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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDsPkmWwL4Y&w=560&h=315] Even though Patricio Freire won the rematch against A.J. McKee, “Pitbull” could not deny the skills of his opponent.

At Bellator 277 on April 15, Freire (33-5) exacted revenge on McKee (18-1) by claiming a unanimous decision and handing “Mercenary” his first career defeat. While the fight was close and a few media scorers awarded the win to “Pitbull,” Freire kept his promise to the fans by winning the sixth rematch of his career. The Brazilian has still never lost when fighting a person for the second time, and he spoke to Sherdog about why he always wins his so-called 'revenge fights.'

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“I’m like a fighting nerd,” Freire explained. “When I commit a mistake or my opponent gets some advantage over me, I live to correct that and study every move of my opponent. That’s what I did after A.J. defeated me. Also, I could feel he was too cocky and self-confident in the backstage, and that’s no…

BREAKING: Per source, Darrick Minner is facing Damon Jackson in a featherweight clash that will go down at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on June 4.

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) April 20, 2022 The upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card on June 4 has just gained a 145-pound grappler’s delight as Damon Jackson will take on Darrick Minner.

Sherdog learned about the matchup on Thursday from a source with knowledge of the situation. The scheduled encounter has been confirmed by both fighters on their social media accounts. The featherweights will battle it out on UFC Fight Night 207, which will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on June 4.

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Onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Jackson (20-4-1, 1 NC; 3-2-1, 1 NC UFC) is coming off back-to-back victories over Charles Rosa and Kamuela Kirk at UFC Fight Night 194 and UFC Fight Night 203, respectively. The Fortis MMA representative has rattled off nine wins…

BREAKING: Per source, Tresean Gore is set to clash with Josh Fremd in an interesting 185-pound affair that will go down at the upcoming UFC Fight Night on July 9. pic.twitter.com/5JbAotRcs5

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) April 21, 2022 An interesting 185-pound clash has been added to an upcoming UFC Fight Night card set for July.

According to a source close to the situation on Thursday, Tresean Gore (3-1) will take on Josh Fremd (9-3) on July 9 at middleweight. The source has asked to stay anonymous since the matchup hasn’t been officially announced yet. The two men will square off on the currently unnamed UFC Fight Night event on that date, which does not yet have a destination on the books.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 finalist Gore (3-1, 0-1 UFC) is eager to add another name on his win column, and bounce back from the first loss of his career. “Mr. Vicious” met eventual tourney victor Bryan Battle at UFC Fight Night 200 in Februar…

.@UFC announces an additional update to #UFCVegas52 : https://t.co/0JqGHP4rVN

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 21, 2022 One of the more exciting bouts from the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card has been nixed days before it was set to take place.

Per the organization on Thursday, the flyweight matchup between Manel Kape (17-6) and Su Mudaerji (16-4) has been removed from the lineup of UFC Fight Night 205. The explanation for its cancellation was that Kape had to withdraw for personal reasons. There will be no replacement sought for Mudaerji, and the fight has been scrubbed from the billing. The event on April 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will carry on with 12 fights.

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“Starboy” Kape was looking to keep his momentum going, as he notched a pair of first-round knockouts in 2021 against Ode Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. Of note, the stoppage of Osbourne – one where he missed weight by three pounds – ended a two…

#Bellator278 Weigh-In Results: Liz Carmouche @iamgirlrilla (125) pic.twitter.com/qUXxHQetbs

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) April 21, 2022 Bellator MMA's flyweight championship will be on the line in the Bellator 278 main event tomorrow as all fighters successfully made weight.

The card is quite top-heavy with a flyweight title fight between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche as the headliner. The main card also features two bantamweight grand prix wild card bouts: Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello and Enrique Barzola vs. Nikita Mikhailov, although the latter is at a 140-pound catchweight. A scheduled contest between C.J. Hamilton vs. Erik Perez was scratched the day prior for currently undetermined reasons.

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Velasquez (12-0) looks to make her second championship defense against Carmouche. The unbeaten fighter has been perfect throughout her seven-fight tenure with the promotion, but she was tested in her last …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2EI2HW5pk&w=560&h=315]

Clay Collard decided to fight fire with fire and emerged no worse for wear.

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Accuracy and activity carried “Cassius Clay” to a unanimous decision over Jeremy Stephens in an unforgettable PFL 1 headliner, as the Professional Fighters League kicked off its 2022 campaign on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. All three cageside judges scored it 30-27, though most other observers thought it to be far more competitive than the verdict indicated.

