Martial Arts News

Movlid Khaybulaev remains an unsolved mystery.

Repeated takedowns and suffocating control carried the Dagestani grappler in the 2021 Professional Fighters League featherweight semifinals, as he took a split decision from Brendan Loughnane in the PFL 9 main event on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Judges John Rupert and Eliseo Rodriguez cast 30-27 and 29-28 scorecards for Khaybulaev, while Daniel Torres saw it 29-28 for Loughnane.

With few exceptions, the unbeaten Khaybulaev (18-0-1, 4-0-1 PFL) was the dominant participant. He executed a takedown inside the first 20 seconds, corralled Loughnane on the canvas and applied his ground-and-pound. Khaybulaev was at peak strength in the middle stanza, where he dragged the Dana White’s Contender Series alum back to the mat, handcuffed his arm behind his back and unleashed a volley of punches to his exposed face. Loughnane (21-4, 4-1 PFL) managed to bloody his counterpart’s nose with an …

The main event is in the judges hands! #LFA114 pic.twitter.com/4dQ1alpJNZ

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 28, 2021 The main event of LFA 114 saw a new Legacy Fighting Alliance featherweight champion crowned.

Javier Garcia made the most of his shot at the vacant title out the gate as he was able to damage Bruno Souza on the feet and look for submissions on the ground. However, Souza (10-1) started to find momentum on the feet in Round 2 and was able to control the action standing. Souza continued to land the harder shots in the final three rounds, while Garcia (7-4) was able to land several takedowns. In the end, the judges preferred Souza's work on the feet and awarded him a unanimous decision with score of 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46.

The co-main event saw interim flyweight champion Charles Johnson defend his belt against Joao Antonio Camilo Neto. Johnson (10-2) repeatedly hurt Neto (7-5) on the feet while the Brazilian repeatedly loo…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live PFL 2021 9 coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Opening the card, Brandon "The Human Highlight Reel" Jenkins (13-6) faces very recent UFC veteran Jacob Kilburn (8-4), who fought in that organization in January of this year. Keeping a close eye on them will be referee Gary Copeland. Jenkins starts the fight with a leg kick, and Kilburn returns one, only harder. Kilburn lands a sneaky left hook soon after. They get into a clinch, and the longer Jenkins gets a Thai clinch, partially landing a few knees. Eventually, Kilburn gets out of it and pushes Kilburn into the fance, with Kilburn holding an underhook. They jockey for position, and eventually Jenkins gets away, landing a nice knee to the…

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. An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight brawl is on the slate for Madison Square Garden. Per the promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Friday, Frankie Edgar (24-9-1) will be returning to competition after a nine-month layoff to take on Marlon Vera (17-7-1) at bantamweight on UFC 268. The two will throw down inside of Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 for the organization's first New York-based event since 2019. The bout is not yet official, per ESPN, but both have agreed to face one another.

Edgar has dropped three of four dating back the last three years, but a pair of setbacks to Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung led to “The Answer” searching for the answer at bantamweight. His debut at 135 pounds came against Pedro Munhoz, in a five-round thriller where the two pocketed “Fight of the Night” honors, …

Dumped #ONEBattleground3 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/OKQi8SgRzg

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 27, 2021 The pre-recorded third part of the “One: Battleground” series featured some entertaining striking clashes that took place nearly a month ago.

The One: Battleground 3 main event saw former Lumpinee Stadium champ and Glory kickboxing champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong edging Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym in a One featherweight muay Thai clash. Sitthichai pushed forward in the first exchanges, but it was the 22-year-old Tawanchai who landed the more precise shots in the opening stanza. In the second frame, Tawanchai landed a well-executed roundhouse kick on his opponent, and proceeded to sting him with kicks for much of the next few minutes. “Killer Kid” turned to his boxing combinations, while mixing in elbows as he kept advancing and scoring with his hands. It all came down to Round 3, where Sitthichai bloc…

Hittin' the scales at 145 @EdsonBarbozaJr makes your main event official for #UFCVegas35!

[ #UFCVegas35 | Tomorrow | Live on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/v8rgIfPkxy

— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 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 UFC on ESPN 30 weigh-ins were largely devoid of drama, although Leomana Martinez blew weight by four pounds.

The 12-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship card is headlined by a featherweight bout pitting Edson Barboza against Giga Chikadze. The card also features two "The Ultimate Fighter 29" finals as Bryan Battle faces Gilbert Urbina at middleweight, and Brady Hiestand goes up against Ricky Turcios in the bantamweight finals.

