Martial Arts News

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. Due to an injury replacement, Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Matt Schnell now finds himself in a matchup against a top-ranked foe. ESPN Deportes first reported the news on Wednesday night that Askar Askarov (14-0-1) has been forced out of his pairing with Alex Perez (24-6) due to a broken hand. The two flyweights were set to dance at UFC on ESPN 27 on July 31, but as a result, Matt Schnell (15-6) will be entering and the bout will be shifted to the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 28. Perez and Schnell were originally slated to meet at UFC 262, but the scrap fell through and Schnell stayed on the card in a losing effort.

Schnell, who has lost two of his last three to Alexandre Pantoja and Rogerio Bontorin dating back to late 2019, will be taking on the sixth-ranked flyweight Perez on relatively short notice. As mentioned…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A strawweight tilt pitting Amanda Ribas against Virna Jandiroba has been added to the UFC 267 bill.

Combate was first to report the matchup. UFC 267 will take place on Oct. 30 in Abu Dhabi and is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight championshp bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

Ribas kicked off her promotional tenure with four consecutive triumphs before falling to Marina Rodriguez via second-round TKO in her most recent outing at UFC 257. She was twice booked to face Angela Hill but both times the fight fell through due to COVID-19 issues for the Brazilian. The 27-year-old Marcelo Ribas Team product is 10-2 over the course of her professional career, with seven triumphs coming inside the distance.

Jandiroba has won three of her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, she stopped Kanako Murata via second-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 25 on June 19. The former Invicta FC title holder also owns subm…

Nick Diaz’s long-awaited Octagon return is close to becoming a reality.

The promotion is targeting a welterweight clash between Diaz and Robbie Lawler for the UFC 266 co-main event on Sept. 25. UFC president Dana White initially revealed the booking to TSN. Verbal agreements have been issued for the bout, but contracts have yet to be signed.

Lawler and Diaz initially squared off at UFC 47, with Lawler losing via knockout at the 1:31 mark of Round 2.

Diaz hasn’t competed since January 2015, when he lost a five-round decision to Anderson Silva in the UFC 183 headliner — though the official result was overturned to a no contest after “The Spider” failed a drug test. Since that bout, Diaz has flirted with a comeback on multiple occasions, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet. A former Strikeforce champion, Diaz hasn’t won a fight since taking a unanimous decision over B.J. Penn at UFC 137 on Oct. 29, 2011. The 37-year-old Stockton, Calif., native won 11 strai…

Breaking: https://t.co/GUi7KSNP3n (@CryptoCom) becomes first-ever global official fight kit partner & first cryptocurrency platform of @UFC.

More information here :https://t.co/t955WC9WyD

— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 7, 2021 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is partnering with Crypto.com, which will allow the crypto platform to place its branding on UFC fight kits.

According to a report from Sportico, the deal is for 10 years and $175 million – the largest sponsorship ever for the Las Vegas-based promotion. In addition to having the Crypto.com logo on UFC apparel worn by fighters and their corners, the company will also get prominent placement on the Octagon during pay-per-view events and Dana White’s Contender Series cards. Crypto.com “will also be integrated into UFC content on both linear and digital platforms, including live broadcasts, pay-per-views, and UFC-owned social media channels,” per a release.

“This is a partnership …

How about that! NSAC no longer sanctioning for marijuana. Crazy that in my tenure with UFC I've seen NSAC try to suspend Nick Diaz for life for marijuana, to this. Big credit to Exec Director Bob Bennett for spearheading this change. Just don't show up to fight impaired!

— Jeff Novitzky (@JeffNovitzkyUFC) July 7, 2021

Fighters competing in Nevada will no longer be punished for testing positive for marijuana.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to remove marijuana from the list of banned substances in the state. As a result, fighters will no longer face sanctions for a positive test.

“We should be always at the forefront of these issues, and I believe it’s warranted and merited since it is legal in this state,” NSAC chairman Stephen Cloobeck said. “I think we need to jump forward being the leader as we’ve always been.”

The new rule will take effect immediately, but fighters previously facing punishment …

The life of the legendary Pride champion Wanderlei Silva will soon be available for viewing on the big screen.

According to Brazilian outlet UOL, Luppi Productions has acquired the rights to the biography “Wanderlei Silva Sem Coleira,” which was written by journalists Thiago Parijani and Luiz Henrique Gurian and launched in Brazil last October.

