Martial Arts News

.@DanaWhite starts Ep 200 by telling us he and his family have tested positive for Covid-19, despite being vaccinated. He says he’s in isolation, feels great & plans to make Sat night's promotion. Plus, updates on Conor, Chimaev, Gaethje & Usman.

LISTEN: https://t.co/el6HPXs9gu pic.twitter.com/2CS7ZD9kdU

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) December 1, 2021 Dana White might not be present at UFC on ESPN 31 this weekend after recently testing positive for COVID-19.

The UFC president revealed on the "Jim Rome Podcast” that he tested positive for the virus after a family gathering for Thanksgiving. According to White, he is fully vaccinated.

“We just went up to my place in Maine and for Thanksgiving it’s tradition we go up there, and somebody had it, and we get back, and we all tested positive for COVID,” White said. “Literally the whole family and my family up in Maine, too.”

White said he noticed that he had los his sense of taste and …

The past week of training camp was full of positive news for UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira and his head coach, Diego Lima.

In addition to receiving a visit from master Rudimar Fedrigo, founder of the Chute Boxe team, they also officially announced a historic partnership that will help not only their team, but also Brazilian MMA as a whole.

"We are very happy to announce the sponsorship with Prevent Senior Group and New One. From now on all Chute Boxe Diego Lima fighters will have a full health insurance program. From doctors to surgeries and physiotherapy — everything is included,” Lima told Sherdog. “Prevent has the biggest hospital network in the country. For sure that´s the first partnership between a team and a big health insurance company in Brazil and probably around the world, too.”

Regarding Oliveira’s first title defense against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 269 headliner on Dec. 11, Lima praised the champion’s work in camp.

“Rarely in his lo…

Ehemaliger Halbschwergewichts-Champion Jan Blachowicz erwartet wird, um zu konkurrieren-zum ersten mal seit den Gürtel verlieren, wenn er steht Aleksandar Rakic im Hauptereignis einer Ultimate Fighting Championship karte am 26.

Die vorgeschlagene 205-Pfund-Buchung war zuerst berichten von Ariel Helwani, aber der Kampf ist noch nicht abgeschlossen zu diesem Zeitpunkt. Die Veranstaltung hat noch keinen offiziellen ort oder Veranstaltungsort.

Blachowicz sah eine Fünf-Kampf-Siegesserie bei UFC zu Ende gehen 267, als er die Halbschwergewichts-Krone an Glover Teixeira in einer zweiten Runde Vorlage Niederlage. Der 38-jährige Pole beanspruchte den freien Platz mit einem Stopp in der zweiten Runde von Dominick Reyes bei UFC 253 vor Outpointing Mittelgewicht König Israel Adesanya in seiner einsamen Titelverteidigung bei UFC 259. Blachowicz hat gewann neun seiner letzten 11 UFC-Auftritte Dating zurück bis Oktober 2017.

Rakic war inzwischen in sechs von sieben Ausflügen s…

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

A middleweight showdown pitting Misha Cirkunov against Makhmud Muradov is slated for a UFC Fight Night card on Feb. 26.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA journalist Igor Lazorin. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush.

Cirkunov has won just two of his last seven Octagon appearances dating back to May 2017. Most recently, the 34-year-old Latvia native made his middleweight debut at UFC Fight Night 193, where he suffered a split decision loss to Krzysztof Jotko on Oct. 2. Cirkunov owns notable wins over the likes of Jimmy Crute, Patrick Cummins, Nikita Krylov and Ion Cutelaba.

Muradov, meanwhile, had a 14-bout professional winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a second-round submission defeat ot Gerald Meerscha…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoXEuXN02S0&w=560&h=315]

Octagon newcomer Darian Weeks will make his promotional debut on less than a week’s notice against Bryan Barberena at UFC on ESPN 31.

Promotion officials announced the new welterweight bout Tuesday. Weeks is a replacement for Matt Brown, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the event. UFC on ESPN 31 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Weeks was supposed to face Josh Quinlan on Dana White’s Contender Series on Sept. 7 but was forced to pull out of the fight due to COVID-19 protocols. The 28-year-old Missouri native is 5-0 as a professional, including a second-round TKO of Craig Fairley at LFA 99 on Feb. 12. Weeks also owns a 1-1 mark as a professional boxer.

Barberena, meanwhile, has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the MMA Lab product dropped a majority…

Kevin Lee has been released by the UFC after 18 appearances with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

MMAFighting.com was first to report Lee’s departure. “The Motown Phenom” has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances, including a unanimous decision defeat to Daniel Rodriguez in his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 30 on Aug. 28. His lone victory during that stretch was a head-kick knockout of Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 in November 2019.

Lee was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for Adderall — which he said was used to treat adult ADHD — in relation to the fight against Rodriguez. Lee apologized for his failed test on social media while also revealing battles with sobriety and substance abuse. He is eligible to return to active competition on Feb. 28, 2022.

