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The otherworldly power of Alex Pereira claimed another victim, this time under the brightest of all spotlights.

Pereira punched out Jamahal Hill to retain his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown in the first round of their UFC 300 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pereira (10-2, 7-1 UFC) tagged his latest challenger’s figurative toe 3:14 into Round 1.

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Hill (12-2, 6-2 UFC) answered leg kicks from the Brazilian with a few of his own but provided the champion with no real cause for concern. Pereira stalked forward behind stabbing jabs to the body, bided his time and marked his territory with a cold stoicism. He calmly brushed aside referee Herb Dean after absorbing an accidental kick to the groin, decked Hill with a left hook mere seconds later and then pounced with punches and hammerfists to cap a near-flawless performance.

Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA’s Weili Zhang waded through considerable difficulty t…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s journey from its modest origins in the early 90s to its current status as a global phenomenon has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Throughout this journey, specific moments stand out as turning points, with very few as prominent as Saturday’s UFC 300 showcase. This landmark event is poised to spotlight the pinnacle of mixed martial arts competition on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the main event, Alex Pereira will attempt to defend the light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill, the former king who did not lose his throne in competition. The co-main event pits Weili Zhang against Xiaonan Yan in the first all-Chinese championship fight in UFC history. Stay tuned to Sherdog.com as we bring you live coverage and play-by-play of all the action as it unfolds inside the Octagon starting at 6 p.m. ET.

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Jiri Prochazka deals in unadulterated violence.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder dispatched Aleksandar Rakic with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 300 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rakic (14-4, 6-3 UFC) checked out 3:17 into Round 2, as he bounced back from his Nov. 11 knockout loss to Alex Pereira.

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Prochazka (30-4-1, 4-1 UFC) endured some initial suffering. Rakic tortured him with devastating kicks to the lower leg for much of the first five minutes, forcing him to switch stances. Prochazka was undeterred. He wobbled Rakic with right hands on multiple occasions in the second round, eventually set him on skates and gave chase with follow-up punches and a knee strike to the head along the fence. It was the beginning of the end. Rakic ultimately collapsed in the center of the cage, absorbing a barrage of elbows and punches before he turned away from contact. A few more punche…

Professional Fighters League’s second card of 2024 witnessed light heavyweight and lightweight competitors go to war in Las Vegas to make a push towards the playoffs.

PFL 2’s light heavyweight action undoubtedly left fans mesmerized as every clash at 205 ended with a finish in the first frame. PFL 2022 light heavyweight king Rob Wilkinson, Joshua Silveira, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, 2023 light heavyweight tournament winner Impa Kasanganay and Antonio Carlos Jr. all walked away with the maximum six points thanks to their Round 1 finishes.

Meanwhile, lightweight Michael Dufort earned five points courtesy of a Round 2 submission triumph against Mads Burnell; Clay Collard returned to the win column and bagged five points, scoring a Round 2 technical knockout win against Patricky Freire; Brent Primus also racked up five points in the divisional standings with a submission victory over Bruno Miranda in Round 2; Elvin Espinoza knocked out Adam Piccolotti with a flying knee …

Israel Adesanya isn’t too happy with reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis’ refusal to compete at UFC 300.

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The former middleweight champion, who lost his belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, was eagerly hoping to return to action against reigning champion du Plessis at the marquee event that goes down on Saturday. In fact, “The Last Stylebender” had been training for around three to four weeks leading up to the revelation that a fight with Du Plessis at UFC 300 was off the table.

“I was heartbroken, because I thought it was us and I was like, ‘Oh! they’ll announce, they’ll announce it and Tim [Adesanya’s manager] was holding out because he and Hunter, shoutout Hunter and Dana, they were like going back-and-forth and then. I'm glad Tim called me before they announced it, like, I think three minutes before they announced Jamahal [Hill] versus Alex [Pereira] because if I found out on Instagram, I would have been like, Dana would have got calls, because …

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Joshua Silveira is relieved to get back in the win column after suffering a unanimous decision loss against Impa Kasanganay in the finals of the Professional Fighters League 2023 season, regardless of the method of victory.

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Silveira walked away with six points in the PFL light heavyweight point standings after securing a technical knockout due to injury in the first frame against Sadibou Sy in their PFL 2 meeting on Friday.

While both competitors used the initial minute of the round to make reads, Silveira managed to get Sy against the cage and subsequently take him down, only for the Swede to instantly attempt to grab referee Marc Goddard’s attention by waving at him. Once Goddard noted that Sy had dislocated his thumb, the veteran referee was quick to call off the contest at the 1:14 mark.

