Martial Arts News

Alexander Volkanovski may have lost his featherweight title on Saturday night, but he was nonetheless compensated quite nicely for his efforts.

Volkanovski took home an event-high $750,000 for his second-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria ($350,000) in the UFC 298 headliner at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. The 35-year-old Australian was one of 13 fighters who earned a six-figure payday, according to salary figures released by the California State Athletic Commission.

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Meanwhile, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was the card’s second second biggest earner, as he banked $400,000 for a unanimous decision triumph over Paulo Costa ($250,000) in the evening’s co-main event.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deduction…

UFC 298 will go down as a night to remember for Ilia Topuria.

In addition to becoming the fifth featherweight champion in promotion history, Topuria received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in Saturday’s headliner at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. A clean right hook from “El Matador” abruptly ended what had been a competitive affair at the 3:32 mark of Round 2.

Elsewhere, Anthony Hernandez garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his submission victory against Roman Kopylov in a featured middleweight bout. “Fluffy” gradually overwhelmed his opponent with pace and pressure before forcing a tapout with a rear-naked choke 3:23 into the second frame.

Former Road to UFC competitor Mingyang Zhang captured the evening’s third $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for making short work of Brendson Ribeiro in a preliminary light heavyweight clash. Zhang dropped his Brazilian foe…

YOUR #UFC300 MAIN EVENT IS OFFICIAL 🚨@AlexPereiraUFC vs @JamahalH for the light heavyweight title on April 13th!! pic.twitter.com/6j2EyBTZX4

— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024

After months of speculation and intrigue, UFC 300 finally has its main event.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced on Saturday night that Alex Pereira will defend the light heavyweight strap against Jamahal Hill in the evening’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. Pereira vs. Hill will be the fourth five-round bout on the card.

A former middleweight title holder, Pereira made the transition to 205 pounds last year. After edging Jan Blachowicz via split decision in his light heavyweight debut at UFC 291, “Poatan” claimed the vacant championship with a second-round TKO of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 this past November.

Hill, meanwhile, will take a four-fight winning streak into his matchup with Pereira. “Sweet Dreams” captured 205-po…

Just like that, one of MMA’s greatest title reigns ends and a new era begins.

In the main event of UFC 298 on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif., Ilia Topuria (15-0, 7-0 UFC) navigated a round and half of nail-biting tension against Alexander Volkanovski (26-4) before shutting the lights off with a crushing right hand. The matchup of the undefeated 27-year-old phenom against one of the most dominant champions in the sport delivered on expectations, as Topuria got out to a fast start, stinging Volkanovski with heavy leg kicks and fast boxing combinations. “The Great” remained calm, made adjustments and seemed to have snatched back the momentum by the end of the frame.

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The second round was just as close as the first, with Volkanovski continuing to chip away at the Spaniard with crisp combinations and good lateral movement. That is, until “El Matador” followed up a pair of glancing hooks with a flush right hand that melted the champ at the base of the fence. …

Home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks is the vibrant backdrop for Saturday’s UFC 298 pay-per-view event, set to unfold on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The star of the show, featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, returns to the featherweight division following a subpar outing in his second crack at lightweight gold against Islam Makhachev. He faces Ilia Topuria, a fiery European in overdrive. This is a classic matchup of a champion who has proved his mettle, yet is presented with a challenge that courts significant danger.

Don't miss live play-by-play coverage and virtual round scoring that brings the Octagon action to your screen with every punch, kick and submission attempt, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Maverick (-192), Lee (+160)Round 1 The fans are out in Anaheim, California, where they will soon pack the Honda Center to watch a fight card that was built to last. After an odd weigh-in day switch of opponent, 12 …

Amanda Lemos came into UFC 298 looking to confirm her place as a top contender in the UFC strawweight division. Mission accomplished, though Mackenzie Dern made her earn it.

For the first several minutes it looked as though Lemos (14-3-1, 8-3 UFC) was in for a night of easy work, as she hobbled Dern (13-5, 8-5 UFC) with heavy leg kicks, stung her with punches and left Dern struggling to lay a hand on her. Everything turned in an instant, however, when Dern ducked under for a double-leg takedown near the midpoint of the round. From there, the multiple-time grappling champion controlled the remainder of the round, keeping Lemos under heavy pressure and constantly threatening to pass her guard. Lemos went right back to work on the feet in the second round, nailing Dern with a punch combination that left her on her back, face swelling up and wincing in obvious pain. Lemos followed up with standing-to-ground punches with referee Mike Beltran looking on, but Lemos followed her fo…

Welcome to the #UFCHOF, @WandFC 👏

He's the 2nd member of the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2024! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/GOBf6ViHXS

— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024

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Former Pride Fighting Championship middleweight title holder Wanderlei Silva will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Silva will become the 19th member of the Pioneer Wing during a ceremony this summer in Las Vegas. The Pioneer Wing includes athletes who turned pro before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old or who have been retired for at least one year.

