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The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its second visit to St. Louis for the upcoming UFC on ESPN 56 card, set to go down at 4 p.m. ET on May 11 at Enterprise Center.

The main event features a potential slugfest as explosive heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento take center stage to cap things off at the home of the NHL Blues. Sherdog.com brings exclusive live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement.

BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Hardy (-135), Aldrich (+114)Round 1 The next slate of UFC fights steps through the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, with a dozen fine matchups on the lineup. The first bout of the evening comes at the women’s 125-pound division, as roster staple Aldrich (13-6, 9-5 UFC) looks to put a three-fight win streak together at the expense of Hardy (8-4-1, 3-4 UFC)—who is also trying to do the same. Only one woman will get to three in a row, barring something unus…

A middleweight clash pitting Kevin Holland against Michal Oleksiejczuk has been added to the UFC 302 main draw.

The pairing was announced during the UFC on ESPN 56 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 302 takes place on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and is headlined by a lightweight championship bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.

Holland began his promotional tenure at 185 pounds but has been competing primarily at welterweight in recent years. “Trailblazer” is coming off back-to-back losses against Michael Page and Jack Della Maddalena in his last two Octagon appearances.

Oleksiejczuk has lost two of his last three bouts under the UFC banner. Most recently, the 29-year-old Pole was submitted by Michel Pereira in the opening stanza at UFC 299 this past March.

A strawweight (125-pound) clash between Koha Minowa (13-5) and Jeremy Miado (12-7) has been added to the ONE on Prime Video 23 card set to go down at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5.

The bout was announced by ONE Championship in a press release on the promotion’s website. The card will be headlined by a fight for the ONE women’s inaugural strawweight kickboxing championship, as Anissa Meksen will lock horns with Jackie Buntan.

Minowa will enter the bout coming off a split-decision loss to Gustav Balart in January. Prior to that, the former Shooto competitor suffered back-to-back unanimous decision defeats against Bokang Masunyane and former champion Jarred Brooks.

Meanwhile, Miado will also enter the matchup on a three-fight skid, most recently succumbing to a Round 3 bulldog choke submission at the hands of Keito Yamakita at ONE 166 in March. Prior to the losing skid, Miado was on a four-fight winning streak, recording knocko…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A bantamweight clash between two promising prospects has been added to the UFC Fight Night event set to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on July.

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Hyder Amil (9-0) will meet Road to UFC 2022 featherweight winner Jeong Yeong Lee (11-1) in his second promotional outing. The news was first reported by Euro Sport NL’s Marcel Dorff in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). The bout was laterconfirmed by both fighters on their social media handles.

Sporting an undefeated record, Hyder Amil will enter the Octagon fresh off the heels of a Round 2 technical knockout victory over Fernie Garcia in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 236 this past February. The California native earned an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract thanks to a unanimous decision win over Emrah Sonmez in his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023.

Meanwhile, Lee made his way to the promotion via t…

While multiple outlets recently confirmed that Michel Pereira was set to take on Roman Dolidze in a middleweight clash on the UFC on ESPN 57 card on June 8, “Demolidor” recently took to Instagram to clarify that he’d never agreed to the matchup.

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According to the Brazilian, taking a fight against his training partner and “friend” on a month’s notice seemed impossible, not only because of their camaraderie but also because of the logistical problem of finding a different gym to train in such a short time.

“I didn’t accept that fight, OK?” Pereira said on his Instagram stories (translation via AgFight). “That man, he trains with me every day. He trains with me at UFC P.I. He trains at Xtreme Couture and he fights. Got it? He accepted and I didn’t. For me, now is not the time to fight him. If he accepted, that’s his problem. I was even surprised when he accepted. I didn’t accept this fight, OK? Got it? I said if it was someone else I would take it. Bu…

