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PFL Exec: Francis Ngannou Debut Foe Will Be ‘More Exciting’ Than Current Speculation

The mixed martial arts community still has plenty of time to speculate on who Francis Ngannou will face when he makes his Professional Fighters League debut.

The former UFC heavyweight champion signed with the PFL earlier this month with plans to return to MMA sometime in 2024 after he pursues a fight in professional boxing. While that has led to fans looking at the league’s heavyweight roster and free agents outside the UFC’s control, PFL founder Donn Davis is confident that Ngannou’s first booking will exceed expectations.

“To me, what’s so fun here is the mystery box of candy and everything is going to be good,” Davis said on The Spinning Backfist MMA Show. “There’s been all kind of speculation, ranging from the PFL season to [Fabricio] Werdum. I believe it will be something else and bigger and more exciting than you’ve read so far. We have nine months — nine months ago, people would have laughed if we said Francis was gonna come to the PFL. So,…

James Gallahger vs. Cris Lencioni Booked for Bellator 298

James Gallagher will face Cris Lencioni in a featherweight scrap at Bellator 298 on Aug. 11.

Severe MMA was first to report the pairing. Bellator 298 takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is headlined by a welterweight tilt pitting Logan Storley against Brennan Ward.

Gallagher had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, when he suffered a third-round submission defeat to Patrick Mix in a bantamweight bout at Bellator 270 in November 2021. The SBG Ireland product is 8-2 during his tenure with the California-based promotion.

Lencioni, meanwhile, has been victorious in his last four professional appearances — including two under the Bellator banner. Most recently, the Gracie Barra Portland representative submitted Blake Smith in the second round of their encounter at Bellator 294.

UFC President: Promotion ‘Definitely Working On’ Grasso-Shevchenko Title Rematch

It appears that an immediate rematch with Valentina Shevchenko will be next for newly-crowned flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.

Dana White indicated as much during the UFC Fight Night 223 post-fight press conference on Saturday. He did not reveal a potential date or event for the bout, however. “We’re working on that, too,” White said regarding the rematch. “That’s one of the fights we’re definitely working on right now.”

Grasso authored one of 2023’s biggest upsets when she submitted Shevchenko with a fourth-round face crank in the UFC 285 co-main event on March 4. That ended a streak of seven consecutive successful title defenses for Shevchenko, who had established herself as one of the top female pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

The 29-year-old Grasso has won five consecutive fights since moving up to 125 pounds from strawweight. Had the UFC elected to avoid an immediate rematch, Grasso had a number of interesting options for her firs…

Logan Storley, Brennan Ward to Headline Bellator 298 in South Dakota on Aug. 11

A welterweight showdown pitting Logan Storley against Brennan Ward will serve as the main event for Bellator 298 on Aug. 11.

Promotion officials announced the booking on Monday. Bellator 298 takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., and will see Valentin Moldavsky square off against Steve Mowry in the evening’s heavyweight co-headliner. The main card, which airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, will also include a middleweight clash between Dalton Rosta and Aaron Jeffrey and a lightweight tilt between Sidney Outlaw and Islam Mamedov.

Meanwhile, Lucas Brennan will lock horns with Weber Almeida on the preliminary draw, which airs at the Bellator YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

A former interim champion, Storley had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a five-round decision loss to Yaroslav Amosov in a title unification bout at Bellator 291 on Feb. 25. Storley …

Terrance McKinney Announces July 15 UFC Bout vs. Nazim Sadykhov

Fight news!

Here we go, I’m back 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/lz1PUNxZNo

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) May 22, 2023

Terrance McKinney will lock horns with Nazim Sadykhov in a lightweight bout at UFC on ESPN 49 on July 15.

McKinney announced the pairing in a cowboy-themed video on social media. UFC on ESPN 49 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight duel pitting Holly Holm against Mayra Bueno Silva.

