Martial Arts News

The stakes have been raised for the Peter Queally-Patricky Freire rematch at Bellator 270.

Bellator president Scott Coker announced during "The MMA Hour." on Wednesday that Patricio Freire has vacated the lightweight belt, which he has not defended since stopping Michael Chandler in 61 seconds at Bellator 221 in May 2019. As a result, Queally vs. Freire will be for the vacant 155-pound championship.

Patricio Freire addressed the situation shortly thereafter on Twitter. The younger “Pitbull” brother was a two-division champion before losing his featherweight crown to A.J. McKee at Bellator 263 this past July. For now, his focus is on regaining that title, while allowing his brother to have his own golden opportunity.

“Honor and family come first,” he wrote. “When I first won the LW belt it was just about revenge. It was still an honor, but with the loss at 145 I’m starting over. It’s time for the LW division to move on and for [Patricky Freire] to have his shot.…

Cristiane Justino will make her next featherweight championship defense against Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271.

The bout will headline the Nov. 12 event, which is slated for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The card will air on Showtime. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed the booking on "The MMA Hour."

Justino claimed the 145-pound belt with a fourth-round TKO of Julia Budd at Bellator 238 in January 2020. Since then, “Cyborg” has defended the crown with a second-round submission of Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249 and a five-round TKO of Leslie Smith at Bellator 259. The 36-year-old Brazilian has lost just twice in 27 professional outings.

Ireland’s Kavanagh is currently on a two-fight winning streak within the California-based promotion. After stopping Olga Rubin in the second round at Bellator 234, she outpointed Katharina Lehner in her most recent appearance at Bellator Milan in October 2020. Kavanagh is just 4-4 under the Bell…

Alistair Overeem has been forced to pull out of his heavyweight title fight with Rico Verhoeven at Glory: Collision 3 due to injury. Glory announced on Wednesday that the heavyweight superfight will not go down at the Oct. 23 event.

Rico Verhoeven will still remain on the card, according to the promotion, and a replacement for Overeem will be revealed in the near future. Overeem released a statement regarding his withdrawal via Instagram.

“I deeply regret that I have to pull out of the fight against Rico Verhoeven Oct. 23. I’ve never pulled out a fight before and trust me, this decision was hard to make. I’ve been dealing with the injury for over a month,” Overeem wrote. “Two days before the press conference, a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t even able to walk straight.

“After some treatment I felt much better. And since I’ve never been a quitter, I wasn’t going to quit now. I went back in camp. But… the injury got worse again and I could not even fulfill a comple…

Mike Malott needed less than a minute to handle his business.

The Team Alpha Male rep was one of four competitors to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the previously unbeaten Shimon Smotritsky with a guillotine choke in the first round of their welterweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Malott (7-1-1) sealed the deal 39 seconds into Round 1.

Smotritsky (7-1) took the bait, moved in for a potential takedown and immediately found himself entangled in the guillotine. His situation went from bad to worse to downright dire as Malott improved his positioning and tightened his squeeze on the choke. Smotritsky waved the white flag soon after.

In addition to Malott, UFC President Dana White awarded contracts former Hoosier Fight Club champion Carlos Hernandez, Fortis MMA standout Fernando Garcia and undefeated Entram Gym prospect Genaro Valdez.

Hernandez outstruck and outpaced …

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 DWCS 2021 Week 6 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 White rushes out of his corner and the lightweights trade a flurry of punches before Valdez shoots for a takedown. He takes White down near the fence, but his opponent quickly hustles back to his feet. Valdez continues to maintain a body lock as he presses White into the cage. Valdez lands a short elbow on the break. Valdez lands a leg kick, then a two-punch combination before changing levels. He gets White down, but it’s only momentary. White is back on his feet, defending against Valdez’s level change. Valdez gets White down and jumps on his foe’s back, but it’s not a great angle to complete the sub…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A middleweight bout between Jamie Pickett and Laureano Staropoli that was slated for UFC Fight Night 194 has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Pickett confirmed that one of his coaches tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the contest will be rescheduled for the UFC’s Oct. 23 event. AgFight first brought word of Pickett’s withdrawal.

“Fight has been canceled and I’m stuck in Vegas,” Pickett wrote on his Instagram story. One of my coaches test positive for COVID and now we have to stay here for 10 days. I’m pissed the f—-k off but everything is everything. I’ll get through this somehow.”

UFC Fight Night 194 currently has 10 bouts, including a strawweight headliner pitting Marina Rodriguez against Mackenzie Dern. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+.

