Martial Arts News

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Undefeated Brave Combat Federation veteran Muhammad Mokaev has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the signing on Wednesday. A date for Mokaev’s debut is unknown.

A former International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) champion, Mokaev brings a 6-0 professional record and a 23-0 amateur mark into his Octagon debut. Mokaev last appeared at Brave CF 54, where he submitted Blaine O’Driscoll with a rear-naked choke in the second round on Sept. 25. Known as “The Punisher,” Mokaev went 4-0 with one no contest under the Brave CF banner.

NEW SIGNING

Former @IMMAFed ChampUndefeated MMA Record

Welcome to the UFC @MuhammadMokaev

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 17, 2021

The 21-year-old Mokaev hails from Dagestan but is based in England and trains with KHK MMA Team.

Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com

Bob Bennett will step down from his role as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director at the end of 2021.

Bennett announced his plans during an NSAC meeting, which was held via conference call, on Wednesday. Bennett recommended chief assistant Jeff Mullen as his replacement, and that recommendation was unanimously approved by the rest of the commission.

“I never said it would be easy,” Bennett said. “I only said it would be worth it. That captures my last seven-and-a-half years. It’s been a team effort. I’d like to thank the fighters, because without them, we wouldn’t be here. It’s been a privilege to serve in this capacity.”

A former FBI agent and boxing judge, Bennett was named NSAC executive director in 2014. Bennett took over for Keith Kizer, who served in the same position from 2006 to 2014. Mullen was one of the finalists to replace Kizer during the selection process before Bennett won the position in a unanimous vot…

Kevin Lee has been suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a banned amphetamine in relation to his UFC on ESPN 30 loss to Daniel Rodriguez on Aug. 28.

Lee reached a settlement with the NSAC during a Wednesday hearing in which he received a reduced suspension due to the circumstances of the positive test and his cooperation in the case. Normally a failed drug test of this nature would result in a sanction ranging from nine to 24 months. “The Motown Phenom” was also fined $19,526. He will be eligible to return to active competition on Feb. 28, 2022.

Lee received a temporary suspension last month when it was initially confirmed that he tested positive for Adderall. Lee apologized for his failed test, while revealing that the drug had been prescribed to him to deal with Adult ADHD. However, he did not apply for a therapeutic use exemption with the NSAC prior to UFC on ESPN 30.

“It was never my intention to gain an…

Reigning middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov will lock horns with welterweight king Roberto Soldic in the KSW 65 main event on Dec. 18.

The bout, which KSW is billing as the biggest in promotion history, was announced on Wednesday. KSW 65 takes place at Gliwice Arena in Gliwice, Poland, and will also see Daniel Torres face Salahdine Parnasse in a featherweight championship rematch in the evening’s co-headliner. The event will be available on KSWTV.com.

Khalidov returned from two retirements at KSW 55, where he recaptured the 185-pound belt with a jumping switch kick knockout of Scott Askham in October 2020. That victory halted a three-bout losing streak for the 41-year-old, who is a two-time middleweight champion and former light heavyweight title holder. The Chechen-born Pole owns a 35-7 career mark and is widely regarded as the greatest fighter in KSW history.

Soldic will enter his bid to become a two-division champion on a six-bout winning streak in which h…

Azamat Murzakanov will make his promotional debut against Philipe Lins in a light heavyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 31.

VestnikMMA first brought word of the matchup. UFC on ESPN 31 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 4 and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Murzakanov is coming off a contract-winning appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, when he defeated Matheus Scheffel via first-round TKO on Aug. 31. The 35-year-old Russian is 10-0 is a professional, with notable wins over the likes of Guto Inocente and Andre Muniz.

Lins, a former Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion, will be making his 205-pound debut. The 36-year-old went 0-2 in UFC competition in 2020, falling to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser. Since then, he has had proposed bouts against Ovince St. Preux, Ben Rothwell and Don’Tale Mayes fall through for various reasons.

Well-traveled Irish veteran Paul Redmond has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following a 24-bout professional tenure.

Redmond initially considered not making an announcement but ultimately elected to reveal his decision on Instagram. The 35-year-old exits the sport with a 15-9 mark over the course of a career that began in 2010.

I was just gonna fade off into the background and not mention it but a lot of people keep asking me, ‘When am I out again next? and I always say ‘ah soon, etc. etc.’ But the truth is you’re probably not going to see me do my thing in an MMA cage again,” Redmond wrote.

