Martial Arts News

🚨 New Opp 🚨@KingCaseyMMA will now take on Brazil’s Luana Santos at #UFC305! pic.twitter.com/h6DgbQoiM6

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) August 12, 2024

Luana Santos will step for Tereza Bleda and face Casey O'Neill at UFC 305 on Saturday.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion recently confirmed the new flyweight booking after it was initially announced by All In Sports Management. UFC 305 takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Santos will make a quick turnaround after appearing at UFC on ESPN 59 on July 13, when she defeated Mariya Agapova via first-round submission. The 24-year-old Brazilian has won five straight contests, including three in UFC competition.

O’Neill, meanwhile, began her professional tenure with nine consecutive triumphs. After winning her first…

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Alexander Volkanovski is expecting a return to form for Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

“The Last Stylebender” will return to action on Saturday for the first time since relinquishing the middleweight strap to Sean Strickland in the UFC 293 headliner last September. It was perplexing effort from Adesanya, who was building a resume at 185 pounds that rivaled some of the best in the sport’s history.

Volkanovski, who has trained with Adesanya at City Kickboxing, believes his teammate is capable of putting on a highlight reel performance against current 185-pound champ Dricus Du Plessis.

“I’m expecting a performance from Israel Adesanya, like a proper performance like you’ve seen [in] the Paulo Costa [fight]. A fight like that where he goes out and just does it in impressive fashion,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “Because Dricus is very awkward, very unorthodox. He’s…

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Israel Adesanya has benefitted from a much-needed recharge since his upset loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last September.

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“I’ve definitely evolved,” Adesanya told TMZ Sports. “And just taking my time to heal myself: mind, body and spirit. Patience has been my friend throughout this whole thing. I’m a very patient man, so I’m just able to sit, watch and plot.”

When Adesanya relinquished the middleweight strap to Strickland, it ranked as one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Shortly thereafter, he revealed that he wouldn't be fighting for “a long time.” In addition to mental healing, Adesanya revealed that he has been focused on eating healthier and getting the proper amount of sleep.

“Now I’m living like a proper athlete and it’s nice,” he said.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Adesanya will return for the first time since that loss when he challenges Dricus Du Plessis for …

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The budding rivalry between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya reached a boiling point following the South African’s triumph over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last summer.

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In that moment, tensions flared when Adesanya entered the Octagon to confront Du Plessis, setting the stage for a future title bout between the two middleweights. Du Plessis had drawn Adesanya’s ire when he referred to himself as “the African fighter in the UFC” during a media day event in 2023, and that anger was reflected when the Nigerian-born Kiwi addressed Du Plessis in the cage that night.

The highly-anticipated showdown between Adesanya and Du Plessis took some time to materialize, but the two will finally meet more than a year later in the UFC 305 headliner on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Now, however, their roles are reversed: Du Plessis is the champion and Adesanya is the challenger. In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Du Plessis…

Eric Nicksick shares the story of how a thoughtful gesture from Francis Ngannou brought one of his coaches to tears 👏

🎥 @MMAFighting #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/9UR5dzj31g

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 10, 2024

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Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick recently revealed how a gesture from Francis Ngannou moved one of his other coaches to tears.

Nicksick shared how fellow coach Nate Pettit is one of the hardest working guys in the gym, devoting his whole life to the Las Vegas-based camp. A couple of weeks ago, a teary-eyed Pettit walked up to Nicksick in the gym and said Ngannou had just handed him a check.

When Nicksick later thanked Ngannou for looking out for Pettit, “The Predator” said he didn’t want the coach’s efforts to go unreciprocated. Nicksick also credited Pettit for a significant role in preparing Ngannou for his knockout title win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in 2021.

“Nate Pettit’s one …

Jose Mariscal was so embarrassed by missing weight for his clash against Damon Jackson on Saturday that he almost pulled out of the fight.

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UFC on ESPN 61 allowed only one hour for fighters to weigh in instead of the usual two. Mariscal, who weighed in at 3.5 pounds over the featherweight limit, was one of three fighters who missed weight for the event. However, Mariscal doesn’t blame the short weigh-in window and instead takes responsibility for his weight miss.