At one time, Lee was one of the top lightweight talents in the UFC, winning nine of 10 bouts from July 2014 to June 2017 to earn a shot against Ton…

Jon Jones will have to wait until early next year to learn if he’ll face criminal charges after being arrested for battery domestic violence and vehicle tampering in Las Vegas this past September.

Prosecutors on Tuesday were granted a continuance to file a criminal complaint against Jones, pushing the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s hearing to Jan. 31, according to the Associated Press. Neither Jones nor his attorney were present when the judge elected to change the date, the second time a continuance was allowed in the case. Jones remains free on $8,000 bail.

Jones was arrested on Sept. 24 for allegedly assaulting his fiancée, Jessie Moses, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and for head-butting a police vehicle as he was being taken into custody. Audio of the call from Caesars Palace to police was later released, depicting a bloodied Moses seeking assistance while simultaneously not admitting to that any type of domestic violence incident occurred. Jones was …

Yogibo presents #RIZIN33 at the Saitama Super Arena. Bantamweight GP Semi-Final matchups confirmed. Former Champion and favorite Kai Asakura gets Kenta Takizawa. Former UFC contender Naoki Inoue gets TUF runner up Hiromasa Ougikubo. #RIZIN #MMAhttps://t.co/XTqRMN4cep

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 30, 2021

The Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight grand prix will reach its conclusion at the promotion’s signature New Year’s Eve event.

The Japanese organization announced on Tuesday that Kai Asakura will meet Kenta Takizawa in one 135-pound semifinal at Rizin 33, while Naoki Inoue will square off against Hiromasa Ougikubo in the other half of the bracket. The finalists will lock horns later on the card.

Rizin 33 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and will also see lightweight champion Roberto de Souza defend his crown against an as yet to be announced opponent. The card will be available internationally via…

Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Caio Borralho is expected to step in for the injured Anthony Hernandez and face Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC Fight Night 199.

Borralho announced the new middleweight bout via social media, and it was subsequently confirmed by MMAFighting.com. Borralho must receive a visa before the bout is finalized, however. UFC Fight Night 199 takes place on Dec. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus.

Borralho earned a pair of victories on the Contender Series in 2021. He was not awarded a UFC contract after outpointed Aaron Jeffrey on Sept. 28, but he impressed Dana White when he stopped Jesse Murray in the opening stanza of their Oct. 19 encounter. The 28-year-old Brazilian is 10-1 with one no contest over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2014.

Also an alum of the Contender Series, Stoltzfus is 0-2 in the Octagon after falling to Kyle Daukaus via unan…

Twenty-four fight MMA veteran Jake Heun has been sentenced seven years and nine months in prison after being convicted on drug trafficking charges in Australia.

The news was first reported by the Dail Mail. Heun was arrested while attempting to import 801 grams of methamphetamine after a package labeled “bath gel and cologne” broke open while in transit from France. The package was addressed to Heun’s apartment, which led to a police investigation that also found conversations on the fighter’s cell phone with his girlfriend regarding further drug trafficking.

Heun claimed that he was being paid $1,000 to receive the package, and he ultimately plead guilty to importation of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and another charge of trafficking cocaine. Images found on Heun’s found included a picture of a parcel containing cocaine, which he was attempting to send to his girlfriend through the mail. Heun was also believed to have mailed out 35 to 40 grams o…

Coming off his first loss in nine Octagon appearances, Nova Uniao standout Leonardo Santos is excited to make his promotional return on Saturday against Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 31.

“I’m really motivated for this fight,” Santos said. “Guida is a legend of the UFC who has already defeated names like Takanori Gomi, Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis. The guy has almost 60 fights to his credit and despite being nearly 40 years old — like myself — he is still giving a hard time to many top talents of the division. It's gonna be an honor to share the Octagon with him.”

Santos was in camp with longtime friend and teammate Jose Aldo, who will fight Fob Font in the UFC on ESPN 31 main event. Santos revealed that he didn’t spend too much time sparring with the former featherweight champion.

“Nova Uniao is such a paradise of lightweight fighters,” Santos said. “Even when we were in close proximity, we needed to face different styles, so we didn’t spar too much. But from…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A matchup of surging lightweights is in the works for an upcoming UFC Fight Night card, as Arman Tsarukyan and Joel Alvarez have agreed to square off on Feb. 26.

Multiple outlets confirmed the bout has been targeted following an initial report from Igor Larzorin. The Fight Night event takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a pivotal 155-pound encounter between Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev.

After falling to Makhachev in his Octagon debut, Tsarukyan has rattled off four consecutive triumphs within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the American Top Team-trained Russian scored a first-round technical knockout win against Christos Giagos at UFC Fight Night 192 on Sept. 18.

Spain’s Alvarez is also on a four-bout UFC winning streak after dropping a three-round verdict to Damir Ismagulov in his initial Octagon foray in February 2019. The 28-year-old Bandog Fight Club representative has…