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Check out the best photos from Cedric Doumbe vs. Jordan Zebo , which took place Saturday at PFL Europe 3 in Paris (photos via PFL). from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/YmuNXg7 via IFTTT

There are debuts – and then there’s what Cedric Doumbe did Saturday in Paris. At PFL Europe 3, Doumbe (5-0) treated his home country crowd to a memorable performance when he knocked out opponent Jordan Zebo (4-1) in just nine seconds. Doumbe, a former Glory Kickboxing champion with a 75-5-1 kickboxing record, may have overdelivered on an already highly-anticipated first PFL showing. Before the fight even started, Doumbe had the crowd in the palm of his hand at Zenith Paris. As the crowd played along with opening chants during his walkout, Doumbe walked through the crowd with a mattress and pillow. Following the cage announcer’s introduction, Doumbe hosted another chant as he spoke to the crowd just before referee Marc Goddard’s instructions. The fight itself was over in a flash, as Doumbe caught a high kick attempt by Zebo. As Zebo turned Doumbe hammered him with a left hand and follow-up shots, that sent the crowd into a frenzy. HOLY ! DOUMBE WITH THE FINISH IN SECONDS! #PFLP

Abdoul Abdouraguimov has officially arrived in PFL. Saturday, Abdouraguimov (17-1) made quick work of Brad Wheeler (18-14) when took the fight to the ground and won by rear-naked choke at 2:43 of Round 1. The 180-pound fight was the co-main event of PFL Europe 3 at Zenith Paris La Villette in Paris. Wheeler proved to be game on the feet, though his opportunity there was short lived. After a few punches landed on Abdouraguimov, “The Lazy King” shot for a takedown. He quickly sliced through Wheeler’s grappling defense, took the back, locked in the choke, and got the tap. Abdoul Abdouraguimov gets the tap!! #PFLParis EN EXCLUSIVITE sur RMC Sport INTERNATIONALLY LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/36XX2SKlgo — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 30, 2023 After weeks of angling for a UFC opportunity, “The Lazy King” ultimately signed with PFL in August . Since his signing came during the 2023 PFL Playoffs, Abdouraguimov won’t enter the promotion’s season format until 2024. Following

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal weighs an estimated 350 pounds these days. UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili fights at 115. Despite the massive difference in height and weight, Weili threw physics to the wall as she returned to picking up super heavyweight-sized men off the ground ( as she did with Francis Ngannou ). O’Neal was visibly thrown by Weili’s single-leg elevation. The four-time NBA champion’s legs dangled in the air as he went up and then back to earth. This all came after O’Neal let Weili punch him in the midsection. The punch wasn’t that hard, but still got a reaction from the big man. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Weili Zhang 张伟丽 (@zhangweilimma) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Weili Zhang 张伟丽 (@zhangweilimma) I just love everything about this. First of all, I like to think this is some sort of initiation by Weili whenever she befriends someon

If she wasn’t already a star, Stamp Fairtex seemingly solidified her status Friday when she became a three-sport titleholder in ONE Championship, a rare feat Fairtex (11-2) danced her way to the cage at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, before she handled business and finished UFC alumnus Seo Hee Ham (26-9) in Round 3 of the ONE Fight Night 14 headliner. The win earned her the ONE Championship 115-pound title, which was vacated minutes earlier by Angela Lee’s impromptu retirement . “I feel very proud and happy that I have achieved the three-sport world titles today,” Fairtex said at a virtual post-fight news conference. “I think I’m the only woman and I’m the first person who has achieved this title.” The MMA title joins the promotion’s kickboxing title and muay Thai title in Fairtex’s collection. As if the completed trifecta wasn’t special enough, Fairtex received the torch from her idol (and former opponent) Lee in the cage after the fight. “I was very overwhelmed because i

Michael Bisping says there’s no question that the Diaz brothers deserve a place in the UFC Hall of Fame. Both widely popular amongst fans, Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz emerged as some of the biggest stars in UFC history. Although neither fighter achieved UFC gold, Bisping thinks their impact on the sport has to be recognized. “Do these guys deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? My God, of course. Without a shadow of a doubt. Without question,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel . “I say both of them. I think Nick Diaz over Nate Diaz certainly deserves to be there. “Nate Diaz, of course, is a global sensation. The win over McGregor and the loss to McGregor, they were some of the biggest pay-per-views and people just love the guy. They love to watch him fight.” Nate fought for the UFC lightweight title in 2014, but fell short against Benson Henderson. The Season 5 “Ultimate Fighter” winner holds notable wins over Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, and Tony Fergu

