Category Archives: Mmafighting.com

Brendan Loughnane is once again on the doorstep of $ 1 million.

The 2022 PFL champion advanced to 2024’s featherweight finals with a grueling three-round win over Kai Kamaka III on Friday in the main event of PFL 9, which took place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

Loughnane (30-5), the No. 1 featherweight seed after this year’s regular season, had No. 4 seed Kamaka (14-6-1) on the ropes in the opening round, hurting the UFC veteran with a spinning back kick to the body then dropping him with a furious salvo of punches and clinch knees. While Kamaka survived to be saved by the bell, then rebounded to mount a competitive final 10 minutes — repeatedly countering Loughnane’s offense and creating car crashes in their exchanges — Loughnane still found enough success with his long jabs and spinning attacks to take a well-earned split decision via 29-28, 28-29, and 30-27 scores.

Standing across Loughnane in the $ 1 million featherweight finals is No. 3 seed Timur Khizriev (17-0), a Bellator import who continued his dominance over PFL with a split decision win over 2023 finalist and No. 2 seed Gabriel Braga (14-2).

In a competitive but ultimately clear bout, Khizriev consistently beat Braga to the punch and outstruck the Brazilian over 15 minutes to earn a pair of 30-27 scores from judges Bryan Miner and Rick Winter, while controversial judge David Tirelli turned in a puzzling 29-28 Braga scorecard. Notably, Tirelli was also the dissenting judge in Loughnane vs. Kamaka.

In the night’s co-main event, No. 2 welterweight seed Magomed Umalatov (17-0) fended off a flurry of late submission attempts to outpoint replacement opponent Neiman Gracie (13-6) and advance to the PFL finals. Umalatov bloodied Gracie and repeatedly peppered the one-time Bellator title challenger with right hands, hard left hooks, and piston-fast one-twos to gain an early lead, before Gracie rallied in the third round with a swarm of submission attempts off his back, including rarely seen gogoplatas and calf slicers.

In the end, the judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 in Umalatov’s favor, extending the Russian’s PFL hot streak to eight straight wins in eight appearances.

Meeting Umalatov in the $ 1 million welterweight finals is his countryman, No. 1 seed Shamil Musaev (19-0-1), after the undefeated Russian dominated No. 4 seed Murad Ramazanov (12-2) for a second time this season to punch his ticket through the bracket.

Less than two months after knocking out Ramazanov in a regular season bout, Musaev once again outclassed his foe, using a combination of suffocating pace and relentless pressure in both the standup and grappling realms to earn a one-sided unanimous decision with 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27 scores.

The main card bouts capped off a nine-fight event that ended with seven straight decisions.

Check out complete PFL 9 results below.

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Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho is officially a go.

On Friday, Cannonier and Borralho both successfully made weight for their middleweight main event matchup at UFC Vegas 96 on Saturday in the UFC APEX. Borralho made use of the one pound allowance, coming in at 186 pounds, while Cannonier went the extra mile and hit 184 pounds.

Saturday’s co-main event features longtime veteran Angela Hill taking on Tabatha Ricci in a strawweight contest and both women also successfully made weight for their matchup, with Hill coming in at 115.5 pounds, and Ricci hitting 115 on the dot.

The other 20 fights on the card also all made weight for their respective bouts, and did so with relative ease. Only one fighter needed to make use of the privacy shield, Mairon Santos Alves, who initially came in a half-pound over the 146 limit but hit his mark on the second attempt.

UFC Vegas 96 kicks off on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Check out the full weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)

Jared Cannonier (184) vs. Caio Borralho (186)

Angela Hill (115.5) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115)

Robert Valentin (185) vs. Ryan Loder (186) — (TUF 32 middleweight final)

Kaan Ofli (145) vs. Mairon Santos Alves (146) — (TUF 32 featherweight final)

Neil Magny (170) vs. Michael Morales (171)

Edmen Shahbazyan (184.5) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (185)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Dennis Buzukja (155.5) vs. Francis Marshall (156)

Zach Reese (184.5) vs. Jose Medina (186)

Viacheslav Borshchev (155.5) vs. James Llontop (154.5)

Jacqueline Cavalcanti (135) vs. Josiane Nunes (136)

Zygimantas Ramaska (146) vs. Nathan Fletcher (145.5)

Wang Cong (125) vs. Victoria Leonard (125)

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Timur Khizriev has never lost in 16 professional MMA bouts, but Gabriel Braga vows to make him taste defeat for the very first time on Friday at PFL 9.

