**MMA**

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MMA - News, Schedule, Scores.. CBS Sports​

 

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MMA Roundtable: Title fights, PFL vs. Bellator, and UFC 300​

The next few months will be a fun stretch for fight fans. The UFC has a pay-per-view in Anaheim (UFC 298 on ESPN+) this month and Fight Night cards in Las Vegas and Mexico City. Plus, the clash of PFL and Bellator champions is set to go down in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24. Bellator, One Championship and UFC all have pay-per-view cards with titles up for grabs in March, and the UFC's milestone 300th pay-per-view -- with a loaded card -- will take center stage in April. But questions abound with such a stacked schedule. Which champions are most at risk of dropping their belt? What fights in the next few months offer the most intrigue? What does Kayla Harrison's transition from PFL to UFC mean going forward?

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UFC, WWE partner on 5-year deal to bring events to Anaheim​

The UFC and WWE merged last year into one company, the publicly traded TKO Group owned by Hollywood talent agency Endeavor. And now, some of the effects of that merger are coming to light. The UFC and WWE have signed a joint live event partnership with sports and entertainment district OC Vibe that will bring multiple events from both promotions to Honda Center in Anaheim, California, over the next five years, officials told ESPN on Thursday. An official announcement is expected later Thursday.

Beginning this year, the UFC and WWE will hold at least three events each at the arena through 2028, including the possibility of UFC pay-per-view and Fight Night cards and WWE Raw or SmackDown television programs. The deal does not specifically call for the UFC and WWE to hold events on back-to-back days or in the same week, though it's a possibility.

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Mike Tyson to give custom belts to PFL vs. Bellator winners​

Mike Tyson will present three winners a custom championship belt Saturday at the PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card in Saudi Arabia, PFL chairman Donn Davis told ESPN on Wednesday. Tyson will be in attendance for the event in Riyadh, which will pit some of the best fighters from PFL against some of the best from Bellator, including three bouts involving champions from each promotion. Tyson will award the winners of the top three fights the specially made Champion of Champions title belt. PFL acquired Bellator in late 2023, and this is the first event that will have fighters from both promotions competing against each other. The Champion of Champions belt has a ring fastened in the front of it that the winners can take off and wear, much like champions in other sports. The idea was a collaboration among Davis, PFL CEO Pete Murray and Ngannou, Davis said.

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Jorge Masvidal charts return; plans future boxing, MMA bouts​

Jorge Masvidal is all but out of retirement, telling ESPN that he is training for a boxing match later this year and plans to fight again in MMA. Masvidal, who announced his retirement in April after a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, has been teasing on social media a potential boxing match with fellow former UFC star Nate Diaz. The two fought for the inaugural, symbolic BMF title in 2019 with Masvidal winning via TKO due to a Diaz cut. Masvidal has been focusing on being a promoter during his short-lived retirement. His Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA promotion has an event Saturday in Orlando, Florida, headlined by a heavyweight title fight between former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and former UFC veteran Alan Belcher.

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Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal ditch MMA for rematch in boxing June 1​

A rematch of a marquee UFC headliner will happen in boxing. Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidai will fight again June 1 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, in a boxing match, officials told ESPN on Wednesday. The two fought in MMA in the UFC 244 main event on Nov. 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden, for the mythical BMF title. Masvidal won that bout via TKO (doctor's stoppage). Diaz vs. Masvidal is contracted for 10 rounds at 175 pounds. Diaz and Masvidal, two of the UFC's biggest stars of this era, have since departed the promotion, Diaz as a free agent and Masvidal via retirement. The UFC approved Masvidal to take this fight, as he is still under contract. Diaz and Masvidal have been involved in three of the top 10 UFC pay-per-view events of all time. Masvidal beat Diaz in the fourth round at UFC 244 when the ringside physician halted the bout because of a Diaz cut. That is an impetus for the rematch. There is unfinished business; Masvidal wants to remove all doubt, while Diaz is out for revenge.

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Corey Anderson tops Karl Moore for Bellator light heavyweight title​

At long last, Corey Anderson can officially call himself a champion. Anderson (18-6) claimed the vacant Bellator MMA light heavyweight title on Friday, defeating Irish challenger Kael Moore (12-3) via unanimous decision. The 205-pound fight headlined a new era in Bellator, as it was the first event of its rebranded Bellator Champions Series, following last year's merger with PFL. The event took place at SSE Arena in Belfast. For Anderson, it was his third attempt to win the Bellator title. He was beating former champion Vadim Nemkov in a title fight in 2022, before it ended in a no contest due to an accidental headbutt. He went on to lose to Nemkov by decision in an immediate rematch later that year. He never fought for a UFC title, despite a 10-5 mark there from 2014 to 2020.

