Martial Arts News

On Thursday, Nov. 5 - it’s @Team_Manhoef vs. @CoreyA_MMA

Live on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/CVEloDON6s

— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) October 7, 2020 The upcoming Bellator Paris card has just lost some of its most important protagonists.

Fans attending Bellator 248 won't see Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef in action. On Wednesday morning, Dutch combat sports personality Santiago first reported that Manhoef is out of his light heavyweight clash with Simon Biyong (7-1). Sherdog independently confirmed the report.

Moments later, Bellator revealed that Manhoef would instead welcome Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Corey Anderson to the promotion on Nov. 5.

Anderson recently signed with the outfit after assembling a UFC record of 10-5. "Overtime" is Sherdog's No. 5-ranked light heavyweight.

After coming short of capturing Rafael Carvalho's 185-pound championship on back-to-back occasions, Manhoef (32-14-1, 1 NC) bounced…

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A featherweight clash pitting Jeremy Stephens against Arnold Allen is in the works for the UFC’s card on Nov. 7.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the matchup. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweigh tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Glover Teixiera.

Stephens is currently on a five-bout winless streak dating back to a first-round TKO loss against Jose Aldo at UFC on Fox 30 on July 28, 2018. In his last outing, “Lil Heathen” suffered a KO setback to Calvin Kattar at UFC 249. Before his current slump, Stephens was on a three-bout winning streak that included triumphs over Gilbert Melendez, Doo Ho Choi and Josh Emmett.

Allen, meanwhile, has won his first seven UFC appearances and nine in a row overall. The Cage Warriors veteran kicked off his 2020 cam…

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The UFC on ESPN 16 main card averaged 1.097 million viewers on Saturday night, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That’s the second-highest figure for a UFC on ESPN card in 2020 behind only UFC on ESPN 8, which attracted an audience of 1.198 million viewers for a card headlined by Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris on May 16.

The ratings were likely bolstered by the presence of ex-bantamweight queen Holly Holm, who took a five-round verdict over Irene Aldana in the evening’s main event. Holm has been one of the promotion’s top female stars ever since she knocked out then champion Ronda Rousey in 2015.

The main card was also simulcast on ESPN+, while the UFC on ESPN 16 prelims streamed in their entirety on ESPN+. The card ranks No. 3 overall among all UFC on ESPN cards since the promotion began its partnership with the…

A lightweight clash between Nick Newell andt Zach Zane that was initially a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic has been rebooked for Bellator 250.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchup with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Newell and Zane were initially slated to meet at Bellator 241 before the event was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Bellator 250 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Oct. 29 and is headlined by a middleweight title clash between Gegard Mousasi and Douglas Lima. The main card will be televised on CBS Sports Network following prelims on Bellator’s YouTube channel. Newell vs. Zane is expected to take place on the prelims.

Newell is 1-1 in Bellator after previous appearances with WSOF, LFA, Dana White’s Contender Series and XFC. Most recently, the 34-year-old dropped a split verdict to Luis Muro at Bellator 232.

Also an alum of the Contender Series, Zane outpointed Nainoa…

Even with its 2020 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Professional Fighters League is still looking to improve its roster.

The promotion on Tuesday announced eight new signings, including 15-time UFC veteran Cezar Ferreira (middleweight). The other additions include: “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” 3 cast member Joilton Lutterbach (lightweight), UFC and WSOF veteran Sheymon Moraes (featherweight), ex-KOK champ Hatef Moeil (heavyweight), one-time UFC competitor Sung Bin Jo (featherweight), LFA veteran and Team Nogueira product Renan Ferreira (heavyweight), ex-Cage Warriors title challenger Marthin Hamlet (light heavyweight) and three-promotion regional champ Brandon Sayles (heavyweight).

Cezar “Mutante” is the most notable of the signings, with a 9-6 UFC mark that included victories over the likes of Nate Marquardt, Jack Hermansson, Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos during his promotional tenure.

“We are extremely excited to welcome a diverse group of wor…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DUPdId0aKo&w=560&h=315]

Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight champion Bryce Logan has inked a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

Sherdog.com confirmed the signing with a promotion official after Logan’s management team announced the news on social media. Logan is the latest in a slew of LFA title holders to sign with the California-based promotion, joining the likes of light heavyweight champion Alex Polizzi, featherweight king Justin Gonzales and welterweight ruler Jaleel Willis on the Bellator roster.

According to his management, Logan will make his second Bellator appearance on Nov. 5. He previously appeared at Bellator 204 in August 2018, falling to Damarques Jackson via split decision.

