Martial Arts News

WHOA! 😲😲😲@MikeChandlerMMA just called out @TheNotoriousMMA on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/pUN2dUFW1r

— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2024

The power of the UFC-WWE merger under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella was on full display Monday night.

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UFC lightweight Michael Chandler appeared on WWE Raw and took the microphone to call out Conor McGregor in front of those in attendance at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The timing worked out well because Chandler had been in attendance for UFC 298 at the same venue two days prior.

“Hey, what’s up Anaheim. You are now in the presence of the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet,” Chandler said. “Hey, now there’s a man from Ireland that’s been making me wait for way too long, and I’ve still got one dude on my mind. Conor McGregor, get your candy ass back to the Octagon. We’ve got some unfinished business, boys. God bless. I’ll see you at the top.”

Chandler has been awa…

A featherweight showdown pitting Nate Landwehr against Pat Sabatini has been added to the UFC on ESPN 54 lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking in a release on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 54 takes place on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot.

Landwehr had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Dan Ige at UFC 289 last June. Prior to that, the former M-1 Global champion had earned successive victories over Ludovit Klein, David Onama and Austin Lingo.

Sabatini, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of his seven Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old suffered a first-round KO loss to Diego Lopes at UFC 295 this past November.

U-Next adds PFL to MMA line-up https://t.co/kpszADy0hh @PFLMMA

— Loren (@lorenmackpro) February 20, 2024

Professional Fighters League has a broadcast home in Japan.

The PFL recently announced a multi-year agreement with Japanese streaming platform U-Next to broadcast its events in Japan. This includes the PFL regular season events, PFL Europe and PFL MENA as well as archival content. Additionally, Bellator MMAr events will continue to broadcast on U-Next, beginning with Bellator 302 in Belfast on March 22.

The deal will kick off with Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator card in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“A core component of our global expansion strategy is to partner with leading media platforms in key territories around the world, and we couldn’t be more excited about this multi-year agreement with U-NEXT to bring the best in MMA to fans in Japan,” said PFL SVP of International James Frewin in…

The PFL vs. Bellator card has undergone some last-minute shuffling during fight week.

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2023 PFL featherweight finalist Gabriel Braga will step in against Bellator champion Patricio Freire following the withdrawal of Jesus Pinedo due to injury. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Ag.Fight.

Meanwhile, Aaron Pico, who was Braga’s original opponent, is expected to remain on the card in a rematch against Henry Corrales. That bout was first reported by MMAjunkie.com.

Braga was victorious in his first 12 professional outings — including three triumphs during the 2023 PFL campaign — before falling to Pinedo via third-round TKO at the organization’s championship event this past November.

Freire is coming off back-to-back losses to Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis. Prior to that, “Pitbull” had been victorious in 10 of his previous 11 professional outings.

Pico and Corrales initially squared off at Bellato…

Co-main event competitors Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa are among nine fighters facing a potentially lengthy layoff on the heels of UFC 298.

Whittaker is suspended for 180 days unless he receives doctor clearance for a potential fracture to his hand. The former middleweight champion also received a 60-day suspension pending physician clearance for lacerations to his right eye and foot. At a minimum, he is suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact.

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Costa, meanwhile, is facing a potential 180-day sit unless cleared due to potential fractures to his right foot and leg. He is also suspended 60 days for lacerations pending doctor clearance, and at a minimum, is suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.

Whittaker took a hard-fought unanimous decision verdict against Costa in their middleweight clash at UFC 298.

The California State Athletic Commission recently released a list of medical suspensions from the event. UFC 298 took place on Sat…

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While the lineup for UFC 300 is nearly complete, the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro is currently in limbo with the availability of several top Brazilian stars in question.

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UFC 301 is scheduled to take place on May 4 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and is currently without a headliner. However, Alex Pereira, who is slated to face Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 main event, would be willing to make the 21-day turnaround to compete in his home country.

“We were talking with the UFC to make this fight in Brazil,” Pereira said through an interpreter on YouTube. “Then they came up with the idea to bring it a little earlier and make it on UFC 300, which for me is a good thing because I’ve already been training hard. The fight being before what was expected makes it even better for me. I’m in good shape, I’ve been training hard, and I’m excited for the fight.”

