Martial Arts News

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If there is one obstacle to Islam Makhachev’s rise through the UFC’s lightweight division, it’s that his style is not as fan friendly as some of the other top contenders.

It was something of a slow burn on Saturday night, as Makhachev gradually imposed his will on Thiago Moises before submitting his opponent with a rear-naked choke at the 2:38 mark of Round 4 in the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner. It wasn’t a performance that was able to keep Dan Hooker’s interest.

“I kind of was watching and on fast forward,” Hooker said in an interview with Submission Radio “I got bored. So, I can’t really… like, yeah. It kind of is what it is.”

Makhachev is currently on an eight-bout winning streak at 155 pounds and has been anointed by teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov as a future lightweight champion. The Dagestani has gradually improved the level of competition in the Octagon since his 2015 debut, with recent submi…

A shoulder injury has forced Doo Ho Choi to pull out of a proposed clash with Danny Chavez at UFC on ESPN 28.

“The Korean Superboy” announced his exit from the card in a post on his Instagram account on Sunday.

“First of all, I'm so sorry for the fans who are waiting for my fight because I couldn't have a fight due to injury. I'm in a fight business. That means an unexpected accident can happen at any time and I also think a fighter should take the fight even if he has a some injury because that is way it is,” Choi wrote. I injured my shoulder in the last sparring session on Friday night. It was very light and easy rolling but something bad unlucky thing happened.

“It is not a huge injury, but definitely it isn’t something that can handle the fight. If I had more time for recover, I would push forward and take the fight, but our camp [inevitably] decided that two weeks were just too shorts to recover.

“I'm so sad that I prepared for this fight very hard a…

We’re BACK on 30 July for ONE: BATTLEGROUND, topped by a thrilling ONE Muay Thai World Title clash and featuring the returns of Aung La N Sang, Ritu Phogat, Victoria Lee and MORE! @AungLANsang @PhogatRitu #ONEBattleground #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/A4aoBmt4cA

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) July 17, 2021

One Championship “Battleground” will feature a strawweight muay Thai title bout and the return of former two-division champion Aung La N Sang at the top of the bill.

The Singapore-based promotion announced the full card for the event, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on July 30. In the main event, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao will defend his strawweight crown against Prajanchai PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym, while Sang will square off against Leandro Ataides in a featured MMA clash at middleweight (205 pounds).

The event will take place behind closed doors and according to a release, the promotion “is wor…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7NRYyKHJHI&w=560&h=315]

The fifth season of Dana White’s Contender Series will kick off later this summer.

The promotion announced on Saturday night that the show will premiere on Aug. 31 with a card headlined by a heavyweight clash between Matheus Scheffel and Azamat Murzakanov. After that event, four other Contender Series fights were confirmed for the following four weeks through September.

The remaining featured bouts for the announced Contender Series cards are as follows: Darian Weeks vs. Josh Quinlan at welterweight on Sept. 7; Jailton Junior vs. Nasrudin Nasrudinov at light heavyweight on Sept. 14; Chris Duncan vs. Manuel Gaxhja at lightweight on Sept. 21 and Lukasz Sudolski vs. Ihor Potieria at light heavyweight on Sept. 28.

Dana White’s Contender Series airs Tuesdays on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

International Fight Week is returning to Las Vegas this September.

The UFC announced that the interactive fan experience, which includes the promotion’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, will take place from Sept. 21 through Sept. 25. The festivities will conclude with UFC 266 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 23, while Sept. 24-25 will feature a two-day, free UFC Fan Experience that “will feature meet and greets, autograph sessions, and partner activations that provide unprecedented access to UFC champions, top-ranked contenders, Hall of Famers, and other UFC personalities.”

Fans will also have access to ceremonial weigh-ins, press conferences and other live entertainment during the week. International Fight Week was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The latest iteration of the event will be the promotion’s ninth International Fight Week.

UFC 266 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on …

Even after a retirement that lasted more than four years, Miesha Tate appeared to be in peak form at UFC on ESPN 26.

The former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion blended her striking and takedowns effectively en route to a third-round technical knockout victory against Marion Reneau in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While it was just the beginning of Tate’s comeback tour, it was a farewell for Reneau.

“I think she brought everything she had. I believe this was the fight she wanted, she was exactly where she wanted to be, she knew this was her Super Bowl, this was the fight she wanted to leave it all in the Octagon, and I believe she did that,” Tate said. “I’m excited to go back, watch the fight, learn from it and move forward.

