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Islam Makhachev is denying Dana White’s claim that he turned down a short-notice matchup with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272 this past weekend.

Dos Anjos needed an opponent on less than one week’s notice after Rafael Fiziev tested positive for COVID-19. For a short period, it looked as though dos Anjos and Makhachev would square off in the UFC 272 co-main event at 170 pounds. Ultimately, it was Renato Carneiro who agreed to step in, and the UFC president said Makhachev was unwilling to take the fight.

“Pretty close – I thought we had it done,” White said last week. “When I went to bed one of the nights, I thought it was done. Woke up the next morning and found out they turned it down. Islam [turned it down]. No clue [why].”

According to Makhachev, that’s not at all what happened.

"I was in California on vacation, and I called my manager and said, 'Please call the UFC, I am ready to take this fight,'" Makhachev told ESPN. "I asked about some conditions, very…

After vanquishing Renato Carneiro in the UFC 272 co-main event, Rafael dos Anjos believes it’s time to potentially revisit a showdown with Conor McGregor.

It’s the type of matchup that would appropriately motivate the 37-year-old Brazilian at this stage of his career.

“I think the moment that we live in right now, that fight would make a lot of sense,” dos Anjos said at the UFC 272 post-fight press conference. “I was on a 16-month layoff. Conor broke his leg and is coming back in the summer, I think. That would make sense. The division is kind of crazy right now and I think that fight would make a lot of sense. …

“That would be a big money fight, of course. We have a history, too. Like I said, I’m looking for names that make me want to go to the gym and train. It’s been so many years in this game. I don’t want to fight names that don’t interest me, that don’t push me to go to the gym. I’m 37 years old. [I’ve] fought pretty much everybody in two divisions.”

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Brock Lesnar isn’t interested in making another comeback to mixed martial arts.

Just in case you thought Lesnar might be interested in dipping his toes in Ultimate Fighting Championship waters one more time, the former heavyweight champion shut that notion down in a recent interview with the New York Post.

“That door is closed,” Lesnar said. “You know what, Dana White, the Fertitta brothers [Lorenzo and Frank] were exceptional to me.”

Lesnar appeared at Madison Square Garden for a live WWE event this past Saturday. Next month, he is slated to defend his WWE belt in a title unification bout against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 38 on April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As far as Lesnar is concerned, sports entertainment is where he’ll remain.

“I’m too old,” Lesnar said. “That’s a young man’s sport, and that door is closed. I’m Brock Lesnar, the WWE Superstar.”

Though rumors of a Lesnar return to the UFC have persisted over the years — in…

Takashi Sato has agreed to step in and replace the injured Claudio Silva and face Gunnar Nelson at UFC London.

ESPN was first to report the new welterweight booking. UFC Fight Night 204 takes place at the O2 Arena in London is currently scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight clash between Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov.

A veteran of the Pancrase and Deep organizations, Sato is 2-2 in UFC competition. The 31-year-old Tokyo native will compete for the first time since November 2020, when he suffered a second-round submission defeat to Miguel Baeza at UFC on ESPN 18.

Nelson will be making his first appearance since September 2019, when he fell to Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 160. The 33-year-old Iceland native has lost three of four promotion appearances after beginning his UFC tenure with a 7-2 mark.

The MW division just got put on NOTICE

[ #UFC268 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/wZbuaYuLal

— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021 Glover Teixeira will take a break from preparation for his title defense against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 to travel to Las Vegas to attend UFC Fight Night 203.

Not because the winner of the main event between Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Santos might be his next opponent, but because his No. 1 training partner, Alex Pereira, will be facing Bruno Silva on the evening’s main card.

"I dont like to see Brazilians getting in the way of each other's dreams. But at least they are in the most important MMA promotion in the world,” Teixeira told Sherdog.com. “No doubt ‘Blindado’ will be the toughest challenge of [Pereira’s] career. Besides being an M-1 champion, the guy is coming off three impressive knockout victories. But ‘Poatan’ is a different animal, and I see Silva’s aggressiveness p…

Cain Velasquez was denied bail at a hearing on Monday as he awaits trial on attempted murder charges stemming from a shooting incident on Feb. 28.

Judge Shelya Brown issued the ruling during an arraignment at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose, Calif., after listening to arguments from Velasquez attorney Mark Geragos and deputy district attorney Aaron French. Brown said the “risk is too great” to release Vealsquez on bail. The former UFC heavyweight champion is due back in court on April 12.

