Martial Arts News

Welcome to the UFC Hall of Fame, Mr. Marc Ratner!! #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/uyu5Nky3g3

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 22, 2020

Marc Ratner is the latest member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 2020 Hall of Fame class.

The UFC’s senior vice president of government and regulatory affairs will be inducted into the “Contributors” wing, the promotion announced during the UFC 255 broadcast on Saturday night. The 2020 Hall of Fame class will be honored at a ceremony next year along with the 2021 inductees.

“Marc Ratner is the most influential and respected regulator in combat sports history,” UFC President Dana White said in a release. “Marc was instrumental in getting the sport of mixed martial arts sanctioned and regulated globally and the tireless work he did educating athletic commissions about MMA paved the way for us to host events around the world. It will be an honor for me to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.” Read more

Marcin Tybura will look to score his fourth consecutive triumph when he faces Greg Hardy at UFC Fight Night 183.

The promotion announced the heavyweight pairing during the UFC 255 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Leon Edwards against Khamzat Chimaev. The card will stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Tybura has enjoyed a successful 2020 thus far, earning unanimous decision triumphs over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin and Ben Rothwell. The 35-year-old Pole is 7-5 during his promotional tenure with other notable wins against the likes of Stefan Struve and Andrei Arlovski. The M-1 Global veteran is 20-6 over the course of a pro career that began in 2011.

Hardy, meanwhile, will attempt to go 3-0 in 2020 after posting wins over Yorgan De Castro in May and Maurice Greene in October. The former NFL Pro Bowler is 4-2 with one no contest during his UFC tenure an…

It looks like it could be a quick turnaround reigning UFC flyweight champion and the division’s top contender.

At Saturday’s UFC 255 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White revealed that the promotion was working on booking Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno for a December event.

“We’re going to keep [Figueiredo] here,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He’s not going back to Brazil. We’re going to turn him right around [in] December. That’s what we’re working on.”

Shortly thereafter, ESPN reported that both Figueiredo and Moreno verbally agreed to square off at UFC 256, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. UFC 256 which recently lost a women’s featherweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson after Nunes exited the card.

Figueiredo made his first title defense at UFC 255, where he submitted Alex Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1. The Brazilian was initially su…

Lo noquea! @NewMansa94 con otro tremendo KO!!! #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/dZXpe4VmYu

— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 22, 2020

It probably won’t be a viral highlight, but Joaquin Buckley’s latest knockout at UFC 255 nonetheless made him $50,000 richer.

One fight removed from his “Knockout of the Year” candidate against Impa Kasanganay, Buckley received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round finish of Jordan Wright in a preliminary middleweight matchup on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Buckley rocked Wright toward the end of the first frame and his opponent was clearly still dazed at the outset of Round 2. The St. Louis native then dropped Wright with a left hook to end the bout 18 seconds into the period.

Elsewhere, Antonina Shevchenko garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award on the strength of a dominant victory against former KSW champion Ariane Lipski at flyweight. Shevchenko im…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Deiveson Figueiredo’s otherworldly squeeze was a mountain too high for Alex Perez. Figueiredo retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title, as he submitted Alex Perez with a guillotine choke in the first round of the UFC 255 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Perez (24-6, 6-2 UFC) conceded defeat 1:57 into Round 1, his bid to claim the 125-pound throne denied with resounding authority.

After eating a pair of powerful body kicks from the champion, Perez swooped in for a potential takedown. Figueiredo (20-1, 9-1 UFC) initiated a scramble with an attempted leg lock, then caught the guillotine when the Team Oyama rep made his move toward top position. A replacement for the injured Cody Garbrandt, Perez struggled vigorously to free himself but could not break out of the Brazilian’s clutches.<…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 255 “Figueiredo vs. Perez” coverage begins Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian K…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Brandon Moreno removed the last remaining obstacle standing between him and a shot at the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown.

Moreno was awarded a technical knockout over Brandon Royval in the first round of their featured UFC 255 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Royval (12-5, 2-1 UFC) appeared to suffer a dislocated shoulder during an intense ground exchange and could not physically defend himself, resulting in the stoppage 4:59 into Round 1.

