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With a new champion, the bantamweight division continues to move with a pair of thrilling matchups added to UFC 308.

The UFC announced Wednesday that Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo and Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos have been added to the upcoming Oct. 26 pay-per-view.

Basharat (12-0) and brother Javid have both made an impact since being signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series. The younger Basharat is 3-0 inside the octagon, with wins over Taylor Lapilus, Kleydson Rodrigues, and Da’Mon Blackshear.

He faces his stiffest test yet in the experienced Victor Hugo. Though Brazil’s Hugo only recently made his debut with a decision nod over Pedro Falcao, he had an extensive pro record prior to the UFC, with 25 wins in 29 pro bouts. Seventeen of those wins came by way of knockout or submission.

Said Nurmagomedov (18-3) has been a sleeper contender at 135 pounds, but his run to the top has been stifled by a pair of fight withdrawals. He has a chance to get back in the conversation when he fights Santos (11-2), who has rattled off back-to-back wins after dropping a decision to Julio Arce in his debut in April 2022.

UFC 308 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and airs exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view. The event is headlined by Ilia Topuria defending his featherweight title against “BMF” champion Max Holloway.

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The guy who stepped in short notice against O'Malley has been doing well over at Combat Zone since getting cut from UFC submitted by /u/michealcowan [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The guy who stepped in short notice against O'Malley has been doing well over at Combat Zone since getting cut from UFC submitted by /u/michealcowan [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

High stakes
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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Paddy Pimblett is a well-known eater who loves to gain an incredible amount of weight in between fights. His current layoff is no different, as the rising UFC lightweight contender has broken a chicken wing eating record earlier this week.

Pimblett, who is one of the most popular European fighters on the UFC roster today, is coming off a tremendous submission win over Bobby Green at UFC 304 this past July. The victory pushed “The Baddy” to 6-0 inside of the Octagon and finally gave him enough to break into the top 15 in one of the toughest divisions in the sport. He’ll look to make a run at the top 10 the next time he fights.

Before that, Pimblett is free to enjoy his time off and enjoying it he is. The lightweight fighter is infatuated with food and rarely isn’t seeing stuffing his face with something he probably shouldn’t be. This week, Pimblett released a video on his YouTube channel showing off a record-setting night at his favorite restaurant. “Baddy” shattered the chicken win record by eating 47 in total and then downing it with some dessert.

Check out the carnage in the above player.

Insomnia

Was there something wrong with Sean O’Malley at UFC 306?

Islam is on his way back!

Should Brian Ortega think about hanging it up?

Do you agree with UFC’s new pound-for-pound rankings?

There’s no way Alex Pereira is losing now.

Terence Crawford reacts to the Kendrick Lamar mix-up at Noche UFC.

Yikes. Here’s footage of heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk getting detained at the airport.

How many drugs has Steve-O really done?

Liar!

Demetrious Johnson explains his decision to retire.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Check out some key moments from this week’s Contender Series episode below:

Random Land

Puff Daddy is going bye bye!

Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The return of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA features a lot of familiar names — including a slew of UFC veterans.

Promotion officials revealed to MMA Fighting the lineup for Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA’s return to action at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Nov. 15 in Biloxi. In the main event, Randy Costa and Brandon Davis battle for the inaugural bantamweight title in a rematch from their first meeting at UFC 236, where Davis spoiled Costa’s UFC debut with a second-round submission win.

One-time interim UFC lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is also set to make his Gamebred debut after signing with the organization as a free agent. His opponent is still undetermined at this time.

A battle between former UFC heavyweights Chase Sherman and Maurice Greene is an additional bout for the card

Other fights featured at the event include Alessio Sakara vs. Prince McLean, Jason Knight vs. Joshua Weems, and a New England regional champ vs. champ bout between Cage Titans champion Peter Barrett and CES titleholder Charles Rosa.

Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA is a promotion headed up by UFC star and original BMF champion Jorge Masvidal.

Check out the updated Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 fight card below.