It’s not unprecedented for Pereira, who has made quick turnarounds du…

𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑰𝑻’𝑺 𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑩𝑶𝑼𝑻 on February 24th

Who will stand victorious with the throne on Saturday? 👑🏆

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[ #PFLvsBellator | Saturday, Feb 24th | 3pm EST | 🎟https://t.co/C7U3kwS1zr ] pic.twitter.com/XgVRXSDmYj — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 19, 2024

More than just bragging rights will be on the line when some of the top fighters from Professional Fighters League and Bellator MMA square off on Saturday.

The organizations on Monday unveiled a special commemorative PFL vs. Bellator champs belt that will be up for grabs during Saturday’s pay-per-view card. These belts, along with a championship ring, will be awarded to the winner of the heavyweight clash between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader and the middleweight bout pitting Impa Kasanganay against Johnny Eblen.

According to a promotion official, these belts will not be defended at future events. Instead, they are more symbolic in nature.

PFL vs. Bellator takes place at…

Ian Garry is no stranger to criticism these days, and that was once again the case following his latest triumph.

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Before Garry took the podium at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White was asked by a media member about what was perceived to be a “listless” performance from the Irishman in a split-decision triumph against Geoff Neal at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. As it turns out, Garry had just entered the venue when the question was posed.

“Hey Ian, this guy thinks your fight sucked tonight,” White yelled toward Garry. “He wants to know my opinion on your fight sucking tonight “ … To say that his fight wasn’t a good fight, it might not have been a great fight compared to the rest of the night with the card … Did Ian go on and put on an unbelievable performance tonight, like a knockdown drag-out war and win the fight? It wasn’t Whittaker-Costa, but he won the fight.”

Shortly thereafter, Garry …

Merab Dvalishvili cemented his spot as the bantamweight division’s No. 1 contender with his unanimous decision triumph over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

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UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the Georgian standout would be next in line at Saturday’s post-fight press conference while praising his performance against Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist and former two-division champion.

“He looked good tonight. He did what he had [to do],” White said. “In my opinion, you can’t take three years off in a combat sport. It’s never done well for anybody. Cejudo looked great in the first round. I thought he started to gas out in the second round. Merab just got stronger as the fight went on.”

Dvalishvili himself acknowledged the slow start, but he was clearly in control over the bout’s final 10 minutes.

“I think I’m getting better every round. If it was five rounds, I’m sure you guys could imagine what was going to happen. I guess I don’t warm up in the locker r…

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship came calling to offer him a spot atop the promotion’s 300th event, Jamahal Hill jumped at the opportunity.

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Hill is set to return to action for the first time since January 2023 when he meets current light heavyweight king Alex Pereira in the UFC 300 main event on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout seemingly came together at the last minute, as it was announced by Dana White at the conclusion of UFC 298 on Saturday night.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Hill said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “For them to have that trust that I could come and show up and put on a main event that’s worthy of a card of this magnitude motivates me and fires me up. It fires my team up. We’re ready to go. The time off has also fired me up. I’m just ready to go. I’m ready to get back in there.

“You always want to be appreciated for your work and the things that you sacrifice,” he added. “That’s all that …

Now that he has momentum back on his side, Robert Whittaker would like to keep it going for the rest of the year.

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The former middleweight champion returned to the win column in the UFC 298 co-main event, outdueling Paulo Costa over three rounds for a unanimous decision triumph on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Victory didn’t come easily, as Whittaker was wobbled by a spinning head kick from Costa in the late stages of Round 1. Still, “The Reaper” was able to recover and outland his opponent over the bout’s final 10 minutes.

“Obviously I’m very happy with it,” Whittaker said at the post-fight press conference. “I always look like this after fights. Plus I had a firefight with Costa, it shows a little bit. More than the win itself, I’m satisfied with what I wanted to achieve and I achieved that.”

As for the kick that nearly changed the course of the fight, Whittaker didn’t let it alter his focus.

“I just brushed it off,” …

More than anything, UFC 298 will likely go down in history as a changing of the guard in the featherweight division.

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Ilia Topuria ended the lengthy championship reign of Alexander Volkanovski in emphatic fashion, knocking out the Aussie standout with a clean right hook at the 3:32 mark of Round 2 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. Prior to the finish, the fight was quite competitive, with Volkanovski taking the opening stanza on all three judges’ scorecards.

Ultimately, it was a matter of Topuria figuring out his opponent’s timing and finding the right opening.

“First of all, I don’t need the judges,” Topuria said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “When I’m fighting, they can go and take their time to break. The guy [Volkanovski] was really fast, very fast jabs. With his kicks, he surprised me a little bit. It took me a little time to study him, and I had to knock him out in the second round.

“I was just …