Martial Arts News

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with 60 mixed martial arts fights on his résumé, many of them from the no-holds-barred era, Flavio “The Legendary” Alvaro is primarily responsible for the Fighting Nerds’ ground and cage work.

Thanks to his MMA experience, Alvaro is also highly respected for the mental preparation he provides in the corner, an aspect of his coaching known internally as the “dark side” of the Fighting Nerds.

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“Pablo [Sucupira] and I complement each other even in that. Between rounds, while he brings the fight analysis and enforces our tactical game plan, I keep our warrior mentally armored,” Alvaro told Sherdog on Tuesday.Fighting Nerds coach Flavio Alvaro explains how Jean Silva perfected the choke he used on Jose DelgadoAs Jean Silva showed in a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, the submission he used against Delgado on Saturday was taught to him by Alvaro, which is why it has been dubbed the “Legendary Choke.” “The video Jean pos…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will host its next card in Los Angeles on Sept. 19.UFC 331 streaming details for Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2Here’s a brief rundown for those who intend to watch UFC 331:

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How to watch UFC 331 in the United States UFC 331 goes down at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. U.S. fans can stream the early prelims live on UFC Fight Pass and Paramount+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. Meanwhile, the prelims air live only on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, followed by the main card at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Joshua Van (17-2) puts his flyweight title on the line in a rematch against Alexandre Pantoja (30-6) in the main event. Pantoja defended his title four times before losing it to Van last December. The fight ended in an unfortunate injury loss for Pantoja as “The Cannibal” dislocated his elbow in less than 30 seconds. Van has since defended his title with a knockout win over Tatsuro Taira this past May.

Arm…

Alexandre Pantoja claims he’s fully recovered from his arm injury and is raring to return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former UFC flyweight champion is set to challenge Joshua Van for the title in a rematch at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. Pantoja says he has fully recovered from the injury that occurred in their first meeting, crediting his mindset during the recovery and rehabilitation process.

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Alexandre Pantoja details recovery ahead of Joshua Van rematch at UFC 331 Pantoja was a massive favorite going into their first bout in December last year. However, the fight ended anticlimactically as the Brazilian suffered an elbow injury while bracing for a fall after his head-kick was caught by Van. “The Cannibal” recently revealed that he returned to training just days after suffering the injury and remained focused on recovery.

“The first 20 minutes after my injury are the worst,” Pantoja said in a recent interview. “But…

Alex Pereira has taken several shots at Ciryl Gane.

“Bon Gamin” is expected to be elevated to undisputed champ status after Tom Aspinall vacated the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title. The Frenchman, who won the interim title at UFC Freedom 250 by finishing Pereira, is no longer on track for a title unification bout with Aspinall, whose Octagon return has been further delayed due to medical complications.

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Pereira is gunning for a rematch with Gane and recently took to social media to poke holes in the champ’s record.Alex Pereira questions Ciryl Gane’s UFC résumé as the heavyweight title picture changes Pereira shared a post on Instagram of a graphic questioning Gane’s UFC record. He accompanied his post with the caption: “Champion,” followed by three laughing emojis.

The post referenced Gane’s previous heavyweight title losses against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, as well as his controversial victory over Alexander Volkov in their r…

Eddie Hearn is standing firm on where he believes Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua should take place.

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and Zuffa Boxing co-founder Dana White recently claimed Hearn was preventing the fight from coming to fruition, citing disagreements over whether the bout should be held in the United Kingdom or the United States. Hearn recently addressed the same, revealing that he and Joshua remain adamant that the fight takes place in the U.K.

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Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn double down on staging Tyson Fury fight in Britain The Matchroom Boxing chairman has emphasized that the focus should simply be on honoring the existing agreement for the fight.

“Dana White has tried to get involved in a fight that he has nothing to do with,” Hearn told iFL TV. “All we have ever done is say, ‘We’ve signed our contract. Just honor the contract that we’ve signed.’”

Hearn claimed Joshua was offered more money to move the fight to the U.S. bu…

Aljamain Sterling wants to fight Jean Silva to determine the next challenger for Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight gold.

Silva submitted Jose Delgado in the third round of the main event of Noche UFC 4, then called for a shot at the winner of the upcoming Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev championship bout set to headline UFC 333. Sterling, however, believes Silva needs to go through him if he wants a title shot.

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Aljamain Sterling proposes December showdown with Jean Silva in UFC featherweight title race Sterling, who has won his last bouts, had initially suggested a November matchup with Silva at Madison Square Garden. The former bantamweight champ is also open to fighting “Lord” in December, so the latter has ample time to heal and prepare.

“Even if it’s a Fight Night, I don’t give a f*ck,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “December, run that sh*t. Run that sh*t. Run that sh*t. All I’m saying is, I want to give him the fai…

Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre Topuria, is reportedly set to return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship later this year.

