Martial Arts News

UFC veteran Tony Ferguson has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence after flipping his truck in Hollywood, California, last month.

Advertisement

TMZ Sports was first to report the news. Ferguson entered his not guilty plea at an arraignment on June 1. The former interim lightweight champion allegedly crashed his truck into two parked cars while driving by a Hollywood nightclub on May 7, and Ferguson’s vehicle flipped onto its side. One of the cars in the crash reportedly belonged to rapper Cash Gotti, who arrived at the scene to find his vehicle totaled.

Ferguson was uninjured in the wreck but refused to take a field sobriety test and was “very uncooperative” at the scene, according to law enforcement officials. One officer revealed that Ferguson also “reeked” of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. He was arrested with bail set at $30,000 but was later released on his own recognizance. Ferguson is due back in court for a hearing…

Magnifique! We are going back to #UFCParis on Sept 2! 🇫🇷

Find out how to get your tickets early ⤵️

Advertisement

🎟️ https://t.co/IFdZXeHT2U pic.twitter.com/OS9BkEdHxz — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 5, 2023

Approximately one year after its debut in the City of Light, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed back to Paris for a second time.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that a UFC event will take place in the French capital at Accor Arena on Sept. 2. No bouts were confirmed for the card.

“After fifteen years in the making, our first show in Paris was insane. Sold out event and the fans and atmosphere were incredible,” UFC president Dana White said in a release. “The arena was packed from the first fight of the night with everyone on their feet and I can’t wait to deliver another unforgettable night.”

After the ban on mixed martial arts in France ended in 2020, the promotion held its debut even…

Kai Kara-France is taking his contentious split-decision loss to Amir Albazi in stride.

Advertisement

Despite outlanding his opponent by a significant margin on the feet, “Don’t Blink” was on the wrong side of the scorecards in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner. Judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee scored the contest 48-47 for Albazi, and that made all the difference — despite the vast majority of media members awarding the bout to Kara-France. While statistics favored Kara-France, Albazi was moving forward the majority of the fight and also came the closest to a finish with a third round rear-naked choke attempt.

“This is the sport at the highest level,” Kara-France said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “It’s a game of inches and I know I’ve said that before but it’s subjective to what the judges are scoring. If they’re scoring damage, if they’re scoring control, aggression, all of these things.

“I was feeling confident when they were calling the announcement but ha…

Amir Albazi believes he proved himself to the world with his split-decision triumph against Kai Kara-France in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner on Saturday night.

Advertisement

“That was a Top-3 ranked flyweight in the world and I got the win against him,” Albazi said at the post-fight press conference. “I went five rounds. So I know I can go with these guys for five whole rounds, and I know I’m ready for the title. I just want to go on to the next one, get my belt and keep climbing. Keep becoming the king that I know I am.”

Albazi’s latest triumph was not without controversy, as many observers felt that Kara-France deserved the decision based on superior striking volume. Still, Albazi was the one who came closest to a finish with a tight rear-naked choke in Round 3, and he also felt that his willingness to advance and land heavy strikes made a significant difference. Albazi admitted that he spent more time standing with Kara-France because he wanted to prove himse…

Don’t look now, but Alex Caceres has quietly won seven of his last eight appearances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

“Bruce Leeroy” put on a show at UFC on ESPN 46, earning “Fight of the Night” honors for his unanimous decision triumph over Daniel Pineda in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I felt it was a good performance. I felt I was dominant, especially in the first and third rounds,” Caceres said at the post-fight press conference. “The second round he had a pretty good grappling exchange on me. Other than that I felt I showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of skill. It was a fun fight.”

Caceres appeared to be on the verge of finishing his opponent with some brutal body work in the third frame, but Pineda displayed his toughness in making it to the final horn. Caceres commended his opponent for his tenacity.

“I hit him in the body pretty hard. I caved him down with leg kicks. I almost shook him a whole bunch o…

Incredible knockouts coming from the rookie and the vet 🔥@JimMiller_155 & Muhammad Naimov take home tonight's POTN honors 💸 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/kSrJ8Gmd5I

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC on ESPN 46 card.

Co-main event fighters Alex Caceres and Daniel Pineda each took home an additional $50,000 as they received fight of the night honors. The back-and-forth fight saw Caceres ultimately prevail, although both men had their moments through out. Thanks to the high pace that lasted the entire 15 minutes, both men received a bonus for their thrilling performance.

Two other fighters earned performance of the night bonuses with impressive knockout wins. Jim Miller scored the fastest knockout win of his career over late replacement Jesse Butler. A beautiful combination of punches from Miller slept Butler. Finally, Muhammadjon Naimov received $50…

Amir Albazi showed he was ready for the step up in competition.

The Iraqi flyweight won his sixth straight fight — including five in the Octagon — by taking a split-decision triumph over former interim title challenger Kai Kara-France in the UFC on ESPN 46 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee scored the bout 48-47 for Albazi (17-1, 5-0 UFC), while Mike Bell submitted a 48-47 tally for Kara-France (24-11, 7-4 UFC).

