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Canelo Alvarez was originally scheduled to fight Christian Mbilli on Sept. 12, but the fight was pushed back and now has a new date, Saturday, Oct. 31. (Fight night = fright night!) Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will challenge super middleweight champion Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) for the WBC ***** le. It's not the only ***** le fight on the card, either; you can also catch Rafael Espinoza vs. Lorenzo Parra sparring for the featherweight WBO ***** le and a bout between Jaime Munguia and Nikita Zon for Munguia's WBA super middleweight ***** le.
You can tune in to the Alvarez vs. Mbilli fight at home on DAZN PPV, where it will cost $79.99, but if you want to save a little, you can also watch the fight with DAZN's PPV subscription plan, which is just $49.99/month and gets you more than 12 PPV fights per year.
Here's everything you need to know to watch the Alvarez vs. Mbilli fight, including the schedule, fight card, prices, and more.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31

#card

Boxing's biggest star, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, will look to become a two-time super middleweight champion when he challenges Christian Mbilli for the WBC ****** le on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It has been over a year since Alvarez lost his undisputed crown courtesy of a tremendous performance from Terence Crawford — and that means it has been a year since Alvarez last held a world ****** le.
For a fighter who was champion for seven straight years — from 2018-25 — not having a world ****** le is an unnatural feeling for the Mexican, but it has been Alvarez's reality since being outclassed by Crawford more than 13 months ago.
Hours before Crawford's win over Canelo, Lester Martinez held Mbilli to a draw on the undercard. Mbilli, the WBC interim champion, was upgraded to full champion shortly after and has now landed the golden ticket as it were — an opportunity to upset the sport's commercial king.
Canelo Alvarez wants to prove he has plenty left.

#alvarez #mbilli #title #held

The UFC is officially returning to Toronto with a numbered event. During Saturday's UFC Edmonton broadcast, the promotion announced that UFC 336 will take place at Scotiabank Arena on January 30, 2027.
The event will mark the UFC's first trip to Toronto since January 2024, when Dricus du Plessis edged Sean Strickland via split decision in a middleweight ***** le fight to capture the championship.
Although no official bouts have been announced for UFC 336, the card could feature a major welterweight showdown, potentially including a ***** le fight. With several top contenders seemingly lining up for their next ***** ignments, Toronto could be in for a stacked night of fights.
The welterweight division has one of the most competitive groups of contenders at the top, and UFC 336 could bring together six of its biggest names on the same card, with championship implications potentially at stake.
The biggest rumored matchup is a welterweight ***** le fight between Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates. According to MMA reporter Alvaro Colmenero, the Brazilian could get his shot at the champion as early as January 2027, with Makhachev potentially making his second ***** le defense at UFC 336.

#january #title #potentially #announced

Eddie Hearn's roster of UFC fighters appears to have a new addition in the form of Paulo Costa. The former middleweight ***** le challenger is set to join Matchroom Talent Agency alongside reigning heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Ian Machado Garry.
The Brazilian recently revealed that he has parted ways with longtime manager Tiki Ghosn and is now ready to start a new chapter. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Costa revealed that he is set to begin a new managerial partnership with Hearn.
Costa revealed that Hearn sent him the contract a few days before his UFC 332 controversy erupted. He also confirmed that Hearn will handle both his sponsorships and managerial duties moving forward.
He said, "Yes, both! The whole thing. I have too much respect for what he's doing. He's a great guy, a great professional. I think we're going to do great things together."
Costa added, "He's a super important person in the fight business. Not only in MMA, but not only in boxing, but he's coming to MMA right now. I think this is a great acquisition for the MMA community."

#revealed #think #matchroom

Double Olympic Taekwondo champion Jade Jones is determined to prove that age will not hold her back as the 33-year-old prepares to box Hungarian MMA fighter Sheena Bathory on 12 September.
Welsh competitor Jones announced herself to the boxing world back in February with a second-round knockout against reality TV star Egypt Criss, before then dispatching Argentine influencer FederiKita in May to take her record to 2-0.
After her winning start, Jones, will now face her toughest test yet as she prepares to face Bathory for the Misfits super middleweight ***** le at Newcastle's Utilita Arena.
Since beginning her boxing career at 31-years-old, the fearless Jones hopes she can inspire others with her journey.
"I wanted to show people that you shouldn't be scared of failing and trying. People do think 'oh you're 33', and I did start to feel like that at the end of my Taekwondo career, that I'm older now and I've kind of passed the line," said Jones.