Despite the odd fight-ending sequence, Silveira is happy to get back in the win column. Interestingly, this isn't the first time the …

Reigning Professional Fighters League light heavyweight tournament champion Impa Kasanganay brutally took his first step toward defending his title with a first-round TKO win over former Bellator MMA bruiser Alex Polizzi in the PFL 2: 2024 Regular Season main event at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Friday.

Kasanganay (16-4) went into the SmartCage with pressure to live up to the seven-straight finishes that proceeded him. If the Kill Cliff FC stud were going to keep up in the standings, he would have to dispatch the former Northwestern wrestler in the opening minutes. Polizzi looked to grapple with Kasangany but was only met with leather to the face. Kasangany battered Polizzi with both hands until he could barely stand on his own, and referee Marc Goddard was forced to save the day just 3:29 into the match.

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The win might've capped off a violent night but did nothing to separate Kasanganay from the rest of the pack. Fellow light heavi…

The Professional Fighters League resumes its 2024 campaign with 2024 PFL Regular Season 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 12 in Las Vegas. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Score…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes history this weekend with a stacked UFC 300 card that is now official after the weigh-ins took place.

Headlining the milestone event is a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill, who vacated the belt due to injury after claiming it in a vacant title tilt. The card also features a women's strawweight championship bout as Weili Zhang looks to defend against countrywomanXiaonan Yan. All championship participants made weight, as did the rest of the card.

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This marks the fourth UFC title fight for Pereira (9-2), who previously claimed the middleweight strap by knocking out Israel Adesanya in 2022. After losing the belt back to "The Last Stylebender," the Brazilian moved up to light heavyweight and picked up wins over Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka in a vacant championship affair. "Poatan" officially weighed 205 pounds exactly.

Making a quick return…

New gloves coming to an Octagon near you 👀

More info: https://t.co/LM2GpGfS2p pic.twitter.com/IV17byIapl

— UFC (@ufc) April 12, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship has changed its glove, and fighters will start using them in June.

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Following the UFC 300 official weigh-ins on Friday, the promotion displayed a new glove design. According to the UFC, tests began on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series. Implementation of this new glove will take place at UFC 302 in June, as the organization will issue the gloves to the fighters to let them get used to them before using them in live combat. They will be produced by Dyaco, a company that manufactures fitness and combat equipment.

During the presentation, executives Duncan French and Ember Morr showed off the new pattern, which includes a varying color scheme. Red gloves will be given to fighters on developmental leagues like Road to UFC, blue gloves w…

Former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns wants to take a little more time to recover from a vicious knockout suffered in March.

Following a Round 3 knockout loss to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299 in March, “Durinho” is taking things easy before getting back to full training and eventually entering the Octagon. The Brazilian’s loss to the surging Australian was preceded by a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Belal Muhammad in May last year.

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At the moment, the top-10 welterweight is expecting to get back in action sometime in or after August, and is hoping to claw his way back to the top following a short break after competing in four fights over 15 months. In an interview with The Schmo on Thursday, Burns spoke of his upcoming plans.

“Next for me, I'm taking a little time off,” Burns explained. “That was a war against Jack Della Maddalena, the guy did great. Ended up getting that knockout at the end of the fight. All kudos to him, …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hoping the third date of June 8 sticks for Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios.

A UFC Fight Night card scheduled to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on June 8 will feature a pair of newly booked clashes in the bantamweight and welterweight divisions. 19-year-old Rosas Jr. (8-1) will take on Turcios (12-3) in a bantamweight attraction that has fallen apart two times in the past, while Punahele Soriano (9-4) will lock horns with Miguel Baeza (10-3) in a 170-pound clash. News of both bouts was first reported by MMA Fighting in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

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Rosas Jr. and Turcios were initially slated to face off at UFC Mexico City, however, Rosas Jr. was forced to withdraw at the last minute when succumbing to illness. While the two were rescheduled to fight the following week, the matchup failed to come to fruition.

“El Nino Problema” will enter the Octagon on the heels of an emphatic 54-second techni…

[embedded content] With over two months to prepare, the replacement is not taking this matchup on short notice.

Undefeated Road to UFC season 2 flyweight tournament winner Rei Tsuruya (9-0) will step in for Cody Durden to take on Carlos Hernandez (9-3) in a 125-pound clash at UFC 303. This pay-per-view card will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 29. The news was first reported by ESPN Deportes on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday.

Former Pancrase competitor Tsuruya strung together three solid performances on the Road to UFC season 2 tournament to walk away as the winner in the flyweight bracket. The 21-year-old most recently finished Niushiyue Ji in the first frame of February’s tournament finals, and he currently sports a stellar stoppage rate of 89% as a pro.

