Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual Madison Square Garden card is taking shape.

Nazim Sadykhov is set to square off against Jefferson Nascimento in a lightweight bout at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at MSG in New York City. While the UFC has yet to officially announce the bout, Sadykhov took to Instagram to reveal the booking. They last competed on the same card earlier this year.

Advertisement

Nazim Sadykhov says he will face Jefferson Nascimento at UFC 334 in New York Nascimento (13-1) was a highly touted undefeated prospect going into his UFC debut against fellow promotional debutant Tahir Abdullayev this past June at UFC Baku. However, he was booed in enemy territory for coasting throughout the first two rounds.

Abdullayev finally hurt Nascimento late in the third round and referee Jim Perdios called a highly questionable stop to the contest. While Nascimento made his UFC debut at welterweight, the former LFA lightweight champ will drop back down to 155 pound…

Chute Boxe is honoring Allan Nascimento.

Nascimento (22-7) died in his sleep in early August, reportedly due to a cardiac arrest. The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight’s coach has now paid tribute to his late friend and pupil.

Advertisement

Diego Lima renames his institute after longtime student and UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento Chute Boxe head coach Diego Lima recently revealed that the Diego Lima Institute has now been renamed the Allan Nascimento Institute in honor of “Puro Osso.”

“Allan has been my student since he was 14 years old,” Lima told MMA Fighting while tearing up. “So, we have been together for 20 years. It’s almost been a month. There hasn’t been a single day when I haven’t cried. Our institute today, the Diego Lima Institute, is not going to be called the Diego Lim Institute anymore. It’s going to be called the Allan Nascimento Institute. As long as I live, I will honor his name. As long as I live, I will say his name because he was my s…

Gregory Rodrigues has dismissed Anthony Hernandez’s cheating claims.

Rodrigues recently defeated Hernandez by decision in a five-round middleweight bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which earned Fight of the Night honors. Hernandez later accused Rodrigues of grabbing his gloves during grappling exchanges in the UFC Sacramento headliner. Rodrigues, however, claims it was inadvertent and had no bearing on the outcome.

Advertisement

Gregory Rodrigues says his glove grab against Anthony Hernandez was inadvertent and had no impact on the fight Rodrigues spoke to Sherdog about the cheating allegations that emerged in the aftermath of his last bout. While ‘Robocop’ admits that he mistakenly grabbed Hernandez’s glove in one instance in the heat of the moment, he says he immediately let it go when his opponent pointed it out.

“There was no cheating,” Rodrigues said. “It happened in the heat of the moment while we were against the fence and as soon as he pointe…

Michael Page grew tired of waiting around at welterweight.

The former Bellator star recently explained his reasoning for accepting fights at middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead of his Octagon return against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris.

Advertisement

Michael Page explains why UFC welterweight title-shot tactics pushed him toward middleweight Page is 4-1 in the UFC, with his lone defeat in the promotion coming against the last challenger for the 170-pound title, Ian Garry. However, odd bookings followed the loss to Garry, with the Englishman taking on middleweights Sharabutdin Magomedov and Jared Cannonier before dropping back down to welterweight to fight unranked compatriot Sam Patterson in a lackluster bout.

Page claims top-ranked welterweights would rather wait around for a title shot than fight him, prompting the move back up to 185 pounds.

“Everyone at welterweight is, I'm trying to be polite here,” Page said in a recent intervi…

Marlon Vera doesn’t want to live with regret, but admits his coaching change was a tough decision.

Vera (23-12-1) is scheduled to fight Charles Jourdain (18-8) on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The former title challenger recently revealed that he is no longer working with his longtime striking coach Jason Parillo. He claims the split was amicable, but something had to change to halt his losing streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

Marlon Vera explains why he left Jason Parillo before UFC 331 Vera says it was hard to part ways with Parillo as they didn’t have any problems with each other since initially linking up in 2018. “Chito” didn’t want to get to the end of his career and wonder whether it would've played out differently if he had made the change.

“I was trying to figure out what I need, what is not getting me to win these close decisions,” Vera told Ariel Helwani. “It was a pretty hard decision because we didn’t have a …

Dana White was quick to check on Bella Mir after she failed to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

White shared details of his interaction with Mir during the latest Dana White’s Contender Series post-fight press conference, revealing that the heavily favored prospect was taking the defeat well and vowed to return stronger.

Advertisement

Bella Mir told the UFC CEO she will “come back stronger” after losing to Alex Apodaca The UFC CEO revealed that he called Mir immediately after her loss to Alex Apodaca on Week 3 of DWCS Season 10.

“She was in a good place,” White said during the DWCS Week 4 post-fight press conference. “She's like, ‘Listen, I've lost before. I've lost jiu-jitsu matches. I've lost wrestling matches. You know, I've lost before; I know what it feels like to lose and I'm good. I'll be back and I'll come back stronger.’”

White was also asked whether Mir could return to DWCS later this season. He left the possibility open, say…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Los Angeles on Sept. 19 for UFC 331 and the early odds have been unveiled.

