Martial Arts News

After a brief delay, the bantamweight championship clash between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena has been rebooked for UFC 269.

Promotion officials confirmed the bout on Monday. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 at an as yet to be announced location and is also expected to include a flyweight showdown pitting Cody Garbrandt against Kai Kara France. Nunes and Pena were initially slated to meet at UFC 265 on Aug. 7 before Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was postponed.

The UFC’s reigning champion at both bantamweight and featherweight, Nunes enters the matchup with Pena on a 12-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The No. 1 pound-for-pound female in the sport last appeared at UFC 259 in March, when she defended her 145-pound belt with a first-round submission of Megan Anderson.

After more than a two-year hiatus following the birth of her first child,, Pena has been victorious in two of her last three UFC bouts upon her return. “Th…

There were no issues for the athletes who stepped on the scales for their matchups on the Season 5 opener of Dana White’s Contender Series, but one bout didn’t make it that far.

A proposed heavyweight clash pitting Dylan Potter against Lukasz Brzeski was canceled due to COVID-19 protocol. UFC officials hope to rebook the fight at a later Contender Series event, according to MMAjunkie.com. As a result, Week 1 of the Contender Series will move forward with four fights.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m PT. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Azamat Murzakanov (205.5 pounds) against Matheus Scheffel (205.5).

Russia’s Murzakanov has been victorious in his first nine professional bouts while competing for organizations such as Brave Combat Federation, Absolute Championship Berkut and Ring of Combat. Most recently, he knocked out Mohammed Fakhreddine in the first round at Brav…

"CLEVELAND WHAT'S GOOD!"@jakepaul put on for the land #PaulWoodley pic.twitter.com/B9Hma4K3EN

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 30, 2021

For the first time in his burgeoning boxing career, Jake Paul found himself in a real fight. He proved to be more than up to the task.

The social-media-personality-turned-boxer went eight rounds with a former UFC champion, capturing a split decision triumph against Tyron Woodley in the main event of a Showtime Sports card at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday night. Judge Jaime Garayua had it 77-75 and Dana DePaolo saw it 78-74 — both in favor of Paul — while Phil Rogers submitted a 77-75 tally in favor of Woodley.

“He’s a tough opponent. He’s been boxing, fighting, striking — whatever you want to call it — for 20-something years,” Paul said of Woodley. “I’ve been doing this for three years as of a couple days ago. This was a tougher fight than I expected. My legs felt weird since…

Giga Chikadze believes his time has arrived in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight division.

“Ninja” earned his seventh straight Octagon triumph in the UFC on ESPN 30 headliner, stopping respected striker Edson Barboza via third-round technical knockout on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Now, Chikadze has his sights set on the top of the division.

“I’m not interested in anything else,” Chikadze said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Like why? Everybody before this said no to me. I’ve been told that I’m going to fight a top-five guy and then the title. The top-five guy didn’t agree. Nobody agreed, and that’s why I fought Edson, who is a bigger name than top five. So I want to see myself on a top-five next week ranking, top-three actually.”

In his post-fight interview, the Kings MMA product suggested that he serve as an alternate for the upcoming featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega at UFC 266 on Sept. 25…

The long-running “Ultimate Fighter” reality show returned for the first time in three years, and on Saturday two winners were crowned from the latest iteration of the series at UFC on ESPN 30.

Bryan Battle submitted Gilbert Urbina to win the “TUF 29” crown at middleweight, while Ricky Turcios earned a spirited split decision over Brady Hiestand to earn a UFC contract at bantamweight. According to UFC president Dana White, “TUF 29” was a success on ESPN+ throughout the course of the season.

“It did really well for us,” White said at the UFC on ESPN 30 post-fight press conference. “It killed it as far as viewership goes. (ESPN is) really happy. We’re really happy. Yeah, I love the show. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The show will probably never go away – while I’m here anyway. It works.”

Due to the show’s three-year hiatus along with the introduction of Dana White’s Contender Series, it seemed like a possibility that “TUF” had finally run its course. Instead…

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO FOR @JudoRazak!

Less than 30 seconds in #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/1boiMBLTfB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 29, 2021 Abdul Razak Alhassan is back on track, and his bank acount is a primary beneficiary.

