Martial Arts News

A flyweight clash between Matt Schnell and Alessandro Costa scheduled for UFC Fight Night 242 on Saturday has been scrapped.

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Schnell initially announced the news via YouTube, citing an apparent shoulder injury suffered by his opponent, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. However, Schnell will remain on the card against replacement opponent Cody Durden. UFC Fight Night 242 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting Gilbert Burns against Sean Brady.

Just signed a new 4 fight deal with the @UFC! See you in Vegas this weekend!Packing my bags now, no cornerman. Just my wife and I. Fuck it, this is what I was born to do. 🙏🇺🇸📞🩸

— Cody Durden (@Cody_Durden) September 3, 2024

Schnell has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2, when he suffered a second-round KO loss to eventual flyweight title challenger Stev…

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Belal Muhammad would love to fight Sean Strickland, but he doesn’t think much of the former middleweight champion as an opponent.

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Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 304 this past July to win welterweight gold. “Remember the Name” has since been discussing a future move up to middleweight, albeit after he defends his title a few times.

Strickland, who has been beefing with Muhammad over his views on the Israel-Palestine conflict, stands out as a potential opponent should that move happen.

Sean Strickland GOES OFF on Belal Muhammad 😳

"[Belal] is such a f***ing little b*tch bro... listen dude, go to f***ing Palestine, go f***ing fight for your f***ing country.

Get the f*** out of here you f***ing can."

🎥 YT / @jonbernardk #UFC302 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/p7JOFIjOV8

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 31, 2024

Muhammad recently reiter…

👀💉Aljamain Sterling accuses Movsar Evloev of taking performance enhancing drugs ahead of their fight at #UFC307:

"From what I've heard through the grapevine, he's not a clean athlete...people can say whatever, you have no proof, I'm like dude same thing people were saying… pic.twitter.com/ssqgAXfp64

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 2, 2024

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Aljamain Sterling claims to have heard some potentially damning rumors about upcoming opponent Movsar Evloev.

Sterling is scheduled to fight the undefeated Russian at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The former bantamweight champ recently hurled serious allegations of PED use against Evloev, who strongly denied them while issuing a stern warning.

Don’t be scared boy, I’ll make it quick. You won’t feel a thing. https://t.co/4rMa3K1l9r

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) August 23, 2024

You can ta…

Alexa Grasso has developed a weird chemistry with longtime foe Valentina Shevchenko ahead of their upcoming fight.

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Grasso will look to defend the women’s flyweight title in a trilogy title fight against Shevchenko in the co-main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. In addition to their history inside the Octagon, Grasso and Shevchenko are also coming off their stints as rival coaches on Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Having shared the set on “TUF 32,” Grasso revealed that she inevitably ended up spending a lot of time with Shevchenko. With less than two weeks to go before they trade leather, the champ claims her relationship with Shevchenko is “really, really weird.” However, Grasso also knows that all that will be left aside on fight night as they put their bodies on the line for UFC gold. Proud to be a part of the first women’s trilogy in UFC history, Grasso promises another barnburner at UFC 306.

“We’ve been so ma…

⚡️🤼‍♂️Robert Whittaker called Gilbert Burns one of the greatest MMA grapplers and gave his prediction on his fight with Sean Bready.

"Gilbert Burns is one of the best grapplers in the history of MMA. He's a phenomenal grappler but in terms of MMA grappling,I think he's one of the… pic.twitter.com/ohmdQ2bM0e

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 2, 2024

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Robert Whittaker recently revealed his pick for the upcoming UFC Fight Night headliner between Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady.

Burns takes on Brady in the main event at UFC Fight Night 242 at the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Coming off a two-fight slump, Burns is an underdog going into the bout against Brady.

However, Whittaker had high praise for Burns while analyzing his upcoming fight. According to “Bobby Knuckles,” the Brazilian is one of the greatest MMA grapplers the sport has ever seen. Whittaker noted that Burns injured his shoulder in the first round o…

Dana White's Contender Series graduates will meet in a bantamweight bout at UFC 308.

Farid Basharat (12-0) has been booked to take on Victor Hugo Silva (25-4) at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The matchup was first reported by Ag.Fight. Both fighters have since confirmed the bout on social media.

Basharat earned his UFC contract with a unanimous decision win over Allan Begosso on the Contender Series in 2022. The undefeated Englishman has since mounted a three-fight winning streak in the UFC, which includes a submission over Kleydson Rodrigues. In his most recent outing, Basharat scored a unanimous decision win over French prospect Taylor Lapilus this past January. “Ferocious” was briefly booked to replace Said Nurmagomedov against Montel Jackson at UFC Saudi Arabia in June before withdrawing due to unknown reasons.

