Martial Arts News

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Zviad Lazishvili has agreed to step in on three days’ notice and face Jonathan Martinez at UFC Fight Night 196.

Lazishvili will serve as a replacement for Aaron Phillips in the bantamweight bout. MMA Ideas was first to report the change. UFC Fight Night 196 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a middleweight duel between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

A native of Tbilisi, Georgia, Lazishvili will make his Octagon debut with an 8-0 professional mark. Most recently, the 29-year-old submitted Ricky Steele in the opening round of their bout at Legacy Fighting Alliance 90 in September 2020.

Martinez, meanwhile, is 4-3 in UFC competition since his 2018 debut. In his last outing, the Factory X product had a two-bout winning streak snapped in a second-round KO loss to Davey Grant at UFC Fight Night 187.

Armen Petrosyan brought UFC president Dana White out of his seat. His next step was all but inevitable.

Petrosyan made short work of Kaloyan Kolev in a light heavyweight affair, winning via knockout in the 4:27 mark of the opening stanza on Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. All six of the Armenian fighter’s professional triumphs have come via knockout or technical knockout.

Petroyson was one of four fighters who received a UFC contract after the event, joining Caio Borralho, Jonny Parsons and Piera Rodriguez on the Las Vegas-based promotion’s roster.

Kolev (10-1) started quickly, as he landed a takedown within the bout’s first 15 seconds and smothered his adversary against the fence. When Petrosyan (6-1) was able to create space, he tagged the Bulgarian with a hard kick to the body and a left hook before Kolev secured another body lock. This time, however, Petrosyan was able to separate much more quickly, and he bega…

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 8 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 The evening kicks off with bantamweights Falcao (14-3) and Barnes (14-4), with referee Mike Beltran set to tower over the action. Both men set up in orthodox stance and exchange a few tentative strikes. Barnes steps in and clinches, pushing Falcao to the fence. 90 seconds in, the Brazilian reverses position and pushes Barnes into the cage, throwing some short knees up the middle. They disengage and a moment later, Barnes shoots for a takedown but is stood up by Falcao. Barnes drives the action to the cage again and looks to drop levels, but Falcao defends well with an overhook. They disengage and end …

Irwin Rivera has been released from police custody after being charged with attempted murder earlier this year.

The UFC fighter was granted a conditional release after a judge approved his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Rivera had been in custody since Jan. 6 on two felony charges of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing his sisters. Rivera was released on Tuesday following a Monday hearing. ESPN Deportes was first to report the results of the case.

According to a sentencing order, Rivera was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and it was determined that the attack on his sisters was the first episode of that condition. Dr. Sheila Rapa testified during the hearing that Rivera is able to function with medication and that he is not a threat to himself or anyone else. She also had “no problem” with Rivera continuing his MMA career.

In order for Rivera to remain out of custody or hospital care, he must remain on medication and under the care of a psychi…

A rematch of former flyweight challengers is in the works for early next year, as Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia are expected to square off at a UFC event on Jan. 15.

MMA Ideas first reported the bout. A location for the card has yet to be officially announced, but Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze will meet in the evening’s main event.

Chookagian and Maia first fought at UFC 244, with Chookagian winning via unanimous decision. That propelled “Blonde Fighter” into a title shot at UFC 247, where she suffered a third-round TKO defeat against Valentina Shevchenko. The Team Renzo Gracie representative has won three of her last four bouts since then, including a decision triumph over Viviane Araujo in her last outing at UFC 262.

Maia, meanwhile, faced Shevchenko at UFC 255, where she lost a clear-cut unanimous decision this past November. She rebounded to take a three-round verdict against Jessica Eye at UFC 264 on July 10.

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David Onama will become the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first athlete from Uganda when he locks horns with Mason Jones this Saturday.

Onama is a short-notice replacement for Alan Patrick, who pulled out of the lightweight matchup with Jones due to COVID-19-related protocol. MMA DNA was first to report the Onama vs. Jones booking. UFC Fight Night 196 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

Anchored at Glory MMA & Fitness, Onama is undefeated in eight professional outings. Onama boasts five first-round stoppages on his ledger and has finished all of his opponents inside the distance while competing on the Midwest regional scene.

Jones is still looking for his first promotional triumph after dropping a decision to Mike Davis in his debut and having his first booking against Patrick end in a no contest due to…

International fighters hoping to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will face a new hurdle beginning next month.

