Martial Arts News

#AndNew #Bellator244 pic.twitter.com/dDD5R4n1Fx

— ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho) August 22, 2020

There was a shift atop the Bellator MMA light heavyweight division, and it was seismic in nature.

Vadim Nemkov cut down Ryan Bader with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their Bellator 244 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, as he became the seventh 205-pound champion in company history. Bader (27-5, 5-1 Bellator) succumbed to blows 3:02 into Round 2, suffering his first setback in nearly four years.

Nemkov (12-2, 5-0 Bellator) conceded a takedown in the first round but was responsible for virtually all of the meaningful offense. He stung Bader with a straight right hand in Round 2, reset after an inadvertent eye poke paused the action and floored “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner with a perfectly placed high kick. Nemkov chased the fallen champion to the floor, showered him wit…

Both claim victory! But who is taking the belt home??? #LFA88 pic.twitter.com/A3GXDGZIgR

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 22, 2020

The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new welterweight champion at LFA 88.

The promotion pitted prospects Vinicius de Jesus and Jaleel Willis against one another for the vacant belt and it was Willis (13-2) that came out on top. The two men had a back-and-forth battle on the feet over five rounds. Ultimately, de Jesus (9-3) couldn't keep up with his foe according to the judges, who all awarded Willis the victory with scores of 49-46, 50-45, and 48-47.

The co-main event saw Aaron McKenzie win a thrilling bout against Glaucio Eliziario. McKenzie (8-2-1) was rocked early against Eliziario (9-6) after getting hit with a flying knee but managed to battle back into the bout. McKenzie would blast Eliziario and then lock in a rear-naked choke that forced his opponent to tap out 4:15 into Round 1.

In …

Breaking: Darren Till (@darrentill2) vs. Jack Hermansson (@jackthejokermma) will headline UFC Fight Night on Dec. 5, pending medical clearance on Till’s left knee (which is looking good). MW matchups are fire right now. Adesanya/Costa. Whittaker/Cannonier. Hermansson/Till. pic.twitter.com/O7rIN7ABM2

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 21, 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship will be rolling every weekend well into December now. The news first breaking from ESPN on Friday, Jack Hermansson (21-5) will be locking horns with Darren Till (18-3-1) for the middleweight headliner of a UFC Fight Night card on Dec. 5. There is no destination currently set for the event, although it would likely be held at either Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, or the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although the fig…

Breaking: The GOAT returns on Dec. 12. Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) vs. Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) has been agreed to for UFC 256 in December, per sources. pic.twitter.com/XUEQQ1W17t

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 21, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Amanda Nunes will stay at featherweight for her next title defense. ESPN announced on Friday that Nunes (20-4) will put her featherweight throne up for grabs against Megan Anderson (11-4) in December. The two will square off at the newly announced UFC 256, which will go down on Dec. 12 at an undetermined location. The two have agreed to the match, and it is not certain whether they will be headlining the pay-per-view event.

Nunes is on an unprecedented 11-fight win streak, where “The Lioness” has claimed the pelts of most …

José Aldo revela que Rafael Dos Anjos fará camp na Nova União https://t.co/b3ItmBjShk

— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) August 20, 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. Iron will once again sharpen iron, as two Brazilian legends will train together to prepare for a big matchup. Following the story released on Wednesday, former lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos (29-13) has confirmed his return to the lightweight division against Islam Makhachev (18-1) at UFC 254. The two will be squaring off on Oct. 24, and the location has not yet been determined although it is likely slated for Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In his return to the division he ruled from 2014 to 2015, dos Anjos will be changing up his training and going to Nova Uniao.

Ex-featherweight champ Jose Aldo revealed to Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight on Thursday that dos…

Bellator MMA will hold a pair of significant cards on back-to-back days in September.

The California-based promotion will run Bellator 245 on Sept. 11 with a card that is headlined by a rematch between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida. The lineup will also include Cat Zingano’s Bellator debut against Gabrielle Holloway at 145 pounds.

One day later, Bellator 246 will feature a showdown between Juan Archuleta and Patrick Mix for the organization’s vacant bantamweight crown. Also at that event, Jon Fitch will meet Neiman Gracie at welterweight, while Liz Carmouche will make her first promotional foray against DeAnna Bennett at flyweight. Additionally, Roger Huerta will lock horns with Derek Campos.

