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It was a long journey for Leon Edwards to become UFC champion, but the payoff was well worth it.

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Edwards claimed welterweight gold with a head kick knockout of Kamaru Usman in the UFC 278 main event at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. The end came 4:04 into Round 5, one of the latest finishes for a championship fight in promotion history. Moments earlier, Edwards appeared to be on his way to losing a clear-cut unanimous decision. In the aftermath, “Rocky” admitted that the Utah altitude may have gotten to him.

“Going into it, I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I said it all week. But I believe I was the better man – but even though it was one my worst performances, it is what it is, I got a clean finish,” Edwards said at the UFC 278 post-fight press conference. “My body just wasn’t reacting the way it was meant to react. I don’t know if it was the altitude or not, but when I was backstage watching the other guys fight on TV, …

Luke Rockhold’s return to mixed martial arts proved to be short lived.

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The former UFC and Strikefore middleweight champion announced his retirement following a unanimous decision defeat to Paulo Costa in the UFC 278 co-main event at Vinvint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday night.

“I’ve been through so much the last few years,” Rockhold said in his post-fight interview. “I f—king … thank you, fighting. Thank you, UFC. Thank you, Joe [Rogan]. I f—-king can’t do this s—t any more. I gave it my all. I just didn’t … I’m f—ing old.”

Rockhold was bloodied and battered in his matchup with Costa, and his body language was concerning on multiple occasions. Still, the longtime American Kickboxing Academy product had his moments, as he landed multiple body kicks and tagged Costa with a hard left hand in the third round. He ended the fight by reversing out of a rear-naked choke and rubbing his bloody face all over Costa from top position. It was…

UFC 279 has another marquee matchup, as Tony Ferguson will square off against Jingliang Li on Sept. 10.

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UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking at the UFC 278 post-fight press conference on Saturday night. UFC 279 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a five-round showdown between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz.

The bout will mark Ferguson’s welterweight debut after a lengthy stint at 155 pounds. “El Cucy” is in the midst of a four-bout losing streak in the UFC. He is coming off a brutal front kick knockout loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274 on May 7.

Li, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses inh his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Leech” defeated Muslim Salikhov via second-round technical knockout at UFC on ABC 3 on July 16.

Two incredible finishes are sending @Leon_EdwardsMMA & @Vic__Altamirano home with POTN bonuses 💰

[ B2YB @BattleMotors | #UFC278 ] pic.twitter.com/kp81kLXlGx

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

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On top of winning himself the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title after completing one of the most miraculous comebacks in UFC history, Leon Edwards banked an additional $50,000 for his efforts.

Going into the fifth round, Edwards was losing three rounds to one on all three judges’ score cards before landing a left high-kick to the head of Kamaru Usman, and claiming the title in the final minute of the fight. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Edwards belted out “look at me now!” in celebration of his first world championship.

A gritty three round contest between middleweights Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa claimed “Fight of the Night” honors, and they also will take home an extra $50,000. Each man slu…

Sherdog's live UFC 278 “Usman vs. Edwards 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Altamirano (-200), Lacerda (+170)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Noah Gagnon scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Noah Gagnon scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Noah Gagnon scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Aori (-175), Perrin (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Noah Gagnon scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Noah Gagnon scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Sco…

HEAVYWEIGHT SLAM 💥

Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/PxvAbhNp7h

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

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Marcin Tybura sent a message to the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division by defeating Alexander Romanov in the featured UFC 278 prelim.

Romanov (16-1) wasted no time clinching with Tybura (23-7) seconds into the fight. Landing damaging knees, Romanov would then slam the 252-pound fighter like it was nothing. Romanov would begin landing stellar punches and elbows that put an exclamation mark on a dominant Round 1. Tybura would fare much better as the fight went on as Romanov slowed down, and even managed to take his opponent's back shortly in the second round. Embarrassingly, Romanov would showboat in Round 3 despite being outstruck.

The judges awarded the fight to Tybura via majority decision as one judge had a 28-28 draw while the other two had it 29-2…

Leon Edwards is the new Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion after upsetting Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 278.

Usman (20-2) would manage to get the fight to the ground early in the first round, although the challenger popped to his feet shortly afterward. Shockingly, Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) would trip the champion and land straight into mount. After taking the back of the "The Nigerian Nightmare," Edwards would begin looking for a rear-naked choke. Usman would survive the rocky round but not without a solid scare by the challenger.