#bathory #Career

ChrisWeidman is reportedly set for his commentary debut.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ******* leholder looksset to make his commentary debut on Week 5 of Dana White's Contender Series Season 10.
Since he retired from mixed martial arts, Weidman has workedextensively as a desk ******* yst for UFC events. He's been a fixtureon pre-fight weigh-in shows and his profile further grew with thepopularity of Paramount's "Deep Waters" podcast, where he discussescombat sports news alongside DustinPoirier, JorgeMasvidal and DinThomas.

According to MMA Junkie, Weidman will join Laura Sankoand play-by-play announcer Dan ******* ie in the three-person booth forthe five-fight card at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 8.

Weidman, 42, last competed in December 2024, suffering asecond-round TKO loss to Eryk Anders.The UFC Hall of Famer finished his MMA career with a 16-8 record,going 12-8 in the UFC. He famously ended AndersonSilva's historic 16-fight win streak in the UFC, a record thatwas recently broken by welterweight champ IslamMakhachev.

#play #record #chrisweidman #fighting

MichaelPage may have reached the end of his Ultimate Fighting Championship run.

Page completed his current UFC contract with a unanimous decisionwin over NursultonRuziboev at UFC Paris on Sept. 5. Despite the victory, the former Bellatorstandout has now been removed from the promotion's latest round ofrankings eligibility, according to an email sent to rankingpanelists.
Longtime mixed martial arts reporter John Morgan shared an email he received from the UFCregarding the latest round of ranking updates.

"Dear Panelists, Michael Page has been removed from rankingseligibility effective immediately," the email read. "If you rankedhim in your middleweight division already, we ask that you pleasere-rank that division to make sure you have 15 athletes."

This comes after Page himself acknowledged that he may not beoffered another UFC contract after another lackluster decisionwin.

"They weren't happy with me before; they're not gonna be happy withme now," Page said following the fight. "If I put myself in theirshoes, it's like, same thing. 'We can sign him again, but are wegonna see much more?'"

Page joined the UFC in 2024 and has gone 5-1 inside the Octagon,with his only defeat coming against IanGarry.

#email #happy #michaelpage

"El Cucuy" is back for more.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will return to the boxing ring to defend his Misfits Middleweight ***** le against former soccer player Kenzo Biyong on Sept. 26, 2026, inside James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.
Misfits Boxing announced the bizarre matchup this weekend. The five-round ***** le fight will stream live on DAZN.
Ferguson, 42, has found new life since departing UFC on the heels of a record-setting eight-fight losing streak. "El Cucuy" snapped his nearly six-year winless drought in Aug. 2025, stopping popular influencer Salt Papi in the third round of his Misfits debut (watch highlights).
Four months later, Ferguson dropped and defeated Warren Spencer via unanimous decision to capture the vacant Misfits Middleweight championship (highlights). He is now 2-0 as a boxer, and his showdown with Biyong will mark his first ***** le defense.

#biyong

A clash of former UFC champions on the RAF mats didn't last long.
In the main event of RAF Moscow, former UFC middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev took on former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. The event took place at Arena Mytishchi in Moscow, Russia – the first RAF show in the country. Chimaev and Woodley competed in a catchweight match at 195 pounds.
Chimaev jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and then got a body lock takedown on Woodley, pinning his back flat onto the canvas with 26 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Check out video of the pin in the video below:
Chimaev improves to 2-0 under the RAF banner, following a pinfall victory over Dillon Danis at RAF 10 in June. Woodley won his RAF debut against Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12 on Aug. 22, and now falls to .500 in the wrestling promotion.

#chimaev #khamzat

Real American Freestyle (RAF) returns TODAY (Sat., Sept. 5, 2026) with a special (yet controversial) card, streaming live from inside Arena Mytishchi in Moscow, Russia.
In the main event, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, competes in his second RAF match against former UFC Welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley.
Russian wrestling legend, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, meets Zac Braunagel in the co-main event.
The card also includes Kyle Snyder vs. Akhmed Tazhudinov, Kyle Dake vs. Kadik and Kennedy Blades vs. Vusala Parfianovich. Jordan Burroughs and Bo Nickal are also on the card.
RAF Moscow kicks off at 9 a.m. ET and will stream … somewhere.

