Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZc_wzZWFec&w=560&h=315] The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest stint on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, continues on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 179. The 13-fight card is now official after all fighters made weight and is set to be headlined by bantamweight contenders Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen.

Finishes over Raphael Assuncao, Jimmie Rivera and Aljamain Sterling have proven Moraes (23-6-1) as one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. While “Magic” came up short against former titleholder Henry Cejudo, he bounced back with a split decision win over Jose Aldo. The Brazilian will look to earn another crack at the belt with a win and came in at 136 pounds.

Sandhagen (12-2) is looking to rebound over a disappointing performance against Sterling that saw him get choked out in less than 90-seconds. Prior to that defeat, the Colorado native won decisions over Assuncao and John Lineker. Sandhagen took full advantage of t…

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Bellator MMA’s France debut is officially set. Split into two cards called Bellator 248 and Bellator Paris, there are 12 fights in total set. All fighters officially made weight, so no drama preceded the first major mixed martial arts card in the country.

Bellator 248 is headlined by a 175-pound catchweight bout between Michael Page and Ross Houston. Page (17-1) is a knockout artist that has rebounded nicely since his lone loss to Douglas Lima, even if he hasn’t faced top competition. “Venom” will look to extend his knockout streak to four against Houston (8-0, 1 NC), an undefeated fighter out of Scotland. A former Cage Warriors champion, “The Hitman” has wins over Stefano Paterno, Nathan Jones, and Aaron Khalid.

The Bellator Paris half of the card is second and will see Cheick Kongo look to continue his impressive nine-fight undefeated streak against fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Tim…

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Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki returns this weekend with its third card of 2020. The event is headlined by a rematch between middleweight champion Scott Askham and former titleholder Mamed Khalidov. All eight fights are now official after the weigh-ins.

Unlike their bout last year, the rematch will not be contested at a catchweight and is for the title that Askham (19-4) holds. Khalidov (34-7-2) was the longtime titleholder of KSW’s middleweight championship but retired after losing two catchweight bouts against light heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun. Like most retirements in mixed martial arts, it didn’t stick and Khalidov came back just a year later to unsuccessfully challenge Askham.

KSW 55 will stream live on Dazn starting at 2 p.m. ET.

KSW 55 Weigh-in Results: Scott Askham (185) vs. Mamed Khalidov (185)Aleksandar Ilic (186) vs. Michal Materla (186)Andreas Gustafsson (186) vs. Damian Janikowski (186…

January 16th business is boomin pic.twitter.com/uDyYXSfoAz

— Baldy Ed (@brianboom135) October 9, 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. A fun scrap nixed in September has been rescheduled for a newly announced Ultimate Fighting Championship card in January. The news first coming out on Friday from MMA Fighting, Brian Kelleher (22-11) has since confirmed on Twitter that he will be competing on a Jan. 16 UFC event. On this fight card, he will be facing Ricky Simon (16-3) at bantamweight, in a bout previously booked on UFC Fight Night 176 only to fall off when one of Simon’s cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. There is not currently a venue set, although it is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to the coronavirus pandemic still affecting the U.S. There are no other bouts currently set for the event.

Kelleher …

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. A major strawweight battle between two elite grapplers is on the books for to the year-end Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event. On Friday, MMA Fighting first reported that Mackenzie Dern (9-1) has agreed to take on Virna Jandiroba (16-1) at strawweight at UFC 256. Other outlets have since confirmed the booking arrangement, while noting that the two have not yet signed their contracts. Should this bout come to fruition on Dec. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, it will be between two jiu-jitsu masters that have earned a combined 19 submission victories across their 25 career wins.

Dern recently competed at UFC Fight Night 178 in September, where she tapped Randa Markos with a first-round armbar. In that bout, Dern became the first fighter to put Markos on a losing streak, as the Canadian had never before lost consecu…

Fifteen years ago, the rivalry between Brazilian Top Team and Chute Boxe used to make Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba hostile territory for anyone representing the opposing team.

Wanderlei Silva adopted the phrase “time is the best medicine,” launching his autobiography on Thursday titled “Sem Coleira” in former rival city Rio de Janeiro. Unconcerned with a hostile reception, those in attendance including even former enemies gave him a hero’s welcome, and “The Axe Murderer” was truly moved from the fans in the city. In his release party, Silva was able to celebrate with the fans and former rival teams in Rio de Janeiro, in a beautiful tribute for the legend of the sport.

Those in attendance included fans, journalists, Luta Livre members, Nova Uniao and even former enemies from BTT.

