Martial Arts News

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ciryl Gane was on another level. The undefeated Frenchman captured the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title, as he put away Derrick Lewis with punches in the third round of their UFC 265 headliner on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Having been effectively drawn and quartered in his hometown, Lewis (25-8, 16-6 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:11 into Round 3. Gane (10-0, 7-0 UFC) chipped away at “The Black Beast” with kicks to the legs and body, powerful jabs, occasional combinations and slashing knees from the clinch. He flummoxed Lewis with routine stance switches, controlled the center of the cage and went about dissecting one of the most feared men in the sport’s history. Gane finally broke down the former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder with leg kicks in the third round, forced him to turtle at …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 265 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:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:…

This fight is UNREAL #UFC265 pic.twitter.com/L1b0maDhxx

— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Rafael Fiziev cleared another significant hurdle in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The once-beaten Tiger Muay Thai star leaned on a sustained body attack and clean power punches, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green in the featured UFC 265 prelim on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. All three cageside judges sided with Fiziev (10-1, 4-1 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Green (27-12-1, 8-7-1 UFC) held his own with the highly touted prospect but lacked the horsepower necessary to fight fire with fire. Fiziev staggered him twice with clubbing right hands in the second round and opened a cut across the bridge of his nose w…

For the second time, a proposed welterweight clash between Sean Brady and Kevin Lee has been canceled.

Brady announced via Instagram that a foot infection has forced him to pull out of the UFC on ESPN 30 bout on Aug. 28. It’s unclear if Lee will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news.

Brady and Lee were initially slated to square off at UFC 264 before “The Motown Phenom” pulled out of the event due to a broken rib.

Brady’s post is as follows:

Hey guys so last Friday I got a small cut on my foot training. I didn’t think anything of it but it turns out I had an infection in the cut causing cellulitis. I was out on antibiotics that were unsuccessful in treating the infection.

Kristen and my mom told me to go to the ER so that we could get it under control, thinking I would be out the hospital next day. Turns out, the infection got worse and spread to my tendon and my ankle joint which caused me to…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA_8f5-M85A&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The UFC 265 weigh-ins were largely uneventful, but there was still some drama before the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view to crown an interim heavyweight champion. Twenty-five fighters on the card officially made weight, with Manel Kape the lone exception. Kape came in at 129 pounds for his flyweight bout against Ode Osbourne. There was little concern for the main eventers, but Derrick Lewis did come in just half a pound under the 265-pound championship limit. "The Black Beast" will be the far bigger man on fight night, as he was 17.5 pounds heavier than Ciryl Gane prior to rehydrating.

A fan favorite inside the Octagon, Lewis (25-7, 1 NC) is known for delivering shocking knockouts. He most recently demolished Alexey Oleynik and Curtis Blaydes…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DoKwXfPnJU&w=560&h=315] Former Bellator MMA featherweight king Patricio Freire wants to run it back with A.J. McKee one day, but he is not in a rush to line it up.

Freire (23-5) and McKee (18-0) met at Bellator 263, for the finals of the featherweight grand prix with a championship, tournament belt and $1 million check on the line. In their meeting, McKee stunned “Pitbull” with a head kick, and finished him off with a guillotine choke in under two minutes. The Brazilian, after taking a few days off to spend time with his family, spoke to Ag. Fight on Thursday about his defeat and prospects going forward.

Freire was none too thrilled by the stoppage in that bout, when referee Mike Beltran intervened believing that “Pitbull” went limp from the choke. While Freire did ultimately congratulate McKee, crediting the younger fighter for his successes, he believes he was not given the full opportunity to get out of the perilous situatio…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Although Abusupiyan Magomedov did not earn a million dollars when competing for Professional Fighters League, he did work his way up to a Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. The Dagestan-born German Magomedov (24-4-1) announced on his Instagram on Friday that he has signed with the UFC. In the last five years, Magomedov has amassed a record of 11-1-1, and the lone defeat came in a PFL title fight. His opponent has not yet been announced, nor has his debut date, but he is expected to compete at middleweight.

