Martial Arts News

A lightweight clash between Jay-Jay Wilson and Alfie Davis scheduled for Bellator 272 has been canceled.

As a result, a bantamweight scrap pitting Josh Hill against Jared Scoggins has been elevated to Friday’s main draw. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the removal of Wilson vs. Davis, and promotion officials confirmed the new Bellator 272 lineup on Monday. A reason for the cancellation is currently unclear.

Bellator 272 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and is headlined by a bantamweight championship tilt between Sergio Pettis and Kyoji Horiguchi. The evening’s main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on the Bellator YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Hill earned decision wins against Erik Perez and Vinicius Zani in his first two promotional appearances before dropping a three-round verdict against Raufeon Stots in his last outing at Bellator 258.

A forme…

Khabib Nurmagomedov will bring Eagle Fighting Championship to the United States early next year.

The retired former UFC champion told ESPN that he plans to hold events in Miami with his mixed martial arts promotion in both January and March, with hopes for several more in the U.S. as the year progresses. Eagle FC is working with media company FLX on a production facility in Miami that will host the organization’s cards, which are expected to stream on the FLXcast app.

"If you want to become big in MMA, you have to be in USA," Nurmagomedov said. "For fighters, for promotion, you have to be in U.S. If you're not in U.S., you can never become No. 1 or best. It's almost impossible.”

Nurmagomedov told ESPN that the Eagle FC has signed multiple fighters with previous ties to major organizations like the UFC and Bellator. He hopes to add at least 50 fighters to his promotion for the coming year. Nurmagomedov, however, does not want to compete with other well-known MM…

A battle of lightweight contenders is in the works for early next year, as Beneil Dariush is slated to lock horns with Islam Makhachev on Feb. 26.

ESPN was first to report the booking, which will serve as the headliner for the UFC Fight Night card. In addition to agreeing to the bout, both Dariush and Makhachev have reportedly signed conract extensions with the Las Vegas-based promotion. A location for the event has not been announced.

Dariush enters the matchup on a seven-bout winning streak. The Kings MMA product went 2-0 in 2021, defeating Diego Ferreira via split decision at UFC Fight Night 184 before taking a unanimous verdict against Tony Ferguson at UFC 262. Dariush is 15-4-1 in UFC competition overall, with other notable wins against the likes of Drew Dober, Thiago Moises, Jim Miller and Michael Johnson.

Makhachev, meanwhile, has been victorious in his last nine Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner tapped Dan Hook…

Pneumonia Covid never give up pic.twitter.com/QshVGYiUvW

— Diego Sanchez UFC (@DiegoSanchezUFC) November 26, 2021 Beloved fan-favorite fighter Diego Sanchez is suffering from serious complications due to COVID-19.

A week ago, Sanchez posted on social media stating that he was undergoing a REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19, also known as a Regeneron antibody infusion. Sanchez went on to explain that his condition had briefly improved, thanking fellow fighter Luis Palomino for recommending this treatment. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship mainstay lamented that the treatment was depriving him of sleep, and that he was “cleaning out all the poison.”

On Thursday night, Sanchez posted an unfortunate update that he had been hospitalized due to the virus. Showing a photograph of him being hooked up to machines, he stated that he had come down with pneumonia as well with low oxygen numbers. A few hours later, Sanchez said t…

Jarred Brooks puts the ONE strawweight division ON NOTICE by submitting Lito Adiwang in the second round! @The_monkeygod #ONENextGen3 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/JHUSk2VAgL

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 26, 2021 “The Monkey God” may be one to watch in One Championship’s 125-pound division.

The main event of “NextGen 3,” a tape-delayed event filmed at the end of October, featured a clash between well-traveled vet Jarred Brooks and divisional mainstay Lito Adiwang at One’s strawweight division of 125 pounds. Brooks (17-2, 1 NC; 1-0 One) landed his first takedown 20 seconds out of the gate, pinning Adiwang (13-4, 7-2 One) with his back against the mat for most of Round 1. “The Monkey God” landed a few shots from on top, but remained content to rack up control time until Adiwang eventually surged back to his feet. When both were upright again, Adiwang targeted Brooks’ body with kicks, and set up punches from those…

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. A newly announced Ultimate Fighting Championship card on March 5 will play host to a thrilling striker vs. grappler battle at 145 pounds. MMA Junkie was the first to break the news on Thursday, reporting that Edson Barboza (22-10) will come to blows with Bryce Mitchell (14-0) on March 5. The two featherweights will toe the line at a previously unannounced UFC card on that date, which does not currently have a location or venue officially on the books. The pairing, which has been agreed upon but not formally signed, has since been confirmed by other outlets. No other matchups have yet been announced for the event, and it is not currently clear if this bout will serve as its headliner.

