Martial Arts News

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Fabricio Werdum will begin his quest to add a Professional Fighters League championship belt to his trophy case on Thursday night.

The Brazilian heavyweight veteran made weight without issue ahead of the promotion’s third regular season event, as he tipped the scales at 241.4 pounds. His opponent, Renan Ferreira, also hit his contracted mark at 252 pounds.

There was one change to the card, however, as Muhammed DeReese (257.6) replaced Justin Willis and will face Denis Goltsov (240.4) in a heavyweight contest.

PFL 3 takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., and features heavyweights and women’s lightweights. The main card airs on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Prelims begin on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT and then move to ESPN/ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A former UFC champion, Werdum last competed at UFC on ESPN 14 in July 2020, when he submitted former Alexander Gustafs…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Coming off a technical knockout win over Amanda Ribas, Marina Rodriguez will headline UFC on ESPN 24 against Michelle Waterson on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Rodriguez revealed that she was the one who requested that the fight with Waterson be contested at flyweight. Both Rodriguez and Waterson normally compete at 115 pounds.

“Actually we were negotiating that fight for July in our division,” Rodriguez said. “When they [the UFC] called 11 days before the event, we explained that the process to reach the weight on time would certainly compromise my performance, so we proposed to make at flyweight and they accepted.

“Actually, it ended up being great for both sides. Once the UFC recognized my effort in helping them save the event, they renewed my contract with better terms.”

However, Rodriguez has no interest in competing in the flyweight division after Saturday’s bout.

“Let´s say it will …

Burt Watson is back in business with a major mixed martial arts promotion.

The former UFC site coordinator has been hired by Bellator MMA to fill a similar position on a temporary basis. The position could become permanent if Watson proves to be a good fit with the California-based organization. Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

“I’m at Mohegan Sun, but I’m not here to have fun, baby” Watson says in a post on his Instagram account. “I’m here to work. Bellator MMA, baby. All night long.”

Affectionately known as “The Babysitter to the Stars,” Watson spent 14 years with the UFC. In addition to motivating fighters with his popular catchphrases, Watson handled tasks such as fighter ticket allotment, weight-cutting, transportation, workout space and issuing equipment.

He parted ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2015 after UFC 184, claiming that he was “approached wrong” and his “i…

UFC middleweight Oskar Piechota has accepted a 22-month suspension from USADA after an anti-doping violation.

USADA announced the sanction in a statement on Wednesday:

Piechota, 31, tested positive for growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2 or pralmorelin) and GHRP-2 (1-3) free acid, a metabolite of GHRP-2, as the result of a urine sample collected on September 25, 2020. GHRP-2 is a Specified Substance in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.

Piechota received a reduction to the default two-year sanction based on his Full and Complete Cooperation. His 22-month period of ineligibility began on September 25, 2020, the date his positive sample was collected.

Piechota won’t be eligible to return to active competition until July 2022. The 31-year-old Pole is winless in his last four UFC appearances. Most recently, a technical kno…

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Diego Sanchez is worried that his willingness to air grievances with the UFC could come back to haunt him.

“The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner was supposed to face Donald Cerrone in the UFC on ESPN 24 co-main event, but was released from the promotion last week after trainer and manager Joshua Fabia requested Sanchez’s medical records, which led to concern from the organization regarding the fighter’s health.

Sanchez later posted a few videos on his Instagram account showing Fabia involved in arguments with the UFC commentary team, with the coach accusing the broadcast booth of casting Sanchez in an unfavorable light.

Sanchez gave a lenghty interview on Sirius XM’s “MMA Today” in which he expressed concern about how the UFC might react to his comments regarding how the Las Vegas-based promotion treats fighters upon being released.

“I’m going to tell you guys frankly, right now, I’m fearful for my…

A women’s bantamweight clash pitting Irene Aldana against Yana Kunitskaya has been added to the UFC 264 lineup.

ESPN Deportes was first to report the booking. UFC 264 takes place on July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

Aldana last appeared at UFC on ESPN 16, where she suffered a five-round decision loss to Holly Holm in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 3. Prior to that defeat, the Lobo Gym MMA product had been victorious in five of her previous six Octagon appearances.

Kunitskaya enters the matchup have won four of her last five outings within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 31-year-old Russian outpointed Ketlen Vieira at UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20.

