Martial Arts News

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko have varying expectations about the theme of the upcoming UFC 306 card.

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UFC 306 is being planned as a one-of-kind event scheduled to go down at The Sphere on Sept. 14, two days prior to the Mexican Independence Day. The UFC started a tradition of staging a card in honor of Mexican Independence Day with Noche UFC this past September. While UFC 306 is expected to have a similar theme, Shevchenko recently claimed that it’ll have nothing to do with Mexican Independence Day. Shevchenko believes the event will instead be planned around The Sphere.

"As my understanding, there is a talk about Sphere but it is not Mexican Independence Day [themed] because it is going to be focused on The Sphere,” Shevchenko told MMAjunkie.com. “It's gonna be focusing on UFC 306. So it’s kind of like, even Mexican Independence Day, it’s gonna be a few days before the event happening. So it's nothing related to Mexican Independence Day. I…

Dustin Poirier apparently had no grappling practice for over two weeks leading up to his UFC 302 title challenge against Islam Makhachev.

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Poirier made his third career lightweight gold bid against Makhachev in the main event at UFC 302 on Saturday. While many initially gave Poirier only a puncher’s chance and expected him to be dominated on the ground, “The Diamond” authored a surprising performance. Poirier gave his opponent a difficult test, denying Makhachev on multiple takedown attempts over the course of the bout. While Makhachev eventually submitted Poirier with a brabo choke in the final round, the Dagestani had to struggle more than expected.

What makes Poirier’s performance even more awe-inspiring is that he had no wrestling practice two weeks prior to fight night due to a rib injury. Yves Edwards, Poirier’s longtime teammate at American Top Team, made the revelation even though he knows “The Diamond” probably wouldn’t have wanted him to.…

Eddie Alvarez is confident that Arman Tsarukyan can beat Islam Makhachev after witnessing lightweight champion’s latest title defense.

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Alvarez was in attendance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for UFC 302, where Makhachev put his lightweight strap on the line against Dustin Poirier in the headliner. A massive underdog going in, Poirier exceeded expectations by giving Makhachev a run for his money before submitting to a brabo choke in the final round. While Makhachev’s title run may seem similar to that of teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alvarez believes the reigning champ is much more susceptible to losing than “Eagle.”

“Khabib, his greatness was in he never fought midway. Khabib fought way far away or suffocated you in. He never put himself in danger. So, he was either on top of you suffocating you, you can’t breathe, or way far away to never get hit. He was beautiful on that, he did that. And he never got really hurt during his figh…

The circumstances regarding Monday’s canceled UFC 303 press conference in Dublin remain vague, but at least for now, it doesn’t appear that it will have any bearing on the upcoming fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.

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McGregor released a statement via social media on Monday afternoon regarding the cancellation. While it didn’t provide much clarity as to why the event was called off, the Irish star indicated that he is still looking forward to fighting at UFC 303.

“In consultation with the UFC, today’s press conference was cancelled due to a series of obstacles outside of our control,” McGregor wrote on X. “I apologize to my Irish fans, and fans around the world, for the inconvenience and appreciate all your passion and support. I can’t wait to put on the greatest all-time show in the Octagon.”

In consultation with the UFC, todays press conference was cancelled due to a series of obstacles outside of our con…

A battery charge against Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Sedriques Dumas was dropped during a plea hearing on Monday in Escambia County (Fla.) court.

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A nolle prosequi — a formal notice that charges are no longer being pursued — was filed by prosecutors during the hearing. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news.

Dumas was arrested on Feb. 13 for allegedly slapping the mother of his child. The fighter posted a video on his Facebook page depicting a confrontation before police before he was taken into custody.

“All my charges have been dropped on the DV case and [f—k] everybody,” Dumas wrote in a since-deleted post on social media. “They call me a woman beater to my BM and everything else and thank you to my lawyer Greg Whibbs, one of the best lawyers that I have on my team and will always be on my team. Thank you Allah.”

Dumas has a lengthy criminal history that was brought to light prior to his UFC debut. This includes…

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Alex Pereira recently revealed potential opponents and a timeline for his return to action.

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Prochazka successfully defended his light heavyweight title for the second time with a first-round knockout win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April. “Poatan” is now looking to return to action in August, although nothing has been finalized yet.

While Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev are the two most logical opponents for Pereira, the Brazilian claims to already be in negotiations for a rematch with Prochazka.

“I’m not the guy to call names. I’m not the guy to pick the fights. Whoever they want me to fight [I'll fight], but the name that's on the table right now is Jiri Prochazka,” Pereira recently told Sportsnet. “So we're still in negotiations… I don’t know, we’re still in talks, I would like to fight around August but nothing concrete yet.”

