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Magomed Ankalaev believes he has done his part to receive No. 1 contender status in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division.

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The 31-year-old Gorets Fight Team member got some much-needed closure on Saturday night, when he knocked out Johnny Walker 2:42 into Round 2 of their headlining encounter at UFC Fight Night 234. Not only was it a more satisfying conclusion for Ankalaev than their first meeting, which ended via no contest, but it also made a statement about the Dagestani’s overall skill set — one that could make reigning 205-pound champion Alex Pereira take notice.

“I could have come out here today and wrestled against Johnny Walker. I could have taken him down right away and won with my ground-and-pound on the ground, but instead I wanted to send a message. I wanted to stand up and I wanted to knock him out, and that’s what I did,” Ankalaev said through a translator at the UFC Fight Night 234 post-fight press confer…

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Paul Felder is considering a return to the Octagon for a clash against Jim Miller at UFC 300.

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Miller put on an impressive performance to earn a submission win over fellow veteran Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday. With his latest win, the 40 year old extended his own record for both most fights (43) and wins (26) in UFC history. Miller, who has notched wins at both UFC 100 and UFC 200, has been eyeing a UFC 300 outing to complete his trifecta.

He reiterated his call for a spot on the UFC 300 card during his post-fight interview, targeting both Felder and Matt Brown as potential opponents.

“UFC 300 is coming up,” Miller said. “I got three months to heal up and stay in shape and stay ready. Paul Felder, I think that would be a fun fight. I’ve got the most finishes at lightweight. Matt Brown, I would love to go up to 170 fight the guy with the most knockouts in UFC history …”

Felder, who was cageside on comme…

Jean Silva claims he can’t explain much about the walkout for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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Silva made his first promotional appearance at UFC Fight Night 234 against Westin Wilson. The Brazilian attracted a lot of eyeballs starting from his walkout right up to his victory celebration.

“Lord Assassin” took three minutes and 40 seconds for his walkout, all the while coldly staring into the camera. His overall Octagon time barely exceeded that, as he put on a dominant beating to earn a stoppage win at the 4:12 mark of Round 1. Silva then further added to his intrigue with a barking celebration.

Silva claims it is his alter ego, “Lord Assassin,” who takes over during his extended walkout.

“I’m going to apologize for not knowing how to answer this,” Silva said in a post-fight scrum. I’ve said this before, it’s another person, it’s someone else. I’ve given a name to my alter ego, that’s why ‘Lord Assassin’ came about like it’s …

Shamil Gasanov revealed that his body wasn’t listening to him during his decision win over Ho Taek Oh at One on Prime Video 18.

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Gasanov put on a dominant grappling display to earn a unanimous decision win over his opponent to bounce back from his lone career loss against Garry Tonon. “The Cobra” subsequently revealed that he was suffering from food poisoning and felt its effects severely as he battled his way to victory. The Dagestani standout said that while he felt in good shape while warming up, his body stopped listening to him after the opening frame.

“I don’t know what happened,” Gasanov said at the post-fight press conference. “When I was warming up, I felt pretty good and everything was well but at the same time, after the first round, I couldn’t feel my body well. My arms and legs weren’t listening to me but at the same time just because of my willpower and because of my trainer, I was able to get through the fight and win.”

Despite t…

Kwon Won Il made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

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Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…

Won Il Kwon made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

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Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…

Liam Nolan wants be a ONE Championship muay thai title holder by the end of 2024.

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One on Prime Video 18 saw the British fan favorite take on Russian striker Ali Aliev, who stepped up on short notice for French Glory Kickboxing veteran Theo Avon. Nolan earned a unanimous decision win over Aliev in his first bout since November 2022.

Nolan started his ONE Championship tenure on a two-fight skid, but he bounced back with consecutive wins over Brown Pinas and Kim Kyung Lock. Nolan then came up short against former lightweight title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee before besting Eddie Abasolo. Nolan was then out of competition throughout 2023 due to health issues, which forced him to miss out on a rematch against Klinmee.

He believes his latest win over Aliev now puts him only one fight away from a title shot against lightweight champ Regian Eersel.

