Martial Arts News

Avazbek Kholmirzaev might soon be in line for a ONE Championship promotion.

The 23-year-old sambo stylist disposed of the previously unbeaten Kara-Ool Changy with an armbar in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 69 catchweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Kholmirzaev (8-1, 4-0 ONE) brought their encounter at 125.6 pounds to a close 3:39 into Round 1.

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Changy (6-1, 2-1 ONE) seized the reins with a takedown roughly 90 seconds into the first round, transitioned to the back and threatened the neck before being reversed. He scrambled on top, freed himself from an attempted guillotine choke and moved to briefly moved to side control before settling in full guard. Kholmirzaev answered the Russian’s aggression with technique, swung his hips into position and bit down on a belly-down armbar to force an immediate tapout.

Kholmirzaev now finds himself on a six-fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, BMF Space repres…

Nate Diaz VS. Jorge Masvidal WEIGH IN LIVESTREAM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> There was just bad blood rather than drama on the scales as both Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal successfully made weight for their 175-pound boxing match.

The boxing pay-per-view main event will be a rematch of sorts, despite taking place in a different martial art, as Diaz (21-13 MMA) and Masvidal (35-17 MMA) famously squared off in the main event of UFC 244 for the inaugural BMF title. Masvidal would ultimately get his hand raised via TKO, getting a doctor's stoppage in the third round. Both men made weight for the 175-pound limit for the 10-round boxing match.

Diaz is 0-1 as a professional boxer. His debut took place last year against former Disney star Jake Paul (6-1). Paul won a clear unanimous decision and knocked Diaz down in…

Jean Silva will make a quick turnaround following his victory over Charles Jourdain at UFC 303.

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The 27-year-old Brazilian will compete two weeks later, when he meets Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59. Silva is a replacement for Mike Davis, who pulled out of the lightweight bout due to injury. While Silva normally competes at 145 pounds, he missed weight for the fight against Jourdain and will move up to 155 pounds to square off against Dober. The promotion announced the new booking on Wednesday.

UFC on ESPN 59 takes place on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver and is headlined by a women’s flyweight bout pitting Rose Namajunas against Tracy Cortez.

Silva has won his last 10 professional outings, including two in the UFC. In addition to besting Jourdain, the Fighting Nerds representative owns a first-round technical knockout victory over Westin Wilson in the Octagon.

Dober, meanwhile, has lost two of his last three promotional outings. Most recen…

Brian Ortega did everything he could to make it to fight night at UFC 303. Unfortunately, his body didn’t cooperate.

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Ortega agreed to face Diego Lopes on short notice as part of a the promotion’s renovation of the UFC 303 card. The bout was initially slated for 145 pounds, but when Ortega began to struggle with his weight cut, he and his opponent agreed to move the bout to lightweight. Ultimately, Ortega developed a fever on the day of the fight and was forced to withdraw hours before the UFC 303 co-main event.

On Wednesday, “T-City” released a statement addressing the situation.

“Come fight week, I felt off and I didn’t feel right. I thought it was just the residual effects from the [weight] cut. I was 178 pounds when I accepted this fight on 15 days’ notice,” Ortega wrote on Instagram. “Thursday night after seven straight hours, I could not break 151 pounds. Later, I would find out that I was battling a fever and I could not break into the fi…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos revealed to Sherdog last month his decision to permanently return to the welterweight division, even requesting that his name be removed from the lightweight rankings.

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“That’s my decision. Unless there was an interesting proposal or some fight that made sense among the lightweights,” dos Anjos said then.

But this week the Brazilian seemed to find an interesting narrative to accept a return to the division where he conquered the gold in 2015. After watching Michael Chandler challenge Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound belt, the Brazilian sent a harsh message to the American on social media.

“How much is the opportunity to become a world champion worth? For some of us, there is no price on a UFC belt. Mine is certainly not for sale,” dos Anjos wrote on X. “Chandler should stop with his 'see you at the top' motivational speeches. It’s embarassing…”

Chandler didn't take l…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog.com Credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog.com Credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog.com Credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog.com Credit: Neil Atkinson Credit: Neil Atkinson Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel

Jingliang Li will lock horns with Carlos Prates in a welterweight tilt at UFC 305.

Prates confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from UFC Weibo. UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17 and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.

Li hasn’t competed since September 2022, when he suffered a split-decision loss against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279. Th…

Dan Ige’s preparation in the lead up to his short-notice UFC 303 clash against Diego Lopes was like something straight out of a movie script.