“Fifteen years ago, it would be impossible for me to be here,” expressed BTT founder “Bebeo” Duarte. The Carlson Gracie black belt was also joined by Carlos Barreto at the ceremony. “I would …

WHAT A FINISHSam-A knocks out Josh Tonna in the second round to retain the ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title! #ReignOfDynasties #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/NnsN646la0

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 9, 2020 One Championship returned to Singapore with a solid MMA card and a muay Thai title on the line in the main event.

One: Reign of Dynasties was headlined by a strawweight championship clash pitting Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Josh Tonna. It took one round to Sam-A to figure Tonna out, as the opening stanza developed at a slower pace than expected. In the second round, the Thai champion pressed on the accelerator and dropped his opponent three times. The final count came after a series of devastating combinations that mixed punches in with head kicks. The bout’s official end came at the 2:30 mark, courtesy of the promotion’s muay Thai three knockdown rule.

Reece "Lightning" McLaren…

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— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) October 8, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming six-fight main card pay-per-view has taken a hit. Rafael dos Anjos posted on Twitter on Thursday night that he has contracted COVID-19 and can no longer compete at UFC 254. Dos Anjos was set to face Islam Makhachev on the main card, which is set to go down on Oct. 24 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is unclear if the promotion will seek a replacement or if Makhachev will be removed from the event altogether.

Dos Anjos made a change in camps from his own RDA Academy and splitting time with Evolve MMA to go down to Nova Uniao and train with Andre Pederneiras and Jose Aldo. The former lightweight king has lost four of five bouts, with a fourth-round submission…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOxjpQ45664&w=560&h=315] Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Fighters League veteran Rashid Magomedov is returning to compete in his home country of Russia.

Magomedov (23-5-1) was originally billed to face Eduard Vartanyan in his first outing with Absolute Championship Akhmat, but Magomedov was forced withdraw from that bout due to health reasons. ACA officials told Sherdog on Thursday that Magomedov will now be taking on fellow ACA newcomer Artem Damkovsky (23-11). The two will square off at lightweight at ACA 113, which will be held on Nov. 6 in Moscow.

Magomedov had competed six times under the UFC banner, losing only once to current top contender Beneil Dariush. Leaving the promotion of his own accord in 2018 to compete for the PFL with visions of winning the million-dollar prize, things did not go as smoothly for him. The 2018 season saw “Gorets” reach the 2018 championships on the strength of two wins and a dra…

Emotional moment of Daniel jubileu MMA pic.twitter.com/JM5Hqbmr8a

— ACAMMA (@ACA_League) October 6, 2020 The ACA 112 event in Grozny, Russia, consisted of only 10 fights, but according to the president of Absolute Championship Akhmat, the shortening of the card actually improved its quality.

The main event and most striking of the evening was the fight between the champion “Jubileu” Deivi Daniel Oliveira de Almeida and Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev. ACA President Alexey Yatsenko admitted to Sherdog that he changed his mind several times during the fight about who would win it.

“I knew from the very beginning that it would be an interesting bout,” explained Yatsenko. “Of course, the audience was disappointed with the defeat of the local star, one of the best Russian fighters. But we knew how Jubileu broke into our league. In February 2019, he came on as a substitute, not in his weight, agreeing to fight five days before the event. And he simply too…

THE TRILOGY STRIKES BACK.

Cage Warriors 117, 118 and 119 will take place on the 10th, 11th and 12th of December.

Multiple world title fights PLUS some big new signings to announce!

York Hall, London. pic.twitter.com/50cZ2M16us

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 8, 2020 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship is running a trio of consecutive events again soon.

With Cage Warriors’ success promoting “The Trilogy,” the three back-to-back nights of fight action staged in September, the promotion is using the same strategy again. On Thursday, the British organization announced three more consecutive cards. "The Trilogy Strikes Back” events will consist of CW 117, CW 118 and CW 119. All three will go down at the York Hall in London, England, on December 10, 11 and 12, respectively.

“Reaction to the first Trilogy series was off the charts, so we knew we had to do it again,” wrote Cage Warrior president Graham Boylan in a press releas…

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Bellator MMA is splitting up its upcoming card to air on various platforms.

The promotion put out a press release on Thursday announcing the official lineup for Bellator 248, which consists of 12 fights and two headliners. The first show, officially titled Bellator 248, will feature of four bouts topped by Michael Page vs. Ross Houston at a 175-pound catchweight. The event will then transition to the title of Bellator Paris, where it will relocate its broadcast for eight bouts ending with the Cheick Kongo vs. Saul Rogers vs. Arbi Mezhidov will move to Channel 5 in the UK.

With this release, the organization officially confirmed the loss of the Davy Gallon vs. Brian Hooi matchup, as news broke on Wednesday that Hooi tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, it was formalized that Melvin Manhoef will not be facing Simon Biyong on the car…