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American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez believes Conor McGregor hasn’t been the same since fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Islam Makhachev recently expressed interest in facing McGregor, backtracking on his previous stance. Asked about the reason behind Makhachev’s interest in McGregor, Mendez, who has coached both Makhachev and Nurmagomedov at AKA, stated the obvious: a massive payday and instant stardom.

“Massive fight, massive amount of money. And at the end of the day when you’re a champion, when you’re a prize fighter, you fight for the prize, the money,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “So, it’s a massive fight for Islam, it will bring up his stock tremendously. Conor definitely brings that to the table regardless of whether you like him or don’t like him.”

While Makhachev is open to fighting McGregor, the lightweight champ is extremely dismissive of the Irishman, who he believes is well past his prime., Mendez al…

Colby Covington can get on anyone’s nerves, and that includes UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

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Covington landed himself a title shot against Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023. Known for crossing limits with his trash talk, Covington insulted Edwards’ late father at the pre-fight press conference.

Edwards was admittedly affected by the comments but successfully maintained his composure to put on a lopsided beating against Covington en route to a unanimous decision victory. “Rocky” revealed that he looked for Covington backstage immediately following the press conference to slap him. However, the American was nowhere to be found, potentially having been escorted out by security personnel.

“Yeah [I looked for him backstage]. But they moved him, I don’t know where he went but he weren’t backstage at all,” Edwards said on "The MMA Hour.” “I feel like the security took him away and I don’t know where they put him, but he was somewhere… S…

A matchup of welterweight prospects has been added to the UFC 304 card.

Oban Elliott (10-2) will trade leather against Preston Parsons (11-4) at UFC 304 on July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The matchup was first reported by MMA Orbit and later confirmed by Elliott on social media. The card will be headlined by Leon Edwards putting his welterweight title on the line against Belal Muhammad.

Elliott earned a Dana White’s Contender Series opportunity by racking up a four-fight winning streak in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Elliott earned a majority decision win over Kaik Brito on the Contender Series in August 2023 to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. “The Welsh Gangster” made his promotional debut against Valentine Woodburn at UFC 298 this past February, where he survived an early knockdown to come from behind and rack up a unanimous decision win.

Meanwhile, Parsons suffered a first-round knockout loss against Dan…

Two heavyweight bouts have undergone changes heading into the second leg of Professional Fighters League’s 2024 season.

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Daniel James has withdrawn from a proposed bout against Tyrell Fortune at PFL 4 on June 13. As a result, Marcelo Golm will step in and face Fortune in a regular season bout at heavyweight. Meanwhile, Oleg Popov will now face Davion Franklin after original foe Marcelo Nunes pulled out of their clash on the same card. Sherdog.com confirmed the updated heavyweight bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

PFL 4 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and features regular season bouts at heavyweight and women’s flyweight. In the evening’s main event, Valentin Moldavsky will square off against Linton Vassell.

Fortune and James were supposed to meet at PFL 1 before Fortune withdrew from the event. Fortune was also previously slated to lock horns with Golm at Bellator 301…

After losing his first opponent, Sharabutdin Magomedov will now face Joilton Lutterbach at UFC Saudi Arabia.

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“Shara Bullet” was originally scheduled to meet Ihor Potieria at the June 22 event, but the Ukrainian middleweight accepted a short-notice bout against Michel Pereira at UFC 301 and would not have been cleared in time to compete again. The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announce the new booking in a release. UFC on ABC 6 takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Magomedov is unbeaten in 12 professional outings over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2017. He enjoyed a successful Octagon debut at UFC 294, as he outpointed Bruno Silva in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 21.

A veteran of 48 pro MMA bouts, Lutterbach will take a four-fight winning streak into his promotional debut. The 31-year-old German has compiled a 38-9 mark with one …

Former UFC and BKFC competitor Geane Herrera has died at 33 years old.

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Herrera was reportedly killed in a motorcycle accident in Tampa, Florida. A GoFundMe account has been started by Herrera’s family to help cover funeral expenses.

“Our family is devastated by the tragic loss of our beloved Geane Carlos Herrera, known in the professional fighting world as ‘La Pulga,’ whose life was cut way too short at only 33 years old,” reads the post written by Herrera’s family on GoFundMe. “Geane leaves behind a 16 year-old son, his 3-month pregnant girlfriend, mother, father, sisters, a brother and a family that loves him and will deeply miss him.

“Geane was full of life, always trying to live life to the fullest, he was a dedicated athlete with big dreams of making a difference and leaving his print in this world. He was such a happy go lucky person that left a mark in everyone that came into his life.”

Herrera most recently competed for BKFC, l…

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Justin Gaethje claims his fighting style has a lot to do with where he has made it as a fighter so far.

