Martial Arts News

Middleweight contender @DerekBrunson stepped on the scale at 186 pounds to make the #UFCVegas36 main event official pic.twitter.com/ll9u9kM0pD

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 3, 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. Editor's note: The article has been updated at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 3 to reflect the news that one match has been canceled. For the fifth Ultimate Fighting Championship event in a row, a fighter has missed weight ahead of their bout.

After a streak of events on ESPN airwaves, the UFC returns to ESPN+ for UFC Fight Night 191. The 10-fight card is headlined by a bout between middleweight contenders Derek Brunson and Darren Till. The weigh-ins went swimmingly with the first 19 competitors, but the last one to hit the scales, Jonathan Martinez, surpassed the bantamweight limit by two pounds. Per ESPN on Friday night, his bo…

Every MMA match went the distance on One Championship’s first all-female card.

"The Panda" puts Michelle Nicolini DOWN in Round 1! #ONEEmpower #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/c2YyVgRC4c

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 3, 2021 In the main event, One strawweight (125 pounds) titleholder Jingnan Xiong locked horns with Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Michelle Nicolini (6-3, 4-2 One). The 39-year-old challenger rushed in for a takedown in the early moments of the fight, but Xiong stuffed her with ease. Aware of her opponent’s grappling prowess, “The Panda” kept her distance with calf kicks and overhand rights. Xiong moved in and out with her strikes, landing practically at will on the Evolve MMA representative. Midway through the first round, the champ dropped Nicolini with a vicious right hand, but failed to finish the job as the Brazilian recovered and landed a takedown. Rounds 2 and 3 followed a similar script, as Nicolini …

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 appears to be doing everything in its power to make its next Madison Square Garden card one to remember. This Friday, MMA DNA first reported that Shane Burgos (13-3) will toe the line with Billy Quarantillo (16-3) in the featherweight division at UFC 268. The New York-targeted event is set to go down on Nov. 6, and this thrilling encounter will be relegated to the prelims because of its practical embarrassment of riches higher up the billing. The matchup has since been confirmed by Quarantillo on his Instagram.

Burgos, the recipient of four “Fight of the Night” bonuses in his UFC tenure including one in his last two, finds himself on the first losing streak of his career. “Hurricane” had a three-fight win streak halted on the scorecards thanks to Josh Emmett, and a bounceback performance cam…

HOLY _____! Pereira's power is unreal!!! #LFA95 pic.twitter.com/0EAoY6z4fA

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 21, 2020 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. Former Glory kickboxing two-division champion Alexsandro Pereira is fighting out of his contract on Saturday and already has his sights set on the Ultimate Fighting Championship. On Saturday, the Glory light heavyweight champ Pereira (33-6 KB, 3-1 MMA) is planning on defending that belt against Artem Vakhitov, the man he won it from in January. Once a two-division champ at middleweight and light heavyweight, Pereira relinquished the former in pursue of the latter’s throne. Win or lose, “Poatan” is expected to sign with the UFC, as first reported by BJPenn.com, and he already has an opponent and date booked for his debut: Andreas Michailidis (13-4) at middleweight on UFC 268. …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgM72B2u13g&w=560&h=315] Tempers flared at the weigh-ins, with Badr Hari and his opponent Arkadiusz Wrzosek nearly coming to blows at the official staredown after Hari shoved Wrzosek across the stage.

Glory Kickboxing returns for its second event of 2021 with a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov, and the main event will see the return of “Bad Boy” Hari.

Despite being a kickboxing legend, Hari (106-15) is still looking for his first win as Glory fighter. The former K-1 heavyweight champion is winless in his last four bouts, losing to Benjamin Adegbuyi and Rico Verhoeven two times via injury. A decision victory in that stretch over Hesdy Gerges was later overturned to a no contest after both fighters tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. No official weight was listed or announced by the promotion, but with no cap to heavyweight, there was no limit the Dutchman could have exceeded.

Much…

Oscar De La Hoya has tested positive for COVID-19 and will NOT be fighting Vitor Belfort on September 11 ... and Evander Holyfield will be taking his spot. https://t.co/r2ejzw5nOc

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 3, 2021 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 3 to reflect a new location and venue for the match.

If you had Vitor Belfort vs. Evander Holyfield on your 2021 betting slip, cash that ticket now.

Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Belfort (26-14, 1 NC; 1-0 Box) was slated to take on Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs Box) on Sept. 11. The two were planning to square off inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles in an eight-round, 185-pound professional affair. Per TMZ on Friday, that fight is off as De La Hoya tested positive for COVID-19. In his stead will be long-retired heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield (44-10-2, 1 NC, 29 KOs Box). The dramatic change has since been confirmed by ESPN.

Holyfield, age 58, wil…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDlzcC0n0bA&w=640&h=360] Top Polish mixed martial arts promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki will see its sixth event of 2021, with this one headlined by a welterweight title fight.

