Martial Arts News

UFC 309 has lost a couple of its original fights less than two weeks before the event.

Advertisement

According to MMAjunkie.com, Azamat Murzakanov has withdrawn from a preliminary light heavyweight clash against Nikita Krylov for undisclosed reasons. It’s unclear if Krylov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

Meanwhile, Lucas Almeida has pulled out of a featherweight showdown with David Onama, also for undisclosed reasons. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Onama is expected remain on the card against a different opponent.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Murzakanov is undefeated in 14 professional outings — including four in the UFC. He is coming off a second-round knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ABC 7. Krylov has won three straight outings, including a first-round submission of Ryan Spann in his last Octagon appearance in March 2023.

Almeida is 2-2 in the promotion and last compet…

While Tom Aspinall is in camp as the backup fighter for the UFC 309 headliner, he doesn’t have a specific focus as he normally would.

Advertisement

That’s in large part because he would only step in if something happened to either Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic ahead of their heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16.

“Usually I’m working to a game plan in training, because obviously I’ve got in mind my opponent who I’m going to fight and what their style brings to the table,” Aspinall recently told Safest Casino Sites. “Whereas right now I can’t really train for anybody because I don’t know who I’m fighting and I don’t know if I’m fighting.

“All I’m focusing on is just getting myself as physically ready as possible: getting myself fit, basically getting myself in fighting shape. As far as tactics and stuff — and I’m a big tactics guy --- there isn’t any, to be honest. I’m just focusing on me and my game as opposed to one of the other guys who I…

When it comes to mixed martial arts, the passion still burns strong for Chris Weidman.

Advertisement

The former middleweight champion will return to action in his home state when he faces Eryk Anders at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s been a long road to recovery for Weidman since suffering a gruesomely broken leg in a loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021. “The All-American” earned his first victory since that injury on March 30, taking a controversial technical decision over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman turned 40 in June, and given his injury history — he claims to have had 30 surgeries throughout his body (including 14 on his leg alone) — it would be reasonable to assume that the finish line might be in sight. For now, he’s still enjoying MMA and doesn’t plan on making any hasty decisions no matter what happens at UFC 309. However, he’s also realistic about his long-term future in the sport.

“I’m pretty much…

Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of a scheduled co-main event clash against Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 100.

BJPenn.com was first to report the news. The reason for Garbrandt’s withdrawal is currently unknown. While Johns reportedly hopes to remain on the card against a short-notice foe, it is unclear if he will get his wish. UFC Vegas 100 — also known as UFC Fight Night 247 — takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight bout between Carlos Prates and Neil Magny.

Garbrandt had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a second-round submission loss to former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 on April 13. “No Love” is 3-6 in his last nine Octagon appearances dating back to 2017.

Johns, meanwhile, has lost just once in his last seven promotional appearances. Most recently, “Chapo” outpointed Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15.

Petr Yan is looking to remind people of who he is in his next outing.

Advertisement

Yan lost his bantamweight title via disqualification against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in 2021. While Yan bounced back with a decision win over Cory Sandhagen, he subsequently came up on the short side of a split decision in a rematch against Sterling. The Russian then dropped consecutive decisions against Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, losing relevance in title talks.

However, Yan started his climb back up with a unanimous decision win over rising Chinese contender Yadong Song at UFC 299 this past March. “No Mercy” is now scheduled to fight former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3) at UFC Macau on Nov. 23 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. Yan’s manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov, says the former champ is looking to making a statement in the fight. While Abdrakhmanov isn’t expecting an immediate title shot for Yan with a potential win over Figueiredo, he is certain t…

[embedded content]

While Carlos Prates (20-9) is one of the most exciting welterweight prospects in the UFC today, his early career wasn’t as promising.

Advertisement

Prates made his pro debut in 2012 and went 5-4 in his first nine bouts, alternating between wins and losses. However, “The Nightmare” has since turned his career around, winning 15 of his last 17 with 14 finishes. Prates credits the time he spent in Thailand for the abrupt turnaround in his career. The Brazilian also admits that he was still very young and susceptible to making mistakes during the early phase of his career.

“I think after I spend a lot of time in Thailand because Thailand give me a lot of experience,” Prates recently told Kevin Iole. “And make me more confident to fight [in] muay thai or MMA. Also, I was really young when I was losing a lot. And was fighting in wrong weight division. And didn’t train too much, spend a lot of time with things that don’t make me better. Then I get a l…

[embedded content]

Bo Nickal refuses to let go of his wrestling roots even after transitioning to MMA.

