Martial Arts News

Earlier this year, Paul Felder was contemplating retirement. Instead, he’ll make his next Octagon appearance on just five days’ notice.

Felder will step in for Islam Makhachev and face Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Fight Night 182 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Despite the short-notice nature of the matchup, it will remain a five-round fight and will still be contested at 155 pounds. ESPN was first to report the new pairing.

Felder last appeared at UFC Fight Night 168 on Feb. 23, when he lost a narrow split decision to Dan Hooker in the evening’s headliner. “The Irish Dragon” publicly mulled retirement in the aftermath of that defeat before ultimately reconsidering that decision. The 35-year-old Roufusport product is 9-5 in his UFC career, with noteworthy triumphs against the likes of Edson Barboza, Charles Oliveira and James Vick. Felder has also become a staple of UFC broadcasts as a commentator.

A former UFC lightweight champion, dos Anj…

Two-division champion Amanda Nunes has pulled out of her scheduled featherweight title defense at UFC 256 for undisclosed reasons, according to ESPN.

Nunes vs. Anderson was supposed to headline the UFC 256 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. According to Anderson, the promotion is working to reschedule the bout, though UFC officials have not officially announced the cancellation of the title fight. It is currently unclear if UFC 256 will get a new headliner. The card also features a bantamweight championship clash between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling.

Wishing Amanda a speedy recovery UFC are rescheduling the bout for a date early next year.

The goal remains the same We'll be ready.. https://t.co/APZt4zUkS0

— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) November 9, 2020

"All I was told was she has a 'serious medical issue' and that they're working on rescheduling the bout currently," Anderson said in a statement released to ESPN. "Obviou…

A middleweight showdown between Brendan Allen and Sean Strickland has been added to the UFC Fight Night 182 lineup.

Allen initially announced the pairing on Instagram, and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. Allen was supposed to square off against Ian Heinsich at UFC on ESPN 17 last weekend before a positive COVID-19 test involving Heinisch resulted in the cancellation of that bout.

“It all happened super fast, but we got everything done and put together. Thank you SO much to the [UFC], [Dana White] and my guy [Mick Maynard] for working his tail off and taking super good care of me and getting me set up with a talented opponent,” Allen wrote.

UFC Fight Night 182 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and was originally scheduled to feature a lightweight clash between Rafael dos Anjos and Islam Makhachev. Makhachev withdrew from the bout due to a staph infection, and the promotion is in the process of seeking a replacement opponent for dos Anjos.…

Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 fighters slated for action made weight without issue on Monday.

The event did undergo one late change when Landon Quinones Stewart was forced to exit the event due to a positive COVID-19 test. As a result, Natan Levy will step in to face Shaheen Santana in a 160-pound catchweight affair. Levy tipped the scales at 159 pounds, while Santana checked in at 158.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. ET. The card is headlined by a middleweight clash between Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz (184.5) and Mario Filipe de Sousa (185.5).

The Winnipeg-based Ksiazkiewicz is unbeaten in eight professional appearances thus far. He last competed in November 2019, when he scored a first-round submission of Guilherme Miranda. All but one of his victories have come inside the distance.

Sousa has lost just once in 12 career bouts. The 24-year-ol…

Raufeon Stots will square off against Keith Lee in a bantamweight affair at Bellator 253.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bout with a promotion official on Monday following an initial report from MMA journalist James Lynch. Bellator 253 takes place at on Nov. 19 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a featherweight grand prix semifinal pitting Darrion Caldwell against A.J. McKee.

The promotion also confirmed four more bouts for Bellator 253 to MMAjunkie.comon Monday: Kevin Ferguson Jr. vs. Kaheem Murray at lightweight; Gaston Bolanos vs. Johnny Soto at a 140-pound catchweight; Jaleel Willis vs. Mark Lemminger at welterweight and Marcus Surin vs. Ricardo Seixas at lightweight.

Stots has gone 2-0 in his promotional tenure thus far, posting a unanimous verdict against Cheyden Leialoha at Bellator 236 and a third-round submission over Cass Bell at Bellator 242. The 31-year-old Roufusport product has lost just once in 15 professional out…

Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will test the waters at 145 pounds against Courtney King at Invicta Fighting Championships 43 on Nov. 20.

PFL officials announced the news in a release on Monday. Harrison is still expected to compete in the promotion’s 2021 season, which begins in April, at 155 pounds.

“I have been on a mission to show I am the best fighter,” Harrison said. “I have been tackling challenges my entire career and this bout at 145 pounds is a new and exciting one for me. I’m looking forward to competing in this new weight class and can’t wait to get back into the PFL cage come April.” 

Additionally, Invicta FC confirmed that the originally scheduled flyweight championship headliner between Pearl Gonzalez and Erin Blanchfield has been postponed after Gonzalez tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, a strawweight title tilt between Emily Ducote and Montserrat Ruiz has been elevated to the main event. In anothe…

FLORIDA REPRESENT!

