Martial Arts News

OFFICIAL: The 2021 PFL Heavyweight & Women's Lightweight divisions are locked in and will compete at #PFL3 on Thursday, May 6th! pic.twitter.com/lZtwzf18Wg

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) February 9, 2021

There will be some new faces in the Professional Fighters League heavyweight and women’s lightweight divisions this season.

The promotion announced the full rosters for both weight classes on Tuesday. Heavyweight is led by defending champion Ali Isaev, who bested Denis Goltsov — who is also returning — in the 2019 final. Notable newcomers include ex-UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum and Mohammed Usman, the brother of UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman. Other new talents such as Justin Willis, Ante Delija, Renan Ferreira, Bruno Cappelozza and Brandon Sayles will also vie for the $1 million prize.

Meanwhile, the PFL’s most recognizable star, Kayla Harrison returns to defend her 155-pound title after defeating Larissa Pacheco in the 201…

Alistair Overeem could be sidelined until summer following his second-round technical knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in the UFC Fight Night 184 main event on Saturday.

The Dutch heavyweight must have a nasal bone fracture cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor or he will be sidelined until Aug. 6. At a minimum, Overeem is suspended until April 8 with no contact until March 24. Volkov, meanwhile, emerged with a clean bill of health after the event.

Mixedmartialarts.com obtained a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Frankie Edgar, who suffered a 28-second KO loss to Cory Sandhagen in the co-headliner, is suspended until April 8 with no contact until March 24.

Five other athletes from UFC Fight Night 184 are facing potential six-month suspensions pending doctor clearance: Alexandre Pantoja (hands), Mike Rodriguez (left shoulder), Manel Kape (thumb), Karol Rosa (left hand), Joselyne Edwards (left sh…

Alistair Overeem could be sidelined until summer following his second-round technical knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in the UFC Fight Night 184 main event on Saturday.

The Dutch heavyweight must have a nasal bone fracture cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor or he will be sidelined until Aug. 6. At a minimum, Overeem is suspended until April 8 with no contact until March 24. Volkov, meanwhile, emerged with a clean bill of health after the event.

Mixedmartialarts.com obtained a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Frankie Edgar, who suffered a 28-second KO loss to Cory Sandhagen in the co-headliner, is suspended until April 8 with no contact until March 24.

Three other athletes from UFC Fight Night 184 are facing potential six-month suspensions pending doctor clearance: Alexandre Pantoja (hands), Mike Rodriguez (left shoulder) and Devonte Smith (right hand and wrist).

UFC Fight Night 184 M…

Two-time former Bellator MMA featherweight champion Daniel Straus was arrested on Friday and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to a report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Straus’ bond is set at $100,000, and he remained in jail as of Monday afternoon. During a Saturday hearing, Judge Terri-Ann Miller kept Straus’ bond at $100,000 while mandating that he not have contact with the alleged victim. Straus is also not allowed to possess weapons or ammunition.

During the hearing, Straus’ attorney, David Kubiliun, revealed that the allegation might be from “someone he was in a past relationship with.”

According to an arrest affadavit from the Hollywood (Fla.) Police Department initially obtained by MMAFighting, the alleged incident took place on Jan. 21 when Strauss and the alleged victim got into an argument over “infidelity issues in their relationship.” The confrontation turned physical when Strauss showed up to the victim’s plac…

Andre Ewell will square off against Chris Gutierrez in a last-minute addition to the UFC 258 lineup.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing after Gutierrez’s gym, Factory X, announced it via Instagram on Monday. Ewell vs. Gutierrez will be contested at a 140-pound catchweight. UFC 258 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight championship tilt between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.

Ewell was supposed to compete at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 184 event but was pulled from the card after testing positive for COVID-19. The 33-year-old Apex MMA member is coming off back-to-back split-decision triumphs against Jonathan Martinez and Irwin Rivera in 2020.

Gutierrez, meanwhile, saw a three-bout winning streak come to an end when he battled Cody Durden to a unanimous draw at UFC Fight Night 173. Prior to that, “El Guapo” had scored successive triumphs over Ryan MacDonald, Geraldo de Freitas Jr. and Vince Morales.

Frankie Edgar’s rise to contention in the UFC’s bantamweight division hit a major speedbump on Saturday night.

The former lightweight champion and featherweight title challenger was removed from consciousness 28 seconds into the UFC Fight Night 184 co-headliner when Cory Sandhagen connected with a perfectly placed flying knee. The knockout will likely top many year-end lists, and it halted the momentum Edgar built last summer with a decision win over Pedro Munhoz in his 135-pound debut.

As usual, Edgar is taking the defeat in stride. “The Answer” released a statement regarding the bout Monday on his social media accounts.

“I’ve licked my wounds long enough. I’m home with family, life is good,” Edgar wrote. On Saturday I was as prepared for a fight as I could have been. Props to Cory Sandhagen: he landed a perfectly timed and executed bomb on me. Luckily, I don’t remember it much.

