Martial Arts News

WHAT A DEBUT FOR JACOBE SMITH 👊 #UFCVEGAS101 pic.twitter.com/532TNCoGJQ

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 11, 2025

Jacobe Smith managed to exceed the hype.

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The undefeated Fortis MMA prospect filled in for Andreas Gustafsson on short notice and flashed blue-chip talent in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he punched out Preston Parsons in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 249 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Parsons (11-6, 2-4 UFC) checked out 73 seconds into Round 1.

A onetime NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith (10-0, 1-0 UFC) pressed forward behind leg and body kicks, crisp punches and a stepping knee to the body. He lured Parsons into range, set off an exchange in the center of the cage and floored the Floridian with a sweeping left hook. Smith, 28, pounced with a few more punches before referee Mike Beltran could arrive on the scene to wave …

😳Victoria Dudakova slapped one of her coaches after her loss

pic.twitter.com/JJ6f29RZ5W

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 11, 2025

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Victoria Dudakova seemingly didn’t take her first technical knockout loss too well.

Dudakova was dominated by Fatima Kline on the ground at UFC Vegas 101, managing to land only one significant strike throughout the nearly 10-minute affair. Kline took the Russian down twice in the second round and landed vicious elbows to earn the finish at the 4:27 mark of Round 2. Dudakova was then seen slapping one of her coaches, who came to console her after the official verdict was announced.

Dudakova has now dropped two fights in a row after beginning her professional career with eight consecutive triumphs — including two under the UFC banner.

According to one translation on X, Dudakova told her coach the following: "You didn't even come over. You just sat there. That's how little y…

Cesar Almeida rallied from the brink of defeat to author a very early candidate for 2025 “Knockot of the Year.”

The 36-year-old Brazilian received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his one-punch knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan in a featured middleweight bout at UFC Vegas 101 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After being rocked during an early exchange, Almeida kept his wits and rendered his opponent unconscious with a vicious counter left hook at the 4:16 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Mackenzie Dern garnered the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for her submission of Amanda Ribas in the evening’s strawweight main event. After two competitive rounds, Dern went to work in Round 3, methodically working her way into position for an armbar to force the tap from her Brazilian foe 4:56 into the period.

Finally, Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their back-and-…

ASTRO BOY IS BACK 🚀

Australia's Steve Erceg will take on Asu Almabayev at #UFCVegas103! pic.twitter.com/DxN6EjDjld

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) January 10, 2025

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Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will be back in against against rising contender Asu Almabaev at UFC Vegas 103.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently confirmed the 125-pound pairing. UFC Vegas 103 — also known as UFC Fight Night 253 takes place on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight showdown between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape.

Erceg won his first three Octagon appearances before receiving a surprise title shot at UFC 301, where he was competitive in a unanimous decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja last May. His next outing was less encouraging, as he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Kai Kara-France at UFC 305 in August.

Kazakhstan’s Almabaev has kicked off his promotiona tenure with four consecutive t…

Johnny Walker won’t be competing at UFC 311 as originally planned.

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The Brazilian light heavyweight recently announced that he has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Bogdan Guskov due to a “bad injury.” Walker did not reveal the exact nature of the ailment. It is unclear if Guskov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. UFC 311 is currently scheduled to take place on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan.

“Bad news. I’ve been pulled out by a bad injury next week at UFC 311. So I’m not going to be competing. I’m devastated,” Walker said in a video on social media. “A lot of hard work I put in a few months, trained a lot, and I really want to come back and do the show for you, but not this time. I wish Bogdan good luck, hopefully he can find an opponent because he probably put a lot of hard work as well, so hopefully …

👀Islam Makhachev thinks it's more likely he'll fight the winner of Belal vs. Shavkat for the welterweight title than face Ilia Topuria in 2025:

“Topuria doesn't make sense. For what? For belt, for money. I have money, I don't need. I need the second belt.”

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🎥 @Shak_Fu ▫️ pic.twitter.com/OOcl72Us5I — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 10, 2025

Islam Makhachev prefers a move up to welterweight over a clash against featherweight champ Ilia Topuria.

Makhachev is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. In recent times, the Dagestani has been vocal about a move up to welterweight for a double-champ bid.

Meanwhile, Topuria is contemplating a move up to lightweight after defending his featherweight title only once. However, Makhachev isn’t interested in fighting Topuria with very little to gain. While it could potentially be a mega…

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Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Merab Dvalishvili has any reason to hate him.

