Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home base of the Apex in Las Vegas this weekend with a packed slate headlined by an electric middleweight rematch between Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis.

UFC Fight Night 240 kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. PT.

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dixon (-360), Cornolle (+285)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Budka (-148), Almeida (+124)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Devin Tej…

Alex Morono did just enough to skate by inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.

The longtime Fortis MMA rep rebounded from his Oct. 7 defeat to Joaquin Buckley with a workmanlike unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 winner Court McGee in the featured UFC Fight Night 240 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Morono (24-9, 13-6 UFC) carried all three scorecards by 29-28 margins.

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McGee (21-13, 10-12 UFC) stayed busy and spent a significant chunk of time in top position in the second round but had no real answer for the speed disadvantage with which he was faced. Morono peppered him with one-twos, threw in the occasional spinning attack and made multiple passes at submission attempts, including a tight guillotine in the middle stanza. McGee executed a takedown in the waning seconds of Round 3, but by then, the decision was lost.

Meanwhile, Kotwica MMA Team product Lukasz Brzeski experienced his f…

Jon Jones has been accused of assaulting and threatening to kill an agent from Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home last month.

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ABQ Raw first reported the news. According to a police report, the drug-testing agent, who is identified as Crystal Martinez, entered Jones’ home on March 30 to collect a sample as part of the UFC’s anti-doping program. Further details regarding the police report, which was filed on April 5, were initially shared by MMAFighting.com. Based on the report, Jones is charged with assault and interference with communications for allegedly taking Martinez’s phone.

Martinez alleges Jones was cooperative at first but became agitated when he was unable to initially provide a urine sample. When Martinez suggested taking a blood sample instead, Jones threatened to sue, took her phone and began recording Martinez and her co-worker. An Albuquerque Police Department officer later reviewed the video. Read more

A bantamweight clash pitting Said Nurmagomedov against Montel Jackson has been added to the UFC Fight Night event set to go down at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 22.

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The news was first announced by Jackson's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). The event will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s first visit to Saudi Arabia and will be headlined by a high-caliber middleweight matchup pitting Khamzat Chimaev against former champion Robert Whittaker.

Jackson (13-2) is currently on a four-fight winning streak, most recently securing an impressive Round 1 knockout victory over Rani Yahya in April 2023. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum also has wins over the likes of Brian Kelleher, Julio Arce, J.P. Buys, and Jesse Strader, among others.

The 32-year-old Nurmagomedov (18-3) will enter the Octagon on the heels of a Round 1 submission victory over Muin Gafurov at UFC 294 that saw …

There could be a rivalry brewing in the Professional Fighters League women’s flyweight division.

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Both Dakota Ditcheva and former Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Taila Santos recorded Round 1 finishes in their PFL 1 appearance at the Boeing Center in San Antonio Texas on Friday night. While both got the job done in the first frame, Ditcheva currently occupies the top spot in the rankings since she managed to finish Lisa Mauldin three seconds before Santos ended her clash with Ilara Joanne.

Following a successful PFL debut, Santos was quick to divulge who she’d like to take on next during a post-fight media apperance.

“I'd like to fight Dakota,” Santos said. “I feel like she is on a hype train right now. I don't feel like she has fought anyone as tough.”

While Ditcheva is more than happy to face the challenge of going up against a former UFC contender, “Dangerous” was also quick to hit back with a retort of her own after learn…

An intriguing featherweight clash has been added to UFC 303.

Longtime featherweight contender Cub Swanson (29-13) will lock horns with Andre Fili (23-11) at UFC 303, which will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June. 29. The news was first reported by Fili's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter).

Swanson has gone 4-2 in his last six Octagon outings and is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Hakeem Dawodu in August, last year. The win against Dawodu allowed the 40-year-old to bounce back from a devastating Round 2 technical knockout loss against Jonathan Martinez in October 2022.

As for Fili, the Team Alpha Male product is coming off a Round 1 knockout loss against Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 236 in February. "Touchy" has gone 2-3 in his last five bouts, notably recording a Round 1 TKO win against Lucas Almeida before suffering his most recent loss to Ige.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your Updated PFL Las Vegas Fight Card 🎲🎲🎲

•Phil Davis is OUT•New Matchup: Rob Wilkinson v. Tom Breese• 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘: Main Card: 9PM ET | Early Card: 6:30PM ET

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[ #PFLRegularSeason | Friday , April 12th | 9PM ET | 🎟️… pic.twitter.com/Lqvl66L5XJ — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 5, 2024

One of Professional Fighters League’s most accomplished light heavyweight athletes will not be competing next week.

