Martial Arts News

Aljamain Sterling is well aware that his victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 won’t be enough to propel him into an immediate title shot at 145 pounds.

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While “The Funkmaster” controlled the fight with takedowns and control to sweep the scorecards in his featherweight debut, it wasn’t the type of effort that turned heads, particularly on a night filled with memorable performances. Sterling elected to move to 145 pounds after losing the bantamweight crown to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 last August, ending a reign that spanned three successful title defenses.

“Everyone’s telling me to cheer up, but I’m just a little bit down on the performance,” Sterling said in a backstage interview with the UFC on Saturday night. “Mentally, from my internal perspective, it felt like if I’m going to challenge for a belt, I need to be able to do a little bit more. I’m my own worst critic sometimes. I know I did well. It’s just I felt like, is that championship material?…

Things did not go as planned for Holly Holm at UFC 300.

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The former bantamweight title holder offered little resistance against Kayla Harrison, as she suffered a second-round submission defeat in a preliminary bout on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the former boxing champion figured to have an advantage at range against Harrison, a two-time gold medalist in judo, Holm instead elected to clinch with her opponent. Although “The Preacher’s Daughter” was able to reverse Harrison early, she was largely overmatched against the former Professional Fighters League lightweight champion.

“Well, none of that went how I had envisioned over the last 10 weeks of this training camp. I have no excuses. I had all the best coaching, the best teammates, the best sparring, all the help I could have even dreamed of asking for,” Holm said in a video post on Instagram.

“I went out there and I lost all focus on the game plan. I did nothing that we …

Bobby Green claims Paddy Pimblett would have done better to not mention his name at all.

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Green earned a unanimous decision win over Jim Miller at UFC 300 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. He then called out Pimblett for the UFC’s rumored card in Manchester, England, in June.

“Paddy how dare you? You slimy, sugary little snake,” Green said in his post-fight interview. “How dare you say my name? I’m coming after you. July, I’m coming to your backyard, to your people and kick your ass.”

Green later explained that he was only returning Pimblett’s favor by calling out the Liverpudlian.

“Because he called me,” Green said during a post-fight media scrum. “He shouldn’t have said my name. He should have kept it to those other guys. This guy right here will find you. And when I line it up, when I get the sights right, you’re gonna pay dearly.”

Pimblett and Green have appeared to be on a collision course for a while now. Pimble…

Arman Tsarukyan punched a fan during his walkout to fight Charles Oliveira 😅 pic.twitter.com/DMoX27o8H1

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) April 14, 2024

Arman Tsarukyan has a stern warning for fans after one instigated him to throw a punch during his UFC 300 walkout.

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Tsarukyan defeated former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveira via closely-contested split decision at UFC 300 on Saturday. The Armenian-Russian also had a brief physical altercation with a fan while walking out for the fight. Tsarukyan could be seen nonchalantly throwing a right hand at someone before resuming his walkout.

Lock this violent criminal up for assault. Roid raging thug pic.twitter.com/VpyPuS11Dl

— ape (@qpe) April 14, 2024

Tsarukyan later explained that a fan flipped him the bird and wanted to punch him, inciting the reaction that was captured on video. “Ahalkalakets” warned fans against harassing fighters, as it could lead …

Ilia Topuria wants to defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway after the Hawaiian’s phenomenal performance at UFC 300 on Saturday.

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Holloway moved to lightweight to challenge Justin Gaethje for the BMF title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A sizeable underdog going into the matchup, Holloway delivered one of his career best performances, piecing “The Highlight” apart before knocking him out cold in a buzzer beater. “Blessed” also walked away with both the “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” honors, which were raised to $300,000 each for the special card.

Holloway’s performance was enough to catch the attention of the featherweight champion. While he had called out Islam Makhachev, Conor McGregor and even Khabib Nurmagomedov after his title win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February, “El Matador” finally claims to be sure of who he wants to fight next.

"Its clear for me, my next fight is against Max Hol…

While Jiri Prochazka appreciates the $300,000 bonus he received for his UFC 300 performance, he insists that mixed martial artists don’t fight for money.

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Prochazka scored a come-from-behind second round technical knockout win over Aleksandar Rakic on the UFC 300 preliminary card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. Prochazka also won one of two “Performance of the Night” bonuses, which was raised to $300,000 from $50,000 for the iconic card.

Known for his embodiment of the samurai mindset, Prochazka insists that he and all fighters fight to put on a show and not for money. However, “BJP” certainly appreciates the freedom to do good deeds that comes with money.

“You know I thought about that a few minutes ago when they told me that,” Prochazka told The Schmo. “For all the fighters, there is a point, we’re not fighting for the money, we’re fighting because it’s in our blood. It’s our will to win the fight, to make a best performance,…

Max Holloway had to remind the doubters at UFC 300 that he was one-half of the BMF title fight for a reason.

