Martial Arts News

Spread the news!! ADCC has a new home!!#UFCFIGHTPASS @ADCC_Federation pic.twitter.com/Abw04HA8dK

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) January 22, 2023

One of the world’s premier grappling organizations is headed to UFC Fight Pass.

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The streaming service announced on Saturday that it has signed a multi-year agreement with ADCC Submission Fighting World Federation to air the organization’s events. As a result, UFC Fight Pass will broadcast more than 40 ADCC events through 2024 beginning with the ADCC Opens in Mexico this March. The ADCC Championship in Las Vegas will stream on Fight Pass in September.

“Apart from UFC events, grappling is among the most popular content on UFC Fight Pass,” said vice president and general manager of UFC Fight Pass Crowley Sullivan in a release. “We’re excited to add ADCC, which is arguably the most prestigious submission grappling competition in the world, to UFC Fight Pass.”

ADCC was found…

No doubt this time! XTB #KSW78

🇵🇱 Michal Materla finishes a valiant 🇺🇸 Kendall Grove! pic.twitter.com/gAyTDxbJwY

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 21, 2023

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A rematch nearly 10 years in the making headlined KSW 78 as Michal Materla locked horns with Kendall Grove.

The emotionally charged second clash between “Cipao” and “Da Spyder” ended with another victory for Materla (32-9, 21-7 KSW). Unlike their first fight—a bloody affair that ended with Materla pocketing a unanimous decision victory at KSW 23 in 2013—the Polish fighter finished his foe inside the distance this time. 40-year-old Grove (24-19, 1 NC, 0-3 KSW) made his cage return after a three-year hiatus but showcased decent condition and performance for as long as he survived in the 195-pound catchweight affair, blocking all his foe’s takedown attempts in the opening frame. Materla’s punching power was the key in the contest as he adopted a different game plan in Round 2…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first pay-per-view of 2023 will hopefully crown a light heavyweight titleholder this time around.

Competing for 205-pound gold atop UFC 283 is former champ Glover Teixeira and contender Jamahal Hill. All fighters successfully made weight for the event, which will also see the flyweight championship unification match as champ Deiveson Figueiredo squares off with interim titleholder Brandon Moreno for a historic fourth time.

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An impressive career resurgence for Teixeira (33-8) was put on ice in his last outing, where he suffered a fifth-round submission defeat to Jiri Prochazka in what was Sherdog's 2022 "Fight of the Year." The 43-year-old Brazilian will look to return to form and establish himself on top of the division again against Hill (11-1, 1 NC), who is riding a three-fight win streak. "Sweet Dreams" has shown devastating power, and will look to use it to claim his first championship insid…

A rematch ten years in the making!

🇺🇸 @kendallgrovemma shares his thoughts on the fight he has wanted for ten years - the rematch with 🇵🇱 Michal Materla! XTB #KSW78 pic.twitter.com/Vns51x0uTt

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 19, 2023

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Leading Polish mixed martial arts organization Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's first card of 2023 is now official with nine fights.

The KSW 78 main event will see former middleweight champion Michal Materla take on MMA veteran and former "The Ultimate Fighter" participant Kendall Grove at a 195-pound catchweight. There was no drama on the scales, as all fighters successfully made weight for the show at the Netto Arena in Szczecin, Poland.

The headlining fight is a rematch, as Materla (31-9) previously defeated "Da Spyder" back in 2013 via unanimous decision. Materla is coming off a knockout loss to Mariusz Pudzianowski, but has won four of his last six bouts. Meanwhile, Grove (24-18) hasn't co…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion is hungry, in several senses of the word.

At 125 pounds, one of the largest struggles for Deiveson Figueiredo is to make certain he is on championship weight ahead of his fights. Measuring 5-foot-5, the Brazilian often appears like he is chiseled out of marble like an old Roman statue. It is no secret how tough it is to keep him at flyweight, so much so that he has flirted with moving up to bantamweight several times over the years.

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“Eating is one of the biggest pleasures of my life,” Figueiredo said proudly during UFC 283 media day on Wednesday.

Aware about the importance of keeping the champion’s weight under control, his boxing coach Jose Carlos Maizena and wife, Valbenice, decided it would be prudent to simply move into Figueiredo’s house.

“The camp itself was perfect; the most difficult part was control Deiveson’s mouth,” coach Maizena shared with Sherdog on Wednesday. “It was a war! As …

Two high-intensity Ultimate Fighting Championship 135ers with drastically different trajectories will meet in April.

The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN Deportes first announced on Friday that Chris Gutierrez (19-4-2) will come to blows with Pedro Munhoz (19-7, 2 NC) at a UFC Fight Night card on April 15. The location and designation are still currently in the works. Not long after the announcement was made, Gutierrez’ management team of Iridium Sports Agency confirmed the matchup.

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Gutierrez is unbeaten in his last eight walks to the UFC cage, with seven victories and a 2020 draw to Cody Durden building his resume. Dating back to 2021, the last four appearances for Gutierrez have gone his way, most notably demolishing Batgerel Danaa with a spinning backfist in March 2022 and landing a crushing knee knockout on Frankie Edgar at UFC 281. In the former, Gutierrez became the ninth fighter in company history to score a knockout stemming from that strike, a…

A crackerjack battle in the lightweight division is headed to a Ultimate Fighting Championship event in late April.

