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Anatoliy Malykhin is brimming with confidence ahead of his second meeting with Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar on Friday at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

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Malykhin (13-0) faced de Ridder (16-1) for the first time in December 2022, taking the Dutchman’s light heavyweight title via a brutal Round 1 technical knockout. “Sladkiy” has since knocked out Arjan Singh Bhullar this past June in a heavyweight title unification bout. The undefeated Russian will make a triple champ bid in the main event of ONE Championship’s Qatar debut with de Ridder’s middleweight (205-pound) title on the line.

Malykhin predicted a similar outcome to their first fight during his appearance at the ONE 166 pre-fight press conference.

“I’m ready for this Friday. I’m gonna go and get my third belt,” he said. “I’m gonna knock him out the same way I did before. I’m thankful for this opportunity. I cannot explain how excited I am to be here on Friday and show everybody…

ONE Championship strawweight (125-pound) title holder Jarred Brooks claims he’ll leave no doubt about his GOAT status when he defends his strap against former champ Joshua Pacio at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

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Brooks (20-2) will return to action for the first time since December 2022, when he dethroned Pacio (20-4) via a hard-earned unanimous decision in a bout that some believe could have gone either way. While Brooks believes he did enough to get his hand raised last time, he plans to quiet the remaining doubters by finishing Pacio in the rematch.

“I think I beat Joshua Pacio pretty [definitively] last time,” Brooks said at a pre-fight press conference. “I’m willing to do that again and again and again until Joshua Pacio’s name is completely out of the picture and I am the best strawweight ever. I am the GOAT of the strawweights.‌

“People are underestimating my hunger and my goals in ONE Championship. Now, I’m here to show Joshua Pacio who i…

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While retirement talks loom large in the aftermath of Jon Jones’ upcoming heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic, UFC CEO Dana White isn’t so sure that would be the best move for either athlete.

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While Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 295 this past November, “Bones” was forced out due to a torn pectoral muscle. Tom Aspinall went on to defeat Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich in an interim title booking that was put together at the last moment.

Jones was also offered a slot for UFC 300 in April but turned it down, as he wouldn’t recover in time from a recent elbow surgery. With no timeline in sight for Jones’ return, Aspinall initially called for the champ to be stripped of the title and has since been rallying for a booking against either “Bones” or Miocic.

However, judging by their stance over recent months, there is a lot of speculation about both Jones and Miocic retiring after their…

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Israel Adesanya claims to have agreed to headline UFC 300 against Dricus Du Plessis only to find out that the middleweight champ had turned the fight down.

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UFC matchmakers were long in search of a high-caliber booking to feature as the main event of the landmark card, which goes down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. While Alex Pereira will now defend his light heavyweight strap against Jamahal Hill in the headliner, Adesanya also reportedly received the call for the slot. However, “The Last Stylebender” claims Du Plessis didn’t accept the fight due to minor injuries suffered in the South African’s title win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January.

“There’s some things that were meant to happen,” Adesanya said on the “This Past Weekend” podcast with Theo Von. “They summoned me, I’m sure this is out there now… but they summoned me for [UFC] 300, and I was like ‘Yep, let’s roll.’ But their side didn’t want it. They …

Raul Rosas Jr. recently detailed the illness that forced him out of his UFC Mexico booking against Ricky Turcios last Saturday.

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The 19-year-old Mexican-American prospect, who is the youngest fighter on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, was slated to appear in front of a home crowd on the main card against Turcios. However, the bantamweight booking fell through at the very last minutem with Rosas Jr. pulling out right before the walkout.

It was announced on the broadcast that Rosas Jr. fell ill and was unable to show up for the fight despite trying his best to be ready throughout the day. “El Nino Problema” has now issued a statement reiterating the same, also detailing the symptoms of his illness while not pinning down the exact cause.

“Sorry to everyone who was waiting for my performance,” he wrote on Instagram stories. “I was sick all day with dizziness, light headed [and] cough. I tried my best to recover to go out and perform s…

Shir Cohen will lock horns with Teodora Kirilova in an atomweight (115-pound) muay thai affair at One on Prime Video 20.

Sources close to the situation confirmed the booking to Sherdog.com on Thursday. ONE Fight Night 20 takes place on March 8 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and features a women’s 115-pound title unification bout between reigning ONE kickboxing champion Janet Todd and interim queen Phetjeeja OrMeekhun. In the co-main event, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues will defend her 115-pound muay thai belt against Cristina Morales.

Cohen, 8-1, who hails from Thailand by way of Israel, is anchored at Fairtex Gym and is a training partner of current MMA 115-pound title holder Stamp Fairtex.

A native of Bulgaria, Kirilova has captured multiple titles in both kickboxing and muay thai. Kirilova will take a 14-0 record into her matchup with Cohen.

