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Alexandre Pantoja may have closed out his rivalry with Brandon Royval for good, but he claims there is no enmity there.

Pantoja (27-5) successfully defended his flyweight strap against Royval (15-7) via unanimous decision in a lopsided grappling-heavy affair at UFC 296 last weekend. This marked Pantoja’s second win over Royval after a submission in 2021, from which “Raw Dawg” bounced back with three consecutive wins to earn a shot at the title.

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While Pantoja is happy to have defended his strap for the first time, he feels for Royval as he understands the profundity of a loss. In an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Pantoja said:

“He’s a very nice kid. He worked so hard to [get] to that moment. Maybe people think I’m [full of] s*** right now, but I’m very sad for Royval. He worked so hard for that moment. I know it’s not just about Royval, he has a lot of people on his side. I lost a couple times and when I lose, my family loses with me, my kids lose wit…

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Rizin Fighting Federation has added three more bouts to its annual New Year’s Eve bash.

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA bantamweight Vince Morales (13-7) will clash against Japanese veteran Yuki Motoya (34-10). The matchup was made while Morales was in Japan serving as a sparring partner for Kai Asakura, who handed Motoya a knockout loss at Rizin 42 in May.

Motoya has since bounced back with a TKO win over Kosuke Terashima under the Deep banner last month. Meanwhile, “Vandetta” has picked up to stoppage wins in the regional circuit since being released from the UFC on a two-fight skid last year.

Morales believes his Rizin 45 appearance will be a step towards bridging the gap between Western and Asian MMA. The 33-year-old said during a special broadcast on ABEMA last week:

“I'm incredibly grateful to Kai Asakura, Team Asakura, and Rizin for giving me the opportunity to fight here. Being able to compe…

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming milestone now has an official time and place.

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During the post-fight press conference for UFC 296 last weekend, UFC CEO Dana White announced that UFC 300 will take place on April 13, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. As is customary for numbered UFC events, the prelims will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card to follow on pay-per-view through ESPN+. The early prelims are set to start at 6 p.m. ET, the undercard at 8 p.m. and the main card at 10 p.m.

While no bouts have yet been added to the card, speculation and rumor have attached many of the promotion’s biggest names to the event. White promised to awe fans starting with the first preliminary matchup of the night.

“Well, think about tonight and the buzz and the energy about tonight’s card, and think about the stuff I’m telling you guys about [UFC 299 in] Miami. So, we’ve got to beat this, Miami and a…

Thank you @JoshEmmettUFCGod bless you brother

pic.twitter.com/VUPEWLXsxn

— Bryce Mitchell (@ThugnastyMMA) December 18, 2023

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Bryce Mitchell believes he might have died if Josh Emmett had followed up with any more shots after brutally knocking out “Thug Nasty” at UFC 296 last weekend.

Mitchell stepped in on short notice against Emmett, replacing Giga Chikadze, who was forced out due to an injury. Mitchell was sent to the shadow realm by Emmett with an overhand right in one of the most devasting punch knockouts in UFC history.

However, Mitchell believes it could have been much worse had Emmett not restrained himself from throwing follow-up shots, which is a natural instinct for many fighters.

“You know got a lot of work left to do but that's what I'm up to. But I wanted to let y'all know that I am so happy with Josh Emmett,” the 29-year-old said in a video released on social media. “Because right after he kn…

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Dana White acknowledged Colby Covington’s poor showing against Leon Edwards in the UFC 296 main event.

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White was the one to propose Covington’s name for the title shot although Belal Muhammad, on a 10-fight winning streak, was widely considered to be the rightful contender. White adamantly went ahead with his decision despite Edwards repeatedly pointing out Covington’s long layoff and lack of recent success.

Edwards vowed to give “Chaos” a rude awakening and delivered on his promise at the UFC 296 headliner. “Rocky” outstruck Covington on the feet, stuffed his wrestling game and even went on to land his own takedowns. Covington bizarrely went on to raise his hands after the lackluster showing and even doubled down on his stance in the post-fight presser, crying robbery due to alleged political bias.

However, even White couldn’t disagree more with Covington, who appeared “slow and old” to the Ultimate Fighting Championship…

Three fights have been announced for ONE 166: Qatar! 🇶🇦 Who would you like to see headline this historic card?#ONE166 | March 1 at 3:30PM AST🎟️ Early bird tickets:https://t.co/Wcx1ykvL1Jhttps://t.co/9mAnyrbScE🌍 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries👨‍💻 How to watch coming… pic.twitter.com/mDoaoDbzgQ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 18, 2023

Three bouts, including a title fight, have been confirmed for ONE 166 “Qatar,” which also marks the promotion’s debut in the country.

