Martial Arts News

About the only thing that generated more buzz than Dricus Du Plessis’ upset of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 was his confrontation with Israel Adesanya in the Octagon after that victory.

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The reigning middleweight champion entered the cage to face off with Du Plessis on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to set the stage for the promotion’s next middleweight championship fight. What ensued was a tense scene that included Adesanya using the N-word multiple times during the fighters’ back-and-forth trash talk on the microphone. According to Du Plessis, Adesanya could have handled the situation better.

“You saw it tonight, I’m prepared. I’m prepared for everything he says,” Du Plessis said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“He’s behaving like a clown in there. That’s not how a champion behaves. That’s not at all how a man behaves. He’s behaving like a child. Conduct yourself like a champion. There’s people looking up to you,…

A flyweight title fight for the ages! @TheAssassinBaby vs @PantojaMMA is our #UFC290 Fight of the Night 🔥

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/MLKWJR0x7N

— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2023

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC 290 pay-per-view card.

Newly crowned flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja received more than just a belt for his incredible performance. Both the Brazilian and former champion Brandon Moreno took home an extra $50,000 after securing Fight of the Night honors via their back-and-forth battle. Both men showed heart and a ton of skill over 25 minutes, with Pantoja ultimately getting the better of their grappling and striking exchanges.

Two Performance of the Night bonuses went to fighters that scored impressive TKO finishes. Dricus Du Plessis scored an upset TKO win over former middleweight king Robert Whittaker. The impressive performance secu…

Alexander Volkanovski remains at the peak of his powers.

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The City Kickboxing standout showcased his physicality in the UFC 290 main event, defeating Yair Rodriguez via technical knockout on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Volkanovski ended the bout with a salvo of ground-and-pound at the 4:19 mark of Round 3 to rebound from a narrow loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this past February.

“You’ve got to expect the unexpected. Everybody that knows this game knows how dangerous he was … This week I flipped the switch,” Volkanovski said. “I’m the champ. I’m the king of this division. No one is ever stopping me.”

While Rodriguez (15-4, 10-3 1 NC UFC) did his best to threaten with his flashy toolbox of kicks, Volkanovski (26-2, 13-1 UFC) gradually broke down is Mexican foe. The Aussie grounded Rodriguez repeatedly in the opening 10 minutes, methodically hammering away with ground-and-pound from above. Rodriguez showed a sense of urgency…

Sherdog's live UFC 290 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ribovics (-140), Kirk (+120)Round 1 The UFC has stacked the deck for International Fight Week, putting on UFC 290, an event that on paper has the goods. Getting right into the combat, the first fight of the night takes place in the lightweight division. With 22 finishes in their combined 23 victories, Kirk (12-5, 1-1 UFC) and Ribovics (11-1, 0-1 UFC) do not make a habit out of leaving things in the hands of the judges. While the judicial system may not be in play for this opener, referee Chris Tognoni might be. Ahead of the potentially thrilling action, the two men clap hands. Ribovics opens up with a sudden sweeping leg kick, and Kirk springs back in time. He cannot avoid a second one, but he does fire off a right hand counter to keep Ribovics honest. Kirk ducks an overhand right, and he succeeds in snatching up a double-leg takedown and easily depositing the Argentin…

ROBBIE LAWLER GETS THE KO IN 38 SECONDS IN HIS FINAL UFC FIGHT 😳 #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/8ZV3mdUXWD

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 9, 2023

It was a fairy tale conclusion to a legendary career.

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Robbie Lawler ended his mixed martial arts career in vintage form, as he knocked out Niko Price in the opening stanza of their UFC 290 bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The former welterweight champion rendered Price (15-7, 7-7, 2 NC UFC) unconscious 38 seconds into Round 1 — his 22nd overall triumph via KO or TKO. “It was good. It was just the ending of the career,” Lawler said. “I was landing some big shots in good places…It was too much. It was just nice to end my career like this.” With the masses chanting his name from opening bell, Lawler wasted little time imposing his will. The 41-year-old Kill Cliff FC representative punched his way into the clinch, then teed off with close quarters hooks and…

Francesco Nuzzi! ITS ALL OVER! HEAD KICK 🎯

Nuzzi advances to the Playoffs! #PFLBerlin pic.twitter.com/tcfFl9Xl65

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) July 8, 2023

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Francesco Nuzzi is a man on a mission.

In the PFL Europe 2: 2023 Regular Season main event, Nuzzi clobbered Farbod Iran Nezhad to secure a place in the 135-pound semifinals. Nezhad (11-3-1, 0-1 PFL) attempted to move the action to the canvas earlier in the fight, but Nuzzi (10-1, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC PFL) was able to deny him and bounce back on the feet. The Italian fighter tested his foe’s reactions for a while before firing a head kick hidden by a left punch. The impact was devastating, and Nezhad collapsed immediately. Referee Rich Mitchell jumped to save Nezhad from Nuzzi’s subsequent punches as the official time indicated the 1:52 mark of Round 1. Nuzzi will now face Bellator MMA alum Frans Mlambo (14-5, 1-0 PFL), who overcame short-notice replacement Rachid El Hazoume…

[embedded content] The UFC 290 pay-per-view card is set with two title fights now official after the weigh-ins took place.

