Martial Arts News

Considered one of the biggest legends of jiu-jitsu in UFC history, Demian Maia has just inaugurated a new academy in Sao Paulo, where, besides learning new techniques, students will be able to study the whole history of the sport, from the founders through the great competitors that marked jiu-jitsu history in Brazil.

In the following video, Maia delivers an exclusive presentation of the new space to Sherdog.com, showing the museum area and introducing the three dojos named after three icons of the sport: Hélio e Carlos Gracie (dojo 1), Carlson Gracie (dojo 2) and Fábio Gurgel (dojo 3).

According to Maia, who has 32 fights in 12 years in UFC, the main focus of the new school will not be to produce MMA champions.

“We will have one Octagon where jiu-jitsu classes and MMA will take place, but our main focus is to give the best structure to the public who wants to learn jiu-jitsu to have a quality of life,” Maia said. “We will have kid’s and women’s only classes a…

A bantamweight showdown pitting Louis Smolka against Jose Alberto Quinonez has been rebooked for UFC on ESPN 19.

Milenio was first to report the bout. Smolka and Quinonez were originally slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 182 on Nov. 14, but the bout was called off when Smolka was deemed medically unfit to compete after weighing in at 139 pounds one day prior.

UFC on ESPN 19 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland.

Smolka will be competing for the second time in 2020 after losing to Casey Kenney via first-round submission at UFC on ESPN 9 on May 30. The 29-year-old Hawaiian is 2-2 during his second promotional stint, earning victories over Ryan MacDonald and Su Madaerji.

Quinonez last appeared at UFC 248, where he suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Sean O’Malley on March 7. Prior to that defeat, the 30-year-old Mexican had been victorious in five of his previ…

Dhiego Lima will replace Sean Brady and lock horns with Belal Muhammad in a welterweight bout the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Dec. 19 event.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new matchup. Brady was forced to withdraw from the card due to an indisclosed issue. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a 170-pound scrap between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Lima is currently on a three-bout winning streak after earning victories over Chad Laprise, Court McGee and Luke Jumeau in his last three promotional appearances. “The Ultimate Fighter 19” finalist is 4-5 over the course of two separate UFC stints.

Muhammad is also on a three-bout winning streak, including a unanimous verdict over Lyman Good in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 11 on June 20. Dating back to 2017, “Remember the Name” has been victorious in eight of nine UFC bouts, with his only defeat coming at the hands of Geoff Neal.

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

A bantamweight clash pitting Ketlen Vieira against Yana Kunitskaya has been rebooked for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Feb. 20.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing after Kunitskaya announced the bout on social media. The bantamweights were supposed to square off at UFC Fight Night 173 on Aug. 1 before being postponed to UFC Fight Night 174 the following week. The bout was then scrapped due to visa issues for Vieira.

A location and headliner for the Feb. 20 event has yet to be announced.

Kunitskaya remained on the UFC Fight Night 174 card, where she outpointed Julija Stoliarenko. The former Invicta FC title holder has been victorious in three of her last four promotional appearances, also earning victories against Marion Reneau and Lina Lansberg during that stretch.

Vieira, meanwhile, made her lone appearance of 2020 at UFC 253, earning a three-ro…

After three impressive title defenses, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will put her belt on the line for the fourth time Saturday against Brazilian Jennifer Maia in the co-main event of UFC 255.

Maia, a former Invicta champion, isn’t fazed by being a huge underdog against the champion.

“For everything she has done in the sport that's totally natural. But that challenge just motivates me to show the fans how much I evolved,” Maia recently told Sherdog.com.

Maia revealed that she received some valuable advice from UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes, who owns a pair of victories against Shevchenko in the Octagon.

“We have a friend in common and I asked him if he could talk to Amanda. She was so nice and sent a very long message to me. It was funny that at the end she apologized for the long message. So cute,” Maia said.

“Basically she told me to not let Valentina be comfortable leading the fight and impose my rhythm. She is very intelligent and rea…

The Professional Fighters League heavyweight division just got a lot more interesting.

The organization announced on Monday that it has signed former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum, who will make his debut during the 2021 season. The 43-year-old Brazilian has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and Pride Fighting Championships over the course of a 34-bout professional tenure that began in 2002.

Werdum joins a PFL heavyweight division that includes 2019 champion Ali Isaev, Denis Goltsov, Justin Willis and Mohammed Usman, to name a few.

“I am excited to announce Fabricio Werdum, the Tom Brady of MMA, has signed with the Professional Fighters League,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. “Fabricio is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and knows when he steps into the PFL cage this coming season, it is more than a fight. The PFL sport season format provides an opportunity to control his destiny, like all PFL fighters, with a transparent shot to earn another…

Bellator 253 has lost a pair of matchups just three days out from Thursday’s card.