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Business was booming for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2023.

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According to a financial report from TKO Group Holdings — the parent company for both the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment — the Las Vegas-based promotion generated $1.3 billion in revenue, which is up 13% from the previous year. Meanwhile, UFC revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $282.8 million, up from $271.7 million in 2022.

The promotion’s increase in profitability was driven by a 34% increase in revenue for live events to a record $168 million in 2023. The UFC held 43 live events last year, and the increase was driven by ticket revenues and site fees, per a release.

Meanwhile, sponsorship revenue increased 18% to 196 million — also a record — and was driven by “new brand partners and renewal increases.” The UFC also reported $870.6 million in revenue from media rights and content, which was up from $794.4 million in 2022, and $57.4 million …

This weekend’s UFC Fight Night 238 card will look different than originally anticipated.

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First, a bantamweight showdown between Ricky Turcios and Raul Rosas Jr. will not move to Saturday’s event as it was initially announced over the weekend. Turcios and Rosas Jr. were supposed to meet at UFC Mexico this past Saturday but the bout was scrapped prior to walkouts on account of Rosas Jr. falling ill.

The promotion later announced that the bout would be rebooked for UFC Fight Night 238, but Turcios disputed that news on social media. Now, the fight is officially off, and it is unclear if it will be rebooked at a later date. MMAjunkie.com was first to report that Turcios vs. Rosas Jr. was not happening.

The Las Vegas-based organzation also confirmed multiple other changes to the UFC Fight Night 238 lineup on Tuesday.

Injury has forced Brendon Marotte to withdraw from a featherweight scrap against Mohammad Yahya, and as a result the fight ha…

Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja traveled to Mexico to watch the main event of UFC Fight Night 237 last Saturday certain of two things.

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First, the winner of the evening’s headliner would determine his opponent for UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on May 4 and second, he would receive a hostile reception from fans in Mexico City. As it turned out, Pantoja was in for a surprise.

“I thought I was going to be offended by the Mexicans, and it was exactly the opposite,” he said. “They welcomed me very affectionately and even shouted ‘Hey hermano, Pantoja is Mexicano.’”

The result of the UFC Mexico main event may have altered the promotion’s plans, as Brandon Royval took a split decision over Brandon Moreno in a somewhat surprising result.

“I think the whole stage was set for Moreno to win and come to Rio,” Pantoja said. “The fight was very even and the fact that he beat Moreno months after I won five rounds against him [Royval] shows the level I'm at…

Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa

While some wonder how Anshul Jubli will cope with his lone career setback, his coach, Siddharth Singh, is confident that “King of Lions” will come back with a vengeance as he has done in the past.

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Jubli put India on the world mixed martial arts map by winning the first Road to UFC tournament in the lightweight category last year. The then undefeated prospect then took on Mike Breeden at UFC 294 in October last year, suffering a third-round technical knockout loss after winning the first two rounds on the scorecards.

This marked the first setback for Jubli including his amateur career, leading to some speculations about how it could affect his mindset. However, coach Singh has seen Jubli lose before and cope incredibly well with it.

Singh, the head coach and owner of Crosstrain Fight Club in New Delhi, is confident that Jubli will be hungrier and more complete upon…

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Paulo Costa isn’t wasting any time in plotting his next matchup after coming up short against Robert Whittaker earlier this month.

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While he dropped a unanimous decision, Costa had an impressive showing after a year and a half of inactivity against the former middleweight champ at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. Rather than dwell on his loss, “Borrachinha” has already issued a callout to former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in a recent interview.

Usman moved up to middleweight for his last outing at UFC 294 in October 2023 for a short-notice clash against Khamzat Chimaev. He was a replacement for Costa, who was unable to recover from an elbow surgery in time to fight. “The Nigerian Nightmare” dropped a tightly-contested majority decision which, according to Costa, doesn’t count for anything.

“He comes from loss, I come from loss,” Cosat told Submission Radio. “So, yes, me and him need to put a win in the records. I think he did already…

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Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Mike Perry recently went on a rant over Dana White’s stance regarding Merab Dvalishvili’s reluctance to fight his friend, Aljamain Sterling.

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Dvalishvili picked up a unanimous decision win over former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 earlier this month, to extend his winning streak to 10. During his post-fight press conference appearance, White praised Dvalishvili for his performance, even confirming that the Georgian earned a title shot with his win over Cejudo.

White had previously criticized “The Machine” for avoiding a title fight during the reign of his close friend and teammate Sterling. Perry, who one of the biggest stars in bare-knuckle boxing, trashed the UFC frontman for publicly criticizing Dvalishvili’s decision to not fight his friend.

