Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has filled out the lineup of its final April fight card.

Per a press release from the organization on Thursday, the UFC on ESPN 55 billing is now complete. The UFC confirmed multiple announced matchups for the April 27 show at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, while adding several others. Chief among the additions is the new co-main event, which comes at light heavyweight between Ryan Spann (21-9) and Bogdan Guskov (15-3).

“Superman” Spann will be coming into this matchup on his first losing streak since 2017, having dropped his last two to Nikita Krylov and Anthony Smith for an unsuccessful 2023 campaign. Before then, the Fortis MMA product had run roughshod over Ion Cutelaba and Dominick Reyes in a combined 3:42 to stamp his place as an elite 205er. Six of the last seven outings for Spann have concluded in the first round, win or lose.

Uzbekistan’s Guskov introduced himself to the UFC against Volkan Oezdemir in September 2023, and h…

Undefeated featherweight prospects will meet in a potential banger of a mixed martial arts clash at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3. The event will air on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and Canada.

Sherdog learned Thursday that Kyrgyz standout Akbar Abdullaev (10-0, 2-0 ONE) will face Turkey’s Halil Amir (10-0, 3-0 ONE) in a three-round clash at the prestigious Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. The news was confirmed by a source close to the negotiations.

Abdullaev has finished all 10 of his career wins, which includes two ONE Championship outings, only advancing past the first-round once. “Bakal” made his promotional debut in March 2023, knocking out Ho Taek Oh in under a minute. In his most recent bout in July 2023, the 26-year-old scored a spinning back kick technical knockout against previously-undefeated Aaron Canarte, again in less than a minute.

Meanwhile, Amir has gone the distance only once in his 10 career wins and is coming off a stoppage win over Ahmed Mujta…

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While she has managed to endure it mentally, Rose Namajunas believes cutting down to strawweight is no longer healthy for her body.

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Namajunas (11-6) made her flyweight debut in September 2023, coming up on the short side of a unanimous decision against top contender Manon Fiorot. “Thug” is slated to make her sophomore flyweight appearance this Saturday against Amanda Ribas (12-4) in the main event at UFC on ESPN 53.

Going into the matchup, Namajunas feels healthier not being bogged down by the additional turmoil of a strawweight cut. Along with an increased confidence in absorbing head strikes, Namajunas also believes her punches have gotten harder with the extra weight.

“My body is feeling great,” Namajunas said at UFC Media Day. “I definitely put on more muscle for this fight. I’m around the same size as I was last time but I’m just more filled in and more dense. So yeah, muscles are recovering, definitely was a very int…

Walt Harris will be ineligible to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship until 2027 after testing positive for multiple banned substances.

Harris (13-10) tested positive for anabolic steroids drostanalone and testosterone, as well as an aromatase inhibitor anastrozole, across multiple drug tests. Harris tested positive on drug tests administered on June 24 and July 12. Despite being informed of the adverse finding, Harris’ urine sample collected on Aug. 6 included anastrozole along with the previous steroids.

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), the company that took over the UFC’s drug testing program from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), imposed a four-year ban on Harris, which the UFC officially announced Wednesday. Harris’ ban came into effect on July 11, the date when he was informed of a provisional suspension due to his first failed drug test.

When Harris’ bout against Josh Parisian scheduled for July 15 fell through due to the failed dru…

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Which of the 4⃣marquee fights are you looking forward to most...❔

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(POLL BELOW) pic.twitter.com/d3IWdD2kKH — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 19, 2024

Rizin Landmark 9 will take place on March 23 at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan.

The Landmark series card replaced Rizn 46, which was the originally planned card for the date and venue.

Reigning lightweight champ Roberto Satoshi de Souza (15-3) will take on Keita Nakamura (36-11) in a non-title affair in the main event. The bout is scheduled for three five-minute rounds under Rizin mixed martial arts rules, which allow knees and kicks to the head of a grounded opponent.

De Souza’s five-fight winning streak, which included three title fights, was snapped by a decision loss to A.J. McKee in a non-title bout at the first Rizin vs. Bellator event in 2022. The Japanese Brazilian bounced back with a decision win over Spike Carlyle, but went on to suffer…

[embedded content] Bellator MMA returns for its first event since being purchased by the Professional Fighters League.

The Bellator 302 main event will see Corey Anderson take on Karl Moore for the vacant light heavyweight championship. Both men weighed 204.6 pounds for the title fight. Additionally, featherweight king Patricio Freire will put his belt on the line against Jeremy Kennedy in the co-main event after both weighed 145 pounds on the dot. Only one fighter missed weight as Vikas Singh Ruhil came in one pound over the featherweight limit for his prelim fight against Nathan Kelly.

