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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Muhammad Mokaev had to be admitted to hospital after his involvement in a serious car crash in Dagestan, Russia earlier this week.

‘The Punisher’ seems to have the worst luck of late and his wrecked Mercedes-Benz only adds to his list of troubles. Just last month, the prospect was handed his release by the UFC despite being undefeated in the cage.

Now, while riding his car through Dagestan, Russia, Muhammad Mokaev was involved in a crash. Mokaev was driving with a friend on the way to visit family before a collision forced his car off the road.

Luckily for the 24-year-old, he and his friend managed to avoid any serious injury. The MMA star was taken to hospital and later released in good health. 

Mokaev posted to X to give an update on his situation and also thank those who support him.

“Alhamdulillah,” Mokaev said in his first post since the crash. “I’m well, out from hospital. Thank you for the support.”

“I have been tested on a high level at this stage of my career and I will be back stronger. InshaAllah.”

Alhamdulillah
I’m well, out from hospital
Thank u for the support!❤️

I have been tested on high level at this stage of my career and I will be back stronger InshaAllah! pic.twitter.com/FGmkOALgz5

— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) August 22, 2024

Related: Steve Erceg sheds light on ‘entitled’ Muhammad Mokaev’s UFC release

Muhammad Mokaev has been a dominant presence in the UFC’s flyweight division since first competing for the company over two years ago. The rising star has bested some high-level opponents and was likely within touching distance of a title shot before disaster struck.

Despite have an incredible 7-0 record inside the octagon, he was released by the promotion following a win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 last month.

Now, Mokaev finds himself in a precarious position with many conflicting reports surrounding his future. Any promoter would be lucky to have the 12-0 talent at their disposal, but rumors suggest that the PFL and Brave CF are ahead of the pack in being linked with the 125er’s signature.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Too Much Waiting
| BJPenn.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is pulling out all the stops for his first official fight in Mexico City, Mexico, and that includes riding around town in a bulletproof tank.

In case you don’t know, Mayweather will make his return to the boxing ring this weekend in a rematch against John Gotti III. This will be a reboot from their initial exhibition boxing match back in June 2023, which ended in excessive trash talking and an all-out brawl inside of the ring. Boxing fans have been awaiting Mayweather’s return to action ever since.

Luckily, they won’t have to wait any longer as “Money” meets Gotti live on DAZN PPV this Saturday night (Aug. 24, 2024) from inside Arena CDMX. Believe it or not, this will be the first time in Mayweather’s near-30 year career that he is fighting on Mexican soil. That’s pretty incredible to believe.

While Mexico City isn’t the safest place in the world due to ongoing issues with local cartels it’s especially dangerous for someone like Mayweather. Not only because Mayweather carries an insane amount of cash with him wherever he goes, but also because “Money” has defeated some of Mexico’s most popular boxers. This includes Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya, and Juan Manuel Marquez. Needless to say, the undefeated boxer didn’t know what to expect when he traveled south of the border.

In effort to move throughout Mexico City in peace, Mayweather rode around in a massive bulletproof tank. The millionaire boxer has been known to purchase some pretty wild cars over the years, but this one takes the cake. Check out the footage below:

Of course, fight fans had a lot to say about Mayweather’s bulletproof whip. Check out some of the hilarious reaction below and don’t miss Mayweather’s rematch with Gotti this weekend in Mexico City:

“Not even Donald trump ask for that much”

“No wonder why he already needs more money”

“I mean almost everyone in Mexico hates him so”

“Floyd won’t be talking his normal shit in Mexico”

“I bet he can’t spell bulletproof”

“Hope they got his step stool”

“Floyd taking no chances”

“The cartel could still get em if they wanted to”

“Traveling in a tank, but transitioning between locations at a snails pace and waving at fans. Pure retardation.”

For more boxing news and notes click here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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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