Martial Arts News

OUT COLD.

@003_OSP walkin' off in style tonight!

[ We're live NOW on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/A7tqzYHSB9 — UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020

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Ovince St. Preux’s second-round knockout of Alonzo Menifield in the UFC Fight Night 176 co-headliner was a thing of beauty.

The veteran light heavyweight waited patiently for his opportunity, and when Menifield recklessly rushed forward, “OSP” knocked him unconscious with a perfectly-time counter left hook.

“If you pressure me,” St. Preux said on the ESPN+ post-fight show, “I do really good going backwards and I connected really good.”

The former University of Tennessee football player set the stage for the highlight-reel finish by frustrating Menifield in the bout’s early stages, as he utilized his height and reach advantage well. Read more

VICIOUS ground and pound!

William Knight with the absolute POWER to end it.

We're LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/LF30vGwXqn — UFC (@ufc) September 2, 2020

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Two-time Dana White’s Contender Series alum William Knight will get to make a quick turnaround at UFC 253, as he will square off against Aleksa Camur on the preliminary portion of the card.

The promotion announced the matchup during the UFC Fight Night 176 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 253 takes place on Sept. 26 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Henrique Costa.

Knight earned a UFC deal with a first-round TKO of Cody Brundage on the Contender Series on Sept. 1. The 32-year-old is 8-1 as a professional, with all of his victories coming via knockou…

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Even at 40 years old, Alistair Overeem keeps finding ways to win.

After being outstruck for the better part of three rounds by Augusto Sakai in the UFC Fight Night 176 headliner, Overeem relied on powerful ground-and-pound to down the stretch to earn a technical knockout victory 26 seconds into Round 5 of their heavyweight bout.

“He’s durable. I kind of knew that going in,” Overeem said after the bout. “He was a little bit more durable than I thought. He’s an up-and-comer, hungry, tough and punches hard. He punches a little bit harder than I thought he would. He has dangerous legs—loose and fluid. We had to drag it out to the later rounds and then get the finish.”

It took patience and some adjustments, but the Dutch veteran was able to end Sakai’s four-fight undefeated streak in the Octagon.

“A first-round…

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Ovince St. Preux’s “Knockout of the Year” contender made him $50,000 richer on Saturday night.

St. Preux received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a second-round finish of Alonzo Menifield in the UFC Fight Night 176 co-headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A devastating counter left hook from “OSP” brought a close to the contest at the 4:07 mark of Round 2.

Elsewhere, Michel Pereira garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a submission of Zelim Imadaev in a featured welterweight clash. After battering his foe with a variety of strikes for the majority of the contest, Pereira secured a rear-naked choke at the 4:39 mark of the third frame.

Andre Muniz captured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a beautifully executed submission of Bartosz Fabinski at middleweight. Muniz …

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. Alistair Overeem blocked the path of another young lion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division. The former Dream, Strikeforce and K-1 World Grand Prix champion put away Augusto Sakai with destructive ground-and-pound in the fifth round of their UFC Fight Night 176 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Overeem (47-18, 12-7 UFC) drew it to a close 26 seconds into Round 5, authoring the 42nd stoppage of his remarkable career.

Sakai jumped out to an early lead with bursts of punches, knees and elbows at close range, at times appearing to befuddle “The Demolition Man” in their stop-and-start exchanges on the feet. Overeem shifted momentum in the third round, where he took down the Brazilian and opened a vertical cut on his eyebrow with a well-placed hammerfist. Sakai drew blood with a short standin…

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 176 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Cri…

Murad Abdulaev is the new ACA welterweight champion! pic.twitter.com/9NccEIdKhU

— ACAMMA (@ACA_League) September 5, 2020

Absolute Championship Akhmat has a new welterweight champion.  

The ACA 110 main event featured a clash between former 155-pound champion Ali Bagov (29-11) and Murad Abdulaev (19-4) for the vacant welterweight championship. The contenders battled fiercely for all five rounds in a fight that saw several turnarounds.

