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Sean O'Malley’s longtime coach, Tim Welch, hasn’t seen anything from Marlon Vera that he’s concerned about since their first meeting in August 2020.

Vera (23-8) handed O’Malley (17-1) his lone career loss in their first encounter, which “Sugar” refuses to acknowledge to date, blaming it on a damaged peroneal nerve due to a “fluke” leg kick.

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O’Malley is gearing up to defend his bantamweight strap in a rematch against “Chito” in the main event at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami. Welch believes Vera won’t be very confident going into the rematch as he hasn’t seen a ton of improvement in the Ecuadorian since the initial encounter.

“I don’t think [he’s improved] a ton. I don’t think his confidence is going to be high,” Welch said in an appearance on The MMA Hour. “And the way he showed up against Cory Sandhagen, he got smoked by Cory Sandhagen. He barely got past a little, short — no diss, but — Pedro Munhoz, who’s not very fast and big, he’s a little bit ol…

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Kevin Lee recently opened up on his decision to return to competition, six months after announcing his retirement.

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Lee (19-8) hung up his gloves after being submitted in under a minute by Rinat Fakhretdinov in July last year. “The Motown Phenom” recently announced his decision to come out of retirement which was seemingly flamed by a conversation with his mother. While Lee was already having trouble staying away from fighting, an observation made by his mother made the axe fall, Lee told Middle Easy:

“It’s a long time coming. I’ve probably been thinking about it for the last two months or so. The one that really kind of pushed me over the edge was a conversation that I had with my mom. She said that the smile in my soul is gone. I remember repeating it back to her to make sure I heard it right. I was like, 'man, that’s deep.’”

“My takeaway from it was just that I needed to fight again. It had already kind of been, like, in …

Former mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm over her firing from the “Star Wars” spin-off series “The Mandalorian.”

Back in 2021, Disney abruptly announced that Carano, who played Cara Dune on “The Mandalorian,” would not be appearing on the third season of the show as she was fired over “abhorrent” comments made on Twitter, now known as X, and other social media outlets.

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However, a lot has changed since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and his subsequent promise to pay the legal fees of anyone who faced discrimination for voicing their political views on his platform. Carano has now filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm, alleging discrimination and wrongful firing for voicing right-wing opinions.

Carano also claims to have faced harassment on social media over her views on Black Lives Matter, gender pronouns and regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The former Strikeforce title challenger further accused th…

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Alexander Volkanovski claims he was drinking alcohol every day leading up to his rematch against Islam Makhachev this past October.

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Volkanovski (26-3) was coming off a successful title defense against Yair Rodriguez in July and recovering from a hand surgery when the otherwise disciplined featherweight champ developed a drinking habit. When Volkanovski received the call to replace Charles Oliveira on 12 days’ notice against Makhachev, the temptation to correct his UFC 284 decision loss against the lightweight champ was highly enticing.

While “The Great” went on to suffer a Round 1 head kick knockout, it’s the lack of discipline in the months prior that bothers him more than the loss.

“It was like a little kick up the arse for me – I wasn’t disciplined,” the Australian said on his teammate Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. “I’m known for being disciplined all year round, 24/7, and I just wasn’t that time. I was really disa…

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Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s destruction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship gym door during “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 remains one of the most iconic moments in the history of the show.

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Jackson starred opposite “TUF 2” winner Rashad Evans as a rival coach on “TUF 10,” which drew record views, courtesy the addition of street fight icon Kevin Ferguson. Jackson and Evans had plenty of heated altercations during the show, adding to its lure.

However, Jackson’s team didn’t find much success with only one fighter, Marcus Jones, progressing beyond the first round. So, when “Rampage” destroyed the gym door after Scott Junk’s majority decision loss against Matt Mitrione, fans assumed the reason to be overall frustration. However, Jackson claims there were more serious grievances that led to that moment.

“Do you know why I was so pissed on that show? I had done that season with Rashad but I did it with Forrest [Griffin] first…

Brendan Allen believes a middleweight title shot should be in his immediate future if he defeats upcoming opponent Marvin Vettori.

Allen (23-5), the No. 7-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight, is scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 240 against the No. 5-ranked perennial Italian contender on April 6 at the UFC Apex in Vegas.

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“All-In” believes a victory over Vettori (19-7) will propel him to title contention or at the least secure him a shot at the No. 1 title contender spot.

“I feel it’s based on my performance,” the 28-year-old told MMA Junkie. “I think if I go out there and finish him and make it look easy, I think I drop my name in the hat for a title shot. But worst case scenario, a true No. 1 contender fight is after that. I really think it just comes down to me. It’s really up to me.

“I think overall, I think this is my fight to lose. I think I’m better in every single place the fight can go. The guy is definitely tough.…

UFC Fight Night 236 has undergone a couple of changes just a few days before the event.

