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I asked to fight Oliveira, but he called out Colby instead. Guy who only fights once a year and is 2-3 since 2019.

We thought you were better than that, @CharlesDoBronxs . You know I’ll give you fire on the ground… but maybe that’s why you’d rather fight Colby..

— Mateusz Gamrot (@gamer_mma) May 22, 2024 Mateusz Gamrot believes Charles Oliveira is avoiding a showdown with him.

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“Gamer” Gamrot (24-2) has repeatedly called out former titleholder Oliveira (34-10), most recently when “do Bronx” revealed that he’s eyeing a return in July or August. The Brazilian mentioned his unwillingness to fight down the rankings at this stage in his career, dismissing a potential pairing with Gamrot. Instead, he offered to be the backup for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 and later expressed interest in a welterweight matchup against Colby Covington.

Not entirely thrilled, Gamrot took a shot at the former lig…

PFL/Bellator Official Fighter Roster Update pic.twitter.com/HNZjwBy0g1

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 23, 2024 After 10 appearances under the Bellator MMA banner, former titleholder Gegard Mousasi is moving on.

The 38-year-old recently appeared on The MMA Hour, claiming that he has not been offered fights since the Professional Fighters League purchased Bellator at the end of the year. The PFL stated in April that Mousasi had been offered a fight at light heavyweight, but Mousasi did not accept. On Thursday, PFL and Bellator jointly announced through Mike Kogan, Bellator’s Head of Fighter Operations, that Mousasi had been released from his deal, while noting, “We wish him all the best in his next fighting chapter.”

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce talent told The MMA Hour on Wednesday that before Bellator was purchased, he had signed a new contract worth “a couple million [dollars].” He also stated that a po…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship preserved its high-stakes co-main event with a rising star making a quick turnaround.

At UFC 303 on June 29, former champ Jamahal Hill (12-2) was expected to face Khalil Rountree in the co-headlining spot. Rountree was forced out of the contest due to a failed drug test, and he was issued a reduced suspension of two months plus anything the Nevada State Athletic Commission will add. In Rountree’s stead will be surging New Zealand-based force Carlos Ulberg (10-1), with news of him serving as the replacement breaking from the New Zealand Herald on Thursday. The pairing has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Hill is looking to rebound from a concussive defeat at the hands of Alex Pereira at UFC 300, where he fell short to reclaim his former belt. Hill snatched the vacant throne against Glover Teixeira in early 2023, capping off a four-fight win streak where he prevailed over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos on hi…

A heavyweight clash pitting Michael Parkin against Lukasz Brzeski is among three new additions to the UFC 304 bill.

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Additionally, Caolan Loughran will face Ramon Taveras at bantamweight, while Shauna Bannon will meet Ravena Oliveira in a women’s 135-pound scrap. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced all three bookings on Wednesday.

UFC 304 takes place on July 27 in Manchester, England, and is headlined by a welterweight championship bout between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall will defend his interim heavyweight belt against Curtis Blaydes.

Parkin is undefeated in nine professional fights, a run that includes three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Dana White's Contender Series alum outpointed Mohammed Usman at UFC on ESPN 53 on March 23. Parkin also owns UFC triumphs over Caio Machado and Jamal Pogues.

Brzeski, meanwhile, snapped a four-bout winless streak in his last outing, as he took a th…

“The Ultimate Fighter 23” winner Andrew Sanchez is a new addition to the PFL 5 card in Salt Lake City on June 21.

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Sanchez will replace Laurynas Urbonavicious and face Karl Albrektsson in a light heavyweight bout at the event. The PFL recently announced the change. The organization also confirmed two other bouts for the card: Anthony Romero vs. Sergio Cassio at lightweight and Brayan Zurcher vs. Julian Ruiz at featherweight.

PFL 5 takes place at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City and features the second batch of regular season bouts at light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a 155-pound clash pitting Clay Collard against Mads Burnell.

Sanchez made his promotional debut in June 2023, when he took a split-decision triumph against Taylor Johnson. “El Dirte” went 5-5 during a UFC stint from 2016 to 2021, earning notable victories over the likes of Khalil Rountree, Trevor Smith and Marc-Andre Barriault.

Sweden’s Albrek…

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) has handed Khalil Rountree a two-month suspension after the UFC light heavyweight tested positive for the anabolic steroid DHEA.

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The term was reduced because Rountree informed UFC officials that he may have ingested a banned substance while taking a dietary supplement. A biological sample was then sent to Sports Medicine Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, where tests confirmed the presence of DHEA metabolites in Rountree’s system.

“Rountree provided CSAD with shipping records, detailing that he received the supplement containing DHEA on May 2, 2024, just two days before he provided the May 4th sample,” read a statement from CSAD.

