Martial Arts News

Khabib Nurmagomedov may very well return to the Octagon to pursue a 30-0 record, but he doesn’t appear to be interested in a rematch with either Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier.

Nurmagomedov held a press conference in Russia on Wednesday to announce the launch of his own MMA promotion, Eagle Fighting Championships. During that session, he addressed the possibility of a UFC return and what will happen when he meets with Dana White. The UFC president has said he expects the lightweight champion to return for one more fight and plans to meet with Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi in the coming weeks. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the cage following a victory over Justin Gaethje in the UFC 254 headliner on Oct. 24.

Nurmagomedov, who already owns submission wins over McGregor and Poirier, doesn’t believe he has much incentive to face either man again. McGregor and Poirier will meet in a rematch at UFC 257 on Jan. 23.

“First, he will probably offer money,” Nurmago…

It's Official

Roman Szymanski vs. Marian ZiolkowskiVacant KSW Lightweight Title #KSW57

A new KSW Lightweight Champion will be crowned pic.twitter.com/7n8US7oS4y — KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 1, 2020

Marian Ziolkowski and Roman Szymanski will vie for the vacant lightweight championship at KSW 57.

The Polish promotion announced the matchup on Tuesday. The 155-pound belt was vacated after former champ Mateusz Gamrot recently signed with the UFC. KSW 57 takes place in Lodz, Poland, on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship tilt pitting Phil De Fries against Michal Kita. The card airs via pay-per-view on KSWTV.com. Also confirmed for KSW 57 is a lightweight showdown between Artur Sowinski and Borys Mankowski.

Ziolkowski was the most recent title challenger for Gamrot, losing a five-round verdict at KSW 54 on Aug. 29. That halted a two-bout winning streak for the Warsaw native, who is 21-8-1 over the course of a career t…

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.26

RIZIN Women's Super Atomweight Title Match

Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Miyuu Yamamoto#RIZIN #RIZIN26 pic.twitter.com/6W1Fmzru7I — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 2, 2020

An atomweight championship clash pitting Ayaka Hamasaki against Miyuu Yamamoto is among several additions to the Rizin Fighting Federation 26 lineup on New Year’s Eve.

Yamamoto and Ham initially squared off in October 2019, with Ham winning by second round technical knockout at Rizin 19.

“Miuyuu Yamamoto has been an idol of mine for such a long time. I am very excited to be facing her on such a great stage," Ham said. "Please look forward to a great masterpiece on a great night and great stage against a great opponent. Miyuu’s physical strength is outstanding and she has grown as a fighter, I don’t think I will be able to beat her easily.”

In other noteworthy action, 113-fight veteran Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minow…

HEADKICK TO THE SUB!! @SabinaMazo with a HUGE finish to open the show! #UFCVegas10 pic.twitter.com/ihroyF1WvB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) September 12, 2020

Sabina Mazo will make her bantamweight debut against Alexis Davis at a UFC card on Feb. 27.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Milenio. A location has not been officially announced for the event, which will be topped by a light heavyweight scrap pitting Dominick Reyes against Jiri Prochazka.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champion, Mazo has won three consecutive UFC appearances after losing her debut. In her last outing, “Colombian Queen” submitted Justine Kish with a rear-naked choke in the third round at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12. Mazo also owns victories over J.J. Aldrich and Shana Dobson within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Davis, meanwhile, is currently mired in the first three-fight skid of her professional tenure after …

There are a couple key updates to the UFC Fight Night 183 card in the wake of Leon Edwards’ positive COVID-19 test and the subsequent cancellation of his headlining bout against Khamzat Chimaev.

First, a welterweight clash pitting Anthony Pettis against Alex Morono is a late addition to the Dec. 19 card. ESPN was first to report that both fighters have agreed to meet at the event.

As a result of the loss of the original main event, a 170-pound showdown between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal has been elevated to the featured attraction. Thompson vs. Neal will now be a five-round fight.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and ranks as one of the promotion’s most stacked Fight Night offerings of the year — even without Edwards vs. Chimaev. In addition to Thompson vs. Neal, the card also includes notable fights such as Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font, Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera, Misha Cirkunov vs. Ryan Spann and Alexandre Pantoja vs. Manel Kape,…

The Women's P4P #1 Boxer - @Claressashields is now a PFL athlete! pic.twitter.com/NMqA3MQdCF

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) December 1, 2020

Claressa Shields has designs on being a two-combat sport superstar.

Shields, who has already won multiple world championships and two gold medals as a boxer, recently signed a contract to make her professional MMA debut with Professional Fighters League in 2021. Shields won’t be part of the PFL season next year — she will compete in one-off fights — but is targeting 2022 for her shot at a 155-pound championship run in the promotion’s season format.

