Martial Arts News

A mighty Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight matchup makes its way to a show next month.

At UFC on ESPN 57 on June 8, the promotion will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to post up at the KFC Yum! Center. The main event was recently made official, with the reported pairing of Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov coming together earlier on Thursday. Serving on the main card will a 185-pound scrap between Roman Dolidze (12-3) and Michel Pereira (31-11, 2 NC), as first reported by Eurosport_NL on Thursday. This muscular match has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Dolidze was initially set to battle Anthony Hernandez at UFC 302, but an injury for Hernandez scuttled the pairing. The Georgian was shifted back one week to accommodate for his opponent’s recent fight. He finds himself on his first losing streak of his career, having dropped back-to-back decisions to Marvin Vettori in 2023 and Imavov in 2024. Prior to the losses, the 35-year-old had rattl…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not straying away from middleweight main events, even outside of Las Vegas.

The promotion announced via press release in April the nearly completed lineup of UFC Louisville, also known as UFC on ESPN 57. The fight card held at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, had numerous previously announced matchups confirmed while bringing light to a few others. Of note, the release stated that Dominick Reyes (12-4) and Dustin Jacoby (19-8-1) would be competing in the light heavyweight co-main attraction, while Andrea Lee (13-9) and Montana De La Rosa (12-9) will throw down in the early prelims at flyweight.

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Shortly after the press release dropped, MMA Mania broke the news that the main event would come at 185 pounds between Jared Cannonier (17-6) and Nassourdine Imavov (13-4, 1 NC). This battle on June 8 has now been confirmed by other outlets on Thursday.

This main attraction appearance for Cannonier will be …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Fabricio Werdum is ready to move to the next stage of his career.

In September 2023, Werdum returned from a lengthy layoff to test himself in bare-knuckle MMA. He faced former opponent Junior dos Santos at Gamebred FC 5, and he suffered a split decision loss to “Cigano.” Following the match, Canal Combate produced a documentary about the ex-champ titled “Werdum, Acima da Dor,” chronicling the late stage of his career. This arrangement led to a partnership with the heavyweight, and he has joined influencer Kefera Buchmann to host an MMA-themed talk show on the network called “Papo Cruzado.” Werdum spoke to Sherdog about his new show that will debut at the second half of 2024.

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“These are topics that go beyond the usual routine of talking about when the next fight is, who you want to fight against, how your training is going,” Werdum explained. “I thought it was cool that we covered topic…

Rodrigo Nascimento has no intentions of stalling the fight by simply maintaining top position against Derrick Lewis in their upcoming showdown.

Nascimento (11-1) will face a step up in competition when he takes on Derrick Lewis (27-12) in the main event at UFC St. Louis on May 11. While Lewis is known for his highlight reel knockouts, Nascimento is not underestimating his opponent’s well-roundedness going into his first Ultimate Fighting Championship headliner.

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“So I think he’s an unpredictable fighter right… He’s super dangerous, you know, he has heavy hands but he’s a complete fighter,” the Brazilian said during UFC St. Louis media day. “I know this, I watch his fights; he knows how to put someone down. He can strike, he can fake. He’s a complete fighter for sure.”

Lewis is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Jailton Almeida in November 2023, where “Malhadinho” mostly controlled him on the ground without scoring much damage. Wh…

Jan Blachowicz has made his case for a rematch against Alex Pereira upon his return to action.

Pereira (10-2) earned a narrow split decision over Blachowicz (29-10) to make good on his debut in the light heavyweight division at UFC 291 in July 2023. While Blachowicz was scheduled to fight Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 this past January, the former champ was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

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Meanwhile, Pereira went on to secure the 205-pound title in a clash against Jiri Prochazka and then defended his second UFC title with a brutal knockout win over Jamahal Hill in the main event at UFC 300 last month. While Blachowicz considers “Poatan” to be a better fighter than Hill, he doesn’t think the Brazilian is better than himself.

Making his case for a rematch against the reigning 205-pound king, Blachowicz is steadfast in his belief that he won their first encounter. The Polish standout also noted that while Pereira has k…

While Jose Aldo’s UFC 301 win over Jonathan Martinez was undoubtedly impressive, bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen disagrees with the idea of awarding the former champion a title shot next.

Although Aldo had hung up his gloves following a unanimous decision loss against Merab Dvalishvili in August 2022, “Junior” recently ended his retirement to co-headline UFC 301 UFC 301 in Brazil. Aldo denied the odds to score a shut-out unanimous decision victory at Farmasi Arena on May 4.

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While Aldo’s fight against Martinez was the last on his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, the Brazilian is open to re-signing with the promotion if they match his best offers. “King of Rio” is also hoping to jump the queue for a title shot straight away.

