Martial Arts News

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While Kade Ruotolo will make his mixed martial arts debut Friday, he is no stranger to fist fighting, having grown up with twin brother Tye Ruotolo.

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Ruotolo is scheduled to make his MMA debut against Blake Cooper (2-1) at ONE 167 on June 7 in Bangkok. Having been in regular bare-knuckle fights with his brother since a young age, the elite jiu-jitsu practitioner claims to have picked up on the striking aspect of MMA with ease. While preparing for his upcoming fight, Ruotolo has already surprised a lot of people who were expecting him to come in as a pure jiu-jitsu practitioner and plans to surprise many more.

“It’s kind of a hard question to say that exactly. When we were growing up – it wasn’t at a very high level, it was at our jiu-jitsu gym for around two years when we were around the age of 13, give or take. We did about two years of Muay Thai, so we had an idea of how to throw a kick, how to throw a punch, things like that,”…

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Brendan Loughnane (27-5) believes the Professional Fighters League tournament format isn’t meant for everyone and claims to know a lot of Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters that agree with him.

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Loughnane will take on Justin Gonzales (14-4) in the main event at PFL 6 2024 Regular Season, featuring featherweights and welterweights on June 28 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The 2022 PFL featherweight champion has been with the promotion since 2019 and is no stranger to the unique format.

The PFL season consists of two regular season matches across six weight classes to decide who proceeds to the playoffs based on a points system scored by the method of victory. The playoffs feature semi finals and a final with $1 million on the line.

This, combined with the league’s pay-per-view cards, keeps a PFL fighter busier compared to most other organizations. Loughnane notes that the PFL tournament format can be …

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Mikey Musumeci deems Joao Gabriel Sousa’s body type as the biggest challenge, apart from the Brazilian’s strength.

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Musumeci will look to correct a 2021 loss when he takes on Sousa in a 145-pound rematch at ONE 167 in Bangkok on June 7. Musumeci hasn’t lost a bout since suffering a submission loss against Sousa in their first encounter. Reflecting on that loss, Musumeci admits that Sousa was evidently stronger than him.

Planning to leave no stone unturned to exact revenge, Musumeci has been working on his strength with Sam “Coach Cal” Calvitta at the Treigning Lab. Apart from the strength, Musumeci sees Sousa’s body type as the biggest challenge. According to “Darth Rigatoni,” comparatively short-limbed fighters like Sousa have an advantage in no-gi jiu-jitsu as they are hard to grab ahold of.

“Gabriel has very small limbs. He has no arms, no legs. Which in no-gi, it helps people built like that; like dinosaurs kind of. In …

Adrian Lee will look to make a statement in his professional mixed martial arts debut at ONE 167 on Friday.

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Lee will have his family name to live up to when he makes his pro debut against Antonio Mammarella on June 7 in Bangkok. While Lee’s elder sister Angela Lee retired as the reigning ONE Championship atomweight queen last year, elder brother Christian Lee currently holds the lightweight and welterweight titles. Another sibling, Victoria Lee, who was just as promising as her kin, unfortunately took her own life in 2022.

Lee’s main focus going into his pro debut is to make a statement by finishing his opponent as early as possible. While he isn’t too focused on producing highlight-reel footage, he doesn’t believe in spending more time in the cage than necessary.

“During this camp, we've been practically focused on everything. The main thing we've been focused on is just how to get the job finished as soon as possible, “ Lee said. “You …

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is expanding its reach to the Far East.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour” on Wednesday, BKFC president David Feldman and Rizin Fighting Federation boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that the organizations have agreed to a talent-sharing partnership with plans for co-promoted events in the near future.

“Today we get to announce the official partnership with BKFC and Rizin to produce Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship shows in Japan and all over the southeast Asia region, as well as assist Rizin with whatever else they need from around the world,” Feldman said. “We’re really super excited about this partnership and to partner with such a legend like Sakakibara.”

The arrangement will begin with Rizin fighters competing under the BKFC banner at an upcoming event on July 12 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. There, Rizin’s Tatsuki Shinotsuka will face Cary Caprio in a bare-knuckle bo…

The lineup for UFC Fight Night in Denver continues to grow, as a lightweight clash between Drew Dober and Mike Davis has been added to July 13 bill.

The Denver Post was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night takes place at Ball Arena and is headlined by a flyweight showdown between Rose Namajunas and Maycee Barber.

Dober is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Renato Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 235 in his first appearance of 2024. The Elevation Fight Team member is 4-2 in the Octagon since 2022, with all of his victories during that time coming via knockout or technical knockout.

Davis, meanwhile, will take a four-bout winning streak into the matchup. In his last outing, “Beast Boy” submitted Natan Levy in the second round of their encounter at UFC Fight Night 239 on March 16.

