Martial Arts News

If all goes as planned, Bethe Correia’s farewell bout will take place this fall.

The former bantamweight challenger is expected to meet Karol Rosa at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 2. Combate was first to report the booking. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker.

Correia was originally slated to have her retirement bout against Yanan Wu at UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16 before an appendicitis forced her to withdraw from the event. Correia last appeared at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, when she lost a unanimous decision to Pannie Kianzad. The 38-year-old Brazilian has been victorious in just two of her last eight UFC bouts dating back to August 2015.

Rosa is currently on a five-bout winning streak, with three victories coming within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Thus far, the 26-year-old Brazilian has gone the distance in victories over Lara Procopio , Vane…

Considered to be a natural light heavyweight, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza was not among the favorites to make the Professional Fighters League playoffs, but after a 46-second knockout of Ante Delija, the underdog Brazilian is first in the heavyweight standings.

Even in the event of a loss to Muhammed DeReese at PFL 6 on Friday, Cappelozza has a great chance to be among the final four heavyweights in the playoff bracket come October. The 32-year-old Corinthians MMA product revealed to Sherdog.com what it was like to return to active competition after a nearly three-year absence.

“It was certainly the most difficult time of my career,” he said. “I went through a very hard time with a long series of injuries and surgeries, but God blessed me with that invitation to the PFL.”

Cappelozza is confident heading into his matchup with DeReese, who is coming off a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Denis Goltsov at PFL 3 on May 6.

“My record shows how aggressive I am. All…

Tremendous ratings, youngest audience in MMA and global growth. @combateglobal is the top-ranked contender for the MMA world championship. https://t.co/s4ZlLWXo4Y

— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) June 22, 2021

Combate Global has a new home for the English-language broadcasts of its events.

The promotion announced Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with CBS Sports and Paramount+. Combate Global will debut on June 25 on CBS Sports Network before transitioning to Paramount+ on July 9 through the remainder of the year.

Paramount+ is expected to air 30 live Combate Global events annually in 2022 and 2023, while CBS Sports Network will complement that coverage with a one-hour recap show following each event. Additionally, CBS Sports Network will feature re-airs of past Combate events, while the promotion’s entire fight library will be available on Paramount+.

"The addition of Combate Global’s exciting MMA acti…

A strawweight clash pitting Karolina Kowalkiewicz against Jessica Penne has been booked for UFC 265.

Promotion officials announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 265 takes place on Aug. 7 at an as yet to be announced location and features a women’s bantamweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.

A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz is currently mired in a four-bout losing streak. After suffering a first-round knockout loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228, the Lodz, Poland, native dropped three successive decisions to Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso and Xiaonan Yan. Kowalkiewicz hasn’t tasted victory since taking a split verdict over Felice Herrig at UFC 223 in April 2018.

Penne, meanwhile, returned from a four-year hiatus to snap a three-bout skid at UFC on ESPN 22, where she garnered a split-decision triumph against Lupita Godinez on April 17. The former Invicta FC atomweight title holder is 3-4 during her tenure with the Las Vegas-based…

Chan Sung Jung needs doctor clearance to return to action after his left shoulder popped in and out during a victory over Dan Ige in the UFC on ESPN 25 headliner this past Saturday.

“The Korean Zombie” must have a left shoulder MRI and, if positive, doctor clearance or he will be sidelined until Dec. 17. At a minimum, Jung is suspended until July 20 with no contact until July 11 due to a left eyebrow laceration.

The Nevada Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC on ESPN 25 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Jung take a five-round verdict over Ige in the main event. Ige is suspended until July 20 with no contact until July 11 due to a lip laceration.

Six other athletes from UFC on ESPN 25 are facing six-month terms if they don’t receive doctor clearance: Davey Grant (nasal bone fracture), Dhiego Lima (right knee), Kanako Murata (left elbow), Matthew Semelsberger (nose), Josh Parisian (nasa…

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Jeremiah Wells will replace Ramazan Emeev and lock horns with Warlley Alves at UFC Fight Night 190 on Saturday.

The bout was updated on broadcast partner ESPN's event page. UFC Fight Night 190 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane.

A former CES MMA and Cage Fury Fighting Championships welterweight title holder, Wells makes his Octagon debut with an 8-2-1 career mark. He won his last two bouts under the CFFC banner, including a second-round submission of Marco Smallman in September 2019 to claim the vacant 170-pound belt.

Alves has been victorious in two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 30-year-old Brazilian defeated Mounir Lazzez via first-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20.

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was the top earner at UFC 263, as he took home a disclosed payday of $500,000 for title defense in the evening’s main event.