It’s been a little over a year since Mike Beltran has officiated a major promotional fight. Beltran, 50, had good reason to quietly slip away behind-the-scenes, however. The veteran referee focused on recovery from surgery where over a foot of his colon was removed in an effort to combat diverticulitis, he revealed on social media Friday along with a picture of a gnarly post-surgery wound. Thursday, Beltran returned to the cage for the first time in 12 months, when he officiated regional event UNF 12 at Academy L.A. in Los Angeles. “I was a bit rusty last night after being out for a year and very critical of myself. However, the more I’m in there better I will be.” Beltran wrote. “I felt strong and I’m back!!!!! Can I get a ‘hell yeah.'” Beltran added he’ll make his return to major promotional MMA at Bellator 300 on Oct. 7 in San Diego. View this post on Instagram A post shared by mike_beltrán (@referee_mike_beltran) In additi

Will Jermell Charlo be just another American victim of Canelo Alvarez ? The Mexican star, who is scheduled to defend his 168-pound championship against Charlo on pay-per-view Saturday in Las Vegas, has fought 13 opponents from the United States and has beaten all but one of them, Floyd Mayweather. Alvarez has faced more fellow Mexicans (22-0-1) than those from any other country. However, his dominance over Americans – as well as Britons (8-0) – has shaped his legacy. The then-23-year-old 154-pound titleholder took a big risk when he decided to fight Mayweather , already an all-time great at the time, but none of “Money’s” countrymen have been able to take him down. Alvarez fought a few obscure Americans early in his career but three consecutive victories over elite Yanks in 2012 and 2013 helped lift him to star status, a one-sided decision over future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley, a fifth-round knockout of Josesito Lopez and a clear decision over then-unbeaten Austin Trout. Trout

BKFC 51 takes place Friday at Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va., as 20 bareknuckle fighters come together for 10 five-round scraps. Atop the card, BKFC women’s strawweight champion Britan Hart (7-1) aims to defend her title against undefeated challenger Melanie Shah (2-0). The main card streams on Fubo after prelims on MMA Junkie, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The bout will be Shah’s first of two scheduled less than two months apart. Should she walk away relatively unscathed from Friday’s bout, Hart will compete Nov.4 at BKFC Thailand 5 vs. Chisakan Ariphipat (2-0). Additional bouts on BKFC 51’s main card include former UFC fighter Dustin Pague (2-1) vs. Joe Elmore (2-2), and Stanislav Grosu (2-2) vs. Blake LaCaze (1-3). Check out up-to-the-minute results below: MAIN CARD (Fubo Sports, 9 p.m. ET) Champion Britain Hart vs. Melanie Shah – for women’s strawweight title Joe Elmore vs. Dustin Pague Stanislav Grosu vs. Blake LaCaze Bruce Abramski vs. Mark Culp Joseph Creer vs. Ro

The Cage Warriors 160 main event ended in grotesque and unfortunate fashion. Cage Warriors 160 took place Friday at BEC Arena in Manchester, England, and concluded after Tobias Harila (12-4) suffered a nasty arm injury on a takedown by opponent James Hendin (8-2) during their welterweight headliner. The injury occurred early in Round 3 of the contest. As Hendin dropped him to the canvas on a double leg attempt along the cage, Harila planted his arm on the mat – a big mistake. Gravity took over as the weight of both men contorted the arm in a nasty direction. Almost immediately, Harila tapped and referee Marc Goddard officially called off the fight at 0:28 of Round 3. Despite the gruesome appears of the sideways-pointed limb, Harila got up and walked out of the cage under his own power. Check out full video of the incident below, if you dare. Oh, no #CW160 pic.twitter.com/J1Ek6iXUi3 — UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 29, 2023 The full Cage Warriors 160 results inc

The heavyweight division, as defined by the unified rules of MMA via the Association of Boxing Commissions , consists of fighters who are between 206 and 265 pounds. Prior to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board conceiving a set of rules and weight classes in 2000 that became the base of operations we are now familiar with today, MMA was essentially the Wild West when it started out in the 1990s. From open-weight matches to one-night tournaments, heavyweight fighters and classifications were a common occurrence in MMA’s early days. However, since the early 2000s, the heavyweight classification has largely stayed consistent across major promotions (despite some disarray amongst the lower weight classes). With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the classics that this iconic division has given us throughout the years by listing my top five heavyweight wars of all time. As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve

