Martial Arts News

Merab Dvalishvili won’t let a cut stand between him the opportunity to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title.

Advertisement

Dvalishvili challenges Sean O'Malley for the bantamweight title in the main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 in a one-of-a-kind card at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The challenger revealed a cut on his left eyelid less than month to go before fight night, immediately raising O’Malley’s concern.

Warning Dvalishvili to not pull out of the fight, the champ wrote on X: “This little f—in rat better not pull out I swear to God.”

This little fuckin rat better not pull out I swear to god. https://t.co/NsuWW0WRWt

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 21, 2024

However, Dvalishvili assured O’Malley and fans that his upcoming Noche UFC fight won’t be jeopardized by the cut. Dvalishvili claims to have never pulled out of a fight, and he certainly won’t let a cut change that going into the biggest matchup …

Proudly representing The Fighting Nerds from Brazil, Caio Borralho (16-1) recently provided a detailed breakdown of his upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

Advertisement

Borralho headlines UFC on ESPN 62 against perennial middleweight contender Jared Cannonier (17-7) on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. Unbeaten in six UFC outings, the middleweight expects a title shot next if he can finish Cannonier.

Borralho believes Cannonier’s biggest advantage against him will be “The Killa Gorilla’s” experience. Borralho observes that Cannonier is capable of dictating the pace of the fight, slowing it down or picking it up at will. “The Natural” believes Cannonier’s biggest strength is his immense experience of fighting five-rounders, which includes a failed title bid against Israel Adesanya in 2022.

“So, I think one of his biggest advantages is his experience,” Borralho told Shakiel Mahjouri. “He knows how to take the fight where he wants. He likes to […

Jon Jones claims he has nothing left to prove after fighting Stipe Miocic.

Advertisement

Jones hasn’t fought winning the heavyweight title with a submission win against Ciryl Gane on his return to action after three years at UFC 285 in March 2023. The former light heavyweight champ remains intent on defending his title against Stipe Miocic, a fight that was canceled at UFC 295 after Jones suffered a pectoral injury. That bout has been rumored for UFC 309 in November, although the matchup is yet to be officially announced. Jones has repeatedly hinted at retirement following the Miocic matchup, much to the ire of interim champ Tom Aspinall, who has long been rallying for a title unifier.

Jones recently doubled down on his plans to retire unless the UFC makes him an offer he can’t refuse. A fan recently asked Jones’ opinion on footage of Aspinall wrestling retired rugby player Ugo Monye. Apparently unimpressed by Aspinall, Jones said he remains focused on Miocic, w…

Advances in DNA testing might someday reveal Andreas Gustafsson to be part brown bear.

The Vasteras Fight Club product was one of four hopefuls to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship during Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he mauled Pat Pytlik in close quarters and buried him with a volley of knee strikes to the head in the second round of their welterweight showcase. Pytlik (9-2, 0-1 DWS) bowed out to an accumulation of punishment 3:20 into Round 2.

Advertisement

Gustafsson (11-2, 1-0 DWCS) crashed into the clinch, showed no regard for his own well-being and systematically dismantled the Canadian with merciless pressure and short-range strikes. Pytlik managed to create some space with his dirty boxing but could not keep the Swedish brute at bay. Gustafsson closed the distance in the middle stanza, chipped away with elbows and ultimately broke his opponent with three knees to the head. Heavyweight Rizvan Kuniev will join Gustafsson on the UFC ro…

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:R…

[embedded content]

The Professional Fighters League has officially unveiled logistics for Thursday’s PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants – Brace for Impact press conference.

PFL Battle of the Giants goes down on Oct. 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featuring two title fights. Francis Ngannou (17-3) will make his PFL debut against 2023 PFL Global Season heavyweight king Renan Ferreira (13-3) with the newly crafted PFL Super Fights Championship belt on the line. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ will be returning to mixed martial arts for the first time since January 2022, having fought two mammoth boxing bouts during this span.

The co-main event of the night features WMMA legend Cristiane Justino (27-2) making her SmartCage debut in a title fight against two-division PFL queen Larissa Pacheco (23-4). Cyborg was undefeated throughout her Bellator tenure, with the last loss dating back to 2018 against fellow legend Amanda Nunes. Meanwhile…

An audible has been called in regards to the originally announced co-main event for UFC Edmonton.