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The champion would come out firing in Round 2, although Edwards stayed composed and was never overwhelmed by the pressure. "Rocky" would slow the pace down, with some help from an eye poke, and then went back-and-forth with Usman in a grappling exchange. Usman would start landing damaging elbows and capped off a solid second frame in his favor with a takedown of his own. Usman would repeat this strate…

The assault was felonious in nature.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison dispatched Martina Jindrova with a first-round arm-triangle choke, as their Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight semifinal headlined PFL 9 on Saturday at Copper Box Arena in London. Jindrova (6-3, 3-1 PFL) capitulated 3:17 into Round 1, the latest victim of the PFL’s runaway freight train.

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Harrison (15-0, 14-0 PFL) caught a kick from the Czech, dumped her to the mat and immediately transitioned to side control. She softened Jindrova with ground-and-pound, climbed to full mount and pounded away with punches. Harrison fished briefly for an armbar, then clamped down on the arm-triangle and elicited the tapout. It was a flawless performance.

The win pushed Harrison into the 2022 lightweight final, where she will seek her third consecutive league championship and another $1 million payday against Larissa Pacheco on Nov. 25. Pacheco (18-4, 7-2 PFL) buried Hel…

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki’s return to Warsaw will be remembered for its nail-biting main event.

In the KSW 73 headliner, Glory kickboxing veteran Arkadiusz Wrzosek made his mixed martial arts debut as he locked horns with Tomasz Sarara in a heavyweight clash. Sarara (1-1, 1-1 KSW) dropped Wrzosek in the opening round, and dominated on the canvas for the duration but failed to deliver a finish. Wrzosek (1-0, 1-0 KSW) retaliated in the second frame, catching Sarara with a head kick followed by a flying knee. The kickboxer hit the gas pedal and threw punches, knees and kicks at Sarara until his fatigued foe collapsed on the floor. “Hightower” kept striking fast and hard, but Sarara showed heart and survived to see the third frame. In Round 3, Wrzosek controlled his adversary from afar while scoring with punches and kicks. When it appeared that the fight would go the distance, Wrzosek hit his mark with a sharp knee and follow-up punches. Referee Lukasz Bosacki stopped the contes…

The 2022 Professional Fighters League Playoffs continue Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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

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Round 1 Bantamweights Ruiz and Uchegbu face off to open up the evening, with Britain’s own Marc Goddard set to officiate. Ruiz is in southpaw stance; Uchegbu orthodox. Ruiz comes forward with a couple of outside leg kicks. Ruiz lands a straight left. Ruiz grabs a single-leg, goes high-crotch and dumps Uchegbu to the canvas. Ruiz lands a couple of short punches, then takes the taller man’s back as he tries to stand. Ruiz sinks both hooks, then locks up a body triangle from back mount. Half the round gone, and Ruiz is in total control, throwing right hands to the head as Goddard tells Uchegbu to do something. Uchegbu escapes the body triangle, but Ruiz still on top, near the base of the fence. Uchegbu manages to stand, but Ruiz is still holding him to the fence. A minute left, Uch…

All #PFLPlayoffs London fighters are on weight! pic.twitter.com/hx8ZAijUE4

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 19, 2022 PFL 9 will feature the last four semifinals for the Professional Fighters League 2022 playoffs.

All four semifinalists made weight for the card, which is headlined by the women's lightweight semifinal between Kayla Harrison and Martina Jindrova. The winner of that bout will face whoever is victorious between Larissa Pacheco and Helena Kolesnyk. Meanwhile, the two featherweight semifinals will pit Chris Wade vs. Brendan Loughnane and Ryoji Kudo vs. Bubba Jenkins.

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A perfect 14-0 in her mixed martial arts career, Harrison will look to add another PFL championship to add to her impressive win streak. This season has seen Harrison win a decision over Marina Mokhnatkina and finish Kaitlin Young in just 2:35 of the first round. The Judo specialist weighed in at 155 pounds.

Jindrova (6-2) started her career just 3-2 bu…

[embedded content] Kamaru Usman will put his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line as he rematches Leon Edwards at UFC 278.

The 12-fight card is now official, although that is one bout fewer than initially planned. This is due to Shanna Young being hospitalized and her fight against Miranda Maverick being canceled as a result. However, all pay-per-view fighters successfully made weight and the card is moving forward largely intact.

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"The Nigerian Nightmare" previously defeated Edwards via unanimous decision back in 2015. Both fighters have improved considerably since then with Usman (20-1) becoming an all-time great and champion in the process. The Floridian looks to make his sixth UFC title defense and make it clear that he's a top pound-for-pound fighter as well. Usman officially weighed 170 pounds on the dot.

