Martial Arts News

Shortly after a decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic in the UFC Fight Night 175 main event — his second straight lopsided defeat in the Octagon — last August, Anthony Smith was contemplating a return to 185 pounds.

Since then, “Lionheart” has rattled off three consecutive light heavyweight triumphs to re-establish his place in the division. The most recent of those came on Saturday night in a quick submission triumph over Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner, after which Smith called for a rematch with Rakic.

“That’s what I wanted. That’s what I asked for,” Smith said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s the fight I’ve been talking about. It’s nothing personal. Me and Rakic have had nothing but positive exchanges with each other both before and after the fight. It’s purely competitive. I want his spot. He took mine, I want to take it back.”

Shortly after Smith’s callout, Rakic seemingly accepted, tagging UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard in a Tw…

A Bellator press release describes it as the “chance of a lifetime” for Julius Anglickas.

Originally an alternate in the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix, Anglickas will step in for Anthony Johnson against reigning 205-pound champ Vadim Nemkov in the Bellator 268 main event on Oct. 16. Promotion officials announced the new semifinal pairing after Johnson was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an undisclosed illness.

Bellator 268 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and will also see Ryan Bader square off against Corey Anderson in the other half of the light heavyweight bracket. Anglickas’ original opponent, Karl Albrektsson, will now square off against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov on the preliminary card. Two other bouts were also confirmed for the event: Jaylon Bates vs. Raphael Montini de Lima at bantamweight and Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Jaleel Willis at welterweight. The main card will air on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims …

Anthony Smith continues to put the two-fight losing streak of early 2020 further in his rearview mirror.

“Lionheart” earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round submission of Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Smith dropped Spann twice in the early going, advancing to his opponent’s back on the second occasion and locking in a rear-naked choke to force the tap 3:47 into Round 1 of the light heavyweight bout for his third consecutive victory.

Elsewhere, lightweight prospect Arman Tsarukyan garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by making short work of Christos Giagos in another featured pairing. The American Top Team prospect countered a body kick from Giagos with a left hook that put his foe on his seat near the fence. From there, Tsarukyan unloaded with ground-and-pound until the bout was halted 2:09 into the first frame.

Earlier, Nathan Maness captured a $50,000 “Perf…

Anthony Smith sent a loud-and-clear message to Ryan Spann: Gate closed.

“Lionheart” blocked Spann’s path to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight elite, as he submitted the Fortis MMA export with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 192 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Spann (19-7, 5-2 UFC) conceded defeat 3:47 into Round 1.

Smith (36-16, 11-6 UFC) floored the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a left hook, jumped into top position and threatened with an armbar before returning to an upright position. Once there, he staggered Spann with another left hook, folded him with a right cross and advanced to the back. Smith then secured his position, flattened out “Superman” and snaked his arms in place for the fight-ending choke.

@LionheartASmith is heated and wants his RESPECT! #UFCVegas37 pic.twitter.com/GHx9MsxIBV

— UFC (@ufc) September 19, 2021 Cutelaba Mauls Overmatch…

In a matchup of strength vs. strength, Phil Davis was too much for Yoel Romero to handle.

“Mr. Wonderful” gradually imposed his will on the Olympic silver medalist en route to a split-decision triumph in the Bellator 266 headliner at the SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday night. Judge Michael Bell had it 30-26 and Ron McCarthy saw it 30-27 — both for Davis — while Jerin Valel submitted a curious 29-28 scorecard in favor of Romero. It was Romero’s first light heavyweight appearance since a knockout loss to Rafael Cavalcant at a Strikeforce event in 2011.

“He’s a monster,” Davis said. “I felt that power more times than I wished I had tonight. He’s an incredibly powerful fighter.”

