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Welcome to the League @MoneyLynch!

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 29, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Chalk up one more big name that has bought into the Professional Fighters League this season. Like last week, the PFL sent out a press release announcing a new owner has joined the group. The previous week, Grammy nominated rapper Wiz Khalifa had joined the team. Per the organization on Thursday, Super Bowl 48 champ and five-time Pro Bowler Marshawn Lynch has joined the team. Lynch has joined the PFL’s ownership group alongside celebrities and personalities like Kevin Hart, the aforementioned Khalifa and TV producer Mark Burnett. Lynch’s stake in the company, and his overall investment, was not disclosed.

When Khalifa joined PFL, his contribution was to be his music as well as multimedia content for the promotion. Lynch will begin his …

Professional Fighters League light heavyweight Jordan Young will be left without a dance partner on Thursday after all.

Young (11-1) was originally booked at light heavyweight against Smealinho Rama for PFL 2: 2021 Regular Season, which takes place on April 29 at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The 2019 PFL semifinalist withdrew, and fellow 2019 playoff participant Vinny Magalhaes joined in his stead. Magalhaes, a finalist in the 2018 season, was also forced out after he was hospitalized due to a bad weight cut. On a day’s notice, Askar Mozharov (21-8) was in as a replacement, but he too has now pulled out from the event, per ESPN on Thursday. PFL has confirmed it on its own site, while Young has since voiced his frustrations on his Instagram account.

“After Vinny pulled out on 24 [hours] notice due to his weight cut - I accepted a fight with an unknown steroid head Ukrainian [and] after this little sucker [pulled] s--- [at] the weigh ins [and] he pu…

クォーターネルソン膝 @ABEMA で視聴中 https://t.co/6XhvXFqmJw #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/MDH8fPlV0w

— ＮＨＢ (@324121212121212) April 29, 2021

Life could not get much better for Reinier de Ridder.

“The Dutch Knight” became a simultaneous two-division titleholder, as he captured the One Championship light heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision over Aung La N Sang in the five-round One on TNT 4 headliner on Wednesday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. De Ridder (14-0, 5-0 One) had laid claim to the promotion’s middleweight championship in October, also at Sang’s expense. The rematch was an exercise in futility. De Ridder executed takedowns in all five rounds, moved either to the back or full mount on multiple occasions, mixed in some ground-and-pound and threatened with various submissions. He nearly finished it inside the first round, where he transitioned to an arm-triangle choke and had Sang (26-12, 11-3 One) in…

Sherdog's live One on TNT 4 coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Muay Thai Bout:Jackie Buntan vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva 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 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

UFC on ESPN 24 has taken another hit, as Diego Sanchez is out of a proposed welterweight clash with Donald Cerrone.

A reason for Sanchez’s withdraw is currently unknown. Carlos Contreras Legaspi first brought word of Sanchez’s exit on Twitter. It’s the second significant loss for the card in the span of a couple days: A cut in training forced T.J. Dillashaw to pull out of the main event against Cory Sandhagen. That bout will be rescheduled, and a women’s strawweight clash pitting Michelle Waterson against Marina Rodriguez has been targeted as the new headliner.

Sanchez and Cerrone previously trained at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, and tensions flared between the two when Sanchez took coach Mike Winkeljohn’s side when “Cowboy” left the gym prior to a bout against Mike Perry. Sanchez is no longer at Jackson-Wink, either.

According to multiple reports, a replacement opponent for Cerrone is being sought.

UFC on ESPN 24 takes place on May 8 at the UFC Apex…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-CGx_3k_Zk&w=560&h=315]

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL and UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The stage has been set for Rory MacDonald’s long-awaited Professional Fighters League debut.

The former Bellator welterweight champion tipped the scales at 170.6 pounds for his headlining matchup with Curtis Millender at PFL 2. Millender, who is also making his promotional debut, checked in at 171 pounds.

The PFL’s second regular season event takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on Thursday and will feature welterweights and light heavyweights. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Not everything went as smooth during weigh-ins on Wednesday. Vinny Magalhaes was ruled medically unable to compete, and as a result, Askar Mozharov…

Yair Rodriguez has been out of action since October 2019, but the featherweight contender has targeted some big fights for the second half of 2021.

Since besting Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 6, Rodriguez has been forced to pull out of a proposed August 2020 booking against Zabit Magomedsharipov due to an ankle injury and was then suspended by USADA for a whereabouts violation that sidelined him until March.

The Mexican star told ESPN that he tried to find a silver lining in the extended layoff.

"I've been in contact sports since I was 5 years old," Rodriguez said. "I think at some point, my body was going to go through something like this, injury or something. I've never went through an injury like that before. I think it's been good for me to let my body heal and my mind heal.”

