Martial Arts News

Misha Cirkunov will drop to 185 pounds for a matchup against Krzysztof Jotko at a UFC event on Oct. 2.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker and will likely be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cirkunov will make his middleweight debut after compiling a 6-4 mark in the Octagon at 205 pounds. The 34-year-old Latvian began his UFC tenure with four consecutive triumphs but has fallen on hard times lately with losses in four of his last six outings. Most recently, Cirkunov suffered a 71-second TKO defeat to Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13.

Jotko, meanwhile, had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1. The American Top Team product is 9-5 in the UFC and 22-5 as a professional overall.

After a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly Holm was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame on Monday night.

Holm, a former UFC bantamweight champion who is from Albuquerque, N.M., was part of the 2019 class that was supposed to be enshrined one year earlier. Holm posted photos of the ceremony, which she attended with her family, longtime coach Mike Winkeljohn and manager Lenny Fresquez.

“Tonight I was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. I am honored and humbled,” Holm wrote on Instagram. “I truly appreciate everyone who has supported me in my journey thus far. My family, friends, coaches, manager, teammates and of course all of my fans. Thank you for believing in me in this journey and taking this ride with me. I am only more motivated to keep pushing to succeed and strive for greatness. I want to continue to make you all proud of me. It is impossible to put in words how much love I feel everyday. Here’s to aiming high. I am still striv…

Due to an accidental eye poke in the second round, Mason Jones vs. Alan Patrick ends in a no contest.#UFCVegas28 pic.twitter.com/SwYAqCgoDl

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) June 5, 2021

A lightweight rematch pitting Mason Jones against Alan Patrick is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Oct. 23.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Combate. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. A location has not been formally announced.

Jones was performing well agianst Patrick in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 189 in June before an accidental eye poke from the former Cage Warriors two-division champion resulted in their bout being ruled a no contest at the 2:14 mark of Round 2. The 26-year-old Welshman is still looking for his first promotional triumph after dropping a unanimous verdict against Mike Davis in his debut…

You can forgive Kayla Harrison if she intially comes off as dismissive of some of her opponents. It’s simply the product of a supremely confident nature one might expect from a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Harrison has taken a similar approach to PFL playoff opponent Genah Fabian, who she will face in a 155-pound semifinal matchup at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Thursday. Harrison took a moment to clarify some comments she made regarding her matchup with Fabian during a media call on Monday.

“It’s nothing personal to Genah at all,” Harrison said. “I respect her as a fighter. I respect her as a person. I think in a different lifetime maybe we would’ve been friends. But I have one job to do. I have to go out and win fights. I have to destroy. I have a goal, I have a dream.

“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. I think people misconstrue that as arrogance or cockiness. It has nothing to do with Genah. It’s how much I believe i…

Genah Fabian was supposed to face Kayla Harrison under the Professional Fighters League banner in 2019, but a difficult weight cut forced her to withdraw from that bout.

Timing is everything, and the City Kickboxing representative believes that delay was actually a blessing in disguise. Fabian will now face the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the main event of a PFL playoff card at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Thursday night. The winner will advance to the women’s lightweight finals on Oct. 27 for a shot at $1 million.

“I was just uneducated about a few things, and that affected me come weight cut time,” Fabian said of her past issues during a media call on Monday. “I’m a big girl — [5-foot-11] — so I carry a lot of muscle and whatnot. Unfortunately that time, I had cut things out a bit too early. Therefore when it come time for the big cut, my body shut down. It was a very tough heartbreaking time. You work so hard toward something. Read more

Silveira inside a minute! #LFA106 pic.twitter.com/IpZvZrGEEJ

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 1, 2021

The light heavyweight championship will be up for grabs when Legacy Fighting Alliance heads to the “Badger State” next month.

The promotion announced Monday that LFA 115 will feature a 205-pound title tilt between Joshua Silveira and an as-yet-to-be-determined opponent at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, Wisc., on Sept. 24. The evening’s main card will stream on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

"Josh Silveira is the top 205-pound prospect in the sport,” LFA CEO Ed Soares said. “He was originally set to face Jesse Murray for the LFA light-heavyweight title in the main event of LFA 110 on July 2nd, but Murray withdrew with an injury. Murray has now withdrawn from the re-scheduled title fight, so Silveira will be facing a new opponent for the title on Sept. 24. The new challenger will be announced as soon as the new title fig…

The winner of this clash will likely get a shot at the KSW heavyweight championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Darko Stosic will take on Michal Andryszak in an upcoming heavyweight tilt at KSW 63, Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the promotion. Polish organization Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki wanted to match the 29-year from Belgrade, Serbia, against current heavyweight titleholder Philip De Fries, but an injury prevented the champion from participating in the event. KSW then resorted to the Stosic-Andryszak matchup, which has all the trimmings of a title eliminator.

