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Chris Gutierrez will get to remain on the UFC 313 card after all.

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After originally being booked against Jean Matsumoto, Gutierrez will instead lock horns with John Castaneda on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Matsumoto was pulled from the event to face Rob Font at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22. Castaneda, meanwhile, was supposed to face Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Vegas 103 this past Saturday before the bout was scrapped. Multiple outlets confirmed the new matchup, which will take place at 145 pounds, following an initial report from Eurosport NL.

Gutierrez fought just once in 2024, taking a unanimous decision against Quang Le at UFC on ESPN 61 this past August. The Factory X product is 9-3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Castaneda last appeared at UFC on ESPN 57, where he dropped a three-round verdict against Daniel Marcos this past June. The longtime Combate Americas veteran is 4-3 in the Octagon.

UFC…

A boxing match between Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans Diego Sanchez and John Makdessi is on tap for the ICS Mania Boxing event scheduled for April 12.

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The promotion recently announced the booking, which has also been confirmed by both Sanchez and Makdessi. ICS Mania Boxing takes place at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is headlined by a clash between former UFC foes Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson. The card, which is co-promoted by Albuquerque’s Tapia Promotion’s and Florida’s Signature Punch Promotions, will feature a number of local boxers from New Mexico.

Sanchez, 43, was one of the winners on “The Ultimate Fighter 1.” He last competed in MMA at Eagle FC 46 in March 2022, where he lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Lee. More recently, “The Nightmare” fought under the BKFC banner in February 2023, when he suffered a fourth-round stoppage loss to pro boxer Austin Trout.

The 39-year-old Makdessi will be making his boxing de…

Alex Pereira wants Magomed Ankalaev to put his money where his mouth is.

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Ankalaev has been a consistent presence on social media leading up to his title opportunity against Pereira in the UFC 313 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. This past weekend, the Dagestani issued another strong statement regarding the upcoming light heavyweight bout.

“CHAMA is a dead man walking. I’m going to drown this man,” Ankalaev wrote on X.

CHAMA is a dead man walking I’m going to drown this man 🤼🤼

— Magomed Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) March 2, 2025

Ankalaev’s confidence hasn’t gone unnoticed by the reigning 205-pound king. Pereira recently issued a challenge to Ankalaev, urging his opponent to put up a significant amount of cash for a good cause.

“Since you are so confident you will win, $200,000 to the winner’s charity of choice,” Pereira wrote on X. “Win or lose, this will help those in need. It’s in y…

A pair of light heavyweights coming off quick finishes at UFC Seattle will square off in Montreal this spring.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that Modestas Bukauskas will meet Ion Cutelaba in a 205-pound bout at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 10. UFC 315 is headllined by a welterweight title tilt pitting Belal Muhammad against Jack Della Maddalena, while Valentina Shevchenko will defend the flyweight crown against Manon Fiorot in the evening’s co-main event.

After going 1-3 during his first UFC stint, Bukauskas has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Baltic Gladiator” defeated Raffael Cerqueira via first-round knockout at UFC Fight Night 252 on Feb. 22.

Cutelaba also had a short night at UFC Seattle, as the Moldovan veteran tapped Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke 2:51 into Round 1. The 31-year-old known as “The Hulk” has won three of his last four UFC outings after en…

🚨 Leon Edwards says he wanted to step in and fight Belal Muhammad but it wouldn’t make sense to take him off the London card

He also says the UFC told him the winner of the fight between him and Sean Brady will fight for the title

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🎥 @Leon_edwardsmmapic.twitter.com/fLDLZTb5W3 — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 2, 2025

Leon Edwards is looking forward to a title shot with a win over Sean Brady.

Edwards lost the welterweight title to Muhammad via unanimous decision at UFC 304 in July 2024. The Englishman was originally supposed to return to action against Jack Della Maddalena on March 22 at the O2 Arena in London. Meanwhile, Muhammad was expected to defend his strap against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. However, Maddalena replaced Rakhmonov, who couldn’t accept the matchup due to an injury. Meanwhile, top contender Sean Brady replaced Maddalena on the UFC L…

😅 Love this. Manel Kape actually breaking down Alexandre Pantoja’s flaws instead of giving the usual ‘He’s going to find out’ response.

These two respect each other and it seems like the next Flyweight title fight 🏆🎥 @ufc pic.twitter.com/ClM99mvUft

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 2, 2025

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Manel Kape (21-7) recently laid down his gameplan to beat Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) in a potential title fight.

Kape took on Asu Almabayev in the main event at UFC Vegas 103 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. “Starboy” put on a striking masterclass, beating down Almabayev to force the finish in the third round. The Kazakh had not been beaten in 17 outings since 2017. However, it must be noted that two eye scrapes from Kape went unpenalized, including one that started the finishing sequence.

