Martial Arts News

A matchup between lightweight prospects is in the works, as Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises are expected to square off in a three-round bout on July 17.

The UFC is close to finalizing the 155-pound contest, according to broadcast partner ESPN. A main event and location for the card have yet to be determined.

A teammate of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 29-year-old Dagestani submitted Drew Dober with an arm triangle in the third round of their UFC 259 clash on March 6.

Moises, meanwhile, is on a three-bout winning streak in the Octagon. After submitting Michael Johnson, the 26-year-old American Top Team representative has earned consecutive decision triumphs over Bobby Green and Alexander Hernandez.

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier will headline a UFC event on Aug. 21.

ESPN was first to report the middleweight booking, which is expected to be finalized soon. The location for the card has yet to be determined.

Costa hasn’t competed since suffering a second-round TKO loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight championship bout at UFC 253 last September. “Borrachinha” was slated to face Robert Whittaker on April 17 but was forced to pull out of the bout due to illness. The 30-year-old Brazilian was victorious in his first 13 pro outings before falling to Adesanya.

Cannonier was tabbed as a title contender in waiting following a trio of TKO victories against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. That momentum was derailed, however, in a decision defeat to Whittaker at UFC 254 in October.

The whiskey business has been quite lucrative for Conor McGregor.

The former UFC two-division champion checked in at No. 1 on Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes for 2021. McGregor’s ranking was due in large part to selling a majority stake of Proper No. Twelve for $150 million.

According to Forbes, McGregor earned a total of $180 million the past 12 months, and that includes $158 million outside of his fighting career. The Irish superstar joins Tiger Woods and Roger Federer as the only athletes to garner in excess of $70 million outside of their sport while still actively competing.

While whiskey was the main source of McGregor’s rise to the top of the list, he also secured endorsements with DraftKings, the video game Dystopia: Contest of Heroes and Roots of Fight. McGregor previously made the Forbes Top 10 in 2018 with $99 million in earnings following his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

McGregor, who ranked just ahead of soccer stars Lionel M…

A matchup of Brazilian light heavyweights has been targeted for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Sept. 25.

Former 205-pound title challenger Thiago Santos is expected to lock horns with Johnny Walker on the card, which hasn’t been official announced by the promotion. While verbal agreements are in place for the fight, contracts have not been signed. Combate was first to report the booking. The event doesn’t have an official location or headliner at this time.

Santos will look to end a three-bout losing streak when he squares off against Walker. After fallling to then champion Jon Jones in a competitive split decision at UFC 239, “Marreta” returned from multiple knee surgeries to drop back-to-back fights against Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. The 37-year-old Brazilian was victorious in eight of nine Octagon appearances from February 2017 to February 2019.

Walker, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round knockout of Ryan Spann at UFC…

Charles Oliveira’s coach is confident that his fighter will be able to finish Michael Chandler inside the distance at UFC 262.

Diego Lima, the leader of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo, spoke to Sherdog.com shortly after arriving in Houston for fight week along with Oliveira and Jorge Macaco. He said that preparations for the lightweight title bout have gone much smoother than they did for “Do Bronx’s” last Octagon appearance.

“Our last fight against [Tony] Ferguson was such a stressful atmosphere due to the short notice of one week,” Lima said. “Besides not having a normal camp, we had a pretty tough weight cut, plus [dealing with] all the visa and COVID-19 processes.

“This time, everything went perfectly. We tested negative in Sao Paulo and here in Houston. And, besides being very well trained, Charles just needs to cut 11 pounds by Friday.”

Lima revealed that the whole Chute Boxe team collaborated in helping Oliveira prepare for his title fight with Chandler.

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Have peace in the process and joy in the journey! @RoSimonJr @Fast7v7 @Deestroying @KevinLamarCole1 @vitorbelfort pic.twitter.com/d84AsY9mdT

— Davi Belfort (@DaviBelfort) March 7, 2021

Davi Belfort, the 16-year-old son of former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, has drawn the attention of several colleges thanks to his quarterbacking abilities.

“He followed me in the gym since he was very young. Certainly that routine helped him to fall in love with football, because I never forced him or my daughters to fight,” Belfort told Sherdog.com.

According to the elder Belfort, Davi drew interest ahead of schedule for his abilities on the gridiron. The quarterback prospect attends Cardinal Newman in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I was really impressed how focused he is and how he uses social media to make good connections to improve,” Vitor said. “Now, for example, he is training with (University of Alabama quarterback) Bryce Young in Costa Mesa. Bryce in…

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

Rizin Fighting Federation has once again shuffled its upcoming event schedule.

