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Many felt that there would be less hype surrounding his return fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Though it was still a return for the Irishman after 15 months, not many gave Cerrone a chance and some also felt that the level of promotion wasn’t as heavy as before (which is untrue, given ESPN’s relentless promotion of the PPV). However, new reports have come out and Marc Raimondi revealed a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which stated that the buy rate for the PPV is the equivalent of 2 million buys in the old system....

The UFC’s middleweight division will take over the spotlight at UFC 271 on Saturday from inside Houston’s Toyota Center. Israel Adesanya will be defending the UFC middleweight title against Robert Whittaker. Outside of that fight, the lightweight division also will look to make its presence felt. Sporting News, with the help of Sports Interaction, takes a closer look at a lightweight bout that, on paper, has a chance to “wow” the crowd in Texas....

Pena made her pro debut in 2009. She joined the UFC in 2013, winning The Ultimate Fighter 18 as a member of Miesha Tate’s team. Early knee injuries resulted in a setback for Pena in 2014, but she returned in full force in 2015. In 2017, Pena lost to Valentina Shevchenko via submission. She went 2-1 after that, beating Sara McMann via submission at UFC 257 in 2021. Nunes made her pro debut in 2008....

The Brazilian, who made his UFC debut on Nov. 6, 2021, became the middleweight champion by defeating an old rival in come-from-behind fashion. He scored a fifth-round knockout over Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday. Pereira was badly rocked in the first round, and he looked exhausted in the fourth round as Adesanya deployed a brilliant game plan, mixing striking with clinching and takedowns to sap his rival’s energy....

The inaugural UFC Academy Combine will take place in Shanghai, China on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18, in conjunction with the opening of the new 93,000 square foot UFC Performance Institute in the city’s Jing’An district. The event will be invite only and host approximately 50 athletes. Athletes from the UFC Academy Combine will also have the opportunity to receive a scholarship into UFC Academy, an MMA talent development program created and managed by the UFC Performance Institute....

Kelleher and O’Malley have been going back and forth for some time now. It appears they will finally be able to sort out their differences inside the UFC octagon in the coming months. Brian Kelleher is currently coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Domingo Pilarte in August. Sean O’Malley, meanwhile, picked up a TKO stoppage against Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 in July. Neither man is currently ranked but they may well be one fight away from breaking into the top 15....

Heading into the fight, he was fired up, as he tried to shake his opponent’s confidence during the weigh-in, suddenly shouting and roaring during the face-off, making Rountree back off a bit, shocked, before smiling. It was a signal of things to come. At UFC Copenhagen, when Ion Cutelaba faced Khalil Rountree Jr. he lived up to his name and completely ‘hulked’ out. Decimation follows Ion Cutelaba following fight at UFC Copenhagen Ion Cutelaba had a plan at UFC Fight Night 160, and that was to take inspiration from his namesake, Hulk, of the Marvel Cinematic Universe....

However, even though the headliner at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo featuring Jan Blachowicz and hometown fighter Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza went the distance, it failed to please the fans as both fighters were jeered throughout the unimpressive bout. In fact, the most impressive moment of the fight was Souza’s signature alligator-like entry inside the Octagon. An underwhelming affair Polish dynamite Jan Blachowicz had his hands raised via split decision after five rounds of what was at times a ‘boring’ fight with both fighters lacking the hunger to go for the kill....

The UFC revealed at the end of December that Johnson was being reinstated after being suspended for an alleged domestic dispute that occurred in April. While Johnson didn’t want to discuss the incident, he is glad to being be competing inside the octagon once again. “It feels good,” Johnson told Sporting News. “It feels like I’ve been born again. I’ve been so excited leading up to this week. The last few months have been incredible....

So it was no surprise that he jumped at the chance to be part of the broadcast team for New Japan Pro Wrestling which premieres its 13-episode series this Friday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on AXS TV. MORE: Mauro Ranallo returning to roots with New Japan Pro Wrestling | “Macho Man” Randy Savage finally going into WWE Hall of Fame “I was really excited about it,” said Barnett....