Mongolia’s Batochir Batsaikhan made a spectacular ONE Championship debut, as he stopped Fabio Harada with just two seconds remaining in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 62 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Harada (5-2, 0-1 ONE) came out the gate looking to pressure Batsaikhan (3-1, 1-0 ONE) against the ropes. However, it was not long before the Mongolian reversed his opponent into a corner and landed a series of knees to the body followed by crisp straight lefts, immediately putting Harada on notice. After eating a couple of slick counter straight lefts and a head kick, Harada attempted to take the fight to the canvas but was denied. Gaining confidence in his striking advantage, Batsaikhan landed a slicing elbow on his opponent that clearly hurt Harada. From there, Batsaikhan began to pick Harada apart with stinging counterstrikes to the head and knees to the body while denying the exhausted 24-year-old from completi…

Abdullah Al-Qahtani made his opponent quit in his latest Professional Fighters League assignment. There can be no greater joy for a mixed martial artist.

Al-Qahtani put away Yazeed Hasanain with punches in the second round of their PFL MENA 1 headliner on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hasanain (3-1, 0-1 PFL) turned to referee Rich Mitchell, waved his arms and indicated he could absorb no further punishment 4:59 into Round 2. The show featured qualifying bouts in the featherweight and bantamweight divisions for the newly established Middle East and North Africa branch of the PFL.

Hasanain was more or less outgunned. Al-Qahtani (9-1, 4-0 PFL) staggered him with a left hook in the first round, completed a takedown and went about stalking his Jordanian counterpart. He pressed Hasanian into the fence for much of the second round, dodged return fire and unleashed power punches to the head. Damage was cumulative on Hasanain and ultimately forced him to r…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves this weekend with a heavyweight main event.

UFC on ESPN 56 main event fighters Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento both made weight for the 12-fight card. Both men weighed near the 266-pound limit, so there won't be a major weight difference. All fighters made weight except for Jared Gooden, who suffered a medical issue and didn't weigh in, thus canceling his welterweight fight against Kevin Jousset.

This marks the 12th UFC main event for "The Black Beast." However, Lewis has struggled recently and is on a 1-4 stretch. A win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima is sandwiched between losses to Jailton Almeida, Sergey Spivak, Sergei Pavlovich and Tai Tuivasa. Lewis (27-12, 1 NC) will look to show he still has something left at 39 and officially weighed 264 pounds.

Meanwhile, this is the first UFC main event for Nascimento (11-1, 1 NC). "Yogi Bear" is riding a three-fight win streak over Tanner…

THIS. FIGHT. 🤧

It’s Xavier Alaoui 🆚 Rachid El Hazoume for the Bantamweight bout.

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Who’s ready for tomorrow? 🥊

PFL MENA | LIVE on MBC Action at 6:30 PM (GMT+3)

Tickets on SALE NOW! https://t.co/NtUBc3UAGX#PFL #MMA #MakingHistory #SaudiArabia #MENA@PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/gFvgUGtldy — PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) May 9, 2024

After a decade in the cage, Xavier Alaoui must prove himself to no one. The Tristar Gym jokester radiates confidence before the biggest fight of his career, but Alaoui knows he’s ready. And for those who don’t, prepare to find out.

“I’ve given up on the idea of being on the cusp of breaking through,” Alaoui told Sherdog.com. “I feel like I’ve already broken through. I’ve fought some of the best guys in the world, and the best guys in the world know who the f*ck I am.”

Alaoui (14-5) is set to make his mark in the Professional Fighters League, aiming to be the first to claim in the inaugur…

A mighty Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight matchup makes its way to a show next month.

At UFC on ESPN 57 on June 8, the promotion will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to post up at the KFC Yum! Center. The main event was recently made official, with the reported pairing of Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov coming together earlier on Thursday. Serving on the main card will a 185-pound scrap between Roman Dolidze (12-3) and Michel Pereira (31-11, 2 NC), as first reported by Eurosport_NL on Thursday. This muscular match has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Dolidze was initially set to battle Anthony Hernandez at UFC 302, but an injury for Hernandez scuttled the pairing. The Georgian was shifted back one week to accommodate for his opponent’s recent fight. He finds himself on his first losing streak of his career, having dropped back-to-back decisions to Marvin Vettori in 2023 and Imavov in 2024. Prior to the losses, the 35-year-old had rattl…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not straying away from middleweight main events, even outside of Las Vegas.