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Jarred Brooks (20-2) is set to defend his 125-pound strap against former champ Joshua Pacio (20-4) in a title rematch at ONE 166 on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena. Brooks hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts since dethroning Pacio via decision at ONE 164 in December 2022. “The Monkey God” is coming off a submission loss against Mikey Musumeci in a grappling match this past August. Meanwhile, his upcoming opponent returned to the win column …

Colby Covington may have seemed muted in the cage at UFC 296, but afterward he was right back to his usual, brazen self.

“Chaos” fell short in his bid to unseat Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Leon Edwards in Saturday’s main event, losing the first four rounds on all judges’ scorecards and seeming hesitant to apply his trademark pressure and wrestling. Afterward, Covington raised his hands as if to celebrate a win, and appeared surprised when the scores were read and the winner announced.

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Covington doubled down on his stance in his post-fight interview, saying he thought he had done enough to get his hands raised. He further claimed to have been robbed of a title victory due to the judges’ political bias against former US President Donald Trump, who had been in attendance. Covington said:

“I thought the third, fourth and fifth rounds were mine. The fifth was mine, easily. Fourth, I thought was mine too, and I thought I did enough …

Belal Muhammad was among those unimpressed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship main event on Saturday.

Muhammad, who weighed in as the backup fighter for the UFC 296 headliner between welterweight champ Leon Edwards and challenger Colby Covington, did not mince words in talking about the fight, which Edwards won via unanimous decision. While the build-up to the fight seemed to promise fireworks, as the challenger’s trash talk about Edwards’ late father drew a furious reaction from the champ, the fight itself was a lackluster affair, as Covington failed to engage his vaunted pressure and wrestling for most of the five rounds. At the UFC 296 post-fight show, “Remember the Name” said:

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“Honestly, it was a joke to the division. That’s what happens when you get a bum off the couch [Covington] who’s been out for two years, who didn’t deserve the shot, and he goes out there and he didn’t back up the talk. For Leon Edwards, you should have backed up your t…

One of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most battle-tested veterans is facing indefinite shelf time.

UFC featherweight Darren Elkins announced via his social media that he had suffered a serious injury in practice. “The Damage” wrote on his Instagram, “Current situation: I snapped my tibia and fibula in my right leg by freak accident during jiu-jitsu last night. Just got out of surgery where they put a nail in my leg.”

There is no information right now about a potential return timeline for Elkins, but the recuperation is likely to be long; lower leg breaks suffered by such well-known fighters as Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman and Conor McGregor kept them out of action for at least a year in every case: bad news for the 39-year-old Elkins.

Elkins is coming off a third-round submission win over T.J. Brown in October in his lone outing of the year. He has gone 2-2 in his last four but remains popular for his toughness and his penchant for comeback wins. …

Shavkat Rakhmonov notched the biggest win of his career on Saturday, but it turns out he nearly didn’t make it to the cage at all.

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Rakhmonov handed Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson his first ever submission loss via a second-round rear naked choke on the UFC 296 main card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This marked the 18th finish for the undefeated Kazakh in as many career outings, including six in the UFC. Having now notched wins over tested welterweights like Geoff Neal, Neil Magny and now Thompson, “Nomad” called for a title shot next.

After the event, “Nomad” revealed that he suffered a major ligament tear in his ankle six weeks out from his clash against Thompson which curtailed his kicking game and had him contemplating withdrawing from the event entirely. Rakhmonov said during the post-fight show:

“I had a very serious injury and I was even close to pulling out from the fight, but I decided to risk it all. and that’s why I didn’t …

Rather than celebrate the most impressive knockout of his career, Josh Emmett sat silently across the cage.

Emmett (19-4) put out Bryce Mitchell’s lights with a violent overhand right less than two minutes into the opening frame of their meeting in the main card opener at UFC 296 on Saturday in Las Vegas. The brutality of the knockout sunk in as Mitchell, now 16-2, could be seen convulsing on the canvas moments later and was still on wobbly legs while being helped out of the Octagon. What would otherwise have been cause for celebration—a knockout sure to win a “Performance of the Night” bonus from the UFC, and the end of the first losing streak of Emmett’s career—instead became a somber moment.

The Team Alpha Male representative said during the post-fight media scrum that only after the initial rush of emotion did he realize the damage he had inflicted on his opponent. “When I hit him I got excited and then and I looked over and he’s still down and it’s like it’s hard…

Sean Strickland recently penned an emotional note in response to digs taken at his abusive childhood by Sean O'Malley and Dricus Du Plessis.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder Strickland recently engaged in a number of unpleasant exchanges, initially with bantamweight champion O’Malley and then with Du Plessis, against whom Strickland is scheduled to defend his belt at UFC 297 next month. during the UFC’s seasonal press conference in Las Vegas, meant to promote upcoming matchups from early 2024. Strickland kicked off the banter by mocking O’Malley for “trying to let dudes f--- his wife.”

