Martial Arts News

After an impressive submission win over Felice Herrig last August, former Invicta champion Virna Jandiroba is back in Octagon for her fourth promotional appearance on Saturday at UFC 256 against Mackenzie Dern.

With 13 submission triumphs among her 16 professional victories, Jandiroba promises that she will not be afraid to go to the ground against the multiple-time world jiu-itsu champion.

“It’s an MMA fight, not a gi jiu-jitsu match. I´m prepared for all areas,” Jandiroba said. “If the fight goes to the ground, it will be pretty entertaining for the fans. Mackenzie´s game is pretty [unorthodox], [while] my jiu-jitsu is more like a classical old school style. But I'm bringing some surprises for that fight too.”

Jandiroba trained extensively with Nova Uniao black belt Michele Oliveira to help prepare her for the showdown with Dern.

“She has a pretty similar game to Mackenzie and spent almost two month here with me in Bahia, which was really important in my…

Rachael Ostovich is no longer part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

The flyweight was released from the promotion following her third consecutive defeat, a third-round knockout loss to Gina Mazany at UFC on ESPN 18 on Nov. 28. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news. UFC president Dana White recently indicated that the UFC will cut as many as 60 fighters in the coming weeks.

A 29-year-old native of Honolulu, Ostovich went 2-2 in Invicta Fighting Championships before appearing on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where she was eliminated by Barb Honchak in the quarterfinals.

Ostovich went on to win her Octagon debut when she submitted Karine Gevorgyan at the “TUF 26” finale before falling to Montana De La Rosa, Paige VanZant and Mazany in her last three UFC appearances. Ostovich is 4-6 over the course of a pro career that began in 2014.

The hits keep come on coming regarding COVID-19 and UFC 256.

Welterweight Dwight Grant announced via Instagram on Monday that he tested positive for the virus and his bout vs. Jingliang Li has been canceled.

“Hey what's up everyone? I gotta give y'all some bad news, I'm not going to be fighting this weekend. My last Covid 19 test came back positive but luckily the symptoms haven't been severe,” Grant wrote. “This news hit especially hard because of all the hard work and excitement I have for this fight. It's out of my control so im not going to try not to dwell on it too much, but to call it disappointing is an understatement.

“So now I’m focusing all my energy on getting better. Im going to quarantine and by the grace of God, be able to fight again soon. Thank you everyone for all your support. I’ll be back even more determined and fired up to go.”

The promotion has not announced if Grant vs. Li will be rescheduled or if a replacement opponent will be sou…

A woman with whom B.J. Penn fathered a child in June 2019 has filed a paternity suit against the UFC Hall of Famer.

Combate was first to report the news, and additional details were provided by MMAFighting.com. Penn anounced the birth of his daughter, Mahina Amado Penn, on social media eight months after she was born. The girl’s mother, Camila Amado, has filed a lawsuit seeking paternity recognition and alimony.

Penn met Amado while training at Nova Uniao in September 2018, and Amado found out she was pregnant after spending time with the fighter in Hawaii in January 2019. According to the reports, Amado has spent a year trying to get Penn to recognize paternity, and six days after Mahina’s birthday she elected to file a lawsuit in Rio de Janeiro.

According to MMAFighting, a DNA test was conducted with Mahina Amado and one of Penn’s daughters in January 2020 and determined that it was more than 99 percent likely that they were half siblings.

“It’s a very…

Grew up watching this show and now I’m on it. Check out the brand new season of @MTVCribs Monday at 8pm eastern #theresurrection pic.twitter.com/fQhpp2ClQG

— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) December 7, 2020

Even after coming up short in a title bout this past summer, Jorge Masvidal remains one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest stars.

The welterweight contender will appear on an upcoming episode of “MTV Cribs,” a documentary show that tours the private homes of celebrities. In the clip shared by Masvidal, the man known as “Gamebred” provides a glimpse of the American Top Team gym — presumably the show will also go inside the fighter’s home. The current iteration of “Cribs” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

“MTV Cribs” intially debuted in 2000 and aired for 13 seasons on MTV. There have been various adaptations of the show since then, including a short-verm version on Snapchat in 2017. However, the current reboot, which include…

To my family, friends, and team champion. Thank you so much for the love and support. 

My opponent @karlbabyk has been diagnosed with COVID-19, therefore @UFC has decided to move our fight to the 19th DECEMBER 2020. Wishing @K_babyk_roberson a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/PI7fM3SJAY

— Dalcha Lungiambula (@Dalcha_Champion) December 7, 2020 A positive COVID-19 test has resulted in the postponement of a UFC 256 middleweight clash between Karl Roberson and Dalcha Lungiambula.