It took a while for Abdulaev to warm up, but starting with the second round and through the end of the fourth stanza, "Hunter" dominated his opponent by pinning him with his back against the canvas and mauling him with punches and elbows. "Hulk" made some adjustments in the fifth, but it was too late to change the destiny of the fight. Eventually, Abdulaev took home the victory and the 170-pound championship. He is now riding a two-bout winning streak and is already looking for the first c…

The lineup for UFC Fight Night 176 continues to shrink.

According to MMAFighting.com, Marcos Rogerio de Lima has tested positive for COVID-19, and his heavyweight matchup with Alexander Romanov has been removed from Saturday’s card. UFC broadcast partner ESPN has since released an updated fight card, and Lima vs. Romanov was absent from the lineup.

Lima trains at American Top Team in Florida. Fellow ATT fighter Thiago Moises also tested positive for the virus on Saturday, forcing the cancellation of his lightweight clash with Jalin Turner. According to MMAFighting, ATT coaches Katel Kubis and Leonardo “Macarrao” dos Santos also tested positive for COVID-19.

UFC Fight Night 176 will proceed with seven bouts. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card airs in its entirety on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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UFC Fight Night 176 is down to eight bouts after Thiago Moises tested positive for COVID-19.

Moises’ proposed lightweight scrap against Jalin Turner has been canceled as a result. Combate was first to report the news. UFC Fight Night 176 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card will stream on ESPN+.

A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance titlist, Moises has gone 2-2 thus far during his promotional tenure. Most recently, the American Top Team representative submitted Michael Johnson 25 seconds into the second roud at UFC Fight Night 171 on May 13.

Turner is also 2-2 in UFC competition. “The Tarantula” is coming off a second-round TKO triumph against Joshua Culibao at UFC Fight Night 168 on Feb. 23.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wORk9Qhr-8&w=560&h=315]

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Brian Kelleher has yet another new opponent at UFC Fight Night 176.

Kevin Natividad, who was a replacement for original opponent Ricky Simon, has been pulled from the matchup with Kelleher for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Ray Rodriguez, who weighed in as a backup fighter on Friday, will get the call to square off against the featherweight known as “Boom.” MMAFighting.com was first to report the change.

Rodriguez competed on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Tony Gravely in August 2019. The 32-year-old Texan returned to the win column with a submission triumph over Andrew Perez at Combat Americas “San Antonio” this past November.

UFC Fight Night 175 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas …

The Demolition Man!

We're OFFICIAL for #UFCVegas9 - Streaming LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/BYlUc6Fn0T

— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 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. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief as every fighter for Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card hit their proper marks, including a backup competitor.

The UFC will hold its first of four events in September this Saturday as heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night 176. The latest card from the UFC Apex features nine bouts in total, and one fighter was also called in to make weight as a potential replacement in case the coronavirus struck.

After a big TKO win over Walt Harris earlier this year, Overeem (46-18, 1 NC) will look to prove that he still has one more run left in him. The 40…

It took Zviad Lazishvili less than four minutes to dismantle Ricky Steele.

The unbeaten Georgian captured the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight championship, as he submitted Steele with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their LFA 90 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Lazishvili (6-0, 2-0 LFA) closed the deal 3:42 into Round 1.

Steele (6-1, 0-1 LFA) went nowhere despite five-inch height and reach advantages. Lazisvhili corralled the SBG Idaho product along the fence, secured a takedown and immediately scrambled to the back. From there, he pestered Steele with punches, hunted for openings and cinched the choke, setting his hooks once his arms were in place. The tapout followed soon after.

Meanwhile, surging Black House export Maycon Mendonca cut down Devin Smyth with punches in the second round of their welterweight co-main event. Mendonca (10-4, 4-3 LFA) brought it to a close 4:21 into Round 2, as he extended hi…