Martial Arts News

PFL Regular Season comes to Atlanta & @OvertimeElite

Buy Tickets Now! https://t.co/SJJTGiOAHb pic.twitter.com/fx2Ffoq0bk

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 11, 2022

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The excitement is building in earnest for the second half of the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday for events scheduled for June 17, June 24 and July 1 at the OTE Arena at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Ga. All cards will air on ESPN and ESPN+, according to a release. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Fighters competing in six different weight classes such as Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, Brendan Loughnane, Antonio Carlos Jr., and Rory MacDonald will continue their push to make the PFL playoffs at these events. Matchups have not been announced at this time but are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“The PFL is excited to bring the second half of our 2022 regular season to …

Big fight incoming!@KrylovUFC vs @AlexTheMauler is official for #UFCLondon

https://t.co/SBdaztkmfe pic.twitter.com/kQMXyp33YW

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 11, 2022

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After a brief foray at heavyweight, Alexander Gustafsson will return to 205 pounds for a matchup against Nikita Krylov at UFC London on July 23.

The Las Vegas-based promotion officially announced the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 Arena in London and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall.

Gustafsson hasn’t fought since July 2020, when he was submitted by Fabricio Werdum in the opening round of his heavyweight debut at UFC on ESPN 14. The Swede was initially slated to face Ben Rothwell on May 21, but that fight was scrapped after Rothwell was granted his UFC release. The three-time 205-pound title challenger has lost three straight bouts dating back to a third-round KO defeat in a remat…

Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon will get their chance to fight — only it will be a little more than a month later than originally anticipated.

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The lightweight clash has been rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas, on June 18. ESPN was first to report the new date. Cerrone vs. Lauzon was originally set for UFC 274 before a non-COVID related illness — believed to be food poisoning — forced “Cowboy” to withdraw just hours before the bout.

Shortly after his exit from the card, Cerrone announced that he plans to fight two more times before calling it a career. The BMF Ranch founder is winless in his last six promotional appearances and is coming off a first-round TKO defeat to Alex Morono at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

Lauzon hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he halted a three-bout skid with a first-round stoppage of Jonathan Pearce at UFC on ESPN 6.

UFC on ESPN 37 takes place at the Moody Center and is headlined by a featherwei…

Decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Leo Vieira has been named as Vice President of Grappling for One Championship, the Singapore-based promotion announced Tuesday.

Vieira is a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Pan American champion and ADCC world champion. Additionally, he is a co-founder of the renowned grappling team CheckMat along with his brothers Ricardo and Leandro.

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“I am thrilled to join One as Vice President of Grappling. I appreciate the trust and opportunity that Chatri and the One team have given me to shape One’s submission grappling divisions,” Vieira said.

“As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for over 25 years, I have been able to positively impact lives as a competitor, professor, and team leader, and I will continue to do so at One. It is a dream come true to work alongside people who share similar values and beliefs about martial arts as I do. I am committed to building the world’s most exciting submission grapp…

It has been a busy two weeks for Diego Lima, the head coach of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo.

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Shortly after Charles Oliveira’s victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 this past Saturday, Lima headed to Las Vegas – accompanied by Oliveira – to corner fighters Allan Patrick and Allan Nascimento for their bouts at UFC on ESPN 36 this Saturday. Shortly after their first sparring session on Monday, Lima gave an exclusive interview to Sherdog.com, where he commented on the weigh-in controversy involving Oliveira that occurred last Friday. “Do Bronx” was stripped of the lightweight belt when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds but regained top contender status by submitting Justin Gaethje one day later.

"Since Charles went up to 155, we always go to sleep on Thursday with the weight made. In order to not have problems with different scale setups, this time, we didn’t bring our scale in order to follow the official one,” Lima said. “We even published a photo on our socia…

It has been a busy two weeks for Diego Lima, the head coach of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo.

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Shortly after Charles Oliveira’s victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 this past Saturday, Lima headed to Las Vegas – accompanied by Oliveira – to corner fighters Allan Patrick and Allan Nascimento for their bouts at UFC on ESPN 36 this Saturday. Shortly after their first sparring session on Monday, Lima gave an exclusive interview to Sherdog.com, where he commented on the weigh-in controversy involving Oliveira that occurred last Friday. “Do Bronx” was stripped of the lightweight belt when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds but regained top contender status by submitting Justin Gaethje one day later.

"Since Charles went up to 155, we always go to sleep on Thursday with the weight made. In order to not have problems with different scale setups, this time, we didn’t bring our scale in order to follow the official one,” Lima said. “We even published a photo on our socia…

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

Molly McCann will get her second fight on home soil in as many appearances when she faces Hannah Goldy at UFC London on July 23.

