Martial Arts News

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 next Ultimate Fighting Championship card on ESPN has lost its headliner. Per MMA Kultura on Thursday, and later from Ariel Helwani, Jan Blachowicz (28-9) has been forced out of his light heavyweight main event at UFC on ESPN 33 against Aleksandar Rakic (14-2) due to an undisclosed injury. According to the reports, Blachowicz will not be replaced as the matchup will be preserved for a later date, and the UFC is searching for an entirely new main event to sit atop the show at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 26.

Blachowicz was looking to get back in the win column after surrendering his belt to Glover Teixeira in late 2021. The former champ had a five-fight win streak snapped at the conclusion of UFC 267, where he fell victim to a rear-naked choke from the Brazilian. Blachowicz first claimed the vacant strap by …

Dana White on why he wasn't out there for the main event and didn't put the belt on Francis Ngannou.#UFC pic.twitter.com/8Z0BKBwILM

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 27, 2022 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship head Dana White is adamant that there was nothing to read from his nonappearance at the end of UFC 270. Historically, White has served as the person to wrap the belt around the champion’s waist after Bruce Buffer announced the victor in the UFC. While he did hand the flyweight belt to Deiveson Figueiredo at the conclusion of the UFC 270 co-main event, he was noticeable absent for the heavyweight headliner. Instead, matchmaker Mick Maynard presented “The Predator” with his unified title, instantly drawing questions from fans and media alike as to why White was not present. Many speculated that…

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. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champ Jessica Andrade is moving back to her old stomping grounds of 115 pounds. Last Friday, the news first broke from MMA Fighting, who reported that Andrade (22-9) will be dropping back down to strawweight at an unnamed UFC Fight Night card on April 23. At this event that may be held in the UFC Apex, contingent on the status of the coronavirus pandemic, Andrade will be facing Amanda Lemos (11-1) in a battle between hard-hitting Brazilians. The two women will be competing over the course of five rounds as the main event, and the news has since been confirmed on Thursday by Lemos on her Instagram page.

Andrade shifted gears to the flyweight division after dropping two to Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas. In her 125-pound debut, she handed Katlyn Chookagian her second career stoppag…

Times are tough for 38-year-old combat sports veteran Melvin Guillard.

According to a release from the Association of Boxing Commissions on Thursday, the Florida State Athletic Commission has denied Guillard’s license to compete at BKFC: Knucklemania 2 on Feb. 19. The event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., was to feature a scrap between Guillard and ex-boxer Ulysses Diaz, but it has been shut down due to a “serious concern” regarding Guillard’s health.

“On the surface, the fight might look competitive,” the release noted, as transcribed by MMA Junkie, “but after doing due diligence, the executive director Patrick Cunningham found a serious concern with the health of Melvin Guillard. In checking the certified ABC record sources, BoxRec and the MMA database, it was determined Guillard is suspended and requires a neurological exam, but even if he cleared that Guillard had lost the past four BKB bouts and had a lost nine mixed martial art [fi…

After over 14 years with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, longtime staple Jeremy Stephens is moving on.

The news first broke on Thursday from MMA Fighting that Stephens (28-19, 1 NC) had concluded his latest UFC contract and has chosen not to re-sign with the promotion. Confirmed shortly thereafter by multiple outlets, his contract came to an end following his meeting with Mateusz Gamrot in July 2021, where he fell short by first-round kimura. Stephens is winless in his last six appearances dating back to 2018, with five defeats and a no contest from an eye poke in the midst of his skid.

Stephens will be leaving the UFC after 34 trips to the Octagon, where he currently holds the spot for the fourth-most fights in company history. “Lil Heathen” had his hand raised 15 times over the years, shifting back and forth from lightweight to featherweight and back. Notable victories include finishes of Rafael dos Anjos and Josh Emmett, as well as decision verdicts over the l…

Featherweight Friday

Challenger Series: Week 4 atMarch 11th9 PM ET@fuboTV #PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/VTERQGnZev

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 27, 2022 The Professional Fighters League Challenger Series continues to set events for this year, with the next on the docket coming between featherweights. A press release on Thursday stated that the promotion’s fourth Challenger Series showcase will take place between competitors in the 145-pound division. The eight featherweight prospects vying for a single spot on the roster or a developmental deal for future appearances will hit the cage on March 11 inside the Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. The Dana White's Contender Series-inspired series will air every Friday starting on Feb. 18 for eight weeks of events.

Previous PFL Challenger Series cards include one for light heavyweights on Feb. 18, the second between welterweights on Feb. 25, and the March 4 four-piece of women’s lightweights. All …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJa4p7eN54&w=560&h=315] The stage for Eagle FC's North American debut is set after a weird, yet fairly uneventful, weigh-in ceremony.

