Martial Arts News

Manel Kape isn’t ready to let go of his beef with former UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.  

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Kape was scheduled to fight Felipe dos Santos last month at UFC 293, which was headlined by Adesanya’s title defense against Sean Strickland. During the pre-fight presser, “Starboy” went off on his original opponent Kai Kara-France, who had pulled out of the matchup and was seated in the audience.  

Adesanya came to his City Kickboxing teammate’s defense, calling Kape a “midget” and promising to bury him.  

In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, Kape claimed that “The Last Stylebender” subsequently approached him with a truce offering backstage, which he turned down. 

 
“After all this talk [at the press conference], he came to me backstage ‘Hey, no disrespect, we are Africa, we’re brothers,’” Kape recalled. “I said, ‘We are not brothers. Look, my problem is with Kai Kara, not with you. Why did…

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UFC CEO Dana White is a man of many endeavors.

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In addition to owning Power Slap and being in a partnership with NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing, White is also invested in bull riding. It all started when he first rode a bull while working on “Lookin' for Fight” with former UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra.

The UFC head honcho would go on to buy three bulls over the years, none of which made it to the big PBR shows broadcast on CBS. However, White’s latest purchase, a bull named Twisted Steel, is finally set to make it to the big leagues at the PBR Camping World Team Series Championship from Oct. 20-22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

White revealed how he got into the bull business at the Contender Series press conference on Tuesday night.

“I did ‘Lookin for a Fight’ back in [2015 or 2016], the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, riding a bull. But after I did it, I kinda got into it,” White said. “We went out on this whole …

A bantamweight clash between John Castaneda and Kyung Ho Kang has been moved to the UFC 295 card.

Castaneda was originally scheduled to face his South Korean opponent a week later at UFC Fight Night 232 on Nov. 18. Castaneda’s management firm, Iridium Sports Agency, first announced the change in date on Tuesday. UFC 295 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight championship tilt pitting Jon Jones against Stipe Miocic.

While Castaneda won a Dana White's Contender Series matchup back in 2017, it wasn’t until 2020 that “Sexi Mexi” got his UFC call. After dropping a decision in his promotional debut, Castaneda racked up back-to-back finishes before suffering a brutal Round 2 knockout loss against Daniel Santos in October 2022. The 31-year-old has since bounced back with a decision win over Muin Gafurov at UFC on ESPN 46 on June 3.

Meanwhile, Kang is a battle-tested veteran at 135 pounds, having started his UFC career in…

🚨 #TeamIridium News 🚨

Our man @Jesse_Butler92 is ready to turn heads vs. Jeka Saragih on Nov. 18 ✍🏽 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/2HV1KG9Y3E

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) October 3, 2023

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Jesse Butler and Jeka Asparido Saragih are slated to clash at UFC Fight Night 232 on Nov. 18.

The matchup was first announced on Tuesday by Butler’s management, Iridium Sports Agency. UFC Fight Night 232 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Brendan Allen and Paul Craig.

Butler suffered a 23-second knockout loss against Jim Miller in his UFC debut back in June. The 31-year-old was then booked to make a quick turnaround and take on Sean Woodson at UFC Nashville in August. However, Butler pulled out of the matchup, citing Las Vegas commission “protocol.”

Meanwhile, Saragih was a finalist in last year’s Road to UFC, the promotion’s venture for scouting Asian tale…

DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Getty/UFC DWCS 2023, Week 9Credit: Gett…

As it turns out, Valentina Shevchenko wasn’t the only one who was compromised in the Noche UFC headliner.

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Alexa Grasso revealed Wednesday via Instagram that she recently underwent surgery for a fractured hand suffered in the Sept. 16 flyweight title bout. She also hinted that a trilogy with Shevchenko would be next on the agenda after their most recent meeting ended in a controversial split draw.

“What are the odds, huh?” Grasso wrote on Instagram in Spanish. “During the fight I fractured my hand; we’re used to not letting pain stop us for anything, and even though it was hurting, I didn’t think it was anything serious until I tried to return to training and I realized that my hand was still really bad.

“The surgery was a success, and thank you so much for Doctor Arroyo and Doctor Zarate, you guys are angels. I trust them completely with my health in their hands… and I know I’m going to be super ready for that trilogy.”

It was already c…

Gordon Ryan wins by arm bar pic.twitter.com/DGMPgGtvN3

— D (@D_The_Husband) October 2, 2023

Despite receiving some lucrative offers to do so, grappling ace Gordon Ryan has no designs on transitioning to mixed martial arts in the near future.

In a recent interview with Combate.com, Ryan shared how injuries derailed his plans on competing in MMA some four years ago and how his focus has shifted since then.