Right move by FL Commission. They took a close look at the science behind THC excretion and saw it has little to no correlation to being impaired. Hopefully other commissions will follow FL’s lead and the recommendation of ABC Medical Committee. https://t.co/TKneEfN9Rt

— Jeff Novitzky (@JeffNovitzkyUFC) May 4, 2021

Combat sports athletes competing in Florida will no longer be tested for marijuana.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the Florida Boxing Commission voted to remove marijuana from its prohibited substance list. In the past, the commission adopted a zero-tolerance policy on cannabis, and fighters who tested positive would be fined, suspended and have victories overturned.

The update in policy was based on a recommendation from the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) medical advisory committee as well as a change in stance on marijuana by USADA to the UFC’s anti-doping policy. The commission will only take action in the instance that an…

Two bouts have been announced for an upcoming UFC card on June 5, as Tom Breese will face Antonio Arroyo at middleweight, while Makwan Amirkhani will meet Nate Landwehr at featherweight.

The promotion confirmed the pairings via social media on Tuesday. The event is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai, but a location has not been revealed.

Breese has alternated wins and losses in his last six Octagon appearances and is coming off a submission defeat at the hands of Omari Akhmedov at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20. After a pair of victories on Dana White’s Contender Series, Arroyo has dropped back-to-back decisions to Andre Muniz and Deron Winn in his first two promotional outings.

Amirkhani has lost two of his last three bouts, including a unanimous decision defeat against Edson Barboza in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 179 this past October. Landwehr, a former M-1 Global champion, is 1-2 in his first two UFC appearances…

A previously rumored flyweight clash between Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez is now official as the main event for UFC on ESPN 24.

The Las Vegas-based promotion formally announced the bout on Tuesday. The fight will be five rounds like a normal UFC main event, but both Waterson and Rodriguez will be competing a division above their normal weight class. The card lost its originally scheduled headliner between T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen when Dillashaw was forced to pull out of the contest after suffering a cut in training.

UFC on ESPN 24 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will see Donald Cerrone square off against Alex Morono in the evening’s co-headliner. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT following prelims on ESPN+ at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Waterson is coming off a previous appearance in which her fight was elevated to main-event status on short notice. In that bout, “The Karate Hottie” halted a two-bou…

Damn 2 seconds left #Bellator255 pic.twitter.com/Zk1NBRPwkQ

— Pucc0 (@ppucc0) April 2, 2021

Three weeks after submitting Jonathan Wilson in his Bellator debut, Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros agreed to replace Yoel Romero in the first round of the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix.

Once the decision to step in and face Anthony Johnson at Bellator 258 was finalized, Azevedo found immediate support from master and teammate Patricio Freire.

“We see ‘Gugu’ as a better striker than Anthony Johnson,” said the Bellator two-division champion. “Johnson is a very experienced and dangerous fighter but is coming from four years of inactivity. ‘Gugu’ is in a great place, that's why, even being aware that it's a huge challenge to our athlete, we accepted that fight right away.”

Azevedo, meanwhile, was thrilled to get the opportunity to face an opponent he has admired.

“Three years ago, I was dreaming of being hired by a great organizati…

Dominick Reyes has broken his silence following a knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka in the UFC on ESPN 23 headliner.

The former light heavyweight title challenger suffered his third consecutive defeat on Saturday night, falling victim to a spinning back elbow from Prochazka 4:29 into Round 2 of their clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas this past Saturday. “The Devastator” released a statement regarding the bout via Instagram late Monday evening.

“Finally home and surrounded by those I love, I’d like to say, I went out there and fought with all my heart,” Reyes wrote. “I put it all out there and I’m glad it was entertaining for most of you. I’m happy and upset as you can imagine as I didn’t get the desired outcome. But I went out and fought and for that I can say I’m proud.

“I love this game and at times it does not love me back but that’s what we have all signed up for. I want to say I’m doing good healing up I’ll be OK. And congrats to [Prochazka]. Hell of a fight…

ITS FINALLY HERE!

Volume 2 of the @ufcpi journal can be downloaded here:

https://ufc-pi.we https://t.co/qWXsLXC13t

Link in bio https://t.co/tsQdu33dQl

— UFC PI (@UFCPI) May 4, 2021

The UFC Performance Institute has taken a deep dive into mixed martial arts with a 484-page study of the sport.

The digital journal, which is entitled, "A Cross-Sectional Performance Analysis and Projection of the UFC Athlete,” is the second volume of its kind and includes data and insights collected by the UFC PI over the course of the last four years of working with hundreds of fighters. The journal is designed as a resource to help athletes “in all aspects of their health, well-being, and performance.”

The journal is “part analytics and part educational” and is divided into the following five sections, per a release:

PART I - Strategy & Goal Setting-Contains comprehensive data from competition analysis; injury audit data; performan…