Martial Arts News

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A matchup of light heavyweight debutants has been rearranged with less than a week to go before UFC Fight Night 241.

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Undefeated French standout Oumar Sy (9-0) was scheduled to meet Brazil’s Antonio Trocoli (12-3) at the UFC Apex on Saturday. However, Trocoli has now withdrawn due to undisclosed reasons and will now be replaced by another promotional debutant in George Tokkos (10-3). The change was first reported by Al Zullino on X (Formerly known as Twitter). The promotion has since confirmed the new bout.

Trocoli first earned a Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a Dana White’s Contender Serieswin in 2019 but was released after failing a drug test. He was then scheduled to debut against Ovince St. Preux in 2022 but withdrew from the bout.

Sy is currently undefeated in nine pro outings, which includes seven finishes. The 28-year-old signed with the promotion in October 2023 on the back of consecutive Round 1 stop…

Magomed Magomedov hopes to right two of the wrongs in his mixed martial arts career before the year is through.

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That begins with a rematch against reigning bantamweight champion Patrick Mix in the main event of Bellator Champions Series Paris at the Accor Arena in Paris, France on Friday. Magomedov initially faced Mix in the semifinals of the bantamweight grand prix at Bellator 289, falling via second round submission in their December 2022 bout.

Mix went on to win the tournament with a first-round KO of Raufeon Stots, and he unified the 135-pound belt with a submission of Sergio Pettis this past November. At this point in his career, Mix is regarded as one of the best bantamweights in the world, regardless of promotion.

Magomedov is willing to give Mix his due, but he knows he has a golden opportunity to change that perception.

“Today he is one of the best in the world,” Magomedov said through a translator during a media call on Tuesday. “O…

Aspen Ladd has firsthand experience with Kayla Harrison inside the cage, so she wasn’t surprised when the two-time Olympic gold medalist enjoyed a dominant Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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While Ladd went the distance in a unanimous decision loss to Harrison in a 150-pound catchweight bout at the 2023 PFL Championships, Holly Holm had a much rougher night, as she absorbed a beating from Harrison en route to a second-round submission defeat at UFC 300 on April 13. Making the victory more impressive was the fact that the two-time Professional Fighters League lightweight champion successfully made the cut to 135 pounds for the first time without issue.

Ladd, who will meet Katerina Shakalova at Bellator Champions Series Paris on Friday, expected Harrison to be successful in her first Octagon forway.

“Kayla Harrison did exactly what I thought she was gonna do, especially when I heard the matchup. Obviously people think that’s a tough fight, …

A pivotal strawweight clash pitting Virna Jandiroba against Amanda Lemos has been booked for the UFC’s July 20 card.

Jandiroba confirmed the pairing on social media following an initial report from MMA Melotto. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a women’s flyweight showdown between Tracy Cortez and Miranda Maverick and a middleweight scrap between Brad Tavares and Jung Yong Park. A headliner has not been confirmed for the event.

A former Invicta FC champion, Jandiroba has been victorious in her last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 35-year-old Brazilian outpointed Lupita Godinez at UFC on ESPN 54 on March 30. She has also earned decision wins over Marina Rodriguez and Angela Hill during her current winning streak.

After coming up short in a 115-pound title bid against Weili Zhang at UFC 292 last August, Lemos returned to the win column in her last outing, as she took a unanimous verdict aga…

City of Love, we're coming BACK! 👊

See you in September! #UFCParis

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More information: https://t.co/WvN9Cd6bHr pic.twitter.com/0v2hRRhu5Y — UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2024

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to return to Paris this fall.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that it will hold an event at Accor Arena in Paris on Sept. 28. This will be the third consecutive year that the UFC will travel to France. No bouts were announced for the card.

“We are returning to Paris for the third straight year,” said UFC CEO Dana White in a release. This is another one of those destinations that I would have to tell fans if you’ve never been to a fight in Paris, you should probably order your tickets now. See you there in September!”

The promotion made its inaugural trip to Paris on Sept. 3, 2022 for UFC Fight Night 209. In the main event, Ciryl Gane defeated Tai Tuivasa via third-round TKO, while …

Tracy Cortez will meet Miranda Maverick in a flyweight bout at a UFC Fight Night event in July.

Cortez (11-1) and Maverick (13-5) will trade leather on a UFC Fight Night card scheduled for July 20 at the promotion’s Apex in Las Vegas. The matchup was confirmed by both competitors on their social media accounts.

Cortez hasn’t lost a fight since her pro debut in August 2017 and is undefeated in five promotional outings — all decision wins. In her most recent clash, the 30-year-old earned a unanimous decision win over Canadian standout Jasmine Jasudavicius at Noche UFC in September 2023.

