Martial Arts News

Khabib Nurmagomedov refuses to be lured into an Octagon return despite repeated attempts from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Nurmagomedov revealed that his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, was recently approached by the promotion for a potential return at the UFC 300 card on April 13. However, “The Eagle” has instructed Abdelaziz to not patch any messages through about return offers.

Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves for good with his perfect record intact after successfully defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 in October 2020. The Dagestani icon has since stuck to the promise he made to his mother of not fighting after the death of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away in 2020.

In an interview with MMAjunkie.com, Nurmagomedov was asked if the UFC contacted him directly about coming out of retirement.

“Honestly no. Honestly no,” he said. “I know they connect with Ali [Abdelaziz]. …

Justin Tafa is returning the favor for his sibling.

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The elder Tafa will replace his brother, Junior Tafa, and face Karl Williams at UFC on ESPN 53 on March 23. MMA Mania was first to report the new heavyweight matchup, and it was later confirmed by Williams on social media.

Junior Tafa previously stepped in on short notice when Justin Tafa suffered an undisclosed injury during fight week ahead of UFC 298. Junior would go on to suffer a second-round TKO defeat to Marcos Rogerio de Lima at the Feb. 17 event in Anaheim, California.

Justin Tafa is unbeaten in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 30-year-old Aussie knocked out Austen Lane in 82 seconds at UFC 293 this past September.

A winner on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022, Williams has been victorious in nine of his 10 professional outings. He is 2-0 in UFC competition, with back-to-back decision triumphs over Lukasz Brzeski and Chase Sherman to his credit.

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Sean O'Malley knows that Marlon Vera isn’t your typical No. 1 contender. And he believes his opponent knows it, too.

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However, Vera's history with the reigning bantamweight champion — namely a first-round TKO over O’Malley in August 2020 — makes for an intriguing storyline. And it doesn’t hurt that O’Malley himself wants to avenge his lone career defeat. He’ll get a chance to do so when he faces Vera in the UFC 299 main event on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

“Zero percent chance [he gets a shot if I’m not champion],” O’Malley said in a recent interview with ESPN. “There’s guys [that] deserve [it]: Cory [Sandhagen], Merab [Dvalishvili] — you could argue those guys deserve a title fight over ‘Chito.’ I went out there and knocked out the greatest bantamweight of all time. I said ‘Hey, I want one thing. Let me have the ‘Chito’ rematch.’ I’ve never asked for it. I’ve never really asked for anything. Let me have this ‘Chito’ fight. …

“I neve…

Shamil Gaziev’s first career defeat was a harsh dose of reality.

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After relying on his grappling to win the opening round of the UFC Fight Night 238 headliner against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Gaziev faded badly from that point forward. For the next three rounds. his wrestling was denied and absorbed multiple jabs from his opponent, an assault which led to the bout being waved off by referee Marc Goddard before the fifth round.

While it appeared that Gaziev’s resolve weakened over the course of the bout, he released a post-fight statement on social media vowing to get better.

“First of all, congratulations [Jairzinho Rozenstruik]. Good job today,” Gaziev wrote on X. “Got eye and nose damage in [the second round] and couldn’t follow [the] fight plan. If anyone thinks it will break me, I will disappoint you. I’m going to return [to the] gym in the coming days, and I promise my fans to get better.”

First of all congratula…

While Jairzinho Rozenstruik has a few names in mind after stopping the previously-undefeated Shamil Gaziev at UFC Fight Night 238, he isn’t willing to get fixated on chasing any one matchup.

After losing the opening frame due to a grappling exchange, Rozenstruik jabbed Gaziev for three rounds, compromising the Russian’s vision, leading to a TKO via retirement at the end of the fourth. Having fought only once in 2023, Rozenstruik hopes to stay more active with a return planned for this summer.

At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, the Surinamese heavyweight named Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, Sergey Spivak and interim champ Tom Aspinall as potential future opponents. Rozenstruik also doesn’t want to get tied down to one particular booking as it involves the risk of inactivity if the opponent isn’t ready.

“When I’d like to fight next would be close [to] July, August. And who I’d like to fight, you know what it is, I never say a name because then when tha…

Umar Nurmagomedov wants to settle the score with Cory Sandhagen after defeating Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Fight Night 238.

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Nurmagomedov survived an early scare after getting dropped in the first round and rallied to score a thoroughly dominant unanimous decision win over the Kazakh debutant, who was riding an eight-fight winning streak with seven finishes. Nurmagomedov acknowledged his opponent’s toughness and isn’t fretting over the lack of a finish.

“When I’m going inside cage it was father plan: we gonna take him down, try to finish him but finish not work,” Nurmagomedov said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He didn’t let [it happen]. But it’s OK.”

