Martial Arts News

Israel Adesanya had his moments against Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

Although he suffered his fourth consecutive loss in the UFC Seattle headliner, Israel Adesanya hasn’t lost his competitive fire.

The former middleweight champion started well but was gradually overwhelmed by Joe Pyfer in a second-round technical knockout loss in Saturday’s main event at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. It was the third consecutive outing in which “The Last Stylebender” has been finished inside the distance.

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Despite those discouraging circumstances, Adesanya currently has no designs on calling it a career.

“You keep going. Again and again and again and again and again,” Adesanya said during a post-fight interview in the Octagon.

“I’m not f—-ing leaving. You’ll never stop me. I might get beat, but I’ll always remain undefeated.”

Adesanya is regarded as one of the top middleweight champions in UFC history. He claimed the 185-po…

Arman Tsarukyan left no room for debate with his win over Georgio Poullas at RAF 7. 

Tsarukyan and Poullas first clashed in a wrestling match at RAF 6 last month. Wrestler-turned-influencer Poullas was accused of multiple fouls and penalized on points. Tsarukyan eventually won the chaotic affair on points and punched Poullas, leading to a brawl. 

While they were scheduled to meet in a submission-grappling rematch at Hype FC, Poullas pulled out, citing his preference to compete at RAF. Tsarukyan and Poullas finally met in a grudge rematch at RAF 7 on Saturday at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.

An End to the Rivalry? It was a much cleaner bout than their first meeting, and Tsarukyan was leading 1-0 in the first round. A delay in the break due to Poullas getting his hands taped had Tsarukyan worked up. While Poullas managed to take down Tsarukyan in the third round, the UFC lightweight sealed the victory with a four-point throw to win 9-3. 

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Michael Chiesa had a fairytale retirement.

Chiesa (20-7) took on Niko Price (16-11) in his last Octagon outing at UFC Seattle on Saturday. “The Maverick” took Price down, locked in a rear-naked choke, and earned the tap in hardly over a minute. The 38-year-old hung up his gloves on a four-fight winning streak with three finishes. Chiesa says he is glad to ride off into the sunset while he is still winning. The fighter-commentator loves the sport too much to stick around after he is washed up. While he retires from competition, the UFC veteran plans to be a part of the sport for the rest of his life.

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“I want to go out feeling like I can still win fights,” Chiesa said in a post-fight interview. “I don’t want to go down face down in the mud… I have too much respect for the sport to stick around and just end up letting it get the best of me. So I’m gonna get the best of it. I’m gonna go out on my terms and walk away from the sport of MMA as a competitor.…

Alexa Grasso made a statement against Alexa Grasso. | Getty/UFC

Alexa Grasso authored one of the most memorable finishes in recent memory in the UFC Seattle co-main event.

The former flyweight queen dropped Maycee Barber, then applied a rear-naked choke to her already unconscious foe, earning an emphatic stoppage victory at the 2:42 mark of Round 1 on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. As a result, Grasso was the recipient of a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Meanwhile, Joe Pyfer garnered the evening’s other $100,00 Performance of the Night” award for his finish of ex-middleweight ruler Israel Adesanya in the evening’s headliner. Pyfer weathered a slow start, then shifted momentum by rocking his opponent with power punches on the feet in the second round. From there, “Bodybagz” landed a takedown and eventually put Adesanya away with ground-and-pound at the 4:18 mark of the period.

Preliminary Barnburner Earns $100K Finally, Tofiq…

Johnny Eblen had one thing on his mind Saturday night, and it only took him four minutes to get it.

Haunted by losing his Professional Fighters League middleweight title in the final minute eight months ago, Eblen returned in his first fight back and reminded the world why people call him “Pressure.” Eblen battered, ragdolled, and choked out Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Bryan Battle en route to a first-round submission (4:10) in the PFL Pittsburgh main event from the UMPC Events Center.

Eblen (17-1, 3-1 PFL) knew that Battle (12-3, 0-1 PFL) was a handful on the feet, so the American Top Team product lifted him off them and dumped “The Ultimate Fighter” winner on his head over and over again. Every time Battle thought he found a shred of space, Eblen dumped him back on the canvas. Eblen finally put Battle out of his misery with a textbook face crank from the rear-naked choke position that forced Battle to tap.

Eblen immediately called out PFL champion Cost…

In the simplest terms, Joe Pyfer has arrived as a middleweight contender.

In the main event of UFC Seattle on Saturday night, the rising middleweight contender faced by far the greatest test of his career in two-time former champion Israel Adesanya. Pyfer wasted little time in trying to secure a takedown, but “The Last Stylebender” calmly fought it off against the fence. Adesanya took the matador’s role, barely slipping some huge power shots from the Philly native and coming back with slick counters, including a couple of nasty leg kicks and an intercepting knee that clearly stung. Pyfer landed a beautiful takedown with under 30 seconds left, but the round expired before he could truly capitalize.

