Martial Arts News

UFC issued this memo moments ago regarding the then-new policy of fighters having to pay for COVID tests out of pocket: pic.twitter.com/7yGiflTj1E

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 15, 2021

While the UFC has updated its COVID-19 protocol, the promotion won’t be requiring its athletes to cover the cost of pre-fight testing as was recently reported.

In a memo sent out to fighters, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell revealed that the organization will no longer provide at-home testing kits as they did earlier in the pandemic. Instead, athletes will have the freedom to handle their own testing with the promotion reimbursing them for the expense. To be reimbursed, a copy of the receipt and a test result must be submitted to the UFC medical coordinator.

“Please be advised that we are updating UFC’s COVID-19 testing program to give all athletes and corners the freedom and flexibility to secure their own COVID-19 test prior to depar…

Alesha Zappitella will face Jessica Correa Delboni in an atomweight championship rematch at Invicta FC 45 on Jan. 12.

The all-female promotion announced the booking on Wednesday. Invicta FC 45 takes place in Kansas City, with broadcast information to be revealed at a later date. Zappitella defeated Delboni via five-round split decision in their first meeting at Invicta on AXS TV on May 21.

According to a release, Invicta FC will hold its events on Wednesday nights in 2022.

"We are always looking for new ways to showcase our athletes and having events on Wednesdays will put the spotlight directly on them,” Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp said. “The rematch between Zappitella and Delboni is a perfect way to kick off the action on our new night.”

Five other bouts were announced for the card: Claire Guthrie vs. Lauren Mueller at bantamweight; Courtney King vs. Morgan Frier at featherweight; Monica Franco vs. Hailey Cowan at bantamweight; Hilarie Rose vs. Em…

Considered one of the top prospects in the bantamweight division, Raoni Barcelos had a five-bout UFC winning streak snapped at the hands of Timur Valiev at UFC Fight Night 190 this past June.

Barcelos lacked the volume of his opponent, but he authored the fight’s most decisive moment when he floored Valiev twice in the second frame. Ultimately, he was unable to secure the finish and Valiev escaped with a majority decision triumph.

"I was one punch away from deciding the fight in the second round and let it escape,” Barcelos told Sherdog.com. “But that defeat was a great learning experience for me and it opened my mind, just increasing my desire to train more and never letting the fights go to the judges. That's what I´ll focus on Saturday.”

Originally slated to face Trevin Jones, Barcelos will instead meet Victory Henry on short notice in a bantamweight contest at UFC Fight Night 199 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. The opponent change didn’t faze the former R…

A pivotal bout between middleweight contenders Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier is getting a new date.

According to ESPN, Brunson vs. Cannonier has shifted from UFC 270 on Jan. 22 to UFC 271 on Feb. 12. UFC 271 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houson and is headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. The bout was moved because the promotion wanted to have it on the same card as the Adesanya-Whittaker title bout, per the report.

Brunson is currently in the midst of the second five-bout winning streak of his UFC tenure. That stretch includes triumphs over the likes of Darren Till, Kevin Holland and Edmen Shahbazyan in headlining appearances in his last three outings. The North Carolina native previously authored a five-bout winning streak from August 2014 to September 2016 before losing four of his next six inside the Octagon.

Cannonier, meanwhile, was on the verge of securing a 185-pound title shot after suc…

Eagle Fighting Championship has added another notable name to its roster.

Promotion officials announced during a Wednesday news conference that former UFC lightweight interim title challenger Kevin Lee has signed a multi-fight contract. Lee was in attendance at the press conference in Miami to announce the deal, and he mentioned that the organization’s commitment to a 165-pound division played a “big part” in his decision to choose Eagle FC. His debut is expected to take place at an event on March 11.

“It’s amazing. Walking into this building feels like a fresh start,” Lee said. “I could feel like a new energy. And to be around a great champion and great champions in the past and try to follow in their footsteps, I feel like it’s big shoes to fill, and I’m here to do that.

“…I’ll be the first 165-pound world champion … It’ll feel nice to make a little piece of history for mixed martial arts.”

Once upon a time, Lee vocally pursued a clash with Nurmagomedov …

Gegard Mousasi will make his next middleweight title defense against Austin Vanderford at a Bellator MMA event in Dublin, Ireland on Feb. 25.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Vanderford had already been tabbed as the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds, so it was just a matter of announcing a date and venue for his matchup with Mousasi. The card, which has not been formally announced by the promotion, takes place at 3Arena.

Mousasi, 36, regained middleweight gold with a five-round verdict against ex-welterweight champ Douglas Lima at Bellator 250 in October 2020. The Armenian-born Dutchman returned to defend the belt with a third-round technical knockout victory against John Salter at Bellator 264. Mousasi is 6-1 overall within the California-based promotion with a pair of middleweight championship reigns to his credit. “The Dreamcatcher” has won 11 of his last 12 pro outings dating back to February 2016, a run that includes five triumphs in UFC competition.<…

A flyweight clash pitting Alex Perez against Matt Schnell has been rebooked for UFC 271.

