Martial Arts News

HE BROKE HIS ARM@AndreMunizUFC submits Jacare Souza in Round 1!! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/dH6tn41xhZ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) May 16, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Andre Muniz won’t soon forget his third Ultimate Fighting Championship triumph.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum scored the most significant victory of his career to date at UFC 262, submitting eight-time world jiu-jitsu champion Ronaldo Souza in the opening round of their middleweight clash at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. Muniz (21-4, 3-0 UFC) locked in an armbar 3:59 into Round 1, with an audible snap bringing an immediate end to the contest. Muniz has won his last seven professional bouts.

Souza, who is mired in a four-fight losing streak, was submitted for the first time in his 37-bout professional tenure.

“I’m a fan…

One Championship has crowned its second ever heavyweight king.

The main event of the tape-delayed event One Championship “Dangal” saw former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound and heavyweight contender Brandon Vera (16-9 1NC) put his title on the line against fellow UFC vet Arjan Singh Bhullar (11-1). “The Truth” approached the battle with a cautious gameplan as he kept scoring with his jab and switching stances, as to not to offer any window for Bhullar to showcase his wrestling skills. The Canadian fighter was satisfied with keeping the center of the cage and throwing his jab early. Shortly after the midpoint of the first frame, Bhullar faked a punch before duping his opponent into a successful takedown that led to the Canadian fighter keeping the top position for the rest of the frame, completely unconcerned and unthreatened by Vera’s kimura attempts from the bottom.

The defending champion looked quite fatigued entering into the second stanza. Bhullar made the…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilD7VdIGNl8&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A new Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion will be crowned after the unstoppable Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped away from the sport last year. Headlining UFC 262 is a vacant 155-pound title fight between the streaking Charles Oliveira and former Bellator MMA king Michael Chandler. The UFC's latest pay-per-view card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. All but one fighter made weight, although the "hoop" to cover fighters was needed multiple times.

Having won eight straight fights, Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) is finally living up to his potential. "Do Bronx" most recently bested Tony Ferguson via decision, but had finished all seven of his prior opponents. Along the way, he tapped out names like Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Clay Guida. The 31-year-old…

.@TheJawaiian vs. @DanielSwainMMA is now up next in the main event of #LFA107!@ShellsDotCom@Drink9mm@KoiCBD@GLCDirect2000@SanfordPentagon@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/0hqkflHfj6

— LFA (@LFAfighting) May 15, 2021 Lightweights Kamuela Kirk and Daniel Swain went to battle in the LFA 107 main event, but only one of them wanted to go three rounds inside the Legacy Fighting Alliance Octagon.

A wild first round saw Kirk (11-4) hurt Swain (20-11-1) with punches and land some damaging knees. Swain would lock in an armbar, but Kirk would slam his way out of the submission. The second round saw Swain once again look for an armbar but a few slams forced the grappler to let go, and "The Jawaiian" ended the frame in mount. In between rounds, Swain decided not to continue and said that he's retired giving Kirk a TKO victory via retirement. After the bout, Kirk expressed a desire to go to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ricardo Dias scored a knockou…

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. For one Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender, a four-fight win streak is about to come to an end. Per ESPN on Friday, the promotion is putting together a 185-pound scrap between Uriah Hall (17-9) and Sean Strickland (23-3) for UFC 265. The event, which does not currently have a venue set although it may be held in an arena and not the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, will go down on Aug. 7.

Hall is currently riding his longest win streak since beginning his career at 4-0, with knockouts of Bevon Lewis and Anderson Silva along the way. In his last time out, Hall rematched Chris Weidman in April. In just 17 seconds, Hall checked a leg kick that broke Weidman’s leg, thereby awarding Hall the TKO win without ever throwing a single strike. Hall’s career finish rate sits at 82 percent after this run.

Strickland also finds h…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JqREYwK2g&w=640&h=360] Two fighters failed to make weight for the Legacy Fighting Alliance's first card of May.

Headlining LFA 107 is a lightweight bout between Kamuela Kirk and Daniel Swain. The main eventers had no trouble making weight, showing their professionalism on the scales. However, Samarbek Sabyrzhan and L.J. Smith Portee both failed to make their contracted weights. Despite each coming in 1.6 pounds heavy, their respective fights are still on.

An LFA mainstay, Kirk (10-4) is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Guilherme Santos. This was a bounce-back win for "The Jawaiian," who dropped a decision to Bruno Souza in his last bout and lost via TKO to Billy Quarantillo prior to that. Kirk stepped on the scale at 155.8 pounds.

