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#Bellator281 Official Weigh-In Results: Logan Storley (@storleystorm) (169.4) pic.twitter.com/NW8k3a9344

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) May 12, 2022 Bellator MMA's return to England will see Michael Page look to finally have championship gold, albeit of the interim variety, wrapped around his waist.

The main event of Bellator 281 will see Page take on Logan Storley for the interim welterweight championship. The five-round title fight, like the rest of the card, is now official after the weigh-ins took place on Thursday morning, although prelim fighter Alan Carlos came in 3.2 pounds overweight for his middleweight bout against Charlie Ward. The rest of the mixed martial artists all made weight.

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Page (20-1) has rebounded from his first career defeat, a brutal knockout at the hands of Douglas Lima, by rattling off six wins in a row. Most recently, "Venom" exacted revenge via split decision over Lima. It's now ti…

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Called the best middleweight in the world by Anderson Silva in 2006 and referred to by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as his toughest ground training partner during the Brazilian Top Team era, Paulo Filho has been retired from MMA since 2018.

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However, he still continues to follow the sport, and he was an interested observer in the UFC 274 headlining bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, which “Do Bronx” won via first-round submission.

"The ground level Charles has reached in MMA is something really special,” Filho told Sherdog.com. “The way he moves and reaches submission positions against such high-level opponents is really beautiful to see. It looks like he is playing. I truly don’t see anyone in the division taking this title from him now.”

The only advice the Carlson Gracie black belt has for Oliveira is to take the amount of time of necessary to rest his body before stepping into his next bout, which will be for the now vac…

Michael Page doesn’t need a belt around his waist to make him the biggest star in U.K. MMA. In his mind, he’s already reached that pinnacle.

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“Anybody that doesn’t understand that already is blind. I don’t believe I need a belt to do that,” Page said at Bellator media day. “That was my goal anyway. I think I’ve done enough to have proven myself.”

That said, the flamobyant British striker will get his first opportunity to vie for championship gold when he faces Logan Storley for the interim 170-pound strap in the Bellator 281 main event at the SSE Arena in London on Friday. Storley is a replacement for reigning welterweight king Yaroslav Amasov, who withdrew from the event to defend his native Ukraine against Russian invasion.

“It’s a crazy situation. That fact that I can sit here and tell anybody the reason I’m not fighitng this particular opponent is because they’ve gone out to war is crazy in itself,” Page said. “It shows you the place in the…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNF6fIQVLqM&w=560&h=315]

Unbeaten Mexican strawweight prospect Yazmin Jauregui has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Jaurequi’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, announced the signing on Wednesday. A date for her debut with the Las Vegas-based promotion is currently unknown.

A native of Tijuana, Jauregui trains at Entram Gym, which is notably home to former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and multiple other Octagon veterans. The 23-year-old has kicked off her professional tenure with eight consecutive triumphs, including six by way of knockout or technical knockout.

Jauregui has competed primarily for Combate Global and emerged with a trio of victories against Stephanie Frausto, Criszaida Adames and Claire Lopez as part of a one night tournament last August.

Please help us welcome undefeated #TeamIridium killer Yazmin Jauregui (8-0) to the @ufc #TheDarks…

PFL Regular Season comes to Atlanta & @OvertimeElite

Buy Tickets Now! https://t.co/SJJTGiOAHb pic.twitter.com/fx2Ffoq0bk

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 11, 2022

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The excitement is building in earnest for the second half of the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday for events scheduled for June 17, June 24 and July 1 at the OTE Arena at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Ga. All cards will air on ESPN and ESPN+, according to a release. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Fighters competing in six different weight classes such as Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, Brendan Loughnane, Antonio Carlos Jr., and Rory MacDonald will continue their push to make the PFL playoffs at these events. Matchups have not been announced at this time but are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“The PFL is excited to bring the second half of our 2022 regular season to …

Big fight incoming!@KrylovUFC vs @AlexTheMauler is official for #UFCLondon

https://t.co/SBdaztkmfe pic.twitter.com/kQMXyp33YW

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 11, 2022

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After a brief foray at heavyweight, Alexander Gustafsson will return to 205 pounds for a matchup against Nikita Krylov at UFC London on July 23.

The Las Vegas-based promotion officially announced the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 Arena in London and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall.

