Silva told MMAFighting.com. “I don’t remember anything af…

Nursulton Ruziboev wants to settle the score for Uzbekistan against Gerald Meerschaert after his UFC on ESPN 54 victory on Saturday.

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Ruziboev defeated Sedriques Dumas via technical knockout to score his second consecutive first-round finish in the UFC. Ruziboev called out Meerschaert in his post-fight Octagon interview and later elaborated on it during a media scrum.

Ruziboev is one of only three Uzbek fighters in the UFC, along with Bogdan Guskov and Makhmud Muradov, who suffered a submission loss to Meerschaert in 2021. Ruziboev now wants to avenge his fellow countryman’s loss against “GM3.”

“There’s only three Uzbek fighters in the UFC and one of them was beaten by Gerald Meerschaert. So, I want to revenge that loss and I wanna show that Uzbek fighters are not weak,” Ruziboev said.

With Meerschaert coming off a submission victory against Bryan Barberena earlier this month, the turnaround time might be perfect for a clash between the two.…

It wasn’t the cleanest of victories for Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 54, but given his struggles in recent years, the former middleweight champion will take a win any way he can get it.

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Weidman defeated Bruno Silva technical decision in their middleweight clash at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Saturday night. It was a bout filled with controversy due to multiple eye pokes, including two that occurred during what initially appeared to be the finishing sequence. After Weidman poked his opponent in both eyes, he connected with a glancing left hook, and Silva tumbled to the canvas. From there, Silva covered up in pain as “The All-American” unloaded with ground-and-pound to force the stoppage at the 2:18 mark of Round 3.

Upon further review, the fight was scored where the eye pokes occurred, and Weidman was instead awarded with a technical decision triumph. At the post-fight press conference (video via MMAjunkie.com), Weidman claimed …

BUCKLEY HAMMERS HIS WAY TO A BIG WIN 🔨 #UFCAtlanticCity pic.twitter.com/wt09AB2Wiz

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 31, 2024

It was a strange sight to see Vicente Luque pull guard during his co-main event showdown with Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54 on Saturday night.

After all, Luque is well-known for his finishing ability, as he ranks second all-time in the UFC’s welterweight division in that category with 13 career victories inside the distance. However, with Buckley getting the better of their clash at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, “The Assassin” opted for a different route, one which ultimately led to his demise. Once Luque pulled guard, Buckley unloaded with a salvo of ground-and-pound that led to the bout being halted at the 3:17 mark of Round 2.

“I laughed actually. I chuckled when he pulled guard,” Buckley said at the post-fight press conference. “This whole time I was thinking about Vicente. We all know he’s a tale…

Nate Landwehr is establishing himself as must-see TV in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former M-1 Global champion garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his knockout of Jamall Emmers in a preliminary featherweight bout at UFC on ESPN 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday night. Landwehr survived behing hurt early, rallying to put his adversary away with a massive uppercut and follow-up punches at the 4:43 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Dennis Buzukja received the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his stoppage of Connor Matthews in a preliminary featherweight affair. Buzukja dropped his foe with a right cross-left hook combination, then swarmed with hammerfists for the finish 22 seconds into the third stanza.

Finally, Ibo Aslan and Anton Turkalj earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 for their spirited rematch at light heavyweight. While both men had their moments over the first 10 minutes, A…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship women's flyweight division has a new top contender as Manon Fiorot impressed against Erin Blanchfield in the UFC on ESPN 54 main event.

The five-round fight began with Blanchfield (12-2) threatening with a guillotine choke as a counter to a takedown by Fiorot (12-1). The French fighter would survive the submission scare and find her rhythm on the feet. Using a steady jab and leg kicks, Fiorot kept Blanchfield at range and picked apart her foe. "Cold Blooded" lived up to her nickname as she adjusted and started throwing more recklessly in the fourth and fifth rounds. However, it wound up being too little too late for the American as she lost a unanimous decision with three scorecards of 50-45 for Fiorot.

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"The Beast" is now 6-0 inside the Octagon. Buckley Powers Past Luque The co-main event saw Joaquin Buckley cement himself as a welterweight contender against Vicente Luque. The first round was a more tepid affair, …