Martial Arts News

Contract signed fighting September 18th at the SAP Center San Jose CA vs Saul Rogers #Bellator266

— Georgi Karakhanyan (@georgimma) September 7, 2021 A longtime Bellator MMA vet will try to avoid a dubious record in his next appearance.

On Monday, Georgi Karakhanyan (31-11-1, 1 NC) announced that he would joining Bellator 266 as the replacement fighter against Saul Rogers (14-4). Karakhanyan will be replacing an injured Adam Piccolotti. The organization confirmed this new matchup on its official site.

The Russian-born Armenian Karakhanyan relocated to lightweight in early 2020, and it has largely worked in his favor, winning three with a lone defeat a split decision setback against Myles Jury. “Insane Georgi” does hold the second-most defeats in company history with nine, and he and Derek Campos both trail the recordholder of Saad Awad with 10. A win for the 18-fight Bellator vet would lift his record with the company over .500.

Rogers,…

Another BIG debut!@IanGarryMMA steps into the Octagon to face Jordan Williams at #UFC268 pic.twitter.com/mUrmMDPdhD

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 8, 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 adding one more former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship champ to its ranks. On Wednesday, the UFC revealed that 23-year-old Irish signee Ian Garry (7-0) will lock horns with Jordan Williams (9-5) in a 170-pound affair at UFC 268. “The Future” will join the club of Irish fighters who competed in the UFC, including Conor McGregor, Norman Parke, Joseph Duffy and Tom Egan, among others. The fight will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6.

Dublin’s own Garry made his pro debut with Cage Warriors, and he notched seven straight victories in the promotion, including five finishes. In his lat…

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. Diego Ferreira just can’t catch a break lately. MMA Junkie reported on Wednesday that Ferreira (17-4) has been forced out of his lightweight tilt with Grant Dawson (17-1) because of an injury. The nature of the injury has not yet been disclosed. The promotion is currently searching for a replacement option for Dawson, and it is unclear if it will find someone in time for the Oct. 2 show at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Ferreira has since confirmed his injury ahead of UFC Fight Night 193.

Ferreira was looking to snap a two-fight skid in 2021, where he came up short to Beneil Dariush in a rematch by split decision and then suffered a knockout loss to Gregor Gillespie three months later. This losing streak ended an impressive six-fight run for the Brazilian out of Texas that saw him defeat the likes of Anthony Pettis, Mairbek Taisumov…

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. Even iron can break. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that “The Iron Lady” Germaine de Randamie (10-4) has been forced out of her UFC 268 bantamweight matchup against Irene Aldana (13-6) due to injury. The two were set to square off on Nov. 6 inside of Madison Square Garden in New York. As of now, there is no current replacement opponent, and Aldana has requested a top-ranked adversary that will be able to compete in the de facto title eliminator bout.

De Randamie rebounded from a one-sided decision loss to champ Amanda Nunes at the end of 2019 with a 2020 submission of Julianna Pena to put her right back in contention. The Dutchwoman put Pena to sleep with a guillotine choke to record her first career submission victory, and her first stoppage beyond 7:02 of a fight. Before meeting Nunes, the former featherweight champ racked up a f…

“The Polar Bear” will be hibernating for a while after his defeat on Saturday.

UFC Fight Night 191 is in the books. The main event featured a 185-pound pivotal clash between Derek Brunson and Darren Till (18-4-1, 6-4-1 UFC) and ended with Brunson (23-7, 14-5 UFC) easily submitting “The Gorilla” with a rear-naked choke in the third frame. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (via mixedmartialarts.com) has now announced the official suspensions, revealing that the Team Kaobon export is facing a 30-day suspension and must have a facial CT scan that, if positive, must have ENT clearance. Brunson, on the other hand, has to stay off the fighting canvas for 21 days.

The co-main event saw up-and-coming English heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall (11-2, 4-0 UFC) stopping Sergey Spivak (13-3, 4-3 UFC) with punches early in Round 1. Somewhere during the clash, Spivak suffered an eyebrow laceration that would prevent him from getting clearance to compete for a while. The M…

This Saturday. Included with your @triller #TrillerFightClub PPV purchase

No Holds Barred Alternative Commentary from #DonaldTrump and @DonaldJTrumpJr.

Live In-Person from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, #Florida

[ Sept. 11 | https://t.co/Qts9ZGywTR ] pic.twitter.com/Eq32d7JsRA

— FITE (@FiteTV) September 8, 2021

Fight fans will hear from the former President of the United States this weekend.

The upcoming boxing Triller card that features the clash between former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Vitor Belfort and former cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will have a special guest as commentator. On Wednesday morning, Fite confirmed that the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, would do live commentary on the much-anticipated boxing debut of “The Phenom.”

“I love great fighters and great fights. I look forward to seeing both this Saturday night …

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT @bensaddikjamal returns to the GLORY ring and will face @AdegBenny during GLORY COLLISION 3, Gelredome Arnhem The Netherlands.