“Wanderlei Silva is one of the true pioneers of the sport of MMA,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “Wanderlei was an absolute savage who left his mark by delivering some of the most memorable fights in combat sports history. He had legendary fights against Mirko Cro Crop, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Brian Stann, and his fights against Rich Franklin, as they were absolute wars. He was also one of the early supe…

Alô, Brasil! Estamos de volta! 🇧🇷

O UFC retorna ao Rio de Janeiro em maio para o #UFC301!

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Cadastre-se para a pré-venda em: https://t.co/DMSL3ghOZ8 pic.twitter.com/smRAATqJHA — UFC Brasil (@UFCBrasil) February 17, 2024

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Rio de Janeiro is now official.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday that UFC 301 will take place on March 4 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. A headliner has not been confirmed for the event, although reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja recently indicated that his next title defense would come at the event.

A handful of contests have already been reported for the card, including Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho at light heavyweight; Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore at featherweight; Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose at lightweight and Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas at flyweight.

The promotion last traveled to Rio d…

WOW!! History made!! 🤩

🇲🇩 Valeriu Mircea submits Leo Brichta to become the first Moldovan champion in KSW history!!! #KSW91 pic.twitter.com/QxCF16Kx5h

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 17, 2024

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Valeriu Mircea took Leo Brichta into deep waters and drowned the Prague native with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of the KSW 91 main event Saturday at Home Credit Arena in Liberec, Czech Republic.

With the win, Mircea claimed the vacant interim Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki lightweight title and set up an eventual title unification showdown with champion Salahdine Parnasse. Mircea (30-8-1) notched his fourth straight win, but it didn’t come easy.

The fight opened up like a chess match, with Britcha holding the edge on the feet. Mircea’s guard was held low at Brichta (12-4) and routinely made him pay for it. To even the odds, Mircea took the fight to the ground and had his way.

Soon the fight became a battle of wills. Whenev…

The PFL vs. Bellator main card has taken a hit, as Jesus Pinedo has withdrawn from a proposed featherweight clash against Patricio Freire for undisclosed reasons.

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As a result, the PFL announced Saturday that the fight is off the card. It is unclear if Pinedo vs. Freire will be rebooked at a later date. PFL vs. Bellator takes place on Feb. 24 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Pinedo captured the 2023 PFL featherweight championship by ending his season with successive victories over Brendan Loughnane, Bubba Jenkins and Gabriel Braga. The two-time UFC veteran has complied a 23-6-1 career mark over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2013.

Freire, who is Bellator MMA’s reigning featherweight champion, is coming off back-to-back losses to Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis. Prior to that, “Pitbull” …

A strawweight clash pitting Stephanie Luciano (5-1) against Julia Polastri (12-3) has been added to UFC on ESPN 53.

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The news was first reported by Ag.Fight.Prior to the booking of this matchup, both women were set to face separate opponents in the same month. Luciano was initially slated to take on Shauna Bannon on the same card, while Polastri was gearing up for a meeting with undefeated prospect Josefine Lindgren Knutsson on March 2. However, with the other bouts falling apart due to undisclosed reasons, Luciano and Polastri are now set to battle inside the Octagon.

Both fighters will make their UFC debuts after earning their way into the promotion through Dana White's Contender Series. Luciano will enter the Octagon on the heels of a unanimous draw against Talita Alencar in their DWCS 2023 Week 7 clash in September last year. Prior to that, the Brazilian was on a two-fight winning streak in Jungle Fight.

On the other hand, Polastri will …

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The speculation surrounding the main event of UFC 300 has reached a fever pitch in the last few weeks. One of the matchups that has been on the radar is Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title.

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Eugene Bareman, Adesanya’s longtime head trainer at City Kickboxing, told The MacLife that “The Last Stylebender” is already in camp for a possible clash at UFC 300.

“I can say that we are ready to fight. Israel is ready to fight.” Bareman said. “He is in camp, has been in camp, and we answered that call. ‘Can you be ready for this?’ And we assessed it because Israel is coming off an injury... And we decided as a team that, yeah, let's get into camp. Let’s come back a little earlier at, some risk, some proper risk. There is a strong possibility that this fight could happen on this date and let's act as if we are fighting on that date. So, we are ready to go.”

The City Kickboxing head also explained the reason…