Martial Arts News

Though he was on a three-bout losing streak, Yoel Romero didn’t expect to receive his walking papers from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Romero said his release from the Las Vegas-based promotion was “completely unexpected.” The Olympic Silver medalist was coming off decision loss to Israel Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 248, a matchup that came at the request of the middleweight champion.

“The Soldier of God” was looking forward to facing another highly-ranked opponent in the Octagon — either at middleweight or light heavyweight — in hopes making of another run at championship gold. However, the UFC offered opponents that Romero felt did not fit his plan.

"I was already in training, very hard, getting ready," Romero said. "We were already thinking about fighting in January, or February, in 185 [pounds] or 205. We were looking to fight with the top three in either division.

"My managers explained this to the top of t…

When Rose Namajunas earned a split-decision triumph against Jessica Andrade in their rematch at UFC 251, it appeared that she had solidified her spot as the No. 1 contender at 115 pounds.

However, it’s possible that “Thug” Rose won’t have a date in the Octagon with reigning strawweight champion Weili Zhang anytime soon. According to UFC president Dana White, Namajunas has balked at squaring off with Zhang next.

“What I’m hearing is Rose does not want a title shot. Rose does not want to fight for a title,” White told BT Sport.

In the past, Namajunas has openly contemplated retirement, particularly after relinquishing the 115-pound belt to Andrade in a slam knockout loss at UFC 237. Ultimately, the Louisiana native reconsidered and returned to vanquish Andrade in their rematch this past July. Still, Namajunas has been honest about the toll being a UFC champion took on her mentally, even as she prepared to return to the Octagon.

“I made it into everything I d…

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Fight Island to kick off its 2020 schedule, UFC president Dana White is expected to have his long-awaited meeting with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the Octagon following a victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in Abu Dhai on Oct. 24, citing a promise he made to his mother. However, the possibility still exists that “The Eagle” would come back to try and finish his career at 30-0 to fulfill a goal he set with his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

“I think his dad wanting him to get to 30-0 is in the back of his mind, and he wants to achieve that because he knew his father wanted it,” White told BT Sport. “But we’ll see. Him and I are getting together next month and talk. He might not want to fight, I don’t know the answer to that. But I’m a little confident that I can talk him into it.”

In anticipation of a potential Nurmagomedov return, the promotion has not vacated the ligh…

Kayla Harrison’s attempt to get one more fight in before the close of 2020 ultimately won’t come to fruition.

Harrison’s opponent, Jozette Cotton, was unable to get below 180 pounds for the lightweight bout, which was scheduled for Titan FC 66 on Thursday at Intercontinental Hotel Miami, in Miami, Florida. As a result, the proposed bout was scrapped. MyMMANews was first to report the cancellation.

According to ESPN, Harrison offered to accept the fight despite the weight difference, but the commission refused to sanction the bout. The two-time Olympic gold medalist also offered to weigh in at 165 pounds within the hour, but it wasn’t enough to salvage the fight. Cotton was ultimately hospitalized due to dehydration, Titan FC COO Lex McMahon confirmed to MMAFighting.com.

Harrison was coming off a second-round technical knockout of Courtney King in her featherweight debut at Invicta FC 43 on Nov. 20 and had been given permission by Professional Fighters League to…

Jake Matthews will lock horns with Sean Brady in a welterweight bout at UFC 259.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and does not yet have an official location or headliner. The card is also expected to include a light heavyweight tilt pitting Aleksandar Rakic against Thiago Santos, a bantamweight scrap between Dominick Cruz and Casey Kenney, and a flyweight showdown between Joseph Benavidez and Askar Askarov.

Matthews, 26, has been victorious in six of his last seven Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Celtic Kid” outpointed Diego Sanchez at UFC 253 on Sept. 26. Matthews is 10-4 since beginning his promotional tenure in 2014 and 17-4 as a professional overall.

Brady has won his first three UFC bouts to improve his professional mark to 13-0. In his last outing, the Renzo Gracie Philly representative submitted Christian Aguilera with a guillotine choke in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 175 encounter.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leM7scY5zxk&w=560&h=315]

Mark Hunt and Paul Gallen put on a show for Australian boxing fans at Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium on Wednesday.

After what the New Zealand Herald described as “one hell of a slugfest,” Gallen emerged with a decision triumph over the UFC and Pride veteran after six hard-fought rounds. Two judges saw the fight 58-56, while a third had it 59-55 — all in favor of Gallen.

The 46-year-old Hunt landed plenty of significant blows in defeat, as he opened a cut under Gallen’s eye with a right hand in Round 1 and wobbled his foe on a couple occasions in the second frame. Ultimately, it was Gallen’s ability to walk through damage and land in volume against an adversary that was more than 50 pounds heavier that proved to be the difference.

“He hit me with something in the second round and I don’t even know what it was. I didn’t even know if I hit the deck or not, but it got me real good,” Gallen told The Sporti…

On Friday, it appeared that Philip Mulpeter would bid farewell to SBG Portarlington for the last time.

