Martial Arts News

While Kayla Harrison is irked by Julianna Pena’s accusations of performance enhancing drug use, she is taking it as a compliment.

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Pena is expected to challenge Raquel Pennington for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah in October. Meanwhile, Harrison, who made her promotional debut with a submission win over Holly Holm at UFC 300 this past April, is considered to be the top contender for the next shot at the title.

Pena recently hurled accusations of PED use at Harrison and all female fighters in the ex-PFL champion’s gym, American Top Team. While PED allegations are nothing new for Harrison, the two-time Olympic gold medallist judoka can’t help being annoyed. Harrison claims to have been tested for the first time at 12 years of age and has never since failed a single drug test. Harrison claims Pena’s allegations are a built-in excuse for when she beats “The Venezuelan Vixen” in their potential clash in the future.

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Matchmaker Tai Tuivasa knew the rematch between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad was bound to happen since 2022 😂 #UFC304 pic.twitter.com/krDISwJMao

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 22, 2024

Tai Tuivasa had an idea that Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad would cross paths again long before their rematch was booked.

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Muhammad will challenge Edwards for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 304 on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The two have unfinished business from their initial encounter in the UFC Fight Night 187 headliner in 2021 that ended in an unfortunate no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from Edwards.

With that being the only blemish in their recent win streaks, Muhammad and Edwards were definitely set on a collision course. Edwards went on to dethrone Kamaru Usman via head kick KO in a shocking upset at UFC 278 in August 2022. Meanwhile, Muhammad dispatched a previously undefeated …

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Belal Muhammad is grateful for the guidance of Khabib Nurmagomedov heading into his first championship opportunity.

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Muhammad will receivs his long-awaited welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester on Saturday. Muhammad recently visited Dagestan to train with Nurmagomedov for his upcoming fight.

Muhammad claims a bit of advice from the former lightweight champion has proven to be invaluable. Muhammad is glad to have the mentorship of “The Eagle,” who he considers to be the MMA GOAT.

“It benefits me everywhere,” Muhammad told Shakiel Mahjouri. “Physically, mentally, spiritually, it just puts me on another level. I said it before and people were making fun of me like, ‘Oh, get off his jock blah blah blah.’ Training with him and getting advice from him is worth 20-30-40-50 days with anybody else. Just being able to feel his strength, feel his pressure, feel his knowledge too that he …

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You can forgive Doo Ho Choi if he got a little bit caught up in the moment.

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Shortly after he scored a second-round TKO of Bill Algeo at UFC on ESPN 60, Doo Ho Choi gave an emotional post-fight interview to Daniel Cormier in the Octagon on Saturday night.

“This win was a long time coming, and I’ve let a lot of people down. It’s been a while,” Choi said. “But I kept believing in myself. I knew I could do it tonight. I wanted to prove it to people who still believe in me.”

It was Choi’s first promotional triumph since a first-round knockout of Thiago Tavares at “The Ultimate Fighter 23” finale in July 2016. Once regarded as a prospect to watch, “The Korean Superboy” went winless in his next four bouts, though one of those was an all-time classic against Cub Swanson that was eventually inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! During a post-fight media scrum, Choi expla…

After two impressive first-round knockout wins in January and June, Brunno Ferreira was excited to return to the Octagon against Roman Kopylov at UFC Fight Night on Aug. 24.

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On Monday, however, “Hulk” was informed that his Russian opponent has withdrawn from the fight.

"Once again I received not so good news,” Ferreira said in a video on Instagram. “My fight with Roman Kopylov is off. When I say the Russians don’t want to fight me, that’s the truth. Actually that's the second [time]. [Sharabutdin Magomedov] did the same. Curiously both are strikers.”

UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Ferreira ended the video with a question for his followers.

"Why do you think the Russians don’t want to fight me?” he asked. “Maybe because they know how tough I am in grappling and also because I have knockout power. What you guys think?"

Shortly after the video was posted, Sherdog.com spoke to Ferreira, who re…

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Jake Paul believes UFC CEO Dana White won’t let Alex Pereira compete in a boxing match against him.

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Paul knocked down Mike Perry for the third and final time to earn a technical knockout victory in the sixth round of their boxing match at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday night. Paul issued an immediate callout to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who then FaceTimed “The Problem Child” expressing interest in the matchup.

Alex Pereira has posted his full FaceTime call with Jake Paul after Paul’s win over Mike Perry last night 📱

Pereira seems eager to make a fight with Paul happen whilst Paul asks if Dana White will let Pereira out of his contract.

pic.twitter.com/UBGa2HqqnW

— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) July 21, 2024

While Pereira is seemingly interested in the offer, Paul doubts White will allow it. Paul claims Pereira had to hesitate and look at his manager when he mentioned…

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While Stipe Miocic empathizes with Tom Aspinall’s situation, he isn’t taking the blame for holding up the heavyweight division.

