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A clash between bantamweight grand prix semifinalists Naoki Inoue and Kenta Takizawa is among several fights that were recently announced for Rizin Fighting Federation 37.

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Rizin 37 takes place on July 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and will also see Hideo Tokoro take on Makoto Takahasi in a flyweight feature. It is the Japanese promotion’s eighth event of 2022.

Inoue had a six-bout winning streak snapped in the grand prix semifinals, where he fell to eventual winner Hiromasa Ougikubo via unanimous decision at Rizin 33 on Dec. 31. The 25-year-old Inoue’s 15-3 career mark includes stints in the UFC and Deep.

A former Pancrase title challenger, Takizawa dropped a three-round verdict to Kai Askaura in the other half of the bantamweight bracket at Rizin 33. Prior to that, the 27-year-old Tokyo native earned back-to-back triumphs over Yuki Motoya and Masakazu Imanari under the Rizin banner.

Other confirmed bouts for Rizin 37 are …

Massive match-ups headline the #pflplayoffs and our first trip to the UK. Go get your tickets now! @LiveNationUK https://t.co/7vJkvuIIWW pic.twitter.com/EVePibKOCe

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 6, 2022

Barring injury or other unforeseen circumstances, the playoff pairings are set for Professional Fighters League’s venture into the United Kingdom next month.

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PFL 7 takes place on Aug. 13 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, and features welterweight and heavyweight semifinals. Rory MacDonald will face Magomed Umalatov in one 170-pound matchup, while Sadibou Sy will face Carlos Leal Miranda in the other half of the bracket. At heavyweight, Ante Delija takes on Renan Ferreira, while Denis Goltsov squares off against Bruno Cappelozza.

Meanwhile, PFL 8 will go down on Aug. 20 at Copperbox Arena in London and is highlighted by the women’s lightweight and men’s featherweight semifinals. Two-time champ Kayla Harrison will meet Martina…

A middleweight showdown pitting Joaquin Buckley against Nassourdine Imavov is on tap for UFC Fight Night 209 on Sept. 3.

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Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night 209 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa.

Buckley has won three straight and five of his last six in UFC competition. The 28-year-old St. Louis native is coming off a second-round doctor stoppage victory against Albert Duraev at UFC on ESPN 37 on June 18. Buckley is 15-4 over the course of his professional career, with 11 triumphs coming via knockout or technical knockout.

Imavov, a native of Paris, will get to face Buckley on home soil. The 27-year-old MMA Factory representative is 3-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with his only defeat coming via majority decision against Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 185. Imavov rebounded from that setback with back-to-back TKO wins over Ia…

Luke Rockhold is well aware of the narrative that seems to have propelled Alex Pereira into a middleweight title shot after just three Ultimate Fighting Championship appearances.

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Pereira appears to be next in line to face Israel Adesanya following a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland on the UFC 276 main card last weekend. The former Glory two-division champion owns a pair of victories against Adesanya in professional kickboxing, which has made him an interesting challenger for the middleweight throne. Rockhold gets it, but he isn’t overly impressed by Pereira.

“Yeah, it’s an intriguing story, Alex Pereira has beat Izzy twice,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “And so you’re looking at any level of intrigue, and so they’re looking for someone that they can throw in the mix, even though Alex Pereira would get mauled by, 20 guys in the UFC would probably maul him. But yeah, it’s a compelling story if you get him past a brawler like Sean Stric…

It was a rough night at the office for Kyle Daukaus at UFC Austin last month.

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In addition to losing to Roman Dolidze via first-round knockout, Daukaus revealed that he suffered multiple facial fractures as a result of absorbing a knee to the face from his opponent in the finishing sequence on June 18.

“During the fight, I got kneed, obviously,” Daukaus said in a video on his Instagram account. “As soon as the knee landed, it kind of broke my face in three places. The scans I got, I had two orbital fractures, and I think I had a fracture in my eye socket as well underneath.”

Daukaus returned home to Philadelphia after the event and underwent surgery last week, where he had plates inserted into his face.

“Surgery went well, it was last Thursday,” he said. “I got three plates put in, unfortunately, in my face. I got three plates on my actual face, and then I have one underneath my eyeball, too, but the one underneath my eyeball isn’t real…

The Hawaii State Boxing Commission has denied Juliana Velasquez’s appeal of her loss to Liz Carmouche in the Bellator 278 main event.

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MMAFighting.com was first to bring word of the ruling. Velasquez lost her flyweight belt when she succumbed to a barrage of elbows from Carmouche while trapped in the mounted crucifix position at the 4:47 mark of Round 4. Prior to the finish, Velasquez appeared to be well on her way to a decision victory.

