Martial Arts News

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Professional Fighters League isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

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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…

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Ciryl Gane claims he wasn’t completely himself when he lost to Jon Jones at UFC 285.

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Gane was the interim heavyweight champ when Jones returned to the Octagon after a three-year hiatus to fight for the vacant title. “Bones” barely crossed the two-minute mark in the first round before taking Gane down and securing a guillotine submission victory. It was a disappointing performances from “Bon Gamin,” whose only other career loss came against Francis Ngannou.

Looking back at the loss, Gane doesn’t recognize himself. Gane claims he was totally disoriented on fight night, which was reflected in his performance. Known for his elusive movement and range control, Gane didn’t display any of that against Jones. However, Gane believes the loss was eventually beneficial, as it allowed him to refocus on himself and return with a vengeful spirit.

“When I look back at it, it was obvious that I was not there,” Gane said on the UFC 310 Count…

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Renowned coach Firas Zahabi believes Shavkat Rakhmonov won’t lose his perfect record against fellow undefeated contender Ian Garry.

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Rakhmonov and Garry will trade leather at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will see one of the undefeated welterweights lose their perfect record. And Zahabi doesn’t think it’ll be Rakhmonov, at least for now.

Zahabi has been impressed with Rakhmonov for a while now, acknowledging the Kazakh as the enigma that he is. Zahabi recently praised Rakhmonov’s toughness yet again, which he believes will be too much for Garry. While Zahabi has seen lapses in Rakhmonov’s defense, he believes “Nomad” will make up for it with sheer grit.

“I think Shavkat’s gonna beat [Ian Garry]. After watching his fights it’s kind of obvious,” the Tristar Gym coach said on YouTube. “He has a relentless pressure, the man is an animal. He doesn’t have the best defense, but when he gets hit, h…

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The origin of Kai Asakura’s MMA career is quite fascinating.

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Asakura will challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight strap in the main event at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former Rizin Fighting Federation champ will also be making his UFC debut against “The Cannibal.”

Asakura recently revealed how a street fight against his elder brother helped him realize his true MMA potential. Asakura’s elder brother, Mikuru Asakura, is a street fighter turned pro MMA fighter. On one fateful day, Mikuru challenged his younger brother to a street fight after he ran out of other opponents. Kai claims he was able to dodge almost every strike from Mikuru, who was throwing with serious intent. That’s when the future UFC title challenger realized he could earn his bread and butter through fighting.

“The story of how I got into MMA is quite crazy,” Asakura said on the UFC 310 Countdown show. “My older brother…

A bantamweight clash pitting Payton Talbott against Raoni Barcelos has been confirmed for UFC 311.

The promotion announced the booking over the weekend. UFC 311 takes place on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and includes a light heavyweight showdown between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

Talbott has emerged as a prospect to watch since earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2023. The 26-year-old Reno, Nevada, native has kicked off his promotional tenure with finishes off Nick Aguirre, Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri in his first three Octagon appearances. Talbott is 9-0 since beginning his professional career in 2021.

Barcelos, meanwhile, was successful in his lone outing of 2024, as he scored a third-round submission triumph against Cristian Quinonez at UFC Fight Night 237 this past February. Prior to that, the 37-year-old Brazilian had lost four of his previous…

"When I am a champion, I would like to fight with Charles... I would like to finish him" 👀

Arman Tsarukyan foresees defending the lightweight belt against Charles Olivieira if he defeats Islam Makhachev...

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🎙️ @CarolinePearce pic.twitter.com/7W4zDt14DC — UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 29, 2024

Arman Tsarukyan wants a more decisive win over Charles Oliveira.

Tsarukyan is expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 311 in January, although the promotion has yet to make the fight official. “Ahalkalakets” believes the UFC will officially announce the bout within the next week.

“My manager said I’m gonna fight for the title beginning of the next year,” Tsarukyan recently told TNT Sports. “I’m so excited. And hopefully after this event they gonna announce like official, when I’m gonna fight. But they already told me the place where I’m gonna fight, the date when I’m gonna fight. We know…

#UFC310 is right around the corner!