While Ankalaev is the more dominant grappler of the two potential foes, Pereira cl…

I will give a fuck for points, it’s not my business pic.twitter.com/iqYQq3oXLj

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) June 2, 2024

Paulo Costa has vowed to go for finishes in the future after his split-decision loss against Sean Strickland at UFC 302.

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Strickland put on a defensive striking clinic to nullify Costa’s power in the co-main event at UFC 302 on Saturday. Despite Strickland completely outclassing Costa over the course of five rounds, the former champ earned only a split-decision win, with judge Dave Tirelli bizarrely scoring the fight for the Brazilian.

Tirelli, who had also inexplicably scored another fight in favor of Mitch Raposo earlier in the night, faced some harsh criticism from UFC CEO Dana White at the post-fight press conference. White also noted that Costa didn’t deliver the usual type of action for which he has become known. Meanwhile, color commentator Joe Rogan opined that “Borrachinha”…

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 🇷🇺 President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's Hall of Fame UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.pic.twitter.com/PmRPj3OKgk

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) June 2, 2024

Khabib Nurmagomedov reportedly voiced a global concern to Donald Trump during their conversation at UFC 302.

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Nurmagomedov was on corner duty for teammate Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title defense against Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on Saturday. No stranger to UFC pay-per-views, former POTUS Trump was also in attendance for the event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Nurmagomedov was seen exchanging a few words with Trump after Makhachev’s fifth-round submission win over Poirier. American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez later revealed the content of the conversation between “Eagle” and Trump. According to Mendez, Nurmagomedov implored Trump to take measures to stop the ongoing Israel-Palestine war.

“Act…

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Dustin Poirier surpassed everyone’s expectations at UFC 302 — including those of American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez.

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Poirier challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC 302 on Saturday in his third bid for undisputed gold. A massive underdog going into the event, Poirier was widely expected to be dominated by Makhachev as he was by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019.

When Poirier was taken down early and controlled for the majority of the opening frame, the result seemed like a forgone conclusion. However, “The Diamond” bounced back in the second round, denying Makhachev multiple takedowns to give the champ a stern test. While Poirier submitted to a brabo choke from Makhachev in the fifth round, the Louisiana native surprised fans and pundits alike by making the fight as close as he did.

Mendez, who was in Makhachev’s corner, admits to being surprised by Poirier’s performance, as well…

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Alexander Volkanovski is exploring side hustles at lightweight while he awaits another shot at the featherweight title.

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Islam Makhachev successfully defended his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier via fifth-round submission in the main event at UFC 302 on Saturday. Poirier subsequently hinted that he might call it a career in the aftermath of the defeat.

However, Volkanovski hasn’t completely given up hope of Poirier competing again. The former featherweight champ called for a lightweight clash against “The Diamond” while he awaits another shot at the 145-pound strap.

“Maybe, just maybe, depending on what I’m doing and when, obviously I want to fight later in the year… I don’t want to wait too long, either. So, if the timing works, maybe me and Dustin maybe we can have a good fight,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t know, he sort of just wants good, fun fights. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for e…

Dear UFC Fans--

The #UFC303 press conference scheduled for Monday June 3rd in Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena has been postponed until further notice.  We sincerely apologize to all the fans who were planning to attend.  When we have further information on a new date and time, we will… pic.twitter.com/nIXRIZl5pv

— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2024

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A press conference in Dublin that was supposed to kick off promotion for the Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler headliner at UFC 303 has been postponed.

The UFC announced the news via social media on Sunday night. The presser was scheduled to take place at 3Arena in Dublin at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Monday. A reason for the postponement was not given.

“The press conference scheduled for Monday June 3 in Dublin, Ireland, at 3Arena has been postponed until further notice,” read a statement from the UFC. “We sincerely apologize to all the fans who were planning to attend.  Whe…

Islam Makhachev might have a ready-made contender in the lightweight division awaiting him, but that isn’t the option that intrigues him the most.

After submitting Dustin Poirier with a brabo choke in the fifth round of the UFC 302 headliner at the Prudential Arena in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night, Makhachev expressed interest in moving to 170 pounds in an attempt to become a two-division champion. He then reiterated that sentiment during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

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“Who doesn’t want to be double champion? This is history. How many double champions [do] we have? This is a dream for all fighters, to get second belt,” Makhachev said.

“This is my dream. I want to be in the history and people know me like double champ. This is my dream. If I have chance, a small chance, I will get. If you want a great legacy, you have to get second belt. It’s my opinion.”

By besting Poirier, Makhachev made his third successful title defense, wh…