The promotion announced via press release in April the nearly completed lineup of UFC Louisville, also known as UFC on ESPN 57. The fight card held at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, had numerous previously announced matchups confirmed while bringing light to a few others. Of note, the release stated that Dominick Reyes (12-4) and Dustin Jacoby (19-8-1) would be competing in the light heavyweight co-main attraction, while Andrea Lee (13-9) and Montana De La Rosa (12-9) will throw down in the early prelims at flyweight.

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Shortly after the press release dropped, MMA Mania broke the news that the main event would come at 185 pounds between Jared Cannonier (17-6) and Nassourdine Imavov (13-4, 1 NC). This battle on June 8 has now been confirmed by other outlets on Thursday.

This main attraction appearance for Cannonier will be …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Fabricio Werdum is ready to move to the next stage of his career.

In September 2023, Werdum returned from a lengthy layoff to test himself in bare-knuckle MMA. He faced former opponent Junior dos Santos at Gamebred FC 5, and he suffered a split decision loss to “Cigano.” Following the match, Canal Combate produced a documentary about the ex-champ titled “Werdum, Acima da Dor,” chronicling the late stage of his career. This arrangement led to a partnership with the heavyweight, and he has joined influencer Kefera Buchmann to host an MMA-themed talk show on the network called “Papo Cruzado.” Werdum spoke to Sherdog about his new show that will debut at the second half of 2024.

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“These are topics that go beyond the usual routine of talking about when the next fight is, who you want to fight against, how your training is going,” Werdum explained. “I thought it was cool that we covered topic…

Rodrigo Nascimento has no intentions of stalling the fight by simply maintaining top position against Derrick Lewis in their upcoming showdown.

Nascimento (11-1) will face a step up in competition when he takes on Derrick Lewis (27-12) in the main event at UFC St. Louis on May 11. While Lewis is known for his highlight reel knockouts, Nascimento is not underestimating his opponent’s well-roundedness going into his first Ultimate Fighting Championship headliner.

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“So I think he’s an unpredictable fighter right… He’s super dangerous, you know, he has heavy hands but he’s a complete fighter,” the Brazilian said during UFC St. Louis media day. “I know this, I watch his fights; he knows how to put someone down. He can strike, he can fake. He’s a complete fighter for sure.”

Lewis is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Jailton Almeida in November 2023, where “Malhadinho” mostly controlled him on the ground without scoring much damage. Wh…

Jan Blachowicz has made his case for a rematch against Alex Pereira upon his return to action.

Pereira (10-2) earned a narrow split decision over Blachowicz (29-10) to make good on his debut in the light heavyweight division at UFC 291 in July 2023. While Blachowicz was scheduled to fight Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 this past January, the former champ was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

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Meanwhile, Pereira went on to secure the 205-pound title in a clash against Jiri Prochazka and then defended his second UFC title with a brutal knockout win over Jamahal Hill in the main event at UFC 300 last month. While Blachowicz considers “Poatan” to be a better fighter than Hill, he doesn’t think the Brazilian is better than himself.

Making his case for a rematch against the reigning 205-pound king, Blachowicz is steadfast in his belief that he won their first encounter. The Polish standout also noted that while Pereira has k…

While Jose Aldo’s UFC 301 win over Jonathan Martinez was undoubtedly impressive, bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen disagrees with the idea of awarding the former champion a title shot next.

Although Aldo had hung up his gloves following a unanimous decision loss against Merab Dvalishvili in August 2022, “Junior” recently ended his retirement to co-headline UFC 301 UFC 301 in Brazil. Aldo denied the odds to score a shut-out unanimous decision victory at Farmasi Arena on May 4.

