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Alexander Volkanovski has no shortage of motivation heading into his latest title defense at UFC 298.

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Not only is the City Kickboxing standout coming off back-to-back losses to reigning lightweight king Islam Makhachev, but he will be facing a dangerous, undefeated challenger in Ilia Topuria. If he had gotten his way, Volkanovski would have faced Topuria even sooner.

“The good thing is about someone like that, I’m always trying to fight or find a No. 1 guy. A clear contender for me to face in this featherweight division and Ilia is it, right?” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “He was the next, it’s clear. They signed the date. I actually wanted him straight after Yair [Rodriguez at UFC 290]. I told him come jump the fence and get a faceoff because he was undefeated. I didn’t want anyone else fighting him. I wanted to make sure I got a young, hungry undefeated guy that’s got hype around him.

“He likes to talk. So, i…

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Longtime coach Eric Albarracin was not a part of Henry Cejudo’s camp ahead of the former two-division champion’s fight with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

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Cejudo parted ways with Albarracin, who has been his coach since before his MMA career began, on an episode of the UFC “Countdown” show. It was unclear exactly when that particular episode was filmed.

“You were with me for my last Olympic trials, and you’ve been there for me, but as of right now, I just want to let you know that for this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches – and that’s you included,” Cejudo said to Albarracin.

At least on camera, Albarracin seemed to take his dismissal in stride.

“The goal has always been the same, for you to be the greatest combat athlete of all-time,” Albarracin said. “To me, that was a dream come true.”

Cejudo, meanwhile, commended the coach for his classy response.

“This is why this man is the GOAT coach — the m…

Joe Pyfer’s response to his loss at #UFCVegas86 pic.twitter.com/krginPS7PH

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) February 11, 2024

Joe Pyfer has come a long way since badly dislocating his elbow on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2020.

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Pyfer recovered from that injury to author a five-bout winning streak that included three finishes in UFC competition, a run that led to him to a headlining spot opposite Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 236 on Saturday night. Relying on a stiff jab, increasingly effective leg kicks and a solid gas tank, Hermansson derailed Pyfer’s momentum with a unanimous decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The tide truly began to turn in Round 3, when “The Joker” rocked his opponent with a hard jab. Pyfer admitted that he was never able to fully recover from that point forward.

“I’m OK, despite how my face looks,” Pyfer said in a video on his Instagram stories. “I wasn’t rocked. I got …

Sometimes when two close friends square off in the cage, it makes for a less-than-stellar product on fight night.

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That wasn’t the case in the UFC Fight Night 236 co-main event, where Dan Ige authored a vicious knockout of friend and onetime training partner Andre Fili at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Ige floored his opponent with a massive overhand right and then left no doubt with one final standing-to-ground shot to earn a knockout victory 2:43 into Round 1.

For Ige, it was just business.

“I love Andre, man. He’s like one of my most favorite people in this fight game,” Ige said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I couldn’t let that get in the way of the business. That’s just how it goes sometimes. You fight people you like. I knew if I went in there and was his friend in there, he would have had much more success. I had to go in there and have some mean intentions, and I got it done.”

While Ige and Fili have trained together in …

It can be painfully obvious when the Ultimate Fighting Championship elects to put its promotional muscle behind one of its up-and-coming athletes.

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That was the case heading into UFC Fight Night 236, when Dana White’s Contender Series alum Joe Pyfer appeared to be the focal point of the card. Jack Hermansson, Pyfer’s dance partner in Saturday’s middleweight headliner, was something of the forgotten man. That changed over the course of 25 minutes at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as “The Joker” refused to play the role of gatekeeper in a unanimous decision triumph against the heavily-hyped Pyfer.

“It definitely motivated me,” Hermansson said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I thought to myself, yeah after this fight people are gonna see that I’m no pushover and you can’t just get one of those younger guys in there and think they are just gonna run through me. I definitely took notice of it. It didn’t bother me too much, but of course it was some motivati…

Dan Ige lived up to his “50K” moniker in a major way on Saturday night.

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The Dana White's Contender Series alum pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” for his first-round knockout of Andre Fili in the UFC Fight Night 236 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Ige flattened his adversary with a massive right hand before sealing his victory with one emphatic standing-to-ground punch at the 2:43 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Rodolfo Vieira set a promotional record for arm-triangle choke victories with his submission of Armen Petrosyan in a featured middleweight affair. The Brazilian grappling ace made his foe tap 4:48 into the opening stanza, earning himself a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check in the process. Vieira now has four arm-triangle victories to his credit in UFC competition.

Carlos Prates had an Octagon debut to remember, pocketing a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a knockout victory against Trevin Giles …

Experience has no substitute.

