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Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall will headline the card when the Ultimate Fighting Championship heads back to London on July 23.

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Ariel Helwani was first to report the heavyweight bout, which is expected to be finalized soon with verbal agreements already in place. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at the O2 in London and will mark the promotion’s second trip to the city in 2022.

Blaydes made his first appearance of the year at UFC on ESPN 33, where he defeated Chris Daukaus via second-round technical knockout on March 26. The Elevation Fight Team representative has been victorious in six of his last seven Octagon appearances, with his lone defeat coming against Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.

A native of Manchester, England, Aspinall has emerged as a person of interest at heavyweight following five straight victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, Aspinall submitted former Bellator and M-1 Global champ Alexander…

A matchup of flyweight prospects pitting Carlos Candelario against Tatsuro Taira will not go down at UFC on ESPN 35 on Saturday as originally anticipated.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced a few hours before the event that the bout has been pulled from the card due to a Candelario illness. The 125-pound pairing has been rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14.

As a result, UFC on ESPN 35 will proceed with 11 fights. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Rob Font and Marlon Vera.

Candelario suffered his first defeat in nine professional outings last August, when he dropped a split decision to Victor Altamirano on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Japan’s Taira is 12-0 as a professional and is coming off three consecutive first-round submission victories, two with Shooto and one with Vale Tudo Japan.

UFC on ESPN 36 also takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and i…

Alex Polizzi will replace Melvin Manhoef and face Yoel Romero at Bellator 280.

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Dutch outlet Redactie Telesport was first to report the new booking, and Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the bout with a promotion official. Manhoef was forced to withdraw due to an injury incurred in the recent apprehension of three burglars at his home. During that incident, Manhoef reportedly smashed a car window with his bare hand, which resulted in the Dutch striker needing stitches.

Bellator 280 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris on May 6 and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo. Romero vs. Polizzi is currently scheduled to be the card’s co-main event.

Polizzi has been victorious in four of his five promotional appearances, with his lone defeat coming to light heavyweight grand prix competitor Julius Anglickas at Bellator 251. The Madison, Wisc., native is currently in the midst of a three-bout winning streak tha…

AnnMaria DeMars, the mother of ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey, was recently appointed to the California State Athletic Commission.

The move was announced by the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday. She will serve as a commissioner on the six-person CSAC team and will have a say in the regulation of combat sports in the state. DeMars needs approval from the California state senate to make her position official, but that is expected to be a formality. The full statement regarding De Mars is as follows:

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AnnMaria DeMars, 63, of Santa Monica, has been appointed to the State Athletic Commission. DeMars has been President at the Julia Group since 2008 and at 7 Generation Games since 2013. DeMars was Partner at Spirit Lake Consulting from 2002 to 2008. DeMars is a member of the American Statistical Association, National Indian Education Association, Judo Black Belt Association and United States Judo Association. She earned a Master of Business A…

Y’all watch me choke my chicken in Austin, TX on June 18th!!!!!! 🍗 🐔 🦢

Ohh and I cashed out on that Cowboy Oliveira bounty…. 50G’s baby #dirtybird #austintx #2022 #fightnight #webackoutside #onlyfanshaditfirst pic.twitter.com/1jBfmkWh10

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) April 29, 2022 Leave it to the Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipKevin Holland to turn a standard fight announcement into a big drama show.

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Holland (22-7, 1 NC) released a video on Friday that gave out the date and location of his next fight, as well as his opponent. Fighting with someone dressed up as Big Bird wearing roller skates, Holland declared that he would be taking on Tim Means (32-12-1, 1 NC) on the unnamed UFC Fight Night card on June 18. The two will tangle in the welterweight division at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, signaling his return to his adopted state of Texas for the first time since 2018. It will be the first appearance f…

1️⃣3️⃣6️⃣ for @ChitoVeraUFC 💪

[ #UFCVegas53 | Prelims 4pm ET on ESPN 2 | Main Card 7pm ET LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/MClsC0vUci

— UFC (@ufc) April 29, 2022 Despite Rob Font missing weight, UFC on ESPN 35's main event is still set as Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender Marlon Vera is going forward with their five-round scrap.

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Font (19-5) officially weighed 138.5 pounds for his third UFC main event, or 2.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. As a result, Font has been fined 20% of his purse that will go to his opponent. The rest of the 12-fight card all made weight, making Font the lone unprofessional participant.