Gustafsson hasn’t fought since July 2020, when he was submitted by Fabricio Werdum in the opening round of his heavyweight debut at UFC on ESPN 14. The Swede was initially slated to face Ben Rothwell on May 21, but that fight was scrapped after Rothwell was granted his UFC release. The three-time 205-pound title challenger has lost three straight bouts dating back to a third-round KO defeat in a remat…

Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon will get their chance to fight — only it will be a little more than a month later than originally anticipated.

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The lightweight clash has been rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas, on June 18. ESPN was first to report the new date. Cerrone vs. Lauzon was originally set for UFC 274 before a non-COVID related illness — believed to be food poisoning — forced “Cowboy” to withdraw just hours before the bout.

Shortly after his exit from the card, Cerrone announced that he plans to fight two more times before calling it a career. The BMF Ranch founder is winless in his last six promotional appearances and is coming off a first-round TKO defeat to Alex Morono at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

Lauzon hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he halted a three-bout skid with a first-round stoppage of Jonathan Pearce at UFC on ESPN 6.

UFC on ESPN 37 takes place at the Moody Center and is headlined by a featherwei…

Decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Leo Vieira has been named as Vice President of Grappling for One Championship, the Singapore-based promotion announced Tuesday.

Vieira is a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Pan American champion and ADCC world champion. Additionally, he is a co-founder of the renowned grappling team CheckMat along with his brothers Ricardo and Leandro.

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“I am thrilled to join One as Vice President of Grappling. I appreciate the trust and opportunity that Chatri and the One team have given me to shape One’s submission grappling divisions,” Vieira said.

“As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for over 25 years, I have been able to positively impact lives as a competitor, professor, and team leader, and I will continue to do so at One. It is a dream come true to work alongside people who share similar values and beliefs about martial arts as I do. I am committed to building the world’s most exciting submission grapp…

It has been a busy two weeks for Diego Lima, the head coach of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo.

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Shortly after Charles Oliveira’s victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 this past Saturday, Lima headed to Las Vegas – accompanied by Oliveira – to corner fighters Allan Patrick and Allan Nascimento for their bouts at UFC on ESPN 36 this Saturday. Shortly after their first sparring session on Monday, Lima gave an exclusive interview to Sherdog.com, where he commented on the weigh-in controversy involving Oliveira that occurred last Friday. “Do Bronx” was stripped of the lightweight belt when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds but regained top contender status by submitting Justin Gaethje one day later.

"Since Charles went up to 155, we always go to sleep on Thursday with the weight made. In order to not have problems with different scale setups, this time, we didn’t bring our scale in order to follow the official one,” Lima said. “We even published a photo on our socia…

It has been a busy two weeks for Diego Lima, the head coach of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo.

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Shortly after Charles Oliveira’s victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 this past Saturday, Lima headed to Las Vegas – accompanied by Oliveira – to corner fighters Allan Patrick and Allan Nascimento for their bouts at UFC on ESPN 36 this Saturday. Shortly after their first sparring session on Monday, Lima gave an exclusive interview to Sherdog.com, where he commented on the weigh-in controversy involving Oliveira that occurred last Friday. “Do Bronx” was stripped of the lightweight belt when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds but regained top contender status by submitting Justin Gaethje one day later.

"Since Charles went up to 155, we always go to sleep on Thursday with the weight made. In order to not have problems with different scale setups, this time, we didn’t bring our scale in order to follow the official one,” Lima said. “We even published a photo on our socia…

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

Molly McCann will get her second fight on home soil in as many appearances when she faces Hannah Goldy at UFC London on July 23.

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Promotion officials announced the flyweight booking on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 in London and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Tom Aspinall against Curtis Blaydes. The event is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Darren Till and Jack Hermansson.

A former Cage Warriors champion, McCann won her second consecutive fight at the organization’s London event earlier this year, as she vanquished Luana Carolina with a spinning back elbow at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19. “Meatball” is 5-3 in UFC competition and 12-4 as a professional overall.

Goldy, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 192, where she tapped Emily Whitmire with an arm-bar in the opening stanza. …

Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara France are expected to vie for the interim flyweight crown at UFC 277.

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News of the matchup was first reported by Ariel Helwani. An interim belt was reportedly created because reigning 125-pound king Deiveson Figueiredo is still recovering from an injured finger. Otherwise, the promotion wanted to book Figueiredo vs. Moreno 4. Moreno and Kara France initially fought at UFC 245, with Moreno winning a three-round verdict.

UFC 277 takes place on July 30 and is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold as well as a light heavyweight tilt pitting Magomed Ankalaev against Anthony Smith. A location has not been revealed, but Dallas is rumored to be the top option.