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Aussie return: Blockbuster UFC 305 event heading to Perth​

UFC, together with the Western Australian Government, today announced a multiyear partnership in which UFC will return to Perth with two blockbuster events starting with UFC 305 at RAC Arena on Sunday, August 18. UFC 305 marks the third time Perth has hosted a UFC Pay-Per-View event following the success of UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold in February 2018, and most recently, the record-breaking UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski in February 2023. Under the new agreement, UFC will also work closely with Tourism WA to bring one additional must-see mixed martial arts (MMA) event to Perth featuring an exciting UFC Fight Night.

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magomed umalatov tops andrey koreshkov in unanimous decision at plf 3
Umalatov (15-0) dominated former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) in the main event of PFL 3 on Friday in Wintrust Arena. All three judges scored the welterweight headliner for Umalatov 29-28. Umalatov is now 6-0 under the PFL banner with three finishes.

amateur mma fighter sues nate diaz over altercation
Diaz was arrested and charged with second-degree battery in April 2023 when a social media video surfaced of him applying a chokehold to a man who turned out to be amateur MMA fighter Rodney Peterson. Peterson was choked unconscious and fell to the ground.

 

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ufc star conor mcgregor becomes part owner of bkfc
Conor Mcgregor's empire is expanding. The former two-division UFC champion is now a part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, he announced during the BKFC KnuckleMania 4 card Saturday night. Rather than immediately compete -- as he is set to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June -- McGregor has found another way to be a part of the largest bare knuckle organization in the world.

 

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Sean O'Malley eyes Conor McGregor fight, open to weight class move​

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Mally is willing to do whatever it takes to land a fight with Conor McGregor in what could be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. O'Malley appeared on Bradley Martyn's "Raw Talk" podcast and revealed that he would move up from 135 pounds to 155 pounds to secure a fight with McGregor. "He's big nowadays," O'Malley said of McGregor's current weight. A former two-division champion, McGregor will return to the Octagon at UFC 303 after a three-year hiatus to face Michael Chandler. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 165 pounds. It's no secret that O'Malley has idolized McGregor. But now that O'Malley's popularity has skyrocketed to make him one of the UFC's biggest attractions, the idea that his idol could become his rival is certainly tantalizing. Not to mention that O'Malley believes McGregor has become jealous of him.

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UFC's Gane will carry Olympic torch ahead of 2024 Paris Games​

Ciryl Gane is set to be a torchbearer for the 2024 Olympic Games for his home country of Paris, France. The former UFC interim heavyweight champion will be part of the traditional Olympic flame relay that goes through the host nation in the lead-up to the opening ceremony and Gane will be part of that historic event. The French fighter proudly revealed the news on his Instagram. The relay is currently underway and started on Thursday, May 9 in Marseille, France. The relay will spend the next eleven weeks traveling through France as nearly 10,000 individuals will serve as torchbearers this year. Gane will take his position during the 24th stage of the relay, which goes from the Deux-Sèvres region to Les Sables-d'Olonne.

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Mix retains Bellator title in split decision win over Magomedov​

Patrick Mix recorded the first defense of his Bellator MMA bantamweight championship Friday in a much tougher fight than most anticipated. Mix (20-1) defeated Magomed Magomedov (20-4) via split decision in the main event of Bellator Champions Series. Two judges scored the five-round bout 48-47 for Mix. A third judge saw it much differently, awarding Magomedov a score of 49-46. The 135-pound title fight took place in Accor Arena in Paris. The discrepancy in judges' scores was not surprising, as every round was extremely close. Mix was a heavy betting favorite going in.

Mix, who extended his win streak to seven in a row, threatened Magomedov with guillotine chokes in the second and third rounds. He holds a guillotine submission victory over Magomedov from 2022. That remains the only time Magomedov has been finished in his 13-year career.

Magomedov managed to escape both chokes, however, and did surprisingly well on his feet. He hurt Mix with a left hand in the third round and bloodied his nose with a right. He hurt him again with winging right hands in the fourth, to the point Mix aggressively sought a takedown of his own in the fifth.

Overall, the judges favored Mix's activity. Although he was outlanded by Magomedov in total strikes 86-79, Mix threw far more strikes and varied his attack a little more.

