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[embedded content] The Professional Fighters League’s 2023 playoffs will wrap up in New York City over the span of six days.

Via press release, the organization announced Thursday that it would be staging its second and third playoff events for the 2023 season in Aug. 18 and Aug. 23. Those two shows will post up inside of The Theater at Madison Square Garden – the recently renamed Hulu Theater – in New York. That Friday the 18th, heavyweights and women’s featherweights will decide the finalists. Five days later on the 23rd, the league will put up its welterweight and lightweight divisions to determine the final combatants up for the $1 million prize.

PFL CEO Peter Murray touched on returning to this venue, one that the PFL has made a second home out of the last few years, stating, “The PFL is thrilled to return to New York City and the ‘World's Most Famous Arena’ with two nights of PFL Playoff action. On August 18 and August 23, the world's best fighters will enter the…

𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 ✅

[ Thursday, June 8th | 10pm ET on ESPN | #PFLRegularSeason | 🎟️ https://t.co/Skcq84VUo6] pic.twitter.com/Fd6wZSyHH1

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 7, 2023

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All but one athlete slated to compete at PFL 4 made weight without issue on Wednesday.

Featherweight headliners Brendan Loughnane and Jesus Pinedo both hit their contracted marks, with each tipping the scales at 146 pounds. The same couldn’t be said for light heavyweight competitor Ty Flores, who checked in at 211.2 pounds for his showdown with Dan Spohn (206). As as a result, Flores will be deducted one point from the PFL standings and forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent.

PFL 4 takes place on Thursday at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

After winning the 2022 featherweight championship, Loughnane kic…

The lineup for the Bellator MMA-Rizin Fighting Federation card continues to grow, as two bouts were announced for the Bellator portion of the show on Tuesday.

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Danny Sabatello will square off against Magomed Magomedov in a bantamweight clash, while Lorenz Larkin will face Andrey Koreshkov in a welterweight rematch on July 30 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Bellator vs. Rizin 2 features a lightweight grand prix showdown between A.J. McKee and Patricky Freire as well as a clash for the promotion’s inaugural flyweight championship pitting Kyoji Horiguchi against Makoto Takahashi. The promotion announced that the Bellator portion of the card, which takes place in a cage, will be broadcast live in the United States on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. The Rizin part of the card, which will be contested in a ring, will not air on Showtime.

A former wrestler at Purdue University, Sabatello has made a name for himself due to his outspoken p…

Nicknamed the “fighting scientist” by Patricio Freire, Francisco “Chikão”' Freitas is the man behind the Bellator champion’s move to bantamweight.

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A nutritionist, physiologist and physical trainer, Freitas discussed how Freire reached 145 pounds three weeks ahead of schedule in his weight cut. Already the reigning 145-pound champion, Freire is scheduled to challenge Sergio Pettis for bantamweight gold at Bellator 297.

"Actually, since the [Adam] Borics fight when Bellator started to consider the bantamweight belt as a possibility, we started to change his whole preparation to make it an easy weight cut process. And when you work with a hard worker and focused champion like Patricio, every goal turns out easier,"Freitas revealed.

Freire’s measurements have impressed Freitas.

"I’ve been working with Patricio for the last five years,” Freitas said. I have all his numbers noted from every camp. His power, his hormones and the whole physiologic pr…

Je reste positif et je reviens au plus vite ⏰🤜🏾 Jarrah a de la chance cette fois mais il ne peut pas se cacher. @pflmma c’est chez moi maintenant, alors je vais botter les fesses de tous ces poids welters … #ticTac ⏰ #PoignetMort #AlHamduliLlah pic.twitter.com/uP0JpZGttT

— Cédric Doumbè (@CedricDoumbe) June 7, 2023

Cedric Doumbe’s highly-anticipated Professional Fighters League debut will have to wait.

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The organization announced on Wednesday that Doumbe has withdrawn from a proposed welterweight clash against Jarrah Al-Silawi at PFL 6 on June 23. As a result, Zach Juusola will step in and face Al-Silawi at the event.

Doumbe took to social media to reveal that a wrist injury was the reason behind his exit.

“Now, we are training, we trained, we trained a lot. Everything was good. At the grappling training I don’t know why but my wrist hurt, I told myself it will heal. There’s always little injuries during the tra…

Marlon Moraes enters PFL 4 on a six-bout losing streak in which he has been finished by knockout or technical knockout in all of those defeats.

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Despite those struggles, Moraes doesn’t feel any added pressure as he prepares to face Gabriel Braga on Thursday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

“Every fight is pressure,” Moraes said during PFL 4 media day. “You always want to win and you always want to finish. I don’t see any difference. Every fight is pressure.”

