Martial Arts News

The lineup for the Bellator 249 main card is now complete, as Ricky Bandejas will square off against Leandro Higo at bantamweight, while Saad Awad meets Mandel Nallo at lightweight.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Oct. 15 and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe.

Additionally, a middleweight clash pitting Curtis Millender against Joe Schilling has been booked for the preliminary draw. That contest was initially reported by The Orange County Register.

Bandejas had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, when he dropped a three-round verdict to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 242 on July 24. Higo, meanwhile, halted a two-fight skid with a second-round submission of Shawn Bunch at Bellator 228 in September 2019.

The 37-year-old Awad ha…

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A featherweight tilt pitting Darren Elkins against Luiz Eduardo Garagorri is slated for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 7.

Combate was first to report the booking. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira.

Elkins is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Nate Landwehr at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 16. That was the fourth consecutive defeat for “The Damage,” who has also fallen to Ryan Hall, Ricardo Lamas and Alexander Volkanovski during his current skid.

Uruguay’s Garagorri suffered his first defeat in 14 professional outings at UFC Fight Night 164, where he was submitted in the opening stanza by Ricardo Ramos this past November. The 31-year-old began his promotional tenure with a three-ro…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEpkttouF6o&w=560&h=315]

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“The Ultimate Fighter” franchise could have been resurrected in a major way with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor as coaches, but the reigning lightweight king turned that opportunity down, according to manager Ali Abdelaziz.

“Last week Dana White called me,” Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports. “He said, ‘Ali, what do you think if Khabib win, him and Conor do ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ on ESPN?’ This is breaking news. I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ll think about it.’ And he said, of course, [vice versa] if Justin win.

“It would be Khabib vs. Conor on The Ultimate Fighter, coaching. It would have been f—ing huge. Probably would have went to the hospital because he would have beat his ass and his whole team. Or Justin Gaethje vs. [McGregor].”

However, Abdelaziz …

Patricky Freire will square off against former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Jaleel Willis in the Bellator 249 co-headliner on Oct. 15.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchup with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title tilt between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe.

Freire has been victorious in his last five Bellator appearances and seven of his last eight bouts overall. Most recently, the elder “Pitbull” brother suffered a decision loss against Tofiq Musayev in the finals of Rizin’s lightweight grand prix on Dec. 31.

The 28-year-old Willis claimed welterweight gold with a five-round verdict against Vinicius de Jesus at LFA 88 on Aug. 21. Willis owns a 13-2 professional mark overall and has earned five of his victories by KO/TKO and eight via decision.

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Jon Jones is only a slight betting favorite in a potential matchup with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, according to online oddsmaker BetOnline.

Jones opened as a -150 favorite in the bout, while Adesanya checks in as a +130 underdog. Odds are subject to change, and Jones vs. Adesanya must take place by Sept. 1, 2021 for bets to be viable. It's worth noting that there is a significant disparity between online oddsmakers, as Bovada lists Jones as a -375 favorite and Adesanya as a +285 underdog.

Jones and Adesanya have taken shots at one another in recent months, and that didn’t change following the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s second-round stoppage of Paulo Henrique Costa in the UFC 253 headliner this past Saturday.

At the UFC 253 post-fight press conference, Adesanya mentioned still wanting to face Jones but …

Our global stars are BACK for ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES, as Sam-A puts his Strawweight Muay Thai World Title on the line against top contender Josh Tonna! @ReeceMclaren91 @amirkhanmma #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/tK06guo0za

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 29, 2020

One Championship is set to return with a card featuring a muay Thai title bout and five mixed martial arts contests on Oct. 9.

The Singapore-based promotion unveiled the full card for the event, entitled "Reign of Dynasties,” on Tuesday. The headliner will feature a strawweight championship clash pitting Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Josh Tonna, while Aleksi Toivonen will lock horns with Reece McLaren in the evening’s featured MMA matchup at flyweight.

Four other MMA bouts will round out the card: Amir Khan vs. Rahul K. Raju at lightweight; Eko Roni Saputra vs. Murugan Silvarajoo at a 140-pound catchweight; Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs. Getu Hexi…

DC calls Jon Jones "out of touch" after his tweets about the #UFC253 light heavyweight title fight and then predicts how Jones vs. Blachowicz would go if they fought.

