Martial Arts News

It’s getting more and more difficult to deny Robert Whittaker a chance to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship.

“The Reaper” earned his third consecutive triumph in the UFC on ESPN 22 headliner, as he put on a brilliant striking exhibition against Kelvin Gastelum for five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Whittaker’s lukewarm attitude toward a title shot might have cost him following a victory over Jared Cannonier this past October, the Sydney-based fighter made it pretty clear what he believes he deserves after besting Gastelum in impressive fashion.

“That’s kind of how I’ve always taken to the approach of fighting, is that if you beat ’em all, you’re eventually at the top,” Whittaker said. “It’s a simple path, and there is no other fight that makes sense to me other than that tile shot, and that’s the shot that I want and that I’m getting.”

After losing the 185-pound belt to Israel Adesanya via second-round knockout at UFC 243 in Octob…

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On an evening where UFC on ESPN 22 nearly tied a record for most split decisions on a fight card, Robert Whittaker’s clear-cut verdict over Kelvin Gastelum was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night.”

Whittaker and Gastelum each received $50,000 for Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although Whittaker picked his opponent apart with crisp punching combinations and head kicks, Gastelum was a game opponent throughout the contest, and that made for a compelling 25 minutes of action. Ultimately, Whittaker was too much, as he swept the scorecards by identical 50-45 tallies.

Earlier, Gerald Meerschaert set a UFC middleweight submission record, earning himself a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. Meershaert secured his sixth submission in the Octagon by choking Bartosz Fabinski unconscious 2:00 into the opening round of their preliminary middleweight contest.

Finally, Tony Gravely garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Per…

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. Robert Whittaker is on the verge of getting a chance to reclaim the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight belt. The ex-champion put on a striking master class against Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC on ESPN 22 main event, sweeping the scorecards by a trio of 50-45 counts. Whittaker (23-5, 14-3 UFC) has now bested Gastelum, Jared Cannonier and Darren Till in succession since relinquishing the 185-pound title to Israel Adesanya in October 2019.

“I’m feeling on top of the world,” Whittaker said. “Obviously this was a very hard fight. I think a lot of people were selling Kelvin short because of where he’s ranked, but I think he’s a very tough fight.”

The PMA Super Martial Arts representative was one step ahead of Gastelum (16-6, 1 NC, 11-6, 1 NC UFC) for the entire 25 minutes. Whittaker set the tone when he briefly dazed Gast…

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 22 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfi…

By technical split decision, Alexandr Romanov is declared the winner. #UFCVegas24 pic.twitter.com/nYktSGnOws

— UFC (@ufc) April 18, 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.

It almost certainly wasn’t the way Alexander Romanov envisioned extending his 14-bout professional winning streak.

The Moldovan remained unbeaten in unusual fashion at UFC on ESPN 22, taking a technical split decision against Juan Espino (10-2, 2-1 UFC) in a preliminary heavyweight contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The bout reached an abrupt end 1:05 into Round 3, when Espino rendered Romanov (14-0, 3-0 UFC) unable to continue after landing an accidental knee to the groin from the clinch position. As a result, the bout was scored where it stood: Dave Hagen and Tony Weeks saw it 29-28 for Romanov, while Chris Lee submitted a 29-28 tally…

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…

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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…