Martial Arts News

Cub Swanson will return to the featherweight division for a clash with Hakeem Dawodu at UFC on ESPN 51.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after Swanson initially announced the bout via Instagram. UFC on ESPN 51 takes place on Aug. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Vicente Luque against Rafael dos Anjos.

Swanson is coming off a bantamweight appearance at UFC Fight Night 212, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Johathan Martinez this past October. Prior to that, the World Extreme Cagefighting veteran had won three of his last four Octagon appearances dating back to October 2019.

Dawodu has lost two of his last three under the UFC banner. Most recently, the 31-year-old Canadian dropped a three-round verdict to Julian Erosa at UFC 279 last September.

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One-time UFC heavyweight competitor Braxton Smith has accepted a two-year USADA suspension after multiple failed drug tests.  

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Smith tested positive for exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors in out-of-competition samples on April 19 and May 4 and in-competition on May 6. According to USADA, Smith’s three positive tests were combined into one violation because he was not notified of his first positive test when he second and third samples were collected.

“Smith’s urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin,” the USADA statement read. “The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its metabolites of external origin in Smith’s urine sample. A…

It was an afternoon to forget for Justin Tafa.

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The Australian’s heavyweight clash with Austen Lane ended just 29 seconds into Round 1 of their UFC on ABC 5 clash when Tafa was rendered unable to continue after being poked in the eye. As a result, the bout was ruled a no contest.

It was one of the more gruesome eye pokes in recent memory, and Tafa later expressed his frustration on Twitter. “I deserve my win bonus. That’s a DQ, man,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Lane apologized shortly thereafter.

Fortunately, it appears that Tafa won’t suffer any permanent damage as a result of the foul. “Bad Man” recently offered a relatively positive update on his condition via social media.

“Cleared of any major damage to both eyes but both eyes did suffer some damage,” Tafa wrote. “Right eye still in some pain, sensitive to light and blurred vision on the [left] but I thank God nothing that was going to end my career or cause serious damage to my eye. Than…

[embedded content] Brunno Ferreira walked into his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Gregory Rodrigues as a -275 underdog and proceeded to throw oddsmakers a 12-to-6 curveball that took the form of a devastating one-punch knockout. Only one question remains: What does he do for an encore?

The undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series graduate will ride a wave of momentum into his battle with Nursulton Ruziboev in their featured UFC on ESPN 48 middleweight attraction this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Ferreira’s upset of Rodriguez was a surprise to many, it held little shock value for him.

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“I know my potential,” he told Sherdog.com. “I believe in my fighting style. I played my game. I was a little anxious, but it didn’t go much differently than what I expected. As soon as I knew I may be booked against Gregory, I started studying him. That was even before it was official. My coaches and I figured out the best strategy. It pl…

James Gonzalez will replace Cris Lencioni and lock horns with James Gallagher at Bellator 298.

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MMAFighting.com was first to report the new booking. Lencioni was removed from the card after suffering cardiac arrest during training earlier this month. Bellator 298 takes place on Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting Logan Storley against Brennan Ward.

Gallagher will compete for the first time since November 2021, when he had a four-bout winning streak snapped in a third-round submission loss to Patrick Mix at Bellator 270. The SBG Ireland product is 8-2 during his Bellator tenure.

Anchored at Longo and Weidman MMA, Gonzalez is coming off a decision loss against Aaron Pico at Bellator 295 on April 22. The 33-year-old known as “The Alley Cat” owns a 10-6 career mark that includes fights in PFL Challenger Series, Ring of Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

Steven Ray hinted that once his run in the 2023 Professional Fighters League season was done, he’d call it a career.

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“Braveheart” recently made good on that promise, announcing his retirement via Instagram over the weekend.

“Fourteen years of service done. Time to pass on my knowledge and experience,” Ray wrote.

The 33-year-old Scotland native fought for the last time at PFL 6 this past Friday, when he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Clay Collard. Had he advanced to the postseason, Ray would have continued for at least one more fight.

