Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJK5cXSpMno&w=560&h=315] Jessica Correa Delboni has earned a shot at the Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight champion Alesha Zappitella after winning the one-night Phoenix Series 4 tournament.

The main event, which was the only three-round professional mixed martial arts bout on the card, saw Delboni go three rounds against Lindsey VanZandt. "LVZ" came out looking to strike from range, but Delboni was able to back her into the cage several times and won the round due to her aggressiveness. The second frame was largely more of the same, but VanZandt took the round on two of the judge's scorecards. Round 3 stayed on the feet with both women landing solid punches. Ultimately, the judges favored the work of Delboni and awarded her a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

In the first one-round semifinal bout, VanZandt cruised to a unanimous decision against Linda Mihalec. "Damsel" picked the match a…

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There were expected miscues and missteps, but three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields made a successful crossover to mixed martial arts under the Professional Fighters League flag.

Operating out of the famed Jackson-Wink MMA camp, Shields weathered significant adversity, stayed composed and turned away Brittney Elkin with punches in the third round of their PFL 4 headliner on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Elkin (3-7, 0-2 PFL) succumbed to blows 1:44 into Round 3, as she suffered her fourth straight defeat.

The performance was far from perfect. Elkin largely dominated the first two rounds with well-timed takedowns and positional advances. She achieved full mount in both rounds, but her failure to close the deal proved costly. Near the end of the middle stanza, Shields (1-0, 1-0 PFL) reversed position, cut loose with her hands and started to turn the tide. Sh…

Mongkolpetch DROPS Elias Mahmoudi with a rocket right hand! #ONEFullBlast2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/dPok5xtst4

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 11, 2021 One Championship aired the second part of its “Full Blast” series on Friday, composed of pre-recorded fights from previous months.

In the One: Full Blast 2 main event, Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy locked horns with Elias Mahmoudi in a 138.5-pound catchweight muay Thai clash. The French-Algerian Mahmoudi started strong, constantly advancing and landing with punch and kick combinations. While Mongkolpetch was forced to back up much of the time, he scored effective counterstrikes on his opponent. The Thai fighter ended the round by sniping Mahmoudi with a punch to the midsection followed by a clean short elbow.

Mongkolpetch came out much more aggressively in the second period, keeping his opponent at bay with kicks and tying Mahmoudi up with the clinch. A …

We are back to the Tokyo Dome after 18 years

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— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) May 28, 2021

The Rizin 28 card is now official, as all fighters slated to compete made weight without issue ahead of Sunday’s card.

Mikuru Asakura tipped the scales at 145.5 pounds for his scheduled featherweight headliner against Kleber Koike Erbst. Erbst, meanwhile checked in at 145.1 pounds. Meanwhile, both Tofiq Musayev (155.3) and Roberto de Souza (156.3) hit their contracted marks for their lightweight title bouts in the co-main event.

Rizin 28 takes place at the the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and is available via pay-per-view here for $24.99. The card also includes four bouts in the opening round of the promotion’…

Sherdog's live PFL 2021 4 coverage will begin 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 Kicking off tonight's card, we have nearly even odds for American Chris Wade (18-6) taking on Kazakhstan's Arman Ospanov (11-3) at featherweight. Calling the action will be referee Gary Copeland. Ospanov starts out circling, occasionally throwing power punches with bad intentions. Wade soon closes the distance and goes for a headlock takedown, but Ospanov scrambles out and gets a wrestling ride against his foe. Wade works for a kimura from the bottom and eventually gets a sweep. However, he goes for an armbar, which allows Ospanov to disengage. Both men stand up and Ospanov lands several solid punches. Wade soon clinches, wanting nothing…

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The Bellator MMA welterweight title will be on the line when champion Douglas Lima takes on Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 260.

Both headliners had no problem making weight, and neither did most of the card, as every fighter hit their contracted weight. However, there was one fight that was scratched due to weight-related issues. Vanessa Porto was ruled not eligible to compete after weighing in, and her bout against Ilara Joanne is now off.

"The Phenom" is looking to bounce back after an unsuccessful bid for the promotion's middleweight strap against Gegard Mousasi. Lima (32-8) had won three straight fights prior to the setback. In that stretch, Lima prevailed by decision over Rory MacDonald, knocked out Michael Page in violent fashion and submitted Andrey Koreshkov. The Brazilian officially weighed 169.75 pounds for his latest title defense.

In his way will be the undefeated Amosov…

Best friends @_itsuki_h_ #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/IECEim7SSC

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 8, 2021 The stage is set for the remainder of the year for One Championship.

