Martial Arts News

In the immediate aftermath of the split draw in the UFC 282 headliner, it sounded as though Magomed Ankalaev was contemplating a future outside the Las Vegas-based promotion.

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Ankalaev’s clash with Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title was ruled a majority draw after five rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Derek Cleary scored the contest 48-46 for Ankalaev, Michael Bell had it 48-47 Blachowciz and Sal D’Amato had it 47-47. Meanwhile, the vast majority of media members tracked by MMADecisions.com thought Ankalaev won the fight.

“I don’t know what to say,” Ankalaev told Joe Rogan in the Octagon through a translator. “I won that fight. Why didn’t I get my belt? I don’t know what to say. … I can’t choose the judges for the fight that are sitting over here, but I won this fight. I won this belt. Where is my belt?

Ankalaev then seemed to imply that the judges’ verdict might cause him to consider leaving the U…

BREAKING NEWS @GloverTeixeira to take on @JamahalH for the vacant LHW title at #UFC283! pic.twitter.com/JQOpACa6u4

— UFC (@ufc) December 11, 2022

It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is making a quick pivot following the unsatisfying conclusion to Saturday’s light heavyweight main event.

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After Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz battled to a majority draw at UFC 282 in their 205-pound title bout, Dana White revealed at the post-fight press conference that neither fighter will factor into the next championship fight. Instead, the UFC president announced that Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill will vie for the vacant light heavyweight strap at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21.

Teixeira was initially slated to face Jiri Prochazka in a championship rematch at UFC 282, but that fight was scrapped when Prochazka vacated the belt after suffering a serious shoulder injury in training. When Teixeira asked for m…

The UFC was in a giving mood on Saturday night.

The Las Vegas-based promotion handed out a grand total of 11 bonuses following a UFC 282 card that saw finishes in all but the evening’s final two bouts.

Dricus Du Plessis and Darren Till received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece following their back-and-forth middleweight clash on the main card. Du Plessis dominated Round 1 before Till staged a brief rally in the second stanza. Ultimately, “Stillknocks” recovered and submitted his English foe with a face crank at the 2:43 mark of Round 3.

Meanwhile, the other nine competitors on the card who authored a finish — Cameron Saaiman, T.J. Brown, Billy Quarantillo, Chris Curtis, Edmen Shahbazyan, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Raul Rosas Jr., Ilia Topuria and Santiago Ponzinibbio — all received a $50,00 “Performance of the Night” check.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight throne remains unclaimed.

Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev battled to a split draw in the UFC 282 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the 205-pound penthouse vacant in wake of former champion Jiri Prochazka’s reign-ending shoulder injury. Judge Michael Bell cast a 48-47 scorecard for Blachowicz, while Derek Cleary saw it 48-46 for Ankalaev and Sal D’Amato scored it 47-47.

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Ankalaev (17-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) set the tone early with crisp punching combinations and punishing front kicks to the body. Blachowicz (29-9-1, 12-6-1 UFC) answered by shifting gears and blowing out the Xtreme Couture rep’s base with vicious kicks to the lower leg. They eventually hobbled Ankalaev to such a degree that he was forced to switch stances. He made the necessary tactical adjustments in the fourth and fifth rounds, where he crowded Blachowicz with pressure, executed multiple takedowns and chipped …

Sherdog's live UFC 282 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Saaiman (-320), Koslow (+265)Round 1 The final UFC pay-per-view card of the year kicks off right here inside of the T-Mobile Arena, with an even dozen matches from stem to stern. The early prelims begin with a pair of undefeated newcomers and serious finishers, as these youngsters combine for 11 stoppages across their 12 wins. The first of three South Africans tonight takes center stage as Saaiman (6-0, 0-0 UFC) makes his first walk, and he greets fellow newcomer and submission artist Koslow (6-0, 0-0 UFC). The first assignment of the night goes to referee Chris Tognoni, and the bantamweights touch ‘em up to get the event started. Saaiman leads the dance with a sweeping low kick, and he hops back before Koslow can touch him. Saaiman pushes out a side kick, and he is quick to block a high kick that slaps off his guard. Koslow reaches out with another head kick, and …

Raul Rosas Jr. did not shrink in the spotlight. In fact, he basked in it.

The 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate dazzled in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he submitted former CES MMA titleholder Jay Perrin with a face crank in their featured UFC 282 bantamweight prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rosas Jr. (7-0, 1-0 UFC), the youngest fighter to ever compete inside the Octagon, finished it 2:44 into Round 1.

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Perrin (10-7, 0-3 UFC) was out of his depth. Rosas Jr. delivered a takedown inside the first minute, climbed to the back and applied his ground-and-pound. After securing his position with a body triangle, the 18-year-old phenom slid his arms into place, tightened his vice-like squeeze and drew out the white flag from Perrin.Frightening Rozenstruik Mauls Daukaus American Top Team export Jairzinho Rozenstruik obliterated Chris Daukaus with punches less than a minute into the first round of their heavywei…

After plenty of bad blood in the buildup to their fight, Raufeon Stots got the last laugh against Danny Sabatello at Bellator 289.