The 30-year-old bantamweight is in talks to face Santiago Luna at UFC Qatar on Nov. 21 in Doha, according to Álvaro Colmenero.

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Aleksandre Topuria is in talks to face Santiago Luna at UFC Qatar Aleksandre (7-1) hasn’t competed since defeating Bekzat Almakhan by unanimous decision in November last year, which marked his second UFC win. He hasn’t been active in recent years, primarily focusing on coaching his brother Ilia, the former featherweight and lightweight champion.

With Ilia having recently lost the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 and set to return only next year, Aleksandre will look to pick up his third Octagon victory in November. His opponent, Luna (8-1), is 2-1 in the UFC and is coming off the lone defeat of his professional career, a submission loss to Bryce Mitchell this past Ju…

Ilia Topuria is back to full fitness.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight titleholder recently announced that he has completed medical testing and received clearance to resume competition three months after his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.

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Ilia Topuria teases Justin Gaethje rematch after receiving medical clearance Gaethje nearly got finished in the second round and weathered the storm before piling on the damage against Topuria in the main event of the White House card. “El Matador” sustained significant facial damage in the bout, to the point where his vision was severely affected. Topuria’s corner called for the end of the fight after the fourth round, crowning Gaethje the new undisputed champ.

Topuria recently took to social media to announce that he has been cleared to return to full training.

“Final medical tests done. I’m back,” Topuria wrote on X. “To all the clowns who’ve been talkin…

Arman Tsarukyan believes Ilia Topuria isn’t handling his first professional loss well.

Justin Gaethje pulled off a historic upset against Topuria at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s White House event this past June. Topuria was a massive favorite going into his first UFC lightweight title defense against then-interim champion Gaethje, who forced a corner stoppage before the final round.

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Topuria recently made some curious claims about the fight, drawing a strong reaction from Tsarukyan.Arman Tsarukyan tells Ilia Topuria to accept his loss to Justin Gaethje Gaethje survived a treacherous second round before putting a beating on Topuria in the third and fourth frames at UFC Freedom 250. “El Matador” sustained extensive facial damage and his vision was significantly affected during the fight. Topuria recently announced that he is medically cleared to return to action. He also called for a rematch against Gaethje, claiming the champion put something …

Robelis Despaigne believes experience outside the Octagon has prepared him for a second run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Despaigne had finished all four of his pro fights within a combined cage time of 5:13 when he made his UFC debut in 2024. The Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist lived up to his hype by finishing Josh Parisian in 18 seconds in his promotional debut. However, Despaigne’s flaws were exposed as he was outwrestled in consecutive losses against Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane.

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Robelis Despaigne details his improved ground game before facing Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331 Despaigne (6-2) was released from the UFC in 2024 and went on to compete in Karate Combat, where he won the heavyweight title. “The Bad Boy” returned to mixed martial arts competition this past May with a first-round knockout win over Junior dos Santos at Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural MMA event.

Despaigne has now re-signed with the UFC and is scheduled to b…

Paulo Costa claims he has been drug-tested around 200 times.

Arman Tsarukyan, who is scheduled to fight Mauricio Ruffy on Sept. 19, recently received a clean record jacket from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for 50 successful drug tests. Costa subsequently took to social media to demand a jacket of his own.

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Paulo Costa reacts to Arman Tsarukyan’s 50-test UFC milestone Reacting to a video of Tsarukyan receiving the milestone jacket, Costa asked for his own, claiming to have been drug-tested 200 times.

“I keep asking where is my f*ck 200 tests Ugly jacket son of a b*tchessssss,” Costa posted on X.

Costa is among the UFC’s most tested athletes. While “Borrachinha” never tested positive for any banned substances, he accepted a six-month suspension from the UFC’s then-drug testing partner, USADA, in 2019 for using an IV infusion to recover from a weight cut. Costa has previously complained about drug testing authorities turning up at his resid…

Tyron Woodley recently admitted that he mentally hit rock bottom after losing his Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Woodley (19-7) was unbeaten in seven straight outings since 2014, including four title defenses, when he put his welterweight title on the line against Kamaru Usman in 2018. Usman dethroned Woodley via a dominant unanimous decision. The latter recently revealed that he felt like a laughing stock after losing his belt.

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Tyron Woodley recalls depression after Kamaru Usman ended his UFC title reign “The Chosen One” felt like all his detractors finally got what they had been wishing for when he lost the belt to Usman in a one-sided fight. Woodley revealed that his close friend, UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, tried to help him deal with his depression.

“D.J. tried for a long time to put me out of it,” Woodley told Ariel Helwani. “Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was laughing at me. I thought the UFC was laughing at me. Usm…