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Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t like the new, polite version Sean O'Malley.

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Dvalishvili took O’Malley’s bantamweight title via a dominant unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024. The two seemingly had some bad blood leading up to the fight, although no one crossed any limits. Dvalishvili also openly voiced his dislike for O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, even calling him out for barking instructions to “The Machine” mid-fight.

However, O’Malley and his corner have seemingly buried the hatchet with Dvalishvili. O’Malley recently called Dvalishvili a “nice guy” while expressing gratitude for making him a better fighter and human being by defeating him.

“Merab’s a nice guy, he really is… I’ll forever be grateful for Merab in the sense that he beat me, made me become not just a better fighter, a better human,” O’Malley said. “Losing is a weird thing.”

However, Dvalishvili would rather have “Suga” trash talking like old times as they head into…

Movsar Evloev is determined to return next month, regardless of who his opponent is.

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Evloev recently revealed that his next fight will potentially be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 17. The Russian claims to have waited for a matchup against Brian Ortega for three months, but that fight didn’t come to fruition for unknown reasons. However, Evloev has seemingly been offered a new opponent now, and he is willing to fight anyone on the May 17 card.

“Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17,” Evloev wrote on X. “I have been waiting for Ortega for three months. I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17 against anyone.”

Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17th.

I have been waiting for Ortega for 3 months I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17th against anyone.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) April 4…

Elite flyweights are set to trade leather at UFC 317.

Manel Kape (21-7) and Brandon Royval (17-7) are slated to fight at UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Laerte Viana. Kape and Royval were initially scheduled to meet on March 1 before Royval withdrew due to multiple concussions.

Kape has finished 18 of his 21 pro wins so far. “Starboy” is 6-3 in the UFC, though all of his losses came against elite competition. The Angolan is coming off consecutive finishes over Bruno Silva and Asu Almabayev that saw him rebound from a loss against Muhammad Mokaev.

Meanwhile, Royval is 7-3 in the UFC and has only lost to former champ Brandon Royval and reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja. “Raw Dawg” dropped a title bid against Pantoja at UFC 296 in 2023 and has since rebounded with back-to-back split decision wins over Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.

First to weigh-in! ⚖️@JoshEmmettUFC hits the scale at 146lbs

[ #UFCVegas105 | Live SAT on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/EcQrAp0L4o

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off a relatively light April schedule with its return to Las Vegas after two international events. The 12-fight card is now official after the UFC Vegas 105 weigh-ins took place, although one fight has been removed from the event.

Headlining the card is a key featherweight fight between Josh Emmett and the undefeated Lerone Murphy. Both main event fighters had no issue making weight, as both came in under 146 pounds. Also classified as a featherweight is Cortavious Romious, who missed the bantamweight limit by 3.5 pounds for his fight against Chang Ho Lee. As a result of the weight miss, Romious will be fined 20% of his purse that will go to Lee. Additionally, Daniel Santos was not medically cleared and could not weigh in, so his fight…

In the world of competitive sports, Jason Jackson proved Jamaica has more than just a bobsled team.

The main 2025 season of Professional Fighters League is officially underway, with semifinalists for featherweights and welterweights on the books. The evening concluded with the sole remaining seat at 170 pounds up for grabs, with former Bellator MMA champs colliding in this new single-elimination tourney. Jackson (19-5, 2-0 PFL) tangled with Andrey Koreshkov (28-6, 1-2 PFL) for the next slot on the bracket, and Jackson proved to be too much for the Russian. A combination of takedowns and varied striking from “The Ass-Kicking Machine” put Koreshkov on the defensive early, welting up Koreshkov all over his body and taking little damage on the comeback in the first round.

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Midway through Round 2, still in the driver’s seat, Jackson hacked down with three illegal strikes to shred open a sizeable cut on the crown of Koreshkov’s dome. Referee Keith Peterson d…

According to his coach, Patricio Freire’s next two victories are money in the bank.

Currently in Miami preparing for Freire’s highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 314, coach Eric Albarracin spoke with Sherdog about his fighter. The wrestler known as “Captain Americas” mentioned, among other things, the high expectations set for “Pitbull” when he sets foot in the Octagon against former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. He also touched on what could lie ahead for the Brazilian if he prevails on April 12, including facing the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes headlining that same show.

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“Obviously, the UFC would not make it easy for the Bellator GOAT to make his debut,” the coach remarked. “In my opinion, Yair is a tougher opponent than Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. In addition to being tall, he has an unpredictable game based on taekwondo.”

