Martial Arts News

Even Dana White had to acknowledge the sheer shock of Francis Ngannou’s performance against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28.

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Ngannou was a massive underdog going into his boxing debut, a non-title clash against World Boxing Council heavyweight champ Tyson Fury. Fight odds aside, Ngannou’s career was also under the keen scrutiny of detractors who believed the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ “fumbled the bag” by exiting the promotion over contract disputes earlier this year.

However, “The Predator” emerged as the biggest winner of the night, knocking Fury down en-route to a controversial split decision loss for which he reportedly earned upwards of $10 million.

White has previously not had much praise for Ngannou, hinting that the Cameroonian was mistaken in thinking that he had a McGregor-Mayweather-esque booking at hand. However, even the UFC head honcho couldn’t help but acknowledge the caliber of the near upset by N…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida is coming into his own as a star.

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A month before going into a headlining clash against Derrick Lewis in Sao Paulo, Almeida was pleasantly surprised with a visit from one of Brazil’s biggest superstars, Wagner Moura. Moura is known for playing roles like Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s “Narcos” and colonel Nascimento in “Elite Squad.” Moura, 47, is also a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

During a recent visit to his hometown of Salvador, Moura contacted Almeida’s physical therapist regarding a training session with the UFC star. While Almeida was in touch with Moura ahead of their training session on Oct. 5, “Malhadinho” had no idea he was talking to a superstar.

“He texted me saying his friend Wagner was a fan of mine and wanted to train, so I was like, ‘Sure, tell him to stop by for our gi session on Thursday,’” Almeida told MMAFighting's Trocação Franca podcast. “He sent …

Dalby hands Bonfim the first loss of his career 😳 #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/HAox22gqv9

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 5, 2023

The UFC Fight Night 231 co-main event was a tale of two rounds.

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Highly-touted Dana White’s Contender Series alum Gabriel Bonfirm controlled the opening stanza, but Nicolas Dalby turned up the pressure in Round 2, eventually overwhelming his foe for a technical knockout victory at the 4:33 mark of the period. Those momentum swings helped Dalby and Bonfim earn “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece for their efforts in an entertaining welterweight scarp.

Elsewhere, Elves Berner received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for laying waste to short-notice foe Kaynan Kruschewsky in their featured 165-pound catchweight affair. The Chute Boxe representative caught his foe with a perfectly-placed left hand behind the ear, sending Kruschewsky face-first to the canvas at the 4:01 mark of Round 1. Read more

Jailton Almeida took a step toward an Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title shot after rag-dolling former title challenger Derrick Lewis (50-44, 50-44, 50-45) in the UFC Fight Night 231 main event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo.

Almeida (20-2) had his way all night with Lewis on the ground. “Malhadinho” has finished 12 fights by submission in his career but cautiously and calmly contained the devastating Lewis (27-12).

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Unfortunately for the 32-year-old Brazilian, the victory still left much to be desired. Almeida’s respect for Lewis’ power was on full display.

Despite spending most of the fight in mount, Almeida took little risks in trying to finish Lewis. Referee Marc Goddard even warned Almeida several times to work, ignoring the effort needed to hold down the 265-pounder.

Almeida controlled most of the 25 minutes and even staggered Lewis with a head kick in the first round. There were moments when Lewis found space and let …

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 231 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Diakiese (-155), Fernandes (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Moura (-550), Ruiz (+410)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gomes (-125), Hill (+10…

What a battle! ⚔️

The judges have called this fight a majority draw.#UFCSP pic.twitter.com/UpfbiGfQhW

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2023

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Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was a follow-up punch or two away from pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of the year.

Dropped in the opening minute by the heavy-handed welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov, dos Santos ate overhand rights from the Russian like they were free samples at UFC Fight Night 231.

Fakhretdinov, who entered the fight on a 20-bout win streak, fell in love with his fist and went away from his wrestling background in Round 2. This allowed dos Santos enough time to find and home for his snapping lead body kick.

Tired and tender heading into Round 3, Fakhretdinov succumbed under the assault of dos Santos’ body attack and was nearly finished before being saved by the bell. Two judges scored the third round 10-8 for dos Santos and the war was ultimately scored a majorit…

Hear from @AlexPereiraUFC after he became the third inductee into the GLORY Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/lNunza8c9T

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) November 4, 2023

Alex Pereira has been inducted into the Glory Kickboxing Hall of Fame, the promotion announced over the weekend.

