Martial Arts News

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: MVP Weigh-In" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> Netflix makes its splashy debut into the world of combat sports this week with an eight-round heavyweight boxing match between former Disney star Jake Paul and the legendary Mike Tyson.

Paul and Tyson had to weigh in at over 200 pounds for the match, which they both easily cleared. Paul came in at 227.2 pounds, which is the heaviest of his career after previously fighting at cruiserweight. Meanwhile, Tyson stepped on the scale at 228.4 pounds.

Advertisement

Paul (10-1) is one of the biggest names in boxing due to his crossover appeal. The influencer has made a name for himself inside the ring by beating mixed martial arts legends. Past victims include Mike Perry, Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren. Paul's lone defe…

Former UFC flyweight contender Mohammad Mokaev will return to compete under the Brave Combat Federation banner next month.

Advertisement

The promotion announced on Wednesday that Mokaev will fight at Brave CF 91 on Dec. 13 in Bahrain. An opponent for Mokaev was not revealed.

“We are excited to welcome Muhammad Mokaev back to Brave Combat Federation. The flyweight division has just become a lot more interesting,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid said in a release. “Mokaev has proven he is one of the best flyweights in the world, an IMMAF legend and undefeated in his professional career. I believe it’s time for him to compete for the gold here, and I'm excited for his future with us.”

Mokaev is undefeated in 14 professional MMA appearances. He is coming off a 7-0 stint in the UFC that saw him earn victories over the likes of Manel Kape, Alex Perez, Tim Elliott and Charles Johnson, among others. Mokaev completed his contract with the Las Vegas-based promo…

Updates from the sixth day of a civil case against Conor McGregor at the High Court in Dublin, where Nikita Hand is seeking damages. https://t.co/FBZRFcjNUU

— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) November 13, 2024

Conor McGregor denied that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2018 during testimony on Wednesday in a civil lawsuit filed against the UFC star, according to a report from the Irish Mirror.

Advertisement

During a hearing in Dublin High Court on Wednesday, McGregor took the stand and gave his account of events that allegedly occurred at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin on Dec. 9, 2018. McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, are accused of raping Nikita Hand that night.

“I thought we were getting on well. She was very boisterous, very energetic, very enthusiastic as I began zipping up my trousers after using the toilet, we began kissing and became more passionate and it took off from there," McGregor said during testimony.

“She pe…

UFC has informed the fighters competing on Saturday’s 309 card in NYC that they will be using the old gloves not the new ones introduced back in June, per multiple sources. Specific reason unclear at the moment.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 12, 2024

A familiar piece of fight gear will be making a return for UFC 309.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion will be utilizing the old version of the gloves for Saturday’s card at Madison Square Garden in New York. The gloves were changed to a new style beginning at UFC 302 on June 1, with a focus on reducing eye pokes and hand injuries. Multiple outlets confirmed the news following an initial report from Ariel Helwani.

Fighters and their teams were reportedly made aware of the change in gloves on Tuesday. It’s currently unclear why the old version is being brought back for UFC 309.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

The new gloves are p…

Carlos Prates doesn’t fare well without enjoying a few smokes.

Advertisement

One of the fastest growing stars of the sport, Prates became a person of interest at welterweight with a knockout win over Neil Magny last weekend at UFC Vegas 100. Prates is a fan favorite with proven knockout power in his hands and a well-known smoking habit, which is surprising for an athlete of his caliber.

When asked about her average consumption of cigarettes per day, “The Nightmare” recently told Ariel Helwani that he smokes anywhere between seven to 10 on a daily basis.

While Prates’ coaches used to advise him to stop smoking initially, they have given up more recently. Trying to quit also had some adverse effects. Quitting smoking for a week led to Prates gaining weight, as he was overeating and avoiding the gym.

“Before they tell me a lot (to stop). They tell me a lot before,” Prates said. “But now… I tried to stop one time and then I was one week without smoke and…

[embedded content]

Chris Weidman’s lingering leg injury is better than ever leading up to UFC 309.

Advertisement

Weidman is scheduled to fight Eryk Anders at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. This will be Weidman’s third outing since returning from a gruesome leg break he suffered against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in 2021. Weidman’s shin snapped in half as Hall checked a leg kick, resulting in an immediate stoppage.

Weidman dropped a unanimous decision against Brad Tavares upon his return to the Octagon after a hiatus of over two years at UFC 292 last year. “The All-American” has since bounced back with a technical decision win over Bruno Silva, albeit a controversial one. Weidman was leading on the scorecards when multiple eye pokes from him rendered Silva unable to continue midway through the third round.

