Martial Arts News

After defeating Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier in a period of 12 months, Charles Oliveira was selected as Sherdog.com's 2021 “Fighter of the Year.”

“I’m really happy and moved by that and everything that is going on in my life lately,” Oliveira told Sherdog.com. “UFC champion in one of the most difficult divisions. I set records for most submissions and bonuses, [and rank] fifth in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. To finish that amazing year being chosen as ‘Fighter of the Year’ by one of the most respected outlets in the world, I’m so happy and moved that I don’t know what to talk about. I´m just thankful to God.”

As for what’s next, Oliveira pointed to a possible showdown with Conor McGregor when UFC 274 heads to Rio de Janeiro on May 7.

"May would be a wonderful date,” he said. “Conor challenged me asking a date, and tweeted Ireland vs. Brazil 2. Not only him, but also myself and all the world wants to see that fight. So let's m…

Former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos is set to make his first combat sports appearance since being released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A bout between dos Santos and Kubrat Pulev is in the works for the Triller-promoted Triad Combat early next year. TMZ Sports was first to report the matchup, which is currently being targeted for February. The Triad Combat rule set is touted as a hybrid of boxing and MMA. Fighters are allowed to throw strikes from the clinch as well as spinning backfists and hammerfists. Kicks, knees, elbows are not allowed, nor is fighting on the ground. Combatants are allowed to stand on their opponent’s foot while throwing punches, however.

Triller Triad Combat held its inaugural event on Nov. 27. In the main event, Pulev authored a standing KO of another former UFC heavyweight king, Frank Mir, 1:59 into the first-round of their bout. Pulev owns a 28-2 professional boxing record, with his only two losses coming against Anthony Jos…

Credit: Getty/UFC

Though he only recently became of person of interest in the UFC’s middleweight division, Bruno Silva’s journey with the promotion began some seven years ago.

"When I look back and see all the challenges I overcame, like accepting a short-notice invitation to participate in [“The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3”] in 2014 and facing the very best heavyweights we had in Brazil back then with only the experience of fighting on small northeast [Brazil] regional events, I just think how it was all worth it,” Silva told Sherdog.com.

Coincidentally, Paulo Costa also participated on that edition of the reality series, but among the middleweights. Silva, meanwhile, ended up facing heavyweight finalist Vitor Miranda in the first qualifying fight and ended up suffering the only knockout loss of his career in the second round. Nonetheless, he impressed his idol, Wanderlei Silva, and his current trainer, Andre Dida, with his performance.

“It was such a war. …

Raphael Assuncao could be sidelined for a significant period of time following his second-round knockout loss to Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 199.

The veteran Brazilian bantamweight needs a left knee MRI and doctor clearance or he will be out until June 17. At a minimum, Assuncao is suspended until Feb. 2 with no contact until Jan. 18. A full list of medical suspensions from the event was recently released to mixedmartialarts.com.

UFC Fight Night 199 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas this past Saturday. In the evening’ main event, Derrick Lewis defeat Chris Daukaus via first-round knockout in a heavyweight tilt. Daukaus is suspended until Feb. 17 with no contact until Feb. 2 for laceration repair on his nose. Lewis emerged from the bout with a clean bill of health.

Five other fighters from UFC Fight Night 199 are facing potential six-month terms: Cub Swanson (right finger), Justin Tafa (right thumb, left finger), Harry Hunsucker (left knee), Don'Tale Mayes (l…

The lineup for Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve card continues to grow.

The Japanese promotion announced the following three additions to the Rizin 33 lineup: Rena Kubota vs. Si Woo Park at atomweight; Shinobu Ota vs. Kazuma Sone at featherweight and Kota Miura vs. Yushi Sakura at featherweight under Rizin challenge rules, which consists of three, three-minute rounds with no face stomps or knees to a ground opponent allowed.

At a press conference, promotion CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that the card for Rizin 33 has not yet been finalized.

“Fuji television will be broadcasting this event and they have committed to a five hour, 45 minute window on New Year’s Eve this year,” Sakakibara said. “We will be announcing three fights today, but we are not finalized yet. We would like to continue to negotiate to put on the best card that we can.”

Rizin 33 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and features a lightweight championship bout…

Credit: Getty/UFC

Coming off a streak of three consecutive knockouts in the UFC, Bruno Silva might have another striking battle lined up for his next Octagon appearance.

According to Brazilian outlet Combate, the UFC is working a fight between Silva and Alex Pereira for its March 12 Fight Night card. Sherdog.com contacted “Blindado,” who confirmed that the bout was in the works but revealed the contract had not yet been signed. Multiple outlets have since confirmed the fight has been targeted by the promotion.

"As soon as I sign the contract, I´ll be happy to talk about my next fight,” Silva said. “All I can say for now is how happy I´m happy about what's happening in my life right now. If the UFC is giving me great names, it means they are liking my work.”