A two-time competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Pickett is still looking for his first Octagon triumph after falling to Ta…

After victories against Amanda Ribas and Michelle Waterson in her last two outings, Marina Rodriguez is confident that a win over Makenzie Dern in the UFC Fight Night 194 main event could be her ticket to a strawweight title shot.

"I have no doubt that an impressive win over Mackenzie via knockout or submission will get me closer to the title,” said Rodriguez, a renowned muay Thai specialist who is also a jiu-jitsu purple belt.

Rodriguez is well aware of the ground credentials of her opponent, a black belt and a multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion. With that in mind, Rodriguez has been training plenty of no-gi jiu-jitsu with black belts Alexandre de Souza and Igor Soares ahead of Saturday’s bout.

"Actually, since I arrived in UFC, they have given me some of the best grapplers of the division. I faced in sequence [Cynthia] Calvillo, [Carla] Esparza and Ribas, so this camp was pretty much the same. A lot of grappling and takedown defense,” Rodriguez said.

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A middleweight rematch between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus has been scheduled for Nov. 13 after their initial meeting resulted in a no contest.

ESPN was first to report the booking. Holland and Daukaus initially squared off at UFC Fight Night 193, when an accidental headbutt altered the course of their bout. Holland was dazed after the collision, which allowed Daukaus to secure a rear-naked choke for the tapout. However, the sequence was reviewed before the final verdict and the fight was ultimately ruled a no contest.

Now, Holland and Daukaus will attempt to find some closure at UFC Fight Night 197, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

After a breakout 2020 campaign in which he went 5-0, Holland is winless in his last three Octagon appearances — including the no contest against Daukaus. Prior to that, Holland’s defensive wrestling was exposed in back-to-back decision…

The death of recent Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship opponent Justin Thornton hit Dillon Cleckler hard.

Clecker, who had built a relationship with Thornton over the years after their MMA bout under the Island Fights banner in 2013, released a statement on his Facebook page reacting to his friend’s passing. An “absolutely devastated” Cleckler said that Thornton ultimately died due to pneumonia.

“As a fighter nothing prepares you for the news I received this morning on my way to training. Some of you may not of heard yet but my last opponent Justin Thornton passed away last night due to pneumonia,” Cleckler wrote. “I can’t help but feel absolutely devastated about this because I’ve known Justin for years. Not many people know this but we fought 8 years ago and he told me right away he wanted the rematch. I know that when he got the phone call to finally get that rematch on a bigger stage he saw a huge opportunity and took it. Justin is a warrior. It’s in his blood to …

While the UFC Fight Night 193 main event was short on action, both Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker are facing potentially lengthy medical suspensions following their light heavyweight bout.

Santos defeated Walker via unanimous decision in a lackluster five-round fight this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos needs X-rays on his left ring finger, left foot, left knee and left ribs and then must receive medical clearance or he will be sidelined until April 1. At a minimum, “Marreta” is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24. Walker, meanwhile, needs an X-ray on his left foot and must receive medical clearance or he is out until April 1. At a minimum, Walker is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com.

Four other athletes from UFC Fight Night 193 are facing potential six-month terms: Niko Price (left kne…

An interesting matchup of lightweight talents is on tap for UFC Fight Night 197, as Thiago Moises will lock horns with Joel Alvarez on Nov. 13.

Alvarez initially revealed the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Moises had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he was submitted by Islam Makhachev in the fourth round of the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner on July 17. Prior to that, Moises had bested Michael Johnson, Bobby Green and Alexander Hernandez in succession.

Alvarez has won three consecutive bouts since dropping his Octagon debut to Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 145. Most recently, the 28-year-old Spaniard known as “El Fenomeno” submitted Alexander Yakovlev in the opening round at UFC 254.

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.31

Yutaka Saito vs. Juntaro Ushiku#RIZIN #RIZIN31 pic.twitter.com/iUPvFVzPoM

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) October 4, 2021 Featherweight champion Yutaka Saito will defend his crown against Deep title holder Juntaro Ushiku in the Rizin Fighting Federation 31 main event on Oct. 24.

The Japanese promotion announced the booking on Monday. Rizin 31 takes place in Yokohama, Japan, and will also see recent atomweight title challenger Kanna Asakura square off against Saori Oshima in the co-main event.

The rest of the Rizin 31 card was also confirmed: Tsuyoshi Sudario vs Saint Saint; Yusaku Nakamura vs. Yuki Ito; Daisuke Nakamura vs Suguru Nii; Masanori Kanehara vs. Takahiro Ashida; Daichi Abe vs Akira Okada; Rikuto Shirakawa vs Takuya Yamamoto; and Seiichiro Ito vs Kunta Hashimoto.

A former Shooto featherweight champion, Saito has won eight of his last nine professional outings. That stret…