Martial Arts News

Jailton Almeida and Shamil Abdurakhimov will lock horns at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22.

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Almeida confirmed the heavyweight booking on his Instagram account following an initial report from AgFight. Almedia and Abdurakhimov were initially slated to square off at UFC 279 before Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw from the event due to visa issues.

Almeida has been on a tear since earning a UFC contract with a second-round submission of Nasrudin Nasrudinov on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. He has kicked off his promotional tenure with first-round finishes of Danilo Marques, Parker Porter and Anton Turkalj. The 31-year-old Brazilian known as “Malhadinho” has won his last 12 professional outings overall.

The 41-year-old Abdurakhimov will enter the matchup with Almeida on a three-bout skid in the Octagon. The Dagestani last appeared at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich. Abdurak…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will spend much of the rest of 2022 on its home turf.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday approved licenses for seven UFC events in Nevada. Six of those will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, while the seventh, UFC 282, will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The promotion currently has 10 events remaining on the calender for the rest of the year. Those not slated for Las Vegas include UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22; UFC 281 in New York on Nov. 12 and UFC Fight Night on Dec. 3 in Orlando.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas dates feature Fight Nights on Oct. 1, Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, while UFC 282 is slated for Dec. 10.

If Germaine de Randamie does return to the Octagon, it won’t be any time in the near future.

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The former UFC featherweight champion announced via Instagram that she is pregnant and expected to give birth in March 2023.

“Woohoooo we can finally scream it from the top of our lungs, ‘WE ARE PREGNANT,’ de Randamie wrote. “We are blessed with our little miracle.”

The 38-year-old de Randamie hasn’t competed since a third-round submission victory over ex-bantamweight queen Julianna Pena at UFC on ESPN 16 in October 2020. The Netherlands native was a top contender at both 135 and 145 pounds. She claimed the UFC’s inaugural featherweight belt with a decision triumph against Holly Holm at UFC 208 but would vacate the throne without defending the title.

De Randamie later challenged for bantamweight gold at UFC 245, dropping a five-round verdict to Amanda Nunes. “The Iron Lady” owns a 10-4 career mark that includes triumphs over the likes of Pena, A…

Former UFC and Bellator MMA talent Chris Avila will square off against social media influencer Mikhail “Doctor Mike” Varshavski on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva undercard.

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Showtime announced the booking on Tuesday. The bout will be contested over four rounds at 185 pounds. The event takes place at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on Oct. 9 and is headlined by the aforementioned clash between Paul and Silva. It will be available on pay-per-view via Showtime.

Avila, who gained a measure of notoriety as a disciple of UFC star Nate Diaz, is 8-9 in MMA and 1-1 in professional boxing. The Cesar Gracie Fight Team export went 0-2 in the UFC and 1-2 in Bellator. He is coming off back-to-back first-round KO/TKO wins under the North Iowa Fights banner in 2021 in MMA, while he took a majority decision over former Bellator foe Anthony Taylor in the boxing ring this past December.

“Hmmmm, let’s see. I am giving him a height advantage, a reach advant…

Askar Mozharov was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday for a failed drug test in relation to his lone Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

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Mozharov tested positive for the substance GW1516 sulfone, which is a hormone and metabolic modulator. According to USADA, the substance can modify how the body metabolizes fat and was “originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and other disorders caused by metabolic problems.” Mozharov was not sanctioned by USADA because the sample he submitted was below the organization’s threshhold for an anti-doping violation.

In addition to a six-month suspension, Mozharov was fined 10 percent of his purse from his first-round technical knockout loss to Alonzo Menifield at UFC Fight Night 207 on June 4. Salaries from the event were not disclosed.

Mozharov gained notoriety for falsifying his MMA record prior to facing Menifield, and once…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 9 coverage will begin Tuesday 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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Roybert Echeverria (125) vs. Jafel Cavalcante Filho (125.5)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result …

Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 fighters set to compete made weight without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series Takes place on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a middleweight showdown between Leon Aliu (186) and Brunno Ferreira (184).