Font's impressive four-fight win streak came to an end in his last bout against Jose Aldo. The former UFC featherweight champion turned back the clock and looked great throughout five rounds, leaving Font to go back to the drawing board. Font will look to impress like past showings agai…

My girl @MayceeBarber is up the same night as me! #ufc276 https://t.co/cP7yDgYrLN

— Jessy Jess (@missjessyjess) April 29, 2022 Before the final round of socialing had even gone out, the Ultimate Fighting Championship located an excellent replacement to keep a July matchup intact.

Casey O'Neill withdrew from her matchup with Jessica Eye (15-10, 1 NC) on Thursday due to a torn ACL, scuttling their UFC 276 flyweight pairing. That night, BJPenn.com first reported that the promotion had already locked down someone to fight in O’Neill’s stead: Maycee Barber (10-2). On Friday, Barber confirmed the news of this fight on her Instagram, verifying that this battle will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2.

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Barber comes in with momentum on her side, having won her last two on the scorecards against fellow promising young talents Miranda Maverick and Montana De La Rosa, with the latter coming in April. Those tw…

6 Points and the 1st round finish for Bruno Cappelozza!#2022PFL2 pic.twitter.com/HcBajmTR8W

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 29, 2022

Bruno Henrique Cappelozza picked up right where he left off in 2021.

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The defending Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion turned away Stuart Austin with punches in the first round of their PFL 2 headliner on Thursday at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A onetime British Association of Mixed Martial Arts titleholder, Austin (15-8, 0-2 PFL) checked out 4:24 into Round 1.

Cappelozza (15-5, 5-0 PFL) bided his time and waited for an opportunity to present itself. A jarring overhand right had Austin diving at the Brazilian’s legs out of desperation and led to his being pinned to the canvas. Cappelozza methodically floated from half guard to full mount, postured in a dominant position and dropped punches until the job was done.

Meanwhile, former Ring of Combat champion Chris Wade reb…

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for PFL and UFC. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

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The 2022 Professional Fighters League Season continues Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Last week in PFL, lightweights and light heavyweights took the stage to start off the 2022 season. This week, fight fans will be treated to 10 matchups – all tournament-eligible this time – in the featherweight and heavyweight categories. We begin the night at 145 pounds, in a classic battle of Mexico vs. Germany as Monterrey native Flores (19-3, 1-0 PFL) faces off against Frankfurt’s own Bolaghi (14-2-1, 0-0 PFL). The referee for the first match of the evening is Keith Peterson, and he starts the night off right by kicking nonsense out of the arena. The two men touch gloves, and Flores sticks o…

A top-flight Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight prospect has just suffered an injury that will keep her out of action for a long time.

On Thursday, Casey O'Neill announced on Instagram that she has suffered a completely torn ACL that will require surgery and a lengthy recovery process. She was initially booked against Jessica Eye at UFC 276, but she has been forced out of this matchup due to this injury. It is currently unclear if Eye will receive a replacement, or if the promotion will book her on another card.

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Undefeated as a professional at 9-0, Australia’s O’Neill surged into the promotion on the heels of five wins in the span of less than 18 months. From there, she debuted against Shana Dobson and knocked her out in the second round. A pair of subsequent finishes over Lara Procopio and Antonia Shevchenko – all three of those UFC appearances coming in 2021 – she moved towards ranked competition on the heels of those three stoppage wins. …

The latest episode of Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal has just been ratcheted up a notch.

On Thursday, Masvidal appeared on a Zoom call to enter his pleas of not guilty with the 11th Circuit Court of Florida, with Judge Zachary James presiding over the case. As a result, Masvidal has been issued a stay-away order, which will require him to stay at least 25 feet away from Covington, while not coming anywhere closer than 500 feet of Covington’s residence. “Gamebred” cannot contact Covington in any capacity, including by text message or phone call, as well. The next hearing date will be May 12, which is a status hearing that will review the proceedings to that point and possibly set a trial date.

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Modifying his initial complaint, Covington stated that in addition to a fractured tooth, the abrasion to his wrist and the damage to his Rolex watch, he claims he suffered “brain injury” from the alleged attack. T…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4LmQASrtaI&w=560&h=315]

It’s full speed ahead for Week 2 of the Professional Fighters League regular season, as every heavyweight and featherweight set to compete made weight on Wednesday.

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That includes defending heavyweight champ Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, who tipped the scales at 235 pounds for a featured showdown against Stuart Austin (245.8). There was one late change to the card, with Cody Goodale (253.2) stepping in on short notice to face Denis Goltsov (247.4) in a heavyweight tilt that was only recently elevated to the evening’s main card.

PFL 2 takes place at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas on Thursday night. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

After nearly three years away from the sport following a knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at Rizin 11, Cappelozza went 4-0 in 2021 to…

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

A heavyweight clash pitting Derrick Lewis against Sergei Pavlovich is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on July 30.