A veteran on the regional circuit, Hugo rode a 12-fight winning streak into the Contender Series, where he submitted Ed…

A matchup of intriguing bantamweight talents has been added to UFC 309.

Jonathan Martinez (19-5) is set to trade leather against Marcus McGhee (9-1) at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The matchup was first announced by Iridium Sports Agency, which represents both fighters.

The 30-year-old Martinez has racked up a 10-4 record thus far during his UFC career. “Dragon” has bested the likes of Adrian Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov, Cub Swanson and Vince Morales while being finished only once in his entire career — by Davey Grant in 2021. Martinez comes off a unanimous decision loss against Jose Aldo at UFC 301 in May that saw a six-fight winning streak snapped.

Meanwhile, McGhee has scored highlight-reel finishes in all three of his UFC outings so far, earning $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses on every occasion. “The Maniac,” who hasn’t gone the distance in his entire career, is coming off a third-round stoppage of Gaston Bolanos at …

Azamat Murzakanov will look to keep his undefeated record intact when he locks horns with Nikita Krylov at UFC 309.

Match TV was first to report the light heavyweight pairing. UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event is expected to feature a heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, but that fight has not been confirmed by the UFC.

Murzakanov has been victorious in his first 14 professional outings, a run that includes four triumphs in the Octagon. The 35-year-old known as “The Professional” is coming off a second-round knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ABC 7 on Aug. 3. He also owns wins over Dustin Jacoby, Devin Clark and Tafon Nchukwi during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Krylov, who has won his last three UFC appearances, will return to action for the first time since March 2023. During his current winning streak, the 32-year-old Ukraine native has earned victories agai…

Sharabutdin Magomedov, more commonly known as “Shara Bullet,” will square off against Armen Petrosyan in a middleweight bout at UFC 308.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Monday. UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash pitting Ilia Topuria against Max Holloway. A light heavyweight clash between Ibo Aslan and Raffael Cerqueira was also confirmed for the event.

Magomedov has won three straight contests to begin his Octagon tenure. Most recently, the 30-year-old Dagestani outpointed Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ABC 7 to improve his overall professional mark to 14-0.

After earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021, Petrosyan has gone 3-2 thus far during his promotional tenure. In his last outing, the 33-year-old Armenian had a two-bout winning streak snapped when he suffered a first-round submission defeat against Rodolfo Vieira at UFC Fig…

It’s all systems go for Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

All 10 athletes slated to compete hit their contracted marks without issue at Monday’s weigh-ins. That continues a positive trend for the 2024 iteration of the Contender Series, which has yet to see a mishap on the scales in its first four weeks.

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The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas an airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a welterweight contest pitting Igor Cavalcanti (169.5) against Seok Hyun Ko (170).

Brazil’s Cacari has kicked off his professional tenure with nine straight triumphs. The Inside Fighters League 170-pound champion has finished all his victories inside of a round — seven via KO/TKO and two by way of submission.

A native of Busan, South Korea, Ko will take a three-bout finishing streak into the matchup with Cacari. The 28-year-old is coming off a 48-second KO win against Alwin Kincai under the A…

Jessica Andrade claims Joanna Jedrzejczyk is ready to come out of retirement to rematch her with a potential women’s BMF title on the line.

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Andrade takes on surging Brazilian Natalia Silva in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 242 at the Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 7. “Bate Estaca” holds records for the most wins and finishes for any female fighter in UFC history. While she wants a flyweight title shot with a potential win over Silva, Andrade also proposes creating a BMF title for the women’s divisions.

Andrade also claims that she has been in conversation with former foe Jedrzejczyk, who has allegedly agreed to come out of retirement for a potential rematch with the BMF title on the line.

“I’ve been talking to Joanna and she said she’d come back,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com. “If it’s for this [BMF] belt, she would come back. I think that would be a good fight. Joanna, or maybe Angela Hill, who never walks away from a fight and is always t…

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Merab Dvalishvili coach John Wood believes Sean O'Malley will mentally break faster than he will physically.

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Dvalishvili gets his long-awaited bantamweight title shot against O’Malley in the main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. While Dvalishvili has previously vowed to knock O’Malley out, Wood has a more realistic prediction for the fight. The Syndicate MMA head coach believes Dvalishvili will take over after the second stanza, applying his signature pressure to eventually rope in a unanimous decision win. Wood also believes that getting to “Sugar” mentally will be easier than breaking him physically.

“A smart man’s bet? I would say five-round unanimous decision Merab,” Wood recently told Red Corner MMA. “I think we take control after the second and it’s all gas with Merab, but it’s gonna be technical gas. And I think we put the kind of pressure on Sean that he just can’t deal with. Not that he can’t deal …