The organization announced on Friday that Phil Davis is out of a proposed clash against Rob Wilkinson at PFL 2. As a result, Tom Breese will step in and face Wilkinson. A reason for Davis’ withdrawal from the event was not given.

PFL 2 takes place on April 12 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and features regular season bouts at light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a 205-pound clash pitting Impa Kasanganay against Alex Polizzi.

A former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champ…

There’s a new king in ONE Championship, and his name is Alexis Nicolas. The undefeated French kickboxing phenom shocked the world Friday night by dethroning lightweight kickboxing champion Regian Eersel by unanimous decision in the ONE Fight Night 21 main event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nicolas had his work cut out for him in this one. Eersel entered confidently after winning his last 22 fights over the past eight years and claiming both ONE’s 170-pound kickboxing and muay thai titles. Eersel’s confidence showed early as the champ looked to land heavy punches and knees on Nicolas.

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Nicolas would make the champ pay for his overconfidence in Round 2 after catching Eersel on the temple. The champ hit the canvas for a second before immediately popping up and continuing his attack.

From that moment, the fight was a war, with Nicolas withstanding everything coming his way. Both men landed beautiful blows, and the fight could’ve gone…

Prepare for an adrenaline-fueled experience as ONE Fight Night 21 aims for an evening filled with a whirlwind of intense action and pulse-pounding excitement. Tune in on April 5 at 8 p.m. ET for real-time updates of every action-packed moment as it transpires inside the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Witness history in the making as Regian Eersel defends his ONE 170-pound kickboxing world title against undefeated French powerhouse Alexis Nicolas. Also catch the Ruotolo brothers, Ben Tynan, and Vladimir Kuzmin as they face off against formidable challengers.

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Round 1 Our first muay thai fight of the night begins with Kiatsongrit eating a steep from Silva. Kiatsongrit is composed and fires back with a hard leg kick. Both men are having success with kicks. Kiatsongrit starts firing to the body more with punches and is hurting Silva. An explosive 1-2 lands for Kiatsongrit. Silva seems outgunned as the power differential is clear. Big right …

The moment we've all been waiting for ? Submission grappling phenom Kade Ruotolo makes his MMA debut on June 7 when he faces fellow American Blake Cooper at ONE 167!#ONE167 | Jun 7 at 8PM ET???? Watch Live on Prime???? Watch Live on Sky Sports? Live TV broadcast in 190+? pic.twitter.com/A79zfWcOEA

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 5, 2024 One of the famed Ruotolo brothers is transitioning over to MMA very soon.

According to ONE Championship on Friday, Kade Ruotolo (0-0) will be springboarding into MMA competition at ONE 167. In his professional debut, the grappler will take on Blake Cooper (2-1) at 170 pounds, and they will come to blows inside of the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 21-year-old from Huntington Beach, California, has exclusively competed as a submission grappler thus far. Currently the ONE Lightweight submission grappling champ, he will be next rolling with Francisco Lo at One on Prime 21 at 18…

AND NEW 👑 Superbon outpoints Marat Grigorian to win the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title!

Watch the ONE Friday Fights 58 full event replay on https://t.co/8MeKhRvqhy#ONEFridayFights58 | 🔴 Live Now⁰🌍 Global PPV on https://t.co/eBUfsOmxDL | 9PM ICT/10AM ET… pic.twitter.com/Nn50YnrPwg

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 5, 2024 Superbon Singha Mawynn now celebrates two victories over longtime rival Marat Grigorian.

The Thai national recorded a unanimous decision victory against Grigorian to earn the ONE Championship interim featherweight kickboxing strap in their rubber match at ONE Friday Fight 58. The all-kickboxing and muay thai card did not feature any MMA matches and went down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand on Friday.

While Grigorian forced Superbon to fight off his back foot for most of the contest, the former ONE featherweight kickboxing champion’s accurate counterstrikes kept his adversary hones…

Almost time for action 👊

Chris Curtis hits the scale at 186lbs!

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[ #UFCVegas90 | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 6pmET/3pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/d8KulliuRm — UFC (@ufc) April 5, 2024 The UFC Fight Night 240 weigh-ins were a bit of a catastrophe, as four competitors missed the mark by multiple pounds.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off its busy April with a card that officially has 12 bouts on the billing, for now. Headlining the event is an intriguing middleweight rematch between Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis. Both contenders stepped on the scale weighing 186 pounds on the dot. Several combatants failed to hit their proper marks as four fighters missed weight: Alexander Hernandez, Cynthia Calvillo and would-be bantamweight opponents Nora Cornolle and Melissa Dixon. All four fighters exceeded their respective weight limit by at least two pounds, and Calvillo vs. Piera Rodriguez has been canceled by the promotion.

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