Martial Arts News

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A documentary starring Nicco Montano, the UFC’s inaugural women’s flyweight champion, is set to premiere in Las Vegas on Friday.

The film, which is entitled “Warrior Spirit,” is directed by Landon Dyksterhouse and will focus on the dangers of extreme weight cutting in the UFC. The documentary has already been featured in a segment on “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” that dealt with the extreme weight cuts. The film also examines issues such as fighter pay, insurance and unionization. Dyksterhouse has previously directed MMA-themed documentaries “The Proving Grounds,” which examines the success of the camp now known as Jackson-Wink MMA, and “El Pantera,” which looks at the rise to prominence of UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez.

In the clip above, Montano is shown struggling to make weight ahead of her first 125-pound title defense against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. Ultimately, Montano was hospitali…

Women’s lightweights and men’s heavyweights will be in the spotlight during the second Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 19.

PFL Playoffs 2 will be headlined by a 155-pound clash between second-seeded Kayla Harrison and No. 3 Genah Fabian, while No. 1 Larissa Pachecho will square off against No. 4 Taylor Guardado on the other half of the bracket. In men’s heavyweight action, top seed Bruno Cappelozza will lock horns with No. 4 Jamelle Jones, while No. 2 Denis Goltsov will face No. 3 Ante Delija.

The semifinal winners will advance to the PFL Championship, where they will have a chance to earn a $1 million prize.

“PFL’s second playoff event on Thursday, Aug. 19 will feature an incredible and action-packed card that only the PFL can deliver to the 550 million MMA fans worldwide,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “These athletes are putting it all on the line to secure a spot in the PFL Championship. Nothing in sports compares to the intensity of a must-w…

A high-profile lightweight matchup between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been added to the UFC 267 lineup.

According to ESPN, both fighters have agreed to the bout. UFC 267 takes place on Oct. 30 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship showdown between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. The event does not yet have an official location but is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev vs. dos Anjos was previously scheduled twice in 2020, but was scrapped on both occasions, once because dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and later when Makhachev withdrew due to illness.

Makhachev is currently in the midst of an eight-bout winning streak and is one of the hottest talents in the UFC lightweight division. The Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner is coming off his first main event appearace, where he submitted Thiago Moises in the fourth round of their UFC on ESPN 26 showdown on July 17.

A former lightweight champion, the 36-year-old…

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has joined forces with Wimp2Warrior, the grassroots training program that works to increase participation in MMA.

As part of a multi-year partnership, the Daniel Cormier Wrestling Academy in Gilroy, Calif., will host “multiple in-person series for the W2W program,” according to a release. The first season is slated to begin later this year. W2W vice president and former Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou announced the news on Tuesday.

“‘DC’ has a true love of the sport and his knowledge and understanding of MMA is second to none,” Chou said. “Whether it be his accomplishments in the Octagon, his broadcast work, or his dedication as a coach developing young athletes, he has solidified his standing as one of MMA’s most visible global ambassadors. As W2W continues to accelerate our growth, being able to have a 360 partnership with ‘DC’ further validates our commitment to growing the sport by converting fandom to participation wo…

Joanne Calderwood is expected to lock horns with Alexa Grasso in a flyweight affair at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 20.

ESPN was first to report that the bout is in the process of being finalized. The card does not yet have an official location but will likely take place in Las Vegas.

Calderwood has alternated wins and losses in her last six promotional outings. Most recently, the Scotland native dropped a split decision to Lauren Murphy in a title eliminator bout at UFC 263. Calderwood recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, according to ESPN.

After beginning her UFC tenure as a strawweight, Grasso has scored back-to-back decision victories against Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber at 125 pounds. The Mexican fighter is 5-3 in the Octagon and 13-3 as a professional overall.

Cody Garbrandt will make his long-awaited flyweight debut against Kai Kara-France at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 11.

ESPN first brought word of the bout. The Las Vegas-based promotion has not formally announced the event or a location, but the matchup has nearly been finalized.

A former UFC bantamweight champion, Garbrandt has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances at 135 pounds, with his only victory during that time coming via second-round KO against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250. Most recently, “No Love” dropped a five-round verdict to Rob Font in the UFC Fight Night 188 headliner.

Anchored at City Kickboxing, Kara-France is coming off a first-round knockout of Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 259 on March 6. The 28-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native is 5-2 in UFC competition and 22-9 with one no contest as a professional overall.

A middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori is in the works to serve as the main event for a UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 23.

UFC broadcast partner ESPN was first to report the booking. The event does not yet have a location, and definitive broadcast plans have not been revealed. Vettori targeted the matchup against “drunk guy” Costa following a loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title bout at UFC 263, and the Brazilian responded by mocking a photo of “The Italian Dream.”

The unanimous decision loss to Adesanya on June 12 snapped a five-bout winning streak for Vettori. The Kings MMA product established himself as a contender with key victories over the likes of Kevin Holland, Jack Hermansson and Karl Roberson over the course of the past year after beginning his promotional tenure with wins in just two of his first five appearances.

Costa, meanwhile, began his MMA career with 13 consecutive triumphs —including five in the UFC — before…

The boxing pay-per-view card headlined by a clash between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley has an official price point.

Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza revealed to MMAFighting.com that the Aug. 29 event will cost $59.99. The card takes place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland and airs via pay-per-view beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Showtime. A previously announced bout pitting Amanda Serrano against Yamileth Mercado will serve as the co-main event.

“That reflects a couple of things,” Espinoza told MMAFighting regarding the price. “It’s in the ballpark of where similar fights have been. It is at a point below a lot of other higher priced pay-per-views, but in particular on this one, I think you’ve got a full boxing card of exciting young fighters. That was the key.”

On Monday, Showtime Sports announced three more bouts that will round out the Paul vs. Woodley undercard. Former junior welterweight world champion Ivan Barancyhk will face Montana…

Former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov will return to action for the first time in more than two years when he faces Tyrell Fortune in the promotion’s Moscow debut on Oct. 23.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official after Bellator president Scott Coker announced the bout via Russian news outlet Tass. The card takes place at the VTB Arena and will also see Fedor Emelianenko square off against an as yet to be announced opponent.

Minakov hasn’t competed since a first-round knockout victory over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 225 on Aug. 24, 2019. Prior to that, he suffered his first career defeat in a decision loss to Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216. The 36-year-old Russian claimed Bellator heavyweight gold with a first-round stoppage of Alexander Volkov in November 2013 before defending the crown in a five-round verdict over Kongo. He was stripped of the belt due to inactivity and enjoyed a 7-0 stint with Fight Nights Global before returni…

Things didn’t go as planned for Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner.

“The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist was outstruck by Sean Strickland for the better part of five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat. Strickland set a UFC middleweight record in the process, outlanding “Primetime” by a 186-to-107 count in significant strikes.

Hall didn’t appear at the post-fight press conference, but he did release a brief statement via Instagram.

“Tough one last night,” Hall wrote. “Congratulations to [Sean Strickland]. I was prepared he was just the better man last night. This one hurts, but I’ll be back. Thank you for all the messages and love. It means more then you know.”

Prior to Saturday, the 37-year-old Fortis MMA product was on a four-bout winning streak that included triumphs over Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva, Antonio Carlos Jr. and Bevon Lewis.

A middleweight tilt pitting Julian Marquez against Jordan Wright is slated for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Oct. 16.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. The card does not have an official location or headliner but also includes a women’s featherweight clash between Holly Holm and Norma Dumont.

A competitor on Season 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Marquez has been victorious in three of his four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” submitted Sam Alvey in the second round of their bout at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10.

Wright, who fought Season 2 of the Contender Series, is also 3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. In his last outing, “The Beverly Hills Ninja” stopped Jamie Pickett in 64 seconds at UFC 262 on May 15.

After an exciting back and forth first round, Mohamad Said Maalem lands a beautiful counter follow up with devastating GnP to finish Fakhreddine and become the BRAVE CF Light Heavyweight World Championship pic.twitter.com/iUBK05hV0b

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2021

It was a night of finishes at Brave Combat Federation 52, as all the fights on the card ended inside the first two rounds.

The main event of Brave CF 52 saw Mohamed Said Maalem (12-3) taking on Mohammad Fakhreddine (14-5) with the vacant light heavyweight championship on the line. Fakhreddine, who is also the current 185-pound kingpin, stepped into the cage on a mission to become the first two-division champion in the promotional history. Both contenders exchanged a few shots in the first seconds before the action moved near the fence, where Maalem imposed his larger frame to keep his opponent pinned with his back against the wire. During the grappling exchan…