Martial Arts News

Usman Nurmagomedov will defend his lightweight crown against Alexandr Shabliy in the main event of Bellator Champions Series San Diego on Sept. 7.

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The promotion announced the bout in a release on Tuesday. The event takes place at Pechanga Arena and will air on Max in the United States. It is part of a Bellator itinerary for September that includes events on back-to-back weekends. One week after Bellator San Diego, Johnny Eblen will defend his middleweight belt in a rematch with Fabian Edwards at Bellator Champions Series London.

“September is set to be a huge month for Bellator Champions Series, and we’re continuing to step up our game to deliver incredible cards that we know the MMA community across the globe will love. Both San Diego and London are massive markets for us, and we’re confident we’ll put on a show that the fans in attendance and those watching around the world on Max and Dazn deserve,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. “Our …

Mike Davis will not be competing at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver as originally anticipated.

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The 31-year-old former Dana White's Contender Series competitor revealed via Instagram that he suffered a torn bicep during sparring earlier this month. As a result, “Beast Boy” will no longer face Drew Dober in their proposed lightweight bout on July 13. It’s unclear if Dober will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

“Yes, I need surgery. They have to reattach the tendon by drilling it back into the bone,” Davis wrote. “I’m so f—ing disappointed … I try so f—ing hard … I’m dealt such a s—t hand in life full of skill and talent that I can’t even use.”

Davis recently returned to action following nearly a year-and-a-half absence at UFC Fight Night 239, where he submitted Natan Levy in the second round of their March 16 encounter. The Fusion X-Cel representative has been victorious in his last four Octagon appearances after dropping his promoti…

A middleweight championship rematch between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards will serve as the main event for Bellator Champions Series London on Sept. 14.

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The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. Bellator Champions Series London takes place at the OVO Arena Wembley and will mark the organization’s eighth trip to England’s capital city.

Eblen initially defended his title against Edwards at Bellator 299 this past September, winning via third-round knockout. The American Top Team standout has competed once since then, taking a hard-fought split decision over Impa Kasanganay at a PFL vs. Bellator event on Feb. 24. Eblen owns a 15-0 career mark that includes two successful title defenses under the Bellator banner.

Edwards rebounded from the loss to Eblen by taking a unanimous verdict against Aaron Jeffery at Bellator Champions Series Belfast on March 22. The younger brother of UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has won four of his las…

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Ikram Aliskerov believes Robert Whittaker was well aware of his existence even before their fight got booked.

Whittaker was originally scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in the main event at UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 in Saudi Arabia. Chimaev was forced out of the fight due to severe illness, and Aliskerov stepped up on short notice to replace “Borz”. The weight cut was not an issue for Aliskerov, as he was originally scheduled to face Brazilian debutant Antonio Trocoli at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15.

While Whittaker was grateful to Aliskerov for stepping up on short notice, “Bobby Knuckes” claimed to have never heard of the Dagestani standout before their fight was announced. A seasoned veteran on the regional scene, Aliskerov believes Whittaker was lying and had repeatedly watched his tape even before their fight got booked. Aliskerov’s lone professional loss came via a first-round knockout against Chimaev under the Brave Combat Federation banner in 20…

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While Steve Erceg found Alexandre Pantoja to be respectful leading up to their UFC 301 fight, he didn’t like the champ’s post-fight demeanor.

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Erceg earned the opportunity of a lifetime, jumping several spots in the rankings for a title shot against Pantoja at UFC 301 in Brazil on May 4. While Pantoja retained his flyweight strap with a unanimous decision win, Erceg showed that he can hang with the best by giving the champ a real run for his money.

While Erceg had nothing but respect for Pantoja leading up to the fight, the Australian has now developed mixed feelings due to some post-fight comments “The Cannibal” made. During an appearance on the "Show Me the Money" podcast, Pantoja said that Erceg hits like a girl. Taking issue with Pantoja’s comments, Erceg notes that the Brazilian certainly didn’t look like he had been hit by a girl after their fight.

“He’s a nice guy, obviously to his family. I liked the way he carried hi…

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Michael Chandler recently weighed in on his canceled fight with Conor McGregor.

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After months of anticipation, Chandler was finally scheduled to headline UFC 303 against McGregor on June 29. However, Dana White confirmed last week that the fight was off, as McGregor pulled out due to an injury. Chandler addressed the situation for the first time since that announcement in a video on social media.

“Well it’s Monday morning, on the trail right now, getting my mind right, thinking about what has transpired over the last couple of days…Got the rug pulled out from underneath me at the last possible moment,” Chandler said. “I had just got done with my last sparring session Thursday morning. I’d been hearing rumblings since Monday obviously but really got the call about an hour after my last sparring session was completed… The happiest and healthiest and hardest to kill, most dangerous man I have ever been in my entire life in that moment…

A matchup of middleweight prospects has been added to a UFC Fight Night event in August.