Arguably one of the biggest fan favorites in the history of the sport, Gaethje is known for going out on his shield every time he steps into the Octagon. Despite being a former NCAA Division I wrestler from the University of Northern Colorado, Gaethje is rarely seen using his grappling skills. The former BMF champ instead choses to engage in brutal slugfests that have produced some of the best highlights in the history of the promotion.

Gaethje recently explained his unwillingness to adopt a wrestling-heavy approach despite having the skillset. According to “The Highlight,” a big part of the purse he now makes is because of the way he fights.

"This is my job. I do this for the money. And if I was to take a heavy wrestling approach, they [UFC] would never be paying me what they're paying me now,” Gaethje told Title Sports Network. “I've had hu…

A potential barnburner of a bantamweight matchup appears to be in the making.

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Adrian Yanez scored a brutal first-round technical knockout win over Vinicius Salvador at UFC Fight Night 241 on Saturday. Yanez subsequently called out fellow prospect Daniel Santos for a bout at The Sphere in Las Vegas at Noche UFC. Yanez also expressed interest in a potential matchup with Victor Henry during Saturday’s post-fight media scrum.

“I had a couple of guys call me out,” Yanez said. “I know John Castaneda has a really tough fight in front of him, I think against Daniel Marcos. Daniel Santos, on the other hand, doesn’t have a fight booked. Me and him in The Sphere, I wouldn’t mind that at all. I think that would be fun. And also too man, f—-ing Victor Henry looked really good in his last fight. I think that is one for the fans as well, too.”

Santos didn’t waste time in accepting Yanez’s callout via social media.

“I want this fight [Sean Shelby]” San…

Colby Covington’s recent callout has Charles Oliveira’s attention.

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Covington recently turned down a potential matchup against welterweight up-and-comer Ian Garry, who has been chasing him for several months now. “Chaos” instead called for a “legacy fight” against former lightweight champ Oliveira, who has admittedly been contemplating a move up to welterweight for his next outing.

As long as the Ultimate Fighting Championship is on board with it, Oliveira is open to the possibility.

“Man, in reality it’s like I said, it’s sitting down and looking at legacy, history, values,” Oliveira recently told Ag.Fight “You have to sit down. When I woke up in the morning, thousands of people were sending me messages. I sent it to Diego [Lima] and Diego said it too, I see what you think. I said, ‘Diego, just sit down, talk, think, see what’s good, see what the UFC thinks about it. It’s not just what Charles thinks, it’s about what the UFC thinks about it.<…

Kalinn Williams taught Carlston Harris a valuable lesson on Saturday night: Don’t look too far ahead when a dangerous opponent is right in front of you.

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“Khaos the Ox Fighter” secured the fourth knockout victory of his promotional tenure in the UFC Fight Night 241 co-main event, putting Harris away with a massive right hand just 90 seconds into Round 1. After the bout, Williams admitted to finding motivation from Harris’ pre-fight talk of future opponents.

“He was looking past me. Don’t look past me,” Williams said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “You over here talking about who you want to fight after me. You’ve got to beat me. You’ve got to go through me first to even get to them. That’s just what it was.

“I don’t really pay attention to the interviews, but my team told me. It was like, ‘He said he wants to fight this person [and] this person.’ Come on, man. I’m a contender myself, so you’ve got to get through me. I just had to do what…

Piera Rodriguez believes Ariane Carnelossi was looking for a way out in their strawweight fight at UFC Fight Night 241.

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After rocking Carnelossi with a front kick and ending up in top position, Rodriguez landed what appeared to be an accidental headbutt. However, the Venezuelan fighter repeated the maneuver following a warning from referee Mark Smith, which resulted in a disqualification loss at the 3:16 mark of Round 2. Carnelossi took as long as she could to recover following the fouls, but it was ultimately determined that the Brazilian could not continue.

After the loss, Rodriguez’s questioned her opponent’s motives in a post on social media.

“I rather lose a fight because of a mistake I did, than go home calling myself a ‘winner’ knowing I am a coward,” Rodriguez wrote on Instagram. “I made a big mistake, maybe because of adrenaline.

“But you have to go to sleep with that lie in your head your entire life [Ariane Carnelossi]. And you cal…

It was a statement-making performance for Lerone Murphy at UFC Fight Night 241.

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The unbeaten Brit battered veteran foe Edson Barboza for the better part of five rounds, earning a lopsided unanimous decision triumph in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. About the only scare that Murphy had occurred at the end of Round 1, when his Brazilian opponent rocked him with an upkick. Fortunately for Murphy, the blow landed at the horn, and he was able to regain his bearings in the corner.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know what he hit me with,” Murphy said at the post-fight press conference. “I looked up at the screen during the round and he caught me with a good upkick. I think that is what busted my nose, along with a hundred million jabs. But yeah, good fight.”