Headlining the anticipated 14-fight card is a featherweight title unification battle between Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. Both men successfully made weight, as the Australian weighed 144.5 pounds, and Rodriguez came in at 145 pounds on the dot. Meanwhile, the co-main event is also official as Brandon Moreno looks to defend his flyweight belt against Alexandre Pantoja. Both men weighed exactly 125 pounds. All other fighters on the card made weight except for Jalin Turner (158), who checked in two pounds over the lightweight limit for his fight against Dan Hooker and has been fined 20% of his purse.

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Volkanovski (25-2) is coming off his first defeat since 2013 as he came up a hair short in his bid to become a two-weight champion against lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev. Dropping back to featherweight…

#PFLBerlin’s 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗶𝗻𝘀 brought to you by @ProperWhiskey

(and also #FransMlambo 🇮🇪 @LewisMcGMMA2000 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @CHughesMMA 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @theNukeTuke 🇮🇪 + @John_Kavanagh) pic.twitter.com/6cT1InaeiS

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) July 7, 2023 The PFL Europe 2 card is set after three fighters came in overweight.

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The second Professional Fighters League Europe event in 2023 will be headlined by Francesco Nuzzi and Farbod Iran Nezhad in the bantamweight division. Both men successfully made weight, but not every combatant ahead of the show could say the same. Co-main event competitor Moktar Benkaci was the most high-profile weight miss, as the bantamweight came in half a pound over the limit for his fight against Khurshed Kakhorov. Additionally, lightweight Acoidan Duque (159.1) clocked in 3.1 pounds over the lightweight cap, and Rachid El Hazoume Aamay was .3 pounds over the bantamweight max at 136.3 pounds.

Nuzzi (9-1, 1 NC)…

HERE we GO #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/GXDsNxjSEH

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 7, 2023 Heavyweights will take over Madison Square Garden in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual return to New York City.

On Friday night, the UFC announced that UFC 295 will be held on Nov. 11 in New York. As part of its yearly card in Madison Square Garden, it is putting its biggest foot forward with a heavyweight championship collision in the main attraction. Heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones (27-1, 1 NC) will put his gold strap up for grabs against ex-champ Stipe Miocic (20-4) in the main attraction, in a battle originally considered for International Fight Week in July. This will be the seventh year in a row the UFC has staged a November-based PPV in The Big Apple, but just the second time a heavyweight title has sat atop the billing.

Jones came back from a three-year self-imposed retirement in March to move up to the largest division with the company.…

🚨 Injury News 🚨

Due to a medical issue with Josiah Harrell, his welterweight bout against Jack Della Maddalena has been canceled from #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/vbupXR7vkj

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 7, 2023 A forced fight withdrawal of a Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer might have just saved his life.

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Last Friday, Jack Della Maddalena (14-2) announced that his welterweight matchup with Sean Brady was no more, due to an illness later determined to be septic bursitis on Brady's elbow. A few days later, the UFC acquired the services of Josiah Harrell (7-0) to step in for his promotional debut, instead of numerous names like Kevin Holland and Joaquin Buckley campaigning for the slot.

Following the UFC 290 weigh-ins on Friday, the results of a pre-fight brain scan came back to determine that, per MMAJunkie, Harrell has been diagnosed with a rare disorder called moyamoya disease and is out of the fight. Harrell wi…

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Georges St. Pierre could not avoid scratching his competitive itch forever.

Prior to the UFC 290 press conference on Thursday, the promotion held a special event where they announced that St. Pierre would be fighting again. While not in MMA, he will be grappling for a UFC-helmed event in December. “GSP” will be competing at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6 show on Dec. 14 as its headliner, which will likely be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The opponent has not yet been announced, and the rules will be submission-only with special overtime provisions.

This will be the first time that St. Pierre has engaged in any pro combat sport since his 2017 retirement after UFC 217, when he choked out Michael Bisping to become a two-division champ. That concluded an outstanding MMA career, hanging up his gloves a second time while riding a 13-fight win streak over some of the most notable names in the sport. The Sherdog staff recently cast bal…

[embedded content] One of the all-time greatest Ultimate Fighting Championship champions will have his time in the spotlight again soon.

On Thursday night, Anderson Silva had his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. Shortly after that took place, Paramount+ released the first trailer for the series called “Anderson Spider Silva.” This series, which started filming last year, focuses entirely on the life and times of the longtime UFC middleweight champion.

In those first images shown on the trailer, Silva is portrayed in his youth by Bruno Vinicius, in a dramatic conversation with his uncle Benedito. The latter is played by Seu Jorge, a renowned Brazilian singer who previously played the character of Knockout Ned in the highly acclaimed “City of God” film from 2002. After Silva engaged into a street fight, his uncle demanded he fix bent nails, while delivering a powerful speech about discipline. The production is helmed by Paramount Television International Studios, in…