Martial Arts News

It appears that Yoel Romero will be a Bellator MMA athlete very soon.

The former UFC middleweight title challenger is expected to sign with the California-based promotion and make his debut at 205 pounds in 2021. Though Romero has not officially signed a contract, both sides have agreed to terms. ESPN was first to report the news.

Early reports indicated that Bellator was not interested in signing Romero, who will turn 44 years old in April. However, Bellator and “The Soldier of God” were ultimately able to reach an agreement for a multi-fight deal as Romero’s period of free agency lasted less than two weeks. Romero’s imminent signing comes on the heels of the addition of Anthony Johnson, setting up a potentially tantalizing matchup at light heavyweight in Bellator.

Romero, who suffered a KO loss to Rafael Cavalcante in a 205-pound bout under the Strikeforce banner before moving to middleweight upon signing with the UFC, is 13-5 over the course of a professional…

A light heavyweight showdown pitting Khalil Rountree against Marcin Prachnio has been added to the UFC 257 lineup.

Promotion officials announced the pairing during the UFC 256 broadcast this past Saturday. UFC 257 takes place on Jan. 23 in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight showdown between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

After recently considering retirement, Rountree re-signed with the Las Vegas-based promotion earlier this year. Rountree last appeared at UFC Fight Night 160, where he suffered a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Ion Cutelaba in September 2019. The 30-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative is 4-4 with one no contest during his promotional tenure.

Prachnio, meanwhile, enters the matchup with Rountree on a three-bout losing streak in the Octagon. Most recently, the Tatsujin Dojo product suffered a first-round KO loss to Mike Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 15. The One Championship veteran has been finished in each of his three UFC ap…

It was not a banner night for either Tony Ferguson or Junior dos Santos at UFC 256.

One bout removed from having a 12-fight winning streak halted by Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, Ferguson had a chance to jump right back into title contention with a victory over Charles Oliveira in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Instead, “El Cucuy” was dominated for three rounds by his Brazilian opponent in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat.

That came as a surprise to Dana White, who expected a return to form for the longtime contender. Nonetheless, White still came away impressed with Feguson’s durability after “The Ultimate Fighter 13” winner survived a nasty armbar from Oliveira at the end of Round 1.

“I thought we were going to see the old Tony,” White said at the UFC 256 post-fight press conference. “I thought that the last fight he was affected by weight cutting and we were going to see [the old Tony]. Ten out of 10 people tap to that armbar. The fac…

Deiveson Figueiredo has established himself as a different breed of flyweight, one who can end a fight at a moment’s notice with his power and overall finishing ability.

However, the reigning 125-pound champion threw everything he had at Brandon Moreno in the UFC 256 main event on Saturday, and “The Assassin Baby” still kept coming. Thanks to a point deduction for an inadvertent low blow in the third round, Moreno was able to emerge with a majority draw against the champion.

The longer the fight went on, the more confident Moreno became.

“I think I expected a little bit more power from him. Obviously he has power. It’s obvious because when he threw punches to my body, I felt it. When he threw kicks to my forearms, I felt it definitely,” Moreno said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “But I started to get more confidence during the fight, and I started to feel comfortable. I think I needed to put more pressure in the fifth round, but it is what it is. Right now I have…

Despite a seven-fight winning streak in which he finished each of his opponents, Charles Oliveira was something of an overlooked commodity in the lightweight division heading into UFC 256.

Not anymore. After dominating Tony Ferguson for three rounds, “Do Bronx” has moved to the forefront of any title discussion at 155 pounds.

“I think everything happens at the right time,” Oliveira said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Look at the fight tonight: This is the guy everyone calls ‘The Boogeyman,’ and we went in there and we had an amazing fight. I’ve been telling everyone I’m going to be the champion. People don’t believe it, so I have to show them.”

Oliveira grounded the former interim champion with ease and dominated positioning throughout Saturday’s co-main event contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He nearly finished the fight in Round 1, when a late armbar attempt had Ferguson’s arm contorted at a gruesome angle.

“He’s a really tough guy,” Oli…

Not only did Deiveson Figueiredo make the shortest turnaround in UFC history for a title defense on Saturday night, he did so while under the weather.

