Martial Arts News

An intriguing clash pitting two veteran featherweights has been added to the UFC Atlantic City card next month.

Bill Algeo (18-7) is gearing up to face Canada’s Kyle Nelson (15-5-1) on the UFC on ESPN 54 lineup that will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s return to New Jersey. The bout on March 30 was first reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday, and it has since been confirmed by both fighters on their respective Instagram pages.

Algeo has gone 4-1 in his last five outings, only losing a hotly contested split decision against another grizzled vet in Andre Fili in September 2022. The American has won two straight, which includes a submission victory over T.J. Brown in April last year, followed by a unanimous decision over Alexander Hernandez in October.

Meanwhile, Nelson will look to add to his two-fight winning streak when facing Algeo. The Canadian finally seems to be gaining momentum after going 1-4 in his first five outings in the UFC. “The Monster” will enter…

Mark it down as an impressive first impression for Kazakbai Tilenov.

The Tiger Muay Thai rep excelled in his ONE Championship debut and disposed of Ivan Parshikov with punches in the third round of their 148-pound ONE Friday Fights 51 catchweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Tilenov (6-1, 1-0 ONE) drew the curtain 2:07 into Round 3, as he rebounded from a June 24 submission defeat to Sundet Aitkulov.

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Parshikov (11-5, 3-2 ONE) controlled the first round with repeated takedowns, steady ground-and-pound and bulletproof submission defense. However, his gas tank could not withstand the workload. Tilenov worked in concert with fatigue in Round 2, connected with a few spinning back elbows on the feet, sprawled into top position and eventually mounted the fading Russian twice. Parshikov survived but had nothing left for the third round. Tilenov followed an uppercut into half guard and unleashed punches, hammerfists and …

[embedded content] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter-turned-commentator Carlos Barreto believes Khabib Nurmagomedov could be a threat in multiple divisions if he came back.

On Jan. 30, manager Ali Abdelaziz posted on social media claiming that if Nurmagomedov (29-0) decided to come back to the UFC, he could rule the roost in three different weight classes. The renowned manager did mistake Israel Adesanya as the beltholder at 185 pounds instead of Dricus Du Plessis, but he pitched a 2024 schedule for Nurmagomedov to win in three divisions. First, Abdelaziz stated that Nurmagomedov would start at middleweight in April, move up to light heavyweight in July and then drop to 170 pounds in December to become the first simultaneous three-division champ in a major organization.

This fantasy matchmaking against Adesanya, Alex Pereira and Leon Edwards, the manager claimed his fighter would be a “statistically bad nightmare for all these guys.”

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The trend of last-minute fight cancellations continues in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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UFC Fight Night 236, which goes down at the promotion’s Apex facility on Feb. 10, has lost its third fight within a span of 24 hours.

As per a UFC announcement, Bosnia’s Damir Hadzovic (14-7) is out of a booking against Belgian debutant Bolaji Oki (8-1) due to visa issues and will be replaced by Dana White’s Conteder Series 2023 competitor Timothy Cuamba (8-1). “Twilight Timmy” is riding a five-fight win streak topped off by a stoppage win under the Tuff N Uff banner last week. On the other hand, Oki hasn’t lost a fight since his professional debut in 2018.

Meanwhile, a shoulder injury has forced middleweight prospect Tresean Gore (4-2) out of his booking against A.J. Dobson (7-2), which was scheduled for the prelims card of UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California. While Dobson teased new fight news soon, he is yet to find an…

Benoit St. Denis claims he had nothing to do with confusion regarding his upcoming Octagon clash with Dustin Poirier.

St. Denis (13-1) is scheduled to fight Poirier (29-8) for five rounds in the co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami.

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The booking suddenly appeared to be jeopardized when Poirier announced on social media that the fight was off. The drama ended with the promotion confirming that the fight was on within hours. Notably, “The Diamond” also confirmed the booking on X (formerly known as Twitter), blaming the confusion on “miscommunication.”

Poirier did not divulge much about what went on behind the scenes in a subsequent interview. Regardless, “The Diamond” was quick to express his happiness at finally getting the deal done.

St. Denis has now shared his side of things, which seemed to be a mixture of confusion and hope. “God of War” was aiming for a top-tier opponent but couldn’t be sure that it would be Poirier until the fight w…

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Rumors of Dricus Du Plessis potentially defending his belt at UFC 300 are most likely not true.

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Coming off a split-decision title win over Sean Strickland in a nailbiter at UFC 297 last month, du Plessis doesn’t have a potential timeline in mind for his first defense.

“I have no idea [when it’ll be]. For me, right now, we are still busy with some scans and seeing what we can do in terms of after the fight, some injuries; can we fight soon, is that a possibility and all that,” the middleweight champ told South African radio station Jacaranda FM. “So that’ll be great [to get that done], that’ll be great, but we have to make sure that the longevity of my career is also taken into consideration. We’ve had a very active last year, year and a half. And that’s what I said, we rushed to get to this belt; we had to take every opportunity given to us. Right now, we need to be smart and defend this belt when it suits us.”