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Thanks to a steady jab, a solid sprawl and an active ground game, Stots retained the interim bantamweight crown and advanced to the grand prix finals with a split-decision triumph over Sabatello at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday night. While Sabatello did land a few takedowns to rack up control time, he didn’t do all that much with positioning when he had it. Still, one judge awarded the American Top Team product with a 50-45 scorecard.

“I was surprised with the 50-45,” Stots said at the Bellator 289 post-fight press conference. “I believe he was trying to control; we know that’s his game, but he did no damage. I did the things I was supposed to do. I was progressing toward the finish, he was trying to stall the fight out. Just because you hold somebody’s legs doesn’t mean you should win a fight, and…

Patrick Mix is feeling quite confident after submitting Magomed Magomedov in the semifinals of Bellator MMA’s bantamweight grand prix.

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Mix will square off against interim king Raufeon Stots, who defeated Danny Sabatello via split decision in the other half of the bracket, at a Bellator event sometime in 2023.

“I’ve been telling everyone all f—-ing weekend: I’m the favorite to win the tournament,” Mix said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “You know why? You see those two guys on the other side? I can submit them too. Sabatello puts himself in that same position 100 times. I was already confident against him. Seeing Magomed and Stots’ fight, and how my fight went with [Magomedov], I feel good about that.”

Mix used a guillotine to render Magomedov unconscious 2:39 into the second round of the 135-pound clash at Bellator 289 on Friday. “Patchy” has earned 12 of his 17 career triumphs by submission — including four via guillotine.

“I go…

Liz Carmouche closed the book on her rivalry with Juliana Velasquez in emphatic fashion at Bellator 289.

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“Gir-Rilla” successfully defended her flyweight crown in Friday’s co-main event, as she tapped her Brazilian foe with an armbar 4:24 into Round 2 of their rematch at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It was welcome closure after Carmouche’s controversial fourth-round stoppage of Velasquez at Bellator 278 in April resulted in her opponent unsuccessfully appealing to have the fight overturned.

“It felt great. My mindset is to walk into every fight thinking that I have to earn the belt,” Carmouche said at Friday’s post-fight press conference. “Every fight, I have to train like I have to earn the right to have the belt.”

With her first successful title defense in the books, Carmouche turned her attention to becoming a two-division champion in Bellator MMA. That will require some cooperation from the promotion, because Carmuche wants to see…

Interim Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots showed he could handle the grind of a notorious grinder.

A persistent jab and a balanced sprawl carried Stots to a split decision over Danny Sabatello in the Bellator 289 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where he successfully defended his title and punched his ticket to the final of the promotion’s $1 million bantamweight grand prix. Judge Douglas Crosby struck a 50-45 scorecard for Sabatello, while Eric Colon and Bryan Miner saw it 48-47 for Stots.

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Sabatello (13-2, 3-1 Bellator) secured multiple takedowns and piled up more than 10 minutes of control time but exacted little damage with his efforts. Stots (19-1, 7-0 Bellator) stayed patient on the feet, fed the American Top Team export a steady diet of jabs and mixed in the occasional combination. He also made Sabatello’s life difficult on the ground, refusing to concede positions and even threatening h…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Charles Oliveira is taking a little time off, but will be ready to come back soon with a vengeance.

At UFC 280 in October, Oliveira lost his chance to reclaim his lightweight throne when Islam Makhachev submitted him in the main event. According to coach Diego Lima, Oliveira is recovering and getting his mind right instead of diving straight back into action. Although he was offered a spot on UFC 283 in January in his home country of Brazil, he and his team declined the offer as it was too short of a turnaround for “Do Bronx.”

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“[The] UFC knew how much Charles wanted to fight in Brazil and kept their offer, but the time to recover was really short. We had a meeting with the whole team and decided it was too short a time. He came from four wars in 17 months [against Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Makhachev] against all top five, [one] war after another, so we decided that it was time …

Sherdog's live Bellator 289 coverage will begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Round 1 Our first match is refereed by Bryan Miner. Bell comes out throwing and Scoggins misses with a head kick. Both bantamweights are aggressive and a low blow pauses the action briefly before it restarts. Bell lands several leg kicks. Scoggins kicks a leg and gets Bell up against the fence. Scoggins has kept Bell up against the fence for well over a minute. Both land knees to one another, but neither is doing any damage. Bell finally reverses position with 10 seconds left and the round ends uneventfully. 10-9 Scoggins.

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Round 2 A slow start but Scoggins gets a big takedown a minute in. Scoggins holds on for a minute but does no damage. Bell escapes and lands a knee to the body. Bell gets a takedown of his own and is in half-guard. A small cut has opened above Scoggins' right eye. Scoggins is happy to play in guard with two minutes left. Bell lands a solid elbow. Another cut opens o…