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Melsik Baghdasaryan has withdrawn from a proposed featherweight clash against Hyder Amil due to injury and will be replaced by Fernie Garcia. Meanwhile, visa issues have removed Albert Duraev from a middleweight showdown against Robert Bryczek. As result, Ihor Potieria will step in on short notice and face Bryczek.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new matchups on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 236 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a middleweight duel pitting Jack Hermansson against Joseph Pyfer. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+ with prelims beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT followed by the main draw at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Garcia has dropped his first three promotional appearances — all via decision. In his last outing, the Fortis MMA product fell to Rinya Nakamura on the scorecards at UFC Fight Night 22…

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Dana White will get some screen time during the most watched television event of the year.

The UFC CEO appears in a commercial for Bud Light with the likes of retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and music star Post Malone in an ad that will air during the Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The theme of the commercial, according to a release, is “an easy night out with the Bud Light Genie.”

"It was an absolute blast to be a part of Bud Light's Super Bowl commercial this year," White said in a statement. "Anheuser-Busch and the Super Bowl are two of the biggest American brands in the world. The cast, the director and Peyton were fun to work with and it was such an incredible way to kick off my new partnership with AB and Bud Light." 

The UFC signed a multi-year partnership with Anheuser-Busch to make Bud Light the official beer of the promotion. The deal, which became effective…

Bruce Buffer gave the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers a proper, Ultimate Fighting Championship-style introduction on Monday night.

The longtime UFC ring announcer was on hand as the Chiefs and 49ers arrived in Las Vegas for the opening night of Super Bowl festivities. As the teams entered Allegiant Stadium, Buffer provided his usual array of catchphrases on the microphone to give the evening something of a big-fight feel.

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Watch video of Buffer’s introductions below:

A proper Vegas introduction for the reigning champs. @Chiefs

📺: #SBOpeningNight on NFLN & CBSSN📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/N2i58DBzaT

— NFL (@NFL) February 6, 2024

Entering the stage... the NFC Champion @49ers 🔥

📺: #SBOpeningNight on NFLN & CBSSN📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/tZRFjoN45Q

— NFL (@NFL) February 6, 2024

Despite a lackluster performance in his welterweight title loss to Leon Edwards this past December, Colby Covington claims to be the division’s top dog.

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While many considered Covington undeserving of the third title shot of his career, Dana White insisted “Chaos” fight Edwards at UFC 296. Edwards thoroughly dominated Covington in a forgettable affair in which the American claimed to have broken his foot in the first 30 seconds. Covington also inexplicably believed he did enough to win and blamed political bias for the scorecards.

A couple months removed from that defeat, Covington insists that he is the best welterweight on the planet and wants to prove it more than anything else. Covington even sees himself earning yet another title shot with another victory and is willing to take on whoever the promotion offers.

“I am the title of this division, I’m the welterweight savior,” Covington told “Submission Radio”. “I’m the biggest draw in this …

Ilia Topuria plans on reaching new career highs in 2024.

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Topuria is slated to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title in the main event at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California.

“El Matador” has exuded an unprecedented amount of confidence going into the fight and continues to do so. While oddsmakers have it as a near toss-up, Topuria vows to knock out the Australian standout in the opening round.

“It’s going to be a first-round knockout. You will see. He’s saying a lot of bulls—t, ‘There’s levels, I have this and I have that, dah, dah, dah.’ You’re right, there are levels. There are levels, then there is me. I’m going to show you where the levels are. I’m going to dominate him everywhere. I’m going to make him look like a punching bag. You will see. I will be dancing Feb. 17,” Topuria said during an appearance on “The MMA Hour.”

While Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight…

Dustin Poirier is glad to have his booking against Benoit St. Denis still in place after a brief period of confusion where it appeared to have fallen through.

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Poirier is scheduled to face St. Denis in the co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. This past Thursday Poirier announced that the fight was off, with his teammate Johnny Eblen subsequently accusing the Ultimate Fighting Championship of being “stingy.”

A few hours later, “The Diamond” revealed that the fight was back on after a conversation with his manager that seemingly cleared a “misunderstanding” with the promotion. While the perennial lightweight contender didn’t divulge much about what went down behind the scenes, he is glad to have the booking in place.

“I don’t want to dive too deep into it. There was some miscommunication — not everybody was on the same page, and I couldn’t get a hold of somebody, and things got a little bit confusing for me, and I wa…

Paddy Pimblett and Renato Carneiro are teasing a potential clash after trading barbs on social media.

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“Moicano” outgrappled Drew Dober over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision win in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 235 on Saturday. The Brazilian, who has been amping up his media presence recently, turned matchmaker to propose a clash between Dober and Paddy Pimblett next.