Moraes established himself as one of the top bantamweights in the world from 2012 to 2019, when he won 16 of 18 bouts while reigning as World Series of Fighting champion and challenging for UFC gold. His recent losing streak has been tough mentally, but Moraes knows that it comes with the territory of his chosen career.

“It’s the other side,” Moraes said. “I’ve been on both sides. It’s not easy to deal with. But that’s what I chose for my life, to be a fighter.

“I’m not in a good…

The lineup for the second leg of the Professional Fighters League regular season changed significantly when 10 fighters failed drug tests after the organization’s first three events of 2023.

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The light heavyweight field was notably affected, as defending champion Rob Wilkinson was one of four athletes — along with Thiago Santos, Will Fleury and Krzysztof Jotko — who was removed from the campaign as a result of those failed drug tests.

One fighter who remains in contention for the light heavyweight crown is Ty Flores, who is coming off a unanimous decision triumph against Delan Monte at PFL 1. The Elevation Fight Team representative was not surprised to see so many of his counterparts test positive for banned substances.

“I don’t think that PFL is alone in that,” Flores said at PFL 4 media day. “People are gonna cheat in sports. There’s always gonna be cheaters no matter what. I’m never gonna be shocked, especially in a sport like MMA.”

Flores …

After beating Abubakar Nurmagomedov by split decision last Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46 in Las Vegas, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos disappointed his fans by not calling out a future opponent in his Octagon interview.

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He didn’t make the same mistake when speaking to Evelyn Rodrigues for UFC Fight Pass Brazil shortly thereafter.

“I already have two names I want to face, Gunnar Nelson and Neil Magny, so I'm ready,” he said. “As soon as the UFC decides, you can call me, and I'll be ready for the fight.”

The Brazilian veteran also revealed that he never stopped training during the time he was suspended by USADA for a doping violation.

“I took advantage of this period to evolve and correct mistakes using the excellent training material we have at CM System,” he said.

While his first victory in more than a year and a half made him happy, dos Santos is more excited for the significant life event that is on the horizon.

"I'm anxious. My f…

After 16 bouts, Ilir Latifi and the Ultimate Fighting Championship have parted ways.

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The 39-year-old heavyweight and light heavyweight fighter is no longer on the UFC roster. The news was initially reported by Twitter account UFC Roster Watch and later confirmed by multiple outlets. Latifi reportedly completed his deal and did not have his contract renewed by the promotion.

The Swede known as “The Sledgehammer” last competed on May 20, when he dropped a split decision to Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC Fight Night 223. Latifi went 9-7 during his promotional tenure, earning wins over the likes of Alexey Oleynik, Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante.

In addition to Latifi, the following fighters are no longer on the UFC roster: Makwan Amirkhani, Tony Gravely, Trevin Jones, Mounir Lazzez, Omar Morales and Batgerel Danaa. All completed their contracts and were not re-signed by the UFC, according to MMAFighting.com.

Chris Weidman will make his first Octagon appearance in more than two years when he faces Brad Tavares at UFC 292.

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Newsday was first to report the middleweight booking. It will be Weidman’s first fight since he suffered a gruesomely broken leg 17 seconds into his clash with Uriah Hall at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021. Weidman, who broke his right fibula and tibia on a checked low kick, had to undergo multiple surgeries to recover from the injury.

UFC 292 takes place on Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston and is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight title tilt between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley. In the co-main event, Weili Zhang will defend her strawweight crown against Amanda Lemos.

A former UFC middleweight champion, the 38-year-old Weidman is just 2-6 within the Las Vegas-based promotion since December 2015 — which dates back to when he relinquished the belt to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194. Weidman’s most recent victory came at UFC Fight…

UFC veteran Tony Ferguson has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence after flipping his truck in Hollywood, California, last month.

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TMZ Sports was first to report the news. Ferguson entered his not guilty plea at an arraignment on June 1. The former interim lightweight champion allegedly crashed his truck into two parked cars while driving by a Hollywood nightclub on May 7, and Ferguson’s vehicle flipped onto its side. One of the cars in the crash reportedly belonged to rapper Cash Gotti, who arrived at the scene to find his vehicle totaled.

Ferguson was uninjured in the wreck but refused to take a field sobriety test and was “very uncooperative” at the scene, according to law enforcement officials. One officer revealed that Ferguson also “reeked” of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. He was arrested with bail set at $30,000 but was later released on his own recognizance. Ferguson is due back in court for a hearing…

Magnifique! We are going back to #UFCParis on Sept 2! 🇫🇷

Find out how to get your tickets early ⤵️

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🎟️ https://t.co/IFdZXeHT2U pic.twitter.com/OS9BkEdHxz — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 5, 2023

Approximately one year after its debut in the City of Light, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed back to Paris for a second time.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that a UFC event will take place in the French capital at Accor Arena on Sept. 2. No bouts were confirmed for the card.