“To fight next, I don’t know but I definitely want to be ending the year with a ONE belt on my shoulde…

Jim Miller is aging like a fine wine.

In his 43rd Octagon appearance, the New Jersey native pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his submission of Gabriel Benitez in the UFC Fight Night 234 co-main event. Miller ended the lightweight contest with a face crank at the 3:25 mark of Round 3.

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That was one of four “Performance of the Night” bonuses handed out by the promotion.

Elsewhere, Magomed Ankalaev received a $50,000 check for a knockout of Johnny Walker in the evening’s headliner. After their first meeting ended in a no contest, the Dagestani left nothing to chance, as he dropped his foe with a right hook and sealed his victory with an uppercut against the fence 2:42 into the second period.

Meanwhile, Brunno Ferreira garnered $50,000 of his own with a first-round finish of Phil Hawes in a featured middleweight affair. The Brazilian battered his foe with a barrage of offense, dropped him with a straight left and put Hawes a…

Magomed Ankalaev shifted ever closer to another shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title and perhaps boosted the rhinoplasty market in the process.

The stoic 31-year-old Russian turned away Johnny Walker with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 234 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, likely closing the book on their brief but eventful head-to-head series. Referee Marc Goddard rescued Walker (21-8, 7-5 UFC) from further damage 2:42 into Round 2.

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A little less than three months after their initial encounter resulted in a controversial no contest, neither man made much headway in the first round of their rematch. Ankalaev (18-1-1, 10-1-1 UFC) was content to stay at a safe distance while his volatile counterpart unleashed flashy, inefficient attacks. Midway through Round 2, the Gorets Fight Team product dropped Walker to a seated position against the fence with a brutal right hook. The right upp…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 234 “Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 4:15 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Van (-218), Bunes (+180)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Nolan (-298), Motta (+240)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round…

Farid Basharat answered a lot of questions regarding his status as a future contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division.

Repeated takedowns, time-consuming clinches and superior activity in the standup exchanges carried the undefeated Xtreme Couture standout to a unanimous decision over former TKO Major League MMA champion Taylor Lapilus in a featured UFC Fight Night 234 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Basharat (12-0, 3-0 UFC).

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Lapilus (19-4, 4-2 UFC), who suffered his first setback in almost 2,000 days, was a difficult nut to crack but had no real answer for his adversary’s relentless tenacity. Basharat pursued takedowns in all three rounds, even as many of them were negated, and kept his foot on the accelerator for 15 minutes. He ducked into a takedown behind an overhand right in the third round, set up in side control and eventually threatened the …

Germaine de Randamie Returns Against Norma Dumont at UFC Fight Night on April 6 Former women’s UFC featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie is set to return to the Octagon following a nearly four-year hiatus from the sport.

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The 39-year-old de Randamie will face Norma Dumont in a three-round affair on the April 6 UFC Fight Night card. The news was first reported by Laerte Viana, with Dumont subsequently confirming the match-up in a social media post.

De Randamie will enter the Octagon against Dumont on the back of a technical submission victory against Juliana Pena back in October 2020. Since then, “The Iron Lady” has been sidelined by injuries and also gave birth to a son in March 2023.

Meanwhile, Dumont is currently on a three-fight win streak. She most recently defeated Chelsea Chandler via unanimous decision in July 2023.

The UFC Fight Night event will be headlined by a middleweight meeting between Marvin Vettori and surging con…

Mark Hunt recently revealed some alarming news.

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In an appearance on “The MMA Hour,” the former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor told Ariel Helwani that he’d been offered a lucrative check by an Australian promotion to take a dive in a fight.

Shocked at the proposition, Hunt was quick to clarify that he never once considered the offer.

“I’ve always been one that says if things aren’t right, they aren’t right,” Hunt said. “I was offered three or four million dollars to take a dive in a fight here in Australia and I said, ‘Are you serious?’... I said no because that’s just not me. Although I could have done with the money, I was going through some hard times with the separation and s—t, but I could have done with three or four million dollars. It’s just not my character. It’s not me. I’d rather just go out on my shield and then lose or die."