“I’m a huge fan of Marion, she is just an inspiration as a woman and as a person. She is a teacher, she is a mother, she gives back to her community… It takes a good dance partner out there to really bring …

It is no secret that Islam Makhachev has been tabbed as the heir apparent to Khabib Nurmagomedov in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Makhachev lived up to that billing yet again on Saturday, as he cruised to fourth-round submission victory against Thiago Moises in the UFC on ESPN 26 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The Dagestani has won eight consecutive fights at 155 pounds, one of just six fighters in the division’s history to do so. One of those men, Nurmagomedov, was in Makhachev’s corner.

“When you have by your side a champion, he knows everything everywhere, what I have to do, what I have to say, how I have to move… When Khabib is in my corner, I feel more powerful,” Makhachev said.

Comparisons to Nurmagomedov as a fighter are lofty enough, but for Makhachev, his teammate and coach also casts a large shadow because of the person he is.

“If somebody says I’m almost the same as Khabib, I agree with this,” Makhachev said. “I want to be like Khab…

Billy Quarantillo and Gabriel Benitez took home an additional $50,000 apiece for their work in the Octagon on Saturday night.

Quarantillo and Benitez received “Fight of the Night” honors for their entertaining featherweight scrap at UFC on ESPN 26 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Both fighters landed knockdowns in the bout, but Quarantillo was the one who walked away with his hand raised after a series of punches from back control forced the TKO stoppage 3:40 into Round 3.

Meanwhile, four “Performance of the Night” bonuses were handed out, as Miesha Tate, Mateusz Gamrot, Rodolfo Vieira and Rodrigo Nascimento all received an additional $50,000 for their efforts.

In her first fight in more than four years, Tate was impressive in a third-round stoppage of Marion Reneau in the evening’s co-main event. “Cupcake” took Reneau down, moved to back mount and earned a TKO with punches from that position 1:53 into Round 3.

Gamrot, meanwhile, wasted little time in putting…

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. Islam Makhachev lived up to the hype in his first headlining effort. The Dagestani lightweight gradually imposed his will on Thiago Moises before submitting his opponent with a rear-naked choke at the 2:38 mark of Round 4 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Makhachev, who has won eight straight in UFC competition, is the first person to defeat Moises via tapout.

“This is my first fourth round in my life. I never fight more than three rounds. That’s why this is good experience for me,” Makhachev said.

“I tell you guys before, I'm gonna take him down, make him tired, and make him tap.”

Moises (15-5, 4-3 UFC) spent the majority of the bout on the defensive. Makhachev (19-1, 9-1 UFC) was effective in spurts with punching combinations to the head and kicks to the body, but it was in clo…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 26 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pe…

WOW! D-Rod wasting no time with a RD 1 KO!#UFCVegas31 pic.twitter.com/5iohb4dFii

— UFC (@ufc) July 18, 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.

Daniel Rodriguez didn’t allow Preston Parsons even a glimmer of hope in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Rodriguez won for the fifth time in six promotional outings at UFC on ESPN 26, as he picked Preston Parsons apart with precision punches en route to a technical knockout stoppage 3:47 into the opening round of their bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Parsons, a late replacement for Abubakar Nurmagomedov, saw a four-bout winning streak snapped.

Rodriguez looked every bit the part of the Octagon veteran as he blended kicks to the legs and body with straight punches early against Parsons, who was denied on his attempts to…

#KSW62 Statistics

FightsFinishes1st Round Stoppages3 Round Warsction-Packed Event pic.twitter.com/Bax0xPKNaF

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) July 17, 2021 While there were plenty of mismatches and a lack of big names, KSW 62 delivered consistently exciting matches, including six first-round finishes as well as one of the craziest first rounds one will ever see.

In the main event, Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Szymon Kolecki (10-1, 4-0 KSW) continued his surprisingly successful mixed martial arts career, shellacking overmatched Akop Szostak (4-4, 0-2 KSW), who is perhaps best known for appearing on “Dancing with the Stars” in Poland, in a mere 47 seconds. Kolecki was a monster -1500 favorite and looked like it, walking forward and landing with punches at will. He paid little attention to defense and Szostak had a few partial connects, but it didn't remotely faze the Olympic champ. Kolecki ended matters with a vicious right uppercut. KSW clearly h…