Charles Oliveira admits he would have preferred rematching Islam Makhachev elsewhere. Former champion Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) will run things back with lightweight champion Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) in the UFC 294 headliner, which takes place Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Their first title fight took place less than a year ago in Abu Dhabi, where Makhachev ran through Oliveira with a second-round submission at UFC 280. Now, Oliveira will have to fight Makhachev again in Abu Dhabi. “I don’t necessarily think it’s fair, but it’s the game,” Oliveira told My MMA News through an interpreter. “That’s where the champion is. He calls the shots. But I’m coming back for my belt, wherever that is.” Oliveira earned a second shot at Makhachev after snapping Beneil Dariush’s eight-fight winning streak with a first-round TKO at UFC 289 in June . He was dubbed next in line for the title, but took a while to accept the rematch. However, it turns out it was just a negotiation

There’s no set date, but MMA is bound to be some part of Danielle Kelly ’s combat sports career. The standout grappler currently signed with ONE Championship is confident she’ll make a transition into MMA at some point in her career. For now, Kelly is currently focused on furthering her grappling career but keeps MMA in mind. “I still have to prove myself a lot in jiu-jitsu,” Kelly told MMA Junkie. “If I make the jump to MMA right away, I won’t feel I’m complete. Some things will have to be negotiated, but when that time comes, I’ll be ready just whenever that is, but right now I’m focused on jiu-jitsu.” Kelly competes Sept. 29 in a rematch against Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling title. It’s one of the boxes on her checklist she needs to hit before transitioning to MMA. “When I become a world champion, when I beat more legends, then maybe I’ll make the walk over,” Kelly said. “Eventually I want to (transition to MMA) because that’s why I s

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk is on. The heavyweight titleholders have signed contracts to crown the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Fury’s co-promoter Queensberry Promotions said in a news released. Queensberry said the date of the fight and other details will be announced “in due course.” ESPN reported that the event could take place in December or early next year, citing sources. The fight will be promoted by Queensberry, Top Rank, K2 and Usyk 17. “Delighted to finally get this fight signed,” Queensberry’s Frank Warren. “This is the biggest fight that could possibly be made in our sport. The heavyweights always spark the imagination of the fans, and I have no doubt this will be the biggest boxing event of the century. “I look forward to Tyson reclaiming the three belts that he never lost in the ring.” Said Alex Krassyk of K2, Usyk’s promoter: “I can’t believe that it’s happening but it is. Difficult to express my admiratio

Conor McGregor gave an update on his comeback and various other topics. The former UFC dual-champion has not competed since breaking his leg in a doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, but is nearing a return. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is expected to come back against Michael Chandler , who he recently spent eight weeks with coaching Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” In an interview with Mirror Fighting (h/t All Out Fighting ), McGregor answered questions on Chandler, Dillon Danis ’ upcoming boxing match with Logan Paul on Oct. 14, and Nate Diaz ’s loss to Jake Paul in his professional boxing debut this past August. Check out what McGregor had to say by scrolling below. from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/IbGwziS via IFTTT

Henry Cejudo sees Jiri Prochazka ’s go-with-the-flow fighting style as a big threat. Former champion Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets Alex Pereira (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant light heavyweight title in the UFC 295 co-headliner Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Cejudo helped train Prochazka prior to his title fight against Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. Prochazka ended up submitting Teixeira late in Round 5 , in what was a back-and-forth barnburner. Cejudo recalls advising Prochazka to be tactical, but Prochazka ended up engaging in a wild brawl. “I’ve trained Jiri – Jiri’s come out here for a few weeks to train with me,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel . “Jiri Prochazka, he’s a different style of fighting. There’s a belief in him that makes him dangerous, you know? The fact that he’s a fighter that literally goes off of rhythm – he’s a rhythm fighter. He’s a guy that’s going to go out there and use all the rhythm that he has in order to start getting his stri

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and NBA champion Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray are used to being at a size disadvantage in their respective sports. Standing at 5-foot-6, Volkanovski typically finds himself matched against fighters a few inches taller. On the basketball court, Murray may typically be guarded by someone close to his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, but will have to deal with defenders over seven feet tall on a regular basis. No matter the height difference, Volkanovski has the advantage of knowing each opponent has to fit into his weight class, while Murray doesn’t have that luxury. The two champions recently jumped into Volkanovksi’s world. Murray met up with Volkanovski to receive some striking and grappling pointers from the UFC champ, but also didn’t shy away from issuing a challenge of his own for a live roll. “You try to submit me in under a minute,” Murray said in the video posted to Volkanovski’s YouTube channel . Volkanovski smiled as t

