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Andrei Arlovski is set to return to action for the first time since parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship last year.

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Arlovski will square off against Terrance Hodges under the Dirty Boxing banner on March 22 at the Regatta Harbour in Miami, the promotion announced Wednesday. DBX 1 is expected to be headlined by a clash between Yoel Romeo and Ras Hylton. DBX uses four-ounce gloves, with elbows and “conditional ground-and-pound” allowed.

A former heavyweight champion, Arlovski fulfilled his last UFC contract with a split-decision loss against Martin Buday at UFC 303 this past July. He was also drafted by the Los Angeles team in the fledgling Global Fight League earlier this year, but the promotion has yet to formally confirm any dates or locations for upcoming events.

Arlovski initially rose to prominence during his first UFC stint from 2000 to 2008, when he captured heavyweight gold and had a memorable trilogy with Tim Sylvia. …

Cristiane Justino is staying active in her combat sports career.

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For the second time this month, Justino will compete in a professional boxing match in Columbia. This time, “Cyborg” will lock horns with 23-year-old Josefina Travecedo (3-3, 2KOs) in a four-round bout at 154 pounds. “Cyborg” announced the bout in a release on Wednesday.

The pairing comes on the heels of the Brazilian’s second-round knockout victory over Karen Fernandes in Medellin, Columbia, on March 3. According to the release, “Cyborg” remained in the country “to receive post fight therapy at BioXcellerator, the leading stem cell treatment and research facilities in the world.”

With a win over Travecedo, Justino is targeting a boxing match against WBC champion Cecilia Braekhus this winter.

The Chute Boxe standout’s lone MMA bout of 2024 occurred at PFL Super Fights "Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact,” where she took a five-round verdict over former PFL two-divisi…

Mauricio Ruffy had some special inspiration for the highlight-reel kick that dispatched Bobby Green at UFC 313.

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In an interview with Sherdog.com, The Fighting Nerds representative confirmed that Brazilian soccer idol Neymar Junior motivated him to unleash that maneuver.

“Neymar always does a sequence of dribbling that confuses his oponents. I just thought how it could be applied in MMA, and that’s the movement I did with Green, a sequence of hand feints that confounded him and permitted the kick to enter,” Ruffy said. “I´ve been practicing that movement alone for a long time. I have to avoid using it in sparring because there is no way to control the speed, which may hurt my training partners.”

To make the move even more impressive, Ruffy revealed that he had to undergo an urgent meniscus surgery in January that prevented him from kicking until two weeks before UFC 313.

“It was at the limit,” he said. “I was just allowed to kick in the last …

Paul Hughes has a dance partner for his upcoming Professional Fighters League appearance.

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The promotion announced on Wednesday that Hughes will lock horns with Bruno Miranda in the PFL Europe Belfast headliner on May 10 at the SSE Arena. The card will also include PFL Europe tournament pairings, where fighters must win three bouts to earn a $100,000 cash prize. Participants in the tournament will be announced at a later date.

A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes was a prized free agent before signing with the PFL in 2024. He made his presence felt at PFL “Brace for Impact” last October, when he defeated ex-Bellator MMA featherweight champ A.J. McKee via split decision. “Big News” then challenged Usman Nurmagomedov for the lightweight belt at PFL Road to Dubai, losing a narrow majority decision in one of the best fights of 2025 thus far.

Miranda is coming off a split-decision triumph over former Bellator stalwart Patricky Freire at a PF…

Arman Tsarukyan believes it’ll be unfair for Justin Gaethje to get the next lightweight title shot.

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Gaethje earned a unanimous decision win in a rematch against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 last weekend, going 2-0 against the Kazakh. “The Highlight” is now asking for a title shot after rebounding from a knockout loss against Max Holloway to make it 3-1 in his last four.

However, Tsarukyan believes Gaethje must pass one more test to deserve a title shot. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Gaethje has to fight either him or Charles Oliveira before he can challenge Islam Makhachev.

“I wanna fight someone from Top 5, Gaethje or Oliveira,” Tsarukyan told The Schmo. “Gaethje wants to fight for the title, it makes sense to fight with me. Because nobody gonna give him title fight. It’s not gonna be fair that he’s gonna get title fight. So he gotta beat me or Oliveira to get the title fight… So I think they’re gonna give me Oliveira, or Gaethje or title fight.”…

Chidi Njokuani doesn’t mind the absence of a crowd once he enters the Octagon.

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Seven fights into his promotional tenure, Njokuani has mostly fought at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and has never been on a pay-per-view card. Njokuani is now scheduled to co-headline UFC Fight Night 254 against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on Saturday at the Apex.