Advertisement

“I know it was a close fight. It’s not how I planned this fight to go, but it is what it is,” Albazi said. “I showed my guts.” Albazi was competitive throughout, but he did his most definitive work in Round 3, when he grounded Kara-France, logged more than three minutes of control time and drew a grimace from his opponent with a tight rear-naked choke attempt. Kara-France, meanwhile, appeared to have an edge on the feet, landing quick straight punching combinations while effectively ble…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 46 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Grishin (-135), Lins (+115)Round 1 For the first of about a dozen straight Saturdays, the UFC will be in your life. The shows will jump back and forth from the UFC Apex to various other venues in North America and a quick jaunt to Europe, and this one starts in Las Vegas in front of a small crowd. The baker’s dozen matchups begins with a match that seems plucked from the ranks of PFL, as it contains two former champs from that organization. Both light heavyweights have an even record inside the Octagon so far, which means that either Lins (16-5, 2-2 UFC) or Grishin (32-9-2, 2-2 UFC) will presumably get over the hump in the next 15 minutes or less. The referee for the first fight of the night is Dan Miragliotta, who stands back as the two competitors clap hands. Lins quickly rushes out swinging his fists, and Grishin leans back and absorbs a calf kick. Lins winds…

Back and forth action through all three rounds 😤

Daniel Santos going home with a win! #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/iMGVFPzlOs

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2023

Advertisement

Daniel Santos made Johnny Munoz Jr. pay for his willingness to play guard.

Top control and ground-and-pound carried Santos to a unanimous decision victory over Munoz Jr. in their UFC on ESPN 46 clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. All three judges scored the contest 29-27 in favor of the Chute Boxe Diego Lima member.

It was a rough outing for Munoz Jr., who weathered a pair of kicks to the groin — the second which led to a point deduction — and struggled to mount significant offense from his back. The former King of the Cage champion had his best moments in Round 1, when he landed a series of upkicks against Santos before briefly trapping his Brazilian foe in a triangle choke.

For the most part, however, Santos was comfortable working from top positio…

WOOOW!!! MAMED KHALIDOV!!!

He does it again!!! XTB #KSWColosseum2 pic.twitter.com/IIAZGTfZ8i

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) June 3, 2023

Advertisement

In front of a fully-packed PGE Narodowy Arena in Krakow, Poland, KSW 83 "Colosseum 2" delivered a contender for the “Card of the Year” honors with entertaining battles, submissions, knockouts and last-minute drama.

The stacked card was headlined by the highly-anticipated rubber match between former two-division titleholder Mamed Khalidov and former middleweight champion Scott Askham. Khalidov dropped a unanimous decision in his first clash with Askham, but he rebounded with back-to-back knockout victories over his opponent — including on Saturday — to win the trilogy. Khalidov (37-8-2, 21-4-2 KSW) dominated the first stanza thanks to a well-timed takedown and ground position. Askham (19-6, 4-2 KSW) looked for scrambles but never seemed to control the fight’s direction.

The contestants spent muc…

Our #UFCVegas74 main event is official ‼️@KaiKaraFrance weighs in at 125.5 💪

UFCVegas74 | Prelims 6pmET on ESPN+ | Main Card 9pmET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/DAaBM1OmNJ

— UFC (@ufc) June 2, 2023 After a rare week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves with an intriguing flyweight main attraction.

Headlining UFC on ESPN 46 is a 125-pound fight between contenders Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi. Both flyweights successfully made weight for what is the first UFC main event for both. The rest of the card also all made weight.

The main event showcase comes after Kara-France (24-10, 1 NC) came up short in an interim title fight against Brandon Moreno. "Don't Blink" ultimately succumbed to a body kick and punches in Round 3. Despite the setback, the 30-year-old will look to show that he still has plenty left in the tank. The New Zealand fighter officially weighed 125.5 pounds.

This marks the biggest fight in…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭.

🇵🇱 Khalidov vs. @scottaskham1 🇬🇧

Advertisement

Their final chapter will be written on the biggest stage in MMA! XTB #KSWColosseum2 @ViaplaySportsUK | KSWTV | @viaplaypl pic.twitter.com/81Kc3ab4GT — KSW (@KSW_MMA) June 2, 2023 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's Colosseum 2 event is set, although it has one less title fight than initially planned.

The bantamweight title fight between Jakub Wiklacz and Werlleson Martins Ribeiro was scratched after Ribeiro failed to make weight. The challenger came in over 10 pounds heavy at 147.2 pounds. Wiklacz declined to face another opponent, and the fight was replaced with a last-minute fight between newcomers Sebastian Romanowski and Mariusz Joniak at a 163-pound catchweight.

The card will go ahead with its main event between Mamed Khalidov and Scott Askham, along with lightweight and middleweight title fights. The lightweight title fight will see Marian Ziolkow…