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While Aldo’s fight against Martinez was the last on his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, the Brazilian is open to re-signing with the promotion if they match his best offers. “King of Rio” is also hoping to jump the queue for a title shot straight away.

Jose Aldo said at the post-fight presser that he has completed his UFC deal but the promotion still has the option to match whatever offer he gets so he will sit with Dana White to discuss his…

[embedded content] Count former Ultimate Fighting Championship king Vitor Belfort among those throwing cold water on the upcoming boxing spectacle between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

Belfort held little back when discussing the upcoming boxing match of Paul vs. Tyson. The YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champ will be squaring off on July 20 in Arlington, Texas, and many have debated the legitimacy of their upcoming encounter. The rules, as approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, consist of the bout lasting eight two-minute rounds, with the heavyweights wearing 14-ounce gloves. Despite this, the Texas commission has declared it will be a professional bout. Belfort, speaking to Sherdog about the matchup on Wednesday, was not a fan.

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“Sixteen-ounce gloves are used only in sparring to protect fighters,” the former champ noted. “Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will do a sparring [match] live on Netflix, making millions of dol…

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Heavyweight knockout artist Robelis Despaigne is eyeing a title shot within a year of his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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Despaigne (5-0) needed just 18 seconds to knock out Josh Parisian in his promotional debut at UFC 299 in March. The undefeated prospect is now set to make his sophomore walk to the Octagon against Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1) at UFC on ESPN 56 on May 11. Despaigne believes a win over Costa, followed by a few others will secure a title shot for him next year.

“Look, if all goes according to plan, I think that by the beginning of next year I’ll be fighting for the UFC heavyweight title, or at least the interim.” Despaigne told MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.

Despaigne has finished all of his fights in the first round, with a total fight time of 37 seconds for his last four outings combined. Given that the landscape has witnessed Alex Pereira’s meteoric rise to double champ status in less than two years o…

A memorable competitor from the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship show has died at the age of 60.

Art Jimmerson represented the sport of boxing at UFC 1 in 1993, famously wearing one glove when facing Royce Gracie. This drew him the nickname of “One Glove,” and despite competing just once in the sport of MMA, it was a memorable appearance. Gracie, around 20 pounds lighter, took Jimmerson down and forced him to submit 2:18 into their bout. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN reported that Jimmerson had died on Wednesday, according to Jimmerson’s daughter. His son also confirmed Jimmerson’s passing on social media.

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[embedded content] “It’s funny looking back, I just never knew,” Jimmerson told Sherdog in 2009 about his match with Gracie. “But I said, ‘No problem,’ because it was only going to take me one punch.”

Jimmerson continued, “I won't say I was young and dumb, it’s that I'm always up for a challenge. I don’t want to be perceived as a …

MAIN EVENT - Featherweight 🔥

Abdullah Al-Qahtani: 145.6 LBSYazeed Hasanain: 146.6 LBS

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PFL MENA | LIVE on MBC Action at 6:30 PM (GMT+3)

Tickets on SALE NOW! https://t.co/NtUBc3UAGX#PFL #MMA #MakingHistory #SaudiArabia #MENA @PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/vsT4ozLrIX

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) May 9, 2024 The first Professional Fighters League card for its MENA branch has changed significantly on weigh-in day.

PFL MENA, a venture that will serve as the brightest stage for fighters from the Middle East and North Africa region competing in the PFL Season format. May 10’s debut will go down at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the card's lineup has been reshaped to 10 matchups on weigh-in day. Multiple fighters missed weight, resulting in a transformation of the main event.

The card is set to ignite a new wave in the region’s combat sports landscape and features fighters in the featherweight and bantamweight …

A flyweight pairing pitting Muhammad Mokaev against Manel Kape is in the works for UFC 304.

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Mokaev announced the fight on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com that Kape has verbally agreed to the booking. UFC 304 takes place on July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The event is also expected to include a featherweight clash between Arnold Allen and Giga Chikadze.