After beginning his Octagon tenure with back-to-back first-round finishes, McKinney has lost two of his last three UFC bouts. Most recently, the 28-year-old Spokane, Wash., native suffered a second-round KO defeat to Ismael Bonfim at UFC 283 on Jan. 21.

Sadykhov scored a third-round KO of Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada on Dana White’s Contender Series last August before defeating Evan Elder via technical knockout in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18. The Long an…

Anthony Hernandez Admits He Barely Follows UFC: ‘I’m Not Here to Be a Fanboy’

Anthony Hernandez is quietly building an impressive resume in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.

The former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor earned his fourth straight victory at UFC Fight Night 223, pulling away for a third-round technical knockout victory over once highly-touted prospect Edmen Shahbazyan in the evening’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Fluffy” endured a strong start from his opponent before overwhelming him with takedowns, submission attempts and ground-and-pound.

In the aftermath, Hernandez found plenty of room for improvement.

“I got hit, so obviously I’ve got to work on head movement,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “My coaches told me I was making a couple mistakes when I was moving backward. Just back to the drawing board. We just come back and we try to perform better next time.”

Hernandez was confident that he would eventually be able to impose his will on S…

Dana White Discusses Potential Timeline for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler

The countdown to #TUF31 begins!!! ⏱

[ #TUF31 Premieres Tue. May 30 on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/QpdIYGMySZ

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) April 30, 2023

As Conor McGregor continues to delay his entry into the USADA drug testing pool, there has been some concern in recent weeks that his matchup with Michael Chandler won’t actually happen.

According to UFC president Dana White, a fight announcement will occur during the airing of “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” which features McGregor and Chandler as opposing coaches and premieres on May 30.

“That’s correct,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 223 post-fight press conference on Saturday night. “There’s a fight. He [McGregor] has to get into the USADA pool first. He’s filling out the paperwork. I don’t know how soon that will be done or what’s going on, but that’s his business, that he’s handling with USADA. But it’s all in motion.”

USADA normally requires…

Mackenzie Dern Targets Future Fight with Ex-UFC Champ Rose Namajunas

Rose Namajunas has been off the grid since relinquishing the strawweight crown to Carla Esparza in a forgettable rematch at UFC 274, but the ex-champ remains one of the biggest names in the strawweight division.

Mackenzie Dern set her sights on “Thug” Rose following a dominant victory over Angela Hill in the UFC Fight Night 223 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Namajunas hasn’t fought MMA since May 2022, but Dern is aware that she has been honing her grappling skills in recent months.

“I follow her on social media and stuff, and I saw her do an ADCC regional or something like that,” Dern said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I’m a former ADCC champion, so I’m always happy when I see the MMA girls doing jiu-jitsu. But, for sure, fighting Rose is a priority of mine right now at this moment.”

Dern has won two of her last three Octagon appearances dating back to 2022 and demonstrated considerable improvement in…

Paul Craig Drops to Middleweight, Meets Andre Muniz at UFC London on July 22

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Paul Craig will move to 185 pounds and face Andre Muniz at UFC Fight Night 224.

Super Lutas was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 224 takes place at the O2 Arena in London on July 22 and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Tom Aspinall and M…

Virna Jandiroba-Tatiana Suarez Among 3 Fights Booked for Aug. 5 UFC Card

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is bestowing a newly announced event with a pair of light heavyweight collisions and one top contender match at 115 pounds.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie first announced that the UFC would be staging a Fight Night card on Aug. 5. The destination is currently unknown, but it is but rumored to be taking place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. On that lineup, two 205-pound affairs have been booked plus one outside that weight class. The first, likely on the main card, comes between Dustin Jacoby (18-7-1) and Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-3). The second, also courtesy of MMA Junkie, which has no distinction as to its placement, features Tanner Boser (20-10-1) against the returning Aleksa Camur (6-2). Jacoby later announced his bout on social media, while Iridium Sports Management confirmed Camur vs. Boser.