Rodriguez, who is currently training with Donald Cerrone at the BMF Ranch in New Mexico, believes that oft-targeted showdown with Magomedsharipov is inevitable.…

Two more bouts have been added to the UFC Fight Night card on July 24, as Mickey Gall will face Jordan Williams at welterweight, while Adrian Yanez will take on Randy Costa at bantamweight.

MMAFighting.com initially brought word of Gall vs. Williams, while MMAjunkie.com was first to report Yanez vs. Costa. UFC Fight Night doesn’t have an announced location or headliner as of yet.

The 29-year-old Gall has compiled a 6-3 career mark with all but one of his bouts coming under the UFC banner. Most recently, the Miller Brothers MMA member fell to Mike Perry via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 12.

After splitting a pair of appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series, Williams made his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 16, where he lost a decision against Nassourdine Imavov on Oct. 3. The former Bellator MMA competitor is 9-4 with one no contest as a professional overall.

Yanez earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last August, and since then, he ha…

@FrancisNgannou gets a hero's reception on his return to Cameroon!

The new heavyweight champion put the belt on his mother and toured the streets of Douala!

( @ckomentmagazine & @DidierLefa) pic.twitter.com/Esak79mSE6 — UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) April 28, 2021

Francis Ngannou recently returned to Cameroon for the first time since winning the UFC heavyweight championship, and he was greeted with a hero’s welcome.

“The Predator” arrived in his home country to a rowdy reception as he put the belt on his mother and then drove through the streets of Douala for a championship parade as thousands celebrated his victory.

Ngannou claimed heavyweight gold with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on March 27. The 34-year-old was in talks to face former 205-pound king Jon Jones for his first title defense, but those negotiations have stalled. Now, a rematch with Derrick Lewis appears to have been targeted for a futur…

There's the tap!

Rodolfo Vieira getting it done in ONE. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/o2hqnTdRo6

— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2020 Rodolfo Vieira will attempt to rebound from his first career defeat when he faces Dustin Stoltzfus at a UFC event on July 17.

was first to report the middleweight bout. The card does not have a location or venue and features a showdown between former bantamweight queen Miesha Tate and Marion Reneau.

Vieira kicked off his promotional tenure with submissions of Oskar Piechota and Saparbek Safarov but ran into trouble in his last outing, when he gassed and was tapped out by Anthony Hernandez at UFC 258. The four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion is 7-1 as a pro, with all of his victories coming inside the distance.

Stoltzfus made his Octagon debut at UFC 255, where he dropped a unanimous decision against Kyle Daukaus. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum had a 10-bout winning streak snapped in that defeat.

Darrion Caldwell and Leandro Higo will lock horns for a second time at Bellator 259 on May 21.

Higo confirmed the bantamweight pairing on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Bellator 259 takes place at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., and is headlined by a featherweight championship bout pitting Cristiane Justino against Leslie Smith. The card will air on Showtime.

Caldwell and Higo initially met in a bantamweight title clash at Bellator 195, where Caldwell defended his crown with a first-round submission in March 2018. More recently, Caldwell competed in the Bellator featherweight grand prix, where he bested Henry Corrales and Adam Borics before falling to A.J. McKee in the semifinals.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance title holder, Higo is coming off back-to-back submissions of Shawn Bunch and Ricky Bandejas under the Bellator banner. He is 3-3 overall within the California-based promotion.

Originally booked against Alexey Kunchenko for his Professional Fighters League debut, Gleison Tibau will now face countryman Joao Zeferino on Thursday at the promotion’s second regular season event at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

Zeferino was supposed to face Magomed Magomedkerivmov at PFL 2, but his opponent withdrew from the card as well.

“My opponent had visa problems, while Zeferino’s had issues with medical exams, so the organization decided to put me against João,” Tibau told Sherdog.com.

According to Tibau, he and Zeferino were using the same backstage area of the venue for their sparring when the organization announced the new matchup on Sunday.

“Of course we would rather fight Russians, but we are professionals. That´s our job,” said the 37-year-old Tibau.

Tibau will make his PFL debut at welterweight after competing for years at 155 pounds.

“I´m feeling much better in that division. God knows how hard it was for me to r…

T.J. Dillashaw’s long-awaited Octagon will have to wait, as a cut suffered in training has forced him to withdraw from a UFC on ESPN 24 headlining bout against Cory Sandhagen.

Dillashaw confirmed his exit on social media following an intial report on Twitter from C. Contreras Legaspi. Dillashaw vs. Sandhagen is expected to be booked at a later date.

