Martial Arts News

While Belal Muhammad is the most logical opponent for Leon Edwards’ next title defense, the champ’s coach Dave Lovell would prefer Gilbert Burns.

Edwards (22-3) defended his strap in a dominant decision win against Colby Covington (17-4) at UFC 296 last weekend. Many believe Muhammad, who is unbeaten in his last outings, deserved the shot over Covington, who hadn’t fought since March 2022.

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While Muhammad weighed in as the backup fighter for UFC 296, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White wasn't clear about Muhammad receiving the next welterweight title shot during his post-fight comments.

Interestingly, Edwards’ coach Lovell would like for his pupil to face Gilbert Burns, whom Muhammad defeated via an emphatic decision in May. While Lovell knows it’s unlikely to come about, he believes “Durinho” presents a more marketable fight than Muhammad, who has often been criticized for being a decision fighter.

“Dana didn’t announce that it would b…

Aljamain Sterling recently opened up further on what kept him out of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last Saturday at UFC 296.

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As Sterling and his team rolled up for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s final pay-per-view of 2023, they were told that there were no tickets. The former bantamweight champ immediately brought the situation to light on social media.

Sorry to the fans asking to take pictures while we were stuck outside. Just a bit annoyed that we found out our tickets were pulled, after arriving to the arena. #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/d5VY10YmGG

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 17, 2023 Asked about Sterling’s ticket mishap, UFC president CEO Dana White said that “Funk Master” might have tried to acquire tickets through a sponsor and he had no idea why they might have been pulled. Sterling subsequently responded to White’s comments on his YouTube channel.

“I’m not trying to fan the flames; I thin…

Alexandre Pantoja may have closed out his rivalry with Brandon Royval for good, but he claims there is no enmity there.

Pantoja (27-5) successfully defended his flyweight strap against Royval (15-7) via unanimous decision in a lopsided grappling-heavy affair at UFC 296 last weekend. This marked Pantoja’s second win over Royval after a submission in 2021, from which “Raw Dawg” bounced back with three consecutive wins to earn a shot at the title.

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While Pantoja is happy to have defended his strap for the first time, he feels for Royval as he understands the profundity of a loss. In an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Pantoja said:

“He’s a very nice kid. He worked so hard to [get] to that moment. Maybe people think I’m [full of] s*** right now, but I’m very sad for Royval. He worked so hard for that moment. I know it’s not just about Royval, he has a lot of people on his side. I lost a couple times and when I lose, my family loses with me, my kids lose wit…

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Rizin Fighting Federation has added three more bouts to its annual New Year’s Eve bash.

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA bantamweight Vince Morales (13-7) will clash against Japanese veteran Yuki Motoya (34-10). The matchup was made while Morales was in Japan serving as a sparring partner for Kai Asakura, who handed Motoya a knockout loss at Rizin 42 in May.

Motoya has since bounced back with a TKO win over Kosuke Terashima under the Deep banner last month. Meanwhile, “Vandetta” has picked up to stoppage wins in the regional circuit since being released from the UFC on a two-fight skid last year.

Morales believes his Rizin 45 appearance will be a step towards bridging the gap between Western and Asian MMA. The 33-year-old said during a special broadcast on ABEMA last week:

“I'm incredibly grateful to Kai Asakura, Team Asakura, and Rizin for giving me the opportunity to fight here. Being able to compe…

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming milestone now has an official time and place.

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During the post-fight press conference for UFC 296 last weekend, UFC CEO Dana White announced that UFC 300 will take place on April 13, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. As is customary for numbered UFC events, the prelims will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card to follow on pay-per-view through ESPN+. The early prelims are set to start at 6 p.m. ET, the undercard at 8 p.m. and the main card at 10 p.m.

While no bouts have yet been added to the card, speculation and rumor have attached many of the promotion’s biggest names to the event. White promised to awe fans starting with the first preliminary matchup of the night.

“Well, think about tonight and the buzz and the energy about tonight’s card, and think about the stuff I’m telling you guys about [UFC 299 in] Miami. So, we’ve got to beat this, Miami and a…

Thank you @JoshEmmettUFCGod bless you brother

pic.twitter.com/VUPEWLXsxn

— Bryce Mitchell (@ThugnastyMMA) December 18, 2023

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Bryce Mitchell believes he might have died if Josh Emmett had followed up with any more shots after brutally knocking out “Thug Nasty” at UFC 296 last weekend.

Mitchell stepped in on short notice against Emmett, replacing Giga Chikadze, who was forced out due to an injury. Mitchell was sent to the shadow realm by Emmett with an overhand right in one of the most devasting punch knockouts in UFC history.

However, Mitchell believes it could have been much worse had Emmett not restrained himself from throwing follow-up shots, which is a natural instinct for many fighters.

“You know got a lot of work left to do but that's what I'm up to. But I wanted to let y'all know that I am so happy with Josh Emmett,” the 29-year-old said in a video released on social media. “Because right after he kn…

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Dana White acknowledged Colby Covington’s poor showing against Leon Edwards in the UFC 296 main event.