A former M-1 Global champion, Silva has kicked off his promotional tenure with finishes off Wellington Turman, Andrew Sanchez and Jordan Wright. The 32-year-old Brazilian has won his last seven professional …

While Nick Diaz gave a game effort at UFC 266, it wasn’t a vintage performance from the Stockton, Calif., native.

More than six years since his last Octagon appearance, Diaz faced Robbie Lawler in a rematch on Oct. 25 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he suffered a TKO defeat when he declined to continue 44 seconds into the third round of their middleweight bout.

While Diaz was able to unleash some of his renowned multi-punch combinations, he fatigued badly down the stretch — something that would have been unheard of in years past — which led to him asking out of the fight in the final stanza. In an interview with ESPN, UFC president Dana White said he’d prefer not to see Diaz step into the Octagon again.

“Regardless of how good he looked or what he did after such a huge layoff, I don’t think Nick should fight,” White said. “It’s not that I was in favor of it. He’s a grown man and can do whatever he wants to do. I just don’t think that Nick does it becau…

Belal Muhammad entered a new tier of welterweight contenders at UFC Fight Night 199, where he earned a convincing unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Stephen Thompson in the evening’s co-main event.

Muhammad is unbeaten in his last seven promotional appearances, and most recent was arguably his best to date, as he grounded “Wonderboy” seven times en route to earning scorecards of 30-25, 30-26 and 30-26 from the cageside judges. It’s a statement victory that Muhammad believes should put him into consideration for a championship opportunity.

“Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ 30-26? Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ that style? Nobody’s ever beaten him that way,” Muhammad said at the UFC Fight Night 199 post-fight press conference. “‘Wonderboy’s’ fought for the title twice, Demian Maia has fought for the title twice, I beat both of those guys in dominant fashion. So, like, you’re telling me Leon Edwards deserves it over me? He almost got knocked out by Nate…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Former American Top Team stablemates Mariya Agapova and Maryna Moroz will square off at UFC 272.

Both fighters confirmed the flyweight booking on social media following an initial report from Combate. UFC 272 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5 and is also expected to include a featherweight bout pitting Edson Barboza against Bryce Mitchell.

Agapova has been victorious in two of her first three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 24-year-old Kazakhstan native submitted Sabina Mazo in the third round of their encounter at UFC Fight Night 194 on Oct. 9. The former Contender Series and Invicta FC competitor is 10-2 as a pro, with eight victories coming inside the distance.

Moroz, meanwhile, will enter the bout on a two-fight winning streak after besting Mazo and Mayra Bueno Silva in her last two promotional outings, the most recent of which occurred in March 2020. The 30-year-old Ukraine native is 5-3 in U…

Gleison Tibau, wrestling and jiu-jitsu coach of KSW double champion Roberto Soldic, is impressed by the potential of the Croatian fighter.

"His power is not normal. The only fighter I faced with similar power was Khabib [Nurmagomedov], but his strength was for grappling and throws. Soldic has similar power but for striking,” Tibau told Sherdog.com. “I´ve already trained with Colby [Covington], [Robbie] Lawler and many other top fighters from the UFC, and I´ve never seen anything like this. Everytime I train with him I need two days to recover.”

Soldic became a two-division champion this past Saturday, when he knocked out Mamed Khalidov in the second round to capture middleweight gold in the KSW 65 headliner. Soldic was already the Polish promotion’s welterweight title holder. According to Tibau, Soldic’s feat will attract attention from the world’s largest MMA organizations.

"Soldic has one more fight in KSW ,and if KSW doesn't make an excellent proposal to rene…

After some initial hesitation from the UFC, it appears the promotion is ready to book a strawweight championship rematch between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza.

UFC president Dana White confirmed in an interview with ESPN that Esparza is next in line for a 115-pound title shot. A date for the proposed bout was not revealed.

“Carla Esparza (is next),” White said. “100 percent.”

Esparza and Namajunas initially squared off at “The Ultimate Fighter 20” finale with the promotion’s inaugural strawweight title at stake. Esparza captured the belt via third-round submission in the December 2014 bout but relinquished the crown in a second-round KO loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her next outing. “The Cookie Monster” went 3-3 in UFC competition from 2016 to 2018 before embarking on a five-bout winning streak that propelled her to her current No. 1 contender status.

Namajunas, meanwhile, is currently on her second championship reign in the strawweight division. She re…

A bantamweight showdown pitting Marlon Moraes against Yadong Song is in the works for UFC Fight Night on March 12.

MMAjunkie.com confirmed the booking after Song initially announced the fight on the UFC’s Migu channel. The UFC Fight Night card is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Santos. A location and venue has yet to be announced.

A former World Series of Fighting champion and UFC bantamweight title challenger, Moraes has dropped four of his last five outings in the Octagon. Most recently, Moraes rocked Merab Dvalishvili early in their UFC 266 encounter before falling via technical knockout at the 4:25 mark of Round 2. The American Top Team product’s other recent defeats have come at the hands of Rob Font, Cory Sandhagen and Henry Cejudo.

Song, meanwhile, has compiled a 7-1-1 mark during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. After falling to Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision in his first ap…