Regardless, Kape’s stock skyrocketed after the entertaining win, leading to his name being pitched as the next flyweight title cont…

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Tom Aspinall isn’t exactly moving on from Jon Jones just yet, but he is willing to consider the possibility of facing other opponents.

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Jones returned from hiatus at UFC 309, where he defeated Stipe Moicic to retain the heavyweight title this past November. “Bones” implied that it would require a significant payday to entice him to face Aspinall, the reigning interim heavyweight king, in a championship unification bout. UFC CEO Dana White has expressed optimism that the fight would eventually happen, but thus far, there have been no significant updates on that front.

According to Aspinall, any delay is coming from Jones’ side.

“Where we’re at right now is, I have spoke to the UFC on multiple occasions on this fight,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “I’m chasing it. I want the fight. I’ve been on record and said that I want the fight. I’ve been on the phone with the UFC saying, ‘I want the fight. When’s it happening?’ …

Don’t tell Manel Kape that his latest victory was marred by a few uncalled fouls.

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“Starboy” won for the sixth time in his last seven outings, defeating Asu Almabayev via stoppage at the 2:16 mark of the third round in the UFC Vegas 103 headliner on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Kape was sharp throughout the contest, replays showed that that Almabayev suffered multiple eye rakes prior to the finish. However, despite Almabayev’s protests, none of those were acknowledged by referee Mike Beltran. According to Kape, it was up to the veteran official to step in if a foul was committed.

“That’s not my job,” Kape said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I didn’t see nothing. I think the [referee] should be more attentive. I’ve suffered so [much] stuff in the Octagon, so I don’t know. It was clear, for what I’ve seen, it was good. [He] could see me good. If he was not able to fight, if I think he was really stopping, so he was c…

UFC Vegas 103 was an entertaining affair with four fighters earning bonuses.

Manel Kape (20-7) earned an extra $50K Performance of the Night bonus for a stoppage over Asu Almabayev (21-3) in the flyweight headliner. Kape thoroughly outstruck Almabayev from the opening bell, never allowing the Kazakh to implement his wrestling. “Starboy” eventually delivered too much damage on Almabayev, forcing the referee to step in at 2:16 of the third round, ending his undefeated streak that dated back to 2017. However, the Angolan seemingly scraped Almabayev twice in the left eye, which went unpenalized.

The second POTN bonus went to undefeated heavyweight debutant Mario Pinto (10-0) for his knockout win over Austen Lane (13-6). Pinto got dropped by Lane in the opening frame before rallying back to put the former football defensive end to sleep with a left hook-straight right combo early in the second round.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Nasrat Haqparast (18-5) and Argentina’s Esteba…

Manel Kape may have cleared the final obstacle between him and a long-sought shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown.

The former Rizin Fighting Federation titleholder was awarded an anticlimactic technical knockout over Asu Almabayev in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 253 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to wave it off 2:16 into Round 3, even though Almabayev (21-3, 4-1 UFC) seemed to be lucid and defending himself.

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Kape (21-7, 6-3 UFC) was the aggressor from the start. He unleashed lightning-fast punches from odd angles and called upon bulletproof takedown defense against the Kazakhstani grappler. Almabayev—who entered the cage on a 17-fight winning streak—emerged for the second round clearly bothered by the damage he sustained to his left eye. Kape zeroed in on it, sometimes with punches and sometimes with what appeared to be clear fouls—replays showed he raked the eye…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 103 coverage will begin Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 253. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Temirov (-115), Johnson (-105)Round 1 A bit leaner than originally intended, the UFC rolls into the Apex station with an even 10 fights on the billing. The event is light on ranked relevance and meaningful matchups from a championship perspective, but each bout means the world to the participants so they cannot be dismissed before they happen. The action starts off in the flyweight division, with a solid fight that has no place in the curtain jerker spot. With four straight wins in his pocket, rising talent Johnson (17-6, 6-4 UFC) wants to go five in a row and stamp himself as a contender at 125 pounds. Standing in his way will be streaking Uzbekistan native Temirov (18-3, 1-0 UFC), who may have only earned one win in the UFC thus far but enters the bout the victor in his last 10 outings. Someone’s win streak is…

Mario Pinto entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division with a bang.

The undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series graduate punched out Austen Lane in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 253 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A former Levels Fight League titleholder, Pinto (10-0, 1-0 UFC) drew the curtain 39 seconds into Round 2.

