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Patrick “Patchy” Mix’s claim as the best bantamweight in the world was tested on Friday after the Bellator MMA bantamweight champion was put through hell over five rounds against former foe Magomed Magomedov in the Bellator Champions Series Paris main event at Accor Arena.

Despite taking Magomedov out in two rounds in their first fight, the Russian challenger adapted to Mix’s length and hurt the champion multiple times with overhand shots. Mix showed the heart of a champion and kept Magomedov on the backfoot despite being on wobbly legs and took the fight to the scorecards. After a long deliberation, Mix was awarded the split decision win (46-49, 48-47, 48-47) much to the ire of the Paris crowd.

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Magomedov made wonderful adjustments from the first fight and consistently caught Mix coming in. Unfortunately for the challenger, his lack of pace allowed Mix to control the action and keep him at bay.

Each round could’ve been a toss-up as both men made th…

Sherdog's live Bellator Champions Series Paris coverage will begin Friday at 12 p.m. ET. Round 1 Featherweights kick off festivities in France, where the unbeaten Fontes (7-0, 0-0 Bellator) awaits the once-beaten Adjoudj (7-1, 5-1 Bellator) at 145 pounds. Christophe Chapuis serves as the third man in the cage. Fontes marches forward with heavy pressure, eats a glancing spinning backfist and wanders into the clinch. Adjoudj works behind him and hammers his legs with knees, then drags him to a kneeling position along the fence. Fontes stays calm. Adjoudj hooks the outside leg to maintain control, flirts with a guillotine and resumes his striking efforts with short punches and knees. With the round half over, Fontes continues to struggle to find some answers. Adjoudj racks up points with his counterpart trying to free himself. Ninety seconds to go in what has been a tactical rout thus far. At this point, Fontes might be better served bailing on the round and preserving his ener…

𝘽𝙊𝙉𝙅𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙇𝙔𝙊𝙉! 🇫🇷

The PFL Europe Championship comes to the @LDLC_Arena in Lyon-Decines on Saturday 14th December as FOUR European champions will be crowned 👑

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Enjoy a stacked night of mixed martial arts in December! Stay tuned for further announcements and ticketing… pic.twitter.com/zo9UgLdg38 — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) May 17, 2024 The French city of Lyon will be getting its first major MMA fight card when Professional Fighters League comes to town at the end of the year.

The organization announced on Friday via press release that the 2024 PFL Europe Finals will be taking place on Dec. 14. The venue of the LDLC Arena in Decines, Lyon, France, will play host to the championships of their $100,000 spinoff tourney. The arena finished construction in November 2023, and the WWE has put on a pair of shows in the building in May.

The PFL Europe season of 2024 will conclude on this date, wrapping up its four brackets in th…

Britain’s David Cooke prepared a delightful breakfast of violence in a hurry on Friday morning.

The latest offering of One Championship’s Friday Fights series staged one single MMA bout on the lineup. This curtain-jerker saw Cooke (2-0, 1-0 ONE) put on a quick and exhilarating performance against Kohei Takegami (3-4, 1 NC; 0-1 ONE) in his promotional debut. The 21-year-old Cooke claimed a knockout victory in 87 seconds to open up ONE Friday Fights 63.

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Right from the opening bell, Cooke treated fans in the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to action. Cooke was quick to pressure his foe, backing him up with jabs and a stiff right hand. Once he had Takegami against the ropes, the Englishman unleashed slicing elbows and knees before tying his man up to control the action. After the two disengaged, Takegami attempted to turn things around by getting his offense going.

Starting FAST ⚡️ David Cooke debuts with a first-round TKO!

#ONEFrid…

The #UFCVegas92 main event is OFFICIAL 🔒@EdsonBarbozaJR hits the scale at 145.5lbs!

[ TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/bjf8q3HKnB

— UFC (@ufc) May 17, 2024 After back-to-back events with raucous crowds, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the UFC Apex for UFC Fight Night 241.

Headlining the 12-fight event are featherweight contenders Edson Barboza and Lerone Murphy. Both main event fighters came in under the 146-pound limit, and the five-round fight is now official. All other fighters also successfully made weight, keeping the card intact.

