Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has decided who will get the next crack at flyweight gold, and it will come as a surprise to many.

The promotion announced on Friday that Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) will be putting his flyweight strap on the line against Australia’s Steve Erceg (12-1) at UFC 301. The 125-pound championship affair will not likely serve as its main event, although additional championship bouts or other matches that could be the headliner have not yet been announced. This will be Pantoja’s second attempted defense of his 125-pound title while serving as the first time he has competed in his home country of Brazil since joining the promotion in 2017.

Pantoja has pounded through the flyweight ranks since 2021, stringing together five wins over elite opposition to get him a title shot in 2023. At UFC 290, “The Cannibal” rematched former foe Brandon Moreno and captured a split decision to go up 3-0 over Moreno, including an encounter on the 24th season of “The…

It took the Ultimate Fighting Championship one day to rope in a middleweight happy to headline an event at the Apex.

On Thursday, news broke that Marvin Vettori had suffered an injury and could no longer compete against Brendan Allen (23-5) at UFC Fight Night 240. In his stead will be Chris Curtis (31-10, 1 NC), preserving the middleweight main attraction on April 6. The UFC made this announcement on Friday, running back a fight that first took place in December 2021.

When they first met at UFC on ESPN 31, Curtis was riding a six-fight win streak, including a victory inside the Octagon as an unexpected middleweight threat. “The Action Man” dropped the first round but came back in the second stanza, hurting and ultimately putting Allen away with punches and knees. Since then, Curtis has maintained a UFC record slightly over .500 while beating Rodolfo Vieira, Joaquin Buckley and Marc-Andre Barriault to remain a 185-pound contender.

Since suffering the knockout lo…

Matheus Pereira put on a thrilling performance to walk away with a third-round guillotine choke submission victory against Khasan Khaliev in their ONE Friday Fights 55 lightweight showcase on Friday at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It was the lone mixed martial arts contest on the bill.

Both competitors came out exchanging a few kicks to the legs and breadbasket before Khaliev managed to catch one and take his foe to the ground. However, the Brazilian was able to get back to his feet when Khaliev attempted to land a punch from top. Khaliev was quick to shoot in for a single-leg, only to be thrown to the canvas by the Brazilian, who followed him to the ground with a thunderous right hand from top. A hurt but relentless Khaliev found the space to attack with another takedown, eventually finding his way back to his feet. A visibly gassed Khaliev then attempted to clinch with the bigger Pereira, who was quick to drop him with a sneaky uppercut. Instead of go…

One half the #UFCVegas88 main event is locked in! 🔒@BamBamTuivasa weighs in at 265.5lbs

[ LIVE tomorrow on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/fZEb8p4sL0

— UFC (@ufc) March 15, 2024 The weigh-ins were anything but smooth on Friday morning ahead of the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship show.

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Headlining UFC Fight Night 239 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is an intriguing heavyweight fight between the hard-hitting Tai Tuivasa and Poland's Marcin Tybura. The Australian will be the larger man in the cage as he weighs 18.5 pounds more than "Tybur." As for the rest of the card, three competitors came in overweight: Natan Levy (.5 pounds), Chelsea Chandler (one pound) and Danny Silva (2.5 pounds). All three will be fined 20% of their respective purses.

A fan-favorite in the Octagon, Tuivasa (14-6) is looking to bounce back from a three-fight losing streak. While "Bam Bam" has struggled recently, it has been to the …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has three weeks to come up with a top-10 middleweight or an upcoming show will be in dire straits.

As first reported by Fight Bananas on Thursday, and subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets, Marvin Vettori (19-7-1) will no longer be competing in the main event of UFC Fight Night 240 on April 4. The reasons for his withdrawal are currently undisclosed. His foe Brendan Allen (23-5) suggested earlier on Thursday on Instagram that the fight was off, while calling for names including Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

This marks the first time that “The Italian Dream” has pulled out of a UFC fight. The veteran middleweight has had numerous fight cancelations over the years, but none had been previously attributed to him. The former title challenger has struggled as of late, alternating wins and losses since a clear-cut defeat to champion Adesanya in 2021. While the newfound Xtreme Couture product pulled off wins …

Huge Announcement: Today marks the official launch of FIGHT NIGHT AT THE TECH! This event will feature premier mixed martial arts series at Tech CU Arena on Saturday, May 18.

Tickets go on sale Monday 3/18 at 10AM. pic.twitter.com/tLH6cXnZRG

— Tech CU Arena (@TechCUArena) March 13, 2024 If former Bellator MMA head Scott Coker had to sign a non-compete agreement after leaving the company, it was not very strict.

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The Tech CU Arena, which operates in San Jose, California, and is also home to the San Jose Barracuda AHL hockey team, made an announcement on Wednesday that it would be the location of a new MMA league. The organization, called “Fight Night at the Tech,” is co-founded by Coker and longtime MMA veteran Gilbert Melendez. On May 18, the first of a series of events will run in this arena.

