Martial Arts News

🚨 OFFICIAL: @TheAspenLadd is PFL bound! pic.twitter.com/8WzWx3fSD5

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 4, 2022

Aspen Ladd will open a new chapter in her mixed martial arts career.

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On Tuesday morning, the Professional Fighters League announced that it had signed Ladd to its roster. Ladd, an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran, will take part in the 2023 PFL Regular Season. She will make her promotional debut with a 9-3 record, including seven finishes. The PFL didn’t disclose in which weight division Ladd will compete in.

“The Professional Fighters League continues to grow its global talent roster by seeking the best talent from around the globe,” said President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo, in a press release. “We are excited to welcome Aspen to the PFL’s women's division. Aspen will continue the PFL mission of bringing women's MMA to the forefront of our sport.”

Ladd ended her stint in the UFC after several struggl…

A fourth battle between two of the world’s premier flyweights is just a few months away.

Antoher meeting featuring one of the greatest rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history will go down at UFC 283 as Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno clash to unify the flyweight championship. Both fighters confirmed the matchup on their social media accounts. The event will go down in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21.

In his last three assignments, two-time UFC flyweight titleholder Figueiredo (21-2-1, 10-2-1 UFC) has faced Moreno, alternating a majority draw, a submission loss and a decision victory over the Mexican rival. Interim flyweight champion Moreno (21-6-2, 9-3-2 UFC) has recently crushed Kai Kara France with a combination of body kick and punches in their UFC 277 championship encounter.

The upcoming UFC Rio event will also feature a 170-pound clash between Gabriel Bonfim and Mounir Lazzez, a middleweight affair between Brad Tavares and Gregory Ro…

An absolute 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑, John Castaneda vs Daniel Santos is your #UFCVegas61 Fight of the Night 👏

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/E9RdiOLIAW

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded six fighters performance bonuses on the UFC Fight Night 211 card.

Despite Sodiq Yusuff picking up his first submission victory in just 30 seconds, all four performance of the night bonuses went to preliminary card fighters. Receiving $50,000 were Brendan Allen, Chelsea Chandler, Guido Cannetti and Joaquim Silva. Cannetti and Allen both scored rear-naked choke victories in the first round, while Chandler and Silva both picked up impressive TKO wins.

Finally, fight of the night honors went to John Castaneda and Daniel Gustavo Santos. The two had a back-and-forth battle that ended after Santos landed a spectacular flying knee and finished the fight with punches in Round 2.

Xiaonan Yan could not have fought any smarter.

The Team Alpha Male standout outstruck and outfoxed Mackenzie Dern, as she took a significant step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division with a majority decision in their five-round UFC Fight Night 211 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 47-47.

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Yan (16-3, 7-2 UFC) managed to stay on her feet long enough to bank the requisite points across 25 minutes, denying repeated takedown attempts and cutting loose with crisp combinations to the head, all while attacking the body and legs with kicks. Dern (12-3, 7-3 UFC) made her moves in the second and fifth rounds, where she dragged her counterpart to the canvas and went to work with her world-class jiu-jitsu skills. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist threatened with an arm-triangle choke in Round 2 and an armbar in Round 5. Yan surv…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 211 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

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

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Round 1 ‘Twas the night of Fightmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mighty mouse. The UFC Apex is awkwardly quiet, with no fans or media allowed in attendance for this fight night offering, so the dozen matches set to take place before and during the tentpole Bellator offering will allow those watching on screens to hear every minute detail. The parade of fights begins in the bantamweight division between two men desperately seeking a win. Fourteen years older than his opponent, Argentina’s Cannetti (9-6, 3-5 UFC) will look to show he has something left in the tank at the expense of 28-year-old knockout artist Costa (6-3, 2-3 UFC). Before the fight starts, there is no mention on the broadcast as to why the Apex is empty and devoid of media or fans…

THE SOUND OF THIS KNEE 🔊 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/asHYf7xYWK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Daniel Gustavo Santos established his foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he cut down John Castaneda with a knee strike in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 211 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos (9-2, 1-1 UFC) closed it out 4:28 into Round 2, the action-packed battle having been contested at a catchweight of 140 pounds.