Additionally, a pivotal 115-pound affair is on the books for this fight card, as Virna Jandiroba (19-3) is expec…

Mackenzie Dern Dominates Angela Hill in UFC Fight Night 223 Main Event

Mackenzie Dern is still rounding out her mixed martial arts skill set. That could be a scary prospect for the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s strawweight division.

Dern dominated Angela Hill on the feet and on the canvas en route to a lopsided unanimous decision triumph in the UFC Fight Night 223 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Cageside judges scored the strawweight bout 49-43, 49-44 and 49-44 in favor of Dern, who rebounded from a decision loss to Xiaonan Yan in her most recent outing this past October.

Dern (13-3, 8-3 UFC) came out with aggressive striking, sitting Hill down near the fence with a right hand in the opening stanza. From there, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt nearly secured an armbar before the horn sounded. Survival would be the prevalent theme for Hill, who had her most success when she slowed down the pace and pressed her opponent into the fence for much of Round 2.

That would be the la…

UFC Fight Night 223 ‘Dern vs. Hill’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 223 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Sato (-110), Gorimbo (-110)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Silva (-800), Leonardo (+575)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTIN…

UFC Fight Night 223 Prelims: Viacheslav Borshchev Wallops Maheshate Hayisaer

“Slava Claus” delivered an emphatic technical knockout victory to the UFC Apex on Saturday evening.

Viacheslav Borshchev snapped at two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 223, as he defeated Maheshate Hayisaer via technical knockout in their preliminary lightweight showdown. Borschev (7-3, 2-2 UFC) dropped Hayisaer (9-3, 1-2 UFC) with a clean right hook to the chin and sealed the victory with about six standing-to-ground strikes at the 2:37 mark of Round 2. Borschev flashed his power on multiple occasions. After a competitive striking battle for the majority of the opening frame, the Team Alpha Male product dropped Hayisaer with a short right near the end of the period. The show continued in the second frame. Borschev sat his Chinese foe down with another right early in the period before putting Hayisaer away with the finishing sequence moments later. Borschev has finished six of his seven professional triumphs via KO or TKO. Kowalkiewicz Stymies Demopo…

UFC Fight Night 223 Weigh-in Results: Dern vs. Hill Set; 2 Fighters Heavy

Ready for action!@MackenzieDern in at 115lbs for tomorrow's #UFCVegas73 main event 💪 pic.twitter.com/HeqpreevYW

— UFC (@ufc) May 19, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its busy May with a UFC Apex card headlined by two fan-favorite strawweight fighters.

UFC Fight Night 223 will see Mackenzie Dern take on Angela Hill in a five-round main event. Both women successfully made weight and are familiar faces to fans. However, two undercard fighters missed weight as both Vanessa Demopoulos and Orion Cosce came in 1.5 pounds over their respective weight class limits. Demopoulos came in at 117.5 pounds for her strawweight fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, while Cosce came in at 172.5 for his welterweight clash against Gilbert Urbina. They have each been fined 20% of their respective purses, and the bouts will otherwise continue as scheduled.

Dern (12-3) will be looking to bounce back after a decision loss to X…

Jacobi Jones Slices, Dices Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani in Gory LFA 158 Headliner

Jacobi Jones spilled blood and a lot of it.

The Factory X rep laid claim to the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship, as he dispatched Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani with punches and elbows in the second round of their LFA 158 headliner on Friday at Gila River Resorts and Casinos’ Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. Jones (6-1, 6-1 LFA) brought it to a close 2:18 into Round 2.

Lebosnoyani (5-2, 4-1 LFA) applied maximum pressure but could not force his counterpart to break. Jones dodged a bullet in the first round, escaped an armbar from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and tore open multiple cuts with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Lebosnoyani pressed forward in Round 2, where he was met with a picture-perfect knee strike that appeared to lengthen one of the lacerations. Blood poured from the wound, covered both participants and painted various parts of the canvas. Jones moved into top position near the base of the fence, uncorking pun…

Jared Gordon to Replace Ludovit Klein Against Jim Miller at June 3 UFC Event

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6:30 p.m. ET to reflect the reason for Klein's withdrawal.

Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Jim Miller has a new opponent just a few weeks before his fight.

The Underground broke the story on Friday that Jim Miller (35-17, 1 NC) would no longer be taking on Ludovit Klein at UFC on ESPN 46. Instead, the grizzled lightweight will be facing off against Jared Gordon (19-6, 1 NC) on about two weeks’ notice. According to MMA Junkie, Klein is out of the matchup due to illness. Gordon has since confirmed this June 3 UFC Apex-located pairing on Instagram.

It will have been a bit over a month removed from Gordon’s last appearance, which ended in the first round when he and Bobby Green clashed heads to force a no contest. Instead of booking the immediate rematch, Green took a fight in July against Tony Ferguson. “Flash” is aiming to get back in the win column after a two-bout winless stretch that includes the Green no c…

Original UFC Commentator, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown Dead at 87

[embedded content] The very first color commentator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Jim Brown, has died at the age of 87.

The Associated Press first reported of Brown’s passing on Friday, stating that the football great “passed away peacefully” in his home in Los Angeles on Thursday night, with wife, Monique, at his bedside. While known for a litany of accolades over his storied lifetime, Brown made his appearance as the first color commentary on a UFC broadcast, sitting along with play-by-play caller Bill Wallace and fellow commentator and martial artist Kathy Long at UFC 1 in 1993.

Brown sat cageside for the first six UFC cards, accounting for the entire early era of Royce Gracie winning UFCs 1, 2 and 4. The football star spoke highly of the combatants, at the time generally specialists in one particular martial art.

“Bill, I’ve been around the toughest fighters in the world: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson,” Brown stated at UFC 1. “…

Bellator Returns to South Dakota on Aug. 11 With Storley vs. Ward Headliner

Bellator MMA will be making its annual trip to Sioux Falls this August.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, the organization is headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Aug. 11. The event at the Sanford Pentagon, currently billed as Bellator 298, will feature a local in the main attraction. Over the course of five rounds, welterweights Logan Storley (14-2) and Brennan Ward (17-6) will throw down. The only other fight currently agreed for this show is a featherweight scrap pitting Akhmed Magomedov (9-1) against Kai Kamaka III (11-5-1), according to Twitter account Bellator Zone. News of this event has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Although born in Roslyn and fighting out of Webster, the match for Storley in Sioux Falls – about 150 miles away – will be considered home game. The NCAA wrestling standout from the University of Minnesota has competed in that building five times in the past, including twice with Bellator, and he is perfect in those five outings. Storley la…

LFA 158 Weigh-in Results: 2 Fighters Miss Weight

Now that the #LFA158 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to most?

ℹ️: https://t.co/xX2U05ALqZ

📸: https://t.co/moCfaMzqPN@BetOnline_AG@OnlyFans@RealFlexCBD@DripOilsH3@TheMMAShark@MRTNZ1976@TeamSmartStop@LACScottsdale@PlayAtGila@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/KERGHgI4pV — LFA (@LFAfighting) May 19, 2023 The Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to Arizona with an intriguing lightweight title clash.

The main event of LFA 158 will see Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani take on Jacobi Jones for the promotion's lightweight championship. Both title participants made weight, although Eric McConico and Joe Stafford missed weight for their respective bouts. Both fights will continue, with the overweight fighters being fined.

The main event will be a test of grappling styles. Lebosnoyani is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who holds a 5-1 professional mixed martial arts record. "The Lifeguard" is on a three-fight …

Diego Lopes Expects Irene Aldana Will ‘Shock the World’ Against Amanda Nunes

Just a few years ago, it would have been practically unimaginable that Mexico could not only get on the board but hold more Ultimate Fighting Championship titles than powerhouse countries Brazil or Russia.

