Martial Arts News

Sean Strickland doesn’t hesitate when it comes to making off-color comments, whether it’s critiquing his own performance, owning up to his love for adult films or sharing some of his darker aspirations in the cage.

Strickland earned his fifth consecutive win in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner, taking a clear-cut decision over Uriah Hall at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the process, Strickland set a middleweight record with 186 significant strikes landed. It’s a milestone that doesn’t impress the 30-year-old Team Quest member.

“I need to learn how to hit harder,” Strickland said at the post-fight press conference. “I kind of hit like a pansy. I kind of sucked. They’re like, ‘You know you won the middleweight striking record.’ I’m like, ‘What does that mean? That means I can’t hit that hard.'”

Despite his recent run of success, Strickland isn’t dwelling on thoughts of climbing to the top of the middleweight division. He’s more interested in the financial r…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

Prior to walking to the cage at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night, A.J. McKee envisioned a quick finish of Patricio Freire in the Bellator 263 headliner.

“Honestly, I dreamt the fight,” McKee said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com). “I knew I won the fight. I prayed about it and the same night I had a vision. So I knew I had a victory but it wasn’t the dream that I had which was peculiar. Now, maybe that’s the 155-pound title that I saw. I don’t know. I’m just enjoying this moment, man. I knew it was going to come.”

McKee made short work of the man who many regarded as the greatest fighter in Bellator history. He stunned Freire with a head kick, dropped him near the fence with a flurry of punches and after a premature celebration, locked in a guillotine choke which eventually rendered the Brazilian unconscious at the 1:57 mark of the first round.

“Man, to do it the way I did it, I said I was going to do it in s…

Es war eine unvergessliche Nacht für Cheyanne Kaufen an UFC auf ESPN 28.

Dana White ' s Contender Series Alaun erhielt ein $50.000 "Leistung der Nacht" Check für ihren technischen KO-Sieg gegen Gloria de Paula am Abend Co-Main Event. Kauft landete ein perfekt getimter Kopfstoß, als ihr Feind versuchte, zu ihr zurückzukehren füße, und trotz ihrer besten Bemühungen konnte De Paula nicht bleiben aufrecht nach dem Absorbieren dieses Schlags. Kauft gefolgt mit boden-und-Pfund von der Halterung, um die Unterbrechung zu erzwingen 60 Sekunden in der Strohgewichts-Kampf.

Anderswo, Melsik Baghdasaryan sammelte die andere $50.000 “Leistung des Abends der Nacht" Auszeichnung dank einer Unterbrechung der anderen Anwärter-Serie Alauns Collin Anglin in einem vorgestellten featherweight matchup. In der zweiten runde, Baghdasaryan verbunden Shin-to-skull mit einem Kopfstoß und finshed den Kampf mit Follow-up-Schläge an der 1: 50 Marke der Zeitraum.

Schließlich, Jason Witt und B…

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. Sean Strickland’s bite was every bit as bad as his bark. The Syndicate MMA rep set up shop as a serious contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he laid claim to a clear-cut unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges sided with Strickland (24-3, 11-3 UFC): 50-44, 50-45 and 49-46.

Hall (17-10, 9-9 UFC) was never much of a factor. Strickland wrecked the former Ring of Combat champion with a consistent and damaging jab across all five rounds. He mixed in clean one-twos and occasional kicks, overwhelming the typically flashy Hall with basic but effective offensive techniques. Strickland was at peak strength in the third round, where he followed an overh…

The Million Dollar Submission! @AJMcKee101 stops @PatricioPitbull to become the Bellator Featherweight World Champion. WOW!

A historic moment at @TheForum. #Bellator263 pic.twitter.com/fg75zEKrta

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021 On perhaps the biggest stage in Bellator MMA history, A.J. McKee dispatched the man who is arguably the promotion’s greatest fighter in shockingly quick fashion.

McKee claimed the featherweight crown — and the $1 million check that accompanies winning the organization’s 145-pound grand prix — with a first-round submission of Patricio Freire in the Bellator 263 headliner at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. The 26-year-old Team Bodyshop standout rendered Freire unconscious with a standing guillotine choke at the 1:57 mark of Round 1. The Brazilian sees a seven-bout winning streak come to an end but remains the reigning Bellator lightweight champion. McKee, meanwhile (18-0, 18-0 Bellato…

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 28 ​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. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the …

Sherdog's live Bellator 263 coverage kicks off Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Bellator Featherweight Title Fight:Patricio Freire (144.5) vs. A.J. McKee (145) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

Heavy shots landing early in RD 1 #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/9hloPvVgeA

— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2021

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.

Chris Gruetzemacher had the deeper gas tank.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 quarterfinalist on Saturday scratched and clawed his way to a unanimous decision over former Combate Americas champion Rafa Garcia in the featured UFC on 28 prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Gruetzemacher (15-4, 3-3 UFC), who rebounded from an Oct. 31 knockout loss to Alexander Hernandez.

Garcia (11-2, 0-2 UFC) had the Arizona native reeling inside the first minute, as he uncorked a clean left hook, powered into top position and applied his ground-and-pound. Gruetzemacher stayed cool under fire and slowly regained his wits. By the …

A lightweight clash pitting Mike Hamel against Bryce Logan is on tap for Bellator 265.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official on Saturday. Bellator 265 takes place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Aug. 20 and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Cheick Kongo and Sergei Kharitonov. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

A veteran of Combate Americas and Legacy Fighting Alliance, Hamel has fallen to Adam Borics and Usman Nurmagomeodv in his first two Bellator appearances. The 28-year-old MMA Lab representative has won just two of his last seven professional outings dating back to May 2017.

Logan, meanwhile, had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a split-decision loss to Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 251 this past November. The 31-year-old Power MMA product is 12-5 over the course of a professional tenure that includes stints in LFA, Victory Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.

The semifinals of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix have a date and a venue.

The promotion announced Saturday that Vadim Nemkov vs. Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson will take place on Oct. 16 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Addtional bouts will be announced at a later date.

Nemkov claimed the 205-pound belt with a second-round TKO of Ryan Bader at Bellator 244 last August before outpointing Phil Davis in the quarterfinals of the grand prix at Bellator 257 on April 16. The 29-year-old Russian is currently on an eight-bout winning streak.

Johnson returned to action for the first time since 2017 at Bellator 258, where he survived some early adversity to score a second-round knockout of Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros on May 7. The 37-year-o…