This game can be a cruel bitch and Saturday night was just that, but I ain’t …

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

Once upon a time, Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez were stablemates at Jackson-Wink MMA.

Now that both men have left the Albuquerque, N.M.-based gym, they will square off in a welterweight bout at a UFC event on May 8. The fight is expected to be Sanchez’s farewell to the Las Vegas-based promotion.

It’s something of a curious booking for Cerrone, who previously expressed a desire to compete more consistently at 155 pounds at this point in his career. “Cowboy” explained the decision to accept a welterweight matchup with Sanchez on his YouTube channel.

“Everyone was booked up,” Cerrone said. “All the fights were booked. Yeah, [155] is what I wanted to do. Then Diego Sanchez I guess, went and showed up to the UFC and begged and pleaded with them to make me his retirement fight. So they called me and they asked me. I said, ‘Sure.’

“With this fight, yeah, it is at [170] but that doesn’t mean I’m…

Alistair Overeem’s face was a bloody mess at the conclusion of his second-round technical knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in the UFC Fight Night 184 headliner.

According to the Dutch veteran, one of Volkov’s powerful punches broke his nose in the opening stanza of the heavyweight bout. All told, Volkov outlanded Overeem by a 54-to-10 count in significant strikes – including 47-to-3 in head strikes.

“You’re a true warrior, [Alexander Volkov]. Congrats on the win!” Overeem wrote on Instagram. “Yesterday wasn’t my night. I could not recover from that punch in the first round after I broke my nose.”

The 40-year-old former Strikeforce and K-1 champion entered the matchup with Volkov having won four of his previous five Octagon appearances. Another win could have once again propelled “The Demolition Man” into the championship discussion at heavyweight. Instead, it appears that Overeem’s UFC title dreams may have been extinguished for good.

Still, Overeem soun…

Alexander Volkov’s 41-fight professional MMA career has already seen him capture championships with Bellator MMA and M-1 Global.

At 32 years old, he may be nearing the most prestigious prize of them all: the UFC heavyweight strap. Volkov took another step toward that goal with a dominant performance in the UFC Fight Night 184 headliner on Saturday night, as he defeated perennial contender Alistair Overeem via technical knockout 2:06 into Round 2 of their bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Volkov bloodied Overeem with precise and powerful punches, flurrying effectively against the fence when the Dutchman went into his trademark defensive shell.

That punishment took its toll, and “Drago” clinched his victory with a left hook that sent Overeem tumbling to the canvas. Referee Jason Herzog wasted no time stepping in before Volkov could do any further damage.

“I work a lot with my jab and striking. I also work a lot on my wrestling. I was feeling good with my standup…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

During his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure, Cory Sandhagen has developed a killer instinct that belies his outward appearance.

When the Elevation Fight Team product made Frankie Edgar faceplant with a spectacular flying knee 28 seconds into their co-main event encounter at UFC Fight Night 184 on Saturday night, he briefly felt a twinge of regret for doing that kind of damage to such a beloved figure in the sport.

“It feels good to add that to my resume. I’m even more happy it went the way that it did. That’ll be one that gets replayed for a long time—highlights last forever,” Sandhagen said. “Afterwards, it was a little bit emotional. I don’t want to see someone crawling up off the canvas. That was a little sad, but that’s the game we’re in. Better him than me.”

Sandhagen has found the proper mentality that allows him to author the type of finishes that end up on yearly award lists. H…

In the end, Clay Guida won at UFC Fight Night 184 in the best way he knew how.

“The Carpenter” snapped a two-fight losing streak with a gritty unanimous verdict against fellow veteran Michael Johnson in a featured lightweight contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Guida mixed overhand rights with relentless wrestling to wear down his opponent over the course of 15 minutes.

It wasn’t pretty, but with Guida, it rarely ever is when things go his way.

“I knew he was going to be reliant on that laser beam cross he has.  He cracked me with it a few times. I knew once I could get past a few, I had him,” Guida said. “As long as I could pressure him to the fence and take his best shots, I knew I was going to be in the driver’s seat. I stayed in his face the whole time. I made it dirty and ugly, just like a Clay Guida fight. There’s nothing pretty about it, but it gets the job done.”

While Johnson is known for having the quicker hands, Guida w…

We’ll likely be talking about Cory Sandhagen’s knockout of Frankie Edgar for the rest of the year. For now, though, it’s enough to give the victor a little extra something for his bank account.

Sandhagen received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his flying-knee finish of Edgar in the UFC Fight Night 184 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Sandhagen struck the decisive blow just 28 seconds into Round 1 — the true definition of a walkoff knockout if ever there was one.

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov’s dominance against Alistair Overeem in the main event netted him the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check. The Russian heavyweight stalked and bloodied Overeem thoughout the heavyweight contest, ultimately finishing his Dutch foe with a left hook 2:06 into Round 2.

Elsewhere, Beneil Dariush and Diego Ferreira earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their compellling lightweight tilt. In a back…