Daniel Cormier thinks Tony Ferguson could show flashes of his prime form vs. Paddy Pimblett . Ferguson (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) will look to snap a six-fight losing skid when he takes on Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. During his six-fight losing streak, Ferguson has been finished in his past three by Bobby Green, Nate Diaz, and Michael Chandler, with the remaining losses coming to Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira, and Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was able to stun Gaethje with an uppercut and drop Chandler, so Cormier wonders if he’ll be able to pull off a big moment against Pimblett and get his hand raised. “Is it as simple as he just needs one?” Cormier asked on his YouTube channel . “Because imagine what happens for Tony Ferguson if he beats Paddy Pimblett. He said before the last fight – I sat in the fighter meeting with him and Tony Ferguson said, ‘It’s going to be a fight right now. Five more fights, I’m on the title.’ So, it’s not

Competitive grappling has changed a ton in recent years. Now, more than ever, athletes are able to make money competing, as there’s a bigger appetite for the sport and there are many opportunities for grapplers. Danielle Kelly , one of the most popular female grapplers today, is one of several top jiu-jitsu athletes who have chosen to sign with combat sports promotion ONE Championship. These deals are exclusive, making it an interesting choice given the many options in promotions today. For Kelly, who returns on Sept. 29 in a rematch against Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling title, signing with ONE Championship was a no-brainer. “Well, for the first thing, ONE has come out with submission grappling strictly,” Kelly told MMA Junkie. “They have different Muay Thai, kickboxing, MMA and the newest is grappling. I was the first women’s grappling match, which is really cool. I got provided with the opportunity and I felt I could grow the division.

Canelo Alvarez acknowledged the obvious at Wednesday’s final news conference before he defends his 168-pound championship against Jermell Charlo on pay-per-view Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I have to prove that I’m still on top,” he said, echoing the thoughts of everyone who has followed his career. Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) has struggled in his past three fights, a unanimous decision  loss to Dmitry Bivol  at 175 pounds and uninspiring nods over faded rival  Gennadiy Golovkin  in their third fight and  John Ryder . The Mexican superstar has attributed his subpar performances to injuries, including one to his left wrist that was surgically repaired late last year. He insists he’s healthy now and will prove he’s not in decline, as many have suggested. He certainly understands the importance of this fight. “I don’t know what animal I need to be, but I’m that animal,” he said. “Tune in on September 30. It’s gonna be good, believe me. I never overlook any fighter. I know

Stipe Miocic admits he would have loved to settle the score with Francis Ngannou . Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) hasn’t competed since losing his heavyweight title to Ngannou in a knockout loss in March 2021 . Ngannou was able to avenge his loss to Miocic after getting battered in their first title fight in January 2018. But with Ngannou now signed with PFL after parting ways with the UFC, Miocic knows a rubber match is highly unlikely. “It definitely sucks. I definitely wanted that trilogy,” Miocic said in an interview with the New York Post . “But unfortunately, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Listen, he’s on to bigger and better things.” Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut in a non-title, 10-round bout against WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Having fought Ngannou twice, Miocic knows just how devastating “The Predator’s” power is. “On paper, Tyson Fury is one of the best boxers of all time, amazing at what he does. But Francis hits r

Leg breaks, shoulders popping out, gruesome cuts and many other unfortunate injuries are part of what comes with competing in MMA. It’s a sad, but very real and unavoidable consequence of professional fighting. Although there have been some scary scenes in recent years, perhaps none is more frightening than Vicente Luque ’s near-career-ending injury, which went undetected by the naked eye. In August 2022, Luque (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) suffered his first knockout loss after proving unstoppable in 30 professional fights prior. What appeared to be Luque’s worst career loss sporting-wise, also happened to be his worst physically. “When I went to the hospital, and I’m not one to get scared easily, I got the news, and I wasn’t scared,” Luque told MMA Junkie in Spanish , recalling when the doctor broke the news he had a brain hemorrhage. “I felt things were going to be ok. I felt fine. I did have a headache, when I would stand up I would get a little dizzy, but I was there. I could call my