Martial Arts News

A lightweight showdown between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose that was scheduled to co-headline UFC on ESPN 22 will have to go down another day.

At the top of Saturday’s broadcast, the promotion announced that the fight had been scrapped due to Klose suffering an undisclosed injury. As a result, UFC on ESPN 22 will proceed with 10 bouts, and Andrei Arlovski vs. Chase Sherman will serve as the new co-main event.

Shortly thereafter, Klose released a statement revealing that he felt his hand go numb and neck tighten up after being pushed by Stephens during a staredown at weigh-ins on Friday. On Saturday, he was hindered by a migraine and vomiting, so the UFC medical staff elected to remove Klose from the event.

pic.twitter.com/QoI9TOTe3f

— Drakkar Klose (@drakkarklose) April 17, 2021

According to the UFC, Klose vs. Stephens will be rebooked as soon as possible.

Klose last appeared at UFC 248, where he had a three-bout winning…

A welterweight clash pitting Santiago Ponzinibbio against Miguel Baeza is set for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on June 5.

Combate was first to report the booking. A location and headliner for the event have yet to be announced.

After being sidelined for more than two years, Ponzinibbio returned to the Octagon at UFC on ABC 1, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Jingliang Li on Jan. 16. Prior to that defeat, the 34-year-old Argentina native authored a seven-bout winning streak in the Octagon that included victories over the likes of Neil Magny, Mike Perry and Gunnar Nelson.

Baez has the look of a rising star after beginning his professional tenure with 10 straight victories — including three in the UFC. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has finished all three of his adversaries in the Octagon and is coming off a second-round submission of Takashi Sato in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 18.

Vadim Nemkov still wears the target on his back and does so proudly.

The Fedor Emelianenko protégé retained his undisputed 205-pound title and advanced to the semifinals of the Bellator MMA light heavyweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over Phil Davis in the Bellator 257 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. All three judges scored it the same: 48-47 for Nemkov (13-2, 6-0 Bellator), who improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with Mr. Wonderful.

Davis (22-6, 9-3 Bellator) struggled to get in gear, and the slow start did him no favors. Nemkov built a commanding lead on the strength of a crisp jab, well-timed punching combinations and occasional kicks to the lower leg. Davis had his moments—he cut the Russian near his left eye with an overhand right in the second round and enjoyed some success in the clinch—but failed to give the champion true pause.

Nemkov will carry an eight-fight winning streak into the tournament semifi…

Longtime Bellator MMA matchmaker Rich Chou will be parting ways with the promotion to serve as an executive with Wimp 2 Warrior, a grassroots training program that works to increase the participation level in MMA.

Chou will officially serve as North American vice president for the organization. W2W is co-founded by CEO Nick Langton and SBG Ireland leader John Kavanagh, who oversees the European branch and the program’s training curriculum.

“Chou will be focused on rapidly expand W2W’s presence across the U.S. and Canada,” stated a release. “Working in concert with Kavanagh and Langton, Chou will accelerate the growth of W2W’s licensee gyms through high profile partnerships with brand name MMA academies and gyms, creating the staging grounds for an immersive 100 class, 20 week fight camp that takes participants on a transformative mind, body and soul experience through the world of martial arts.”

According to a separate release from Bellator, Chou will serve as a consu…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWlU9yy6S0I&w=560&h=315]

Anthem Sports and Entertainment has acquired Invicta Fighting Championships, and that means a new broadcast home for the all-female promotion.

The media company, which owns properties such as AXS TV, Fight Network and IMPACT Wrestling, recently announced the news in a release. After several years streaming on UFC Fight Pass, Invicta events moving forward will air on AXS TV in the United States and Fight Network in Canada. Meanwhile, Invicta FC founder Shannon Knapp will join Anthem’s executive team as a senior member of Sports Media Group and will continue her role running the organization.

“This is a huge moment for Invicta and for women in the sport,” Knapp said in a release. “Invicta FC was founded to give female mixed martial artists a platform where they could compete and prove the doubters wrong. Now, as part of the Anthem portfolio and with shows on national television for the first time, Invicta’…

Douglas Lima will defend his welterweight crown against Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 260 on June 11.

The California-based promotion announced the pairing on Friday. Bellator 260 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and will also see Tywan Claxton face Justin Gonzales at featherweight and Nick Newell meet Bobby King at lightweight. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

After defeating Rory MacDonald in a five-round decision to regain the 170-pound belt in the finals of the welterweight grand prix at Bellator 232, Lima attempted to become a two-division champion last year. His move to middleweight didn’t go so well, as he dropped a five-round verdict to champion Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 250 this past October.

