Martial Arts News

Holly Holm has confirmed her withdrawal from proposed May 8 bout against Julianna Pena.

In a video on Instagram, the former bantamweight queen revealed that she was diagnosed with a kidney condition called hydronephrosis. According to kidney.org, “hydronephrosis is the swelling of a kidney due to a build-up of urine. It happens when urine cannot drain out from the kidney to the bladder from a blockage or obstruction. Hydronephrosis can occur in one or both kidneys.”

Holm said that she expects to make a relatively quick recovery and hopes to have the Pena fight rebooked by the summer.

“Last Wednesday I had super abdominal pains, and I went to urgent care. It’s been something kind of reoccurring but hasn’t driven me to urgent care until last Wednesday,” Holm said. “Lo and behold I have hydronephrosis, which is where the kidney does not drain to the bladder correctly.

“So they admitted me that night to get a little procedure done, to get a stent put in ther…

Jan Blachowicz may want a minimum six-month rest following his light heavyweight title defense at UFC 259, but opponent Israel Adesanya could potentially join him in being sidelined that long for different reasons.

“The Last Stylebender” must have clearance on left foot and left ankle X-rays or he will be suspended until Sept. 3. At a minimum, Adesanya is suspended until April 21 with no contact until April 6. Blachowicz, meanwhile, is suspended until April 6 with no contact until March 28.

A full list of medical suspensions from this past Saturday’s event was released to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC 259 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Blachowicz take a five-round verdict against Adesanya in the evening’s headliner.

Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling, who claimed the vacant bantamweight title via disqualification victory after absorbing an illegal knee from Petr Yan, is suspended until May 6 with no contact until April 21. Yan emerged with a clean bill of…

Two of Professional Fighters League’s biggest stars will anchor the organization’s third regular season card on May 6.

The promotion announced Tuesday that recent free-agent signee Fabricio Werdum will square off against Renan Ferreira in the evening’s heavyweight headliner, while 2019 women’s lightweight champ Kayla Harrison will face Mariana Morais in the co-main event. The card will feature heavyweights and women’s lightweights.

PFL 3 takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., in a ”state-of-the-art” bubble environment, with fighters required to check in 17 days prior to their bouts. The main card airs on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, with prelims streaming on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

In the other two main card matchups, 2019 heavyweight champ Ali Isaev will face Hatef Moeil, while Genah Fabian will lock horns with Laura Sanchez at 155 pounds. Meanwhile, six bouts will comprise the ESPN+ prelims: Mohammed Usman vs. Brandon Sayles …

A women’s flyweight clash pitting Veta Arteaga against Desiree Yanez has been added to the Bellator 257 preliminary card.

Sherdog.com confirmed the pairing with a promotion official on Monday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. The fight was initially slated for Bellator 250 in October, but Arteaga was forced to withdraw on the day of the event due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Bellator 257 takes place on April 16 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a light heavyweight grand prix quarterfinal matchup between reigning 205-pound champion Vadim Nemkov and Phil Davis. In the co-main event, Yoel Romero will lock horns with Anthony Johnson in another light heavyweight quarterfinal. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

Arteaga is coming off back-to-back losses against Alejandra Lara and Ilima-Lei Macfarlance in 2019. The 33-year-old Combat Fitness product is 5-4 over the course of her professional tenure, with all but…

While it appears that the particulars of Jan Blachowicz’s next light heavyweight title defense are already set, it could be some time before the Polish champion returns to the Octagon.

After a five-round unanimous decision victory over middleweight king in the UFC 259 headliner on Saturday, Blachowicz laid out a desired timeframe for his next promotional appearance.

“[I want a] short break – minimum half-year break,” Blachowicz said. “I want to spend some time with my family. I am a father. My child was just born and I don’t spend any time with him because I have to prepare for my fight. If he wants to wait, (Glover Teixeira) will be my next opponent.”

That means the former KSW title holder wouldn’t compete again until September at the earliest. Blachowicz’s first child, Jan. Jr., was born in December, and the fighter has mostly been in camp preparing for Adesanya since then. That signals an even longer layoff for Teixeira, who UFC president Dana White said was “100 pe…

#TrillerFightClub @jakepaul vs @Benaskren April 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. PPV tickets now available on https://t.co/ePBwAGe5aj pic.twitter.com/ys1l2xm3od

— TRILLER (@triller) March 8, 2021

The pay-per-view boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul officially has a location and a price point.

Triller Fight Club announced Monday that the April 17 bout will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Askren vs. Paul will cost $49.99 on pay-per-view and will be available via iNDemand in North American, while Fite TV will handle distribution internationally. International price points may vary. The four-hour card begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while the pay-per-view kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

There will be no ticket sales to the public, but a limited number of guests and fans will be invited to attend the event. The card will also reportedly included a showdown between former UFC heavywe…

Megan Anderson was overmatched from the outset against Amanda Nunes in the UFC 259 co-headliner.