Nurmagomedov subsequently called out Sandhagen, who he was scheduled to face this past July before pulling out due to a shoulder injury. The undefeated Russian also addressed pullout accusations, noting that his health has only been responsible for two matchups falling through, one of w…

Muhammad Mokaev believes he is deserving of a title shot following his decision win over Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238.

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Mokaev landed three out of a total of 20 attempted takedowns in a grueling affair but was ultimately able to get the nod on the scorecards. “The Punisher” later revealed that he was sick in the morning but was able to make the walk to the Octagon with support from his team.

“To be honest, I was very sick this morning,” Mokaev said. “But I have the best team in the world, KHK MMA.”

While he maintained his unbeaten record, Mokaev arguably faced the toughest test of his career against the flyweight veteran. While he struggled with his grappling, the Dagestan-born British contender was glad to have used some of his striking.

“Of course they all wait for wrestling,” he said. “At least I show more than six strikes tonight. [In] my other fights six, seven strikes I throw. But it’s okay… Hey, 6-0 in the UFC, four finishes. List…

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight veteran Tyson Pedro hung up his gloves after a loss against surging prospect Vitor Petrino at UFC Fight Night 238.

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Pedro dropped a hard-fought unanimous decision against the undefeated Brazilian on the main card. The Australian fan favourite then took off his gloves and waited for his opponent’s post-fight interview to end before announcing his retirement from the UFC.

“I didn’t want to take away from his win, obviously,” Pedro said. “I had a different bit of a plan going at this race. It wasn’t the best performance, so thank you to all the fans. I want to say thank you very much to the UFC for everything they have done on this journey. Especially thanks to my team, anyone that’s helped me get to this stage of my martial arts career.”

Pedro started his pro career with four first-round stoppage wins before signing with the UFC. Pedro went on to score consecutive first-round wins over Paul Crai…

Vinicius Oliveira just submitted his entry for “Knockout of the Year,” and that effort made him a little extra money in the process.

The Brazilian pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award by virtue of highlight-reel finish of Bernardo Sopai in a preliminary bantamweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 238 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After surviving some precarious moments earlier in the bout, Oliveira got stronger as the fight progressed before rendering his opponent unconscious with a flying knee at the 4:41 mark of Round 3.

Sopai wasn’t left out in the cold, however. Both he and Oliveira received $50,000 apiece and “Fight of the Night” honors for what was a back-and-forth affair.

Elsewhere, Steve Erceg received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his second-round KO of Matt Schnell in a featured flyweight affair. After a competitive opening stanza, Erceg vanquished his foe with a left hook that sent Schnell crashing to th…

Jairzinho Rozenstruik administered a prolonged beating and made sure the door to the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight elite stayed shut.

The American Top Team-trained kickboxer called upon a crushing jab and improved takedown defense, as he forced a stoppage against the previously unbeaten Shamil Gaziev in the UFC Fight Night 238 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A battered and beaten Gaziev (12-1, 1-1 UFC) was deemed unfit to continue in between the fourth and fifth rounds.

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Rozenstruik (14-5, 8-5 UFC) handled his business after being taken down late in the first round. He bloodied Gaziev’s nose with a lightning-quick jab, varying its pace and intensity while occasionally incorporating leg kicks. Rozenstruik’s combinations picked up steam as time went on, and it became clear after the fourth round that his opponent had no interest in absorbing more damage.

Meanwhile, CM System’s Vitor Petrino took another step forward a…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home base this weekend with UFC Fight Night 238 “Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev,” before gearing up for the dynamic flurry set to unfold with their visit to the Kaseya Center in Miami for UFC 299. While billed as a brief pit stop, the event’s stacked card hints at an intimate atmosphere. Perennial heavyweight threat Jairzinho Rozenstruik and rising talent Shamil Gaziev will headline Saturday’s card, set to go down at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas. Sherdog.com brings exclusive live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment to you, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement. The first bout is expected to kick off at approximately 1:35 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Al-Selwady (-166), Radzhabov (+140)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tris…

Eryk Anders’ approach may not have been aesthetically pleasing, but it was undeniably effective against a lower-level Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight.

Repeated takedowns and accompanying ground-and-pound carried the ex-University of Alabama linebacker to a unanimous decision over a retiring Jamie Pickett in their featured UFC Fight Night 238 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 29-27, 29-28 and 29-28—all for Anders (16-8, 8-8 UFC), who rebounded from his June 10 defeat to Marc-Andre Barriault.

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Pickett (13-11, 2-7 UFC) decked the onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a counter right hand in the first round but grew more and more ineffective as time went on. Anders wore him down with takedowns, passed guard without issue and cut loose with ground-and-pound. His shots landed with increasing intensity, an elbow strike eventually opening a gash on Pickett in the third round.

Meanwhile, former UAE Warriors…