Martial Arts News

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…

The lineup for UFC Fight Night 176 continues to shrink.

According to MMAFighting.com, Marcos Rogerio de Lima has tested positive for COVID-19, and his heavyweight matchup with Alexander Romanov has been removed from Saturday’s card. UFC broadcast partner ESPN has since released an updated fight card, and Lima vs. Romanov was absent from the lineup.

Lima trains at American Top Team in Florida. Fellow ATT fighter Thiago Moises also tested positive for the virus on Saturday, forcing the cancellation of his lightweight clash with Jalin Turner. According to MMAFighting, ATT coaches Katel Kubis and Leonardo “Macarrao” dos Santos also tested positive for COVID-19.

UFC Fight Night 176 will proceed with seven bouts. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card airs in its entirety on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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.

UFC Fight Night 176 is down to eight bouts after Thiago Moises tested positive for COVID-19.

Moises’ proposed lightweight scrap against Jalin Turner has been canceled as a result. Combate was first to report the news. UFC Fight Night 176 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card will stream on ESPN+.

A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance titlist, Moises has gone 2-2 thus far during his promotional tenure. Most recently, the American Top Team representative submitted Michael Johnson 25 seconds into the second roud at UFC Fight Night 171 on May 13.

Turner is also 2-2 in UFC competition. “The Tarantula” is coming off a second-round TKO triumph against Joshua Culibao at UFC Fight Night 168 on Feb. 23.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wORk9Qhr-8&w=560&h=315]

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.

Brian Kelleher has yet another new opponent at UFC Fight Night 176.

Kevin Natividad, who was a replacement for original opponent Ricky Simon, has been pulled from the matchup with Kelleher for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Ray Rodriguez, who weighed in as a backup fighter on Friday, will get the call to square off against the featherweight known as “Boom.” MMAFighting.com was first to report the change.

Rodriguez competed on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Tony Gravely in August 2019. The 32-year-old Texan returned to the win column with a submission triumph over Andrew Perez at Combat Americas “San Antonio” this past November.

UFC Fight Night 175 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas …

The Demolition Man!

We're OFFICIAL for #UFCVegas9 - Streaming LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/BYlUc6Fn0T

— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 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. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief as every fighter for Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card hit their proper marks, including a backup competitor.

The UFC will hold its first of four events in September this Saturday as heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night 176. The latest card from the UFC Apex features nine bouts in total, and one fighter was also called in to make weight as a potential replacement in case the coronavirus struck.

After a big TKO win over Walt Harris earlier this year, Overeem (46-18, 1 NC) will look to prove that he still has one more run left in him. The 40…

It took Zviad Lazishvili less than four minutes to dismantle Ricky Steele.

The unbeaten Georgian captured the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight championship, as he submitted Steele with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their LFA 90 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Lazishvili (6-0, 2-0 LFA) closed the deal 3:42 into Round 1.

Steele (6-1, 0-1 LFA) went nowhere despite five-inch height and reach advantages. Lazisvhili corralled the SBG Idaho product along the fence, secured a takedown and immediately scrambled to the back. From there, he pestered Steele with punches, hunted for openings and cinched the choke, setting his hooks once his arms were in place. The tapout followed soon after.

Meanwhile, surging Black House export Maycon Mendonca cut down Devin Smyth with punches in the second round of their welterweight co-main event. Mendonca (10-4, 4-3 LFA) brought it to a close 4:21 into Round 2, as he extended hi…

Bangers & Mash!! UK Heavyweight @StuartAustinMMAthrowing them bombs!!

He takes on Satoshi Ishii in the main event of #EMC5 on Saturday!! pic.twitter.com/ZdzIctT7Y1

— EMC MMA(@EMC_Promotion) September 3, 2020 Former BAMMA champion and Bellator MMA veteran Stuart Austin has bad intentions for his opponent at EMC 5. On Saturday night, Austin (14-6) will lock horns with Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii (23-11-1) for the inaugural EMC heavyweight title atop EMC 5. Even though he was preparing for a different opponent, Austin didn't refuse the offer to face Ishii. He and his upcoming foe share some common ground. Not only they started their martial career with judo, but they also took part in some of the same tournaments when they were younger.

