Martial Arts News

American Top Team coach Marcus “Parrumpa” da Matta arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday with Alexandre Pantoja, who will defend his flyweight title against Kai Asakura in the UFC 310 main event on Saturday night.

Advertisement

“We arrived on the Sunday before the fight to start the fight week well-rested and already getting used to the Vegas atmosphere. Pantoja´s weight is better than in the last fight, although he is much stronger,” the coach revealed.

“Parrumpa” claims that Pantoja just completed one of the best camps of his MMA career to date.

“Pantoja is (extremely popular) at ATT. Even the girls who do the cleaning were thrilled and excited when he became champion,” da Matta said. “When he goes to fight, all the lightweights line up to help him. This camp was one of the best we’ve ever done.”

The Brazilian coach, who is a black belt under the legendary master Carlson Gracie, does not shy away from talking about the tactics planned to neutralize the dangero…

🗣️ Petr Yan: “I don’t know what’s going on with [Sean O’Malley]. He’s out for 9-12 months, maybe he got pregnant.” 😭😭

🎥 @arielhelwani #UFC #MMA

Advertisement

pic.twitter.com/IAI5XFsiOB — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 3, 2024

Petr Yan is plotting a rematch against Sean O'Malley.

O’Malley earned a title shot with a hard-fought split decision win over Yan at UFC 280 in 2022. “Suga” went on to knock out Aljamain Sterling to win the bantamweight title at UFC 292 the next year. O’Malley has since defended his title against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 this past March before losing it against Merab Dvalishvili via a lopsided decision at UFC 306 in September.

While Yan is eyeing a rematch against O’Malley, the Russian is worried about the former champ’s lack of activity. Yan jokingly wondered if the gaps of over nine months between O’Malley’s bouts means the former champ is pregnant.

“I would lean towards a rematch with Sean…

Jean Silva (14-2) will take on Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2) at a UFC event on Feb. 22.

The featherweight matchup was first reported by Ag.Fight. The card doesn’t have an official location but is expected to be held in Seattle.

Silva has enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity since making his Octagon debut this past January. The Brazilian is unbeaten since 2018 and earned his contract with a unanimous decision win over Kevin Vallejos on Dana White's Contender Series last year. “Lord” has since racked a three-fight knockout streak, leaving behind Westin Wilson, Charles Jourdain and Drew Dober in his wake. Silva most recently made a two-week turnaround, also moving up to lightweight to earn a doctor-stoppage win over Dober at UFC Denver in July.

Meanwhile, Baghdasaryan is 3-1 since his graduating from the Contender Series in 2020. “The Gun” last fought in July 2023, earning a unanimous decision win over Tucker Lutz that saw him bounce back from a submission loss ag…

[embedded content]

While the exact reason for Nick Diaz’s withdrawal from UFC 310 is unclear, there has been speculation that the popular fighter isn’t in a good place in his life right now.

Advertisement

That stems primarily from a video that recently appeared on social media, where a shirtless Diaz appears to be attempting to light grass on fire. At the time, Diaz was booked to face Vicente Luque at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 310. It wasn’t much later that Themba Gorimbo was announced as Diaz’s replacement in the welterweight bout.

Jason Miller is quite familiar with struggles outside the cage. The fighter known as “Mayhem” has run afoul of the law on numerous occasions, most recently in August 2023 for allegedly choking a fan. Shortly after that incident, Miller released a statement on Instagram addressing his troubles and how for a long time, it was difficult to ask anyone for help.

Miller seems to be doing better now, and he can empathize wi…

Igor da Silva is ready to move forward with his mixed martial arts career.

Advertisement

Da Silva, who is also commonly known as Igor Severino, will return to action against Jonas Magard at Oktagon 65 on Dec. 29, the promotion recently announced. It is da Silva’s first bout since he was disqualified for biting opponent Andre Lima in their encounter at UFC on ESPN 53 on March 23. Severino vs. Magard will be contested at bantamweight.

As a result of his actions, the 21-year-old Brazilian was immediately released from his UFC contract. He was later suspended for nine months and fined $2,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That term will come to an end just a few days prior to his fight against Magard.

Prior to the biting incident, da Silva kicked off his professional career with eight consecutive triumphs. He competed primarily under the Jungle Fight banner before earning a UFC contract with a second-round TKO of Jhonata Silva on Dana White’s Conte…

[embedded content]

Kai Kara-France will be keeping a close watch on the upcoming title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.

Advertisement

Asakura will make his promotional debut, challenging Pantoja for the flyweight title in the main event at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kara-France considers himself to be next in line for title contention and will be keeping a keen eye on the matchup.

Kara-France also believes he has the knockout power to shut the lights out on either Pantoja or Asakura. If Pantoja wins, “Don’t Blink” wants home crowd support to avenge his “Ultimate Fighter 24” loss against the Brazilian in 2016. Meanwhile, if Asakura wins, Kara-France wants to travel to enemy territory to challenge the Japanese flyweight.

