Martial Arts News

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos is looking to get back on the horse sooner than later. On Friday, ESPN announced that the UFC was putting together a light heavyweight bout between Santos (21-8) and Aleksandar Rakic (13-2). The two would be squaring off at a newly announced March 6 UFC event, and the location could either be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, based on how the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. This bout would not be the headliner, and it would be Santos’ first three-round fight since 2018.

Santos is currently on just the second losing streak in his career, dropping a split verdict to Jon Jones in 2019 and most recently getting tapped out by Glover Teixeira in November. The former middleweight is aiming for the all-time UFC re…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2tA2MK2X9k&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweights on the outside of the top 10 looking in are going to dance in December. The news of the matchup first coming from coach Ray Longo on the Anik and Florian podcast, Merab Dvalishvili (12-4) will remain on the Dec. 5 UFC Fight Night card, and he will be meeting surging contender Raoni Barcelos (16-1) at bantamweight. Dvalishvili was originally slated to take on Cody Stamann, but a positive COVID-19 test scuttled the pairing. Dvalishvili has hinted at the upcoming matchup earlier this week, and it has been since confirmed by other outlets.

Barcelos recorded a win at UFC on ESPN 17 in November, taking a thrilling decision in a “Fight of the Night” scrap against Khalid Taha. The victory extended the Brazilian’s win str…

Former Bantamweight King Horiguchi will rematch Asakura for the title on NYE. Bout order announced for Yogibo presents #RIZIN25 in Osaka.

Yogibo presents #RIZIN26Dec 31, 2020 2:00PM（JST）Saitama Super Arenahttps://t.co/1n7u7eXI7y

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 13, 2020 There will be a major New Year’s Eve MMA event in 2020 after all, courtesy of Rizin Fighting Federation. The promotion revealed via press release on Thursday night that Rizin 26 will take place on Dec. 31. There will be a limited audience inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, of 5,000 people, with the option for more depending on potential loosening government restrictions. Although the promotion has put on three-day festivals in past years, the COVID-19 protocols only allow for a single fight card on NYE.

Headlining Rizin 26 is a bantamweight championship rematch between former divisional kings, as Kai Asakura (16-2) takes on the returning Kyoj…

John Lineker KNOCKS OUT Kevin Belingon in Round 2! @johnlineker #InsideTheMatrix3 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/V3FbwKINd9

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 13, 2020 One Championship broadcasted the tape-delayed third part of the “Inside the Matrix” series on Nov. 13.

In the main event of One: Inside the Matrix 3, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran John Lineker faced Kevin Belingon in the bantamweight division. The contenders put on a fistfight in the first round, which saw many exchanges between Lineker and the former champ. The Brazilian had some success with his uppercuts that tested Belingon’s chin more than once. “The Silencer” attempted to quell Lineker’s aggressiveness with his wushu style, but other than a few flashy kicks, his strategy largely didn’t pan out.

In the second stanza, the Brazilian brawler kept landing on Belingon’s head and body with a plethora of punches. Just over a minute into the …

Day Left #KSW56Light HeavyweightsChampionUndefeated ChallengerOnly Winnerpic.twitter.com/0Nub6qNxcH

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) November 13, 2020 Poland’s No. 1 mixed martial arts promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki returns with its fourth MMA event of the year. KSW 56 has a Poland vs. Croatia theme and is headlined by a middleweight fight between Michal Materla and Roberto Soldic. All fighters made weight and the eight-fight card is now official.

Ever since getting knocked out by Scott Askham, Materla (29-7) has bounced back with two impressive performances. The Polish fighter submitted Wilhelm Ott and picked up a TKO victory over Aleksandar Ilic. A former middleweight champion in the promotion, “Magic” will look to keep his win streak going in the main event. Materla had no issue making weight and came in at 186 pounds.

Moving up in weight is Soldic (17-3), who is KSW’s welterweight champion. He’ll look to defend the pride of Croatia against the na…

The champ retains with a walk-off!

Is @PatricioPitbull the greatest fighter in Bellator MMA history? #Bellator252 pic.twitter.com/A2BlOs3J7i

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) November 13, 2020 As part of the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix, Patricio Freire put his featherweight belt on the line against Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252. However, the belt never came close to changing hands as Freire made quick work of his challenger and remains the man to beat in the grand prix as a result. "Pitbull" finished Carvalho in less than a round after hurting his opponent with overhand rights. It was a beautiful right hand that ended the fight at the 2:10 mark. He'll now get to face former title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez in a rematch of their 2018 bout

The welterweight co-main event saw Yaroslav Amosov and Logan Storley test their skills against one another for 15 minutes. Both fighters were undefeated going into the b…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A heavyweight tilt between two respected veterans will headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night on Feb. 6. On Thursday, ESPN broke the news that Alistair Overeem (47-18, 1 NC) will be facing Alexander Volkov (32-8) in 2021. The pair should have already met at UFC Fight Night 149 back in April 2019, but Volkov was forced to withdraw from the fight due to health issues.

