Martial Arts News

“The Ultimate Fighter 23” winner Andrew Sanchez is a new addition to the PFL 5 card in Salt Lake City on June 21.

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Sanchez will replace Laurynas Urbonavicious and face Karl Albrektsson in a light heavyweight bout at the event. The PFL recently announced the change. The organization also confirmed two other bouts for the card: Anthony Romero vs. Sergio Cassio at lightweight and Brayan Zurcher vs. Julian Ruiz at featherweight.

PFL 5 takes place at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City and features the second batch of regular season bouts at light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a 155-pound clash pitting Clay Collard against Mads Burnell.

Sanchez made his promotional debut in June 2023, when he took a split-decision triumph against Taylor Johnson. “El Dirte” went 5-5 during a UFC stint from 2016 to 2021, earning notable victories over the likes of Khalil Rountree, Trevor Smith and Marc-Andre Barriault.

Sweden’s Albrek…

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) has handed Khalil Rountree a two-month suspension after the UFC light heavyweight tested positive for the anabolic steroid DHEA.

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The term was reduced because Rountree informed UFC officials that he may have ingested a banned substance while taking a dietary supplement. A biological sample was then sent to Sports Medicine Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, where tests confirmed the presence of DHEA metabolites in Rountree’s system.

“Rountree provided CSAD with shipping records, detailing that he received the supplement containing DHEA on May 2, 2024, just two days before he provided the May 4th sample,” read a statement from CSAD.

“Rountree also provided documentation from the owner of the clinic that sent him the supplement, reflecting that the company’s Brand Marketing Director sent Rountree some of the company’s ‘therapeutic blends’ supplements ‘without prior approval.’ The owner d…

Andre Lima will lock horns with Mitch Raposo in a flyweight clash at UFC 302.

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Raposo is a replacement opponent for Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, who was forced to withdraw from the event due to visa issues. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC 302 takes place on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.

Lima is coming off a memorable Octagon debut, where he defeated Igor da Silva via disqualification when his opponent bit him on the arm in the second round. “Mascote” subsequently received a $50,000 “Bite of the Night” bonus and got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion. The 25-year-old Brazilian is 8-0 as a professional, with victories in Dana White's Contender Series and Legacy Fighting Alliance to his credit.

Raposo has been a champion in both the Cage Titans and CES MMA promotions. His lone career defeat in 10 professional…

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Ilia Topuria wants to defend his title against Max Holloway and then fight Conor McGregor at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Spain.

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Topuria became the featherweight champion with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at Brian Ortega as an ideal opponent for his first title defense, “El Matador” has now changed his tune.

Topuria recently laid down a two-fight plan to first defend his strap against Holloway and then face McGregor in “the biggest fight in MMA history.” Topuria is plotting a fight against “Notorious” at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of football club Real Madrid, and expects it to shatter all records. The Spaniard also recently claimed to have a date for the UFC’s planned debut in his home country this year.

“So, I hope to defend the belt with Max Holloway and then I want to fight with Conor McGregor hopefully," Topuria told Sportskeeda MMA. "If he wins his upcoming fight, that’s the figh…

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Arman Tsarukyan isn’t counting out Dustin Poirier in his upcoming UFC 302 title fight against Islam Makhachev.

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Poirier challenges Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC 302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Poirier previously suffered a submission loss in a foiled championship bid against Makhachev’s teammate and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019. Given the similarity of style between both Dagestanis, Poirier is a massive underdog heading into UFC 302.

Makhachev also arguably has developed a cleaner striking skillset than Nurmagomedov over the years. According to Makhachev, teammate and Bellator MMA lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov has better striking than Poirier. Regardless, Tsarukyan believes standing up against Poirier will be a dangerous game to play for Makhachev. While Tsarukyan expects Makhachev to successfully execute his obvious game plan against Poirier, the…

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Conor McGregor believes Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is a better place for former Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes than other mixed martial arts promotions.

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McGregor Sports and Entertainment became part owner of BKFC earlier this year. Explaining his interest in the organization, McGregor said he sees the MMA promotions space as kind of saturated with the UFC established as a clear industry leader.

According to McGregor, the BKFC is an entirely different space that generates more interest than rival MMA promotions of the UFC. McGregor noted that former UFC fighters fighting for rival MMA promotions often fail to generate much buzz. Compared to that, “Notorious” finds BKFC fights featuring UFC alums like Mike Perry, Eddie Alvarez and others much more entertaining.

“We’ve got the UFC as the premier mixed martial arts organization and the rest of them aren’t really anything right, let’s be real. The rest of them, …

SAVANNAH’S MMA DEBUT OPPONENT IS SET! 👊

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Savannah Marshall vs. Mirela Vargas 🇧🇷 @Savmarshall1 makes her MMA debut in the PFL SmartCage on Saturday 8th June at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England!