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The Brazilian’s pace, pressure and power—along with his remarkable recuperative abilities—were too much for Castaneda (19-6, 2-2 UFC). Santos withstood nearly being finished twice with head kicks in the first round. Castaneda appeared winded when he emerged for the middle stanza, and his Chute Boxe-trained adversary capitalized. Santos tore into him with a relentless string of punches, kicks and knees to the head and body, pin…

📊 By The Numbers#AndStill Featherweight World Champion, @PatricioPitbull dominates over @AdamBorics in the #Bellator286 main event. pic.twitter.com/lUEzlIKKA3

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 2, 2022

There’s no question that Patricio Freire is one of the greatest featherweights in the history of mixed martial arts and on Saturday night in the Bellator 286 main event, he added another win to his tally.

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Freire (34-5) outclassed No. 2 ranked featherweight contender Adam Borics and he did it with incredible ease, wining nearly every single minute of the five-round affair. “Pitbull” landed thudding leg kicks and scattered jabs and hooks while on the feet, relegating Borics to single strikes for much of their fight. Borics had apparently fallen in love with his flying knee since he’s scored three knockouts with it; he tried it over and over against the defending Bellator featherweight king, only to miss and be taken dow…

Sherdog's live Bellator 286 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Check out the Sherdog forums’ official Bellator 286 Watch Party to discuss the card in real-time, or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

In which Antonio Inoki slaps everyone at Inoki Bom Ba Ye on New Year's Eve 2000 to transfer his fighting spirit to them. pic.twitter.com/5hHZS9nQYC

— David Bixenspan (@davidbix) October 1, 2022 A legend of both pro wrestling and MMA has died at the age of 79 after battling with illnesses that confined him to a wheelchair.

Late Friday night, Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex first reported that Antonio Inoki, born Kanji Inoki, had died. The report claimed the cause of death was related to systemic amyloidosis that led to hypoglycemia, but that specific ailment could not be confirmed. His passing has since been multiple sources, including his own pro wrestling promotion of New Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as the WWE and ESPN.

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[embedded content] While a famed pro wrestler, Inoki’s involvement in sports stretched into mixed martial arts. In 1976, Inoki faced off against boxer Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match that would se…

The trilogy fight between Xiong and Lee lived up to its billing. #ONEonPrimeVideo2 pic.twitter.com/iSBsiWw1Ki

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) October 1, 2022

Jingnan Xiong retained the One Championship women’s strawweight title with a unanimous decision over archrival Angela Lee in the ONE on Prime Video 2 headliner on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. Xiong (18-2, 9-1 ONE) won the approval of all three cageside judges, improving to 2-1 in her head-to-head series with the “Unstoppable” Hawaiian.

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In many regards, it was all about the first round. There, Xiong had her challenger on skates more than once with punishing right hands and follow-up attacks. Referee Herb Dean appeared to be on the verge of calling for the stoppage on multiple occasions, only to allow Lee (11-3, 11-3 ONE) to continue forward. Nowhere else in the bout were the exchanges between the two women more profound.

Lee had her momen…

Sherdog's live ONE on Prime Video 2 “Xiong vs. Lee III” coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Round 1 Reffing the heavyweight kickboxing grand prix alternate bout is Olivier Coste. Opacic lands a nice body kick to start but Stoforidis lands several leg kicks. Both men are staying in kicking range early. Opacic continues to eat leg kicks. Stoforidis lands a solid left hook to the body. An Opacic head kick is blocked. Opacic lands a nice step-in knee. Stoforidis throwing more combinations as Opacic largely throws single shots. They clinch and are separated by the referee. Opacic continues throwing the head kick but isn't landing cleanly. Stoforidis lands several leg kicks and then follows up with a well-timed left hook to the head. A close round but the action leans toward Stoforidis, who is reddening the legs of Opacic with leg kicks. 10-9 Stoforidis.Round 2 Opacic…

Prominent Brazilian manager Jorge Guimaraes has a lot of irons in the fire, ranging from those in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Bellator MMA.

With five fighters competing for belts in the UFC and Bellator in the next three months, “Joinha” Guimaraes has quite a full dance card. His first of those will spring into action on Saturday, when Patricio Freire looks to defend his 145-pound title against Adam Borics in the main event of Bellator 286. Guimaraes spoke to Sherdog about this fight and several others that are coming down the line for his athletes.

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“Patricio made a perfect camp for this fight. No injuries at all,” “Joinha” explained. “Besides being a great striker, Borics also improved his wrestling and ground skills [at] Sanford MMA, but [the experience of] ‘Pitbull’ will be the turning point for him to return to Brazil with his belt.”

After Freire defends the strap, Guimaraes will need to help prepare Alex Pereira for his battle wi…