“Sugar” responded with an equally below-the-belt comment: “At least my dad didn’t f--- me.”

This prompted Strickland to go on a profanity-filled rant against O’Malley until he was cut off by UFC CEO Dana White.

“Oh this fucking guy, man. UFC, whatever happened to you guys? We used to have real men. And now we got the f—king clown over he…

Absolutely no doubt about it 🔥

Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa is your #UFC296 Fight of the Night!

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/maS1TifMhm

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC 296 card.

Fight of the Night went to Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa. The duo's prelim scrap was a back-and-forth war that lasted 15 minutes. Both women kept coming forward despite the damage taken, and fans were appreciative of their efforts. Aldana would take a unanimous decision win with three 29-28 cards given in her favor.

The three other Performance of the Night bonuses were well-earned. Josh Emmett earned an extra $50,000 for his shocking knockout of Bryce Mitchell, which left the featherweight convulsing on the floor afterward. The "Queen of Violence," Ariane Lipski, also received a bonus for her impressive armbar submission win over Casey O'Neill. Finally,…

The full incident between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at #UFC296 tonight.

Bring on #UFC297 in January! pic.twitter.com/HQt0Uj1jiv

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

@RobbieBarstool pic.twitter.com/7BJ7cfrput

— JoshIsner (@JoshIsner) December 17, 2023

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Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis went at it near the cage while in attendance for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s last pay-per-view event and card of 2023.

Strickland is scheduled to defend his middleweight strap in the UFC 297 headliner on Jan. 20 in Toronto. As it turned out, the two came too close for comfort at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 296.

The two got into a dustup in the crowd, which ended with law enforcement intervening and escorting the middleweight champ out of the arena.

UFC lightweight Jared Gordon, who was also in the arena, witnessed the scuffle and claimed on his X account, formerly k…

Leon Edwards proved yet again that bite matters far more than bark in a dog-eat-dog world.

The Team Renegade star kept his emotions in check and outstruck Colby Covington across five rounds to retain the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title with a unanimous decision in the UFC 296 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Edwards (22-3, 14-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46 marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary.

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Covington (17-4, 12-4 UFC) seemed tentative and unsure of himself, and while he delivered takedowns in the third and fifth rounds, he failed to consolidate them with anything meaningful. The spaces in between were dominated by Edwards. He chopped away at Covington’s lead leg with kicks, leaned on surgical counters and hammered the MMA Masters rep’s midsection with front kicks. The challenger scrambled into top position in the back half of Round 5 and applied some mild ground-and-pound,…

Sherdog's live UFC 296 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Buday (-148), Gaziev (+124)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fili (-175), Almeida (+145)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ulanbekov (-170), Dur…

Alonzo Menifield turned several explosive moments of offensive into one of his most significant victories to date in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

The Saekson Muay Thai product knocked down Dustin Jacoby twice with left hooks and laid claim to a unanimous decision over the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder in the featured UFC 296 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Menifield (15-3-1, 8-3-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the judges.

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Jacoby (19-7-1, 7-5-1 UFC) performed well in defeat and operated behind a punishing jab. However, he had no answer for Menifield’s ability to turn the tide with a single punch. The 2018 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate floored Jacoby with a left hook in the second and did so again the third. Menifield pursued the finish on both occasions, and though he came away empty-handed, he piled up the points when he had the chance.

I…

JUMPING KNEE!!!!

🇵🇱 @bartos_mma 👑 XTB #KSW89 pic.twitter.com/VmFqkC6DWy

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 16, 2023

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History was attempted but not made Saturday night as Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki welterweight champion Adrian Bartosinski foiled double champ Salahdine Parnasse’s quest for a third title in a major mixed martial arts organization. After five gritty rounds, Bartosinski (14-0) successfully retained his belt after bullying his way to a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in the KSW 89 main event at PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland.

Parnasse (18-2) tried to do something that no fighter has ever done and quickly found out how difficult it would be. Bartosinski used his superior size to bully and push Parnasse’s back toward the fence and keep him at bay. The fight was mostly spent in the clinch where Bartosinski was able to ragdoll and stifle Parnasse’s offense.

When the two fighters were disengaged, the bout …

Conor McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, recently revealed that they are pushing hard for the Irishman’s return at UFC 300 min April 2024.

McGregor (22-6) has been out of competition since July 2021, rehabbing from a broken leg he suffered in a trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier.

