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Ian Garry didn’t get the nod in his title eliminator bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but he believes he should have been the next man in line for a shot at welterweight gold.

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However, when Shavkat Rakhmonov was unable to accept a fight against reigning 170-pound champ Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in May, the promotion instead tabbed Jack Della Maddalena to receive the opportunity.

“I had a chat with my agent. I rang him when I heard, when they told me this news, and I was livid. Still am to this day,” Garry said in a video on Instagram. “I had a No. 1 contender’s fight where the guy now has to get knee reconstruction and is out for a year. But you know, it’s not my fault. I didn’t stab his knee 20-something times and boot the leg off. I’m not fighting for a world title, because I’m coming off a loss, and they’re giving it to a guy who’s been injured for a year and they think that’s more exciting, but they’re wrong.

“The world title figh…

تعود بطولة "PFL MENA" في 9 مايو، والانطلاقة ستكون جزء من موسم جدة! 💥 موسم حافل بالنزالات ينتظركم.

من مستعد ليشهد من يصعد من المقاتلين للقمة؟ 👀🔥#نصنع_التاريخ #السعودية pic.twitter.com/iXgojVnQhb

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) March 18, 2025

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PFL MENA will begin its second season this spring.

The promotion announced on Tuesday that PFL MENA Season 2 will kick off on May 9 at the Onyx Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to a release, “PFL MENA will be partnering with Jeddah Season to elevate the sport of MMA in the Middle East by integrating world-class fights into one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest cultural and entertainment festivals.”

While no bouts were officially announced for the first event, PFL MENA is expected to highlight fighters from the area such as experienced amateur talent Malik Basahel and Ahmad Makki, who will be competing in his final professional bout on an upcoming card. Further details regarding PFL MEN…

Alexander Volkanovski wants to fight Diego Lopes, Movsar Evloev and Patricio Pitbull all in one year 👀

“I’m happy to fight 3 times this year… the beauty of having me a champion again, they can all have their title fight.”

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🎥 @ufcontnt #UFC314

pic.twitter.com/x6xLEwj5s2

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 17, 2025 Alexander Volkanovski is ideally looking at a hectic 2025.

Alexander Volkanovski is scheduled to fight Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The same card also features former Bellator champ Patricio Freire making his UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez.

When asked about a future potential matchup against Freire, Volkanovski says he is game if the UFC wants it. However, undefeated contender Movsar Evloev is already waiting in the wings for the next title shot at 145 pounds. Volkanovski is up for that challenge as well, all withi…

Jeremy Stephens is taking another gamble late in his combat sports career.

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Stephens is returning for his second Ultimate Fighting Championship stint after a successful run in BKFC. Stephens’ name was the biggest surprise addition to the upcoming UFC Des Moines card. Stephens will take on Mason Jones in front of home fans at the Wells Fargo arena in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 3.

Stephens was visiting his parents in Iowa when his wife advised him to reach out UFC CEO Dana White. Stephens had to wait for a week before White responded. A call from UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell followed and Stephens’ return was set up. Stephens revealed that his new UFC contract is a one-fight deal. While he is always up for any opportunities that present themselves in the UFC, Stephens mostly sees himself returning to BKFC following UFC Des Moines.

“It’s just a one-and-done, dude. Again, I’m betting on me, I can really set myself up for an opportunit…

Bryce Mitchell says he’s been having ‘demonic dreams’ since the #UFC314 press-conference, and believes Jean Silva is possessed by “a legion of demons” 😳

“When I said the name Jesus he was provoked to maliciousness, and he started barking like a dog.”

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🎥 @ThugnastyMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/L0sBH4Vevs — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 17, 2025

Jean Silva believes Bryce Mitchell’s demonic dreams stem from fear.

Silva and Mitchell are scheduled to fight at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The two already traded barbs at a promotional press conference, where Silva successfully started “F--k Bryce Mitchell” chants.

Mitchell, who is an avid flat-earther, is known for his absurd and often controversial opinions. “Thug Nasty” now claims he has been unable to get sound sleep since the press conference. According to Mitchell, demons appear in his dreams, who then turn into beautiful women…

Leon Edwards recently shared his prediction for the upcoming title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.

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Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While Edwards believes it’s mostly a pick ‘em matchup, he would put his money on Maddalena if he had to. Edwards believes Maddalena is easy to take down but hard to control on the ground. According to “Rocky,” the Australian has good enough boxing to shut down Muhammad.

“If I had to put money on it, I’d probably favor JDM. If I had to put money on it,” Edwards said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.”

