SHERDOG ARCHIVES: News - January 2025

Jan 19, 2025

Islam Makhachev Retains Lightweight Title, Throttles Renato Moicano Atop UFC 311 Islam Makhachev exploits the slightest of openings.

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

UFC 311 ‘Makhachev vs. Moicano’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring Sherdog's live UFC 311 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

UFC 311 Prelims: Raoni Barcelos Manhandles Undefeated Payton Talbott Raoni Barcelos reminded any and all upstarts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division that experience still matters.

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev, Justin Gaethje vs. Dan Hooker Top UFC 313 Card Alex Pereira will defend his light heavyweight crown against Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event on March 8.

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

'TUF' Co-Creator Craig Piligian to Be Enshrined in UFC Hall of Fame Contributor Wing One of the key figures in the birth of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

Khabib Believes UFC Forced Merab Dvalishvili to Fight Umar Nurmagomedov Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) doesn’t want to fight Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0).

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

Demetrious Johnson: 'Moicano' Tougher Fight for Makhachev Than Tsarukyan Demetrious Johnson considers Renato "Money Moicano" Carneiro (20-5) to be a dangerous opponent for Islam Makhachev (26-1).

UFC

Jan 18, 2025

UPDATED Injury Ejects Arman Tsarukyan From UFC 311, Moicano In vs. Makhachev The first big Ultimate Fighting Championship show of the year has just taken a monumental hit.

UFC

Jan 17, 2025

UFC 311 Weigh-in Results: New Main Event Set for PPV After a hectic UFC 311 weigh-ins, it's now official that the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first pay-per-view of the year has a new main event.

UFC

Tyler Treese

Jan 17, 2025

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman Announces Retirement At 40 years of age, a Ultimate Fighting Championship great is deciding to hang up his gloves.

UFC

Jan 17, 2025

'Money Moicano' Favors Islam Makhachev Over ATT Stablemate Arman Tsarukyan Renato "Money Moicano" Carneiro will take plenty of momentum into his showdown with Beneil Dariush at UFC 311.

UFC

Marcelo Alonso

Jan 15, 2025

Conor McGregor Sued Over Alleged Sexual Assault at 2023 NBA Finals Game The legal hits keep on coming for Conor McGregor.

UFC

Jan 15, 2025

Victoria Dudakova Apologizes for Slapping Husband After UFC Vegas 101 Loss One of the lasting images from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2025 was that of Victoria Dudakova slapping one of her coaches following a loss to...

UFC

Jan 15, 2025

PFL Officially Announces Tournament Format, $500K Payouts for Winners As expected, Professional Fighters League is doing away with its season format in favor of grand-prix style tournaments in each weight class.

Professional Fighters League

Jan 15, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan: Adriano Martins’ Win vs. Islam Makhachev Wasn’t 'Lucky Punch' Arman Tsarukyan has high praise for Adriano Martins, the only man to beat Islam Makhachev.

UFC

Jan 15, 2025

Nate Diaz Denies Alleged Elevator Encounter With Islam Makhachev Nate Diaz claims he doesn’t remember meeting Islam Makhachev in an elevator.

UFC

Jan 15, 2025

Aljamain Sterling: Dvalishvili Will Have No Issues Grappling Nurmagomedov Aljamain Sterling thinks Merab Dvalishvili will retain his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC

Jan 15, 2025

Ex-Bellator Featherweight Champ Patricio Freire Released from PFL Contract One of Professional Fighters League’s most vocal critics is now a free agent.

Professional Fighters League

Jan 14, 2025

Exec Confirms End of Bellator MMA: All Content, Fight Events Will Be 'PFL Branded' The Bellator MMA brand is officially a thing of the past.

Bellator MMA

Jan 14, 2025

Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charriere, Three Other Bouts Confirmed for UFC London A featherweight clash pitting Nathaniel Wood against Morgan Charriere was one of four bouts announced for UFC London on Tuesday.

UFC

Jan 14, 2025

Justin Gaethje Expects to Fight Dan Hooker at UFC 313 Justin Gaethje (25-5) is preparing to return to action against Dan Hooker (24-12).

UFC

Jan 14, 2025

Jiri Prochazka Believes He Can Beat Alex Pereira in Trilogy Fight Jiri Prochazka is confident he can become a UFC champ once more.

UFC

Jan 14, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares Coaching Retirement Plan Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t step away from coaching until his teammates are done.

UFC

Jan 14, 2025

Robert Whittaker: There’s 'Skill Gap' Between Islam Makhachev, Arman Tsarukyan Robert Whittaker doesn’t think Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan are on the same level.

