Martial Arts News

Someone forgot to tell Karolina Kowalkiewicz she was supposed to just walk off into the sunset.

The American Top Team standout penned the latest chapter in her late-career renaissance and stayed relevant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over Diana Belbita in their featured UFC Fight Night 229 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges saw it 30-27 for Kowalkiewicz (16-7, 9-7 UFC).

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Belbita (15-8, 2-4 UFC) bridged out of full mount and connected with a jarring right hand in the first round but failed to build any kind of meaningful momentum. Kowalkiewicz took charge across the final 10 minutes, where she utilized a punishing jab and sneaky right uppercuts. Her comfort level grew down the stretch, enough so that she cut loose with a few spinning attacks to keep Belbita off-balance.

Kowalkiewicz, 37, will carry a four-fight winning streak int…

33 seconds ⏱ #UFCVegas80 pic.twitter.com/0DzD6zEPj0

— UFC (@ufc) October 8, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC Fight Night 229 card.

Main event winner Bobby Green was a no-brainer choice for a Performance of the Night bonus after he demolished Grant Dawson in just 33 seconds. Green picked up an extra $50,000 as a result of his performance, which saw him knock down Dawson with a left hand and finish the fight with some follow-up punches on the ground. The win marks the biggest win in the 37-year-old's career.

The three other Performance of the Night bonuses went to some of the most exciting members of the UFC roster. Drew Dober picked up a cool $50,000 for his destruction of Ricky Glenn. Dober needed just over half a round to take care of business and put away Glenn with a series of hard punches. Meanwhile, Joseph Pyfer continued his rise by submitting Abdul Razak Alhass…

The round robin of opponents to face Michel Pereira continues to turn.

At UFC Fight Night 230 on Oct. 14, Pereira (28-11) was slated to take on Marc-Andre Barriault. The Canadian was forced to withdraw for medical reasons, and fighting in his place will be Andre Petroski (10-1). Petroski posted news of this late replacement middleweight matchup on his Instagram on Thursday night, while Barriault confirmed his medical issue on Friday.

Pereira was initially slated to battle Stephen Thompson at UFC 291 in July, but he missed weight by three pounds ahead of their scheduled welterweight showdown. As a result, “Wonderboy” opted to not take the fight, the bout was canceled, and the promotion suggested that Pereira compete at 185 pounds going forward. “Demolidor” is currently riding a five-fight win streak, which is his longest winning stretch since a triumphant span of seven straight from 2013 to 2014. Along his way up the welterweight ranks, the Brazilian topped names like …

Fans hoping that Rafael Fiziev’s injury last month would not keep him on the shelf for too long should feel relieved, as the 30-year-old striker recently announced his successful surgery.

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Fiziev (12-3) suffered the injury in Round 2 of his main-event appearance against Mateusz Gamrot (23-2) at UFC Fight Night 228 in September. Following a competitive Round 1, Fiziev upped the forward pressure but suddenly went down halfway through the second frame while throwing a right kick at his opponent. What many suspected to be a knee injury was soon confirmed to be an ACL tear. Interestingly, this isn't the first time "Ataman" has suffered an ACL injury.

Following a successful procedure, the mercurial UFC lightweight took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a message with his fans.

Just done surgery on my left acl. Same injury I had 3 years ago. I will come back even stronger. Recovery starts now. Thanks for the support🦿

…

#ONEFightNight15 highlight video: Thanh Le heel hooks Ilya Freymanov pic.twitter.com/gutuiFqoaW

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 7, 2023

ONE Fight Night 15 took place at the famed Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. A smorgasbord of mixed martial arts, kickboxing, muay thai and submission grappling, the card was contested within a square ring rather than a cage. That certainly made the MMA matches unique by modern standards.

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The main event was a fight for the interim ONE Championship 155-pound MMA title between Thanh Le and Ilya Freymanov. Le is a former ONE champion, having knocked out Martin Nguyen for the throne in 2020 before defending against then-undefeated submission wizard Gary Tonon, knocking him out in just 56 seconds. However, Le lost his title by unanimous decision to Kai Tang last year. At 38 years old, there were doubts about how much he had left in the tank. His opponent was 27-year-old Russian upstart Freym…

Sherdog's live ONE Fight Night 15 coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 The card begins with muay thai action. Kouyate begins with two leg kicks that land. Al-Tekreeti is looking to close the distance and clinch. Kouyate is able to land some knees on the inside to the body. Al-Tekreeti is taking damage trying to get inside but is able to spin and land a spinning elbow. Kouyate eats a huge elbow and goes down! A game-changing elbow by Al-Tekreeti. Kouyate gets back up and starts swinging again. A big left hand lands for Kouyate, but Al-Tekreeti is unphased. Kouyate then rocks his opponent at the end of the round, but he still loses it due to the knockdown. 10-8 Al-Tekreeti.

