Martial Arts News

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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…

Air Machaev operating normally!#BRAVECF40 pic.twitter.com/1bZoSNhmdm

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 24, 2020

Mochamed Machaev kept his perfect record intact against Shoaib Yousaf in the Brave Combat Federation 40 headliner in Sweden on Monday.

The opening stanza was the most competitive of the featherweight fight, with Yousaf (7-2) coming for-ward with his striking, while Machaev (10-0) answered with his wrestling skills. Starting the second stanza, it was pretty clear that "The Beast" had the edge over his opponent thanks to his relentless takedowns. Machaev dominated Yousaf on the mat over the course of the bout’s final 10 minutes, and all three judges rewarded Machaev with 30-27 scorecards for a unanimous decision victory.

In a post-fight interview, the Austrian fighter asked to compete for the vacant featherweight belt in his next cage appearance.

Who knew a submission win would make someone s…

HOLLAND ENDS IT WITH ONE SHOT!! #UFCVegas6 pic.twitter.com/fgjtLxlkbM

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 9, 2020

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A middleweight showdown between Kevin Holland and Darren Stewart is slated for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Sept. 19 offering.

Holland announced the pairing in an Instagram post. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Colby Covington against Tyron Woodley.

Holland has posted a 2-0 mark in UFC competition during the pandemic, earning technical knockout triumphs over Anthony Hernandez and Joaquin Buckley. The 27-year-old Texan has won five of his last six Octagon appearances after falling to former light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos in his promotional debut.

Stewart, meanwhile, has won…

Well-traveled veteran Satoshi Ishii will get a chance to capture the inaugural Elite MMA Championship heavyweight crown when he faces Stuart Austin on Sept. 5 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The fledgling promotion announced on Monday that Ishii and Austin will square off in the EMC 5 main event. Two other bouts were confirmed for the event: Konrad Dyrschka vs. Walter Pugliesi at welterweight and Erko Jun vs. Damian Olszewski at heavyweight.

EMC is founded by Ivan and Tomi Dijakovic, who manage and coach notable MMA fighters such as Roberto Soldic, Antun Racic, Thiago Silva, David Zawada and Abus Magomedov. According to a release, more former UFC, PFL and Cage Warriors competitors will be announced for the card in the coming days.

Ishi, 33, has compiled a 23-11-1 career mark while competing for organizations such as Bellator MMA, Rizin Fighting Federation and Professional Fighters League. Most recently, the Osaka, Japan, native halted a three-bout skid with a first-roun…

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Ricardo Lamas has a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 175, as former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Bill Algeo announced on Sunday that he will face the former featherweight title challenger.

Algeo, who revealed the news via social media, steps in for Ryan Hall after the jiu-jitsu ace pulled out of the clash due to injury. UFC Fight Night 175 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a three-round light heavyweight showcase pitting Anthony Smith against Aleksandar Rakic. The card will stream on ESPN+.

A former Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Ring of Combat featherweight titlist, Algeo will make his promotional debut with a 13-4 career mark. He appeared on Season 3 of the Contender Series, dropping a three-rou…