Feared Brazilian striker Barboza had a two-fight win streak snapped when Giga Chikadze knocked him out in August. The defeat put an end to clear-cu…

.@USMAN84kg on breaking his hand before the fight pic.twitter.com/L1JEi7jQyK

— Full Send Podcast (@fullsendpodcast) November 24, 2021 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. Recently victorious Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman kept a firm grip on his title even with a broken hand. On Wednesday afternoon, Usman spoke on the Full Send Podcast about his UFC 268 meeting with Colby Covington. According to the champ, he broke his right hand three weeks prior to the fight date of Nov. 6, and did not strike with that hand until fight night.

“Yeah, I broke it before the fight,” Usman admitted on the Full Send Podcast. “Most people didn’t know that, so…yeah, I broke it three weeks before and I didn’t throw it a day until my fight.”

When asked about how that impacted training, or if he used his hand for anything…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Troubled former UFC fighter Luis Pena was recently arrested for the third time in the past few months.

According to online arrest records, Pena was arrested on Monday and faces two new charges for misdemeanor batter and misdemeanor criminal mischief. No bond has been set. Further details regarding the charges are currently unclear.

Pena was previously arrested this past October in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on charges of domestic violence and battery. According to a probable cause affadavit, Pena is accused of hitting his girlfriend with a closed fist “multiple times.” Pena allegedly continued to strike his girlfriend while she was on the ground, and the woman also suffered abrasions on her left wrist and a bite mark near her left knee.

According to the affadavit, another woman who witnessed the alleged assault attempted to stop Pena, and the fighter struck the woman in the eye with a closed fist. That resulted in the woman falli…

After defeating Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz via decision for a pair of key bantamweight victories, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will return to the Octagon on Saturday against Rob Font, who is on a four-bout winning streak at 135 pounds.

In an interview with Brazilian podcast Mundo da Luta, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras revealed that Aldo is finally comfortable in his new weight class and is in great position to earn his third consecutive triumph at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4.

“Aldo is much more adapted in that division now,” Pederneiras said. “Font deserves all respect. He has two strong points: a dangerous jab and straight. But I see Aldo with many more weapons to finish the fight before the fifth round.”  

Pederneiras also discussed the feud between Aldo and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who recently seemed to downplay Aldo’s success in a new weight class. According to Perderneiras, Khabib´s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, talked to him via phone to clear…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Anthony Rocco Martin was arrested in Las Vegas over the weekend on misdemeanor charges of battery and lewd conduct in a public place, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

According to a Metro Police arrest report, Martin was witnessed urinating on the hallway floor at Caesars Palace at about 1:30 a.m. local time on Saturday. Security manager Nathan Wilson and multiple other security guards confronted Martin near the elevators and asked him to leave the property. Martin refused the request and then was unwilling to show identication before threatening security. When Wilson told Martin he was in danger of trespassing and put his hands up to tell him to step back, the UFC veteran punched him in the throat.

After the punch, Martin was taken down to the floor by security and placed in restraints. Police arrived on the scene and observed security footage of Martin urinating and punching Wilson, according to the report. Martin was…

Matt Brown won’t be fighting at UFC on ESPN 31 as originally planned.

“The Immortal” announced on Tuesday via social media that he has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to withdraw from a proposed matchup with Bryan Barberena on the Dec. 4 card. It’s currently unknown if Barberena will remain on the card.

“S—-ty day today,” Brown wrote. I tested positive for COVID so my fight next weekend is off.

“I was sick af over the weekend but feel better for the most part now,” he added. “Lost smell today. Did a jog outside today and lungs burned some I thought maybe it was just the cold air but maybe I’m still sick. I’ll get over it quickly and go from there.”

Brown, 40, is coming off a second-round knockout of Dhiego Lima at UFC on ESPN 25 on June 19. That halted a two-bout skid for “The Ultimate Fighter 7” veteran, who has won three of his last five Octagon appearances dating back to 2017.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and i…

Miesha Tate is facing a six-month medical suspension following her loss to Ketlen Vieira in the UFC Fight Night 198 main event.

Tate, who lost a unanimous verdict to Vieira, must have multiple nose fractures cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor or she will be sidelined until May 20. At a minimum, she is suspended until Jan. 5 with no contact until Jan. 5. Vieira, meanwhile, emerged with a clean bill of health after the event.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC Fight Night 198 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and also saw Sean Brady defeat Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision in the evening’s co-headliner. Brady is suspended until Dec. 21 with no contact until Dec. 12 due to lacerations under both eyes.

Five other competitors from UFC Fight Night 198 are facing potential six-month terms pending doctor clearance: Joanne Calderwood (left hand), Adrian Yanez…