Stephens (28-20, 0-1 PFL) threw heat for the duration and rang his counterpart’s bell more than once with powerful right hands. Collard (21-9, 3-1 PFL) was undeterred. He stepped into high-volume punching combinations to the head and body, incorporated kicks when needed and even mixed in a few takedowns. His seemingly limitless gas tank and Kevlar beard allowed him to stay ahead of Stephens, who fought through fatigue and …

We’re back at this.I think I’m the only 185er that can say that has never pulled out of a fight but anyway smash boys I’ll get you back to back lets do it I’m willing to die just show up @KChimaev @darrentill2 @Mickmaynard2 @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite

— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) April 20, 2022

A much-anticipated middleweight clash has been scratched from the upcoming UFC 275 card on June 11 as Marvin Vettori won’t be facing former UFC 185-pound titleholder Robert Whittaker. On Wednesday morning, Vettori wrote a fiery tweet that implied “Bobby Knuckles” had pulled out of their scheduled meeting. A source close to the situation confirmed to Sherdog that Vettori is looking for a new opponent. An official reason hasn’t been disclosed for Whittaker’s withdrawal.

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“We’re back at this. I think I’m the only 185er that can say that has never pulled out of a fight but anyway smash boys I’ll get you back to back lets do it I’m…

The 2022 Professional Fighters League Season kicks off Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.

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PFL 1 “Collard vs. Stephens” takes place on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while the prelims stream to ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

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

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knap…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJDdRWEL0_g&w=560&h=315]

Lightweights and light heavyweights will step to the stage when the Professional Fighters League kicks off its 2022 campaign and the chase for $1 million bounties begins.

Clay Collard tipped the scales at 155 pounds in advance of his PFL 1 headliner opposite fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jeremy Stephens (156) on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Meanwhile, Raush Manfio (156) and Don Madge (155.75) were also given the green light to compete at Tuesday’s official weigh-in.

PFL 1 “Collard vs. Stephens”—which airs live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—features two other matches on the main card, as Antonio Carlos Jr. (205.5) locks horns with Delan Monte (205) at light heavyweight and Natan Schulte (156) toes the line against Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155.75) at lightweight. The six-fight undercard, highlighted by a light heavyweight tilt between Emiliano Sordi (…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7HMAswHyY&w=560&h=315]

Should things go according to Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s plans, fans are about to be treated to a dream heavyweight matchup.

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In a recent interview with TMZ, White expressed his hopes about enrolling former 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones for an upcoming UFC event. While White didn’t expressly indicate the name of the card, it is safe to assume that he was hinting at International Fight Week, which is headlined by UFC 276.

“Listen, people have been talking about how awesome this card is, and I was just telling somebody the other day our lineup for this summer is incredible,” White said. “I’m hoping that Jon Jones is gonna be a part of that lineup this summer.”

When asked about a potential opponent for “Bones,” the first name that came to White’s mind was the one of former heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic.

“Yeah, Stipe makes sense.”

The las…

Also, the matchup between Buchecha and Reug Reug has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later event #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 18, 2022

Destiny appears not to favor a Marcus Almeida vs. Oumar Kane matchup. On Monday morning, the Singapore-based promotion announced that One “Reloaded” lost the much-anticipated heavyweight matchup. An official reason hasn’t been disclosed, but One aims to reschedule the clash for an as-yet unannounced event. It is the second time the promotion has postponed the fight after the pair was supposed to collide at last year’s ONE on TNT 1.

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Multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu heavyweight champion Almeida (2-0, 2-0 One) impressed in his mixed martial arts debut, where he submitted Anderson “Braddock” Silva thanks to a vicious north-south choke at 2:55 in the opening frame at One: “Revolution.” In his most recent appearance, “Buchecha” forced Ji …

JUST LIKE THAT@ToshiJJ gets the tap in the very 1st round

AND STILL

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#RIZIN35 Watch on @livenowglobal→https://t.co/6gKrHxMVSe pic.twitter.com/GAqnNgEJjd — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 17, 2022

Rizin Fighting Federation’s latest event went down at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo, Japan, and featured three championship rematches.

The Rizin 35 headliner saw Roberto de Souza facing Johnny Case in a lightweight championship clash. De Souza (14-1, 7-1 Rizin) and Case (27-8-1, 3-2 Rizin) had a brief exchange on the feet before “Satoshi” shot for a single-leg takedown. Case reversed the attempt in the brief scramble that followed. Shortly afterward, Case ended up in the crucifix position before De Souza shrugged him off his back. “Hollywood” looked good on the feet as his jab was starting to hit the mark more frequently. In turn, the Brazilian champion quickly jumped on Case’s back and locked up a trian…

Andre Fialho is $50,000 richer after securing his first UFC victory.