“I’m sad to say that I have to be pulled from my fight on May 8 due to a cut received from a headbutt while drilling,” Dillashaw wrote. “Rescheduling the fight as soon as possible.”

According to a report from ESPN, the promotion is targeting a strawweight clash between Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez for the new UFC on ESPN 24 headliner. That booking has not been finalized, however.

Dillashaw has been sidelined since January 2019 after serving a two-year USADA suspension for a positive EPO test. The former bantamweight champion last appeared at UFC Fight Night 143, where his bid to capture flyweight g…

Regardless of what the future holds for his combat sports career, Conor McGregor is doing quite well financially.

McGregor and his partners, agent Audie Attar and Ken Austin, recently sold their majority share in Proper No. Twelve whiskey to Proximo Spirits for $600 million. Proximo Spirits, which owns Jose Cuervo and other alcohol brands, previously owned a 49 percent stake in the company. Shanken News Daily first reported the sale.

All three founders — McGregor, Attar and Austin — will still have an interest in the brand and will maintain active roles within the company. The reported $600 million figure includes $250 million already earned during Proper No. Twelve’s first two years in business with Proximo. Last year, Proximo increased its stake from 20 percent to the aforementioned 49 percent. The company’s new stake in the brand was not revealed. Proper No. Twelve was founded in 2018 and has since been heavily promoted by McGregor.

“Since introducing this b…

Rachael Ostovich is the latest former UFC talent to sign with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

The promotion announced the signing on Tuesday. According to a release, Ostovich is expected to make her BKFC debut in July. MMAFighting.com is reporting that Paige VanZant has been targeted as her opponent.

"We always are looking to sign fighters that can move the needle and fight, and that is exactly what Rachael brings to the table,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said. “I am looking forward to her debut in July. I know she is training hard and working on her boxing every day and we expect very big things from Rachael.”

Ostovich, 30, went 3-2 with Invicta FC before appearing on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” She defeated Karine Gevorgyan in her Octagon debut at the “TUF 26” finale before dropping her next three promotional appearances — including a submission loss to VanZant in January 2019. Ostovich parted ways with the UFC after a knockout loss to Gina Ma…

HE ONLY NEEDED ONE ARM @TouchNgo_

Stream #UFC261 on ESPN+ https://t.co/11j8ptNbRf pic.twitter.com/azQV4WvYwo

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 25, 2021 The preliminary card for UFC 261 attracted an average audience of 951,000 to ESPN this past Saturday, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That ranks as the third-best figure for a pay-per-view preliminary card in 2021 behind UFC 259 (1.208 million) and UFC 257 (1.433 million). The UFC 261 prelims were also No. 1 on cable in the 18-to-49 demographic with a 0.36 share.

The four-bout card aired on ESPN from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and served as a lead-in for the UFC 261 pay-per-view, which was highlighted by a trio of title fights at the top of the card – including a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The evening’s featured prelim saw Randy Brown submit Alex Oliveira with a rear-naked choke 2:50 into the opening round of their welterweight clash.

Meanwhile, the early prelims drew…

Raphael Assuncao will lock horns with Kyler Phillips in a bantamweight pairing at UFC Fight Night on July 24.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an announcement by Phillips on social media. The event takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is also expected to include a women’s bantamweight showdown pitting Aspen Ladd against Macy Chiasson.

Assuncao will look to snap a three-bout losing streak after falling to Cody Garbrandt, Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Moraes in his last three Octagon appearances. Assuncao was supposed to face Raoni Barcelos on Feb. 27 but withdrew from the card due to a positive COVID-19 test. The 38-year-old Brazilian has not competed since suffering a second-round KO loss to Garbrandt at UFC 250 in June 2020.

Phillips, meanwhile, enters the matchup on a four-bout winning streak that includes a trio of triumphs in UFC competition. Most recently, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum outpointed Yadong Song at UFC 259 …

Chris Weidman is on the road to recovery.

The former middleweight champion shared X-ray photos from the gruesome broken leg he suffered after landing a leg kick against Uriah Hall in the opening seconds of their UFC 261 bout at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday.

Weidman underwent a successful procedure to repair the injury on Sunday and will return home on Tuesday after spending a few days in the hospital.

“Before and after X-rays of this nightmare. Special thanks to Dr. Gitlin for performing a successful surgery and being so helpful during the entire process. Also, a big thank you to Dr. Davidson from the [UFC] for making sure I was taken care of properly and speaking to these doctors on my behalf,” Weidman wrote on Instagram. “It made me feel so much better having him involved because I know he had my back. The primary concern is the bone punctured through my calf and skin when I put my weight on it, making sure the laceration d…

Conor McGregor has made a sizable donation to a Louisiana-based organization, but it isn’t Dustin Poirier’s charity.

