Martial Arts News

Bryan Battle is certain Ange Loosa wanted a way out of their UFC Fight Night 239 clash.

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Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa in the evening’s co-headliner before an accidental eye poke by “Pooh Bear” brought the contest to a halt in Round 2. Seemingly in agony, Loosa told the cageside doctor that his vision was impaired, leading the fight to end in an unfortunate no contest.

A few heated words were exchanged between both parties inside the Octagon before security intervened. Battle accused Loosa of quitting in his post-fight Octagon interview and reiterated the accusation during the post-fight press conference. Battle admitted that he had initiated the exchange of words. Based on his previous experience with eye pokes, “The Ultimate Fighter 29” middleweight winner is certain that Loosa’s vision wasn’t completely impaired.

“What triggered the argument is I looked at him and I called him a p—y. I knew it wasn’t that bad, I knew it w…

Following an impressive win over Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night 239, Mike Davis revealed how gaming helped him through a dark phase in life.

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Returning to action for the first time since October 2022, “Beast Boy” picked up an second-round submission win over Israel’s Levy in the evening’s featured preliminary bout. Davis subsequently reflected on his love for gaming, even plotting a post-retirement gaming podcast.

Davis named “The Last of Us’”and “Hell Divers” as his current favorite games. However, Davis also mentioned that “Halo” saved his life.

“I like ‘The Last of Us.’ But the game that saved my life was ‘Halo.’ And what am I playing right now? A little bit mixture of everything, but come, on it’s ‘Hell Divers’ – for democracy,” Davis said during a media scum. (video via MMAjunkie.com)

Davis shared intimate details about his childhood in New York, where he was bullied for being Black. The bullying took a toll on him to the point wher…

Marcin Tybura earned some extra income for his first submission victory in nearly a decade.

The Polish heavyweight received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his submission of Tai Tuivasa in the UFC Fight Night 239 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Tuivasa landed some heavy strikes early, but once the fight hit the canvas it was all Tybura, as the M-1 Global veteran unloaded with ground-and-pound before submitting his foe with a rear-naked choke at the 4:08 mark of Round 1. It was Tybura’s first submission triumph since November 2014.

Elsewhere, Macy Chiasson garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for her second submission win over Pannie Kianzad. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner threatened with multiple submissions before eliciting a tap with a rear-naked choke — the same move she used to vanquish Kianzad at the “TUF 28” finale — 3:54 into round one of their featured bantamweight clash.

Meanwhile, Jafel Filho po…

Marcin Tybura exploited the lack of dimension in the game of his heavy-handed dance partner.

The former M-1 Global titleholder strengthened his claim as a Top 10 heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he rendered Tai Tuivasa unconscious with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 239 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tuivasa (14-7, 8-7 UFC) surrendered his grip on reality 4:08 into Round 1.

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Tybura (25-8, 12-7 UFC) walked through considerable fire. Tuivasa blasted him with a series of standing elbows, one of which opened a cut on his scalp. The 33-fight veteran kept his cool under duress, closed the distance behind a one-two and completed a takedown. Tybura hammered away with sustained ground-and-pound and patiently waited for an opening to present itself. Tuivasa chose to go belly down and exposed his neck in the process. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place.

The 30-year-old Tuiv…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Apex Facility in Las Vegas for the fifth time in 2024, presenting a solid card built around a heavyweight clash between ranked contenders Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura. Sherdog.com brings you live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment at UFC Fight Night 239, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement.

Tuivasa, who turns 31 on fight day, enters the bout on a three-fight skid and has been finished in each of those contests. Before that, he amassed five straight victories with five finishes, his best UFC run so far, and will be driven to reclaim his explosive edge. Meanwhile, Tybura registers a 7-2 mark over his last nine fights leading up to the clash against the Australian heavy-hitter. He was last seen inside the Octagon against interim-heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, succumbing in Round 1 via TKO.

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Stay tuned to Sherdog.com at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT for live play-by-play cov…

Mike Davis re-introduced himself to the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division after a 17-month layoff, and the statement he made could not have been much more profound.

The impressive Fusion X-Cel standout showcased his all-terrain skills before he subdued Natan Levy with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 239 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Levy (8-2, 2-2 UFC), who missed weight for the bout by one pound, conceded defeat 1:43 into Round 2.

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Davis decked the Syndicate MMA product with a right hand—the impact appeared to break Levy’s nose—inside the first 30 seconds, moved to the back and controlled position for most of the opening stanza. The narrative did not shift much in the second round. There, Davis tripped the Israeli to the floor, set off a scramble and again transitioned to the back. He then floated to full mount, framed the arm-triangle and let his squeeze do the rest.<…

The UFC 301 lineup just received some much-needed star power.