"Overtime" is looking to claim his first title after coming up short in 2022 against Vadim Nemkov. Since then, Anderson (17-6, 1 NC) has picked up a split decision win over Phil Davis. Looking to derail Anderson's attempt at glory is Ireland's Moore (12-2), who is riding a four-fight win streak inside the promotion. While three wins have been via decision, the Belfast native also hol…

Get ready for the launch of @BellatorMMA 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 this Friday March 22nd! @KarisaMaxwell breaks down everything you need to know about Bellator’s new home in the US! Streaming exclusively on @SportsonMax 📝#BellatorBelfast pic.twitter.com/lvjp8YJXr9

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 20, 2024

The Professional Fighters League vowed to give Bellator MMA a makeover, but the organization's face remains the same -- just ask Eric Albarracin.

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“There will never be anybody to pass the Bellator GOAT because we’re in a new home,” Albarracin said of Bellator featherweight king Patricio Freire during a Zoom conference Wednesday. “Patricio started with MTV2 and then MTV, and then he was on the Spanish channel, Spike, Paramount, Showtime; and now we’re debuting on Max. Patricio has been a champion for all of that.”

The 36-year-old “Pitbull” will defend his title against Jeremy Kennedy on Friday at SSE Arena in Belfast, Nort…

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Hardly a couple of days after voicing frustration with the Ultimate Fighting Championship over a lack of communication, Conor McGregor claims to have received confirmation on his potential return to the Octagon.

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McGregor has been sidelined since breaking his leg in a trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. After recovering, McGregor went back and forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) before finally returning to their drug testing pool in October 2023. While “Notorious” has since teased multiple return dates, things seemingly weren't panning out at the negotiation table with the UFC. However, McGregor has now confirmed a return to action this summer, which isn’t the first time he has done so.

“We got confirmation a few days ago that it's all systems go,” McGregor told ESPN. “And ‘The Mac,’ ‘The Notorious,’ will be returning in the UFC Octagon this summer.”

McGregor starred opposite Michael Chandler (…

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Ovince St. Preux recently gave a breakdown of his drop to light heavyweight and Jon Jones’ 205-pound success translating to a move up to heavyweight.

St. Preux scored a closely-contested split decision win over surging prospect Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC Fight Night 239 on Saturday. While he has juggled between the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions throughout his career, “OSP” hasn’t competed at heavyweight in his last three outings, since a knockout loss to Tanner Boser in 2021. St. Preux has a simple explanation for his decision to stick around at 205 pounds: heavyweights hit harder and are harder to knock out.

“I mean they [are] big and they hit hard,” The 40-year-old told The Schmo. “The heavyweights now [are] a little bit different than the heavyweights back then because they’re a lot faster. Like a lot of heavyweights now, they’re a lot smaller, but they’re still bigger; they’re faster, stronger and of course heavyweights hit harder a…

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Sean Strickland recently weighed in on Jon Jones and Conor McGregor’s future in the Octagon.

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Jones is sitting on the sidelines recovering from surgery with no timeline in sight for his heavyweight title defense. Despite multiple callouts from interim champ Tom Aspinall, “Bones” is expected to defend his strap against Stipe Miocic who hasn’t fought since 2021.

Aspinall recently had a run-in with Jones at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England, which turned slightly awkward as “Bones” removed the Englishman’s hand from his shoulder and refused to pose for a face-off picture with the interim champion.

While Strickland (28-6) didn’t watch the interaction, he seemingly doesn’t have a high opinion of Jones in general.

“Eh, you know, at the end of the day, dude, Jon Jones is a piece of sh*t,” Strickland told the Schmo. “I know that the whole world knows …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Robelis Despaigne will attempt to build upon a spectacular Octagon debut when he faces Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC on ESPN 56.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the heavyweight pairing following an initial announcement from Despaigne’s manager on social media. UFC on ESPN 56 takes place on May 11 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

Despaigne turned heads at UFC 299, where he knocked out Josh Parisian in just 18 seconds on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The 35-year-old Cuban has finished all five of his opponents inside of a round — including four in 18 seconds or less.

Cortes-Acosta has been victorious in four of his five appearances after earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. Most recently, “Salsa Boy” outpointed Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 234 on Jan. 13.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗿𝗮 𝗢𝗳 𝗠𝗠𝗔 𝗜𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲! @SportsonMax is the 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 @BellatorMMA 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 in the US! 🇺🇸

It all kicks off this Friday March 22nd at #BellatorBelfast, exclusively on MAX 📺 pic.twitter.com/usaHYwaZce

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 19, 2024

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Bellator MMA has a new broadcast home in the United States.

Professional Fighters League, which purchased the promotion last year, announced Tuesday that it has inked an exclusive media rights agreement with Warner Brothers Discovery to air Bellator Champions Series events on Max. This will include eight fight cards in 2024, beginning with Friday’s event in Belfast. Bellator Champions Series will be available on all Max plans, according to a release.

In addition to live events, Max subscribers will have access to a Bellator library of more than 300 previous events and 3,000 fights. Two new docu-series – Fight Camp Confidential and Fight Week – will debut toda…