Martial Arts News

Sherdog's live UFC Des Moines coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC on ESPN 67. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Petrovic (-230), Miller (+190)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Petersen (-265), Mayes (+215)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PR…

Yana Santos met aggression with precision and held her ground in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.

The onetime Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder outmaneuvered and outstruck Miesha Tate for 10-plus minutes, then withstood a late rally from “Cupcake” to post a unanimous decision in their feature UFC on ESPN 67 prelim on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Santos (16-8, 6-5 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28s from all three members of the assigned judiciary.

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Tate (20-10, 7-7 UFC) was overzealous initially, as she crashed forward behind wild punching combinations. Santos kept her composure and answered with sharp jabs, slashing crosses and damaging leg kicks. Tate finally executed a takedown a little more than a minute into the third round and peppered the Russian with ground-and-pound before advancing to the back. There, her progress stalled. Santos slipped out of repeated rear-naked choke attem…

One Championship had to stamp out an event when its marquee star suffered another injury.

On Friday, the organization sent out a press release announcing that its August show in Denver has been pushed back a year. The expectation is that organization will travel to Colorado in 2026 instead, at the same location of the Ball Arena. ONE atomweight champ Stamp Fairtex re-injured her knee, and she has vacated her belt and allowed interim titleholder Denice Zamboanga to claim the undisputed throne.

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ONE head Chatri Sityodtong included his own statement in the release, confirming the details while wishing the former champ well.

“We are saddened to hear of the injury setback to Stamp and wish her nothing but the best in her road to recovery,” the ONE founder wrote. “After looking at multiple alternate headlining options that unfortunately did not come together, we have made the difficult decision to move our Denver event to June 26.”

The multi-sport c…

[embedded content] Cory Sandhagen believes he will be on the cusp of a title shot with a spectacular performance on Saturday.

Sandhagen (17-5) headlines UFC Des Moines on Saturday against Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. “The Sandman” considers himself worthy of the next bantamweight title shot if he beats the former flyweight champ in emphatic fashion. Sandhagen also notes that he is the only top contender in his weight class that hasn’t fought champ Merab Dvalishvili yet.

Dvalishvili is set to defend his title against Sean O'Malley at UFC 316 in June, in a rematch of their 2024 encounter where Dvalishvili claimed a decision. If O’Malley prevails, Sandhagen believes a matchup against “Sugar” would delight fans. Sandhagen appeared on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast “Mightycast” on Thursday, where he broke down the title picture in his division and where he thinks he stands up against the past and present beltholders.

“If I …

Francis Ngannou has spoken out about the reports of a motorcycle accident in Cameroon that claimed the life of one woman.

According the various news outlets in the region, Ngannou was allegedly driving a motorcycle through the streets of Yaounde, Cameroon, during Easter weekend when he struck a 17-year-old woman. Ngannou reportedly rushed her to the hospital and paid of all the medical expenses for the woman. However, it was already too late, and the woman died due to her injuries.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion put out a statement to TMZ on Friday, expressing his grief over the matter while stating that he will provide support to her family going forward.

“From the very beginning, I have been by the family's side, offering support, comfort, and deepest condolences during this time,” the heavyweight told TMZ. “I've met with them privately to share in their grief, and I will continue to stand with them every step of the way. I carry their pai…

Our #UFCDesMoines main event is official 🚨@CorySandhagenX hits the scale at 135.5 pounds! pic.twitter.com/6efuEV6Sbh

— UFC (@ufc) May 2, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Iowa is now official after the UFC Des Moines weigh-ins took place.

The main event of UFC on ESPN 67 is now official. Bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo both made weight for the five-round fight. The rest of the 12-fight card also made weight, although Julianna Miller needed two attempts to hit the flyweight mark.

