Martial Arts News

Originally booked against Alexey Kunchenko for his Professional Fighters League debut, Gleison Tibau will now face countryman Joao Zeferino on Thursday at the promotion’s second regular season event at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

Zeferino was supposed to face Magomed Magomedkerivmov at PFL 2, but his opponent withdrew from the card as well.

“My opponent had visa problems, while Zeferino’s had issues with medical exams, so the organization decided to put me against João,” Tibau told Sherdog.com.

According to Tibau, he and Zeferino were using the same backstage area of the venue for their sparring when the organization announced the new matchup on Sunday.

“Of course we would rather fight Russians, but we are professionals. That´s our job,” said the 37-year-old Tibau.

Tibau will make his PFL debut at welterweight after competing for years at 155 pounds.

“I´m feeling much better in that division. God knows how hard it was for me to r…

T.J. Dillashaw’s long-awaited Octagon will have to wait, as a cut suffered in training has forced him to withdraw from a UFC on ESPN 24 headlining bout against Cory Sandhagen.

Dillashaw confirmed his exit on social media following an intial report on Twitter from C. Contreras Legaspi. Dillashaw vs. Sandhagen is expected to be booked at a later date.

“I’m sad to say that I have to be pulled from my fight on May 8 due to a cut received from a headbutt while drilling,” Dillashaw wrote. “Rescheduling the fight as soon as possible.”

According to a report from ESPN, the promotion is targeting a strawweight clash between Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez for the new UFC on ESPN 24 headliner. That booking has not been finalized, however.

Dillashaw has been sidelined since January 2019 after serving a two-year USADA suspension for a positive EPO test. The former bantamweight champion last appeared at UFC Fight Night 143, where his bid to capture flyweight g…

Regardless of what the future holds for his combat sports career, Conor McGregor is doing quite well financially.

McGregor and his partners, agent Audie Attar and Ken Austin, recently sold their majority share in Proper No. Twelve whiskey to Proximo Spirits for $600 million. Proximo Spirits, which owns Jose Cuervo and other alcohol brands, previously owned a 49 percent stake in the company. Shanken News Daily first reported the sale.

All three founders — McGregor, Attar and Austin — will still have an interest in the brand and will maintain active roles within the company. The reported $600 million figure includes $250 million already earned during Proper No. Twelve’s first two years in business with Proximo. Last year, Proximo increased its stake from 20 percent to the aforementioned 49 percent. The company’s new stake in the brand was not revealed. Proper No. Twelve was founded in 2018 and has since been heavily promoted by McGregor.

“Since introducing this b…

Rachael Ostovich is the latest former UFC talent to sign with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

The promotion announced the signing on Tuesday. According to a release, Ostovich is expected to make her BKFC debut in July. MMAFighting.com is reporting that Paige VanZant has been targeted as her opponent.

"We always are looking to sign fighters that can move the needle and fight, and that is exactly what Rachael brings to the table,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said. “I am looking forward to her debut in July. I know she is training hard and working on her boxing every day and we expect very big things from Rachael.”

Ostovich, 30, went 3-2 with Invicta FC before appearing on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” She defeated Karine Gevorgyan in her Octagon debut at the “TUF 26” finale before dropping her next three promotional appearances — including a submission loss to VanZant in January 2019. Ostovich parted ways with the UFC after a knockout loss to Gina Ma…

HE ONLY NEEDED ONE ARM @TouchNgo_

Stream #UFC261 on ESPN+ https://t.co/11j8ptNbRf pic.twitter.com/azQV4WvYwo

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 25, 2021 The preliminary card for UFC 261 attracted an average audience of 951,000 to ESPN this past Saturday, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That ranks as the third-best figure for a pay-per-view preliminary card in 2021 behind UFC 259 (1.208 million) and UFC 257 (1.433 million). The UFC 261 prelims were also No. 1 on cable in the 18-to-49 demographic with a 0.36 share.

The four-bout card aired on ESPN from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and served as a lead-in for the UFC 261 pay-per-view, which was highlighted by a trio of title fights at the top of the card – including a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The evening’s featured prelim saw Randy Brown submit Alex Oliveira with a rear-naked choke 2:50 into the opening round of their welterweight clash.

Meanwhile, the early prelims drew…

Raphael Assuncao will lock horns with Kyler Phillips in a bantamweight pairing at UFC Fight Night on July 24.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an announcement by Phillips on social media. The event takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is also expected to include a women’s bantamweight showdown pitting Aspen Ladd against Macy Chiasson.

Assuncao will look to snap a three-bout losing streak after falling to Cody Garbrandt, Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Moraes in his last three Octagon appearances. Assuncao was supposed to face Raoni Barcelos on Feb. 27 but withdrew from the card due to a positive COVID-19 test. The 38-year-old Brazilian has not competed since suffering a second-round KO loss to Garbrandt at UFC 250 in June 2020.

