Martial Arts News

It’s full speed ahead for Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as all 10 fighters slated to compete made weight without issue on Monday.

Dana White’s Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a light heavyweight contest pitting Tafon Nchukwi (204 pounds) against Al Matavao (200).

Nchukwi, 25, is 3-0 in his burgeoning MMA tenure. The Team Lloyd Irvin product scored a notable win in his last outing, as he stopped recent UFC signee William Knight in the opening round at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 80 this past November.

Matavao, meanwhile, enters the matchup on a four-bout winning streak. The American Samoa native has compiled an 8-2 career mark while fighting primarily under the Alaska Fighting Championship banner.

Dana White’s Contender Series Weigh-in ResultsTafon Nchukwi (204) vs. Al Matavao (200)Cameron Church (155.5) vs. Sherrard Blackl…

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Deiveson Figueiredo has already started the process of promoting his UFC 255 fight against Cody Garbrandt.

Over the weekend the UFC flyweight champion used social media to deliver a message to his opponent in English, both via video and by text.

“[Cody Garbrandt] you think you are going to take my belt?” Figueiredo wrote on Instagram. “I go to sleep dreaming of taking your head off!!!! I wake up thinking of knocking you out. My whole day is dedicated to putting you to sleep!!!!”

Figueiredo claimed the vacant flyweight crown with a first-round submission of Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18. The 32-year-old Brazilian has won four straight UFC bouts and 19 of his 20 professional appearances overall.

A former bantamweight champion, Garbrandt will make his flyweight debut against Figue…

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After falling to Pannie Kianzad for her third defeat in her last four outings at UFC on ESPN 14, Bethe Correia announced via Instagram that she had competed for the final time in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

However, Brazilian outlet Ag.Fight recently reported that Correia would instead have her farewell bout against Yanan Wu on Dec. 5. Shortly thereafter, Correia confirmed the news on social media. Correia was reportedly released from the UFC following her loss to Kianzad, but now it appears she will get a chance to exit the organizatino on her own terms.

“Only a fighter knows the time to stop and follow other paths... Only a fighter and their allies know to tell apart the lies from the truth from what the media puts out. Yes! This will be my last fight and it could not be at any event other than the one and only…

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Liana Jojua will fight Miranda Maverick in a women’s flyweight bout on Oct. 24 at UFC 254.

Prime Fight Management, which represents Jojua, first brought word of the matchup. UFC 254 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim king Justin Gaethje.

The 25-year-old Russian known as “She Wolf” had a five-bout professional winning streak snapped in her Octagon debut, as she suffered a third-round TKO loss to Sarah Moras at UFC 242. Jojua rebounded at UFC on ESPN 13, tapping on Diana Belbita with an armbar in the first round of the opening stanza on July 15. The Akhmat Fight Team representative owns an 8-3 pro mark that includes six submission triumphs — including five via armbar.

Maverick has compiled a 7-2 re…

A positive COVID-19 test has forced Austin Vanderford out of a proposed bout against Daniel Madrid at Bellator 246.

Vanderford announced the news on his Instagram account following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Pat Casey has been targeted as a replacement opponent for Madrid in the middleweight contest.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to compete for [Bellator MMA] next weekend,” Vanderford wrote. “I tested positive for COVID (a second time now). To say it’s a bummer is a serious understatement. But I’m going to rest up and recover now. I’ll be ready to go ASAP. Stay healthy and safe.”

Bellator 246 takes place on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a showdown between Juan Archuleta and Patrick Mix for the vacant bantamweight championship. The main card airs on Paramount Network and Dazn following prelims on Bellator’s YouTube channel.

The 30-year-old Vanderford is 9-0 as a professional and has kicked off his…

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…