“After fifteen years in the making, our first show in Paris was insane. Sold out event and the fans and atmosphere were incredible,” UFC president Dana White said in a release. “The arena was packed from the first fight of the night with everyone on their feet and I can’t wait to deliver another unforgettable night.”

After the ban on mixed martial arts in France ended in 2020, the promotion held its debut even…

Kai Kara-France is taking his contentious split-decision loss to Amir Albazi in stride.

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Despite outlanding his opponent by a significant margin on the feet, “Don’t Blink” was on the wrong side of the scorecards in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner. Judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee scored the contest 48-47 for Albazi, and that made all the difference — despite the vast majority of media members awarding the bout to Kara-France. While statistics favored Kara-France, Albazi was moving forward the majority of the fight and also came the closest to a finish with a third round rear-naked choke attempt.

“This is the sport at the highest level,” Kara-France said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “It’s a game of inches and I know I’ve said that before but it’s subjective to what the judges are scoring. If they’re scoring damage, if they’re scoring control, aggression, all of these things.

“I was feeling confident when they were calling the announcement but ha…

Amir Albazi believes he proved himself to the world with his split-decision triumph against Kai Kara-France in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner on Saturday night.

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“That was a Top-3 ranked flyweight in the world and I got the win against him,” Albazi said at the post-fight press conference. “I went five rounds. So I know I can go with these guys for five whole rounds, and I know I’m ready for the title. I just want to go on to the next one, get my belt and keep climbing. Keep becoming the king that I know I am.”

Albazi’s latest triumph was not without controversy, as many observers felt that Kara-France deserved the decision based on superior striking volume. Still, Albazi was the one who came closest to a finish with a tight rear-naked choke in Round 3, and he also felt that his willingness to advance and land heavy strikes made a significant difference. Albazi admitted that he spent more time standing with Kara-France because he wanted to prove himse…

Don’t look now, but Alex Caceres has quietly won seven of his last eight appearances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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“Bruce Leeroy” put on a show at UFC on ESPN 46, earning “Fight of the Night” honors for his unanimous decision triumph over Daniel Pineda in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I felt it was a good performance. I felt I was dominant, especially in the first and third rounds,” Caceres said at the post-fight press conference. “The second round he had a pretty good grappling exchange on me. Other than that I felt I showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of skill. It was a fun fight.”

Caceres appeared to be on the verge of finishing his opponent with some brutal body work in the third frame, but Pineda displayed his toughness in making it to the final horn. Caceres commended his opponent for his tenacity.

“I hit him in the body pretty hard. I caved him down with leg kicks. I almost shook him a whole bunch o…

Incredible knockouts coming from the rookie and the vet 🔥@JimMiller_155 & Muhammad Naimov take home tonight's POTN honors 💸 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/kSrJ8Gmd5I

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC on ESPN 46 card.

Co-main event fighters Alex Caceres and Daniel Pineda each took home an additional $50,000 as they received fight of the night honors. The back-and-forth fight saw Caceres ultimately prevail, although both men had their moments through out. Thanks to the high pace that lasted the entire 15 minutes, both men received a bonus for their thrilling performance.

Two other fighters earned performance of the night bonuses with impressive knockout wins. Jim Miller scored the fastest knockout win of his career over late replacement Jesse Butler. A beautiful combination of punches from Miller slept Butler. Finally, Muhammadjon Naimov received $50…

Amir Albazi showed he was ready for the step up in competition.

The Iraqi flyweight won his sixth straight fight — including five in the Octagon — by taking a split-decision triumph over former interim title challenger Kai Kara-France in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee scored the bout 48-47 for Albazi (17-1, 5-0 UFC), while Mike Bell submitted a 48-47 tally for Kara-France (24-11, 7-4 UFC).

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“I know it was a close fight. It’s not how I planned this fight to go, but it is what it is,” Albazi said. “I showed my guts.” Albazi was competitive throughout, but he did his most definitive work in Round 3, when he grounded Kara-France, logged more than three minutes of control time and drew a grimace from his opponent with a tight rear-naked choke attempt. Kara-France, meanwhile, appeared to have an edge on the feet, landing quick straight punching combinations while effectively ble…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 46 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Grishin (-135), Lins (+115)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 BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Lacerda (-145), Blackshear (+125)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:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result …

Back and forth action through all three rounds 😤

Daniel Santos going home with a win! #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/iMGVFPzlOs

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2023

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Daniel Santos made Johnny Munoz Jr. pay for his willingness to play guard.

Top control and ground-and-pound carried Santos to a unanimous decision victory over Munoz Jr. in their UFC on ESPN 46 clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. All three judges scored the contest 29-27 in favor of the Chute Boxe Diego Lima member.