#moscow #Event #freestyle

The hours are quickly winding down to UFC Fight Night 287 which marks the promotion's fourth-annual stop in Paris.
It will be a big night in France, with local favorite and former KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse (23-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) set to make his octagon debut in the main event when he tests his skills against the self-proclaimed "gatekeeper to the top 10" at lightweight in Dan Hooker (24-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC).
The critical five-round showdown at 155 pounds is grabbing most of the attention, but there's plenty more going on during Saturday's card at Accor Arena (Paramount+), particularly the potential UFC finale of Michael Page (25-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who fights the last bout of his contract in a middleweight featured contest against Nursulton Ruziboev (37-9-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC).
The help prepare for the card, MMA Junkie reporters Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun will preview the top storylines, angles and more before UFC Fight Night 287.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: UFC Paris live preview show with Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn

#night #hannoun #preview

It's that time again!
Contender Series is back with 10 straight weeks of mixed martial arts (MMA) action, streaming at 7 p.m. ET TONIGHT (Tues., Sept. 1, 2026) on Paramount+.
In the main event, Welterweights collide as Patrick Rivera (13-4) fights Adam Darby (7-1). The co-main event sees a returning Middleweight as Brandon Holmes (6-1) takes on Modestino Rodrigues (7-1). In the "Featured" bout, Liam McCracken (8-1) tries to get a UFC contract just three years after getting hit by a bus as he takes on Silvestre Sanchez (9-1). Heavyweights hook 'em up as Charlie Cleveland (6-1) fights Gabriel Lorenco (7-1). Finally, Adam Livingston (7-1) gets a second shot at a UFC contract against Hunter Smith (6-1).
Patrick Rivera vs. Adam Darby —
Brandon Holmes vs. Modestino Rodrigues –
Liam McCraken vs. Silvestre Sanchez —
Charlie Cleveland vs. Gabriel Lorenco — Lorenco def. Cleveland via knockout (punches) Round 1, 2:02
Adam Livingston vs. Hunter Smith — Livingston def. Smith via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

#adam #lorenco #smith #patrick

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has categorically denied Hamzah Sheeraz's allegations of corruption after Janibek Alimkhanuly was installed as the mandatory challenger for Sheeraz's WBO super middleweight ******* le.
Alimkhanuly, the former unified middleweight champion, failed a VADA anti-doping test for a banned substance just days before his scheduled three-belt unification with Erislandy Lara this past December.
The fight was canceled, but the WBO later terminated Alimkhanuly's suspension early and has now controversially installed him as Sheeraz's mandatory challanger, despite Alimkhanuly having never competed at 168 pounds.
Sheeraz was unhappy with the WBO's ruling and made his feelings clear in an interview with Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani this past month.
"I think it's a joke," Sheeraz said. "I think what the WBO have done here is disgraceful to the sport of boxing. What they're essentially doing is rewarding someone who has [tested positive], so to me, it doesn't make sense.

#mandatory #past

MMA Fighting has DWCS results for the Rivera vs. Darby fight card and more from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday night.
In the main event, Patrick Rivera and Adam Darby clash in a welterweight contest. Rivera and Darby have each reeled off six straight victories heading into the headliner.
Brandon Holmes and Modestino Rodrigues meet in a middleweight fight in the co-main event.
Check out DWCS results below.
Main card (Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET)

#darby #main #meta

CaioBorralho has weighed in on how the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ***** le picture couldplay out.

"The Natural" is targeting a return for November or December afterrecovering from a rib injury that forced him out of his scheduledbout with Joe Pyfer atUFC330. Ahead of his return, he broke down the championship mix at185 pounds and how he believes it'll unfold.
Borralho has revealed that he is already back to full training andexpects to begin another fight camp in the coming weeks. Hebelieves he needs one or two more victories before challenging forthe championship.

"I think one or two more on the way to the belt," Borralho toldMMA Fighting. "I'm just waiting for the name.But we have Pyfer, we have BrendanAllen. Both of them I can fight. They can fight between two ofthem, or I can fight both of them. I think we're in the top of thedivision, so anyone that wins the next fight may be the one nextfor the ***** le shot."

