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UFC President Dana White tends to be prone to hyperbole when it comes to forecasting pay-per-view buys for his promotion. He is predicting especially big numbers for UFC 229, which is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

“I am confident it will do 2 million on pay-per-view,” White recently told Yahoo! Sports.

If White’s projections turn out to be true, it would be the largest pay-per-view in UFC history. He has good reason to be confident, as cards involving McGregor have been some of the largest draws in organization history. While the promotion doesn’t release official numbers, industry estimates have four cards involving the Irishman exceeding the 1 million mark.

Tickets for UFC 229 sold out in three hours, and the event is expected to produce a record gate. Normally the promotion will comp free tickets for its fighters, but that will not be the case for the Oct. 6 card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las…

An intriguing bantamweight matchup pitting Ricardo Ramos against Ricky Simon is in the works for UFC Fight Night 139.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the bout, which has not been officially signed. UFC Fight Night 139 takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Nov. 10 and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Frankie Edgar and Chan Sung Jung.

Ramos enters the bout on a four-fight winning streak, including a trio of victories inside the Octagon. In his most recent outing, the 23-year-old Brazilian took a split verdict against Kyung Ho Kang at UFC 227. Ramos owns a 12-1 professional mark, with nine triumphs coming inside the distance.

Simon, a former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, is riding the wave of a seven-fight winning streak. That run includes victories against Montel Jackson and Merab Dvalishvili in UFC competition. The 26-year-old is 14-1 as a pro and has finished seven of his wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Virna Jandiroba (14-0) is still your Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, defending her strap for the first time with a second-round arm triangle choke on Janaisa Morandin. The self-proclaimed "female Demian Maia" has finished 11 of 14 victories, each by submission. #InvictaFC31 pic.twitter.com/xCl6zMmADz

Virna Jandiroba defended her Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight title for the first time Saturday.

Jandiroba was spectacular yet again, moving to 14-0 with a relatively easy submission win over tough contender Janaisa Morandin in the main event of Invicta 31 at Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City. “Carcara” took “Evil Princess” down in the first and landed some solid ground-and-pound and then finished her fellow Brazilian in the second frame.

Jandiroba took her opponent down about two minutes into the second, swiftly scooted to side control and matter-of-factly locked on a textbook a…

Soren Bak (11-1) quells the Liverpool faithful, pillaging Paddy Pimblett en route to a decision win and the Cage Warriors strap. A deep RNC from Paddy nearly finished it in the first, but "The True Viking" roared back with relentless pressure and a stellar top game. #CW96 pic.twitter.com/Oanjqh28eX

Two new champions were crowned Saturday in Liverpool, England, at Cage Warriors 96.

Soren Bak showed a glacial calm and survived a tight rear-naked choke for the majority of the first round. After the opening period was dominated by Paddy Pimblett, who was attempting to become a two-division Cage Warriors champ, Bak started to feel more comfortable in the cage. The fighter from Denmark went on to win the vacant lightweight title with a sold unanimous decision (48-44, 48-45, 48-46).

Germany's Jonas Billstein (20-5-1) is your new Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion, submitti…

Well... that was eventful!

Pimblett vs Bak is ON.Liverpudlian Middleweight Mick Stanton steps up a weight class to fight Jonas Billstein for the belt on 24 HOURS NOTICE!!

Full #CW96 weigh in results https://t.co/zpTNuPHXUf pic.twitter.com/xBeN6Yafd3

A bit of drama unfolded in Liverpool, England, during the Cage Warriors 96 weigh-ins Friday morning.

Local star and promotional middleweight champion Lee Chadwick failed to make weight before his clash with No. 1 contender Jonas Billstein. Chadwick was stripped of his title and he won’t fight Saturday. Welterweight Mick Stanton moved up a weight class and stepped in at 24 hours’ notice to fight against Billstein for the vacant crown.

There were no such issues for the main event: Both Paddy Pimblett and Soren Bak made weight and are ready to go tomorrow for the CW lightweight championship. The main card also features Ultimate Figh…

The weigh-ins for Saturday night’s Invicta Fighting Championships 31 event has concluded, with only one fighter missing weight. The card features a strawweight title fight between Virna Jandiroba and Janaisa Morandin, who both made the 115-pound limit during Friday’s weigh-ins.

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Pearl Gonzalez (8-3) will look to continue her winning streak since losing her two UFC bouts. Gonzalez is on a two-fight winning streak since her Octagon stint ended.

Elsewhere on the card, Mallory Martin missed the strawweight limit for her fight against Ashley Nichols. Martin will be fined 25 percent of her fight purse for coming in a pound overweight.