On Friday, MMA Junkie broke the story that Jared Gordon (19-6) vs. Bobby Green (29-14-1) will be colliding at a UFC Fight Night card on April 22. This event has yet to receive a formal destination, or its broadcasting details to determine if it is a “UFC Fight Night” event or one billed as “UFC on ESPN.” This 155-pound pairing has since been confirmed by Green’s management team of Iridium Sports Agency shortly after its announcement.

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Neither man will be coming into this bout with a win at their back, but in Gordon’s case, he was the recipient of a “Robbery of the Year” candidate decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282. In that three-rounder, 23 of the 24 scoring media members awarded the win to Gordon, with a large portion of those scoring all three rounds in favor of the New Yorker. In his last four, “Flash” had alternated wins and…

Ultimate Fighting Championship youngster Raul Rosas Jr. may get in three fights in the promotion before his 19th birthday at this rate.

The news first broke on Thursday from Eurosport Nederland that Rosas Jr. (7-0) will be returning to the Octagon in April. At UFC 287 on April 8, “El Nino Problema” will square off against Christian Rodriguez (8-1) in the bantamweight division. The destination for this fight card is not yet official, as it could take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but Miami has also been discussed as a possible location. Rodriguez confirmed this pairing on Instagram shortly after its announcement.

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Rosas burst onto the scene courtesy of a dominant, contract-winning performance on the 2022 season of Dana White's Contender Series. At the age of 17, Rosas handled Mango Gutierrez to earn what is still his only decision as a pro. His debut went swimmingly, as he hit a face crank on Jay Perrin without even needing to comp…

Featherweights set to kick off the action in week 6⃣‼️

[ #PFLonFuboTV | Featherweights | Fri, March 3rd | 9pm ET] pic.twitter.com/GtenaAZj0N

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 19, 2023 The sixth week of Professional Fighters League’s Challenger Series now has its lineup.

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Per a PFL press release sent out on Thursday, the four tilts on Week 6 of the PFL Challenger Series have been put together. The 145-pound-centric fight card will air on Fubo TV on March 3, and like all the other Challenger Series events, it will be held inside of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The main attraction brings unbeaten up-and-comer Brahyan Zurcher (4-0) against promotional newcomer David Evans (5-1).

The three other tilts on the league’s marquee for the sixth week of its Challenger series include: SBG Ireland prospect Nathan Kelly (6-2) vs. Aries Fight Series vet Zachary Hicks (8-4), 2022 PFL tourney participant Ago Huskic (8-5) vs. undefeated…

Bellator MMA is bolstering its lineup in a hurry for its return to Paris in May.

According to a release from the organization on Thursday, two additional matches have been added to the Bellator Paris billing. This event will be held at the Accor Arena in May 12, with a non-title main event pitting Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2) against Fabian Edwards (11-2) in the middleweight division. The co-headliner will see one branch of the lightweight grand prix play out as well, as Sidney Outlaw (16-5) squares off against France’s Mansour Barnaoui (20-4). The two newly announced fights include a 185-pound pairing on the main card, and a preliminary contest at 205 pounds.

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Having lost his last four, former welterweight kingpin Douglas Lima (32-11) will return to middleweight to test himself against Costello van Steenis (14-2). Lima made his 185-pound debut in 2020, when he attempted to become a two-division champ, only to get staved off by Mousasi. That loss put an en…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to be taking necessary procedural steps to prevent future betting scandals from unfolding.

In October 2022, the promotion released its first policy about wagering on UFC fights, as it did not have one on the books prior to then. It adapted its UFC Athlete Conduct Policy, to prohibit its fighters from betting on any UFC fight including their own. It also noted – but did not strictly ban – that some U.S. states would apply that policy to immediate local family members, their coaches, managers and trainers, or even individuals that had close ties to a fighter.

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On Thursday, the organization sent out a press release announcing a new set of procedures that will be in place. Teaming up with betting firm U.S. Integrity – the organization initially consulted to review the controversy involving Darrick Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan – it tightened up the policy’s language effective immediately. Among the changes we…

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Talita Bernardo forced Taneisha Tennant out of her comfort zone.

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The former UFC competitor landed multiple takedowns, transitioned to dominant positions and threatened with submissions en route to a unanimous decision triumph in the Invicta FC 51 headliner at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night. All three cageside judges submitted 48-46 tallies in favor of Bernardo (10-4, 3-0 Invicta), who claims the promotion’s bantamweight crown. The final scorecards included a Round 5 point deduction issued to Tennant for a fence grab with her toes early in the period. The fight was tied heading into the final stanza according to open scoring, but Bernardo quickly turned the tide in her favor with an early takedown, and she spent much of the frame on top in north-south position.

Bernardo set the tone early when she caught a Tennant (5-2, 4-1 Invicta) kick, dumped her to the canvas and spent the majority of the opening stanza…