Borralho is open to rebooking the Pyfer matchup, but he prefers ahigher-ranked contender. As for the current ***** le picture, theBrazilian doesn't believe former champ KhamzatChimaev deserves a ***** le shot as he's coming off a loss.Rather, he claims NassourdineImavov, the only man to beat him in the UFC, should be next fora shot at SeanStrickland's belt.

"I think Imavov deserves the ***** le next," Borralho added. "Healready has a history with Strickland, that he lost in a lightheavyweight fight, in a short-notice fight for Strickland and Ithink he did everything that he needed to deserve the ***** le shot,so I think he needs to be the one next."

#next

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let's start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.
Muhammad Mokaev followed Dana White's advice and 'became champion somewhere else': I would like to see Mokaev back in the mix if possible. Surely we've seen other ex-UFC fighters return from worse misbehaviors?
Restless Khamzat adds three top names to middleweight hit list for UFC return — 'I'm ready': Khamzat getting back into the cage before the end of 2026 would be great to see.
Sean O'Malley expects to leapfrog red-hot Song Yadong for next UFC ****** le shot — on one condition: I agree with O'Malley's potential matchmaking: Suga vs. Yan OR Yadong vs. Merab makes sense depending on who's holding gold. Odd man out gets Bautista?

#khamzat #midnight #mania #Monday

Jermall Charlo was supposed to finally return to the ring in July after fighting just twice in the last five years, but visa issues prevented him from traveling to Australia, so his fight with Koen Mazoudier was canceled.
The boxer, who grew up in Alief and lives in Sugar Land, will finally get his shot at Mazoudier when the two face each other on the undercard of the super welterweight ***** le fight between reigning champion Sebastian Fundora and Ermal Hadribeaj on Oct. 17 in Las Vegas. The tripleheader, which also includes Weslaco's Brandon Figueroa defending his featherweight ***** le against Tomoki Kameda, will be broadcast on TNT.
Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) is still undefeated, but he's been out of action since he stopped Thomas Lamanna in May 2025.
Taking on Mazoudier (16-4-1, 6 KOs), who is a relative unknown outside of Australia, should be a tune-up fight for Charlo, who has his sights set on bigger fights down the road if he can knock off the ring rust that's accumulated from years of little action.
The 36-year-old was one of the best boxers in the world, winning the middleweight ***** le in 2015, then successfully defending it three times before moving up to super middleweight and winning that ***** le as well. He won five straight ***** le defenses at super middleweight, but after beating Juan Macias Montiel in front of a raucous hometown crowd at Toyota Center in June 2021, Charlo faced several hurdles outside the ring, including a bout with depression.

#title #super #five

Kamaru Usman thinks there are still plenty of matchups for Anthony Hernandez at middleweight after UFC Fight Night 285.
After winning eight fights in a row, Hernandez (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has now lost two straight to current UFC 185-pound champion Sean Strickland and Gregory Rodrigues, the latter of which came this past Saturday at Golden1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., in front of his home fans.
Henry Cejudo floated the idea of Hernandez dropping down to welterweight, but Usman says that's unnecessary.
"Welterweight? Why do people always do this thing?" Usman said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Henry Cejudo. "OK, just because someone loses, like, yeah, got to switch weight classes. No, there's a lot of guys there in that division for him to fight. … Looking at the rankings, there's so many guys in that division, (like) Israel Adesanya. Man, there's a lot of guys in that division for him to potentially fight. So it's not just, 'Oh yeah, he lost to him, he's gone.' We've got Caio Borralho, we've got Christian Leroy Duncan. You've got so many guys here."
Usman sees Hernandez as a perfect ticket to the top 10 for Bo Nickal (9-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), while also giving Hernandez the opportunity to kill a highly touted contender's hype.