Braga reached the 145-pound finals in 2023 and came up short against Jesus Pinedo, suffering his only loss in the sport, and climbed back to the playoffs after back-to-back stoppages over Justin Gonzales and Bubba Jenkins earlier this year.

“Everybody is undefeated until they lose one day, and now is his turn,” Braga said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I’m always fighting tough opponents so it’s nothing new to me. I’m 100 percent ready, both mentally and physically. I’m ready to put on another show in there and get the win.”

Khizriev went 3-0 in Bellator, including a victory over former title contender Daniel Weichel, before winning twice under the PFL banner this year. Despite his unbeaten resume, Braga said he sees holes in his game.

“I’m the type of athlete that sees flaws in every fighter,” Braga said. “No one is perfect, everybody makes mistakes. He tends to get to positions and gain time and make it all to the end and we definitely trained focusing on that and the techniques he does to make sure we can put on a spectacle in there.”

“Sometimes he stands and trades as well,” he continued. “But I believe he will definitely want to grapple with me once he feels my pressure on the feet. I’ll be ready for that game and box him all night.”

Braga said that the experience of competing in the 2023 championship final got him better prepared to perform under pressure and deliver exciting performances, and he feels ready to “chase the belt this year.”

Brendan Loughnane and Kai Kamaka III will be competing for the other spot in the final in the main event of PFL 9 at The Anthem, and Braga admits he would rather face Loughnane for gold. Loughnane won the PFL 2022 season championship, and has stopped Pedro Carvalho and Justin Gonzales so far this year.

“It’s a good fight with two good fighters,” Braga said. “Brendan is fast, but Kamaka is very resilient, a brawler. But I think Brendan wins. I’ll win my fight, and I would like to fight him in the final.”

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UFC 306’s co-main event has its official contingency plan.

Top flyweight contender Manon Fiorot is set to serve as the backup fighter for the trilogy bout between UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko, which takes place Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Sources close to the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin on Friday.

Fiorot’s coach Aldric Cassata previously told Boxemag.com of Fiorot’s opportunity but the move is now official.

Fiorot, 34, is MMA Fighting’s No. 3 ranked female flyweight in the world and No. 4 ranked women’s pound-for-pound fighter. The French contender is a perfect 7-0 under the UFC umbrella, a run punctuated by impressive wins over top talents Erin Blanchfield, Rose Namajunas, Katlyn Cerminara, Jennifer Maia, and Mayra Bueno Silva.

Grasso and Shevhchenko are set to meet for a third consecutive time in a rivalry that first began in March 2023 with Grasso’s stunning upset of Shevchenko via fourth-round submission. The two then met in a rematch this past September, which ended with Grasso retaining the belt via a controversial split draw at the inaugural Noche UFC show.

Grasso and Shevchenko subsequently coached opposite one another on the recent season of The Ultimate Fighter 32, which decides its winners this Saturday at UFC Vegas 96.

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Caio Borralho got his wish as he will face one-time UFC title challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 96 fight card at the APEX. If Borralho can pick up another big win this weekend, is he a legitimate threat to Dricus du Plessis and the middleweight title?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Eric Jackman preview the UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event, along with the middleweight headliner between Cannonier and Borralho, what the latter gains with a win, and the chances Cannonier can pull off the upset. Additionally, they’ll discuss the co-main event between Tabatha Ricci and Angela Hill, other names to watch out for on the card, the #TUF finale fights, answer your questions, and much more.

Catch the UFC Vegas 96 preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. is giving up a sizable amount of weight to John Gotti III.

This Saturday, Mayweather and Gotti rematch each other in an exhibition boxing match at Arena CDMX in Mexico City; and while Mayweather may have the edge in experience and skill, he is giving up a lot of size.