“I feel like I could definitely knock out Kai or Pantoja,” Kara-France told Engage. “So that’s why I’ll be tuning in. Let’s say now if Pantoja wins, let’s fight in New Zealand. I’ll headline it, me…

[embedded content]

Aljamain Sterling (24-4) believes the UFC will regret not putting his matchup against Movsar Evloev (18-0) on the main card.

Advertisement

Sterling and Evloev will clash on the prelims at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former UFC bantamweight champ isn’t even part of the evening’s featured preliminary bout, as that position instead goes to Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith.

While Sterling is confused by his placement on the card, he chooses to see the positive side of fighting on the prelims. “Funkmaster” is glad that he will be done early and hopefully get to celebrate a win with his friends while enjoying the rest of the card.

While both Sterling and Evloev are among the best featherweights in the world, neither has the most fan-friendly style. Both Sterling and Evloev have often been criticized for lackluster performances and the lack of finishes on their records. However, Sterling believes both fans and the …

Ian Garry continues to hold a grudge against Colby Covington.

Advertisement

Garry will take on Shavkat Rakhmonov in a potential title eliminator in the co-main event at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Covington will headline a UFC Fight Night opposite rising contender Joaquin Buckley at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14.

Garry’s feud with Covington started with “Chaos” taking unprovoked digs at the Irishman and his wife earlier this year. While Garry has since been calling Covington out, the former interim champ accepted a booking against Buckley after “The Future” was matched up with Rakhmonov. Garry has previously urged Buckley to knock Covington out, which he believes “New Mansa” is perfectly capable of doing. However, in an even more ideal scenario, Garry would love to make quick work of “Nomad” at UFC 310 and take on Covington at UFC Tampa the following week.

“I think Buckley starches him,” Garry told Arie…

[embedded content]

Shavkat Rakhmonov was allegedly turned down by a slew of opponents for UFC 310.

Advertisement

Rakhmonov was initially scheduled to challenge Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title at UFC 310 on Saturday before the champ was forced out with an infection. “Nomad” was eventually matched up against Ian Garry in the evening’s co-headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Prior to that, there were rumors of a potential booking between Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman. However, Rakhmonov recently revealed that Usman was not the only fighter who was offered a matchup against him at UFC 310. According to “Nomad,” Usman, Carlos Prates and Colby Covington all turned down bookings against him for various reasons. While Prates was injured, Covington simply turned it down and Usman backed out after initially accepting the fight.

“I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman. But he didn’t accept the fight,” Rakhmonov told Submission Radio. “Also, they offered to Prate…

It remains to be seen if or when Jake Paul will make his mixed martial arts debut, but there was one recent rumor involving the YouTube personality turned boxer that generated some discussion in the combat sports community.

Advertisement

Last week, BJJ World published a report from justbleedmma.com that Paul would be making his MMA debut against retired UFC welterweight contender Demian Maia. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, who works now as UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator, replied immediately.

“I´m totally in,” Maia wrote, while tagging Paul.

Carlos Barreto, who is Maia’s broadcast partner, analyzed the report on his Papo de Luta podcast.

“Demian is retired, but he keeps training hard. He is totally in shape,” Barreto said. “I dont think it's true just because I think it would be a terrible choice for Jake. Demian would grab him fast, get his back and submit him with a rear-naked choke. People must understand that it’s one thing for an MMA fighter to …

👀🔥Jorge Masvidal announces his UFC return in April in Miami and hopes to know who his opponent will soon:

“Hopefully by December we got the opponent and April, Miami card”

Advertisement

🎥@jakeshieldsajj 🔹 pic.twitter.com/s7T5qIQQ7a — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 2, 2024

Jorge Masvidal has his sights set on making a Ultimate Fighting Championship return in his hometown.

“I’ll be back April next year in the UFC,” Masvidal recently said on the Fight Back podcast. “We don’t have the opponent yet. Hopefully by December we’ve got the opponent. April, Miami card.”

The 40-year-old Masvidal hasn’t competed in MMA since April 2023, when he dropped a unanimous verdict to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, which also took place in Miami. “Gamebred” announced his retirement after the defeat, a decision which was which was endorsed by UFC CEO Dana White. However, Masvidal returned to combat sports this past July, losing a majority …

[embedded content]

Professional Fighters League isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Advertisement

In a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, PFL CEO Peter Murray outlined the organization’s plans for expansion, which includes a significant increase in the total number of events held in the coming years.

“We have a regular cadence for every property. This year, we had 28 events,” Murray said. “Next year, we’ll have 36 events. Come 2026, we’ll have 50 events. So we’re focused on our global franchise events and then regional league events.”

This past year marked the debut of PFL MENA, which Murray said will soon be holding events “throughout the Middle East” after using Saudi Arabia as its home base to start. The overseas growth is far from complete, as PFL plans to have a total of “six international leagues up and running in the next two years,” according to Murray.

One of the biggest stories at the end of 2023 was PFL’s purchase of Bellator MMA. The organ…