Martial Arts News

The noble Merab Dvalishvili would rather go out on his shield whenever possible.

Winner of 10 straight in the talent-rich bantamweight division, Dvalishvili (17-4) will get a crack at the title held by Sean O'Malley (18-1) at UFC 306. While friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling held the strap from 2021 to 2023, the pathway is now open for the Georgian to pursue undisputed gold. He will try to do so in the main attraction of the card titled “Noche UFC,” which takes place on Sep. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

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When Sterling was dethroned by O’Malley at UFC 292 in September, he immediately protested his knockout loss to referee Marc Goddard, proclaiming it was too early. Dvalishvili watched that result closely, and vows to prove that O’Malley “got lucky” putting away “Funk Master,” with a light touch from Goddard. “The Machine” told The Schmo on Sunday that he prefers his fight handled a bit differently.

“I’m going to beat Sean O'Malley,” Dval…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has enough with flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev.

Mokaev (13-0, 1 NC) defeated Manel Kape (19-7) in his adopted home country of England on Saturday, picking up a less-than-stellar decision win over his bitter rival. Ahead of UFC 304, the flyweights had brewed plenty of bad blood between them, even getting into multiple scuffles prior to their actual fight. However, that aggression was nowhere to be found once the Octagon doors closed, with referee Mike Beltran even calling for more action in the opening frame. The UFC brass was not impressed by his performance, and even less so by his conduct behind the scenes.

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Approaching this event in Manchester, England, Mokaev revealed that the bout with Kape was the last fight on his UFC contract. While he hoped it would be renewed, he claimed that UFC matchmakers were not a fan of his grappling-heavy style and allegedly told him that his re-signing hinged on his UFC 304 per…

At 33 years of age, Curtis Blaydes still has plenty of time to develop and climb back up the heavyweight division.

Blaydes (18-5, 1 NC) challenged Tom Aspinall (15-3) for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event at UFC 304 in the latter’s home of Manchester, England. The two previously clashed in 2022, with Blaydes picking up an injury stoppage TKO win after Aspinall blew out his knee in 15 seconds. In the rematch, Blaydes fared well in the initial exchanges, but a single jab set “Razor” down, and Aspinall finished the job with ruthless ground-and-pound to notch the stoppage one minute into the fight.

Addressing his defeat, Blaydes apologized for throwing his premeditated gameplan out the window after landing on Aspinall early. “Razor” remained confident that he would have defeated the Brit had he stuck to the strategy designed by his coaches.

“Sorry guys,” Blaydes wrote, “I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplay that my…

Paddy Pimblett targets Renato “Moicano” Carneiro next after his win over Bobby Green at UFC 304.

Pimblett (22-3) choked Green (32-16-1, 1 NC) to sleep in the opening round of their lightweight matchup in front of a home crowd in Manchester, England. The Liverpudlian had a name ready when given the opportunity to call someone out in his post-fight Octagon interview: “Moicano.” Pimblett hopes to face the Brazilian before the end of the year or early next year, provided the fighter who also calls himself “Money” gets past his upcoming opponent of Benoit St. Denis at UFC Paris in September.

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“I have a name that everybody wants me to fight, Renato ‘Moicano,’” Pimblett said. “Hopefully he gets through [Benoit St. Denis]. We’ll see if we can set it up before the end of the year or in the new year.”

Pimblett and Carneiro have been teasing a matchup for a while now, with the Englishman having issued the initial callout. However, Carneiro didn’t include Pimble…

Muhammad Mokaev’s post-fight admission might have cost him his job.

Unbeaten youngster Mokaev (13-0, 1 NC) picked up a lackluster win over rival Kape (19-7) in front of his home fans in Manchester, England, on the prelims of UFC 304. Leading up to the fight, UFC featherweight Jean Silva reported Kape punched Mokaev outside the UFC Performance Institute. However, Kape dismissed the reports as mere exaggeration by his friend to help promote the fight.

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On fight week, Mokaev and Kape’s teams were captured on video brawling at the fighter hotel after the UFC 304 weigh-ins. While Kape subsequently posted a picture of Mokaev with a cut on the forehead, the Dagestan-born Brit shared a photo of his unscathed face along with a screengrab of a seemingly downed Kape. Kape’s coach, Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture, subsequently accused Mokaev of sucker punching the Angolan on the pretext of taking a photo together.

Kape and Mokaev looked primed to attack one an…

REN HIRAMOTO IS THE LAST MAN STANDING!!!

HE STOPS MIKURU ASAKURA IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND!

