Martial Arts News

The UFC 284 lineup continues to take shape, as the promotion announced the addition of two new bouts to the card on Monday.

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Jimmy Crute will face Alonzo Menifield at light heavyweight, while Shannon Ross will meet Kleydson Rodrigues at flyweight on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia. UFC 284 takes place at RAC Arena and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt pitting reigning champion Islam Makhachev against featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.

Crute did not compete at all this year after suffering KO/TKO losses to Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith in UFC competition in 2021. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 4-3 in the Octagon with wins over the likes of Paul Craig and Sam Alvey during his promotional tenure.

Menifield, meanwhile, has been victorious in four of his last five outings. Most recently, the 35-year-old Texan knocked out Misha Cirkunov in the opening round of their bout at UFC Fight Night 212 on Oct. 15.

A native of Quee…

Dominick Reyes is one of several fighters to receive a 90-day medical suspension following UFC 281 this past Saturday.

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Reyes was knocked out by Ryan Spann 1:20 into the opening round of their preliminary light heavyweight contest at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Reyes third consecutive defeat via KO or TKO.

The New York State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event on Monday. Nineteen fighters from the card, including Reyes, must have medical clearance before they can compete again, but the NYSAC does not disclose the exact nature of each injury. Everyone on the card received at least a seven-day mandatory medical suspension.

In addition to Reyes, four other fighters were handed 90-day sits after UFC 281: Frankie Edgar, Ottman Azaitar, Seung Woo Choi and Nicolae Negumereanu.

UFC 281 Medical Suspensions:

Alex Pereira: 30 days mandatory rest and indefinite for medical.

Israel Adesan…

Brad Riddell has lost the drive to compete on the heels of three straight losses in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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The 31-year-old City Kickboxing representative announced in a social media post that he plans to step away from mixed martial arts for the time being. While it wasn’t a retirement announcement, Riddell said that his hiatus will likely last “a good while.”

“I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me and standing by my side from day one though to these last two lackluster performances,” Riddell wrote. “I’m going to step away from competing in MMA for a good while until the fire to compete comes back. I’m not performing close to my capability, and it’s a dangerous job if you’re not fully present. I’ve been training hard for 15 years, in and out of camps with not enough rest or balance and it’s massively taken its physical and mental toll on me. There has not been a year since I was 17 that I have not fought.

“I know this…

Though he didn’t necessarily know it at the time, Alex Pereira was down on the scorecards heading into the fifth round of his middleweight championship clash with Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.

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Fortunately for him, he had Glover Teixeira in his corner to provide the appropriate sense of urgency.

“I knew it was going to be a very hard fight,” Pereira said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I tried to pace myself, but going into the last round, my corners and Glover kept it real with me. I looked at him and said, ‘Do I have to knock him out?’ And Glover said, ‘You do have to knock him out.’ And then I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”

“Poatan” put the pressure on Adesanya in the final frame, swarming with power punches against the fence to earn a technical knockout victory at the 2:01 mark of Round 5. Adesanya admitted he would’ve liked a little more leeway to recover from referee Marc Goddard before the stoppage arrived.

“F—…

Two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson has died at 38 years old.

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Numerous figures in the MMA community mourned the news on social media on Sunday, and his passing has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. The cause of Johnson’s death is unknown. He was 38 years old.

Known as “Rumble,” Johnson made a name for himself across two UFC stints thanks in large part to his frightening knockout power. He twice challenged for 205-pound gold, falling to Daniel Cormier at UFC 187 and again in their rematch at UFC 210. He announced his retirement after the second defeat in April 2017 and didn’t return until May 2021, when he defeated Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros via second-round KO at Bellator 258.

Johnson was slated to face Vadim Nemkov in the semifinals of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix last year, but he was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an undisclosed illness.

“Really wish I could go into detail …

Weili Zhang outclassed Carla Esparza in all aspects of their UFC 281 co-main event bout on the way to reclaiming the strawweight throne with a second-round submission victory.

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According to the Chinese star, it was all part of the plan.

“This fight played out exactly what we expected,” Zhang said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Me, as a fighter, if you’re a wrestler: OK, let’s wrestle. If you’re a jiu-jitsu player: OK, let’s roll. If you’re a striker: Let’s fight in the standup. That’s how I get improved and prove myself against the best of the best.

“When she landed a couple of punches, I felt nothing, and that’s why I smiled,” she added. “There was completely no threat from her striking, and that also made more relaxed, more calm.”

