Martial Arts News

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC A clash between two promising bantamweight prospects has been added to March 23’s UFC on ESPN 53, which is set to go down at the Apex in Las Vegas.

Payton Talbott (7-0) is gearing up to face South Africa’s Cameron Saaiman (9-1) for his sophomore appearance in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The news was first reported by MMA Fighting.

Undefeated as a professional, Talbott earned his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract thanks to a unanimous decision victory against Reyes Cortez Jr. in an appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2023. The 25-year-old will enter the Octagon against Saaiman on the back of a Round 3 submission victory against Nick Aguirre in his promotional debut back in November…

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Dominick Reyes considers himself extremely lucky to be alive after surviving a life-threatening medical condition.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title challenger was slated to face City Kickboxing product Carlos Ulberg on March 30 but later withdrew from the matchup.

Reyes (12-4) has now revealed that a massage session to reduce pain in his calf led to the revelation that he was suffering from deep-vein thrombosis blood clots in his leg.

“God puts us through some trials, and I’m having another hard go right now,” Reyes told MiddleEasy. “Me and Carlos were slated to fight Jan. 20. He pulled out, I don’t know why. It’s an injury, obviously, but he’s not going to say what his injury is. And then a week later, I ended up getting blood clots. Deep vein thrombosis. So yeah, I’m out for a minute.”

The California native has been prescribed blood thinners and a break from all strenuous activity for the next t…

Forgive Carlo Bumina-ang if he gives off runaway freight train vibes in the ONE Championship bantamweight division.

The 29-year-old unbeaten Team Lakay MMA prospect on Friday choked Zhipeng Xie unconscious with an arm-triangle in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 50 showcase at historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Xie (3-1, 0-1 ONE) lost his grip on reality 1:29 into Round 1.

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Bumina-ang (4-0, 4-0 ONE) was off to the proverbial races after he decked the Sunkin International Fight Club rep with a counter right hand inside the first 10 seconds. Xie staggered back to a standing position after being threatened with a guillotine, only to be dropped a second time with a clean left hook. Bumina-ang took top position with heavy ground-and-pound—elbows, knees and standing-to-ground punches worked together in perfect harmony—and framed the fight-ending choke. Squeeze and technique did the rest.

Meanwhile, Raqobat prospect Avazbek K…

20-year-old fighter from Nurmagomedov MMA School was shot dead on Wednesday night in Dagestan’s capital city of Makhachkala. Magomedrasul Mutaev made his debut in professional MMA last November and was scheduled to have his second fight in February. According to media reports… pic.twitter.com/Stq2J6eKHv

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 1, 2024

A tragic incident in Russia has shocked the world of combat sports.

Twenty-one-year-old professional mixed martial arts fighter Magomedrasul Mutaev was reportedly shot dead in Makhachkala, the capital city of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. Disturbing video of the shooting was caught on camera and published by redcorner.mma on social media.

As per media reports, an arrest warrant has been issued for a 19-year-old Dagestan native in relation to the incident.

Mutaev picked up a unanimous decision win over Elgun Yusibov in his professional mixed martial arts debut this past No…

It’s finally going to happen! Rampage vs Shannon Briggs in Qatar this summer 🥊 my 1st boxing match don’t miss it pic.twitter.com/kh8zTEiJfK

— Rampage Jackson (@Rampage4real) January 31, 2024

Quinton Jackson is ready to return to action, this time inside the boxing ring.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he’ll be making his boxing debut this year.

Jackson, 45, will take on former heavyweight boxing champion Shannon Briggs (60-6-1), in Qatar on June 1.

“I finally got the contract. It’s been over two years in the making of me hearing Mr. Shannon Briggs’ mouth. I get to shut him up once and for all in Qatar, on June 1. I got to sign this contract,” Jackson said in the announcement video.

“Shannon, you’re going to regret even calling me out all those years ago and you’ve been posting just ungodly videos of me, tagging me in ungodly videos, and I…

It wasn’t easy for Raquel Pennington to share the UFC 297 fight card with Sean Strickland.

UFC 297 featured former middleweight champ Strickland against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event, while Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva co-headlined the card with the vacant women’s bantamweight title on the line. Known for voicing his unfiltered opinions on controversial topics, Strickland was true to brand in the leadup to the card in Toronto.

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“Tarzan” showed up to media day wearing a T-shirt that read “A woman in every kitchen, a gun in every hand” and went on a rant when a reporter asked him if he still stood by his previous comments on LGBTQ+ topics. Pennington, who is gay and has a daughter with fellow UFC fighter Tecia Torres, certainly didn’t agree with Strickland but tried her best to stay focused on her fight.