“I’ve thought long and hard about this, talked to the big lad [Coach Andy Ryan], my family, etc., and I think now is a good a time as ever to step away from MMA. Twenty-five pro fights, a full amateur career, but the injuries are starting to mount up every fight camp and I haven’t made the last two fights because of them.

“Along with other stuff I hav…

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The UFC 270 card is official with 14 bouts, including two title fights at the top of the bill.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the lineup in a release on Tuesday. UFC 270 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and is headlined by a heavyweight championship unification bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno will square off against Deiveison Figueiredo in a flyweight title trilogy. The main…

Seven athletes from UFC Fight Night 197 are facing potentially lengthy medical suspensions, including co-main event combatants Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Ben Rothwell.

Lima, who defeated Rothwell via technical knockout 32 seconds into their heavyweight clash, must have an X-ray on his right hand and receive doctor clearance or he will be out until May 13. At a minimum, he is suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Dec. 5. Rothwell, meanwhile, must have an X-ray on his nose and receive clearance from an ear, nose and throat doctor or he too will be sidelined until May 13. At a minimum, Rothwell is suspended until Dec. 29 with no contact until Dec. 14.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC Fight Night 197 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas this past Saturday and saw Max Holloway defeat Yair Rodriguez via unanimous decision in the featherweight headliner. Holloway …

Cheyanne Buys will step in for Montserrat Ruiz and face Mallory Martin at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the new strawweight booking. A reason for Ruiz’s withdrawal is currently unknown. UFC on ESPN 31 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

After dropping a unanimous verdict to Ruiz in her Octagon debut, Buys secured her first promotional triumph at UFC on ESPN 28, when she stopped Gloria de Paula in 60 seconds on July 31. The former Dana White’s Contender Series and Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor is 6-2 over the course of her professional career.

Martin has lost two of her first three UFC appearances. Most recently, the Elevation Fight Team representative was submitted by Polyana Viana in the opening round at UFC 258 on Feb. 13. Martin’s 7-4 mark includes wins with Invicta FC, the Contender Series and LFA.

New UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira was recently honored with a parade and the key to the city in his adopted hometown.

Teixeira became the oldest first-time champion in promotion history at age 42 when he submitted Jan Blachowicz in the second round of the UFC 267 headliner in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30. The Brazilian is a longtime resident of Danbury, Conn., where he runs Teixeira MMA and Fitness.

Teixeira has won six straight fights dating back to January 2019, a stretch that includes finishes of Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Blachowicz. His championship victory came more than seven years after his first title opportunity, a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014.

Watch video of Teixeira’s acceptance speech below:

After hearing rumors that Jorge Masvidal wasn’t seriously training for their announced clash at UFC 269, Leon Edwards wasn’t surprised when “Gamebred pulled out of their welterweight fight last week.

"I knew he was going to," Edwards told ESPN. "I heard some news coming back that he was looking a bit fat, he was looking chubby still. I didn't think he was training for it to be honest. I always knew he was going to run away. It's been three years since the incident in London and he's been dodging me ever since.”

Interest in a grudge match between Edwards and Masvidal began after UFC Fight Night 147 in London, when the two men had an altercation backstage following the event. Masvidal went viral after hitting Edwards with a “three-piece and a soda” combination during that scuffle, which helped raise his profile significantly. It’s been more than two years since then, and Masvidal has enjoyed the spoils of stardom with a headlining bout at Madison Square Garden and a pa…

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A light heavyweight showdown between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev is in the works to serve as the main event for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on March 12.

ESPN was first to report the booking, which is in the process of being finalized. The event does not yet have a location.

A former light heavyweight title challenger, Santos halted a three-bout skid in his last outing, when he took a five-round verdict against Johnny Walker in the UFC Fight Night 193 main event on Oct. 2. After a lengthy stint at middleweight, “Marreta” earned a title shot following finishes of Eryk Anders, Jimi Manuwa and Jan Blachowicz at 205 pounds. The 37-year-old Brazilian gave then champ Jon Jones a difficult test, falling to “Bones” via split decision at UFC 239.

Ankalaev, 29, is one of the fastest-rising talents in the light heavyweight division. The Dagestani has won seven consecutive contests …