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CoverageLast published 29 minutes ago

Author Vela

The latest coverage from across combat sports.

MMA

DWCS Week 2 preview: BJJ world champion Mahamed Aly gets a second shot at the contract that got away

The Meta APEX runs five more auditions tonight, and the one grappling fans will circle is the light heavyweight bout. A year ago, the IBJJF world champion walked into this show and got knocked out. Now, Aly is back on the same stage, one win from the door.

Andrew Weissmann29 minutes ago5 min read

MMA photo
MMA

UFC 330 breaks the Philadelphia arena’s all-time gate record, and the number tells a bigger story than the night

A sold-out 19,238 and $6.7 million in tickets, roughly $2 million past the building’s previous best, from a card with no marquee local draw, in a city the promotion had skipped for seven years. Dana White read the numbers out loud. The live-events business heard them.

Andrew Weissmann20 hours ago4 min read
MMA

Din Thomas retires on air minutes after Robertson’s title loss, absorbs two days of backlash, then apologizes: ‘I stole her moment’

The veteran coach used his own analyst chair on the UFC 330 post-fight show to end a two-decade cornering career, saying his longtime student may have gone as far as she can go. She had not yet spoken. By Sunday, Strickland, Anik, and a blindsided Dana White had all weighed in. By Monday, Thomas opened his own show with an apology he did not soften.

Andrew Weissmann1 day ago8 min read
MMA

Makhachev names his preference for the next defence. With both contenders in attendence, it leans towards Prates.

The record-holder wants to fight again by January, before Ramadan. Asked who deserves it, he picked activity over the unbeaten record. Prates and Morales, both in the building Saturday, found each other before the champion even left the cage.

Andrew Weissmann2 days ago4 min read
MMA

UFC 330 wrap: Makhachev breaks the record that stood above everyone, and Philadelphia’s very-own, chokes out a six-to-one favourite

Seventeen straight. The number belongs to one man now. Underneath the history: a challenger who lost with more grace than he ever promised, a champion who defended her belt and left with homework, and the man with the rebuilt airway authoring the upset of the summer.

Andrew Weissmann2 days ago5 min read
MMA

UFC 330 weigh-ins: All 24 make weight in Philadelphia, both title fights official, and Morales is the insurance policy

The champion was first to the scale and the challenger matched him at an even 170. Dern hit her number for the fourteenth straight time. The only drama came half a pound at a time behind a curtain, and the promotion quietly weighed in a top contender just in case history needs a substitute.

Andrew Weissmann4 days ago3 min read
MMA

PFL Tampa card set: Cyborg defends for the final time against Vieira in what is expected to be her farewell

The most decorated woman in the sport’s history walks to a PFL cage one more time on August 22. Underneath her: a returning tournament champion with a late-replacement opponent, an undefeated Marine against a surging Englishman, and a prelim slate stacked with names the merged company inherited from three different rosters.

Andrew Weissmann5 days ago4 min read
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Tsarukyan meets Danis for the inaugural RAF middleweight crossover belt, two weeks after his UFC return

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