Martial Arts News

Ultimately, Robelis Despaigne didn’t deliver upon his considerable hype.

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The Cuban heavyweight was one of seven fighters that recently parted ways with the UFC. The others were as follows: Matheus Nicolau, Jessica Penne, Tamires Vidal, Vinicius Salvador, Charalampos Grigoriou and Jesse Butler.

MMAFighting.com confirmed the cuts after an initial report from Twitter account UFC Roster Watch. It is unclear if the aforementioned fighters were released or if the promotion simply elected not to renew their contracts.

Despaigne entered the UFC to much acclaim thanks to five first-round finishes on the regional circuit. That fanfare only increased when “The Bad Boy” stopped Josh Parisian in just 18 seconds in his Octagon debut at UFC 299. However, back-to-back losses against Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane left plenty to be desired — particularly when it came to his lack of defensive wrestling ability.

Nicolau, meanwhile, exits the promoti…

A heavyweight clash pitting Sergei Pavlovich against Jairinzho Rozenstruik is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Saudi Arabia early next year.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC Saudi Arabia takes place on Feb. 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh and will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s second visit to the Middle Eastern country. The card does not yet have a main event.

Pavlovich will look to halt the first two-bout losing streak of his professional tenure. The 32-year-old Russian last appeared at UFC on ABC 6, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to former training partner Alexander Volkov at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That setback came on the heels of a 69-second knockout loss to Tom Aspinall in an interim heavyweight title bout at UFC 295 last November. Prior to that skid, Pavlovich had finished six consecutive UFC opponents inside of a round.

Rozenstruik…

Jon Jones will no longer face charges for an alleged altercation with a drug testing agent from Drug Free Sport International at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

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On Tuesday, the UFC heavyweight champion reached a pre-adjudication agreement to dismiss the misdemeanor charges of assault and interference with communications stemming from that incident. Judge Asra I. Elliott approved the agreement between the defense and prosecutors provided that Jones completes four hours of anger management and avoids legal trouble for the next 90 days. Jones attended the hearing with attorney Christopher Dodd via Zoom.

Jones released a statement on social media shortly after the hearing.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the justice system for reaching a prompt resolution in this matter, which affirms my innocence and enables me to maintain my focus on the upcoming fight,” Jones wrote. “I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to defend …

Carlos Barreto doesn’t see anyone stopping Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight after the Chechen-born Swede’s dominant performance against Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.

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"Whittaker was the worst combination in the division for Chimaev,” said the UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator on the Papo de Luta podcast. “I’ve always said that Whittaker is the most complete fighter in the division, not only because of his movement, but also because of his excellent takedown defense and good jiu-jitsu skills. Because of the dominant way Chimaev beat him, making it look easy, I have no doubt he will devastate the division.

“His physical imposition goes very well with his wrestling and jiu-jitsu technique. Anyone in the division who grapples with him is going to get hurt. But an unquestionable fact is that his physical imposition game depends on being healthy."

While many fans are already starting to dream of a fight between Chimaev and current light heavyweight ki…

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Kamaru Usman doesn’t consider the UFC’s BMF belt to be a real title.

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The BMF title has recently attracted attention after current BMF champ Max Holloway was knocked out for the first time in his career in a failed title bid against featherweight champ Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last weekend. While Holloway’s BMF strap was not on the line, “El Matador” was seen carrying the BMF belt along with his featherweight gold strap after the fight. UFC CEO Dana White also said that midway through the fight he was wondering why he didn’t put the BMF title on the line as well.

However, former middleweight champ Usman believes the BMF title isn’t worth this much discussion. According to “The Nigerian Nightmare,” the BMF belt is a hypothetical championship that was made because of him. Jorge Masvidal became the first BMF champ with a doctor stoppage win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in 2019. According to Usman, he was originally supposed to defend his…

👊👏Alexander Volkanovski says he doesn't regret fighting Islam Makhachev on short notice and also doesn't regret not taking more time off before fighting Ilia Topuria:

"I don't regret it, that's who I am, that's what made me the champion I was...

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If I wasn't the guy who would… pic.twitter.com/0Pzhncx2gM — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 28, 2024

Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t regret the decision to make a quick turnaround ahead of his most recent knockout loss.

Volkanovski replaced Charles Oliveira on 11 days’ notice to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 294 in October 2023. Volkanovski went on to suffer a brutal head kick knockout loss against Makhachev in his second failed double-champ bid. “The Great” put his featherweight title on the line soon after against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 this past February. Volkanovski went on to lose his strap via another devastating knockout in the secon…

Magomed Ankalaev is beyond ready for his shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship gold.