Logan rejoins Bellator after winning three consecutive bouts in LFA. Most recently, outpointed Jacob Rosales over five rounds to capture lightweight gold at LFA 87 on July 31. The Power MMA team representative is 12-4 as a profess…

One Championship will host its most stacked card since the COVID-19 pandemic hit with an event featuring four title fights on Oct. 30.

One “Inside the Matrix” will be headlined by a middleweight championship tilt between reigning titlist Aung La N Sang and Reinier de Ridder, while Christian Lee will defend his lightweight crown against Iuri Lapicus. Additionally, featherweight ruler Martin Nguyen will square off against Thanh Le, while strawweight queen Jingnan Xiong will face Tiffany Teo.

One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently announced the event, though a location and venue were not revealed.

Sang is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Singapore-based promotion and is coming off a second-round TKO of heavyweight champion Brandon Vera in light heavyweight title defense at One Championship “Century” Part 2 last October. The Netherlands’ Reinier is unbeaten in 12 professional appearances, including three under the One banner.

Lee la…

The hands of @pezao011 sent Sosoli to the canvas facefirst #UFCAuckland pic.twitter.com/HJmHvVOpub

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2020

UFC heavyweight Ben Sosoli could be in Australian jail for up to 22 months after punching a man outside a Melbourne bar in September 2019.

According to the Australian Associated Press, Sosoli was working at Jacksons Lounge Bar as a bouncer when he punched a man in the jaw after the patron twice snuck in to the establishment upon being refused entry for being too intoxicated. The man suffered a broken jaw as a result and was forced to undergo surgery.

Sosoli told police that the man had been “threatening to f—k him up” prior to the incident. However, Judge Gavan Meredith on Monday did not excuse the fighter for his actions.

"You are expected not to respond to provocation in the way you did,” Meredith said.

Sosoli pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury and must serve 11 months o…

A welterweight title bout between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns will not take place at UFC 256 as originally anticipated.

According to ESPN, the fight has been postponed because Usman needs more time to recover from undisclosed injuries, and it is unclear when the bout might be rescheduled. According to the report, the promotion has looked into booking Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou or Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington for the card, but neither fight is close to being finalized.

Usman and Burns were originally supposed to meet at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi on July 11, but Burns was forced to pull out of the contest after testing positive for COVID-19. Instead, Usman made his second successful title defense with a clear-cut five-round verdict against Masvidal in the evening’s main event. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has won 16 straight professional bouts – including 12 in the UFC.

Burns experienced mixed results at lightweight but has rattled off four consecutive vict…

Alexander Hernandez will square off against Chris Gruetzemacher in a lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31.

BJPenn.com was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 181 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown pitting Anderson Silva against Uriah Hall.

After beginning his promotional tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Beneil Dariush and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Hernandez has dropped two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the San Antonio, Texas, native suffered a second-round TKO defeat against Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 171 on May 13.

Gruetzemacher, meanwhile, halted a two-bout skid with a TKO of Joe Lauzon at UFC 223 in April 2018. The 34-year-old WSOF and Strikeforce veteran has not competed since that victory.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman was one of numerous male athletes victimized by Dr. Richard Strauss at Ohio State University, according to a report from Sports Illustrated.

In a piece entitled Why Aren’t More People Talking About the Ohio State Sex Abuse Scandal, Coleman recalls undergoing what seemed to be an inappropriate physical examination from Strauss upon his arrival on campus in 1986.

“He examined me pretty good. It was an eye-opener,” Coleman said. “I don’t want to go further than that.”

At that time, Strauss was the OSU doctor for five sports programs and the consulting physician for at least 10 others. According to the report, Strauss would not only fondle male athletes’ genitals during examinations — whether it was necessary or not — but he was also known to be present at practices, in locker rooms and would even shower with the athletes. Strauss’ bizarre and inappropriate antics earned him monikers like “Dr. Feel Good” or “Dr. Drop-You…

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson might be the most cursed bout in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, but there’s an outside chance the two lightweights could still meet in the Octagon.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, UFC president Dana White implied that the Nurmagomedov-Ferguson matchup might not be dead yet – provided a couple things happen. Nurmagomedov is currently slated to defend his lightweight crown against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Oct. 24, while Ferguson has not fought since falling to Gaethje in an interim 155-pound title tilt at UFC 249 on May 9.

“If Khabib does beat Gaethe, you get Tony Ferguson another fight, which we’re working on right now,” White said. “And hopefully that fight with Khabib happens because I know people want to see it.”

The promotion has already tried to book Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson on five different occasions, and each time the bout has fallen through for various reasons. Most recently, the COVID-19 pand…