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After months of mystery, the fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev was finally confirmed for UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.

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“Everybody knows how I wanted to fight in January in Brazil with Conor [McGregor], but he never answered,” Oliveira told Sherdog.com.

The UFC is not expected to return to Brazil until next year, but Oliveira pointed out that Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov were vocal in the media about wanting to face “Do Bronx” on his home soil. Instead, the event will be much closer to Makhachev’s native Dagestan.

“They talked a lot of s—t to the media, that they would go to Brazil to beat me up in front of my fans,” he said. “They had the opportunity to agree to that since I tried hard to make that fight at home, but they never accepted. We even tried to make it in a neutral territory (New York or Las Vegas), but what ended up happening?  The champion will fight on the opponent's home soil for the third consecutiv…

MILANO!

We are returning to the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy on Saturday, October 29. #BellatorMilan

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) July 20, 2022

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Bellator MMA will be returning to Milan, Italy, this fall.

The California-based promotion announced Wednesday that it will hold a card at Allianz Cloud Arena on Oct. 29 in the Italian fashion hub. No fights for the card were revealed. The event’s main card will air live in the U.S. on Showtime, while prelims will stream on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

Bellator held three consecutive events in Milan with no fans during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on Sept. 26, Oct. 1 and Oct. 3. The last time the Scott Coker-led organization touched down in Milan in front of a live audience was Bellator 230 on Oct. 12, 2019. That card saw current light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov submit former 185-pound king Ra…

It looks like Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight crown against T.J. Dillashaw a little bit later than originally anticipated.

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According to Yahoo Sports, Sterling vs. Dillashaw will serve as the co-main event at UFC 280 on Oct. 22. The title bout was originally slated for UFC 279 on Sept. 10 but that event will now be headlined by a five-round, non-title clash between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev. The matchup was later confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a showdown between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title.

After winning the 135-pound belt with a controversial disqualification victory over Petr Yan at UFC 259, Sterling defeated Yan via split decision in their rematch at UFC 273 on April 9. The “Funk Master” has won seven consecutive fights in UFC competition, with other notable victories over the likes of Cory Sandhagen,…

The matchups for the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 30” are set.

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The last episode of the long-running series streamed via ESPN+ on Monday, setting the stage for a Mohammed Usman-Zac Pauga matchup at heavyweight and a showdown pitting Brogan Walker against Juliana Miller at women’s flyweight. Both fights will take place at UFC on ESPN 40 on Aug. 6. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the location of the bouts.

Usman, who is the brother of UFC welterweight ruler Kamaru Usman, notably went 4-0 under the Titan FC banner before suffering a second-round submission loss to Brandon Sayles in his lone Professional Fighters League appearance in May 2021.

Pauga, who moved up from 205 pounds to compete on “TUF 30,” is undefeated in five professional appearances — with victories in Cage Warriors and Legacy Fighting Alliance to his credit. Most recently, he outpointed UFC veteran Markus Perez at Cage Warriors 130 this past October.

Walker’s 7-2 care…

Claudio Silva will look to halt a two-bout skid when he faces Nicolas Dalby at UFC London on Saturday.

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The London-based Brazilian known as “Hannibal” recently considered calling it quits but instead looked to American Top Team for motivation, and he found it in the form of training partner Francisco Trinaldo.

“What I did differently was train at ATT. I hurt my knee; I even thought about stopping fighting and return to England. Conan [Silveira] and ‘Parrumpinha’ told me to stay there with them,” Silva said. “And then I saw ‘Massaranduba,’ 43 years old, training hard, and you can't help but be inspired. It was hard to be away from the family, but it was good to train at ATT. It’s a fighting university there.”

  The 39-year-old Silva praised his teammate, who is coming off a victory against Danny Roberts at UFC 274 this past May.

“I went to talk to ‘Massaranduba,’ and I thanked him for training, and said that seeing him lik…

Both fighters have made weight and the main event is official! Don’t miss #InvictaFC48: @TaneishaTennant vs @olaRubin TOMORROW NIGHT LIVE from Denver! Tune in to @axstv + @facebook + @youtube at 9/8c to catch all of the action! pic.twitter.com/DMTnW5gG2q

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) July 19, 2022

The Invicta FC 48 main event is official, as both Taneisha Tennant and Olga Rubin made weight on Tuesday ahead of their bantamweight title clash.

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Tennant tipped the scales at 134.3 pounds, while Rubin checked in at 134.1. Invicta FC 48 takes place at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night and airs on AXS TV, the Invicta FC YouTube channel and the Invicta FC Facebook page at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m PT.