Meanwhile, Maverick is riding a two-fight win streak that saw her bounce back from a unanimous decision loss against Jasudavicius. Maverick will enter the Octagon fresh off a unanimous decision win over Andrea Lee in her most recent outing at UFC 298 this past February.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Ramiz Brahimaj’s recovery from a grievous spinal injury is truly inspirational.

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Brahimaj hasn’t competed since a first-round submission win over Michael Gilmore in February 2022. Brahimaj was scheduled to fight Carlston Harris in February 2023 but was forced out due to a neck injury. The 31-year-old is now finally slated to return to action against Themba Gorimbo at UFC Fight Night 241 on Saturday. Brahimaj recently detailed his injury in an interview with MMAMania.com.

“I had a brachial plexus injury and an injury to my C-5 from spinal stenosis and disc injuries. It set me back a lot, man. I dealt with a lot of different things, and it’s pretty messy when that stuff happens. So, for about two to three months, I really had limited function and ability in my arm, and it kept happening. So, it sucked, but I’m here, I’m happy.”

Brahimaj suffered the injury during wrestling drills. While most…

Colby Covington is frequently shifting focus when it comes to deciding his next potential opponent.

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Covington is seemingly not interested in a fight against welterweight up-and-comer Ian Garry, who has been calling “Chaos” out for a considerable amount of time now. The former interim champ has instead called out Belal Muhammad, who is expected to be next in line for a 170-pound title shot.

Covington argued against Muhammad’s case for a title shot, citing “Remember the Name’s” inactivity since a lopsided decision win over Gilbert Burns in May 2023.

“I would like [to fight] Belal; he's talked a lot of smack…He’s out there saying that I only got my title shot cause of [Dana] White privilege… Now he's squatting on his ranking, guys; he should have to come out and fight,” Covington recently told Submission Radio. “I think we should fight; I think that’s the fight that should be next. He doesn’t deserve a title fight, guys. How long’s he sat out? H…

Seasoned middleweights Brad Tavares and Jun Yong Park are slated to trade leather in July.

Tavares (20-9) and Park (17-6) will meet at UFC Fight Night on July 20 at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. The matchup was first announced by Park’s representatives, First Round Management Asia, on social media.

Tavares is currently 1-3 in his last four and will enter the Octagon fresh off a technical knockout loss to Gregory Rodrigues in February. Tavares will make his 25th UFC appearance against Park.

Meanwhile, Park is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Andre Muniz in February that snapped a four-fight winning streak that included three submissions. Prior to that, “The Iron Turtle” suffered a Round 2 knockout loss against the aforementioned Rodrigues in 2021.

There has been some reshuffling among recent bookings in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.

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As a result of those changes, Alex Perez will now square off against Tatsuro Taira in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on June 15. Perez was originally scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov at the event, while Taira was supposed to face Joshua Van at UFC 302 on June 1. Now, Ulanbekov and Van will lock horns on June 15. Multiple outlets confirmed the new 125-pound pairings following an initial report from Marcel Dorff.

Perez snapped a three-bout skid in his last outing, as he knocked out Matheus Nicolau in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 55 headliner. The former title challenger is 7-4 during his stint with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

The 24-year-old Taira has kicked off his Octagon tenure with five consecutive triumphs to raise his overall professional mark to 15-0. The Okinawa, Japan, native capped off a 3-0 campaign …

A women’s flyweight bout with No. 1 contender implications has been targeted to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on July 13.

Former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is expected to face Maycee Barber in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Denver. Multiple outlets confirmed that the bout is in the works following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. A venue for the event has not been announced.

Namajunas is 1-1 since moving to 125 pounds following a successful stint at strawweight that included two title reigns. After dropping a unanimous verdict against Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 226, “Thug” Rose rebounded with a five-round decision triumph over Amanda Ribas in her last outing in the UFC on ESPN 53 main event.

Barber, meanwhile, enters the matchup on a six-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 25-year-old Dana White's Contender Series alum earned her most significant victory t…

🚨 We're very excited to announce that one of the most exciting young fighters in the game, #TeamIridium beast @JaySquabbles (8-1), is taking his talents to the @PFLMMA cage ✍🏾 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/5fuJidi5iZ

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) May 13, 2024

Cage Fury Fighting Championships featherweight king Jose Perez is taking his talents to Professional Fighters League.

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Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, announced the signing on Monday, and Sherdog.com later confirmed the news with PFL officials. According to the event page of PFL broadcast partner ESPN, Perez is slated to face Tyler Diamond at PFL 6 on June 28.

The 29-year-old Perez has compiled an 8-1 mark as a professional, with all but one of his appearances coming under the CFFC banner. He last appeared at CFFC 123 this past September, when he took a unanimous decision against Chris Vasil. Perez has earned four of his career triumphs via …