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Conor McGregor’s potential return to the Octagon continues to be a confusing saga.

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The biggest star in the history of the sport hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in a trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier at UFC264 in July 2021. While it’s been a while since he has fully recovered, McGregor has recently spent most of his time promoting his acting debut in the “Road House” remake.

Although “Notorious” finally returned to the promotion’s drug testing pool this past October, his Octagon appearance continues to be pushed back without any clear explanation.

McGregor has been targeting a return to action during International Fight Week in June and a subsequent clash at the UFC’s mega event at the Sphere on Mexican Independence Day in September. However, the Irishman has alluded to a lack of communication from the promotion's side, leading to ambiguity about his future.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did call for that also that would be great for me, June 29 …

Robert Whittaker wants a title eliminator booking after defeating a version of Paulo Costa that he believe would have beaten a lot of elite middleweights.

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Costa hadn’t fought since August 2022 going into his UFC 298 booking against Whittaker last month. In his most recent appearance, “Borrachinha” had bounced back from a two-fight skid with a bizarre decision win over Luke Rockhold, who returned to action after a three-year hiatus. While there was a lot of speculation about how Costa would fare against Whittaker, the former champ was preparing for the best version of his opponent to show up. And show up he did, as the Brazilian put on a valiant effort in going the distance against “Bobby Knuckles” despite coming up on the short side of a unanimous decision.

According to Whittaker, Costa put on the best performance of his career at UFC 298.

“I’m in the gym multiple times a day training for the absolute version of Paulo Costa and unfortunately, …

Marlon Vera has alleged that Sean O'Malley’s head was “extremely greasy,” making it tough for him to get a hold of “Sugar” during their bantamweight title fight earlier this month.

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O’Malley thoroughly outclassed “Chito” in the main event at UFC 299 on March 9 to successfully defend his title via unanimous decision.

“Chito” claims there were other factors at play behind him not being able to turn the bout into a dogfight. According to the Ecuadorian, O’Malley’s braided hair was too greasy for him to get a hold of in the clinch. Having sported braided hair in the past, Vera noted that the UFC person in charge uses just water as opposed to normal salons that use a large amount of gel.

While the former title challenger gave credit to “Suga” for his performance, he didn’t shy away from mentioning his observation regarding O'Malley’s hair. Vera also acknowledged that it might have been unintentional on the part of the reigning bantamweight champio…

The stars came out to honor Ricardo Liborio over the weekend.

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Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Arona, João Alberto Barreto, Reyson Gracie, Carlos Rosado, Fernando Pinduka and Arthur Virgílio Netto were among more than 50 jiu-jitsu and vale tudo legends that convened at Brazilian Top Team headquarters in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday to attend the coral belt (seventh degree black belt) graduation of Liborio. Liborio is considered to be among the top three most technical black belts ever taught by the legendary Carlson Gracie.

According to jiu-jitsu tradition, coral belts are only awarded to masters who have been active black belts for more than 30 years.

“It´s hard to express what I’m feeling right now with many generations of jiu-jitsu joining in this special moment,” Liborio told Sherdog.com shortly after receiving his coral belt. “From legends like João Alberto Barreto, who defended jiu-jitsu side by side with my master Carlson; my idols when I star…

A temporary setback didn’t stop Mark Coleman for long on his road to recovery.

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The UFC Hall of Famer was readmitted to the hospital with pneumonia over the weekend after rescuing his parents from a house fire in Ohio last week. He was initially hospitalized in critical condition due to severe smoke inhalation as a result of the fire. Coleman has since been released from the hospital again and continues to make progress in his recovery.

“I am healing up very well,” Coleman wrote on Instagram. “My lungs are sore. My eyes are burnt but I’m very much alive and well. I feel so blessed it’s in my higher power’s hands. He wants me to move forward today and I am. I’m overwhelmed by the love and support that I have received. If I had a wish, it would be that I could meet each and every one of you to give you a big hug and thank you in person. Everybody check in on your loved ones. Life is good. Life is what you make it. Everything starts with a thought. …

Petr Yan may have returned to the win column at UFC 299, but the Russian bantamweight didn’t emerge from the event unscathed.

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The former UFC champion revealed on social media Monday that he will need to undergo surgery for a ruptured ACL, torn meniscus and groin injury suffered in his unanimous decision victory over Yadong Song on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. “No Mercy” is scheduled to go under the knife on Tuesday.

“Nothing will break me,” Yan wrote. “I’m determined to come back stronger than ever in no time.”

So MRI confirmed acl rupture, meniscus tear and groin injury. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. Nothing will break me, I’m determined to come back stronger than ever in no time 👊🏼

— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 18, 2024

A timetable for Yan’s UFC return is currently unclear. The former Absolute Championship Berkut title holder shook off a slow start to rally for a unanimous verdict ove…

Ovince St. Preux revealed that Kennedy Nzechukwu’s lack of one-shot knockout power gave him the confidence to keep going forward during their UFC Fight Night 239 clash on Saturday.