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Adesanya continued to work on Pyfer’s lead left leg in Round 2, drawing greater and greater reactions, but absorbed several big right hands. Unbelievably, Adesanya acquiesced in a brawl in the middle of the round, getting in several heavy shots of his own b…

Sherdog's live PFL Pittsburgh coverage will begin Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Round 1 They keep the line moving in the middleweight division, as Fremd (11-6, 0-0 PFL) toes the line against Al-Silawi (21-7, 4-4 PFL) at 185 pounds. Nick Berens administers the law and order. No glove touch between the two participants. Fremd greets his counterpart with a jab, low kick and lead left hook. Al-Silawi circles and gets off a one-two. Fremd controls the center, then eats an overhand right. Fremd answers with one of his own and charges forward with Al-Silawi off-balance. Strong leg kick from Fremd, who jabs at the body and then goes to the head. Al-Silawi dives on a single-leg, only to run right into a front choke. Nevertheless, he completes the takedown and settles in half guard as Fremd clings to his neck. Al-Silawi moves behind the American and loses positio…

Sherdog's live UFC Seattle coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 271. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Thainara (-600); Brasil (+450)Round 1 To quote the inimitable UFC play-by-play commentator John Gooden, we are about to be delighted with a festival of face-punching here at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle tonight. A baker’s dozen matchups will hopefully provide a plethora of mayhem and carnage, but the good kind that we like to see at a major MMA event. The action all commences with a rematch between ladies that first met in 2019. The lone loss on the ledger for submission specialist Thainara (13-1, 2-0 UFC) came to Brasil (11-6-1, 3-4 UFC) by guillotine choke, and you bet your bottom dollar that the favored Thainara wants that one back. The strawweights and countrywomen touch gloves in front of governing referee Bobby Wombacher, who clocks the two in. Brasil immediately introduces herself with a clubbing body k…

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Tofiq Musayev picked up his first UFC win on Saturday, but it was definitely a wild ride.

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Longtime Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight standout Musayev (23-6; 1-1 UFC) faced short-notice foe Ignacio Bahamondes (17-7; 6-4 UFC) in the top prelim bout of UFC Seattle, and the two collaborated on one of the bloodiest, most dramatic bouts we’re likely to see all year. The momentum swung in Bahamondes’ direction early, as he got the better of most of the standup exchanges, hurting the Azerbaijani several times en route to winning a clear but competitive Round 1. The second frame started off with more of the same, as Bahamondes hurt Musayev with a hard right hand, then looked to hoist and slam him to the ground. Musayev recovered—with the help of a couple of egregious fence grabs—and took Bahamondes down, at which point he cut the Chilean wide open with an elbow. The bleeding was immediate and profuse, and Musayev poured it…

Demetrious Johnson had a record-setting run in the UFC's flyweight division. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Demetrious Johnson, who is widely regarded as the top flyweight in mixed martial arts history, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Johnson’s induction during the UFC Seattle broadcast on Saturday. “Mighty Mouse” will enter the Hall of Fame’s Modern Wing. Johnson is often mentioned with the the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomeodv as one of the greatest fighters of all-time, regardless of weight class

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“Demetrious Johnson is the greatest flyweight of all-time,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “Demetrious was a great champion who had one of the most incredible careers in MMA, and his streak of 11 consecutive title defenses is one of the most remarkable records we’ve ever seen in professional sports. It will be an honor to ind…

Chris Avila has stayed active in boxing in recent years. | Esther Lin/Fanmio

Most Valuable Promotions has finalized its first-ever mixed martial arts card with a matchup of two UFC veterans.

Chris Avila will lock horns with Brandon Jenkins in a 165-pound catchweight bout at the May 16 event, which takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. MVP confirmed the booking on Saturday. Avila had previously been slated for the event but did not have an opponent when the card was initially announced.

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Well-Traveled Veterans A training partner of Nate Diaz, Avila fought twice for the UFC in 2016, dropping decisons to Artem Lobov and Enrique Barzola. The 33-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight team represenetative has compiled an 8-9 record over the course of his professional tenure, also competing for organizations such as Bellator and Combate Americas. His last pro MMA appearance came in 2021, but he has remained active in professional boxing since t…

Steve Erceg is done putting his opponents on a pedestal. 

Erceg had a wildcard entry into the UFC flyweight title picture. “Astro Boy” challenged Alexandre Pantoja for the title in his fourth UFC fight and came up short. Erceg then went on to drop two more against top contender Kai Kara-France and former champ Brandon Moreno. The Australian has since rebounded with a narrow unanimous decision win over Ode Osbourne, who fought him on 11 days’ notice. 

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Erceg (13-4) is now scheduled to fight veteran Tim Elliott (21-13) at UFC Perth on May 2. Erceg plans to have less respect for his opponents going forward. Having fought a streak of elite opponents, Erceg admits that he put them on a pedestal going into his fights. However, the 30-year-old has now realized that he can hold his own against the best fighters in the world.Just Normal People “Less respect for my opponents [going forward], basically,” Erceg told Australian MMA. “There has to be a re…