#division

Mike Perry will not be fighting Dillon Danis this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
Perry made the announcement during Thursday's Duel Arena 1 pre-fight press conference. On 48-hours notice, former UFC fight Brandon Jenkins stepped in to face "Platinum" at Kia Center. The bout headlines the fight card.
"Let's not beat around the bush. This p*ssy ****** b*tch Dillon Danis didn't show the f*ck up," Perry said. "He's not here. He backed the f*ck out because he's a p*ssy.
"I want to give a shout out to my new opponent Brandon Jenkins. He's getting on a plane right now. He's flying here to weigh in the morning like a professional and fight me on Saturday night."
Danis pulling out of fights is nothing new. He last fought MMA in August 2025, defeating Warren Spencer at Misfits 22. He's had freestyle wresting matches in RAF against Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev earlier this year and is scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan for the inaugural RAF Middleweight Crossover Championship in the main event on October 3, 2026 at RAF 14.

#jenkins #here #mike #orlando

Real American Freestyle is changing the schedule for two upcoming events.
Thursday, the wrestling promotion announced RAF 13 and RAF 14 will have new dates, while keeping the same location and venue.
RAF 13 was scheduled to take place Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla. It will now take place a day earlier, on Friday, Sept. 18. RAF 13 is headlined by a matchup between former welterweight champions Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad. The event also features former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold vs. contender Joe Pyfer.
RAF 14 was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, and now moves to Friday, Oct. 23. RAF 14 is headlined by a match between UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan and Dillon Danis.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: RAF 13, RAF 14 move to new dates, promotion announces

#saturday #scheduled #take

"Robocop" has entered the top 5.
At UFC Fight Night 285, Gregory Rodrigues beat Anthony Hernandez in the main event in Sacramento, Calif. Coming into the week at No. 8, Rodrigues takes Hernandez's previous spot, landing at No. 5 in the middleweight division.
At PFL Tampa, the living legend Cris Cyborg picked up a PFL women's featherweight **** le defense against fellow UFC veteran Ketlen Vieira. Cyborg holds the No. 3 spot in the women's pound-for-pound rankings, and maintains her position.
Check out all of the moves in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Aug. 25: Gregory Rodrigues enters top 5

#junkie #pound #robocop

It only took Reinier de Ridder one victory over an unranked fighter to debut in the Top 10 at 205 pounds.
The former middleweight contender jumped to the light heavyweight division at UFC Sacramento last weekend in California, where he summarily disposed of longtime veteran Roman Dolidze. The 35-year-old "Dutch Knight" (22-4) landed at No. 9 in the official Meta Rankings, sandwiched between Dominick Reyes (No. 8) and Azamat Murzakanov (No. 10).
That's not all.
Jamall Emmers made his debut in the featherweight rankings by hospitalizing red-hot 145-pound prospect Lerryan Douglas with a broken orbital. In addition, "Crispy" Carli Judice joined the women's flyweight Top 15 after stopping Jeisla Chaves in the opening frame. Victorious main card players Gregory Rodrigues and Vitor Petrino also made big moves in their respective divisions.
Check out the updated UFC Meta Rankings below (for an explanation on how they work click here).

#debut

Jordan Burroughs has called for a wrestling match against Georges St.Pierre, revealing that the Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is his top choice.

The Olympic gold medalist recently called out the UFC Hall of Famerfor a freestyle wrestling match under the Real American Freestylebanner, proposing a meeting at RAF 14 in Las Vegas on Oct. 3.
Burroughs discussed a potential match with St. Pierre during anappearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show" after his recent RAF victoryover Sean Bradyon Aug. 22. When the Canadian's name came up as a possibleopponent, Burroughs made his interest clear.

"Yeah, Georges, if you're out there, I would love to competeagainst you," Burroughs said. "I'd love to wrestle you. I honoryou. I honor your legacy. And I don't want to embarrass you. Idon't want to humiliate you. I just would love to share the stagewith you. And so, he's No. 1. He's at the very top of my list."

Burroughs then proposed a date and location.

"Georges, if you're out there and are watching this show, make ithappen. Las Vegas, Oct. 3."

St. Pierre has not competed professionally since submittingMichaelBisping to capture the UFC middleweight ***** le in 2017. Heofficially retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 and was inductedinto the UFC Hall of Fame the following year.

Burroughs is next scheduled to face Magomed Kurbanaliev at RAFMoscow on Sept. 5.