Ray initialy announced his retirement in 2020 following a 7-4 stint with the UFC, citing chronic knee issues as the reason for his exit. He returned with the PFL in 2022, earning a pair of victories over ex-UFC champ Anthony Pettis before falling to Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the lightweight final.

A former Cage Warriors lightweight champion, Ray ends his career with a 25-13 record that i…

Shane Burgos earned a flat $100,000 for his unanimous decision triumph over Yamato Nishikawa at PFL 6 this past Friday.

The UFC veteran was one of five fighters from the card to take home a six-figure payday. Burgos was the only one of those whose earnings didn’t include a win bonus. The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission recently released salary figures from the event. PFL 6 took place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

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Defending lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier and returning welterweight king Sadibou Sy earned $100,000 apiece for their victories in the evening’s featured bouts. Aubin-Mercier defeated Anthony Romero ($15,000) via third-round knockout in the PFL 6 main event, while Sadibou Sy scored a spectacular spinning wheel kick KO of Shane Mitchell ($10,000) in the co-headliner. Additionally, Magomed Magomedkerimov and Natan Schulte earned $100,000 apiece for wins over David Zawada ($20,000) and Raush Manfio ($30,000), resp…

A quartet of Irish fan favorites will compete on the Bellator 299 draw in Dublin on Sept. 23.

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The California-based promotion announced the following four bouts on Monday: Peter Queally vs. Daniele Miceli at welterweight; Ciaran Clarke vs. Przemyslaw Gorny at featherweight; Darragh Kelly vs. Jelle Zeegers at featherweight and Charlie Ward vs. Gregory Babene at middleweight. All four contests are currently slated for the Bellator 299 preliminary card.

Bellator 299 takes place at 3Arena in Dublin and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards. The main card airs on Showtime at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 11 .m. ET/8 a.m. PT.

A former lightweight title challenger, Queally has lost his last three promotional appearances, including a second-round TKO defeat against Bryce Logan at Bellator 291 on Feb. 25. Italy’s Micele will be fighting …

Chris Curtis will square off against Anthony Hernandez at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Sept. 16.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the middleweight pairing. The card is expected to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s flyweight title bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

Curtis is coming off a UFC 289 matchup against Nassourdine Imavov that was ruled a no contest 3:04 into the second round due to an accidental clash of heads. Prior to that, “Action Man” dropped a three-round verdict to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 287. The 35-year-old Xtreme Couture member is 4-2 with one no contest in the Octagon and 30-10 as a professional overall.

After losing two of his first three UFC appearances, Hernandez has won four straight fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, “Fluffy” defeated Edmen Shahbazyan via third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 223 on May 20.

Maycee Barber had heard the rumblings, so it’s easy to understand why she was quite pleased to put Amanda Ribas away inside the distance at UFC on ABC 5.

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“The Future” earned her first finish since 2019, defeating Ribas via second-round TKO in Saturday’s co-main event at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

“It means everything,” Barber said. “Every time I step out in the cage, I’m going out for a finish, and the competition is getting tougher, but at the same time I really needed to step it up and just get into that zone again, and just put myself in that position where I’m like, ‘You know what? There’s no way out of this except for me finishing this girl.’

“I think that with my last few performances, people are probably like, ‘Oh, well, she’s going to go to a decision, she’s backing down.’ But I’m not backing down and I’m coming to finish these girls again.”

Barber has won five consecutive UFC appearances and has been v…

Ilia Topuria lived up to the hype at UFC on ABC 5.

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“El Matador” was absolutely dominant against former interim title challenger Josh Emmett, battering his foe with crisp combinations and damaging low kicks while evading many of his opponent’s return offerings in a lopsided unanimous decision triumph on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. Topuria was dominant enough to earn scorecards of 50-44 and 50-42 as he earned his sixth consecutive triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

If Topuria were to face reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, he is confident the result would be the same.

“I showed it tonight that no one can match my level of skill inside the cage,” Topuria said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think everyone agrees with me. I know that I can finish anyone in this division. Just it was tough tonight. But I beat him pretty easy. It’s not going to be different with Alex. The recipe is going to be the same. I’m go…