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White was the one to propose Covington’s name for the title shot although Belal Muhammad, on a 10-fight winning streak, was widely considered to be the rightful contender. White adamantly went ahead with his decision despite Edwards repeatedly pointing out Covington’s long layoff and lack of recent success.

Edwards vowed to give “Chaos” a rude awakening and delivered on his promise at the UFC 296 headliner. “Rocky” outstruck Covington on the feet, stuffed his wrestling game and even went on to land his own takedowns. Covington bizarrely went on to raise his hands after the lackluster showing and even doubled down on his stance in the post-fight presser, crying robbery due to alleged political bias.

However, even White couldn’t disagree more with Covington, who appeared “slow and old” to the Ultimate Fighting Championship…

Three fights have been announced for ONE 166: Qatar! 🇶🇦 Who would you like to see headline this historic card?#ONE166 | March 1 at 3:30PM AST🎟️ Early bird tickets:https://t.co/Wcx1ykvL1Jhttps://t.co/9mAnyrbScE🌍 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries👨‍💻 How to watch coming… pic.twitter.com/mDoaoDbzgQ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 18, 2023

Three bouts, including a title fight, have been confirmed for ONE 166 “Qatar,” which also marks the promotion’s debut in the country.

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Jarred Brooks (20-2) is set to defend his 125-pound strap against former champ Joshua Pacio (20-4) in a title rematch at ONE 166 on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena. Brooks hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts since dethroning Pacio via decision at ONE 164 in December 2022. “The Monkey God” is coming off a submission loss against Mikey Musumeci in a grappling match this past August. Meanwhile, his upcoming opponent returned to the win column …

Colby Covington may have seemed muted in the cage at UFC 296, but afterward he was right back to his usual, brazen self.

“Chaos” fell short in his bid to unseat Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Leon Edwards in Saturday’s main event, losing the first four rounds on all judges’ scorecards and seeming hesitant to apply his trademark pressure and wrestling. Afterward, Covington raised his hands as if to celebrate a win, and appeared surprised when the scores were read and the winner announced.

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Covington doubled down on his stance in his post-fight interview, saying he thought he had done enough to get his hands raised. He further claimed to have been robbed of a title victory due to the judges’ political bias against former US President Donald Trump, who had been in attendance. Covington said:

“I thought the third, fourth and fifth rounds were mine. The fifth was mine, easily. Fourth, I thought was mine too, and I thought I did enough …

Belal Muhammad was among those unimpressed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship main event on Saturday.

Muhammad, who weighed in as the backup fighter for the UFC 296 headliner between welterweight champ Leon Edwards and challenger Colby Covington, did not mince words in talking about the fight, which Edwards won via unanimous decision. While the build-up to the fight seemed to promise fireworks, as the challenger’s trash talk about Edwards’ late father drew a furious reaction from the champ, the fight itself was a lackluster affair, as Covington failed to engage his vaunted pressure and wrestling for most of the five rounds. At the UFC 296 post-fight show, “Remember the Name” said:

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“Honestly, it was a joke to the division. That’s what happens when you get a bum off the couch [Covington] who’s been out for two years, who didn’t deserve the shot, and he goes out there and he didn’t back up the talk. For Leon Edwards, you should have backed up your t…

One of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most battle-tested veterans is facing indefinite shelf time.

UFC featherweight Darren Elkins announced via his social media that he had suffered a serious injury in practice. “The Damage” wrote on his Instagram, “Current situation: I snapped my tibia and fibula in my right leg by freak accident during jiu-jitsu last night. Just got out of surgery where they put a nail in my leg.”

There is no information right now about a potential return timeline for Elkins, but the recuperation is likely to be long; lower leg breaks suffered by such well-known fighters as Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman and Conor McGregor kept them out of action for at least a year in every case: bad news for the 39-year-old Elkins.

Elkins is coming off a third-round submission win over T.J. Brown in October in his lone outing of the year. He has gone 2-2 in his last four but remains popular for his toughness and his penchant for comeback wins. …

Shavkat Rakhmonov notched the biggest win of his career on Saturday, but it turns out he nearly didn’t make it to the cage at all.

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Rakhmonov handed Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson his first ever submission loss via a second-round rear naked choke on the UFC 296 main card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This marked the 18th finish for the undefeated Kazakh in as many career outings, including six in the UFC. Having now notched wins over tested welterweights like Geoff Neal, Neil Magny and now Thompson, “Nomad” called for a title shot next.

After the event, “Nomad” revealed that he suffered a major ligament tear in his ankle six weeks out from his clash against Thompson which curtailed his kicking game and had him contemplating withdrawing from the event entirely. Rakhmonov said during the post-fight show:

“I had a very serious injury and I was even close to pulling out from the fight, but I decided to risk it all. and that’s why I didn’t …