“Rountree also provided documentation from the owner of the clinic that sent him the supplement, reflecting that the company’s Brand Marketing Director sent Rountree some of the company’s ‘therapeutic blends’ supplements ‘without prior approval.’ The owner d…

Andre Lima will lock horns with Mitch Raposo in a flyweight clash at UFC 302.

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Raposo is a replacement opponent for Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, who was forced to withdraw from the event due to visa issues. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC 302 takes place on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.

Lima is coming off a memorable Octagon debut, where he defeated Igor da Silva via disqualification when his opponent bit him on the arm in the second round. “Mascote” subsequently received a $50,000 “Bite of the Night” bonus and got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion. The 25-year-old Brazilian is 8-0 as a professional, with victories in Dana White's Contender Series and Legacy Fighting Alliance to his credit.

Raposo has been a champion in both the Cage Titans and CES MMA promotions. His lone career defeat in 10 professional…

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Ilia Topuria wants to defend his title against Max Holloway and then fight Conor McGregor at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Spain.

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Topuria became the featherweight champion with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at Brian Ortega as an ideal opponent for his first title defense, “El Matador” has now changed his tune.

Topuria recently laid down a two-fight plan to first defend his strap against Holloway and then face McGregor in “the biggest fight in MMA history.” Topuria is plotting a fight against “Notorious” at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of football club Real Madrid, and expects it to shatter all records. The Spaniard also recently claimed to have a date for the UFC’s planned debut in his home country this year.

“So, I hope to defend the belt with Max Holloway and then I want to fight with Conor McGregor hopefully," Topuria told Sportskeeda MMA. "If he wins his upcoming fight, that’s the figh…

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Arman Tsarukyan isn’t counting out Dustin Poirier in his upcoming UFC 302 title fight against Islam Makhachev.

Poirier challenges Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC 302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Poirier previously suffered a submission loss in a foiled championship bid against Makhachev’s teammate and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019. Given the similarity of style between both Dagestanis, Poirier is a massive underdog heading into UFC 302.

Makhachev also arguably has developed a cleaner striking skillset than Nurmagomedov over the years. According to Makhachev, teammate and Bellator MMA lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov has better striking than Poirier. Regardless, Tsarukyan believes standing up against Poirier will be a dangerous game to play for Makhachev. While Tsarukyan expects Makhachev to successfully execute his obvious game plan against Poirier, the Armenian-Russ…

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Conor McGregor believes Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is a better place for former Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes than other mixed martial arts promotions.

McGregor Sports and Entertainment became part owner of BKFC earlier this year. Explaining his interest in the organization, McGregor said he sees the MMA promotions space as kind of saturated with the UFC established as a clear industry leader.

According to McGregor, the BKFC is an entirely different space that generates more interest than rival MMA promotions of the UFC. McGregor noted that former UFC fighters fighting for rival MMA promotions often fail to generate much buzz. Compared to that, “Notorious” finds BKFC fights featuring UFC alums like Mike Perry, Eddie Alvarez and others much more entertaining.

“We’ve got the UFC as the premier mixed martial arts organization and the rest of them aren’t really anything right, let’s be real. The rest of them, their best events …

SAVANNAH’S MMA DEBUT OPPONENT IS SET! 👊

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Savannah Marshall vs. Mirela Vargas 🇧🇷 @Savmarshall1 makes her MMA debut in the PFL SmartCage on Saturday 8th June at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England!

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The undisputed world champion boxer makes the transition to mixed martial… pic.twitter.com/R8ItF86oqf — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 26, 2024

Despite Savannah Marshall’s impressive boxing pedigree, Mirela Vargas believes her mixed martial arts experience will give her an edge over the Englishwoman in their upcoming fight.

Marshall (0-0) and Vargas (1-2) are scheduled to headline PFL Europe 2 on June 8 at the Utilitia Arena in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England. While the bout will mark Marshall’s pro MMA debut, the undisputed female super middleweight boxing champ is being considered a sizeable favorite.

However, Vargas plans on showing the world that elite boxing skills may not be necessarily be enough …

Credit: Bellator MMA

Despite his mother’s recent death, Dylan Tuke isn’t pulling out of the upcoming PFL Europe 2 card.

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Tuke (7-4) is scheduled to co-headline PFL Europe 2 against Kane Mousah (14-6) on June 8 at the Utilitia Arena in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England. The Irish prospect was struck by tragedy weeks prior as his mother passed away.

However, “The Nuke” refused to pull out of his upcoming fight and recently explained his decision. According to Tuke, his mother, who introduced him to mixed martial arts, would have probably slapped him if he didn’t give his opponent the fight he promised and definitely wouldn’t have wanted him to miss the opportunity of fighting on such a big stage.