Phillips, meanwhile, enters the matchup on a four-bout winning streak that includes a trio of triumphs in UFC competition. Most recently, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum outpointed Yadong Song at UFC 259 …

Chris Weidman is on the road to recovery.

The former middleweight champion shared X-ray photos from the gruesome broken leg he suffered after landing a leg kick against Uriah Hall in the opening seconds of their UFC 261 bout at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday.

Weidman underwent a successful procedure to repair the injury on Sunday and will return home on Tuesday after spending a few days in the hospital.

“Before and after X-rays of this nightmare. Special thanks to Dr. Gitlin for performing a successful surgery and being so helpful during the entire process. Also, a big thank you to Dr. Davidson from the [UFC] for making sure I was taken care of properly and speaking to these doctors on my behalf,” Weidman wrote on Instagram. “It made me feel so much better having him involved because I know he had my back. The primary concern is the bone punctured through my calf and skin when I put my weight on it, making sure the laceration d…

Conor McGregor has made a sizable donation to a Louisiana-based organization, but it isn’t Dustin Poirier’s charity.

The former UFC two-division champion recently donated $500,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana in Lafayette, La. TMZ Sports first reported McGregor’s donation.

“Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana received an unexpected call last week and are humbled to share that Conor McGregor is donating $500,000 to impact youth in South Louisiana by supporting our upcoming 2021 Summer Camp and ongoing health and recreation activities in our 6 Club sites,” read a statement on the organization’s Facebook page. “This investment is a gamechanger! Thank you, Conor, for helping to ensure that our kids have what they need to grow and thrive this summer!”

McGregor and Poirier recently had a Twitter dispute regarding the Irish star’s failure to follow through on a promised $500,000 donation to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation. Poirier later apologized for pub…

The lineup for the UFC 263 pay-per-view card is now official.

The promotion announced the five-bout lineup during the UFC 261 broadcast on Saturday night, formally confirming that two title bouts — Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori at middleweight and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno at flyweight — will occupy the top of the bill. A previously reported matchup pitting Demian Maia against Belal Muhammad was also announced.

Two other bouts were also made official for the main card: Paul Craig vs Jamahal Hill at light heavyweight and Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell at lightweight. UFC 263 takes place on June 12 but does not currently have a location or venue.

Craig vs. Hill was initially slated for the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 21, but was scrapped after Hill tested positive for COVID-19. Craig is unbeaten in his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Mauricio Rua at UFC 255. All six of the Scot’s UFC victories have come in…

Jon Jones is no longer under the umbrella of First Round Management, the team which has represented the former light heavyweight champion for the majority of his UFC career.

The Florida-based management group, headed by Malki Kawa and Abe Kawa, announced the news via Twitter on Monday.

“After an 11-year journey as [Jon Jones’] management team, First Round Management and Bones have amicably decided to part ways,” the statement read. “We are proud of him and the work we’ve done. We wish him the best going forward.”

After an 11 year journey as @JonnyBones management team, First Round Management and Bones have amicably decided to part ways. We are proud of him and the work we’ve done. We wish him the best going forward.

— FirstRoundMgmt (@FirstRoundMgmt) April 26, 2021

Jones later confirmed the news in a post on his Instagram account.

“It’s been an absolutely amazing journey,” Jones wrote. “Thank you so much for all the memories, a…

Asking about a potential Amanda Nunes trilogy fight has become something of a tradition following each Valentina Shevchenko title defense.

That is due in large part to Shevchenko’s dominance at 125 pounds, which continued at UFC 261 with a second-round TKO of former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. Shevchenko’s most difficult flyweight bout arguably came at UFC 231, when she claimed the vacant belt with a five-round verdict against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Since then, “Bullet” has rarely been tested.

Nunes has been similarly dominant at bantamweight and featherweight, but the last time she faced Shevchenko, “Lioness” won a narrow split decision in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 215 that many had going the other way. However, Nunes is now 2-0 against Shevchenko — she took a unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 196 — and Dana White currently doesn’t have much interest seeing them fight for a third time.

As it stands, there’s currently only one way White…

Yogibo presents #RIZIN28 and #RIZIN29 at the Tokyo Dome and Maruzen Intec Arena Hall respectively, Bantamweight Japan GP opening round confirms fight schedule, Yachi gets current SHOOTO Champion. https://t.co/YOvVSGXwSp

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 25, 2021

Rizin Fighting Federation’s upcoming event scheduled for the Tokyo Dome will take place a few weeks later than originally anticipated.

Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara recently announced that the card, which was originally slated for May 23, will now take place on June 13 in hopes of allowing more fans into the venue.

“The Japanese government has declared the state of emergency in four cities starting April 25 to May 9, which will significantly affect the May 23 Tokyo Dome event. Therefore we have decided to push back the event to June 13,” Sakakibara said. “MMA will be making its return after 18 years, and we want to put in as many spectators as possible for such a historic…