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Attar revealed that the team is doing their best to make McGregor's return possible at UFC 300, although the former two-division champ would jump into the Octagon next weekend if he could.

“If it was up to him, he’d be fighting Saturday, so ultimately we’re just trying to make sure we’re doing everything right and following all the standard operating procedures to get him back in the octagon as soon as possible,” Attar told MMA Junkie on Friday at the World MMA Awards. “UFC 300 would be amazing, and obviously we’re pushing as hard as we can to make that happen. Ultimately, it’s going to be an exciting 2024 for his return.”

McGregor starred opposite Michael Chandler as…

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Reigning middleweight king Sean Strickland went on a verbal tirade against Colby Covington in his appearance at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s seasonal press conference on Friday.

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Covington (17-3) is set to challenge Leon Edwards (21-3) for the welterweight title at UFC 296 this weekend. Leading up to the event, “Chaos” not only aimed his distasteful humor at his upcoming opponent, but he also made his disdain for Strickland (28-5) very clear, labeling the middleweight champ a “pathetic human being.”

Responding to Covington's verbal attack, Strickland retorted:

“Colby is an utter piece of sh*t... “If you know Colby on a personal level, he f*cked over everybody he f*cking knows. I take Colby as a personal insult to me because the Trumpsters, the Republicans, you guys are my f*cking people; the blue-collar workers. You guys are my f*cking people, and you guys have a c*nt like Colby come in here taking advantage. He do…

Jake Paul promised to deliver a memorable performance going into his ninth professional boxing match with Andre August on Saturday at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando.

In the end, “The Problem Child” (8-1), lived up to his claim by knocking out the three-time Golden Gloves winner at the 2:32 mark of the very first round.

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Interestingly, Paul walked out with Team USA Boxing stars Morelle McCane and Joshua Edwards, dancing to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” However, once in the ring, he was all business. Paul displayed good movement at the onset and eventually sent August crashing to the canvas with a vicious right uppercut to end the contest on the spot.

Aspiring to become a world champion down the line, Paul, 26, has recently directed his attention towards seasoned boxers. The Professional Fighters League-signed star is expected to compete for mixed martial arts organization in 2024 in either an MMA or hybrid-rules contest.

Notably, Pau…

[embedded content] Backups will not be necessary, as every fighter ahead of the the Ultimate Fighting Championship's final pay-per-view of the year successfully made weight on Friday.

UFC 296 is headlined by two championship bouts, with the welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington as the main event. Meanwhile, flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja will look to make his first defense against Brandon Royval. Both title fights are now official, as each set of champ and challenger successfully made weight.

Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) hasn't lost a fight since 2015. Riding high with two wins over Kamaru Usman, "Rocky" will look to take out Covington next. The English fighter stepped on the scale weighing 170 pounds on the dot.

Primed for a third shot at the undisputed 170-pound title, Covington (17-3) previously came up short twice against Usman. "Chaos" most recently defeated Jorge Masvidal last year but hasn't been active since. The 35-year-old will l…

Headlined by three ONE World Title showdowns, we close out 2023 with a BANGER 👑 Tune in on December 22 for ONE Friday Fights 46 — the most stacked edition in history! 👊💥#ONEFridayFights46 | Fri Dec 22🌍 Global PPV on https://t.co/eBUfsOmxDL | 9:30PM ICT/9:30AM ET🌍 Check… pic.twitter.com/3lkDaiWtiD

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 15, 2023 One Championship is testing the waters of a pay-per-view model next week.

According to a release from the promotion on Friday, ONE Friday Fights 46, which will be held on Dec. 22 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, will be a pay-per-view event. The entire card will consist of muay thai or kickboxing matches, without the early preliminaries containing an MMA bout or two. The price of the event will be $39.99, or $33.99 if ordered before event day. Three belts will be on the line on the five-fight main card, with the headliner for the 155-pound muay thai strap between Tawanchai P.K. Saencha…

Leon Edwards THREW A WATER BOTTLE AT COLBY 😳 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/cXyH92Xspo

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 15, 2023

Colby Covington has proven once again that he is willing to cross all lines in order to get under the skin of his opponents.

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Fans certainly expected Covington (17-3) to come out with his over-the-top trash talk during the press conference. The former interim champion was more than happy to take aim at other fighters on the podium including Stephen Thompson and Tony Ferguson.

However, during one of his verbal back-and-forths with Leon Edwards (21-3), “Chaos” opted to go with a distasteful joke about Edwards' late father, who was murdered when “Rocky” was just 13 years old.

“On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be,” Covington shouted. “I’m going to bring you to the seventh level of hell. We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

While “Rocky” seemed un…