Martial Arts News

Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena have a difference of opinions about training at elevation.

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Pennington puts her women’s bantamweight title on the line against Pena in the co-main event at UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is more than 4,000 feet above sea level. Fighters have been known to arrive a few weeks in advance for bouts in Utah to get accustomed to the elevation, including light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, who defends his title against Khalil Rountree in the main event at UFC 307.

However, Pena doesn’t think that’s necessary. “The Venezuelan Vixen” only arrived in Salt Lake City on Monday for her title bid. Having fought in Colorado and Utah, both of which are at high altitude, Pena doesn’t think she’ll need much time for acclimation. According to former champ, if one is fit enough, the altitude should barely be a concern.

“We are leaving on Monday,” Pena told MMAjunkie.com. “I have fought in…

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Dana White isn’t a fan of UFC fighters crossing over to boxing.

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After criticizing the boxing model for years, White recently teased a venture into the Sweet Science with “guns blazing” in 2025. This somehow led one of the UFC’s biggest current superstars, Alex Pereira, to believe that White’s boxing venture will start with him.

Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree in the main event at UFC 307on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. If successful, the former Glory Kickboxing champ will set a promotional record with three UFC title defenses in a span of 175 days. While Pereira has a chance to become a three-sport champion if he steps into the squared circle, White likes the scope of what more he can achieve in the UFC.

Although White will delve in pugilism in the near future, he is not a fan of crossover fights. The UFC head honcho prefers that all combat artists stay in their respe…

Former strawweight champion Emily Ducote will square off against Yulia Ostroverkhova in the Invicta FC 58 headliner on Nov. 6.

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The promotion recently announced the booking. Alejandra Lara vs. Viviane Pereira was originally scheduled to be the evening’s main event, but the bout has been canceled due to illness, according to a release.

Invicta FC 58 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City and will see Kate Bacik meet DeAnna Bennett in a flyweight affair. Four other bouts have also been confirmed for the card: Saori Oshima vs. Ana Palacios at atomweight; Shanna Young vs. Amanda Torres at flyweight; Zurina Turrey vs. Joy Pendell at featherweight and Magdalena Czaban vs. Hope Holmes at atomweight.

Ductoe vacated her Invicta title to fight in the UFC, where she went 2-3 from July 2022 to May 2024. Prior to that, “Gordinha” went 4-1 under the Invicta banner, including a second-round stoppage of Alesha Zappitella in her last promotional appearan…

Jacobe Smith lived up to the blue-chip billing.

The undefeated Fortis MMA prospect was one of five hopefuls to ink an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he put away Christien Savoie with sustained ground-and-pound in the second round of their welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 2:55 into Round 2.

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Savoie (10-2-1, 0-1 DWCS) was simply out of his depth. A onetime NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith executed multiple takedowns, battered his overmatched counterpart from various positions and hacked open multiple cuts, one of them across the bridge of his nose. He powered the Savoie to the canvas one final time early in the middle stanza, stayed busy and prompted the stoppage with a sustained burst of elbows. Light heavyweight Diyar Nurgozhay, featherweight Alberto Montes, middleweight Torrez Finney and ba…

Sherdog’s live coverage of DWCS 2024: Week 8 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Mark Smith will ref this welterweight bout. Savoie is targeting the legs with low kicks early. About 25 seconds in, Smith secures a double-leg, picks Savoie up and slams him to the mat. The Fortis MMA product jumps on the back as Savoie stands, but Smith can’t get his hooks in. Smith drags his man back down and lands a couple elbows, but he’s warned for landing illegal shots to the back of the head. Savoie is up, and Smith tees off on him near the fence. Another takedown follows and Smith transitions to the back. He slides off the back as his opponent stands. Smith executes another mat return and he’s ragdolling Savoie on the canvas. Smith is working to move to mount as he floats on top of Savoie. Savoie stands and gets his guard up just in time to block a head kick. Smith takes Savoie right back down with ease. Smith is in full guard near the fence. Smith stands and drops an elbow, splitti…

The wait is almost over ⏳

𝑨 𝑪𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑯 𝑩𝑬𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑺 for the #PFLSuperFights Heavyweight World Championship 🏆

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🇨🇲 @francis_ngannou 🆚 @MmaProblema 🇧🇷

[ #BraceForImpact | Sat, Oct 19th | 4PM ET ] pic.twitter.com/EK850pfyzk

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 1, 2024 As the combat sports universe inches closer to the biggest Professional Fighters League event of 2024, the organization has dropped a final trailer to raise awareness of its pay-per-view event on Oct. 19.