Flyweight gold is on the line! 😤

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[ WATCH Countdown on ESPN2 | SAT | 1pmET ] pic.twitter.com/DfdXKuzuYg — UFC (@ufc) November 30, 2024

Kai Asakura (21-4) believes knockout power is his greatest advantage over Alexandre Pantoja (28-5).

Asakura will challenge Pantoja for the flyweight title in his promotional debut in the main event of UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champ claims he can knock “The Cannibal” out cold with one clean shot. According to Asakura, Pantoja just needs to have one lapse for him to end the contest with his proven knockout power.

“My advantage over Pantoja is that I can finish him in one shot,” Asakura said on the UFC 310 Countdown show. “So if he makes even one mistake, I’m confident that I can KO him in one shot.”

Asakura has finished 16 of his 21 career wins, which incl…

It appears that Leon Edwards will headline the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card in London.

During a recent interview with DAZN Boxing, Edwards revealed that he will be headlining the UFC card scheduled for March 22 at the O2 Arena in London. The opponent remains unknown. The news was first by Ariel Helwani.

Edwards put his welterweight title on the line against Belal Muhammad in front of his home fans at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester at UFC 304 this past July. The Englishman suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Muhammad, putting an end to their longstanding rivalry. The loss also saw Edwards’ 13-fight winning unbeaten streak snapped.

Meanwhile, Muhammad was scheduled to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, “Remember the Name” was forced out with a bone infection and replaced by Ian Garry. With Garry and “Nomad” squaring off in a potential title eliminat…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title picture has turned into an online battleground.

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Former champs Jamahal Hill (12-2) and Jiri Prochazka (30-5) are scheduled to fight at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Hill, Prochazka and fellow contender Magomed Ankalaev (19-1) have been recently trading multiple barbs, with champ Alex Pereira (12-2) also joining the fray on occasion.

Hill took multiple digs at Prochazka and Ankalaev in recent interviews, although not entirely unprovoked. Hill went off on Ankalaev in an expletive-laden rant in response to the Russian mocking him for being passed on for the title shot. While both Hill and Prochazka are coming off losses against Pereira, “Sweet Dreams” claims the Czech was dominated while he got caught by a lucky shot.

Pereira responded to Hill’s recent comments, promising him a rematch if he gets past “BJP.”

The Brazilian wrote on X: “Calm down, my son…

👀Ian Garry talks on his fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov:

“Everybody thinks the guy is boogeyman of the division. I’m going to go out there December 7th and shock everyone’s else world.”🔥

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🎥 YT @iangarryMMA ▫️ pic.twitter.com/QuVRbXUrKF — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 29, 2024

Ian Garry (15-0) sees himself upsetting Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) at UFC 310.

Garry and Rakhmonov will meet in a clash of undefeated welterweight contenders at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite both being undefeated, Rakhmonov is a -400 betting favorite against Garry’s +290 underdog status.

However, Garry vows to shock the world by taking the Kazakh’s ‘0’ in their UFC 310 fight. The Irishman is also excited about the bout, as rarely do two undefeated contenders meet in such a high stakes matchup inside the UFC.

“Everybody's turning him [Rakhmonov] down. 18-0, 18 finishes. That excites me,” Garry sa…

Dakota Ditcheva is a problem.

In the span of less than 365 days, the mauler from Manchester has won the Professional Fighters League Europe championship, five straight fights by KO/TKO, and on Friday at the PFL 2024 Season Championships, she became the youngest PFL global champ in history when she demolished Taila Santos (22-4) in two rounds.

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We could be watching the birth of a bonafide superstar in the world of women’s mixed martial arts. Ditcheva (14-0) is a monster. She showed that she has the wrestling to shut down a recent Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger and the striking prowess to put anyone in her way into the dirt. Santos is a world-class fighter, who was one round away from winning the UFC flyweight title, and Ditcheva blew her out of the water. Her muay thai skills are deadly, and she shows no mercy.

You can etch Timur Khizriev’s name in the history books of the Dagestani empire. The undefeated featherweight claimed the…

Coverage of Friday’s 2024 Professional Fighters League MENA Finals and Global Season Championships will begin at 7:15 a.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Roun…