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Lane (13-6, 1-3 UFC) dropped his adversary with a straight right in the first round, but his inability to finish came back to bite him mere minutes later. Early in Round 2, Pinto tagged the American Top Team representative with a left hook and followed it with a devastating overhand right. Lane was unconscious before he hit the canvas. Meanwhile, Elevation Fight Team standout Jose Mariscal climbed another rung on the 145-pound ladder with a unanimous decision over Ricardo Ramos in a three-round featherweight scrap. The surging Mariscal (18-6, 5-0 UFC) swept the cards with 30-…

Merab Dvalishvili says he loves Alexander Volkanovski and doesn’t want to fight him out of respect 🤝

“It’s nothing like I don’t want to take a risk, it’s nothing like I’m scared… I just have so much respect.”

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🎥 @ManoukAkopyan #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/q9ZWMyaQjx — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 28, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili respects Alexander Volkanovski too much to fight him.

Dvalishvili (19-4) is currently looking for fresh contenders to defend his bantamweight title against. Former featherweight champ Volkanovski (26-4) is not a name that excites “The Machine.” While Dvalishvili claims he isn’t ducking the matchup, he respects “The Great” too much to want to fight him. The Georgian also mentioned a callout from flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.

“I love Alex Volkanovski man, he is one of the greatest,” Dvalishvili told Manouk Akopyan. “And I just really respect him. It’s nothing like I don’t want …

Michael Chandler reacts to the clip of Dustin Poirier calling him "fake" and "a cheater":

"I don't lose a wink of sleep thinking about Dustin Poirier and how he thinks about me.

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Obviously I live rent free in his head and he does lose sleep over me."

🎥 @ZachGelb #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/i7aIx5DxXk

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 28, 2025 Michael Chandler wants to run it back with Dustin Poirier.

Poirier beat Chandler (23-9) via third-round submission in their initial meeting at UFC 281 in 2022. Things have since been sour between the two as Poirier (30-9) accused Chandler of fish hooking and other alleged fouls.

Poirier went on a rant about Chandler, calling him a “fake mother*cker” in a recent interview. While discussing the alleged fishhook, “The Diamond” claimed to have bitten Chandler’s finger so hard that he might have ripped a piece off if not for his mouthpiece.

Responding to Poirier…

🎙️Sadibou Sy said he would like to fight Impa Kasanganay in the PFL MW World Championship, but not for the reasons you might think…

“As soon as the cage door closes, we’re gonna fight. So I don’t have to hate you (to fight you).”

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🎥 @JakeNoeckerMMA x @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/6nJuTcL9rz — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 28, 2025

Sadibou Sy wants to face Impa Kasanganay out of his admiration and respect for his fellow fighter.

Sy (17-8) and Kasanganay (18-5) will compete in the light heavyweight bracket as the PFL kicks of its 2025 campaign on April 18 in Florida.

Sy wants to fight Kasanganay in the finals as he really the likes the former light heavyweight champ and his family. However, “The Swedish Denzel” vows to show no mercy once the cage door closes on them.

“Impa [Kasanganay] because I really like Impa,” Sy told Home of Fight. “Whenever I meet his family, his mom and dad, they’re gr…

Starboy is set! ✅@ManelKape hits the scale at 126lbs!

[ #UFCVegas103 | LIVE Tomorrow 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/RdvR5PhZJG

— UFC (@ufc) February 28, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off its March 2025 schedule with 10 fights emanating from the UFC Apex, which is two fewer than planned.

Headlining the UFC Vegas 103 event is a flyweight battle between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev. Both men made weight for their first UFC headliner, which has potential title shot implications. However, the undercard wasn't as professional as the women's flyweight fight between Luana Carolina and Montana De La Rosa was scrapped after Carolina had weight management issues. Additionally, Lucas Almeida came in two pounds over the featherweight limit for his fight against Danny Silva. Almeida will be fined 20% of his purse as a result. Finally, the bantamweight bout pitting John Castaneda against Douglas Silva de Andrade was shifted to a…

Iowan UFC fans will be treated to some great bantamweight action this May.

The news first coming from social media user TuckTalksMMA on Friday, Marlon Vera (23-10-1) and Mario Bautista (15-2) will throw down in Des Moines on May 3. The top-ranked 135ers will compete inside of the Wells Fargo Arena, where they will serve as the co-main attraction to Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo. The pairing at this current unnumbered UFC Fight Night show has since been confirmed by Bautista on Instagram.

2024 was a tough year for Vera, who did vie for the bantamweight strap but could not win it. After coming up short in his rematch to Sean O'Malley, Vera went on to drop a decision to Figueiredo. Before those setbacks—just his second career losing streak—“Chito” had beaten names like Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Pedro Munhoz to keep himself anchored among the elite of the 135-pound ranks.

While Vera has struggled as of late, Bautista comes into this battle with plenty of…

I have the longest history of bringing boxers into MMA going back to Art “One Glove” in UFC I. Combate brought in World Champ Amanda Serrano. Now I welcome boxing champ Kenia Enriquez for her MMA debut with Combate Global in March - Yahoo Sports https://t.co/C2HYV42gvY

— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) February 26, 2025 A once-beaten champion in the realm of boxing is making her way to MMA in a few weeks.