Lungiambula initially announced that Roberson had tested positive for COVID-19 on Twitter, and the news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. According to Lungiambula and other reports, the bout will be rebooked for UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

UFC 256 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. The event also lost a strawweight scrap pitting…

Official!

Birmingham's Tom Breese is going to kick off 2021 against Omari Akhmedov on Jan 16! pic.twitter.com/P4iIgedkIK

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 7, 2020 Omari Akhmedov will lock horns with Tom Breese in a middleweight bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 16.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking via social media on Monday. A location for the event has not been formally announced but it is expected to take place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card is headlined by a featherweight scrap pitting Max Holloway against Calvin Kattar.

Akhmedov, 33, had a six-bout unbeaten streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8. The Dagestani known as “Wolverine” is 8-4-1 during his promotional tenure and 20-5-1 as a professional overall.

Breese, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last four Octag…

Ground game on point! @Savage_UFC puts the finishing touch on a dominant performance.

#UFCVegas3 continues on @ESPN and E+. pic.twitter.com/PK9UIw0AaJ

— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2020 The lineup for UFC Fight Night 183 has two new flyweight additions, as Taila Santos will meet Gillian Robertson, while Jimmy Flick will face Cody Durden.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the fights over the weekend. Santos was initially slated to square off against Montana De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN 19, but the bout was canceled when one of her opponent’s cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Robertson, meanwhile, was booked against Andrea Lee at UFC 256 before Lee pulled out of the matchup due to injury.

Flick and Durden were also scheduled to collide at UFC on ESPN 19 but a non-COVID medical issue forced Durden off the card on fight day.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a welterweight…

DON'T CALL HER AN UNDERDOG!!@shana_dobson with the RELENTLESS GnP #UFCVegas7 pic.twitter.com/O5bQkmZdkb

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 23, 2020

Shana Dobson will welcome the undefeated Casey O'Neill to the Octagon at a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 20.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the flyweight pairing. The event doesn’t have a location or headliner as of yet.

Dobson snapped a three-bout skid when she defeated Mariya Agapova by technical knockout 1:38 into the second round of their encounter at UFC on ESPN 15 on Aug. 22. The former “Ultimate Fighter 26” competitor is 2-3 in UFC competition with a stoppage of Ariel Beck to her credit.

Australia’s O’Neill is 5-0 to kick off her professional tenure. The Tiger Muay Thai export is a former Eternal MMA strawweight queen and is coming off a second-round knockout of Christina Stelliou at UAE Warriors 13 on Sept. 25.

Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future. #CovidFuckingUpEveryonesSeason #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/karOTjqZO2

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) December 7, 2020

Angela Hill has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to compete against Tecia Torres at UFC 256 as expected.

The strawweight fighter announced the news on social media Sunday night.

“Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future,” Hill wrote.

“Was a little sick over the weekend but feeling back to normal now. Would be trying to fight under different circumstances but thankful for my hea…

https://t.co/XC53S0ivef

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) December 6, 2020

In the carnival-like world of combat sports, exhibition boxing matches are all the rage right now.

That trend will continue early next year, as retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and YouTube sensation Logan Paul will square off in an exhibition bout on Feb. 20. The event will be available on pay-per-view via Fanmio. The first million pay-per-view buys will cost $24.99, according to the event page. After $1 million sold it goes up to $39.99 and then to $59.99 on Dec. 29 and $69.99 on Feb. 11.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones exhibition, which reportedly drew more than $1 million buys for the 12-round bout on Nov. 28. According to The Athletic, Mayweather vs. Paul “has been in the works for a while.” Otherwise, details regarding the bout are scarce at this point in time.

It will be Mayweather’s second appearance s…

Jack Hermansson paid the price for going five hard rounds against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 19.

In addition to a unanimous decision defeat, “The Joker” revealed in an Instagram post following the bout that he suffered fractures to his toe and face in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“Broken toe and broken eyesocket but not a broken spirit,” Hermansson wrote. “The goal remains the same. Thank you for your support.”

Hermansson demonstrated great resilience in defeat, as he was dropped and nearly finished by Vettori in the opening stanza. The 32-year-old Swede was able to survive that initial onslaught and remain competitive until the final horn. All told, Hermansson and Vettori combined to set a UFC middleweight record with 286 significant strikes landed, an effort that earned the combatants “Fight of the Night” honors.

Hermansson has lost two of his last three promotional appearances after a four-bout win…