Martial Arts News

A light heavyweight matchup pitting Dominick Reyes against Carlos Ulberg won’t be taking place at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 as originally planned.

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Reyes revealed on social media that his opponent has withdrawn from the bout due to injury and that he was looking at “options or rescheduling.” According to MMAFighting.com, Reyes vs. Ulberg is likely to be rebooked for UFC Atlantic City on March 30. The nature of Ulberg’s injury was not disclosed.

Reyes is in the midst of a four-bout skid that dates back to a competitive championship loss to Jon Jones at UFC 247 in February 2020. More recently, “The Devastator” suffered a first-round KO defeat to Ryan Spann at UFC 281.

Ulberg, meanwhile, has quietly been building momentum at 205 pounds. The City Kickboxing representative has won his last five Octagon appearances, including a third-round submission of Da Woon Jung in his last outing at UFC 293.

UFC Atlantic City takes place at Boardwalk Hall and f…

🔥 #RIZIN45 Weigh-In Results 💥

⚔️ Co-Main EventRIZIN MMA Rules 61.0kg

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🟥Juan Archuleta【63.80kg】@jarchmmaーーー🆚ーーー🟦Kai Asakura【60.95kg】@kai_1031_

※ Archuleta missed weight limit by 2.80kg

📅 12/30 (Sat) at 9pm PT📡 Watch on @FiteTV: https://t.co/2JKhqMly6i pic.twitter.com/3eKKGUdSzH — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 30, 2023

All did not go as planned during weigh-ins for Rizin Fighting Federation’s year-end extravaganza.

Bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta tipped the scales at 140.6 pounds for his title defense against Kai Asakura (134.4) in the evening’s co-main event, and as a result, has been stripped of the 135-pound belt.

According to a release from the Japanese promotion: “In the event that both parties reach a mutual agreement, a no contest rule is the likely scenario, which would result in the crowning of a new champion, contingent upon Kai Asakura emerging victorious. Conversel…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is down one top contender match for its first card of 2024.

The promotion announced on Friday that the bantamweight pairing between Ketlen Vieira (14-3) and Macy Chiasson (8-3) will no longer be taking place at UFC Fight Night 234. The UFC noted that the fight had been canceled due to an undisclosed injury, while stating that Chiasson will not receive a replacement opponent on this card. According to multiple Instagram Stories on Vieira’s account, she appears to have suffered an injury to her left knee requiring frequent icing and treatment, while stating that “soon we will be back 100% God willing.”

“Fenomeno” was aiming to start the year off strong, looking to get back on a win streak following a decision victory over Pannie Kianzad in July. Dating back to 2020, the Brazilian has gone the distance in every match, win or lose. Vieira has faced many of the top names in her division, besting most of them including an impressive back…

.@UFC announces details of new anti-doping program ⤵️:https://t.co/LiIP8sgcfXhttps://t.co/LiIP8sgcfX

— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 29, 2023 Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters will find that little will change for them going forward.

The promotion sent out a press release on Thursday announcing its new policies on drug testing and doping. Titled the "UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP)," it will begin for the company on Dec. 31 as it concludes its arrangement with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Competitors will still be subject to random drug tests at any time during the day by the new agency in place, Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), or an organization DFSI has contracted out.

All samples will be tested by the Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, which currently handles testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) protocols and procedures. Heading up the program will be Dr.…

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley has suggested that financial obstacles may be the reason for Conor McGregor’s absence.

Former two-division champ McGregor has been inactive since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in a trilogy match against Dustin Poirier. While he recently returned to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) testing pool, “Notorious” has yet to be booked for his return to the Octagon. McGregor expressed his frustration on Saturday with the delay in his return, and even teased another shift to boxing.

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O’Malley, on his podcast “TimboSugarShow” on Monday, pontificated whether another McGregor fight makes financial sense for the UFC. He suggested the kind of deal they might have with the Irishman, Forbes’ highest-earning athlete in 2021, could be restrictive or detrimental for the UFC.

“You know what’s crazy is Conor is supposedly just begging for a fight,” O’Malley remarked. “‘Give me a fight. Let me…

When it comes to Miesha Tate vs. Holly Holm, it boils down to a classic tale of “she said, she said.”

In early December, Tate (19-9) spoke on The MMA Hour about her recovery following her match against Julia Avila and what she wanted next. “Cupcake” was open about the outcome-dependent result, in that she would have considered retirement with a loss but would like to push on following a win. Her attention turned towards the field of bantamweight contenders, but one name caught her eye more than the others: former foe Holm.

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When asked about potentially rematching Holm on UFC 300 in April, Tate was not at all opposed to it, health permitting.

