Martial Arts News

Puja Tomar has made history by becoming the first-ever Indian-born female fighter to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

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Tomar announced the signing on Instagram and it was confirmed by her management firm, First Round Management.

“The Cyclone” isn’t new to the global stage, as she competed in One Championship from 2017 to 2020, where she picked up one victory in four mixed martial arts bouts and one muay thai outing. She then went on to rack up a four-fight win streak including three finishes in Indian mixed martial arts promotion Matrix Fight Night.

In her most recent bout, Tomar defeated Anastasia Feofanova of Russia via fourth-round stoppage at MFN 12 in July to be crowned the inaugural MFN strawweight champ.

Tomar reps the Soma Fight Club in Bali, the same gym as Anshul Jubli, who won last year's “Road to UFC” in the lightweight bracket and is set to make his promotional debut against Mike Breeden at UFC 294 in Abu Dha…

One of the greatest performances in Professional Boxing this was. I landed more shots on Floyd than Canelo.I’d love another go. https://t.co/Abfx7Pcpze

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 17, 2023

It seems that former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship king Conor McGregor is fired up over boxing super middleweight ace Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s (60-2) recent comments.

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The beef initially started when McGregor shared footage on social media of Alvarez’s 2013 clash against boxing icon Floyd Mayweather (50-0), when he was outpointed by “Money” en route to a majority decision. Labeling it as one of the greatest performances in pro boxing, McGregor also claimed to have landed more shots on Mayweather during their blockbuster outing in 2017.

“One of the greatest performances in professional boxing this was,” McGregor (22-6) wrote. “I landed more shots on Floyd than Canelo [did.] I'd love another go.”

Alvar…

HyunSungPark will fight ShannonRoss at #UFCShanghai on December 9th. (first rep. @mmaecosystem) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/JwWyChJfHN

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 17, 2023

A matchup of flyweights with starkly contrasting momentum has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming return to China.

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Undefeated South Korean prospect Hyun Sung Park (8-0) will take on Australia’s Shannon Ross (12-8) in the 125-pound weight class on Dec. 9 in Shanghai. The matchup was first reported Tuesday by MMA Ecosystem followed by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport. Park was crowned the flyweight winner of last year’s “Road to UFC,” the promotion’s venture for scouting Asian talent. “Peace of Mind” has not had a fight go the distance since his professional debut in 2018, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Min Soo Kwon. The 27-year-old defeated Seung Guk Choi via third-round submission in t…

"Every year I try and find new things in the offseason to get better at..

I did three rounds of sparring with SeanStrickland and we beat the s*** out of each other" ~ @CrosbyMaxx #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Zr40tEMEqI

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 17, 2023

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National Football League defensive end Maxx Crosby recently got to spar with Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Sean Strickland (28-5) for three rounds.

Crosby is a longtime fight fan and as a two-time Pro Bowl defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, enjoys the proximity to the UFC’s home base, where is one of the more regular celebrity faces in attendance for pay-per-view cards. When the NFL wanted to film some footage of him sparring, Crosby decided to call up his friend and newly crowned middleweight champion Strickland, who is notorious for happily sparring with partners of any size or experience level. According to Crosby, who shared his e…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight ace Jiri Prochazka has issued some harsh critique based on his perception of upcoming opponent Alex Pereira’s abilities as a mixed martial artist.

Prochazka (29-3) will take on Pereira (8-2) for the vacant light heavyweight title in the UFC 295 co-main event on Nov. 11. The bout will mark Pereira’s second Octagon title bid -- in a new weight class -- all within the span of a year. While Prochazka acknowledges Pereira’s elite striking, “BJP” believes the former Glory Kickboxing champ is lacking in the grappling aspect of combat.

“I have to say, Alex, he’s not a good martial artist like on the ground on the wrestling but one thing he can do and knows what to do is his striking,” Prochazka told CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “It will be a pleasure to compete with him in the stand-up. He’s good in stand-up but not good in wrestling and all these things. He’s too much focused on striking. He’s very good at that but on …

Walt Harris’ comeback was derailed before it could get started.

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“The Big Ticket” on Tuesday received a one-year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for the anabolic agent drostanolone in an out-of-competition sample submitted on June 24. Harris will be eligible to return on June 24, 2024. He was also ordered to pay $392.60 in legal fees. Since the test occurred out-of-competition, he was not fined a percentage of his purse.

Harris was supposed to face Josh Parisian at UFC on ESPN 49 in his first fight since June 2021, but the bout was canceled when the positive test came to light.

“I believe this came from a supplement that I’ve trusted my entire career, but at the end of the day it was never USADA approved,” Harris wrote in a statement on Instagram this past July. “I’m a complete idiot for not checking prior, but I’m definitely not a cheater.”