The Arizona Department of Gaming recently released salaries from the card, which took place on June 12 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. While win bonuses were initially redacted by the commission, those figures were later released.

Adesanya’s opponent, Marvin Vettori, garnered the second-highest payday on the card with a $350,000 disclosed salary. Adesanya took a five-round verdict over “The Italian Dream” in a rematch of a April 2018 bout, which the Nigerian-born Kiwi won via split decision.

Elsewhere, fan favorite Nate Diaz received $250,000 for a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards ($220,000) in a five-round, non-title welterweight affair. Diaz is one of the promotion’s biggest draws and was making his first appearance since a loss to Jorge Masvidal for the “BMF” title in November 2019…

Kanako Murata fought valiantly even after her left arm was severely compromised at UFC on ESPN 25, but ultimately the Japanese judoka was unable to continue in her bout against Virna Jandiroba after two rounds.

Murata recently shared an X-ray of her dislocated left elbow, which was injured after being trapped in a Jandiroba armbar in the opening frame. Murata continued to fight for the entirety of the second stanza with her left arm held low, which allowed her opponent to connect with multiple right hands and high kicks.

“Thank you for your generous support [UFC],” Murata wrote on Instagram. “I will be stronger and come back.”

Buena con los puños y en le piso! @VirnaJandiroba quiere finalizar! #UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/B8Alv6jmL4

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) June 19, 2021

The former Invicta FC title holder entered Saturday night on an eight-bout winning streak, which included a unanimous decision triumph over Randa Markos …

It took a full 15 minutes of hard work, but Nico Echeverry is back on track to contend for the Fury Fighting Championship belt he once owned.

In the main event of Fury FC 47 on Sunday, former Fury lightweight champ Echeverry took a clear unanimous decision over Kenn Glenn, showcasing his superiority in all phases and gaining momentum as the fight went on. For most of the first round, Echeverry elected to keep the fight standing, flashing a crisp jab and keeping the shorter Glenn at bay with well-timed kicks to the legs and body. Round 2 saw the former champ turn to his ground game, taking Glenn down repeatedly and advancing to dominant positions. In the final round, perhaps sensing his opponent was tiring, Echeverry turned up the aggression, grounding Glenn once again, taking his back and working briefly for a choke. Glenn was game throughout, and never in serious danger of being finished even in Round 3, but the lopsided final frame put the stamp on an increasingly…

China's top pound-for-pound kickboxer has ARRIVED in ONE Super Series! Who's FIRST? #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/y1DTRE2JWH

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 21, 2021

One Championship has made some significant additions to its roster.

The Singapore-based promotion announced Sunday that it has signed Chinese kickboxing standout Qui Jianliang, who is a multiple time world champion and ranked No. 1 in the world at super featherweight (150 pounds) by Combat Press. Jianliang, who will compete in One’s Super Series, owns a 51-7 career mark and has won his last 17 bouts overall.

“I am very honored to join ONe Championship, the world’s largest martial arts organization. I am excited to take my professional fighting career to the next level,” Jianlinag said in a release. “Right now, Xiong Jing Nan is the only Chinese One world champion, but that will soon change. I want to make history as the first-ever male ONE world champ…

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Vitor Belfort has high expectations for his upcoming boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya.

After it was announced that Belfort would face De La Hoya in an exhibition bout on Sept. 11 in Las Vegas, “The Phenom” told TMZ Sports that the fight could be the biggest off all time.

“Oscar is an Olympic gold medalist one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever,” Belfort said. “He revolutionized the sport. Vitor was the youngest UFC champion.  If it were not for Oscar, [Floyd] Mayweather wouldn’t exist. If it were not for Vitor Belfort, [Conor] McGregor wouldn’t exist. Now the new generation will be taught about the history of the sport. This fight will break all the records. This fight will sell more than Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman.”

In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, Belfort criticized the grappling specialists that are representing MMA against boxers under boxing rules.

“I just…

UFC 263 did approximately 600,000 pay-per-view buys, according to a report from the Sports Business Journal.

That figure includes 500,000 buys domestically through ESPN+ and another 100,000 internationally. Those figures are based on industry estimates, because the Las Vegas-based promotion does not release official buy rates.

UFC 263 took place at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on June 12 and saw Israel Adesanya retain his middleweight crown with a unanimous verdict over Marvin Vettori in the evening’s headliner. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno claimed the 125-pound belt with a third-round submission of Deiveson Figueiredo. The card also featured the return of Nate Diaz, who lost a five-round verdict to Leon Edwards in a non-title, welterweight affair.

That represents a significant increase from UFC 262, which was headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler and drew around 300,000 buys on May 15.

Adesany…