It was a rough outing for Munoz Jr., who weathered a pair of kicks to the groin — the second which led to a point deduction — and struggled to mount significant offense from his back. The former King of the Cage champion had his best moments in Round 1, when he landed a series of upkicks against Santos before briefly trapping his Brazilian foe in a triangle choke.

For the most part, however, Santos was comfortable working from top positio…

WOOOW!!! MAMED KHALIDOV!!!

He does it again!!! XTB #KSWColosseum2 pic.twitter.com/IIAZGTfZ8i

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) June 3, 2023

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In front of a fully-packed PGE Narodowy Arena in Krakow, Poland, KSW 83 "Colosseum 2" delivered a contender for the “Card of the Year” honors with entertaining battles, submissions, knockouts and last-minute drama.

The stacked card was headlined by the highly-anticipated rubber match between former two-division titleholder Mamed Khalidov and former middleweight champion Scott Askham. Khalidov dropped a unanimous decision in his first clash with Askham, but he rebounded with back-to-back knockout victories over his opponent — including on Saturday — to win the trilogy. Khalidov (37-8-2, 21-4-2 KSW) dominated the first stanza thanks to a well-timed takedown and ground position. Askham (19-6, 4-2 KSW) looked for scrambles but never seemed to control the fight’s direction.

The contestants spent muc…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭.

🇵🇱 Khalidov vs. @scottaskham1 🇬🇧

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Their final chapter will be written on the biggest stage in MMA! XTB #KSWColosseum2 @ViaplaySportsUK | KSWTV | @viaplaypl pic.twitter.com/81Kc3ab4GT — KSW (@KSW_MMA) June 2, 2023 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's Colosseum 2 event is set, although it has one less title fight than initially planned.

The bantamweight title fight between Jakub Wiklacz and Werlleson Martins Ribeiro was scratched after Ribeiro failed to make weight. The challenger came in over 10 pounds heavy at 147.2 pounds. Wiklacz declined to face another opponent, and the fight was replaced with a last-minute fight between newcomers Sebastian Romanowski and Mariusz Joniak at a 163-pound catchweight.

The card will go ahead with its main event between Mamed Khalidov and Scott Askham, along with lightweight and middleweight title fights. The lightweight title fight will see Marian Ziolkow…

Kyle Driscoll needed to bounce back and did so in dominant fashion under the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship banner. The CW 155 main event did not even last a full round, as Driscoll (14-4, 2-1 CW) stopped James Lynch in less than four minutes on Friday at the Sycuan Casino Resort in San Diego.

𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡! 😱

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He takes our #CW155 main event in the very first round with an incredible TKO win 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZDSiIIex49 — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 3, 2023 Right out of the gate, Driscoll cut loose with powerful shots that forced his opponent to play self-preservation defense. Lynch (6-4, 4-3 CW) partially managed to intercept his counterpart’s strikes with hooks and some timid calf kicks, but he looked much slower than Driscoll. The key moment arrived with a right hand from Driscoll that impacted cleanly on Lynch’s chin, knocking him down. In a split second, Driscoll jumped into full-mount and landed hard g…

Our #UFCVegas74 main event is official ‼️@KaiKaraFrance weighs in at 125.5 💪

UFCVegas74 | Prelims 6pmET on ESPN+ | Main Card 9pmET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/DAaBM1OmNJ

— UFC (@ufc) June 2, 2023 After a rare week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves with an intriguing flyweight main attraction.

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Headlining UFC on ESPN 46 is a 125-pound fight between contenders Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi. Both flyweights successfully made weight for what is the first UFC main event for both. The rest of the card also all made weight.

The main event showcase comes after Kara-France (24-10, 1 NC) came up short in an interim title fight against Brandon Moreno. "Don't Blink" ultimately succumbed to a body kick and punches in Round 3. Despite the setback, the 30-year-old will look to show that he still has plenty left in the tank. The New Zealand fighter officially weighed 125.5 pounds.

This marks the bi…

[embedded content] A fighter from the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship wants to face another elder statesman…with a catch.

MMA legend Mark Coleman, at the age of 58, has started training again and is actively cornering fighters. Perhaps to get his name out again or because he felt the itch of competition again, Coleman called out Conor McGregor for a bare-knuckle boxing fight. McGregor famously appeared at BKFC 41, at the conclusion of the event helmed by Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold, where he entered the ring and even faced off against the victor. Count former rival, Carlos Barreto, who currently commentates on UFC Fight Pass for Brazilian broadcasts, against that idea.

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“Coleman is one of the biggest legends of our sport,” Barreto stated on his YouTube show “Papo de Luta.” “He passed through a very difficult time lately and showed his big heart overcoming alcoholism and also a heart attack. He was giving a great example to everybody […