Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUpbGm9M67I&w=560&h=315] It appears as though the support of the Pitbull brothers has helped former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder Renan Barao rediscover his love for mixed martial arts. Barao will return to the cage to vie for the Premier Fighting Championship featherweight title when he faces Tyson Duckworth on Nov. 19 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“I definitely regained my desire to train and fight with the Pitbull brothers, and now I’m returning in great shape,” said Barao, who arrived in the United States early for a variety of reasons. “There’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape due to the pandemic, so I decided to get here before the fight, not only to avoid possible problems but also to get adapted to the climate and time zone.”

Barao held the UFC bantamweight championship between 2012 and 2014 and was considered one of the Top 5 pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. However, after he surrendere…

Can’t wait for this one. Morono with the violence https://t.co/I5uq8hlCnu

— Ramiz Brahimaj (@170Ramiz) November 12, 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. Action Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights will throw down inside the Octagon in under a month. On Friday, MMA Junkie first reported that Alex Morono (20-7) will come to blows with Mickey Gall (7-3) in what should be an entertaining 170-pound clash on Dec. 4. The two will lock horns at UFC on ESPN 31, which will take place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sherdog has since confirmed the news of this booking with a source close to the situation.

Morono has won his last two, prevailing twice in 2021 over Donald Cerrone and David Zawada. “The Great White” knocked Cerrone out in the first round in May, and went on to capture a clear-cut unanimous decision in September over t…

Khabib Nurmagomedov'un kardeşi Moskova'da gözaltına alındı. Usman Nurmagomedov'un bir polis memurunu ezdiğinden şüpheleniliyor. pic.twitter.com/Tjw4KWy7gs

— RUSEN Press (@RusenPress) November 11, 2021 Bellator MMA lightweight prospect Usman Nurmagomedov has been taken into custody for reportedly running a police officer over at an airport in Russia.

Early Thursday morning, Rusen Press posted a document that included a potential mugshot for Nurmagomedov and a friend, while noting that he had been detained under suspicion of “crushing a police officer.” Russian outlet TASS then reported that Nurmagomedov and friend Kamal Idrisov had indeed been arrested at the Kaspiysk airport.

Per the press office of a department of the Russian Interior Ministry, “They are suspected of running over a policeman with a car at the checkpoint of Kaspiysk Airport.”

According to the report, two men in a Toyota Camry with tinted windows and no license plates were…

It wasn’t the outcome fans were hoping for, but the fight was fun while it lasted.

The “One: NextGen 2” main event saw Rittewada Petchyindee cut former One bantamweight muay Thai title challenger Saemapetch Fairtex open with an elbow to force a doctor stoppage. Saemapetch adopted a wait-and-see approach, absorbing some of his opponent’s front kicks so that he could answer with three-punch combinations. The 2017 Lumpinee Stadium champ Rittewada scored a spinning back elbow, but a few seconds later, Saemapetch retaliated with a series of punches that knocked his opponent down. Although Rittewada beat the count, he lost the opening round due to the knockdown.

Like a hot knife through butter Rittewada takes home the TKO over Saemapetch due to doctor stoppage! #ONENextGen2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/0ygdQqAtPC

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 12, 2021 In the second frame, Saemapetch looked comfortable as he stumb…

Sherdog's live Bellator 271 coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Bellator Women's Featherweight Title Bout:Cris Cyborg (145) vs. Sinead Kavanagh (145) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

No elevators to the top I’ll take the stairs pic.twitter.com/Q1z5nM3nmf

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 11, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not done building up its year-end card on Dec. 18. MMA Junkie first reported on Thursday that Stephen Thompson (16-5-1) will be facing Belal Muhammad (19-3, 1 NC) at UFC Fight Night 199. The two welterweights will go to battle on Dec. 18 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Shortly after the booking was announced, Muhammad confirmed the fight on Twitter.

Thompson had a two-fight win streak snapped when he met Gilbert Burns at UFC 264 in July, falling short to his fellow former 170-pound title challenger by unanimous verdict. The setback blunted the momentum that “Wonderboy” had gained by defeating surging contenders Vicente Luque in 2019 and Geof…

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. In the span of a few weeks, Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Kyle Daukaus has flipped through a litany of opponents and fight dates. Daukaus (10-2, 1 NC) was initially booked in a rematch against Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night 197 on Nov. 13, but Holland suffered an injury and was forced out of their bout. They first fought in October, and an inadvertent clash of heads led to a no contest ruling. When Holland withdrew, the fight card shuffled and Daukaus ended up planning on meeting Roman Dolidze. This too dematerialized when Dolidze was removed from the card due to COVID-19 protocols.