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Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will come out of retirement to face Jonathan Martinez in a 135-pound clash on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. Ag.Fight was first to report the booking, and it was later confirmed by promotion broadcast partner ESPN. Aldo reportedly has one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

Regarded by many as the greatest featherweight of all-time, Aldo called it a career following a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 on Aug. 20, 2022. The Nova Uniao standout is 3-3 at bantamweight, with wins over the likes of Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font to his credit. Since stepping away from MMA, Aldo has competed three times in professional boxing.

Martinez will take a six-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Aldo. Most recently, the Factory X product defeated Adrian Yanez via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 230 this past Oc…

🔥🔥 The Martial Arts Festival of Midsummer 🔥🔥⚡️ Yogibo presents Super RIZIN.3 ⚡️

📅 7/28 (Sun)🏟 Saitama Super Arena

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The match we’ve all been waiting for… pic.twitter.com/tIMbwvP0tS — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 16, 2024

A featherweight grudge match will headline Super Rizin 3 when Mikuru Asakura squares off against Ren Hiramoto on July 28.

The Japanese promotion announced the booking on Saturday. In an added twist, the loser of the bout has promised to retire from MMA. Super Rizin 3 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. More bouts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

A former title holder in the Rings organization, Asakura has compiled a 17-4 mark since beginning his professional tenure in 2012. The Japan Top Team representative is 8-3 under the Rizin banner and is coming off a first-round submission defeat to Vugar Karamov at Super Rizin 2 last July.

Hiramoto ini…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has decided who will get the next crack at flyweight gold, and it will come as a surprise to many.

The promotion announced on Friday that Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) will be putting his flyweight strap on the line against Australia’s Steve Erceg (12-1) at UFC 301. The 125-pound championship affair will not likely serve as its main event, although additional championship bouts or other matches that could be the headliner have not yet been announced. This will be Pantoja’s second attempted defense of his 125-pound title while serving as the first time he has competed in his home country of Brazil since joining the promotion in 2017.

Pantoja has pounded through the flyweight ranks since 2021, stringing together five wins over elite opposition to get him a title shot in 2023. At UFC 290, “The Cannibal” rematched former foe Brandon Moreno and captured a split decision to go up 3-0 over Moreno, including an encounter on the 24th season of “The…

It took the Ultimate Fighting Championship one day to rope in a middleweight happy to headline an event at the Apex.

On Thursday, news broke that Marvin Vettori had suffered an injury and could no longer compete against Brendan Allen (23-5) at UFC Fight Night 240. In his stead will be Chris Curtis (31-10, 1 NC), preserving the middleweight main attraction on April 6. The UFC made this announcement on Friday, running back a fight that first took place in December 2021.

When they first met at UFC on ESPN 31, Curtis was riding a six-fight win streak, including a victory inside the Octagon as an unexpected middleweight threat. “The Action Man” dropped the first round but came back in the second stanza, hurting and ultimately putting Allen away with punches and knees. Since then, Curtis has maintained a UFC record slightly over .500 while beating Rodolfo Vieira, Joaquin Buckley and Marc-Andre Barriault to remain a 185-pound contender.

Since suffering the knockout lo…

Matheus Pereira put on a thrilling performance to walk away with a third-round guillotine choke submission victory against Khasan Khaliev in their ONE Friday Fights 55 lightweight showcase on Friday at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It was the lone mixed martial arts contest on the bill.

Both competitors came out exchanging a few kicks to the legs and breadbasket before Khaliev managed to catch one and take his foe to the ground. However, the Brazilian was able to get back to his feet when Khaliev attempted to land a punch from top. Khaliev was quick to shoot in for a single-leg, only to be thrown to the canvas by the Brazilian, who followed him to the ground with a thunderous right hand from top. A hurt but relentless Khaliev found the space to attack with another takedown, eventually finding his way back to his feet. A visibly gassed Khaliev then attempted to clinch with the bigger Pereira, who was quick to drop him with a sneaky uppercut. Instead of go…

One half the #UFCVegas88 main event is locked in! 🔒@BamBamTuivasa weighs in at 265.5lbs

[ LIVE tomorrow on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/fZEb8p4sL0

— UFC (@ufc) March 15, 2024 The weigh-ins were anything but smooth on Friday morning ahead of the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship show.

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Headlining UFC Fight Night 239 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is an intriguing heavyweight fight between the hard-hitting Tai Tuivasa and Poland's Marcin Tybura. The Australian will be the larger man in the cage as he weighs 18.5 pounds more than "Tybur." As for the rest of the card, three competitors came in overweight: Natan Levy (.5 pounds), Chelsea Chandler (one pound) and Danny Silva (2.5 pounds). All three will be fined 20% of their respective purses.

A fan-favorite in the Octagon, Tuivasa (14-6) is looking to bounce back from a three-fight losing streak. While "Bam Bam" has struggled recently, it has been to the …