Martial Arts News

Islam Makhachev left a lasting stamp on the UFC 294 proceedings.

The reigning lightweight champion received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round knockout of featherweight title holder Alexander Volkanovski in Saturday’s headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Makhachev hurt his opponent with a head kick and then finished the victory with follow-up punches at the 3:06 mark of Round 1 for his 13th consecutive UFC triumph.

Elsewhere, Ikram Aliskerov received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck for making short work of Warlley Alves in a featured middleweight contest. Aliskerov rocked his Brazilian foe with a flying knee before unloading with punches to force the stoppage 2:07 into the opening round.

Earlier, Said Nurmagomedov garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a first-round submission of Muin Gafarov in a bantamweight clash. The former World Fighting Championship Akhmat title holder capitalized on…

Even though Charles Oliveira won't be fighting Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, the former champion is confident that something "greater" awaits him.

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Oliveira recently revealed to MMAFighting.com that he suffered the nasty elbow cut over his eye while defending a takedown which led to an inadvertent head clash.

Despite the disappointment and frustration of missing out on his scheduled rematch with Makhachev, the Brazilian is already looking forward to a potential title fight or a blockbuster matchup with Conor McGregor.

“Charles Oliveira against Conor McGregor, money fight. It’s a fight that will give us a lot of money. Conor sells, Charles also sells,” Oliveira said. “It’s a fight that everybody wants. The only one we don’t know if [he] wants this fight is Conor because I’ve said it a thousand times — 170, 185, 155, I don’t know, choose the weight. Say where and I’ll be there. Just send the contract and we’ll sign it. That’s the fight. Title fi…

Justin Gaethje is confident he's next in line for a shot at the lightweight title.

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Currently on a two-fight winning streak, “The Highlight” is coming off an emphatic Round 2 knockout victory against perennial lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, which saw him secure the “BMF” title in July at UFC 291. Before that, the American took on one of the most vicious strikers in the division in Rafael Fiziev, and both fighters put on an exceptional showing of grit and will. However, Gaethje) proved to be the more calculated and cerebral fighter of the two, eventually securing a majority decision triumph.

Interestingly, Gaethje recently confirmed that he was offered to take on Islam Makhachev on short notice for UFC 294. However, the former interim champion chose to decline the opportunity, insinuating it was too close to his last bout with Dustin Poirier for him to make the turnaround.

During the same interaction following the UFC 294 ceremonial weigh-…

Khamzat Chimaev is extremely confident about the outcome of a potential title fight with newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

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Chimaev is gearing up to face former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who stepped up on nine days' notice as a replacement for Brazil's Paulo Costa, in the co-main event at UFC 294. Moreover, UFC CEO Dana White recently declared that the winner of this upcoming bout will be next in line for a middleweight title shot.

Keeping this in mind, Chimaev was asked about his take on a fight with Strickland down the line during the recent UFC 294 pre-fight press conference. It is worth noting that “Borz” and Strickland have trained together a few times, particularly ahead of Chimaev's outing against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.

“I mean I've taken him down, I've held him down, I've choked him, I've punched him. I've done all those things, so I don't see something special about him,” Chimaev said. “He’s a f…

[embedded content] Renowned coaches Carlson Gracie and Rudimar Fedrigo will receive high honors in Brazil as two legends that generated generations of champions.

Individual talent and the high level of training are fundamental factors in the formation of a champion, but in a complex and increasingly competitive sport like MMA, mental preparation can be the turning point. Concerning that, two masters must be recognized. Not only because of their above-average ability to scout and form talent, but mainly because of the way in which they mentally shielded their athletes. Carlson Gracie and Rudimar Fedrigo were a cut above the rest, and their coaching led to create some of the greatest competitor the sport has ever seen. While the two worked in very different ways, the result was usually the same. The numbers prove it; no other coach in the history of MMA has produced as many champions and trainers of new champs as these two.

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On Monday, Gracie and Fedrigo…

With two fights remaining on his current deal, Khamzat Chimaev has signed a contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead of his upcoming clash with Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, according to a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

Details of the exclusive, mulit-fight deal were not disclosed by Chimaev’s manager, Majdi Shammas.

Saturday’s fight against Usman (20-3) will mark Chimaev's return to the cage a little more than a year since his UFC 279 catchweight meeting with Kevin Holland.

While “Borz” did secure an impressive first-round submission against Holland, his inability to make weight for his original welterweight matchup against Nate Diaz jeopardized the entire card and led to a number of fights being reshuffled.

As a result, Chimaev (12-0) has now decided to stick to the middleweight division instead of trying to make the grueling cut to 170 pounds.

[embedded content] Despite never fighting under the same banner, Patricio Freire and John Lineker are quite familiar with each other’s work.

