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UFC announces first event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Who is the headliner? The main event will be a five-round middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, approved by Dana White as a title eliminator. The card also includes Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir, and the return of Sharavdin Magomedov.
when? UFC on ABC 6 will take place on June 22nd at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was originally scheduled for March 2nd, but was rescheduled due to a lack of star power on the card.
Brandon Moreno takes a break from MMA
why? The former flyweight champion revealed on social media that he is struggling mentally following his first two consecutive losses since 2018. He announced that he would take time away from the sport to focus on himself and free himself from the sport.
When will he come back? Moreno did not give a specific date for his return, but asked MMA fans to be patient. Coach Moreno made it clear that this is not a farewell and he is not retiring.
Igor Severino removed from UFC
Who? Igor Severino is an undefeated Brazilian flyweight prospect who won by TKO in the second round of his Contender Series match. He faced Andre Lima in the preliminaries of last week's UFC event, losing by disqualification.
why? Severino bit Lima's bicep so hard that Chris Tognoni stopped the fight. Seeing the severity of the bite, he called off the fight altogether. Severino was later eliminated from the promotion after just one game.
Dana White promises 'Badass' PPV in UK
When will it be? The UFC has not officially announced its next PPV in the United Kingdom, but multiple unofficial reports believe the event will take place in July in Manchester, England.
Who will appear on the card? Considering Tom Aspinall hails from Atherton, Greater Manchester, it seems plausible that he will defend his interim title on this card. Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad is also likely on this card, with Paddy Pimblett and Arnold Allen also returning.
Israel Adesanya “Ready'' to fight Drix du Plessis
detail: Eugene Bearman said in an interview that Adesanya is ready and now he just waits for a date. The team has always believed that Adesanya's next fight would be for the title.
UFC 305 announcement: The UFC has announced that it will return to Perth, Australia for UFC 305. Adesanya's last fight also took place in Australia, so this could be the day he's been waiting for.
Luke Rockhold makes debut as a karate fighter
Where was Luke Rockhold? Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold retired from professional mixed martial arts at UFC 278 in 2022, but that hasn't stopped him from competing in other bouts outside of the Octagon. He previously faced Mike Perry in bare-knuckle boxing, but lost by retirement in round two.
What's next? Rockhold will headline Karate Combat 45 against GLORY kickboxing and Bellator veteran Joe Schilling. Many MMA fighters have transitioned to karate combat, including Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, and Sam Albee.
UFC 300 main and co-main judges decided
Who? The main event of UFC 300 will be Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill, and the co-main event will be Zhang Weili vs. Yang Xiaonan. The judges for these matches include familiar names: Derek Cleary, Mike Bell, Ben Cartlidge, Chris Lee, and not Sal D'Amato.
Is this alright? It's hard to say. These judges have a lot of experience in professional MMA scoring, but have given some questionable scorecards in the past. An example is Cheers Lee's score in favor of Pimblett in Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon.
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