Martial Arts News

It appears that UFC 268 was a success domestically.

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, the event drew approximately 700,000 pay-per-view buys through ESPN+ in the United States (h/t TSN ). That figure, of course, does not reflect international purchases of the UFC 268 card. ESPN+ holds the exclusive right to UFC pay-per-view events in the United States.

UFC 268 took place on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York and saw Kamaru Usman defend his welterweight crown with five-round decision win in a rematch against Colby Covington in the evening’s main event. In the co-headliner, Rose Namajunas edged Weili Zhang via split decision in another rematch to retain her strawweight crown.

The main draw began with a “Fight of the Year” candidate between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler, and also saw a competitive duel between Shane Burgos and Billy Quarantillo as well Marlon Vera’s front-kick KO of Frankie Edgar.

Just based on U.S. number…

ACTION MAN WITH THE SUPERHERO STRENGTH

[ #UFC268 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/54gmyUFdck

— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021 “The Action Man” will make a quick turnaround following an upset victory in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Approximately one month after his first-round knockout of Phil Hawes at UFC 268, Chris Curtis will replace Roman Dolidze and face Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4. MMA DNA was first to report the new middleweight booking. UFC on ESPN 30 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Including his win over Hawes, Curtis brings a six-bout winning streak into the matchup with Allen, a stretch that also includes triumphs over former UFC competitors Kenny Robertson and Kyle Stewart. The 34-year-old former CES MMA title holder is 27-8 over the course of his professional tenure.

Allen has now …

Reigning UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko recently made a triumphant return home in the wake of her most recent title defense.

In a video posted on her Instagram account, “Bullet” returns to her native Kyrgyzstan to a warm welcome from her home country. One of the top pound-for-pound talents in the sport, Shevchenko is coming off a fourth-round technical knockout victory against Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 on Sept. 25.

The 33-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative has been unstoppable since moving from bantamweight to 125 pounds, posting eight dominant victories — including seven wins in championship fights.

Remember his name

Shavkat Rakhmonov locks up the guillotine!

[ #UFC254 is live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/QRo69og6BH ] pic.twitter.com/KtsipubxUm — UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2020

A welterweight matchup pitting Shavkat Rakhmonov against Carlston Harris is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 5.

The Freak MMA Instagram page was first to report the welterweight booking. The event does not yet have an official location or headliner.

Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov is unbeaten in his first 14 professional appearances — including victories in UFC competition. The fighter known as “Nomad” debuted with a first-round submission of Alex Oliveira at UFC 254 before tapping out Michel Prazeres with a rear-naked choke in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 190 on June 26. The Kazakhstan Top Team product has finished all of his triumphs inside the distance.

Harris enters the matchup on a five-bout winning streak. That r…

The significance of a victory against Miesha Tate, one of the most popular women in mixed martial arts, is not lost on Ketlen Vieira.

Vieira defeated Tate via unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 198 main event, derailing “Cupcake’s” comeback tour. The former bantamweight queen was making her second Octagon appearance since ending a five-year retirement that began in 2016.

“Miesha was already a champion before I could get my hands in MMA. She was already a champion, so I looked up to her,” Vieira said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. And fighting a legend like that just makes me really believe in my skills, makes me mentally more tough and ready for the future.”

Vieira, who had lost two of three coming into the bout, regained some much-needed momentum and is confident she is back in the championship conversation.

“This victory puts me right where I want to be, back at the top, top 5,” Vieira said. “There will be a champ…

Miesha Tate didn’t get the victory against Ketlen Vieira at UFC Fight Night 198, but she still managed to keep her head held high in defeat.

In her second fight since coming out of retirement, Tate dropped a unanimous decision to her Brazilian opponent in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Tate outlanded her opponent by a 122-to-113 count in significant strikes according to UFCStats.com, Vieira connected with the more meaningful offense during exchanges. Ultimately, that was enough for Vieira to get the nod from the cageside judges.

“I thought it was really close, I wasn’t sure, to be honest,” Tate said during her post-fight interview in the Octagon. “I thought it was close and I knew that there was a possibility she won. I did my best tonight and came up short. She’s the better woman, hat’s off to her. She’s great.”

Tate announced her retirement following a decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205 in November 2016. She made her retur…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

On an evening when 10 of the 11 bouts on the UFC Fight Night 198 card went the distance, the promotion handed out only three bonuses when all was said and done, rather than the traditional four.

Taila Santos received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for the most significant victory of her career to date, a first-round submission of Joanne Wood in a featured flyweight bout. In a dominanting performance, Santos dropped her adversary twice before transitioning to Wood’s back for a rear-naked choke tapout at the 4:49 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Adrian Yanez and Davey Grant received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for an entertaining bantamweight scrap on the main draw. Yanez was impressive with clean punching combinations throughout the contest, but Grant did his best to make things interesting by slinging heavy leather and employing an active kicking game. Ultimately, it was Yanez who emerged with a spl…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Perhaps someday this will be viewed as the moment Ketlen Vieira turned a corner. The Nova Uniao rep moved ever closer to contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division, as she took a unanimous decision over Miesha Tate in the UFC Fight Night 198 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46—all for Vieira (12-2, 6-2 UFC), who bounced back from a disappointing decision defeat to Yana Kunitskaya in February.

Tate (19-8, 6-5 UFC) was the aggressor from the outset, pressing forward with punches and no doubt hunting for takedown opportunities. Vieira was tentative at times, sensational at others. Ultimately, the power in her hands made the difference. She lashed out Tate with two-and three-punch comb…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 198 coverage will begin Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry …

Flow state on the floor for @PatSabatini145

[ #UFCVegas43 LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/KTmNzhz80j

— UFC (@ufc) November 20, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Pat Sabatini has quickly established a firm foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight division.

The former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder grounded and controlled Tucker Lutz to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC Fight Night 198 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sabatini (16-3, 3-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 nods from the cageside judges.

A short-notice substitution for Gavin Tucker, Lutz (12-2, 1-1 UFC) never managed to get himself in gear. Sabatini short-circuited his efforts with takedowns, stifling control…

It appears that Jon Jones’ return to combat sports won’t be in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday announced via Twitter that he will compete against Bellator heavyweight Jake Hager in a grappling match at a Fury Pro Grappling event in New Jersey on Dec. 9. Multiple outlets have since confirmed that the match is in the works. Fury Pro Grappling is run by MMA organization Cage Fury Fighting Championships and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

“Breaking News!! I’m excited to announce I’ll be competing for the number one grappling organization in the world, Fury Grappling!” Jones wrote on Twitter. “December 9th I’ll be in New Jersey competing against WWE superstar and undefeated Bellator heavyweight Jack Swagger.”

Breaking News!! I’m excited to announce I’ll be competing for the number one grappling organization in the world, Fury Grappling! December 9th I’ll be in New Jersey competing against WWE s…

Someone in my corner got Covid and they were forced to cancel my fight. I don’t have Covid, but they say due to risk exposure I can’t fight. Sorry y’all, I appreciate all the support and love. We’re workin hard to get the fight rescheduled ASAP

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 20, 2021

An intriguing lightweight scrap between Terrance McKinney and Fares Ziam slated for UFC Fight Night 198 has been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

McKinney revealed that someone in his corner tested positive for the virus, which forced the promotion to remove the fight from Saturday’s card.

“Someone in my corner got Covid and they were forced to cancel my fight,” McKinney wrote. “I don’t have Covid, but they say due to risk exposure I can’t fight. Sorry y’all, I appreciate all the support and love. We’re workin hard to get the fight rescheduled ASAP.”

As a result, UFC Fight Night 198 will proceed with 11 fights. The card takes place at the…