Promotion officials recently announced the rescheduled 125-pound bout. Perez and Schnell were supposed to square off at UFC 269, but the bout was canceled when Schnell was not medically cleared to compete. UFC 271 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 12 and is expected to be headlined by a middleweight title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.

Perez will return to action for the first time since falling to Deiveson Figueiredo via first-round submission in a flyweight title bout at UFC 255. Prior to that, the Team Oyama representative had been victorious in six of his first seven promotional appearances.

Schnell, meanwhile, has lost two of his last three UFC bouts. Most recently, “Danger” dropped a three-round verdict to Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 262 on May 15. Schnell is 5-4 in the Octagon overall, including a four-fight winning streak from Oct…

Sean O'Malley was one of the big winners at UFC 269, but it could be a while before he makes his return to the Octagon.

O’Malley, who defeat Raulian Paiva via first-round technical knockout, was suspended six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission pending an X-ray and MRI of his right hand and thumb. If he receives doctor clearance, he can fight before June 10. At a minimum, the bantamweight star is suspended until Jan. 11 with no contact until Jan. 2.

A full list of medical suspensions from the event was released to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC 269 took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and saw Charles Oliveira successfully defend his lightweight belt with a third-round tapout of Dustin Poirier in the evening’s main event. Both Oliveira and Poirier are suspended until Jan. 11 with no contact until Jan. 2.

Three other fighters from UFC 269 are facing potential six-month terms pending doctor clearance: Pedro Munhoz (right foot), Miranda M…

With accomplishments that separate her from virtually everyone else in women’s mixed martial arts, Amanda Nunes has earned the right to an immediate rematch following her shocking loss to Julianna Pena at UFC 269.

“It’s a big rematch if she wants it,” UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

Pena outdueled the heavy-handed Nunes in a slugfest, and when the Brazilian fatigued, “The Venezuelan Vixen” took her opponent down with ease and submitted her with a rear-naked choke at the 3:26 mark of Round 2. It’s an upset that ranks among the greatest in the history of the sport, one that White compared to Matt Serra’s victory over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69 in 2007.

“Julianna is a person who always believed in herself and that she could win this fight if she got it. She did it [at UFC 269],” White said. “It’s one of the things that makes this sport so incredible, when somebody is that big of an underdog.”

If there was any doubt a…

Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt once appeared to be on a collision course in the Octagon. While they may yet meet, their fighting careers are currently headed in two very different directions.

O’Malley won for the seventh time in eight promotional appearances, scoring a first-round stoppage of Raulian Paiva in a bantamweight clash at UFC 269 on Saturday night. One bout later, Garbrandt was finished inside of a round by Kai Kara France in his flyweight debut — his fourth defeat in his last five outings.

O’Malley has been handled carefully thus far by UFC matchmakers, but White says the Contender Series alum has earned a step up in competition with his latest performance.

“The guy he beat tonight is a real guy, a very real guy,” White said at the UFC 269 post-fight press conference. “And he did it tonight in spectcualr fashion. When you talk to him, two things: He wants to get paid and he wants to fight higher level competition.

“Looks like we’re gonna have…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Kai Kara France may have been the so-called “B-side” heading into his UFC 269 matchup with Cody Garbrandt, but he changed perceptions in relatively short order on Saturday night.

Kara France earned the most high-profile victory of his career to date, as he defeated the former bantamweight title holder via first-round technical knockout in a featured bout at the T-Mobile Arena. The City Kickboxing member floored “No Love” with an overhand right during an early exchange and then later put Garbrandt away with a salvo of heavy punches against the fence at the 3:21 mark of Round 1.

“I had to go to the body first. I know he’s got good head movement, one of the best boxers in the UFC,” Kara France said in a post-fight interview. “So I knew the head would be moving a lot, but the chest and the body, it’s gonna stay still. I had to pick my spots. Once I landed the first right hand, he’s wobbled. I thought, OK it could be fi…

After suffering an elbow injury in his last fight against Paul Craig at UFC 255 in November 2020, Mauricio Rua elected not to undergo surgery.

“It was the same place I injured against [Mark] Coleman in Pride,” Rua said. “My doctor thought it was better to recover without surgery and that's what I did. Last August I started to train and now I feel 100 percent, so I´ll ask my manager Eduardo Alonso to set my next fight by March.”

“Shogun” revealed that his plan is to have two more fights before retiring from MMA. He is also interested in the prospect of facing longtime Brazilian Top Team rival Ricardo Arona under submission rules.

“I´m driven by challenges,” Rua said. “My focus is totally on the UFC. I want to fight twice more. But if ADCC or another grappling event promoter invited me to face Arona in submission rules, with all the respect I have for him, I would accept that offer and would fight to win.”

As far as the top of the UFC light heavyweight division, R…