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PFL, Rizin make MMA history with double title fight at Super Rizin 5

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PFL, Rizin make MMA history with double title fight at Super Rizin 5
The
Professional Fighters League and
Rizin Fighting Federation are set to make history with a fight
that will have two titles on the line.

PFL and Rizin just announced a cross-promotional championship fight
for Super
Rizin 5 on Sept. 10 at Kyosera Dome Osaka in Japan.

Rajabali Shaidullaev and A.J. McKee will fight for both the PFL
and Rizin featherweight championships in Osaka

Rizin Featherweight Champion Rajabali
Shaidullaev (19-0) will face A.J. McKee
(25-2) with both the Rizin and PFL featherweight titles on the
line. Shaidullaev has finished all 19 of his career wins so far, 13
of them in the first round. The undefeated Kyrgyz champion has won
and defended his title thrice in less than a year. Meanwhile, McKee
is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

“There have been several occasions in the past when a fighter has
entered another organization and challenged for that promotion's
championship,†Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said in a statement. “This time, however, we are
attempting something unprecedented: placing the championship belts
of both organizations on the line in a single fight hosted by one
promotion.â€

“When I became CEO at PFL, I made it my mission to bring together
the best fighters and deliver the fights that the fans want to
see,†PFL CEO John Martin said. “Now, with this extraordinary
partnership, I can’t wait to honor that promise and bring a truly
unique and fresh opportunity for the MMA community to enjoy. For
me, it will be a special experience as I get to throw my full
support behind one fighter, and I'm looking forward to being cage
side to watch the “Mercenary†bring the titles to PFL.â€

The rest of the Super Rizin 5 card looks like this:
Mikuru
Asakura vs. Shinya
Aoki
Ren
Hiramoto vs. Karshyga
Dautbek
Yutaka
Saito vs. Ren
Sugiyama
Vugar
Karamov vs. Ryo
Takagi
Roberto
Satoshi de Souza vs. Shunta
Nomura
Daichi
Tomizawa vs. Ryo
Kawabata

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MMA

Quillan Salkilld makes candid admission after Mateusz Gamrot win

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Quillan Salkilld makes candid admission after Mateusz Gamrot win
Quillan
Salkilld vaulted into the top tier of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division with his
impressive win over Mateusz
Gamrot.

The
Dana White's Contender Series alum is now 6-0 inside the
Octagon after submitting Gamrot in the first round of the
UFC Vegas 120 main event at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Quillan Salkilld had to overcome nerves before maiden UFC main
event

Salkilld called out Gamrot after his win over Beneil
Dariush. It was expected to be a challenging matchup, given the
Polish 155-pounder's wrestling credentials and durability. However,
Salkilld shut down Gamrot's offense before taking his counterpart's
back, locking in a rear-naked choke and forcing the tap in his
first UFC main event.

The Australian recently detailed how nervous he was before the
bout.

“I sh*t myself, yeah,†Salkilld said in a post-fight interview. “I
was nervous… I tried to stay as calm as possible and I think I did
a pretty good job actually of staying poised in there. I was just
focusing on having fun.â€

Salkilld called for a top-ranked opponent after beating Gamrot, but
opted against naming names.

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MMA

Matt Brown rips fan backlash against Anthony Smith after arrest

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Matt Brown rips fan backlash against Anthony Smith after arrest
Matt
Brown recently went off on fans for mocking Anthony
Smith's recent run-in with the law.

Smith was arrested in Sarpy County on charges of domestic assault
causing serious bodily injury, first-degree false imprisonment and
terroristic threats. He allegedly forced his wife into a car and
tried to run her over when she managed to get out. Witnesses who
helped Smith's wife and children reportedly heard gunshots from
inside the retired veteran's house.

Matt Brown slams Anthony Smith backlash: ‘We don't know what
happened'

While Brown isn't downplaying the gravity of the incident, he
doesn't like the nature of the backlash Smith is facing from fans.
He notes that further details of the incident are yet to come
out.

“I'll tell you, what turned me off on this whole thing was the fan
reaction, when I read the comments… These motherf***ers need to lay
off Anthony Smith,†Brown said on the latest episode of “The Fighter vs. The
Writerâ€.

Brown believes the incident can be treated seriously without fans
kicking Smith while he's down. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight isn't defending
Smith's actions in any way, but he refuses to let this one episode
define the UFC analyst.

“That doesn't mean I'm going to defend what happened,†Brown added.
“We don't know what happened yet… We weren't there and neither were
a 100% of the people that are confidently judging his life from
headlines and social media posts. Headlines and social media posts
are not real life. I know Anthony personally. I know his character,
know he's a good dude. That doesn't mean good people don't make
serious f***ing mistakes. I'm not gonna pretend either that this
one moment tells the complete story of who he is. We could take
this whole thing seriously without defaming Anthony Smith. Without
making jokes, attacking his family, calling him different names and
celebrating someone's downfall.â€

A Sarpy County judge set Smith's bond at $500,000 and also ordered
him to have no contact with his wife. Notably, Smith's wife has
since released a statement in support of “Lionheart.â€


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MMA

UFC 332 set for Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City

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UFC 332 set for Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading back to Utah.

UFC 332
will take place Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, the
promotion recently announced. The event will mark the UFC's return
to Utah after the state was left off the promotion's 2025
schedule.

UFC returns to Salt Lake City for fourth numbered event since
2022

UFC 332 will be the fourth numbered event held in Utah since 2022.
It will serve as one of two numbered events in October, a rare
occurrence in the UFC calendar, with UFC 333 already scheduled for
Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. No bouts have been announced for the card
yet.

UFC events in Salt Lake City over the past few years have delivered
some of the most memorable in-cage moments. The promotion's
previous numbered event in the Utah capital was UFC 307
in October 2024, where Alex
Pereira defended his light heavyweight championship against
Khalil
Rountree in a back-and-forth clash.

Justin
Gaethje's BMF title-winning knockout of Dustin
Poirier and Leon
Edwards' late knockout of Kamaru
Usman to win the welterweight title closed out the two previous
numbered events in Salt Lake City before UFC 307.

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