While Velasquez and her team believed none of the blows was significant enough to warrant a stoppage, the Hawaii commission ruled the result “shall not be reviewed, nor shall the decision made by referee,” because “[t]he referees shall stop the contest when, in the referee’s judgment, either of the contestants shows a marked superiority or is apparently outclassed.”

Mike Beltran, who was the referee in the contest, wrote a letter to the commission stating that he believed Velasquez may have been unconscious …

Following an injury to lightweight champion Patricky Freire, a welterweight showdown between Douglas Lima and Jason Jackson has been elevated to the Bellator 283 main event.

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Meanwhile, Tofiq Musayev will step in against Sidney Outlaw in the co-headliner. Outlaw was originally slated to challenge Freire for lightweight gold, while Musayev was booked against Adam Piccolotti, who also withdrew from the card due to injury. Promotion officials announced the changes on Tuesday. Lima vs. Jackson will now be contested over five rounds.

Bellator 283 takes place at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., on July 22. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

On the preliminary draw, new signee Archie Colgan will replace Vladimir Tokov and face Justin Montalvo in a lighweight bout, while a proposed light heavyw…

After a 25-second knockout of Jamelle Jones in his first fight of the 2022 PFL season, Renan Ferreira was confident of another impressive showing against Klidson Abreu in his second outing on June 24.

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A finish would have guaranteed “Problema” a top seed in the heavyweight playoffs, but an ankle injury suffered in sparring during the last week of camp hindered Ferreira enough that he lost a unanimous decision to Abreu.

“I had a [300-pound] sparring partner fall over my ankle. On the first kick Klidson landed I felt a strong pain, and that prevented me from imposing my game,” Ferreira told Sherdog.com.

Despite the loss, Ferreira secured a spot in the PFL postseason, where he is scheduled to square off against Ante Delija in one semifinal matchup. Ferreira had the injury checked out as soon as he returned to Rio de Janeiro.

“Thank´s God it was just a sprain and I was able to recover in time,” he said. “In one more week I´ll be training 100%.” Read more about Renan Ferreira Reveals Ankle Injury Hindered Performance in Loss at PFL 5

Wallid Ismail was initially diplomatic after Deiveson Figueiredo parted ways with the longtime manager to be represented by Vayner Sports, but now he is no longer biting his tongue.

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Ismail initially released a brief statement to Sherdog.com wishing Figueiredo “good luck on his career” after the change in representation. However, the manager took exception to an interview in which the flyweight champion told AgFight that Ismail didn’t tell the UFC about his hand injury, nor was he immediately informed about the promotion’s decision to create an interim belt in his absence. That prompted an angry Ismail to break his silence on social media.

“From the beginning I didn't want to speak out so as not to expose Deiveson,” Ismail said. “I had informed Deiveson that the UFC would [create] the interim belt if he couldn't fight until July. The UFC was aware that he was injured. I have conversations with matchmakers informing [them] about the injury. He made…

International Fight Week included the latest batch of UFC Hall of Fame inductions, and apparently the ceremony had Conor McGregor pondering his own enshrinement down the road.

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According to the former two-division champion, it’s not a matter of “if,” but when he takes his place among the promotion’s most accomplished fighters.

“Looking forward to my own hall of fame entry all the same, I’m a shoe in,” McGregor wrote on Twitter. “First of everything. All the records. KO speed. Knockdown amount. KOs most divisions. Financials. You name it.

“No rush [though]. I’m still in to bust noses open and put [opponents] unconscious. A real goer.”

Looking forward to my own hall of fame entry all the same, I’m a shoe in. First of everything. All the records. KO speed. Knockdown amount. KO’s most divisions. Financials. You name it. No rush tho I’m still in to bust noses open and put opps unconscious. A real goer.

— Conor McGrego…

Felice Herrig isn’t done with combat sports just yet.

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The 37-year-old Team Curran product has signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship after announcing her retirement in the Octagon following a second-round submission loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz on June 4. BKFC confirmed the news in a release following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. A debut date and opponent for Herrig were not revealed.

“BKFC is very excited to announce this major signing today,” BKFC president David Feldman said in the release. “Felice was one of UFC’s most popular fighters during her eight years with the company and now sees an opportunity to succeed in bare-knuckle fighting. We have a wealth of talented and tough female fighters and look forward to watching her compete in the squared circle.

Herrig compiled a 14-10 career mark in MMA over the course of a career that began in 2009. “Lil Bulldog” went 5-5 in UFC competition and also foug…

A lightweight (170-pound) title tilt pitting Rae Yoon Ok against Christian Lee will serve as the headliner for One Championship 160 on Aug. 26.

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The promotion recently announced the full lineup for the card. In the co-main event, Thanh Le will lock horns with Kai Tang in a featherweight (155-pound) championship clash. One Championship 160 takes place in Singapore and will also include muay Thai and submission grappling bouts along with MMA.