The nine-fight KSW 63 card is a go after the official weigh-ins. It was a largely professional affair as every fighter made weight, with the exception of Szymon Karolczyk, who was two pounds over the 150-pound catchweight limit for his fight against Michal Domin. The welterweight title will be on the line for the first time since 2019, as champion Roberto Soldic looks to make his second defense against Patrik Kincl. Having won 12 of his last 13 and avenging his lone defeat against Dricus Du Plessis, Soldic (18-3) is on an impressive run. He has stopped four of his last five opponents with punches, and has been challenging himself by moving up in weight. Despite a recent middleweight bout, Soldic had no trouble getting to 169 pounds for the title bout.

Ki…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 269 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. When it comes to his upcoming unconfirmed title fight, Charles Oliveira would like to say, “not so fast, my friend.” Earlier this week, outlets like MMA Fighting reported the news that Oliveira (31-8, 1 NC) would be taking on Dustin Poirier (28-6, 1 NC) for the lightweight throne at UFC 269. The reports stated that the two had not yet signed the contracts yet, but verbal agreements are in place. Oliveira spoke to Sherdog on Thursday about this situation, clarifying that this first title defense is still under negotiation.

“Everybody is publishing that Poirier is going to fight with me,” Oliveira noted. “But until that moment, it’s still under negotiation, I didn’t sign any contract yet.”

Concerning the possible challenge with Poirier, the Chute Boxe representative believes he has weapons to beat the American Top Team stan…

Interesting welterweight fight on tap for Nov. 20, per sources. Sean Brady vs. Michael Chiesa. Chiesa (@MikeMav22) is ranked No. 7 in the UFC rankings, Brady (@seanbradymma) is No. 13. pic.twitter.com/Mybg5CfcP2

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 2, 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. A place in the top 10 of the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division is up for grabs in November. On Thursday, the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN announced that Michael Chiesa (18-5) will square off against Sean Brady (14-0) at welterweight at an upcoming UFC Fight Night card. The currently unnumbered event on Nov. 20 is slated to go down inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. News of this booking has since been confirmed by multiple other outlets.

Chiesa is looking to bounce back from a submission defeat and his first loss at 170 pou…

Jake Paul appears to have started a new trend about fighters offering tattoos for rematches.

At UFC 126 in 2011, Anderson Silva (34-11 MMA, 2-1 Box) defended his middleweight throne against Vitor Belfort (26-14, 1 NC MMA; 1-0 Box) in the main event, with “The Spider” landing a spectacular front kick to put Belfort away in the first round. For years, the combat sports community has pondered a rematch between the Brazilian legends, and now, both men are in the boxing world. Silva, 46, captured a decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to prove his jaunt was no game. Belfort has since followed his lead.

Silva’s former foe, the 44-year-old Belfort, will be making his return to the boxing ring on Sept. 11 against Oscar De La Hoya. On the same night, Silva will be squaring off against Tito Ortiz. Both matches will be professional, eight-round bouts, within 10 pounds of the other – Belfort’s at 185 pounds, while Silva’s is a 195-pound contest. Should both get their hand ra…

: Seven incredible fights have been added to #Bellator270 at the @3ArenaDublin, including two top-10 matchups pitting @Relentlessward against @magicnorbi and @the_game_mma vs. @danielweichel.

Full Story: https://t.co/Vdb78uoOyH pic.twitter.com/ePsbkUH4ZI

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 2, 2021 Bellator MMA has filled up the lineup for its Irish excursion in November. Via press release on Thursday, the organization announced a slew of new matchups for Bellator 270, including a pair of main card tilts and several preliminary contests. At middleweight, Charlie Ward (9-4) will square off with Norbert Novenyi Jr. (5-0), while featherweights Daniel Weichel (41-12) and Pedro Carvalho (11-5) will toe the line as the main card opener. This event will be held in the 3Arena in Dublin on Nov. 5.

Ward bounced back from a 2019 loss to Pietro Penini by stopping Kyle Kurtz at Bellator 240 three months later. In October 2020, Ward ea…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will officially run it back on Oct. 30.

Promotion officials confirmed that Sterling and Yan will square off with the bantamweight crown on the line in the UFC 267 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The rematch had been rumored but not officially announced prior to Wednesday.

Sterling and Yan initially fought at UFC 259 in March, when “The Funkmaster” became 135-pound champ after his opponent was disqualified for landing an illegal knee at the 4:29 mark of the fourth round. Including that controversial result, Sterling has won his last six Octagon appearances, with other notable triumphs against the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera to his credit.

Yan saw a 10-bout professional winning streak come to an end thanks to the disqualification defeat. The Russian claimed the vacant bantamweight strap with a fifth-round stoppage of Jo…