Mokaev has emerged as a contender at 125 pounds with victories in his first six Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 23-year-old known as “The Punisher” outpointed former title challenger Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2. The Brave Combat Federation veteran is 12-0 with one no contest over the course of his professional tenure.

Kape was supposed to compete at UFC on ESPN 55 on April 27, but he withdrew from a proposed bout against Matheus Nicolau after suffering a rib injury. After dropping his first two promotional outings, the former Ri…

Things are starting to get REAL between Cedric and Jaleel… 😳#BellatorParis | Friday May 17 pic.twitter.com/FfHV84XhEl

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 8, 2024

Chael Sonnen is one of the greatest heels in mixed martial arts history, but even he thinks Jaleel Willis is approaching dangerous territory.

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Willis might be the most hated man in Paris by the time he squares off with French kickboxing phenom Cedric Doumbe at Accor Arena on May 17 in the Bellator Champions Series Paris co-main event. The Memphis native’s verbal jabs have been non-stop, much to the delight of the “American Gangster.”

Sonnen praised — albeit warned — Willis on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account Wednesday after Willis insulted the French fanbase’s MMA knowledge. Willis (16-5) criticized Doumbe’s (5-1) lack of cage time and implied his fans only support him because they know no better.

“When you call yourself a veteran, you’re calling t…

There was a method behind the madness of Mauricio Ruffy’s post-fight callout of UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev last weekend.

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“Since I beat his best sparring partner (Raimond Magomedaliev) in a higher weight class (170 pounds) on the Contender Series, I thought it was a good moment to make a statement,” Ruffy told Sherdog.com. “After all, the UFC lightweight champion guaranteed [Magomedaliev] was going to be the new king of the 170-pound division. And Magomedaliev is really tough. Before facing me, he beat the 2023 PFL light heavyweight champ, Impa Kasangany, who fights three divisions above.”

Ruffy has made a habit of knocking out sparring partners of high-profile fighters. Last year, he scored a first-round stoppage of Corneliu Lascar Rotaru, who has trained with Irish superstar Conor McGregor.

“A few months before receiving the invitation to the Contender Series, I broke my left hand in the first fight of the Centurion FC Grand P…

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Professional Fighters League has added a pair of prospects from the United Arab Emirates to its roster.

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The organization announced on Wednesday that flyweight Hadi Omar Al Hussaini and featherweight Youssef Al Housani have signed exclusive, multi-fight contracts with the PFL. Al Hussaini and Al Housani are expected to compete in showcase bouts during the PFL MENA season this year before joining the season format in 2025.

“We are thrilled to welcome two of the UAE’s top prospects to PFL MENA,” said PFL MENA vice president of fighter operations Gustavo Firmino in a release. “The mission of the PFL is to find the best fighters in every region around the world. Our partnership with SRJ Sports has allowed the PFL to identify and sign exceptional fighters like Al Hussaini and Al Housani, who we know have the potential to become global stars in the sport.”

Al Hussaini is 5-0-1 since beginning his professional MMA career in 2021. H…

Herb Dean fault @ufc #ufc300

— Derrick Lewis (@Thebeast_ufc) April 14, 2024

Derrick Lewis has a different take on the walkoff knockout that wasn’t for Jalin Turner at UFC 300.

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Turner took on Renato Carneiro on at UFC 300 on April 13. A sizeable favorite going into the bout, Turner dropped Moicano with a left hook in the closing seconds of the opening frame. However, Turner bizarrely chose to walk away, although referee Herb Dean hadn’t stopped the fight. “Moicano” was back up on his feet in seconds and came from behind to finish “The Tarantula” in the second round.

Lewis, who hadn’t tweeted since February 2022, opted to weigh in on Turner vs. Moicano after the fight, declaring it “Herb Dean fault.” While many praised Dean for allowing “Money” the opportunity to recover, Lewis believes otherwise. Explaining his comments in a recent interview, “The Black Beast” said that the fight should have been stopped when Moicano go…