Martial Arts News

Alex Perez and Jennifer Maia are among nine fighters from UFC 255 who are facing potential six-month medical suspensions.

Mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the main event, Deiveson Figueiredo submitted Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into the opening stanza to retain his flyweight crown, while Valentina Shevchenko garnered a five-round verdict over Maia to defend her 125-pound belt in the evening’s co-headliner.

Perez needs an X-ray and doctor clearance on his right hand or he will be sidelined 180 days. Maia, meanwhile, needs clearance of a nasal fracture or she will also be facing a 180-day suspension. At a minimum, Maia is suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact.

Seven other fighters from UFC 255 are also facing 180-day terms: Cynthia Calvillo (right shoulder), Brandon Royval (right shoulder), Joaquin Buckley (right hand), Ariane Lipski (orbital fr…

WOAH! @BulldozerBoser showcasing INSANE GnP!

The card continues on @ESPN.#InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi | #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/QXA2ZTVjPf

— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2020 UFC heavyweight Raphael Pessoa has accepted a one-year suspension for an anti-doping violation, USADA announced Monday.

Pessoa tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 4. HCTZ is a diuretic, which can dilute urine and disguise the presence of other banned substances in a drug test.

According to the statement, the results of Pessoa’s test were delayed by laboratory closures forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. That allowed Pessoa to compete at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Tanner Boser. Normally Pessoa would have been pulled from that bout ahead of time upon testing pos…

It was supposed to be Cody Garbrandt standing across the Octagon from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255.

However, a bicep injury forced the former bantamweight champion to withdraw from the bout, and Alex Perez took “No Love’s” spot against the reigning champion. Figueiredo made short work of Perez on Saturday night, winning via guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1 of the UFC 255 main event in Las Vegas. Garbrandt wasn’t particuarly impressed by the Brazilian’s quick victory.

“Alex Perez was just someone they gave Deiveson Figueiredo to build up our fight more,” Garbrandt recenty told ESPN. “I knock [Figueiredo] out in the first or second round. I’ll be ready by March.”

Garbrandt’s timeline could potentially work well for both Figueiredo and the promotion: The flyweight champion has already been booked for a quick turnaround against Brandon Moreno at UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

In a separate post on social media, Garbrandt revealed that he was affected by COVID-19 and…

Alex Perez didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his skills in the UFC 255 headliner.

The 28-year-old Team Oyama product succumbed to a Deiveson Figueiredo guillotine choke at the 1:57 mark of the opening stanza at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night, snapping a three-bout winning streak. Perez initiated a takedown early in the fight before Figueiredo transitioned from a leg lock to the fight-ending maneuver. Perez struggled valiantly to free himself from the predicament, but it was to no avail because the champion’s squeeze was too tight.

Perez released a statement regarding the defeat on his Instagram account.

“Well, it is what it is. It’s part of the business,” Perez wrote. “Stuff happens. I’ll be back. 2020 has been a crazy year for me. [Three] fights and finding out I’ll be a dad. I’m beyond blessed. Thank you for all the support. I’ll be back!

“Thank you to all my teammates, coach, family, friends and sponsors for all the support. Without …

Not only did Mauricio Rua fall to Paul Craig in their rematch at UFC 255, but the Brazilian legend apparently suffered a nasty elbow injury in the first round of that defeat.

“Shogun,” who tapped to strikes 3:36 into Round 2 of the featured light heavyweight bout, shared a photo of a severely swollen photo on his Instagram account.

“Unfortunately things didn’t go out the way I would have liked last night, and this is a part of our sport. I suffered an injury to my elbow on the first time I was taken down, but this serves as no excuse, as it is part of fighting and it doesn’t take way any merits from my opponent,” Rua wrote. “An athlete’s career is not only made of glory and thank God I was already blessed many times with the reward of victory, due to a lot of sacrifices and effort, that only those who live our everyday routine really know what we go through.”

Although Rua entered the rematch unbeaten in his last three Octagon appearances – including a split dr…

One title defense into his championship reign, Deiveson Figueiredo is already emerging as an extremely confident flyweight king.

After claiming the vacant 125-pound belt by choking Joseph Benavidez unconscious inside of a round at UFC Fight Night 172 this past July, Figueiredo tapped out Alex Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1 of the UFC 255 main event on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

According to Figueiredo, it was all part of the plan.

“I know this is my belt. I know I am going to be the champion for a long time,” Figueiredo said through a translator at Saturday’s UFC 255 post-fight press conference. “I have no pressure at all. I come here to do what I told everyone I am going to do: [I’m] going to submit [Moreno] in the first round. I said to everybody, I’m going to finish the fight in the first round. And I finished the fight in the first round.”