Overeem is currently living a second youth at the age of 40. The former Dream and Strikeforce titleholder is 4-1 in his latest Octagon appearances, with the only loss at the hands of Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC on ESPN 7. After that crushing defeat, “The Demolition Man” bounced back on track by smashing Walt Harris at UFC on ESPN 8 and Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night 176.

The last time he competed, Volkov impressed with a second-round TKO victory over Harris at…

Two top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights are locking horns in January.

ESPN first broke the news on Thursday that Kelvin Gastelum (15-6, 1 NC) will be making his way back to the cage on Jan. 30 against Ian Heinisch (14-3). The two top-15 middleweights will be meeting at an event that does not yet have a main event, but earlier on Thursday, did gain Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown.

Winner of Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Gastelum surged after winning that tournament to rack up several wins. Struggles in weight forced him to move up to middleweight, and Gastelum has dropped three consecutive bouts to Israel Adesanya – albeit in the 2019 “Fight of the Year” winner – Darren Till and Jack Hermansson. His quick submission loss to Hermansson in July is the first time the Kings MMA fighter had ever been stopped within the first two rounds.

Heinisch was booked against Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 17, but a positive COVID-19 test ejected him from the p…

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Bellator MMA has added a pair of fun matchups to its year-end event.

On Thursday, a source close to the situation revealed a pair of fights added to Bellator 254 on Dec. 12. The final 2020 show for the promotion will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The first fight sees a pair of unbeatens clash at 205 pounds, as Tyree Fortune (5-0) takes on Grant Neal (4-0). The other match pits undefeated Romero Cotton (4-0) against Justin Michael Sumter (7-3). Both fights will take place on the preliminary portion of the card.

Fortune, twin brother of heavyweight standout Tyrell Fortune, will look to keep his perfect record intact for his first appearance in 2020. The Oregon native known as “X-Man” has set foot in a cage just once a year dating back to 2017, although he has won each of them. Before turning pro in 2016, Fortune ma…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snuYQzodoOM&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo plans to knock out Alex Perez, and eventually move up to bantamweight after notching several defenses. Getting ready to make his first 125-pound title defense against Perez, Brazil's Figueiredo will fight in the main event of UFC 255 on Nov. 21. Two weeks before the fight, the champ spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming challenge.

“My main goal is to defend the belt five times and go up to [the] bantamweight division,” Figueiredo declared.

Weighing 141 pounds at the moment, Figueiredo recognized that he gave his nutritionist a hard time.

“I was born in Para state, Acai is part of our culture, we have eaten it since we were born,” Figueiredo stated. “Dr. Lia [Figueiredo’s nutritionist] h…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The double debut of the deadly Cosce duo has been disappointingly delayed. On Thursday morning, Denmark’s Nicolas Dalby (18-4-1, 1 NC) posted on social media that he wouldn't be facing Orion Cosce (7-0) anymore, as “Galaxy” suffered an undisclosed injury. Instead, “Lokomotivo” will lock horns with Daniel Rodriguez (13-1) at UFC 255, on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cosce was looking to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut alongside brother Louis Cosce, as the latter is taking on newcomer Sasha Palatnikov.

“On Monday I was told my original opponent was out with an injury,” Dalby wrote. “On Wednesday I received word that I will get to fight Daniel Rodriguez instead, who is a better ranked and more experienced fighter... what’s not to like?! Christmas looks to be coming early this year.”

Former Cage Warrior…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite is setting foot in the cage before the end of the year. On Wednesday night, Daniel Pineda (27-13, 2 NC) posted on his Instagram announcing that he would be taking on Cub Swanson (26-11) at UFC 256. Shortly thereafter, Swanson also posted to his social media that he would be meeting Pineda. The two featherweights will square off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 12, and it is unclear if they will fight on the main card or preliminaries.

Swanson last competed in October 2019, where he snapped a four-fight skid after a victorious thrilling brawl with Kron Gracie. Swanson then competed at the Quintet Ultra event in December, and he tore his ACL and meniscus against Jake Shields to keep him out of action for nearly a year. Once known as a finisher, the California native has not stop…