Martial Arts News

Sherdog's live UFC 277 “Pena vs. Nunes 2” 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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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cosce (-175), Mathetha (+150)Round 1 Who’s ready for some Texas-based action tonight? The UFC sure is, with a lucky 13 bouts going down in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, culminating with a pair of rematches that have belts on the line. Before we get up there, we need to churn through some prelims, and the night starts with what should be a lot of action for as long as it lasts. In a fight initially booked at welterweight, Cosce (7-1, 0-1 UFC) missed weight by a pound and a half ahead of his contest with “Blood Diamond” Mathetha (3-1, 0-1 UFC), and it’s anyone’s guess how it will affect his performance – although it will hurt his pocketbook should he record a bonus-worthy victory or fight. Despite the weight miss, the fighters …

HIS EYE 😱 #UFC277 pic.twitter.com/9pUwEFtzDp

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 31, 2022

UFC 277's prelims was topped by an entertaining featured welterweight bout between Alex Morono and Matthew Semelsberger.

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Morono (22-7, 1 NC) was able to find success on the feet early on, being able to land left hooks that stunned "Semi The Jedi," who ended the round with a swollen eye. Semelsberger (10-4) wasn't deterred by his eye closing as he continued to come forward and ended Round 2 with a takedown and some solid ground-and-pound. Shockingly, Semelsberger would floor Morono with a jumping knee to start Round 3. Morono would recover and safely finished the round without any other significant scares.

After 15 minutes of action, Morono took a well-deserved unanimous decision win with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

Dober Liver Shots Alves Drew Dober and Rafael Alves put on a show in an action-heavy fight.

Dober (25-11, 1 NC) …

[embedded content] With the formalities out of the way, the 2022 Rizin Fighting Federation atomweight grand prix is ready to begin!

Rizin returns to the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, for an exciting card on Sunday morning. The upcoming Rizin 37 card will feature the much-anticipated quarterfinal battles in the women’s 108-pound tourney. All eight women entering the tournament made weight ahead of their assignments, as well as the remaining combatants on the card.

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The event is headlined by a clash between current Rizin super atomweight titleholder Seika Izawa, who will lock horns with Maria Laura Alves Fontoura. Izawa, who is also the current Deep Jewels 115-pound champion, shocked the mixed martial arts world when she stopped former divisional queen Ayaka Hamasaki with elbows and punches in their Rizin 33 non-title matchup. In the subsequent rematch at Rizin 35, Izawa dominated Hamasaki to capture the divisional belt on the scorecards.…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship's second pay-per-view of July is good to go, as all UFC 277 championship participants made weight.

The card is headlined by the highly anticipated rematch between UFC women's bantamweight champ Julianna Pena and UFC women's featherweight titleholder Amanda Nunes. Both women had no issue making weight, as "Lioness" weighed 135 pounds on the dot, while the defending champion waited to practically the last minute only to clock in at 134.5 pounds. Additionally, both Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara France hit the scales at exactly 124.5 pounds for their interim flyweight title tilt.

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However, the undercard did feature two notable weight misses. Joselyne Edwards came in 1.5 pounds overweight for her bantamweight bout against Ji Yeon Kim. Additionally, Orion Cosce weighed 172.5 pounds for his scheduled welterweight match against Mike Mathetha. Both fighters have been fined 20% of their purse, but the fights w…

HYDER AMIL WITH THE COMEBACK WIN!!!!#LFA137 pic.twitter.com/mIeuRVfTWe

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 30, 2022 Hyder Amil looks like a significant problem for the rest of the Legacy Fighting Alliance featherweight division, so long as another organization does not call his number sooner.

The undefeated Gilbert Melendez protégé cut down Chase Gibson with punches in the second round of their LFA 137 headliner on Friday at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. Amil (7-0, 3-0 LFA) brought it to a close 11 seconds into Round 2, delivering his second finish in three outings with the Ed Soares-led promotion.

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A back-and-forth first round was marked by wild swings in momentum. Amil twice tripped his opponent to the mat after pinning kicks to his body. However, Gibson made the more convincing argument, as he executed a takedown, progressed to the back, secured position with a body triangle and later threatened with …

A scary-fun Ultimate Fighting Championship scrap is on the books for the event on Halloween weekend.

On Friday, Eurosport Spain broke the news that Edson Barboza (22-11) will be throwing down with Ilia Topuria (12-0) at 145 pounds on Oct. 29. The event, which does not yet have a title or official venue, will be a Fight Night offering that could air either on ESPN+ or one of the main networks, depending on scheduling. This potential featherweight thriller has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. This bout is the first to be officially listed on the Oct. 29 show’s lineup, and it is not expected to serve as the headliner.