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ESPN was first to report the booking. The event, which is expected to be UFC 277, does not yet have a location or venue. The card is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira.

Lewis last appeared at UFC 271, where he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Tai Tuivasa on Feb. 12 in Houston. “The Black Beast” is the UFC’s all-time knockout leader and a two-time heavyweight title challenger, coming up short against Daniel Cormier for the undisputed belt at UFC 230 and losing to Ciryl Gane for the interim strap at UFC 265. Lewis owns wins against the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Alexey Oleynik, Alexander Volkov, Francis Ngannou, Marcin Tybura, Travis Browne and Roy Nelson, to name a few.

Pavlovich has won thre…

The Lone Star State is becoming a popular destination for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The Las Vegas-based promotion will head to the Texas capital of Austin on June 18 for a Fight Night event. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the location and date of the card. UFC Austin does not currently have a headliner, but several bouts have been reported for that date, including Cody Stamann vs. Eddie Wineland at bantamweight, Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze at lightweight, Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze at middleweight and Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn at middleweight, to name a few.

The event will mark the fourth time the promotion has held an event in Austin. In 2010, UFC Fight Night 22 saw Nate Marquardt defeat Rousimar Palhares via first-round TKO, while the UFC Fight Night 57 main event in November 2014 saw Frankie Edgar submit Cub Swanson in the waning seconds of the fifth round. Finally, Donald Cerrone stopped Yancy Medeiros in the opening stanza of their fea…

BIG NEWS ONE Championship is coming BACK to U.S. prime time on Amazon Prime Video

Stay tuned for more details!@PrimeVideo | #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/t6diSS1rHG

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 27, 2022

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One Championship has a new, big-name broadcast partner in North America.

The Singapore-based promotion announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a five-year deal with Amazon Prime Video to broadcast 12 events annually in primetime live in the United States and Canada. The first event and the full calendar are expected to be announced soon. Those 12 events will be available exclusively on Prime Video in the United States and Canada.

“One Championship is thrilled to work with Prime Video, one of the largest premium sports content providers in the world, to bring our live events closer to fans in the United States and Canada,” One CEO Chatri Sityodtong said in a release.

“As the wor…

Bruno Henrique Cappelozza came virtually out of nowhere to win the 2021 Professional Fighters League heavyweight championship, but the momentous occasion took on a different tone when the Brazilian learned that his father passed away the weekend before his $1 million-winning performance this past October.

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“It was the happiest and saddest day of my life,” Cappelozza said during a PFL media day. “It was a huge loss for me and my family. We’re still feeling his absence, but I’m certain of his place in heaven.



“I know he must be very proud. He always wanted to see me become a world champion. It was a long-awaited moment. I’m certain he’s very happy.”

Cappelozza’s championship victory was five-round verdict over Ante Delija in rematch of a regular season bout. The second meeting featured plenty of momentum swings with both heavyweights hurt on different occasions in the fight, but ultimately Cappelozza did enough to get the nod on the judges’ scor…

Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com

Lorenz Larkin has received his second new opponent at Bellator 280, as Kyle Stewart will step in for Anthony Adams against the middleweight known as “Monsoon.”

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Larkin was initially scheduled to face Khalid Murtazliev at Bellator 280 before Murtazliev withdrew from the card for undisclosed reasons. Promotion officials confirmed the new booking following an initial report from EuroSport.

Bellator 280 takes place on May 6 at Accor Arena in Paris and is headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo. Additionally, Charlie Leary will replace Saul Rogers and face Soren Bak in a 160-pound catchweight affair.

Stewart exited the UFC after back-to-back losses against Chance Rencountre and Erik. He has gone 4-2 since then, notably taking a unanimous verdict over fellow Octagon veteran Zak Ott…

It appears as though a potential interim heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic won’t happen this summer as originally planned.

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UFC president Dana White recently hinted that a Jones-Miocic matchup might happen at UFC 276. Meanwhile, Jones advisor Richard Schaefer told ESPN that the promotion discussed “Bones” facing Miocic with the interim belt on the line in the main event of the July 2 card in Las Vegas.

However, Jones tweeted on Tuesday that Miocic won’t be ready to fight by that proposed date.

“Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September,” Jones wrote. “I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses.”

Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September. I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses

— BONY (@JonnyBones…

Renan Ferreira’s first PFL season will forever be remembered for the controversial ending to his debut bout against heavyweight legend Fabricio Werdum.