#pierre #match #vegas #called

Middleweight contender Gregory Rodrigues moved up the 185-pound pecking order last Saturday with a unanimous win over No. 7 ranked Antony Hernandez in the UFC Sacramento main event.
Rodrigues entered the fight ranked No. 10 and riding a three-fight winning streak. He utilized leg kicks to take control of the fight in the early rounds. Hernandez mounted a comeback but came up short. During the post-fight press conference, Hernandez accused Rodrigues of cheating.
"The f**ker was cheating and grabbing inside of my gloves. And I told Herb (Dean) that. I fight clean, man. So, it is what it is. Maybe I should be more dirty," Hernandez said. "I told f**king Herb, 'this motherf**ker grabbed my glove like four times, and I was like, 'Hey, he's grabbing my gloves.' And he told him, 'Hey, stop.' But I mean, whatever, don't take a point, whatever. You know what I mean? F**k it. I guess people like to cheat, so it is what it is."
On Monday, Rodrigues responded to Hernandez' allegations during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
"He can say whatever he wants. You know? The fact is I beat him with the leg kicks, the punches. He didn't take me down. He didn't do nothing. He did put a pressure that was good, but I didn't cheat him. He knows that," Rodrigues said.

#fight #take #told #like

On Saturday's boxing double-header, Moses Itauma bids to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion against Filip Hrgovic, while Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron meet in a major world ******* le unification clash.
Briton Itauma, 21, is one of boxing's brightest young talents, with 14 wins and 12 knockouts. Hrgovic, 34, brings a 20-1 record and years of top-level experience, with his only defeat coming against Daniel Dubois.
Can Itauma take down Hrgovic at London's O2 Arena and win the vacant IBF ******* le? Or will the Croatian's experience and power end the hype?
Meanwhile, Mayer and Briton Cameron collide in a three-belt light-middleweight unification fight at BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham. American Mayer holds the WBA and WBC ******* les, while Cameron owns the WBO belt.
The bout pits two top elite fighters against each other, with both aiming to move one step closer to becoming undisputed.

#cameron #World

Anthony Hernandez tips his cap to Gregory Rodrigues and his toughness in the UFC Fight Night 285 main event Saturday – but there's one thing he didn't appreciate.
For five rounds, Hernandez (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Rodrigues (20-6 MMA, 11-3 UFC) battled back-and-forth. Though he lost a unanimous decision, Hernandez displayed heart and unbreakable will in front of his home city fans at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. The pair of middleweight contenders also earned Fight of the Night honors and the $100,000 bonus ***** ociated with it.
"A dream come true," Hernandez said at a post-fight news conference. "Obviously, I've got to get back to work and clean some ***** up. Next time I'll give you guys a win. I promise. ... (The crowd support) was f*cking ... a blessing. It was crazy. That's what kept me going. I couldn't give up. That sh*t hurt like a f*cking b*tch, man. It still hurts. It was a real f*cking blessing. I feel so honored to have that much love. Hopefully they come back to Sac so I can show out again. I'd love to give you guys more wars like that."
Hernandez became hobbled early as Rodriguez repeatedly chopped down his legs, causing him to shift from orthodox to southpaw. Hernandez rallied in Round 2 and nearly finished the fight, but "Robocop" hung tough.
One issue Hernandez took with Rodrigues was his grip around the glove area. According to Hernandez, Rodrigues had his fingers inside the glove – and he told referee Herb Dean as much mid-fight.

#fight

UFC middleweight Anthony Hernandez criticized referee Herb Dean for not taking a point away from Gregory Rodrigues at UFC Sacramento.
Hernandez fought Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Sacramento, ultimately coming up short on the judges' scorecards when the Brazilian won a unanimous decision in an incredible matchup that won Fight of the Night.
After the card was over, Hernandez spoke to the media and expressed frustration with the referee for not taking a point away from Rodrigues for grabbing his gloves.
Speaking to the media at the UFC Sacramento post-fight press conference, Hernandez became just the latest in a long line of UFC fighters to criticize Dean.
"I told (expletive) Herb, 'This (expletive) grabbed my glove like four times.' And I was like, 'Hey, he's grabbing my gloves.' And he told him, 'Hey, stop.' But I mean, whatever, don't take a point. Whatever. (Expletive) it. I guess people like to cheat, so it is what it is," Hernandez said.