“Actually I don’t know, 50-50… I feel JDM, his boxing [will] shut him down. And he’s a good anti-grappler, JDM. It’s easy to take him down, but his scrambles on the floor are good. I feel like Belal won’t be enough to hold him down for that long. So maybe JDM.”

Edwards lost hi…

.@TheNotoriousMMA is in D.C. to raise issues that Ireland faces (including illegal immigration). "Our government abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland. Our money is being spent overseas on issues that have nothing to do with the Irish people."

pic.twitter.com/szlmn8CJ2m

— Toria Brooke ☘️ (@realtoriabrooke) March 17, 2025

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Conor McGregor is hoping to help heal the issues he believes are ailing his home country by meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

The Dublin native arrived at the White House on Monday — which also happened to be St. Patrick’s — and revealed his intentions during a press briefing. McGregor is expected to meet with Trump and other administration later in the day.

“Ireland and America, we are siblings,” McGregor said. “We consider America our big sibling. It’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, happy, prosperous country for the 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to vi…

Tom Aspinall on the Ankalaev vs Pereira fight:

“I can’t believe people watched that fight and thought that Pereira won.

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It’s just wild to me how many uneducated fans are out there.”

🎥 @JamalNiaz #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/uyDxoHiECv

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 16, 2025

Tom Aspinall was bewildered by some fans’ assessment of the UFC 313 title fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

Ankalaev dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 313 earlier this month. Ankalaev used his forward pressure to put Pereira on the back foot for the most part of 25 minutes. While Pereira defended all of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts, Aspinall still has some doubts about the Brazilian’s wrestling. Aspinall believes “Poatan” was wary of getting taken down by Ankalaev. And he also thinks Ankalaev didn’t go all in on most attempts, rather just using them to tire Pereira.

“I think [Perei…

Magomed Ankalaev’s coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, claims that Alex Pereira might have been greasing in their light heavyweight championship fight.

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Magomedov was cornering Ankalaev when he dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313 earlier this month. According to Magomedov, Pereira seemed greased up with something when Ankalaev was grappling with him on the fence.

Magomedov believes it could have been the kind of grease fighters use during sparring sessions to make it difficult to grab a hold of them. He also thinks it could be a kind of ointment used in weight cuts to clog the sweat. Magomedov also claims Ankalaev smelled some kind of ointment and the Brazilian’s hair also felt sticky. Magomedov also indicated that Pereira’s long-term coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, is savvy with such tricks.

“When Magomed pushed him to the fence near our corner, it seemed to me that Pereira was greased with something,” Magomedov said Ushatayka (trans…

Marvin Vettori’s first Octagon apppearance since July 2023 didn’t go as he envisioned.

“The Italian Dream” suffered his second straight defeat in the UFC Vegas 104 headliner, dropping a five-round verdict to Roman Dolidze in a middleweight rematch at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. Vettori defeated Dolidze via unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 286 in March 2023.

While Vettori rocked his adversary in the third frame, Dolidze ultimately outstruck his rival and landed more offense of significance over the course of the 25-minute affair.

“Nothing too bad, just some cuts and bruises,” Vettori said on his Instagram Stories. “F—k man, life sometimes shows you that even if you give your heart out and everything you got, you still fall short. That was a close fight. I almost had him in the third [round] but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

It was Vettori’s first appearance since a unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 47. The for…

Roman Dolidze went for name value when he called out Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker following his victory over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Vegas 104 headliner on Saturday night.

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According to “The Caucasian,” seeking fights against the former champions also makes sense from a matchmaking perspective. Dolidze is also willing to take on some of the middleweight division’s rising contenders, but he believes some of those potential opponents might already be on the verge of a title shot.

“Why not? All these guys need opponents. They need to fight somebody. They need to have some opponent,” Dolidze said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I don’t care if it will be somebody else from Top 5, I’m also ready. I don’t really care much. But I said more realistic fights because both of them lost. That’s why I said I don’t really care who it will be from the Top 5.

“[I’m] being realistic of who is ready and who needs opponent. There are some …

👀Paddy Pimblett sends a message to Michael Chandler:

"Everybody saying he’s gonna knock me out. I don’t think he’s going to get near me on the feet…

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I’m gonna show everyone that the old guard’s are on the way out. And new guard’s coming in."

🎥 @PaddyTheBaddy ▫️ pic.twitter.com/VcNdku36rv

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 15, 2025 Paddy Pimblett believes he can outclass Michael Chandler on the feet.

Chandler and Pimblett are scheduled to trade leather in the co-main event at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Chandler will look to get back to contender status as he tries to derail the up-and-coming Pimblett’s hype train.