The promotion currently has three Mexican champions: Brandon Moreno at flyweight, Yair Rodriguez as the interim featherweight beltholder and Alexa Grasso as the women’s flyweight champ. This ties the nation with the United States, in which Aljamain Sterling (bantamweight) Jamahal Hill (light heavyweight) and Jon Jones (heavyweight) hold straps in their weight categories. If the prediction of recent UFC signee and Lobo Gym Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Diego Lopes is accurate, Mexico will have its fourth concurrent champion on June 10. That night, at UFC 289 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Mexican challenger Irene Aldana will take on vaunted bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes in the main attraction. Lopes, in an interview with Sherdog shortly after his thrilling performanc…

UFC 293 Set for Sydney As Part of Three-Event PPV Deal with Australian City

🚨The Boss has made it official!🚨 pic.twitter.com/UF7LD8YHEg

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) May 17, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be heading to Australia’s most populous city on a regular basis for the next few years.

Dana White on Wednesday announced that UFC 293 will be held in Sydney on Sept. 9, making it the first event held in the Australian city since 2017. It will be the first of three pay-per-view events to be held in Sydney over the course of the next four years as part of a deal the promotion has signed with the New South Wales government.

“I just want to say thank you to New South Wales’ government, Premier Chris Minns and the team at Destination New South Wales for making all of this happen,” White said. “I will see you all in Sydney.”

The promotion’s last venture to Sydney was UFC Fight Night 121 on Nov. 18, 2017, when Fabricio Werdum outpointed Marcin Tybura in the evening’s heavyweight headl…

Jimmy Crute-Alonzo Menifield Rematch Booked for UFC 290

Jimmy Crute and Alonzo Menifield will attempt to gain some closure when they square off for a second time at UFC 290.

The promotion confirmed the light heavyweight pairing in a release on Wednesday. UFC 290 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 8 and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Yair Rodriguez. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno will defend his flyweight belt against Alexandre Pantoja. Crute and Menifield first fought on Feb. 11, when they battle to a majority draw at UFC 284.

The 27-year-old Crute is winless in his last three Octagon appearances, as he suffered back-to-back KO/TKO defeats against Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith before facing Menifield. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum began his promotional tenure with wins in four of his first five bouts.

Prior to his matchup with Crute, Menifield had been victorious in four of his last five UFC outings. He went 2-0…

Nine PFL Fighters Face Sanctions After Testing Positive for Banned Substances

Nine fighters from the first leg of the Professional Fighters League regular season are facing punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failed drug tests in relation to their bouts.

During a meeting on Wednesday, the NSAC announced sanctions or future hearings for the following PFL athletes: Alejandro Flores Garcia , Krzysztof Jotko, Bruno Cappelozza, Rizvan Kuniev, Mohammad Fakhreddine, Cezar Ferreira, Will Fleury, Daniel Torres and Thiago Santos. All of those fighters competed at PFL events held on April 1, 7 or 14.

Three of those fighters received fines and suspensions on Tuesday. Flores, who defeated Torres via unanimous decision at PFL 1 on April 1, was suspended six months and fined $2,926 after testing positive for furosemide. His victory was also overturned to a no contest. Jotko, who dropped a unanimous verdict to Fleury at PFL 1, was suspended six months and fined $6,826 after testing positive. Cappelozza, who defeated Mat…

Kyler Phillips, Darrius Flowers Suspended 6 Months for Failed Drug Tests

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

UFC fighter Kyler Phillips and ex-Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Darrius Flowers received six-month suspensions after failing drug tests for the banned susbstance ostarine.

The sanctions were announced at a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Wednesday. Ostarine is a Selective Androgen Receptor Module (SARM) that is banned at all times according to the WADA prohibited list. Ostarine is categorized as an anabolic agent and can aid in areas of athletic performance such as muscle growth, fat burning and endurance. Phillips' suspension will end on July 22, while Flowers' sanction expires on July 27. Both fighters also were ordered to pay attorney fees totaling $407.50.

Phillips was removed from a proposed matchup with Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 221 on March 11, while Flowers was supposed to make his promotional debut against Erick Gonzalez at UFC Fight Night 220 on Feb. 25 before being pul…

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