Martial Arts News

Cory Sandhagen will face Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bantamweight pairing on Monday. UFC Fight Night takes place at Etihad Arena and is one of two visits the organization will make to Abu Dhabi in 2024. Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov were originally scheduled to meet last August at UFC on ESPN 50 before Nurmagomeodv withdrew from the bout due to a shoulder injury.

Sandhagen remained on the UFC on ESPN 50 card, where he took a clear-cut unanimous decision against Rob Font in the new main event. The 32-year-old Elevation Fight Team representative has won three straight outings, a run that also includes triumphs over Marlon Vera and Yadong Song.

Nurmagomedov is undefeated in 17 professional appearances. The 28-year-old Dagestani has won his first five promotional outings, including a three-round verdict over Bekzat Almakhan in his m…

While he ultimately won via knockout, Akbar Abdullaev explained why his recent display of grappling against Halil Amir shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

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Abdullaev knocked out Amir with a left hook 2:52 into Round 2 of their One on Prime Video 22 clash on May 3 to earn a $50,000 performance bonus.

“I'm feeling great. I have so many emotions now so it's really difficult to describe everything with words,” Abdullaev said at the post-fight press conference. “I'm feeling great. I'm feeling the best. It's like a dream now. I'm feeling like I'm in a dream and I'm happy. I'm really happy.”

Before knocking Amir out cold in the second round, Abdullaev also asserted his superior ground game over the previously undefeated Turkish standout in the opening frame. Despite having scored 10 of his 11 career wins via knockout, Abdullaev explains that his impressive grappling shouldn’t come as a surprise given his country’s rich wrestling history.

“When …

Dmitry Menshikov wants to be a ONE Championship title holder in both muay thai and kickboxing.

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Former muay thai lightweight title challengers Menshikov and Sinsamut Klinmee recently clashed at One on Prime Video 22. Menshikov scored a third-round TKO win over Klinmee in front of the latter’s home crowd at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. While Menshikov was well aware of his opponent’s star power going into the bout, the Russian wasn’t bothered about fighting in enemy territory.

“You know what, I was doing my job,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t think of this much. Of course, I knew that he’s a really famous Thai fighter. I knew that people were going to support him, but I didn't care. My job is simple — to fight. And I was doing my job.”

Menshikov suffered his lone career loss via second-round knockout in failed title bid against Regian Eersel in June 2023. He has since earned his way back into the title pic…

Reece McLaren believes his latest win over Yong Hu warrants a long overdue title shot in ONE Championship.

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McLaren returned to action after a year on Friday, scoring a split-decision win over Hu at One on Prime Video 22. The win saw “Lightning” bounce back from a unanimous decision loss against Kairat Akhmetov and better his promotional record to 10-6. The Australian veteran believes he is at a point in his career where he is never too far removed from the title picture.

“I feel that I am, at any stage, on any win, one step away from that world title shot,” McLaren said at the post-fight press conference. “Regardless of being ranked or not ranked. I've been in ONE now for nearly nine years, [with] 10 wins. I was meant to fight for the flyweight (135-pound) belt back in 2016. You know what I mean? So it's been a long run.”

“It's been a long journey, man. I feel like I've paid my dues. It's time to start getting appreciated for what we do here…

Chinese kickboxing phenom Rui Wei wasn’t very impressed with his own performance at his recent ONE Championship debut.

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Wei made his promotional debut in a bantamweight (145-pound) tilt against Hiroki Akimoto at One on Prime Video 22 on May 3. Wei earned a controversial unanimous decision win over Akimoto, which should have gone the other way, according to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Wei admits his ONE Championship debut wasn’t his best night at the office, and he wasn’t sure of the win before his name was announced. Wei has vowed to put on a better showing next time.

“I think I just passed this test,” Wei said at the post-fight press conference. “I [will] try my best to adjust to the ring in ONE Championship. And I feel like next time, I will perform better… ‌Before they announced the result, I wasn't 100 percent confident that I would win. But I still believed everything went well for me to get the victory… This is my debut in O…

Smilla Sundell wants to earn back the ONE Championship strawweight muay thai title that she lost due to missing weight.

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Sundell lost her strap after failing to make weight for her title defense against Natalia Diachkova in the main event at One on Prime Video 22 on May 3. The bout was then contested at a catchweight of 126.5 pounds, as Sundell survived an early scare from Diachkova and came from behind to score a second-round TKO win. While Sundell was admittedly sad by the manner in which she lost her title, it was the support she had from fans that kept the Swede going.

“I've been very sad [to lose the belt]. But I've had many people online, on social media [who have] been supporting me. And it meant a lot to me,” Sundell said during the post-fight press conference. “It kept me going today. She got me good in the first round, so I knew I couldn't stop there, because I had my family around me, and I wanted to show them that I'm still the best.” Read more

In an ideal world, Jack Shore would have been allowed to continue fighting at UFC 301.