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Nurmagomedov challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Dvalishvili was initially adamant about not fighting Nurmagomedov in his very first title defense. According to “The Machine,” the undefated Nurmagomedov is undeserving of a title shot despite six UFC wins under his belt. Dvalishvili accuses Nurmagomedov of being favored by the UFC due to the legacy of his family name.

Dvalishvili ultimately accepted the fight, citing intolerable insults from Nurmagomedov. The two also went off on the same topic during a promotional presser last month. However, it remains slightly unclear what insults Dvalishvili is referring to, as Nurmagomedov hasn’t seemed to cross any boundaries in terms of trash talking. Dvalishvili has vowed to slap Nurmagomedov if he doesn’t receive an apolo…

👀Merab Dvalishvili’s coach predicts Umar won’t keep up with Merab’s relentless pace:

“3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, I think it’s gonna be Merab’s fight. I expect a hard couple of rounds, but I also expect Merab to do what he does best and take over.”

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🎥 @Home_of_Fight ▫️ pic.twitter.com/jbVm0TGHCl — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 10, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach is confident that the champ will retain his title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili will put his bantamweight title on the line against Nurmagomedov in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Many expect Nurmagomedov’s elite wrestling to be Dvalishvili’s toughest test to date. While Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood doesn’t expect an easy night at the office for Dvalishvili, he believes “The Machine” will get his hand raised.

According to Wood, Dvalishvili’s cardio is going to be the gam…

Mackenzie makes the main event OFFICIAL 😮‍💨@MackenzieDern weighs in at 116 lbs!

[ #UFCVegas101 | LIVE tomorrow 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/F8SdUJVGNs

— UFC (@ufc) January 10, 2025 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:35 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 to reflect the fine amounts for the heavy fighters.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns for its first mixed martial arts event of the year.

Headlining the UFC Vegas 101 main event is a five-round strawweight fight between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. Both women successfully made weight, although two fighters on the undercard did not. First was Jose Johnson, who came in 2.5 pounds over the flyweight limit for his fight against Felipe Bunes. Also overweight was Ihor Potieria, who came in two pounds over the limit for his middleweight bout versus Marco Tulio. While Johnson has received a 20% fine of his overall fight purse, Potieria's fine totals 25% of…

Olga Rubin will square off against Mayra Cantuaria in the Invicta FC 60 headliner on Feb. 7.

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The all-female promotion announced the bantamweight bout — which could determine the division’s next title challenger for Jennifer Maia — on Wednesday. Invicta FC 60 takes place at Center Stage in Atlanta and will see Jackie Cataline face Jamie Edenden in the evening’s featherweight co-main event. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on Invicta FC’s YouTube channel and Facebook page beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Five other bouts were confirmed for Invicta FC 60: Shanna Young vs. Katharina Lehner at bantamweight; Victoria Leonardo vs. Rayla Nascimento at flyweight; Liana Ferreira Pirosin vs. Shino VanHoose at strawweight; Giulliany Perea Vieira vs. Hope Holmes at atomweight and Joy Pendell vs. Krissa Timbs at featherweight.

A five-time Bellator MMA veteran, Rubin has gone 2-2 in her last four …

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Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz allegedly had a cordial interaction months before nearly getting into a brawl last December.

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Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Makhachev was in Las Vegas for a promotional presser in December when he almost got into an altercation with Diaz, who was in town to corner teammate Kron Gracie the following weekend at UFC 310. Diaz and Makhachev’s teams threw water bottles at each other before security broke them up without letting it escalate further.

Nate Diaz and Team Makhachev threw water bottles at each other backstage 😳 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/gr3TDd5abt

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 7, 2024

While Makhachev didn’t have any animosity with Diaz, he believes Khabib Nurmagomedov might have had something to do with the incident. According to Makhachev, Diaz fli…

The UFC 312 card has undergone a change a month before fight night.

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Jimmy Crute (12-4) was originally scheduled to face Marcin Prachnio (17-8) at UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. However, Prachnio is now out of the bout due to unknown reasons. Rodolfo Bellato (12-2) will instead take on Crute in front of the latter’s home fans. The change was first reported by Laerte Viana.

Crute is 0-3-1 in the Octagon since 2020 and is coming off a submission loss against Alonzo Menifield in his most recent outing at UFC 290 in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Bellato graduated from Dana White's Contender Series with a technical knockout over Murtaza Talha Ali and followed it up with another stoppage win against Ihor Potieria in his UFC debut in December 2023.

Prachnio is 4-6 in the UFC and fresh off a submission loss against Modestas Bukauskas at UFC 304 in July 2024.