Moreno is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Figueiredo in a trilogy bout at UFC 270 on Jan. 22. “The Assassin Baby” is 1-1-1 against the Brazilian, with a third-round submission victory at UFC 263 and a majority…

One thing is certain: Charles Oliveira will be one half of the next UFC lightweight title bout.

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“Do Bronx” earned that right when he submitted Justin Gaethje in the opening round of the UFC 274 headliner after being stripped of the belt due to missing weight one day prior. What’s still up in the air is who Oliveira will face, along with the date and venue.

Shortly after Oliveira’s triumph, ex-lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov lobbied for training partner Islam Makhachev to receive the next shot. Makhachev has won 10 consecutive fights at 155 pounds in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a first-round stoppage of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202.

“Is there really a more interesting [fight] in the UFC at the moment than Islam vs. Charles?” Nurmagomedov wrote on Twitter. “Just bring these fighters to Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22. Let the undisputed champion be determined.”

Dana White wouldn’t commit to Oliveira vs. Makhachev at the UF…

Yoel Romero earned his first mixed martial arts win in more than four years at Bellator 280, as he defeated Alex Polizzi via third-round technical knockout in Friday’s co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

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The former UFC middleweight title challenger has his next fight booked against Melvin Manhoef in another 205-pound clash at Bellator Dublin on Sept. 23. However, there is already some buzz surrounding a potential booking against reigning Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi down the road.

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed interest in that matchup at the Bellator 280 post-fight press conference.

“One of the reasons we brought Yoel Romero in was to eventually fight Gegard Mousasi,” Coker said. “If Yoel keeps winning, I think you’ll see a collision at some point at either 185 or 205.”

During pre-fight promotion, Romero said if a bout against Mousasi comes to fruition, he would prefer that it take place at middleweight beca…

Rose Namajunas experienced a wide array of emotions following her loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274.

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Initially there was defiance. “Thug” Rose appeared shocked when it was announced that Esparza was the new strawweight champion following a split-decision triumph in what was a forgettable bout, and that was reflected in some of her comments at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“I struck to the strategy. I felt as if I landed more shots. I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or with any control time,” Namajunas said. “I’d say she hit me with one good punch. … I felt like I did the damage. I controlled the fight. I’m proud of myself because I stuck to my strategy.

“I know that in all of Carla’s fights she just baits people in, and she tries to get people to attack her. I’ve been in slugfests before. I’ve gotten my nose broken. I’ve stood there and shed blood in the octagon. I stuck to the strategy, and she didn’t really…

For a round, Tony Ferguson appeared to be closer to peak form than he had been in quite some time at UFC 274.

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After a competitive opening stanza with Michael Chandler, Ferguson succumbed to a highlight-reel front kick from his opponent that sent him face first to the canvas 17 seconds into Round 2. Although the former interim lightweight champion has lost four straight fights, UFC president Dana White came away impressed by “El Cucuy.”

“Everybody was asking me this week leading up to this fight: Is this a make or break for Tony Ferguson? And I said no. He’s still one of the top 10 guys in the world, and he looked damn good in that first round, but that was a vicious knockout,” White said at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference.

“I think what needs to happen now is Tony needs to take some time off after that knockout, and I don’t know. But it’s not like, ‘Oh my God, Tony got dominated and looks like he doesn’t even belong here.’ Tony looked…

Count Jessica Andrade among those who was not impressed by the UFC 274 co-main event.

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Shortly after Carla Esparza edged Rose Namajunas via split decision to claim the strawweight belt in a lackluster affair, ex-champ Jessica Andrade took to Twitter to criticize the fight.

“Any of the Top 5 would have fought better than the boredom champion did yesterday,” Andrade wrote. “Shame on the division. Worst fight in the division’s history. It was a disgrace to women’s MMA, arena booing the fight. Fans did not expect this … I can’t wait to rip your head off.”

Any of the top 5 would have fought better than the @CarlaEsparza1 boredom champion did yesterday Shame on the division. worst fight in the division's history. it was a disgrace to women's MMA. arena booing the fight. fans did not expect this.

— Jessica Andrade UFC (@jessicammapro) May 8, 2022

I take advantage that you didn't block me on twitter, I…

It was an emotional roller coaster of a weekend for Charles Oliveira.

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“Do Bronx” lost his lightweight title on the scales one day prior to UFC 274 when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds, but he assured himself of an opportunity to regain that belt when he submitted Justin Gaethje in the opening round of their headlining bout on Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz.