Randy Costa vs. Brandon Davis – bantamweight title fight

Chase Sherman vs. Maurice Greene

Kevin Lee vs. TBA

Alessio Sakara vs. Prince McLean

Jason Knight vs. Joshua Weems

Curtis Millender vs. Jesse Ronson

Peter Barrett vs. Charles Rosa

Frank Tate vs. Alex Nicholson

Guto Incente vs. TBA

Mike Sanford vs. Jeff Denton

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A bit of UFC history was made as four more fighters earned their way into the UFC on the latest episode of Contender Series

On Tuesday night, the sixth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White awarded four of the five winners contracts into the UFC, including one to Elijah Smith, son of former two-time The Ultimate Fighter contestant Gilbert Smith. With Smith now in the UFC, he and his father become only the second father-son duo in the promotion’s history, following UFC after Hall of Famer Randy Couture and his son Ryan Couture.

Smith outlasts Tau

In the main event of the evening, 22-year-old Elijah Smith survived a strong final round from Aaron Tau to win a unanimous decision and a UFC contract.

The son of former two-time The Ultimate Fighter contestant Gilbert Smith, “Swift” looked great early, doing almost anything he wanted against the 31-year-old City Kickboxing product. But in the third round, Smith — who took the fight on short notice — began to fade and Tau turned it on, resulting in a knockdown dog fight as Smith refused to back down despite tiring. In the end, Tau won the third round battle but lost the war as Smith took home the decision win and the spot in the UFC.

Teixeira crumbles Lopes

In the penultimate fight of the evening, Tallison Teixeira did what he was supposed to do and obliterated Arthur Lopes with a first-round knockout that earned him a spot in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

A monster of a man at 6-foot-7, the 24-year-old Teixeira showed why he was such a big betting favorite on the evening, setting the tone early with jabs and low kicks. Lopes proved game though, trying to drag Teixeira into a wild brawl, but “Xicao” didn’t bite and managed to find a clean right hand that floored his fellow Brazilian and moved him to 7-0 in his career.

Bennett ekes past Hart

In the welterweight contest of the evening, Benjamin Bennett eked out a split decision over Joey Hart that did not impress Dana White enough to merit a UFC contract.

With extensive experience in boxing and kickboxing, Bennett instead came in and used his wrestling early against Hart, repeatedly scoring takedowns and neutralizing the bigger fighter. Hart hung tough though and made the most of his moments on the feet when he could as the men went back-and-forth for the full fifteen. In the end the judges awarded Bennett for his control, but White did not award him a UFC contract.

Gautier overwhelms Naito

In the second fight of the evening, Ateba Gautier delivered a second-round TKO over Yura Naito to punch his ticket into the UFC.

Still only 22 years old, Ateba is still developing as a prospect and had to battle through getting taken down in the first round by Naito. However, once things restarted on the feet in the second round, the Cameroonian fighter’s speed and power were on full display, as he dropped Naito with big punches and then, after spending some time in Naito’s guard, finally was able to posture up and deliver vicious shots to secure the victory.

Hassanzada rallies to submit Dylan Mantello

In the opening bout of the evening, Ahmad Hassanzada scored an impressive comeback submission over Dylan Mantello, and earned his place in the UFC.

After falling short in his first attempt on Contender Series back in 2022, Hassanzada looked like he might have again blown his gas tank with a torrid pace in the first round, as Mantello dropped him multiple times in the second and the Afghani fighter looked gassed heading into the final frame. But somehow Hassanzada rallied in the third round, pressing the action, scoring a takedown, and then locking on a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Check out the DWCS results below.

Elijah Smith def. Aaron Tau via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Tallison Teixeira def. Arthur Lopes via knockout (punch) — R1, 1:57

Benjamin Bennett def. Joey Hart def. via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ateba Gautier def. Yura Naito via TKO (punches) — R2, 4:00

Ahmad Hassanzada def. Dylan Mantello via submission (rear-naked choke) — R3, 2:41

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