Martial Arts News

Instead of a trilogy against A.J. McKee, Patricio Freire will next defend his featherweight title against Adam Borics in the Bellator 286 main event.

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The Press-Telegram was first to report the booking. McKee won’t be far from the featured proceedings, however, as he will make his 155-pound debut against Spike Carlyle in the co-main event. Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the bouts with a promotion official. Bellator 286 takes place on Oct. 1 at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., and the evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

After losing the 145-pound belt to McKee in a first-round submission loss at Bellator 263 in July 2021, Freire regained the title with a five-round verdict against his rival in the Bellator 277 headliner on April 15. “Pitbull” has won eight of his last nine promotional appearances dating back to 2017.

Borics, meanwhile, earned a unanimous decision against Mads Burnell in a title eliminator bout at Bellator 276…

As expected, Tom Aspinall suffered some pretty severe damage to his knee at UFC London last month.

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Early in his UFC Fight Night 208 headlining bout against Curtis Blaydes, Aspinall stepped awkwardly and crumbled to the canvas in agony, ending the heavyweight fight just 15 seconds after it began. The 29-year-old Englishman revealed the extent of the damage in a post on his Instagram account on Wednesday.

“Today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said in a video. “I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus and some ACL damage, so going to get that fixed today.”

Prior to the unfortunate injury, Aspinall established himself as one of the heavyweight division’s top up-and-coming talents with a five-fight Octagon winning streak that included finishes of Alexander Volkov, Sergey Spivak and Andrei Arlovski. The Team Kaobon representative is 12-3 over the course of a pro …

Chris Duncan’s commitment to a never-say-died creed paid massive dividends when it mattered most.

The Scotsman was one of five competitors to book their spots in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he battled back from the brink of defeat to knock out Charlie Campbell on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Duncan (9-1) brought their marquee matchup to a shocking conclusion 1:43 into Round 1.

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Campbell (6-2) had “The Problem” on rubbery legs with a series of ringing right uppercuts and seemed to be ticketed for a finish of his own. However, Duncan rose from his knees and connected with a devastating counter right hand. Campbell’s legs folded beneath him as he collapsed backward onto the canvas, his revitalized adversary in hot pursuit. Duncan then separated the Ray Longo disciple from his senses with two brutal follow-up shots on the ground.

Four other winners will join Duncan on the updated UFC roster:…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 2 coverage kicks off 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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Round 1 Smotritsky will make his second appearance on the Contender Series after being submitted by Mike Malott in 39 seconds last season. Goff, meanwhile, is a two-division CES MMA champion on a five-fight winning streak. Mark Smith will oversee the welterweight clash. Goff takes the center early and is throwing out leg kicks. But it’s Smotritsky who floors Goff with a high kick within the bout’s 30 seconds. Smotritsky swarms with ground-and-pound, but Goff is up to his feet. Smotritsky tries another high kick but Goff catches it. Smotritsky is doing well landing kicks and knees, as Goff already has a cut under his eye. A hard body kick smacks home for Smotritsky, but Goff is undeterred. Goff absorbs a knee and shoots for a single leg against the fence. Smotritsky is on a knee and then h…

A women’s flyweight clash pitting Amanda Ribas against Tracy Cortez is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 3.

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ESPN Deportes was first to report the booking. The event does not currently have a location or headliner.

Ribas is coming off a split-decision loss to Katlyn Chookagian in a 125-pound bout at UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14. It was later revealed that the Brazilian suffered a ruptured biceps tendon prior to the fight. Ribas has compiled a 5-2 mark in the Octagon while competing primarily as a strawweight.

A competitor on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Cortez has been victorious in her first four appearances within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, she outpointed Melissa Gatto at UFC 274 on May 7. Cortez has won 10 consecutive outings since losing her professional debut in August 2017.

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

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As Steven Ray trapped Anthony Pettis in a modified twister in the second round of their PFL regular season bout on June 24, “Showtime” had a difficult decision to make.

On one hand, he could fight to escape the submission and risk injury — as well as his spot in the playoffs. One the other hand, he could tap and save himself from further damage.

Ultimately, he chose the latter option.