“So, my mother was a flowing [jiu-jitsu] woman herself. She was a black belt in her own right. And we promised Kane Mousah a knock and in three weeks me and him are gonna have a knock,” Tuke said during the PFL Europe 2 media day.

“So, she’d probably h…

The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix is BACK — bigger and better than ever 🤩 Which ONE athlete deserves a shot? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/3UGEf9dDxb

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 21, 2024

ONE Championship will hold a featherweight world grand prix kickboxing tournament later this year, the Singapore-based promotion confirmed on Tuesday.

According to a source close to the situation, Chingiz Allazov, Superbon Singha Mawynn, Marat Grigorian, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Masaaki Noiri and Tawanchai P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym are all candidates to participate. Additionally, Giorgio Petrosyan, who is still under ONE contract, is tentatively slated to compete in the tournament.

A date and location for the event have yet to be announced.

ONE previously held a featherweight grand prix that begain in 2021 and concluded in March 2022. In the finals of the bracket, Allazov took a hard-fought three-round verdict over Sitsongpe…

Stamp Fairtex has been forced to withdraw from the ONE Championship 167 headliner after suffering a torn meniscus in training.

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According to the Singapore-based promotion, Fairtex underwent surgery for the injury and will not be defending her atomweight (115-pound) belt against Denice Zamboanga as originally planned. Zamboanga is expected to remain on the card against an as yet to be announced opponent. Fairtex was also slated to meet ONE strawweight (125-pound) queen Jingnan Xiong on Sept. 6 in Denver, but that bout is also “in question,” according to the promotion.

Fairtex revealed how the injury occurred in a release issued by ONE Championship.

“My sparring partner was behind me, and she was going to take me down. She grabbed my body and lifted me up, but since she is smaller than me, when she lifted me up, she couldn’t lift me that high, and my leg was still touching the ground,” Fairtex said.

“Then, she twisted. When she twisted, m…

Savannah Marshall prepares to make her MMA debut in less than four weeks time 👀#PFLNewcastle | Saturday 8th June | Utilita Arena, Newcastle | Tickets on SALE NOW! 🔗 in bio | LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/JD50b8958U

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) May 13, 2024

Savannah Marshall didn’t necessarily expect to get such a big stage for her professional mixed martial arts debut.

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Thanks to a background as a boxing champion, her signing with Professional Fighters League was met with some measure of fanfare. However, Marshall would have been willing to pay her dues on an undercard in her first MMA foray. But that’s not how things turned out: Marshall will headline PFL Europe 2 on June 8 when she faces Mirela Vargas at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England.

“It's amazing for me, and I'm extremely grateful for the PFL to give me this opportunity,” Marshall said on a media call. “I remember a couple of months ago and they were talking…

#BREAKING - A Waco-area MMA coach is accused of sexually abusing a girl he was training over a three year period, an affidavit states. INFO: https://t.co/QO5jWq34GN pic.twitter.com/O1P9ipCrJs

— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) May 20, 2024

Jacob Brennan, the husband and coach of UFC fighter Hailey Cowan, has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a minor.

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According to a report from KWTX 10, Brennan was arrested and booked into McLennan County (Texas) Jail on May 19 after a woman accused him of touching her inappropriately between 2013 and 2015. The victim was 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, while Brennan was 30. Brennan has been charged with indecency with a child with sexual contact, a second-degree felony in Texas that carries a sentence between two and 20 years.

Brennan, who is now 40, is the owner of Next Generation MMA/Blitz MMA in Waco. According to an affidavit, the victim told investigators that Brenna…

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Cage Warriors featherweight Connor Hitchens.

The entire CW family extends heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.

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RIP 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ilwcAwQJsK — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) May 21, 2024

One-time Cage Warriors Fighting Championship featherweight Connor Hitchens has died at 26 years old.

The European promotion confirmed the news in a post on social media on Tuesday. International Mixed Martial Arts Federation president Kerrith Brown also issued a statement on Hitchens’ passing. The cause of Hitchens’ death was not revealed.

''On behalf of the entire International Mixed Martial Arts Federation we are deeply saddened by the passing of Connor Hitchens,” Brown stated. “We are forever grateful to Connor for his time on the IMMAF platform and proudly representing the UK national team as a distinguished athlete at the European and World C…

Tamires Vidal’s technical knockout loss to Melissa Gatto at UFC Fight Night 241, which occurred as a result of a punch to the breast, has sparked a debate in women’s MMA.

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Tainara Lisboa, who was part of the UFC Fight Pass Brasil commentary team for the event, noted that the rules are the same for men and women — which means there is no foul for blows to the breasts. However, Lisboa pointed out that such strikes could cause the appearance of nodules, which lead to breast cancer.

The need for debate gained even more traction after reporter Evelyn Rodrigues' post-fight with Melissa Gatto.