Jack Hermansson dug in his heels and curbed some of the enthusiasm around one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division’s fastest-rising stars, as he took a unanimous decision from Joe Pyfer in their UFC Fight Night 236 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges saw it the same: 48-47 for Hermansson (24-8, 11-6 UFC).

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Pyfer (12-3, 3-1 UFC) managed to hold serve through two rounds with booming punches to the body and head. However, he started to unravel when those efforts failed to throw Hermansson off his scent. The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder battered Pyfer’s lower lead leg with crushing kicks and marked up his face with a piercing jab, seizing the reins with his guile and grit. Hermansson forced the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate onto his back foot, at which point he became far less aggressive and effective. Pyfer had little left in the tank…

This weekend's showdown at UFC Fight Night 236, set against the lonely backdrop of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, hopes to deliver an exciting spectacle, anchored by a compelling middleweight contest. Sherdog.com will bring you live play-by-play coverage of each moment starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon happenings.

Headlining the event is a showdown between seasoned campaigner Jack Hermansson and rising prospect Joseph Pyfer—a clash representing the enduring battle between seasoned expertise and the drive of youth.

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Hermansson, returning to the cage after a hiatus since December 2022, seeks to reassert his footprint in a division teeming with talent. Opposite him stands Pyfer, a product of the revered Dana White’s Contender Series, who has swiftly made his mark within the UFC ranks. With each outing, the Philadelphia native has showcased an arsenal of skills, culminating in a pivotal submission victory over…

Carlos Prates made his one shot count.

The Fighting Nerds welterweight broke into the Ultimate Fighting Championship win column in a successful promotional debut, as he punched out Trevin Giles in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 236 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Prates (18-6, 1-0 UFC) sealed the deal 4:03 into Round 2.

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Giles (16-6, 7-6 UFC) was in charge for a majority of the match. He blasted the Brazilian with jabs, cut loose with power punching combinations and zeroed in on the legs with kicks. While Prates answered with brutal stepping knees to the body, he appeared to be digging a two-rounds-to-none hole when lightning struck. He followed a jab with a clean straight left that sent Giles crashing to the canvas. No follow-up shots were required.

Prates will carry an eight-fight winning streak into his next assignment.

Meanwhile, former Atomic Fighting Championship titleholder Bolaji Oki rode a persiste…

Umar Nurmagomedov will welcome promotional newcomer Bekzat Almakhan to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 238.

Multiple outlets confirmed the bantamweight booking following an initial report from Frontkicked. UFC Fight Night 238 takes place on March 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash pitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik against Shamil Gaziev.

Nurmagomedov hasn’t competed since January 2023, when he scored a first-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos at UFC Fight Night 217. The 28-year-old Eagles MMA representative was scheduled to lock horns with Cory Sandhagen at UFC Nashville in August, but Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury. Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, stated on social media that it has been extremely difficult to find a willing opponent for the Dagestani standout. Nurmagomedov is 16-0 as a professional, with four of those coming in UFC competition.

Almakhan, meanwhile, has been victorious i…

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It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is covering all its bases in pursuit of a suitable headliner for its 300th event.

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During an interview with Submission Radio, Jones revealed that he was contacted by the promotion in the hopes that he might be healthy enough to compete in the main event of UFC 300. Jones, who was forced to withdraw from UFC 295 this past November due to a torn pectoral, also underwent elbow surgery earlier this year. “Bones” is expected to be rebooked against Miocic once he is fully healthy, but it won’t be at UFC 300.

“I got a call from Hunter Campbell, one of the head lawyers of the UFC, asking me, he said, ‘Jon I know it’s only nine weeks away but if there’s any chance that you’re feeling up to it, it’d be awesome news for the community that you’re coming back and headlining one of the biggest events ever.’ As honored as I am for the opportunity, I just don’t think I’ll be ready. I just don’t,…

Elijah Johns is the LFA featherweight champion! #AndNew 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CQCzAV4Vmz

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 10, 2024

Legacy Fighting Alliance now has a new featherweight champion.  

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Dallas, Texas, native Elijah Johns fought his way to a dominant unanimous decision victory against Alfred Walker in the LFA 176 main event for the vacant featherweight title on Friday at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix.  

While the second round was arguably close with Walker (11-7) managing to land a solid head kick-knee combo on his adversary, Johns’ (10-3) relentless takedowns and back control ultimately proved to be too much for “Freight Train” to handle.  

As the fight progressed, an exhausted Walker found himself on the canvas for the majority of the last three rounds, unable to land any offense on Johns. In the end, Johns walked away with the vacant featherweight title tha…

A bantamweight meeting between Joanderson Brito and Jack Shore has been added to UFC 301.