This marks the fifth main event for Barboza (24-11), who has gone 1-3 in prior outings. However, the Brazilian is on a winning streak after knocking out Billy Quarantillo with a devastating knee and winning a clear decision over Sodiq Yusuff. The 38-year-old looks to go on one final run and came in at 145.5 pounds.

Meanwhile, this is the first headlining fig…

Is costa out? pic.twitter.com/ImSS63WcGj

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) May 15, 2024 Several UFC fighters have expressed concern about “announced” matchups lately.

In April, the promotion announced at the UFC 300 post-fight press conference that the co-main attraction for the June 1 show in Newark, New Jersey, would be a five-rounder between middleweights Sean Strickland (28-6) and Paulo Costa (14-3). Strickland posted on social media on Wednesday expressing his concerns that the fight at UFC 302 might be in jeopardy, or perhaps was never signed in the first place.

The former middleweight champ said, “Well, g-- d--- Costa, I’ve heard you have yet to sign that contract, and I’ll tell you what man, I didn’t f---ing believe it. I did not think you’d be acting like a coward. I thought you would man up, sack up, but instead, you're acting like you got f---ing ovaries.”

The antagonistic Strickland continued, “So I went onto Google, I did…

Having learned from two straight Ultimate Fighting Championship losses, Adrian Yanez believes he will walk away with a resounding win this weekend.

Yanez (16-5) kicked off his UFC journey with five consecutive wins, including four finishes, before suffering a first-round knockout loss to perennial contender Rob Font at UFC 287. Yanez went on to drop his next outing to Jonathan Martinez, succumbing to leg kicks at the midpoint of the second round. A torn meniscus following that bout sidelined him to his upcoming May appearance.

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Looking back on his first career slump, Yanez revealed that the Font loss was still on his mind going into his clash against Martinez. While he initially thought he could get past that defeat, the first few leg kicks from Martinez sent him spiraling.

“Honestly, I had changed up my whole stance, almost like my whole style for that fight and I had to stay what’s true to me,” Yanez said during the UFC Fight Night 241 media day.…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship run for Themba Gorimbo has been an emotional rollercoaster.

Gorimbo (12-4) is scheduled to fight Ramiz Brahimaj (10-4) at UFC Fight Night 241 this weekend at the promotion’s Apex in Las Vegas. The Zimbabwean welterweight revealed that his wrestling coach from South Africa has been helping him with his training camp in the U.S. for the past eight weeks, despite the latter’s mother suffering from cancer. Shortly before UFC Fight Night 241 media day on Wednesday, his coach’s mother died.

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Vowing to win for his coach, the 33-year-old said, “All I know is I’m going to win in spectacular fashion for my coach whose mother just died like two hours ago. He’s been here with me for eight weeks. He tells me his mother is sick with cancer. He never told me it was that bad. I just say to him, ‘Okay, after the fight, we go back to South Africa together.’ I didn’t have a plan to go out there, but I was gonna go with him to see his m…

Carlos Ulberg is hoping for a quick turnaround after his knockout victory over Alonzo Menifield last weekend.

Ulberg (10-1) took just 12 seconds to starch Menifield (15-4) with a brutal volley at UFC St. Louis on May 11, snapping the American’s five-fight undefeated streak while earning himself a performance bonus. The previously unranked standout also landed himself the 14th spot on Sherdog’s Official Rankings at light heavyweight with the victory.

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Coming out of the fight relatively unscathed, Ulberg is eyeing a quick return to action, perhaps as soon as next month.

Former light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill (12-2) will take on streaking contender Khalil Rountree (13-5) at UFC 303 on June 29, on a card that will also feature Conor McGregor's Octagon return against Michael Chandler. Looking for a leap up the rankings, Ulberg is ready to serve as a replacement for Hill vs. Rountree if either man cannot compete on fight night. If not, he is gunnin…

After all the callouts, Bobby Green has earned the chance at derailing burgeoning Ultimate Fighting Championship star Paddy Pimblett.