"The most difficult part was listening to my father cry when I called him right after the UFC stated that I lost my belt,” Oliveira told Combate. “That was definitely the hardest moment. As I’ve always done since I came down to lightweight, I reached 155 [pounds] on Thursday night. But that´s over.

“What I came to do I did. I took [two] knock downs, stood up, knocked him down and submitted him. How long will they say I'm a quitter? This time it was the scale. What will they will do next time? Tie me up?”

The former champion also discussed his post-fight callout of …

Following a spectacular front kick finish of Tony Ferguson that UFC president Dana White later called “the most vicious knockout I’ve ever seen,” Michael Chandler admitted that the maneuver is little more than an afterthought in his offensive repertoire.

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“I don’t even know if I saw it in the moment,” Chandler said at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference. “I think my body just moved and foot [landed] to face and a couple back flips [after]…Sometimes I think the fights materialize exactly how you want them to. Sometimes you stay within your normal box of what you always use and it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. And sometimes you throw something that you never, ever thought you would ever land, let alone knock someone out with.”

Chandler is well-known for knockout power in his hands, but there’s a decent chance his front kick KO — one of nine such finishes in promotion history — will end up on more than a few year-end award lists.

“It’s not …

As conservative as it might have been, Carla Esparza stuck to her game plan at UFC 274 — and the end result was a championship victory.

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Esparza emerged from an action-starved bout with a split-decision triumph over “Thug” Rose to claim strawweight gold at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday night. It was a perplexing performance from both athletes, as neither was willing to engage for the majority of the contest, which predictably brought out the boo birds throughout the 25-minute affair. For Esparza, pressing the action too recklessly would have only set her up for defeat.

“I felt that I fought a smart game plan,” Esparza said at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference. “I felt that if I would have gotten too wild and too reckless, I would have set myself up to be a highlight reel. Rose has incredible timing and placement on her strikes. She’s had some awesome head-kick finishes and dropped people, so I didn’t feel like it was a s…

Donald Cerrone was supposed to help kick off the UFC 274 pay-per-view with a fan-friendly matchup against fellow action fighter Joe Lauzon.

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Instead, a last-minute illness, which was attributed to food poisoning, forced “Cowboy” to withdraw from the event just hours before he was scheduled to compete. It was a devastating blow for Cerrone, who has typically been on of the promotion’s most active fighters and was looking forward to fighting in front of his son. Cerrone commented on the situation via Instagram on Sunday.

“My heart is broken and torn,” Cerrone said. “I can’t believe I had to make that call. If you know me, you know I only pulled out because I had to. Thank you for the UFC and the medical division for helping me as far as we could, try and make that buzzer, but we just couldn’t get it.”

The 39-year-old Cerrone is in the midst of a six-bout winless streak in UFC competition, and the finish line is in sight for the BMF Ranch foun…

Donald Cerrone was supposed to help kick off the UFC 274 pay-per-view with a fan-friendly matchup against fellow action fighter Joe Lauzon.

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Instead, a last-minute illness, which was attributed to food poisoning, forced “Cowboy” to withdraw from the event just hours before he was scheduled to compete. It was a devastating blow for Cerrone, who has typically been on of the promotion’s most active fighters and was looking forward to fighting in front of his son. Cerrone commented on the situation via Instagram on Sunday.

“My heart is broken and torn,” Cerrone said. “I can’t believe I had to make that call. If you know me, you know I only pulled out because I had to. Thank you for the UFC and the medical division for helping me as far as we could, try and make that buzzer, but we just couldn’t get it.”

The 39-year-old Cerrone is in the midst of a six-bout winless streak in UFC competition, and the finish line is in sight for the BMF Ranch foun…

Charles Oliveira didn’t carry himself like someone who was stripped of the lightweight title following his first-round submission of Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 main event.

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“I went into the Octagon to defend the title,” Oliveira said through a translator at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference. “I don’t have to get it back. The champion is Charles Oliveira, and we all know that.”

Oliveira was undeniably impressive as he survived some heavy artillery from Gaethje early, then recovered to floor him with a right hand before submitting him with a rear-naked choke 3:22 into Round 1 of their bout at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday night. Oliveira has won 11 consecutive fights in UFC competition and assured himself a spot in a fight for the now-vacant 155-pound belt in the future.

“He’s the guy,” UFC president Dana White said. “He didn’t make weight. We have rules, he didn’t make the weight, the belt is vacant. But I’m sure in th…