A lifetime martial artist, Mariscal knows the importance of making weight. “Chepe” didn’t even want to be seen in the arena, but his coaches put his mind back on track. An undisclosed portion of Mariscal’s purse was offered to Jackson, who agreed to proceed with the fight. Mariscal went on to earn an impressive unanimous decision win over Jackson in a high-paced, entertaining affair.

“We kind of calculated the weight cut kind of wrong, especially with the Vegas heat and everything — …

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Dricus Du Plessis credits coach Morne Visser for the tip which helped him finish Robert Whittaker to earn a UFC middleweight title shot.

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“Stillknocks” scored a second-round stoppage of Whittaker in their title eliminator matchup at UFC 290 in July 2023. The South African revealed that it was his coach’s plan to fight southpaw that earned him the finish.

While Du Plessis admits Whittaker is almost technically flawless, his team noticed “Bobby Knuckles” getting clipped against southpaws even when the Australian emerged victorious. Du Plessis listened to his coach’s advice to go southpaw and was rewarded perfectly.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “All credit to my coach for that fight,” Du Plessis said on the UFC 305 Countdown show. “There’s very very few holes in the game of Robert Whittaker. Fighting southpaws, he beat all of them but he got caught a few times coming in. And we went thro…

Impa Kasanganay won’t dwell on his initial meeting with Joshua Silveira going into their upcoming clash next weekend.

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Kasanganay and Silveira will headline PFL 8 in a light heavyweight semifinal matchup on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The two previously met at last season’s final in November 2023, when Kasanganay earned a unanimous decision victory to win $1 million and rise to stardom as the promotion’s light heavyweight champion.

However, Kasanganay is considering their upcoming clash a “new hunt” rather than a rematch. Acknowledging his opponent’s skillset, “Tshilobo” says he expects Silveira to have put the previous loss behind him.

“I expect Josh to be the best version of himself. Josh is a solid fighter; he’s smart and coached well. To me, it’s not a rematch. It’s a whole new hunt. Last year is behind us. I always say burn the ships, so, what title?” Kasanganay told Sherdog.com.

“For me, I could care less …

Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be part of the broadcast table for UFC 305 while Joe Rogan takes his customary absence during an international event.

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Cruz will join Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik for the pay-per-view event on Aug. 17. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Rogan will likely return to his usual role for UFC 306, which is scheduled for The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. In the co-main event Kai Kara France will square off against Steve Erceg in a matchup of flyweight contenders.

The UFC 305 main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims will begin on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT before shifting to ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Serghei Spivac wasted little time exacting revenge on Marcin Tybura.

The Moldovan made short work of Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 headliner, submitting his Polish opponent in the opening stanza of their heavyweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. An armbar from Spivac (17-4, 8-4 UFC) elicited a verbal tap from Tybura (25-9, 12-8) at the 1:44 mark of Round 1. “The Polar Bar” has finished 15 of his 17 career triumphs — including 11 inside a round. Tybura defeated Spivac via unanimous decision in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 169 in February 2020.

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Spivac closed the distance quickly and made his way to Tybura’s back early in the fight. However, Tybura was able to reverse into top position shortly thereafter. That success proved to be short lived, as Spivac worked his guard up, flipped his opponent over and locked in the decisive hold.

Spivac has won four of his last five promotional appearances, while Tybura has dro…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 61 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Luciano (-185), Alencar (+154)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Zalal (-395), Errens (+310)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW |…

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Sometimes, a fight comes down to the winning fighter having one elite technique, the moxie to use it, and an opponent who cannot or will not make adjustments.

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In the final fight of the four-bout undercard of UFC on ESPN 61 on Saturday in Las Vegas, Karol Rosa (18-6) brutalized Pannie Kianzad (16-9) for three rounds with a barrage of calf kicks. From the opening seconds of the fight, Rosa went to work on the lead leg of Kianzad and those kicks defined the round, as Kianzad first ignored them, then began trying to pull the threatened limb out of danger, and finally, late in the round, had her leg buckle. The onslaught continued in Round 2, with Rosa pouring on the low kicks and meeting “Banzai” with punches and elbow strikes when she tried to close the distance. By the midpoint of the round, Kianzad was limping and bleeding badly from a cut opened by a Rosa elbow, but remained game, marching forward and throwing punches ev…