Martial Arts News

Ben Rothwell is the latest prominent UFC veteran to sign with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

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The promotion confirmed the deal after Rothwell initially announced the news during an appearance on ”The MMA Hour.” A date for Rothwell’s BKFC debut is expected to be announced soon.

Rothwell was scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson on May 21, but the bout was canceled after the Kenosha, Wisc., native was released from the UFC for at the time were unknown reasons. Rothwell offered some clarity to the situation on Monday, when he revealed that the Las Vegas-based promotion told him it would not negotiate a new contract until after the fight, which was the last on the existing deal.

“Even if I go in and perform well, knock out Gustafsson in the first round, look great, what’s gonna happen next?” Rothwell said. “They came back and we asked, ‘Are we gonna sign a deal?’ They came back and said, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens after this fight.’ … Th…

While Patrick Mix did get the nod from the cageside judges in his Bellator bantamweight quarterfinal matchup against Kyoji Horiguchi, he still believes he deserved a little more generosity on the scorecards than he received.

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“Patchy” defeated Horiguchi via unanimous decision in their Bellator 279 clash at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Saturday night, receiving a trio of 48-47 tallies to advance to the 135-pound semifinals. Mix took the ex-Rizin and Bellator champion’s back on multiple occasions in the bout, most notably in a dominant first round in which controlled positioning and threatened with multiple chokes.

“I’m not in charge of the judges, but I thought I had a 10-8 round in the first,” Mix said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I had the back to the entire round, trying to threaten chokes. I brought him from his feet to his back while I was on his back, bent him back twice. I had his back I think in the third rou…

On a busy weekend in MMA, no moment caused more controversy than referee Mike Beltran’s decision to wave off the flyweight championship clash between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche.

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Carmouche claimed the title when she landed a takedown, moved to the mounted crucifix position and began dropping elbows on her opponent late in Round 4 of the Bellator 278 headliner on Friday night. Though the strikes didn’t appear to be especially damaging, Velasquez had no means to defend herself in the period’s waning seconds, which prompted Beltran to step in on her behalf at the 4:47 mark.

Velasquez immediately protested the ruling in the aftermath of the bout. While action was limited in the initial three rounds, the ex-champ dropped her adversary in the second round and was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

“What an odd night!!” Velasquez wrote on Instagram. “I dominated the fight, I dropped her twice on her ass, judges had me up 3-0 and the fight…

Jessica Andrade made history in her first strawweight bout since 2020.

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Andrade became the first fighter in the promotion to win a bout via standing arm-triangle choke when she used the manuever to submit Amanda Lemos in the opening round of their headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 205 on Saturday. “Bate Estaca” had to endure some damage on the feet to close the distance against Lemos, who entered the bout on a five-bout winning streak, but that was all part of the plan. Andrade was just able to put everything in motion a little bit sooner than expected.

“We knew how dangerous she was, especially in the first round. We were very much aware of it,” Andrade said at the post-fight press conference.

“The plan was to tire her out in the first round, maybe second round, so then I could take over in the third. Luckily that happened. I knew that she was going to hurt me, and I had to be cautious about it in the first round, but as soon as I get close qu…

Cristiane Justino has been talking about boxing for quite some time now, and now it appears that “Cyborg” is ready to make her foray into the Sweet Science.

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After a convincing five-round verdict in a rematch against Arlene Blencowe in the Bellator 279 main event on Saturday, the reigning featherweight queen discussed her next move at the post-fight press conference. While there are a few options that interest the Brazilian in MMA, she seems intent on boxing, as well.

“For me, my next fight I’d like to do a boxing fight,” she said. “It’s been one of my dreams. Maybe it’s going to be the next one I’m working on. I don’t know. I don’t know who is going to be next or who Bellator will put in front of me – Cat Zingano, Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison. I like to be [part of] the big shows for my fans and enjoy every time I step in there for the title.”

According to Bellator president Scott Coker, allowing “Cyborg” the opportunity to box was always pa…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4F0YBnVdno&w=560&h=315]

Tyson Fury wrapped up his professional boxing career in style on Saturday.

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Fighting in front of a packed house at Wembley Stadium in London, the heavyweight champion improved his career mark to 32-0-1 with a sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte on Saturday. In the aftermath, the 33-year-old Englishman seemed at peace with his choice.

“I come back for a big, big fight at home. It’s been amazing,” he said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I couldn’t have topped it off. It’s been a fairytale few years. It’s been absolutely more than I ever dreamed of as a kid and as an adult. I won every belt there is to win. There isn’t nothing more I can do. I won every belt in the game. If this was a computer game, it would definitely be completed for sure.”