(via @dc_mma) pic.twitter.com/oCfnr9X1Nc

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 28, 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. Shortly after Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to claim the vacant light heavyweight throne, Jon Jones dropped a hint that he might be interested in returning to the division he only recently left.

“Would you guys be annoyed if I went back and grabbed my belt real quick?” Jones wrote on Twitter.

Jones hasn’t competed since a controversial decision triumph over Reyes at UFC 247 in February. Many observers felt that Reyes deserved to win the fight, but rather than grant “The Devastator” an immediate rematch, “Bones” ultimately ele…

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have already squared off within the confines of the Octagon. Now the two UFC stars seem interested in stepping outside the jurisdiction of the Las Vegas-based promotion to fight for charity.

McGregor and Poirier on Monday engaged in a discussion on Twitter regarding a potential MMA exhibition in Ireland on Dec. 12. Proceeds would go toward Poirier’s charity, The Good Fight Foundation and some other organizations of McGregor’s choosing.

“Hey bro! You want to do an MMA charity fight? Zero to do with the UFC,” McGregor wrote. “I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on PPV or work a TV deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity ‘exhibition.’

“December 12th in the Point Depot, Ireland. No weigh ins. Open weight, unified rules. I will arrange all travel fare for you and family. McGregor Sports and Entertainment MMA, in association with The Good…

Sorry Christian, Kevin stole the show tonight!#NatividadVsNatividad#LFA85 pic.twitter.com/sVnZYNyIa2

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 18, 2020

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A bantamweight matchup pitting Miles Johns against Kevin Natividad has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Halloween card.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight duel between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall.

Johns received a UFC contract following a decision triumph over Richie Santiago on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series. He then debuted in the Octagon with a split verdict against Cole Smith before suffering a second-round TKO defeat to Mario Bautista at UFC 247. The 26-year-old Fortis MMA product is 10-1 over the…

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Ante Delija will make his Octagon debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC Fight Night 180.

Delija will serve as a replacement for Shamil Abdurakhimov, who withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. French outlet La Sueur was first to report the new heavyweight pairing. UFC Fight Night 180 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 17 and is headlined by a featherweight scrap between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung.

A native of Dubrovnik, Croatia, the 30-year-old Delija has compiled a 17-3 record since beginning his professional career in 2011. He has competed for organizations such as M-1 Global, Rizin, Professional Fighters League and KSW during his MMA tenure. In his last outing, “Walking Trouble” earned a second-round TKO against Oli Thompson at KSW 51.

Gane, meanwhile, has been victorious in his first six …

Wejście smoka @JanBlachowiczZaskoczył wszystkich #LegendaryPolishPower pic.twitter.com/LJGH37tWBq

— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) September 28, 2020

Jan Blachowicz is a hero in his home country of Poland after claiming the vacant light heavyweight crown with a victory against Dominick Reyes at UFC 253.

Polish network TVP Sport captured Blachowicz’s arrival at the airport on Monday, where he was welcomed by a throng of fans and media. The 37-year-old Cieszyn, Poland, native became the UFC’s 13th light heavyweight champion by stopping Reyes via TKO at the 4:36 mark of Round 2 in Saturday’s co-main event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Fani @JanBlachowicz czekają na powitanie mistrza @ufc #LegendaryPolishPower pic.twitter.com/hHdZ0GMrj3

— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) September 28, 2020

Blachowicz, who has won eight of his last nine UFC appearances after beginning his promotional tenure with a 2-4 mark, called out Jon Jones f…

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After filming the first face-to-face meeting between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa last week at the fighter hotel in Abu Dhabi and claiming that the reigning middleweight champion was clearly frightened, Wallid Ismael praised “The Last Stylebender” for his UFC 253 victory in an interview with Globo reporter Evelyn Rodrigues.

Adesanya dominated Costa en route to a second-round technical knockout in the UFC 253 headliner on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this past Saturday.

"We have no excuses to give. That was Adesanya's night,” said Ismael, who is Costa’s manager. “Paulo was waiting to speed up after the third round but Adesanya´s calf kicks affected him. There are no excuses, or complaints. [Costa] remains among the two best in the middleweight rankings. He is still at the top. Now is time to recover the body and return t…