“In that fight, I had to make a decision to let the rib pop or tap out before I got to that point,” Pettis said during a PFL media day. “I already had a spot guaranteed for the playoffs, so it was a split decision I had to make — would I get injured and possibly get out of the submission or tap out? Injur…

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

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Rob Wilkinson had a short-lived stint in the UFC, but he was able to find some valuable takeaways from the experience nonetheless.

According to Wilkinson, his loss to reigning Israel Adesanya at UFC 221 proved to be particularly useful. In hindsight, Wilkinson wishes he followed the reigning UFC middleweight champion’s career path a little bit more closely.

“I definitely learned some lessons from fighting Israel. Even after fighting him, I got invited to train with him for a while,” Wilkinson said at a PFL media day. “And even how he approached going to the UFC, he actually turned them down for few years before he was ready to go straight to the top.

“I feel like I was so excited to ge…

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

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With his Professional Fighters League season on the line, Steven Ray delivered in emphatic fashion the first time around against Anthony Pettis.

The 32-year-old Scot authored a “Submission of the Year” candidate at PFL 5 on June 24, tapping Pettis with a modified twister 3:57 into the second round of their regular season bout. Not only did Ray punch his ticket to the postseason, but the victory set up a rematch with “Showtime” in the lightweight semifinals on Friday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Rematches don’t normally happen so quickly, but the PFL format dictates a quick turnaround. That said, “Braveheart” is confident he’ll have the advantage against Pettis in multiple as…

Both Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena have been sidelined indefinitely following their bantamweight championship bout in the UFC 277 headliner.

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The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event, which took place at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Nunes regained the 135-pound belt with a dominant unanimous decision victory, avenging an upset loss to Pena that occurred at UFC 269 last December.

Nunes is suspended indefinitely with a minimum term of 45 days, while Pena is also out indefinitely but with a minimum sit of 60 days. The Texas commission did not specify the nature of each suspension. Everyone on the card received at least a seven-day precautionary sit.

Three other fighters from UFC 277 received indefinite suspensions: Drew Dober, Drakkar Klose and Adam Fugitt.

UFC 277 Medical Suspensions: Amanda Nunes: Suspended indefinitely; minimum 45 daysJulianna Pena: Suspend…

Former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will need surgery after suffering a broken ankle in his loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the news following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The injury occurred when Smith threw a kick in the opening round of the light heavyweight bout at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

“Lionheart” nonetheless fought into the second round, before suffering a technical knockout loss at the 3:09 mark of the period. That snapped a three-bout winning streak for Smith. Ankalaev, meanwhile, has won nine consecutive fights.

It’s currently unclear how long Smith will be sidelined as a result of the injury.

Philip De Fries will attempt to extend his reign as heavyweight champion when he defends his crown against Ricardo Prasel at KSW 74.

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De Fries confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. KSW 74 takes place on Sept. 10.

After a bumpy stretch in the UFC earlier in his career, de Fries has emerged as one of the most successful heavyweights in the sport. The 36-year-old England native has won nine consecutive fights and has authored six successful heavyweight title defenses since capturing the KSW heavyweight strap in 2018. Most recently, he defeated fellow UFC vet Darko Stosic via fifth-round TKO at KSW 67 on Feb. 26.

Prasel enters the matchup with de Fries riding the momentum of consecutive finishes of Daniel Omielanczuk and Michal Kita under the KSW banner. The 31-year-old Germany-based Brazilian also appeared on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he fell to Don'Tale Mayes via first-round TKO.

Flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev will lock horns with Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280.

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ESPN was first to report the 125-pound booking. UFC 280 takes place on Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight championship showdown between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling will defend the bantamweight crown against T.J. Dillashaw.

Muhammad is unbeaten in nine professional outings, including a pair of triumphs in UFC competition. In his last outing, “The Punisher” landed 12 takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over Charles Johnson at UFC Fight Night 208 in London on July 23.

After coming up short in his first two UFC appearances, Gordon has won back-to-back fights in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The former TKO MMA flyweight champion is coming off a first-round stoppage of Denys Bondar at UFC Fight Night 200 on Feb. 5, a victory that ran his professional record to 14-5.