The promotion sent out a press release on Thursday that detailed its series of events that will take place in Europe to vie for One Championship contracts. The first five cards, which will serve as a grand prix that stretches from June to July, will bring 32 heavyweight kickboxers together in a single elimination tournament. The winner will earn a contract with the promotion, although it is possible that other competitors may get signed as well.

The President of One Championship Italy, Carlo Di Blasi, explained, “I am excited to showcase the best heavyweight kickboxers in Europe. We have made incredible strides over the past few months to highlight the immense talent in the region. I have always believed in the massive potential we have in Eur…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3BWUD1dog0&w=560&h=315] Invicta Fighting Championships' latest one-night tournament is now official for Phoenix Series 4.

A shot at Invicta FC atomweight titleholder Alesha Zappitella is on the line Friday night. Fan voting determined the quarterfinal bouts, which will see Paulina Granados face Marisa Messer-Belenchia, Jillian DeCoursey go up against Linda Mihalec, Lindsey VanZandt test her skills against Katie Perez, and Jessica Correa Delboni battle Tabatha Ann Watkins. One reserve fight will take place as well, between Samantha Seff and Kara Marie Vislosky. All fighters made the atomweight limit of 106 pounds.

Invicta FC Phoenix Series 4 will air live on Axs TV and the promotion's YouTube channel starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday.

Invicta FC Phoenix Series 4 Weigh-in Results: Paulina Granados (105.9) vs. Marisa Messer-Belenchia (105.4)Jillian DeCoursey (105.5) vs. Linda Mihalec (105.9)Lindsey VanZandt (105.8) vs.…

Heavyweights will be on the menu for Bellator MMA’s July 16 event.

Per a promotion official on Thursday, Ronny Markes (19-8) will make his return to the Bellator cage on July 16 against Said Sowma (6-2). The two big men will toe the line at Bellator 262, which will be held inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Both will be looking to rebound off of unsuccessful organizational debuts in late 2020.

Markes, at one time a middleweight when competing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has moved up to heavyweight over the years after missing weight badly in both the middleweight and light heavyweight categories. The well-traveled Brazilian vet competed several times under the Professional Fighters League banner the last few years, but he never won his way into the playoffs in any year. His Bellator debut saw him fall short to Linton Vassell in December, losing by knockout in the second frame.

Like Markes, Sowma will be aiming to get back in the win column …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOyR93Cc-1c&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. After some days of mystery, Fabricio Werdum went public with his decision to withdraw from the 2021 Professional Fighters League season. Werdum met Renan Ferreira at PFL 3: 2021 Regular Season, and the heavyweights went to battle for just over half a round. When the fight hit the ground, Werdum slapped on a triangle choke and appeared to elicit a tap, but referee Keith Peterson was not in position to observe it so Ferreira kept fighting and knocked Werdum out.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board later overturned the result to a no contest, but the strikes to Werdum did some lasting damage. In an interview with Sherdog, the all-time great revealed that his neurologist, Dr. Wuilker Knoner Campos, did not allow him to return after a series of tests.

“As …

Former featherweight title challenger Daniel Weichel will square off against Keoni Diggs at Bellator 261.

Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an initial report from Fansided. Bellator 261 takes place on June 25 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and is headlined by an interim heavyweight title clash between Timothy Johnson and Valentin Moldavsky. A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the event.

Weichel has lost three of his last four Bellator outings. In his last appearance, the German featherweight dropped a five-round verdict against Emmanuel Sanchez in the quarterfinals of the 145-pound grand prix at Bellator 252. “Drake” bested Saul Rogers in the opening round of the bracket.

Diggs has kicked off his professional career with nine straight triumphs, including back-to-back submissions of Derek Campos and Scotty Hao under the Bellator banner. The 34-year-old MMA Lab representative has finished seven of his …

A lightweight clash pitting Clay Guida against Mark O. Madsen is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 21.

Danish outlet ViaRitzau was first to report the booking, and MMAFighting.com later confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for the bout. The UFC Fight Night card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight duel between Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier but does not have an official location.

The 39-year-old Guida has 56 professional fights under his belt. In his last outing, “The Carpenter” snapped a two-bout losing streak at UFC Fight Night 184, where he outpointed Michael Johnson on Feb. 6.

An Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, Madsen has began his professional MMA tenure with 10 straight victories. The Danish lightweight debuted in the Octagon with a first-round TKO of Danilo Belluardo before outpointing Austin Hubbard at UFC 248.