Martial Arts News

WHAAAT JOSHUA KILLS NGANNOU! #JoshuaNgannou pic.twitter.com/yMqpWRkoG0

— TakeruCigarra (@TakeruCigarra) March 9, 2024 Anthony Joshua reminded the masses that it only takes one shot at the heavyweight division.

To headline the all-day boxing showcase in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua represented the sweet science against the marauding Francis Ngannou. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king acquitted himself extremely well in his pro boxing debut against Tyson Fury in 2023, but the same could not be said when he took on “AJ.” Joshua wasted little time putting the dangerous Ngannou on ice, dropping the MMA fighter twice before completely flattening him with a right hand in the second round.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) only needed to score five power punches, according to Compubox numbers, to record three knockdowns in their heavyweight main attraction. Ngannou (0-2, 0 KOs) kept things close to start, jabbing the head and…

An epic night of boxing action awaits combat sports enthusiasts as ranked heavyweight boxing stars

are set to collide in an event dubbed “Knockout Chaos.” The heavyweight showdown is set to unfold on March 8 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and promises to be a pivotal moment in the heavyweight boxing landscape, potentially propelling the victor towards a shot at a heavyweight crown next.

Joshua seeks to extend his win streak to four, while Ngannou aims for his maiden triumph since crossing over to the boxing world. Sherdog.com brings live play-by-play updates, ensuring you don’t miss any moment from the “Knockout Chaos” event, with ring walks expected to start at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp sco…

Sanzhar Zakirov emerged victorious and nailed down a One Championship contract with a second-round technical knockout of Ryosuke Honda in their ONE Friday Fights 54 strawweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Zakirov was quick to take the center and begin pushing his foe back with measured attacks to the head and body before landing a knee below the belt, leading to a pause in the action. Zakirov got back to cornering Honda before successfully taking him down to the canvas. However, the South Korean was quick to make his way back to his feet. Nevertheless, a relentless Zakirov managed to lock both his hands behind Honda’s knees a few seconds later and proceeded to slam him to the canvas and take his back. However, Honda managed to safely make it back to his feet once again. Zakirov continued with his forward pressure, landing elbows and punches on his cornered counterpart before once again securing a takedown and unleashing ground-and-pou…

A key flyweight fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship will serve as a main attraction in April.

First reported by MMA Mania on Thursday evening, Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1) will run it back with Manel Kape (19-6) atop UFC on ESPN 55 on April 27. The flyweights will handle unfinished business at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, in a bout previously booked in January. News of this pairing has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

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> The first fight between Nicolau and Kape came on the main card of UFC Fight Night 187 in 2021. The Brazilian emerged victorious by extremely close split decision, one in which every scoring media member saw Kape winning. Part two was set to take place on UFC Fight Night 234, but Kape exceeded the flyweight limit by nearly four pounds and Nicolau refused the fight.

Beating Kape was part of a four-fight win streak in the Octagon that catapulted Nicolau to the top of the flyweight division. In a title eliminator, Nicol…

Happy International Women's Day!#TUF32 coaches will be @AlexaGrasso and @BulletValentina premiering June 4th on @ESPN! @UltimateFighter pic.twitter.com/JC4msNmWuY

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 8, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is giving “The Ultimate Fighter” another go this summer.

The long-running reality show will be entering into its 32nd numbered season, kicking off on June 4, where it will air on ESPN and ESPN+. The two coaches for the show will be women’s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and former women’s 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko. The weight classes they will coach were announced in December, with the two ladies taking charge of featherweight and middleweight teams. It is expected but not official that they will fight for a third time at the conclusion of the season—some have speculated on the Noche UFC event, also known as UFC 306, inside of The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.

Grasso wrested the belt from the d…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view with an exciting bantamweight title fight sitting atop the UFC 299 card.

The championship fight between titleholder Sean O'Malley and challenger Marlon Vera is now official after both men successfully made weight. So is the five-round co-main event between Dustin Poirier and Benoit St. Denis. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight except for C.J. Vergara, who came in one pound over the flyweight limit for his fight against Asu Almabaev and has received a 30% fine of his purse.

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This marks the first attempted title defense for O'Malley (17-1, 1 NC), who knocked out Aljamain Sterling to claim his spot at the top of the 135-pound division. Prior to the championship win, "Sugar" scored wins over Petr Yan, Raulian Paiva and Kris Moutinho. O'Malley's lone professional defeat was to Vera, who finished off the MMA Lab product within a single round of their 2020 fight.…

A bum big toe knocked a Professional Fighters League hype train right off the rails.

Baissangour Chamsoudinov was awarded a technical knockout over two-time Glory champion Cedric Doumbe in the third round of their PFL Europe 1 headliner on Thursday at Accor Arena in Paris. Referee Marc Goddard called for the stoppage 1:21 into Round 3 after Doumbe (5-1, 1-1 PFL) twice pointed to his ailing left foot.