With Chandler being a proven knockout artist, many expect Pimblett to rely on his grappling skills right away. However, “The Baddy” isn’t scared to stand with Chandler. Pimblett believes he is too slick on the feet for Chandler to catch him. Pimblett also believes…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Alexey Oleynik has fallen on hard times after splitting with his ex-wife, Tatyana.

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Oleynik claims he is left with nothing after his divorce. According to the “The Boa Constrictor,” he left everything for Tatyana and their five children. Oleynik also accuses Tatyana of leaving him as he can no longer earn enough from his fights due to his age. The Russian fighter seemingly tried to save his marriage, as well.

While Oleynik claims to be paying Tatyana full alimony, it’s apparently still not enough to support her allegedly flamboyant and promiscuous lifestyle. Oleynik also accuses his ex-wife of trying to distance his children from him by blocking his contact on their phones.

“I am left with no property, without anything else,” Oleynik told Match TV (translation via Red Corner MMA). “Everything I had I left to my ex-wife and children. I can’t compete due to my age and health conditions and make …

There were a total of nine finishes on the UFC Vegas 104 card, and four of were deemed worthy of some additional compensation.

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Carlos Vera earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his finish of unbeaten prospect Josias Musasa in a preliminary bantamweight encounter. Vera hurt his foe with a head kick, then followed Musasa to the canvas and locked in a rear-naked choke to secure the tapout at the 3:16 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Andre Lima kept his undefeated record intact and garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. The Brazilian overwhelmed Daniel Barez in their flyweight bout before landing a takedown in the third round. From there, he unleashed some ground-and-pound before forcing a tapout with a rear-naked choke 3:05 into the period.

Priscila Cachoeira received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for flatlining Josiane Nunes in their preliminary bantamweight bout. A short uppercut sent Nun…

Roman Dolidze evened the score.

The Xtreme Couture standout avenged a March 2023 defeat and made his most significant move yet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he willed his way to a five-round unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Fight Night 254 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 49-46 for Dolidze (15-3, 9-3 UFC).

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Vettori (19-8-1, 9-6-1 UFC) landed his share of shots—he wobbled the Georgian with a counter left hand over the top in the third round and flurried for a potential stoppage—but seemed to struggle to match his opponent’s output, especially in the back half of the fight. Already ahead on the scorecards, Dolidze turned up the heat in Round 5, where he connected with several clubbing right hands, a few body kicks and a collar-tie knee. He then cut off Vettori’s forward progress with a series of head kicks and crossed the finish line with…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 104 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 254. Yuneisy Duben (125.5) vs. Carli Judice (125) BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Judice (-380), Duben (+300)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Priscila Cachoeira (135) vs. Josiane Nunes (136) BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Nunes (-185), Cachoeira (+154)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:…

Waldo Cortes-Acosta might soon make it impossible for Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers to ignore him.

The former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion wiped out Ryan Spann with punches in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 254 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cortes-Acosta (13-1, 6-1 UFC) drew the curtain 4:48 into Round 2, winning for the fourth time in as many outings.

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Spann (22-11, 8-6 UFC) was out of his depth in his first assignment as a heavyweight. Cortes-Acosta punished him with a persistent jab and buzzed the tower repeatedly with overhand rights. He caught Spann moving backward late in the middle stanza, decked the Fortis MMA rep with a beautiful left hook and pounded him unconscious with a volley of follow-up punches.

Meanwhile, ex-Renaissance MMA titleholder Carlos Vera dispatched the heavily favored Josias Musasa with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their bantamweight encounter. Vera (1…

Belal Muhammad (24-3) believes he can beat Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) on the feet.

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Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While Muhammad was originally expected to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov, the Kazakh couldn’t accept the matchup due to an injury.

While Muhammad is arguably one of the best wrestlers on the UFC roster, Maddalena has devastating knockout power in his hands. However, Muhammad claims it won’t be a typical striker vs. wrestler matchup. “Remember the Name” vows to not be gun shy against Maddalena and prove himself as the best boxer at 170 pounds.

“I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna outbox Jack,” Muhammad said on “The Coach and the Casual” podcast. “I’m not gonna shoot one takedown, and I’m gonna show him the meaning of Canelo hands. I’m gonna show the UFC fighters [and] the fans that I’m the best bo…

Big Ank 🤝 Big Tom

— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) March 14, 2025

Magomed Ankalaev and Tom Aspinall seem to have bonded over the Jon Jones saga.

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While Jones is the heavyweight champ, he has long been avoiding a matchup against interim champ Aspinall. “Bones” was even considering fighting former light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira in a super fight instead of facing Aspinall. However, Ankalaev recently ended hopes of that matchup by dethroning Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313 earlier this month.

