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Francis Ngannou has returned to training following the death of his 15-month-old son Kobe in April.

Ngannou has since returned to Las Vegas after being back home in Cameroon for the funeral and to be with family. His head coach, Eric Nicsick says he’s happy that Ngannou is back in the gym at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

“He’s healing,” Nicksick said of Francis Ngannou on The MMA Hour. “That’s the best I can say. He’s healing. You’re seeing the smile back on his face. You’re seeing the banter. He’s back in the gym talking trash to [Sean] Strickland and everybody around the room. That’s the most important thing. But all the while, you know there’s a lot of healing going on inside. Every once in a while he’ll have that moment where a vulnerability [shows itself].”

Although Francis Ngannou does not have his next fight booked, Eric Nicksick is just happy that the former UFC heavyweight champion is back training. But, as the two were chatting, Ngannou said his next fight is for his son, Kobe which was an emotional message.

“He looked at me at dinner last week and was like, ‘This next one’s for Kobe.’ That shit hit me,” Nicksick said referencing Ngannou’s son. “I was like, f*ck, whoever you’re fighting next, God bless them. If this is what we’re fighting for, this man is going to be dialed in.

“It was just nice to have him home. It was nice to give him a hug, and not even really have to say much, and just be there next to him and let him talk and let him vent. We cried, we hugged, we laughed, and those are the moments you have when you have a brother like him. Happy to have him home,” Nicksick added.

Coach Isn’t Sure What’s Next For Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou is coming off a KO loss to Anthony Joshua in his second boxing fight.

Following the fight, the expectation is Ngannou will return to MMA and make his PFL debut. But, Nicksick isn’t sure when that will happen, but is hopeful it will be this year.

“I really don’t know, to be honest with you,” Nicksick said about the timeline for Ngannou’s next fight. “I hope so [in 2024]. I hope so, because I think keeping him busy has been the best thing for him. It’s helped him a lot.

“But again, no parent should ever have to go through what he went through. Only time will tell, and time will heal. I hope that just because I want to see him compete again with this on him, I want him to be able to find a purpose in competing again. But whatever he decides to do, I’m going to have his back 110 percent,” Nicksick added.

Ngannou is 17-3 as a pro in MMA and last competed in January of 2022 when he beat Ciryl Gane by decision.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Ultimate Fighter 32 just gave fans one of the best fights of the year.

In a bout that needed another five minutes, Team Valentina Shevchenko featherweight Zygimantas Ramaska (9-2) out-slugged Team Alexa Grasso’s Bekhzod Usmonov (11-4) to win a decision in an exhilarating two-round contest on the latest TUF 32 episode.

Shevchenko closed the gap between herself and her flyweight rival, snagging a second win of the season to narrow Grasso’s lead to 3-2. Ramaska joins teammate Roedie Roets in the semifinals of the season’s 145-pound tournament.

The taller Ramaska was the aggressor from the start of this week’s fight, as he used his impressive reach to walk Usmonov down and tag him with strikes. Ramaska didn’t hesitate to repeatedly throw head kicks as Usmonov worked to navigate the distance. With Ramaska pushing the pace in the middle of the round, Usmonov caught him with a cracking right hand that dropped Ramaska. He followed with ground-and-pound, but Ramaska recovered and somehow found the will to fire back with more kicks and clinch knees. By the end of Round 1, blood was pouring out of Usmonov’s nose from the sharp techniques.

Ramaska, seemingly fully recovered, didn’t let up in Round 2. He continued to score in the clinch, brutalizing Usmonov with knees and mixing in takedowns. Though Usmonov continued to fire back with heavy leather, Ramaska had a clear advantage in volume. Somehow, neither fighter suffered a knockdown in the second frame several clean shots connecting on both sides.

Despite Usmonov scoring a knockdown in Round 1, all three judges rewarded two rounds to Ramaska, giving him the win. Afterwards, UFC CEO Dana White entered the cage to personally congratulate the fighters for their incredible efforts.

In an odd twist, Ramaska and Usmonov actually ended up competing at a catchweight of 146.5 pounds after both fighters came in slightly heavy and the coaches agreed to just let them fight at the new poundage rather than force them to cut anymore weight.

