Martial Arts News

Tai Tuivasa will remain on the UFC on ESPN 21 card against a new adversary, as Harry Hunsucker will step in for Don'Tale Mayes on Saturday.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the new pairing, and it was later confirmed on broadcast partner ESPN’s event listing. UFC on ESPN 21 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Kevin Holland and Derek Brunson. The main card, including Tuivasa vs. Hunsucker, airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Hunsucker came up short in his bid to earn a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series this past November, when he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Jared Vanderaa. The Elite Martial Arts & Fitness member owns a 6-3 professional mark, with all of his victories coming inside the distance.

Tuivasa halted a three-bout Octagon skid with a first-round KO of Stefan Struve in his most recent outing at UFC 254 this past October.

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

Shortly after manager Wallid Ismael confirmed Paulo Costa’s withdrawal from his April 17 headlining bout against Robert Whittaker, the Brazilian middleweight spoke with Sherdog.com to discuss the illness that has delayed his return to the Octagon.

Costa made it clear that his current ailment has nothing to do with COVID-19.

"I had COVID on New Year's. Once I didn’t have strong symptoms I kept training,” Costa said. “I just found out it was COVID when I decided to get tested, and by then it was longer contagious.

”The flu I have now infected eight members from the team, including sparring partners and trainers. That one was really strong. To tell you the truth in my whole life only once did I have such a strong strong flu; it was in 2015. The American filming team arrived here to produce the weight cut and I tried to train one day, but the following day I was totally broken. At that point I ta…

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

There will be a strong African connection on one side of the Octagon in the UFC 260 main event.

Francis Ngannou revealed on his YouTube channel that welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will be in his corner for the heavyweight championship rematch against Stipe Miocic on March 27. Ngannou was born in Cameroon, while Usman is originally from Nigeria.

“Kamaru Usman is gonna be in my corner for this fight,” Ngannou said in the video. “So it’s good having him here, helping me out with the fight. By this time you need everything. Basically, he’s gonna be in my corner and it’s good for him to train where I am and to bring his own asset into the game to help because this is a very decisive moment leading up to the fight. It’s very important to get with him, he’s gonna be in my corner helping me with my wrestling, which is great.”

Ngannou lost a five-round decision to Miocic in their first meeting at UFC 22…

GSP makes his way to the PIT

@GeorgesStPierre will join Season 3 of #KarateCombat as Season Sensei! pic.twitter.com/N1JyvFscA4

— Karate Combat (@KarateCombat) March 17, 2021 Georges St. Pierre is making a return to the combat sports realm, but he won’t be competing.

The former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion will join Karate Combat, a full-contact karate league founded in 2018, in a commentary role for the organization’s upcoming third season. St. Pierre’s official title will be “Season Sensei,” as he offers his “guidance, analysis and insights as the world’s top karate fighters battle for supremacy in The Pit, Karate Combat’s trademark fighting arena.”

“My first martial art was karate,” St. Pierre said in a release. “It was the foundation I built my career on. I always wanted to see an organization arise which would give a platform for elite full-contact karate fighters to compete, and that’s what I see in Karate Combat. …

A postponed heavyweight bout pitting Ben Rothwell against Philipe Lins has been rebooked for UFC Fight Night on May 8.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the rescheduled matchup. Rothwell and Lins were initially slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13, but the contest was scrapped after Rothwell suffered an injury. The May 8 card does not yet have an official headliner or location.

The 39-year-old Rothwell had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recently outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 179 this past October.

After winning the 2018 Professional Fighters League heavyweight championship, Lins has struggled in the Octagon, falling to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser in his first two promotional appearances.

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship will kick off it latest event trilogy with an event on Thursday.

The Cage Warriors 120 main event will see the promotional debut of Bellator MMA veteran Kent Kauppinen (12-6). The 29-year old Englishman alternated defeats and victories in his latest cage appearances, scoring a spectacular KO at the expense of Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Alessio Sakara and submitting Andy Manzolo but also dropping a couple of decisions to Melvin Manhoef and Will Fleury. Kauppinen looked good on the scale Wednesday, as he weighed at 185.4 pounds.

It will be up to Jamie Richardson (9-6) to welcome Kauppinen in his first foray under the CW banner. “Young Gun” is looking to get back on track after losing his chance to capture the middleweight championship when Nathias Frederick put him out of his senses 18 seconds into the third round at CW 118. Richardson had no issues in hitting the scale at 184.9 pounds.

In the co-main event, James H…

It’s been nearly a year since Henry Cejudo announced his retirement, but the former two-division UFC champ continues to make headlines by teasing potential matchups.

His latest focal point is former featherweight champion Max Holloway. In a recent interview with ESPN, the Olympic gold medalist explained why Holloway is potentially an interesting opponent for him.