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The news was first reported by Octagon Update and later confirmed by Brito on Instagram.

Brito will look to add to his four-fight winning streak in the promotion against Shore. The Brazilian dropped his UFC debut against Bill Algeo in January 2022 but has looked incredible since then, having recorded finishes against the likes of Andre Fili, Lucas Alexander, and most recently, Jonathan Pearce at UFC Fight Night 232.

Meanwhile, Shore entered the UFC with an 11-0 record — including 10 finishes — and the Cage Warriors bantamweight championship to his name. The Welshman has gone 6-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a Round 2 submission victory over Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 286 in March.

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Vanessa Demopoulos (10-5) is set to make her seventh Octagon walk against Emily Ducote (13-8) at a UFC Fight Night Event scheduled to go down on May 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The strawweight bout was first reported by MMAjunkie.com. Other matchups for the Fight Night card are yet to be announced.

Demopoulos will enter the bout on the heels of a unanimous decis…

First to the scale this morning 💪@JackTheJokerMMA weighs in at 185lbs ahead of #UFCVegas86

[ LIVE on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/XiFySaPCo6

— UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its busy February with UFC Fight Night 236, which is now set after the official weigh-ins took place.

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Headlining the 14-fight card is a middleweight fight between Jack Hermansson and Joseph Pyfer. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round affair. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight except for Ihor Potieria, who came in over the middleweight limit at 187.5 pounds Potieria will be fined a percentage of his purse, which will go to opponent Robert Bryczek.

Hermansson (23-8) enters his fifth UFC main event having gone 2-2 in his last four fights. "The Joker" is looking to rebound from a TKO defeat to Roman Dolidze. The Swedish fighter holds key wins over Chris Curtis,…

Jason Jackson is the type of guy to make lemonade when handed lemons.

While most fighters would be annoyed by a late change in opponent, Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jackson was ecstatic to hear that he’d be facing Professional Fighters League star Ray Cooper III in place of the injured Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL vs. Bellator on Feb. 24.

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“The reason I got excited is because I believe [Cooper] is a way more complete fighter than Magomedkerimov,” Jackson said on the PFL vs. Bellator Media Call on Friday. “I strive on adversity, and I know what this guy can do. I look at him like a young Mike Tyson, so it makes me work even harder.”

Jackson is on the best run of his career, having won his last seven fights that culminated with the capture of the Bellator 170-pound crown. Jackson topped the likes of Benson Henderson, Paul Daley and Douglas Lima to get a crack at Yaroslav Amosov’s belt, and he unseated the unbeaten Ukrainian to win the throne a…

We've got a heavyweight battle headlining #UFCVegas87 😤@JairRozenstruik vs Shamil Gaziev

Get your VIP tickets here: https://t.co/cAUu6s8BsQ pic.twitter.com/hWp1kYNAw1

— UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2024 Heavyweight headliners are back on the menu for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2024.

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Ahead of UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2, an event famously moved from Saudi Arabia to Las Vegas due to a perceived lack of star power, a top matchup was on the docket between Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5) and Shamil Gaziev (12-0). The show did not have a main attraction Thursday when Eurosport NL reported that this heavyweight contest had been elevated to the main event. The promotion confirmed this booking would be on the top marquee on Friday.

Rozenstruik has struggled the last couple years, only managing one win—a 23-second knockout of Chris Daukaus—while suffering three defeats to Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov, and most recentl…

[embedded content] A flyweight clash featuring two Dana White’s Contender Series alums is now a part of UFC Fight Night 240.

Brazil’s Lucas Rocha (17-1) is set to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Jose Johnson (16-8) on April 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. News of the flyweight scrap was first reported by Super Lutas on Wednesday and later confirmed by Rocha on his Instagram Stories.

Currently on a six-fight win streak, “Fenomeno” earned a UFC contract by starching Davi Bittencourt with a knee and follow-up punches in an appearance on the 2023 season of DWCS. The 23-year-old has performed 14 of his 17 professional wins via stoppage, including 10 knockouts on his ledger.

Meanwhile, Johnson will drop to 135 pounds after a submission win over Chad Anheliger in late 2023. The triumph put him back in the win column after Da'Mon Blackshear hit a twister on him at UFC on ESPN 51 earlier in the year. “No Way Jose” made his way to the organization …

An intriguing clash pitting two veteran featherweights has been added to the UFC Atlantic City card next month.

Bill Algeo (18-7) is gearing up to face Canada’s Kyle Nelson (15-5-1) on the UFC on ESPN 54 lineup that will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s return to New Jersey. The bout on March 30 was first reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday, and it has since been confirmed by both fighters on their respective Instagram pages.

