Martial Arts News

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UFC 254 will feature a larger-than-average pay-per-view lineup.

The promotion revealed on Saturday that main card for the Oct. 24 event will feature six bouts; usually UFC pay-per-views consist of five fights. The last pay-per-view to have a six-bout main draw was UFC 190, which took place on Aug. 1, 2015 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was headlined by a women’s bantamweight championship clash between Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia.

UFC 254 takes place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is topped by a lightweight title unification bout pitting reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against interim king Justin Gaethje.

The rest of the pay-per-view lineup is as follows: Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier at middleweight; Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris at heavyweight; Islam Makhache…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

It appears the Ultimate Fighting Championship has shifted gears when it comes to its plans for Jorge Masvidal.

The Las Vegas-based promotion was reportedly looking to book Masvidal in a “BMF” title rematch against Nate Diaz at some point in early 2021, but those plans have changed following Colby Covington’s dismantling of Tyron Woodley at UFC Fight Night 178. Now, a showdown between former American Top Team stablemates appears to be on the horizon.

“It’s very possible (Masvidal vs. Covington) is next,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference on Saturday. “… I don’t know if we’ve even talked to Nate yet. But yeah, after the Colby fight (vs. TWoodley), how do you not make that fight? That’s the fight that makes sense.

“The Nate Diaz rematch is going to be there no matter what hap…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Saturday’s UFC 253 headliner was billed as a potential “Fight of the Year” contender, a clash of undefeated titans in the middleweight division.

In the end, it was little more than a showcase for reigning 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender” was never threatened by Paulo Costa on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, and he ultimately cruised to a technical knockout victory 3:59 into the second round. The City Kickboxing representative saw the writing on the wall early.

“After the first round,” Adesanya said at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference. “I was so fresh. I looked over and I could see he was sitting down. In the second round, his antics, what they want — they want me to stand there. ‘Come, come, why you running, come here.’ They just want me to stand there so you can punch me.

“I’m not …

pic.twitter.com/jrkReoMDQl

— Kakutogi News (@KakutogiWorld) September 27, 2020

Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion Kai Asakura was simply too much for Shoji Maruyama.

Though his belt wasn’t on the line, Asakura was nonetheless in prime form in the Rizin 24 headliner on Sunday, as he defeated Maruyama via technical knockout 2:37 into Round 1 of their non-title affair at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Asakura has now been victorious in eight of nine appearances within the Japanese promotion.

Asakura took control from the outset, tagging Maruyama with a variety of punches and kicks before dropping his opponent with a one-two combination. As Maruyama attempted to hustle to his feet, the Tri-Force Akasaka product rocked his man with a soccer kick, forcing referee Yauhiro Tazawa to step in and wave off the bout. It was Asakura’s second consecutive victory by way of soccer kicks; he stopped Hiromasa Ougikubo with the maneuver…

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Dominick Reyes entered UFC 253 with the mindset of a champion defending his belt. He left the Octagon humbled by Polish power.

Coming off a narrow loss to Jon Jones that many observers thought he won, Reyes was a prohibitive favorite to claim the vacant light heavyweight crown against Jan Blachowicz, but it was the Polish veteran who ultimately emerged with a second-round technical knockout triumph at the Flash forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

Blachowicz adopted a measured approach from the outset, battering Reyes with powerful kicks to the body that left a gnarly bruise on the Californian’s side. In Round 2, Blachowicz appeared to break Reyes’ nose and then later dropped him with a left hand behind the ear. Follow-up punches sealed the deal at the 4:36 mark of the period, making Blachowicz the UFC’s 13th light h…

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Jon Jones didn’t have any backhanded compliments or snarky remarks for Jan Blachowicz following the Polish standout’s title-winning performance against Dominick Reyes at UFC 253.

Blachowicz claimed the 205-pound belt vacated by Jones earlier this year with a technical knockout of Reyes 4:36 into the second round of Saturday’s co-main event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Though Reyes was favored thanks to a near-miss against Jones earlier this year, Blachowicz was in control throughout, bruising his opponent’s side with wicked body kicks before unleashing a salvo of punches that broke Reyes’ nose and floored him in the decisive second frame.