"I have never called out Max Holloway," Cejudo said. "Even when he had the belt, I have never called him out. I feel like in the future, I would love to fight him. People would not believe me that I could beat him. He's so damn tall and what he's been able to do.

"I love that challenge. I love the fact people don't think I could beat him. He's taller than me and has inflicted more damage on different people, but I feel like I'm too smart and too skilled.”

Cejudo is a former flyweight and bantamweight title holder in the UFC. He called it a career in the Octagon after defending his 135-pound belt …

Kelvin Gastelum has agreed to replace Paulo Costa and square off against Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ESPN 22 headliner on April 17.

ESPN was first to report the new booking. Costa was forced to pull out of the middleweight contest because an illness had limited his training leading up to the fight. UFC on ESPN 22 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Gastelum was intially supposed to face Whittaker in a middleweight title bout at UFC 234 in February 2019 before Whittaker withdrew on the day of the fight to undergo surgery for a hernia.

Gastelum would later challenge for the interim 185-pound belt, losing a five-round decision to Israel Adesanya in Sherdog.com's 2019 “Fight of the Year.” That was the start of the three-bout losing streak for “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist, who snapped the skid with a unanimous decision victory over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 on Feb. 13.

After losing the 185-pound belt to Adesanya in a first-round knockout at UFC…

In mixed martial arts, fighters generally receive at least one warning — if not more — before a point is deducted for an eye poke.

After being on the receiving end of such a foul against Leon Edwards in the UFC Fight Night 187 headliner, Belal Muhammad thinks more decisive action should be taken by officials in those instances. Prior to the eye poke that rendered Muhammad unable to continue 18 seconds into Round 2, Edwards was warned for a similar violation in the opening stanza. Additionally, Muhammad told ESPN that he asked veteran referee Herb Dean to keep on eye on Edwards’ fingers in the fight.

"We trained for this," Muhammad said. "We know he likes to keep distance and put his palm out. We literally told Herb Dean before the fight, 'We're going to be trying to get in on him and he puts his hands out, please watch his fingers.’

"Refs need to take a point right away, no warning. That will stop guys from doing that. You saw it with Petr Yan's illegal knee [a…

A severe case of the flu has forced Paulo Costa to withdraw from a scheduled clash with Robert Whittaker at UFC on ESPN 22.

AgFight was first to report that the bout was in jeopardy, and multiple outlets have since confirmed that an illness has resulted in Costa’s exit from the card. This particular case of the flu has hindered the Brazilian’s ability to properly prepare for the fight, which ultimately forced him to pull out of the event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion is reportedly looking into moving Costa vs. Whittaker to May 1 or May 8, but nothing has been finalized. It appears unlikely that Whittaker will receive a replacement opponent.

"We just need two more weeks because Paulo got a strong flu and had to stop his training," Costa's manager, Walllid Ismael, told Sherdog.com. "Actually, the entire team of trainers and sparring partners were hit by the virus."

Ismael emphasized that Costa's sickness was a normal flu, not COVID-19.

"Actually Paulo caug…

Belal Muhammad is not one of the five competitors who could be sidelined up to six months following UFC Fight Night 187, but he will require doctor clearance before he can step into the Octagon again.

A full list of medical suspensions from this past Saturday’s event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, were released to mixedmartialarts.com. The evening’s headliner ended 18 seconds into Round 2 when an accidental eye poke from Leon Edwards rendered Muhammad unable to continue in their welterweight matchup. Muhammad must have his right eye cleared by an ophthalmologist before he can compete again. At a minimum he is suspended until April 13 with no contact until April 4.

Meanwhile, the following five fighters from the card must receive doctor clearance or they will be suspended for six months: Ashley Yoder, Marcelo Rojo (facial fractures), Nasrat Haqparast (left fibula), Rafa Garcia (right elbow) and Cortney Casey (right foot, right hand).

UFC Fight …

Three-time UFC veteran Spike Carlyle will lock horns with Batsumberel Dagvadorj in the headliner of Legacy Fighting Alliance 103.

The promotion recently announced the lightweight bout. LFA 103 takes place at the Grand Event Center in Shawnee, Okla., on March 26, and the main card airs on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. In the co-main event, Vanessa Demopoulos will meet Cynthia Arceo at 115 pounds.

Carlyle was released by the UFC after going 1-2 within the Las Vegas-based organization. “The Alpha Ginger” kicked off his Octagon tenure with a first-round TKO of Aalon Cruz before dropping consecutive decisions to Billy Quarantillo and Bill Algeo. The 27-year-old is 9-3 as a pro, with eight victories coming inside the distance.

The 33-year-old Dagvadorj suffering his first pro defeat in his promotional debut at LFA 96, where he lost a three-round verdict against Maycon Mendonca. “The Mongolian Falcon” is 7-1 with one no contest over the course of a pro caree…