Edwards (19-3, 1 NC) hasn't tasted defeat since losing to Usman. "Rocky" has won nine fights since then, including …

Join us for the #KSW73 ceremonial weigh-ins❗️

🕰️ 6pm CEST | 5pm BST | 12pm ET🖥️ Live on Facebook & YouTube

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The fighters come face to face 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/V3h4ZvYW0o — KSW (@KSW_MMA) August 19, 2022

Headlining KSW 73 is a mixed martial arts bout between Polish kickboxer Arkadiusz Wrzosek , who is making his MMA debut, and Tomasz Sarara. It will be Wrzosek that is the larger man inside the cage as he weighed 8 pounds heavier than Sarara at 243 pounds. All fighters on the card successfully made weight.

Wrzosek holds a professional kickboxing record of 13-5, 1 NC. His most famous victory was a head kick knockout over Badr Hari in 2021. A rematch put on earlier this year was stopped after a riot occurred in the audience. Meanwhile, Sarara is 1-0 inside the KSW cage, having defeated Filip Bradaric last year via TKO. Sarara also has a striking background, having competed in kickboxing as well.

KSW 73 will…

UFC 281 likely now has a co-main event, as reigning women's strawweight champion Carla Esparza will defend against former division ruler Zhang Weili at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12.

Esparza, 19-6, revealed the pairing on her verified Instagram account Thursday afternoon. The bout has not been confirmed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of publication time.

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Esparza recently regained the strawweight title for a second time by defeating Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 via split decision, in what was widely considered one of the dullest title fights in mixed martial arts history. Esparza extended her winning streak to six with the crown-clinching performance.

Weili, meanwhile, dispatched of strawweight legend and long-time champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in spectacular fashion at UFC 276 with a spinning back-fist in Round 2. Prior to that, Weili had lost two title fights against Namajunas. Esparza initially announced that she wanted to defend the titl…

Luke Rockhold’s rant regarding fighter pay at the UFC 278 media day certainly seemed to catch Francis Ngannou’s attention.

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The reigning UFC heavyweight champion took to Twitter to reveal that he lost $1 million in potential sponsorship money due to the promotion’s existing deal with a cryptocurrency platform. The UFC’s outfitting policy and and sponsorship restrictions prevented Ngannou from cashing in on a lucrative offer.

“Listening to Luke's interview was very pertinent. A lot of things that nobody is talking about it and the company just rolls with it,” Ngannou wrote. “Fighters are ripped off with sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.

“I understand that the sport needs to look good with uniforms but we should at least have a right for a minimum of [two] approved sponsors for in the octagon,” he added. Last year I lost a deal of over a million dollars from a crypto e…

Dilano Taylor made the most of his short-notice opportunity in the Professional Fighters League playoffs.

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With two days to go until last Saturday's PFL 8 card in Cardiff, Wales, the organization announced that Taylor would replace Magomed Umalatov in the semifinals of the welterweight tournament. Despite being called up at the last minute and facing the favored Rory MacDonald, the Jamaican surprised “The Red King” with a first-round knockout.

Taylor told Sherdog.com that he was hoping to get a chance to fill in as a substitute while also helping prepare teammate Jason Jackson for his triumph over Douglas Lima at Bellator 283 on July 27.

“I felt like I was destined to be in this competition,” Taylor said. “I always talk about opportunities and how they present themselves. I'm always training and waiting for a chance, and I was helping my partner Jason and I would be his corner as well. So when they called me, I was ready. I just hadn't studied R…

Wanderlei Silva's biography has just gone international.

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The book “Wanderlei Silva: Unleashed” has been translated into English and is available for sale on Amazon. Organized by journalists Thiago Parijiani and Luis Henrique Gurian, translated by Sean White and released by BB Publishing company in the physical version, the book explains how Silva became one of the greatest icons of MMA and reached multiple milestones, including being undefeated for more than five years, setting the record for most Pride Fighting Championships middleweight belt defenses and overall wins in Pride.

In addition, the book reveals Silva’s fear of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), shares details from his most important victories and most difficult defeats and uncovers never-before-disclosed backstage stories such as the time he was knocked out by Charles Bennett backstage just minutes before his rematch with Ricardo Arona.

The e-book version has 283 pages fill…

If Khamzat Chimaev defeats Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 main event next month, a welterweight championship fight could very well be in his future.

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UFC president Dana White indicated as much when asked about what could be next for Chimaev with a win on Sept. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Chimaev has taken the promotion by storm with wins in his first five appearances, including a decision triumph over Gilbert Burns in his last outing at UFC 273.

“It’s fair,” White said at the Contender Series press conference on Tuesday night. “I don’t ever do that s—t, but yeah, it’s fair to say if he wins, that’s the fight to make. [Usman has] already beat everybody twice in the top whatever, so yeah, that makes sense.”

On the other hand, White is not necessarily on board with Usman’s goal of moving up two divisions to challenge for the 205-pound belt, but he won’t stand in the way if “The Nigerian Nightmare” bests Leon Edwards at UFC 278.

“You know wha…

Esteban Ribovics forced the issue, defense be damned.