The headliner of “Battle of the Giants” is highlighted, with no words needed as the impact of former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou and PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira draws the attention of spectators and helicopters as they tear through the streets leading towards their clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It will be a historic night for the PFL, with Ngannou’s promotional debut and a stacked main card. The co-main event will…

Carla Esparza is expected to make her final walk to the Octagon when she faces Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 on Saturday night.

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No matter what the future might hold, Esparza will always carry a little piece of UFC history with her. That is because “Cookie Monster” became the promotion’s inaugural strawweight champion when she submitted Rose Namajunas in the third round of their bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 20” finale in December 2014. It’s something that Esparza won’t soon forget.

“To win that historical title, that first title in the strawweight division, was the best feeling of my life and probably still is to this point,” Esparza recently told UFC.com.

“The night that I became champion, the biggest memory that comes to mind is the finish and the 'Oh, my gosh, my hand is being raised,’ feeling. That moment of pure, almost disbelief and happiness, that was the best feeling. Walking out with the belt and then just seeing all my teammates and fr…

Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith squash the beef 🤝

🎥 @espnmma #UFC #MMA #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/tIYQ2sfejd

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 30, 2024

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Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith have finally squashed their beef.

The feud initially started when Smith, during his commentary duties, claimed Pereira’s rapid rise to UFC success occurred without having his grappling tested. “Poatan” felt Smith was constantly downplaying his achievements whenever on the mic.

This led to a series of back and forths between the two, with Pereira calling “Lionheart” washed up. Pereira was also in attendance for Smith’s upset submission win over Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro this past May. Pereira posted a video of himself pretending to nap as Smith’s fight was about to start. “Poatan” also subsequently challenged Smith to a $50,000 grappling match, which the latter verbally accepted.

However, that never came to frui…

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Kamaru Usman is expecting an upset in the UFC 307 headliner.

Alex Pereira (11-2) defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree (13-5) in the main event at UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. There was lot of criticism when Rountree was initially granted a title shot over Magomed Ankalaev, widely considered the rightful No. 1 contender.

However, the tide is gradually shifting as fight night draws near, with even Pereira feeling fans’ excitement growing. In addition to the hype behind the fight, some also expect Rountree, who has been tabbed as a significant underdog by oddsmakers, to upset the heavily-favored “Poatan.” That includes former welterweight champ Usman.

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Usman notes that “crazy things” happen in Utah, referring to his upset head-kick KO loss against Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in 2022. “The Nigerian Nightmare” believes…

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Julianna Pena wants to deliver justice to Raquel Pennington for being a bad roommate.

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Pena challenges Pennington for the women’s bantamweight throne in the co-main event at UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. While this is the first time they will square off in the Octagon, Pena and Tate previously spent a lot of time together representing Team Miesha Tate against Team Ronda Rousey on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” in 2013.

It became evident during the course of the season that Pena and Pennington weren’t the best of buddies. Although they were seemingly always on a collision course, the matchup never materialized until now. Along with the lure of winning a title for the second time, Pena also has the chance to avenge alleged transgressions by “Rocky” during their time at the “TUF 18” house.

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

“Raquel and I have had our history of …

After defeating Benoit St. Denis by doctor stoppage in the second round of the UFC Fight Night 243 headliner, Renato Carneiro revealed some of the behind-the-scenes details surrounding the bout.

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In a video on his YouTube channel, “Moicano” began by discussing the nature of the shoulder injury he had going into the lightweight bout.

“First thing I have to say is that my shoulder was really injured. I suffered a ligament rupture (AC joint level 5 shoulder clavicle dislocation). Actually it was a surgery case, but I had to fight in that main event, so I kept training every day and going every day to physiotherapy,” Carneiro said. “It was such a hard experience, but I couldn't give up because ‘Moicano’ can´t afford to lose.”

Carneiro also confirmed Brendan Allen’s complaints regarding the French Mixed Martial Arts Federation (FMMAF). According to Allen, only he and “Moicano” were subject to blood and urine tests following weigh-ins. Their oppone…

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The usual suspects will be on the call for UFC 307 on Saturday.

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Jon Anik will work play-by-play for the event, while Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier will offer color commentary. Meanwhile, Megan Olivi will be the on-site reporter. MMAFighting.com was first to confirm the broadcast assignments.UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

UFC 307 takes place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree. In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington will defend her bantamweight crown against Julianna Pena.

The UFC 307 main card begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+. The prelims begin on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT before moving to ESPNEWS and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.