“I’m pumped to get back in the cage and show everyone why I’m the most-feared welterweight in…

Who takes the W home? #LFA104 pic.twitter.com/nkkwwf0iMH

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 17, 2021 Aaron McKenzie proved that he's one to watch in the Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight division.

The main event of LFA 104 saw McKenzie (10-2-1) get tested by Brandon Phillips. After a close first round, Phillips (6-4) began hurting McKenzie with body shots and slick striking. However, McKenzie came on strong in Round 3 with an aggressive strategy, and he was able to hurt Phillips with an onslaught of punches. The clutch Round 3 performance was enough for McKenzie to take home a decision victory, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

The night's co-main event saw flyweights Donavon Frelow and Yuma Horiuchi looking to each snap their respective losing streaks. In the end, it was Horiuchi (8-3) that got back into the win column. After losing a point for grabbing the cage, Horiuchi was able to lock in a tight armb…

Sherdog's live Bellator 257 coverage kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result Light Heavyweight Title Fight and WGP Quarterfinal Bout:Vadim Nemkov (204.5) vs. Phil Davis (205) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

“The Underground King” was hoping for a quick turnaround, and he’s getting one.

Eddie Alvarez (30-8 1NC, 1-2 One) has a scheduled fight before the end of the month. On Friday morning, One Champi-onship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced to the South China Morning Post that Alvarez would be com-peting on the upcoming One on TNT 4 card. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA 155-pound titleholder will face the winner of the Marat Garufov-Rae Yoon Ok clash, which has already been taped, but will air on the One on TNT 3 event next Wednesday.

In his latest cage appearance, Alvarez was disqualified after landing several illegal shots on the back of the head of Iuri Lapicus (15-1, 3-1 One) at One on TNT 1. Save for his submission victory over Eduard Folayang at One: Dawn of Heroes, “The Underground King” has recorded three defeats in his latest four outcomes. Besides the disqualification with Lapicus, Alvarez has also been stopped by Dustin Poirier in his…

"The Strabanimal" won't be competing on the upcoming Bellator 258 card after all.

On Friday afternoon, news broke that James Gallagher has been forced to pull out of his scheduled 135-pound clash against Patrick Mix at Bellator 258. MMA Junkie reported first the news that several media outlets then confirmed. The promotion is looking for a short-notice replacement to keep Mix on the card. In the meantime, the Patricky Freire-Peter Queally lightweight clash has been promoted to the main card.

Gallagher (11-1, 8-1 Bellator) is riding a four-bout winning streak after losing to Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August 2018. In his latest cage appearance, the 24-year-old SBG Ireland representative submitted Callum Ellenor via rear-naked choke in the opening frame of their Bellator Milan encounter.

Mix (13-1, 2-1 Bellator) fell short of capturing the vacant divisional championship when he met Juan Archuleta at Bellator 246 last September. That night, "Patchy" also s…

The Lioness will make her return to the bantamweight division in August. Per Dana White (@danawhite), Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) will defend her 135-pound title against Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) at UFC 265. pic.twitter.com/tWLmW2Exmt

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 15, 2021 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. Callouts will get you far in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the COVID-19 era. Per ESPN on Thursday, Amanda Nunes (21-4) has her next title defense lined up, for her first appearance at 135 pounds since 2019. At bantamweight, she will defend her strap against Julianna Pena (10-4) at UFC 265 on Aug. 7. Pena called out Nunes after Pena’s previously scheduled match with Holly Holm fell through. On a one-fight win streak, Pena will get a crack at gold.

Nunes has looked nothing short of unbeatable on her current, hi…

The Reaper returns!

@RobWhittakerMMA checks in for #UFCVegas24. pic.twitter.com/iVWvCvRk0W

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2021 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. A middleweight clash with potential title implications is set after the UFC on ESPN 22 weigh-ins took place, but the story coming out of it was Zarah Fairn dos Santos' enormous weight miss.

Saturday’s card is headlined by former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Robert Whittaker taking on former top contender Kelvin Gastelum. Both main event fighters had zero issues making weight, although the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the card. Fairn dos Santos didn't even make featherweight for her 139-pound catchweight bout against Josiane Nunes as she came in at 147 pounds, and the bout has been canceled as a result. Tracy Cortez also had weight management iss…