To prepare for such a dynamic threat, Albarracin and the Pitbull Brother…

𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗙𝗟 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦! 🔥

🇩🇪 Alex Luster (9-2)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dean Garnett (12-3-1)🇵🇱 Jan Ciepłowski (8-0)🇫🇷 Julien Lopez (7-4-1)🇫🇷 Mahio Campanella (7-1)🇱🇻 Matiss Zaharovs (7-3)🇫🇷 Anas Azizoun (5-1)🇵🇹 Gustavo Oliveira (10-2)… pic.twitter.com/7qgnpPHQdT

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 4, 2025 The second of two Professional Fighters League Europe tournament brackets is now a matter of record.

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On Friday, the PFL put out the entirety of its 135-pound division for the upcoming Europe tournament. The winner of each weight class—bantamweight and lightweight—will take home a $100,000 check along with a chance to graduate to the World Tournament next year. All opening round pairings will take place at PFL Europe 2, which will be held on May 24 at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The frontrunner to win it all may come from the matchup between Dean Garnett (12-3-1) and Alexander Luster (9-2). The former battled Lewis McGr…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 1 coverage will begin Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 The first featherweight quarterfinal in the PFL 2025 World Tournament kicks off the action at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, as Kelly (11-3, 4-1 PFL) squares off with Kim (10-1, 0-0 PFL) at 145 pounds. Andrew Glenn serves as the third man in the cage. They touch gloves, and we are underway. Kim sets up in the southpaw stance while Kelly probes with the lead hand. Kelly fends off a head kick and closes the distance, pressing the Korean into the cage. Kelly scores with a few knees to the body, then tries to power his way into a takedown. Kim denies it. They remain chest to chest, with Kim’s back to the cage. Kelly troubles him with foot stomps. Kelly stays patient. They jockey for position along the fence. Kim turns the Irishman into the fence. Kelly r…

The only heavyweight bout on the UFC’s fight card this weekend has changed days before it was set to go down.

Per the organization on Thursday, Kennedy Nzechukwu has sustained an injury that has ejected him from UFC Vegas 105, also known as UFC on ESPN 65. In Nzechukwu’s stead will be the debuting Uran Satybaldiev (8-0), who meet Martin Buday (14-2) above 206 pounds.

Slovakia’s Buday competed once in 2024, putting his first knockout loss behind him by swiping a split decision over ex-champ Andrei Arlovski. Before losing to Shamil Gaziev in the Octagon, Buday had racked up a 12-fight win streak that included names like Josh Parisian and Chris Barnett, with four in the Octagon including his 2022 debut. Buday made his way to the Las Vegas-based league courtesy of a knee-based knockout of Lorenzo Hood on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Satybaldiev, who fights out of the Uulu Kyrgyz Team in Kyrgyzstan, made the jump stateside in 2023 when he appea…

The 2025 #PFLWorldTournament keeps rolling!

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗛 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚‼️🏆

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For more information 👇https://t.co/eCMG4faqPw pic.twitter.com/f0N3QMNDoy — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 3, 2025 When all is said and done, the 2025 Professional Fighters League will conclude in four and a half months.

The promotion released the locations and dates for its three Finals events to conclude its World Tournament series this year. While the dates were already rumored to be Aug. 1, Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, the league confirmed them on Thursday. The first finals event will be held at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey; the second takes place at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina; the season ultimately concludes at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In the first of three shows, the Aug. 1 card will feature the five-round tournament finals matches for the welterweight and f…

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The stage has been set for the debut of Professional Fighters League’s new tournament format.

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The lineups have changed slightly after Wednesday’s weigh-ins, when Magomed Umalatov checked in for his first-round matchup with Logan Storley (171) at 173.6 pounds — more than two pounds over the welterweight limit. As a result, Umalatov will be replaced by Joseph Luciano, who tipped the scales at 170.4 pounds. Everyone else on the card hit their contracted marks without issue.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

PFL World Tournament 1 takes place on Thursday at Universal Studios Florida and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Jason Jackson (170.8) and Andrey Koreshkov (171). The event will feature tournament bouts at welterweight and featherweight. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. PT. Read more about PFL Tournament Weigh-in Results: Umalatov Exits Bracket After Miss on Scales

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Sean O'Malley is well aware of the fact that some in the MMA community are less than pleased that he’s been granted an immediate rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

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“Suga” lost the bantamweight title to Dvalishvili via clear-cut unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past September. O’Malley has been sidelined since then as he recovers from a hip surgery he underwent after that bout. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili successfully defended the strap against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

On Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that the Dvalishvili-O’Malley 2 would headline UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersay on June 7.

“The rematch is official,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “‘Suga’ Sean vs. Merab 2 is happening, and I don’t think people are going to be too happy about it.”

While the booking was met with a lukewarm reception, O’Malley expects to be at full capacity now that the issues with his hip have been addressed.

“Las…

A lightweight showdown pitting Joel Alvarez against Benoit St. Denis has been added to the UFC 315 lineup.