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Promotion officials announced the flyweight booking on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 in London and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Tom Aspinall against Curtis Blaydes. The event is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Darren Till and Jack Hermansson.

A former Cage Warriors champion, McCann won her second consecutive fight at the organization’s London event earlier this year, as she vanquished Luana Carolina with a spinning back elbow at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19. “Meatball” is 5-3 in UFC competition and 12-4 as a professional overall.

Goldy, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 192, where she tapped Emily Whitmire with an arm-bar in the opening stanza. …

Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara France are expected to vie for the interim flyweight crown at UFC 277.

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News of the matchup was first reported by Ariel Helwani. An interim belt was reportedly created because reigning 125-pound king Deiveson Figueiredo is still recovering from an injured finger. Otherwise, the promotion wanted to book Figueiredo vs. Moreno 4. Moreno and Kara France initially fought at UFC 245, with Moreno winning a three-round verdict.

UFC 277 takes place on July 30 and is also expected to include a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold as well as a light heavyweight tilt pitting Magomed Ankalaev against Anthony Smith. A location has not been revealed, but Dallas is rumored to be the top option.

Moreno is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Figueiredo in a trilogy bout at UFC 270 on Jan. 22. “The Assassin Baby” is 1-1-1 against the Brazilian, with a third-round submission victory at UFC 263 and a majority…

One thing is certain: Charles Oliveira will be one half of the next UFC lightweight title bout.

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“Do Bronx” earned that right when he submitted Justin Gaethje in the opening round of the UFC 274 headliner after being stripped of the belt due to missing weight one day prior. What’s still up in the air is who Oliveira will face, along with the date and venue.

Shortly after Oliveira’s triumph, ex-lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov lobbied for training partner Islam Makhachev to receive the next shot. Makhachev has won 10 consecutive fights at 155 pounds in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a first-round stoppage of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202.

“Is there really a more interesting [fight] in the UFC at the moment than Islam vs. Charles?” Nurmagomedov wrote on Twitter. “Just bring these fighters to Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22. Let the undisputed champion be determined.”

Dana White wouldn’t commit to Oliveira vs. Makhachev at the UF…

Yoel Romero earned his first mixed martial arts win in more than four years at Bellator 280, as he defeated Alex Polizzi via third-round technical knockout in Friday’s co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

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The former UFC middleweight title challenger has his next fight booked against Melvin Manhoef in another 205-pound clash at Bellator Dublin on Sept. 23. However, there is already some buzz surrounding a potential booking against reigning Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi down the road.

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed interest in that matchup at the Bellator 280 post-fight press conference.

“One of the reasons we brought Yoel Romero in was to eventually fight Gegard Mousasi,” Coker said. “If Yoel keeps winning, I think you’ll see a collision at some point at either 185 or 205.”

During pre-fight promotion, Romero said if a bout against Mousasi comes to fruition, he would prefer that it take place at middleweight beca…

Rose Namajunas experienced a wide array of emotions following her loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274.

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Initially there was defiance. “Thug” Rose appeared shocked when it was announced that Esparza was the new strawweight champion following a split-decision triumph in what was a forgettable bout, and that was reflected in some of her comments at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“I struck to the strategy. I felt as if I landed more shots. I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or with any control time,” Namajunas said. “I’d say she hit me with one good punch. … I felt like I did the damage. I controlled the fight. I’m proud of myself because I stuck to my strategy.

“I know that in all of Carla’s fights she just baits people in, and she tries to get people to attack her. I’ve been in slugfests before. I’ve gotten my nose broken. I’ve stood there and shed blood in the octagon. I stuck to the strategy, and she didn’t really…

For a round, Tony Ferguson appeared to be closer to peak form than he had been in quite some time at UFC 274.

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After a competitive opening stanza with Michael Chandler, Ferguson succumbed to a highlight-reel front kick from his opponent that sent him face first to the canvas 17 seconds into Round 2. Although the former interim lightweight champion has lost four straight fights, UFC president Dana White came away impressed by “El Cucuy.”

“Everybody was asking me this week leading up to this fight: Is this a make or break for Tony Ferguson? And I said no. He’s still one of the top 10 guys in the world, and he looked damn good in that first round, but that was a vicious knockout,” White said at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference.

“I think what needs to happen now is Tony needs to take some time off after that knockout, and I don’t know. But it’s not like, ‘Oh my God, Tony got dominated and looks like he doesn’t even belong here.’ Tony looked…