Eagle FC 44 will be the organization's first event after introducing 165- and 175-pound weight divisions, while abolishing the 170-pound class internally. Headliner Sergei Kharitonov initially came overweight for his heavyweight bout against Tyrone Spong, but later weighed in under the 266-pound limit. Meanwhile, miscommunication between the commission and the promotion wound up giving fighters a three-hour window to step on the scales instead of the standard two. Besides those hiccups, only one fighter on the card, Dylan Salvador, officially missed weight, as the French fighter came in 3.4 pounds over the featherweight limit.

This main event will mark the third mixed martial arts bout for Spong (2-0), who returns to the sport for the first time since 2013 when he won a unanimous decision over Ang…

Initially scheduled to face Muslim Salikhov at UFC 270, Michel Pereira had to deal with an opponent change a few weeks prior to the event.

And the fight against Octagon newcomer Andre Fialho was not easy.

"I normally like to study my opponents in the first round, but he surprised me with his killer jabs and I had to change plans from the second round on,” Pereira told Sherdog.com. “I started to move more, mix more and anticipate his attacks.”

Pereira ultimately defeated Fialho via unanimous decision, and he felt the fight was worthy of a bonus.

“I have to agree that Deiveson [Figueiredo] and [Brandon] Moreno deserved their prizes, but no one else delivered a better show than me and Fialho,” he said. “And when I talk about the show I mean the whole package, since weigh-ins. We gave a war to the fans.”

Pereira also was happy to see Figueiredo, who hails from the same part of Brazil, regain his flyweight crown in the co-main event.

“I remembe…

Even if Francis Ngannou does return to the UFC, it will be quite some time before the heavyweight champion is back in action in the Octagon.

Ngannou’s manager, Marquel Martin, told ESPN on Wednesday that the fighter will have surgery to repair a torn MCL and damaged ACL when he returns to the United States. Ngannou is planning a trip to his native Cameroon and did not want the procedure to affect his homecoming. Ngannou is expected to need a minimum of nine months to recover.

Ngannou injured his knee during sparring ahead of his title unification bout against Ciryl Gane in the UFC 270 main event. Despite recommendations to pull out of the fight, “The Predator” went forward with the bout, winning a unanimous decision behind his wrestling.

"I continue to be amazed and inspired by Francis' heart and resilience," Martin told ESPN. "Fighting on one leg to overcome all odds, and remind the world he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I think we can a…

UFC 274 has its second title fight booked, as Charles Oliveira will defend the lightweight crown against Justin Gaethje on May 7.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchup to ESPN on Wednesday. Oliviera vs. Gaethje joins a light heavyweight championship tilt between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka atop the card. UFC 274 was initially expected to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but the event is now rumored to move to the United States, though a venue is still unknown.

Oliveira, the promotion’s all-time submission leader, is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he defeated Michael Chandler via technical knockout to claim the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 262 before submitting Dustin Poirier in his first title defense at UFC 269. “Do Bronx” is currently on a 10-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion in which he has finished nine of his opponents inside the distance.

A former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion, Gaethje will…

Like many dominant title holders, Kamaru Usman has harbored dreams of becoming a UFC two-division champion.

However, with fellow Nigerian Israel Adesanya reigning atop the middleweight division, moving up just one weight class was never a consideration for Usman. Instead, the welterweight king last year had designs on moving up two weight classes to face then 205-pound champ Jan Blachowicz.

“I was going to skip Israel and go fight Jan at 205 [pounds],” Usman told GQ. “Because I'm pound-for-pound, I want to prove it. No matter what weight it is, I thought he was a really good matchup for me.

“I think I would beat him.”

That hypothetical is less likely to become a reality now after Glover Teixeira vanquished Blachowicz to become the light heavyweight champion at UFC 267 this past October. Teixeira already has his first title defense scheduled against Jiri Prochazka in May. And Usman, who beat Colby Covington in a rematch at UFC 268, is widely expected to fac…

Apparently Sherdog.com's 2021 "Fight of the Year" winner wasn’t all that impressive to Justin Gaethje.

Gaethje, whose scintillating lightweight clash with Michael Chandler at Madison Square Garden last November took home top fight honors from more than a few publications, reminisced on the bout during an interview with BT Sport. His assessment of the action focused more on the disappointment of not finishing Chandler than anything else.

“To be completely honest with you, I feel like that was kind of a boring fight when I was in there,” Gaethje said. “Yeah, it just makes no sense. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to win more than to knock somebody out.

“So yeah, it was not good. I didn’t like it. I want to go back to just wanting to hurt somebody and finish them. But now that I have won, I got my title shot, I can go back to how it should be.”

The former World Series of Fighting champion has won five of his last six outings, and his unanimous verdict o…