Ok and Lee initially squared off at One “Revolution” this past September, with Ok winning a five-round verdict to capture the belt. The 31-year-old Busan Team Mad representative has won five straight fights, with other notable wins against Eddie Alvarez and Mafut Gafurov under the One banner.

The 24-year-old Lee had a six-bout winning streak snapped when he relinquished the title to Ok. The Evolve MMA product has compiled a 15-4 mark while competing exclusively for the Singapore-based organization.

Le…

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

Alex Pereira’s first-round knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276 impressed many people, but not former foe Bruno Silva.

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"On his best blessed day, I was sure Strickland couldn't beat ‘Poatan,’ but when I saw him praising ‘Poatan’s’ abilities in the press conference, I knew [he was scared] and wouldn't last too long, and that's exactly what happened,” Silva told Sherdog.com.

The former M-1 Global champion, who is 3-1 in the UFC with a decision loss to Pereira, also criticized middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for his performance in a five-round verdict over Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event.

"Adesanya acts like he is a god but is actually one of the most boring champions nowadays,” Silva said. “I truly hope ‘Poatan’ brings the fight just like he did in his last fights, because certainly his left hand is still on Adesanya’s mind. I see the champion bei…

Patricky Freire has been forced to withdraw from his proposed lightweight title defense against Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 283 due to an undisclosed injury.

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Sherdog.com confirmed the news with sources close to the situation. The bout is expected to be postponed to a later date. Bellator has not made an official announcement regarding the status of the championship fight.

Bellator 283 takes place at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., on July 22 and is also expected to include a welterweight showdown pitting Douglas Lima against Jason Jackson. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

Freire claimed 155-pound gold at Bellator 270, when he defeated Peter Queally via second-round TKO in their rematch on Nov. 5. The 36-year-old “Pitbull” brother has competed under the Bellator banner since 2011, compiling a 15-8 mark and earning wins over the likes of Benson Henderson, Josh Thomson, Ryan Couture, Roger Huerta and Saad Awad, to name a few.<…

Jessica-Rose Clark will likely need to go under the knife following a first-round armbar defeat to Julija Stoliarenko at UFC 276.

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The Syndicate MMA representative was taken down by her opponent and submitted just 42 seconds into the opening round of their bantamweight clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this past Saturday. In a video posted on Instagram, “Jessy Jess” discussed the injury and also questioned whether Stoliarenko may have held the maneuver longer than necessary.

“Well, that sucked. I just got back from the hospital. I am probably going to need surgery on my elbow,” Clark said. “She did a really good job of continuing to armbar me after I tapped, but that’s fine. It is what it is. I felt great. I cried the entire time I was at the hospital, but I’m feeling all right. I’m understandably heartbroken, but I did everything right this camp. I’m going to have this surgery and heal up and then come back and be better – and that’s all I c…

Donald Cerrone could see the finish line more than two years ago.

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Before he faced Conor McGregor at UFC 246, “Cowboy” could feel his passion for the sport waning, though he soldiered onward after falling to the Irish star via first-round technical knockout in January 2020. The BMF Ranch founder finally called it a career in the Octagon following a submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276 this past Saturday night.

Before I fought McGregor, I knew,” Cerrone said during a post-fight scrum following UFC 276. “Then after the McGregor fight, I took another fight and I was just going through the motions. I didn’t enjoy it, didn’t love it. I knew the time was soon I just had to pick the right time. So I took a lot of time off and then called my agent and said let’s get a fight, and I just knew this was going to be the last one.”

Cerrone kept going in part at the behest of his wife, who urged him to soak it all in before walking away for good.

“My wif…

Not only is he giving credit where it’s due, but Max Holloway has a sense of humor regarding his loss to Alexander Volkanovski in their trilogy bout at UFC 276.

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Volkanovski improved to 3-0 against Holloway with a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph in Saturday’s co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Hawaiian known as “Blessed” released a brief statement following that defeat on social media.

“I’m still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy. Probably gonna need a [fourth] to settle this,” Holloway quipped. “Just playing. Congrats to my brother [Alexander Volkanovski]. Got get that [lightweight] strap. You earned the shot. You’re [No. 1 pound-for-pound] now.

“To all the fans do not cry for me Argentina,” he added. “This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you!”

Regarded by many as one of the greatest featherweights of all-time, Holloway earned a third shot against Volkanovski with consecutive five-round vic…

Alex Pereira all but assured himself of a middleweight title shot with his first-round knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276.

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While the former two-division Glory champion had a breakout performance on the biggest stage of his MMA career to date, reigning 185-pound king Israel Adesanya did not draw rave reviews for his five-round verdict over Jared Cannonier in the evening’s headliner.

“It did not excite me, and it did not excite the crowd,” Pereira said at the UFC 276 post-fight press conference. “I was very sad to see that. I hope when we fight he do a better fight than that. But for sure I am going make him fight to give it a better show to the crowd.”