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St. Preux put on an impressive showing, using forward pressure to derail Nzechukwu’s excellent distance management on his way to a hard-earned split decision win. After getting tagged by punches early, St. Preux knew he had to put his opponent on his heels. Without the fear of a one-punch KO, “OSP” didn’t hesitate before biting down on his mouthpiece and marching forward.

“I couldn’t give him the chance to go forward,” St. Preux said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “The thing about me is, I do good going backwards, I can fight going backwards. If you put Kennedy on his heels, he don’t do too good going backwards. But also too, with him, if you get him going, he can start letting his hands go. And there was a couple of times he started letting his hand go, I w…

Isaac Dulgarian accuses Christian Rodriguez of cheating pic.twitter.com/2MezwGR9AZ

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) March 17, 2024

Isaac Dulgarian has hurled some serious accusations at UFC Fight Night 239 opponent Christian Rodriguez after their featherweight bout on Saturday.

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Dulgarian came out with guns blazing, ragdolling Rodriguez to win a 10-8 first round on all of the judges’ scorecards. While “The MidWest Choppa” continued his dominant grappling in the second frame, mounting over four minutes of control time, two of the judges bizarrely gave the round to Rodriguez.

Dulgarian was visibly exhausted in the final round, which Rodriguez went on to win 10-8 across all scorecards, securing a split-decision victory. Dulgarian feels he was unfairly dealt the first pro loss of his career.

“Hey guys, I appreciate the support man. I don’t really know what happened in this fight,” Dulgarian said in a video on his Instagram Sto…

Ange Loosa insists that an eye poke from Bryan Battle left him unable to continue in their co-headlining clash at UFC Fight Night 239 on Saturday.

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Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa before an unintentional eye poke from “The Butcher” brought the contest to a halt in the second round. Loosa told the cageside doctor that he couldn’t see, which led to the fight being declared a no contest.

Tensions ran high inside the Octagon, as Battle accused Loosa of quitting, insisting that the Congolese fighter could see with his eye. “The Last Ninja” has since addressed the situation, and he claims to still be dealing with his eye injury.

“[The UFC] wants to send me to an ophthalmologist,” Loosa told MMAjunkie.com. “I have to see another one back in Florida. We will check and see what’s going on, but I feel like there’s something inside [my eye]. It’s itchy and hurting a little bit. We’ll check the eye and see how it goes from there.”

Battl…

IT'S OFFICIAL! Former UFC executive, @MrMarshallZ returns as new CEO of GLORY, the world leader in kickboxing, and will usher in the next phase of continued growth for GLORY.

Full article: https://t.co/F6IaeMcBQT

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) March 18, 2024

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship executive Marshall Zelaznik is returning to Glory Kickboxing for a second stint as the organization’s CEO.

Glory announced the news in a release on Monday. Zelaznik previously served as the promotion’s CEO from 2018 to 2020. During his initial tenure, Glory grew its television distribution and increased sponsorship revenues to “record highs,” according to a release. Zelaznik’s time with Glory was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Marshall’s return is what Glory needs, and we are delighted to have him back. He is the perfect fit for Glory. His track record over the years in combat sports and business speaks for itse…

This was me for years before Conor even got here they want u to die before u get out these contracts it’s up to u to make something pop no one gonna help you but youFree Conor it’s at pattys day in this bitch ☘️ pic.twitter.com/X4WQVNV79X

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 17, 2024

Nate Diaz has found some common ground with former rival Conor McGregor: The oppressive nature of Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

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In recent months, McGregor has expressed frustration with the lack of progress in booking a fight for his UFC return. While the former two-division champion initially announced June 29 for his comeback fight, UFC CEO Dana White denied McGregor’s claim and instead has tentatively targeted the fall without offering any concrete details.

“I was hoping for a December date, then a January date, then it keeps getting pushed back, then I lose interest and stop training for a while,” McGregor recently told The M…

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Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall came face-to-face for the first time over the weekend.

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Jones was making an appearance at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England, on Saturday, when Aspinall arrived to meet the reigning heavyweight champ. The interaction was largely amicable, though Jones did remove Aspinall’s hand from his shoulder. Aspinall posted a video of the meeting on his YouTube channel.

“Are we going to do this thing?” Aspinall says.

“I would hope so,” Jones responds.