Jose Aldo said at the post-fight presser that he has completed his UFC deal but the promotion still has the option to match whatever offer he gets so he will sit with Dana White to discuss his…

[embedded content] Count former Ultimate Fighting Championship king Vitor Belfort among those throwing cold water on the upcoming boxing spectacle between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

Belfort held little back when discussing the upcoming boxing match of Paul vs. Tyson. The YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champ will be squaring off on July 20 in Arlington, Texas, and many have debated the legitimacy of their upcoming encounter. The rules, as approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, consist of the bout lasting eight two-minute rounds, with the heavyweights wearing 14-ounce gloves. Despite this, the Texas commission has declared it will be a professional bout. Belfort, speaking to Sherdog about the matchup on Wednesday, was not a fan.

“Sixteen-ounce gloves are used only in sparring to protect fighters,” the former champ noted. “Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will do a sparring [match] live on Netflix, making millions of dollars.”

Havin…

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Heavyweight knockout artist Robelis Despaigne is eyeing a title shot within a year of his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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Despaigne (5-0) needed just 18 seconds to knock out Josh Parisian in his promotional debut at UFC 299 in March. The undefeated prospect is now set to make his sophomore walk to the Octagon against Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1) at UFC on ESPN 56 on May 11. Despaigne believes a win over Costa, followed by a few others will secure a title shot for him next year.

“Look, if all goes according to plan, I think that by the beginning of next year I’ll be fighting for the UFC heavyweight title, or at least the interim.” Despaigne told MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.

Despaigne has finished all of his fights in the first round, with a total fight time of 37 seconds for his last four outings combined. Given that the landscape has witnessed Alex Pereira’s meteoric rise to double champ status in less than two years o…

A memorable competitor from the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship show has died at the age of 60.

Art Jimmerson represented the sport of boxing at UFC 1 in 1993, famously wearing one glove when facing Royce Gracie. This drew him the nickname of “One Glove,” and despite competing just once in the sport of MMA, it was a memorable appearance. Gracie, around 20 pounds lighter, took Jimmerson down and forced him to submit 2:18 into their bout. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN reported that Jimmerson had died on Wednesday, according to Jimmerson’s daughter. His son also confirmed Jimmerson’s passing on social media.

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[embedded content] “It’s funny looking back, I just never knew,” Jimmerson told Sherdog in 2009 about his match with Gracie. “But I said, ‘No problem,’ because it was only going to take me one punch.”

Jimmerson continued, “I won't say I was young and dumb, it’s that I'm always up for a challenge. I don’t want to be perceived as a …

MAIN EVENT - Featherweight 🔥

Abdullah Al-Qahtani: 145.6 LBSYazeed Hasanain: 146.6 LBS

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PFL MENA | LIVE on MBC Action at 6:30 PM (GMT+3)

Tickets on SALE NOW! https://t.co/NtUBc3UAGX#PFL #MMA #MakingHistory #SaudiArabia #MENA @PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/vsT4ozLrIX

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) May 9, 2024 The first Professional Fighters League card for its MENA branch has changed significantly on weigh-in day.

PFL MENA, a venture that will serve as the brightest stage for fighters from the Middle East and North Africa region competing in the PFL Season format. May 10’s debut will go down at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the card's lineup has been reshaped to 10 matchups on weigh-in day. Multiple fighters missed weight, resulting in a transformation of the main event.

The card is set to ignite a new wave in the region’s combat sports landscape and features fighters in the featherweight and bantamweight …

A flyweight pairing pitting Muhammad Mokaev against Manel Kape is in the works for UFC 304.

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Mokaev announced the fight on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com that Kape has verbally agreed to the booking. UFC 304 takes place on July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The event is also expected to include a featherweight clash between Arnold Allen and Giga Chikadze.

Mokaev has emerged as a contender at 125 pounds with victories in his first six Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 23-year-old known as “The Punisher” outpointed former title challenger Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2. The Brave Combat Federation veteran is 12-0 with one no contest over the course of his professional tenure.

Kape was supposed to compete at UFC on ESPN 55 on April 27, but he withdrew from a proposed bout against Matheus Nicolau after suffering a rib injury. After dropping his first two promotional outings, the former Ri…

Things are starting to get REAL between Cedric and Jaleel… 😳#BellatorParis | Friday May 17 pic.twitter.com/FfHV84XhEl

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 8, 2024

Chael Sonnen is one of the greatest heels in mixed martial arts history, but even he thinks Jaleel Willis is approaching dangerous territory.

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Willis might be the most hated man in Paris by the time he squares off with French kickboxing phenom Cedric Doumbe at Accor Arena on May 17 in the Bellator Champions Series Paris co-main event. The Memphis native’s verbal jabs have been non-stop, much to the delight of the “American Gangster.”

Sonnen praised — albeit warned — Willis on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account Wednesday after Willis insulted the French fanbase’s MMA knowledge. Willis (16-5) criticized Doumbe’s (5-1) lack of cage time and implied his fans only support him because they know no better.

“When you call yourself a veteran, you’re calling t…