Following his departure from the UFC in 2018, Hunt has competed in two boxing matches, mo…

Kegan Gennrich secured the Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship in the final frame of his LFA 174 main event with Jacobi Jones on Friday at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Jones missed weight by 0.2 pounds and was ineligible to compete for the title.

The first round saw both fighters feel each other out and exchange strikes on the feet, with Jones arguably getting the better of Gennrich with his leg kicks. As the fight progressed, Gennrich (8-2), known for his grappling prowess, continued with his forward-pressure strikes and eventually racked up a considerable amount of control time with his superior grappling in the following rounds. In the fourth frame, Jones (6-3) managed to land a few shots on the feet and even came close to securing his opponent’s back, only to be reversed and threatened with submissions and vicious ground-and-pound for the remainder of the frame.

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Having come very close to the finish in the p…

ONE Championship’s Shamil Gasanov rebounded from his first career loss and put himself back on track to a 155-pound mixed martial arts title shot with a unanimous decision win over Ho Taek Oh in the ONE on Prime Video 18 main event Friday night at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Gasanov (10-1) was stunned to be kneebared by Garry Tonon last July, but that wouldn’t deter the former world grappling champion. Gasanov attacked Ho’s legs early. Ho, who is also a skilled grappler, struggled to keep the Dagenstani wrestler off his back but was disciplined enough to defend against the submissions. In the few moments the fight stood, Oh was too tired to keep Gasanov from him. Oh pushed through the final bell, but Gasanov was the clear winner. Postfight, Gasanov shared that he went into the bout feeling sick from food posioning. He didn’t call out ONE 155-pound MMA champion Tang Kai; he was simply concerned with getting some much-needed rest.

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Tigers are sa…

Sherdog's live ONE Fight Night 18 coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1

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Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

The Ultimate Fighting Championship now has a main event for every fight card to April besides its Saudi Arabia show.

Via the promotion on Friday, UFC Atlantic City, also likely called UFC on ESPN 53, now has its main attraction. Welterweights will take center stage at the Boardwalk Hall, as Sean Brady (15-1) takes on Vicente Luque (22-9-1). The two will collide on March 30 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Brady successfully rebounded from his first defeat—a knockout loss to Belal Muhammad where he appeared to completely run out of gas—by tapping Kelvin Gastelum in the third round of their December match. Brady began his professional career by racking up 15 straight wins, including five in the Octagon. The Philadelphia native claimed notable victories over Jake Matthews and Michael Chiesa to put himself in top-10 contention.

Always-entertaining Luque also broke out of a skid by topping Rafael dos Anjos on the scorecards last year. Before then, he fell short to Muhamm…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship loves heavyweight headliners, and fans will be getting one in mid-March.

Per the organization on Friday, Tai Tuivasa (14-6) will throw bombs for five rounds or less against Marcin Tybura (24-8) on March 16. The heavyweights will now headline the currently unnumbered Fight Night event on that date, likely to be coined UFC Fight Night 239 should the main card air on ESPN+. The two big men were booked against one another at UFC 298, but the promotion elected to slide them back a month to put on the marquee of this UFC Apex show.

Tuivasa will be looking to get out of a slump, as he has suffered three straight stoppage losses since September 2022. Those defeats came against the upper echelon of the division, as Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov all dispatched him in a little over one year’s time. Before then, the boisterous Aussie slugged his way through the opposition, racking up five straight knockouts from 2020 to early…

🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/TGReZ4W0Kq

— マネル・ケイプ Manel Kape (@ManelKape) January 12, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is down one huge fight ahead of its Saturday show.

At the UFC Fight Night 234 weigh-ins on Friday morning, Manel Kape hit the scales at 129.5 pounds. He was slated to rematch Matheus Nicolau (126), and when he came in heavy and decided to stop cutting, he was assessed a 25% fine of his purse. Before the fighters could square off for their faceoffs, the promotion canceled the fight altogether. According to Kape, Nicolau elected not to receive the fine and accept the match.