Eurosport was first to report the bout. UFC 315 takes place on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.

Alvarez has been victorious in seven of his last eight Octagon appearances, with all of those triumphs coming inside the distance. Most recently, the Spaniard scored a first-round knockout of Drakkar Klose at UFC on ESPN 63 this past December.

After winning five straight contests from June 2022 to November 2023, St. Denis has been finished in back-to-back outings by Dustin Poirier and Renato Carneiro. “God of War” has finished all 13 of his professional victories.

This new deal with @meta is going to be incredible for UFC fans pic.twitter.com/hCAYed6q4m

— danawhite (@danawhite) April 2, 2025

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday announced a multi-year partnership with information technology giant Meta.

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According to a release, the agreement will help “leverage its leading technologies to deliver unprecedented engagement with hundreds of millions of UFC fans around the world.” Some of Metas most well-known properties include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.

While Meta will collaborate with the UFC to use its technology platforms to increase fan engagement, perhaps the most interesting note is that the partnership is expected to bring about an update to the promotion’s rankings process.

“I’ve had a lot of great partners over the years that have helped us grow this sport, but Mark (Zuckerberg) and his team at Meta are going to do things that will blow away UF…

🏆 Carlos Prates picks Belal Muhammad to beat Jack Della Maddalena, thinks it won't be a hard fight:

"I would like to see [JDM] as a champ because he is a striker, but I think Belal Muhammad is going to win. It's not gonna be a hard fight."

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🎥 @Home_of_Fight & @LynchOnSports pic.twitter.com/DLrrpWmY8o — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 1, 2025

While Carlos Prates would like Jack Della Maddalena to beat Belal Muhammad, he thinks it’s highly unlikely.

Maddalena challenges Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Prates notes that Maddalena’s most high-caliber win came against Gilbert Burns in a fight which the Australian was losing until the last minute. While Maddalena has finished five of his seven UFC wins, Prates points out that he went to split decisions against Kevin Holland and Bassil Hafez. Meanwhile, Prates believes Muham…

🧠😣 Nathaniel Wood speaks about his OCD and how it 'helps' in his MMA career.

But still, if he could get rid off it with a snap of finger, he would do it.

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🎥 @Home_of_Fight & @JakeNoeckerMMA pic.twitter.com/mbzkjmE0Ej — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 1, 2025

Nathaniel Wood would prefer not having an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), although it has seemingly helped his MMA career.

Wood has never made any secret of the fact that he has suffered from OCD and anxiety for a long time. “The Prospect” admits that while it’s a “curse” for him in general, it has been a blessing for his MMA career. Wood believes he wouldn’t have scaled the heights that he has if it was not for the days that his OCD forced him to go to the gym. However, the Englishman made it clear that he would have cured his OCD long back had he had a choice.

“In my life in general it’s a curse,” Wood told Home of Fight. “But having it is…

Fabricio Werdum won’t be taking part in the Global Fight League after all.

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Initially scheduled to face Frank Mir in a heavyweight bout under the GFL banner, Werdum revealed Tuesday on the Mundo da Luta podcast that he will no longer be fighting for the fledgling organization.

“Frank Mir was a fight that motivated me to return. After he announced his withdrawal, I also lost my motivation,” Werdum said upon returning to Florianópolis and his normal routine.

“The atmosphere in Andre Dida’s academy in Curitiba is unbelivable. It was such a great experience to return do training routine with master Rafael, Wanderlei, Dida, Brunno Hulk and Blindado, but I have to feel the same motivation to return and that was not the case when Mir (was not an option).”

Werdum last appeared at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 5, where he lost a split decision to former UFC opponent Junior dos Santos. The GFL on Monday officially announced the full lineups for its …

UFC 316 will feature a pair of title bouts at the top of the bill.

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In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight crown in a rematch against Sean O'Malley, while Julianna Pena will square off against Kayla Harrison in a women’s 135-pound title tilt in the evening’s co-headliner. UFC CEO Dana White announced the bouts on Tuesday. UFC 316 takes place on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Dvalishvili will take a 12-fight winning streak into his rematch against O’Malley. “The Machine” claimed bantamweight gold with a lopsided unanimous decision win over O’Malley at UFC 306 this past September. The Georgian wrestler then made a successful defense of the belt at UFC 311, where he took a five-round verdict over the previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

O’Malley will be competing for the first time since relinquishing the bantamweight strap to Dvalishvili. “Suga” underwent …

While Carlos Prates won’t be fighting at UFC 314 as originally planned, he has received an even bigger matchup a couple weeks later.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Tuesday that Prates will lock horns with Ian Garry in the new UFC Kansas City headliner on April 26. A light heavyweight bout pitting Jamahal Hill against Khalil Rountree was the card’s original main event. No reason was given as to why that fight was scrapped.

