Martial Arts News

There’s a new king in ONE Championship, and his name is Alexis Nicolas. The undefeated French kickboxing phenom shocked the world Friday night by dethroning lightweight kickboxing champion Regian Eersel by unanimous decision in the ONE Fight Night 21 main event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nicolas had his work cut out for him in this one. Eersel entered confidently after winning his last 22 fights over the past eight years and claiming both ONE’s 170-pound kickboxing and muay thai titles. Eersel’s confidence showed early as the champ looked to land heavy punches and knees on Nicolas.

Advertisement

Nicolas would make the champ pay for his overconfidence in Round 2 after catching Eersel on the temple. The champ hit the canvas for a second before immediately popping up and continuing his attack.

From that moment, the fight was a war, with Nicolas withstanding everything coming his way. Both men landed beautiful blows, and the fight could’ve gone…

Prepare for an adrenaline-fueled experience as ONE Fight Night 21 aims for an evening filled with a whirlwind of intense action and pulse-pounding excitement. Tune in on April 5 at 8 p.m. ET for real-time updates of every action-packed moment as it transpires inside the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Witness history in the making as Regian Eersel defends his ONE 170-pound kickboxing world title against undefeated French powerhouse Alexis Nicolas. Also catch the Ruotolo brothers, Ben Tynan, and Vladimir Kuzmin as they face off against formidable challengers.

Advertisement

Round 1 Our first muay thai fight of the night begins with Kiatsongrit eating a steep from Silva. Kiatsongrit is composed and fires back with a hard leg kick. Both men are having success with kicks. Kiatsongrit starts firing to the body more with punches and is hurting Silva. An explosive 1-2 lands for Kiatsongrit. Silva seems outgunned as the power differential is clear. Big right …

The moment we've all been waiting for ? Submission grappling phenom Kade Ruotolo makes his MMA debut on June 7 when he faces fellow American Blake Cooper at ONE 167!#ONE167 | Jun 7 at 8PM ET???? Watch Live on Prime???? Watch Live on Sky Sports? Live TV broadcast in 190+? pic.twitter.com/A79zfWcOEA

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 5, 2024 One of the famed Ruotolo brothers is transitioning over to MMA very soon.

According to ONE Championship on Friday, Kade Ruotolo (0-0) will be springboarding into MMA competition at ONE 167. In his professional debut, the grappler will take on Blake Cooper (2-1) at 170 pounds, and they will come to blows inside of the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 21-year-old from Huntington Beach, California, has exclusively competed as a submission grappler thus far. Currently the ONE Lightweight submission grappling champ, he will be next rolling with Francisco Lo at One on Prime 21 at 18…

AND NEW 👑 Superbon outpoints Marat Grigorian to win the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title!

Watch the ONE Friday Fights 58 full event replay on https://t.co/8MeKhRvqhy#ONEFridayFights58 | 🔴 Live Now⁰🌍 Global PPV on https://t.co/eBUfsOmxDL | 9PM ICT/10AM ET… pic.twitter.com/Nn50YnrPwg

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 5, 2024 Superbon Singha Mawynn now celebrates two victories over longtime rival Marat Grigorian.

The Thai national recorded a unanimous decision victory against Grigorian to earn the ONE Championship interim featherweight kickboxing strap in their rubber match at ONE Friday Fight 58. The all-kickboxing and muay thai card did not feature any MMA matches and went down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand on Friday.

While Grigorian forced Superbon to fight off his back foot for most of the contest, the former ONE featherweight kickboxing champion’s accurate counterstrikes kept his adversary hones…

Almost time for action 👊

Chris Curtis hits the scale at 186lbs!

Advertisement

[ #UFCVegas90 | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 6pmET/3pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/d8KulliuRm — UFC (@ufc) April 5, 2024 The UFC Fight Night 240 weigh-ins were a bit of a catastrophe, as four competitors missed the mark by multiple pounds.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off its busy April with a card that officially has 12 bouts on the billing, for now. Headlining the event is an intriguing middleweight rematch between Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis. Both contenders stepped on the scale weighing 186 pounds on the dot. Several combatants failed to hit their proper marks as four fighters missed weight: Alexander Hernandez, Cynthia Calvillo and would-be bantamweight opponents Nora Cornolle and Melissa Dixon. All four fighters exceeded their respective weight limit by at least two pounds, and Calvillo vs. Piera Rodriguez has been canceled by the promotion.

…

QUICK WORK FOR VALENTIN! He goes straight to the top of the Heavyweight standings!#PFLRegularSeason pic.twitter.com/7ZJLkP8upp

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 5, 2024

Valentin Moldavsky's finishes may be rare, but they’re electric.

The former Bellator MMA heavyweight surged onto the Professional Fighters League scene with a first-round TKO win over 2022 PFL king Ante Delija in the 2024 Season Opener main event on Thursday at Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Moldavsky hasn’t finished an opponent since 2018 but wasted little time taking out Delija. With a body kick midway through the first round, Moldavsky stunned the former champ and pounced until the fight was stopped (2:17). With the win, Moldavsky picked up six points and is headed to the top of the PFL playoff standings.