Two lightweight bouts -- Shane Kruchten vs. Lance Gibson Jr. and Marcus Surin vs. Ricardo Seixas – have been canceled, Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official on Monday. MMyMMANews first reported that Kruchten vs. Gibson Jr. was scrapped due to a positive COVID-19 test involving Kruchten’s team.

Meanwhile, Mark Glover is out of a proposed featherweight bout with Jason Markland and has been replaced by Sullivan Cauley. The other two updates were initially confirmed by MMAjunkie.com.

Bellator 253 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a featherweight grand prix semifinal pitting Darrion Caldwell against A.J. McKee. The main card airs on CBS Sports and Dazn at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel and Dazn beginning at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT.

The final installment of Season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 athletes slated for competition hit their contracted marks on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The card is headlined by a flyweight showdown pitting J.P. Buys against Jacob Silva. Buys tipped the scales at 125.5 pounds for the bout, while Silva checked in a 125 pounds.

Buys has won four consecutive outings since falling to Joby Sanchez on Season 1 of the Contender Series in August 2017. Most recently, the 24-year-old Fortis MMA product scored a 73-second TKO of Cristian Rodriguez at LFA 78 in November 2019.

Silva, meanwhile, will be competing on his second Contender Series show of 2020 after dropping a unanimous verdict against Jeff Molina on Aug. 25. That setback snapped a six-bout winning streak for the former Fury Fighting Championship title holder.

Dana White’s Con…

KHAOS WILLIAMS ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?? @KhaosOXWilliams in 30 SECONDS!! #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/YmWLw7P2VU

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020

Kalinn Williams’ 30-second knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Fight Night 182 was one for the highlights, a finish so memorable it led SportsCenter’s Top 10 on Saturday night.

More importantly, it allowed Williams to further establish a foothold in the Las Vegas-based promotion. After debuting in the Octagon with a 27-second KO of Alex Morono at UFC 247 in February, “Khaos the Ox Fighter” wanted to prove he was no flash in the pan.

“This feels amazing. This is more important than that first one for me,” he said. “I came in with a splash, let the division know, let the world know I was here and this one just let everybody know it wasn’t no fluke. This is more important than my debut. That’s why I took the time to just dedicate all my time to it. I put a lot of stuff on hold, muted my lif…

Paul Felder received near universal praise for stepping up on less than one week’s notice to save the UFC Fight Night 182 headliner, but for Rafael dos Anjos, the change in opponent was something of a game-planning nightmare.

Despite spending the entirety of his camp preparing for a hard-nosed grappler in Islam Makhachev, dos Anjos was able to make the necessary changeskl to earn a split-decision triumph over Felder on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“We had to make some adjustments with the change in opponents. I was training to defend takedowns against a southpaw and in five days, I had to fight an orthodox striker,” dos Anjos said. “I was kind of thrown off in the first rounds, trying to find the distance and get closer to him because he is a right-handed guy, so I had to change my game plan and try to grapple, take him to the ground. In just five days I had to do everything I didn't train to do. But we managed to adjust and adapt there and get the win.” Read more

DROPPED him!!

That's wins in weeks for Sean Strickland! #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/glOHhkUosF

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020 After injuries from a motorcyle accident sidelined him for two years, it’s been a memorable couple of weeks for Sean Strickland.

Strickland earned his second triumph in 14 days at UFC Fight Night 182 when he defeated Brendan Allen by technical knockout 1:32 into the second round of their 195-pound catchweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. That victory comes on the heels of a unanimous decision victory over Jack Marshman at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31.

“2020 has been a hell of a year,” Strickland said. “I just love being a UFC fighter in the end of the day. After the action and everything, being a UFC fighter, I’m a fan boy. I’m just happy to be able to get in there, win, step in the Octagon and get people to like me and watch me, get fans... The whole year has been great for me.…

After some soul searching earlier this year, Paul Felder isn’t contemplating retirement following his latest defeat.

When Islam Makhachev was forced to withdraw from the UFC Fight Night 182 headliner, “The Irish Dragon” stepped in on less than one week’s notice to square off against Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday night. Although he lost a split decision, Felder exited the bout in a totally different mindset than he did following a February loss to Dan Hooker. After that setback, Felder openly considered calling it a career before ultimately reconsidering.

“I can tell you guys with certainty: I’m not going anywhere right now,” Felder said during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I lost my passion for this sport pretty bad. I can tell you I’m not done. I might lose my ranking a little bit, but what I’ve learned in this sport is none of that matters. What matters is going out there, showing up, showing who you are inside and what determination you have.”

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