Martial Arts News

While Magomed Ankalaev staked his claim to a light heavyweight title shot with a knockout victory on Saturday night, reigning champ Alex Pereira appears to have other plans.

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In a post on his Instagram account, “Poatan” targeted Jamahal Hill for his first title defense. Hill claimed the belt with a victory against Pereira mentor Glover Teixeira in January 2023 but had to vacate the title after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in a pickup basketball game this past summer. It is unclear when Hill might be cleared to compete again.

“People, let’s focus on what matters, which is Jamahal,” Pereira wrote in Portuguese, “and then I’ll focus on breaking another record and doing two title defenses in the least amount of time.”

Pereira appears to be alluding to the record for shortest time between title defense, which is held by Ronda Rousey. The Olympic judoka submitted Miesha Tate at UFC 168 and returned 56 days later for a stoppage win over Sara M…

Johnny Walker appears to be in good spirits following his knockout loss to Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC Fight Night 234 main event.

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After their first meeting at UFC 294 ended in a no contest, Ankalaev left no doubt in the rematch, rendering Walker unconscious with a right hook and follow-up right uppercut 2:42 into Round 2 of their light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Walker recently took to social media to release a statement on the defeat, offering support for his opponent’s title hopes in the process.

“I’m good, just a little scratch on my nose. I’m going to watch my fight and see what mistakes I did later on. … It is what it is,” Walker said. “We fight the best in the world. I’m one of the best in the world and I’m going to face the best in the world. It could be me, could be him. So he had a better night than me, and congratulations to him, Magomed Ankalaev. Hope he gets the belt now and I’m going to kee…

While a video featuring Javier Mendez might have recently raised hopes of a Khabib Nurmagomedov UFC return, the American Kickboxing Academy coach sent those hopes crashing back to reality just as quickly.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king bid farewell to the sport with a perfect record after defending his strap against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. There have since been numerous attempts to bring him out of retirement and several rumors of a pending return, but none have come to fruition.

Recently, a video featuring Mendez on social media sparked new rumors of a Nurmagomedov comeback. As his coach at AKA, Mendez is known to share a special bond with the former lightweight champ. In the aforementioned video, Mendez says that Nurmagomedov trains with him only when he is ready to fight and that “The Eagle” is currently training with him.

While Mendez didn’t confirm if Nurmagomedov would return, the clip wa…

HEAVY HANDS FROM BRUNNO FERREIRA 😳 #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/51BTcOUrBZ

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 14, 2024

Brunno Ferreira wants to fight fellow prospect Sharabutdin Magomedov in Brazil.

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Ferreira started his 2024 campaign in impressive fashion, violently knocking out Phil Hawes in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 234 encounter. This also saw “The Hulk” bounce back from his lone career loss, which came against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC on ESPN 48 last July.

“I put a weight on myself. This was a weight that was lifted off my back,” Ferreira told media members on Saturday. “To actually start the year like this and having the opportunity to start the year like this with a fight like this, it’s very happy. I’m very fortunate. … This is the way I wanted to start my year. This is the way the year is supposed to start.”

Ferreira subsequently called out another elite up-and-comer in Magomedov. “Shara Bullet…

Mario Bautista has his sights set on Rob Font as he looks to make his way through the bantamweight rankings by the end of the year.

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Bautista put on a masterclass against veteran Ricky Simon to earn a unanimous decision win at UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday. Aftering extending his winning streak to six, Bautista called out Font in his post-fight interview.

“Six in a row, hopefully get the Top 15 and the Top 10 next,” Bautista said. “I think if Rob Font wants to prove himself and see if he belongs in that Top 10, we can figure it out.”

Bautista subsequently explained his callout of Font, also laying out his plans for the year.

“He’s lost in some certain ways,” Bautista said. “Whatever way the water flows easiest [is how I’ll win]… I would say around springtime, [I want to return]. The way I planned it out is Top 15, Top 10 and Top five at the end of the year [for my next opponents].”

