Martial Arts News

Christian Leroy Duncan acknowledges that Brendan Allen has the edge in experience ahead of their main event in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Duncan (15-2) will headline a UFC card for the first time when he faces Allen at UFC Vegas 122 on Oct. 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The Englishman believes his hunger to climb the middleweight ranks and his improving skills will serve him well against a seasoned contender like Allen (27-7).

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Christian Leroy Duncan on the experience gap with Brendan Allen Duncan believes his development over the past few years will play a key role against Allen. He says his technical understanding of mixed martial arts is catching up to his raw talent and athleticism.

“As much as I've been here now, three, three years, I still say I'm quite… I came into the UFC quite green and I'm still refining, you know? I'm definitely becoming a mature fighter,” Duncan said in a prefight interview. “My IQ and my knowledge of the game …

Chris Leben is set to return to mixed martial arts nearly 13 years after his last Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

Black Combat announced Wednesday that Leben will face Yoshihiro Akiyama at its Black Combat 17: Vantablack event on Nov. 21 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea. The bout will serve as Akiyama’s retirement fight, according to the promotion.

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Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama first fought at UFC 116 in 2010 Leben (22-12) and Akiyama (16-7) first met at UFC 116 in 2010. Leben accepted the matchup on short notice and rallied to submit Akiyama with a triangle choke in the third round.

Leben, 46, hasn’t competed in MMA since December 2013, when he lost to Uriah Hall. The UFC veteran announced his retirement from MMA in January 2014, with plans to focus on coaching. He later signed with Bellator in 2016, but his comeback was halted after medical tests revealed a serious heart condition.

Leben eventually competed in bare-k…

Dricus Du Plessis is open to fighting Roberto Soldic again.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder recently discussed a potential trilogy bout against Soldic after the Croatian made a successful UFC debut at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 in Salt Lake City. The two are 1-1 against each other, having traded finishes in a pair of bouts under the KSW banner in 2018.

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Dricus du Plessis welcomes a potential middleweight trilogy with Roberto Soldic Soldic lost the KSW welterweight title to du Plessis in April 2018, suffering a second-round technical knockout defeat. “Robocop” reclaimed the belt nearly six months later, knocking out du Plessis in the third round of their rematch.

While du Plessis joined the UFC after his stint in KSW, Soldic competed in One Championship before signing with the UFC earlier this year. He made his Octagon debut at welterweight against Kalinn Williams, winning by unanimous decision.

When asked about Soldi…

Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov had a heated confrontation in Las Vegas.

Imavov (17-4) confronted Strickland (31-7) as the middleweight champion was leaving the Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Imavov questioned Strickland about their potential title bout before security intervened as tensions escalated.

Nassourdine Imavov demands answers from Sean Strickland at UFC Performance Institute Imavov asked Strickland why he had yet to sign a contract to fight him. The Frenchman even offered to pay the champion to face him. Strickland, who is known for his confrontational demeanor, appeared reluctant to engage and tried to walk away. Imavov continued to taunt Strickland and attempted to pursue him as a UFC staff member tried to calm him down.

“What is your problem? You not sign contract?” Imavov said. “Where’s the problem? Money? I have money. The problem is that he talks sh*t every time on social media. I’m here now, he’s going. He’s …

Brendan Allen believes he will dominate Christian Leroy Duncan unless he gets caught with a lucky shot.

Allen (27-7) and Duncan (15-2) are scheduled to clash in an Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight main event at UFC Vegas 122 on Oct. 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Allen acknowledges that Duncan's explosive style gives him a puncher's chance but remains confident in his technical superiority in all aspects of mixed martial arts.

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Brendan Allen believes Christian Leroy Duncan must catch him clean at UFC Vegas 122 While Allen acknowledges that Duncan might be more athletic, he believes he is more durable than the Englishman. “All In” predicts a one-sided beating unless Duncan catches him with a clean shot.

“I think just his flashy style; the only way he wins is to catch me,” Allen said during media day. “I don’t think anywhere else he can beat me. I don’t think he can wrestle better than me. We know his jiu-jitsu is not better than mine. I th…

A lightweight bout scheduled for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming trip to New York City has been scrapped after both fighters suffered injuries.

Nazim Sadykhov and Jefferson Nascimento were scheduled to square off at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. However, Nascimento withdrew due to an injury. Sadykhov subsequently revealed that he also decided to pull out and asked the UFC not to seek a replacement opponent.

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Nazim Sadykhov explains withdrawal after Jefferson Nascimento injury Sadykhov said he suffered an injury early in training camp and has been dealing with it for more than five weeks. He and his team initially planned to work around the issue but decided to withdraw after learning that Nascimento was out of the matchup.