According to the UFC’s announcement on Thursday, Green (32-15-1, 1 NC) vs. Pimblett (21-3) will be taking place on UFC 304, likely as part of the main card. The two athletes will get their wish, after plenty of trash talk from both sides. The lightweight pairing will join confirmed matchups of Muhammed Mokaev-Manel Kape and Arnold Allen-Giga Chikadze high up on the billing. The fights will go down in Manchester, England, inside of the newly constructed Co-op Live.

Dating back the last year, Green has won three of four, with a technical submission of Tony Ferguson and a quick drubbing of Grant Dawson on his ledger. Jalin Turner knocked him out in December, and “King” bounced back in April to outpoint Jim Miller in a bloody one-sided affair. The recent positive run for Green has put him back over the .500 mark in the Octagon, which had p…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making the unorthodox decision of having an interim champ defend their throne.

In the co-headliner of UFC 304 on July 27, Tom Aspinall (14-3) will collide with Curtis Blaydes (18-4, 1 NC) once again, this time for the interim heavyweight strap. The two first met at UFC Fight Night 208 in 2022, and Aspinall blew his knee out in 15 seconds to suffer the loss. While Jon Jones is currently the division’s disputed champ, the promotion opted to have Aspinall defend while keeping Jones available to presumably face Stipe Miocic at some future date. The Aspinall-Blaydes rematch booking was first announced on Thursday by the UFC, putting together a likely main card for the Co-op Live pay-per-view offering in Manchester, England.

Greater Manchester native Aspinall burst onto the scene in the UFC’s heavyweight class by demolishing five straight foes in the span of less than two years. Aspinall wrecked Jake Collier and Alan Baudot in under tw…

At long last, Belal Muhammad is getting his shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship gold.

The UFC announced on Thursday that UFC 304 now has its main attraction. Atop the billing at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England, is a welterweight title tilt pitting Leon Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) against Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC). The two first tangled in 2021, and the bout ended via no contest after Edwards landed an accidental eye poke. This July 27 show will feature a champ on a 13-fight unbeaten streak compared to the challenger who has not lost in his last 10 outings.

Edwards claimed the 170-pound throne from Kamaru Usman in 2022, laying waste to the champ with a “Knockout of the Year”-worthy head kick. Their rematch about seven months later also went the Brit’s way, as he prevailed by majority decision. His first defense against someone not named Usman came in December against Colby Covington, and Edwards cruised to a decision by winning four rounds to one. On his run to gold, Ed…

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After taking part in a multi-million dollar ad campaign for Brazilian TV that featured Jean Claude Van Damme and five other Brazilian martial arts legends, Anderson Silva’s retirement fight will come against an old rival.

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Silva will square off against former Ultimate Fighting Championship foil Chael Sonnen in a bout that will be contested under boxing rules. Sherdog confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an initial report from TATAME magazine. While specifics regarding the bout are unknown, the event will be entitled Spaten Fight Night. Word of the fight, which is part of the Spaten Beer Marketing Campaign, began to spread when Silva posted “Spider Grande Finale June 15” on his Instagram stories. According to a source close to the situation, the fight will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It will be a closed event with only 600 VIP guests allowed to attend. Other fights on the card are expected to be announced in the coming d…

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After taking part in a multi-million dollar ad campaign for Brazilian TV that featured Jean Claude Van Damme and five other Brazilian martial arts legends, Anderson Silva’s retirement fight will come against an old rival.

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Silva will square off against former Ultimate Fighting Championship foil Chael Sonnen in a bout that will be contested under boxing rules. Sherdog confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an initial report from TATAME magazine. While specifics regarding the bout are unknown, the event will be entitled Spaten Fight Night.

Word of the fight, which is part of the Spaten Beer Marketing Campaign, began to spread when Silva posted “Spider Grande Finale June 15” on his Instagram stories. According to a source close to the situation, the fight will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It will be a closed event with only 600 VIP guests allowed to attend. Other fights on the card are expected to be announced in the coming…

The days of Rafael dos Anjos making the cut to 155 pounds appear to be a thing of the past.

