Martial Arts News

Hay regreso argentino🇦🇷🔥 Hay batalla de veteranos en las 1️⃣7️⃣0️⃣ libras el sábado 13 de julio❗️@SPonzinibbioMMA vs Muslim Salikhov pic.twitter.com/FoWAjnAevU

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) May 31, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be bringing a striker’s delight battle to Denver in July.

Per the organization on Friday, Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-7) and Muslim Salikhov (19-5) will come to blows on July 13. The two welterweights will collide at a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night card that will be held at the Ball Arena in Denver. They combine for 29 knockouts in their lengthy careers, with 20 of those coming in the first round.

This will be Ponzinibbio’s first appearance in over a year, with his last outing an unsuccessful one when he faced and fell to a ferocious left hook from Kevin Holland. The fighter currently known as “Argentine Dagger” has struggled as of late, dropping three of his last four bouts. A pair of split deci…

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Paul Hughes became one of Ireland’s most popular fighters in under a dozen bouts. Now, his sights are set on the globe. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion has big plans since signing with the Professional Fighters League last April, but first, he must handle business on home soil.

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Before competing in the PFL season, the 27-year-old Belfast native will make his company debut against Bobby King in the Bellator Champions Series Dublin co-main event on June 22 at 3Arena. The event will stream live in HBO’s Max app in the U.S.

Hughes co-headlines the card led by Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jason Jackson’s showdown against Ramazan Kurmagomedov, but will receive the most love from the hometown fans. Hughes is a budding star and will have the pro-Irish crowd in the palm of his gloves.

“It’s going to be a big moment for me because 3Arena is so iconic,” Hughes said. “To have the opportunity to co-headline it is a…

We aren't back because we never left. Now it's time for us to do the talking....#InvictaFC55 | Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall @Talita_MMA(c) vs @bigbad2_0 for the bantamweight title

Full card and tickets released May 31st

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NEW DISTRIBUTION DEAL ANNOUNCED SOON pic.twitter.com/TAxPcuAXyu — Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) May 28, 2024 It’s been a while, but Invicta Fighting Championships is coming back in full swing this summer.

On Tuesday, organizational chief Shannon Knapp announced on the “MMA Today” show on the MMA on SiriusXM radio channel that Invicta would be staging its first event of the year in June. The women’s-only league last ran a show in October 2023, and rumors had spread that Invicta was in jeopardy. According to a press release on Friday, a full seven-fight offering will be held at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The broadcast arrangements have not yet been made public, but Invicta later poste…

Surging bantamweight Carlo Bumina-ang made quick work of Chayan Oorzhak and secured his fifth ONE Championship victory in a ONE Friday Fights 65 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bumina-ang (5-0, 5-0 ONE) came out with guns blazing and was quick to floor his opponent with a straight left before slamming him to the canvas and unleashing a barrage of strikes from mount. Oorzhak (8-3, 3-1 ONE), now leaking blood from the top of his face thanks to the assault, was quick to scramble and offer his back to Bumina-ang. However, the Russian proved to be crafty on the ground and was wise to Bumina-ang’s submission attacks. With less than a minute left in the frame and no submission in sight, Bumina-ang chose to stand up and engage with his opponent on the feet, landing several jarring kicks to the head and body to end the round.

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Round 2 saw Bumina-ang drop Oorzhak with another straight left within the first minute…

Order Now! UFC 302 "Makhachev vs. Poirier" Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ In a stunning turn of events, Brazilian fighters and analysts pick against one of their countrymen in an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

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Among one of the more popular MMA fighters in Brazil, Paulo Costa (14-3) has the eyes of Brazilian faithful focused on his Octagon return on Saturday. In the co-main event of UFC 302, “Borrachinha” faces former champion Sean Strickland (28-6) in a major five-round middleweight matchup. With three losses in his last four outings, the former title challenger is coming in as the betting underdog. Sherdog reached out to six Brazilian coaches, competitors and analysts, who weighed in on the pivotal 185-pound contest.

Vinicio Antony, former head coach of Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida: “Strickland is such an animal. A long time ago, we paid him to help Lyoto in a camp, I think it was for the fight against Rockhold, and he really impresse…

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Islam Makhachev believes he has the blueprint for a quick night at the office against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

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Makhachev will look to defend his lightweight strap against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 this weekend at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This will be the third title shot for Poirier, whose first gold bid was foiled by a third-round submission loss to Makhachev’s teammate and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019. Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev also doesn’t think Poirier has made any significant improvements since that loss. Makhachev also believes that both Poirier and his coach Mike Thomas Brown don’t think “The Diamond” can win at UFC 302. Makhachev acknowledges Poirier’s elite striking, but considers himself the worst stylistic matchup for the Louisiana native.

“Honestly, he’s the same you know. Maybe [he’s aged,]” the lightweight champ said during UFC 302 media day. “And he doesn’t believe …

And this 👇 pic.twitter.com/YiEzrIx6yh

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 29, 2024

Conor McGregor will seemingly never get over his rivalry with Dagestani fighters, judging by his recent dig at Islam Makhachev.