In his post-fight interview, Blachowicz asked for Jones to come back to the light heavyweight division. Of course, the Jackson-Wink MMA standout is currently preparing for a move to h…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The divide between Israel Adesanya and his top challenger was far greater than anyone realized. “The Last Stylebender” retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title with a scintillating stoppage of Paulo Costa in the UFC 253 headliner on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Costa (13-1, 5-1 UFC) met his end 3:59 into Round 2, the latest victim on Adesanya’s march to all-time greatness.

It was a blowout from start to finish. Adesanya (20-0, 9-0 UFC) wrecked the Brazilian’s lead leg with repeated kicks, frustrated him with quick movements and methodically dismantled him. He unleashed a multi-punch volley to the head and body in the second round, floored Costa with a compact left hook and closed the door on him with mounted ground-and-pound.

Blachowicz Fells Reyes, Strikes UF…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 253 “Adesanya vs. Costa” coverage begins Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Welcome back to “Fight Island,” with a card that will treat fans with a duo of title fights later on tonight. Before those championship affairs, we get things started in the light heavyweight division, as Ibragimov (8-3, 0-3 UFC) tries to keep his spot on the roster as he takes on the debuting Marques (9-2, 0-0 UFC). Referee Jason Herzog draws the first assignment of the evening, and there is no touch of gloves to begin the night! Both men come out cautiously with high guards, and Marques sneaks in a jab before shooting in low for a takedown. The Russian stuffs it with a guillotine choke, and he staves off a takedown by threatening with it. Marques drags…

THE EARTHQUAKE!

@BradQuakeRiddel erupts in the last two rounds for the UD!

[ #UFC253 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/8fLF134oOg — UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2020

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Brad Riddell may not be a household name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, but he appears to be moving in that direction.

The City Kickboxing standout weathered some early adversity, hit the accelerator and climbed another rung on the 155-pound ladder, as he took a unanimous decision from Alex da Silva Coelho in the featured UFC 253 prelim on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Riddell (9-1, 3-0 UFC), who now finds himself in possession of a six-fight winning streak.

Coelho (21-3, 1-2 UFC) secured two taked…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

There were no suprises when it came to bonus selections at UFC 253, as Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Brandon Royval and Kai Kara France eached received an extra $50,000 for their work in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

Adesanya earned a “Performance of the Night” award for an impressive stoppage of Paulo Costa in the evening’s middleweight headliner. “The Last Stylebender” chopped away at his opponent’s legs early before flooring the Brazilian with a left hook and sealing his victory with ground-and-pound at the 3:59 mark of Round 2 to retain his 185-pound title.

Meanwhile, Blachowicz garnered the evening’s other “Performance of the Night” check for a second-round technical knockout of Dominick Reyes in a matchup for the vacant light heavyweight crown in the co-main event. The Polish veteran appeared to break Reyes’ n…

BIG takedown from Costello van Steenis on Fabian Edwards in round !

This tense main event is LIVE NOW on @channel5_tv. #BellatorMilan pic.twitter.com/DnlZVKGwMq

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) September 26, 2020 Costello van Steenis knocked Fabian Edwards from the ranks of the unbeaten at Bellator Milan on Saturday at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. It was Bellator’s first event in Europe since the COVID-19 outbreak.  

The middleweight contenders studied each other for the majority of the first stanza, but it looked like it was van Steenis (13-2) who deserved to take the round home, as he landed several brutal leg kicks on Edwards’ (9-1) lead leg. In the second frame, "The Spaniard" landed the first takedown of the match, dragging Edwards into a sticky situation thanks to an almost-closed guillotine choke attempt. In the last few seconds of Round 2, van Steenis landed several heavy shots of ground-and-pound that alm…

Mason 'The Dragon' Jones is THE MAN.

A TKO victory in the first round - he is now the double champ. DOUBLE DRAGON #CW116 pic.twitter.com/Pb2vev6E03

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 26, 2020 Mason Jones can now call himself a two-division champion in Cage Warriors.

The reigning lightweight king defeated Adam Proctor via technical knockout to claim the vacant 170-pound strap in the Cage Warriors 116 main event at BEC Arena in Manchester, England, on Saturday. Jones (10-0) brought a halt to the contest with a series of unanswered punches to the side of his opponent’s head 4:31 into Round 1.

“They look good on my shoulders,” Jones said of the belts. “Everyone knew I could do this. I knew I could get him out of there early, and I showed that.”

Jones ignored a visible size discrepancy to draw Proctor (12-2) into a fire fight. Although Proctor was able to sting the Welshman with long, rangy strikes on occasion, “The Dragon” l…