Martial Arts News

A.J. McKee will square off against Sidney Outlaw in a lightweight grand prix alternate bout at Bellator 301.

ESPN was first to report the pairing. Bellator 301 takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Nov. 17 and is headlined by a welterweight title clash between Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson. The event also features a 155-pound grand prix semifinal pitting Patricky Freire against Alexandr Shabliy.

McKee was originally supposed to compete in the bracket but was forced to withdraw from a quarterfinal matchup against Freire due to injury. The former Bellator featherweight king is 2-0 since moving to lightweight, with victories against Spike Carlyle and Roberto Satoshi de Souza to his credit.

Outlaw, meanwhile, has been victorious in 12 of his last 14 professional outings. Most recently, the 31-year-old Dante Rivera BJJ product outpointed Islam Mamedov at Bellator 298. His only setbacks during that stretch have come at the hands of Tofiq Musayev and …

With a little more than a month left before UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, the promotion has reportedly added another exciting matchup to the card.

Javid Basharat will face Victor Henry at the Oct. 21 event. The bantamweight bout was initially reported by MMAjunkie.com. UFC 294 is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. The card will also witness a pivotal middleweight clash between UFC stars Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev and a light heavyweight showdown between Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev.

Basharat improved to 4-0 in the Octagon with a unanimous decision win over Mateus Mendoca at UFC Fight Night 217 in January. The Xtreme Couture product is 14-0 as a professional.

Henry, made his promotional debut in January 2022 against Raoni Barcelos and currently boasts a 2-1 record in the UFC. Coming off a contentious split-decision victory against Tony Gravely in March, Henry will look to put on a more decisive performanc…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight championship will be on the line in the UFC Fight Night 227 main event.

The five-round main event is now set after the UFC Fight Night 227, also known as "Noche UFC," weigh-ins took place. Champion Alexa Grasso will look to make her first defense against the woman she dethroned, Valentina Shevchenko. Both women successfully made weight, as Grasso came in at 124.5 pounds, while Shevchenko also weighed 124.5 pounds. All of the rest of the fighters on the card also hit their marks.

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Mexico's Grasso (16-3) is coming off arguably the biggest upset of the year and one of the largest in company history when she stopped Shevchenko in March. The 30-year-old will look to show that she can beat Shevchenko again, after claiming the title via a face crank submission. This marked Grasso's fifth straight win, and capped off an impressive streak that saw her also beat Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Vivi…

[embedded content] Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki returns for its September offering, which is headlined by a bantamweight title fight.

The KSW 86 main event will see Jakub Wiklacz look to defend his bantamweight strap against Sebastian Przybysz in the pair's fourth meeting. Both men successfully made weight, reaching at 135 pounds on the dot one after the other. There were no issues on the scales for the remainder of the lineup, as every fighter officially hit their proper marks.

This will be the first title defense for Wiklacz (14-3-1), who won the title in his last outing via split decision against Przybysz (12-3). The win was Wiklacz's fourth straight following a loss to Pryzbysz in 2020. Meanwhile, "Sebic" has won two straight fights since dropping the belt and is coming off a submission victory over Islam Djabrailov. The two first met in 2017, with Wiklacz taking a unanimous decision.

KSW 86 will air live on the promotion's website of KSWTV on Saturday at 1 p.m…

Devin Smyth JUST DID THAT 💥 #LFA167 pic.twitter.com/ykHfONvKKh

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 16, 2023

Devin Smyth (10-3) returned to the win column in style at Friday’s Legacy Fighting Alliance 167 main event in Niagara Falls, New York.

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Smyth wasted little time going up against welterweight Jonathan Piersma (6-2). Soon after feeling out the distance and applying forward pressure for the initial moments of the bout, “The Prodigy” unloaded a devastating spinning wheel kick against Piersma 51 seconds of the opening frame.

In the co-main event, welterweight Shamidkhan Magomedov (6-1) captured a hard-fought unanimous decision against Uzbekistan's Bahromjon Mashrapov (7-3).

Also on the card was a strawweight bout between Canadian Ashley Nichols (6-4) and Mexicos' Nadia Vera (4-2). In the end, Nichols managed to secure a decisive unanimous decision victory.

Additionally, Jeff Craig edged Barrington …

Echeverria with the main event finish!!!

What a night! Thank you, North Dakota!!!#CFFC125 pic.twitter.com/fU325XGW8Z

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 16, 2023

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Venezuelan flyweight prospect Roybert Echeverria (8-1) returned to the win column after securing an anaconda choke at 2:56 of Round 2 against Pololu Nakanelua (6-2) in Friday’s Cage Fury Fighting Championship 125 headliner.

Coming off a Round 3 loss in an appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, Echeverria came in primed for his catchweight CFFC bout in New Town, North Dakota, and managed to secure the slick submission against the Legacy Fighting Alliance alum in his promotional debut.