Zachary Reese (7-1) will face Bolivian debutant Jose Medina (11-3) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 24. The matchup was first reported by MMA Latinoamerica.

It will be a quick turnaround for Reese after he knocked out veteran Julian Marquez in 20 seconds at UFC on ESPN 57 in Louisville earlier this month. The bonus-winning victory saw “Savage” bounce back from his lone pro loss, which came via a slam KO against Cody Brundage in his UFC debut in December 2023.

Meanwhile, Medina gets his UFC call despite coming up on the short side of a unanimous decision in his Dana White's Contender Series bout against Magomed Gadzhiyasulov in October 2023. Medina has finished 10 of his 11 pro wins so far and was riding a six-fight winning streak before the Contender Series loss.

Things definitely haven’t gone as planned for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in June.

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The biggest setback for the promotion occurred last week, when Conor McGregor officially withdrew from his headlining clash against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 due to injury. The former two-division champ is the UFC’s biggest star, but he hasn’t competed for nearly three years since breaking his leg in July 2021. While McGregor vowed to be back soon in a statement released on social media, the exact nature of his injury — as well as a timeline for his recovery — is unclear.

After a hectic couple of weeks, UFC CEO Dana White won’t speculate on when McGregor might be ready to return to action.

“It’s the business, man. This is the way it goes,” White told the Sports Business Journal. “And from here on I’m not going to talk about it until when he’s healed and he’s right. Then we’ll look at the landscape and see what we can figure out.”

The promotion w…

While Khamzat Chimaev has not been especially active in recent years, the Chechen-born Swede has no plans of stepping away from mixed martial arts.

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In a brief statement issued to MMAjunkie.com, Chimaev’s manager, Majdi Shammas, denied retirement rumors that have persisted since the middleweight withdrew from a headlining clash against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 due to a severe illness.

“It’s absolutely not true,” Shammas said. “We’re planning on getting to the bottom of this situation, the problems. He will be back.”

Shammas painted a grave picture of Chimaev’s status in a separate post on social media over the weekend. However, he also stated in that post Chimaev’s UFC return would be “immediately rescheduled” once the fighter was healthy.

“The persistent illness that Khamzat has been battling for major parts of training camp could not be cured in time. He has been in and out of hospitals several times,” Shammas wrote on Instagram. “T…

☀️🌍🌘The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet.The SUN will set and will rise again until you walk into it. 🌅The SUN, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024

It appears that Israel Adesanya will have a chance to regain the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown later this year.

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“The Last Stylebender” announced on social media that he will face reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 in Perth on Aug. 17. Du Plessis subsequently confirmed the news in a series of posts on his Instagram Stories. UFC CEO Dana White later confirmed the pairing during an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show" on Monday.

EXCLUSIVE: UFC President @danawhite confirms Israel Adesanya will fight Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 17th in Perth. pic.twitter.com/mUkcGPGxaK

— Jim Rome (@jimrom…

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Bo Nickal claims to have been offered a short-notice booking against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia, which he couldn’t accept due to some unfortunate circumstances.

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Whittaker was originally scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event at UFC on ABC 6 on Saturday. However, Chimaev pulled out of the fight nine days before the event due to health concerns. Chimaev will now be replaced on short notice by Ikram Aliskerov.

While the fight has now been finalized, Nickal revealed that he was also on the list of potential contenders to replace Chimaev. Nickal claims to have received a call to step up for UFC Saudi Arabia, which he couldn’t answer as he didn’t have service. After three days in the mountains of Montana with no network signal, Nickal returned to multiple messages requesting callbacks. However, by then it was too late, as the UFC had already finalized the new main event for Saudi Arabia. Besides, Nickal wasn’t t…

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Marc Diakiese recently explained the reasoning behind his move to rival promotion Professional Fighters League.

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Diakiese announced his move to the PFL earlier this month after a 15-fight UFC career. Diakiese revealed that his UFC contract had expired following his second-round submission loss to Joel Alvarez at UFC London in July 2023. While exploring free agency, the Englishman was offered a short-notice clash against Kaue Fernandes at UFC Sao Paulo in November 2023, which he went on to win via split decision.

Diakiese expected the UFC to renew his contract in time for the promotion’s pay-per-view event in Manchester on July 27. However, that offer never arrived, and “Bonecrusher” instead accepted a deal with the PFL.

“So, the fight in London, that was the last fight on my contract,” Diakiese told MMAjunkie.com. “And I got sent to Brazil last minute and it was just there, so I knew I was a free agent. B…