Martial Arts News

Sage Northcutt will return to active competition for the first time since May 2019 when he locks horns with Shinya Aoki at One Championship’s April 28 event.

The bout will be contested in One’s lightweight division, which is 170 pounds. ESPN was first to report the booking. The card is the final of four consecutive events for the Singapore-based promotion that will air on cable network TNT from April 7 to April 28.

Northcutt hasn’t fought since suffering a 29-second knockout defeat in his One Championship debut against Cosmo Alexandre on May 17, 2019. As a result of that bout, Northcutt was forced to undergo a nine-hour surgical procedure to repair multiple fractures in his face. Prior to that loss, Northcutt went 6-2 during a UFC stint from 2015 to 2018.

A former One, Dream and Shooto champion, the 37-year-old Aoki enters the matchup with Northcutt on a three-bout winning streak. “Tobikan Judan” last appeared at One “Unbreakable,” where he submitted James Na…

An undisclosed injury has forced Blagoy Ivanov to withdraw from a proposed heavyweight clash against Marcin Tybura at UFC 260.

Both fighters confirmed the news on social media following an intial report by 24Chasa. UFC 260 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 27 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.

“Same story over and over again,” Tybura wrote on Twitter. “Yo heavyweights, where you at? Anyone wants to meet me [March 27] in Vegas?”

Ivanov was looking to halt a two-bout skid after dropping consecutive split decisions against Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai. The former World Series of Fighting champion is 2-3 in UFC competition.

After having mixed results early in his UFC tenure, Tybura has been victorious in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, he scored a second-round TKO of Greg Hardy at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

Curtis Blaydes isn’t going to dwell on his knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.

Heavily favored heading into last Saturday’s heavyweight main event, Blaydes was floored by a Lewis uppercut when he shot for a takedown, and his opponent punctuated the upset victory with two massive ground strikes 1:26 into Round 2.

Blaydes released a statement regarding the defeat Tuesday on his Instagram stories.

“Sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail,” Blaydes wrote. “This game has a razor thin margin for error and I just got caught, it happens. Props to Derrick. No shame in it my head’s still held high.”

Blaydes entered the contest on a four-bout winning streak and appeared to be closing in on a UFC heavyweight title shot. All three of the 30-year-old Elevation Fight Team representative’s defeats — once to Lewis and twice against Francis Ngannou — have come via knockout. Blaydes currently has one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

Former UFC and boxing champion Holly Holm will be part of the broadcast team for Claressa Shields’ next fight.

Holm will help to commentate the boxing event “Superwomen: Shields vs. Dicaire,” which takes place on March 5 at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. The headliner will see Shields (10-0), the WBC/WBO super welterweight world champion, lock horns with IBF super welterweight champion Marie-Eve Dicaire (17-0) in a 154-pound unification bout. The card airs on Fite.TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Holm will share the host desk with Dan Canobbio and will also serve as the evening’s unofficial scorer. Before she transitioned to mixed martial arts, Holm compiled a 33-2-3 mark in professional boxing while winning titles in multiple weight classes.

“These are the top media professionals that this historic night for female boxing deserves,” promoter Dmitriy Salita said in a release. “Holly Holm is one of the most popular female fighters in history and she’ll b…

Credit: Pro Fight League

Ramazan Kuramagomedov will replace Randy Brown and meet Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 186 on Saturday.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new welterweight booking. UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik against Ciryl Gane. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+. Brown withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons.

Kuramagomedov appeared on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, earning a split decision win against Jordan Williams in July 2019. The Dagestani fighter didn’t receive a UFC contract at the time and has since posted back-to-back submission wins. Kuramagomedov is 8-0 over the course of a professional tenure that also includes stints in Professional Fighters League and Absolute Championship Berkut.

Oliveira went 2-1 in 2020, taking a split verdict over Max Griffin at UFC 248 and a unanimous decision against Peter Sobotta a…

Derrick Lewis could be sidelined for up to six months following his second-round knockout victory over Curtis Blaydes in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event.

A full list of medical suspensions from this past Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas was released to mixedmartialarts.com. Lewis must have X-rays of his right hand and wrist and receive medical clearance or he will be sidelined until Aug. 20. At a minimum, “The Black Beast is out until March 14 with no contact until March 7. Blaydes, meanwhile, is suspended until April 22 with no contact until April 7.

One fighter who didn’t compete at UFC Fight Night 185 was Jamall Emmers, who suffered back spasms just prior to his walkout against Chas Skelly. As a result, Emmers must undergo an MRI of his lumbar and receive doctor clearance or face a six-month suspension.

