Martial Arts News

Dana White says Conor McGregor has submitted the paperwork to rejoin USADA 👀 pic.twitter.com/1N3oHVXv3E

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

The gears finally appear to be shifting in the right direction for Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion has been out of action for over two years, nursing a broken leg suffered in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier (29-8). After months of back-and-forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency about returning to their testing pool, McGregor (22-6) finally seems to have taken some significant steps.

“Notorious” recently claimed to have submitted the paperwork for re-entering the USADA testing pool to the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky. UFC CEO Dana White has now confirmed the same while noting that the Irishman will be officially back in the pool next week…

Daniel Santos is out of his #UFCSaoPaulo bout vs. Daniel Marcos, per multiple sources. The promotion is seeking a replacement for Nov. 4. pic.twitter.com/MsJ14KVmEd

— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 7, 2023

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Daniel Santos (12-2) will not be a part of the festivities as the Las Vegas-based promotion returns to Sao Paulo on Nov. 4 after four long years.

Santos was originally scheduled to face undefeated Peruvian prospect Daniel Marcos (15-0) on the bill. However, Nolan King of MMA Junkie has now reported that “Willycat” is out of the matchup. The reason for the withdrawal currently remains unknown. The 28-year-old is riding a two-fight win streak after coming up short against Julio Arce in his Octagon debut last year.

Meanwhile, Marcos graduated from Dana White’s Contender Series last year with a decision win over Brandon Lewis. “Soncora” went on to pick up a stoppage win over Saimon Oli…

Bassil Hafez vs Preston Parsons booked for the UFC card on January 13, per multiple sources confirmed to myself and @MikeHeck_JR

Story coming to @MMAFighting

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) October 7, 2023

Welterweight newcomer Bassil Hafez (8-4) is set to clash against Preston Parsons (10-4) at an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight night event on Jan. 13, according to a report from MMAFighting’s Damon Martin.

The meeting will mark Hafez's sophomore walk to the Octagon following a short-notice debut earlier this year against elite prospect Jack Della Maddalena. A +525 underdog going into the matchup, “The Habibi” dropped an impressively close Fight of the Night split decision against Maddalena.

Meanwhile, Parsons made his UFC debut in 2021 on the heels of four consecutive submission wins. “Pressure” ended up suffering a Round 1 knockout loss against perennial contender Daniel Rodriguez before bouncing back with a decision wi…

The champ @Usmannmgdv gets the takedown! #Bellator300 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/WzEu18YC3h

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 8, 2023

Bellator MMA lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov believes he’s the best in the world and he made a strong case for it after picking apart former champion Brent Primus in the Bellator 300 main event at Perchanga Arena in San Diego, California.

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Primus had no answers for Nurmagomedov (18-0) throughout the fight. Coming off the most well-rounded win of his career over Mansour Barnaoui in the lightweight grand prix quarterfinals, Primus thought he could upset the champ by getting inside and making it an ugly contest.

Unfortunately for Primus (12-4), the champ would have none of it. Nurmagomedov kept Primus at bay on the outside with long body kicks and straight right hands down the pipe. He roughed him up at midrange with knees and hooks, and dominated him on the insid…

Sherdog's live Bellator 300 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:25 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven sc…

Bobby Green barely broke a sweat.

The former King of the Cage titleholder turned back the clock in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, as he cut down Grant Dawson with punches less than a minute into the first round of their UFC Fight Night 229 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Green (31-14-1, 12-9-1 UFC) closed it out 33 seconds into Round 1.

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Dawson (20-2-1, 8-1-1 UFC) swung and missed at his biggest opportunity to date. Green stepped into a booming straight left and sent him crashing to the mat in a compromised state. Punches and hammerfists followed, as Dawson turned away from contact, turtled and forced referee Keith Peterson to intervene on his behalf.Pyfer Choke Sleeps Alhassan Onetime Ring of Combat champion Joseph Pyfer put Abdul Razak Alhassan to sleep with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their middleweight co-main event. Alhassan (12-6, 6-6 UFC) lost his grip on reality 2:05 into Round 2…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 229 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: De La Rosa (-118), Aldrich (-102)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Aori (-112), Munoz (-108)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: M…

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…