After a tentative opening round from both fighters in Round 1, the action picked up in the second frame. There, Davis began to find a rhythm connecting with his jab and straight right hand, including a one-two combination that prompted a yell of acknowledgement from Romero. Davis…

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 UFC Fight Night 192 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben…

Sherdog's live Bellator 266 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 Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That's @TafonDaDon with the dominant performance. #UFCVegas27 pic.twitter.com/Jemkx7kSvw

— UFC (@ufc) September 18, 2021 The outcome was never in doubt, not even for a second. Team Lloyd Irvin prospect Tafon Nchukwi rebounded from his first professional defeat and made a triumphant return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, as he was awarded a one-sided unanimous decision over Mike Rodriguez in the featured UFC Fight Night 192 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nchukwi (6-1, 2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks across the board.

Rodriguez (11-7, 2-5 UFC) mostly just survived. Nchukwi backed him to the fence repeatedly and uncorked powerful combinations, tipping his spear with intermittent uppercuts, standing elbows and sweeping hooks from both hands. He incorporated takedowns in the first and third rounds, negating Rodriguez’s visible height and reach advant…

A featherweight tilt pitting Ryan Hall against Darrick Minner is in the works for UFC 269.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 at an undisclosed location and features a women’s bantamweight title clash between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena along with a flyweight championship trilogy between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Hall had an eight-bout pro winning streak come to an end at UFC 264, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 264. Prior to that defeat, the 36-year-old known as “The Wizard” kicked off his UFC tenure with successive triumphs over Artem Lobov, Gray Maynard, B.J. Penn and Darren Elkins.

Minner, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, a second-round TKO defeat to Elkins at UFC on ESPN 27. The Glory MMA & Fitness representative is 26-12 as a professional, with 22 victories coming via tapout.

An illness has forced Anthony Johnson to withdraw from his Bellator light heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout against Vadim Nemkov on Oct. 16.

Johnson will not remain in the tournament going forward. Nemkov vs. Johnson was slated to headline Bellator 268 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with the Russian’s 205-pound belt on the line. Nemkov is expected to remain on the card against an alternate opponent. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news of Johnson’s withdrawal from the card.

Johnson later released a statement regarding his health issues.

“Really wish I could go into detail about how ill I truly am,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “Just know I need as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 God willing... Never been this afraid of anything in my life but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family.”

“Rumble” returned to the cage following a four-year retirement at Bellator 258, where he defeated Jose Augusto Az…

THE MAIN EVENT IS OFFICIAL.@kai_1031_ and @AYamaniha both make weight to complete the card for tomorrow night.

Expect fireworks

Order the PPV here https://t.co/687STKynws#RIZIN #RIZIN30 #MMA #格闘技 #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/nIugpXmWl5 — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 18, 2021

The Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight grand prix will proceed as planned, as all eight competitors in the bracket made weight without issue ahead of their bouts at Rizin 30.

The matchups for 135-pound quarterfinals are as follows: Kai Asakura (134.2) vs. Alan Yamaniha (133.9); Naoki Inoue (134.1) vs. Yuto Hokamura (134.3); Hiromasa Ougikubo (134.1) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (134.3) and Yuki Motoya (134.2) vs. Kenta Takizawa (134.3).

The winner of the grand prix will presumably get a date with Rizin bantamweight king Kyoji Horiguchi, who recently signed with Bellator MMA but will be allowed to keep the 135-pound belt he won with the Japanese …

Tomorrow's main event is official, as Lionheart is in at 205.5 @LionheartASmith

[ #UFCVegas37 | Tomorrow | | Live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/pQOGTOdwDN

— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2021 After a successful weigh-in this morning, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to return after a rare week off with UFC Fight Night 192. Headlining the 14-fight card is a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann. Most of the card made weight without issue, although lightweight Zhu Rong came in two pounds overweight.

This is the seventh UFC main event for Smith (35-16). The former title challenger has won two straight bouts after dispatching of both Devin Clark and Jimmy Crute in just one round. "Lionheart" will look to get back into contention here, and weighed in officially at 205.5 pounds.

This stands as the biggest fight in the career of Spann (19-6), who just turned 30 last month. "Superman" has won five of his six bo…