After suffering a decision loss to Danyelle Wolf on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2020, Tennant returned to the win column at Invicta FC 44, where she claimed the 135-pound belt with a five-round verdict aga…

After going public with his grievances against the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it appears that Nate Diaz will finally get chance to return to action in the Octagon.

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UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Tuesday that Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 279 on Sept. 10. The event takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Diaz vs. Chimaev is expected to serve as the card’s five-round main event. Meanwhile, a bantamweight championship clash between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw tat was initially targeted for UFC 279 is no longer in the works for the event, according to multiple reports.

During a recent appearance on “The MMA Hour,” Diaz claimed that the UFC was holding him “hostage” over the final fight on his contract. It is unclear at this time if the fight with Chimaev will fulfill the deal, or if he has agreed to some type of extension with the Las Vegas-b…

Kayla Harrison has excelled within the grind of the Professional Fighters League season format, but that doesn’t mean she wants to keep doing it forever.

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Harrison is getting ready to pursue her third consecutive PFL championship at 155 pounds with a clash against Martina Jindrova at PFL 9 on Aug. 20 at Copperbox Arena in London. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has yet to taste defeat in her professional career, and she'll once again be an overwhelming favorite in the upcoming lightweight bracket.

“It’s hard. It’s not for the faint of heart,” Harrison told the MMA Underground. “And this is my third time doing it. On one hand I’m grateful because it gives me so much experience so fast because I have no choice but to evolve or lose. But on the other hand it’s a grind. Even when I’m not competing, I’m still training everyday.”

If Harrison is able to three-peat at lightweight, she’s ready to consider other possibilities beyond the PFL season form…

Jose Aldo can see the finish line for his MMA career, but he still has championship aspirations before that day arrives.

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Considered by many as the best featherweight of all time, Aldo admitted in an interview with Combate that he is very close fulfilling a promise that he made to Nova Unaio coach Andre Pederneiras that he would retire by age 35 after winning two UFC belts.

“In the beginning I told Dedé that at 35 I would be champion and I would retire,” Aldo said. “That's why I say it's very close to my retirement, but I said I would come out as champion. So, you can put Merab [Dvalishvili], who is a tough guy, well ranked and nobody wants to fight, and I'm going to beat him, and then I'm going to win the title, because it was already written.”

Aldo is slated to face Dvalishvili in a pivotal bantamweight bout at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug 20. Aldo believes his experience will make the difference in that fight.

“I always say that…

After agreeing to replace Katlyn Chookagian against Manon Fiorot at UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris on Sept. 3, Jessica Andrade was forced to withdraw from the event due to a herniated disc in her back.

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Sherdog.com confirmed the news with Andrade’s head trainer, Gilliard Parana. Chookagian has since agreed to step back in take the fight against Fiorot following Andrade’s exit.

“She [Andrade] started to feel very strong pain in her back and after examination, the physiotherapist of [the UFC Performance Institute] told her to rest for three weeks,” Parana said. “That would mean less than one month of camp to prepare for such a tough challenge, so we decided to leave the card and focus 100% on the healing process.”

According to Parana, even though Andrade is in the UFC rankings at both flyweight and strawweight, her primary focus is 115 pounds.

“The UFC knows they can count on us, but we believe Jessica’s ideal division is strawweig…

After some mystery surrounding the return of former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, the UFC confirmed over the weekend that “Do Bronx” will face Islam Makhachev for the vacant 155-pound belt in the UFC 280 main event on Oct. 22.

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Unlike most Brazilian fans who were dreaming about the possibility of seeing Oliveira finally compet in a title bout on home soil, former trainer Flavio Alvaro is not upset with the UFC’s decision.

"It could be in Russia, Dagestan, Singapore or Sao Paulo — the result would be the same,” Alvaro told Sherdog.com. “Makhachev will be beaten up like an old suitcase. People think it´s easy to take Charles down. That´s a huge mistake. I see Makhachev becoming desperate to get a takedown after being hit and then being submitted.”

  Alvaro, who gave Oliveira his first pair of MMA gloves, believes happiness is the key to the former champion’s success.

"When Charles is happy, I don’t see any lightweight in the world …

If all goes as planned, Frankie Edgar could be the latest notable to call it quits from mixed martial arts this year.

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The former UFC lightweight champion told ESPN that he plans to retire after one more Octagon appearance in 2022. Ideally, that would be at Madison Square Garden in New York. While the promotion hasn’t formally announced an event at the celebrated venue, UFC 281 will reportedly take place at MSG on Nov. 12.

“I think that would be cool,” Edgar said. “It would be a pretty cool sendoff at Madison Square Garden, it’s pretty much in my backyard. I trained up in Renzo’s for so many years, it would be a pretty cool sendoff.”