UFC

Jan 14, 2025

Holly Holm Granted UFC Release, Open to Boxing and MMA Options in Free Agency It’s the end of an era for Holly Holm and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC

Jan 13, 2025

Broadcast Plans Revealed for PFL’s Road to Dubai Champions Series Event The mystery surrounding broadcast details for Professional Fighters League’s Road to Dubai Champions Series event is no more.

Professional Fighters League

Jan 13, 2025

Frontier Airlines Releases Statement Regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov Incident Frontier Airlines has released its side of the story regarding an incident where UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from one of its flights over the weekend.

UFC

Jan 13, 2025

Renzo Gracie, Hugo Duarte Announce Joint Competition to Be Held in Houston As initially reported in August 2023, former Brazilian rivals Renzo Gracie and Hugo Duarte have joined forces as partners at an academy in Texas

Grappling

Marcelo Alonso

Jan 13, 2025

Though Date Remains Unknown, Tom Aspinall Staying Sharp for Jon Jones Fight It should come as no suprise that Tom Aspinall is on board for a heavyweight title unification bout against Jon Jones.

UFC

Jan 13, 2025

UFC 311 Update: Newcomer Billy Elekana Steps in to Face Bogdan Guskov Billy Elekana will replace Johnny Walker and square off against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 311.

UFC

Jan 13, 2025

Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena Expected to Headline UFC London A welterweight showdown pitting ex-champ Leon Edwards against rising contender Jack Della Maddalena has been targeted to headline UFC London.

UFC

Jan 13, 2025

Mackenzie Dern Adopting Patient Approach to Reaching UFC Championship Goal While Mackenzie Dern entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a fair amount of hype behind her, it has taken some time for her to develop...

UFC

Jan 12, 2025

Video: Khabib Nurmagomedov Removed from Plane After Dispute with Flight Attendant Former UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov champion was apparently forced to exit an Alaska Airlines flight following a dispute regarding his...

UFC

Jan 12, 2025

Carlos Prates Sends Warning to UFC Champ Belal Muhammad Carlos Prates (21-6) has lofty aspirations early into his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

UFC

Jan 12, 2025

Giga Chikadze to Face David Onama at UFC Fight Night on April 5 Giga Chikadze (15-4) is set to return to action against David Onama (13-2).

UFC

Jan 12, 2025

Mackenzie Dern Armbars Amanda Ribas in UFC Vegas 101 Headliner The second verse was different from the first in the Mackenzie Dern-Amanda Ribas rivalry.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

UFC Vegas 101 ‘Dern vs. Ribas 2’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 101 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 249.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

UFC Vegas 101 Prelims: Unbeaten Jacobe Smith Zaps Preston Parsons in Octagon Debut Jacobe Smith managed to exceed the hype.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Video: Victoria Dudakova Slaps Coach After Stoppage Loss at UFC Vegas 101 Victoria Dudakova seemingly didn’t take her first technical knockout loss too well.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

UFC Vegas 101 Bonuses: Cesar Almeida Pockets $50K for Violent Knockout Cesar Almeida rallied from the brink of defeat to author a very early candidate for 2025 “Knockout of the Year.”

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Steve Erceg vs. Asu Almabaev Official for UFC Vegas 103 on March 1 Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will be back in against against rising contender Asu Almabaev at UFC Vegas 103.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Johnny Walker Withdraws from UFC 311 Due to 'Bad Injury' Johnny Walker won’t be competing at UFC 311 as originally planned.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Islam Makhachev More Interested in Second Title Than Potential Ilia Topuria Fight Islam Makhachev prefers a move up to welterweight over a clash against featherweight champ Ilia Topuria.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov Believes Merab Dvalishvili 'Created' Beef Ahead of UFC 311 Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Merab Dvalishvili has any reason to hate him.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

Coach: Umar Nurmagomedov Won’t Be Able to 'Keep Pace' with Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach is confident that the champ will retain his title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC

Jan 11, 2025

UFC Vegas 101 Weigh-in Results: Main Event Set; 2 Fighters Heavy The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns for its first mixed martial arts event of the year.

UFC

Tyler Treese

Jan 10, 2025

Olga Rubin vs. Mayra Cantuaria Headlines Invicta FC 60 in Atlanta on Feb. 7 Olga Rubin will square off against Mayra Cantuaria in the Invicta FC 60 headliner on Feb. 7.

Women’s MMA

Jan 08, 2025

Islam Makhachev Reveals Interaction with Nate Diaz Prior to Water Bottle Incident Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz allegedly had a cordial interaction months before nearly getting into a brawl last December.

UFC

Jan 08, 2025

Report: Rodolfo Bellato Replaces Marcin Prachnio, Meets Jimmy Crute at UFC 312 The UFC 312 card has undergone a change a month before fight night.