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The always exciting Sandhagen (17-5) is looking to rebound after a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov snapped a three-fight win streak. "Sandman" was on the verge of a title shot following wins over Rob Font, Marlon Vera and Yadong Song. However, the 33-year-old will need to put together another streak if he hopes to get a shot at gold. The American officially weighed 135.5 pounds for the headline bout.<…

The First Round Of the 2025 #PFLWorldTournament has been nothing but STRAIGHT ACTION ✅

The Light Heavyweight & Heavyweights were no different tonight 😤

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PFL World Tournament 4 | Full Fight Highlights pic.twitter.com/oYuJy47R0j — PFL (@PFLMMA) May 2, 2025

Phil Davis hadn’t won a fight in over three years, but the former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion reminded everyone why he’s called “Mr. Wonderful.” Trailing on the scorecards after the opening round, Davis starched former Professional Fighters League king Rob Wilkinson with a bomb of a right hand to secure his spot in the PFL World Tournament semifinals at PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 4.

Davis' second-round TKO (0:51) capped off the main event from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and put the former NCAA DI wrestling national champion back on the big stage. Davis (25-7, 1 NC) tried to find his range in Round 1 but found it hard to ca…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 4 coverage will begin Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the r…

It was a successful trip to Kansas City this past weekend for for Diego Lima.

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The Chute Boxe leader returned to Brazil on Tuesday after cornering Ian Garry to a unanimous decision triumph over Carlos Prates in the UFC on ESPN 66 main event and shared some of the strategy that helped propel “The Future” to victory.

“Prates is such a tough striker,” Lima told Sherdog.com. “Our main goal was to keep moving and avoid his main strikes as well as eliminate his left side. That's why the high kicks were so important to inhibit his straight punches and keep him aware that he could be high kicked. Everything happened as we planned and, in my opinion, he won Rounds 1,2,3 and 4.”

Lima confirmed that Garry emerged from the fight injury free, so he will be ready to be the backup fighter for the welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10.

Lima also commented on the controversy that occurred with Fighting …

There’s now some clarity as to why Taila Santos was unable to take part in the 2025 Professional Fighters League World Tournament.

USADA, the PFL’s anti-doping partner, announced on Wednesday that Santos has accepted a six-month suspension after testing positive for oxandrolone and clenbuterol in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 21. Both oxandrolone and clenbuterol are classified as anabolic agents and are prohibited at all times.

Santos’ suspension is retroactive to March 21, so she will be able to return to active competiton on Sept. 21. The 31-year-old Brazilian was removed from a first-round flyweight tournament bout against Juliana Velasquez on April 11 as a result of the anti-doping violation.

A former UFC title challenger, Santos joined the PFL in 2024, where she bested Ilara Joanne, Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche to reach the 125-pound final. She then suffered a second-round TKO loss to Dakota Ditcheva at the PFL Championships on No…

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The last stage of the Professional Fighters League World Tournament opening round is now official.

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All 18 athletes who weighed in on Wednesday hit their contracted marks without issue, clearing the way for the promotion’s first-round brackets at light heavyweight and heavyweight to move forward.

PFL World Tournament 4 takes place on Thursday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The main card airs on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout pits Phil Davis (206) against Rob Wilkinson (206) at light heavyweight.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Thursday, May 1 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

A former Bellator champion, Davis will return to action for the first time since June 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Corey Anderson at Bellator 297. The 40-year-old former Penn State University wrestle…

😬Sean Brady went OFF on Ian Garry for calling for a title shot next:

"You just beat number 13. You don’t deserve anything… He can be a back up fighter all he wants, that don’t mean d*ck."

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🎥 @SteadyPicks ▫️ pic.twitter.com/PRRgycPdrE — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 29, 2025

Sean Brady doesn’t consider Ian Garry to be worthy of a title shot.

Garry earned a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City last weekend. Brady was unimpressed by Garry’s win and accused the Irishman of coasting throughout. Garry also revealed that he is the official backup for Belal Muhammad’s upcoming title defense against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Garry had seemingly asked for the backup spot as part of deal in accepting the Prates matchup. While making the announcement, “The Future” reminded fans that he accepted his last matchup against Shavkat …