Martial Arts News

Ignacio Bahamondes’ victory over Christos Giagos on Saturday saw him bounce back from a loss that sent him to a difficult space in life.

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Bahamondes scored a high-reel, bonus-winning knockout over Giagos in the very first round of their UFC Fight Night 240 clash. That allowed “La Jaula” to return to the win column after a decision loss against Ludovit Klein in August 2023 that snapped a three-fight winning streak.

Bahamondes revealed that while losing a fight is hard enough, he also had the added grief of his wife’s miscarriage, which happened a couple of weeks after the defeat to Klein. Bahamondes had no will to train but depended on faith to get his life back on track, which he successfully did. The 26-year-old is now expecting another child from his wife, who is five months pregnant.

“You know, for an MMA fighter, losing is not something nice,” Bahamondes said at the post-fight press conference. “I think it is the worst for a fighter. My w…

Jean Matsumoto wants Raul Rosas Jr. for his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship outing after a successful debut against Dan Argueta.

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Matsumoto submitted Argueta in a second-round buzzer beater at UFC Fight Night 240, scoring his third career submission via guillotine choke. While Matsumoto admits that the empty Apex was good to start off his promotional journey, the Brazilian believes he’s even better with a crowd in attendance. Matsumoto called for a spot on the UFC’s card scheduled for Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

“Actually, fighting here was better because of no pressure, since it was my debut,” Matsumoto said during a post-fight media scrum. "But honestly, I’m a better fighter with the crowd, and I’m willing to fight in front of the crowd. And I heard there is a huge event coming to Vegas at The Sphere, Mexican Independence Day, and I’d love to be part of that show.”

Matsumoto also has a Mexican …

Nora Cornolle has revealed that she and opponent Melissa Mullins had mutually agreed to miss weight for their UFC Fight Night 240 clash.

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Cornolle folded Mullins with a devastating knee to the body followed by head kicks in the second round to start off the preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While Cornolle weighed in at 138 pounds, Mullins weighed in at 138.5, making it essentially a catchweight bout.

Cornolle subsequently revealed that a catchweight bout was being discussed throughout the day of the weigh-ins. According to “Wonder,” Mullins was in bad shape when they met at the UFC Performance Institute, where they were both cutting weight.

Cornolle claims Mullins immediately approached her with the proposal of a catchweight contest, which she was also considering as she didn’t want the bout to fall through. But Cornolle planned on trying to make weight till the very end and advised her opponent the same.

Howeve…

Superbon Singha Mawynn is eyeing both kickboxing and muay thai gold after defeating Marat Grigorian in their trilogy clash at ONE Friday Fights 58.

Superbon picked up a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Grigorian to claim the ONE Championship interim featherweight kickboxing title, also improving his head-to-head record against the Armenian to 2-1. While Grigorian had his moments midway through the fight, Superbon regained momentum in the championship rounds to seal the victory. Superbon labeled it the “hardest” fight of his career but believed he had done enough to get his hand raised.

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“I think this is the hardest fight in my career, but I’m happy to beat him… I think I’ve done everything to win every round,” the 33-year-old said during the post-fight press conference. “There were rounds that I didn’t do good, but I think I did enough to get the win.”

Superbon also believes his win warrants a rematch against reigning featherweight kickbo…

Ignacio Bahamondes’ clean finish made him $50,000 richer.

The Chile native received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his first-round stoppage of Christos Giagos in a featured lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 240 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday Bahamondes floored his adversary and secured victory with a perfectly-placed head kick at the 3:34 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Jose Mariscal and Morgan Charriere received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featherweight scrap. Both men enjoyed periods of success in a back-and-forth affair, but one late burst in the third frame helped clinch a split-decision triumph for Mariscal.

Finally, Cesar Almeida garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his stoppage of Dylan Budka in a preliminary middleweight clash. With Budka fading after having a takedown stuffed, Almeida teed off with elbows to the side of the head, powered into top position and sealed h…

Brendan Allen exacted a subtle measure of vengeance against Chris Curtis.

Allen continued his steady climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ladder and avenged one of his five career defeats, as he picked up a split decision over the former CES MMA titleholder in the UFC Fight Night 240 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon saw it 48-47 and 49-46 for Allen, while Michael Bell turned in a 48-47 scorecard for Curtis, who replaced Marvin Vettori on late notice and did so admirably.