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Makhachev is scheduled to defend his lightweight strap against Dustin Poirier (30-8) in the UFC 302 main event Saturday. In a recent picture of both fighters sporting the new 3Eight and 5Eight gloves, hawk-eyed fans spotted a mark on Makhachev’s leg, sparking off speculation of a potential staph infection. As of now, there is no confirmation whether Makhachev really has staph and its possible implications on the fight.

McGregor didn’t miss the opportunity to slam Makhachev and his team on social media. However, “Notorious” also predicted that the Dagestani will submit Poirier in the first round regardless.

“Staph again. This inbred however lives with Staph,” McGregor said on X, formerly known as Twitte…

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Islam Makhachev favors former foe Charles Oliveira in a potential clash against Colby Covington.

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Makhachev dethroned Oliveira via Round 2 submission at UFC 280 in October 2022. Oliveira bounced back with a knockout win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 to earn a rematch against Makhachev and was once again scheduled to take on the Dagestani phenom at UFC 294 in October 2023, but was forced to withdraw due to a nasty cut suffered in sparring just 11 days before the fight.

Oliveira was replaced on short notice by Alexander Volkanovski, who suffered a head-kick knockout loss against Makhachev, who is now slated to put his title on the line against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event on June 1.

Order Now! UFC 302 “Makhachev vs. Poirier” Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Meanwhile, Oliveira recently returned to action, coming up on the short side of a split decision against surging contender Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator…

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Paulo Costa claims to have significantly diversified his skillset since his title loss to Israel Adesanya in 2020.

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Costa was undefeated in 13 pro-outings that included 12 finishes going into his gold bid against Adesanya at UFC 253. Adesanya delivered a striking clinic to hand “Borrachinha” his first loss via second-round technical knockout.

While Costa has since gone 1-2, the Brazilian recently put on a gritty performance against Robert Whittaker, almost knocking “The Reaper” out despite suffering a unanimous decision loss. According to Costa, he has developed several new tools in his arsenal since his loss to “The Last Stylebender.”

Order Now! UFC 302 “Makhachev vs. Poirier” Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ “I’ve grown a lot as a fighter, as a person; [I’m] more experienced,” Costa told ESPN MMA. “I have more skills than in the past, like [a] spinning back kick everybody saw in my fight against Whittaker. And improving my wre…

The main card for #UFCAbuDhabi is set!!!@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/yUK7VdaOAc

— danawhite (@danawhite) May 29, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship has put together a beast of a main card for its return to Abu Dhabi this fall.

On Wednesday, the organization announced the full five-fight slate for the main card of UFC on ABC 7. The fights will be held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Aug. 3. Headlining the card will be the previously booked bantamweight showdown of Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov. Additionally, the UFC confirmed the bantamweight battle between Marlon Vera and Deiveson Figueiredo. Three other newly released matchups will round out the billing.

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In the co-headliner spot, Nick Diaz (26-10, 2 NC) will make his return to the Octagon in the welterweight division. The 40-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight Team staple will stand across the cage from Vi…

"The Eagle has landed" 🦅@MAKHACHEVMMA is excited to have @TeamKhabib back in his corner for #UFC302! pic.twitter.com/AcvpdByEnX

— UFC (@ufc) May 28, 2024

Islam Makhachev has confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in his corner for his upcoming title fight.

Makhachev (25-1) will defend his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier (30-8) in the UFC 302 main event on June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While Makhachev has been seen training with Nurmagomedov ahead of UFC 302, it wasn’t confirmed up until now whether “The Eagle” would be present for the card. However, Makhachev has now clarified that Nurmagomedov will indeed be in his corner for the pay-per-view offering, which he is certainly glad about. “Eagle is landed in Jersey City. He is going to be in my corner. Honestly, I’m very happy because he is one of the best corner, coach, brother, friend. That’s it.”

Order Now! UFC 302 “Makhachev vs. Poirier” Saturday …

Benoit St. Denis believes Islam Makhachev has more tools at his disposal than Dustin Poirier to get his hands raised at UFC 302.

Makhachev is slated to defend his lightweight strap against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Poirier made his case for the gold bid with a second-round knockout win over St. Denis at UFC 299in March. While St. Denis acknowledges Poirier’s elite boxing, “God of War” notes that Makhachev’s complete skillset cannot go unnoticed.

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While St. Denis is leaving room for a potential knockout from Poirier, the Frenchman believes Makhachev has a more well-rounded arsenal to get the job done, either via knockout, submission or decision.

“It’s a great fight. Dustin Poirier is a very composed and experienced fighter. I do believe he has boxing on his side, but Makhachev is very well-rounded,” St. Denis recently told MMA Fighting at the ADXC 4 grappling event in Paris. “I do belie…