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Round 2 Al-Tekreeti eats a slapping leg kick to start the round. They clinch, and Kouyate is able to land some nice punches before they are separated. Al-Tekreeti lands a big right hand that hurts Kouyate. Al-Tekreeti starts eating some punches as they're separated. It's truly…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated on 2:50 p.m. ET to reflect additional information about competitors.

For the second time in a row, champion Liz Carmouche will be facing a challenger that missed weight.

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A stacked Bellator MMA event is now official as the promotion celebrates a monumental milestone of hitting 300 numbered events. Earlier this week, the organization had four championship bouts booked for the "quadruple main event." After an illness to one heavyweight challenger and a weight miss for one at flyweight, Bellator's four-pronged main card has changed significantly. While three title fights still remain on the billing, the third will be a one-way affair, as only the champ can retain her belt at night's end.

The final bout on the Bellator 300 marquee will see Usman Nurmagomedov look to defend his lightweight throne against Brent Primus in what is also a lightweight grand prix semifinal bout. Meanwhile, Cristian…

First to the scale, @BobbyKGreen, in at 156lbs ahead of #UFCVegas80! pic.twitter.com/wnT6zSIpGJ

— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns after a rare week off with a UFC Apex card featuring an intriguing lightweight main event.

UFC Fight Night 229 is headlined by Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green. Both lightweight contenders successfully made weight for the five-round main event. Every fighter also made weight for the 11-fight card.

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Dawson (20-1-1) is undefeated since entering the UFC. The only blemish on the record of "KGD" is a majority draw against Ricky Glenn in 2021. He's currently coming off three straight wins over Jared Gordon, Mark O. Madsen and Damir Ismagulov. Dawson stepped on the scale weighing 156 pounds.

This marks the second UFC main event for Green (30-14-1, 1 NC), who is coming off a win over Tony Ferguson. Prior to the win, "King" had been on a rough stretch that saw him …

Derek Brunson’s trip up to 205 pounds will be on hold for a few more months.

On Thursday, news broke that Brunson (23-9) had signed with Professional Fighters League. Per his manager, Brunson would be competing this year, and that his destination was ultimately the light heavyweight bracket of the 2024 tournament. The organization released on Friday his first assignment, which will be taking place at middleweight on Nov. 24. At the PFL 2023 Championships event, he will battle it out with former welterweight tourney victor Ray Cooper III (25-8-1).

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The two will collide as the featured prelim in a “showcase” bout, in what will be the second middleweight match since Louis Taylor defeated Abusupiyan Magomedov for the 185-pound throne in the 2018 Championships event. Although Brunson’s manager stated that he would be moving to light heavyweight, it is unclear at this time if the promotion will be re-opening the weight class for a bracket in next year's to…

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Renowned American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendes recently discussed potential opponents for his charge, Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, following his upcoming rematch with Charles Oliveira at UFC 294.

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While Makhachev (24-1) has expressed a desire to move up a weight class and face the winner of Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington for the welterweight strap following the rematch with “do Bronx,” his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently revealed that Justin Gaethje would probably be next in line for a lightweight title shot following an impressive knockout victory against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291.

While Mendes is happy to take on the aforementioned fights, there is one that the AKA head coach would prefer for his Dagestani pupil. In a recent interview with Helen Yee, the San Jose, California,-based trainer elaborated:

“So, in a perfect world, What I would like is what Islam wants beca…

Zayundin Suleymanov could not have scripted a better One Championship debut.

The undefeated Russian cut down Adilet Mamytov with punches in the second round of their ONE Friday Fights 36 flyweight showcase on Friday at historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Suleymanov (7-0, 1-0 ONE) drew the curtain 2:46 into Round 2, as he planted his flag in the Chatri Sityodtong-led promotion with authority.

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Mamytov (5-1, 0-1 ONE) fired off some one-twos, a few flying knees to the body and the occasional spinning attack but could not keep his aggressive opponent at bay. Suleymanov kept him off-balance with repeated takedowns and tie-ups, pairing those efforts with ground-and-pound when the opportunity presented itself. He floored Mamytov in the corner with an overhand left midway through the second round, forced him into a defensive shell and closed it out with follow-up punches.

Meanwhile, Lakay MMA prospect Carlos Neyheban Alvarez put away Phr…

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Colby Covington would be more than happy to take on reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight ace Islam Makhachev in a potential welterweight title bout.

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In a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Makhachev shared that while he isn't overlooking his next opponent, he'd like the opportunity to fight for the welterweight strap if he again conquers Charles Oliveira in their rematch at Oct. 21’s UFC 294 pay-per-view.

The Dagestan native believes he's earned the right to challenge for a belt in another division, especially since he afforded UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski the same opportunity at UFC 284.

Moreover, Makhachev expressed his support for Covington as the American gears up to take on Edwards for the title at UFC 296. The 31-year-old believes a matchup with "Chaos" would be a great test of USA wrestling vs. Dagestani wrestling.

Responding to the reigning lightweight champion…