In their first matchup in June of 2023, Gotti tipped the scales at 181 pounds, while Mayweather refused to weigh in. This time around, Mayweather deigned to step on the scales, albeit fully clothed, coming in at 160.38 pounds, and with Gotti again coming in at 181 pounds, that means the 47-year-old boxing legend is giving up over 20 pounds of weight come Saturday night.

Mayweather and Gotti’s first matchup was one of the more chaotic scenes in recent combat sports history. After five rounds of action that predominantly featured Mayweather showboating and taunting, Gotti became frustrated and began trash-talking Mayweather, with things escalating between the two to the point that referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout due to the trash talk. That encited a brawl between the two fighters and their corners. Order was eventually restored and Gotti was initially suspended for six months for the fiasco, though that was later reversed.

But despite the rough history between the two, things went down smoothly at the weigh-ins on Friday. After both fighters made their marks, they shared one final faceoff without issue. Now the only thing left is for the two of them to settle their differences a bit more definitively this Saturday.

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The Mayweather vs. Gotti III weigh-in video features all 24 fighters stepping on the scale for the Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight card.

In the main event, Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III will possibly step on the scales Friday afternoon. Gotti III weighed 181 pounds for their previous exhibition, while Mayweather refused to step on the scale.

Check out the Mayweather vs. Gotti III weigh-in results below.

Main card (DAZN and PPV.com at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III

Victor Ortiz vs. Rodrigo Damian Coria

Alan David Picasso vs. Azat Hovhannisyan

Curmel Tramayne Moton vs. Victor Vazquez

Prelims

Luis Ocana vs. Cesar Espinoza

Aaron Silva vs. Alfonso Flores

Silvia Torres vs. Cecilia Rodriguez

Luis Arjas vs. Francisco Amezquita

Jursly Vargas vs. Bryan Carrillo

Sekaye Terry vs. Carlos Rosas

John Easter vs. Luis Duran

Trenton Brown vs. Jose Antonio Guadaramma

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The UFC Vegas 96 weigh-ins will have 24 fighters hitting the scale on Friday leading to the main event between middleweights Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho.

Following a loss to Nassourdine Imavov in his last outing, Cannonier attempts to bounce back while maintaining his position in the middleweight rankings while the upstart contender in Borralho attempts to get the biggest win of his career.

The upcoming UFC Vegas 96 card also features the finals in the new season of The Ultimate Fighter with champions being crowned at middleweight and featherweight.

The action kicks off at 12 p.m. ET with the full card listed below:

Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)

MAIN EVENT: Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho

Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci

Robert Valentin vs. Ryan Loder (TUF 32 middleweight final)

Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos Alves (TUF 32 featherweight final)

Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Dennis Buzukja vs. Francis Marshall

Zach Reese vs. Jose Medina

Viacheslav Borshchev vs. James Llontop

Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nunes

Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Nathan Fletcher

Wang Cong vs. Victoria Leonard

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Sean O’Malley doesn’t like Conor McGregor all that much these days, but he completely understands that the former two-division UFC champ is the biggest star in the history of the sport.

O’Malley addressed McGregor as he continues getting ready to defend his bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.

In an interview with ESPN, O’Malley, who knocked out Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023 to win the title, was asked how close he is to becoming the face of the UFC. The flamboyant bantamweight says it’s hard to gauge with a pay-per-view model littered with illegal streaming, but for him, he sees a path to getting there if the roadmap he’s drawn out in his head actually happens.

“Right now it’s Conor McGregor, 100 percent,” O’Malley said. “He’s a dork, but it’s the truth. For me to get to that, I need to go out there and knock out Merab, I go up to [145 pounds], I beat Ilia [Topuria], I beat Max [Holloway], I beat Umar [Nurmagomedov], I’m three fights away from being one of the greatest of all-time, one of the most exciting of all-time. There’s [a] difference.

“No one thinks Conor’s the greatest fighter of all-time. He was lacking skills, lacked title defenses, but entertainment wise, he’s the best in the world. Entertainment wise, he was the best.”

O’Malley successfully defended his title with a stellar performance in a lopsided decision win against longtime rival Marlon Vera to get revenge on the only man to defeat him in an MMA fight. That 25-minute outing opened a lot of eyes to the, perhaps, underrated ceiling the MMA community placed on him throughout his build to the title.