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Ige was getting a massage at his home in Las Vegas — with his phone on “do not disturb” mode — when his wife told him multiple people were trying to reach him. When Ige checked his phone, he had 10 missed calls combined from his mother, who had also been contacted by people trying to reach him, UFC execs and MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz.

Abdelaziz, who is not even Ige’s manager, offered to set up a short-notice clash on that very day to save the UFC 303 co-main event, which was jeopardized by Brian Ortega pulling out due to a fever. Ige gave the nod, and after a few hours Abdelaziz confirmed that the fight was on.

Ige was already in fighting shape, as he was preparing for a clash against Jose Mariscal on July 20. However, “Dynamite” had to put together a team to corner him after accepting the fight on four…

Amir Albazi believes Tatsuro Taira is one more win away from a title shot and is willing to be the Japanese prospect’s final test.

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An injury-laden year has kept Albazi out of competition since a split-decision win over Kai Kara-France in his first UFC headliner in June 2023. After undergoing heart surgery in November 2023, Albazi was preparing for a clash against former champ Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico this past February before being forced out due to a neck injury that required immediate surgery. Albazi was replaced on short notice by Brandon Royval, who avenged a 2020 loss to Moreno with a split-decision win.

Pantoja has successfully defended his title three times since Albazi’s last fight, most recently against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 this past May. It has been hard for Albazi to sit on the sidelines watching the rest of division.

“It’s been so hard to deal with this,” Albazi told MMAjunkie.com. “I had a heart surgery back in November actua…

Jean Silva tells the story of how Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev got into a fight at the UFC Performance Institute 😳😳

"Bro, [Kape] caught Mokaev at the entrance to the PI. He headbutted and elbowed him. In the street. He opened Mokaev's head a week before his fight."

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🎥… pic.twitter.com/1w0hZPmYO7 — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 3, 2024

Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev were allegedly involved in a physical altercation at the UFC Performance Institute.

Kape and Mokaev are slated to trade leather at UFC 304 on July 17 at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. According UFC featherweight Jean Silva, Kape recently attacked Mokaev at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. The exact date of the incident is unclear.

According to Silva, he was supposed to spar Kape on the day but saw “Starboy” attacking Mokaev outside the entrance door to the PI when he arrived. Silva claims Kape headbutted and elbowed Mokaev. Silva also emp…

Julianna Pena’s suggestion of a women’s version of the BMF belt failed to pique the interest of Ultimate Fighting Championship officials.

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Pena is rumored to challenge Raquel Pennington for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah. While Pena would have preferred to fight at UFC 306 at the Sphere like many other fighters, she was told her opponent wouldn’t be ready in September. Pena is now focused on being a two-time mom-champ, which she believes is the next best thing for her.

“I loved the idea of fighting in Las Vegas again, of course at the Sphere, would have been historic,” Pena told MMAjunkie.com. “But since that option is no longer available, my next best thing would be winning the title and becoming a second-time champion. And being someone who gave birth and was able to win the belt. I think that says a lot as far as being a badass mom.”

Pena previously laid claim to the status of first-ever mom-cha…

A middleweight showdown pitting Michel Pereira against Anthony Hernandez is on tap for UFC 306.

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Pereira initially announced the booking via social media on Tuesday. UFC 306 — also known as Noche UFC — takes place on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The card, which doesn’t yet have a headliner, is expected to be Mexican Independence Day-themed. UFC CEO Dana White has promised to provide a one-of-a-kind experience for the event.

One of the most flamboyant performers in the Las Vegas-based promotion, Pereira has won his last eight Octagon appearances. “Demolidor” is 2-0 thus far in 2024, with first-round submission victories against Michal Oleksiejczuk and Ihor Potieria to his credit.

Hernandez, meanwhile, will carry a five-bout UFC winning streak into the matchup with Pereira. Most recently, “Fluffy” secured a second-rouns submission triumph over Roman Kopylov at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum was supposed to fac…

After Alex Pereira’s knockout win against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, speculation quickly turned to the Brazilian’s next opponent — especially after the champion once again teased a move to heavyweight.

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Oddsmakers recently released three possibilities: reigning heavyweight champ Jon Jones, interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall and top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev. “Poatan” was initially listed as an underdog in all three potential fights.

UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto recently gave his assessment on the Papo de Luta podcast.

"I have to agree with ‘Poatan’ being the underdog against Jones and Aspinall,” Barreto said. “In addition to being real threats to Poatan´s game, both are already scheduled to fight in their division. But concerning, Ankalaev I have to disagree.

“Definitely Ankalaev can be dangerous and bring different challenges to ‘Poatan’ with his grappling, but it's important to notice that…