Tickets go on sale on the 14th of September. Buy your tickets at https://t.co/MuEo6F8v8i pic.twitter.com/U6PHnT17vm

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) September 8, 2021 Glory “Collision 3” has found its co-main event as Benjamin Adegbuyi and Jamal Ben Saddik are set to fight on Oct. 23. The fight, which is a rematch, will serve as primer for the upcoming mega fight between Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven as he takes on Alistair Overeem in the Reem’s return to kickboxing after a decade-plus stint in mixed martial arts.

The first fight between Saddik and Adegbuyi was Saddik’s last fight, which was in 2018. Saddik, who was the heavyweight champion at the time, knocked out Adegbuyi in 1:54.

While Saddik hasn’t fought since then, Adegbuyi has stayed relatively busy. Having not lost since,…

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will finally make his long-awaited mixed martial arts debut.

It appears that 13-time world jiu-jitsu champion Marcus Almeida has a new opponent for his One Championship debut. A few days ago, the Singapore-based promotion announced that ‘Buchecha' was scheduled to face Thomas Narmo. Now, MMA Fighting first reported that the Norwegian fighter is out of the clash and Almeida will lock horns with Glory alum Anderson Silva at “One: Revolution” in Singapore on Sept. 24. Sherdog’s own sources confirmed the news. The reason Narmo pulled out of the fight is currently undisclosed.

Two-time ADCC gold medalist Almeida (0-0, 0-0 One) has long made preparations for his MMA debut. In April, the 31-year-old Brazilian was attached to face Oumar Kane at One on TNT 1 before One paired him with Ji Won Kang. In August, the American Top Team representative was scheduled to collide with Narmo. Now, ‘Buchecha’ got a fourth matchup for his MMA crossover.

Sil…

Carlos Vergara made the most of his moment in the spotlight.

The Fury Fighting Championship titleholder on Tuesday was one of five competitors to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he cut down Bruno Mesquita with a knee strike to the body in the first round of their flyweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Mesquita (12-4-1) bowed out 41 seconds into Round 1, suffering his first defeat in nearly four years.

Vergara (9-2-1) flew out of the gate and never looked back. He sat down “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 4 semifinalist with a right hook, snatched a front headlock and connected with a few knees to the head before he disengaged. As Vergara separated, he delivered a devastating knee to the liver that shut down Mesquita and prompted referee Herb Dean to intervene.

In addition to Vergara, UFC President Dana White elected to sign Josh Quinlan, Chidi Njokuani, Saimon Oliveira and Chad Anheliger. Read more

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 2 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 Kicking off the card, Tajikistan's Muin Gafurov (16-3), a long-time veteran of ONE at only 25 years old, is a prohibitive favorite against Canada's Chad Anheliger (10-5), all five of whose losses have come by submission. Referee Mike Beltran gets the assignment. Gafurov lands a thunderous leg kick to start, spinning Anheliger around. Anheliger lands one of his own, although it isn't as powerful. Gafurov shoots in on a very deep low double-leg and converts it. Anheliger does, however, manage to scoot to the fence. Gafurov is wise to it, however, and tries to turn him around. Anheliger builds up his bas…

I’m told Jimmy Crute vs Jamahal Hill will take place on December 4 on a Fight Night card, presumingly set to take place in Las Vegas.

The light-heavyweight duo had originally been expected to square off on October 2.

Such a great fight pic.twitter.com/KdmIfMde1k — Jordan Ellis (@JordanEllisUK) September 6, 2021

An exciting 205-pound bout has reportedly been added to Dec. 4’s UFC bill.

According to LowKick MMA, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jamahal Hill will face fellow DWCS graduate Jimmy Crute on an upcoming UFC Fight Night event that’s supposed to go down on Dec. 4. The matchup has been confirmed by several media outlets since it was first reported. Initially, the Ultimate Fighting Championship targeted the clash for its Oct. 2 UFC Fight Night card before moving it.

Hill (8-1, 1 NC, 2-1, 1 NC UFC) will try to bounce back after being put away with elbows and punches by Paul Craig at UFC 263. That night, “Sweet Dream” …

The BIGGEST kickboxing event of the year is on 15 October at ONE: FIRST STRIKE Don’t miss Giorgio Petrosyan and Superbon’s World Title clash, Rodtang’s return, the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix quarterfinals, and MORE! #ONEFirstStrike #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/7lsjnq1Qz4

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 7, 2021

For the first time, there will be no mixed martial arts bouts on a One Championship card.

On Tuesday morning, One Championship announced that its upcoming “One: First Strike” bill would feature just muay Thai and kickboxing fights. In the main event, the 2019 One kickboxing featherweight grand prix champion Giorgio Petrosyan will collide with Superbon Banchamek to crown the first featherweight kickboxing titleholder in the Singapore-based promotion’s history.

Petrosyan is currently looking for his seventh victory under One’s banner. In his latest appearance, the Italian outclassed…