While Pereira has just three UFC victories to his credit, his two victories over Adesanya in professional kickboxing have made a showdown between the rivals a logical next step in the middleweight championship picture. Adesanya acknowledged as much in the aftermath of his latest title defense.…

There’s no doubt this time around: Alexander Volkanovski brought closure to his rivalry with Max Holloway at UFC 276 on Saturday night.

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The City Kickboxing stalwart was dominant in a unanimous decision triumph over the popular Hawaiian, sweeping the scorecards by a trio of 50-to-45 counts. Unlike the first two meetings, there was no debate about who deserved to get the nod. And no matter what popular opinion might be, the record shows that Volkanovski is 3-0 in his trilogy against Holloway.

“It’s been a bit of a journey this rivalry,” Volkanovski said at the UFC 276 post-fight press conference. “Like taking the belt, having the rematch, and all that talk and all that was a bit part of my career, and it adds to the story. It was hard. There were a lot of ups and downs in there. There was a bit I had to get through, but it was good to finally put an end to it and silence a lot of people.”

Despite now owning a winning streak that is now 22 profess…

It appears that Pedro Munhoz had good reason for being unable to continue against Sean O'Malley in their bantamweight clash at UFC 276.

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The fight was ruled a no contest at the 3:09 mark of Round 2 after an accidental eye poke from O’Malley impaired Munhoz’s vision enough that the cageside physician advised that the bout be called off. The 35-year-old American Top Team representative released a statement via Instagram revealing that he suffered a scratched cornea as a result of the foul.

“To explain briefly what happened in the fight against Sean O’Malley, I was poked in the eye in the first round but kept fighting, and was hit with a low blow shortly after,” Munhoz said (translation via MMAFighting.com). “The fight restarted and we exchanged a few strikes. In the second round, that’s when I suffered another eye poke. I couldn’t see anything for 20 minutes. I was taken to the hospital and they used a special eyedrop that made my eye numb so they co…

Israel Adesanya is well aware of the criticism aimed in his direction following his latest title defense. He just doesn’t care all that much.

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“The Last Stylebender” was technical and tactical — but not overly exciting — in a relatively easy unanimous decision triumph over Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Adesanya did not deliver the violence he promised in the lead-up to the bout, and his latest effort led to some fans filing out of the venue in the middle of his fight. Others who stuck around booed the contest, which was controlled by Adesanya with rangy straight punches and kicks to various levels.

The City Kickboxing standout has seen this story before with other high-level champions in MMA and boxing, and he now finds common ground with some of those all-time greats. It can be difficult to keep the fans happy and keep winning at the same time.

“F—k them. Nah, they’ve been here si…

Sean Strickland had a chance to cement himself as a title contender in the middleweight division at UFC 276. Instead, he became the latest victim of former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion Alex Pereira.

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Strickland elected to stand and trade with his Brazilian opponent for the duration of their bout, a decision which cost him dearly. Pereira waited for his opening and then dropped Strickland to a knee with a left hook before sealing his victory with two follow-up right hands at the 2:36 mark of Round 1. Strickland was disappointed after the defeat but also felt like things were going his way prior to the finish.

“You never want to be someone’s highlight, but that’s the game we play,” Strickland said in a video on his Instagram account. “I tried to stand and bang with one of the best kickboxers. The s—-y part about it was that during the round, I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be an easy fight. I see everything this guy is throwing. I’m getti…

Alex Pereira may have punched his ticket to a middleweight title shot with his first-round knockout victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 276.

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While that opportunity is still a little ways down the road, “Poatan” did garner a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his work in the Octagon at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Pereira buckled Strickland with a clean left hook, then finished off his opponent with two right hands for a stoppage at the 2:36 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining welterweight slugfest. Both men traded willingly in the pocket throughout the fight, but Barberena gradually overwhelmed Lawler with superior volume en route to a technical knockout victory 4:47 into the second stanza.

Earlier, Jalin Turner pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to his fifth consecutive finish, a fir…

While it wasn’t a performance to remember, Israel Adesanya remains the class of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division by a significant margin.

Adesanya retained his 185-pound belt with an efficient performance in the UFC 276 headliner, earning a unanimous decision triumph over Jared Cannonier at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The City Kickboxing representative received scorecards of 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 from the cageside judges to secure his fifth successful title defense.

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“The Last Stylebender” was tactical throughout, using a stiff left jab and kicks to various levels to keep Cannonier at bay. While Adesanya never truly had his opponent in danger, Cannonier spent much of the bout frozen in front of the Nigerian-born Kiwi, struggling to close the distance. Cannonier did increase his sense of urgency down the stretch, as he initiated the clinch on multiple occasions, landed offense in close quarters, and o…