Algeo has gone 4-1 in his last five outings, only losing a hotly contested split decision against another grizzled vet in Andre Fili in September 2022. The American has won two straight, which includes a submission victory over T.J. Brown in April last year, followed by a unanimous decision over Alexander Hernandez in October.

Meanwhile, Nelson will look to add to his two-fight winning streak when facing Algeo. The Canadian finally seems to be gaining momentum after going 1-4 in his first five outings in the UFC. “The Monster” will enter…

Mark it down as an impressive first impression for Kazakbai Tilenov.

The Tiger Muay Thai rep excelled in his ONE Championship debut and disposed of Ivan Parshikov with punches in the third round of their 148-pound ONE Friday Fights 51 catchweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Tilenov (6-1, 1-0 ONE) drew the curtain 2:07 into Round 3, as he rebounded from a June 24 submission defeat to Sundet Aitkulov.

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Parshikov (11-5, 3-2 ONE) controlled the first round with repeated takedowns, steady ground-and-pound and bulletproof submission defense. However, his gas tank could not withstand the workload. Tilenov worked in concert with fatigue in Round 2, connected with a few spinning back elbows on the feet, sprawled into top position and eventually mounted the fading Russian twice. Parshikov survived but had nothing left for the third round. Tilenov followed an uppercut into half guard and unleashed punches, hammerfists and …

[embedded content] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter-turned-commentator Carlos Barreto believes Khabib Nurmagomedov could be a threat in multiple divisions if he came back.

On Jan. 30, manager Ali Abdelaziz posted on social media claiming that if Nurmagomedov (29-0) decided to come back to the UFC, he could rule the roost in three different weight classes. The renowned manager did mistake Israel Adesanya as the beltholder at 185 pounds instead of Dricus Du Plessis, but he pitched a 2024 schedule for Nurmagomedov to win in three divisions. First, Abdelaziz stated that Nurmagomedov would start at middleweight in April, move up to light heavyweight in July and then drop to 170 pounds in December to become the first simultaneous three-division champ in a major organization.

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This fantasy matchmaking against Adesanya, Alex Pereira and Leon Edwards, the manager claimed his fighter would be a “statistically bad nightmare for all these guys.”

UFC…

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The trend of last-minute fight cancellations continues in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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UFC Fight Night 236, which goes down at the promotion’s Apex facility on Feb. 10, has lost its third fight within a span of 24 hours.

As per a UFC announcement, Bosnia’s Damir Hadzovic (14-7) is out of a booking against Belgian debutant Bolaji Oki (8-1) due to visa issues and will be replaced by Dana White’s Conteder Series 2023 competitor Timothy Cuamba (8-1). “Twilight Timmy” is riding a five-fight win streak topped off by a stoppage win under the Tuff N Uff banner last week. On the other hand, Oki hasn’t lost a fight since his professional debut in 2018.

Meanwhile, a shoulder injury has forced middleweight prospect Tresean Gore (4-2) out of his booking against A.J. Dobson (7-2), which was scheduled for the prelims card of UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California. While Dobson teased new fight news soon, he is yet to find an…

Benoit St. Denis claims he had nothing to do with confusion regarding his upcoming Octagon clash with Dustin Poirier.

St. Denis (13-1) is scheduled to fight Poirier (29-8) for five rounds in the co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami.

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The booking suddenly appeared to be jeopardized when Poirier announced on social media that the fight was off. The drama ended with the promotion confirming that the fight was on within hours. Notably, “The Diamond” also confirmed the booking on X (formerly known as Twitter), blaming the confusion on “miscommunication.”

Poirier did not divulge much about what went on behind the scenes in a subsequent interview. Regardless, “The Diamond” was quick to express his happiness at finally getting the deal done.

St. Denis has now shared his side of things, which seemed to be a mixture of confusion and hope. “God of War” was aiming for a top-tier opponent but couldn’t be sure that it would be Poirier until the fight w…

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Rumors of Dricus Du Plessis potentially defending his belt at UFC 300 are most likely not true.

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Coming off a split-decision title win over Sean Strickland in a nailbiter at UFC 297 last month, du Plessis doesn’t have a potential timeline in mind for his first defense.

“I have no idea [when it’ll be]. For me, right now, we are still busy with some scans and seeing what we can do in terms of after the fight, some injuries; can we fight soon, is that a possibility and all that,” the middleweight champ told South African radio station Jacaranda FM. “So that’ll be great [to get that done], that’ll be great, but we have to make sure that the longevity of my career is also taken into consideration. We’ve had a very active last year, year and a half. And that’s what I said, we rushed to get to this belt; we had to take every opportunity given to us. Right now, we need to be smart and defend this belt when it suits us.”

Rumors of a…