When all was said and done, Murphy held a 220-to-79 advantage in significant strikes. It was the third largest striking differential for a featherweight fight in UFC history, and…

Adrian Yanez was genuinely concerned for Vinicius Salvador after securing a technical knockout victory over the Brazilian at UFC Fight Night 241.

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Yanez sat Salvador down with a massive right hand midway through the opening round and followed it up with vicious ground-and-pound to secure the finish. The amount of strikes that referee Chris Tognoni allowed Salvador to absorb before stepping in became a topic of debate among observers after the fight.

While some commended Tognoni for giving “Fenomeno” a chance to recover, others believed the referee could have stopped some of the devastating shots from Yanez by stepping in a little earlier. Yanez also admits that Salvador was making enough defensive moments initially for Tognoni to let the fight go on.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Because he was moving, he was doing all the right things,” Yanez said during the post-fight press conference. “I think when he pulled my base down from my hip, he did caus…

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

After missing weight on his first attempt, Oumar Sy was able to cut the 1.5 pounds necessary the second time around to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut official.

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Sy initially weighed in at 207 pounds for his light heavyweight matchup against George Tokkos at UFC Fight Night 241. However, the undefeated French prospect was able to make the non-title limit of 206 pounds on his second attempt after stripping down and weighing in behind a towel. Sy revealed that a major chunk of the 1.5 pounds that he lost was his watch.

“Actually, that was a mistake,” he said during a post-fight media scrum. “Because when I got weighed in yesterday, I had my watch on, and my watch weighs 700 [grams]. So that was part of the difference.”

Sy was originally scheduled to make his debut against Rodolfo Bellato, who was forced out of the event due to an injury. Bellato was then replaced by Antonio Tro…

Tom Nolan revealed that his UFC Fight Night 241 win over Victor Martinez was a really crucial one.

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Nolan earned his UFC contract with a knockout win over Bodgan Grad on Dana White's Contender Series last year — his sixth straight victory. The then undefeated prospect was massive favorite going into his UFC debut against Nikolas Motta this past February. However, “Big Train” went on to suffer his first career loss via first-round TKO.

Nolan admits that he had let some of the hype around him get to his head going into his UFC debut, and he felt pressure to make quick work of his opponent in dominant fashion.

“Different pressure to last time,” Nolan said in a post-fight media scrum. “Last time the pressure was, ‘Oh you’ve gotta finish this guy in 10 seconds, you’re so much better, so much better.’ And to be honest, I’ve never been dropped, I’ve never been knocked out, I’ve never even really been hurt, I’ve never been cut, nothing. So at my own…

Melissa Gatto wants to move back down to flyweight after a successful bantamweight debut at UFC Fight Night 241.

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Gatto earned a third-round TKO win over fellow Brazilian Tamires Vidal on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Gatto now wants to return to action in August — preferably at 125 pounds.

“I want to fight in August in flyweight division,” Gatto said in a post-fight scrum. “But if the UFC want me in bantamweight division, I’m here to fight. I want to fight. I was born to fight.”

While she feels like a natural flyweight, Gatto also emphasizes that she has no problem competing at 135 pounds if the promotion wants her to. Gatto explained why flyweight is her preferred division.

“Because I think I am a flyweight, my body [likes the] flyweight division,” she said. “And I think I am flyweight, my team said it to me too. Of course but bantamweight no problem.”

Gatto’s win over Vidal came via a punch to the chest that drew a delayed re…

Lerone Murphy is on the cusp of stardom and could find himself ranked in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's featherweight division after dismantling the always-dangerous Edson Barboza on Saturday at the UFC Apex. Murphy dominated one of the the promotion's all-time best strikers from bell to bell en route to a unanimous decision win (49-46, 50-45, 50-45) over the 38-year-old Brazillian in the UFC Fight Night 241 main event.

Murphy (14-0-1) peppered Barboza with the jab and outstruck him despite eating bone-crunching leg kicks. He had Barboza staggered multiple times throughout the fight but cautiously stuck to the game plan and punished his foe in the clinch when the moment presented itself. Barboza never stopped looking for a knockout but Murphy refused to give him an opening. The Manchester Top Team product’s lateral movement and piston-like jab had Barboza eating leather all evening. With the win, Murphy picked up the biggest victory of his career and could see himse…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home base of the Apex in Las Vegas Saturday at 4 p.m. ET with UFC Fight Night 241, which is headlined by an electric featherweight tilt. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ducote (-340), Demopoulos (+270)Round 1 It’s Saturday again, and for MMA fans, that means it’s UFC day. While next weekend will be off from UFC coverage thanks to Memorial Day in the U.S., a dozen more fights in a major organization send fans off into that brief break. There may be no ranked fighters on the billing, but rankings don’t make fights, and plenty of action is sure to come over the next six hours. A few victors could get numbers next to their names should they prevail, while others will be staving off a looming pink slip with the next Dana White’s Contender Series season right around the corner. The fights begin in the lightest division the company offers: women’s strawweight. The roster slots of both Demopoulos (10-5, 4-2 UFC) and Ducote…