While Jones did grant Aspinall’s request for a photo, he declined a face-off with the interim heavyweight title holder. Aspinall claimed the interim crown with a first-round stoppage of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 this past November. Since then, the Englishman has lobbied hard for a shot at Jones. It’s unclear when Jones vs. Aspinall might happen because “Bones” is expected to be rebooked against Stipe Miocic once he recovers from the torn pec…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your updated 2024 PFL Welterweights roster set to bring the action in the Windy City on April 19th

-Kyle Crutchmer is OUT-Brennan Ward is in the 2024 #PFLRegularSeason pic.twitter.com/4lJXj3gUp3

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 17, 2024

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There’s a new entrant at welterweight for the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Bellator MMA staple Brennan Ward will replace Kyle Crutchmer and face Don Madge in a 170-pound bout at PFL 3 on April 19. The organization announced the change on Sunday. A reason for Crutchmer’s withdrawal from the event was not given. Ward is now expected to take part in the entirety of PFL’s season format.

PFL 3 takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and features welterweight and featherweight athletes. The card is headlined by a clash between ex-Bellator champ Andrey Koreshkov and undefeated Bellator veteran Magomed Umalatov.

The 35-year-old Ward has competed under the Bellator …

Mark Coleman continues to battle health issues after rescuing his parents from a house fire at his childhood home in Fremont, Ohio, last week.

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According to a post from his daughter, Kenzie, on Coleman’s social media accounts, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ was recently readmitted to the hospital after developing pneumonia.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week,” she wrote on Saturday. “Yesterday, my dad was released from [St. Vincents] in Toledo, where they thought he was stable enough to go home. We were only home for about an hour in Columbus when he started to have numbness in his arms and chest pain. Of course, my sister and I rushed him back to the hospital where we found out he has now developed pneumonia.

“Despite all of this he is still his same positive, spunky, spitfire self just as you can imagine from the video above. He wants to again thank you all for the support and love you have shown him and us during th…

Marcin Tybura hasn’t completely shut the door on fighting Jairzinho Rozenstruik after submitting Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 239.

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Tybura headlined card opposite “Bam Bam,” which also marked the Polish heavyweight’s fourth outing at the UFC Apex. Tybura maintained his perfect Apex record by submitting Tuivasa in the first round after surviving an early onslaught. Tybura got the finish with a rear-naked choke after raining down a barrage of punches on Tuivasa. Tybura admitted to being surprised by the Australian’s durability during the post-fight press conference.

“For sure, the toughness,” Tybura said. “I was on his back and hitting hard there. I don’t know how many punches [that was], but I was feeling like [they were] pretty heavy. And he didn’t care about them at all. He didn’t look like that’ll be changing anything for him, he’ll be still here defending himself. But I knew he’s very tough. I knew he’d be there til the end, til I make him qui…

Bryan Battle is certain Ange Loosa wanted a way out of their UFC Fight Night 239 clash.

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Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa in the evening’s co-headliner before an accidental eye poke by “Pooh Bear” brought the contest to a halt in Round 2. Seemingly in agony, Loosa told the cageside doctor that his vision was impaired, leading the fight to end in an unfortunate no contest.

A few heated words were exchanged between both parties inside the Octagon before security intervened. Battle accused Loosa of quitting in his post-fight Octagon interview and reiterated the accusation during the post-fight press conference. Battle admitted that he had initiated the exchange of words. Based on his previous experience with eye pokes, “The Ultimate Fighter 29” middleweight winner is certain that Loosa’s vision wasn’t completely impaired.

“What triggered the argument is I looked at him and I called him a p—y. I knew it wasn’t that bad, I knew it w…

Following an impressive win over Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night 239, Mike Davis revealed how gaming helped him through a dark phase in life.

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Returning to action for the first time since October 2022, “Beast Boy” picked up an second-round submission win over Israel’s Levy in the evening’s featured preliminary bout. Davis subsequently reflected on his love for gaming, even plotting a post-retirement gaming podcast.

Davis named “The Last of Us’”and “Hell Divers” as his current favorite games. However, Davis also mentioned that “Halo” saved his life.

“I like ‘The Last of Us.’ But the game that saved my life was ‘Halo.’ And what am I playing right now? A little bit mixture of everything, but come, on it’s ‘Hell Divers’ – for democracy,” Davis said during a media scum. (video via MMAjunkie.com)

Davis shared intimate details about his childhood in New York, where he was bullied for being Black. The bullying took a toll on him to the point wher…

Marcin Tybura earned some extra income for his first submission victory in nearly a decade.

The Polish heavyweight received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his submission of Tai Tuivasa in the UFC Fight Night 239 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Tuivasa landed some heavy strikes early, but once the fight hit the canvas it was all Tybura, as the M-1 Global veteran unloaded with ground-and-pound before submitting his foe with a rear-naked choke at the 4:08 mark of Round 1. It was Tybura’s first submission triumph since November 2014.