As the organization was unable to book a replacement opponent a couple day before the event, Daukaus was pulled from the card. On Thursday, MMA Junkie was the first to break the story that Daukaus will now be fighting on Feb. 19 …

We kick off December with Regian Eersel vs. Islam Murtazaev for the ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title, Stamp Fairtex vs. Ritu Phogat for the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix Title, and MORE! @PhogatRitu @MarcusBuchecha #ONEWinterWarriors #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/4BccRTs0mc

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 11, 2021 In less than a month, the One Championship atomweight grand prix will come to a close.

On Thursday, One sent out a press release announcing its six-fight card that will take place on Dec. 3. The show, titled “Winter Warriors,” will see the atomweight (115 pounds) tournament finals as well as a lightweight (170 pounds) kickboxing strap on the line in its live card. In the main event, Regian Eersel will put up his 170-pound kickboxing belt as he takes on Islam Murtazaev.

In the co-headlining bout, the finals of the 115-pound women’s tourney will see Nong Stamp (7-1) take on Ritu Phog…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkNaOR3Xf5c&w=640&h=360] Bellator 271's headline bout for the Bellator MMA women's featherweight championship is now official.

Both women had no issue making weight with Justino (24-2) weighing 145 pounds exactly, and Kavanagh (7-4) coming in at the same weight. However, a prelim bout between Shane O'Shea vs. Jordan Newman has been canceled after O'Shea didn't weigh in for an undisclosed reason, and Pam Sorenson came in .8 pounds overweight for her featherweight bout against Arlene Blencowe.

Justino comes into the bout undefeated inside the Bellator cage. "Cyborg" most recently defeated Leslie Smith in a dominant performance and submitted Arlene Blencowe after finishing Julia Budd to win the belt. Meanwhile, Kavanagh has strung together two wins against Katharina Lehner and Olga Rubin after going 1-4 in her previous five fights.

Bellator 271's main card will air live on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The prelims beg…

Gym owner and former MMA fighter Scott Fairlamb was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for punching a police officer during the Capitol riot that took place in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, according to Politico.

Fairlamb, 44, is the first defendant charged with assaulting an officer to face sentencing. Royce Lamberth, the federal judge who imposed the sentence, said he expects Fairlamb’s term will be lower than the others who are facing charges stemming from the riot. Fairlamb’s decision to plead guilty and expression of remorse helped lower his sentence, according to Lamberth.

“Had you gone to trial, I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you or would have acquitted you,” Lamberth said. “You couldn’t have beat this.”

Fairlamb will also face 36 months of supervised release after he gets out of prison.

Fairlamb was reportedly one of the first people to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, carrying a stolen police baton on his way throu…

Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards will have to settle their differences another day.

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday that Masvidal has withdrawn from the highly-anticipated UFC 269 clash due to an undisclosed injury. According to MMAFighting.com , Edwards is not expected to remain on the card against a replacement opponent. Instead, the British welterweight will seek a title shot against Kamaru Usman.

Edwards reacted to Masvidal's exit on Twitter:

Disappointed but honestly I knew this fraud didn't want to fight me anyway. He was just a stop off on the way to the title. The goal remains the same. Much needed family time now, @usman84kg i will see you soon.

— Leon 'Rocky' Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) November 10, 2021

If Edwards were to have a change of heart, he’d have several willing suitors. Since news of Masvidal’s exit came to light, Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad an…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A heavyweight scrap between Tanner Boser and Sergei Pavlovich has been removed from the UFC on ESPN 31 lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the cancellation, and Boser then confirmed that the fight was off, though he did not offer specific details. “Sorry guys, I hope to have this resolved soon,” Boser wrote on Twitter.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place on Dec. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight clash between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Boser snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ovince St. Preux in the second-round at UFC Fight Night 190. The 30-year-old Canadian is 4-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion and 20-8-1 as a professional overall.

Pavlovich will look to return to action after having a 2020 booking against Ciryl Gane fall through due to injury and a September matchup with Tom Aspinall canceled as a result of visa issues. The Eagles MMA repr…