Next week, the middleweight tournament continues as Team Grasso No. 4 Tom Theocharis fights Team Bullet No. 3 Ryan Loder.

The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Following the season finale, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are expected to face off in a flyweight championship trilogy bout at a date still to be determined.

The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournaments will also compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the show’s live finale. A date for that event is also yet to be announced.

Here are the TUF 32 rosters divided by team:

Team Grasso

Featherweights

1. Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
2. Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
3. Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
4. Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)

Middleweights

1. Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
2. Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1)
3. Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
4. Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)

Team Shevchenko

Featherweights

1. Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1)
2. Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
3. Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
4. Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)

Middleweights

1. Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
2. Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
3. Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1)
4. Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)

Here are the quarterfinal results so far:

Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres via decision

Robert Valentin def. Giannis Bachar via KO (strikes) (R1)

Kaan Ofli def. Nathan Fletcher via decision

Omran Chaaban def. Shamidkhan Magomedov via technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)

Zygimantas Ramaska def. Bekhzod Usmonov

Advancing to semifinals: Roets, Valentin, Ofli, Chaaban, Ramaska

Eliminated: Torres, Bachar, Fletcher, Magomedov, Usmonov

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Tensions were high during the first staredown between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya since their championship bout announced.

Du Plessis will defend his newly won title against the former champion in the main event of UFC 305 on Aug. 17 at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. The heated rivals took part in the event’s on-sale press conference on Tuesday, and after taking questions from the media, du Plessis and Adesanya went face-to-face, and it was quite intense.

Check out the first face-off between the headliners below.

Du Plessis and Adesnaya faced off once before following the former’s stoppage win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 just under a year ago, planting seeds for a matchup later in the year. Du Plessis did not face Adesanya for the title at UFC 293 this past September, but Sean Strickland did and pulled off a massive upset to capture the title in a lopsided decision win.

Four months later, du Plessis became champion after earning a split decision over Strickland in the main event of UFC 297, picking up his ninth straight win in the process.

“The Last Stylebender” will make his return to the octagon for the first time since the loss to Strickland, capping off the longest layoff of his pro career.

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Diaz backs White
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UFC

Do you remember Travis Browne? Well, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) apparently did not until today (Tues., July 2, 2024).

MMA Fighting has confirmed that the former Heavyweight Top 10 contender, Browne (9-8-1 in UFC, 18-7-1 overall), has been released from his UFC contract. The news comes seven years after Browne’s last fight, a fourth consecutive loss that came via a second round Aleksei Oleinik rear-naked choke. Browne has shown no indication of returning since the defeat, but never formally notified the promotion of a retirement. Browne’s last win was a third round technical knockout of Matt Mitrione in January 2016.

Slipping into the shadows of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the past decade, he’s been seen on occasion alongside his wife, former UFC Bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.

The 41-year-old “Hapa” entered the Octagon with plenty of fanfare as an undefeated 9-0 prospect in 2010. Browne went 13-0-1 before taking his first loss, a first round technical knockout opposite Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the October 2012 clash.

Although Browne’s UFC run ended unceremoniously, he put some notable names on his resume with impressive wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Stefan Struve, Brendan Schaub, and the aforementioned Mitrione.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Middleweights are set to slug it out at the UFC’s debut at Sphere.

A person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Michel Pereira and Anthony Hernandez has been added to UFC 306, which the UFC has rebranded Riyadh Season Noche UFC, on Sept. 14 at the Las Vegas venue. Pereira first announced the bout on Instagram.

Since making the move to middleweight, Pereira has been on an absolute tear — going 3-0 in just over three minutes of octagon time. “Demolidor” is set to make his fourth appearance since October 2023 after earning quick finishes of Ihor Potieria, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Andre Petroski, earning him the No. 12 spot in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings.

Hernandez has been one of the division’s surging contenders as he enters the contest with an impressive five-fight win streak. In his most recent outing, “Fluffy” submitted Roman Kopylov in the second round at February’s UFC 298 event. The No. 15 ranked middleweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings was set to face Roman Dolidze at UFC 302 in June, but withdrew due to injury.

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