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Pereira captured titles at middleweight and light heavyweight while compiling an 11-4 mark in the kickboxing organization. He also set the record for most championship defenses in Glory middleweight history. “Poatan” joins Joe Valtellini and Semmy Schilt as the third fighter to be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.

“Alex Pereira was one of the greatest champions in Glory history,” said Scott Rudmann, co-founder and vice chairman of Glory. “His accomplishments in the GLory ring speak for themselves, as the only man ever hold the champions belt in two weight classes simultaneously.

“Alex continues to make huge waves in combat sports w…

Shortly after becoming a newly-crowned two-sport world champion, Jonathan Haggerty is already looking forward to the next challenge.

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Haggerty (20-4), ONE Championship’s reigning bantamweight muay thai champion, took on reigning mixed martial arts champion Fabricio Andrade (29-1) in a meeting for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing title at ONE on Prime Video 16 on Friday.

While many expected a competitive bout, “The General” managed to dismantle his Brazilian adversary via knockout in the second frame at the 1:57 mark. Haggerty's speed and precision proved too much for “Wonder Boy” to handle. It was a clean head kick that landed on Andrade a minute into Round 2 that began the finishing sequence for the Brit. Ultimately, he managed to knock down the MMA champion with punches and earn himself the rare honor of being crowned a two-sport world champion.

“The General” isn't done chasing gold, either.

“Fabricio, I want your MMA belt,” he annou…

Known for his keen interest in mixed martial arts, META CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently ran into the first roadblock of his MMA journey.

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The Facebook founder took to Instagram on Friday to reveal that he'd undergone surgery for an ACL tear sustained during a training session in preparation for his first "competitive MMA fight early next year."

Despite the seriousness of the injury, the 39-year-old is confident he will make a full recovery and is still looking forward to a potential bout once he's cleared to compete.

“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram. “Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.”

Interestingly, rumors of a possible MMA bout between the Facebook founder and Elon Musk beg…

WOW!!🤯

Suzuki gets the KO from bottom position and is the new RIZIN Featherweight Champion!

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📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/fsvLfe9ZKD — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 4, 2023 After coming up short in his first title bid in June, Chihiro Suzuki made the most of his second opportunity by scoring a crushing first-round knockout victory on Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation “Landmark Vol. 7” in Baku, Azerbaijan. Suzuki finished Vugar Karamov with a vicious upkick and punches 88 seconds into the opening round to claim the Rizin featherweight title.

Suzuki (12-3, 1 NC, 7-1, 1 NC Rizin) found himself on the mat following an early takedown from Karamov (19-5, 5-2 Rizin), who postured up and punched from the top. When Karamov stood up to try to pass Suzuki’s guard, Suzuki countered with an upkick from the bottom. His heel connected flush with Karamov’s jaw and the dazed Azerbaijani fig…

The UFC women’s bantamweight division will crown a new champion at the beginning of 2024.

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Raquel Pennington will face Mayra Bueno Silva for the 135-pound title at UFC 297 in Toronto on Jan. 20. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Ag.Fight. The bantamweight belt was vacated when Amanda Nunes announced her retirement following a victory against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June.

Pennington, who came up short in her first title bid against Nunes at UFC 224 in May 2018, enters the matchup on five-fight winning streak. Most recently, “Rocky” garnered a split decision triumph over Ketlen Vieira at UFC Fight Night 214 on Jan. 14. Her resume also includes victories against the likes of Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, Pannie Kianzad, Aldana, Miesha Tate and Jessica Andrade.

Bueno Silva appeared to have earned a signature triumph when she submitted Holly Holm in the second round of their clash at UFC on ESPN 49 this past Ju…

pic.twitter.com/VgZaKVvBxg

— Vinc Pichel 🇺🇸 (@FromHellPichel) November 3, 2023

Vinc Pichel is understandably disappointed with Ismael Bonfim for his massive weight miss that ultimately led to their scheduled UFC Sao Paulo clash being canceled.

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Pichel (14-3) was set to make his return to the Octagon against the younger Bonfim brother (19-4) following a unanimous decision loss to Mark O. Madsen back in April 2022.

However, while Madsen tipped the scales at 155.5 pounds with some additional time, Bonfim weighed in at 159.5 pounds; a whopping 3.5 pounds above the lightweight limit. As a result, the promotion announced that the scheduled main card opener between Pichel and Bonfim had been scrapped.

Soon after the announcement, Pichel took to social media to issue a statement addressing the weight-miss debacle. The 40-year-old made it clear that he had no intention of taking on a fight against an opponent that “didn't …