Going into his third UFC main event, Barboza (22-9) is riding a two-fight win streak. The Brazilian most recently knocked out Shane Burgos and won a decis…

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. Two fringe top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights looking to climb back up the division will be meeting in a few months. Late Thursday night, MMA Junkie broke the news that Jessica Eye (15-10, 1 NC) would be taking on Andrea Lee (12-5) at flyweight on Nov. 13. The UFC Fight Night card on that date should go on inside the UFC Apex. The pairing has been confirmed by other outlets since its announcement.

Eye’s UFC career has been anything but consistent, recording just a single victory in her first seven tries inside the Octagon. A drop down to flyweight in 2018 prompted a three-fight win streak that culminated in a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko, but that was not meant to be when Shevchenko leveled her early into the second round in 2019. “Evil Eye” has struggled of late, missing weight on multiple occasions wh…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAJ7h4pRvbg&w=567&h=319] The Legacy Fighting Alliance is back for its only card in August, and all 26 fighters made weight for LFA 114, which is headlined by two title bouts.

The main event features a featherweight title bout that will see Bruno Souza and Javier Garcia battling for the vacant belt. Souza (9-1) has been perfect since dropping his first professional fight, and most recently picked up a split decision over Elijah Johns. Meanwhile, Garcia (7-3) has won three straight, while submitting Timothy Teves in his last outing. Souza weighed in at 145 pounds on the dot, while Garcia came in at a lean 144.4 pounds.

The co-main event draws an interim championship affair as Charles Johnson looks to defend his interim strap against Joao Antonio Camilo Neto. Johnson (9-2) won the interim belt with a split decision over Yuma Horiuchi in July, and has won two straight bouts. Neto (7-4) is 2-2 in his last four, and is coming off of a …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVDRMjkSYc8&w=640&h=360] After today's weigh-ins, the featherweight and light heavyweight semifinals are now set for the Professional Fighters League's third season. The 10-fight card features four semifinal bouts in the two divisions with Brendan Loughnane vs. Movlid Khaybulaev atop the card. While all semifinalists made weight for PFL 9, Bobby Moffett missed weight by 2.2 pounds for his featherweight bout against Jason Knight.

Loughnane has been perfect inside the PFL having won four straight bouts and picking up an impressive knockout win over Sheymon Moraes. Meanwhile, the undefeated Khaybulaev (17-0-1, 1 NC) is coming off a decision win over former PFL champion Lance Palmer. The other featherweight semifinal sees two veterans battle as Chris Wade (19-6) takes on Bubba Jenkins (16-4). On the light heavyweight side, submission specialist Antonio Carlos Jr. (11-5, 2 NC) will face off against Emiliano Sordi (23-8-1), and Cezar Ferr…

Updated fight card for Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero - Saturday, Sept. 18 - @SAPCenter in San Jose. pic.twitter.com/uFXOfVc1H5

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 26, 2021 The next Bellator MMA event in September is beginning to shape up nicely.

Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion has added several matches to its upcoming Bellator 266 show. The event, which will take place inside the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., has gained Neiman Gracie (10-2) vs. Mark Lemminger (12-3) at welterweight as its co-headliner. A Bellator official has since confirmed this booking and a few others to Sherdog.

Gracie will be looking to rebound from a contentious decision loss to Jason Jackson in April, which marked the first non-title tilt he had ever lost. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu prodigy has largely excelled in the Bellator cage, racking up seven submissions in eight victories, including tapouts of Ed Ruth and Jon Fitch over the years…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQdhYLH4nA0&w=640&h=360] A duo of title fights are now official as Invicta Fighting Championships returns to pay-per-view with Invicta FC 44: A New Era.

A duo of title fights for vacant championships headline the card. The bantamweight title bout will main event as Emily Ducote faces Danielle Taylor, while the co-main event sees strawweight Lisa Verzosa square off against Taneisha Tennant. All fighters made weight except for Liz Tracy, who was 1.2 pounds over the strawweight limit for her bout against Jodie Esquibel. She's been fined 25 percent of her purse as a result.

This is the second vacant title fight for Ducote (9-6), who rebounded from a split decision loss to Kanako Murata by winning a decision against Juliana Lima. Taylor (11-5) hasn't shown much "Dynamite" as late, as her last eight bouts have all gone to the scorecards. She has won two of her last three since being cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both made…

2nd fight contract signed in less than a week. Anyone anywhere anytime.pic.twitter.com/tU8eig2vIa

— Jack 'Tank' Shore (@jackshoremma) August 25, 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 competitor on the most recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be getting a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on short notice. MMA DNA and MMA Fighting were the first to report the news that Zviad Lazishvili has suffered an ankle injury and has been forced out of his bantamweight match against Jack Shore (14-0). In his stead at UFC Fight Night 191 will be Liudvik Sholinian (9-1-1), who is in turn the second replacement for Said Nurmagomedov. The portion of the report that claimed that Lazishvili has been released from the promotion altogether has been disputed, while the news of this booking itself has been subsequently confirmed by the …