The Aussie was rocked by a pair of hard overhand rights early and never recovered. After failing on a takedown attempt, Anderson absorbed a barrage of punches and hammerfists before Nunes transitioned to a reverse triangle armbar to elicit a tapout 2:03 into Round 1.

Anderson landed just two significant strikes in the featherweight championship bout before meeting her demise. The former Invicta FC title holder released a brief statement on Twitter following her defeat.

“This game has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Anderson wrote on Twitter. “This was the one we wanted to win but it's the fight game. We’ll be back.”

This game has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This was the one we wanted to win but it's the fight game.

We'll be back

— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) March 7, 2021

Anderson completed her …

Islam Makhachev lived up to the hype at UFC 259.

The American Kickboxing Academy product was suffocating against fellow lightweight contender Drew Dober, as he grounded his opponent in all three rounds, advanced position with ease and found openings for timely ground-and-pound. Makhachev put the finishing touches on his victory by submitting his adversary with arm-triangle choke from half guard in Round 3 for his seventh consecutive UFC triumph.

Dober, who entered the matchup having won six of his last seven Octagon appearances, never had a chance to be competitive. After more than a year on the sidelines due to multiple fight cancellations, Makhachev was happy to return to the win column.

“2020 was a crazy year, all my fights got canceled. That’s why I’m very happy to be here now and get the finish. I’m very happy,” Makhachev said.

“The finish is always very important … I tried to finish him in the first round, but Dober is a very strong guy. He has like …

Antonio Carlos Jr. is a late addition to the Professional Fighters League roster for the organization’s 2021 campaign.

ESPN was the first to report that Carlos Jr. had signed with PFL, where he will compete in the light heavyweight division. The 30-year-old Brazilian went 7-5 with one no contest while primarily competing at 185 pounds in the UFC.

Carlos Jr. won Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” at heavyweight, defeating Vitor Miranda at the show’s finale. After dropping a unanimous decision to Patrick Cummins in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 58, Carlos Jr. dropped to middleweight for the rest of his promotional tenure. “Cara de Sapato” went on to earn notable victories against the likes of Tim Boetsch, Jack Marshman and Marvin Vettori.

Carlos Jr. was released in February shortly after a decision loss to Brad Tavares — his third consecutive defeat — at UFC 257.

Holly Holm has been forced to pull out of a UFC Fight Night clash with Julianna Pena on May 8.

Pena herself initially brought word of Holm’s exit from the card via Twitter on Saturday night. According to a report from the Albuquerque Journal Holm canceled a boxing commentary gig on Friday involving a Claressa Shields fight due to a “nagging physical issue.” The nature of the ailment was not disclosed, but apparently it was enough to also prevent her from facing Pena in approximately two months.

Love watching these title fights. One in particular...as I’ve just been informed that #HollyHolm is injured and has pulled from our scheduled bout May 8. I wish her a full recovery #ufc259

— Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) March 7, 2021

It’s unclear if Pena will remain on the card, but “The Venezuelan Vixen” didn’t hesitate to call for a matchup with two-division champion Amanda Nunes, who shellacked Megan Anderson to defend her featherweight b…

Israel Adesanya found out just how difficult it is to become a two-division champion in the UFC.

His bid to become the fifth simultaneous champ-champ in promotion history came up short in the UFC 259 headliner, as he dropped a unanimous decision to reigning 205-pound king Jan Blachowicz at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Not only was Adesanya denied another piece of championship hardware, but the possibility of a lucrative grudge match with Jon Jones has diminished considerably – at least for now.

“Listen, he’s the middleweight champion. He doesn’t get the light heavyweight title, he doesn’t get Jon Jones,” UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “But you know what, you never hurt somebody for trying to be big and trying to become great. He gave it a shot tonight, and it didn’t happen. And Jan is the man. He is the 205-pound champ, and now he starts taking on all comers in the division.

“Size is always a factor when …

Video of Petr Yan’s corner during the sequence that resulted in his disqualification at #UFC259 pic.twitter.com/2BtRqtGmBP

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 7, 2021

Petr Yan might have received some mixed messages from his corner before landing the illegal knee that cost him his bantamweight belt at UFC 259.

According to a video shared by ESPN, one member of Yan’s team can be overheard yelling, “Just punch” while Sterling is in a grounded position. However, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier claims that someone else in the corner gave the go-ahead when asked if Yan could throw a kick.

“You can hear, one guy is saying ‘Just punch,’ but then somebody goes ‘Yes’ when he says kick,” Cormier said during the UFC 259 broadcast. “It’s in Russian. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] heard it sitting over here because we couldn’t understand the language. But someone in that corner yelled, ‘Yes, kick’ and Petr Yan lands an illegal knee that ultimately cost him the UFC cha…