Dustin Poirier is one of 10 fighters facing a potential indefinite suspension on the heels of UFC 302.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control board recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place this past Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In the evening’s headliner, Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight crown with a fifth-round submission of Poirier.

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As a result of the damage he suffered in the Octagon, Porier needs ENT clearance for his nose and orthopedist clearance for his left knee before he can compete again. Makhachev, meanwhile, was suspended for 30 days with no contact due to facial lacerations.

Co-main event competitors Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa were among the other fighters from UFC 302 who received indefinite terms. Strickland, who won a split decision over his Brazilian foe, needs an x-ray and orthopedist clearance on his left tibia before he can return to action. At a…

A welterweight clash pitting Jarrah Al-Silawi against Bashar Thaer will serve as the main event for PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on July 12.

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The PFL announced the card in a release on Wednesday. The event takes place at The Green Halls and features athletes competing in the organization’s season format in the welterweight and lightweight divisions.

"The Professional Fighters League is excited to return to Riyadh for PFL MENA 2. The PFL along with our great partners, SURJ Sports, could not be happier to see a shared vision become a reality,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. “PFL MENA has put a global spotlight on great fighters across the region and provided passionate MMA fans with a premium live experience.”

A former Brave Combat Federation champ, Al-Silawi is 1-3 in PFL competition and also has a victory in PFL Challengers Series to his credit. Most recently, the Jordanian fighter earned a unanimous decision over Nenad Avramovi…

Former opponents Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev have nothing but respect for each other.

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Makhachev ended Oliveira’s lightweight title reign with a dominant submission win at UFC 280 in 2022. Oliveira earned an immediate rematch with a knockout win over Beneil Dariush but was forced out of the scheduled UFC 294 clash due a cut suffered in sparring 12 days before fight night. The Brazilian most recently lost a razor-thin split decision in a title eliminator against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April.

Oliveira is now eyeing a move up to welterweight to fight Colby Covington. Makhachev, who put his title on the line against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 last weekend, was asked about a potential clash between Oliveira and Covington. Makhachev believes Oliveira can finish Covington and even invited “do Bronx” to train with him in Dagestan.

While Oliveira expressed gratitude for Makhachev’s invitation, the Brazilian isn’t interested in training a…

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While Javier Mendez admits that Arman Tsarukyan is deserving of a title shot against Islam Makhachev, he recently explained why the Dagestani prefers a matchup against Leon Edwards.

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Makhachev defended his lightweight title with a fifth-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 last weekend. Makhachev subsequently called for a welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards after the victory.

However, waiting in the wings is No. 1 lightweight contender Tsarukyan, who turned down a UFC 302 gold bid against Makhachev due to quick turnaround from his victory of Charles Oliveira in April. After UFC 302, company CEO Dana White also agreed that Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan is the next fight to make.

While Makhachev’s long term coach Mendez also deems Tsarukyan deserving of a title shot, he would still prefer a welterweight title shot next for his pupil. As per Mendez, a potential double championship win will add…

Mads Burnell believes if you’re a true fighter, the Professional Fighters League an ideal place to compete.

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Burnell headlines PFL 5 at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, opposite Clay Collard on June 21. The card featuring lightweight and light heavyweight bouts marks the promotion’s debut in Utah. This will also mark a turnaround of a little over two months from Burnell’s PFL debut in April.

While newcomers at the PFL often have difficulty adjusting to the frequency of the fights, Burnell absolutely loves the quick turnaround. The PFL season format features fighters across six weight classes competing in two regular season bouts to decide who will proceed to the playoffs, which consists of semifinals and a final, with $1 million at stake. The season format combined with the pay-per-view cards and now Bellator events, keeps PFL fighters more active than most other promotions. Burnell believes the PFL is for true fighters who are just ke…

Jason Jackson recently took a dig at upcoming opponent Ramazan Kuramagomedov’s MMA gym.

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Jackson is scheduled to make his first Bellator MMA welterweight title defense against Kuramagomedov in the main event at Bellator Champions Series Dublin on June 22. While Jackson trains at Kill Cliff FC, Kuramagomedov trains at rival South Florida gym American Top Team.

Jackson recently hailed the unity in his own gym while alluding that ATT is divided based on cultural and racial differences.

“We have everything at my gym. There is nothing we are short of,” Jackson said during a recent Bellator media call. “Everyone there is motivated. The thing about our gym is that we are one. It doesn’t matter if we come from a different culture or a different race. We are one. We are not divided like American Top Team.”

Jackson hasn’t lost in eight outings since coming up on the short side of a split decision against Ed Ruth in his Bellator debut in 2019. J…