“I heard Dana be like, ‘Yeah, ‘cause [Merab Dvalishvili] wouldn’t fight his friend, you know how much we f—ing love that h…

Ilia Topuria currently doesn’t appear to be interested in defending his featherweight strap against anyone from his division, much to the ire of surging contender Movsar Evloev.

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Oozing confidence leading up to his featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria backed up his words with action, dethroning “The Great” via a Round 2 knockout at UFC 298 earlier this month. “El Matador” had previously made clear his unwillingness to defend his strap against any of the perennial featherweight contenders: Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez or Brian Ortega.

Topuria issued a callout to Conor McGregor in his post-fight interview and more recently, targeted retired lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“I would be happy to enter the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Topuria said. “He had an undefeated record at 29-0 and he had an attractive record for me, then also history. He is a worthy and honorable champion for me.”

Topuria also mocked I…

International Fight Week is BACK: June 24th-30th 💥

BE. THERE. #UFCFightWeek pic.twitter.com/tKqm1DdMq5

— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024

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Two upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events are now official.

Over the weekend, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced dates, locations and venues for UFC 303 and UFC 306.

UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will serve as the featured attraction for International Fight Week. The annual tradition lasts for a week and includes a two-day UFC fan experience as well as the promotion’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

No bouts were announced for UFC 303, though Conor McGregor previously claimed he would be facing Michael Chandler in a middleweight bout at the event. UFC CEO Dana White has since disputed McGregor’s announcement while targeting fall for the Irishman’s return.

Meanwhile, UFC 306 will go down on Sept. 14 at …

Tabatha Ricci will square off against Tecia Torres at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on May 11.

Ricci initially announced the strawweight bout on "Remember the Show," and it was later confirmed by Torres on social media. The UFC Fight Night card doesn’t have an official location or main event at this time, though it will reportedly take place in St. Louis.

Ricci had a four-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent appearance, when she suffered a split-decision defeat to Lupita Godinez at UFC 295 this past November. Prior to that, “Baby Shark” had earned successive triumphs over the likes of Maria Oliveira, Polyana Viana, Jessica Penne and Gillian Robertson.

Torres, meanwhile, will be returning to action for the first time since giving birth last June. In her last outing, “The Tiny Tornado” suffered a split-decision defeat against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 273 on April 9, 2022.

Navy Seal calls out Sean Strickland for challenging the Navy Seals. 👀‼️ pic.twitter.com/050fuccTuX

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) February 22, 2024

A member of the Navy SEALs has called out Sean Strickland for questioning their training regimen.

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Known for voicing his unfiltered opinion on almost everything, Strickland recently made headlines by pointing fingers at the Navy SEALs’ training method. While SEALs training is widely regarded some of the most strenuous in the world, Strickland claims none of them will survive a week of training with him.

“I don’t think there’s one f—king Navy [SEAL] who could survive a week training with me,” Strickland said in a video on social media. “I’m kind of sick of seeing it, cause you guys think you’re badass, come train with me for a week. I’ll show you what’s up, I’ll f—king break you.”

While most SEALs likely didn’t take kindly to Strickland’s comments, one in particular decided …

Professional boxing star Ryan Garcia believes he can get the better of UFC bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley in an MMA fight.

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Garcia recently called for a UFC clash against O’Malley while also indicating that he’d need a massive payday from UFC CEO Dana White to make it happen.

“I’d fight Sean O’Malley in the UFC that’s it but Dana you’d have to cut me that real check,” Garcia wrote.

I’d fight Sean O’Malley in the UFC that’s it but Dana you’d have to cut me that real check.

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) February 25, 2024

O’Malley responded with a dire warning, which led to a brief exchange between the two fighters online. Garcia posted a screenshot of the conversation on social media:

Alright rainbow head, There is only one way to find out… Dana let’s do this pic.twitter.com/3MglJYmbhQ

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) February 25, 2024

With the UFC’s apparent opposition to crossover fig…

“You don’t need your eyes.”

Some interesting corner work from Francisco Prado’s team after Zellhuber battered their fighter in the second round.

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Either way, both Zellhuber and Prado are two promising prospects. pic.twitter.com/o1FiEJHSf8 — AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) February 25, 2024

Francisco Prado coach Asim Zaidi stands by his decision to not throw in the towel despite his fighter having compromised vision at the end of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night 237 on Saturday.

Prado took on Mexico’s Daniel Zellhuber in enemy territory in a “Fight of the Night”-winning lightweight clash on the main card. While Prado showed immense heart in going the distance against Zellhuber, he was picked apart on the feet by “Golden Boy” en route to a unanimous decision loss.