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Ferreira appeared to tap to an triangle choke early in the bout, but when the gesture wasn’t noticed by Keith Peterson, “Problema” took advantage and pounded Werdum out for what appeared to be a technical knockout victory. However, following review by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, the result was overturned to a no contest.

That, despite two subsequent victories in PFL competition, ultimately kept Ferreira out of the playoffs. Werdum, meanwhile, withdrew from the tournament and appeared to be leaning toward retirement until only recently, when he told multiple outlets that he hopes to fight again for the PFL. If that does prove to be the case, Ferreira would be more than willing to stand across the cage from “Vai Cavalo” again.

“Absolutely. I’d love to get that one back again and …

After its 2020 season was completely scrapped, Professional Fighters League took the approach of many other organizations and utilized a bubble for safety purposes during its 2021 campaign.

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The isolation and quarantining affected athletes in different ways, but for two-time PFL featherweight champ Lance Palmer, it was mostly a negative.

“All my coaches are real-life people that have their own families, their own gyms or businesses that they run. They’re not people that can sit for 17 days in a hotel with me just for my fight,” Palmer said during PFL media day. “During the 17-day quarantine I was by myself and did my own thing. Luckily one of my old teammates, Tyler Diamond, he was by himself also, and we made the best of it. We drilled with each other, we trained with each other every day. But it’s not the same as having your coaches there.”

The proof was in the results, as Palmer went 0-2 in 2021 after 11 consecutive victories from from Novemb…

Even though he fell two spots in the UFC welterweight rankings after a unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273, Gilbert Burns doesn’t regret the decision to take the fight.

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"That was my 18th fight in eight years in the UFC. I fought some of the toughest guys in two divisions, fought for the belt once and have never been invited to lunch with Dana White like I was right after the war against Chimaev," Burns told Sherdog.com.

According to Burns, big fights and also the possibility of signing a more lucrative new contract were also on the menu during lunch with the UFC president. While Burns says White didn’t give him a list of potential matchups, he already has his own preferences in mind.

"We didnt talk about specific opponents, but I would consider big fights [against] Colby [Covington], [Jorge] Masvidal, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and the rematch with Chimaev,” he said. "If I could choose, the immediate rematch with C…

Even though he fell two spots in the UFC welterweight rankings after a unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273, Gilbert Burns doesn’t regret the decision to take the fight.

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"That was my 18th fight in eight years in the UFC. I fought some of the toughest guys in two divisions, fought for the belt once and have never been invited to lunch with Dana White like I was right after the war against Chimaev," Burns told Sherdog.com.

According to Burns, big fights and also the possibility of signing a more lucrative new contract were also on the menu during lunch with the UFC president. While Burns says White didn’t give him a list of potential matchups, he already has his own preferences in mind.

"We didnt talk about specific opponents, but I would consider big fights [against] Colby [Covington], [Jorge] Masvidal, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and the rematch with Chimaev,” he said. "If I could choose, the immediate rematch with C…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfN1D7oLS-0&w=560&h=315]

Paul Daley’s retirement fight at Bellator 281 suddenly has a little less marquee value.

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After originally being slated to face ex-welterweight champ Andrey Koreshkov, Daley will instead lock horns with Wendell Giacomo at the May 13 event. The promotion confirmed the change on Tuesday following an initial report from Metro News. No reason was given for Koreshkov’s exit.

Bellator 281 takes place at OVO Arena Wembley in London and is headlined by an interim welterweight title tilt pitting Michael Page against Logan Storley. Also confirmed was the postponement of a co-main event showdown between Douglas Lima and Jason Jackson. A date for the rebooking is currently unknown.

Anchored at the Pitbull Brothers camp, Giacomo enters his Bellator debut with a 9-2 career mark. The man known as “White Walker” last appeared at LFA 112, where he defeated Uyran Carlos via unanimous decision thi…

Nate Diaz is getting restless.

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The popular UFC star is ready to fight someone in the Las Vegas-based promotion — as long as it’s not Conor McGregor. Diaz took to Twitter recently to voice his frustration with his current situation.

“I been trying to fight everybody and no go, what’s the hold up UFC?” Diaz wrote. “I’m not fighting Conor, he sucks. I’l fight some one. Quit slow rolling me please. Thanks.”

I been trying to fight everybody and no go what’s the hold up ufc ?I’m not fighting Conor he sucks.I’ll fight some one quit slow rolling me pleaseThanks

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 26, 2022

After sitting out all of 2020, Diaz returned to the Octagon at UFC 263 last June, where he dropped a decision to welterweight contender Leon Edwards in a five-round, non-title bout. The Stockton, Calif., native had been linked to a potential matchup against Dustin Poirier, but after UFC 273, Dana White indicated that the …