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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC 313 will determine whether or not Dagestani star Magomed Ankalaev is the kryptonite of kickboxing ace Alex Pereira, and the UFC 313 cold open highlights the clash between “a different kind of beast” and “a smashing force”.

Narrated by actor Ron Perlman, the video takes a closer look to the highly anticipated clash that could ceent “Poatan” among the greatest champions in light heavyweight history with four title defenses, or have Ankalaev dethrone one of the most popular faces of the company today.

The clip posted by UFC CEO Dana White also breaks down the co-main event contest between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev. The lightweight duel, made on short notice after Dan Hooker was forced out with a hand injury, is described as “a rematch of epic proportions.”

Watch the UFC 313 cold open below.

The UFC 313 main card features four more lightweights, as King Green opens the pay-per-view portion of the show versus Mauricio Ruffy, and Jalin Turner takes on Ignacio Bahamondes. Also featured is a strawweight showdown between Brazilian talents Amanda Lemos and Iasmin Lucindo.

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Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions has solidified its commitment to Amanda Serrano, the Ring, WBA, and WBO featherweight champion, by signing her to a lifetime deal.

This announcement, which coincides with the confirmation of Serrano’s highly anticipated trilogy fight against Katie Taylor, marks a long-term partnership that extends beyond her active boxing career.

The agreement ensures Serrano will fight exclusively under the MVP banner for the remainder of her professional boxing journey. Additionally, she will take on the role of chairwoman of MVP’s women’s boxing initiatives, where she will lead efforts to discover, sign, develop, and promote female athletes within the company.

The upcoming Serrano-Taylor trilogy fight, scheduled for July 11 at Madison Square Garden, will headline an all-female fight card. There is a possibility that some of the women MVP is working with will appear on the undercard.

This event follows their previous encounter in November 2024, where Taylor secured a controversial unanimous decision victory in a bout that achieved record-breaking viewership. It became the most-watched professional women’s sports event in U.S. history, drawing 74 million live viewers globally.

The storied rivalry between Serrano and Taylor has captivated audiences, and their upcoming trilogy fight is expected to be another landmark event.

Jake Paul took to X to tout the upcoming Netflix fight, even stating that his fighter will surpass UFC legend Ronda Rousey’s peak purse.

“When Amanda Serrano enters the ring on July 11th, she will become the highest-paid woman in sports history for a single event. ALL SPORTS. Ronda Rousey had the record previously,” Jake Paul wrote.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At the UFC 313 weigh-ins, all 24 fighters on Saturday’s UFC fight card step on the scale Friday in Las Vegas, Nev.

In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev have to weigh no more than 205 pounds for the title bout.

In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev have to weigh no more than 156 pounds for the non-title bout.

The UFC 313 ceremonial weigh-in video starts at 12 p.m. ET.

The UFC 313 ceremonial weigh-in video will be at 7 p.m. ET.

Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)

Alex Pereira (205) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (205)

Justin Gaethje (156) vs. Rafael Fiziev (156)

Jalin Turner (154.5) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (156)

Amanda Lemos (116) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (115.5)

King Green (155.5) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (155.5)

Prelims (ESPNews/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Curtis Blaydes (262) vs. Rizvan Kuniev (264.5)

Joshua Van (125.5) vs. Rei Tsuruya (125.5)

Brunno Ferreira (186) vs. Armen Petrosyan (186)

Alex Morono (171) vs. Carlos Leal (169)

Prelims (ESPN+/Disney+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)

Mairon Santos (145.5) vs. Francis Marshall (146)

Chris Gutierrez (144.5) vs. John Castaneda (145)

Djorden Santos (185.5) vs. Ozzy Diaz (185.5)

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad has always represented Palestine whenever he competes in the UFC, but now he’s hoping the promotion can rectify a problem related to his profile on the company website.

While athletes on the UFC’s website feature flags from their home nations next to their names, it was brought to Muhammad’s attention that his was left blank. On Thursday, the reigning UFC welterweight champion sent out a plea to UFC CEO Dana White to fix that problem, especially after he championed allowing fighters to once again carry flags to the octagon.