While being the UFC’s biggest star is an accomplishment — albeit a lucrative one — O’Malley says he’s striving for more: The combination of superstardom, and historical greatness.

“Greatest fighter of all-time, Jon Jones, Khabib [Nurmagomedov], Islam [Makhachev], [all] up there,” O’Malley explained. “I want to be both. I want to be one of the greatest of all-times, and one of the most entertaining of all-times. That’s my goal.”

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Tom Aspinall is ready to jump at any opportunity to fight Jon Jones.

At UFC 304, Aspinall successfully defended his interim heavyweight title with a 60-second smashing of Curtis Blaydes; and while the title defense was exceptional, it still didn’t manage to earn Aspinall the one thing he wants most: a fight with Jones.

Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, having won the vacant title by defeating Ciryl Gane in 2023, and is dead set on facing former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in his first title defense. Rumor has it that fight will finally happen at UFC 309 in November, and should that be the case, Aspinall has dibs.

“Jon Jones, I know you’ve got your fight coming up,” Aspinall said in a YouTube video. “Apparently it’s in November, against Stipe Miocic. Nothing has been announced or signed yet, as far as I’m aware, but if that does happen, I’ll be there, I’ll be ready to jump in with either of you guys for the undisputed title if one of you is going to pull out.

“But if you successfully defend against Stipe in November, I will be there in the crowd, I’ll be there front row. I want you to hand me the undisputed title as you walk past me please. Thank you.”

Aspinall has been trying to get a fight with Jones since winning the interim belt last fall, to no avail and despite growing backlash to Miocic getting a title shot despite being 42 years old and having not competed in over three years. But there may be a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel for Aspinall, as the Englishman revealed that the UFC has already spoken to him about being the backup fighter for the Jones-Miocic matchup.

“After my last fight with Curtis Blaydes, there was some talk about me being the backup fight,” Aspinall said. “The UFC spoke to me directly about that. I said I’m in. If somebody pulls out, I’m in… I’ll be prepared for that date, so you let me know. I’ll be there. I’m ready to take the fight. I’m the No. 1 in the division, not Jon Jones, not Stipe Miocic. They’re a couple of older fellas having a fight, fighting for the title for some reason. I don’t know why that reason is. But I am the guy at heavyweight and I’m ready to prove that on an hour’s notice if I need to.”

“… I’m hearing rumors that Stipe is potentially injured,” Aspinall added. “These are stuff that I’m hearing from the inner circle. Stipe… he’s 42 years old. The guy is going to be injury prone. Jon Jones, a million miles on the clock, he’s going to be injury prone. Me, I’m ready to go. I’m not even in my prime yet. I’m hungry for it. I’m not sure these two guys are, but I am, and I’ll fight either of them for the undisputed title on any notice. I’m ready.”

Despite Aspinall’s claims, sources told MMA Fighting that Jones vs. Miocic is still expected to take place this November.

Ultimately, its a tough situation for Aspinall who has wins over five fighters currently ranked in the UFC’s top-10 at heavyweight and simply wants his chance to prove what he believes to be true: that he is actually the best heavyweight in the world.

“Jon Jones had an amazing career. I ain’t putting Jon Jones down,” Aspinall said. “Jon Jones isn’t the best heavyweight in the world right now. That’s me. So I want what’s mine. I’m pissed off for greatness. I believe that I should be the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. I’ve done what it takes to deserve that and I’m ready to prove it. Jon Jones isn’t. That’s all I’m saying. Nothing against Jon and his career.

“The issue I have with Jon is he’s got the belt and I want it. I want it. I’ve got a belt too and I want to unify the belts. There shouldn’t be two heavyweight champions, there should be one, and I want it to be me. So that’s all I’m going for now…

“The issue is not with Jon. The issue is not with Stipe. The issue is with them holding the belt hostage. Give me the belt… The belt’s mine. I want it. I’m here for it. I’m here to take it. If you think you’re the man at heavyweight, I’ll take anybody. I’ll fight anybody for the undisputed belt.”

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