Sherdog.com confirmed the events and bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from ESPN. Both Bellator 245 and Bellator 246 are likely to take place at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The promotion has held all of its events at the same venue d…

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

Jon Jones doesn’t necessarily need to get a win at heavyweight before he receives a title shot, but “Bones” will have to wait his turn behind current No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou.

During an appearance on SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White briefly discussed Jones’ prospects at heavyweight after the light heavyweight champion vacated his belt earlier this week. Perhaps the most interesting takeaway was that White believes Jones has the credentials to step into a championship bout immediately.

"[Jones is] the longtime light heavyweight champion. In my opinion he's the greatest of all time, and if he wants to come back and take a shot at the heavyweight championship, I wouldn't have a problem with that," White said. "But he can't just jump in front of Ngannou right now."

Ngannou is the next planned opponent for reigning heavyweight king Stipe Miocic, who is coming off a victory over Daniel Corm…

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Former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit will lock horns with Court McGee at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Oct. 3 event.

Condit initially announced the booking on ”The Buck and Dex Podcast.” The card is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight clash between Holly Holm and Irene Aldana.

Condit is currently on a five-bout skid that dates back to a split-decision loss against Robbie Lawler in a 170-pound title clash at UFC 195. In his last outing, “The Natural Born Killer” suffered a second-round submission loss to Michael Chiesa at UFC 232. The 36-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico, native did not compete at all in 2019, as a detached retina forced him out of a showdown with Mickey Gall at UFC on ESPN 7.

McGee has also fallen on hard times of late,…

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Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva will return against Uriah Hall in a featured middleweight bout at a UFC event on Oct. 31.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the pairing to ESPN late on Tuesday. During a media scrum following the Contender Series earlier in the evening, White said that it could be the final fight of Silva’s MMA career. However, Silva’s management told ESPN that a decision has yet to be made on “The Spider’s” final bout.

The 45-year-old Silva last appeared at UFC 237, where he suffered an injury due to a leg kick from Jared Cannonier in May 2019. The legendary Brazilian has won just once in his last eight promotional appearances dating back to 2013.

Hall, meanwhile, has won three of his last four Octagon outings, including a split verdict over Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC Fight Night 158…

Credit: Jay Pettry/Sherdog.com

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With Jon Jones out of the picture, Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will square off for the vacant light heavyweight belt in the UFC 253 co-main event on Sept. 26.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the title bout on Tuesday night. UFC 253 is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Henrique Costa.

Jones vacated the title earlier this week, hinting at a future move to heavyweight if negotiations with the UFC prove to his liking.

Reyes is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jones in the UFC 247 headliner on Feb. 8, a bout many observers thought “The Devastator” deserved to win. The 30-year-old Victorville, California, native kicked off his professional career with 12 consecutive triumphs, including six victories under the UFC banner…

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A welterweight clash pitting Diego Sanchez against Jake Matthews is one of three new additions to the UFC 253 lineup.

Also announced were a featherweight bout between Brad Riddell and Alex Da Silva as well as a lightweight matchup between Nate Landwehr and Shane Young. UFC 253 takes place on Sept. 26 and is likely to be held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Henrique Costa.

The 38-year-old Sanchez has won three of his last four Octagon appearances. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner is coming off a bizarre matchup with Michel Pereira in which he prevailed after his opponent landed an illegal knee in the third round.

Matthews, 25, has won five of his last six promotional outings. Most recently, “The Celtic Kid” outpointed Emil Meek…

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. Dana White’s Contender Series in its fourth year of existence continues to infuse the Ultimate Fighting Championship with untapped talent. Four more competitors—welterweights Louis Cosce and Orion Cosce, strawweight Cheyanne Buys and heavyweight Josh Parisian—were signed by the promotion on Week 3 of DWCS on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Since the season started on Aug. 4, a total of 12 fighters have punched their tickets to the UFC.

Lost Boys Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai’s Louis Cosce cut down Victor Reyna with punches in the first round of their welterweight showcase. Reyna (11-5), who had never before been knocked out, bit the dust just 72 seconds into Round 1. Cosce (7-0) elected to forego the feeling-out process and rushed out throwing heat with kicks and punches. He sent Reyna crashing to the canvas with a chopping ov…