The former UFC two-division champion recently donated $500,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana in Lafayette, La. TMZ Sports first reported McGregor’s donation.

“Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana received an unexpected call last week and are humbled to share that Conor McGregor is donating $500,000 to impact youth in South Louisiana by supporting our upcoming 2021 Summer Camp and ongoing health and recreation activities in our 6 Club sites,” read a statement on the organization’s Facebook page. “This investment is a gamechanger! Thank you, Conor, for helping to ensure that our kids have what they need to grow and thrive this summer!”

McGregor and Poirier recently had a Twitter dispute regarding the Irish star’s failure to follow through on a promised $500,000 donation to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation. Poirier later apologized for pub…

The lineup for the UFC 263 pay-per-view card is now official.

The promotion announced the five-bout lineup during the UFC 261 broadcast on Saturday night, formally confirming that two title bouts — Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori at middleweight and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno at flyweight — will occupy the top of the bill. A previously reported matchup pitting Demian Maia against Belal Muhammad was also announced.

Two other bouts were also made official for the main card: Paul Craig vs Jamahal Hill at light heavyweight and Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell at lightweight. UFC 263 takes place on June 12 but does not currently have a location or venue.

Craig vs. Hill was initially slated for the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 21, but was scrapped after Hill tested positive for COVID-19. Craig is unbeaten in his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Mauricio Rua at UFC 255. All six of the Scot’s UFC victories have come in…

Jon Jones is no longer under the umbrella of First Round Management, the team which has represented the former light heavyweight champion for the majority of his UFC career.

The Florida-based management group, headed by Malki Kawa and Abe Kawa, announced the news via Twitter on Monday.

“After an 11-year journey as [Jon Jones’] management team, First Round Management and Bones have amicably decided to part ways,” the statement read. “We are proud of him and the work we’ve done. We wish him the best going forward.”

After an 11 year journey as @JonnyBones management team, First Round Management and Bones have amicably decided to part ways. We are proud of him and the work we’ve done. We wish him the best going forward.

— FirstRoundMgmt (@FirstRoundMgmt) April 26, 2021

Jones later confirmed the news in a post on his Instagram account.

“It’s been an absolutely amazing journey,” Jones wrote. “Thank you so much for all the memories, a…

Asking about a potential Amanda Nunes trilogy fight has become something of a tradition following each Valentina Shevchenko title defense.

That is due in large part to Shevchenko’s dominance at 125 pounds, which continued at UFC 261 with a second-round TKO of former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. Shevchenko’s most difficult flyweight bout arguably came at UFC 231, when she claimed the vacant belt with a five-round verdict against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Since then, “Bullet” has rarely been tested.

Nunes has been similarly dominant at bantamweight and featherweight, but the last time she faced Shevchenko, “Lioness” won a narrow split decision in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 215 that many had going the other way. However, Nunes is now 2-0 against Shevchenko — she took a unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 196 — and Dana White currently doesn’t have much interest seeing them fight for a third time.

As it stands, there’s currently only one way White…

Yogibo presents #RIZIN28 and #RIZIN29 at the Tokyo Dome and Maruzen Intec Arena Hall respectively, Bantamweight Japan GP opening round confirms fight schedule, Yachi gets current SHOOTO Champion. https://t.co/YOvVSGXwSp

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 25, 2021

Rizin Fighting Federation’s upcoming event scheduled for the Tokyo Dome will take place a few weeks later than originally anticipated.

Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara recently announced that the card, which was originally slated for May 23, will now take place on June 13 in hopes of allowing more fans into the venue.

“The Japanese government has declared the state of emergency in four cities starting April 25 to May 9, which will significantly affect the May 23 Tokyo Dome event. Therefore we have decided to push back the event to June 13,” Sakakibara said. “MMA will be making its return after 18 years, and we want to put in as many spectators as possible for such a historic…

pic.twitter.com/rwlIoEMucP

— ShayMyName2 (@imstillshannon) April 8, 2021

Eddie Alvarez’s disqualification loss against Iuri Lapicus at One Championship on TNT 1 has been overturned to a no contest.

According to a report from ESPN, a panel of 15 independent officials, One personnel, judges and referees unanimous determined that a “procedural misstep” occurred when referee Justin Brown issued Alvarez a red card to prompt the disqualification. While the panel confirmed that Alvarez landed multiple illegal blows to the back of Lapicus’ head, it also determined that the former UFC and Bellator champion should have initially received a yellow card, which constitutes a warning.

Due to the ruling, the red card has been rescinded and a yellow card has been issued to Alvarez retroactively. Additionally, the result of the bout has been officially changed. The identity of the members of the One Championship panel was not revealed. One Championship s…