As Shields begins her MMA journey, she will continue her career in the Sweet Science, PFL CEO Peter Murray and her management revealed in a release on Tuesday.

“I want to thank Professional Fighters League and Peter Murray for believing in me and giving me this amazing opportunity. What drew me to the PFL is that it is definitely a fighter-first organiza…

A pivotal flyweight showdown between Joseph Benavidez and Askar Askarov is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on March 6.

MMA journalist Igor Lazorin first brought word of the matchup. The event has not been formally announced by the promotion, but multiple outlets are reporting that it will be UFC 259. The card is also expected to include a light heavweight tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Aleksandar Rakic.

A four-time flyweight title challenger, Benavidez is coming off the first two-bout skid of his professional career after being finished in back-to-back championship fights by Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020. The 36-year-old WEC veteran is nonetheless one of the sport’s top talents at 125 pounds, with a 28-7 career mark and wins over the likes of Henry Cejudo, Jussier Formiga, Dustin Ortiz, Alex Perez, John Moraga and Ian McCall, to name a few.

Askarov, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 13 professional outings, with his lone blemish coming via spl…

The highly-anticipated welterweight scrap between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev won’t be happening on Dec. 19 as originally expected.

According to ESPN, the UFC Fight Night 183 headliner has been canceled after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19. The promotion is hoping to rebook the contest in 2021, but a new date has not been finalized at this point in time.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The promotion is considering elevating Geoff Neal vs. Stephen Thompson to the main event slot, per ESPN. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Edwards’ encounter with the virus was a difficult one, as the British fighter reportedly lost 12 pounds in four days and is recovering at home. The 29-year-old Team Renegade product has not competed since July 2019 when he outpointed Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC on ESPN 4 headliner. “Rocky” was slated to meet Tyron Woodley on March 21 in London before that event was canceled due to the pandemic…

A welterweight clash pitting Warlley Alves against Christian Aguilera has been added to the lineup for the UFC’s first event of 2020.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 16 and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar.

Alves, who won Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old X-Gym member fell to Randy Brown via second-round submission at UFC Fight Night 164 in November 2019.

Aguilera had a memorable promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 10, where he knocked out Anthony Ivy in just 59 seconds on June 13. Most recenty, “The Beast” saw a three-bout winning streak come to an end in a submission loss to Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 175 on Aug. 29.

Kayla Harrison is issuing an open challenge for an opponent at Titan Fighting Championship’s Dec. 18 event.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo recently took to Twitter in search of a matchup for a 150-pound catchweight bout. According to a report from ESPN, Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, is willing to pay her opponent to make the fight a reality.

If anyone wants to fight me on December 18th @TitanFighting at a catch weight of 150lbs please please contact @AliAbdelaziz00 !

— Kayla Harrison (@KaylaH) November 30, 2020

Harrison, who is under contract with Professional Fighters League, has received permission to fight for the Florida-based promotion. Harrison made her featherweight debut at Invicta FC 43, where she defeat Courtney King via second-round TKO on Nov. 20.

The American Top Team product made her MMA debut with PFL in 2018 and competed in the organization’s season format in 2019, when she captured the championship a…

Co-main event competitor Takashi Sato is one of seven fighters from UFC on ESPN 18 who is facing a potential 180-day layoff following Saturday’s event.

Sato, who suffered a second-round submission loss to Miguel Baeza in a welterweight clash, must have a left orbital fracture cleared by a doctor or he will be sidelined until May 28. At a minimum, Sato is suspended until Jan. 13 with no contact until Dec. 29. Baeza did not receive a medical suspension.

Mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from the card on Tuesday.

UFC on ESPN 18 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and saw Anthony Smith score a first-round submission victory against Devin Clark in the evening’s light heavyweight headliner. Both Smith and Clark emerged with a clean bill of health following their bout.

Six other fighters from UFC on ESPN 18 are also looking at 180-day sits: Parker Porter (left hand), Bill Algeo (left hand), Norma Dumont (right hand…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rAhS0A2GVs&w=560&h=315]

UFC Fight Pass will present an even larger offering of combat sports in 2021 with the addition of six new promotions to its streaming lineup.

The promotion’s digital platform announced Tuesday that Battlefield Fight League, Unified MMA, The Golden Cage, Tuff-N-Uff, Fight Club Rush, and Lion Fight will stream exclusively on UFC Fight Pass next year. Additionally, UFC Pass extended distribution deals with 14 existing live partners, which brings its total to more than 30 overall.

According to a release, UFC Fight Pass expects to stream more than 200 events in 2021 from a vareity of combat disciplines, including mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and more. That number could increase as additional events or partners are added. Fight events will be streamed from six continents and countries such as the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan, to name a few.

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