Details are otherwise sparse on the new promotion, including any combatants or broadcast information. MMA Junkie reported that …

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While Tai Tuivasa would prefer every fight to end within 10 seconds, it doesn’t mean he isn’t prepared for a five-rounder.

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Tuivasa (14-6) was originally scheduled to fight Marcin Tybura (24-8) at UFC 298 last month but couldn’t recover in time from a meniscus surgery.

“Bam Bam” will now take on Tybura in the main event at UFC Fight Night 239 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While their UFC 298 clash was scheduled for three rounds, the new main event booking is for five rounds.

Although Tuivasa admits he doesn’t prefer a long fight, the Australian certainly has been preparing for one.

“He gave me five rounds and my coaches didn’t let me down. And I know Marcin can fight those five rounds and he can fight them hard. Which is something we’ve been preparing from. I don’t like going the rounds, but I’ve never gassed out. My fitness is good, I feel good, but to be honest I want to get this party started, I want to get …

While Corey Anderson isn’t fretting about his missed trilogy clash against Vadim Nemkov, “Overtime” is hoping for an opportunity to make things right down the line.

Nemkov vacated the Bellator MMA light heavyweight title earlier this year in favor of a full-time move to heavyweight, robbing Anderson (17-6) of the opportunity to avenge his loss. Anderson now will fight surging light heavyweight contender Karl Moore (12-2) for the vacant strap in the main event at Bellator 302 on March 22 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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While Anderson would have preferred to face Nemkov for the title once again, winning the belt is a priority for the Ultimate Fighting Championship alum. Anderson hasn’t lost all hope of avenging his loss to Nemkov though, keeping the door open for a matchup at both light heavyweight and heavyweight.

“I’m disappointed in the fact that I don't get to fight Nemkov again right now. But the title fight is the title fight, y…

Having fought all around the globe, Jeremy Kennedy didn’t have to think twice before accepting a short-notice title shot against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.

Freire (35-7) was originally scheduled to defend his featherweight strap against Professional Fighters League 2023 champ Jesus Pinedo at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs card in Saudi Arabia last month. However, a week before the fight, Pinedo was replaced by PFL runner-up Gabriel Braga, who pulled out hours before the weigh-ins.

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The promotion didn’t waste time in finding Pitbull an opponent for the co-main event at Bellator 302 on March 22 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Kennedy (19-3), who has been rallying for a tilt against Pitbull for a while now, accepted the bout offer at the drop of a hat.

“I mean I was following along obviously because I was planning on meeting Pitbull later on in the year, so I was following along with his opponents falling through and [Jesus] Pinedo …

The worst may be behind MMA legend Mark Coleman, who is alert and responsive in the hospital after rescuing his parents from a house fire.

On Tuesday morning, Coleman was airlifted to a local hospital after saving his parents from a fire at their home, and he was in critical condition for smoke inhalation. The emergency recovery efforts have gone well, as the medical personnel have reportedly cleared a great deal of material from his lungs to allow him to regain consciousness and speak again. “The Hammer” is no longer on a machine to assist his breathing, as he is breathing on his own, according to a post on Thursday from daughter McKenzie.

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“Update: this is Kenzie. God is good. Miracles do happen. Our dad is breathing on his own. We still have a long road ahead of us but we are truly thankful. We want to thank you all for the love and support from the bottom of our hearts,” she wrote on social media.

While the caption thanked everyone for support a…

A March 8 question and answer session in Miami held to promote UFC 300 was the platform for offensive fan behavior.

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In addition to Arman Tsarukyan (21-3) being insulted and receiving death threats from fans, “Ahalkalkets” was also asked an inappropriate question about Kayla Harrison (16-1) who was sharing the stage with him. While the exchange between Tsarukyan and the fan was in Russian, translations flooded the internet shortly after.

The fan reportedly asked Tsarukyan “how many sticks” he would throw at Harrison, which seemingly translates to whether he would have sex with her. Tsarukyan answered with, “a couple,” apparently in the affirmative.

Harrison, who was tagged in endless clips of the exchange on social media, finally addressed the issue during an appearance on “The MMA Hour.”

“The guy asked him [Tsarukyan] basically how many times he would… He asked him a really inappropriate question about me. And Arman answered it. And I loo…

After an impressive win against Drew Dober last month, Renato Carneiro’s request for another ranked opponent was granted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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“Moicano” will face Jalin Turner at UFC 300 on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Carneiro vs. Turner was the last fight added to the promotion’s landmark event.

"I thought [my opponent] would be the [No. 9 in UFC rankings] Dan Hooker in Brazil, but I couldn't deny the invitation to be on a historic card like this one at UFC 300 fighting Turner, [who is above me in the rankings],“ Carneiro told Sherdog.com.

"Of course five weeks is not ideal, but that's not a problem to someone who already accepted a fight on three days’ notice against a former champion, like [Rafael dos Anjos].”

Carneiro won’t change much in regards to his preparation for Turner, who has finished all 14 of his victories inside the distance and is coming off a first-round knockout of Bobby Gr…