Advertisement

Last week, the promotion revealed that a heavyweight clash pitting Derrick Lewis against Alexander Romanov would serve as the co-main event for UFC Fight Night 246 on Nov. 2. Lewis and Romanov will still compete on the card — now they will just square off against different opponents. Lewis will face Jhonata Diniz in the new co-main event, while Romanov will lock horns with Rodrigo Nascimento. Laerte Viana was first to report the new bookings, and they were later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com.

UFC Fight Night 246 takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada, and is headlined by a women’s flyweight scrap between Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas.

Diniz is 2-0 in the Octagon after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2023. After scoring a second-round KO of Austen Lane in his promotional debut, the Brazilian took a una…

An injury has forced Danny Silva to withdraw from a proposed featherweight clash against Dennis Buzukja at UFC on ESPN 62 this Saturday.

As a result, Francis Marshall will step in on short notice to face Buzukja at the event. The bout will now be contested at lightweight. The promotion announced the change on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 62 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown pitting Jared Cannonier against Caio Borralho.

A competitor on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022, Marshall is 1-2 under the UFC banner. In his last outing, the 25-year-old suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Isaac Dulgarian at UFC on ESPN 51 in August 2023.

Buzukja, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid in his most recent Octagon appearance, when he scored a third-round stoppage of Connor Matthews at UFC on ESPN 54 on March 30.

Ilia Topuria is adding to his portfolio in his home country.

Advertisement

The UFC featherweight champion recently became part owner of Spanish promotion Way of Warrior FC. WOW announced its partnership with Topuria on Tuesday.

“We are very excited to welcome Ilia Topuria as a WOW shareholder,” the organization announced on Instagram (via translate). “An alliance that will make MMA in Spain even bigger. Your talent and passion are a perfect match for our mission and together we will celebrate great achievements.”

Since its inception in late 2019, WOW FC has held more than 30 events in Spain, with the vast majority those taking place in Madrid. Its next card, WOW FC 15, is scheduled for Sept. 14 at Vistalegre Arena Palace in Madrid.

“My team and I are immensely happy to join such a promising project like WOW which, with everyone’s effort, will become the perfect platform to help all the Spanish fighters continue to grow in this sport,” Topuria said i…

Elisandra Ferreira de Oliveira and Andressa Romero will square off for the vacant atomweight belt in the main event of Invicta FC 57 on Sept. 20.

Advertisement

The promotion announced the card on Tuesday. Invicta FC 57 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas and will also see Kristina Williams take on Nayara Maia in the evening’s flyweight co-headliner. The Invicta FC 57 main card will air on CBS Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while prelims can be seen on the promotion’s YouTube channel and Facebook page beginning at 7 p.m./6 p.m. CT.

Three other bouts were also confirmed for the event: Liz Tracy vs. DeAnna Bennett at flyweight; Milana Dudieva vs. Sandra Lavado at flyweight and Maria Djukic vs. Maria Favela at bantamweight.

Also known as “Lili,” Ferreira de Oliveira has been victorious in her first three promotional appearances. Most recently, the 26-year-old Brazilian outpointed Katie Saull at Invicta FC 55 on June 28.

Also hai…

[embedded content]

Sean Strickland coach Eric Nicksick has no problem admitting that they would prefer not to fight Alex Pereira again.

Advertisement

Strickland got knocked out by a left hook from by Pereira at UFC 276 in 2022 after choosing to trade in the pocket with the former Glory Kickboxing champion. A lot has happened since then, with Pereira going on to win the middleweight title, lose it and then establish a title reign at light heavyweight. Meanwhile, Strickland also won the middleweight title in a huge upset against Israel Adesanya before losing it to Dricus Du Plessis via a narrow split decision.

Du Plessis recently defended his strap with a fourth-round submission win against Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, last weekend. While Strickland has been adamant on fighting for the title next, Du Plessis has attracted a lot of eyeballs with his latest performance — including those of Pereira. The light heavyweight champ expressed interest in moving …

Khalil Rountree says he won’t change his style for his upcoming title fight.

Advertisement

Even Rountree likely did not expect his wish to be granted when he called for title shot against Alex Pereira after brutally knocking out Anthony Smith in December 2023. At the time, Pereira had just won the light heavyweight title with a knockout win over former champ Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 this past November. Two title defenses later, Pereira is now slated to defend his strap against Rountree in the main event at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

While initially making his case for a title shot against Pereira, Rountree had argued that it would stylistically be a fan-favorite matchup. Now amid severe criticism from higher-ranked contenders, Rountree continues to defend the matchup by citing the standup abilities of both athletes. And since he believes he was granted the matchup for the same reason, Rountree doesn’t plan on robbing fans of …