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Instead, the cageside physician waved off the Welshman’s bout against Joanderson Brito at the 3:35 mark of Round 2, citing fear of a potential fracture on Shore’s shin. Brito landed several hard low kicks in the contest, but as it turns out, Shore did not sustain a fracture n defeat.

Richard Shore, the fighter’s father and coach, expressed disappointment with the doctor’s decision on social media.

“Well, what can we say? Ref stops the fight for doctor’s opinion on a cut shin,” Richard Shore wrote. “Doctor stops the fight. I kick off and say it's a cut on the shin, we can continue. Jack asks to continue. The cutsman says to the doctor he can work the cut and stop the bleeding.

“Doctor says it's fractured? Fight over. We get taken to hospital. Have an X-ray and no fracture. Couple of stitches and sent us home. Let fighters fight. We were chasing the fig…

Alexandre Pantoja was still bleeding when he arrived at the UFC 301 post-fight press conference on Saturday night.

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That wound was well-earned, the product of a well-timed elbow landed by opponent Steve Erceg over the course of a grueling, five-round fight. While the blow had Pantoja leaking from his scalp, it couldn’t weaken the champion’s resolve, as he retained his flyweight belt with a unanimous decision triumph at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

“You’re not gonna take me out. As long as I’m breathing I’m going to be fighting back,” Pantoja said. “I did expect the fight to end sooner. But again, the Australian guy was very tough, he’s going to be very [tough] in the division. But you can see that right away when that elbow landed, I tried to stop the bleeding with my hands. But that’s part of it.”

Erceg was an unlikely title challenger, earning his opportunity after three victories and less than a year fighting under the UFC banner. Th…

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Steve Erceg was perhaps one round away from pulling off the upset at UFC 301.

However, the opportunity slipped away from the game Australian in the fifth round against Alexandre Pantoja, when the reigning champion countered a takedown and assumed top position, ultimately bleeding out the clock to clinch his victory from there. While Erceg often got the better of his opponent during exchanges, that decision might have cost him dearly, as Pantoja earned scoredcards of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 from the cageside judges.

“I thought that if I could win that last round at least, I’d give myself a chance,” Erceg said in his post-fight interview. “I just blew it.”

Erceg was something of a surprise title challenger, with just three promotional triumphs and less than a year in the promotion under his belt heading into UFC 301. However, he proved that he belonged in Saturday’s main event, as he made Pantoja work throughout the fight. “Astro Boy” believ…

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Drakkar Klose jovially accused Daniel Cormier of dissing him following his UFC 301 win over Joaquim Silva.

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Klose earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Silva in front of the Brazilian’s home crowd in Rio de Janeiro. In his post-fight interview, Klose accused Cormier of taking a diss at him, which “DC” denied.

Klose later explained his accusations in the post-fight press conference. Klose was fulfilling media duties earlier in the week when he called out Paul Felder. Cormier, who was also present on the occasion, said that all Klose would do in potential fight against Felder would be to hold “The Irish Dragon” against the cage.

While Klose emphatically won the first round against Silva, the later rounds were quite closely contested. Klose was admittedly reminded of Cormier’s dig at him as he clinched Sliva against the cage for a substantial part of the later rounds.

“I had called Paul Felder out and he [Cormier] was…

Ian Garry is losing hope of a future matchup against Colby Covington.

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Garry has been rallying for a clash against Covington for a while now, which has invited signature trash talk from the former welterweight title challenger. Covington has taken multiple digs at Garry and his wife, also laying down multiple stipulations needed to fight the Irish contender. While Garry has accused Covington of ducking him, the former interim champ recently turned down a potential fight, citing a lack of seriousness from the Irishman.

Currently training at Chute Boxe Diego Lima in Brazil, Garry was in attendance at UFC 301 on Rio de Janeiro. “The Future” reiterated his wish to fight Covington, doubling down on the ducking accusations in an interview with ESPN. Garry also claimed that the fight was offered to Covington, who turned it down. The undefeated welterweight prospect is now gradually losing hope of the matchup coming to fruition.

“Colby needs to stop …

"A new king is coming."

Mauricio Ruffy has a message for Islam 👀#UFC301 pic.twitter.com/8etD0Qnuul

— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2024

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Mauricio Ruffy put lightweight champ Islam Makhachev on notice after a flawless debut at UFC 301.

Ruffy picked apart Australian veteran Jamie Mullarkey on the feet to score a first-round TKO win in front of his home fans at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night. “One Shot” issued a warning to Makhachev in his post-fight interview, reminding the champ of his Dana White's Contender Series win over Raimond Magomedaliev.

"I have a message for Islam Makhachev, a nice message,” Ruffy said. “Hey, enjoy your days at the top. I know you are upset because I beat your friend, but enjoy your days because a new king is coming."

In addition to a stance that was somewhat similar to Conor McGregor’s, Ruffy’s striking and focus also drew comparisons with “Notorious” from UFC analyst Din…