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islam makhachev submits dustin poirier to retain UFC title
Dustin Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) is widely recognized as the greatest UFC fighter to never hold an undisputed championship, and Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) made sure that remained true Saturday night, submitting him in the fifth round to retain the lightweight title during UFC 302 at the Prudential Center.

dustin poirier broke, ribs, tore acl vs. islam makhachev
Poirier received an indefinite suspension from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board because of the severity of the knee and nose injuries. It is not known if he will need surgery or how long he will be sidelined. He is still deciding whether he will continue his MMA career.

 

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Robert Whittaker defeats Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Fight Night​

If anyone ever doubted Robert Whittaker's willingness to fight anyone at any time, he proved them wrong and then some Saturday. In what was arguably the riskiest fight of his career, Whittaker (26-7) knocked out Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) just 1 minute, 49 seconds into their middleweight main event at UFC Fight Night. The 185-pound contest headlined UFC's first trip to Saudi Arabia, which is vying to challenge Las Vegas as the perceived "Fight Capital of the World." Whittaker was supposed to face undefeated middleweight Khamzat Chimaey (13-0), but Chimaev was forced to withdraw last week because of illness. UFC replaced Chimaev with Aliskerov, a talented up-and-comer who had fought only twice in UFC. It became an all-risk, no-reward situation for Whittaker, but he accepted anyway.

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Ramazan Kuramagomedov wrest Ballator title from Jason Jackson
All three judges scored the bout 48-47 for Kuramagomedov. Kuramagomedov (13-0) scored a takedown less than two minutes into the fight and kept Jackson (18-5) on the canvas for the rest of the first round.

Arman Tsaukyan suspended, fine for fan altercation at UFC 300
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Tsarukyan (22-3) nine months for the altercation, but will reduce it to six months if Tsarukyan participates in an anti-bullying public service announcement.

 

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Robert Whittaker defeats Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Fight Night​

If anyone ever doubted Robert Whittaker's willingness to fight anyone at any time, he proved them wrong and then some Saturday. In what was arguably the riskiest fight of his career, Whittaker (26-7) knocked out Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) just 1 minute, 49 seconds into their middleweight main event at UFC Fight Night. The 185-pound contest headlined UFC's first trip to Saudi Arabia, which is vying to challenge Las Vegas as the perceived "Fight Capital of the World." Whittaker was supposed to face undefeated middleweight Khamzai Chimaey (13-0), but Chimaev was forced to withdraw last week because of illness. UFC replaced Chimaev with Aliskerov, a talented up-and-comer who had fought only twice in UFC. It became an all-risk, no-reward situation for Whittaker, but he accepted anyway. A loss would have been a major setback for Whittaker. He has been nearly unbeatable at middleweight, but his three losses in the UFC division have come against current champion Dricus Du plessis and former champion Israel Adesanya, who are scheduled to fight at UFC 305 in August in Perth, Australia. This victory at least keeps Whittaker in the title conversation for the foreseeable future.

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FanDuel fined in N.J. for taking bets on already finished fights​

It might have seemed too good to be true, but there it was, and on April Fool's Day, no less: One of the country's leading sportsbooks was taking bets on mixed martial arts fights that had already happened a week earlier. FanDuel accepted 34 bets on the fights that were promoted by the sportsbook as live events scheduled to take place on April 1, 2022. But the fights had actually taken place a week earlier, on March 25.

New Jersey gambling regulators fined FanDuel $2,000 for the mistake, and the company paid out over $230,000 to settle the bets. FanDuel declined comment Wednesday on the fine, which it agreed to pay. But the state Division of Gaming Enforcement said in a letter made public on Monday that it was not notified by its data-feed providers that the Professional Fighters League matches were actually a recording of events that had already happened.

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Rosa Namajunas (14-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) dominate Tracy Cortez, (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC), wants UFC title shot next
With scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, Namajunas collected her second consecutive win after dropping her flyweight debut against Mangon Fiorot in 2023.
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Namajunas continued to control the fight wherever she decided to take it, dragging Cortez to the mat with her offensive wrestling in the fourth round and closing the fight with her striking pedigree controlling the action.

Alex Pereira's goals: December defense, shot vs. Jon Jones
Pereira, 37, has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC, fighting five times in 15 months. He headlined UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill on April 13 then faced Prochazka on short notice when Conor McGregory was forced off the card with a broken toe.

 

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