“It is clear to this court that there is clear and convincing evidence that there is a substantial likelihood that release would result in great bodily injury, not just to the named complaining witnesses in this case but to Santa Clara residents at large,” Judge Brown said (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “This case involves allegations of extreme recklessness to human life.

“Ramming a vehicle in the middle of the day where are citizens are out driving, …

A pair of welterweight bouts have been added to the UFC 274 lineup, as Randy Brown will square off against Kalinn Williams, while Danny Roberts will lock horns with Francisco Trinaldo.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced both matchups. UFC 274 takes place on May 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

Brown has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances, including a unanimous verdict over Jared Gooden in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 194 on Oct. 9.

Williams, meanwhile, is 4-1 to begin his promotional tenure. Most recently, “Khaos” defeated Miguel Baeza via third-round technical knockout at UFC Fight Night 197 this past November.

England’s Roberts is coming off back-to-back victories in UFC competition. After a second-round knockout win over Zelim Imadaev at UFC Fight Night 163, “Hot Chocolate” returned to action this pas…

After a brief stint at 125 pounds, Cynthia Calvillo will return to the strawweight division for a clash with Brianna Fortino (formerly Brianna Van Buren) at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on June 4.

Cageside Press was first to report the pairing, while MMAFighting.com confirmed the date for the bout. The card is expected to include a featherweight showdown between Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev.

Calvillo’s last attempt at strawweight came in December 2019, when she missed weight by more than four pounds for a matchup with Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 7 before battling the Brazilian to a majority draw. Calvillo then moved to flyweight where she debuted with a victory over Jessica Eye at UFC on ESPN 10 before falling to Katlyn Chookagian, Jessica Andrade and Andrea Lee in her last three promotional appearances.

Fortino, meanwhile, will return to action for the first time since June 2020, when she dropped a unanimous decision to Tecia Torres at UFC on ESPN…

Colby Covington settled the score with former American Top Team training partner Jorge Masvidal in the best way possible, winning a dominant unanimous decision in the UFC 272 headliner on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After the victory, Covington reflected on the grudge match and what it was like to square off against someone he once considered a close friend.

“Just a lot of emotions going into it,” Covington said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That was a real friend of mine at one point in my career, and he’s such a backstabbing thief, and he talks so reckless. He tried to make some false narratives to the media and lies like he does – he’s a liar. He’s a thief. So I let the emotions get the best of me, but it was still dominant.

“I just showed how good I was, that I am the No. 1 fighter in the world for a reason, and it wasn’t even competitive tonight.”

Covington is ready to close that book on the Masvidal rivalry follow…

For the most part, Jorge Masvidal was fighting an uphill battle against the relentless grappling and wrestling of Colby Covington in the UFC 272 headliner.

That changed briefly in Round 4, when “Gamebred” buckled his rival with a right hand late in the period. Instead of pressuring and pursuing a finish, Masvidal backed off, which allowed Covington to eventually force his way into the clinch and stall the action. In hindsight, Masvidal regrets not doing more in that instance, especially after Covington concluded the bout with a dominant fifth round.

“I didn’t pounce on him after I dropped him. I wasn’t surprised that he bounced up. I was just surprised that I didn’t take his head off,” Masvidal said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I thought he was going to shoot immediately, so I was just thinking of wrong s—t instead of going to take his head off. I was tired. He was tired and hurt.

“That was my chance right there. That was my window of like five o…

A REPLAY OF THAT RIGHT HAND@chihiro19990514 lands clean

Purchase the VODs, link in bio!#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/GRd1sZ2wkW

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 6, 2022 Chihiro Suzuki won for the fifth time in six appearances, taking a unanimous decision against Ren Hiramoto at Rizin ‘Landmark Vol. 2’ in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.

The former Pancrase competitor set the tone in an opening frame in which he outlanded Hiramoto (0-2, 0-2 Rizin) by a 40-to-23 count in total strikes, according to statistics provided by the promotion. While the striking gap narrowed over the final two frames, Suzuki (7-3, 2-1 Rizin)) also landed the fight’s only three takedowns and secured 2:51 of control time against his opponent.

Clean Technique.@chihiro19990514 with the textbook throw

Purchase the VODs, link in bio!#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/xOGrl6PJuo

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 6, 2…

What. A. Fight 🔥🔥🔥

Who you got? #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/yfKv8kPO4K

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses after the UFC 272 pay-per-view card.

