Martial Arts News

The semifinals of a welterweight grand prix will take place at Elite MMA Championship 5 on Sept. 5.

The promotion announced Wednesday that Ismail Naurdiev, Amiran Gogoladze, Pavel Kusch and Tymoteusz Lopaczyk will take part in the 170-pound bracket. The semifinals will go down on Sept. 5, and the winners will square off for the vacant welterweight crown at EMC 6 later this year.

EMC 5 will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, and is headlined by a heavyweight championship clash between Satoshi Ishii and Stuart Austin.

Austria’s Naurdiev is a four-time UFC veteran who went 2-2 during his stint with the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 24-year-old has compiled a 19-4 professional mark and owns wins over Siyar Bahadurzada, Michel Prazeres and Ben Alloway.

Gogoladze is a 22-year-old prospect hailing from Akhaltsikhe, Georgia. The M-1 Challenge veteran has been victorious in 10 of his 11 professional appearances.

A native of Ukraine, Kusch is coming off a three-bout s…

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 once again bolstered its ranks through Dana White’s Contender Series. Middleweights Jamie Pickett and Collin Huckbody, flyweight Jeff Molina and featherweight Rafael Alves were all signed by the promotion after they emerged victorious on Week 4 of DWCS on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sixteen fighters have been granted entry to the UFC since the season started less than a month ago.

In his third appearance on the Contender Series, Pickett cut down Ring of Combat champion Jhonoven Pati with punches in the second round of their middleweight confrontation. Pati (6-4) succumbed to blows 33 seconds into Round 2, buried by an avalanche of rights and lefts.

Pickett (11-4) controlled much of the first round with a punishing jab, a well-timed takedown and a tight guillotine choke that put…

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A featherweight clash pitting Andre Fili against Bryce Mitchell is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Halloween card.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The card does not have an official location but is expected to be headlined by a middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall.

Anchored at Team Alpha Male, Fili has won five of his last seven promotional appearances. Most recently, the 30-year-old garnered a split verdict over Charles Jourdain at UFC on ESPN 10 on June 13.

Mitchell has kicked off his professional career with 13 consecutive victories, including four in the Octagon. “Thug Nasty” followed his Twister-submission win over Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7 in December with a decision triumph against Charles Rosa at UFC 249 on May 9.

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 DWCS 2020 Week 4 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Br…

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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.

After 32 professional fights, Kevin Croom will get his first Ultimate Fighting Championship opportunity.

Croom will step in for Giga Chikadze in a featherweight matchup against Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 175 after Chikadze withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. MMAFighting.com was first to report the change, and Croom later confirmed the news via social media.

UFC Fight Night 175 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a three-round light heavyweight tilt between Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic. The main card streams on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims air on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

The 33-year-old Croom will enter his Octagon debut with a 20-12 career mark t…

Add Ali Isaev to the list of fighters who is unhappy with Professional Fighters League’s decision to suspend its entire season until 2021.

Isaev, who earned a $1 million prize as the PFL’s 2019 champion, revealed to RT Sport that he would prefer that the organization release him so he can fight elsewhere before the conclusion of 2020. Isaev turns 37 in December and acknowledges that he has a limited time left to compete, which is why he would like to remain as active as possible.

“I’ll be 37 soon. That’s why I wanted the PFL either to give me a fight or let me go, so that I can fight in other promotions before the end of the year,” he said. “Because I can’t wait and take a big break, I want to compete. Time goes by and I have to find new opportunities to make a statement and fight against the top guys.”

While PFL cut a number of fighters following its announcement, those that remain under contract are supposed to receive a monthly cash stipend to support them …

Vadim Nemkov might still be underrated when it comes to recognition among the sport’s top light heavyweights, but that isn’t the case in his home country.

Nemkov received a hero’s welcome upon arriving in Belgorod, Russia, after winning the Bellator light heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of Ryan Bader this past Friday. The 28-year-old was greeted by an appreciative throng while carrying his newly-won belt at what appears to be an airport.

The 28-year-old dropped Bader with a high kick and finished his foe off with punches 3:02 into the second round of the Bellator 244 main event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Nemkov has won seven consecutive bouts, a string that includes notable wins over Phil Davis, Rafael Carvalho, Liam McGeary and Philipe Lins.