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The undisputed world champion boxer makes the transition to mixed martial… pic.twitter.com/R8ItF86oqf — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 26, 2024

Despite Savannah Marshall’s impressive boxing pedigree, Mirela Vargas believes her mixed martial arts experience will give her an edge over the Englishwoman in their upcoming fight.

Marshall (0-0) and Vargas (1-2) are scheduled to headline PFL Europe 2 on June 8 at the Utilitia Arena in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England. While the bout will mark Marshall’s pro MMA debut, the undisputed female super middleweight boxing champ is being considered a sizeable favorite.

However, Vargas plans on showing the world that elite boxing skills may not be necessarily be enough …

Credit: Bellator MMA

Despite his mother’s recent death, Dylan Tuke isn’t pulling out of the upcoming PFL Europe 2 card.

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Tuke (7-4) is scheduled to co-headline PFL Europe 2 against Kane Mousah (14-6) on June 8 at the Utilitia Arena in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England. The Irish prospect was struck by tragedy weeks prior as his mother passed away.

However, “The Nuke” refused to pull out of his upcoming fight and recently explained his decision. According to Tuke, his mother, who introduced him to mixed martial arts, would have probably slapped him if he didn’t give his opponent the fight he promised and definitely wouldn’t have wanted him to miss the opportunity of fighting on such a big stage.

“So, my mother was a flowing [jiu-jitsu] woman herself. She was a black belt in her own right. And we promised Kane Mousah a knock and in three weeks me and him are gonna have a knock,” Tuke said during the PFL Europe 2 media day.

“So, she’d probably h…

The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix is BACK — bigger and better than ever 🤩 Which ONE athlete deserves a shot? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/3UGEf9dDxb

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 21, 2024

ONE Championship will hold a featherweight world grand prix kickboxing tournament later this year, the Singapore-based promotion confirmed on Tuesday.

According to a source close to the situation, Chingiz Allazov, Superbon Singha Mawynn, Marat Grigorian, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Masaaki Noiri and Tawanchai P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym are all candidates to participate. Additionally, Giorgio Petrosyan, who is still under ONE contract, is tentatively slated to compete in the tournament.

A date and location for the event have yet to be announced.

ONE previously held a featherweight grand prix that begain in 2021 and concluded in March 2022. In the finals of the bracket, Allazov took a hard-fought three-round verdict over Sitsongpe…

Stamp Fairtex has been forced to withdraw from the ONE Championship 167 headliner after suffering a torn meniscus in training.

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According to the Singapore-based promotion, Fairtex underwent surgery for the injury and will not be defending her atomweight (115-pound) belt against Denice Zamboanga as originally planned. Zamboanga is expected to remain on the card against an as yet to be announced opponent. Fairtex was also slated to meet ONE strawweight (125-pound) queen Jingnan Xiong on Sept. 6 in Denver, but that bout is also “in question,” according to the promotion.

Fairtex revealed how the injury occurred in a release issued by ONE Championship.

“My sparring partner was behind me, and she was going to take me down. She grabbed my body and lifted me up, but since she is smaller than me, when she lifted me up, she couldn’t lift me that high, and my leg was still touching the ground,” Fairtex said.

“Then, she twisted. When she twisted, m…

Savannah Marshall prepares to make her MMA debut in less than four weeks time 👀#PFLNewcastle | Saturday 8th June | Utilita Arena, Newcastle | Tickets on SALE NOW! 🔗 in bio | LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/JD50b8958U

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) May 13, 2024

Savannah Marshall didn’t necessarily expect to get such a big stage for her professional mixed martial arts debut.

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Thanks to a background as a boxing champion, her signing with Professional Fighters League was met with some measure of fanfare. However, Marshall would have been willing to pay her dues on an undercard in her first MMA foray. But that’s not how things turned out: Marshall will headline PFL Europe 2 on June 8 when she faces Mirela Vargas at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England.

“It's amazing for me, and I'm extremely grateful for the PFL to give me this opportunity,” Marshall said on a media call. “I remember a couple of months ago and they were talking…

#BREAKING - A Waco-area MMA coach is accused of sexually abusing a girl he was training over a three year period, an affidavit states. INFO: https://t.co/QO5jWq34GN pic.twitter.com/O1P9ipCrJs

— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) May 20, 2024

Jacob Brennan, the husband and coach of UFC fighter Hailey Cowan, has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a minor.

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According to a report from KWTX 10, Brennan was arrested and booked into McLennan County (Texas) Jail on May 19 after a woman accused him of touching her inappropriately between 2013 and 2015. The victim was 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, while Brennan was 30. Brennan has been charged with indecency with a child with sexual contact, a second-degree felony in Texas that carries a sentence between two and 20 years.

Brennan, who is now 40, is the owner of Next Generation MMA/Blitz MMA in Waco. According to an affidavit, the victim told investigators that Brenna…