It was main eventers Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal that took home fight of the night honors, with each pocketing an extra $50,000. The five-round bout went the full 25 minutes with "Chaos" never slowing down and always pressuring a very game Masvidal, who badly hurt his opponent in Round 4 yet never capitalized on the moment. Ultimately, Covington took a clear-cut unanimous decision win.

Kevin Holland's welterweight debut is off to a good start as "Trailblazer" took home a performance bonus after defeating Alex Oliveira. Holland went back-and-forth with "Cowboy" over the opening frame, but then went into another gear after Round 2 began. A barrage of vicious elbows ended the night for the Brazilian as Holland improved to…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. After plenty of verbal blows from both parties in the months leading up to their bout, Colby Covington settled the score with Jorge Masvidal where it mattered most. Covington relied on his relentless grappling to capture a unanimous decision triumph over Masvidal in the UFC 272 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Covington (17-3, 12-3 UFC) earned scorecards of 49-46, 50-44 and 50-45 from the cageside judges in the welterweight clash to bring an emphatic close to the rivalry with his former American Top Team training partner.

There was no secret to Covington’s game plan, as the former NCAA All-American wrestler grounded Masvidal (35-16, 12-9 UFC) on multiple occasions while threatening with chokes against the fence and landing ground-and-pou…

The Eagle has landed in the UFC Hall of Fame 🦅

Congratulations @TeamKhabib on becoming the first inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 🏆

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/tJHCCLq6RR — UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022

It didn’t take long for Khabib Nurmagomedov to dominate mixed martial arts’ lightweight division and that dominance led immortality.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Saturday that Nurmagomedov, one of the sport’s all-time greats, will be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in its “Modern Wing” this summer.

“Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement. “No one dominated their opponents the way Khabib did, and to retire undefeated, as lightweight champion and the No.1 pound-for-pound athlete in the world is an incredible accomplishment. It will be an honor to induct him into the UF…

strong>Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 272 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 272 “Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. 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 round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Be…

THE 100% FINISH RATE REMAINS 💯

[ @JalinTurner | #UFC272 ] pic.twitter.com/tp1VeerWLb

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 272 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Jalin Turner showed why he was given a featured position on the evening’s preliminary card at UFC 272.

“The Tarantula” secured his fourth consecutive finish in the Octagon, as he defeated Australia’s Jamie Mullarkey via technical knockout in a lightweight clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A flurry of unanswered left hands on the canvas from the Dana White’s Contender Series alum brought a halt to the bout 46 seconds into Round 2.

The matchup delivered on its all-action promise in Round 1, when both lightweights were rocked at different points during exchanges. However, Turner (12-5, 5-2 UFC) was more effective overall, bloodying Mullarkey’s nose and …

Invicta FC 46 has a new headliner after Ketlen Souza has been forced to withdraw from her flyweight title bout against Karina Rodriguez.

As a result, Daiana Torquato will step in and face Rodriguez in a rematch in the evening’s new headliner. The all-female promotion announced the change on Saturday. A reason for Souza’s exit was not given. With Torquato elevated to the main event, Milana Dudieva will square off agianst Denise Gomes in the Invicta FC 46 co-headliner.

Invicta FC takes place at on March 9 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City and airs on the promotion’s YouTube channel beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. ET.

Rodriguez and Torquato initially fought at Invicta on AXS TV last May, with Rodriguez claiming flyweight gold in a unanimous decision triumph. That setback snapped an eight-bout winning streak for Torquato. Neither flyweight has competed since then.

Hiramoto“I’ve been a loud mouth leading up to the fight but tomorrow I will fight for the people who believed in me”

Suzuki“I will show everybody the way of me. Everybody Please fight with me. I appreciate your support. Thank you” pic.twitter.com/FY7z9VTTnF

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 5, 2022 All eight fighters slated for mixed martial arts competition made weight ahead of Sunday’s Rizin “Landmark Vol. 2” card.

The abbreviated event is topped by a featherweight clash between Chihiro Suzuki and Ren Hiramoto. Suzuki tipped the scales at 145.2 pounds, while Hiramoto checked in at 144.7 pounds. Rizin “Landmark Vol. 2” takes place in Tokyo, Japan, and can be viewed via pay-per-view here.

Suzuki last appeared at Rizin “Trigger 1st,” where he outpointed Sora Yamamoto to improve his professional mark to 6-3. Suzuki has won four of his last five outings, with three of those triumphs coming under the Pancrase banner.

Hiramo…

Count Martina Jindrova as the latest addition to the Professional Fighters League roster.