BREAKING!! Marian 'Golden Boy' Ziolkowski (21-7-1) will now challenge Mateusz Gamrot (16-0) for the KSW lightweight championship this Saturday. #KSW54

Ziolkowski replaces Shamil Musaev who sustained an injury. pic.twitter.com/AuHEcVe6tq

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) August 25, 2020 KSW 54 has undergone a last-minute change to its scheduled main event.

On Tuesday morning, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki revealed that Shamil Musaev sustained a knee injury in training, and he won’t be able to challenge Mateusz Gamrot for the lightweight title at KSW 54. As a re-sult, the Polish promotion announced that "Gamer" is now locking horns with Marian Ziolkowski.

After tapping to former KSW featherweight champion Kleber Koike Erbst in his promotional debut, Ziolkowski (21-7-1) has scored back-to-back victories at the expense of both Grzegorz Szulakowski and Gracjan Szadzinski at KSW 46 and KSW 48, respectively. "Golden Boy" was already scheduled to clash with Maci…

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In the immediate aftermath of his loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC on ESPN 15, Pedro Munhoz wondered aloud if his opponent’s reputation might have helped him on the judges’ scorecards in a contentious split-decision triumph.

While Munhoz didn’t necessarily clamor for an immediate rematch initially, on Monday he changed his tone.

“I’ve always done my talking in the octagon but this needs to be said,” Munhoz wrote on Instagram. “I work too hard to get screwed by poor judges who have no training and even less accountability. Look at the stats and the damage. Look at the 17 of 20 media sites who agreed I won, 7 of which had it 49-46. Tell me how the deciding judge gave round 3 to Frankie. He’s a legend, but I won that fight and want a rematch now, [Dana White].”

Munhoz’s argument is true: the vast majority of media sco…

Despite having a light heavyweight title tilt at the top of the bill, Bellator 244 was not a ratings success for the California-based promotion.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, Friday’s main card averaged just 275,000 viewers on Paramount Network — the lowest of five cards held in 2020 by Bellator. The event was simulcast on Dazn, but viewership figures for the paid streaming service are not released.

Bellator 244 took place at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and was headlined by a 205-pound championship clash between Vadim Nemkov and Ryan Bader. Nemkov claimed the light heavyweight throne with a second-round knockout of the former UFC standout, while former women’s featherweight queen Julia Budd earned a dominant three-round verdict over Jessy Miele in the co-main event.

The previous low for a Bellator card came on July 24, when Bellator 242 “Pettis vs. Bandejas” averaged 277,000 viewers on Paramount Network. Just two weeks prior, however, a Bellator…

Give him credit. He's dodges questions like Silva dodged punches vs. Griffin

Dana: Oh, Pitbull?Media: Yes, what do you think of him as a fighter.Dana: I don't know. I honestly couldn't tell you.#UFC pic.twitter.com/Av6hzcbEYx

— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) August 23, 2020 Patricio Freire didn’t take kindly to Dana White’s dismissal of a potential cross-promotional bout between fighters from Bellator MMA and the UFC.

White not only scoffed at the notion of Bellator’s light heavyweight division being superior to the UFC’s, but he also claimed not to be aware of other top talents on the California-based promotion’s roster, including the two-division champion Freire.

First, Freire reminded the world that he defeated Michael Chandler, a fighter whom White has recently expressed interest in signing as a free agent.

Hi [Dana White], I’m the one who destroyed steroids machine [Michael Chandler], whom you said deserves a talk, in 61 sec…

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Thor Silva, the son of mixed martial arts legend Wanderlei Silva, was victorious in his amateur boxing debut this past Saturday.

Wanderlei was in Thor’s corner along with Evolução Thai head coach Andre Dida. The 17-year-old Thor squared off against the far more experienced Vinicius Vina, who is also 17 but has 14 bouts under his belt.

“I followed a good part of Wand´s prime in Pride and the UFC and never saw him so nervous,” Dida told Sherdog.com.

The fight was the main event of a Venum Private Fight amateur card. Both Thor and his opponent were aggressive throughout the three-round affair, but the younger Silva ended up winning via decision.

“What impressed me the most about Thor is his mental toughness. It looks like he doesn’t feel the pressure to be Wanderlei Silva´s son,” Dida said. “Now we will have him train jiu-jitsu with Sergio Moraes and next year we want to make his MMA debut in an…