“Guys, I couldn’t make the weight this time,” Kape wrote, “two weeks ago I was extremely sick due to a virus that happened here in Las Vegas, and I had to stay out of training for five days and filling myself with antibiotics; [it] not only affected me but many of my training partners. My coaches and manager thought it was better for me to cancel …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles Oliveira is not buying into Islam Makhachev’s perceived bluster.

On Wednesday, Makhachev called his shots on social media, where he stated his preferred upcoming schedule. According to the champion, his first appearance would be on June 8 against Justin Gaethje, then he wanted to return in November in New York City against the winner of Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. After that, he would make another defense in February 2025 against anyone. Count Oliveira among those that do not believe things will play out as Makhachev has planned.

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The reason for Makhachev’s late start to the year was two-fold: he sustained an injury, and Ramadan will be taking place from March 10 to April 9 in 2024. This meant that the Dagestan native would need some time to rehab his injuries and train properly, thus the June start time. Oliveira does not buy it, and on Thursday, he explained why to Ag. Fight.

“What came…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight queen Rose Namajunas is taking another crack at flyweight.

On Wednesday, MMA Hoje first broke the story that Amanda Ribas (12-4) would be throwing down with Namajunas (11-6). The initial claim was that the two would headline a May 23 show—this would fall on a Thursday—and it was corrected to March 23. The two flyweights will serve as the headliner for the UFC Fight Night show on that date, which will post up in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex. This high-stakes pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets on Friday.

Brazil’s Ribas has alternated wins and losses in her last seven outings, switching back and forth from flyweight to strawweight. As a result, she currently holds the no. 12 spot at 125 pounds and the no. 14 place at strawweight on Sherdog’s Official Rankings. In her return to strawweight after three trips fighting up at flyweight, Ribas landed the first spinning wheel kick in UFC women’s divisional history…

First to the scale in 2024 👏@JohnnyWalker weighs in at 205.5 lbs for #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/xhEx4PwtuV

— UFC (@ufc) January 12, 2024 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 3:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 12 to reflect a fight cancellation.

Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Manel Kape is not putting his best foot forward as he hunts for an elusive title shot.

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The UFC Fight Night 234 card is now down to 11 fights, and is headlined by a light heavyweight clash between contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. All fighters except for would-be flyweight Kape successfully made weight for the first card of the year. Kape checked in 3.5 pounds over the flyweight limit at 129.5 pounds for his fight against Matheus Nicolau, and the fight has been canceled, per MMA Fighting.

Both men in the main attraction have unfinished business, as their October 2023 fight ended in a no-contest after Ankalaev (17-1-1, 1 NC) la…

🚨🚨Featherweight Battle🚨🚨

Alexander Hernandez takes on Damon Jackson at #UFCVegas89 on April 6th in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/vN8BzUD4cj

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) January 11, 2024

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A matchup pitting seasoned featherweights Alexander Hernandez and Damon Jackson into a three-round contest has been added to UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Allen.

The event is scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on April 6. The news was first reported by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff in a social media post.

Hernandez (14-7) will make his way to the Octagon against Jackson coming off a unanimous decision loss to Bill Algeo at UFC 229 in October. Prior to his recent defeat, “The Great Ape” secured a unanimous decision victory against Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 219 .

Meanwhile, Jackson (22-6) will look to return to the win column after suffering back-to-back losses against Billy Quarantillo and Dan Ige in A…

Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov will still get to handle their business, just a few months later than they initially expected.

Ahead of UFC 296 at the end of 2023, Brown (17-5) and Salikhov (19-4) were planning on coming to blows at welterweight. A day before the event, Brown was hospitalized from an illness, and he was forced out of the pairing. The Ultimate Fighting Championship opted to preserve the matchup instead of giving them different opponents, and they will now square off on Feb. 3. ESPN revealed the bout on Thursday, and the organization announced shortly thereafter that they would be competing at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Brown is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Wellington Turman in June 2023, which put him back in the win column. Before then, he had a four-fight winning streak dragged to a halt courtesy of a first-round submission by Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 284. In that stretch, Brown defeated names including…