Both men had their moments in a brief but frenetic confrontation. Royval connected with a few standing knee strikes and a spinning back elbow but conceded a takedown that seemed to alter the direction of the fight. Moreno (18-5-1, 6-2-1 UFC) eventually jumped to his back and threatened with a rear-naked choke, his efforts giving way to the…

Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz will lock horns for a second time at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 30.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. A location for the card has not been announced. The UFC Fight Night event will also include a middleweight matchup pitting Kelvin Gastelum against Ian Heinisch.

Rivera and Munhoz initially squared off more than five years ago at UFC Fight Night 77, with Rivera claiming a split-decision triumph. That was part of a 20-bout professional winning streak for Rivera, who is just 2-3 in the Octagon since 2018. Most recently, “El Terror” snapped a two-bout skid with a three-roud verdict against Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 13 on July 15.

Munhoz, meanwhile, is coming off a narrow split-decision defeat to Frankie Edgar at UFC on ESPN 15. Prior to that, “The Young Punisher” had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a decision loss to current No. 1 contender Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238.

A lightweight bout between Renato Carneiro and Rafael Fiziev that was originally scheduled for UFC on ESPN 18 on Nov. 28 has been moved to UFC 256.

The change cames as a result of “Moicano” testing positive for COVID-19. The news was first reported by Punchline MMA in an interview with Carneiro. UFC 256 takes place on Dec. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a bantamweight championship tilt between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling.

After a successful stint at featherweight, “Moicano” made his 155-pound debut at UFC Fight Night 170, where he submitted Damir Hadzovic in just 44 seconds on March 14. He was scheduled to face Magomed Mustafaev on Oct. 17 but withdrew from that contest.

After dropping his Octagon debut, Fiziev has scored back-to-back decision triumphs against Alex White at UFC Fight Night 162 and against Marc Diakiese at UFC Fight Night 172. The 27-year-old Kyrgyzstan native is 8-1 as a professional, with six triumphs coming inside the distance.

KHAOS WILLIAMS ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?? @KhaosOXWilliams in 30 SECONDS!! #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/YmWLw7P2VU

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020

Michel Pereira and Kalinn Williams will square off in a potentially entertaining welterweight clash at UFC Fight Night 184 on Dec. 19.

ESPN was first to report the matchup. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight scrap between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Pereira halted a two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 176, when he submitted Zelim Imadaev in the third round of their Sept. 5 encounter. Known as on of the promotion’s flashiest performers, “Demolidor” is 2-2 in UFC competition, with his other triumph coming via first-round KO against Danny Roberts.

The 26-year-old Williams has made a splash in the beginning of his promotional tenure. After knocking out Alex Morono in 27 seconds in his Octagon debut at UFC 247, “Khaos the Oxfighte…

A pivotal lightweight clash is in the works for UFC 256, as Tony Ferguson and Charles Oliveira are expected to square off on Dec. 12.

UFC president Dana White informed ESPN that the bout is nearly finalized. UFC 256 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight championship tilt pitting Petr Yan against Aljamain Sterling.

Prior to the announcement of this bout, Ferguson campaigned for a showdown with Michael Chandler at UFC 256 before the ex-Bellator champ revealed that he was not available for the fight. “El Cucuy” is coming off a fifth-round technical knockout loss to Justin Gaethje in an interim 155-pound title tilt at UFC 249. Prior to that, Ferguson had won 12 consecutive Octagon appearances, besting the likes of Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone in the process.

The UFC’s all-time submission leader, Oliveira enters the matchup with Ferguson on a seven-fight winning streak in which he…

Kayla Harrison just beat Courtney King into a bloody mess. Opened up a nasty cut on the bridge of her nose midway through the first and the mauling just continued. pic.twitter.com/3J7Cmhui7o

— Will (@ChillemDafoe) November 21, 2020

It was a mismatch on paper, and it was a mismatch in practice.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison put forth a near-flawless performance in her Invicta Fighting Championships debut, as she dismissed Courtney King with punches in the second round of their gory Invicta 43 headliner on Friday in Kansas City, Kansas. King (4-2, 1-2 Invicta) packed her bags 4:48 into Round 2, closing the book on her three-fight winning streak.

Harrison (8-0, 1-0 Invicta) brutalized the Fury Fighting Championship titleholder throughout the first round, turning their showcase into a bloodbath. The American Top Team export executed a takedown, settled in full guard and slashed open long vertical gash between King’s eyes w…