Martial Arts News

Amir Albazi believes Tatsuro Taira is one more win away from a title shot and is willing to be the Japanese prospect’s final test.

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An injury-laden year has kept Albazi out of competition since a split-decision win over Kai Kara-France in his first UFC headliner in June 2023. After undergoing heart surgery in November 2023, Albazi was preparing for a clash against former champ Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico this past February before being forced out due to a neck injury that required immediate surgery. Albazi was replaced on short notice by Brandon Royval, who avenged a 2020 loss to Moreno with a split-decision win.

Pantoja has successfully defended his title three times since Albazi’s last fight, most recently against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 this past May. It has been hard for Albazi to sit on the sidelines watching the rest of division.

“It’s been so hard to deal with this,” Albazi told MMAjunkie.com. “I had a heart surgery back in November actua…

Jean Silva tells the story of how Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev got into a fight at the UFC Performance Institute 😳😳

"Bro, [Kape] caught Mokaev at the entrance to the PI. He headbutted and elbowed him. In the street. He opened Mokaev's head a week before his fight."

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🎥… pic.twitter.com/1w0hZPmYO7 — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 3, 2024

Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev were allegedly involved in a physical altercation at the UFC Performance Institute.

Kape and Mokaev are slated to trade leather at UFC 304 on July 17 at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. According UFC featherweight Jean Silva, Kape recently attacked Mokaev at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. The exact date of the incident is unclear.

According to Silva, he was supposed to spar Kape on the day but saw “Starboy” attacking Mokaev outside the entrance door to the PI when he arrived. Silva claims Kape headbutted and elbowed Mokaev. Silva also emp…

Julianna Pena’s suggestion of a women’s version of the BMF belt failed to pique the interest of Ultimate Fighting Championship officials.

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Pena is rumored to challenge Raquel Pennington for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah. While Pena would have preferred to fight at UFC 306 at the Sphere like many other fighters, she was told her opponent wouldn’t be ready in September. Pena is now focused on being a two-time mom-champ, which she believes is the next best thing for her.

“I loved the idea of fighting in Las Vegas again, of course at the Sphere, would have been historic,” Pena told MMAjunkie.com. “But since that option is no longer available, my next best thing would be winning the title and becoming a second-time champion. And being someone who gave birth and was able to win the belt. I think that says a lot as far as being a badass mom.”

Pena previously laid claim to the status of first-ever mom-cha…

A middleweight showdown pitting Michel Pereira against Anthony Hernandez is on tap for UFC 306.

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Pereira initially announced the booking via social media on Tuesday. UFC 306 — also known as Noche UFC — takes place on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The card, which doesn’t yet have a headliner, is expected to be Mexican Independence Day-themed. UFC CEO Dana White has promised to provide a one-of-a-kind experience for the event.

One of the most flamboyant performers in the Las Vegas-based promotion, Pereira has won his last eight Octagon appearances. “Demolidor” is 2-0 thus far in 2024, with first-round submission victories against Michal Oleksiejczuk and Ihor Potieria to his credit.

Hernandez, meanwhile, will carry a five-bout UFC winning streak into the matchup with Pereira. Most recently, “Fluffy” secured a second-rouns submission triumph over Roman Kopylov at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum was supposed to fac…

After Alex Pereira’s knockout win against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, speculation quickly turned to the Brazilian’s next opponent — especially after the champion once again teased a move to heavyweight.

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Oddsmakers recently released three possibilities: reigning heavyweight champ Jon Jones, interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall and top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev. “Poatan” was initially listed as an underdog in all three potential fights.

UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto recently gave his assessment on the Papo de Luta podcast.

"I have to agree with ‘Poatan’ being the underdog against Jones and Aspinall,” Barreto said. “In addition to being real threats to Poatan´s game, both are already scheduled to fight in their division. But concerning, Ankalaev I have to disagree.

“Definitely Ankalaev can be dangerous and bring different challenges to ‘Poatan’ with his grappling, but it's important to notice that…

Joe Pyfer wants to fight opponents he dislikes and claims to have found the perfect one.

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Pyfer scored a brutal first-round knockout win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303 on Saturday. The win saw “Bodybagz” bounce back from his first UFC loss, which came via a unanimous decision against Jack Hermansson this past February.

Pyfer was left with a mixture of emotions after his UFC 303 win.

“I felt angry, I felt happy, I felt, ‘There you go motherf—-ers, here’s your salt bang motherf---ers. Here’s all you jerk-offs that sat there and talked s--t on me and f----ing harassed me for months. Thinking you’re harassing me for months while I just sat there and I kept quiet,” Pyfer said on "The MMA Hour.”

“I didn’t do one single interview for this fight. I didn’t do anything unless it was UFC mandatory. And I kept my mouth shut for the most part until I got to fight week, and I said I wouldn’t have much to say until I whooped his ass, and then I’ll talk…

While Diego Lopes is still interested in fighting Brian Ortega, he wants Alexander Volkanovski next if “T-City” is unavailable.