The eight-fight card begins at 8 p.m. ET, with one bout streaming on the promotion’s Facebook page. The remaining seven bouts will air live on UFC Fight Pass.

pic.twitter.com/SJnJtelVzo

Nick Diaz was cleared of all domestic assault charges on Thursday after a Las Vegas judge dropped the case against him, and now the outspoken UFC star has released a statement over the ordeal.

Diaz had been arrested in May for allegedly assaulting his on-again, off-again girlfriend, who had accused Diaz of choking her and throwing her to ground. However, the alleged victim’s story reportedly changed throughout the course of the investigation, and the charges were ultimately dropped.

Diaz, 35, hasn’t fought since 2015, where he was suspended for a subsequent positive marijuana test following a decision loss to Anderson Silva, who himself tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.

The Stockton, California, native is still under Ultimate Fighting Championship contract and is no longer serving a USADA suspension. Now that the domestic violence charges have…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads back down under in December for a Fight Night event in Adelaide. It will be the second time in three years the UFC has visited South Australia.

It seems the main event for the card is set, according to Combate.com with Australia’s own rising heavyweight Tai Tuivasa to take on the former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.

Tuivasa has been campaigning for a fight with the Brazilian for a number of weeks and it seems to have paid off, with “Cigano” verbally agreeing to the bout in Adelaide.

Tuivasa last fought back in June at UFC 225 where he beat a very game Andrei Arlovski over three rounds by unanimous decision. The UFC sees Tuivasa as a potential future champion and rewarded him with a new six-fight contract recently after the win, which took his professional MMA record to 8-0 and 3-0 inside the Octagon.

Dos Santos competed last month at UFC Fight Night 133 against Blagoy Ivanov, his first fight after a 1…

I respect @LoganPaul because unlike all you #Tweeters he got his ass in the ring and fought. He goes to the gym and works. Doesn’t just talk shit. You damn right #Anybody #Anytime #Anyplace walk in off the street and we’re so good we can show anyone the light #JesusLikedBums

The fallout between Donald Cerrone and the Jackson-Wink MMA gym continues to unravel, with fighters and trainers alike providing their insight into what the situation is really like at ground zero. The catalyst for the fallout according to “Cowboy” was that fellow Jackson-Wink fighter Mike Perry called him out and the gym backed Perry instead of him.

“Platinum,” who only started training with the Jackson-Wink team earlier this year, has now weighed in on Cerrone’s comments.

The 26 year-old started by addressing Cerrone’s criticism that the gym "just lets any bums in off the street" by praising popular YouTube…

What a fight to the finish! @SuperSmealinho defeats Jamie Abdallah by TKO in Round 2 earning 5 points #PFL7 pic.twitter.com/aVCXrJCkMO

It took a little bit of calculating and some controversy, but Smealinho Rama earned a spot in the 2018 Professional Fighters League playoffs.

The light heavyweight had to dig deeper than ever before in his all-out war with Jamie Abdallah in the main event of PFL 7 at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Thursday night. Rama, from Canada but fighting out of New York, stood toe-to-toe with Abdallah as they exchanged heavy hands from the opening bell until the fight ended.

Both men were rocked badly in the contest from wicked punches upstairs, with each pouring blood from various cuts on their faces. But “The Prince” landed the heavier, more damaging blows throughout and wound up scoring an exciting finish, though it wasn’t without a bit of intrigu…

BREAKING: @MeanHakeemKO battles @KyleBochniak at # UFC231 in Toronto! pic.twitter.com/Z8aA9VaAoh

Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweights Hakeem Dawodu and Kyle Bochniak will collide at UFC 231 in December, the promotion announced on Friday.

Dawodu (8-1-1) was submitted in his Octagon debut in March of this year, but quickly rebounded with a decision victory over Austin Arnett in July.

Bochniak (8-3) has had a tough UFC run thus far, going 2-3 in the promotion with a loss to surging prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov in his last outing at UFC 223.

UFC 231 takes place on Dec. 8 in Toronto and features a featherweight title fight between champion Max Holloway and No. 1 contender Brian Ortega in the main event.

Goodman told MMAFighting.com that the Clark County (Nevada) District Attorney declined to pursue the case against Diaz on Thursday, with the judge presiding over the case in Las Vegas Justice Court dismissing the case permanently.

“We are grateful that the District Attorney’s office was fair and thoughtful in reviewing this case based on the evidence and making the decision to dismiss this matter particularly in light of the Grand Jury’s decision finding probable cause was lacking,” Goodman stated.

“Throughout this ordeal [the alleged victim] has given multiple inconsistent versions of what occurred and recently testified before the Grand Jury to a third version,” Goodman declared. “Further, the medical records made clear that [the alleged victim] did not suffer any fractures, subluxation of disl…

Surging Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Paulo Costa has taken a shot at Yoel Romero for pulling out of their scheduled fight at UFC 230 because he believes the Cuban wants to train more ahead of their much-anticipated clash.