Italy’s Aliu has been victorious in 10 of his first 11 professional appearances — with all of his victories coming inside the distance. In his last outing, the 33-year-old knocked out James Webb in the opening round at Cage Warriors 138 on May 28.

A native of Curitiba Brazil, Ferreira brings an 8-0 mark into the Contender Series. The 29-year-old Evolucao Thai product has six first-round finishes to his credit since beginning his professional tenure in 2019.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Leon Aliu (186) vs. Brunno Ferreira (184)Raul Rosas Jr. (134) vs. Mando Gutierrez (135.5)Austen Lane (240.5) vs. Richard J…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com

A heavyweight bout pitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik against Chris Daukaus has been moved to UFC 282.

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The fight was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night 211 on Oct. 1 but was shifted for undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news. UFC 282 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 10 and is expected to feature a light heavyweight championship rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.

Roze…

Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion Juntaro Ushiku will defend his crown against Kleber Koike Erbst in the Rizin 39 main event on Oct. 23.

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The Japanese promotion recently announced the booking, along with the following bouts: Koji Takeda vs. Zach Zane at lightweight; Motonobu Tezuka vs. Mehman Mamedov at bantamweight; Vugar Karamov vs. Yoshiki Nakahara at featherweight and Daichi Abe vs. Yukinari Tamura at welterweight.

Ushiku, who is also the reigning Deep champion, claimed Rizin gold with a second-round stoppage of Yutaka Saito at Rizin 31 this past October. He defended the crown with a unanimous verdict against Saito in a rematch at Rizin 35 on April 17. The 27-year-old Tokyo native has won 10 of his last 11 professional outings and is 20-6 over the course of his career.

A former KSW title holder, Erbst has kicked off his Rizin tenure with five consecutive submission triumphs. Most recently, he dispatched Kyohei Hagiwara in th…

Jose Aldo is retiring from mixed martial arts following a decorated career in the sport.

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Sherdog.com confirmed the news with sources close to the fighter following an initial report from Combate.com. The UFC has agreed to grant Aldo his release even though the former featherweight champion still had one fight remaining on his contract, which will allow him to puruse other combat sports endeavors if he so chooses.

Aldo was reportedly offered a fight at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21, but he hadn’t made a decision about his career at that time.

The Nova Uniao standout exits the sport at 36 years old with a 31-8 mark following an 18-year career. He captured 145-pound gold in World Extreme Cagefighting and the UFC and was a top contender during his recent transition to bantamweight, falling short in a title bid against Petr Yan at UFC 251.

It’s likely that Aldo continues to test his skills in other combat sports going forward. There …

Gregory Rodrigues had to dig deep to earn victory at UFC Fight Night 210.

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The Brazilian absorbed a heavy knee early on in his co-main event encounter with Chidi Njokuani, and that blow opened a massive cut on his forehead. The man known as “Robocop” admitted that he needed a moment to regain his bearings.

“I know I was dizzy,” he said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I was like, ‘Man what happened?’ The blood starting coming down. i was kind of blind, trying to figure out [what I was going to do] … After that cut, everybody is gonna be confident to try to finish the fight. Then I started to throw my hands to show him I’m still there.”

Rodrigues did exactly that. His rally began in the second half of Round 1, as he hurt and dropped the Bellator veteran. That set the stage for a relatively quick finish in the second frame, when he tripped Njokuani to the canvas and unloaded with ground strikes for a stoppage at the 1:27 mark of the pe…

Cory Sandhagen was mostly happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 210, but he can also empathize with Yadong Song’s situation.

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Sandhagen emerged with a technical knockout win after four rounds when the cageside doctor determined Song couldn’t continue due to a significant cut over his left eye. Sandhagen caused the gash when he landed an elbow early in the fight, and the wound got progressively worse as time passed. Sandhagen was confident that he had already seized momentum and would’ve have continued to take control in a fifth round.

“It was definitely a step forward. Song’s a hell of a fighter. I knew that he was gonna be super tough. The guy hits really hard. He defended my takedowns really well,” Sandhagen said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think I was starting to figure him out as the fight went on, so I was really looking forward to a fifth round.

“That [stoppage] was kind of a bummer. These people that I’m fightin…