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The Portugal native received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his first-round stoppage of Miguel Baeza in a featured welterweight affair at UFC on ESPN 34 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Fialho rocked his foe with a series of uppercuts in the clinch, dropped him with a left hook and finished the fight with a hammerfist on the ground at the 4:39 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Mayra Bueno Silva and Yanan Wu garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their three-round bantamweight clash. Both fighters had their moments, but ultimately Silva landed the harder shots to win a unanimous decision in her 135-pound debut.

Finally, Drakkar Klose took home the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck by virtue of a second-round TKO of Brandon Jenkins in a preliminary lightweight affair. Klose nearly finished Jenkins in Round 1 with …

Belal Muhammad is a much-improved fighter since the first time he and Vicente Luque crossed paths, and it showed on Saturday night.

Muhammad (21-3, 12-3, 1 NC UFC) executed his game plan to near perfection, capturing a unanimous decision against Luque (21-8-1, 14-4) in the UFC on ESPN 34 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. “Remember the Name” received scorecards of 49-46 (twice) and 48-47 from the cageside judges to extend his unbeaten streak to eight — the third-longest in the UFC’s welterweight division.

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“This is my hump I had to get over,” Muhammad said. “He knocked me out. He beat me. I had to think about that my whole camp.”

While Luque needed just 79 seconds to finish Muhammad at UFC 205 in November 2016, the rematch was more of a chess match — and the Roufusport product was always one step ahead of his rival. Muhammad utilized back-and-forth movement to confound Luque for the duration of the bout, and he grounded his o…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 34 coverage will begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC on ESPN 34. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

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Use code: SHERDOG

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

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the roun…

Clark sent Knight to the moon 🌙 #UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/3w6WGHBbV4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 17, 2022 Devin Clark survived William Knight’s initial sprint and once he did, the fight was his for the taking.

Clark (13-6, 7-6 UFC) defeated Knight via technical knockout in their heavyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 34, ending the contest at the 3:21 mark of Round 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Clark snaps a two-fight skid in victory, while Knight has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.

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Knight put together a strong start, threatening Clark with a tight guillotine early and then following a jumping knee with a flurry of power punches in the waning moments of Round 1. From there, Knight’s output waned and Clark took control. The Elevation Fight Team landed takedowns in both the second and third rounds and also controlled Knight (11-4, 3-3 UFC) in the clinch.

Clark set the stage for…

グスタボ、2R KOで返り討ち！！やっぱ強い！！#RIZIN_TRIGGER3 pic.twitter.com/lXP3aPEISV

— たなえい、押忍 (@1_mma_w) April 16, 2022

After more than a two-year hiatus, Luis Gustavo Felix dos Santos made his Rizin Fighting Federation return in emphatic fashion on Saturday.

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The 25-year-old Evolucao Thai product defeated recent lightweight title challenger Yusuke Yachi via technical knockout in the Rizin "Trigger 3rd" main event at Musashino Forest Plaza in Tokyo, Japan. Dos Santos swarmed his opponent near the fence, dropped him with a right hand and was pulled off by referee Minoru Toyonaga before any more damage could be done at the 3:14 mark of Round 2. Dos Santos and Yachi previously squared off at Rizin 12, with the Brazilian winning via second-round knockout.

It was the first appearance for dos Santos (11-2, 3-2 Rizin) since December 2019, when he fell to current Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire as part of…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfr0aDkBY0U&w=560&h=315]

The stage has been set for a trio of title fights at the top of the Rizin Fighting Federation 35 card.

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All six competitors slated to compete for championship gold made weight ahead of their Rizin 35 bouts on Saturday. Roberto Souza tipped the scales at 156.4 pounds for his lightweight title defense against Johnny Case (156.3) in the evening’s main event, while reigning featherweight king Juntaro Ushiku checked in at 145.2 pounds for his showdown against Yutaka Saito (145.2). Finally, Ayaka Hamasaki weighed 107.6 pounds for a super atomweight championship clash against Seika Izawa (107.9).

Rizin 35 takes place at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday and airs on pay-per-view at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT. The event can be purchased for $24.99 here.

