Martial Arts News

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. Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill were rewarded financially for their exciting five-round scrap at UFC Fight Night 177.

While "The Karate Hottie" won a split decision from the judges, both are receiving $50,000 bonuses after being awarded the "Fight of the Night" award. The pair went back-and-forth over 25 minutes with each woman having strong moments throughout the fight.

Kevin Croom's Octagon debut gets even sweeter as his shocking 31-second submission of Roosevelt Roberts earned him a $50,000 "Perormance of the Night" bonus. "The Hard-Hitting Hillbilly" was the largest underdog on the card, but now walks away with a spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after the impressive upset.

Finally, Ottman Azaitar's demolition of Khama Worthy was also given a "Performance of the Night" bonus. "Bulldozer" swarmed Worth…

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. In five-round battle that was as closely-contested as they come, Michelle Waterson had just a little bit more in the tank down the stretch. The former Invicta Fighting Championships title holder edged Angela Hill via split decision in the UFC Fight Night 177 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night in a high-paced five-round affair. Waterson received 49-46 and 48-47 tallies from the cageside judges, while a third saw the fight 48-47 in favor of Hill. In victory, “The Karate Hottie” improves to 2-1 in UFC main event bouts and halts a two-bout skid.

Coming off a split-decision loss to Carla Esparza in her most recent outing, Waterson (18-8, 6-4 UFC) was happy to emerge on the right side of the scorecards this time around. Hill, meanwhile, is now 0-3 in contests that go to split decision in the Octagon.

“I was…

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. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 177 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 We’re back with another Fight Night card, and this one did not have fight day cancellations like several others in recent memory. We kick things off in the women’s flyweight division, as once-beaten Kings MMA prospect Mazo (8-1, 2-1 UFC) squares off with TUF 20 participant Kish (7-2, 3-2 UFC). The two women receive oversight from referee Marc Goddard, and with no touch of gloves, they get down to business. Mazo starts off with a head kick instead, and Kish walks through it and tries to lay some punches on her chin. Mazo lets off a few low kicks, and Kish responds with some of her own. Mazo slaps a low kick and gets countered with a right hand, and she ignore…

A fire fight from the first minute!

@RagingPandaMMA & @SarjnCharge are throwing from the start. #UFCVegas10 pic.twitter.com/JMMvBls4sd

— UFC (@ufc) September 12, 2020 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. Sijara Eubanks was simply too much for Julia Avila on the ground.

“The Ultimate Fighter 26” veteran took control down the stretch of their bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 177, earning a unanimous decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. All three judges submitted 29-27 scorecards in favor of Eubanks (6-4, 4-2 UFC(, who has won back-to-back Octagon appearances.

Each period began with a wild exchange, as both bantamweights traded willingly in the pocket. While Avila (8-2, 2-1 UFC) seemed to get the better of those momets, Eubanks asserted herself on the canvas. Her grappling edge was especial…

Conor McGregor was taken into custody by police on the island of Corsica on suspicion of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure, according to AFP Sport.

A statement from the prosecutor’s office released to AFP Sport as as follows: “Following a complaint filed on Sept. 10 denouncing acts that could be described as attempted sexual assault and sexual exhibition, Mr. Conor Anthony Mac Gregor (sic) was the subject of a hearing by the police.”

The former two-division UFC champion was released without being charged, and a spokesman for McGregor denied the accusations in a statement initially released to TMZ Sports.

“Conor McGregor vigorously denies any accusations of misconduct,” the statement read. “He has been interviewed and released.”

McGregor was touring the Mediterranean on his yacht with fiancee Dee Devlin and the couple’s two children. The Irish star was preparing to participate in a 180-kilometer, 24-hour charity water bike race from Corsica t…

Dazn is the exclusive streaming partner of Bellator MMA. You can sign up here and live stream 100+ fight nights a year. Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis went back-and-forth for 15 minutes in the first of two events that Bellator MMA is holding this week. The main event of Bellator 245 saw Davis (22-5, 1 NC) edge out Machida (26-10) over three rounds. The two fighters tested each other on the feet throughout the bout with neither man coming close to finishing the fight or significantly hurting the other. However, Davis was the quicker man and was able to stay more active than the Brazilian. The Penn State wrestling alumnus was awarded a split decision with two judges scoring it 29-28 Davis, while the dissenting judge thought Machida won two rounds.

The two mixed martial artists previously fought in 2013 at UFC 163, where Davis won a unanimous decision.

In the co-main event, Cat Zingano earned her first win since 2018 by largely dominating a game Gabrielle Holloway. Zingan…

Chidi Njokuani made Cristhian Torres bleed, then made him pay.

