Martial Arts News

It looks like Donald Cerrone will receive another opportunity to step into the Octagon.

UFC president Dana White confirmed to TSN that the popular veteran will get another fight in the promotion following a first-round technical knockout loss to Alex Morono in the UFC on ESPN 24 co-main event this past Saturday night. Cerrone was originally slated to face Diego Sanchez in a 170-pound bout on the card, but plans changed when “The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner was released from the promotion shortly before the event.

“‘Cowboy’ again steps up, Diego falls out of the fight, he steps up and takes a last-minute replacement, co-main event. What he wants to do – he accepted the Diego fight because they both said they would fight at 170,” White said. “He wants to move down to [155] and get another fight, and I’m going to let him do that.”

Cerrone is winless in his last six UFC appearances and has been finished in four of those fights. White confirmed that the BMF Ranch fou…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has parted ways with five fighters, including Luke Sanders and Anthony Birchak.

In addition to those two, Aalon Cruz, Jordan Griffin and Ray Rodriguez are no longer on the Las Vegas-based promotion’s roster. MMAjunkie.com confirmed the news after Sherdog.com's Tom Feely and TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter pointed out that none of the above athletes were eligible for fan rankings online. The aforementioned departures don’t necessarily mean those fighters were cut; it could indicate that their existing contracts expired and they did not receive new deals.

Sanders exits the UFC after losing three of his last four bouts, including a decision defeat against Felipe Dias Colares in his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 23. He went 3-5 during his promotional tenure.

Birchak went just 2-5 over two separate stints with the organization. During his second go-round, “El Toro” was finished in back-to-back fights by Gustavo Lopez and Tony Gravely. Read more

A strawweight clash pitting Amanda Ribas against Angela Hill has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 189.

The fighters were initially slated to meet at UFC on ESPN 24 this past Saturday, but a positive COVID-19 test for Ribas resulted in the cancellation of the bout. MMA DNA was first to report the 115-pound rebooking.

UFC Fight Night 189 is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on June 5 and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai. The Las Vegas-based promotion also announced that Maryna Moroz will square off against Manon Fiorot at the event.

Ribas had a five-bout winning streak snapped in her last outing, when she suffered a second-round TKO loss against Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257. Hill, meanwhile, ended a two-bout skid with a three-round verdict over Ashley Yoder at UFC Fight Night 187.

The PFL fight between Fabricio Werdum and Renan Ferreira from last Thursday night has been overturned to a no contest by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

- @marc_raimondi pic.twitter.com/JbDbYroasD

— MMAPurists (@MMAPurists) May 10, 2021 The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board has overturned Renan Ferreira’s first-round knockout victory over Fabricio Werdum at Professional Fighters League’s third regular season event of 2021 to a no contest.

ESPN was first to report the news. After reversing into top position, Ferreira found himself ensnared in a triangle choke. At one point, Werdum appeared to elicit a quick tapout from his opponent and then briefly relaxed the hold. When referee Keith Peterson failed to see the tap, Ferreira capitalized and unloaded with hammerfists to force the stoppage 2:32 into Round 1.

According to the ESPN report, NJSACB commissioner Larry Hazzard Sr. elected to overturn the initial decision aft…

Derek Anderson has been handed a six-month suspension for failling to disclose medical issues he had prior to his loss to Michael Page at Bellator 258 this past Friday.

Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation Executive Director Michael Mazzulli told MMAFighting.com that Anderson did not mention he suffered from kidney failure during training camp on his pre-fight medicals. Two days ago, the fighter revealed that those issues hindered his training camp prior to facing Page.

“Love to be back ASAP but went to the hospital [four] times as I was having kidney failure my whole camp and could hardly train,” Anderson wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to make this fight happen. I’ll be back after a short vacation to recover and now I have some new wounds to lick.”

In order to have that sanction lifted before it ends on Nov. 7, Anderson must do the following: an MRI and ultrasound of his kidney; blood tests; a consultation with a kidney specialist and weekly visits …

An intriguing middleweight showdown between Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan has been pushed back one week.

The bout, which was originally slated for UFC 262 this Saturday, will instead go down at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22. MMA DNA was first to report the news, and UFC president Dana White later told TSN that the postponement was due to a positive COVID-19 case in the Hermansson camp.

UFC Fight Night 188 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font.

Hermansson has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Joker” dropped a five-round verdict against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 19 on Dec. 5. His 8-4 promotional mark includes wins over the likes of Kelvin Gastelum, Ronaldo Souza, David Branch and Thales Leites.

Shahbazyan, meanwhile suffered his first career loss in 12 outings at UFC Fight Night 173, where he fell to Derek Brunson via third-round…

BREAKING NEWS: Gordon Ryan will make his debut in ONE Championship against Shinya Aoki in an openweight grappling super match on August 27!

— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) May 10, 2021

Gordon Ryan will remain in his element for his first One Championship foray.

The decorated grappler will face Shinya Aoki in an “openweight grappling super match” on Aug. 27, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Monday. Official rules of the contest were not revealed.

Regarded by some as the best pound-for-pound grappler in the world, Ryan is a three-time ADCC champion, IBJJF no-gi champion and a four-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion. In grappling competition, Ryan has bested the likes of Josh Barnett, Gabriel Gonzaga, Rousimar Palhares, Dillon Danis and Marcus Almeida. He is a black belt under Gary Tonon. Ryan signed with One with the expectation that he would make his MMA debut as well, but he recently told MMAFighting.com that his curre…

Phil Hawes apparently already knew his next opponent as he entered the Octagon with Kyle Daukaus this past Saturday.

The middleweight revealed that he was scheduled to face Deron Winn at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on July 17 during a recent interview with Pub Sports Radio. The pairing was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The bout is contingent upon Hawes not receiving a lengthy medical suspension after UFC on ESPN 24.

Hawes is currently on a seven-bout professional winning streak that includes a trio of triumphs in UFC competition. The two-time Dana White’s Contender Series competitor put together a strong finish to earn a unanimous decision over Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 24 after besting Nassourdine Imavov and Jacob Malkoun in his first two promotional appearances.

Winn, meanwhile, halted a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he outpointed Antonio Arroyo at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19. The American Kickboxing Academy product is 2-2 in UFC comp…

Alex Morono displayed an outstanding finishing instinct at UFC on ESPN 24.

Once Morono staggered Donald Cerrone with a massive overhand right, he swarmed for the finish on his reeling foe, unloading with a barrage of strikes while “Cowboy” attempted to cover up near the fence. With Cerrone basically out on his feet, referee Marc Goddard had no choice but to step in at the 4:40 mark of Round 1.

That fact that the stoppage victory came against such a well-known foe was the icing on the cake.

“It feels good just putting my literal handiwork out there—boxing, kickboxing and getting knockouts. That’s just been a perpetual life goal,” Morono said. “I’ve come so close in so many fights, cracking dudes and dropping dudes. I hadn’t quite found the standing finish. I got it today over a man I admire greatly, more than almost anyone else on the roster. That goal was accomplished. I’m very satisfied.”

Morono is well aware that it can be a matter of inches between lan…

Michelle Waterson gave a valiant effort in the UFC on ESPN 24 main event but ultimately came up short, falling to Marina Rodriguez via unanimous decision on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Despite being significantly undersized, the former Invicta FC atomweight queen hung tough against her Brazilian opponent. “The Karate Hottie” had her best moment in Round 4, when she landed a takedown and spent the better part of three minutes battering Rodriguez with punches and elbows from top position.

Waterson also caused Rodriguez’s jaw to swell after landing a high kick in the final stanza, but she wasn’t able to match the muay Thai striker’s weapons consistently enough in a bout that was contested largely on the feet. The Jackson-Wink MMA representative has lost three of her last four Octagon appearances but has been competitive in falling to Rodriguez, Carla Esparza and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

After her latest effort, the 35-year-old New Mexico resident released a s…

As the opening round of his UFC on ESPN 24 matchup with Diego Ferreira drew to a close, Gregor Gillespie didn’t appear to be in a good place.

The former NCAA national champion wrestler struggled to hold Ferreira down in scrambles and ate several hard punches when the combatants were standing. After a grueling five minutes, Gillespie appeared to be on wobbly legs as he returned to his corner.

“A couple people have already told me I looked tired—because I was,” Gillespie said. “When people say ‘He’s out of shape,’ those are two different things. Being out of shape means you didn’t prepare correctly and you’re tired as a result. I was tired because of the pace we were doing.

“I’m not saying that was all me. He stuck with it. I had to really throw that at him and make it the pace of the fight, in the hopes he couldn’t keep doing it and knowing I probably could. I was extremely tired after Round 1, but I’m OK feeling that way.”

As it turned out, Gillespie was …

Marina Rodriguez earned a signature triumph against Michelle Waterson in the makeshift UFC on ESPN 24 headliner on Saturday night.

“It was a very good performance. I knew everything was going to be different, so I had to prepare my mind and come in with a different mindset than usual,” Rodriguez said. “I’m pretty happy with the performance. I wish I could have got a knockout, that’s what I came here for. It was still a great win over a great opponent.”

Though she didn’t get the finish, Rodriguez attacked with rapid-fire punching combinations, kicks to various levels and knees and elbows in the clinch against a durable opponent. The Brazilian appeared to have Waterson on the retreat a few times, but “The Karate Hottie” remained competitive for a full 25 minutes.

“I knew she was going to be very tough,” Rodriguez said. “I was able to hit her with some good punches. There was one hook where I thought the referee was going to stop it. She’s very tough. You can’t ta…