Martial Arts News

Aljamain Sterling didn’t take long to set his sights on a new opponent following a split-decision triumph over Petr Yan in the UFC 273 co-main event.

“Funk Master” used his post-fight microphone time to call out former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, who was in attendance at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. Sterling elaborated on his fiery speech at the UFC 273 post-fight press conference.

“The guy’s just been nonstop talking about me, talking about my heart and ... the spirit of a fighter,” Sterling said of Dillashaw. “The spirit of a fighter is someone who’s never going to give up, if you ask me, and I think I showed that this time. I think I showed that even in my worst night, which was my first performance against Yan. That was a shell of myself and he couldn’t get me out of there that night, and he wasn’t going to get me out of there this night, either. I showed what I’m capable of, and where my mental fortitude is at…

The story of @CubSwanson & Dooho Choi’s all-time classic

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/kCkc7Uf9sC

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022 Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi are headed to the UFC Hall of Fame thanks to their memorable bout more than five years ago.

The promotion announced on Saturday night that Swanson vs. Choi will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing” as part of a ceremony for the 2022 class held during International Fight Week in July. The induction will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

“The fight between Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi is one of the greatest fights of all time,” said UFC president Dana White. “This fight was an absolute war for all three rounds and both guys left everything they had inside the Octagon, it was crazy. This fight was an incredible display of heart, endurance and determination and it was so good, it was named the 2016 ‘Fight of the Year.’ Congratulations …

When all is said and done, Khamzhat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns may have locked up “Fight of the Year.”

For now, the two welterweights will have to settle for “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece following their memorable slugfest at UFC 273 on Saturday night at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Chimaev, one of the most heavily-hyped talents in recent memory, passed the most significant test of his career to date with a unanimous decision triumph over Burns, a former No. 1 contender at 170 pounds.

Meanwhile, reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a dominant performance against Chan Sung Jung in the evening’s main event. The City Kickboxing representative battered Jung all over the Octagon before a pair of right hands had “The Korean Zombie” essentially out on his feet for a technical knockout stoppage 45 seconds into Round 4.

Finally, veteran submission specialist Alexey Oleyn…

Alexander Volkanovski is building quite the legacy as Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion.

The City Kickboxing standout was masterful in the UFC 273 headliner, authoring a dominant performance in a technical knockout triumph over Chan Sung Jung at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. Referee Herb Dean mercifully called a halt to the action 45 seconds into Round 4 after watching Jung absorb a pair of searing right hands. Volkanovski (24-1, 11-0 UFC) has won 21 consecutive fights and has three successful 145-pound title defenses to his credit.

Jung, who stepped in for an injured Max Holloway, might have been too tough for his own good. Volkanovski was superior in all aspects of the fight, whether it was at range, in the clinch or on the canvas. Volkanovski made Jung buckle with right hands on multiple occasions before dropping “The Korean Zombie” late in Round 3. In between, the champion punished his foe in close qua…

Still undefeated!@IanGarryMMA earns the UD victory to make it 9️⃣-0️⃣ in his sophomore showing! #UFC273 pic.twitter.com/UgUCyqbhDV

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022

It wasn’t the showcase performance Ian Garry might have hoped for, but the Irish prospect was nonetheless victorious in his sophomore Octagon appearance at UFC 273.

The former Cage Warriors king relied on technical striking, intelligent movement and sound takedown defense to capture a unanimous triumph against Darian Weeks in a featured welterweight prelim at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. All three cageside judges saw the fight in favor of the Sanford MMA product: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.

In going the distance for the third time in his professional tenure, Garry (9-0, 2-0 UFC) was largely content to attack on the outside with long punches and a toolbox of kicks. Weeks’ striking defense held up for the most part, and he made the fight ugl…

Sherdog's live UFC 273 “Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie” coverage will begin Saturday at 6:15 p.m. ET.

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

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC 273. Use code SHERDOG and get $2,500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

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Their first meeting was viewed as arguably the greatest female fight of all-time. Now, Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will get a second act in June.

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed ESPN that Zhang and Jedrzejczyk have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 275 on June 11 in Singapore. Bout agreements will be sent out soon.

Zhang defeated Jedrzejczyk via split decision in a five-round strawweight title bout in their first meeting at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020. It was an easy selection for Sherdog.com's "Fight of the Year.”