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In a post on social media, the former UFC lighweight champion requested to be removed from the promotion’s rankings at 155 pounds. Dos Anjos’ last Octagon appearance was at lightweight, as he dropped a unanimous verdict to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 299 on March 9.

“Get me out of [the lightweight] rankings,” dos Anjos wrote on X. “For you [lightweights calling me out, I don’t compete at [lightweight from] now on. I have nothing to prove to nobody. I walk around 195 at 39 years old. There’s lots of fights that make sense to me at 170. I want to fight in July. [UFC] get me back in that Octagon.”

Get me out of LW rankings. For you LW out there calling me out I don’t compete at LW now on. I have nothing to prove to nobody, I walk around 195 at 39 years old. There’s lots of fights that make sense to me at 170.I want to fight in July @ufc ge…

Michel Pereira is more than just a flashy performer in the cage. He also has a good heart.

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The UFC middleweight standout has been doing his part to assist those who have been affected by the massive floods in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Pereira has posted multiple updates to his Instagram account, which include scenes of him rescuing stranded animals in areas ravaged by the flood. “Demolidor” has also started an online crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the victims.

“The last few days have been like this: a lot of struggle, but also a lot of satisfaction in each animal except for this gigantic flood,” Pereira wrote.

“The scenes I’ve been seeing are scary. I’ve never seen something like this even in a movie, but I’m sure of one thing: we’re going to win this fight here too.”

The death toll has reportedly y reached 149 in the Brazilian state, with more than 100 people still missing. Additionally, more than 600,000 people hav…

Merab Dvalishvili was fortunate to walk away unscathed after being involved in a multi-car accident in New York.

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Dvalishvili’s friend, Giorgi Kiknadze, shared a video of the aftermath of the crash on social media. The accident apparently occurred while Dvalishvili was riding in an Uber, but further details regarding the cause of the incident are unknown.

“I am in New York for one day, a couple of hours, and I got in a huge accident,” Dvalishvili said. “I was in Uber and our car got hit by some other cars. Look at the damage. I was sitting here and got hit, thank God I’m OK. F—k. Now my bags are inside.”

While the status of the others involved in the accident is unclear, Dvalishvili provided a positive update on his group via Instagram stories.

“Everything is good. Everyone is safe,” he wrote.

Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight winning streak in UFC competition and is expected to be next in line to challenge reigning bantamweight champ…

Paul vs. Tyson & Taylor vs. Serrano undercard announcement 🥊

Two of the hottest, undefeated prospects in the game: 🇺🇸 H2O Sylve vs. 🇺🇸 ‘Kid Austin’ Floyd Schofield

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A battle for redemption: World Champion Boxer vs. UFC Star 🇲🇽 Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. 🇬🇧 Darren Till

More… pic.twitter.com/wVzc8Jo3X2

— Netflix (@netflix) May 15, 2024

Darren Till will have a lot of eyes on his professional boxing debut.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger will face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul event on July 20. The bout will be contested over six rounds at 190 pounds. Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions announced the pairing on Wednesday.

Till will be making his first combat sports appearance since December 2022, when he was submitted in the third round by current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282. The 31-year-old Liverpool native lost five of his…

Aljamain Sterling is confident regarding the outcome of a rematch with Sean O’Malley.

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O’Malley dethroned Sterling via second-round knockout in the main event at UFC 292in August 2023. “Sugar” has since defended his strap via a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera at UFC 299 this past March.

Meanwhile, Sterling scored a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 in his featherweight debut last month. “Funkmaster” claims he didn’t have the best camp for the O’Malley fight due to a quick turnaround from a unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo in May 2023. Sterling also noted that O’Malley had nearly a year to prepare, sitting on the sidelines since a split-decision win over Petr Yan in October 2022.

Sterling is confident that he would beat O’Malley in a rematch given he gets as much time as “Sugar” got for his first title defense against “Chito.”

“I had to take a month off for my Henry Cejudo fight cause my shins was so bea…

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Ian Garry claims to be game enough to fight down the rankings.