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Based primarily on a previously-unsuccessful venture to 155 pounds in 2019 and opponent Justin Gaethje’s well-earned reputation as a wrecking machine, Holloway entered Saturday’s fight as the underdog. And don’t think for a second that the former featherweight champion wasn’t well aware of public perception.

“Brother, I was counted out,” Holloway said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “People were telling me, ‘What are you doing? Justin’s too big, too strong,’ just a lot of stuff. People needed to get reminded, and I let them know. I was telling people all week, ‘I’m him. I’m here,’ and you guys need a reminder.”

What transpired in the Octagon was one of the most complete performances of Holloway’s career. “Blessed” appeared to break Gaethje’s nose with a spinning back kick to the face at the end of Round 1, and he poured it on …

There wasn’t anything that could stop Alex Pereira from leaving UFC 300 with the light heavyweight title still in his possession.

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The former Glory Kickboxing champion suffered a broken pinkie toe in the weeks ahead of his bout against Jamahal Hill, then brushed off a groin shot just moments before authoring a devastating knockout victory 3:14 into the opening round of Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC CEO Dana White revealed Pereira’s injury during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, but it wasn’t something “Poatan” planned on letting affect his performance.

“That happened in the last couple of weeks,” Pereira said. “It’s not something that I was going to pull out of the fight. I had to push through. It happened in the moment of my camp that I had to be slowing down my training, so I had to just push through.”

After a measured beginning from both light heavyweights, referee Herb Dean was about to step in and pau…

Diego Lopes wants to avenge the lone Ultimate Fighting Championship loss of his career after an impressive finish over Sodiq Yusuff.

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Lopes knocked out Yusuff in under 90 seconds to score his third consecutive first-round stoppage win at UFC 300 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Lopes jumped over the Octagon immediately after his victory and could be seen having a conversation with Dana White. Lopes subsequently revealed that he was asking the UFC CEO for a rematch against Movsar Evloev, who spoiled the Brazilian’s UFC debut in May 2023. Lopes came close to submitting Evloev on short notice at UFC 288, but he ultimately went on to lose via unanimous decision.

“Movsar is next in the International Fight Week, give me the rematch… I think the first fight speaks for itself,” Lopes said during a post-fight media scrum. “I think whatever fights came after that, they say I deserve a rematch.”

While Lopes has since racked up three…

Kayla Harrison believes she has moved a step closer to bringing Amanda Nunes out of retirement with her dominant Ultimate Fighting Championship debut win over Holly Holm.

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Harrison scored a second-round submission win over the former UFC bantamweight champion at UFC 300 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka called for a title shot next, vowing to be champion by the end of 2024.

“I want my title next, Joe [Rogan],” Harrison said in her post-fight interview. “That’s what I came over for here, one thing and one thing only. I don’t care if it’s Raquel [Pennington], I don’t care if it’s Julianna [Pena], by the end of the year I will be UFC champion.”

Harrison’s performance certainly caught the attention of consensus women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes. “The Lioness” retired after defending her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023 but has since alluded to a possib…

Deiveson Figueiredo believes his UFC 300 victory over Cody Garbrandt warrants a title shot next.

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After going toe-to-toe in a close first round, Figueiredo dominated Garbrandt on the ground en route to a rear-naked choke submission in Round 2. Making his case for a title shot next, the 36-year-old noted that he handed the former bantamweight champ the first submission loss of his professional career.

“Cody, he’s a former champion, a magnificent guy, you know, he’s a really big name here,” Figueiredo said during a post-fight media scrum (via YouTube translation). “And I’ve never seen anyone submit Cody Garbrandt, and today I came and dominated the fight against him and I submitted him. And I really hope to have this opportunity to fight for the belt.”

While Figueiredo called for a title shot next, No.1 contender Merab Dvalishvili is expected to get his long overdue title shot against Sean O'Malley sometime later this year. The Brazilian doesn’t…

Islam Makhachev’s next title defense will come against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking during the UFC 300 post-fight press conference on Saturday night. UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on June 1. Meanwhile, a five-round clash pitting Sean Strickland against Paulo Costa will serve as the evening’s middleweight co-headliner.

Makhachev will carry a 13-bout UFC winning streak into the matchup with Poirier. The Dagestani standout last appeared at UFC 294, where he scored a first-round knockout of ex-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski this past October.

This will mark Poirier’s third attempt at capturing undisputed lightweight gold after falling to Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 and to Charles Oliveira in December 2021. “The Diamond” is coming off a second-round KO of Benoit St. Denis at UFC 299 on March 9.

Strickland will be fighting for the first …