Nice knee to the body from Tom Nolan #UFCVegas92 pic.twitter.com/NpshMdOM2U

— TakeruCigarra (@TakeruCigarra) May 18, 2024

A bloodied Tom Nolan (7-1) closed out the UFC Fight Night 241 prelims in violent fashion with a first-round TKO win (3:50) over Victor Martinez (13-6). Coming in with 13 knockouts between them, the lightweights did not disappoint. Martinez dropped Nolan with a clean left hook and almost found the finish before Nolan ultimately closed the show with a debilitating knee to the body. It only took a few shots for good mesure for referee Mark Smith to intervene.

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Two UFC newcomers shared the Octagon for the first time as undefeated French light heavyweight Oumar Sy (10-0) matched up against Bellator MMA veteran George Tokkos (10-4). After escaping from a few of Sy’s sprawls, Tokkos decided to tease the Frenchman. Tokkos’ constant reminders of “you’re heavier than me” didn’t faze Sy at all and ultimately b…

Lerone Murphy called for a bonus in his post-fight interview, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship delivered on that request.

Murphy and Edson Barboza received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their five-round clash in the UFC Fight Night 241 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Murphy landed more than 200 significant strikes to keep his unbeaten record intact, Barboza had moments of brilliance — most notably an upkick that rocked his English opponent at the end of Round 1. Ultimately, Murphy kept the pressure on for 25 minutes to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph over the Brazilian veteran.

Elsewhere, Kalinn Williams garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by virtue of a resounding knockout of Carlston Harris in a featured welterweight contest. A massive right hand landed clean and sent Harris crashing to the canvas, effectively ending the fight at the 1:30 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Angela Hil…

UFC 303 is in need of a new co-headliner after Khalil Rountree admitted to taking a banned substance ahead of the June 29 event.

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In a statement on social media, the light heavyweight revealed that he inadvertently took a “blended supplement” that contained dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. Rountree was scheduled to face former UFC champ Jamahal Hill at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is currently unknown if Hill will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

“I’m gutted to deliver this news to you all, but I will not be fighting at UFC 303 due to consuming a banned substance. I did not do this intentionally, and I am doing everything I can to get this situation taken care of,” Rountree wrote on Instagram.

“I was using a personalized tailored supplement service from a company that I trusted who understood my limitations in what I can and cannot take. They accidentally sent a blended supplement t…

Charles Jourdain is set to take on Jean Silva in a featherweight bout at UFC 303.

The promotion announced the pairing on Friday via social media. UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. In the co-main event, former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hll takes on Khalil Rountree.

Jourdain (15-7), a mainstay in the 145-pound division since 2019, will enter the matchup coming off a split-decision loss at the hands of Sean Woodson at UFC 297 in January. The loss to Woodson snapped a two-fight winning streak for the Canadian that included victories over Kron Gracie and Ricardo Ramos.

Meanwhile Silva (12-2), a Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, recently made his promotional debut against Westin Wilson in January and walked off with a Round 1 technical knockout victory. “Lord” has only suffered two defeats throughout his professional career and …

A featherweight bout pitting China’s Nuerdanbieke Shayilan against former Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor Melquizael Costa has been added to UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15 at the Apex in Las Vegas.

The news was first reported by Eurosport Nl’s Marcel Dorff on X (formerly known as Twitter) and also confirmed by Costa on his social media handles. The card will be headlined by a flyweight meeting between Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira.

Shayilan (39-11) will be aiming to return to winning ways following a Round 2 knockout loss at the hands of Steve Garcia at UFC 287 in April last year. Prior to that, the Chinese national was on a three-fight winning streak in the promotion, with wins over T.J. Brown, Darrick Minner and Sean Soriano.

As for Costa (20-7), the Brazilian is also coming off a Round 2 knockout loss against Garcia in December of last year. He currently sports a 1-2 Ultimate Fighting Championship record.

A matchup between two promising flyweights has been added to a UFC Fight Night event set to go down at the Apex in Las Vegas on July 20.

Cody Durden (16-5) will take on Bruno Silva (13-5) in what will mark the Covington, Georgia, native's 10th appearance inside the Octagon. The news was first revealed by Durden in an appearance on the KrazyKevMMA podcast and later confirmed by Silva on social media.

Durden will enter the Octagon on the heels of a Round 2 submission loss at the hands of Tagir Ulanbekov in December. That defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak which included wins over the likes of J.P. Buys, Jake Hadley, Carlos Mota and Charles Johnson.

Meanwhile, Silva is currently on a three-fight winning streak, most recently submitting Tyson Nam in the second frame of their UFC Fight Night 221 clash in March.