Meanwhile, UFC welterweight Daniel Rodriguez was handed a s…

Official speech about the medical impediment and remove from the fight on October 21st in Abudhabi. I will be back sooner than later . Thanks! 🧃🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/m0Rqe6fEAG

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 17, 2023

Paulo Costa’s elbow is not a pretty sight.

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On Tuesday, the middleweight shared a photo of the elbow infection that caused him to withdraw from his co-main event showdown against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. Costa initially planned to remain on Saturday’s card after undergoing surgery a few weeks before the event, but “Borrachinha” ultimately had to undergo another procedure.

“This is what my elbow looks like at this exact moment,” Costa said in a video on social media. “It is open exactly as it is in this photo …The hole needs to stay like this, open and closing from the inside out. You cannot close an injury with stitches when you have an infection like this.

“This was not a medi…

Mayra Bueno Silva’s victory over Holly Holm at UFC on ESPN 49 has been overturned to a no contest.

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During a meeting on Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commissioned also suspended the bantamweight for four-and-a-half months and fined her $11,250 after Bueno Silva tested positive for ritalinic acid in relation to the bout. Bueno Silva submitted Holm with a ninja choke 38 seconds into Round 2 of their July 15 fight, which would have made the Brazilian one of the top contenders for the 135-pound title vacated by the retired Amanda Nunes earlier this year.

Bueno Silva previously admitted to the NSAC that the substance was consistent with the prescription medication she takes for ADHD. However, she did not have an therapeutic-use exemption for the drug.

“I am so happy that the NSAC understood the battles of mental health I overcome daily and that with this agreement they have acknowledged I was in no way, shape or form looking for a competitive…

Showtime is getting out of the combat sports business.

Paramount president and CEO Chris McCarthy sent an email to employees stating that Showtime Sports will no longer move forward with its mixed martial arts and boxing content at the conclusion of 2023. Instead, the focus will shift toward “premium scripted services that drive subscribers.” Yahoo Sports was first to report the news.

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Showtime Sports was responsible for showing Bellator MMA cards and numerous major boxing events. This adds to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Bellator MMA, which in recent months has been linked to Professional Fighters League in regards to a potential sale of the California-based promotion. Thus far, promotion head Scott Coker hasn’t offered much information regarding the sale, but he did recently confirm that Bellator was “looking to take a partner” and that PFL was “definitely in the conversation.”

Bellator announced an exclusive partnership with Showtim…

Surging Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Ian Garry has no doubts about the outcome of the upcoming title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.

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“Rocky” will defend his 170-pound strap against Covington in the main event of UFC 296 on Dec. 16. Garry, who will face Kill Cliff FC training partner Vicente Luque on the same card, is already plotting a future matchup against Covington, as he believes “Chaos” losing to Edwards is a certainty. Garry has been pushing to bring the UFC back to his hometown of Dublin, where the promotion hasn’t been since a Fight Night at the 3Arena in 2015. The undefeated Irishman is hoping to headline the potential card against Covington in front of home crowd and is confident of delivering a knockout.

“When he loses. I don’t see anyway he beats Leon,” Garry recently said in an interview with The Schmo. “Look, I’m planning a UFC Dublin card soon. So, if they wanna put me and Colby in the main event in UFC…

A lightweight matchup between Jamie Mullarkey and Nasrat Haqparast has been added to the UFC Shanghai lineup.

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Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media. The Fight Night card, which takes place on Dec. 2 at Mercedes-Benz Arena, will also mark the UFC’s first trip to China in four years. The promotion’s last event in the country was UFC Fight Night 157, which was headlined by Weili Zhang vs. Jessica Andrade at the Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen in August 2019.

Mullarkey has gone 3-1 in his last four outings, with his lone defeat during that time coming via knockout against Muhammad Naimov in June. The Australian has since bounced back with a decision win over John Makdessi and will be looking to build on it as he makes his fourth Octagon walk of this year.

Meanwhile, Haqparast has gone 2-2 in his last four, dropping hard fought decisions against veterans Dan Hooker and Bobby Green. The 28-year-old recovered from the slump with …

Jake Paul will return to action inside the squared circle before the end of the year.

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The YouTuber turned professional boxer has taken the world of boxing by storm, essentially powering the surge of a whole new genre called “influencer boxing.” Paul is now set to make his ninth walk to the ring on Dec. 15 on a DAZN pay-per-view card. The venue for the event and Paul’s opponent are yet to be announced. “The Problem Child” is expected to reveal his opponent’s name after Amanda Serrano’s unified title defense against Danila Ramos in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 27.

Who is next? Jake Paul is back December 15th.

Opponent to be announced after Serrano Ramos on Friday, October 27th. Tune in on DAZN!@jakepaul @daznboxing #JakePaul pic.twitter.com/krFSZ2WlnI

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) October 16, 2023

Paul also expressed world champion aspirations in a press release.

“Eight fights in the boxing game …