Font is 1-4 in his last five Octagon appearance…

Statement re Ryan Curtis https://t.co/sGPDpWo1uS pic.twitter.com/gUokQ5HuvD

— Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) January 13, 2024

Irish fighter Ryan Curtis has the whole Irish mixed martial arts community — along with many others — rallying behind him during a difficult time.

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The flyweight fighter has lost the use of his arms and legs after suffering injuries to his back, neck and spine in training. Bellator women’s featherweight Leah McCourt, a close friend of Curtis’, recently set up a GoFundMe account in his name with the goal currently raised to $150,000 after nearly having reached the initial target of $100,000. A statement attached to the GoFundMe page reads:

“Ryan has suffered a broken back, broken neck and dislocated spine. During this injury, trauma was also caused to Ryan’s spinal cord. The damage is classified as the most severe that can happen to a spinal cord. He was rushed to the Royal in Belfast and underwent…

Magomed Ankalaev believes he has done his part to receive No. 1 contender status in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division.

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The 31-year-old Gorets Fight Team member got some much-needed closure on Saturday night, when he knocked out Johnny Walker 2:42 into Round 2 of their headlining encounter at UFC Fight Night 234. Not only was it a more satisfying conclusion for Ankalaev than their first meeting, which ended via no contest, but it also made a statement about the Dagestani’s overall skill set — one that could make reigning 205-pound champion Alex Pereira take notice.

“I could have come out here today and wrestled against Johnny Walker. I could have taken him down right away and won with my ground-and-pound on the ground, but instead I wanted to send a message. I wanted to stand up and I wanted to knock him out, and that’s what I did,” Ankalaev said through a translator at the UFC Fight Night 234 post-fight press confer…

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Paul Felder is considering a return to the Octagon for a clash against Jim Miller at UFC 300.

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Miller put on an impressive performance to earn a submission win over fellow veteran Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday. With his latest win, the 40 year old extended his own record for both most fights (43) and wins (26) in UFC history. Miller, who has notched wins at both UFC 100 and UFC 200, has been eyeing a UFC 300 outing to complete his trifecta.

He reiterated his call for a spot on the UFC 300 card during his post-fight interview, targeting both Felder and Matt Brown as potential opponents.

“UFC 300 is coming up,” Miller said. “I got three months to heal up and stay in shape and stay ready. Paul Felder, I think that would be a fun fight. I’ve got the most finishes at lightweight. Matt Brown, I would love to go up to 170 fight the guy with the most knockouts in UFC history …”

Felder, who was cageside on comme…

Jean Silva claims he can’t explain much about the walkout for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

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Silva made his first promotional appearance at UFC Fight Night 234 against Westin Wilson. The Brazilian attracted a lot of eyeballs starting from his walkout right up to his victory celebration.

“Lord Assassin” took three minutes and 40 seconds for his walkout, all the while coldly staring into the camera. His overall Octagon time barely exceeded that, as he put on a dominant beating to earn a stoppage win at the 4:12 mark of Round 1. Silva then further added to his intrigue with a barking celebration.

Silva claims it is his alter ego, “Lord Assassin,” who takes over during his extended walkout.

“I’m going to apologize for not knowing how to answer this,” Silva said in a post-fight scrum. I’ve said this before, it’s another person, it’s someone else. I’ve given a name to my alter ego, that’s why ‘Lord Assassin’ came about like it’s …

Shamil Gasanov revealed that his body wasn’t listening to him during his decision win over Ho Taek Oh at One on Prime Video 18.

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Gasanov put on a dominant grappling display to earn a unanimous decision win over his opponent to bounce back from his lone career loss against Garry Tonon. “The Cobra” subsequently revealed that he was suffering from food poisoning and felt its effects severely as he battled his way to victory. The Dagestani standout said that while he felt in good shape while warming up, his body stopped listening to him after the opening frame.

“I don’t know what happened,” Gasanov said at the post-fight press conference. “When I was warming up, I felt pretty good and everything was well but at the same time, after the first round, I couldn’t feel my body well. My arms and legs weren’t listening to me but at the same time just because of my willpower and because of my trainer, I was able to get through the fight and win.”

Despite t…

Kwon Won Il made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

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Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…

Won Il Kwon made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

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Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…