Martial Arts News

Carlos Ulberg looks the part of an emerging threat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

The City Kickboxing representative put a fifth consecutive victory in the books, as he disposed of Da Woon Jung with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their featured UFC 293 prelim on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Jung (15-5-1, 4-3-1 UFC) conceded defeat 4:49 into Round 3.

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Ulberg (9-1, 5-1 UFC) controlled much of the first 10 minutes with superior distance management and accurate power punches. He decked Jung with a stiff right hand in the first round and opened a cut under his right eye with a consistent jab in the second. The Korean Top Team upped his pace down the stretch, but Ulberg was up to the challenge. He struck for a takedown late in Round 3, climbed to full mount and unleashed his ground-and-pound before cinching the choke.

Meanwhile, Elevation Fight Team standout Jose Mariscal slammed onetime Eternal M…

Sergio Batarelli, the creator of International Vale Tudo (IVC), is back on the mixed martial arts scene with a new promotion called MMA Fight Sport.

"It will be a cage-style event, with weekly editions starting from November 2023 and a pay-per-view event every three months,” Batarelli said in August.

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Batarelli on Friday announced the first 20 names slated to fight in MMA Fight Sport’s 32-man, single-elimination tournament. The winner of the bracket will receive a $1 million prize.

“We already selected 20 names but still have 12 spots, so every fighter weighing more than (176 pounds) and interested in participating is welcome to send his (credentials) to my email: [email protected],” Batarelli said.

According to Batarelli, he first edition will be held at the Katara Amphitheatre in Doha, Qatar on Nov. 23.

MMA Fight Sport Tournament Participants

Rodrigo Carlos De Lima Santos (Argentina)Artur Ribas (Brazil)Carlos Alberto da Silva…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title will be on the line in the main event of UFC 293.

Champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Sean Strickland both made weight for the event tomorrow, which marks the UFC's return to Australia. All fighters on the card made weight, with the exception of prelim fighter Shane Young. The bout against Gabriel Miranda will move forward, although Young has been fined 30% of his purse for coming in 3.75 pounds over the featherweight limit at 149.75 pounds.

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This marks the first middleweight title defense for Adesanya (24-2) since reclaiming the title by knocking out Alex Pereira. Prior to the setback to "Poatan," Adesanya had won three straight fights and registered five title defenses. "The Last Stylebender" officially weighed 184.8 pounds.

This marks the biggest fight in the career of Strickland (27-5). "Tarzan" bounced back from losses to Pereira and Jared Cannonier by defeating Nasso…

Georges St. Pierre is about to become the first mixed martial artist ever inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

On Thursday, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced that St. Pierre (26-2) would be a part of the 2023 membership class. The legendary mixed martial arts fighter, who is also a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, will be one of 11 individuals to receive this Canadian honor on Oct. 19. Among the hundreds inducted in the athlete or “builders of the sport” categories, “GSP” joins an impressive list of names including hockey greats Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Guy Lafleur, basketball star Steve Nash and fellow 2023 classmate 9th dan judoka Hiroshi Nakamura.

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In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, he will be receiving the Order of Sport award, which is “Canada’s highest sporting honor that…recognizes Canadians who have achieved the highest level of sporting accomplishment and who have the purpose and passion for going beyond t…

Lineal boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former Ultimate Fighting Championship king Francis Ngannou will throw hands in the ring on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The pair stood face-to-face on Thursday in London to raise awareness of October’s card, and the buzz is starting to gain momentum. Please tell us in the poll above who you think will come out on top as the two heavyweight rulers engage in battle under Marquess of Queensberry rules: Will it be the “Gypsy King,” or Professional Fighters League’s prized signing?

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the news on Wednesday evening. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Yusuff has been victorious in six of seven UFC bouts. The 30-year-old Team Lloyd Irvin product is coming off a 2-0 2022 in which he submitted Don Shainis at UFC Fight Night 211 and outpointed Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 203.

Barboza, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round KO of Billy Quarantillo at UFC on ESPN 44 on April 15. The 37-year-old Brazilian is 3-3 since moving to 145 pounds from lightweight, with wins over Quarantillo, Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani.

Grant Dawson will make his first main-event appearance when he faces Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the lightweight booking following an initial report from Fight Bananas. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a bantamweight showdown pitting Chris Gutierrez against Montel Jackson.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Dawson is unbeaten in eight promotion appearances — with a draw against Ricky Glenn the only blemish on his ledger. Most recently, the 29-year-old American Top Team representative took a unanimous decision over Damir Ismagulov at UFC on ESPN 48 on July 1.

Green, meanwhile, ended a three-bout winless streak with a third-round submission of Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 on July 29. The well-traveled “King” is 11-9-1 during his UFC tenure with wins over the likes of Al Iaquinta, Clay Guida and Josh Thomson.

https://t.co/ugzMj38HIV

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 6, 2023

The UFC is taking further steps to prevent those associated with the promotion from betting on its fights.

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The Las Vegas-based organization announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with ProhiBet, a program launched earlier this year that monitors prohibited bettor activity. According to a release, ProhiBet’s utilizes an advanced notification platform that is “designed to safeguard sports integrity and ensure adherence to state-specific regulations.” In this case, the program will monitor “UFC athletes, coaches, employees and officials who are prohibited from placing bets on UFC events.”

ProhiBet is able to monitor compliance using “an encrypted decentralized cross-monitoring and notification platform.”

“We are thrilled to partner with UFC -- the combination of ProhiBet's state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and UFC’s dedication to upholdin…

Two more fights are official for UFC 295, as Derek Brunson will face Roman Dolidze at middleweight, while Matt Schnell will take on Steve Erceg in a flyweight tilt.

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The promotion confirmed the bouts in a release on Wednesday. UFC 295 takes place on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Brunson has lost his last two Octagon appearances, suffering KO/TKO defeats at the hands of Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis. Prior to that, the North Carolina native won five straight bouts from May 2019 to September 2021.

Dolidze saw a four-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he dropped a unanimous verdict against Marvin Vettori at UFC 286 in March. “The Caucasian” is 6-2 during his UFC tenure.

Schnell has won just once in his last four bouts, a second-round submission of Su Mudaerji at UFC on ABC 3 in July 2022. Most recently, “Danger” suffered …

Earlier this week, Sean Strickland claimed to have punched a trash-talking Israel Adesanya fan.

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“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland told Fox Sports Australia. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo. Because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your f—-ing mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.

“Uppercut to his stomach. Then I walked away. But if I see the guy again, man, no problems. ... I’ll thank him for not pressing charges.”

Strickland, who will face Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title in the UFC 293 headliner, is known for making outlandish statements to garner attention. In this case, the “punching” was more in jest, according to UFC president Dana White.

“Do you know where the news came from that he punched a fan?” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Conte…

Dricus Du Plessis is far from certain to receive the next UFC middleweight title shot.

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After Du Plessis handily defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 291 and subsequently engaged in a heated confrontation with Israel Adesanya in the Octagon, it looked like the promotion had a ready-made storyline at the top of the division. However, it appears that some parties — namely, Dana White and Adesanya — involved have cooled on the possibility of Du Plessis as the No. 1 contender after the South African balked at facing “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 due to lingering injuries.

Now, Adesanya will defend his crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday night in Sydney. While the reigning champion is heavily favored to dispatch his opponent, it’s not a given that Du Plessis will be next in line.

“You know how much I love when guys turn down fights,” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Contender Series on Tuesday night. “I don’t kno…

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