Stosic (15-4, 2-0 KSW) made his promotional debut following a stint in UFC’s 205-pound division that ended with one victory and three defeats. In KSW, he returned to heavyweight, where he first wrecked Michal Wlodarek with a right hand that stopped the contest at the 4:39 mark in Round 2 at KSW 59 before smashing Michal Kita with punches 4:05 into Round 1 at KSW…

Conor McGregor is currently in the midst of recovery from a gruesomely broken leg suffered in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, but the Irish superstar remains optimistic about his comeback.

During a Twitter Q&A session on Sunday, McGregor briefly discussed when he expected to fight again after the injury that ended his trilogy bout with Poirier after just one round on July 11. Shortly thereafter, the Dublin native underwent surgery where an intramedullary rod was inserted into his tibia and a small plate and screws were attached to his fibula.

“2022. I’m improving rapidly!” McGregor wrote regarding his targeted return date. “Working with the best team money can buy! I’ll be back in no time, lock loaded!”

McGregor began his UFC tenure at 145 pounds, where he captured a championship before moving to lightweight and becoming a simultaneous two-division champion. The “Notorious” one has competed at 155 and 170 pounds in recent years. He admitted that he is …

One Championship "Empower" has a new date, as the all-female card topped by an strawweight title bout and the opening round of the atomweight grand prix will go down on Sept. 3.

In the evening’s main event, reigning One strawweight (125-pound) champion Jingnan Xiong will square off against Michelle Nicolini. Additionally, four atomweight (115-pound) grand prix quarterfinal matchups were confirmed: Seo Hee Ham vs. Denice Zamboanga; Meng Bo vs. Ritu Phogat; Alyona Rassohyna vs. Nong Stamp and Itsuki Hirata vs. Alyse Anderson.

Meanwhile, Mei Yamaguchi will face Julie Mezabarba, while Grace Cleveland will meet the Bi Nguyen/Jenelyn Olsim winner in a pair of grand prix alternate bouts. Two non-MMA bouts round out the card: Anissa Meksen vs. Cristina Morales in an atomweight kickboxing affair and Jackie Buntan vs. Daniela Lopez in a strawweight muay Thai clash.

One Championship Empower takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and can be viewed on the One S…

Gegard. GNP. W. #bellator264 pic.twitter.com/mZokLhBowz

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 14, 2021

It required more of him than he anticipated, but Gegard Mousasi forced another would-be successor to bow at his feet.

Mousasi retained his undisputed Bellator MMA middleweight championship, as he dispatched John Salter with punches in the third round of their Bellator 264 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Salter (18-5, 8-2 Bellator) met his end 2:07 into Round 3, suffering his first setback in nearly three years.

Mousasi (48-7-2, 6-1 Bellator) appeared to give away the first round with a flat start but started to sink his teeth into the challenger soon enough. He pressured Salter onto his back foot in the second round, scrambled into top position after being taken down and battered the Alabama native with standing-to-ground punches, elbows and forearm strikes. Mousasi stonewalled another a…

Two 2021 Professional Fighters League finals are now set after tonight's PFL 7 event.

The main event saw PFL's prized signee Rory MacDonald go up against promotional mainstay and 2019 welterweight division winner Ray Cooper III. With a spot in the finals on the line, MacDonald (22-8-1) came out looking to grapple. However, it was Cooper III (23-7-1) that wound up taking down "Red King" and locking in an arm-triangle choke before the round expired. The second and third round was more of the same as MacDonald had nothing for Cooper III's wrestling. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Cooper III.

The co-main event was another welterweight semifinal that saw No. 4 seed Magomed Magomedkerimov faced alternate Sadibou Sy. Magomedkerimov (28-5) showed off his superior grappling early as he took down Sy (9-6-2, 1 NC) and then controlled the entire round while on top. The second frame featured more action on the feet, but ended on the ground with the Russian on top. Afte…

Sherdog's live Bellator 264 coverage kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Opening the Bellator 264 card, we have a mystery match, as both Jonathan McNeil (0-0) and Orlando Mendoza (0-0) are both making their pro debuts in a 195 pound catchweight affair. Sportsbooks and gamblers are equally stumped, as they have this as a dead even pick'em. Referee Todd Anderson will be observing them as closely as anyone. They began cautiously, until McNeil starts with a flurry of punches, and then, clinching against the cage, gets an easy takedown. He immediately works from the top, looking to pass with an arm triangle. Mendoza resists, but McNeil soon attains mount. Mendoza, however, does manage to get out of the arm triangle, a small consolation. McNeil keeps looking for the arm triangle, but isn't throwing many punches from such a dominant position. Mendoza tries to buck him off, but he is only…