Denis Goltsov took his first step back toward the PFL heavyweight crown after TKOing former Bellator title contender Linton Vassell in the third round (3:11). Golt…

The Professional Fighters League will kick off its 2024 campaign with 2024 PFL Regular Season 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+) on April 4 at Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas. The main card begins at 10 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

As the event ushers in the onset of the regular season, fighters in the heavyweight and women’s flyweight divisions will seize the maiden opportunities to accrue crucial points in the standings, laying the groundwork for potential playoff contention as summer draws closer. Dive into the heart of the action with Sherdog’s live play-by-play coverage and scoring, delivering a real- time account of every gripping encounter within the cage.

Advertisement

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores th…

Brunno Ferreira is dead set on fighting Sharabutdin Magomedov before it is all over.

In January, the Brazilian middleweight known as “The Hulk” triumphantly rebounded after his first career defeat by smashing Phil Hawes before the end of the first round. This win righted the ship after a humbling 77-second knockout loss to Nursulton Ruziboev. Ferreira (11-1) will return to the cage on June 8, but it is not against the foe he wanted. The Brazilian TKO fighter would have preferred a match with Magomedov, but he will take on Dustin Stoltzfus (15-5) at that UFC Fight Night show instead.

Advertisement

“Unfortunately, Shara Magomedov escaped from me for a second time,” Ferreira told Sherdog. “We had a fight prescheduled for June 22 in Saudi Arabia, but he escaped from me and accepted an easier opponent where he doesn’t run any risk from being taken down. But fortunately, [the] UFC found [me] Stoltzfus, which is a great opponent to me. Just like Hawes, he will permit me t…

PFL Featherweights Brendan Loughnane, Pedro Carvalho, Bubba Jenkins and Kai Kamaka are about to meet for a presser before their April 19 card in Chicago.

Stay tuned for updates. #PFLRegularseason

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) April 4, 2024

Advertisement

Winds of change have blown into the Professional Fighters League this year, so it’s fitting that the promotion will make a stop in Chicago. But before the PFL blows into Wintrust Arena on April 19, a few of the organization’s top featherweights doubt this season will be a breeze for anyone.

Featherweight 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane has faced nearly the same group of fighters since signing with PFL in 2019. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy fighting Bubba Jenkins or Chris Wade on a yearly basis, but the Manchester, England, native fancies a new challenge. That’s exactly what he’ll get this season against former Bellator MMA contender Pedro Carvalho and other debuting fighters.

“I…

[embedded content]

Kade Ruotolo will hope to break a funny “curse” when he shares the ONE on Prime Video 21 card with his twin brother, Tye Ruotolo.

Advertisement

The ONE Championship lightweight submission grappling champion will face innovative Brazilian standout Francisco Lo in a 180-pound catchweight matchup at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on April 5. Ruotolo has coincidentally never picked up a finish in any of the cards he previously shared with Tye, who, on the other hand, managed to submit his opponent every time. But Ruotolo insists it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on his part.

“It was the funniest thing because that’s been my ONE Championship curse as of recently,” the 21-year-old said during the ONE Fight Night 21 media day. “You know, it’s my style, it’s no lack of effort, I’m coming close in almost every match. In the Shinya [Aoki] match, I had the buggy choke at the end, which was real tight. The Tommy [Langaker] one, I finished in a triangle that…

Ben Tynan is looking to maintain his perfect stoppage streak against Duke Didier at ONE on Prime Video 21.

Tynan (5-0) will take on Didier (8-2) at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok on April 5 in what will be his sophomore ONE Championship outing. Tynan made his promotional debut in November 2023 with a third-round submission win over Ji Won Kang, which was the longest “Vanilla Thunder” ever competed as a professional or amateur.

Advertisement

Looking back at the matchup, Tynan admits that Kang’s initial aggression took him by surprise.

“I thought I was going to have to bring the striking out, and he was what I was expecting,” the 30-year-old said during ONE Fight Night 21 media day. “Going into the fight, I figured a guy like that, he's probably going to be more cautious of my fighting. So I thought maybe he would like to stick with the jab, stay lower, and move, but he came out guns blazing, and it actually surprised me at first. And I was like, ‘Oh, cool, al…

[embedded content]

Cris Cyborg will return to the sweet science.

Advertisement

Cyborg (3-0 Boxing, 27-2 MMA) is booked to headline Green Bay Fight Night opposite Widnelly Figueroa (0-2) at the Watering Hole in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 27. The fighter’s team reported the booking through a press release.

Promoted by Roughhouse Promotions and Salomon Becerra, the bout is scheduled for four two-minute rounds with 10-ounce gloves at 154 pounds.

Cyborg scored a first-round knockout over Kelsey Wickstrum in January to extend her perfect record to 3-0 in the ring. Meanwhile, Figueroa returns to action for the first time since 2017, still in search of her first pro win.

Cyborg’s return to boxing comes amidst long drawn-out negotiations regarding a mixed martial arts clash against Professional Fighters League featherweight champ Larissa Pacheco. The Bellator MMA featherweight champ was surprisingly not a part of the champ vs. champ card that went down i…