“Salam guys. Good news and bad news,” Sadykhov wrote on Instagram. “Bad news is I won’t be fighting in MSG. I suffered an injury on the first days of camp and have been dealing with th…

Colby Covington believes Carlos Prates stands no chance against Islam Makhachev.

Prates (24-7) is currently considered a leading contender for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot against Makhachev (29-1). Covington predicts that the Brazilian would be the easiest opponent of Makhachev’s career.

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Covington predicts Islam Makhachev will submit Carlos Prates, questions Michael Morales’ experience According to Covington, Makhachev would have little trouble taking Prates down and submitting him.

“Carlos has nothing for him,” Covington told Ariel Helwani. “He’s just a straight striker. That’s gonna be the easiest fight of Makhachev’s career. I think [Makhachev] takes him down and submits him with a kimura or a head-and-arm choke.”

Unbeaten welterweight Michael Morales is another leading contender at 170 pounds. Covington is unsure how Morales would fare against Makhachev, noting that the Ecuadorian has had few opportuniti…

Petr Yan is considering a move to featherweight in the future.

Yan was recently asked whether he would be interested in fighting Joshua Van if the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion moves up to bantamweight. The Russian said that question is for Van to answer, as the decision to change weight classes is his to make.

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Why Petr Yan is hesitant to challenge Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds “No Mercy” indicated that he is more interested in moving up to featherweight but has no desire to fight his friend, reigning 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“If someone wants to move up and challenge me, it’s a question for them, not for me,” Yan told Full Violence. “But personally, for myself, moving up sounds interesting too, maybe somewhere in the future. Just 145 pounds champ is my friend Alex Volkanovski, so I don’t want to beat him up.”

Yan (20-5) reclaimed the bantamweight title with an upset victory over Merab Dvalishvili (2…

The animosity between Jon Jones and Colby Covington remains strong.

Jones’ protégé, Gable Steveson, suffered a shocking 12-second knockout loss to Sean Sharaf in one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history at UFC 331 on Sept. 19. Covington subsequently blamed Jones for Steveson’s defeat, claiming the Olympic gold medalist needed to distance himself from Jones’ “bad energy.”

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Jon Jones attacks Colby Covington's career after Gable Steveson knockout Jones has since fired back at Covington. “Bones” pointed out that although they were once college roommates, he has achieved far more in his career than Covington. Jones also questioned Covington’s criticism of his negative energy, claiming the former interim welterweight champion needs security when traveling in his own country.

Jones suggested that Covington’s repeated criticism of him shows that “Chaos” is obsessed with him.

“It’s funny that you blame Gable’s loss on my “neg…

Sean Strickland has once again publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with fighter pay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Strickland (31-7) has threatened to leave the UFC unless “things change.” The middleweight champion pointed to Conor McGregor's alleged $30 million payday for a recent appearance that Strickland claimed lasted just 30 seconds. He is now considering fighting out his contract and leaving the promotion.

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Sean Strickland considers fighting out UFC contract amid pay dispute Strickland says he is considering vacating his 185-pound title and moving up to light heavyweight to fulfill his UFC contract. He also floated a potential fight against Jake Paul as a financial incentive to leave the promotion.

“I gotta be honest unless things change with the UFC Im kinda over it,” Strickland posted on X. “McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 second and they dont want to pay us a fraction of it. Contemplating just going to 205 knocking out…

Alvin Hines’ pursuit of his first win in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been delayed.

Hines was scheduled to face Gabriel Lourenco in a heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 293 on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However, Hines has announced his withdrawal from the fight because of vertigo.

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Alvin Hines withdraws from UFC Fight Night 293 against Gabriel Lourenco Hines plans to continue training with adjustments while recovering from vertigo and hopes to return to competition at full strength.

“I had to pull out of this one for medical reasons due to vertigo,” Hines wrote on Instagram. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but I know I need to be able to step into that Octagon at 100% and perform to my true potential. I’m going to continue fight camp with some adjustments while I work through this and get myself back to where I need to be. I’m not walking away from the fight. I’m taking the time to get right so when I’m back in there, I can put on th…

Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior made his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a first-round submission victory.

Moreira Junior (12-3) handed Alexander Chavez (9-1) his first professional loss in a flyweight matchup on Week 9 of DWCS Season 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. After holding his own in the striking exchanges, the Brazilian was slammed to the mat while securing a triangle choke but held onto the maneuver, forcing the tap at 3:37 of Round 1.

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Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior submits Alexander Chavez to earn UFC contract on DWCS The victory marked a successful return to DWCS for Moreira Junior, who suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Imanol Rodriguez in Season 9 last year. He compared his second outing on the UFC recruitment show to competing in the World Cup.

“This is the best day of my life so far,” Moreira Junior said. “This is like bein…