Eight other athletes who fought on Saturday are facing potential six-month terms: Charles Rosa (right hand), Chris Daukaus (right hand), Andr…

A lightweight showdown between Anthony Pettis and Clay Collard will headline the first card of the 2021 Professional Fighters League season.

The promotion announced the full lineup for the April 23 event, which features lightweights and featherweights and will air on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The four-bout main card airs on ESPN2 and also includes: Natan Schulte vs. Marcin Held at lightweight; Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Jason Soares at featherweight and Lance Palmer vs. Bubba Jenkins at featherweight.

A five-bout undercard will air on ESPN+: Loik Radzhabov vs. Johnny Case at lightweight; Joilton Lutterbach vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier at lightweight; Akhmed Aliev vs. Mikhail Odintsov at lightweight; Sung Bin Jo vs. Tyler Diamond at featherweight and Brendan Loughnane vs. Sheymon Moraes at featherweight.

“The PFL’s season kickoff on April 23 is one that is sure to be a showstopper and full of nonstop action,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “The talent that exists within these matchup…

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

Bellator MMA has signed Russian lightweight Alexandr Shabliy to an exclusive, multi-fight contract.

Sherdog.com confirmed the deal with a promotion official following a report from MMAjunkie.com. An opponent and debut date for Shabliy is currently unknown.

The 27-year-old will enter his promotional debut with a 19-3 record that includes 17 triumphs via submission. He has competed for organizations such as ProFC, Fight Nights Global and Absolute Championship Berkut over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2010.

Shabliy has won his last four outings, a run that includes triumphs over UFC veteran Adriano Martins and ex-Bellator talent Gleristone Santos. Shabliy has recently been training at American Top Team in Cocounut Creek, Florida.

Former featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer will welcome Danyelle Wolf to the Octagon at a UFC event on May 22.

BJPenn.com was first to report that both Spencer and Wolf have verbally agreed to the bout. The UFC Fight Night card does not yet have an official headliner or location.

Spencer returns to action for the first time since losing a five-round decision to Amanda Nunes in a 145-pound championship clash at UFC 250 last June. A former Invicta FC title holder, Spencer is 2-2 in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with first-round finishes of Megan Anderson and Zarah Fairn dos Santos to her credit.

Wolf, 37, earned a UFC contract after taking a unanimous verdict against Taneisha Tennant in her professional MMA debut at Dana White’s Contender Series on Sept. 15. The Tiger Muay Thai export is a three-time U.S. National Boxing champion who has compiled an amateur record of 30-14, according to BoxRec.com.

Longtime mixed martial arts veteran Travis Fulton is facing multiple charges of child pornography, according to a report from The Courier.

The 43-year-old Fulton was indicted on Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn and receipt of child porn. On Friday, Fulton pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was detained pending a further hearing, with a trial date set tentatively for April.

According to court records, Fulton allegedly attempted to engage a minor in sexual conduct with hopes of taking photos of the encounter this past November. Additionally, Fulton is accused of possessing a flash drive with pornographic images of a child under 12 years of age between November 2018 and November 2020.

Prior to the most recent charges, Fulton was awaiting trial on domestic violence charges related to a 2019 incident in which he is accused of punching a woman in the back of the h…

Dan Ige will get to remain on the UFC Fight Night 187 card.

According to ESPN, Gavin Tucker will step up to face Ige after original foe Ryan Hall withdrew from the event due to an injury suffered in training. Ige wanted to make every effort to remain on the March 13 card because he has a baby coming in April. Tucker had previously been tabbed to face Cub Swanson on May 1.

UFC Fight Night 187 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. The event is expected to stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Tucker enters the matchup on a three-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 34-year-old Titans MMA product last appeared at UFC 256, where he outpointed Billy Quarantillo on Dec. 12. Tucker is 13-1 as a professional, with 10 of those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Ige had a six-bout promotional winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a five…

Infelizmente testei positivo para o COVID 19 e estarei fora desse card do próximo dia 27 de fevereiro,em breve estarei em ação novamente!!#deussabedetodasascoisas @ufc @ufc_brasil pic.twitter.com/UVLw8cpwN6

— Raoni Barcelos (@BarcelosRaoni) February 22, 2021

Not long after officially receiving a new opponent for his scheduled appearance at UFC Fight Night 186, Raoni Barcelos has been forced to withdraw from Saturday’s event.

The Brazilian bantamweight announced via social media that he is off the card after testing positive for COVID-19. In a video statement (translation via MMAFighting.com), Barcelos revealed the he and is wife are not experiencing any symptoms and he hopes to fight soon.

Barcelos was originally booked against Raphael Assuncao before his opponent withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test of his own. The promotion then announced over the weekend that Barcelos would instead square off against short-notice foe Marcelo Rojo…