“Studying for the fight I noticed that she felt a lot of pain with punches to the breast in some previous fights, so I made a point of asking the referee, when he came to my locker room before the fight, if I hit the area it would be a foul, and he made it clear that it would not be an illegal [strike],” Gatto said. “The referee himself clarified that if I hit he…

Islam Makhachev believes teammate Usman Nurmagomedov is a better striker than upcoming opponent Dustin Poirier.

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Makhachev is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Since he’s in the same weight class, Bellator MMA lightweight champ Nurmagomedov is one of Makhachev’s chief sparring partners in camp.

While Nurmagomedov couldn’t join the rest of the team until recently, Makhachev revealed that the undefeated Bellator champ gave him some solid rounds as soon as they sparred. The reigning lightweight champion heaped praise on his teammate, also labeling him a better striker than Poirier.

“Usman, honestly always give me good rounds,” Makhachev said on the "Weighing In" podcast. “After he was sick and he just come back two days ago. We [rest of the team] are one week here. When he feel like better, right away he come to support me. And today he…

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American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez believes Conor McGregor hasn’t been the same since fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Islam Makhachev recently expressed interest in facing McGregor, backtracking on his previous stance. Asked about the reason behind Makhachev’s interest in McGregor, Mendez, who has coached both Makhachev and Nurmagomedov at AKA, stated the obvious: a massive payday and instant stardom.

“Massive fight, massive amount of money. And at the end of the day when you’re a champion, when you’re a prize fighter, you fight for the prize, the money,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “So, it’s a massive fight for Islam, it will bring up his stock tremendously. Conor definitely brings that to the table regardless of whether you like him or don’t like him.”

While Makhachev is open to fighting McGregor, the lightweight champ is extremely dismissive of the Irishman, who he believes is well past his prime., Mendez al…

Colby Covington can get on anyone’s nerves, and that includes UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

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Covington landed himself a title shot against Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023. Known for crossing limits with his trash talk, Covington insulted Edwards’ late father at the pre-fight press conference.

Edwards was admittedly affected by the comments but successfully maintained his composure to put on a lopsided beating against Covington en route to a unanimous decision victory. “Rocky” revealed that he looked for Covington backstage immediately following the press conference to slap him. However, the American was nowhere to be found, potentially having been escorted out by security personnel.

“Yeah [I looked for him backstage]. But they moved him, I don’t know where he went but he weren’t backstage at all,” Edwards said on "The MMA Hour.” “I feel like the security took him away and I don’t know where they put him, but he was somewhere… S…

A matchup of welterweight prospects has been added to the UFC 304 card.

Oban Elliott (10-2) will trade leather against Preston Parsons (11-4) at UFC 304 on July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The matchup was first reported by MMA Orbit and later confirmed by Elliott on social media. The card will be headlined by Leon Edwards putting his welterweight title on the line against Belal Muhammad.

Elliott earned a Dana White’s Contender Series opportunity by racking up a four-fight winning streak in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Elliott earned a majority decision win over Kaik Brito on the Contender Series in August 2023 to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. “The Welsh Gangster” made his promotional debut against Valentine Woodburn at UFC 298 this past February, where he survived an early knockdown to come from behind and rack up a unanimous decision win.

Meanwhile, Parsons suffered a first-round knockout loss against Dan…

Two heavyweight bouts have undergone changes heading into the second leg of Professional Fighters League’s 2024 season.

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Daniel James has withdrawn from a proposed bout against Tyrell Fortune at PFL 4 on June 13. As a result, Marcelo Golm will step in and face Fortune in a regular season bout at heavyweight. Meanwhile, Oleg Popov will now face Davion Franklin after original foe Marcelo Nunes pulled out of their clash on the same card. Sherdog.com confirmed the updated heavyweight bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

PFL 4 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and features regular season bouts at heavyweight and women’s flyweight. In the evening’s main event, Valentin Moldavsky will square off against Linton Vassell.

Fortune and James were supposed to meet at PFL 1 before Fortune withdrew from the event. Fortune was also previously slated to lock horns with Golm at Bellator 301…

After losing his first opponent, Sharabutdin Magomedov will now face Joilton Lutterbach at UFC Saudi Arabia.

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“Shara Bullet” was originally scheduled to meet Ihor Potieria at the June 22 event, but the Ukrainian middleweight accepted a short-notice bout against Michel Pereira at UFC 301 and would not have been cleared in time to compete again. The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announce the new booking in a release. UFC on ABC 6 takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Magomedov is unbeaten in 12 professional outings over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2017. He enjoyed a successful Octagon debut at UFC 294, as he outpointed Bruno Silva in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 21.

A veteran of 48 pro MMA bouts, Lutterbach will take a four-fight winning streak into his promotional debut. The 31-year-old German has compiled a 38-9 mark with one …