Though Figueiredo has a long way to go to match the excellence of former champ Demetrious Johns…

Valentina Shevchenko was as dominant as ever at UFC 255.

Though the reigning flyweight queen dropped the second round to Jennifer Maia in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, she was otherwise unthreatened in cruising to a unanimous decision triumph. That makes four successful title defenses for “Bullet,” who insists that boredom won’t become an issue as her reign extends.

The 32-year-old Kyrgyzstan native says most people don’t realize how long it actually took her to get to this point. And after a stint at bantamweight where Shevchenko provided Amanda Nunes with one of her most difficult tests, the Tiger Muay Thai representative believes she is at a weight class best suited to showcase her talents.

“This is what I’m doing. It’s what I want because finally I’m in flyweight, my natural weight class, where I feel the most power, the technique, the speed, everything. Definitely I want to compete here for a long time to defend my belt against anyo…

Getty/UFC

UFC 256 is down to one title fight once again.

Shortly after Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno agreed to square off for flyweight gold at the Dec. 12 event, multiple outlets confirmed that the scheduled 135-pound championship clash between reigning champ Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling will no longer take place on the card. MMA Island was first to report the news.

Yan reportedly withdrew from the event for personal reasons that are not injury related. The Las Vegas-based promotion is hoping to rebook Yan vs. Sterling for an event in February.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Sterling wrote on Twitter. “I hope everything is good with you and your family. [Petr Yan], we will settle our business when you can be 100 [percent] focused and ready to give the fans the best show we can. See you soon.”

Everything happens for a reason. I hope everything is good with you and your family .@PetrYanUFC We will settle our busi…

Dana White isn’t shy about vocalizing when he thinks athletes on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster should call it a career.

Following a non-competitive effort in a second-round technical knockout loss in a rematch with Paul Craig at UFC 255, Mauricio Rua is the UFC president’s latest target. Craig dominated the light heavyweight bout with grappling and takedowns before finishing off “Shogun” with punches from back mount — the Brazilian veteran tapped to the onslaught — at the 3:36 mark of Round 2.

“[Paul Craig] looked good and not to take anything away from him at all, he came and did what he had to do tonight but just being honest, Shogun didn’t look like Shogun to me tonight,” White said at the UFC 255 post-fight press conference.

“Shogun looked old and looked like a shell of his former self tonight. Yeah, I’d like to see him hang it up hopefully.”

Heading into Saturday night, the 38-year-old Rua had defied the odds to win five of his previous se…

Welcome to the UFC Hall of Fame, Mr. Marc Ratner!! #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/uyu5Nky3g3

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 22, 2020

Marc Ratner is the latest member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 2020 Hall of Fame class.

The UFC’s senior vice president of government and regulatory affairs will be inducted into the “Contributors” wing, the promotion announced during the UFC 255 broadcast on Saturday night. The 2020 Hall of Fame class will be honored at a ceremony next year along with the 2021 inductees.

“Marc Ratner is the most influential and respected regulator in combat sports history,” UFC President Dana White said in a release. “Marc was instrumental in getting the sport of mixed martial arts sanctioned and regulated globally and the tireless work he did educating athletic commissions about MMA paved the way for us to host events around the world. It will be an honor for me to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.” Read more

Marcin Tybura will look to score his fourth consecutive triumph when he faces Greg Hardy at UFC Fight Night 183.

The promotion announced the heavyweight pairing during the UFC 255 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Leon Edwards against Khamzat Chimaev. The card will stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Tybura has enjoyed a successful 2020 thus far, earning unanimous decision triumphs over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin and Ben Rothwell. The 35-year-old Pole is 7-5 during his promotional tenure with other notable wins against the likes of Stefan Struve and Andrei Arlovski. The M-1 Global veteran is 20-6 over the course of a pro career that began in 2011.

Hardy, meanwhile, will attempt to go 3-0 in 2020 after posting wins over Yorgan De Castro in May and Maurice Greene in October. The former NFL Pro Bowler is 4-2 with one no contest during his UFC tenure an…

It looks like it could be a quick turnaround reigning UFC flyweight champion and the division’s top contender.

At Saturday’s UFC 255 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White revealed that the promotion was working on booking Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno for a December event.

“We’re going to keep [Figueiredo] here,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He’s not going back to Brazil. We’re going to turn him right around [in] December. That’s what we’re working on.”

Shortly thereafter, ESPN reported that both Figueiredo and Moreno verbally agreed to square off at UFC 256, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. UFC 256 which recently lost a women’s featherweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson after Nunes exited the card.

Figueiredo made his first title defense at UFC 255, where he submitted Alex Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1. The Brazilian was initially su…