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 winner of this upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight matchup will either cement one’s place or enter another into the top 10. On Thursday, MMA Junkie first reported that Jessica Eye (15-10, 1 NC) would be taking on Manon Fiorot (8-1) at an upcoming UFC Fight Night card on March 5. The two 125-pounders are expected to fight inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, although that venue has not yet been made official. Both Fiorot and Eye confirmed the pairing on their respective social media pages.

Dating back to a 2020 meeting with Cynthia Calvillo, Eye has struggled inside the Octagon, dropping a trio of decisions to Calvillo, Joanne Wood and Jennifer Maia. The former title challenger last prevailed in 2019, snagging a unanimous verdict over Viviane Araujo. “Evil Eye” earned a crack at the belt by stringing three wins …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyemGfbA0hI&w=560&h=315] There were no issues during the weigh-in ceremony ahead of Senshi 10.

On Saturday, Kyokushin karate organization Senshi will hold its tenth event. The card is headlined by a non-title 176-pound clash between WAKO PRO K1 World titleholder Sergej Braun and Assane Bafeta. The 30-year-old Braun is pursuing his fifth victory under the Senshi banner, and is now facing a new opponent that stepped in during fight week. The German had no issues in hitting the mark as he weighed in at 175 pounds.

A short-notice substitute for Nikola Todorovic, European ISKA K1 champion Bafeta is ready to surprise the masses on Saturday. The Bulgarian organization will promote this contest under the KWU Full Contact rules, which prohibit elbow strikes and throws, but allow the fighters to box, kick, sweep and knee. The late replacement Bafeta looked good on the scales as he hit the 174-pound mark.

The co-main event is a heavyweight…

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Geoff Neal will have to answer some important questions before his next fight in a little over a week.

On Thursday, courtesy of a document from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office received by MMA Junkie, Neal was arrested on Nov. 25 for driving while intoxicated and the unlicensed carrying of a weapon. Both charges misdemeanors, Neal was picked up at 3:47 a.m. local time and remained in jail that day. He was released that night at 8:08 p.m., and bonds were set at $1,000 for each charge.

The remaining details of his arrest, or even the identification of the specific weapon found on Neal, have not been made publicly available. Neal’s status on the main card of UFC 269 is not currently known, regarding his matchup with Santiago Ponzinibbio.

“Handz of Steel” is hoping to rebound from the first losing stretch of his career at UFC 269, as he dropped a pair of decisions within the year to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny. The d…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl7o8OkJhlc&w=560&h=315] At just 31 years of age, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Felicia Spencer has decided to hang up her gloves.

Speaking to FightBananas on Thursday, Spencer told the outlet that she informed the UFC that she was retiring. This news comes less than a month removed from her victory over Leah Letson at UFC Fight Night 197, where she finished her opponent in the third round. Spencer turned 31 on Monday.

“I’ve made the decision to be done with my fighting career, if you want to call it a career, I call it more of an opportunity and I’m done pursuing the opportunity,” Spencer explained in the interview. “I’m really happy with where I left off and everything I’ve done. For me and for my personal decisions and everything, it’s time for me to be done, and part of the big reason just to inform everyone there’s not anything that happened to me, it’s just for me and my family, mental health is always been …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiCWBRnfi_w&w=640&h=360] The Bellator MMA bantamweight championship is now officially on the line in the main event of Bellator 272.

Both current champion Sergio Pettis and former titleholder Kyoji Horiguchi successfully made weight for the bout. This is Horiguchi's first bout with the promotion since he vacated the strap in 2019 due to injury. All other fighters made weight on the card except for Jared Scoggins, who came in four pounds over the bantamweight limit for his bout against Josh Hill.

Pettis (21-5) is finally living up to his nickname of "The Phenom," as he is currently undefeated within the promotion. Making his Bellator debut in 2020, the Milwaukee-based fighter rattled off wins over Alfred Khashakyan and Ricky Bandejas to earn a crack at the crown. In May, he topped champ Juan Archuleta to capture the throne. The defending champion officially stepped on the scale at 134 pounds.

Horiguchi (29-3) captured the Bellat…

.@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 …