“I think it’s a great time,” Tate replied. “I think that sounds reasonable [to fight Holm again]. I did get a little bit of an injury leaving that fight [against Avila]. So, I’ve got to get an MRI and check myself out just to make sure. But it’s not very severe … I’ve been walking around, and I think I’m actu…

IT'S OFFICIAL 🚨 Two-division king Anatoly Malykhin challenges Reinier de Ridder for the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar 🔥 Can the Russian superstar make history and become ONE's first three-division World Champion or will "The Dutch… pic.twitter.com/bmvckSh1KG

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 28, 2023 ONE Championship two-division champ Anatoliy Malykhin is looking to make mixed martial arts history in March.

Per the organization via press release on Thursday, Malykhin (13-0), the reigning champion in ONE’s heavyweight and light heavyweight (225 pounds) divisions, will be dropping down to its middleweight (205 pounds) category to vie for another strap. In doing so, he will rematch Reinier de Ridder (16-1), the man he snatched the 225-pound strap from last December. The two serve as the main attraction for One 166, which will go down at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, on March …

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Multiple-time Brazilian karate champion Chinzo Machida made a return to the ring earlier this month at Karate Combat 43, where he earned a unanimous decision win over American kickboxing veteran Shannon “The Cannon” Hudon.

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“It’s been a long time,” Machida told Sherdog.com. “I’m focused on teaching at my academy [Machida Karate] in Los Angeles. But a fighter is always a fighter. When the invitation came against a veteran in similar shape, I thought it was a good way to return. And It was a hell of an experience, but I don’t intend to keep fighting. My goal now is to spread Machida Karate.”

According to Chinzo, Karate Combat has expressed interest in signing Lyoto Machida. However, he doesn’t believe the organization will make an offer his brother will accept. Chinzo revealed that his father, Yoshizo, motivated his kids to fight at a young age.

“My father is a classical Japanese [man]. Since we were kids, he taught us that fight…

Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Arnold Allen would have admittedly preferred a bigger name than the undefeated Movsar Evloev for his next Octagon appearance.

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Allen will look to bounce back from his first UFC loss against Max Holloway when he takes on Evloev at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. The Englishman had originally lobbied for a clash against Brian Ortega, who was ultimately booked for a rematch against Yair Rodriguez at UFC Mexico. While Allen had hoped for a more notable name, he believes Evloev is underrated.

“He’s very highly touted,” Allen recently told Violent Money TV. “I think there was some easier fights with higher-ranked guys. We were asking straight up for Ortega after the Holloway fight – the bigger name, the bigger fight – and obviously he was out for a while. Then I think they just want to make him and Yair rematch down the line.”

“I think that’s what they’re doing now. There’s some easier matchups and higher-…

The full incident between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at #UFC296 tonight.

Bring on #UFC297 in January! pic.twitter.com/HQt0Uj1jiv

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

Gilbert Burns recently shared some insider information about the cagedside brawl between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 296.

Strickland will defend his middleweight strap against Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. The bad blood started during a seasonal press conference to promote their fight, where Du Plessis brought up Strickland’s abusive childhood. The two were seated close to each other while in attendance at UFC 296 the next day, which also led to speculation about the brawl being staged.

However, Burns, who along with his family had a first row seat to the whole episode, claims the scuffle was real. Before leaping over chairs to attack Du Plessis, Strickland could be seen asking Burns’ wife and child to move. “Durinho” claims …

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Aljamain Sterling rolled the dice on the supposed star power of Sean O'Malley but came away unimpressed.

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Sterling (23-4) lost his strap to O’Malley (17-1) via second-round knockout in the main event at UFC 292 in August, for which he received a share of the pay-per-view sales, and those figures were apparently disappointing. Without revealing the exact figure, Sterling said on his YouTube channel:

“I got the pay-per-view numbers, and me and her were going through it, and I’m just like, ‘These are the numbers that this guy was trying to say he’s this big pay-per-view star?' I’m just like, ‘Oh my God.’ When I saw the numbers, I literally said to her, ‘If I had any idea this is what the numbers would have been, if I could have predicted that this is what it would have been, my ass would have waited and taken my vacation then.'”

Sterling’s clash against O’Malley came three months after a successful title defense against Henry C…

Andre Petroski will square off against Jacob Malkoun in a middleweight showdown at UFC Atlantic City on March 30.

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Petroski announced the pairing via social media. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and features a women’s flyweight scrap pitting Erin Blanchfield against Manon Fiorot.

Petroski last appeared at UFC Fight Night 230 on Oct. 14, when he suffered a first-round technical knockout loss against Michel Pereira. That snapped a five-bout promotional winning streak for the 32-year-old Renzo Gracie Philly product.

Malkoun, meanwhile, has lost two of his last three bouts under the UFC banner. In his lone outing of 2023, the 28-year-old Australian suffered a disqualification defeat at UFC Fight Night 228 when he landed an illegal elbow against Cody Brundage 4:15 into the opening stanza of their Sept. 23 encounter.