The undefeated Nova Uniao prospect booked his spot on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, as he punched out Thomas Paull in the first round of their lightweight showcase during Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Paull (11-4) was cooked just 90 seconds into Round 1.

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Ribovics (11-0) waded through considerable fire and walked the Englishman into a devastating right hook. Paull collapsed downward, and he was in no condition to recover before eating a subsequent punching volley that necessitated the stoppage.

The 26-year-old Ribovics was one of five competitors signed by the UFC, along with Claudio Ribeiro, Nazim Sadykhov, Hailey Cowan and Jose Johnson.

Ribeiro wowed the crowd with a violent knockout of Ivan Valenzuela in the first round of their middleweight confrontation. Valenzuela (8-2) met his end 25 seconds into Round 1, his five-fight…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 4 coverage will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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

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ODDS: Sadykhov (-190); Hasanzada (+160)Round 1 Referee Jason Herzog waves the lightweights into action. Hassanzada comes right out and nails Sadykhov with a spinning back body kick that staggers him. Sadykhov recovers, grabs his opponent’s leg and runs him to the ground. Sadykhov postures up and drops punches and elbows, one of which splits Hassanzada open. A minute in, Hassanzada is bleeding heavily, but has Sadykhov in his closed guard, trying to control his posture. Sadykhov is on top, dropping short shots and scooting Hassanzada toward the fence. Halfway through the round, Hassanzada opens his guard, looking perhaps to escape or mount some offense, but Sadykhov is heavy on top. Sadykhov passes and steps into mount, but as he tries to move to Hassanzada’s back, Hassanzada explodes up.…

Santiago Ponzinibbio and Robbie Lawler will clash at UFC 282 on Dec. 10.

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Promotion broadcast partner ESPN was first to report that the two welterweights had agreed to the matchup. UFC 282 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and is expected to feature a light heavyweight championship rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.

After authoring a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC from December 2015 to November 2018, Ponzinibbio has endured some struggles of late. The 35-year-old Argentina native has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances, including a split-decision setback to Michel Pereira in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 206.

A former 170-pound champion, Lawler has also fallen on rough times, losing five of his last six bouts in the promotion dating back to December 2017. “Ruthless” is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Bryan Barberena at UFC 276 on July 2.

Neiman Gracie is one of three fighters from Bellator 284 who is facing a potential indefinite medical suspension following this past Friday’s card.

Gracieo suffered a second-round knockout loss to Goiti Yamauchi in the evening’s welterweight main event at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. As a result, Gracie is suspended indefinitely until he his medically cleared to compete.

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Steve Mowry, who was on the wrong end of an accidental eye poke from Valentin Moldavsky in the evening’s heavyweight co-headliner, is also indefinitely suspended until medically cleared to compete. The foul ended the fight just 54 seconds after it began. Tyson Jeffries, who was knocked out by Sullivan Cauley in a preliminary light heavyweight bout, also faces an indefinite term.

The South Dakota Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions from Bellator 284. Everyone on the card received at least a mandatory seven-day sit. The exact nature of ea…

After victories in his first two promotional appearances, Caio Borralho will return to the Octagon against Makhmud Muradov at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22.

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So far, the Brazilian middleweight has made a habit of besting Eastern European opponents.

“In my opening fight I gave Russian Gadhzi Omargadhziev his first defeat, and three months later UFC gave me the Armenian Armen Petrosyan, and now, the [Uzbekistan native] Muradov,” Borralho told Sherdog.com. “In the main event Charles [Oliveira] will be facing [Islam] Makhachev. Definitely Russian and Eastern European fans will not be very nice to us in Abu Dhabi. But I'm really not worried about that. I have no doubt me and Charles will have a Brazilian party in Abu Dhabi.”

According to Borralho, the experience of having trained with Demian Maia, Paulo Costa, Sean Strickland and having the experienced Vale Tudo fighter Flávio Alvaro as head coach makes him pretty self confident that he can go far…

Earlier this week, Shane Burgos made a somewhat surprising announcement that he was leaving the UFC to sign with Professional Fighters League.

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The move comes on the heels of back-to-back triumphs for the Team Tiger Schulmann representative in UFC competition. However, Burgos said the PFL’s offer far surpassed that of his former promotion.

“Last time it was relatively close, that’s why I was like, ‘It’s not that big of a difference.’ It was a bigger difference [this time],” Burgos said. “It was a six-figure difference back then what I was going to get paid from the PFL and I turned that down to stay with the UFC. Now, it’s obviously bigger than that.”

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, UFC president Dana White made the rare admission that the promotion dropped the ball by not resigning Burgos, who was 8-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based organization.

“That’s a good question,” White said when asked why Burgos was not re-signe…