“People keep asking me, ‘Where’s your flag?’ I kept getting multiple messages from it, and I was just assuming it was a mistake, but it’s still not addressed,” Muhammad said on a video posted to Twitter. “So I’ll address it and hope that Dana addresses it as well and fixes it. Because Dana said he’s all about free speech, he’s all about people supporting who they want to support and not muting or silencing anybody.

“I’m hoping that the UFC fixes this issue and puts my flag next to my name so the people that I represent, the people that I fight for, and the people that I train for will see their flag next to their champion’s name.”

Muhammad, who was born in the United States to Palestinian parents, has been an outspoken advocate supporting the people affected by the ongoing war in Gaza. He’s also represented Palestine throughout his UFC career, carrying the flag to the cage in past fights.

In fact, Muhammad previously told MMA Fighting that he was genuinely excited to carry the Palestinian flag to the octagon with him for his first title defense, which is now set for UFC 315 in May when he faces Jack Della Maddalena.

“For me to be able to carry that flag with the belt, to be the champion, it just gives them something to be proud of,” Muhammad said. “Something they can point at and say ‘that’s my flag! That’s my countryman! That’s my guy!’ It just gives these kids something bigger to dream about.”

When he claimed the title this past July with a dominant victory over Leon Edwards in England, Muhammad was overwhelmed by videos and photos he received from people in Palestine celebrating his win.

That only strengthened his resolve to continue representing Palestine whenever he has the opportunity but particularly when he’s competing on the biggest stage in combat sports in the UFC.

“There was literally a refugee camp that had the fights on,” Muhammad said. “They sent me a video of it and all the kids cheering it and watching it while they were there. Those are the real heroes. Those are the guys that I do it for. To get a cheer, to get a smile from one of these kids, to have them look up to me when I’m looking up to them. They’re the strongest people in the world, they’re the most resilient people in the world.

“To see the stuff that they’re going through and the stuff that they’re still grateful for. They’re so grateful just to be alive everyday. They’re still grateful to be able to fight and still be able to live when I’m sitting there, I just fought 25 minutes. It’s nothing. They’re fighting to be alive. They’re fighting everyday to do this thing that we take for granted here in America.”

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Damage
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Alvarez shared his thoughts on the shifting boxing landscape and why he chose to fight William Scull over Jake Paul.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is set to fight William Scull on May 3rd in Saudi Arabia as the first fight in a four fight deal with boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh. Thursday saw the first press conference for the bout, but any headlines that generated were largely overshadowed by the announcement that Alalshikh was teaming up with UFC parent company TKO and Dana White to form a new boxing league.

During an interview with CBS Sports’ Brian Campbell, Alvarez shared his thoughts on White’s arrival in boxing and the potential seismic shift it could cause in the sport.

“I think it’s the best for the fighters out there. I’m fine with that,” Canelo said. “I think they’re gonna do the best for the fighters. I’m pretty sure about that. And I’m glad somebody [will] take care of the fighters because there is a lot of promoters who don’t take seriously the fighters, and I think this is good for boxing. For the fighters, especially.”

Considering Canelo is expected to bank career-high paydays under his deal with Turki Alalshikh, it’s unsurprising that he’d have supportive words about Turki’s new league. All signs are pointing towards Alvarez helping kick the promotion off — his superfight against Terence Crawford in September is expected to headline the launch event.

Yeah, always [the] opportunity to fight in September in Las Vegas,” he said of the rumors. “That’s my day. But I need to take care of the May fight first, and then we’ll see about September. But the possibility to fight in September in Las Vegas and be the the first event, tomorrow.”

And Campbell had to ask about Canelo’s decision to ditch a fight against YouTube influencer Jake Paul in favor of the Alalshikh deal. Why would he turn down a massive fight like Paul to fight a relative unknown like Scull?

“Because it’s better for me,” Canelo said simply. “This point in my career, I just wanna continue making history, you know? That [Jake Paul] fight, I don’t even call it a fight. It’s like an event more than a fight. That event can wait until I retire.”

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