UFC

Jan 07, 2025

Angela Hill to Face Ketlen Souza at UFC Vegas 102 on Feb. 15 A strawweight matchup pitting Angela Hill against Ketlen Souza has been added to the UFC Vegas 102bill.

UFC

Jan 07, 2025

Carlos Barreto: Rumored Alex Pereira-Alexander Volkov Fight Makes 'Perfect Sense' A recent video posted by Alex Pereira created quite the uproar among UFC fans.

UFC

Marcelo Alonso

Jan 07, 2025

Bo Nickal Believes Khamzat Chimaev Won’t Be Able To Take Him Down Bo Nickal recently made some bold claims about a potential clash with Khamzat Chimaev.

UFC

Jan 07, 2025

Movsar Evloev Willing to Move to Lightweight for Chance to Face Ilia Topuria Movsar Evloev is coming for Ilia Topuria.

UFC

Jan 07, 2025

Quinton Jackson-Rashad Evans Boxing Match Targeted for Future Date in 2025 Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans will settle their old rivalry inside the squared circle.

Boxing

Jan 07, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White Elected to Meta Board of Directors Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White is joining forces with Mark Zuckerberg.

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

Henry Cejudo vs. Yadong Song, Dominick Cruz vs. Rob Font Top UFC Seattle Lineup The top of the card appears to be in place for UFC Seattle.

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

Vadim Nemkov vs. Tim Johnson Announced for Road to Dubai on Jan. 25 Vadim Nemkov will remain on the Road to Dubai card after all — he just won’t be fighting against Corey Anderson....

Bellator MMA

Jan 06, 2025

Donn Davis: PFL to Allow Elbows for All Fights in 2025 It appears that Professional Fighters League will have a significant revision to its rule set for 2025.

Professional Fighters League

Jan 06, 2025

Colby Covington Hints at Potential Move to Middleweight Division Colby Covington is intrigued by the options that might accompany a move up in weight.

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan Claims He Has a Game-Changing 'Trick' for Islam Makhachev Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) has a special trick up his sleeve for Islam Makhachev (26-1).

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

Michael Page: If 'Shara Bullet' Shoots for Takedown, 'It Means Fight is Going My Way' Michael Page (22-3) believes Sharabutdin Magomedov (15-0) will already be in a bad state if he tries to land a takedown in their upcoming clash.

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

UFC 313 Update: Chris Gutierrez to Face Jean Matsumoto on March 8 Chris Gutierrez will square off against Jean Matsumoto in a bantamweight contest at UFC 313.

UFC

Jan 06, 2025

Yazmin Jauregui, Dione Barbosa to Clash at UFC on ESPN 64 on March 29 A strawweight showdown pitting Yazmin Jauregui against Dione Barbosa is on tap for UFC on ESPN 64.

UFC

Jan 05, 2025

UFC Vegas 101 Gets Two New Matchups Ahead of Saturday’s Event The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card of 2025 has undergone a couple of changes a little less than a week before the event.

UFC

Jan 05, 2025

Deaf UFC Veteran Matt Hamill Able to Hear for 'First Time in 41 Years' Matt Hamill began the new year with a very special moment.

UFC

Jan 05, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov Hopes to Inherit Khabib’s 'Eagle' Nickname Umar Nurmagomedov wants to follow in the footsteps of cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov in every aspect.

UFC

Jan 05, 2025

Conor McGregor, Paul Hughes Slam Khabib Nurmagomedov on Dagestan-Ireland Debate Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent comments have reignited the Dagestan-Ireland mixed martial arts rivalry.

Bellator MMA

Jan 04, 2025

Former UFC Champ Michael Bisping Recalls Stress of Vision Tests with Bad Eye Going on to become an Ultimate Fighting Championship champion with one eye is a feat only Michael Bisping (30-9) has achieved and it wasn’t...

UFC

Jan 04, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov: Merab Dvalishvili Knows It Will Be 'Long Night' at UFC 311 While tensions have been rising between Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili ahead of their UFC 311 bout, the No. 1 contender doesn’t...

UFC

Jan 01, 2025

Andre Petroski Replaces Jacob Malkoun, Meets Rodolfo Vieira at UFC Vegas 102 Andre Petroski will step in for the injured Jacob Malkoun and face Rodolfo Vieira at UFC Vegas 102 on Feb. 15.

UFC

Jan 01, 2025

Naoki Inoue-Yuki Motoya Bantamweight Title Tilt Set for Rizin 50 Naoki Inoue will meet Yuki Motoya in a rematch — this time with the bantamweight title at stake — at Rizin 50.

Rizin Fighting Federation