Martial Arts News

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 6 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.

Advertisement

Round 1 It’s a matchup of unbeaten flyweights to kick off the evening, as Czech Republic native Bleda squares off against Brazil’s Maia, a title holder in the Bendo Sento Championship organization. Mark Smith will oversee the opening bout. Maia comes out aggressive, punctuating a combination with a high kick. Moments later, Bleda executes a nice level change and plants the Brazilian on her back. Maia transitions to a leg lock and then Bleda hunts for one of her own. In the scramble, Maia takes top position in half guard. Bleda bucks her opponent off and dives into Maia’s full guard. Maia holds the Czech fighter close to limit ground-and-pound opportunities. Bleda lands a few left hands to the ribs from top position. Bleda passes to half guard, and Maia hooks her foot in her foe’s arm mom…

The super atomweight grand prix semifinals are set for Rizin 38, as Ayaka Hamasaki will face Si Woo Park, while Seika Izawa will square off against Anastasiya Svetkivska on Sept. 25.

Advertisement

The Japanese promotion recently announced the pairings. Svetkivska is a replacement for Rena Kubota, who withdrew from the bracket due to injury. Rizin 38 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and features a bantamweight clash pitting Kyoji Horiguchi against Yuto Hokamura. The event also includes a Super Rizin portion of the card that is topped by an exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Mikuru Asakura. A featherweight showdown between Kota Miura and Bunchuai Phonsungnoen was recently added to that portion of the bill.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESPN+

A former Rizin champion, Hamasaki advanced to the semifinals with a three-round verdict over Jessica Aguilar at Rizin 37. That snapped a two-fight skid for the 40…

After Robert Whittaker earned a dominant decision win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris on Saturday, Paulo Costa called out the former champion for a fight at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro this January.

Advertisement

when I fight whittaker it won't be by decision, I'll go for the knockout. I hope he doesn't change divisions before then.

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 4, 2022

While Brazilian fans were intrigued by the possibility, Whittaker’s coach, Alex Prates told Sherdog.com that there is no chance that “The Reaper” will face Costa in Brazil.

“I have no idea where that came from, but it's not true,” Prates said.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESPN+

According to Prates, Whitaker is planning to return to action in February in his home country with a belt on the line.

“It´s almost confirmed. UFC is planning to hold an event in Perth, Australia, in February and we are going to …

Marvin Vettori isn’t giving up his dream of being champion following his loss to Robert Whittaker in the UFC Fight Night 209 co-main event this past Saturday.

Advertisement

The Italian middleweight recently released a statement via social media after dropping a clear-cut unanimous decision to the former 185-pound title holder at the Accor Arena in Paris.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESPN+

“Starting from Mezzocorona and getting to the MMA world summit didn’t happen overnight,” Vettori wrote. “Against all odds and working steadily through these years, many have become passionate and inspired by my journey, where my determination has always prevailed. For this, I thank you from first to last. What you’ve seen so far is not the top of the mountain. We will climb back to conquer higher peaks. It’s a promise.

“This game ain’t for the faint of heart. We got big shoulders, and we don’t quit. There is just one way, and that is forward. I …

𝙄𝙏'𝙎 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇 @jakepaul vs. @SpiderAnderson Oct. 29 LIVE on @Showtime PPV from @GilaRiverArena. #PaulSilva pre-sale available now: https://t.co/SCgGwEQmns pic.twitter.com/CQgA0YYb6z

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) September 6, 2022

A previously rumored boxing match between social media personality Jake Paul and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is now official.

Advertisement

Showtime Sports and Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, announced on Tuesday that the fight will take place on Oct. 29 at Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Ariz. The bout will be contested over eight rounds at a 187-pound catchweight. The event will air live via pay-per-view on Showtime. The two men are expected to meet face-to-face at consecutive media events on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles and on Sept. 13 in Phoenix.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESPN+

“Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva is the most versatile fighter the wo…

[embedded content]

Things are heating up ahead of Khamzat Chimaev’s first headlining appearance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

On Monday, Chimaev was involved in an altercation with former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Costa, who was training with Jake Shields at the facility, posted a reaction and video of the incident on his YouTube channel. Shields is a training partner of Nate Diaz, who is Chimaev’s opponent in the UFC 279 main event.

“I met Chimaev there, and man, he was scared,” Costa said on his YouTube channel. “The guy stood there and he froze. He froze. I actually was not surprised. As I said before, cupcake Chechen, gourmet Chechen is a bully with small guys.”

Costa added that he told Chimaev that he would like to fight the Allstars Training Center product if he is victorious against Diaz on Saturday. The altercation primarily consisted of both fighters yelling across …

Italian middleweight Alessio Di Chirico is calling it a career.