Elsewhere, Macy Chiasson garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for her second submission win over Pannie Kianzad. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner threatened with multiple submissions before eliciting a tap with a rear-naked choke — the same move she used to vanquish Kianzad at the “TUF 28” finale — 3:54 into round one of their featured bantamweight clash.

Meanwhile, Jafel Filho po…

Marcin Tybura exploited the lack of dimension in the game of his heavy-handed dance partner.

The former M-1 Global titleholder strengthened his claim as a Top 10 heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he rendered Tai Tuivasa unconscious with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 239 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tuivasa (14-7, 8-7 UFC) surrendered his grip on reality 4:08 into Round 1.

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Tybura (25-8, 12-7 UFC) walked through considerable fire. Tuivasa blasted him with a series of standing elbows, one of which opened a cut on his scalp. The 33-fight veteran kept his cool under duress, closed the distance behind a one-two and completed a takedown. Tybura hammered away with sustained ground-and-pound and patiently waited for an opening to present itself. Tuivasa chose to go belly down and exposed his neck in the process. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place.

The 30-year-old Tuiv…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Apex Facility in Las Vegas for the fifth time in 2024, presenting a solid card built around a heavyweight clash between ranked contenders Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura. Sherdog.com brings you live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment at UFC Fight Night 239, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement.

Tuivasa, who turns 31 on fight day, enters the bout on a three-fight skid and has been finished in each of those contests. Before that, he amassed five straight victories with five finishes, his best UFC run so far, and will be driven to reclaim his explosive edge. Meanwhile, Tybura registers a 7-2 mark over his last nine fights leading up to the clash against the Australian heavy-hitter. He was last seen inside the Octagon against interim-heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, succumbing in Round 1 via TKO.

Stay tuned to Sherdog.com at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT for live play-by-play coverage and immerse yo…

Mike Davis re-introduced himself to the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division after a 17-month layoff, and the statement he made could not have been much more profound.

The impressive Fusion X-Cel standout showcased his all-terrain skills before he subdued Natan Levy with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 239 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Levy (8-2, 2-2 UFC), who missed weight for the bout by one pound, conceded defeat 1:43 into Round 2.

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Davis decked the Syndicate MMA product with a right hand—the impact appeared to break Levy’s nose—inside the first 30 seconds, moved to the back and controlled position for most of the opening stanza. The narrative did not shift much in the second round. There, Davis tripped the Israeli to the floor, set off a scramble and again transitioned to the back. He then floated to full mount, framed the arm-triangle and let his squeeze do the rest.<…

The UFC 301 lineup just received some much-needed star power.

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Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will come out of retirement to face Jonathan Martinez in a 135-pound clash on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. Ag.Fight was first to report the booking, and it was later confirmed by promotion broadcast partner ESPN. Aldo reportedly has one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

Regarded by many as the greatest featherweight of all-time, Aldo called it a career following a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 on Aug. 20, 2022. The Nova Uniao standout is 3-3 at bantamweight, with wins over the likes of Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font to his credit. Since stepping away from MMA, Aldo has competed three times in professional boxing.

Martinez will take a six-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Aldo. Most recently, the Factory X product defeated Adrian Yanez via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 230 this past Oc…

🔥🔥 The Martial Arts Festival of Midsummer 🔥🔥⚡️ Yogibo presents Super RIZIN.3 ⚡️

📅 7/28 (Sun)🏟 Saitama Super Arena

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The match we’ve all been waiting for… pic.twitter.com/tIMbwvP0tS — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 16, 2024

A featherweight grudge match will headline Super Rizin 3 when Mikuru Asakura squares off against Ren Hiramoto on July 28.

The Japanese promotion announced the booking on Saturday. In an added twist, the loser of the bout has promised to retire from MMA. Super Rizin 3 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. More bouts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

A former title holder in the Rings organization, Asakura has compiled a 17-4 mark since beginning his professional tenure in 2012. The Japan Top Team representative is 8-3 under the Rizin banner and is coming off a first-round submission defeat to Vugar Karamov at Super Rizin 2 last July.

Hiramoto ini…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has decided who will get the next crack at flyweight gold, and it will come as a surprise to many.

The promotion announced on Friday that Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) will be putting his flyweight strap on the line against Australia’s Steve Erceg (12-1) at UFC 301. The 125-pound championship affair will not likely serve as its main event, although additional championship bouts or other matches that could be the headliner have not yet been announced. This will be Pantoja’s second attempted defense of his 125-pound title while serving as the first time he has competed in his home country of Brazil since joining the promotion in 2017.

Pantoja has pounded through the flyweight ranks since 2021, stringing together five wins over elite opposition to get him a title shot in 2023. At UFC 290, “The Cannibal” rematched former foe Brandon Moreno and captured a split decision to go up 3-0 over Moreno, including an encounter on the 24th season of “The…