Rumors of a…

Sean O'Malley’s longtime coach, Tim Welch, hasn’t seen anything from Marlon Vera that he’s concerned about since their first meeting in August 2020.

Vera (23-8) handed O’Malley (17-1) his lone career loss in their first encounter, which “Sugar” refuses to acknowledge to date, blaming it on a damaged peroneal nerve due to a “fluke” leg kick.

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O’Malley is gearing up to defend his bantamweight strap in a rematch against “Chito” in the main event at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami. Welch believes Vera won’t be very confident going into the rematch as he hasn’t seen a ton of improvement in the Ecuadorian since the initial encounter.

“I don’t think [he’s improved] a ton. I don’t think his confidence is going to be high,” Welch said in an appearance on The MMA Hour. “And the way he showed up against Cory Sandhagen, he got smoked by Cory Sandhagen. He barely got past a little, short — no diss, but — Pedro Munhoz, who’s not very fast and big, he’s a little bit ol…

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Kevin Lee recently opened up on his decision to return to competition, six months after announcing his retirement.

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Lee (19-8) hung up his gloves after being submitted in under a minute by Rinat Fakhretdinov in July last year. “The Motown Phenom” recently announced his decision to come out of retirement which was seemingly flamed by a conversation with his mother. While Lee was already having trouble staying away from fighting, an observation made by his mother made the axe fall, Lee told Middle Easy:

“It’s a long time coming. I’ve probably been thinking about it for the last two months or so. The one that really kind of pushed me over the edge was a conversation that I had with my mom. She said that the smile in my soul is gone. I remember repeating it back to her to make sure I heard it right. I was like, 'man, that’s deep.’”

“My takeaway from it was just that I needed to fight again. It had already kind of been, like, in …

Former mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm over her firing from the “Star Wars” spin-off series “The Mandalorian.”

Back in 2021, Disney abruptly announced that Carano, who played Cara Dune on “The Mandalorian,” would not be appearing on the third season of the show as she was fired over “abhorrent” comments made on Twitter, now known as X, and other social media outlets.

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However, a lot has changed since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and his subsequent promise to pay the legal fees of anyone who faced discrimination for voicing their political views on his platform. Carano has now filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm, alleging discrimination and wrongful firing for voicing right-wing opinions.

Carano also claims to have faced harassment on social media over her views on Black Lives Matter, gender pronouns and regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The former Strikeforce title challenger further accused th…

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Alexander Volkanovski claims he was drinking alcohol every day leading up to his rematch against Islam Makhachev this past October.

Volkanovski (26-3) was coming off a successful title defense against Yair Rodriguez in July and recovering from a hand surgery when the otherwise disciplined featherweight champ developed a drinking habit. When Volkanovski received the call to replace Charles Oliveira on 12 days’ notice against Makhachev, the temptation to correct his UFC 284 decision loss against the lightweight champ was highly enticing.

While “The Great” went on to suffer a Round 1 head kick knockout, it’s the lack of discipline in the months prior that bothers him more than the loss.

“It was like a little kick up the arse for me – I wasn’t disciplined,” the Australian said on his teammate Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. “I’m known for being disciplined all year round, 24/7, and I just wasn’t that time. I was really disappointed. I wa…

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Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s destruction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship gym door during “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 remains one of the most iconic moments in the history of the show.

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Jackson starred opposite “TUF 2” winner Rashad Evans as a rival coach on “TUF 10,” which drew record views, courtesy the addition of street fight icon Kevin Ferguson. Jackson and Evans had plenty of heated altercations during the show, adding to its lure.

However, Jackson’s team didn’t find much success with only one fighter, Marcus Jones, progressing beyond the first round. So, when “Rampage” destroyed the gym door after Scott Junk’s majority decision loss against Matt Mitrione, fans assumed the reason to be overall frustration. However, Jackson claims there were more serious grievances that led to that moment.

“Do you know why I was so pissed on that show? I had done that season with Rashad but I did it with Forrest [Griffin] first…

Brendan Allen believes a middleweight title shot should be in his immediate future if he defeats upcoming opponent Marvin Vettori.

Allen (23-5), the No. 7-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight, is scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 240 against the No. 5-ranked perennial Italian contender on April 6 at the UFC Apex in Vegas.

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“All-In” believes a victory over Vettori (19-7) will propel him to title contention or at the least secure him a shot at the No. 1 title contender spot.

“I feel it’s based on my performance,” the 28-year-old told MMA Junkie. “I think if I go out there and finish him and make it look easy, I think I drop my name in the hat for a title shot. But worst case scenario, a true No. 1 contender fight is after that. I really think it just comes down to me. It’s really up to me.

“I think overall, I think this is my fight to lose. I think I’m better in every single place the fight can go. The guy is definitely tough.…