“At the end of the day, people are going to talk,” Pennington said on The MMA Hour. “They’re always going to have their own opinions. You’r…

I’m coming out of retirement. I’ll fight MMA again. Idk when, where, or who yet but I’m dropping weight and getting into shape now.

— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) January 31, 2024

Mixed martial arts veteran Kevin Lee misses the sport and is officially coming out of retirement.

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Lee took to social media on Wednesday to announce that he’ll be returning to competition, likely at a lower weight class with no specific timeline in mind.

“I’m coming out of retirement. I’ll fight MMA again. [I don’t know] when, where or who yet but I’m dropping weight and getting into shape now,” Lee wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter.)

“The Motown Phenom” retired in July of last year after being submitted by Rinat Fakhretdinov in under a minute. The fight marked his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship after being released from the promotion in 2021. It remains unclear if Lee will still be under UFC contract when he…

The rivalry between former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum was once considered one of the sport’s fiercest.

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After spending 15 years taking shots at each other through the media, dos Santos and Werdum buried the hatchet over three rounds at Gamebred Fighting Championship 5 this past September. Despite losing a spllit decision, Werdum was moved by dos Santos’ respectful post-fight speech and decided to end the rivalry by inviting “Cigano to participate on his “Dos Nossos” podcast.

“Last year I recorded 65 editions in Florianopolis, where I live, but it was difficult to bring guests from Rio and Sao Paulo,” Werdum told Sherdog.com. “Now I’m starting a new phase recording in a studio in Sao Paulo, and ‘Cigano ‘was the first one I invited. Even though he’s in the middle of a camp to face Alan Belcher for the Gamebred heavyweight title, ‘Cigano’ immediately accepted my invitation. It's going to be historical. Me and Ci…

A proposed headling bout between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque won’t happen at UFC Atlantic City as originally announced.

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Multiple outlets on Wednesday confirmed the cancellation following an initial report from Harry Mac. According to MMAjunkie.com, Brady was battling injury issues and never signed an official bout agreement. It is currently unclear if Luque will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

UFC on ESPN 54 takes place on March 23 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and also includes a pivotal women’s flyweight showdown pitting Erin Blanchfield against Manon Fiorot.

Brady was victorious in his first 16 professional outings – including five in UFC competition – before falling to Belal Muhammad via second-round TKO at UFC 280. The Philadelphia native rebounded in his most recent Octagon appearance, submitting Kelvin Gastelum in the third round of their matchup at UFC on ESPN 52 this past December.

Luque, meanwhile, sna…

ONE Championship co-founder Victor Cui has returned to the Singapore-based promotion.

ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the news in a post on LinkedIn. Cui will serve as the promotion’s CEO of International, where he will help ONE expand into the U.S. and other markets. Deal Street Asia was first to report Cui’s return.

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“We were together on Day ONE of this crazy adventure and it is only fitting that Victor returns back to lead the charge in the world's biggest sports market,” Sityodtong wrote. “Mark my words. We will change the game again.”

Cui co-founded ONE in 2011 and served in a number of roles with the promotion before departing in 2022 for a nearly two-year stint president and CEO for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.

“Today I’m excited to return to ONE and lead our most challenging goals to date — our entry and success into the U.S. market and our global expansion,” Cui wrote on LinkedIn.

ONE…

Mark O. Madsen is hanging up the four-ounce gloves at 39 years old.

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A silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2016 Olympics, Madsen recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts through Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet.

“The time is right,” Madsen said. “…The sport has shaped me as a person, and I am grateful for everything it has given me and my family.”

Madsen made his professional MMA debut in September 2013 and was victorious in his first 12 bouts. This included four UFC appearances, where he secured victories against the likes of Vinc Pichel, Clay Guida, Austin Hubbard and Danilo Belluardo. He ended his career with back-to-back losses against Grant Dawson and Jared Gordon, where he was finished in both outings. His last fight, against Gordon, came at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden this past November.

“A large part of your identity lies in the job,” Madsen said. “Especially as an elite athlete, where the structure …

UFC Fight Nights at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas have recently faced criticism from both fans and fighters.

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After lightweight fan favorite Renato Moicano recently claimed that "nobody likes the Apex," flyweight Charles Johnson has followed suit by complaining about repeatedly fighting at the venue. Following his promotional debut at UFC London in July 2022, all of Johnson’s next five outings have been at the Apex.

As the Missouri native goes into another Fight Night clash against Azat Maksum this weekend, “InnerG” feels he has been deprived of the full UFC experience. Apart from not getting an opportunity to compete in front of an arena, even Johnson’s request for a Fight Night ticket for his wife was allegedly turned down more than once.

“For a time, I enjoyed it but now I’m just kind of irritated with it because I don’t feel like I’ve been afforded the full UFC experience. My whole career is gonna be in the f—king Apex, you …