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The two rivals traded strategic barbs across five well-fought rounds. Curtis (31-11, 5-3 UFC)—who won their first meeting by technical knockout in December 2021—hammered the Kill Cliff Fight Club standout with body-head combinations, dazed him with a left hook in the third round and forced him to work for every inch of ground he gained. Allen mostly held his own in the standup department but excelled at shooti…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home base of the Apex in Las Vegas this weekend with a packed slate headlined by an electric middleweight rematch between Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis.

UFC Fight Night 240 kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. PT.

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dixon (-360), Cornolle (+285)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Budka (-148), Almeida (+124)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tej…

Alex Morono did just enough to skate by inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.

The longtime Fortis MMA rep rebounded from his Oct. 7 defeat to Joaquin Buckley with a workmanlike unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 winner Court McGee in the featured UFC Fight Night 240 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Morono (24-9, 13-6 UFC) carried all three scorecards by 29-28 margins.

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McGee (21-13, 10-12 UFC) stayed busy and spent a significant chunk of time in top position in the second round but had no real answer for the speed disadvantage with which he was faced. Morono peppered him with one-twos, threw in the occasional spinning attack and made multiple passes at submission attempts, including a tight guillotine in the middle stanza. McGee executed a takedown in the waning seconds of Round 3, but by then, the decision was lost.

Meanwhile, Kotwica MMA Team product Lukasz Brzeski experienced his f…

Jon Jones has been accused of assaulting and threatening to kill an agent from Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home last month.

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ABQ Raw first reported the news. According to a police report, the drug-testing agent, who is identified as Crystal Martinez, entered Jones’ home on March 30 to collect a sample as part of the UFC’s anti-doping program. Further details regarding the police report, which was filed on April 5, were initially shared by MMAFighting.com. Based on the report, Jones is charged with assault and interference with communications for allegedly taking Martinez’s phone.

Martinez alleges Jones was cooperative at first but became agitated when he was unable to initially provide a urine sample. When Martinez suggested taking a blood sample instead, Jones threatened to sue, took her phone and began recording Martinez and her co-worker. An Albuquerque Police Department officer later reviewed the video. Read more

A bantamweight clash pitting Said Nurmagomedov against Montel Jackson has been added to the UFC Fight Night event set to go down at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 22.

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The news was first announced by Jackson's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). The event will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s first visit to Saudi Arabia and will be headlined by a high-caliber middleweight matchup pitting Khamzat Chimaev against former champion Robert Whittaker.

Jackson (13-2) is currently on a four-fight winning streak, most recently securing an impressive Round 1 knockout victory over Rani Yahya in April 2023. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum also has wins over the likes of Brian Kelleher, Julio Arce, J.P. Buys, and Jesse Strader, among others.

The 32-year-old Nurmagomedov (18-3) will enter the Octagon on the heels of a Round 1 submission victory over Muin Gafurov at UFC 294 that saw …

There could be a rivalry brewing in the Professional Fighters League women’s flyweight division.

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Both Dakota Ditcheva and former Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Taila Santos recorded Round 1 finishes in their PFL 1 appearance at the Boeing Center in San Antonio Texas on Friday night. While both got the job done in the first frame, Ditcheva currently occupies the top spot in the rankings since she managed to finish Lisa Mauldin three seconds before Santos ended her clash with Ilara Joanne.

Following a successful PFL debut, Santos was quick to divulge who she’d like to take on next during a post-fight media apperance.

“I'd like to fight Dakota,” Santos said. “I feel like she is on a hype train right now. I don't feel like she has fought anyone as tough.”

While Ditcheva is more than happy to face the challenge of going up against a former UFC contender, “Dangerous” was also quick to hit back with a retort of her own after learn…

An intriguing featherweight clash has been added to UFC 303.

Longtime featherweight contender Cub Swanson (29-13) will lock horns with Andre Fili (23-11) at UFC 303, which will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June. 29. The news was first reported by Fili's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter).

Swanson has gone 4-2 in his last six Octagon outings and is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Hakeem Dawodu in August, last year. The win against Dawodu allowed the 40-year-old to bounce back from a devastating Round 2 technical knockout loss against Jonathan Martinez in October 2022.

As for Fili, the Team Alpha Male product is coming off a Round 1 knockout loss against Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 236 in February. "Touchy" has gone 2-3 in his last five bouts, notably recording a Round 1 TKO win against Lucas Almeida before suffering his most recent loss to Ige.