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Hernandez will return to the Octagon following a second-round knockout loss at the hands of Tsuruya’s compatriot, Tatsuro Taira, in December. T…

[embedded content] A prominent Brazilian commentator believes that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is doing itself a disservice by putting its “BMF” belt up under normal rules.

Carlos Barreto, former UFC Fighter and the current head commentator on UFC Fight Pass’ Brazilian feed, sees the “BMF” title in a different light. Justin Gaethje will be defending this symbolic belt at UFC 300 on Saturday against Max Holloway. On his weekly YouTube show “Papo de Luta,” Barreto described on Monday a scenario that would make the “BMF” fight less-than-stellar. In order to guarantee excitement, the Carlson Gracie black belt believes that the UFC should put it under a more old school rule set like vale tudo.

“The focus of the BMF belt is different,” Barreto expressed. “In my opinion, it should be analyzed under different criteria. Imagine a ‘BMF’ belt where the winner just takes the opponent down and holds [them down], winning by points. That’s not a ‘BMF.’ ‘BMF’ is brawl, fight w…

It should come as little shock that every Brazilian prognosticator expects Alex Pereira will prevail on Saturday.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be staging its blockbuster show of UFC 300 on Saturday, and two ultra-popular Brazilian competitors will be competing on the main card. Light heavyweight kingpin Pereira (9-2) will be defending his throne against Jamahal Hill (12-1, 1 NC), while ex-lightweight champ Charles Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC) competes in a no. 1 contender bout against Arman Tsarukyan (21-3). Sherdog spoke to numerous fighters and coaches about the main attraction, with the field unanimous in support of their fellow countryman.

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Charles Oliveira: “Jamahal Hill is bluffing when he says he will keep the fight standing with ‘Poatan.’ His strategy is to take him down. If he exchanges punches with ‘Poatan,’ he will be knocked out. ‘Poatan’ is hungry and wants to avenge Glover [Teixeira’s] loss to him.”

Patricky Freire, former Bellator…

Hawaiian-born sumo wrestling star Akebono Taro has died at the age of 54 due to heart failure.

On Wednesday night, news broke that Akebono had died in a hospital in Tokyo. Born Chadwick Haheo Rowan, Akebono was raised in his home state of Hawaii and competed in various sports including dabbling in sumo wrestling when he was young. While checking in as one of the largest sumo practitioners in the sport’s history, measuring 6-foot-8 and well over 500 pounds, this proved to his advantage as he won multiple championships over the years. His sumo career culminated in his earning the rank of yokozuna in 1993, where he became the first non-Japanese wrestler to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

As he competed at the top echelon of the sport, he moved to Japan in 1996, where he became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Akebono Taro. He retired from sumo wrestling in 2001 due to injury, and he began to transition to other sports. Akebono joined the kickboxing world in 20…

Boxing has lost a very dear person today. Gary Shaw has passed away. Our condolences go to Judy and the kids . I will always remember Gary with his unique smile, fun character and passion for boxingRest in peace my dear Gary

— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) April 11, 2024 Boxing-turned-MMA promoter Gary Shaw, co-founder of EliteXC, has died at the age of 79.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced the news on Thursday, and an outpouring of support and memorials has come forth from former fighters and colleagues. Shaw ran the boxing organization Gary Shaw Productions for over a decade, setting up boxing events starting in 2002 involving several big names including Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley and Shane Mosely.

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Sulaiman mourned his friend on his post on social media, stating, “I will always remember Gary with his unique smile, fun character and passion for boxing. Rest in peace my dear Gary.”

While involved in boxing, S…

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While many found Bobby Green’s walkout music against Grant Dawson cool, Jamahal Hill wasn’t one of them.

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Green (31-15) knocked out Dawson in hardly over half a minute in the main event at UFC Fight Night 229 in October 2023. “King” walked out to the song “SkeeYee” by rapper Janae Nierah Wherry aka “Sexyy Red.” Hill (12-1), who is seemingly close to Green, made no secret of his dislike for the latter’s choice of the walkout music. Green further revealed that “Sweet Dreams” continues to troll him every time they meet.

“Hell no, hell no. Jamahal Hill yelled at me and won’t stop yelling at me about that to this day,” Green said at UFC 300 media day. “That’s my big dawg and everytime we run into each other [he’s] like, ‘Bro, you came out to Sexyy Red. What the f*ck are you doing bro, what the f*ck are you doing?’ When everyone else is like, ‘Oh it was cool, it was cool,’ Jamahal is going to be the guy that tells me like, ‘Nah bro, na…

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Clay Collard believes Bellator MMA fighters might have some difficulty adjusting to the frequency of the Professional Fighters League season format.