The polished and determined kickboxer did just enough to eke out a split decision over Jacqueline Cavalcanti in the PFL Challenger Series 3 main event on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28, two of them siding with Jindrova (4-2). Afterward, she was awarded a contract by PFL President Ray Sefo.

Cavalcanti (2-1) mixed up her attacks beautifully, made fluid stance switches and occasionally beat her counterpart to the punch. After a competitive first five minutes, Jindrova hit the accelerator in Round 2. There, she had Cavalcanti reeling with right hands, cut off her bids for desperation takedowns and continued to assault her with clean, accurate punches in an attempt to finish. The increased output came at a cost, and Jindrova had little left in the tank in the third. Cavalcanti snapped back the Czech’s head more than once with …

Kyle Driscoll handlin' biz!#CW133 pic.twitter.com/H0sI0NYFaI

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 5, 2022

Cage Warriors returned to the U.S. for its sixth event, CW 133, which went down at the Del Mar Arena in San Diego.

In the headliner, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Kyle Driscoll faced Bellator MMA vet Joshua Jones in a pretty repetitive and uneventful clash. Driscoll (13-3, 1-0 CW) kept his opponent on the canvas for most of the first stanza thanks to a much more polished wrestling background. In his turn, Jones (11-6, 0-1 CW) answered with a deep kimura attempt. In Round 2, it was Jones' turn to shoot for takedowns, which Driscoll denied every time. Jones looked again for the kimura, but his foe shrugged it off and ended the round in full mount. American Kickboxing Academy standout Driscoll fired back with another takedown early in Round 3. Jones retaliated with the third unsuccessful kimura attempt that Driscoll stopped. Dr…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzcq7qhWDKo&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Gunnar Nelson was hoping to get back in action later this month, but he might have to wait a little bit longer. According to MMA Fighting on Friday, Claudio Silva (14-3) has suffered a knee injury and has been forced to withdraw from UFC Fight Night 204. The March 19 UFC London card, one that may be substantially affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as it pertains to the travel status of the Russians on the card, is down this welterweight matchup for the time being. It is unclear if the promotion will be able to find a replacement for Nelson (17-5-1) or if the matchup will be preserved and moved to a later date. News of Silva’s injury has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Both Nelson and his former prospective oppone…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ipSfPEAWA&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Terrance McKinney is rocketing up the division with a matchup that might put him among the top 15 should he win. On Friday morning, Ricky Glenn announced on the KJ MMA Show that he would no longer be competing at UFC Fight Night 203 against Drew Dober (23-11, 1 NC) due to a groin injury. In his stead will be the recently victorious Terrance McKinney (12-3), with the news of this first coming from the UFC itself. The two lightweights will battle it out inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 12.

“A matchup I’ve been preparing a long time, really hard, feeling really good, and unfortunately [I] got injured,” Glenn explained. “I thought maybe I’d be able to work around it, but unfortunately I gotta pull out – and this is m…

In this era of boxing vs. MMA, new matchups never thought imaginable are coming to fruition.

At the end of January, boxer Acelino “Popo” Freitas faced off against YouTuber Whindersson Nunes in the boxing ring. They fought to a draw after 16 minutes of action, and the results proved to be smash hit for the ratings, drawing millions upon millions of viewers on Brazilian television. After the fight, the 46-year-old “Popo” called out former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Jose Aldo, and many other fighters including Patricio Freire and Bibiano Fernandes unsuccessfully asked for the opportunity when Aldo declined due to his UFC contract.

Freitas then extended his challenge to names like Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, despite the massive size discrepancy between Freitas who typically competed below 135 pounds and those much larger men. Once Belfort heard about the challenge upon speaking to Sherdog, however, he grew quite interested in the matchup and…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqpaUKFafdU&w=560&h=315] Rizin Fighting Federation’s next numbered event may seem light on star power, but it is chock full of excitement potential.

Per a press release by the organization on Friday morning, the Rizin 34 card on March 20 is now complete. The event will be held inside the Maruzen Intec Arena in Osaka, Japan, and a whopping 17 fights will be staged throughout the night. Nine of those contests will take place under MMA rules, and the remaining bouts will be kickboxing. The bout order may not be official, as the organization has listed its kickboxing matches first and then the MMA fights.

A welterweight clash has been added to the billing, as ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship competitors Kiichi Kunimoto (20-8-2, 1 NC) and Daichi Abe (9-5) throw down. “Strasser” has not tasted a defeat in the Rizin ring, and those three victories have accounted for his lone wins since leaving the UFC in 2017. His opponent Abe made hi…