When Prado walked back to his corner with a battered right eye at the end of Round 2, his coach appeared to give him a strategy to fight with compromised vision instead…

Update: Raul Rosas Jr. vs Ricky Turcios has been rebooked for #UFCVegas87 on March 2 in Las Vegas. https://t.co/TAbqTQOToT

— UFC News (@UFCNews) February 25, 2024

Ricky Turcios claims nothing has been confirmed regarding a rebooking against Raul Rosas Jr. after their last-minute fight cancellation at UFC Fight Night 237.

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Turcios was originally slated to face Rosas Jr. in a bantamweight affair on Saturday. However, shortly before the fighters were supposed to make their walkout, the broadcast team announced that the fight was off due to Rosas Jr. falling ill.

While it was initially not confirmed, the broadcast team revealed that the promotion planned to rebook the matchup for a week later at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2. The UFC later announced the rescheduled fight on social media. The matchup is reportedly set to take place at a catchweight so the fighters don’t have to cut weight again.

However, Turcios call…

Whole Santiago Bernabeu is cheering for Ilia Topuria ❤

El Matador introduced his UFC belt in front of the 85,000+ Real Madrid fans! 🇬🇪🇪🇸❤️

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🎥 Setanta Sports pic.twitter.com/ZwgScsVW1D — Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) February 25, 2024

Recently-crowned UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria received some lofty recognition in his home country.

Topuria was honored at the Real Madrid soccer game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday. More than 85,000 fans were in attendance as Topuria arrived with his championship belt and performed the honorary opening kickoff to begin the match.

Topuria’s star power in his home country is a major reason why the UFC hopes to bring an event to Spain in the near future.

“I would love to go to Spain so we’ve got to figure that out,” UFC CEO Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference in Mexico City. “We’ll start grinding and tr…

A number of familiar faces are set to testify on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s behalf in an upcoming antitrust lawsuit against the promotion.

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According to a brief filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, current lightweight standout Michael Chandler as well as former stars Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen are expected to be witnesses for the defendants. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone are also listed as witnesses for the UFC in the brief.

The trial is expected to begin on April 15, though UFC parent company Zuffa is reportedly attempting to push back the date due to a scheduling conflict. Bloody Elbow was first to report information revealed in the brief.

The class action lawsuit was i initially filed in 2014 and alleges that the UFC engaged in a scheme to "to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market for elite professional MMA fighter …

This has been a dream and goal of mine since 2001. To finally be here and walk the halls of the @ufc Performance Institute in Mexico City is a monumental moment in the history of our sport. The impact this facility will have on Mexico, as well as, both Central and South America… pic.twitter.com/DZyhLikXkA

— danawhite (@danawhite) February 23, 2024

There was more to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Mexico than just Saturday’s fight card in Mexico City.

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While the promotion’s first event South of the Border since 2019 was a monumental occasion by itself, the UFC also officially launched another Performance Institute in Mexico last week.

“There’s still a lot of work to do down here. This is just the beginning,” UFC CEO Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

UFC Fight Night 237 took place at Mexico City Arena on Saturday and featured a host of talent from the home country. Moving forwa…

It was an inauspicious beginning, to say the least, for Brian Ortega at UFC Fight Night 237.

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It started with the pre-fight introductions, when Ortega appeared to sprain his ankle while jumping around inside the Octagon. It wasn’t exactly the best way to begin one’s first fight since July 2022.

“Talk about things stacked against me,” Ortega said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Bruce [Buffer] was introducing me and then I jumped up and when I landed, I rolled my ankle. I was like, ‘Oh shoot.’ … When they were introducing [Yair Rodriguez], I was trying to flex my ankle…We’ve got five rounds. It’s not even a regular co-main event. I’d be lying if I didn’t say panic didn’t set in for a bit.”

It got worse before it got better. Rodriguez dropped Ortega with a left hook in the opening stanza and pursued the finish from there with heavy ground-and-pound. Somehow, Ortega managed to maintain his composure.

“And then obviously I started off,…

Brandon Moreno entered UFC Fight Night 237 with designs on earning a rematch against reigning flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja with a victory in front of his home fans.

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Brandon Royval had other ideas.

The Factory X product relied on superior volume and cardio to pull away down the stretch for a split-decision triumph against Moreno in Saturday’s main event at Mexico City Arena. It wasn’t a done deal, however, until his last name was announced during the official verdict.

“I thought I got ripped off,” Royval said at the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t realize I won until my coach grabbed me. They read that 49-46 scorecard, and I was like, ‘What the f—k?’ … I guess I realized I won when Herb [Dean] raised my hand.”

Royval, who accepted the fight on short notice as a replacement for Amir Albazi, was fairly confident he had done enough to deserve the nod on the scorecards.

“I thought I won four rounds, but you never know,” he said. …