The gym, located in County Laois, Ireland, simpy wasn’t able to financially withstand the losses that would come with another COVID-19 imposed lockdown.

“Tonight, we close our doors in the gym for the last time. Unfortunately, we are forced to shut our gym down. To say I'm heartbroken is an understatement. The covid pandemic has been tough on us all and we can no longer keep the gym going. Due to mounting rent bills during lockdowns we just can't sustain,” read a post on the gym’s Instagram page.

“…Hopefully, when the vaccine is rolled out and our lives go back to some form of normality, we can get a new premises and rebuild SBG Port once again. Until then thank you again to each and every one of you.”

However, before Mulpeter could shutter the facility, Conor McGregor reached out to lend a hand to his friend and former training partner. The former UFC …

Wasn't sure about posting this, but decided I'd be failing you all if I didn't

Darina Madzyuk (139lb) vs. Grigory Chistyakov (529lb)

From a recent event called "OUR BUSINESS" (Наше Дело) in Russia. I don't know what to say. God have mercy on us all. https://t.co/rphOHnmbto pic.twitter.com/kwdNMT61JH — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 28, 2020

Darina Mazdyuk has caught the attention of Bellator MMA officials.

The 28-year-old Russian has signed a multi-fight contract with the California-based promotion on the heels of her stoppage victory of 529-pound Grigory Chistyakov in an intergender exhibition bout that went viral on social media. Mazdyuk defeated her opponent via ground strikes when Chistyakov fatigued in less than 90 seconds. Barstool Sports was first to report the signing, and Sherdog.com late confirmed the news with a promotion official.

A date for Mazdyuk’s Bellator debut is currently unknown.

A 28-year-old nati…

The UFC just sent out this email out to athletes and their teams for upcoming events: pic.twitter.com/oEc72YUY7B

— Alex Scaffidi (@alexscaffidi_) December 15, 2020

With COVID-19 cases rising throughout the United States and the UFC losing increasingly more bouts due to positive tests, the promotion has elected to implement more stringent bubble protocol ahead of Saturday’s year-end event.

The policies, which were initially reported by Alex Scaffidi on Twitter, relate primarily to transportation during the athletes’ and coaches’ stay in Las Vegas during fight week. The email is as follows:

The following applies to all athletes and corners participating in UFC Fight Night on December 19th in Las Vegas. Please read this information carefully. ***

“Use of Transportation During Fight Week

“To ensure the integrity of UFC’s Covid-19 testing and quarantine protocols, no athlete or corner will be permitted to use any vehicle not offici…

KILLER CUB IS BACK @CubSwanson with a beautiful return to the Octagon #UFC256

Order the PPV: https://t.co/05E97eYz38 pic.twitter.com/qrerIMsSaM

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) December 13, 2020 UFC 256 was one of the year’s most entertaining and memorable cards but that wasn’t reflected in the ratings for the preliminary draw.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, the UFC 256 prelims averaged 503,000 viewers for a two and a half hour broadcast on ESPN2. Only the UFC 254 prelims, which averaged 343,000 viewers for a daytime broadcast on ESPN2, attracted a smaller audience.

UFC 256 took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view portion of the card was headlined by a flyweight championship clash between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, which ended up being praised as one of the best fights of 2020. The prelims, meanwhile, saw featherweight veteran Cub Swanson score a second-round knockout of Daniel Pineda in the even…

Muslim Salikhov has withdrawn from a proposed welterweight clash against Santiago Ponzinibbio at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2021.

Salikohov announced his exit in an Instagram post, citing health issues that arose after contracting COVID-19 in September. UFC Fight Night takes place Jan. 16 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and his headlined by a featherweight bout pitting Max Holloway against Calvin Kattar. It is unclear if the promotion will seek a replacement foe for Ponzinibbio.

Salikov is currently on a four-bout winning streak in UFC competition. He last appeared at UFC 251, where he earned a split-decision triumph over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on July 11.

Ponzinibbio hasn’t competed in the Octagon since November 2018, when he knocked out Neil Magny in the fourth round of the UFC Fight Night 140 headliner. The 34-year-old Argentinian is currently on a seven-fight winning streak.

Of all the potential matchups for Yoel Romero in Bellator MMA, a light heavyweight showdown with the also recently-signed Anthony Johnson seems to be the most tantalizing.

Romero has opened as a slight favorite in the pairing of former UFC title challengers, according to BetOnline. Romero opened as a -175 favorite, with Johnson as a slight +150 underdog. As of this writing, Romero is at -155 and Johnson is +135. Romero and Johnson must fight by Aug. 1, 2021 for action to be valid.

Romero was released from his UFC contract following a three-fight skid. He last appeared at UFC 248, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight championship bout.

Johnson hasn’t competed since April 2017, when he was submitted by Daniel Cormier in the second-round of a 205-pound title tilt at UFC 210.

Anthony Johnson vs. Yoel Romero Odds

Anthony Johnson vs Yoel Romero (opening odds)Anthony Johnson       &nbs…