Njokuani won’t miss the crowd. A major part of Njokuani’s preference of fighting in Vegas is because he lives there, which makes everything easier. And “Chidi Bang Bang” doesn’t really care who’s watching once he starts trading leather. While he doesn’t mind traveling, the rather reserved Njokuani just likes the ease of things while fighting at home.

“I don’t think that really matter to me,” Njokuani told MMAjunkie.com. “I like fighting at home because I get to cut weight here, I don’t have to travel, I get to sleep more a bit. I don’t see how people don’t like doing that. But I get it. The crowds don’t real…

Rafael Fiziev (12-4) is eyeing a move to featherweight.

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Fiziev suffered a unanimous decision loss against Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 last weekend. “Ataman” is now looking to move down to featherweight despite having competed at lightweight for the most part of his career.

Fiziev’s plan to move to 145 pounds is influenced by his weight cut for UFC 313, which he claims was really easy. Fiziev says his nutritionist was focused on making him gain weight during the cut, as he was shedding pounds too fast.

“I’m start to thinking right now about change weight divisions,” Fiziev told Ariel Helwani. “Because I really cut weight really easy this time, and this is short notice. Very easy bro. All this week, my nutritionist, Jason, he tried to gain my weight because my weight go low so fast. Yeah, right now I have to think about it.”

Fiziev also said that he weighed 170 pounds on fight night, while he thinks Gaethje was much heavier. When asked if t…

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The first-round matchups are in place for Professional Fighters League’s new tournament format.

The promotion on Tuesday officially unveiled the pairings for the eight-fighter brackets at heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight. Each first-round event includes a four-fight main card and prelims featuring additional tournament and alternate fights. The four events will all be held at Universal Studios Florida, Stage 19.

The tournament will kick off with welterweights and featherweights on April 3 with a card headlined by a 170-pound clash between former Bellator champions Jason Jackson and Andrey Koreshkov. In the co-main event, 2023 PFL featherweight champ Gabriel Braga will lock horns with former Bellator title challenger Adam Borics.

The next event takes place on April 11, with women’s flyweights and men’s bantamweights getting the tournament spotlight. The c…

The Professional Fighters League tournament semifinals now have locations and venues.

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The promotion will head outside of Florida for the next part of its bracket, with events at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 12; the INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas, on June 20 and the Winstrust Arena in Chicago on June 27.

Matchups for these events will be determined by the winners of the four first-round events in April and May.

Meanwhile, the PFL tournament finals will be spread out over three dates: Aug. 1, Aug. 15 and Aug. 21. Locations and venues for those cards were not announced.

The 2025 PFL World Tournament will begin with events on April 3, April 11, April 18 and May 1 at the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. The winner of each bracket will receive a $500,000 bonus, and the tournament as a whole will provide payouts of more than $20 million. Events will be broadcast on the family of …

After arriving in Curitiba, Brazil, to begin training for his Global Fight League debut, Fabricio Werdum learned that proposed opponent Frank Mir had recently undergone emergency spinal surgery.

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Mir is unlikely to be able to recover in time for their fight in April, when his team (Los Angeles) is set to face Werdum's Team São Paulo in the inaugural GFL event.

“I heard about this news from you. Now I'm waiting for the event to confirm who my opponent will be, [Alexei] Oleynik or [Andrei] Arlovski,” Werdum told Sherdog.com. “Both would be rematches, but since they have opposing styles, it would be important to know right at the start of the camp. I've stopped all my projects, podcasts and lectures to focus entirely on the camp for this fight. This will be a wonderful opportunity to return to my roots, when I used to come by bus from Porto Alegre and stay in Curitiba at the Chute Boxe dormitory. Master Rafael Cordeiro is on the plane from LA to lead …

Alexander Volkanovski believes he can beat Diego Lopes in all aspects of their upcoming fight.

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Lopes and Volkanovski will fight for the vacant featherweight title in the main event at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. While Volkanovski acknowledges Lopes’ skill set, he believes he can hold his own against the Brazilian.

Although Lopes is known for his dangerous submission game, Volkanovski won’t hesitate to engage on the ground. According to Volkanovski, Lopes will be very uncomfortable realizing that he can’t put his opponent away even if things are going his way.

“I think I can beat Diego everywhere,” Volkanovski said in an interview with interview with fight gear brand Engage. “He is dangerous. He’s gonna be dangerous everywhere, so I need to sharpen everything. Even if I wanted to go the wrestling route, or grappling route, I think I would dominate there anyway. Everyone knows him for his jiu-jitsu, but trust me I ain’t w…

Magomed Ankalaev and Jiri Prochazka have been going at each other.