The 27 year-old “Borrachinha,” meaning “Eraser,” has only fought four times in the UFC but it’s the manner of his last two wins over former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks followed by his destruction of Uriah Hall that has fans taking notice.

UFC matchmakers paired Costa with former title challenger Romero in November at UFC 230 in Madison Square Garden. The Cuban withdrew from the card, stating that he is still recovering from facial injuries he suffered in his fight against middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in June.

Costa spoke with Combate recently and said while “The Soldier of God” may be hurt from the fight with Whittaker, he believes he i…

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz have an official date and venue for their third fight.

Liddell revealed Wednesday on Larry King Now that the trilogy bout will take place on Nov. 24 at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Liddell and Ortiz will square off on pay-per-view under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, which is headed by boxing great Oscar De La Hoya.

The cost for Golden Boy’s first MMA event has not yet been determined. De La Hoya told ESPN that the bout will be more financially beneficial for both Liddell and Ortiz than the usual MMA model.

"I'm becoming a promoter in MMA for the same reason I became a promoter in boxing," De La Hoya said. "I'm sick and tired of these fighters coming up to me and saying they get paid crap.

"I can't get into the specifics of these deals, but I'll tell you that [Liddell and Ortiz] will be making a hell of a lot more money than they have with anybody else. …

Five fighters from this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 135 card could be looking at an extended time on the shelf.

According to medical suspensions released by the Nebraska Athletic Commission, Cortney Casey-Sanchez, Warlley Alves, Cory Sandhagen, Iuri Alcantara and Luke Sanders have all been handed 180-day sentences. Those suspensions can be reduced with doctor clearance. The exact nature of each fighter’s injury was not revealed by the commission.

UFC Fight Night 135 took place at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., on Aug. 25 and saw Justin Gaethje score a first-round knockout of James Vick in the evening’s lightweight headliner. Vick received a 60-day medical suspension as a result of the knockout, while Gaethje emerged from the event with a clean bill of health.

UFC Fight Night 135 Medical Suspensions:

Cortney Casey-Sanchez: Suspended 180 days, can receive doctor clearance to return sooner; minimum suspension of 30 days

Warlley Alves: Su…

If you thought that Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were on their way to becoming drinking buddies, think again.

TMZ Sports recently interviewed Mayweather and asked him about the upcoming fight between McGregor and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov scheduled for UFC 229. Not only did Mayweather refer to his Irish rival as a “tough competitor” and “a warrior,” but he essentially invited McGregor to train at his gym in Las Vegas.

“I’ll talk with [UFC President Dana White], I may talk with Conor to get some tickets,” Mayweather said. “But leading up to the fight, when McGregor gets to Las Vegas, we’d like him to train at — I know the UFC has got a training facility — but we’d like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”

McGregor doesn’t seem so eager to bury the hatchet. The “Notorious” one responded as only he can via Twitter on Tuesday, and it doesn’t sound as though he will accept Mayweather’s offer.

“F—k the Mayweathers, e…

Carlo Pedersoli Jr. will replace Neil Magny and face Alex Oliveira in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 137 on Sept. 22.

Combate was first to report the new matchup. Magny was recently transported to UFC Fight Night Buenos Aires to headline the card opposite Santiago Ponzinibbio.

Pedersoli won his eighth consecutive bout in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 130, as he took a split decision over Bradley Scott on May 27. The 25-year-old Brazilian is 11-1 as a professional and also owns a win over former UFC competitor Nicolas Dalby under the Cage Warriors banner.

Oliveira is coming off the biggest triumph of his career to date, a second-round submission of Carlos Condit at UFC on Fox 29 on April 14. The Brazilian “Cowboy” has lost just once in his last seven promotional appearances.

Conor McGregor will have the opportunity to get some tips from a former foe ahead of his title bout at UFC 229 if he so chooses.

Floyd Mayweather, who defeated McGregor via 10th round technical knockout in a boxing match in August 2017, recently told TMZ Sports that he’d welcome the Irishman to his boxing gym in Las Vegas. McGregor is slated to face the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 6.

“I’ll talk with [UFC President Dana White], I may talk with Conor to get some tickets,” Mayweather said. “But leading up to the fight, when McGregor gets to Las Vegas, we’d like him to train at — I know the UFC has got a training facility — but we’d like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”

The one-year anniversary of Mayweather’s victory over McGregor on Aug. 26, 2017. The pound-for-pound boxing great reportedly earned $300 million for the bout, while McG…

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Robert Whittaker believes fighters will keep missing weight in the UFC because the punishment is not severe enough.