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Collard (24-12) is ready to start his fourth Professional Fighters League season in the lightweight category against former Bellator lightweight champ Patricky Freire (25-12) at PFL 2 on April 12. Having fought in various promotions around the world, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Collard notes that it is the frequency of PFL fights that Bellator talent might find difficult to keep up with.

The PFL regular season, followed by playoffs and championships and additional pay-per-view cards has fighters competing more frequently on an average than other promotions. According to Collard, fighters who cut a lot of weight will find it difficult to fight three or four times a year.

“I feel like a lot of these guys aren't going to be used to the amount of fights,” Coll…

170 ➡️ 185 ➡️ 205

2022 PFL Welterweight World Champion Sadibou Sy makes his Light Heavyweight Debut this Friday 👀

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[ #PFLRegularSeason | Friday , April 12th | 9PM ET | 🎟️ https://t.co/9E74ugtbNE ] pic.twitter.com/TKx5t01uIW — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 7, 2024

Sadibou Sy expects to do well at his natural body weight as he moves up two weight classes for the Professional Fighters League 2024 season.

Sy (16-7) will take on Joshua Silveira (12-2) in the light heavyweight regular season at PFL 2 on April 12 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The Swedish veteran started his Professional Fighters League journey at middleweight in 2018 before dropping to welterweight the next season. Sy won the $1 million PFL welterweight championship in 2022.

“To be honest, I have a lot of people around me that I trust completely,” said Sy. “And after each fight, after each season, we sit down and we discuss things and we just …

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Xiaonan Yan admits that her upcoming opponent and compatriot, Weili Zhang, continues to garner more support in their home country of China.

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Yan (18-3) will challenge Zhang (24-3|) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight championship in the co-main event at UFC 300 on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While Zhang made her UFC debut almost a year after Yan in 2018, “Magnum” went on to win the title within a year. Zhang also delivered some of the most memorable title fights of all time, sealing her place in women’s mixed martial arts history.

While China has seen its fair share of UFC stars over the years, including the likes of Jingliang Li and Yadong Song, Zhang likely remains the torchbearer in the country. Earlier, Yan had stated that she expects more haters than fans in her homeland as Zhang continues to dominate the Chinese fanbase.

“Nothing has really changed; still more people support Weili,” Yan…

Mexican standout Josue Cruz will look to earn his first ONE Championship win against Sean Climaco in a three-round muay thai contest contracted for 135 pounds at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3. Sherdog confirmed the bout, which will go down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, with sources close to the negotiations Thursday morning.

Cruz will be returning to action for the first time since May 2022, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Walter Goncalves in his ONE Championship debut. “Tuzo,” the first fighter born in Mexico to compete for ONE, was undefeated in 17 pro outings leading up to his first and only career loss.

Meanwhile, Climaco, a Filipino American based in San Jose, California, is set to make his promotional debut after winning Road to ONE 2023 with a technical knockout over Malcolm Hill in the series finale last September.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live on Amazon Prime in the United States and Canada on Friday, May 3, and will be headli…

⚖️Light Heavyweight Bout is official!Impa Kasanganay: 204.8 lbsAlex Polizzi: 204 lbs

[ Friday, April 12th | 6:30pm ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN 2 ] pic.twitter.com/OO4P11cNHz

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 11, 2024 The Professional Fighters League continues its 2024 season with PFL 2, which features light heavyweight and lightweight fights.

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After the official weigh-ins took place on Thursday, the 11-fight card was made official. It is headlined by a light heavyweight fight between 2023 champion Impa Kasanganay and Alex Polizzi. All fighters on the event made weight.

Despite winning last year's season, Kasanganay (15-4) is coming into this fight off a loss. "Tshilobo" lost to Bellator MMA champion Johnny Eblen just two months ago in a non-title fight. However, the fight was extremely close, with the Bellator fighter taking a split decision after three rounds. Kasanganay will look to get back to his winning ways and weighed 204…

After enjoying a breakout campaign in 2022, Rob Wilkinson was removed from the following Professional Fighters League season due to a failed drug test after the organization’s first event of last year.

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As he prepares to make his return, the 32-year-old Australian has chosen to focus on the positive support he’s received rather than any negativity.

“I've got a lot of support and people around me that love and support me, and I've had a lot of people back home, people I know and people I don't know, reach out and still tell me they're behind me and that's what kind of motivates me,” Wilkinson said during a recent PFL media day. “I don't really give a s—t about people on Instagram and trolls and whatnot, but the people around me love me and support me, and I want to go out there and have a good fight for them.”

Wilkinson went 4-0 in PFL competition in 2022 to become the league’s light heavyweight champion. He began the following campaign with a d…