The Japanese promotion has postponed Rizin 29 from May 30 to June 13 in order to allow fan attendance at the event. Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced the news during a press conference.

“I have made the decision to postpone the event after consulting with the fighters, staff and organizers,” Sakakibara said. “Everyone was willing to adapt and put on the show for fans a month later.

“It has been nearly a year with reduced attendance, but the fans’ presence and support is what pushes the fighters to put on the best shows.”

Rizin 29 takes place at Maruzen Intech Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan and features four bouts in the opening round of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix. The latest postponement comes after the organization rescheduled Rizin 28, slated for the Tokyo Dome on May 23, to June 13 due to a “sta…

Paul Daley will square off against Jason Jackson in a 175-pound catchweight affair at Bellator 260.

Promotion officials announced the bout on Wednesday. Bellator 260 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on June 11 and is headlined by a welterweight title clash pitting Douglas Lima against Yaroslav Amosov. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Daley is riding the momentum of a three-bout winning streak within the California-based organization. Most recently, “Semtex” scored a second-round TKO of Sabah Homasi at Bellator 257 on April 16. The 38-year-old British fighter has also bested Saad Awad and Erick Silva during his current run and is 42-17-2 over the course of a pro tenure that began in 2003.

Jackson, meanwhile, has won five of six Bellator appearances. His last two outings have been his most significant, as he has earned back-to-back decision triumphs over Benson Henderson and Neiman Gracie. “The Ass Kicking Machine” is 14…

Credit: Getty/UFC

Maurice Greene’s time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship has apparently come to an end.

The heavyweight announced his release in a post on his Instagram account Tuesday. “The Crochet Boss” dropped a three-round verdict to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a featured bout at UFC on ESPN 24 this past Saturday. In that defeat, Greene surrendered three takedowns and 14:06 of control time to his Brazilian opponent.

“When one door closes another one opens. I have had ups and downs with the [UFC] and today that relationship comes to an end,” Greene wrote. “Look at the bright side: I’m still in the best shape of my life. I’m physically and mentally [strong] than ever and the next chapter I am excited for.

“This game is unforgiving, but hey, I’m down for the challenge of making my name with a new promotion or the road back. The best is yet to come.”

The 34-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA member begin his promotional tenure with three consecutive triumphs, …

It appears that the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will remain the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s home base for the time being.

The Nevada Athletic Commission approved events on June 5, June 19 and June 26 at the promotion’s own venue, which has been the setting for the vast majority of UFC bouts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The only other event scheduled for next month, UFC 263, takes place at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. on June 12. There are no audience restrictions in place for that card.

UFC Fight Night 189 takes place on June 5 and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai; UFC on ESPN 25 goes down on June 19 and is topped by a featherweight duel between Chang Sung Jung and Dan Ige and UFC Fight Night 190 on June 26 features a heavyweight matchup between Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane.

The promotion is hoping to have crowds return to Las Vegas for UFC 264 on July 10, which is headlined by a trilogy bout bet…

A flyweight scrap pitting Alexandre Pantoja against Brandon Royval has been targeted for a UFC event on Aug. 21.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the matchup. The event does not currently have a location or headliner.

Pantoja was successful in his first appearance of 2021, as he outpointed former Rizin bantamweight champ Manel Kape at UFC Fight Night 184 on Feb. 6. The Brazilian is 7-3 over the course of his Octagon tenure.

Royval, meanwhile, saw a four-bout professional winning streak come to an end in a first-round TKO defeat against current No. 1 contender Brandon Moreno at UFC 255. The former Legacy Fighting Alliance standout began his promotional tenure with submission wins over Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France.

Credit: Getty/UFC

The UFC 263 lineup has expanded to 15 bouts with the addition of two more matchups.

The promotion announced Tuesday that Eryk Anders will face Darren Stewart at light heavyweight, while Pannie Kianzad will square off against Alexis Davis at bantamweight. UFC 263 takes place on June 12 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., and is headlined by a middleweight title tilt pitting Israel Adesanya against Marvin Vettori. Fans will be allowed to attend the event at full capacity.

Anders vs. Stewart is a rematch of a UFC Fight Night 187 bout that ended prematurely when Anders landed an illegal knee against his opponent at the 4:37 mark of Round 1. While that bout was contested at middleweight, the rematch will take place at 185 pounds.

Kianzad enters the showdown with Davis on a three-fight winning streak with triumphs over Jessica-Rose Clark, Bethe Correia and Sijara Eubanks to her credit. A former bantamweight title challenger, Davis snapped a three…