Martial Arts News

Several Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and Zuffa boxers recently bonded over a game of paintball.

UFC fighters Alexander Volkov, Andre Fili, Mingyang Zhang, Johnny Walker and Michel Pereira took on team Zuffa, comprising of Robert Meriwether III, Floyd Diaz, Mark Magsayo and Jamar Talley in a game of paintball.

While the official scores were never announced, Fili proudly claimed that team UFC had won.

While there is no animosity between the athletes of both organizations, UFC fighters have complained about the disparity in pay. Zuffa recently signed Conor Benn for $15 million for a single fight. UFC fighters were unhappy with the signing as most don’t even make a fraction of what Benn made, despite bringing in the lion’s share of the revenue for the parent company.

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Jacob Malkoun believes he wasn’t his usual self on Saturday.

Malkoun (10-3) downed Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight outing in front of a home crowd at UFC Perth, but he needed three full rounds to get it done. While Malkoun closed as an overwhelming -1400 betting favorite going in, the fight didn’t reflect the odds. Malkoun chose to grapple in the first round against the submission savant, who managed to control the round. Even as Malkoun bounced back in the later rounds, he could not establish the dominance expected of him. The Australian eventually earned a lukewarm unanimous decision win, one that did not earn his satisfaction.

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“Mamba” isn’t certain about what was off, and he plans to go back to the drawing board with his team. Malkoun said in his post-fight interview:

“It wasn’t the performance I was hoping to do,” the Aussie remarked with frustration. “You learn from your losses. You gotta learn as much as you do with a win like that. You’…

Wesley Schultz never had any doubt that he would pull off the victory on Saturday.

Making his promotional debut against Schultz at UFC Perth, Ben Johnston (5-3) gave his all and won the first two rounds on the scorecards. The defending Schultz had no answer on the ground, with his submission attempts for the first 10 minutes unable to land. However, when Round 3 struck, “Party Time” turned the tables courtesy of a slick guillotine choke.

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The submission danger forced Johnston to spit out his mouthpiece so he could continue breathing. As referee Rich Mitchell returned Johnston’s mouthpiece, Schultz redoubled his effort on his guillotine. The Aussie could hold on no longer, surrendering to give Schultz an impressive come-from-behind win. Schultz admits that he didn’t listen to his coaches in the early rounds, as he wanted to ease into the fight. “Party Time” was confident that he would catch his opponent eventually, but he just needed to find the right …

All Louie Sutherland had to do was listen to his team.

Sutherland took on heavyweight veteran Tai Tuivasa in hostile territory at UFC Perth on Saturday. “The Vanilla Gorilla” outgrappled Tuivasa for three rounds amidst a sea of boos to earn a unanimous decision win. The Englishman revealed that his victory over Tuivasa was the first time that he paid heed to his corner mid-fight in quite some time.

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The bulky Brit Sutherland stated that he lost his composure and ignored his training partners in his recent last knockout loss to Brando Pericic. While Sutherland knows that he can brawl when he wants to, it was crucial to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory. Sutherland admitted in his post-fight interview:

“It’s the first time I’ve listened to my coaches is probably about six fights,” Sutherland said sheepishly. “And that’s the result. Against Brando, I lost my composure, didn’t listen to the corner. My corner’s like, ‘Look, we know y…

Brando Pericic wants everyone to know that he is a company man through and through.

Pericic battled on Shamil Gaziev in a titanic heavyweight tilt at UFC Perth on Saturday. While Pericic hurt Gaziev early, the Bahraini refused to hit the canvas. When Pericic gain the advantage, Gaziev fired back with a vengeance, leading to a brutal slugfest. Pericic kept inflicting punishment, and Gaziev finally went down in the second round. Both fighters walked home with $100K “Fight of the Night” checks for their efforts.

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Pericic made sure to express his gratitude to the promotion as much as he could. He credited both the sport and this organization for changing his life, which inspires him to put on a show for fans every time he steps inside the Octagon. Pericic notes that he is calm and collected when he fights, as he believes he has already won tougher battles in life. Pericic expressed in his post-fight interview:

“I’m very thankful to this company,” the Au…

Marwan Rahiki always knew that his style would shine under the bright lights.

Rahiki was originally scheduled to face Jack Jenkins at UFC Perth on Saturday. However, an injured Jenkins was replaced on four days’ notice by Hungarian debutant Oliver Schmid. Rahiki dropped Schmid with a left hook in the first round, and a few follow-up shots were needed for referee Mike Beltran to step in.

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While this served as Rahiki’s sophomore UFC outing, he was the third fight on the main card at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Rahiki also debuted on a main card, appearing opposite Harry Hardwick in March and breaking Hardwick’s jaw in the process. Although Rahiki respects the competitors on the prelims, he never saw himself opening a fight card. The Moroccan-Australian always felt that his action-first style would earn him high bout order placements. Rahiki boasted in his post-fight interview:

“This is what I imagined coming into the UFC,” Rahiki said confident…

Steve Erceg had fun while he took on veteran Tim Elliott.