“I want to see Drew Dober fighting Paddy Pimblett next… let’s see how tough is this kid,” Carneiro wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

I want to see drew Dober fighting paddy pimblett next… let’s see how tough is this kid…. #ufc

— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) February 4, 2024

Pimblett was quick to respond to the Brazilian’s suggestion in a social media post of his own. However, the Liverpudlian didn’t seem too interested in Carneiro’s proposal. Instead, Pimblett claims he can “smoke” Moicano much easier than Dober.

“Why …

Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk went to war inside the Octagon, but the strawweight competitors share a mutual respect outside the cage.

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Zhang and Jedrzejczyk recently reunited and captured the moment in a video on social media.

“We are each other’s opponent in the Octagon, we all want to chase our dreams to win the fight, but outside of the Octagon we are friends,” Zhang said. “We can have dinner together, we can talk to each other, we can be really good friends. So I am really happy about it. ‘JJ’ is always a legend in my heart, she is always the champion. I want to learn from her.”

Zhang initially defended her strawweight crown against Jedrzejczyk via split decision at UFC 248 in a fight that will go down as one of the greatest in promotion history. The rematch occurred more than two years later, when Zhang defeated her Polish rival via spinning backfist KO at UFC 275.

Jedrzejczyk eventually retired after the second loss to Zhan…

𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝙀𝙍𝘼 𝙊𝙁 𝙈𝙈𝘼 𝙃𝘼𝙎 𝘼𝙍𝙍𝙄𝙑𝙀𝘿

Bellator MMA Champion Series8️⃣Global Events🏆Title Fights on Every Card

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It all starts on 𝟯.𝟮𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 🔜 pic.twitter.com/mLqcNtd7S6 — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 5, 2024

There’s now a little more clarity regarding the direction of Bellator MMA in the coming months.

Professional Fighters League on Monday officially announced the launch of Bellator Champions Series, which will feature eight events airing on prime time in European Markets over the course of the year. This will begin with Bellator 302 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland on March 22. Future Bellator Champions Series events will take place in the U.K., Italy, Portugal, Belgian, France and other locations, according to a release.

Bellator 302 will be headlined by a previously-reported light heavyweight title clash between Corey Anderson and Karl Moore. Additionally, Leah McCourt will square off against Sinead Kavan…

Molly McCann believes she shed all parts of her “Meatball” persona leading up to her strawweight debut at UFC Fight Night 235.

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McCann rose to prominence in the UFC on the heels of three-fight winning streak from September 2021 to July 2022. However, back-to-back submission losses led to her droping to strawweight, where she made her divisional debut in a rematch against Diana Belbita on Saturday. The Liverpudlian quieted the doubters by submitting Belbita with an armbar in the opening frame.

McCann reflected on her journey during the UFC Fight Night 235 post-fight media scrum.

“It’s just been the hardest 14 months of my life. My biggest dream was to fight at MSG, and [I] got destroyed. I got co-main event at London and got destroyed,” she said.

“I had to really dig in deep to see if I really wanted it. My coach pulled me aside and asked, ‘How much do you really want to be a champion? It’s going to cost that to make this weight and to …

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While Robert Whittaker is coming off a loss against Dricus Du Plessis, “The Reaper” believes he beats the South African “nine out of 10 times.”

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“Stillknocks” handed Whittaker a second-round TKO loss at UFC 290 this past July, earning himself a title shot. He went on to defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 297 last month to be crowned the new middleweight champ. While Whittaker admits that he underestimated Du Plessis going into their matchup, the former champ firmly believes he is more skilled than the South African.

“Dricus is a hungry guy, and I think I underestimated that hunger,” Whittaker said during a pre-fight press conference in Sydney. “I still believe I beat him nine times out of 10. I still believe that I’m a better fighter than he is, that I have a better skill set than he does, but [fighting] a big, strong, hungry guy that’s willing to leave it all there, you need to match that. I feel like I didn’t do that in that last figh…

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Renato Carneiro is aiming high after his win over Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 235.

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“Moicano” showed immense grit in enduring Dober’s damaging strikes and went on to outwrestle his opponent over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision win in Saturday’s lightweight co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Moicano” followed that victory with yet another entertaining post-fight interview, which have now become the Brazilian’s signature.

Carneiro was subsequently taken to the local hospital for a precautionary CT scan of his head and face, the results of which are currently unknown. While on the ambulance, “Moicano” went live on his YouTube channel to talk to fans, also calling out a next potential opponent in Dan Hooker.

“Moicano” called Hooker an easy-fight leading up to his clash against Dober and rallied for a booking against “The Hangman” at UFC 301 in Brazil.

“Dan Hooker is in trouble,” Carneiro said. “I want to be…

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Urijah Faber claims Sage Northcutt’s fight against Shinya Aoki fell through due to a juxtaposition of miscommunications and divine messages.