The 27 year-old Australian had first-hand experience with an opponent missing weight when he took on Yoel Romero at UFC 225 back in June. Romero narrowly missed weight but still fought Whittaker, losing by split decision.

It was the second consecutive fight where Romero failed to make weight, as earlier in the year he took on Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in what was intended to be an interim title fight. Because he missed weight, Romero was ineligible for the title. Romero then knocked Rockhold out, putting UFC matchmakers in a difficult situation regarding whom to pair Whittaker against. Despite missing weight and not officially winning the interim belt, Romero he still secured a title fight with the champion months later.

The si…

Another member of the sport’s first family is set to make his mixed martial arts debut.

Robson Gracie Jr., the younger brother of Renzo Gracie, will make his first professional foray at Bellator 208 when he faces Peter Nascimento in a welterweight bout. A promotion official confirmed the fight to Sherdog.com on Monday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

Gracie, 27, has signed a multi-fight contract with the California-based promotion. He trains with his brother Renzo in New York. He also previously trained with Murilo Bustamante at Brazilian Top Team in Rio de Janeiro. Gracie doesn’t have any MMA experience.

Nascimento has just one bout to his credit. At Bellator 194, he suffered a first-round technical knockout against Kastriot Xhema on Feb. 16.

Bellator 208 takes place at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., and is headlined by a heavyweight grand prix semifinal matchup between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen. Graci…

Lightweights Brian Foster and Ramsey Nijem will not be able to compete in the Professional Fighters League October playoffs.

Foster was unable to be licensed by an athletic commission, while Nijem is still medically suspended from his previous bout and did not receive clearance. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news on Monday.

Foster had previously clinched a playoff spot with a third-round stoppage of Nijem at PFL 2 on June 21.

As a result, a 155-pound contest pitting Jason High against Johnny Case at PFL 7 on Thursday will determine the final entrant into the eight-man bracket. Thiago Tavares claimed the seventh playoff spot following the exit of Foster and Nijem.

High is 0-2 under the PFL banner, falling to both Natan Schulte and Efrain Escudero via submission in regular season bouts. Case, a six-time UFC veteran, is entering the lightweight field as an alternate. PFL 7 takes place at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. and airs on NBC …

It didn’t take long for Nate Diaz to respond to Bruce Buffer after the longtime UFC ring announcer ripped the fighter for his gripes about being underpromoted.

“I love Nate, but he’s always got a bad taste in his mouth,” Buffer recently told TMZ Sports. “Nate, I heard you made $7 [million] or more dollars on your last fight. I don’t want to hear you complaining about being underpromoted by the UFC.

“You should be thanking the UFC and bowing to Dana White every time you see him, (and) Ari Emmanuel, Patrick Whitesell. You’ve got $7 [million] or more dollars gross, before taxes, maybe much more – which I love knowing that you have, Nate. Please – I don’t want to hear any more.”

Diaz didn’t take kindly to Buffer’s suggestion that he bow to White and the UFC’s owners for the money that he’s made while competing within the Las Vegas-based promotion. According to the Stockton, Calif., native, he will “bow down to no one ever, for all the money [in the world].”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut event on ESPN appears to be taking shape with a pair of rumored bouts.

According to MMAjunkie.com, a welterweight showdown between ex-champ Robbie Lawler and two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson will take place on Jan. 18 at an as-yet-to-be announced event. However, much hinges on the health of Lawler, who needs to be medically cleared after tearing his ACL in January. “Ruthless” will reportedly meet with his surgeon on Monday.

Meanwhile, a flyweight clash pitting Paige VanZant against Rachael Ostovich is also in the works for the card, per MMAFighting.com. After confirming she had accepted a date for a bout on Twitter, VanZant then rescinded that announcement, claiming she has not yet been medically cleared. Neither bout has been announced by the UFC.

Lawler last appeared at UFC on Fox 26 on Dec. 16, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Rafael dos Anjos. Thompson, meanwhile, is coming off a narrow decisio…

Nate Diaz wasn’t happy when he learned that he would not be part of the card featuring the blockbuster lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

Diaz, who has been booked to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden, said he felt “underpromoted” upon learning that Nurmagomedov and McGregor would square off at UFC 229. He also sent out the following tweet: “I’m not fighting on that show [f—k] the UFC.”

I’m not fighting on that show fuk the @ufc

Longtime UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer dismissed the notion that Diaz was underpromoted, pointing to the Stockton, Calif., native’s earnings for his last bout with McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016. In fact, Buffer believes Diaz should display a lot more gratitude toward the company that signs his checks.

“I love Nate, but he’s a…