According to a release from Combate Global on Thursday, Kenia Enriquez will be making her professional MMA debut on March 13. She will compete in the main attraction of the “Combate Female” event run by the Florida-based league, where she will face off against British grappler Hayley Valentine (5-0). This comes following the news on Tuesday that all upcoming Combate events will air free on YouTube. No other bouts have been announced for this fight card, which will be the organization’s first since July 2024.

Enriquez (0-0; 28-1, 11…

Everybody and their brother tried to step up and fight UFC star Justin Gaethje.

On Wednesday, UFC 313 took a major hit when Dan Hooker was forced out of his co-headliner against Gaethje (25-5) due to injury. The two lightweights were set to collide for a non-championship five-round affair at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After much consideration and several names offered to the UFC, the promotion selected Rafael Fiziev (12-3) as Hooker’s replacement, setting up a rematch dating back a few years.

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According to Gaethje on Thursday, multiple names were in contention as new foes. Some were shut down by the organization, and others ultimately declined the offer. “The Highlight” stated that Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier all were offered to step in and declined for unknown reasons. Mateusz Gamrot also publicly campaigned for the spot. Even ex-featherweight king Ilia Topuria was floated as a possible adversary. Instea…

Rafael Fiziev and Justin Gaethje are going to run it back.

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Fiziev will replace the injured Dan Hooker and face Gaethje in the lightweight co-main event at UFC 313. While Hooker vs. Gaethje was slated for five rounds, the new booking is scheduled for three. The promotion announced the bout on Wednesday.

UFC 313 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

Fiziev dropped a majority decision to Gaethje in their first meeting at UFC 286 in March 2023. In his next outing, “Ataman” suffered a knee injury in a TKO loss against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 228 in September 2023. The 31-year-old Kazakhstan native, who won six of his first seven Octagon appearances, has been sidelined since then.

Gaethje, meanwhile, is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Max Holloway in a BMF title bout at UFC 300. The two-time lightweight…

Jean Silva called his shot, and his request was granted in short order.

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The surging Brazilian knockout artist will lock horns with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314, the promotion announced on Wednesday. Silva called for a matchup with “Thug Nasty” immediately after his first-round stoppage of Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC Seattle this past Saturday.

UFC 314 takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 12 and is headlined by a showdown between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight strap. In the co-main event, Michael Chandler will meet Paddy Pimblett in a five-round, non-title affair.

In addition to Baghdasaryan, Silva has scored KO/TKO triumphs over the likes of Drew Dober, Charles Jourdain and Westin Wilson during his promotional tenure. The Fighting Nerds standout owns a 15-2 professional mark, with 14 of those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Mitchell, meanwhile, recently made headlines for making pro-A…

Khalil Rountree and Jamahal Hill will square off in the UFC Kansas City main event.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the light heavyweight booking on Wednesday night. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 26 and will see Anthony Smith face Mingyang Zhang in his retirement bout in the evening’s 205-pound co-headliner.

Rountree is coming off a fourth-round technical knockout loss to Alex Pereira in a title bout at UFC 307 this past October. Prior to that, the 35-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative had won five straight contests in the Octagon, finishing all of his opponents inside the distance.

A former light heavyweight champion, Hill came up short in his attempt to regain the crown at UFC 300, where he was stopped by Pereira in the opening stanza. More recently, “Sweet Dreams” suffered a third-round TKO defeat to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18. Hill lost just one of his…

Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ

— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) December 8, 2024

Dennis Buzukja has been suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for an incident with a fan at UFC 310 last December.

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In addition to the suspension, Buzukja was fined $2,500 — along with an additional $157.04 in legal fees. Buzukja would be eligible to return on Sept. 6, but he can have the sanction reduced to six months if he completes an NSAC-approved community service plan.

Buzukja, a four-time UFC veteran, was seen throwing punches at a man on his way back to the locker room after cornering Aljamain Sterling on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was also restrained during the altercation.

Dvalishvili later posted evidence that the fan had ties to Umar Nurma…

Marc Goddard will be the third man in the cage when Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight belt against Magomed Ankalaev.

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday approved the referee and judging assignments for the UFC 313 main event, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8.

Goddard has officiated three of Pereira’s bouts since the Brazilian moved up to 205 pounds, including his most recent championship defense against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 this past October. He’s also overseen five of Ankalaev’s UFC appearances.

Meanwhile, Mike Bell, Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato will serve as cageside judges for the title tilt. Pereira has only gone the distance twice in 10 UFC outings — and never in a championship fight.

“Poatan” has defended the light heavyweight strap three times since claiming the vacant belt with a second-round stoppage of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. Ankalaev will enter his second champio…