“I competed in judo tournaments until I was 19,” Austin told Sherdog.com. “I took part in some of the same ones like him, but we never got to compete against each other before he went on to beco…

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Demian Maia anyone? That's the plan for Fight Island per Dana White, after he competes in the APEX pic.twitter.com/WbSTRB4RMV

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 4, 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 article has been updated at 3:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 4 to reflect additional information. Ultimate Fighting Championship wunderkind Khamzat Chimaev has not one but two fights potentially lined up.

On Friday, UFC President Dana White spoke at a press conference about upcoming matches for Sweden’s Chimaev (8-0). The rising star is expected to appear at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19 at the UFC Apex, now that the fighter has cleared his visa issues. According to Combate, Chimaev will be squaring off with Gerald Meerschaert (31-13) at middleweight, although the bout is still in the works.

“Yes,” White …

Now y’all really tryna make me act nasty! Let’s get this bag. #MainEventAnge https://t.co/CcatIzNcOu

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) September 4, 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. An upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card has an unexpected new main event. On Wednesday night, Glover Teixeira was forced to withdraw from his headliner against Thiago Santos. The two light heavyweights topped UFC Fight Night 177 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 12, and the promotion briefly searched for a new main event. In its stead will be former co-main matchup Michelle Waterson (17-8) vs. Angela Hill (12-8) at strawweight, per ESPN.

Unlike other recent short-notice replacement main events like Anthony Smith-Aleksandar Rakic and Edmen Shahbazyan-Derek Brunson, this bout will be a five-round affair. Both women former Invicta Fighting…

In the COVID-19 era, it is always a relief when every fighter on the card makes weight without issue.

The Legacy Fighting Alliance kicks off a busy September of mixed martial arts action with LFA 90. The event will see the promotion crown a new bantamweight king as it pits undefeated prospects Zviad Lazishvili and Ricky Steele up against one other.

Lazishvili (5-0) impressed in his LFA debut last year as he won a decision over Josh Huber. His victory over “The Hellboy” was the biggest of his career to date and broke a six-fight win streak for the surging Huber. Although the promotion bills the Georgian at 12-0, several of those victories cannot currently be authenticated. Lazishvili will look to continue his perfection inside the cage by capturing LFA gold. The Georgian fighter had no issue making weight and officially came in at 133.8 pounds.

Making his promotional debut is Steele (6-0), who is coming off a split decision win over Phil Caracappa on Dana White's Cont…

Karol Rosa passa mal, é levada para o hospital e deixa luta contra Sijara Eubanks no UFC de sábado https://t.co/8IbreH8d8w pic.twitter.com/MXcK4N2pys

— Combate (@canalCombate) September 3, 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. Two hard weight cuts in the span of a few months got the better of Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Karol Rosa. Combate was the first to break the news on Thursday that Rosa has been knocked out of her UFC Fight Night 176 matchup with Sijara Eubanks due to a bad weight cut. Rosa has been hospitalized, and her condition is currently unknown. The bout will be removed from the bill, per MMA Fighting, and Eubanks will take on Julia Avila at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12. Avila's management team confirmed this new bout shortly after the news broke, and it is unclear if Avila's October matchup with Ni…

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship staple Ed Herman just wants to fight someone. On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported that Herman (25-14, 1 NC) will be facing a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 177, this time in the form of Mike Rodriguez (11-4, 1 NC). Herman was originally set to lock horns with John Allan Arte, but the Brazilian was forced to pull out due to visa issues. An exasperated Herman confirmed the opponent change on his Instagram page.

“Short Fuse” has seen five matchups fall through in 2020, with two cancellations ahead of his matchup against Da Un Jung in May and then August. Gerald Meerschaert was set to replace the South Korean in August, but a positive COVID-19 test pushed the bout to September. Arte then stepped up after Meerschaert withdrew again, only to be pulled for an issue related to his visa. The 14-year U…