Barboza will be looking to right the ship after a pair of defeats to Giga Chikadze and Bryce Mitchell in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The dangerous Brazilian striker dropped down to featherweight in 2020, and dropped a contentious split decision to Dan Ige to start things off. A pair of victories over Makwan Amirkhani and Shane Burgos showed the m…

[embedded content] Bellator MMA featherweight king Patricio Freire firmly believes he is the best featherweight on the planet, regardless of organization.

Three months after regaining his belt in a unanimous decision win over AJ McKee, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire does not yet know who will be his next opponent. According to the champion, Adam Borics may vie for the strap before McKee moves forward into the rubber match. “Pitbull” claimed his title back from the man who wrested it from him in McKee in April, making him the first fighter in Bellator history to have four reigns as champion. Freire spoke to Sherdog about that second McKee fight as well as what he thinks will come in his future.

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“What the organization told me is that to make a trilogy, it’s necessary to have some[thing] ‘spicy,’ and they are not sure if it’s occurring now,” the champ explained. “Once Borics defeated Burnell in a title contender fight, he might get the c…

BREAKING: @MatheusBuffa replaces Bruno Cappelozza in the #PFLPlayoffs! Scheffel faces Denis Goltsov in the Heavyweight Semifinals on Saturday, August 13th in Cardiff!

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 28, 2022 The Professional Fighters League’s card in Wales has just experienced a number of shakeups to its lineup.

The PFL sent out a press release on Thursday announcing or confirming a slew of changes to the PFL 8: 2022 Playoffs. The Aug. 13 card that will take place in the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, has lost one of its heavyweight semifinalists: 2022 champion Bruno Cappelozza (15-6). Due to injury, he has been forced out of the million-dollar playoffs, and in his stead will be the man who beat him in June in Matheus Scheffel (16-8). Due to playoff tiebreaker rules, Cappelozza advanced despite suffering a head-to-head defeat to Scheffel, but Scheffel will now be the one moving on. “Buffa” will square off with Denis Goltsov (29-7) on the main card …

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Nominees for the fan-selected World MMA Awards have been announced, and your favorite outlet—hopefully—is on the ballot for MMA Media Source of the Year.

Fighters Only Magazine, which has covered mixed martial arts since 2005 and launched its annual awards in 2008, on Wednesday announced the nominees in over 20 categories for the 14th edition of the World MMA Awards. The contest year covers July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. In addition to unveiling the nominees, Fighters Only announced its plan to return to a full in-person awards ceremony in Las Vegas, of the type that had long been a yearly tradition, but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are back to a full-strength awards show this year, that will be our biggest to date,” Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt said in a press release. “Las Vegas will once again be home to the world’s best MMA fighters and celebrity fans who will all come together to celebrate. Growing on previous years, the …

Joseph Pyfer did everything he was supposed to do, and he was rewarded for it.

The former Ring of Combat titleholder nailed down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he wiped out Osman Diaz with punches in the second round of their featured middleweight pairing on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Diaz (7-2) bowed out 1:39 into Round 2, his five-fight winning streak at an end.

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Pyfer (8-1) seized the reins early in the first round and never truly released them. He struck for a takedown inside 45 seconds, threatened with an arm-triangle choke, advanced to the back and secured his position with a body triangle. Diaz eventually reversed into top position but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Pyfer rattled the reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a crisp one-two at the start of the middle stanza and reset himself for his next assault. He leveled Diaz with a beautiful left hook,…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2022 Week 1 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.

ODDS: Costa (-265); Luna (+225)Round 1 Flyweight hopefuls Costa and Luna touch gloves and set to work under the watchful eye of referee Chris Tognoni. Costa sets up in orthodox stance; Luna switches between both stances in the early going. Nearly a minute in, Costa lands the first hard shot, an outside kick to Luna’s left calf. Costa lands another. Luna has a huge reach advantage, but hasn’t thrown much so far. Two minutes in, Luna lands a right body kick. Luna switching stances frequently, pawing with a right jab. Luna springs forward with a left, then a right high kick. Luna backs Costa up with a front kick up the middle. With a minute left, neither man has thrown much offense. Costa bounces into range and lands a one-two. Costa with a right body kick. Costa counters a Luna front kick with a pair of punch…

Someone close to the situation confirmed to me that the clash between Manon Fiorot and Katlyn Chookagian scheduled for #UFCParis has been moved to the #UFC280 card on Oct. 22. Story coming to @sherdogdotcom.

First reported by @RMCsport pic.twitter.com/R3M7Jcd8Qj

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) July 26, 2022

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Fans attending the upcoming UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris, France, won’t see Manon Fiorot competing on the card. French media outlet RMC Sport reported that the fighter wouldn’t be taking on Katlyn Chookagian as initially scheduled after Fiorot injured her knee. Instead, their 125-pound clash has been moved to UFC 280, which will go down in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22. Sherdog confirmed the news through a source close to the situation.

Fiorot, a former UAE Warriors titleholder (9-1, 4-0 UFC), is currently pursuing a run at Valentina Shevchenko’s flyweight crown. “The Beast” is riding an impressive nine-…