Edgar hasn’t competed since the promotion’s last trip to Madison Square Garden, when he suffered a front kick KO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 268 last November. “The Answer” later revealed that he underwent hip surgery several months prior to that fight and had also been struggling with “nerve issues” in his back. Read more about Frankie Edgar Targets Retirement Fight at Madison Square Garden

Invicta FC flyweight champion Karina Rodriguez has signed a multi-fight contract to compete for Bellator MMA.

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Rodriguez recently confirmed the deal following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. A date and opponent for Rodriguez’s promotional debut are currently unknown.

The 36-year-old Lobo Gym MMA representative has won four of her last five under the Invicta banner — with her lone defeat during that stretch coming against current Bellator talent Vanessa Porto.

Rodriguez claimed flyweight gold with a five-round verdict over Daiana Torquato at Invicta on AXS TV in May 2021 and retained the belt with a split-decision triumph in a rematch at Invicta FC 46 on March 9. She owns other notable victories against the likes of DeAnna Bennett and Milana Dudieva.

Israel Adesanya has come under fire for his performances in recent fights, in particular a relatively uneventful five-round verdict over Jared Cannonier in his latest title defense at UFC 276 on July 2.

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Dana White, who did not attend the card live, gave his first thoughts on the bout following UFC on ABC 3 this past Saturday. The UFC president didn’t place the blame entirely on Adesanya for a fight that was widely criticized throughout the MMA community.

“He won,” White said. “I mean, I don’t know if it was the performance that he wanted to give or that he was selling leading into that fight. The other thing is I don’t think his opponent was very aggressive, either. It takes two to make a great fight. …It won’t happen in the next fight.”

That next fight, of course, is expected to be against Alex Pereira, who owns a pair of victories over Adesanya in the kickboxing ring — including one by way of knockout. Pereira punched his ticket to a title …

Herbert Burns struggled mightily after he was unable to submit Bill Algeo with a triangle choke early in their featherweight bout at UFC on ABC 3.

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While Burns’ difficulties initially appeared to be a product of fatigue, it turns out that a troublesome knee might be just as much to blame. Burns suffered a TKO loss to Algeo at the 1:50 mark of Round 2 in their featherweight bout on Saturday at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., on Saturday when he was unable to return to his feet in a timely fashion after referee Keith Peterson ordered a standup.

Burns, who was coming off of ACL surgery, revealed in a post-fight statement that his knee gave out during the fight.

“I want to thank everyone for the support today,” said Burns, who was on crutches in the video. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t the result I was looking for. My knee gave out. It was not stable. I couldn’t continue fighting. I couldn’t finish the triangle. I couldn’t perform the way I wanted to, but…

In an odd turn of of events, Katlyn Chookagian will step in for Jessica Andrade — the woman who initially replaced her — and face Manon Fiorot at UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris on Sept. 3.

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MMAFighting.com was first to report the change to the flyweight bout, revealing that Andrade was forced to withdraw from the event due to “medical issues.” Chookagian vs. Fiorot was the original booking before “Blonde Fighter” reportedly pulled out due to injury.

UFC Fight Night 209 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Ciryl Gane against Tai Tuivasa. The card is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori.

A former flyweight title challenger, Chookagian has won her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Team Renzo Gracie product garnered a split-decision triumph against Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14.

France’s Fiorot has won nine consec…

Here are the opening odds for Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev:

Charles Oliveira +215 (43/20)Islam Makhachev -255 (20/51)

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(odds via @betonline_ag) #UFC280 pic.twitter.com/ryqXrYo5ut — Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 17, 2022

There’s just something about Dagestani grapplers in the lightweight division that seems to curry favor with oddsmarkers.

According to online oddsmaker BetOnline, Islam Makhachev opened as a -255 favorite against Charles Oliveira (+215) in their fight for the vacant 155-pound title at UFC 280. As of this writing, those odds had shifted slightly, with Makhachev listed as a -220 favorite and Oliveira as a +185 underdog.

The promotion announced Makhachev vs. Oliveira during the UFC on ABC 3 broadcast on Saturday. UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22 and is also expected to include a welterweight showdown pitting Belal Muhammad against Sean Brady.

Makha…

SBG Ireland head trainer John Kavanagh is optimstic regarding the prospects for Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC.

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The former two-division champion suffered a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 and has been on the road to recovery after undergoing surgery following that fight. Kavanagh commented on McGregor’s prospects to BBC Sport after the Irish star returned to jiu-jitsu class for the first time in more than a year this past week.

"He's healthy, happy and it's great to have him back," Kavanagh said. “The last few sessions in the gym here were MMA-orientated — he's got the all-clear for that now.