Ahead of the second edition of the documentary by Combate titled “Rivalries,” Freire and Lineker met backstage. Both fighters spoke to Sherdog about their meeting and what comes next for each fighter. One Championship contender Lineker plans on seeking out his old title, while Bellator MMA staple Freire is focused on recovery and looking toward what’s next.

“Here is a guy whom I respect the knockout power,” Freire said when meeting Lineker. Surprised when “Pitbull” entered his dressing room, Lineker happily welcomed the praise, with a warm embrace and a reply of, “Hear that from you is more than a compliment.”

Combining for 90 total fights, while sharing 72 victories including 29 of those by knockout, Freire and Lineker are considered two of the heavier hitters in their weight divisions. During their encounter, Freire congra…

Moris Boleyan certainly looks fit for primetime.

The undefeated Armenian once again handled his business with clinical precision under the One Championship banner, as he disposed of Baatarchuluun Gantogtokh with a guillotine choke in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 37 bantamweight feature on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Gantogtokh (5-2, 0-1 ONE) conceded defeat 2:23 into Round 1.

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Boleyan (8-0, 2-0 ONE) dragged the Mongolian to the canvas from the clinch inside the first minute, shifted to half guard and got busy with ground-and-pound. Gantogtokh left his neck exposed in a bid to scramble to his feet—a mistake the 27-year-old would soon regret. Boleyan bit down on a standing guillotine choke, wrapped his adversary in full guard as they collapsed to the mat and let his squeeze do the rest.

The promising Boleyan, 24, has submitted all eight of his opponents, six of them in the first round.

Meanwhile, Team Laka…

Took the fight on short notice and he's first to the scale!@AlexVolkanovski in at 154.5lbs for tomorrow's #UFC294 main event pic.twitter.com/ZguSVG98q9

— UFC (@ufc) October 20, 2023 After a rocky build that saw late changes to the main and co-main event, the UFC 294 card is finally set.

The main event will see Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski move up in weight to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt on short notice. Both title fight participants had no trouble making weight, although the same couldn't be said for the rest of the card. Prelim fighters Victoria Dudakova and Mike Breeden came in heavy for their respective bouts. Dudakova came in .6 pounds over the strawweight limit for her fight against Jinh Yu Frey, while Breeden was 3.5 pounds over the lightweight limit for his bout against Anshul Jubli.

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Makhachev (24-1) was supposed to rematch Charles Oliveira i…

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Georges St. Pierre fans will have to wait to witness the former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division king in action on submission grappling mats.

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Known for leading a martial arts lifestyle despite his retirement from combat sports, GSP (26-2) was set to return to competition against an unnamed opponent in December, as was confirmed during an announcement by the Canadian at UFC International Fight Week back in July.

However, in an interview with TSN reporter Aaron Bronsteter following his induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, St. Pierre revealed he won't be able to compete in December due to a shoulder injury. As per the former champion, the event has been canceled, with the chance of it being postponed to a later date.

Interestingly, GSP also revealed that he was gearing up to take on another MMA legend and former rival Nick Diaz (26-10) at the event.

“They had an opponent, his name was Nick Diaz. P…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be keeping the United Arab Emirates on its yearly schedule for the foreseeable future.

On Thursday, the promotion announced in a press release that it had signed a deal with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi that extends to 2028. The UFC is staging UFC 294 at the Etihad Arena on Oct. 21 as part of its current annual arrangement. The terms have changed, however, as the UFC is planning on putting more into the area. The specifics are currently unknown, but the UFC will be staging Fight Night cards in future years around the Middle East as well as some nations in North Africa.

UFC head Dana White spoke highly of the deal, writing in a statement, “Abu Dhabi is one of my favorite places in the world; the people, the restaurants, the hotels, it’s incredible. I have been so excited to be able to put on some of the biggest fights in the history of the UFC in Abu Dhabi and it’s only going to get even bigger from here wit…

Updated #Bellator301 card on Friday, Nov. 17 in Chicago pic.twitter.com/XLNKUd6W7S

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) October 19, 2023 Bellator MMA has rounded out its slate to 18 fights for its next show.

In a press release provided by the organization on Thursday, Bellator announced that three additional preliminary bouts have been set for Bellator 301. Currently the only event on the promotion’s schedule, it will be held at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Nov. 17. On the main card, two title fights and a five-round lightweight semifinal will make up three of its five matchups. The main attraction will see unbeaten Yaroslav Amosov defend his welterweight strap against Jason Jackson.

The additional three fights – all on the prelims, with the bout order still to be decided – include a few undefeated fighters and a couple other company veterans. The top-billed fight of the three comes at the featherweight division, as former Divi…