Martial Arts News

The increasingly frequent variation between judges’ scorecards in individual rounds has been a hot topic for debate in mixed martial arts.

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Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras and prominent manager Alex Davis have both recently voiced their support for open scoring. Meanwhile, Joe Rogan weighed in on judging criteria as well, telling Aljamain Sterling on his podcast that he “definitely” won his rematch against Petr Yan. (For the record, Sterling did win a contentious split decision at UFC 273.)

Meanwhile, Brazilian judge Guilherme Bravo, author of the book “In the Judges’ Hands” and recognized by “Big” John McCarthy as one of the best in the business, not only agreed with Rogan but also emphasized the importance of normalizing 10-10 and 10-8 scorecards.

“The 10 point system is perfect, I dont see any need to change rules. The problem is not the rules system. The scores 10-10 and 10-8 are in the rules and must be used more,” Bravo told Sherdog.com…

It appears that the winner of the Weili Zhang-Joanna Jedrzejczyk rematch will be the next No. 1 contender in the UFC strawweight division.

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UFC president Dana White said in an interview with MMA Underground that the winner of the UFC 275 bout will receive a title shot against recently-crowned champion Carla Esparza.

“This would definitely be that whoever wins this will definitely fight Esparza for the title,” White said.

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Zhang and Jedrzejczyk initially squared off at at UFC 248 in March 2020. Zhang retained the 115-pound belt in a memorable split-decision triumph that was selected as Sherdog.com's “Fight of the Year.” Zhang would go on to lose the belt in a first-round knockout loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261 before dropping a split verdict to Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 268. Jedrzejczyk, who defended the bel five times before relinquishing it to Namajunas in 2017, hasn’t fought since the loss to Zha…

One familiar face will be absent from the UFC 275 pay-per-view broadcast this Saturday.

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Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will step in for Joe Rogan as one of the color commentators at the event. Bisping will join fellow ex-champ Daniel Cormier and play-by-play man Jon Anik on the broadcast.

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Rogan typically doesn’t work the UFC’s international events due to a busy schedule that includes his podcast and stand-up comedy tour dates. MMAjunkie.com was first to report Rogan’s absence from the event.

UFC 275 takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship tilt between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight crown against Taila Santos. The main card is available on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN2 and ESPN+ a…

While fans are waiting for a trilogy bout between Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee, it’s possible that featherweight contender Adam Borics may receive the next title shot against the Brazilian champion.

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Borics is coming off a five-round decision win against Mads Burnell at Bellator 276 in a bout that was billed as a featherweight title eliminator by the California-based promotion. Freire’s karate coach, Mano Santana, believes a fresh face might be the next logical step for “Pitbull.”

“Patricio has cleaned out the division. It would make all the sense if Bellator gives the opportunity to Borics,” Santana told Sherdog.com.

CATCH EVERY MOMENT OF UFC 275 ON ESPN+ According to Santana, who also works with Lyoto Machida and Rodolfo Vieira, a potential change in plans could be attributed to the attitude of McKee.

"First A.J. denied [interest in] the trilogy, saying he was going up [a weight class]. Later, he changed his mind,” Santana said. “In my exp…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Brian Kelleher will lock horns with Mario Bautista in a bantamweight clash at UFC on ESPN 38.

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Bautista’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, first brought word of the bout. UFC on ESPN 38 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on June 25 and is headlined by a lightweight tilt pitting Mateusz Gamrot against Arman Tsarukyan.

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Kelleher is 1-1 thus far in 2022. After outpointing Kevin Croom at UFC on ESPN 32 on Jan. 15, “Boom” was submitted in the opening round by Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272 on March 5. The New Yorker is 8-6 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion after stints with Riong of Combat, Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Bellator MMA.

Bautista enters the matchup having won three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 28-year-old MMA Lab representative earned a unanimous decision over Jay Perrin at UF…

A bantamweight showdown pitting Marlon Vera against Dominick Cruz is in the works to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 13.

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ESPN Deportes was first to report that both parties have verbally agreed to the five-round bout. The UFC Fight Night event is likely to be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will also see Alexa Grasso square off against Viviane Araujo in the evening’s co-main event.