Despite having 31 professional fights, this is the first time that Swain (20-10-1) has stepped into the LFA cage. "Agent Orange" is coming off a loss to T.J. Laramie, but had won four of hi…

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Julio Arce is hoping that a move down to 135 pounds will provide the spark he needs to move up the ranks. At an unnamed UFC Fight Night card on July 24, Arce (16-4) is planning on dropping to bantamweight to take on Andre Ewell (17-7). The news was first reported by MMA Fighting on Thursday. Arce later confirmed the pairing on his Instagram.

Arce surged into the UFC with a drubbing of Peter Petties on the first season of Dana White's Contender Series, and the New Yorker amassed a win streak of seven before meeting Sheymon Moraes in 2018. At UFC 230, Arce suffered a split decision loss, although he rebounded by head kicking Julian Erosa seven months later. Another split decision setback, this time to Hakeem Dawodu in November 2019, left him at a crossroads. A February matchup with T…

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. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight grapplers with equal 92 percent finish rates will toe the line in June. Seventeen years will separate Alexey Oleynik (59-15-1) and Sergey Spivak (12-2) when they meet at UFC on ESPN 25 on June 19, per a report from Russian outlet Vetnik MMA on Thursday. Spivak has since confirmed the heavyweight pairing on his Instagram, with the two meeting at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The 43-year-old Oleynik is currently on a two-fight knockout loss skid, with Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus both putting him away with punches. Against Lewis, Oleynik very nearly had “The Black Beast” finished with a scarf hold, but Lewis survived and blasted him in the next round. The Russian submission magician sports an incredible 46 wins by submission over the years, as one of the very few MMA fighters in histor…

#2021PFL4 Featherweight and Lightweight matchups are OFFICIAL! pic.twitter.com/bFNqftIOZh

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 13, 2021 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. Even though Anthony Pettis lost his first Professional Fighters League fight, the promotion is placing him higher on his next card than the man that beat him. On Thursday, the PFL released its lineup for PFL 4: 2021 Regular Season, which takes place at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on June 10. Ten fights throughout the featherweight and lightweight divisions have been matched for this event, plus the previously announced women’s lightweight non-tournament battle between Claressa Shields (0-0) and Brittney Elkin (3-6) which will be high on the main card and possibly even the headliner. The tournament main event comes at lightweight, as Anthony Pettis (24-11) takes on…

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. The time may soon come where Ultimate Fighting Championship announcer Bruce Buffer has to say the words “Huggy Bear” at an event. A report from Fight Bananas came out on Thursday stating that Ben Rothwell (38-13) has a new opponent. Rothwell, once booked against Philipe Lins and then later Askar Mozharov, will now be meeting UFC newcomer Chris Barnett (21-6) at UFC Fight Night 188. Ukraine’s Mozharov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues. The news of this heavyweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Barnett, a frequent super heavyweight, has bounced around promotions like Road FC and Island Fights over the years. The man known as “Huggy Bear,” and more recently as “Beastboy,” is riding a six-fight win streak with four knockouts into his signing. His level of competition throu…

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite Jeremy Stephens is getting a new opponent for his return to lightweight. On Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) is still planning a trip back to 155 pounds, but it will not be against the previously planned Drakkar Klose any longer. Instead, Stephens will greet Mateusz Gamrot (18-1, 1 NC) inside the Octagon on July 17. The UFC Fight Night card on that date does not yet have a location or venue set, although it is expected to take place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to the pandemic still raging on. Gamrot has since confirmed the news of this booking on his Instagram.

Stephens was booked against Klose at UFC on ESPN 22 in April, but a weigh-in altercation where Stephens grabbed Klose’s neck, inflicting damage on Klose and forced the latter out of the fight. Kl…

A middleweight clash of contenders pitting Darren Till against Derek Brunson has nearly been finalized for the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship offering on Aug. 14.

ESPN initially brought word of the matchup. The booking is contingent upon Till recovering from a broken collarbone which forced him out of a proposed showdown with Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10. The location for the UFC Fight Night event has yet to be announced.

Till has lost three of his last four promotional apppearances. In his last outing, the Liverpool native fell to 1-1 at 185 pounds following a five-round defeat to Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner.

The 37-year-old Brunson is enjoying yet another resurgence thanks to a four-fight winning streak that dates back to May 2019. His last two appearances have been arguably the most impressive, as he has upended middleweight prospects Edmen Shahbazyan and Kevin Holland in consecutive fights.