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It all started when Ankalaev dethroned Alex Pereira via unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 313 last Saturday. While Prochazka congratulated Ankalaev, he said most fans don’t like the Dagestani as a champ. Ankalaev responded by calling Prochazka a fraud.

Addressing Ankalaev’s comments, Prochazka claimed the only fraud between them is the champ. According to “BJP,” Ankalaev was cordial with him when they previously ran into each other at the UFC Performance Institute. Prochazka believes it’s the high of the title win that is making Ankalaev act “gangster” now. However, the former champ also claims that Ankalaev’s win came against the worst-ever version of “Poatan.”

“[Ankalaev] can think what he wants, but I know the only person who is a fraud is him,” Prochazka told Ariel Helwani. “Because when I met him in the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, he was there, he wa…

Frank Mir’s proposed Global Fight League debut is likely in jeopardy after he recently underwent emergency spinal surgery.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA veteran revealed details of the procedure in a recent Instagram post.

“I wanted to take a moment to update you on my health and share a bit about my recent journey. As many of you know, I’ve been dedicated to martial arts since I was just four years old. My love for hard training has driven me to push my limits as a professional athlete. However, this passion comes with its challenges,” Mir wrote. “Recently, I faced a significant hurdle: I underwent an emergency spinal fusion and laminectomy of my entire thoracic spine. Although it was a tough decision, I’m happy to report that the surgery was a complete success!

“Now, I’m diving into rehabilitation and focusing on my recovery. This is just another challenge that I intend to overcome, and I’m committed to coming back st…

Irish star Paul Hughes will be at the top of the card when Professional Fighters League heads to Belfast on May 10.

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Hughes will headline PFL Europe Belfast at the SSE Arena, which will also include the first set of PFL Europe tournament fights for 2025. An opponent for Hughes was not announced.

“All my career I’ve said I will main event The SSE Arena, and we’ve made my dream into a reality,” Hughes said in a release. “Belfast, I’m coming to put on a show for my people, and I will show you how much your support means to me. It’s time to get to work.”

A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes was a prized free agent before signing with the PFL in 2024. He made his presence felt at PFL “Brace for Impact” last October, when he defeated ex-Bellator MMA featherweight champ A.J. McKee via split decision. “Big News” then challenged Usman Nurmagomedov for the lightweight belt at PFL Road to Dubai, losing a narrow majority decision in one of the best…

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A potential clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall appears to be closer to becoming a reality.

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While Aspinall is the interim champ, Jones has long delayed a heavyweight title unification bout against the Englishman. There were even talks of former light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira surpassing Aspinall for a superfight against Jones.

However, that discussion seems to have ended after Pereira lost his title to Magomed Ankalaev via a unanimous decision at UFC 313 on Saturday. UFC CEO Dana White also acknowledged the same and confirmed that Jones will fight Aspinall. While hopes of the matchup were initially bleak, White now claims that Jones as agreed to the bout and the promotion is looking for a date and place. White also reiterated a previous statement that the plan is to hold Jones vs. Aspinall sometime in the summer.

“Jon Jones definitely wants the fight, just when and where is what we’re working on now,” White said at…

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Paddy Pimblett plans on chasing a big payday if he wins a UFC title.

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The Liverpudlian, who faces Michael Chandler at UFC 314, is targeting a Top 5 opponent next and hopes to earn a title shot with a win. Pimblett would then like to defend his title against Conor McGregor in front of his home fans at the Anfield Stadium, home of the Liverpool football club.

However, Pimblett also has his eyes on a latest addition to the lightweight roster, Ilia Topuria. Pimblett called Topuria “hand sanitizer boy,” referring to the their altercation ahead of UFC London in 2022.

“My plan is to fight with Top 5 opponents, then fight for the belt… And then my first title defense could be Conor McGregor in Anfield,” Pimblett told Shakiel Mahjouri. “That is perfect because that’s where the money is… But obviously I want to batter hand sanitizer boy. I want to show him how small he is and show him that he’s got little man syndrome.”

Pimblett…

Ignacio Bahamondes doesn’t want Jalin Turner to retire after their fight at UFC 313.

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Bahamondes made a statement by submitting Turner with a slick triangle in the first round of their UFC 313 clash on Saturday. Turner then hung up his gloves inside the Octagon and announced his retirement at just 29 years of age.

Turner’s loss against Bahamondes marked his return to action after nearly a year. It was also the fourth loss in his last five outings for “The Tarantula.” Turner elaborated on his retirement decision in an emotional post-fight interview. Turner revealed that he was contemplating retirement since his previous loss against Renato Carneiro at UFC 300 last year. The loss against Bahamondes was the last straw for Turner, who didn’t feel he was in it as much he expected he would be.