@Thunder92Baeza makes a STATEMENT early RD2!

Watch now LIVE on @ESPN #UFCFL pic.twitter.com/OOPnFmEpt3 — UFC (@ufc) May 17, 2020

Miguel Baeza will lock horns with Takashi Sato in a welterweight bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 28.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight duel pitting Curtis Blaydes against Derrick Lewis.

A competitor on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Baeza has kicked off his promotional tenure with technical knockout victories against Hector Aldana and Matt Brown. The 28-year-old known as “Caramel Thunder” is 9-0 with seven wins coming by KO or TKO.

The 30-year-old Sato has been victorious in two of his three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 30-year-old Tokyo native stopped Jason Witt 48 seconds into the opening stanza at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27. The Pancrase…

Thiago Santos’ first Octagon appearance in 16 months didn’t go as planned.

Coming off a split-decision loss to former champion Jon Jones at UFC 239, “Marreta” carried high expectations into his matchup with Glover Teixeira at UFC on ESPN 17. And while Santos looked dangerous as ever on the feet, those moments were few and far between as he was overwhelmed on the canvas en route to a third-round submission loss at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Santos had an opportunity to jump right back into contention in a light heavyweight division no longer ruled by Jones, but instead it’s Teixeira who appears positioned for a future title shot after his fifth consecutive win.

Santos, who had to endure a lengthy rehabilitation process after undergoing surgery on both of his knees following the loss to Jones, expressed his disappointment in a social media post over the weekend.

“I’m totally disappointed and embarrassed by my performance, I didn’t do anyth…

Next weekend’s UFC Fight Night 182 card has taken a major hit, as Islam Makhachev has withdrawn from his main event clash against Rafael dos Anjos.

ESPN was first to report Makhachev’s exit, which occurred as a result of an undisclosed injury. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for dos Anjos. The bout was originally supposed to take place at UFC 254 but was postponed after dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19.

Dos Anjos suggested former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler as a replacement opponent in a Twitter post.

“I wish [Islam Makhachev] a [speedy] recovery,” dos Anjos wrote. Looking for a new partner to dance. Looks like [Michael Chandler] is ready to go. Your move!”

Makhachev is currently on a six-fight winning streak in UFC competition. The Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner last appeared at UFC 242, where he outpointed Davi Ramos in September 2019.

UFC Fight Night 182 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las …

Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman is recovering in a hospital after suffering a heart attack last week.

The news was first shared by MMA documentarian Will Harris, who shared a screenshot from the Instagram story of Coleman’s daughter, Morgan.

“Thank you for all the kind words and support,” Morgan wrote. “[Coleman] is recovering well from his heart attack but still has more test to be done.”

Prayers for the legend @Markcolemanmma , who is recovering from a heart attack Recover like the beast you are brotha. Keep your thoughts on him MMA family. #UFCVegas13 pic.twitter.com/itv6id2G6T

— Anatomy of a Fighter (@WillHarrisAOAF) November 8, 2020

Coleman later issued a statement from his own Instagram account in which he shared that he drove to the hospital after feeling tightness in his chest and numbness in his arms. It was then discovered that Coleman had blockage in an artery and will need to undergo a procedure to have a …

Jan Blachowicz came away impressed by the seemingly ageless Glover Teixeira after the Brazilian veteran dispatched Thiago Santos in the UFC on ESPN 17 headliner Saturday night.

“Great fight and incredible run by [Glover Teixeira],” Blachowicz wrote on Twitter. “You totally deserve to fight for the title and get a taste of the #legendaryPolishPower.”

“If Adesanya can’t wait till March, let’s go.”

Great fight and incredible run by @gloverteixeira. You totally deserve to fight for the title and get taste of the #LegendaryPolishPower.

If Adesanya can't wait till March, let's go #UFCVegas13

— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) November 8, 2020

Last week, UFC president Dana White announced that Blachowicz would make his first light heavyweight title defense against 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya at a future event. Meanwhile, the Polish veteran revealed that he wouldn’t be able to return to action until March at the earliest, citi…

Sergei Kharitonov KO's Oli Thompson 2:54 into R1 #ParusMMA pic.twitter.com/RQq8b6qC9g

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 7, 2020

Sergei Kharitonov still possesses plenty of power in his hands.

The 40-year-old Russian veteran authored a highlight-reel KO at Paurus FC on Saturday, as he stopped UFC veteran Oli Thompson with a punch 2:50 into the opening stanza of their heavyweight clash. A powerful right hand sent Thompson plunging face first into the canvas, giving Kharitonov his second consecutive win following a four-bout stint in Bellator MMA.

Kharitonov has competed for organizations such as Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, Dream and Bellator over the course of a career that began in 2000. He has finished 21 of his triumphs by knockout or technical knockout during that time.