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Chamsoudinov (8-0, 1-0 PFL) controlled much of the first round with repeated takedowns despite his opponent showing surprising resourcefulness on the ground. Doumbe rallied in the second behind a potent jab and improving takedown defense, setting the stage for what many believed would be the decisive final five minutes. Instead, Doumbe called attention to his foot—a small foreign body, perhaps a splinter, was visible—on two occasions, resulting in pauses to the action and the eventual finish.

Meanwhile, two-division Ares Fighting Championship titleho…

JAKE PAUL VS. MIKE TYSON

LIVE on Netflix #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/WW6Wi3bKM9

— Netflix (@netflix) March 7, 2024 Jake Paul has earned something that most men would not wish on their worst enemies: a date with "Iron" Mike Tyson.

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On Thursday, news broke courtesy of the event’s broadcast partner, Netflix, that Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) would be boxing Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) on July 20. The two will headline an event put on by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company, and it will take place in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The broadcast will air free on Netflix, and it will not be a pay-per-view. It is currently unclear whether the heavyweight match will be an exhibition or end up on professional records, but Tyson will be age 58 at the time of the bout. Early betting lines opened with the younger Paul as the favorite, ranging from -200 to -350, depending on the book.

“I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the …

Curtis Blaydes believes his well-rounded skillset will overwhelm Jailton Almeida in their UFC 299 clash at Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday.

Blaydes (17-4) was originally scheduled to headline UFC Sao Paolo opposite Almeida this past November before an injury forced him out of the contest. “Razor” was replaced by Derrick Lewis, who was smothered by Almeida (20-2) for five rounds en route to dropping a lopsided decision. However, Almeida’s performance didn’t impress Blaydes, who compared the Brazilian to former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Demian Maia.

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“He did what I thought he would do, take him down,” Blaydes said during the UFC 299 media day. “I didn’t think he’d want to hang out on the feet at all. He hasn’t really shown anything with footwork and hands. He’s a traditional jiu-jitsu guy. He’s like a heavyweight version of Demian Maia. Don’t have hands, just wants to grapple.”

When asked which fighter he compares himself to, Bla…

Yadong Song is hoping for a callout if Marlon Vera beats Sean O'Malley in the main event at UFC 299 on Saturday.

O’Malley (17-1) will put his bantamweight title on the line against Vera (23-8) and is looking to avenge a technical knockout loss dating back to 2020. Vera’s win over O’Malley saw him bounce back from a “Fight of the Night” unanimous decision loss to Song, which “Chito” firmly believes he won.

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While Song believes O’Malley will successfully defend his strap Saturday, he hopes to hear “and new," which might put him in line for a title shot next.

“I like Sean [O’Malley] you know,” Song said at media day. “I like his style, he’s smart and he definitely will win the fight. But I hope ‘Chito’ win, you know. If he wins, he may call me out because he always complain [about] our first match because he thought he won the fight. But three judges: they say I won the fight. He always complains about that. But I hope he does his best to win and call m…

Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera bump into each other and talk trash at the UFC hotel pic.twitter.com/yw0B0GSpR6

— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) March 6, 2024

Marlon Vera says he is ready for everything Sean O'Malley has to throw at him leading into their UFC 299 rematch.

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Vera (23-8) will challenge O’Malley (17-1) for the bantamweight title in the main event at UFC 299 on Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. During media day, O’Malley informed reporters about direct messages he exchanged with Vera and prompted them to press “Chito” for more information.

When asked, Vera didn’t divulge the exact texts but gave an overview of what transpired.

“He was just trying to get to my head. The text wasn’t weird. He’s a weirdo, so I’m like, I’m not going to engage with you on [in] a conversation. That’s why I sent a selfie back smiling.”

Vera is well aware of O’Malley’s mind games and is seemingly prepared to trade barbs with “S…

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Israel Adesanya gave his predictions for every fight on the UFC 299 main card, barring one.

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The UFC 299 main card will be opened by bantamweight contender Yadong Song (21-7) and former champ Petr Yan (16-5) at Kaseya Center in Miami this weekend. Yadong is riding a two-fight winning streak and is 5-1 in his last six outings. Meanwhile, Yan is on a three-fight skid, albeit all against the highest level of competition. While some consider Yan a slow starter, Adesanya believes “No Mercy” will come out all guns blazing for a three-rounder and emerge victorious.

“I like Yan, I like Song Yadong but I like Yan and I’m a fan of his style,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “But I just don’t see him losing four in a row. I’m going to go Yan by UD [unanimous decision]. Three Rounds? He might come out different, like just crazy… It’s a three-round, it’s the first fight of the pay-per-view... So I think Yan is gonna come out crazy with t…