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Miocic was originally scheduled to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November 2023 before “Bones” pulled out of the event due to an injury. A last-minute interim title fight between Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich was booked to help save the card, and Aspinall knocked out his Russian foe in the opening stanza.

With no timeline in sight for Jones’ return, Aspinall initially called for the champ to be stripped off his title. While Aspinall later called for a title unification clash against Jones, “Bones” remains adamant on fighting Miocic when he returns. Both Miocic and Jones have hinted that they might ride off into the sunset after their potential fight, robbing Aspinall of the chance to fighting “Bones” for undisputed gold. Meanwhile, Aspinall is now slated to defend his interim …

Shavkat Rakhmonov was blatantly dismissive while responding to a callout from Ian Garry.

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Garry recently took to social media to suggest a matchup between the undefeated welterweight contenders at the end of 2024.

“December 2024, undefeated vs. undefeated, Garry wrote on Instagram. “Let’s make this happen! [Shavkat Rakhmonov].”

While Rakhmonov did not shut down a potential clash, he mocked Garry’s finishing rate in comparison to his own. The Kazakh contender believes Garry will be no match for him if the fight comes to fruition.UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “100% finish rate VS 53% finish rate,” Rakhmonov wrote on X. “It won’t even be close if it happens [Ian Garry].”

100% finish rate VS 53% finish rate. It won’t even be close if it happens @iangarryMMA https://t.co/nJaglUmnBp

— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) July 21, 2024

Rakhmonov has finished all 18 of his caree…

At the very least, flyweight Nathan Maness wants an explanation if his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t renewed.

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Maness completed his UFC contract with a unanimous decision win over Jimmy Flick last month. While “Mayhem” was expecting to hear from the UFC about a renewal, there has been radio silence since then.

“Honestly, we haven’t really heard anything,” Maness told MMAjunkie.com. “We sent out a couple of different messages. We gave them a couple of weeks after the fight and then we sent out a couple feelers, but we can’t even really get a response. Your guess is as good as mine.”

UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Maness’ win over Flick put him on a two-fight winning streak, improving his overall promotional record to 5-2. Maness’ only two losses in the UFC have come against elite Dagestani prospects Tagir Ulanbekov and Umar Nurmagomedov. While Maness believes he has done enough to get…

Steve Garcia is doing everything he can to ensure all of his fights are appointment viewing.

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The Jackson-Wink MMA product dispatched Seung Woo Choi via first-round technical knockout in the UFC on ESPN 60 co-main event at the UFC Apex on Saturday nght, his fourth consecutive triumph via KO or TKO. It’s nothing new for “Mean Machine,” who has finished 13 of his 16 career triumphs in that same fashion.

“It’s just another one on my cap. It’s another [notch],” Garcia said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m blessed. I’m just trying to get more. Every single time I come in there, I want you guys to tune in. I want you guys to see Steve Garcia and just be like, ‘This guy’s bringing it, so let’s watch.’”

Garcia entered Saturday’s fight with a lot on his mind, so it was something of a relief to perform the way he did.

“It’s been a great ending to a long camp,” he said. “It’s my brother’s birthday so I got to get a ‘W’ on his birthday. I want to…

After an uneven beginning to her Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure, Virna Jandiroba has emerged as a serious title contender over the course of the past two years.

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The former Invicta FC strawweight queen earned her fourth straight victory on Saturday night, as she submitted ex-title challenger Amanda Lemos with an armbar in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 60 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jandiroba outgrappled and outscrambled her opponent for the majority of the contest before securing the fight-ending maneuver late in Round 2.

“She’s a fantastic striker. But on top of just being very technical and very good striker, she’s a knockout artist. So I had to be extremely careful with that because I know that any wrong movement could be the end,” Jandiroba said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Luckily we were able to put everything in place, get the fight to the ground and work the way it did. She’s a …

Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight prospect Hyder Amil did not always plan on becoming a fighter.

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Amil scored his second UFC win on Saturday, besting Jeong Yeong Lee via first-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 60. “The Hurricane” subsequently shared how he got into combat sports after being raised to become an “intellectual” and an artist.

The only male in the family growing up, Amil initially started training martial arts to protect his sisters and mother. Amil’s natural athletic abilities soon attracted people’s attention, who then introduced him to several sports. Amil, who claims to have a knack for anything art related, “blames” his friends for getting him into sports and MMA.

UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “I was just myself, my two sisters and my mom. So, I wanted to learn martial arts originally, what motivated me to stay in it was to protect them,” Amil said during a post-fight media scrum. “Becau…