According to Luiz Pereira, producer and partner at Luppi Productions, one possibility is to launch the film in 2022 in conjunction with a Japanese company. Japan is where Silva’s legend was born, after he defeated the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba to capture the Pride middleweight belt — which led to a lengthy championship reign in the organization. Pereira also said that he hopes to eventually release the film on streaming platforms such as Netlix, Amazon or Disney+.

Retired from MMA since 2018 with a career record of 35-14-1, “The Axe Murderer” is considered as one of the most aggressive and dominant fighters in vale tud…

Herb Dean will oversee the action when Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor square off for a third time in the UFC 264 headliner on Saturday.

The veteran official was approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to referee the trilogy bout during a Wednesday meeting. Dean was the third man in the cage for both of the first two fights between Poirier and McGregor.

Meanwhile, Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo were appointed as cageside judges for the lightweight bout. Neither of the first two fights needed the scorecards: McGregor defeated Poirier via first-round TKO at UFC 178 in September 2014, while “The Diamond” avenged that loss in a second-round stoppage at UFC 257 this past January.

UFC 264 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is available on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The preliminary card begins on ESPN and ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Former UFC welterweight contender Chad Mendes may be considering a return from retirement.

A recent Instagram post indicated as much, as the Team Alpha Male stalwart shared a photo of a boxing session with a caption suggesting that a comeback is imminent.

“Another hard boxing session with [Joey Rodriguez] crushed!!” Mendes wrote. The timing, power, footwork and speed have been coming together the last few weeks! Been loving the [Mike Tyson] and [Canelo Alvarez] style of boxing baby!

“The itch is getting stronger and stronger! Might have to start talking some numbers soon.”

Mendes officially announced his retirement in 2019, some seven months after a second-round technical knockout loss to future featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232.

"The main reason I didn't say something sooner was there were some loose ends I wanted to tie up," Mendes said then. "I wanted to step away for a little bit and let everything settle, and just make sur…

Maryna Moroz will face Luana Carolina in a flyweight bout at a UFC event on Oct. 16.

Combate was first to report the booking. The card does not yet have an official location or headliner.

Moroz is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision triumphs over Sabina Mazo and Mayra Bueno Silva. The 29-year-old Ukraine native is 5-3 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and 10-3 as a professional overall.

After her appearance on the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, Carolina has been victorious in two of her three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 28-year-old Brazilian garnered a split verdict over Poliana Botelho at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1.

Dana White addresses Francis Ngannou and how the #UFC265 interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane came about. Full interview coming to @UFCarabia pic.twitter.com/aU8ewUULJT

— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) July 6, 2021

When it was announced that Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane would square off for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC 265, it raised a lot of eyebrows in the MMA community.

After all, Francis Ngannou had only just claimed the belt with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic on March 27, and plenty of promotional champions have been sidelined for much longer without the creation of an interim title.

However, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think that putting an interim title up for grabs was out of line with the promotion’s usual method of doing business.

“You knew this was coming for weeks if we didn’t get a deal done,” White told UFC Arabia. “This has happened a million times.”

Ngann…

pic.twitter.com/QVHskFgjA0

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 6, 2021

Conor McGregor has kicked off UFC 264 fight week with a different type of social media strategy ahead of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

Late Monday night, the Irish star delivered an eerie voice message to his opponent via Twitter.

“Dustin,” McGregor said. “‘Peahead’ ... I’m coming for you Peahead. Silly hillbilly.”

After a cordial approach by both fighters heading into UFC 257, tensions already seem to be rising heading into Saturday’s UFC 264 headliner. Both men will likely have plenty to say at a pre-fight press conference scheduled for Thursday at the T-Mobile Arena 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

After defeating McGregor via second-round technical knockout in their January rematch, Poirier said he was prepared for a less civil approach from the former two-division champion heading into their trilogy.

“The good thing about this one is if it’s c…

A featherweight striker’s delight has been targeted to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Aug. 28.

According to a report from ESPN, the promotion is targeting a clash pitting Edson Barboza against Giga Chikadze for a UFC Fight Night event on that date. The contest has not yet been officially signed but is close to being finalized.

Barboza is 2-1 since moving from lightweight to 145 pounds. After dropping a closely-contested split decision to Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN 8, the 35-year-old Brazilian has rebounded to score a decision win over Makwan Amirkhani at UFC Fight Night 179 followed by a knockout over Shane Burgos at UFC 262. Barboza had lost four of his previous five Octagon appearances before switching divisions.

Chikadze has won his last eight bouts since August 2018 — including six triumphs in UFC competition. The 32-year-old Kings MMA representative scored his most notable victory to date at UFC on ESPN 23, where he defeated Cub Swanson wi…