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Garry has long since been calling out Colby Covington, who has avoided the matchup so far. Garry has now given up hopes of fighting “Chaos,” whom the Irishman claims will be sidelined until September due to an injury. Garry also claims to have no other options of fighting higher-ranked opponents with everyone ranked above him either injured or already engaged elsewhere.

However, eager to stay active, “The Future” has now shifted focus to Michael Page. While the UFC’s return to Manchester would make sense for the potential matchup, Garry insists on being a part of UFC 303 on June 29 which will be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler.

“I’ve said yes. I’ve said yes to that name. Him and his coaches are deciding because he feels a bit heavy, he’s a bit heavy to make weight in seven weeks’ time, but I’ve said yes,” Garry told talkSPORT abo…

Belal Muhammad could be gearing up to challenge Leon Edwards for the welterweight title at UFC 304.

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UFC 304 will mark the promotion’s return to Manchester, England, for the first time since 2016. Edwards, the reigning welterweight champ and a Birmingham, England, native, will most likely be a part of the card. Longtime UFC commentator Jon Anik has now hinted at Muhammad finally getting his much-awaited title shot against Edwards at UFC 304 on July 27.

“Flight booked for Manchester, England. See you there, [Belal Muhammad],” Anik wrote x (Formerly known as Twitter).

Flight booked for Manchester, England. See you there, @bullyb170.

— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) May 14, 2024

Muhammad is currently undefeated in 10 Ultimate Fighting Championship outings, including a no contest against Leon Edwards due to an accidental eye poke. While “Remember the Name” was initially expected to challenge Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023…

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A matchup of light heavyweight debutants has been rearranged with less than a week to go before UFC Fight Night 241.

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Undefeated French standout Oumar Sy (9-0) was scheduled to meet Brazil’s Antonio Trocoli (12-3) at the UFC Apex on Saturday. However, Trocoli has now withdrawn due to undisclosed reasons and will now be replaced by another promotional debutant in George Tokkos (10-3). The change was first reported by Al Zullino on X (Formerly known as Twitter). The promotion has since confirmed the new bout.

Trocoli first earned a Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a Dana White’s Contender Serieswin in 2019 but was released after failing a drug test. He was then scheduled to debut against Ovince St. Preux in 2022 but withdrew from the bout.

Sy is currently undefeated in nine pro outings, which includes seven finishes. The 28-year-old signed with the promotion in October 2023 on the back of consecutive Round 1 stop…

Magomed Magomedov hopes to right two of the wrongs in his mixed martial arts career before the year is through.

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That begins with a rematch against reigning bantamweight champion Patrick Mix in the main event of Bellator Champions Series Paris at the Accor Arena in Paris, France on Friday. Magomedov initially faced Mix in the semifinals of the bantamweight grand prix at Bellator 289, falling via second round submission in their December 2022 bout.

Mix went on to win the tournament with a first-round KO of Raufeon Stots, and he unified the 135-pound belt with a submission of Sergio Pettis this past November. At this point in his career, Mix is regarded as one of the best bantamweights in the world, regardless of promotion.

Magomedov is willing to give Mix his due, but he knows he has a golden opportunity to change that perception.

“Today he is one of the best in the world,” Magomedov said through a translator during a media call on Tuesday. “O…

Aspen Ladd has firsthand experience with Kayla Harrison inside the cage, so she wasn’t surprised when the two-time Olympic gold medalist enjoyed a dominant Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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While Ladd went the distance in a unanimous decision loss to Harrison in a 150-pound catchweight bout at the 2023 PFL Championships, Holly Holm had a much rougher night, as she absorbed a beating from Harrison en route to a second-round submission defeat at UFC 300 on April 13. Making the victory more impressive was the fact that the two-time Professional Fighters League lightweight champion successfully made the cut to 135 pounds for the first time without issue.

Ladd, who will meet Katerina Shakalova at Bellator Champions Series Paris on Friday, expected Harrison to be successful in her first Octagon forway.

“Kayla Harrison did exactly what I thought she was gonna do, especially when I heard the matchup. Obviously people think that’s a tough fight, …