“You either gotta be all in or not,” Turner told Aaron Bronsteter. “And being in there wasn’t fully all in as I thought I would be. And the decision to stay o…

Justin Gaethje hopes the third time’s the charm when it comes to the UFC lightweight title.

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After a brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway last April, “The Highlight” returned to the win column with a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph over Rafael Fiziev in the UFC 313 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was Gaethje’s second victory over Fiziev, who stepped in on short notice after Dan Hooker withdrew from the event with a broken hand.

Gaethje is a fan favorite and one of the promotion’s most notorious action fighters, so he won’t be lacking for options when it comes to his next bout. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Gaethje made it clear where his ambitions lie.

“I want to fight for the belt, obviously,” Gaethje said. “That’s a much different matchup than the one I just had. They tried to give me a doughnut. I took a bite, but I’ve got to get back to running if I’m going to fight [Islam] Makahc…

Alex Pereira didn’t perform up to his usual lofty standards at UFC 313, but “Poatan” is taking his first light heavyweight defeat in stride.

Pereira relinquished the 205-pound strap to Magomed Ankalaev in Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, falling via unanimous decision in an affair where he struggled to unleash his vaunted striking. After the bout, the Brazilian released a brief statement in a video on Instagram.

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That’s it, everyone. Some marks, but I’m good,” Pereira said. “Going to rest a bit. I’ll be back, like I’ve always done. This has already happened. Life continues.”

It isn’t the first time Pereira has tasted defeat in the Octagon, as he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023. After that, he move to 205 pounds and won five straight bouts before falling to Ankalaev.

At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White indicated tha…

Magomed Ankalaev did not get the version of Alex Pereira that he expected.

The Dagestani standout outstruck his opponent on the feet and mixed in occasional control against the fence to capture a close unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 313 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Pereira is typically known for his offensive prowess, Ankalaev proved to be too difficult a puzzle to solve for the Brazilian star.

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“He was considered to be the best striker in the division on the way to this fight,” Ankalaev said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s what everybody was talking about, the narrative was that he’s the best. You saw what kind of best striker he was in the fight. You saw how well we did against the striking and how our striking was working.

“We didn’t have to rely on the wrestling because we were confident in our striking. We were trying to get him to go forward the entire time,…

UPDATE: The UFC website now shows the Palestine flag under Belal Muhammad's name 🇵🇸

🎥 @bullyb170 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/BKZBntKqjp

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 8, 2025

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Belal Muhammad’s complaints about the absence of a flag next to his name have been addressed.

While he now lives in Chicago, Muhammad has always been a proud representative of his Palestinian roots. The UFC welterweight champ walks out with the Palestinian flag and has strongly voiced his opinions on the ongoing crisis in the region.

Muhammad recently complained about the lack of a Palestinian flag next to his name on the UFC’s official website, and Dana White made sure that the issue was addressed immediately. Muhammad thanked White and the UFC for now adding the flag next to his name on the website. “Remember the Name” also noted that White, a strong advocate of free speech, never lets anyone influence his opinions.

“Just wann…

Mauricio Ruffy’s spot among post-fight bonus winners was secured long before UFC 313 concluded.

Ruffy received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a highlight-reel finish of Bobby Green in their featured lighweight encounter on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Fight Nerds standout put his opponent to sleep at 2:07 into the opening round, landing a spinning wheel kick that will likely wind up on many “Knockout of the Year” lists when all is said and done. It was just the 16th knockout by spinning kick in UFC history.

Elsewhere, Ignacio Bahamondes garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for making short work of Jalin Turner in another featured lightweight pairing. Turner took top position early in the bout, but eventually he found himself trapped in a triangle choke. Turner tapped out 2:29 into Round 1, giving Bahamondes his third consecutive first-round finish.

Finally, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev earned “Fi…

Magomed Ankalaev stared into the eyes of a Brazilian boogeyman and did not blink.

Relentless forward pressure, clubbing power punches and a suffocating clinch game spurred Ankalaev to a unanimous decision over Alex Pereira, as he captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown in the UFC 313 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three members of the judiciary sided with Ankalaev (20-1-1, 12-1-1 UFC): 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

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Pereira (12-3, 9-2 UFC) invested heavily in kicks to the lower lead leg, and they seemed to pay dividends initially. However, Ankalaev connected with the most impactful strike of the match near the end of the second round, where he staggered the champion with a clean left hook. Pereira survived but looked uncharacteristically gun-shy as the bout progressed. A closely contested third round gave way to a lopsided fourth for Ankalaev, who trapped “Poatan” along the fence in a dominee…

Sherdog's live UFC 313 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Santos (-192), Diaz (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gutierrez (-110), Castaneda (-110)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS:…