Figueiredo retained his 125-pound belt after battling Brandon Moreno to a majority draw in the UFC 256 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Figueiredo did not attend the post-fight press conference after being transported to a local hospital after the bout, but he did reveal some interesting information in a brief post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

“I had something happen to me yesterday. I had an infection in my stomach,” Figueiredo said through a translator. “I was in the hospital until 2 a.m. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to perform. Hopefully I did a good job. I came in here and I put my blood, sweat and tears into this.”

It wasn’t necessarily evident in the champion’s performance. Though he didn’t get the victory, the bout was hailed as perhaps the greatest fi…

"Give me December 19. I don't need to go home!"@Trailblaze2top wants a sixth fight in 2020 #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/ho40HwpxpX

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 13, 2020

For the record, Kevin Holland doesn’t mind giving out credit where credit is due.

After authoring just the second knockout in promotion history stemming from a punch from bottom position against Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 on Saturday night, Holland dismissed the notion that his finish should top year-end award lists for knockouts. That honor, he says, belongs to Joaquin Buckley, who went viral with a spinning back kick finish of Impa Kasanganay earlier this year. Coincidentally, Holland welcomed Buckley to the Octagon with a third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8.


“Not KO of the year, Joaquin Buckley got KO of the year, that’s my son, I birthed him into the game and I’m super proud of him. I’d never take anything away from him,” Holland said. “I’m super happy the way…

Deiveson Figueiredo won’t have to wait for a bag of cash from Dana White this time around.

Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their memorable headlining clash at UFC 256 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Just three weeks after both men appeared at UFC 255, Figueiredo and Moreno battled to a majority draw in a matchup that many are hailing as a “Fight of the Year” contender as well as the best bout in the history of the 125-pound division.

Elsewhere, Kevin Holland pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to an unusual knockout of Ronaldo Souza in a featured middleweight affair. Not long after being taken down by the grappling ace, Holland eventually caught his kneeling opponent with several right hands from his back that had “Jacare” reeling. From there, Holland returned to his feet and sealed his victory with more punches to get the stoppage at the 1:45 mark of Round 1.

Finall…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 256 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Five rounds were not enough to settle the score between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. Figueiredo retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown but settled for a majority draw against Moreno in the UFC 256 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Judge Derek Cleary scored it 48-46 for Figueiredo, while Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo saw it 47-47. A third-round point deduction for a low blow ultimately cost the Brazilian a victory in a clear contender for “Fight of the Year.”

Aaaaaaannd STILL!

@Daico_Deiveson retains his title in a majority draw. #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/zPJzAPvvFe

— UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020 It was a dogfight from start to finish. Figueiredo (20-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) hit the Mexican challenger with everything in his arsenal, from spinning back ki…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 256 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 256 “Figueiredo vs. Moreno” coverage begins Saturday at 7:30 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:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy score…

Lightweight has a new threat in @RafaelFiziev #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/nET3H8zMu8

— UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 256 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Rafael Fiziev throws the kind of heat that triggers nightmares. The Phuket Top Team standout continued his climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight ladder, as he cut down Renato Carneiro with a blistering three-punch combination in the first round of their UFC 256 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Fiziev (9-1, 3-1 UFC) drew the curtain 4:05 into Round 1.

Carneiro (14-4-1, 6-4 UFC) held his own initially, honing in on the Kyrgyzstani police officer with penetrating jabs and overhand rights. However, when his first pass at a takedown failed, the American Top Team rep found himself trapped on the feet with one of the most frightening strikers in the 155-pound…

BODY SHOT! CHARRIERE IS THE CHAMP!

That was a special, special shot 'The Last Pirate' will bring the belt home to France #CW119 pic.twitter.com/ScRMsT9StF

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) December 12, 2020 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship crowned a new featherweight title holder in its third and final event of the “Trilogy Strikes Back” series on Saturday at York Hall in London.

In the main event of Cage Warriors 119, Morgan Charriere (16-7-1) locked horns with Perry Goodwin (10-8) for the vacant featherweight belt. “The Last Pirate” started testing Goodwin’s chin with heavy combinations as soon as the fight began, but it was Charriere’s kicks that impacted his opponent the most. A few minutes into the contest, Goodwin was already bearing the marks of his opponent’s shots.

In the second stanza, Charriere involuntarily hit Goodwin with a low blow. After recovering from it, “The Predator” took some severe punishment to his lead leg …