Martial Arts News

Maiquel Falcao and Marcelo Brigadeiro at Bellator 66, April 20, 2012 (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)

In the wake of the death by stabbing of Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran and former Bellator MMA title challenger Maiquel Falcao on Sunday, Sherdog reached out to Falcao’s friend and former coach, Marcelo Brigadeiro. The Astra Fight Team head man gave a frank and harrowing account of his troubled friend and the longstanding issues outside of the cage that hampered his professional as well as personal lives.

Sherdog: Can you talk about the recent report about Maiquel Falcao’s violent stabbing death in Brazil? You worked with him for many years, including his UFC and Bellator stints. He was a controversial person, from his single UFC bout, a win against Gerald Harris, to a gas station fight that resulted in severe brain injuries to his training partner Kaue Mena. At some point he was considered for a UFC return but an old battery charge kept that from happening. H…

Longtime UFC flyweight contender Jussier Formiga will compete for the first time in more than 18 months when he faces Miguel Felipe Bunes da Silva in the Legacy Fighting Alliance 124 headliner on Feb. 11.

The promotion recently announced the booking. LFA 124 takes place at Arizona Federal Theater in Phoenix, Ariz., and will see Windson Ramos square off against Clayton Carpenter in a 125-pound co-feature. The main card will stream on UFC Fight Pass.

Formiga parted ways with the UFC follwing successive defeats against Alex Perez, Brandon Moreno and Joseph Benavidez, with his last appearance coming in June 2020. The 36-year-old Formiga went 9-7 within the Las Vegas-based promotion, earning notable wins over the likes of current Bellator bantamweight king Sergio Pettis and reigning UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figureiredo. Before the UFC added the flyweight division, the Brazilian was widely regarded as the best 125-pound fighter in the world.

Da Silva will make hi…

OH MY BEAST BOYYYYYYYYY

[ #UFC268 | Early Prelims are LIVE on @UFCFightPass & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/cRf5Z3ocq6

— UFC (@ufc) November 6, 2021 On the heels of a spectacular spinning wheel kick knockout victry, Chris Barnett will return to the Octagon against Martin Buday at a UFC Fight Night event on April 16.

Eurosport was first to report the heavyweight booking. UFC Fight Night will likely take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, though a venue has yet to be confirmed. The card does not have a headliner at this point in time.

After suffering a submission loss to Ben Rothwell in his promotional debut, Barnett authored one of 2021’s most memorable finishes with the aforementioned KO of Gian Villante at UFC 268. The Tampa, Fla., native known as “Huggy Bear” owns a 22-7 career mark that includes stints in UAE Warriors, Road FC, Island Fights and Rizin Fighting Federation.

Slovakia’s Buday will make his Octagon debut after ear…

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw expects to be in a title fight when he makes his Octagon return — now it’s just a matter of when that happens.

Dillashaw fought for the first time in more than two years following a USADA-mandated suspension at UFC on ESPN 27, where he edged Cory Sandhagen via split decision this past July. In August, the 35-year-old fighter underwent surgery for a torn PCL and damaged meniscus.

In an interview with ESPN, Dillashaw gave an update on his recovery and said he hopes to fight again in approximately six months.

"It's on track, I just didn't realize how much work I would have to get done," Dillashaw said. "I didn't realize how beat up my knee was. I knew what I tore but once I watched the video of what [the surgeon] did to me, I messed it up really bad. I almost have a full range of motion. Strength is there. I've just gotta make sure I'm safe about getting those full motions.

"I wouldn't say an exact timeframe, b…

Francis Ngannou was well aware off the risks he faced defending his heavyweight title at UFC 270, and he went through with the fight anyway.

Following his unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Ngannou revealed to media at the post-fight press conference that he competing with a torn MCL and other damage to his knee suffered prior to the event.

“It was pretty bad,” Ngannou said. “I have a grade 3 MCL (tear), I have damage on my ACL and damage on my MPFL. That was 25 days ago. I think [I’ll need surgery].”

It was a different style of fight for Ngannou at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night, as he relied on takedowns and top position to wear down his former MMA Factory training partner over the second half of the bout. “The Predator” said he was warned by doctors not to compete, but he elected to take the risk – even on the last fight of his UFC contract.

“My team was by my side regardless of whatever I decided to do, that’s wh…

Francis Ngannou was well aware off the risks he faced defending his heavyweight title at UFC 270, and he went through with the fight anyway.

Following his unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Ngannou revealed to media at the post-fight press conference that he competing with a torn MCL and other damage to his knee suffered prior to the event.

“It was pretty bad,” Ngannou said. “I have a grade 3 MCL (tear), I have damage on my ACL and damage on my MPFL. That was 25 days ago. I think [I’ll need surgery].”

It was a different style of fight for Ngannou at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night, as he relied on takedowns and top position to wear down his former MMA Factory training partner over the second half of the bout. “The Predator” said he was warned by doctors not to compete, but he elected to take the risk – even on the last fight of his UFC contract.