“I was actually planning to fight MMA in 2019, but I tore my knee ligament, and when I was coming back from this surgery, I had to go straight into camp for the ADCC because I competed seven months exactly after my surgery,” Ryan said. “So the second I got out of surgery, I had to enter camp. I was going to start fighting at the beginning of 2019, then I had to enter the camp, then I won two golds [at ADCC], and I started to get pulled back into jiu-jitsu. I won the absolute, then I had the biggest superfight in history with Andre G…

Making MMA History | XTB #KSW89

👑 Champ vs. Double Champ 👑👑🇵🇱 @bartos_mma vs. @SalahdineP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/ayMS5zkRPw

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) October 2, 2023

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Salahdine Parnasse will attempt to become a three-division champion when he challenges welterweight title holder Adrian Bartosinski in the KSW 89 main event.

The Polish promotion recently announced the booking. KSW 89 takes place on Dec. 16 at PreZero Arena Gliwice in Gliwice, Poland, and airs via pay-per-view in the United States.

Parnasse is KSW’s reigning featherweight and lighweight champion and has lost just once in 19 professional appearances. The 25-year-old Frenchman has won five straight contests since falling to Daniel Torres at KSW 58, including a fourth-round knockout of Robert Ruchala in a 145-pound title bout at KSW 85 on Aug. 19.

Bartosinski, meanwhile, owns a 13-0 mark since beginning his professional tenure in 2018. The 28-year-old Pole is …

Chris Gutierrez has a new opponent and fight date following the withdrawal of UFC Fight Night 229 foe Montel Jackson.

The 32-year-old Factory X standout will now face Heili Alateng at UFC Fight Night 230 on Oct. 14. The new pairing was confirmed by multiple outlets following an initial report from Eurosport. A reason for Jackson’s exit is currently unknown. UFC Fight Night 230 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight tilt between Sodiq Yusuff and Montel Jackson.

Gutierrez is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Pedro Munhoz at UFC on ESPN 44 on April 15. Prior to that defeat,” El Guapo” had gone 7-0-1 in his previous eight promotional appearances dating back to March 2019.

A native of Beijing, China, Alateng enjoyed a 2-0 campaign in 2022 in which he earned victories over Chad Anheliger and Kevin Croom in UFC competition. The Road FC veteran is 4-1-1 during his Octagon tenure overall.

Biggest fight in PFL history 👀📞@CedricDoumbe @PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/5PRHyh2VVn

— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) October 2, 2023

Cedric Doumbe already has a potential matchup at hand less than a week after his Professional Fighters League debut.

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A multi-time Glory Kickboxing champ, Doumbe made headlines when he was booked to make his UFC debut on the promotion’s first-ever card in Paris last September. However, the French commission ruled that Doumbe’s gap in professional MMA experience compared to opponent Darian Weeks was too great, and the fight was canceled.

Doumbe was then signed by the PFL, where he made his debut at the promotion’s event in Paris on Sept 30. “The Best” walked out with a mattress with opponent Jordan Zebo’s name on it and lived up to his walkout by knocking his opponent out in nine seconds.

During an appearance on "The MMA Hour,” Doumbe subsequently called out MMA megastars like Jorge Masv…

Islam Makhachev believes Charles Oliveira’s issues with the location of their upcoming title fight are baseless.

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UFC 294 on Oct. 21 marks the second time that “do Bronx” will travel to Abu Dhabi for a lightweight title clash. While Oliveira is the challenger this time, he was essentially the uncrowned champ when he was submitted by Makhachev at the same venue at UFC 280 last year.

While he understands his position well, the Brazilian recently noted that it isn’t “necessarily fair” that he travels to enemy territory a second time. Makhachev has since responded to Oliveira’s comments, citing the example of his own title defense in the challenger’s territory at UFC 284 against Alexander Volkanovski. The Dagestani claims to have little agency in determining the location of a fight, just like any other UFC athlete.

“Charles, I asked to fight in US in the summer, but UFC has other plans,” Makhachev wrote on social media. “I am a UFC fighter like …

Tony Ferguson was widely believed to the biggest potential threat to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s lightweight title reign at one point in time.

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Ferguson, who won 12 consecutive UFC bouts from 2013 to 2019, was booked to fight Nurmagomedov five times — but each time the matchup fell through due to various unfortunate circumstances. The potential fight was shelved for good when Nurmagomedov retired from the sport in 2020 shortly after the death of his father.

Meanwhile, Ferguson went on a six-fight skid that began with a brutal beatdown against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. Scheduled to fight English prospect Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 on Dec. 16, Ferguson recently admitted during an interview on "The MMA Hour” that a part of him was forever gone with Nurmagomedov’s retirement.

“I know when Khabib left, a little part of me left with that,” Ferguson said. “It kind of sucked a little bit because we’ve always had that, I don’t want to say negative energy, bu…