Published reports had Diaz involved in a brawl early Wednesday outside a nightclub at the Bellagio hotel complex. Those reports were based on information from the celebrity gossip site TMZ. According to the Las Vegas Sun, police had no record of the incident. The Las Vegas Review-Journal also had information on the fight, but both newspapers’ stories leaned heavily on TMZ. Websites for Vegas TV and radio stations offered little or no news of the incident....

Legendary cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran was fired Tuesday for what he said in an interview Monday with Bloody Elbow. MORE: Classic photos of Ronda Rousey | Rousey vs. Correia UFC 190 info “Freedom of speech is a death sentence,” Duran told Sporting News via text message. A UFC official declined to comment when contacted by Sporting News. In the Bloody Elbow interview, Duran, who is regarded as the best cutman in combat sports, said UFC’s deal with Reebok cost him his sponsors and a good amount of money because cutmen weren’t included....

For years, the 155-pound ranks were universally regarded as the deepest collection of talent in the UFC — a division replete with top names and tough outs where landing in the Top 15 stood as a major achievement and took more than a handful of wins against middle-tier competition. But over the last couple years, the featherweight division has started to close the gap on the weight class above it in terms of being the most competitive ensemble in the UFC....

Ortega made his pro debut in 2010. An RTC and RFA featherweight champion, Ortega joined the UFC in 2014. His first fight with the promotion was overturned from a win to a no-contest after testing positive for drostanolone. Since then, he has gone 7-2, beating the likes of Clay Guida, Cub Swanson, and Frankie Edgar. In 2018, Ortega lost to Max Holloway for the UFC featherweight title. After rebounding in 2020 against “The Korean Zombie,” Ortega lost to Alexander Volkanovski in September for the title....

Currently the number 7-ranked middleweight contender, Brunson is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, and is hoping to face someone in the upper half of the top-10. His current target: former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Whittaker is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 254 back in October, and is likely to get the next shot at the title. By the looks of things however, ‘The Reaper’ won’t be facing reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya anytime soon, given that Adesanya is preparing to challenger UFC light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz....

During an appearance on the Pardon My Take broadcast, White said that the UFC is into the practice of matching up the best guys against the best guys in every weight class. He said he wouldn’t go looking for a simpler matchup for Diaz because Chimaev is the right opponent for him. White also stressed that although he has lost three out of his last four fights, Diaz has fought some of the best fighters in the division....

Chael Sonnen, though, is optimistic about UFC’s next possible move for McGregor. The American Gangster said that the UFC has to book Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal as it is a fight that makes sense on all fronts. In case you didn’t know… We all know what happened in McGregor’s last fight. The Notorious One was finished in the fourth round by Khabib at UFC 229 in October last year, however, the post-fight brawl between the two camps took the focus away from The Eagle’s dominant performance....

Rosen, in an interview with Bleacher Report, said college football players shouldn’t be expected to have their schedules and have a full academic workload on top of that. It was part of a larger critique of the NCAA student-athlete and the absurd demands placed on them. Still, he made examples of Alabama and Clemson that Tide and Tigers fans probably won’t like. MORE: 2017 college football predictions Per Bleacher Report:...

They'll be going for an unprecedented ninth national championship after Breanna Stewart scored 18 points and the Huskies advanced to another title game with a 75-56 win against Stanford on Sunday night. It wasn't easy early, though the Huskies (39-0) did their part in setting up the highly anticipated championship showdown of undefeated teams. They will square off against Notre Dame, an 87-61 winner over Maryland, on Tuesday night in the title game....

Head coach Dan Hurley’s son, Drew, will join the Connecticut basketball program as a freshman guard for the 2020-21 season. Drew was a top reserve at East Catholic outside Hartford in the 2019-20 season. East was 19-1 and the No. 3 seed in the Connecticut Division I state tournament, but the tournament was canceled after the opening round because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am excited to add my son, Andrew, to our basketball program,” Dan Hurley said in a release from UConn....