Martial Arts News

[embedded content] Meat is back on the menu for the all-heavyweight Top Rank boxing main card on Saturday.

With no cap on the heavyweight division, none of the 10 competitors on the main card of Top Rank: Fury vs. Ngannou was at risk of missing weight. As a result, weights ranged from a shade under 230 pounds to a whisker below 300 pounds, and the green light has been given to the entire lineup.

The main event, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28, comes in a non-title, 10-round exhibition match between lineal boxing heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury (277.7) and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (272.1). Both men hit the scales above 270 pounds, with about five and a half pounds separating the two heavy hitters. Despite Fury not putting any of his titles on the line in this pairing, with Ngannou an unranked boxer ineligible for any gold, the WBC elected to create the “Riyadh Champion” belt for the victor.

The co-featured attraction…

Fans may get to witness Jorge Masvidal put his striking skills on display once again, only in the squared circle rather than the Octagon.

The longtime veteran known as “Gamebred” (35-17) announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns (22-6) at UFC 287 in April. The loss marked Masvidal's fourth consecutive defeat with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, including two failed title bids against then-champion Kamaru Usman.

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Since then, the UFC and Strikeforce stalwart has been focused on promoting his Gamebred FC events, which dabble in boxing as well as bare-knuckle MMA. In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, the 38-year-old confirmed that he will be making his return to boxing in early 2024. In 2005, “Gamebred” made his boxing debut against Joseph Benjamin in Miami, and he captured a majority decision in a four-round affair.

When asked if he would be re-entering the boxing world, Masvidal replied, “It's a y…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Jon Jones is in good spirits despite suffering a serious injury requiring months of recovery.

Jones (27-1, 1 NC) is determined to make a return to the Octagon as soon as he can, after being forced out of his UFC 295 title fight with Stipe Miocic (20-4) due to a shoulder injury. About two and a half weeks before the highly anticipated heavyweight title attraction, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jones had suffered a pectoral tear during a grappling session that would require surgery.

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With Jones on the shelf for a prolonged period, the promotion elected to create an interim heavyweight strap. Vying for the newly created belt will be top contenders Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich, who will be stepping up on extremely short notice in the co-main event of UFC 295. Jones (27-1) took to social media on Thursday to address his withdrawal, and apologize to his opponent as well as the fans.

“Thank …

Never count out Mark Abelardo in One Championship.

The Fairtex Pattaya product withstood two knockdowns and wide swaths of positional control to put away Georgy Shakhruramazanov with punches in the second round of their ONE Friday Fights 38 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Abelardo (22-10, 7-5 UFC) brought it to a dramatic close 4:43 into Round 2.

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Shakhruramazanov (12-2, 1-1 ONE) floored his counterpart with a spinning wheel kick in the first round and moved into clinch range behind a burst of punches, only to stall in the corner. He caught Abelardo with the same kick in the middle stanza, swarmed with punches and ultimately secured a takedown and advanced to the back. From there, it all went awry. Abelardo scrambled to his feet, initiated an exchange and decked the Russian with a sweeping left hook. A series of standing-to-ground punches followed, necessitating the stoppage.

Meanwhile, former Univer…

Tom Aspinall says his upcoming title shot was just what he expected, and the only surprise was its timing.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Aspinall (13-3) recently received an early morning phone call from the promotion asking if he was ready to fight on two weeks’ notice. A day later Aspinall was booked to take on Sergei Pavlovich (18-1) for the interim title in the co-main event at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 in Madison Square Garden.

The card was originally scheduled to be headlined by Jon Jones defending his strap against heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic. However, the bout fell through as Miocic reportedly refused to accept a change in opponent after Jones was forced out due to a pectoral injury.

Two of the fastest-rising forces in the heavyweight division, Aspinall and Pavlovich have been on a collision course for a while now. Moreover, Aspinall recently revealed that a clash against the Russian, potentially for the vacant titl…

Tyson Fury would have preferred to take things one step at a time, but he says his hand was forced in this case.

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Fury (33-0) is set to take on former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in a crossover boxing superfight on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hardly a month ahead of the matchup Fury’s team announced that “The Gypsy King” will take on Oleksandr Usyk (21-0) in December or January to determine the undisputed heavyweight champ.

For many the Usyk bout announcement seemed dismissive of Fury’s upcoming clash against “The Predator.” Fury claims he was displeased when the news dropped and claims to have played no role in it whatsoever.

According to Fury, who appeared this week on “The MMA Hour,” it is the “paymaster” who is in control of such decisions.

“It wasn’t my choice. I would never in a million years do that. But the people who are putting these fights on, who are paying the money, they’re in contr…

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Rizin Landmark, Vol. 7 truly earns its name, as it will mark the promotion’s first foray outside Japan.