Advertisement

Di Chirico announced his retirement via social media on the heels of a third-round knockout loss to Roman Kopylov at UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris this past Saturday. The 32-year-old known as “Manzo” has lost five of his last six appearances within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Order UFC 279 "Chimaev vs. Diaz" exclusively on ESPN+

“I can't think of how much I have made all the people who love me suffer, and even all those who simply believe in me,” he wrote (text translated from Italian via Google Translate). “I feel that the time has come to hang up the gloves. I know it's a tipping point, I know I'll miss it like crazy in a few years. But now there are more reasons that tell me to stop than to continue. Thank you very much for being close to me in this last battle.”

Di Chirico added that he plans to remain involved in combat sports even as he exits MMA as…

On Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev will headline UFC 279 against Nate Diaz.

Advertisement

His jiu-jitsu trainer, Alan Finfou Nascimento, expects an impressive win over Diaz at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas but revealed to Sherdog.com that Chimaev is not in a rush to challenge for welterweight gold in the event of a victory.

“Of course our priority would be the title bout, but in case UFC wants to make the trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, he would like to do a fight in the middleweight division,” Nascimento said.

The coach also thanked Caio Borralho for his help with Chimaev’s camp over the past couple weeks.

“Caio came to help us, he added a lot to the preparation, and he's with us here in Vegas,” Nascimento said. “I hope he continues to help us. He's a top fighter, and he helped Chimaev a lot.”

According to Nascimento, Chimaev will go with him to Rio de Janeiro after the fight for the premiere of the film "Faixa Preta,” which is…

Khamzat Chimaev can take another step closer to a title shot with a victory over Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 headliner on Saturday, but he’s willing to weigh his options if the promotion goes in a different direction.

Advertisement

After Leon Edwards upset of Kamaru Usman in the UFC 278 headliner, a decent possibility exists that an immediate trilogy — potentially in England — could be in store given Usman’s run of dominance prior to that defeat. If that turns out to be the case, Chimaev told ESPN that he could turn his attention to the middleweight division and the winner of the title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira slated for UFC 281.

“If they want to do [the trilogy], for me no problem,” Chimaev said. “I’m gonna take some other fight, and we will see what’s happening. Maybe Israel Adesanya or the other guy, Pereira. Who wins that, maybe fight with them. I don’t know.”

Prior to UFC 278, Usman had a 15-bout winning streak in the Octagon and ha…

It was smooth sailing at weigh-ins for Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as all 10 athletes scheduled to compete hit their contracted marks.

The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured contest is a light heavyweight affair pitting Rodolfo Bellato (205) against Vitor Petrino Salvo (203.5). The bout is a rematch of a Max Fight 22 encounter in May 2019 won by Salvo via first-round knockout.

A product of the Team Nogueira camp, Bellato brings an 8-1 career mark into the Contender Series. He has finished all of his victories inside the distance, including a pair of first-round submissions under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner.

Salvo is undefeated in six professional appearances, including the aforementioned triumph against Bellato. Most recently, the 25-year-old CM System product scored a second-round KO of six-time UFC veteran Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UAE W…

Nate Diaz is about to make a foray into the business of promoting combat sports.

Advertisement

According to a release from Team Diaz, the Stockton, Calif., native will be applying for his license to promote events for an organization called Real Fight, Inc. The promotion will feature boxing, mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Diaz himself announced the news on Sunday via instagram with the following caption: “Real Ninjas. Real Fighters. Real Shit.. Real Fight, Inc.”

According to the statement, Diaz’s new endeavor will not affect his status as a fighter, as he plans to remain active in that realm.

“Real Fight, Inc. is his expansion into the business side of the sport where he has been a fixture for close to 20 years,” a statement reads. “The promotion will look attract fighters from around the world, whether it be up and coming prospects or household names who fit the brand of ‘Real Ninjas. Real Fighters. Real S—…’”

Diaz is scheduled …

In his previous 11 professional mixed martial arts appearances, Ciryl Gane had never been hit the way Tai Tuivasa hit him on Saturday in Paris.

Advertisement

“Yeah, 100 percent [the hardest puncher I’ve faced],” Gane said at the UFC Fight Night 209 post-fight press conference. “Ngannou never touched me during the fight, so it’s impossible to compare. But today, Tai Tuivasa touched me. Francis Ngannou can touch very well. That’s not a question. But today, [Tuivasa] was the first guy to put me on my ass.”

“Bon Gamin” appeared to be on cruise control before Tuivasa dropped him with a massive right hand in the second round of their headlining bout at the Accor Arena in Paris. That set off a thrilling sequence in which the heavyweights went back and forth before Gane put his opponent away with a series of heavy punches 4:23 into Round 3. For a few moments, however, Gane was going on pure instinct after hitting the canvas.

“I don’t have time to put question in my…