In the main event, Joshua Van will look to defend the UFC flyweight title against former champion Alexandre Pantoja in their rematch. In the co-main event, Arman Tsarukyan takes on Mauricio Ruffy in a key lightweight clash with championship implications. The card also features Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf, Patricio Freire vs. Doo Ho Choi and Brian Ortega vs. Renato Carneiro 2.

UFC 331 betting odds favor Alexandre Pantoja over Joshua Van in their title rematchPer BetOnline Sports, UFC flyweight champion Van is a slight underdog at -105 against former champion Pantoja, who enters at -115. Tsarukyan is a much heavier favorite in the co-main event at -380 against Ruffy (+305).

Steveson is the biggest favorite on the card at -1500 against Sharaf (+600), while Robelis Despaigne is also a sizable favorite at -700 against Tai Tuivasa (+505). Notably, Carn…

Alex Apodaca pulled off the biggest upset in Dana White’s Contender Series history, but refuses to put down her opponent.

Apodaca entered the matchup as a massive underdog against the highly touted Bella Mir. She emerged victorious via decision to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Mir has since drawn criticism for her performance, but Apodaca believes the backlash isn’t warranted.

Advertisement

Alex Apodaca says Bella Mir is still a ‘good fighter’ after historic DWCS upset While Apodaca laughed off the fact that some viewed her as a “sacrificial lamb” going into the bout, she admits she occasionally doubted herself given the pre-fight betting odds.

“I didn’t find the actual [odds] out before the fight, but I knew what was happening,” Apodaca told TMZ. “I’m just like the sacrificial lamb being thrown in is kind of the thought that people are thinking, which I was like, that’s insane. Nothing points to the fact that I’m just going to go out there a…

Dan Hooker admits that distractions outside the Octagon affected the habits he carried for most of his career.

The veteran lightweight explained that as his profile grew, so did the demands away from fighting. Between his businesses, his own fight show, various deals, travel and meetings, Hooker found it increasingly difficult to maintain the singular focus he once had. He claims he has since regained his focus and is prepared for his upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship main event against Salahdine Parnasse.

Advertisement

Dan Hooker says lost focus affected his recent UFC performances Hooker is set to return to the Octagon on Sept. 5 at UFC Paris against Parnasse. Ahead of the bout, “The Hangman” discussed the impact of not putting his all into competition.

“Obviously, with success and you get to the higher moving up, you get pulled in a million different directions,” Hooker said in a recent interview. “I got my own fight show, you know, you got your own bu…

Justin Gaethje believes he has already accomplished what he set out to do in the fight game.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder recently opened up about his last win and the respect he has earned in the sport. Gaethje is content with his career, irrespective of what happens in the future.

Advertisement

Justin Gaethje explains why losing to Max Holloway made his Ilia Topuria win more meaningful Gaethje emerged victorious in his third attempt at undisputed UFC gold at UFC Freedom 250, where he pulled off a major upset to finish Ilia Topuria and claim the lightweight title. He’s now satisfied with what he’s accomplished.

“I do feel like I have fulfilled my legacy,” Gaethje said in a recent interview.

Gaethje pointed to the respect he has earned from fans as well as the way he has conducted himself throughout his career, in victory and defeat. "The Highlight" credited losing the BMF title to Max Holloway as a key moment in his career, …

Tommy McMillen firmly believes he is the top prospect in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.

The undefeated 145-pounder will meet fellow unbeaten prospect Marwan Rahiki at Noche UFC 4 on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Arizona, and McMillen believes the matchup is exactly what he wants at this stage of his career.

Advertisement

Tommy McMillen welcomes the Marwan Rahiki matchup at Noche UFC McMillen (11-0) has 10 finishes on his record, with his lone decision win coming in his contract-winning effort on Dana White’s Contender Series. When asked about facing a dangerous prospect in his third UFC outing rather than a less-challenging matchup, McMillen said he welcomes the challenge.

“Yeah, you know I like to fight,” McMillen said in a recent interview. “I want to fight the toughest guys to prove that I'm on a different level.”

Rahiki (9-0) has earned finishes in all nine of his professional victories and, like McMillen, is 2-0 in the UFC. The l…

Glover Teixeira wants to see the bad blood between Alex Pereira and Josh Hokit come to a head inside the Octagon.

Just hours after defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by unanimous decision in an eight-round boxing match at Spaten Fight Night 3 in Sao Paulo, the former champ offered his thoughts on Pereira's future. Teixeira believes Hokit is the ideal next opponent for “Poatan” in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

Glover Teixeira wants Alex Pereira to settle his rivalry with Josh Hokit in the UFC When asked about Pereira vs. Hokit, Teixeira laid out his prediction for how the bout will play out.

“Personally, I would love to see him against Hokit,” Teixeira said in an interview with journalist Laerte Viana. “I think this guy speaks a lot of bullsh*t and I believe ‘Poatan’ would knock him out in the first round.”

Teixeira also indicated that Pereira is training regularly and simply waiting for his next assignment. The rivalry between the Brazilia…