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The latest iteration of Rizin’s Landmark series is slated to go down at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan on Nov. 4. According to a press release from the promotion, the host country will be represented in five out of the 10 total fights, all set to take place after the intermission. The event will stream on pay-per-view through Fite.tv.

The five Azerbaijani fighters on the card include featherweight champ Vugar Karamov and former lightweight titleholder Tofiq Musayev, as well as Mehman Mammadov, Tural Ragimov and Nariman Abbasov, who will take on opponents from Japan, the USA, South Korea and Russia respectively. All fights will be contested under Rizin rules, which allow kicks and knees to the head of a grounded opponent.

Karamov will defend his strap in the main event of the night against Chihiro Suzuki…

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Despite the numerous potential challengers waiting for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira sounds confident about his place at the front of the line.

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Former champ Oliveira (34-9) was scheduled for a rematch against Makhachev (25-1), the man who dethroned him last year, at UFC 294 on Oct. 21. However, a cut suffered during sparring forced “do Bronx” out of the matchup 12 days before fight night. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stepped up on short notice for his own rematch against Makhachev, losing via first-round knockout.

In the wake of Makhachev’s dominant win over Volkanovski, it is an open question whether Oliveira will automatically step back into a title fight once he is fit to compete. While two-time former title challenger Justin Gaethje has made a strong case for himself with his “BMF Belt” win over Dustin Poirier earlier this year, former KSW two-division champ Mateusz Gamrot is also …

If Charles Oliveira is indeed next for reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Justin Gaethje is willing to sit on the sidelines.

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Gaethje’s 2023 campaign has included victories over Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier, so he believes he has done the necessary work to receive his third UFC lightweight title shot.

"Who do I fight?" Gaethje told ESPN. "There's no one. I did what I had to do. ... I don't know what else I need to do.”

Oliveira was supposed to face Makhachev at UFC 294 before a cut forced him out of the fight. Instead, the Dagestani lightweight retained his belt with a first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in the short-notice main event. Afterward, UFC CEO Dana White indicated that Oliveira would get his promised rematch against Makhachev next.

If that means Gaethje won’t fight until late 2024, that’s fine by him.

"If they want to put Oliveira in there, then I fight him in September [or next October]," Gaet…

In the present day, Dana White and Vince McMahon are essentially part of the same team. That wasn’t always the case.

“My history with Vince isn’t a good one,” White told Sports Illustrated. “He tried to f---k me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to f---k me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”

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The UFC and World World Wrestling Entertainment officially merged under the parent company TKO Group Holdings in September. White became UFC CEO as a result, but his duties haven’t changed significantly, while McMahon remains executive chairman of WWE. What has changed is the relationship between the two company heads.

“Since Day 1 of the deal, it’s like I’m dealing with a different guy,” White said. “It goes to show that when you oppose him, or he thinks you are opposing him, the guy comes after you blindly. Once you are aligned, Vince is an incredible partner.

“We’ve pr…

Amazing night. 4-0. pic.twitter.com/HHiWF5EdbO

— Marcos DaMatta (@ParrumpaATT) April 15, 2023

American Top Team coach Marcos “Parrumpa” DaMatta will be a busy man in the coming months.

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"Next week I’m going to Sao Paulo to corner Rodrigo Nascimento and Rinat Fakhretdinov; two weeks later I will corner Alexandr Shabliy against Patricky ‘Pitbull’ in the lightweight semifinal of Bellator; one week later I’ll corner Magomed Magomedkerimov in the final of PFL, an event where ATT will have three finalists plus Kayla [Harrison] doing a superfight against Julia Budd,” DaMatta said. “In the first week of December, I’ll be with [Arman] Tsarukyan for his fight against [Beneil] Dariush, and two weeks later with [Alexandre] Pantoja for his first title defense against Brandon Royval. No doubt the agenda is full just like I enjoy.”

“Parrumpa” revealed that Muhammad Mokaev, who is coming off a victory over Tim Elliott at UFC 294, decide…

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After his disappointing outing at UFC 294, Alexander Volkanovski is keen to get back into the cage as quickly as possible.

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“The Great” recently stepped up on 10 days’ notice to make his second bid for lightweight gold against Islam Makhachev on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev delivered a highlight-reel head kick knockout in the opening frame to defend his throne and simultaneously hand Volkanovski (26-3) his first stoppage loss in the UFC.

Prior to the booking of his short notice clash against Makhachev, “The Great” had been confirmed to defend his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 297 in January. Many, including former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo, have advised Volkanovski against keeping that date. However, Volkanovski plans on fighting the undefeated Georgian contender two months removed from his first UFC KO loss. The 35-year-old also confirmed that he hasn’t suffered any concussions, which Cejudo thought he d…