At 40 years of age, Weidman knows he is nearing retirement and is taking it one fight at a time. The former middleweight champ also ha…

As he awaits a light heavyweight title shot, Magomed Ankalaev has decided to take jabs at both Jon Jones and Alex Pereira on social media.

Advertisement

Jones will put his heavyweight title on the line against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. While Jones has hinted that he might retire after UFC 309, he also made clear that he won’t fight interim champ Tom Aspinall even if he continues. “Bones” has his focus on light heavyweight champ Pereira instead and is willing to vacate the heavyweight title for that fight as well.

Meanwhile, a light heavyweight title shot has evaded Ankalaev despite the Dagestani being undefeated in his last 13 bouts. Ankalaev recently started rallying for bouts against Pereira and Jones while accusing both of ducking.

“Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall, Pereira is recovering and I’m hungry,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “I will beat Pereira and after that I can beat Jones.”

Jo…

Edson Barboza will lock horns with Steve Garcia at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Feb. 22.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the featherweight pairing. A location and headliner for the card have yet to be confirmed.

Barboza had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, as he dropped a five-round verdict against Lerone Murphy in the UFC Fight Night 241 headliner on May 18. Prior that, the 38-year-old Brazilian had earned back-to-back victories over Sodiq Yusuff and Billy Quarantillo. All told, Barboza has competed inside the Octagon 30 times.

Garcia has been on a roll of late, finishing his last five UFC opponents by knockout or technical knockout. “The Mean Machine is 2-0 thus far in 2024, with first-round stoppages of Seung Woo Choi and Kyle Nelson to his credit.

Alexa Grasso could be on the sidelines for a while.

Advertisement

The former UFC flyweight queen revealed via social media that she suffered a broken leg in training, posting a picture on crutches while wearing a walking boot. Grasso did not provide a timetable for her recovery or return.

“But I’m fine,” she wrote (via translate). “Everything is healing…time will tell.”

The 31-year-old Lobo Gym MMA standout last appeared at UFC 306, where she relinquished the 125-pound belt to Valentina Shevchenko via unanimous decision in a trilogy bout on Sept. 14.

Grasso began her promotional tenure at 115 pounds before moving up to flyweight, where she claimed the title with a fourth-round submission of Shevchenko at UFC 285. The Mexico native retained the crown after battleing Shevchenko to a split draw in their rematch Noche UFC September 2023, setting the stage for their aforementioned third meeting earlier this year.

London, we are back in PRIME TIME 😍

Our #UFCLondon return is official for Saturday 22 March 🇬🇧

Advertisement

Register your interest NOW ➡️ https://t.co/1aYbe1fzKJ pic.twitter.com/b21i6c2OXU — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 12, 2024

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to London for an event early next year.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that it will hold a card at the O2 Arena on March 2022. It will mark the 30th UFC event to be held in the United Kingdom. No bouts were confirmed for the event. It appears that it will be a UFC Fight Night rather than a pay-per-view.

Based on a social media post from the UFC, it seems likely that the event will be held in prime time locally, rather than at a time to accommodate viewers in the United States. That was an issue for the promotion’s most recent visit to England for UFC 304, as it took place early in the morning rather than at night.

The …

Stipe Miocic’s apologizes to Jon Jones after calling him a “b*tch”:

“Sorry if I hurt his feelings… I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to disrespect him. It was just the heat of the moment.”

🎥 @arielhelwani #UFC309pic.twitter.com/uA0OQ6xiJV — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 11, 2024

There’s a little bit of tension between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic just a few days before their championship clash.

Jones defends his heavyweight title against Miocic in the main event at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The two heavyweights have been respectful of each other throughout the build-up until recently. Miocic uncharacteristically called Jones a “b—h” in a recent episode of the UFC 309 Countdown show, which later caught the heavyweight champion’s attention.

The former light heavyweight champ felt disrespected and issued a warning to Miocic online. Jones also jokingly advised Miocic against hiring black training …

[embedded content]

Bo Nickal has nothing but praise for Khamzat Chimaev even though they could be on a collision course in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

Chimaev made a case for middleweight title contention with a first-round submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last month. The undefeated Chechen-born Swede has has relied on his elite grappling during his rise to prominence, but Nickal, a former three-time NCAA Division I champion, could be the answer to Chimaev’s suffocating style.

Nickal himself has also been impressed with Chimaev’s wrestling since he first saw “Borz” choke out John Phillips in Abu Dhabi in his UFC debut in 2020. However, the Penn State alum agrees that he could stylistically pose the toughest threat to Chimaev. Nickal is also aware that a potential matchup against Chimaev is a long way off.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

“I’ve been super impressed with him I think since t…