However, Fury isn’t necessarily completely done with combat sports. While he doesn’t plan on defending his title again, he would b…

This fight between @criscyborg and @arleneangerfist has it all! #Bellator279 is LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/Plp9Y3huPA

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022

Arlene Blencowe wore various shades of red and purple on her face and body. A gash above her left eye needed a bridge to cover the expanse. Her nose was bloodied and battered. Yet after 20 minutes in the cage with Cris Cyborg at Bellator 279, the stout 39-year-old Australian pounded her chest and wanted more.

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Against Cyborg, generally speaking, there's always more hurt if that's what you're looking for, and Blencowe got what she wanted. By the end of the fifth round Saturday evening at the venerable Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Cyborg (26-2) had done more than enough to earn a sweeping unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45). A point deduction in the opening round was the only blemish for the Brazilian mauler, who scored her fourth consecuti…

@JessicaMMAPro & @Prince_of_Peru react to their #UFCVegas52 POTN bonuses! pic.twitter.com/3qFuFnxVZU

— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC Fight Night 205 card.

Former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade took home an extra $50,000 thanks to her historic standing arm-triangle choke. "Bate Estaca" needed just 3:13 to force Amanda Lemos to submit in the main event. Her victory wound up being the first-ever standing arm-triangle choke inside the Octagon.

The other performance of the night bonus went to co-main event winner and lightweight standout Claudio Puelles. The "Prince of Peru" managed to pick up a slick kneebar submission over UFC mainstay Clay Guida just 3:01 into Round 1. The Peruvian fighter has now won five straight fights inside the promotion.

Finally, fight of the night honors went to Dwight Grant and Sergey Khandozhko. The two wel…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champion Jessica Andrade made a statement against Amanda Lemos in UFC Fight Night 205's main event.

After nearly three minutes of back-and-forth action on the feet, Andrade (23-9) locked in an extremely tight standing arm-triangle choke. While Lemos (11-2-1) attempted to fight the submission, she was forced to tap in her first main event bout. The finish came at the 3:13 mark of the first round, and Andrade called for a title shot after the emphatic victory.

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History equaled, as @JessicaMMAPro ties Amanda Nunes for the most wins in women's UFC history (14) #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/AYQwnzhKPa

— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2022 This marks the first standing arm-triangle choke in UFC history. Puelles Kneebars Guida The co-main event saw UFC lightweight division mainstay Clay Guida go up against Claudio Puelles. Guida (37-21) came out against Puelles (11-2) with his trademark …

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 205 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET.

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

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BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better. Round 1 The UFC train keeps a-rollin’ with Fight Night fare, where 12 fights will take place with only two total competitors ranked in the divisions in which they are competing, and none above the 10 spot (Amanda Lemos). Despite the lack of ranking significance, violence should be on high display early and will carry us through the evening with any luck. We begin this card filled with fun finishers as Irish newcomer with a 100% knockout rate in Barry (4-1, 0-0 UFC) faces the returning Jackson (0-1, 1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC UFC). Referee Chris Tognoni draws the charge for the first fight of the nig…

Sherdog's live Bellator 279 coverage kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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

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BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for Bellator and UFC. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better. Round 1 The first fight at Bellator 279 features undefeated lightweight prospect Gibson, Jr., facing native Hawaiian Dung. The referee is Frank Trigg. They touch gloves and set up in mirrored stances, Gibson in southpaw and Dung in orthodox. Both men land leg kicks in the opening seconds. Sixty seconds in, play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo has already dropped references to deceased rapper Nipsey Hussle and hair metal kings Motley Crue. Dung tags the onrushing Gibson with a sharp left hand that buckles his knees, then follows up with a right hand and a glancing flying knee. Gibson manages to clinch and recover his wits. …

Khandozhko delivers a brutal blow #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/xqDkI4DGMS

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2022 The featured UFC Fight Night 205 prelim bout saw Sergey Khandozhko make a statement against Dwight Grant.

Grant (11-5) opened the fight aggressively and swung wildly at Khandozhko (27-6-1). However, it would be Khandozhko that would floor Grant with a nasty left hook early in Round 1. Despite the adversity, Grant would battle back into the fight and managed to crack the Russian as well. Grant would be the busier fighter in Round 2, but Khandozhko would clip the American with a left hook that clearly hurt. Khandozhko would then unload with punches until the fight was stopped at 4:15 of Round 2.

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Khandozhko improves to 2-1 inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Pedro Demolishes Villanueva The second light heavyweight bout of the evening saw Tyson Pedro make his comeback against Octagon veteran Isaac Villanue…