“I am happy to announce that I have signed with the UFC,” Magomedov wrote. “A big thanks to my management for giving me this opportunity. I am looking forward to fighting with the best athletes in the world and I am excited to announce my first UFC Octagon appearance soon.”

“Abus” worked his way up the ranks with…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights with their eyes on the prize will come to blows in October. MMA Fighting first announced on Wednesday that Alexander Volkov (33-9) will be squaring off with Marcin Tybura (22-6) on UFC 267. This Oct. 30 card will likely be held inside the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tybura confirmed the pairing on his Instagram on Thursday.

Russia’s Volkov had a two-fight knockout victory streak crumble at the hands of Ciryl Gane in June, when he came up short and lost a unanimous decision. Before then, he put Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem away, both in the second round. “Drago” charged into the UFC and strung together a four-fight win streak, with a knockout of Fabricio Werdum to thrust him into a title eliminator with Derrick Lewis. Volkov celebrates a fi…

BREAKING

Fedor Emelianenko returns against No. ranked heavyweight @TBearTim in the #BellatorMoscow main event, Saturday, Oct. 23 at the VTB Arena

Tickets on sale NOW https://t.co/wh48J9HfEO pic.twitter.com/noLYPKWBED — BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 5, 2021 Recent Bellator MMA interim title challenger Timothy Johnson is the winner of the Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes.

On Thursday, Bellator announced that Emelianenko (39-6, 1 NC) now has an opponent for his headliner atop Bellator Moscow in October. The Oct. 23 show, which will be held inside the VTB Arena – barring any COVID-19 related concerns – will be capped off by a heavyweight battle between Emelianenko and Johnson (15-7). While this will be the final bout for “The Last Emperor” in his home country of Russia, he will reportedly take one more match to say goodbye to the sport.

The Pride Fighting Championships legend had multiple different foes suggested or offered for his f…

There has been a shakeup in the bracket for the Professional Fighters League welterweight playoffs.

Joao Zeferino has suffered an undisclosed injury and will not be able to face Magomed Magomedkerimov in a scheduled 170-pound semifinal bout on Aug. 13. As a result, Sadibou Sy will step in as an alternate and square off against Magomedkerimov.

Sy went 1-0 with one no contest during the 2021 PFL season. Most recently, the 34-year-old Pancrase Gym Sweden representative earned a unanimous decision over Alexey Kunchenko on June 17.

There have been several changes to the preliminary portion of the PFL Playoff 1 card, as well. With Sy moving into the playoffs, Gleison Tibau will now face Curtis Millender in a welterweight contest. Additionally, Darrell Horcher will step in for Natan Schulte and meet Olivier Aubin-Mercier at lightweight, while Tyler Hill will replace Nikolay Aleksahkin and lock horns with Brett Cooper at welterweight.

Finally, a lightweight clash pitting…

Luke Rockhold will make his return from a lengthy hiatus against Sean Strickland in a middleweight bout at UFC 268.

UFC broadcast partner ESPN confirmed the booking following an initial report from TSN. Both Rockhold and Strickland have verbally agreed to the bout. UFC 268 is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 and is headlined by a welterweight championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Rockhold will fight for the first time since a move to 205 pound resulted in a second-round knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 on July 6, 2019. The 36-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product is a former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion but has lost three of his last four appearances. Rockhold owns notable wins over the likes of Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping, Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy and Keith Jardine.

Strickland, meanwhile, is coming off a decisive five-round victory over Uriah Hall in…

Chad Mendes is returning to combat sports, but his next fight won’t be inside the Octagon.

The former UFC title challenger revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience” that he has signed a multi-fight contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Mendes is expected to compete at 155 pounds and has targeted Chandler, Ariz., on Oct. 22 for his BKFC debut.

“I just signed a big contract – I’m coming back to fighting,” Mendes told Rogan. “But I’m not coming back to MMA. … I’m coming back to boxing. I want to try something different. I think we’re going to throw some bareknuckle in there, bro – just mix it up and get real crazy. This is something that’s kind of been in the works for probably a year now.”

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, the contract is “the most lucrative deal” of Mendes’ fighting career. The Team Alpha Male product had existing fights on his UFC contract but was granted his release by the Las Vegas-based promotion to sign with BKFC.

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