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Watch on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/CXiPKkswl0

[ #SuperRIZIN3 ] pic.twitter.com/IEUWvFUMaG

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) July 28, 2024 Competing in front of 48,111 fans inside a packed Saitama Super Arena, Ren Hiramoto scored the biggest victory of his young MMA career in devastating fashion Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: Super Rizin 3 in Saitama, Japan. Hiramoto knocked out heated rival Mikuru Asakura in the featherweight main event to win the Rizin FF ‘Last Man Standing’ title. Leading in to tonight’s headliner, both Hiramoto (4-3, 4-3 Rizin) and Asakura (17-5, 1 NC; 11-4 Rizin) had pledged to retire if they were not victorious. Hiramoto was viewed by many as an underdog due to his comparable lack of experience, but he looked like a seasoned veteran tonight and needed just 2:18 to dispatch of Asakura.

Early on, Asakura lande…

REN HIRAMOTO IS THE LAST MAN STANDING!!!

HE STOPS MIKURU ASAKURA IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND!

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Watch on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/CXiPKkswl0

[ #SuperRIZIN3 ] pic.twitter.com/IEUWvFUMaG

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) July 28, 2024 Competing in front of 48,111 fans inside a packed Saitama Super Arena, Ren Hiramoto scored the biggest victory of his young MMA career in devastating fashion Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: Super Rizin 3 in Saitama, Japan. Hiramoto knocked out heated rival Mikuru Asakura in the featherweight main event to win the Rizin FF ‘Last Man Standing’ title. Leading in to tonight’s headliner, both Hiramoto (4-3, 4-3 Rizin) and Asakura (17-5, 1 NC; 11-4 Rizin) had pledged to retire if they were not victorious. Hiramoto was viewed by many as an underdog due to his comparable lack of experience, but he looked like a seasoned veteran tonight and needed just 2:18 to dispatch of Asakura.

Early on, Asakura lande…

Paddy Pimblett will need a caddy for the bonuses he won Saturday night.

The rising lightweight prospect cashed $200,000 in bonuses for submitting Bobby Green in the first round at UFC 304 with an uber-slick triangle. Pimblett frustrated Green on the feet before Green unwisely level changed and took him to the mat. Pimblett seized his opportunity and snatched up the submission, putting him to sleep in front of the screaming fans at the Co-Op Arena in Manchester, England.

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UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall raises his stock every time he steps in the Octagon, and he upped his bank account by $100,00 on Saturday with a first-round knockout over Curtis Blaydes. While Dana White still seems set on making the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight, Aspinall has only raised the pressure on Jones to fight him for the undisputed title.

It was a good night for heavyweights as Michael “Mick” Parkin also took home a $100,000 bonus for his devastating first…

It’ll be harder to forget the name now.

Belal Muhammad did what many thought couldn’t be done and dethroned Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Leon Edwards by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the UFC 304 main event Saturday night at the Co-op live in Manchester, England.

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Muhammad backed Edwards up with the jab and routinely took him down with a high-crotch single leg. Edwards looked lethargic but had Muhammad in danger in Round 3 and in the final minute of the fight when he cut the challenger with a nasty elbow. Outside of those moments, the former champion was dominated by the disciplined Chicagoan, who capped off his 10-fight win streak with UFC gold.Aspinall Avenges Fluke Loss Tom Aspinall has his eyes on Jon Jones and he refused to let Curtis Blaydes get in the way. The interim heavyweight champion avenged his knee injury loss to Blaydes two years ago with a devasting first-round knockout (1:00) to retain his belt in the…

Sherdog's live UFC 304 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:15 p.m. ET.UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Bannon (-185), Ardelean (+155)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Parkin (-245), Brzeski (+200)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the…

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Nathaniel Wood continued his quiet climb up the UFC featherweight ranks—but Daniel Pineda made things interesting, as he always seems to do.

In the top preliminary bout of UFC 304 on Saturday in Manchester, England, “The Prospect” entered as a prohibitive four-to-one favorite and, for a few minutes at least, fought like it. Wood (20-6; 8-3 UFC) got out to a hot start, nailing Pineda (28-16, 3 NC; 5-7, 1 NC UFC) with a front kick to the body that folded him in half. “The Pit” managed to snare Wood in his guard as the Englishman swarmed to finish, buying himself time to recover. Pineda did a good job working his way back from the near finish, sweeping Wood and landing some hard ground shots as the round expired. Wood picked the gauntlet right back up in Round 2, hurting Pineda with a pinpoint punch that left him blinking and pawing at his right eye. Again, Pineda plied his veteran savvy and toughness to ride out the storm and recover, but Woo…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to England this weekend with a pay-per-view event, although local fans will have to deal with quite the late start time.

Two title fights are now set for the top of the UFC 304 card. The main event will see Leon Edwards attempting to defend his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad. Meanwhile, the co-main event will see interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall go up against the last man to defeat him, Curtis Blaydes. All four title fight participants made weight, as did the rest of the card with the exception of would-be bantamweight Jake Hadley, who came in at 137 pounds for his fight against Caolan Loughran. Hadley will be fined 20% of his purse as a result.

Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) previously fought Muhammad to a no contest after an accidental eye poke stopped the fight early into Round 2. "Rocky" had been fully in control up to that point and will look to get a definitive win in the rematch. Since …