Souza enters the main event on a four-bout winning streak after suffering his lone career defeat at the hands of Case at …

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire avenged a July 31 submission defeat and reclaimed the Bellator MMA featherweight throne for a third time, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over A.J. McKee in the Bellator 277 headliner on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

McKee (18-1, 18-1 Bellator) struggled to find an offensive rhythm. The resourceful Freire (33-5, 21-5 Bellator) kept him off-balance with repeated kicks to the inside and outside of his lead leg, pieced together occasional punching combinations and threatened him with a guillotine choke in the third round. McKee did his best work in Round 5, where he executed multiple takedowns, stayed busy with his hands and zeroed in on the Brazilian’s midsection with kicks. Those efforts ultimately fell short in the eyes of the judiciary.

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Freire—who moved to a perfect 6-0 in rematches—has won eight of his past nine bouts.

Meanwhile, an inadvertent clash of h…

Sherdog's live Bellator 277 coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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Round 1 Luna is making his pro debut against the 0-1 Hernandez, while the referee is Blake Grice. Both fighters begin trading hooks to start the fight. Hernandez mixes in his attack with body shots and leg kicks, but Luna is happy to throw right back. Luna temporarily loses his mouthpiece, but Hernandez is a gentleman and allows him to pick it up off the floor before going right back to punching him in the face. The pace is nonstop as both men exchange uppercuts in the clinch, displaying plenty of dirty boxing prowess. While Luna's face is now red and slightly bloodied, the featherweight is showing no signs of slowing and continues to fire back. Luna fires a kick to the body and lands a powerful right hand on the jaw of Hernandez to end the highly competitive round.Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores …

CORTES-ACOSTA LANDS BIG!!!

Can he close it out?!?!#LFA129 pic.twitter.com/UL01IcBUWp

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 16, 2022

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It was rough going for Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the main event of LFA 129 inside Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on Friday night, but he eventually scored a dramatic knockout in the third round to become the first ever Dominican champion in the organization’s history.

Thomas Petersen was defending his Legacy Fighting Alliance heavyweight title comfortably early on as he took Cortes-Acosta down multiple times and hammered him with punches to the head, arms and body. Even when the two were on their feet, Peterson was landing the cleaner punches, only to have the challenger talk trash and dare him to keep trying to hit him or take him down. But as the fight wore on, Peterson’s gas tank betrayed him and it allowed Cortes-Acosta to capitalize.

Peterson was gasping for…

#TeamIridium hammer @CodyStamann goes for his 6th @ufc win in June! #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/Q63ANmQgxF

— Jason House (@JasonKHouse) April 15, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship card in mid-June has just experienced a few changes.

On Friday morning, the management team of Cody Stamann (19-5-1), Iridium Sports Agency, announced that he would be fighting at the UFC Fight Night card on June 18. In his bantamweight battle, he will take on longtime veteran Eddie Wineland (24-15-1).

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Stamann will be looking to end a three-fight skid, where he fell short to Jimmie Rivera and Merab Dvalishvili on the scorecards, and was choked out by Said Nurmagomedov in less than a minute in January. Before the trio of setbacks, “The Spartan” had strung together an impressive ledger inside the Octagon, with five wins opposite a single defeat to current champ Aljamain Sterling, and a draw with Yadong Song up a division. Stamann has mov…

Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik will headline UFC Fight Night on June 4, per UFC officials. Nos. 7 and 8 in the division, respectively. Early predictions? pic.twitter.com/9KjskxEXQL

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 15, 2022 Two Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights looking to make a statement will get five rounds to do so at the beginning of June.

The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN released the news on Friday that Alexander Volkov (34-10) will be taking on Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3) to headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on June 4. The two heavyweights will like battle it out at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, although a location is not yet on the books.

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Volkov has alternated wins and losses in his last four, winning against Alistair Overeem and Marcin Tybura but dropping bouts to Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall. The Russian celebrates a finish rate of 74% as a pro, with the majority of his stopp…

1️⃣7️⃣1️⃣ for @VicenteLuqueMMA - we have a main event 🍿

[ #UFCVegas51 | TOMORROW | Main Card LIVE on @ESPN | Prelims LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Xs9oARE99x

— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2022

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Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:45 p.m. ET on April 15 to reflect that every fighter has now successfully made weight.

After today's weigh-ins, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to return back to ESPN airwaves and the UFC Apex for a 14-fight card.

The UFC on ESPN 34 main event will see welterweight contenders Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad battle for the second time, as the Brazilian knocked out "Remember the Name" in just 79 seconds back in 2016. While both headliners and the majority of the card had no issue making weight, lightweight Drakkar Klose initially weighed in .75 pounds heavy for his bout against Brandon Jenkins. Klose returned nearly an hour later, and he successfully hit the mark of…