The former Tachi Palace Fights champion was flawless in his Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he brought down Torres with a brutal knee strike to the body and follow-up punches in the second round of their LFA 91 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Njokuani (19-7, 1-0 LFA) drew the curtain 4:10 into Round 2.

The discrepancy in speed, power and skill was clear from the outset. Njokuani uncorked ferocious kicks to the body, mixed in a few jabs and opened multiple cuts on the Sanford MMA product. Torres (15-11, 1-1 LFA) returned fire with ill intent but never could pin down the moving target. A cut above his right eye worsened in the early stages of the second round, where Njokuani targeted the wound with a stepping elbow. He later floored Torres with a head kick and backed it up with a sustained burst of punches, turning the canvas into a slippery crimson mess in the proc…

Making weight with a tarantula is something we haven't seen yet #UFCVegas10 happening tomorrow LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/2uS9s8GEaP

— UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2020 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. Weight issues continue to plague MMA cards across the weekend. The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its busy September with UFC Fight Night 177. The main event on Saturday sees women’s strawweight mainstays Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill looking to return to the win column.

“The Karate Hottie” finds herself in a familiar place headlining a UFC card, albeit on a two-fight losing streak having lost decisions to Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Carla Esparza. Prior to her recent disappointments, “The Karate Hottie” had racked up three wins in the division with the biggest a decision win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Always a profes…

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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is adding an exciting welterweight scrap to its final “Fight Island” card in October. On Friday, Combate first reported that Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (22-7) will be welcoming Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-0) to the Octagon at UFC 254. The two have been booked on the card that will take place in the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 24. Zaleski dos Santos has since confirmed the pairing on his Instagram page.

The Brazilian saw his wild seven-fight win streak come to an end in August 2019 when he suffered a knockout at the hands of Jingliang Li with nine seconds left in the match. Since then, “Capoeira” captured a decision over Alexey Kunchenko, and most recently, dropped a split verdict to fellow flashy striker Muslim Salikhov in July. Of note, Zaleski dos Santos was the firs…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv0NHVNQwR4&w=560&h=315] Join DAZN free for 30 days and live-stream fight night anywhere!

A new era in Bellator MMA will begin very soon.

Bellator President Scott Coker revealed at a press conference on Friday that the promotion will be ending its arrangement with Paramount Network following Bellator 246 on Saturday. Due to the merger of Viacom and CBS, Bellator will be relocated to the CBS Sports Network starting with a pair of European shows beginning on Oct. 1. Bellator will head to Milan, Italy, for Bellator 247 on the first of October, and then Paris on Oct. 10.

“I am thrilled that Bellator live events will be coming to CBS Sports Network beginning on Oct. 1, as well as the unique opportunities the partnership creates across all CBS Sports platforms,” Coker explained. “CBS Sports is synonymous with iconic sports broadcasting and it is incredible to now have Bellator MMA included in that family. I would like to thank Para…

We got ourselves a #Middleweight Showdown in #SouthDakota tomorrow night at #LFA91! @ChidiBangNjoku (186)vs.@MMAMasacre (186.8)

Photos: https://t.co/1TnZ7ra2e6@ogRISK@AthleticCBD@GLCDirect2000@USENDmoney@IncaKolaUSA@SanfordPentagon@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/mrMFjIIHBc

— LFA (@LFAfighting) September 11, 2020 In what seems to be a theme this weekend across MMA cards, a fighter placed high on this Legacy Fighting Alliance event has missed weight. The second phase of the LFA’s return is coming to an end on Friday as LFA 91 takes place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The eight-fight event is headlined by a middleweight bout pitting Bellator MMA veteran Chidi Njokuani against Cristhian Torres.

This serves as a departure from the major circuit for Njokuani (18-7, 1 NC), who had competed inside the Bellator cage since 2015. While he faltered in his last two bouts in the promotion against Rafael Carvalho and John Salter, “Chidi Chidi Bang Ban…

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Both parts of this weekend’s Bellator MMA doubleheader have been marred by fighters missing weight by a wide margin.

Bellator 246 ends the weekend on Sept. 12 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The top-billed match of the event is for the vacant bantamweight throne, as Juan Archuleta (24-2) squares off with Patrick Mix (13-0). A featherweight in his last three bouts, Archuleta competed in the Bellator featherweight grand prix and lost in a title fight to Patricio Freire just under one year ago. Since then, the California native bounced back with a decision win in January over Henry Corrales at 145 pounds to earn a bantamweight title shot. He weighed in at 134.6 pounds to make the championship limit with relative ease.

Facing Archuleta will be the unbeaten Mix, who has stormed through Bellator competition by racking up two first-…