Martial Arts News

Brandon Moreno has championship gold and a little something extra for his bank account.

The newly crowned flyweight champion received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his third-round submission of Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC 263 co-main event at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on Saturday night. Moreno landed a takedown in Round 3, transitioned to his opponent’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke at the 2:26 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, Paul Craig collected the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award with a first-round stoppage of Jamahal Hill in a featured light heavyweight affair. The Scot initially secured an armbar that badly dislocated his foe’s limb before officially getting the stoppage thanks to landing a barrage of punches and elbows from his back while Hill was trapped in a triangle at the 1:59 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Brad Riddell and Drew Dober garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for the…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Israel Adesanya made sure there would be no dissenting scorecards in his rematch with Marvin Vettori. “The Last Stylebender” was in peak form in the UFC 263 headliner, retaining his middleweight crown with a clear-cut, five-round verdict over Marvin Vettori at Gila Riva Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night. Adesanya swept the scorecards by identical 50-45 counts to extend his winning streak to 10 at 185 pounds. Included in that run is a split-decision triumph over Vettori at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018.

A more evolved version of Adesanya (21-1, 10-1 UFC) was rarely threatened by Vettori (17-5-1, 7-3-1 UFC) the second time around. The City Kickboxing standout kept his opponent guessing with confounding movement, punching combinations to the head and kicks to the head and legs, the latter of which made the “The Italian Dr…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 263 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Round 1 Fight fans in Arizona and around the world will be getting quite a treat tonight with UFC 263, which brings a card that has a little something for everyone. We kick things off with the obligatory heavyweight slobberknocker, but instead of it being placed on the main card, it is the event opener. Felipe (10-1, 2-1 UFC) and Collier (12-5, 4-4 UFC) will throw down in a battle of deceptively quick big men, and referee Al Guinee will be on top of the action. The night begins with no glove touch, and away we go! Collier fling…

These guys are THROWING

[ #UFC263 | LIVE now on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus] pic.twitter.com/aJRGOBIWxK

— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Brad Riddell had to walk through heavy artillery to earn the biggest victory in his Ultimate Fighting Championship career to date.

The City Kickboxing product went toe-to-toe with Drew Dober for three thrilling rounds at UFC 263, earning a unanimous decision triumph in their preliminary lightweight bout at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night. Riddell rallied to secure a trio of 29-28 scorecards for his fourth consecutive triumph in the Octagon. Dober has dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in his UFC tenure.

Dober (23-11, 1 NC, 9-7, 1 NC UFC) nearly put Riddell (10-1, 4-0 UFC) away early when he buckled his opponent with a left h…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwZxGi4tuAM&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Crisis averted, as all four involved in the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship title fights have made weight. Both the UFC's middleweight and flyweight belts will be on the line at UFC 263 after both champions and challengers successfully made weight. The 14-fight card is now official after all fighters weighed in. Every fighter made weight except for Steven Peterson, who came in 2.5 pounds over the featherweight limit.

The main event will see Israel Adesanya return to middleweight after failing to capture the light heavyweight crown against Jan Blachowicz. The decision loss was the first career defeat for "The Last Stylebender" in mixed martial arts. Prior to the setback, Adesanya (20-1) successfully defended his belt against Paulo Costa via brutal knockout,…

An emotional @YaroslavAmosov is your new #Bellator world welterweight champ.#MMA #Bellator260 pic.twitter.com/qvSujc6WTc

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 12, 2021

Ukraine has its first major mixed martial arts champion.

Yaroslav Amosov kept his perfect professional record intact and quieted whatever detractors he had left, as he claimed the undisputed Bellator MMA welterweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Douglas Lima in the Bellator 260 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Amosov (26-0, 7-0 Bellator) swept the scorecards with 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 marks from the judges.

Lima (32-9, 14-5 Bellator) was woefully ineffective, his best weapons neutralized by the three-time combat sambo world champion. Amosov held his own in the standup exchanges and completed takedowns in all five rounds, corralling the Brazilian on the canvas for extended periods of time. While his output was far fr…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJK5cXSpMno&w=560&h=315] Jessica Correa Delboni has earned a shot at the Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight champion Alesha Zappitella after winning the one-night Phoenix Series 4 tournament.