Advertisement

Nickal is a former three-time NCAA Division I national champion from Penn State University. Nickal made his pro MMA debut in 2022 and found himself in the UFC after just three outings, which included two in Dana White's Contender Series.

Despite being primarily a wrestler, Nickal has two knockouts to his name and is showing progress in his striking. However, unlike many other wrestlers who focus only on striking after finding success on the feet, Nickal knows wrestling is his bread and butter. In order to practice pure wrestling regularly, Nickal reached out to American Top Team owner Dan Lambert. They built a gym just 10 minutes away from Penn State so that Nickal can train MMA in the mornings and join the university team for wrestling practice in the afternoons.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

“I wrestled…

Featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki will defend his title in a rematch against ex-title holder Kleber Koike Erbst in the main event of Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve card.

Advertisement

The Japanese promotion announced the bout during a press conference on Tuesday. The event, entitled Rizin 49 "Decade",” takes place on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and is available via pay-per-view. No other fights were announced for the card.

Erbst was the reigning 145-pound champion for the first matchup with Suzuki in June 2023. However, the Brazilian lost the title on the scale when he missed weight one day prior to their meeting at Rizin 43. As a result, the belt remained vacant following Erbst’s first-round submission victory, which was declared a no contest due to Rizin rules.

Suzuki has won three straight contests since that defeat, beginning with a first-round knockout of Bellator champ Patricio Freire in a lightweight affair. H…

Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor is due to appear before the High Court for a personal injury case against him https://t.co/D8XpT8kq8X

— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) November 5, 2024

The alleged victim and the emergency room doctor who treated her testified against Conor McGregor during the beginning of a civil lawsuit related to an alleged sexual assault committed by the former UFC champion in 2018.

Advertisement

McGregor and the alleged victim, Nikita Ni Lamhain (Hand), were both present in Dublin High Court on Tuesday. The civil lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Hand, who alleges that McGregor and James Lawrence raped her in a hotel room in December 2018. Both McGregor and Lawrence, who are not facing criminal charges, have denied the accusations. The beginning of the trial was covered by multiple outlets, including The Irish Times and the Irish Mirror.

According to testimony from Hand, she was an acquaintance of McGrego…

A women’s bantamweight tilt between Macy Chiasson and Ketlen Vieira has been rebooked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 22.

Chiasson and Vieira were initially slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 234 on Jan. 13 before a knee injury forced Vieira to withdraw from the bout. Ag.Fight was first to report the new booking. The UFC Fight Night card does not currently have a confirmed location or headliner.

Chiasson is 2-0 thus far in 2024. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner kicked off her campaign with a first-round submission of Pannie Kianzad at UFC Fight Night 239 on March 16 before earning a second-round TKO stoppage of Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 303 on June 29. The 33-year-old is 8-3 during her promotional tenure, which also includes fights at 145 pounds.

Vieira, meanwhile, returned at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, where she dropped a three-round verdict to two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison. Vieira’s resume includes notable wins over the likes of…

World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Hiromitsu Miura died recently following a battle with acute leukemia.

Advertisement

In a statement on social media, Miura’s family revealed that he “passed away suddenly” on Oct. 26 after fighting the disease since mid-September. Miura was 43 years old.

“The funeral was attended only by his immediate family,” the statement read. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness you extended to the deceased during his lifetime.”

Miura compiled a 13-8 record over the course of an MMA career that began in 2004. He was best known for a five-bout WEC stint, where he fell to Carlos Condit via fourth-round technical knockout in a welterweight title bout on Aug. 3, 2008. It was an entertaining, back-and-forth affair in which Miura dumped Condit on the canvas several times with judo throws before succumbing to a knee and follow-up punches at the 4:43 mark of Round 4.

Miura also competed for Pancrase, K-1 and …

[embedded content]

Zach Scroggin will replace the injured Nicolas Dalby and square off against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on short notice at UFC Vegas 100.

The promotion announced the change to the welterweight bout on Tuesday. The nature of Dalby’s injury was not revealed. UFC Vegas 100 — also known as UFC Fight Night 247 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Carlos Prates against Neil Magny.

Scroggin will take a 7-0 record into his promotional debut. The Kansas native has competed exclusively for the Fighting Alliance Championship organization during his professional tenure, finishing all but one of his opponents inside the distance.

Dos Santos is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Randy Brown at UFC 302 this past June.