In the co-main event, another catchweight bout, J.P. St. Louis (10-5) fought his way to a majority decision against Nicholas Meck (5-1).

In a women's bantamweight matchup, Elizabeth Schroder (4-3) was awarded a unanimous decision win against Al…

💥💥NEW CARD💥💥#RIZIN_LANDMARK7 in AZE🇦🇿

👑Featherweight title match👑RIZIN MMA rules 66.0kg

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🟥Vugar KeramovCurrent RIZIN Featherweight Championーー🆚ーーー🟦Chihiro SuzukiFirst KNOCK OUT-BLACK Champion

📅11/4(Sat)🏟National Gymnastics Arenahttps://t.co/h8XymWK5Oq pic.twitter.com/Oz5jknVbbX

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 14, 2023 Rizin Fighting Federation is going international in the most unexpected of ways.

The Japan-based promotion had hinted that a trip to Azerbaijan would be in the cards in the future, due to a number of talented competitors on its roster from the region. All past Rizin events, from Saraba no Utake in December 2015, to its secret Landmark events held in undisclosed locations, to its blockbuster shows at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, have taken place in Japan. According to a press conference on Thursday, the organization is officially going to Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 4, for Rizin…

#BELLATOR300 adds seven fresh fights to the historic card at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Oct. 7 which includes a middleweight tilt between @GrantNeal and @RomeroCotton, an electric matchup pitting Dmytrii Hrytsenko and @JustinMontalvo, and more!https://t.co/NO65eYX2g2

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 15, 2023 Bellator MMA is loading up its preliminary card on Oct. 7 with as many names as it can muster.

On Friday, the organization sent out via press release an additional eight matchups that are now set for Bellator 300. This fight card will take place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and it will feature what the promotion is calling a “quadruple main event” with four championship tilts atop the billing all receiving main event status.

The preliminary lineup is currently expected to be headlined by Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi in a previously booked heavyweight affair. Several other fights including Henry…

[embedded content] Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White has revealed shocking news regarding the death of his parents.

In a recent appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," White talked about his estranged relationship with his parents, how it shaped him as an individual, and the impact of their deaths on him. During the interview with Piers Morgan, White agreed with the assertion that his strained relationship with his parents fueled him to work hard and become successful.

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However, the 54-year-old was also quick to note that while he would change nothing about his upbringing, his circumstances as a child taught him what not to do as a parent. While White's father was mostly absent from his life, he was raised by a single mother. Eventually, the UFC CEO's relationship with his mother also took a hit when she decided to write a book on him, back in 2011.

As the interview progressed, White calmly revealed that both of his parents had passed aw…

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Jared Cannonier recently took to social media to make his case for a title shot against reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

Recording one of the biggest upsets in the division's history, Strickland fought his way to a dominant unanimous decision victory against two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9. Now holding the highly coveted divisional strap, “Tarzan” has several solid options for opponents for his first title defense. Most fans are of the view that Adesanya isn't deserving of an immediate rematch, considering he holds just one win in his last three outings.

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Another alternative includes Dricus Du Plessis, who secured an emphatic technical knockout victory at UFC 290 against former middleweight kingpin Robert Whittaker. While Du Plessis was offered to fight Adesanya on the recently concluded UFC 293 card, "Stillknocks" was unable to make it to the Octagon due to an injury. A…

❌Derek Brunson has reportedly been released from the UFC pic.twitter.com/buncFYMYBc

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) September 15, 2023

Even though he was scheduled to face Roman Dolidze at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 in New York City’s world-famous Madison Square Garden, long-time Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender Derek Brunson has parted ways with the promotion. MMAFighting was first to report the news Thursday.

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A part of the Las Vegas-based company for the past 11 years, Brunson, 39, stepped inside the Octagon a whopping 21 times and holds a record of 14-7 in the organization.

Perhaps one of the most consistent fighters in the division, Brunson faced the likes of Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, Uriah Hall and Darren Till throughout his UFC tenure.

Despite being unable to secure a divisional crown, Brunson racked up two impressive runs to the title, often serving as a roa…

#LFA169 is scheduled for Red River Rivalry Eve in Dallas on Oct. 6 pic.twitter.com/r0zOnQaOrz

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) September 15, 2023

Legacy Fighting Alliance is set to return to Dallas with a Red River weekend showdown. LFA 169 will go down Oct. 6 at The Factory in Dallas, concluding the promotion’s tour of its most frequented state. The event will mark LFA’s 12th outing in the DFW Metroplex, a record for the organization.

One of the most highly-touted prospects coming from Texas, Landry Ward will take on rival state Oklahoma’s standout Alfred Walker in the main event. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Landry, 26, is coming off a hard-fought split-decision win over Matheus Pereira Morais at LFA 163. Meanwhile, Walker will be making his promotional debut as he looks to play heel in enemy territory.

“We are excited to kick off Red River Rivalry weekend and conclude this year's Texas Tour in the city and venue where it all start…