Ankalaev has since named himself “Big Ank” and been unhesitant in taking shots at others. The Dagestani most recently targeted Jones, bringing up his history of failed drug tests and accusing him of ducking Aspinall. Ankalaev believes Jones isn’t happy that the Pereira matchup is now out of the equation.

“Jonny steroid machine was very disappointed,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “I beat Alex. Please fight big [Tom …

Main Event rematch is OFFICIAL 🫡@MarvinVettori hits the scale at 186lbs!

{ #UFCVegas104 | TOMORROW 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/TNpQxu30Tx

— UFC (@ufc) March 14, 2025 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 4 p.m. ET to reflect one fighter returning to weigh in at his proper marks.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship's busy March continues with a UFC Apex card featuring a key middleweight matchup that is now official after the UFC Vegas 104 weigh-ins took place with two fighters coming in heavy.

Former title challenger Marvin Vettori is looking to bounce back from a loss to Jared Cannonier by beating a recent foe for a second time. Looking for revenge is Roman Dolidze, who lost a unanimous decision to the Italian fighter in 2023. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round rematch. As for the rest of the card, two fighters missed weight: Co-main event fighter Chidi Njokuani came in 1.25 pounds…

𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙏! 🚨

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gavin Hughes 🆚 Claudio Pacella 🇮🇹

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Gavin Hughes joins the PFL Europe Lightweight Roster after a long history competing at the highest level of the sport, including stints with Bellator and EFC. With ten stoppage victories on his record, Hughes… pic.twitter.com/JV67IoDmSm — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) March 14, 2025 The Hughes family name—no relation—will be well-represented in the Professional Fighters League’s first Europe card this year.

Per a release from the organization on Friday, the entirety of the eight-man 155-pound bracket has been revealed. The four lightweight matches plus one more at the division in a non-tournament headliner, will play out at PFL Europe 1 on May 10 inside of the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Paul Hughes, Connor Hughes and Gavin Hughes will be among the participants, of which they are not closely related.

The main attraction of this fight card will be a …

[embedded content] According to Glover Teixeira, it’s not about who wins and loses, but rather the friends we made along the way.

In the main attraction of UFC 313, former two-division champ Alex Pereira lost a close decision to Magomed Ankalaev. Not all spectators firmly believed that “Poatan” had a been defeated, with nearly half of the media scorers either scoring the bout a draw or having Pereira getting his hand raised. Count Teixeira among those, who discussed his pupil with pride and confidence on Pereira’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, remarking that Ankalaev should have been the victor.

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The video captured plenty of moments shared by the Teixeira MMA & Fitness team, ranging from them actually in the Octagon towards the end of the evening to them boarding a private jet. The beloved figured Teixeira was eternally upbeat, highlighting the harmony surrounding his team while emphasizing that everyone was together and having fun, maintaining t…

The Octagon is coming to DES MOINES 🚨@CorySandhagenx vs @Daico_Deiveson headlines the first ever #UFCDesMoines!

🎟️ Tickets on sale March 21#LiveFromDSM | #WellsFargoArena | @IAEventsCenter pic.twitter.com/Vz5wMmwVbG

— UFC (@ufc) March 13, 2025

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first-ever trip to Des Moines has picked up a couple of intriguing bouts.

The promotion on Wednesday announced that Bo Nickal will square off against Reinier de Ridder at middleweight, while Jeremy Stephens will return to the Octagon to face Mason Jones at lightweight on May 3 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. UFC Des Moines is headlined by a bantamweight tilt pitting Cory Sandhagen against Deiveson Figueiredo.

Nickal has kicked off his professional MMA tenure with seven straight triumphs, including four in UFC competition. Most recently, the former Penn State University national champion wrestler defeated Paul Craig via unani…

Andrei Arlovski is set to return to action for the first time since parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship last year.

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Arlovski will square off against Terrance Hodges under the Dirty Boxing banner on March 22 at the Regatta Harbour in Miami, the promotion announced Wednesday. DBX 1 is expected to be headlined by a clash between Yoel Romeo and Ras Hylton. DBX uses four-ounce gloves, with elbows and “conditional ground-and-pound” allowed.

A former heavyweight champion, Arlovski fulfilled his last UFC contract with a split-decision loss against Martin Buday at UFC 303 this past July. He was also drafted by the Los Angeles team in the fledgling Global Fight League earlier this year, but the promotion has yet to formally confirm any dates or locations for upcoming events.

Arlovski initially rose to prominence during his first UFC stint from 2000 to 2008, when he captured heavyweight gold and had a memorable trilogy with Tim Sylvia. …