"He did a great session last night, we got some great rounds in. He hasn't lost a beat and was looking great.”

There still isn’t a clear timetable for McGregor’s return, though he has no shortage of potential opponents once he is ready to fight again. Kavanagh didn’t mention a specific opponent for the UFC’s biggest sta…

Nate Diaz made headlines earlier this week when he aired his latest set of grievances with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

During an interview on “The MMA Hour,” the Stockton, Calif., native claimed that the UFC was “holding him hostage” by not offering him a fight so he can complete his existing contracting with the promotion. Following UFC on ABC 3 on Saturday, Dana White responded to Diaz’s comments at the event’s post-fight press conference.

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“When isn’t Nate Diaz saying something crazy?” White said. “I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again — we can’t hold guys hostage. It’s not possible.

“I owe you three fights a year. If I don’t fight you three times a year, I have to pay you. How could I hold him hostage?”

Diaz said that he has asked to face “four or five” different opponents and even agreed to a proposed bout against Khamzat Chimaev, but nothing has come to fruition. He hasn’t competed since a loss to Leon Edwards at U…

Brian Ortega was at a loss to explain what transpired in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner, when his shoulder popped out of place late in Round 1 to give Yair Rodriguez a technical knockout victory.

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Ortega suffered the injury while defending an armbar from Rodriguez after landing a takedown. “T-City” denies that his opponent’s submission attempt had anything to do with the fight-ending injury.

“The grip was tight on my arm and it dislocated. That was it, no armlock, no nothing,” Ortega said on the UFC on ABC 3 post-fight show. “It was dislocated. Freak accident. It just sucks. The first time it’s every happened in my entire career. The first time it’s ever happened. I’m just taken aback by it.”

Prior to the stoppage, the matchup was anyone’s game, but Ortega was confident that he was doing what he needed to do up to that point.

“Everything was going my way,” he said. “Literally I was winning every minute of the fight. I was sticking to the game…

While the UFC on ABC 3 headliner was only just getting started when a Brian Ortega shoulder injury brought the fight to a premature close, Yair Rodriguez was pleased with the way things were unfolding prior to the unfortunate ending.

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“I think I was doing really well,” Rodriguez said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I connected with a couple of solid jabs. I think I connected with a good right hand a couple of times, an overhand, and like a cross, and I kind of saw him wobbling. I hit him with a couple of good low kicks, high kicks.”

Rodriguez did appear to be getting the better of the action on the feet, which is probably why Ortega attempted to take the fight to the canvas. Once he did, though, Rodriguez framed an armbar from his back, and that ultimately led to Ortega suffering the fight ending injury as he attempted to free his arm from the submission. From Rodriguez’s perspective, his maneuver played a part in ending Ortega’s night.<…

It was another banner night for post-fight bonuses at UFC on ABC 3.

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A grand total of eight fighters received $50,000 checks for their work inside the Octagon during the daytime card at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., on Saturday. That included an obvious “Fight of the Night” selection for Matt Schnell and Su Mudaerji, who engaged in a back-and-forth flyweight slugfest on the main card.

Mudaerji appeared to be on the verge of finishing Schnell on multiple occasions in Round 2, as he rocked his opponent with left hands and elbows. Schnell perservered and rallied to rock Mudaerji with a right hand before landing a takedown, where he pursued a finish with ground-and-pound from above. Mudaerji then reversed into top position, where Schnell secured the finish with a triangle choke from his back at the 4:24 mark of the second period.

Meanwhile, the other six fighters who earned finishes at UFC on ABC all received “Performance of the Night” bonuses: …

Yair Rodriguez got an important victory in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner, but it wasn’t necessarily the statement he wanted to make.

Rodriguez earned a technical knockout victory over Brian Ortega on Saturday when his opponent suffered a right shoulder injury in the first round of their featherweight clash at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. The bout was waved off when Ortega appeared to dislocate his shoulder while attempting to extract himself from a Rodriguez armbar at the 4:11 mark of Round 1.

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“It was a really tight fight,” Rodriguez said. “It’s unfortunate that he dislocated his shoulder. I already told him we can run it back anytime. I prepared to win. I guess I did but not the way I wanted.”

The fight was shaping up to be a competitive one before the unfortunate ending. Rodriguez found success landing straight punches and a variety of kicks during exchanges, while Ortega looked to pressure his adversary and close the distance. “T-City” landed a taked…

Sherdog's live UFC on ABC 3 “Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev” coverage will begin Saturday at 11 a.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: Ducote (-150), Penne (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Grant (-140), Stoltzfus (+120)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Score…