Erceg battled on Elliott in front of his home crowd at UFC Perth on Saturday, where he picked up a hard-fought decision. Mid-match, Elliott could be heard shouting after landing a takedown. Erceg recently revealed his mid-fight exchange with Elliott. Elliott was grinding his chin on Erceg’s eye after taking him down. As Erceg tried to get separation, Elliott accused the Australian of poking him in the eye. When Erceg accused Elliott of the same, the 39-year-old playfully proffered to him that grinding with his chin is not a foul—under the Unified Rules, an illegal eye gouge can occur from the fingers, elbow or chin. Erceg remarked in his post-fight interview:

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“He took me down in the first round. He's putting his chin in my eye,” Erceg rehashed. “I’m trying to get his chin off my eye cause it f---ing hurt. And he goes, ‘He’s poking me in the eye.’ I’m like, ‘You’re f---ing poking me in the eye.…

Still a youngster at 26 years of age, Quillan Salkilld does not want to waste any time in his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Salkilld (12-1) faced his biggest step up in competition by getting matched with Beneil Dariush (23-8-1) in the co-main event at UFC Perth on Saturday. While Salkilld closed as a betting favorite, Dariush surprised fans by dropping the local athlete early in the first round. While Dariush controlled Salkilld against the fence for a while, the Australian maintain his composure while displaying excellent takedown defense. Salkilld finally created separation and didn’t take much longer to finish Dariush with a vicious combo followed by ground-and-pound.

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Salkilld, who celebrates a finish rate of 75% as a professional, otherwise believes he is a calm person in general. The 26-year-old never loses composure, irrespective of whether things are going his way or not. Salkilld said in his post-fight interview:

“That’s just par…

Carlos Prates knew he would beat Jack Della Maddalena after taking his first punch.

Prates (24-7) headlined UFC Perth in enemy territory against Jack Della Maddalena (18-4) on Saturday. Prates chopped at Maddalena’s lead leg early on, which left the Australian nearly unable to move in the later rounds. It was a one-sided beatdown from Prates en route to a third-round stoppage win. Prates also earned his seventh UFC bonus in as many victories.

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Prates largely kept his guard low in his signature fashion, expression zero regard for his opponent’s striking acumen. “The Nightmare” revealed that he had little respect for Maddalena’s power after absorbing the Australian’s first punch. Prates also credits Brazilian lightweight Felipe Douglas for helping him by perfectly mimicking Maddalena during fight camp. After receiving the power from Maddalena, Prates knew that it was everything he had prepared for, and there was no way he would lose. Prates also reveale…

Logan Storley rarely deviates from a playbook that continues to serve him well.

The four-time NCAA All-American wrestler held his place in the Professional Fighters League welterweight line with a unanimous decision over Florim Zendeli in the PFL Sioux Falls main event on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. All three members of the assigned judiciary scored it 30-25 for Storley (19-4, 4-2 PFL).

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Zendeli (9-2-1, 4-1 PFL) was penalized two points for repeated fence grabs in the first round, as he dug a hole from which there was no escape. Storley completed takedowns in all three rounds, and while he accumulated little to no damage, he racked up plenty of control time. Zendeli opened small cuts around the South Dakotan’s right eye late in the second round and built some momentum in the standup exchanges early in the third, only to see his progress stymied by yet another takedown.

Meanwhile, former Gorilla Fighting Championships titlehold…

Four mixed martial artists walked away $100,000 richer after earning UFC Perth performance bonuses.

Following the 13-fight event in Perth, Australia, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced its performance bonus winners. To the surprise of no one, main event winner Carlos Prates took home a well-deserved extra $100,000 for his TKO stoppage win over Jack Della Maddalena. The finish capped off a total one-sided beatdown of the former UFC champion, as Prates' leg kicks left the Aussie heavily damaged. "The Nightmare" lived up to his nickname and now looks forward to the title picture as a result.

Quillan Salkilld received the second performance of the night bonus for his first-round smashing of veteran lightweight Beneil Dariush. The lightweight prospect proved he's the real deal with the win, which was the biggest of his career so far. Just 26, Salkilld (12-1) is one of the most exciting young fighters at 155 and makes for an interesting addition to the current l…

Sean Strickland won’t pay heed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s attempts to keep him away from Khamzat Chimaev ahead of their fight.

Strickland is scheduled to challenge Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The rivalry between the two appears to be intense, especially on Strickland’s side. UFC boss Dana White also said that security will be increased and that there won’t be any face-off between Strickland and Chimaev ahead of the fight to avoid any drama.

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Strickland (30-7) recently accused the UFC of trying to limit his interactions with Chimaev (15-0). Strickland warned the UFC against unfair treatment between the two camps. The former middleweight champion threatened to confront Chimaev in the hotel lobby if he is treated unequally. Strickland wrote on X:

“The @UFC is trying to limit my interactions with the dog. Listen I will say this now. I will not be controlled by a third w…