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After taking a unanimous decision over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi this past Saturday, Ankalaev set his sights on light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The Dagestani standout has been calling for a fight against “Poatan” for quite some time now, and after his latest victory, it will be difficult to deny him as the division’s No. 1 contender.

“Let’s do it. Alex, stop running away from me. … I have heard that he wants to fight during Ramadan. We are not fighting in Ramadan. Otherwise, after Ramadan or before Ramadan, if he says yes, we will fight him,” Ankalaev said at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference.

Ankalaev confirmed that while there were talks of a matchup with “Poatan” for UFC 300, contracts were never issued so the bout didn’t come to fruition. Instead, Pereira defended his belt with a stoppage of Jamahal Hill in the evening’s…

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American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez is giving due credit to Ilia Topuria.

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Topuria put his featherweight title on the line against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 this past Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. “El Matador” became the first to knock out Holloway, who had previously proclaimed himself the “best boxer in the UFC.”

After knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to win the title at UFC 298 this past February and defending his strap against Holloway, Topuria has now put himself in “Fighter of the Year” conversations. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard has been rallying a future double-champ bid against Islam Makhachev since his title win over “The Great.”

After the way Topuria finished Holloway, a clash against Makhachev in the near future doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Speaking of a potential clash between the two, Mendez, who is one of Makhachev’s primary coaches, labeled Topuria the best boxe…

Khabib gives Umar Nurmagomedov some advice 💪

"Islam [Makhachev] and I have already been in [Umar's] place. This is called a transition period. Over time, everyone will want to fight you. Just keep pushing forward."

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(via. IG / @TeamKhabib) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/4xk3Tpxt7d — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 28, 2024

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently shared some advice from experience with cousin Umar Nurmagomedov, who is currently rallying for a bantamweight title shot.

Currently No. 2 in the UFC rankings at bantamweight, Nurmagomedov is widely considered the next deserving title contender. Nurmagomedov was also in attendance and given screen time when Merab Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past September.

However, Dvalishvili refused to give any immediate recognition to Nurmagomedov as his next potential opponent. “The Machine” has since consistently downplayed …

😳🩸Robert Whittaker talking about his jaw injury:

“It wasn’t a jaw, it were the teeth. The teeth got pushed in.

It was a face crank. His forearm went straight onto bottom tooth. I didn’t even had a moment to the head or anything.”

🎥 @RedCorner_MMA ▫️ pic.twitter.com/GkPAjLMN7O

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 27, 2024

Robert Whittaker isn’t seriously injured following his submission loss against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.

Whittaker and Chimaev met in potential middleweight title eliminator in the co-main event at UFC 308 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev took Whittaker down early and had barely locked in a face crank when “Bobby Knuckles” quickly tapped 3:34 into the opening round.

Whittaker could be seen telling his corner that there was something wrong with his jaw. Subsequent images of Whittaker’s mouth revealed a ghastly injury that left his teeth scattered. While it initially seemed to be …

All signs seem to be pointing toward an Ilia Topuria-Alexander Volkanovski rematch after UFC 308.

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Topuria made his first featherweight title defense on Saturday, as he knocked out Max Holloway in the third round of their headlining clash at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. After the bout, Volkanovski entered the cage to congratulate “El Matador,” seemingly setting the stage for a rematch.

“I told the UFC I wanted to go in [the Octagon]. They let me do that, so I appreciate that,” Volkanovski told ESPN. “Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell], thank you. At the same time, he goes, ‘I want to let him have his moment.’ I’ll give him his moment. I’ll be respectful because his family is in there. I’m like, ‘Mate, I’ve been respectful. I’ve been getting along. I’ve been hugging his family the whole time. We’re good. I’m going to go in there, give him his moment, but at the same time let everyone know what we’re doing, just build that fight up a little bit, just enoug…

Rafael dos Anjos did not get to celebrate his birthday in the way that he imagined.

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The former lightweight champion suffered an apparent knee injury early in his 170-pound clash against Geoff Neal at UFC 308, which led to a technical knockout loss 90 seconds into Round 1.

“I think it was on my second kick thrown, me and Neal kicked at the same time and I felt a big snap, a big pop behind my knee,” dos Anjos said in a video on his Instagram stories. “Throughout my whole UFC career, it’s my second time being hospitalized after the fight and it makes me realize how blessed I am. It’s a very tough sport, and going to the hospital only twice in your whole career is a good number.”

Dos Anjos has lost three straight Octagon appearances and four of his last five bouts overall dating back to July 2022. Despite those struggles, the Brazilian veteran plans to continue with his MMA career once he recovers from his latest injury. Dos Anjos did not offer s…