While the UFC does not require any of the athletes in the organization to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, the Las Vegas-based promotion will adhere to the policy from the United States government that requires all travlers from abroad to have proof of vaccination beginning on Nov. 8. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell sent out a memo to fighters, coaches and managers providing notice that the policy will affect international fighters traveling to the U.S. for fight cards beginning on that date.

“Recently the U.S. government announced that beginning on November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of their vaccination status to fly to the United States,” the memo states. “Fully vaccinated travelers will also be required to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 te…

A illness has forced Jessica Eye to pull out of a proposed flyweight clash against Andrea Lee at UFC Fight Night 197.

As a result, Cynthia Calvillo will step in to face Lee on Nov. 13. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight tilt pitting Max Holloway against Yair Rodriguez.

Eye announced her withdrawal in a recent Instagram story.

“[This past Thursday], I thought I was dealing with an allergic reaction to fish eggs that I didn’t notice on my sushi [roll] until it was too late,” Eye wrote on Instagram. “Extremely allergic to eggs. Thursday night is when the fever started. So I followed protocol for when I am exposed to a food allergy. Thursday was rough but woke up on Friday feeling OK but [with] brain fog, which is usually [a] symptom after I have an allergy attack or exposure to foods I’m allergic to.

“Friday was a normal day and I was ready for t…

According to Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman would’ve paid dearly if he hadn’t agreed to their rematch in the UFC 268 main event.

Usman and Covington initially fought at UFC 245 in December 2019, with Usman retaining his welterweight crown with a fifth-round technical knockout victory. Covington has campaigned for a rematch since then but claims that Usman and his team did everything in their power to avoid the return date.

In the meantime, Covington returned to action with a fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley in September 2020. Usman has been more active, with a pair of successful title defenses against Jorge Masvidal as well as a victory over Gilbert Burns.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen. They did not want it to happen,” Covington told ESPN. “His manager, they were refusing. They were trying to find every way in the book out of fighting this rematch. They didn’t want this fight, man, and the only reason they have to take it is the UFC gave him no choice. They…

The rivalry between UFC Night 196 main event headliners Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa extends years back beyond the fighters to members of their respective camps.

King’s MMA head coach Rafael Cordeiro, who trains Vettori, recalled the old Vale Tudo days when he and Costa’s manager, Wallid Ismail, were big rivals. At the time, Cordeiro was part of the Chute Boxe team, while Ismail represented Carlson Gracie. Cordeiro said the he and Ismael both agreed that the level of respect in combat sports was different back then.

“Actually, this fight started when Wallid called me a few months ago to set it up, and I told him that was the fight to be made,” Cordeiro said. “It was funny that during the conversation we commented that today we live in a totally different reality from when we grew up, where opponents are not enemies and we respect each other a lot. But we both agreed on one point, if ‘Borrachinha’ and Vettori understand what our generation lived in the past, it´s gon…

Eric Albarracin is currently working with a number of top fighters at Arizona-based MMA camp Fight Ready, and he expects that the team will only continue to get better.

Currently, Albarracin has coached the likes of Weili Zhang, Deiveson Figueiredo, Patricky Freire and Paulo Costa at the gym, which is located in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"The structure here is amazing and we are mixing the best from all over the world — China, Brazil, USA. Fight Ready is still crawling now, but soon we will be flying,” Albarracin said.

According to Albarracin, Zhang, the former UFC straweight champion, will impress the world with the new skills she has gained. Zhang is slated to face Rose Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 268 after relinquishing the strap to Namajunas in a shocking KO loss this past April.

“Zhang is a completely different fighter and you will see that in Nov. 6. Our muay Thai, boxing and wrestling coaches have done an incredible job,” Albarracin said. “I truly be…

No charges have been filed against Chuck Liddell in an alleged domestic violence incident involving the former UFC champion and his wife last week.

TMZ Sports was first to report that the Los Angeles District Attorney has elected not to prosecute the couple following an argument that turned physical. According to the report, the DA spoke with Liddell, his wife, Heidi Northcott, and the couple’s daughter, and determined that a verbal argument turned physical but no one was seriously hurt as a result of the altercation.

The couple’s daughter reportedly told prosecutors that she witnessed Liddell and Northcott pushing each other. Liddell ended up with a red mark on his face, while his wife had no visible injuries.

Liddell was booked for misdemeanor battery last week when Lost Hills, Calif., police were called to a domestic disturbance. Liddell later released a statement claiming that he was the victim in the incident and has tried to “shield a family mental healt…