Zhang initially became strawweight queen in shocking fashion, when she stopped Jessica Andrade in 42 seconds at UFC Fight Night 157 in August 2019. She defended the belt once in an instant classic agai…

Israel Adesanya’s middleweight resume may be enough to earn him an immediate rematch with Alex Pereira.

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“I wouldn’t rule it out,” UFC president Dana White said of an Adesanya-Pereira rematch at the UFC 281 post-fight press conference on Saturday night.

Adesanya appeared to be on his way to a decision victory over Pereira before his former kickboxing rival swarmed with power punches for a technical knockout victory in the fifth round of the UFC 281 headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was the first career defeat at 185 pounds for “The Last Stylebender.” Prior to Saturday, Adesanya had successfully defended the middleweight belt five times since becoming champion. White believes Adesanya’s willingness to take the bout against Pereira only adds to his credibility.

“You’ve got to show Israel [respect],” White said. “First of all, I was saying that this week and it’s the absolute truth, Israel Adesanya didn’t flinch about taking this f…

Nate Diaz slaps Dillon danis teammate at Madison Square Garden #UFC281@NateDiaz209 @dillondanis pic.twitter.com/Vb7DKW3pWQ

— GIX MMA (@ufc_gix) November 13, 2022

Things got tense between Nate Diaz and Dillon Danis outside of Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

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After UFC 281, video surfaced of a verbal altercation between Diaz and Bellator competitor Dillon Danis outside of the venue, while Paradigm Sports head Audie Attar appears to play the role of peacemaker between the two fighters. While things didn’t get physical between Diaz and Danis, footage does show the Stockton, Calif., native slapping another man during the incident. Later, a cup containing an unknown liquid was tossed in Danis’ direction.

“Everytime they [the Diaz team] show up, I expect something to happen,” UFC president Dana White said after being informed of the skirmish at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

Diaz became a free agent fol…

While Alexander Volkanovski pursues dreams of becoming a two-division title holder at UFC 284, Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez will vie for the interim featherweight crown on the same card.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bout during the UFC 281 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 284 takes place on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Volkanovski.

Emmett has won five straight bouts in the Octagon. Most recently, the Team Alpha Male product earned a hard-fought split decision triumph against Calvin Kattar in the UFC on ESPN 37 main event on June 18. His resume also includes wins over the likes of Dan Ige, Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic and Ricardo Lamas.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, is coming off a victory over Brian Ortega in the UFC on ABC 3 headliner in which his opponent was unable to continue after suffering a shoulder injury. “El Pantera” is 9-2 with one no contest in UF…

Heading home with an extra $50k in the bank 💰

Here are your #UFC281 Performance of the Night bonuses!

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(B2YB: @CarlsJrAu) pic.twitter.com/5QnSITA0fy — UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) November 13, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC 281 pay-per-view card.

Alex Pereira received an extra $50,000 for the impressive middleweight championship win. Pereira's historic performance saw the Brazilian defeat Israel Adesanya in the fifth round with a series of punches. Additionally, Weili Zhang received the same monetary bonus for her submission win over Carla Esparza to regain the UFC strawweight championship.

In no surprise, fight of the night went to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. The two lightweights delivered an instant classic with a back-and-forth brawl that eventually was claimed by Poirier as the former UFC lightweight interim champion locked in a rear-naked chok…

Sherdog's live UFC 281 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Order UFC 281 "Adesanya vs. Pereira" exclusively on ESPN+ BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ulberg (-120), Negumereanu (+100)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Jackson (-200), Arce (+170)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese sc…

Maybe Alex Pereira just has Israel Adesanya’s number.

The Teixeira MMA-trained Brazilian dismissed Adesanya with punches and laid claim to the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown in the fifth round of their UFC 281 headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Adesanya (23-2, 12-2 UFC) checked out 2:01 into Round 5, his reign atop the 185-pound weight class having concluded after 1,134 days.

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It was a treacherous journey for Pereira (7-1, 4-0 UFC). Adesanya nearly finished him at the end of the first round, where he cracked the Glover Teixeira protégé with an overhand right and followed it with a crushing left hook as the horn sounded. Pereira recovered during the respite and rebounded with a strong showing in Round 2. However, he lost his way as the fight progressed, his movements becoming increasingly labored after the champion took him down and grinded on him for nearly four minutes in the third. He entered …