Alhassan ended a three-bout skid in style, capturing a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a spectacular knockout of Alessio Di Chirico at UFC on ESPN 30 in a middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Judo Thunder” wasted little time before connecting with a head kick that landed shin-on-face and instantly rendered his Italian opponent unconscious 17 seconds into Round 1. Alhassan is one of seven fighters in UFC history with three knockouts in less than one minute.

Meanwhile, Giga Chikadze earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his third-round stoppage of Edson Barboza in the featherweight main event. The Georgian displayed superior speed throughout the contest before dropping his…

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. Giga Chikadze sent a clear message to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division: Time to pay attention. The Kings MMA export disposed of former Ring of Combat champion Edson Barboza with punches in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 30 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barboza (22-10, 16-10 UFC) bowed out 1:44 into Round 3, his modest two-fight winning streak at an end.

Chikadze (14-2, 7-0 UFC) was quicker on the draw. He routinely beat Barboza to the punch, withstood the Brazilian’s sustained attack on his body and hit the accelerator as soon as the situation called for it. He followed a knee to Barboza’s chest with a clubbing right hand to the head and gave chase early in the third round. Chikadze staggered the American Top Team ace with a straigh…

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 UFC on ESPN 30 ​coverage will begin Saturday at 7 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:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry …

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO FOR @JudoRazak!

Less than 30 seconds in #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/1boiMBLTfB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 29, 2021 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. Abdul Razak Alhassan needed no time to warm up.

Now operating out of the Elevation Fight Team camp, Alhassan brought down Alessio Di Chirico with a head kick in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 30 featured prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Di Chirico (13-6, 4-6 UFC) melted 17 seconds into Round 1, the unwitting victim in one of the most memorable finishes of 2021.

Seeking his first victory in nearly three years, Alhassan (11-4, 5-4 UFC) backed the Italian into the fence and caught him ducking. Shin met skull, Di Chirico hit the deck in a semi-conscious state and referee Herb Dean called for the stop…

Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang will square off with strawweight gold on the line for a second time at UFC 268.

The promotion announced the rematch during the UFC on ESPN 30 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6. A previously reported welterweight championship rematch was also made official.

Namajunas and Zhang first fought at UFC 261, where “Thug” Rose scored a shocking head-kick KO just 78 seconds into the April 24 bout. It is the second 115-pound championship reign for Namamunas, who initially captured the strap with a first-round TKO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The 29-year-old 303 Training Center representative has been victorious in five of her last six promotional appearances, with wins over Zhang, Jessica Andrade, Jedrzejczyk (twice) and Michelle Waterson.

Zhang saw a 21-fight professional winning streak come to an end at the hands of Namajunas. The 32-year-old Chinese star began her UFC car…

The UFC 268 lineup continues to grow with the addition of Germaine de Randamie vs. Irene Aldana at bantamweight and Bobby Green vs. Al Iaquinta at lightweight.

The matchups were announced during the UFC on ESPN 30 broadcast on Saturday. UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 and is headlined by a welterweight championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas will face Weili Zhang in a strawweight title rematch.

The UFC’s inaugural female featherweight queen, de Randamie has won six of her last seven promotional outings. Most recently, “The Iron Lady” submitted Julianna Pena in the third round at UFC on ESPN 16.

Aldana, meanwhile, rebounded from a lopsided loss to Holly Holm last October to defeat Yana Kunitskaya by first-round technical knockout at UFC 264 on July 10. Aldana has won three of her last four fights, including a first-round KO of Ketlen Vieira at UFC 245.

Green drop…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

UFC Fight Night 191 has a new co-main event.

The promotion confirmed on Saturday night that Sergey Spivak will step in for Sergei Pavlovich and meet Tom Aspinall on Sept. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, Pavlovich was forced out of the card due to visa issues. UFC Fight Night 191 is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson and Darren Till.

Spivak has built some momentum since a loss to Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 169, as he has won his last three promotional appearances. Most recently, “The Polar Bear” outpointed Alexey Oleynik at UFC on ESPN 25.

Aspinall, meanwhile, is on a six-bout winning streak that includes finishes of Jake Collier, Alan Baudot and Andrei Arlovski in UFC competition.