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This will be Vera’s second consecutive headlining engagement after he took a five-round verdict over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 35 on April 30. “Chito” has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances, with other wins coming against the likes of Frankie Edgar, Davey Grant and Sean O’Malley.

Cruz, a former 135-pound champion, is coming off a 2-0 2021. The Alliance MMA standout garnered a split verdict over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 before defeating Pedro Munhoz via unanimous de…

Greg Hardy is the latest mixed martial artist to try his hand at the Sweet Science.

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Hardy is expected to make his professional boxing debut under the Black Sheep Boxing banner on Oct. 8 in Delray Beach, Fla. An opponent was not announced.

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“When you got the dream locked in your sights and all you gotta do is pull the trigger,” Hardy captioned an Instagram post in which he is wearing boxing gloves.

A former NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman, Hardy made his way to the UFC after a pair of victories on Dana White’s Contender Series. “The Prince of War” trained out of American Top Team and went 4-5 with one no contest during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. Hardy parted ways with the UFC in March after his contract was not renewed.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: M-1

Movsar Evloev was in complete control throughout his unanimous decision triumph over Dan Ige in the UFC Fight Night 207 co-main event, and he believes he made a statement with his performance.

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“I think this performance today tells a lot about me,” Evloev said at the post-fight press conference. I’m a real, top fighter and next champ. MMA fans like this with a lot of blood and a lot of punching. It’s good when you finish early, but sometimes it’s good when you fight very hard for three rounds.”

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Evloev battered Ige for three rounds while blending his striking and grappling to perfection. He even rattled his opponent with a flying knee in Round 1, but a finish never arrived despite Evloev’s best efforts. Ige has never been stopped in 21 professional appearances.

“I wanted an early finish, but everybody knows about my opponent,” Evlo…

According to Alexander Volkov, it’s not up to him to decide if a referee is making the right call in the heat of the moment.

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Volkov rocked Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a right hand during a frenetic exchange in the UFC Fight Night 207 headliner, then pummeled his foe with a barrage of power punches to get the finish at the 2:12 mark of Round 1. Though Rozenstruik’s mouthpiece was dislodged during the assault, he only went down to one knee before referee Herb Dean stepped in to halt the bout. That led to Rozenstruik briefly protesting the stoppage in the aftermath. Volkov believes he would have continued the onslaught had Dean not made his call.

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“In the moment, I hit him, he was a little bit knocked out so he wasn’t being fully fresh. Anyway, it was a big opportunity to knock him out, to land because he was almost on the mat. I was ready to throw him down and continue my work,” Volkov said at Saturday’s post…

Felice Herrig returned to the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years on Saturday, but it was only temporary.

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Herrig announced her retirement in the cage following a second-round submission loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a preliminary strawweight clash at UFC Fight Night 207 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. For Herrig, it was important to return from injury, but she also had to see if her passion for the sport still burned strong.

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“It’s been an honor being in the UFC in eight years and fighting for 20. I had two ACL surgeries and I really wanted to not go out like that,” Herrig said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I can overcome two knee surgeries and come back and still fight at the highest level.

“I felt better than ever in training. My mind felt great… But I knew that if I wasn’t feeling it in the cage, it was going to be my last fight. Not in a bad way, I just feel like there’s somet…

Lucas Almeida and Michael Trizano engaged in a back-and-forth battle at UFC Fight Night 207, and now both featherweights are $50,000 richer for their efforts.

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Almeida and Trizano received “Fight of the Night” honors for their slugfest, which featured a combined three knockdowns between the two combatants. Trizano struck the first blow in Round 1, when he blasted his foe with a knee and followed him to the canvas. Almeida survived until the horn and rallied to drop Trizano once apiece in Rounds 2 and 3. The second occasion — when he slipped a punch and dropped Trizano with a left hook — set the stage for a stoppage 55 seconds into the final stanza.

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Elsewhere, Karine Silva pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check in her promotional debut thanks to a first-round submission of Poliana Botelho in a featured flyweight encounter. Silva rocked Botelho with an overhand right, powered her foe to the c…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 207 coverage will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

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

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Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Blanchfield (-525), Aldrich (+385)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fakhretdinov (-280), Michailidis (+225)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scor…