#hernandez #rodrigues #point

Following Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues event at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., UFC CEO Dana White announced the recipients of the performance-bases bonuses.
Fight of the Night honors went to the main event. No. 7 ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez and No. 10 ranked Gregory Rodrigues headlined the fight card and did not disappoint. Rodrigues won via unanimous decision but the match will likely be a Fight of the Year candidate. The back and forth war earned each an extra $100,000.
Banking the other two Performance of the Night awards were lightweight MarQuel Mederos and women's flyweight Carli Judice.
Mederos stopped Mason Jones in the second round via TKO due to elbows and punches. Judice scored a first-round finish over Jeisla Chaves in main card action. A front kick to the body set up fight-ending punches.
UFC Sacramento featured 13 bouts. 10 of them resulted in stoppages. The six other fighters that stopped their opponents received $25,000 finishing bonuses. 16,867 spectators were in attendance at Golden 1 Center generating $3.3 million is gate receipts.

#fight #night #hernandez #center

Gregory Rodrigues is a legitimate contender at 185 pounds.
On Saturday night, "Robocop" picked up the biggest win of his career, outlasting Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Sacramento to win a unanimous decision. The win should vault Rodrigues up the middleweight rankings and put him fully in the ***** le mix at 185 pounds. Meanwhile, "Fluffy" has now lost two in a row, and his future at middleweight seems uncertain.
Following UFC Sacramento, MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee discuss Robocop's big win and what it means for the 185-pound division. They also break down some of the other big storylines from the card — including Reinier de Ridder's successful UFC light heavyweight debut and Carli Judice's emergence at flyweight — wax poetic on Cris Cyborg's scare in PFL, answer viewer questions, and more.
Watch the UFC Sacramento post-fight show above, or stream an audio-only version below and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.
View Link

#hernandez

Fans attending the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Golden 1 Center inSacramento, California, were treated to an action-packed card.

The UFC Sacramento headliner featured a middleweight clash betweenAnthonyHernandez and GregoryRodrigues. The two delivered an entertaining fight, butRodrigues ultimately had his hand raised. In the co-main event,VitorPetrino defeated SergheiSpivac in a heavyweight bout. Although the co-feature did notlive up to expectations, the event produced 10 finishes in 13fights.
Let's examine what could be next for the main-card winners.
Thanks to sharper striking and punishing leg kicks, Rodrigues(20-6, 11-3 UFC) outstruck fellow former Legacy Fighting Alliance ****** leholder Hernandez (15-4, 1 NC; 9-4UFC) in the UFC Sacramento main event. Hernandez rallied in Rounds3 and 4, but "Robocop" did enough to earn a unanimous decision.Rodrigues has won seven of his past eight Octagon appearances.

The next logical step for Rodrigues could be a clash with NassourdineImavov. Both fighters consistently pursue finishes, making thisan appealing matchup. Although Imavov has called for a ****** le shot,he might have to wait with KhamzatChimaev and Dricus DuPlessis also pursuing the championship currently held bySeanStrickland. A victory over Imavov could move Rodrigues close tohis own shot at the middleweight crown.
In the heavyweight co-main event, Petrino (15-2, 8-2 UFC) grappledhis way to a unanimous decision over former World Warriors FightingChampionship ****** leholder Spivac (18-7, 9-7 UFC) in a lacklusteraffair. It was not Petrino's best performance, but the victoryextended his winning streak to four.

The Brazilian continues to climb the rankings in a heavyweightdivision badly in need of new contenders. A matchup with notedfinisher BrandoPericic, who is building momentum of his own, could offer aninteresting test. The pairing would give both men an opportunity toestablish themselves as emerging threats in the division.
Former two-division OneChampionship ****** leholder Reinierde Ridder (22-4, 5-2 UFC) made a successful UFC lightheavyweight debut by defeating RomanDolidze (15-6, 9-6 UFC). De Ridder capitalized on Dolidze'sdecision to pull guard early, overwhelming his opponent on thecanvas by continually advancing position and landing punches.

The end came 4:01 into the first round, when Dolidze could no longer intelligently defend himself as de Ridder poured onstrikes from back control. Although "The Dutch Knight"rebounded from consecutive defeats, the victory came against afellow middleweight competing outside his usual weight class.

To secure a spot in the light heavyweight rankings, de Riddershould next face an established 205-pounder such as BogdanGuskov. Although Guskov lost his most recent ****** ignment, heremains a dangerous opponent who could provide a meaningfultest.

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