Zhang has fought twice since that classic matchup. She relinquished the 115-pound belt to Rose Namajunas in a first-round knockout loss at UFC 261. The Fight Ready standout received an immediate rematch and was much more competitive, ultimately losing a split decision to Namajunas at UFC 268 this pas November. Zhang owns other notable victories against the likes Jessica Andrade, Tecia Torres and Jessica Aguilar.

Jed…

Undefeated British prospect Simeon Powell kept his perfect record intact with a one-sided unanimous decision over a shoe leather-tough Tobias Baker in a PFL Challenger Series 8 light heavyweight feature on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The promising 23-year-old swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 marks from the cageside judges.

Afterward, Powell (5-0) was awarded a Professional Fighters League contract.

In his first appearance since Nov. 16, 2019, Baker (2-2) was technically and athletically outmatched on all fronts. Powell operated behind six-inch reach and eight-inch height advantages and picked apart the Oregonian with knifing punches, flying knees and kicks to the head, body and legs. Clearly behind on the scorecards, Baker made passes at a kneebar, a toe hold and a calf slicer late in the third round. None of them were successful, and Powell cruised to the finish line free of real danger.

Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA export Jeslen Mi…

No promo, no tough talk, all honesty from the champ.

Good night from #LFA128!! pic.twitter.com/qEC3D1ttaT

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 9, 2022 The Legacy Fighting Alliance put on quite a show for the fans attending the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as seven out of eight fights ended inside the distance. The LFA 128 main event featured Aaron McKenzie and Lucas Clay colliding for the vacant lightweight championship. McKenzie (11-2-1, 4-0 LFA) imposed his suffocating grappling style over Clay early in Round 1, taking his opponent on the mat and keeping him there for the whole frame while teasing submission attempts. In turn, Clay (8-2, 3-1 LFA) made the proper adjustments when he returned for a much better second round where "Cassius" showcased sharp boxing skills that stopped McKenzie’s takedown attempts and punished his opponent's face in the process. In Round 3, Clay gave McKenzie some of his own medicine after …

Dana White: "I think if Khamzat Chimaev wins this weekend we see him and Colby Covington next." #UFC273 (via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/sRzLhXGewN

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 8, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship already has plans in motion should one fighter get his hand raised on Saturday.

UFC 273 will take place at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 9, with 12 fights going down in Jacksonville, Fla., that night. Besides the two title fights atop the billing, a much-anticipated battle between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will take place on the main card. According to UFC head Dana White on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, the promotion is already looking at what’s next for Chimaev should he get past Burns.

“I think…that if Khamzat Chimaev wins this weekend, we see him and Colby Covington next,” White stated.

Chimaev has yet to taste defeat as a professional, racking up 10 finishes in 10 fights while nev…

Due to illness, Marcin Tybura has been removed from his heavyweight bout with Jairzinho Rozenstruik at #UFC273.

As a result, this bout has been cancelled from the event. pic.twitter.com/kO1pTWaovz

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 8, 2022 These days, Ultimate Fighting Championship fights are not official until the cage door locks behind the competitors. Shortly after the UFC 273 weigh-ins concluded, the promotion announced that the heavyweight contest between Marcin Tybura and Jairzinho Rozenstruik had been canceled. Tybura suffered an undisclosed illness, and the promotion did not state if it was related to COVID-19 like it has for other recent illness scratches. Tybura (253) and Rozenstruik (252.5) both made weight without issue.

This is the second time this matchup has been nixed, with the two first booked against one another for UFC Fight Night 202 in February. For undetermined reasons, the fight was pushed back to the April 9 event…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxk0YjzM48?start=7017&w=560&h=315] On short notice, Bellator MMA was able to find someone to take on Aaron Pico in a little over a week.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Jeremy Kennedy has been forced out of his match with Pico for currently undisclosed reasons. TSN Sports reported on Thursday night that Adli Edwards (9-1) will be stepping in for Kennedy to face Pico (9-3) at Bellator 277. The match will remain at featherweight, and it will go down on April 15 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Edwards confirmed this pairing on his Instagram shortly after its announcement.

Edwards will be making his promotional debut less than two weeks removed from his victory at XMMA 4 on April 2. At that event in Louisiana, he submitted Josh Harvey, despite Harvey missing weight by nearly a full weight class to extend his win streak to seven. With a shade over half his wins coming by stoppage, all of his finishes have come in the ope…