The main event, which was the only three-round professional mixed martial arts bout on the card, saw Delboni go three rounds against Lindsey VanZandt. "LVZ" came out looking to strike from range, but Delboni was able to back her into the cage several times and won the round due to her aggressiveness. The second frame was largely more of the same, but VanZandt took the round on two of the judge's scorecards. Round 3 stayed on the feet with both women landing solid punches. Ultimately, the judges favored the work of Delboni and awarded her a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

In the first one-round semifinal bout, VanZandt cruised to a unanimous decision against Linda Mihalec. "Damsel" picked the match a…

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There were expected miscues and missteps, but three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields made a successful crossover to mixed martial arts under the Professional Fighters League flag.

Operating out of the famed Jackson-Wink MMA camp, Shields weathered significant adversity, stayed composed and turned away Brittney Elkin with punches in the third round of their PFL 4 headliner on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Elkin (3-7, 0-2 PFL) succumbed to blows 1:44 into Round 3, as she suffered her fourth straight defeat.

The performance was far from perfect. Elkin largely dominated the first two rounds with well-timed takedowns and positional advances. She achieved full mount in both rounds, but her failure to close the deal proved costly. Near the end of the middle stanza, Shields (1-0, 1-0 PFL) reversed position, cut loose with her hands and started to turn the tide. Sh…

Mongkolpetch DROPS Elias Mahmoudi with a rocket right hand! #ONEFullBlast2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/dPok5xtst4

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 11, 2021 One Championship aired the second part of its “Full Blast” series on Friday, composed of pre-recorded fights from previous months.

In the One: Full Blast 2 main event, Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy locked horns with Elias Mahmoudi in a 138.5-pound catchweight muay Thai clash. The French-Algerian Mahmoudi started strong, constantly advancing and landing with punch and kick combinations. While Mongkolpetch was forced to back up much of the time, he scored effective counterstrikes on his opponent. The Thai fighter ended the round by sniping Mahmoudi with a punch to the midsection followed by a clean short elbow.

Mongkolpetch came out much more aggressively in the second period, keeping his opponent at bay with kicks and tying Mahmoudi up with the clinch. A …

We are back to the Tokyo Dome after 18 years

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The Rizin 28 card is now official, as all fighters slated to compete made weight without issue ahead of Sunday’s card.

Mikuru Asakura tipped the scales at 145.5 pounds for his scheduled featherweight headliner against Kleber Koike Erbst. Erbst, meanwhile checked in at 145.1 pounds. Meanwhile, both Tofiq Musayev (155.3) and Roberto de Souza (156.3) hit their contracted marks for their lightweight title bouts in the co-main event.

Rizin 28 takes place at the the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and is available via pay-per-view here for $24.99. The card also includes four bouts in the opening round of the promotion’…

Sherdog's live PFL 2021 4 coverage will begin at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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. Round 1 Kicking off tonight's card, we have nearly even odds for American Chris Wade (18-6) taking on Kazakhstan's Arman Ospanov (11-3) at featherweight. Calling the action will be referee Gary Copeland. Ospanov starts out circling, occasionally throwing power punches with bad intentions. Wade soon closes the distance and goes for a headlock takedown, but Ospanov scrambles out and gets a wrestling ride against his foe. Wade works for a kimura from the bottom and eventually gets a sweep. However, he goes for an armbar, which allows Ospanov to disengage. Both men stand up and Ospanov lands several solid punches. Wade soon clinches, wanting nothing…

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The Bellator MMA welterweight title will be on the line when champion Douglas Lima takes on Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 260.

Both headliners had no problem making weight, and neither did most of the card, as every fighter hit their contracted weight. However, there was one fight that was scratched due to weight-related issues. Vanessa Porto was ruled not eligible to compete after weighing in, and her bout against Ilara Joanne is now off.

"The Phenom" is looking to bounce back after an unsuccessful bid for the promotion's middleweight strap against Gegard Mousasi. Lima (32-8) had won three straight fights prior to the setback. In that stretch, Lima prevailed by decision over Rory MacDonald, knocked out Michael Page in violent fashion and submitted Andrey Koreshkov. The Brazilian officially weighed 169.75 pounds for his latest title defense.

In his way will be the undefeated Amosov…