Martial Arts News

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.

It’s been 20 years since Andrei Arlovski made his Octagon debut against Aaron Brink at UFC 28 “High Stakes” at Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Two decades and 33 UFC appearances later, the 41-year-old Belarusian is still finding ways to win fights. On Saturday, “The Pit Bull” held off surging heavyweight Tanner Boser, who entered the bout on the strength of back-to-back KO finishes, to win a unanimous decision in the UFC on ESPN 17 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

While Arlovski’s output was lacking, when he did connect, he landed with more authority than his 29-year-old opponent, whose primary offense was a steady diet of leg kicks. In a fight where signature moments came at a premium, that was enough for the American Top Team product to earn the nod from the cageside judges. For Arlovski, a man who has competed in four different decades now, a conservative approach can be prudent.

“I can understand understand why commentators and Dana White…

It’s been more than six years since Glover Teixeira last challenged for UFC light heavyweight gold, but the Brazilian veteran is knocking on the door for another title shot in what should be the twilight of his career.

The 41-year-old Teixeira won his fifth straight fight in the UFC on ESPN 17 headliner, submitting Thiago Santos with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Making the victory even more impressive was the fact that Teixeira finished the man who battled pound-for-pound superstar Jon Jones to a split decision at UFC 239 in 2019.

After his victory, Teixeira pleaded for another chance to claim UFC gold.

“I want that belt, man. It’s a dream,” Teixeira said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I live a simple life. I don’t fight for the money, I fight for the belt. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m disciplined. That’s why I work so hard. That’s my dream.

“I know it’s not an easy task. There’…

IN ONE ROUND.@JaredVanderaa opened the night with RELENTLESS finishing shots

[ Tune in on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/UCQSGCS7tY

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2020 A heavyweight matchup pitting Sergey Spivak against Jared Vanderaa is in the works for UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking. UFC 256 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s featherweight championship clash between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. In the co-main event, Petr Yan will defend the bantamweight crown against Aljamain Sterling.

Spivak, 25, is 2-2 in four Octagon appearances. In his last outing, the Moldovan fighter earned a majority decision against Carlos Felipe at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18. Spivak is 11-2 as a professional with 10 triumphs coming inside the distance.

Vanderaa, meanwhile, earned a UFC contract thanks to a first-round technical knockout victory over Harry Hunsucker at Dana White…

Raoni Barcelos and Khalid Taha brought the heat for 15 full minutes at UFC on ESPN 17.

The bantamweight competitors were rewarded for their efforts with “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barcelos set a tremendous pace throughout the bout and appeared to be on the verge of putting his opponent away on a few occasions, but Taha stayed in the fight and made it to the final horn. Still, it was Barcelos who emerged with a well-deserved unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Giga Chikadze pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a quick finish of replacement foe James Krause-Simmons in a featured featherweight matchup. After a feeling-out process, Chikadze felled Krause-Simmons with a body kick followed by a head kick. Standing-to-ground punches ended the bout 3:51 into the first frame.

Finally, heavyweight submission artist Alexander Romanov earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” c…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Glover Teixeira refused to give in. The respected Brazilian veteran on Saturday likely cemented himself as the No. 1 contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, as he submitted Thiago Santos with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 17 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In his first appearance since July 6, 2019, Santos (21-8, 13-7 UFC) capitulated 1:49 into Round 3.

Teixeira (32-7, 15-5 UFC) walked through hellfire to secure one of the most significant victories of his 39-fight career. Hurt on multiple occasions, the former Shooto Brazil champion turned to his takedowns, world-class grappling and destructive ground-and-pound to neutralize another knockout-minded opponent. He dominated Santos in the second round and cinched a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of …