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Lopes was originally scheduled to fight Ortega in a featherweight matchup in the co-main event at UFC 303 last weekend. However, Lopes agreed to a lightweight clash when it become clear that Ortega was going to be unable to cut to 145 pounds. The fight finally fell through when “T-City” fell ill on the day of the bout. Ortega was replaced on hours’ notice by Dan Ige, who suffered a hard-fought unanimous decision loss against Lopes.

Both Lopes and Ige subsequently called for a spot at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, a request to which Dana White has already agreed. While Lopes called for a rebooking against Ortega, the former title challenger’s future at featherweight currently hangs in the balance. Ortega was already targeting a move up to lightweight, potentially at UFC 306, when he accepted the short-noti…

Ian Garry has moved on from a potential matchup against Colby Covington and is eyeing Shavkat Rakhmonov next.

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Garry scored a unanimous decision win over Michael Page at UFC 303 last weekend. UFC president Dana White disagreed with the result, saying the fight should have been scored a draw. Garry believes a better argument could be made for a clean sweep of the scorecards in his favor. “The Future” noted during an appearance on "The MMA Hour” that while Page had his moments in the second round, he clearly won the first and final rounds.

“There is more of a case to say I won all three rounds than there is to say it was a draw,” Garry said. “That’s the way I look at it. First round, dominated. There’s no argument in the world arguing that. Third round, it’s pretty obvious I won… So, the first and third are clearly mine. The second round is the one that you can debate. I will lean and give it towards ‘MVP’ as a competitor, as someone who was in the fi…

Alex Pereira cleared the air with Jiri Prochazka regarding the alleged use of witchcraft after their UFC 303 title fight.

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Pereira put his light heavyweight title on the line against Prochazka on 11 days’ notice at UFC 303 after Conor McGregor pulled out of his scheduled main event against Michael Chandler due to a toe injury. Leading up to the bout, Prochazka accused Pereira of using shamanic rituals and spiritual help to win fights.

“Poatan,” who sports his indigenous tribal war paint during face offs, didn’t clearly deny the allegations stating, “Everybody has their own spirits.” However, the Brazilian, who represents the Pataxó tribe, promised to not use any magic during his title fight against Prochazka. Pereira almost shut the lights on Prochazka at the end of the first round before sleeping him with a head kick and follow-up punches at the very beginning of Round 2.

Pereira’s longtime coach Plinio Cruz insists that despite the warpaint …

A little bit of adversity and uncertainty helped Macy Chiasson get to her current position as one of the top contenders in the UFC women’s bantamweight division.

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Chiasson secured her second victory of 2024 on Saturday, when she earned a doctor stoppage vwin over Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 303. The current level of activity is a welcome change after she didn’t compete at all the previous year, but “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner believes that extended layoff was necessary for her overall progression.

“I had a year and a half off, but I didn’t stop training,” Chiasson said in a backstage interview with the UFC on Saturday. “I didn’t know when I was gonna fight again, if I was gonna fight again. I think that changed me because I didn’t have an end goal. I just kind of trained day in and day out without any clue of what was next. That’s something I feel like I needed and it helped me grow.”

While the conclusion of her fight with Bueno Silva wasn’t c…

It’s the end of an era in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division.

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Former champion Andrei Arlovski will not return to the Las Vegas-based promotion following his split-decision defeat against Martin Buday at UFC 303 on Saturday night. Arlovski confirmed the news via social media following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The 45-year-old Arlovski completed his UFC deal on Saturday and is expected to sign elsewhere. He lost his last four Octagon appearances.

UFC CEO Dana White also stated that it was Arlovski’s last fight with the organization during the UFC 303 post-fight press conference.

“My chapter in the UFC is closed, but my book is not finished yet,” Arlovski wrote on Instagram.

Arlovski initially rose to prominence during his first UFC stint from 2000 to 2008, when he captured heavyweight gold and had a memorable trilogy with Tim Sylvia. “The Pit Bull” claimed the title with a 47-second submission of Sylvia…

The latest season of Dana White's Contender Series is just around the corner.

The five-bout lineup for Week 1 of the Contender Series was announced during the UFC 303 broadcast on Saturday night. The card will be headlined by a middleweight clash between Mansur Abdul-Malik and Wesley Schultz and takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 13. The Contender Series airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

The other four bouts confirmed the the event are as follows: Meng Ding vs. Islam Dulatov at welterweight; Mikheil Sazhiniani vs. Bruno Lopes at light heavyweight; Icaro Brito vs. Ernie Juarez at featherweight and Lone'er Kavanagh vs. An Tuan Ho at flyweight.

The Contender Series debuted in 2017 and rewards fighters who impress Dana White with UFC contracts. The format has been popular and has become a talent pipeline for the promotion, with more contracts being awarded with each passing season.

Abdul-Malik is undefeated in five professional outing…