“My team was by my side regardless of whatever I decided to do, that’s wh…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The Ultimate Fighting Championship card on May 14 is already getting stacked with flyweights. Per a report from MMA Junkie on Friday, top-10 flyweights Viviane Araujo (10-3) and Andrea Lee (13-5) have agreed to square off at the May 14 UFC Fight Night event. There is no official location on the books for this fight card yet, and the only other matchup booked for it is another 125-pound battle between ex-title challenger Lauren Murphy and former bantamweight queen Miesha Tate. This pairing has since been confirmed by Lee on social media.

Araujo crashed into the UFC with a trio of stoppages, including two under the Pancrase banner, and proceeded to knock Talita Bernardo in her promotional debut in 2019 up at bantamweight. “Vivi” dropped down to flyweight aga…

A pair of intriguing matchups have been booked for UFC London, as Arnold Allen will take on Dan Hooker at featherweight, while Gunnar Nelson will face Claudio Silva at welterweight.

Promotion officials announced Allen vs. Hooker, while multiple outlets confirmed Nelson vs. Silva following an initial report via Twitter. UFC Fight Night 204 takes place at the O2 Arena in London and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Alexander Volkov against Tom Aspinall.

The 28-year-old Allen has won his last 10 professional outings — including eight in UFC competition. The Englishman known as “Almighty” fought once in 2021, earning a unanimous decision over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC on ABC 2 last April. His ledger also includes wins over the likes of Nik Lentz, Gilbert Melendez and Makwan Amirkhani.

Hooker will return to 145 pounds for the first time since November 2016, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jason Knight at UFC Fight Night 101. “The Hangman” went 3-3 in six …

The Jordanian Lion is looking for a new Challenge

He’ll fight for his spot in the PFL Regular Season

@DesertForce pic.twitter.com/oD417SDFuA — PFL (@PFLMMA) January 21, 2022

The lineups for the first two Professional Fighters League Challengers Series events are now official.

Promotion officials announced the matchups for the cards on Monday. The first Challenger Series event features light heavyweights on Feb. 18 and is headlined by a clash between two-division Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Joshua Silveira and Mohamed Juma.

The remaining 205-pound pairings are as follows: Alexander Poppeck vs. Taylor Johnson; Joao Paulo Fagundes vs. Bruce Souto and Simeon Powell vs. Karl Williams.

Meanwhile, the following week will highlight welterweight athletes with a card topped by a showdown between Brave Combat Federation champion Jarrah Al-Silawi and Michael Lilly. Additional matchups for the Feb. 25 card include: Dilano Taylo…

The third meeting between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno almost didn’t happen.

Due to a knee injury suffered by Alexandre Pantoja, Figueiredo was able to step in for a trilogy and made the most of his opportunity, edging Moreno via unanimous decision in a thrilling five-round affair in the UFC 270 co-main event. While the Brazilian mentioned a fourth bout with Moreno in the Octagon during his post-fight interview, he struck a different chord at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“Brandon didn’t give me the chance to fight him again,” the Figueiredo said. “He didn’t want to, except Pantoja got hurt. That’s why the UFC gave him the fight. If he behaves well for the next couple months, we’ll figure this out.”

While Figueiredo was outlanded in significant strikes by Moreno, “Deus da Guerra” connected with more authority in the bout, including three knockdowns. Two of those came in the third round, when Moreno may have been saved by the horn.

“If i…

Dana White was conspicious by his absence following Francis Ngannou’s championship victory over Ciryl Gane in the UFC 270 headliner at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night.

Normally, the UFC president is in the Octagon to wrap the belt around the winner’s waist for championship bouts, and he was present in the cage for Deiveson Figueiredo’s victory in the UFC 270 co-main event earlier in the evening. However, White’s absence from Ngannou’s celebration and from Saturday’s post-fight press conference could be telling, as Ngannou and the promotion have been at odds in recent months.

“I don’t know. You have to ask him,” Ngannou said regarding White’s absence. “No, I did not have anything to do about that. I think that was their decision. I’m about to ask about that, too.”

Ngannou’s contract issues with the company have been well-documented, and he failed to come to terms with the organization prior to earning a unanimous decision over Gane at UFC 2…

Alexandre Pantoja has newly-crowned flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo directly in his crosshairs.

Shortly after the announcement that a light heavyweight title bout between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka was set for UFC 274 — a card that is rumored to take place in Rio de Janeiro — Pantoja proposed a rematch with Figueiredo in their home country. Figueiredo defeated Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision in their championship trilogy at UFC 270 on Saturday night.

"I was supposed to fight Moreno at UFC 270, but due to a knee problem I had to leave the card and give that opportunity to Figueiredo bring the belt back to Brazil, so nothing would be more fair than for him to make his first defense against myself in our country and my city,” Pantoja told Sherdog.com. “I can guarantee that in a rematch he will see a totally different Pantoja. In my city, I don’t see Deiveson keeping that title.”

Pantoja initially faced Figueiredo at UFC 240, falling to his…