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Northcutt was scheduled to make his long-awaited return to combat sports against the Japanese grappling legend at ONE Championship 165 on Jan. 28. However, it was announced midway through the card that Northcutt pulled out because his coaches didn’t have working visas in Japan. Northcutt was replaced by UFC veteran John Lineker, who was submitted 3:00 into the first round by Aoki.

Because Lineker weighed in ahead of the card for no apparent reason, there was speculation that the visa issue didn’t reveal the whole narrative. Faber has now revealed that the cancellation of the fight was in the works the night before the event.

“There’s a lot of misinterpretation there,” Faber told MiddleEasy. “I think if you watch [ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s] interview, he kind of said the way it was: T…

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Charlie Radtke continues to build his heel image in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Radtke had a successful second promotional outing at UFC Fight Night 235 on Saturday, knocking out Gilbert Urbina in the very first round. “Chuck Buffalo” subsequently shouted out his teammate Belal Muhammad while slamming the UFC’s biggest active heel, Colby Covington.

While Radtke’s post-fight press conference started off well, the welterweight suddenly made a bizarre demand when questioned by a reporter, leading to an awkward and abrupt end to the session (video via FanSided MMA).

“With a knockout like that, you know people are going to be talking, wanting to see more of you,” a reporter said to Radtke. “How soon do we get you back in that cage? Is there anybody that you would want to match up with?”

Radtke responded by demanding money for interview appearances.

“How much money you got? That’s what it is,” Radtke said. “Y…

A flyweight clash pitting Steve Erceg against Matt Schnell has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 238.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the pairing on Sunday. Erceg and Schnell were initially slated to meet at UFC 295, but Schnell was forced to withdraw from the contest for undisclosed reasons. UFC Fight Night 238 takes place on March 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and includes a heavyweight bout between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gamziev and a flyweight scrap between Muhammad Mokaev and Alex Perez. A headliner has not been confirmed for the event.

Erceg remained on the UFC 295 card, where he took a unanimous verdict over replacement foe Alessandro Costa. The 28-year-old Aussie has been victorious in 10 straight professional outings, including a three-round verdict against David Dvorak in his Octagon debut at UFC 289.

Schnell, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since December 2022, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Matheus Nicolau at…

Randy Brown couldn’t have drawn up a better finish than the one he authored at UFC Fight Night 235.

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“Rude Boy” followed a double jab with a picture-perfect right hand, flooring Muslim Salikhov and earning a knockout victory 3:17 into Round 1 of their welterweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“One hitter quitter on a striker like that, it means a lot,” Brown said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “He’s a accomplished so much, and I have so much respect for him, it means a lot. It means a lot to go in and perform and finally show the things I’m capable of.”

While the fight could have easily been halted once Salikhov crashed to the canvas, referee Kerry Hatley hesitated at first. The forced Brown to seal his victory with one mostly unnecessary standing-to-ground punch.

“I didn’t want to hit him again. I really didn’t,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘What is this ref doing?’ The ref was unsure, so I had to do it.”

…

The most dominant champ in KSW history vs. a true combat sports legend! 🤩

𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠🇬🇧 @phildefriesmmavs. @JoshLBarnett 🇺🇸

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Celebrating 20 years of KSW!

XTB #KSWEpic | Feb 24 | #Gliwice🎟️ @eBiletPL | 📺 PPV https://t.co/KEwIlAHwkA pic.twitter.com/eFPt52gTZO

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 2, 2024

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight champion Philip De Fries will square off against Josh Barnett in a grappling match on Feb. 24.

The Polish promotion recently announced the booking. KSW "Epic" takes place at PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland and is available via pay-per-view.

The 37-year-old De Frieds is on a 12-fight winning streak in MMA that dates back to October 2017. He’s successfully defended the KSW heavyweight strap nine times and is coming off a second-round submission of Szymon Bajor at KSW 84 this past July. Fourteen of his 24 career victories have come by way of submission.

A former UF…

Nassourdine Imavov wants to run it back against Sean Strickland after his majority decision win over Roman Dolidze in the main event at UFC Fight Night 235.

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Imavov outstruck Dolidze on the feet for the majority of the bout, but he was consistently slowed down by desperate clinching from the Georgian. The French middleweight was also hurt by a point deduction due to an illegal kick in the fourth round, which led to the final scorecards being closer than expected.

Imavov subsequently thanked his team and called for a rematch against r Strickland, who handed him his last loss in January 2023.

“The fight camp was absolutely good, I want to thank all my coaches, first of all Nicholas Ott, second Ilian [Bouafia] one of my training partners, Issa Samake, the boxing coach and of course my brother [Daguir Imavov], I talked about him the first time I came to the UFC. He’s a phenomenal fighter, his record is 15-3 and I can’t wait for him to fight in th…