Prates, who was slated to meet Geoff Neal at UFC 314, has been victorious in his first four Octagon appearances — all by way of knockout. Most recently, The Fighting Nerds representative stopped Neil Magny in the opening stanza in the UFC Fight Night 247 headliner this past November. “The Nightmare” has won his last 11 professional outings dating back to December 2019.

Garry, meanwhile, suffered his first loss in 16 pro bouts at UFC 310, when he dropped a narrow five-round verdict to Shavkat Rakhmonov on Dec. 7. Pr…

Jessica Eye isn’t done with combat sports just yet.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight revealed on ”The Ariel Helwani Show” that she has signed a contract to compete for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship later confirmed the deal via social media. Eye is expected to make her promotional debut on May 10 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her current deal with BKFC is for one fight.

“After a long time of negotiation, I am signing with Bareknuckle Fighting Championship. I started out boxing,” Eye said. “… They finally came financially correct and motivated me enough to be like, ‘You know what?’ Maybe these guys will take care of me in a way that I wasn’t taken care of in my UFC fights and that’s financially rewarding.”

Eye announced her retirement from MMA following a loss to Maycee Barber at UFC 276 in July 2022. That was the fourth straight defeat and fifth in six outings overall for the 38-year-old Ohio native.

Eye went 5-1…

After Alex Pereira lost to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313Alexandre Pantoja was left as the only Brazilian holding a UFC belt.

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This week, the reigning flyweight king was in Brazil for the launch of the new UFC Fight Pass documentary “Long Story Short,” which stars Pantoja and middleweight contender Caio Borralho. The launch event will be closed to the press on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.

Before heading to São Paulo, however, Pantoja stopped by his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he spoke with Sherdog.com about his expectations for his return to the Octagon and also about the UFC return of his great friend and training partner, Kyoji Horigushi.

“I was really happy with Kyoji’s return. When they hired Kai Asakura, I even joked that they hired the wrong Japanese guy,” revealed the champion. “Jokes aside, I am a huge fan of Kyoji and very grateful because without him I would not have won the UFC belt. I will only fight him if it is for the belt, which…

👀🔥Cory Sandhagen breaks down how he would beat Merab Dvalishvili:

"Don’t run from him, and hit him when he comes in.

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Make your movement a lot smaller because it is all that footwork that really tires people out."

🎥 @lthomasnews ▫️ pic.twitter.com/7QDAWOl3fb

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 31, 2025

Cory Sandhagen believes he sees a path to victory for Umar Nurmagomedov against Merab Dvalishvili if they were to meet again.

Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision at UFC 311 this past January. Sandhagen believes Nurmagomedov did an excellent job of countering Dvalishvili’s wrestling. However, Sandhagen thinks the Dagestani contender would have done better to control his footwork instead of tiring himself out. Sandhagen believes standing one’s ground instead of backing up is the key to victory against a pressure fighter like Dvalishvili.

“If I was Umar …

Proud to announce BRAWLER—a new fight film coming to life 🎬🥊

Partnering with the great director Zack Snyder and UFC to tell a story of struggle, sacrifice, and the road to UFC glory

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With The Ring Magazine behind it, this is more than a movie, it’s a legacy in the making 🔥 pic.twitter.com/khLiF7lJ1V — TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) March 31, 2025

Zach Snyder’s latest project will be a UFC-themed movie.

According to a release, Snyder will co-write and direct the film “Brawler,” a film where a young fighter emerges from “the rough streets of Los Angeles” to get a shot at a UFC championship while “battling his inner demons as he fights for redemption.” Turki Alalshikh and UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari will serve as executive producers for the film.

"I've been a fan of Zack's work for years, his unique style from his iconic action sequences to his sweeping visuals and intensely emotional storytelli…

A lack of competitive drive and a new venture into fatherhood has prompted Jared Gooden to walk away from mixed martial arts.

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The seven-time Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran announced his retirement in a video on social media.

“I want to take this time to let everybody know my time has come. I’m walking away from the sport. Thank you to everybody who’s helped me along my journey,” Gooden said. “To be honest with you guys, I just don’t have the love or the passion I had for it anymore, like I did when I was younger. I keep everything pretty private, but me and this amazing woman brought a beautiful baby girl into this world, and my focus is on her now. I’m going to hang up my gloves for now, and I can’t wait to let you guys know what I’m going to do next in life.”

Thank you So Much to Everyone! 14 Amazing Years! Time to say GoodbyeAll Luv pic.twitter.com/QCoYxjjYku

— Jared Gooden (@JGNiteTrain23) March 31, 2025…