Martial Arts News

Alex Polizzi believes Sean Strickland’s intentions are to always pull his teammates up, even though the UFC fighter might appear a bit harsh at times.

Advertisement

Polizzi has been promoted to the main event spot at PFL 2 opposite Impa Kasanganay at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Friday after Phil Davis was forced out of the originally scheduled headliner against Rob Wilkinson. Going into matchup, Polizzi is putting in work with the likes of UFC veterans Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland at the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas.

Never very far from the headlines, Strickland recently generated more controversy by putting a beating on streamer Sneako during a sparring session. While many believe Strickland could have gone easier on the untrained streamer, Polizzi doesn’t have an issue considering it was consensual.

“It’s kind of what you said, a lot of fighters want to, not all are gonna do it,” Polizzi said in an interview with The AllStar. “…

Jose Mariscal called out old foe Bryce Mitchell after his win over Morgan Charriere at UFC Fight Night 240 on Saturday.

Advertisement

Mariscal derailed the French standout’s hype train by putting on an impressive display of pace and pressure to rope in a split-decision win. “Chepe” subsequently called out Mitchell, who defeated him on the regional scene in 2017.

“There’s a lot of guys but the one specific ranked guy – I fought him in the regional scene, I fought him in his hometown and they gave it to him obviously,” Mariscal said during a post-fight media scrum. “I was cool about it, I said, ‘I will see you again one day.’ And I would like to callout Mr. Bryce Mitchell.”

Mariscal would ideally want the rematch at The Sphere in Las Vegas, where the UFC is planning a unique card to honor Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 14.

“Yeah man, I’m that Mexican that deserves to be in that Sphere fight, you know,” Mariscal said. “I go out there and show exactl…

While Sean Strickland had initially advised Chris Curtis against accepting a short-notice clash against Brendan Allen, he was certainly impressed with his teammate’s performance.

Advertisement

Curtis replaced Marvin Vettori against Allen at UFC Fight Night 240 on three weeks’ notice. Curtis put on a gritty display, losing a split decision that some observers felt could have gone in his favor. Strickland also had “The Action Man” winning even though he had initially suggested turning down the booking.

UFC "Curt we need you on a week notice"

ME "Curt you haven't really been training because you wanted to take time off for you new baby, just say no"

Curt goes and out strikes a guy coming off the couch with a week of training lmao! pic.twitter.com/hJKvDfMeRm

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) April 7, 2024

During the filming of a promo video, Strickland claims to have gone easy on Curtis, who according to him was out of shape and…

Ben Tynan revealed his inspiration for the pair of jeans shorts he wore in his impressive win over Duke Didier at One on Prime Video 21.

Advertisement

Tynan sent the Australian crashing to the canvas with an elbow and followed it up with vicious ground-and-pound, securing a stoppage at the 2:36 mark of Round 1. “Vanilla Thunder” improved his perfect finishing streak to six, which includes two ONE Championship outings. If that were not impressive enough, Tynan wore a pair of jean shorts while doing it.

Asked about the shorts, Tynan explained that they were inspired from pro wrestling, which he grew up watching.

"I’ve always had a vision of fighting in these jean shorts,” Tynan said at the post-fight press confeence. “I don’t know where it started from. It might’ve come from the days of watching professional wrestling as a kid and seeing big beefy dudes in jean shorts beat each other. I always had that image that I wanted to be one of those guys, so being a…

Kade Ruotolo with an arm-in RNC (?). He wasn't even sure what to call it. His move to MMA can't come soon enough (scheduled for June 7th at ONE 167). #ONEFightNight21 pic.twitter.com/0vtbYXr9vl

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 6, 2024

Kade Ruotolo revealed that the unique “Ruotolotine” submission that both he and twin brother Tye pulled off at One on Prime Video 21 was always on the table for them.

Advertisement

The ONE lightweight submission grappling champion took on Francisco Lo in a 180-pound catchweight clash on April 5. Ruotolo finished Lo with an arm-in rear naked choke, which he labeled the “Ruotolotine,” breaking the curse of going without a finish every time he shared a card with his brother. His brother Tye went on to defend his ONE welterweight submission grappling title against Izaak Michell later in the night with the same submission.

Kade revealed that once he pulled off the “Ruotolotine,” he also floated the idea to…

Jon Jones recently gave his side of the story to Albuquerque police regarding an encounter with drug-testing agents at his home last month.

Advertisement

According to an updated report from the Albuquerque Police Department, Jones admitted he was “bothered” by the arrival of agents from Drug Free Sport International, the new anti-doping partner of the UFC. Jones told APD in a phone conversation on April 6 that he did use profanity during the sample collection but he did not threaten to harm either of the agents. MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the updated police report.

In an initial police report, Jones was accused of threatening DFSI employee Crystal Martinez and taking her phone. As a result, a summons was issued charging Jones with assault and interference with communications.

In the updated report, Jones admitted that he was “bothered a little because he had been hungover from the night before.”Jones also denied taking Martinez’s phone, but he…

Jon Jones recently gave his side of the story to Albuquerque police regarding an encounter with drug-testing agents at his home last month.

Advertisement

According to an updated report from the Albuquerque Police Department, Jones admitted he was “bothered” by the arrival of agents from Drug Free Sport International, the new anti-doping partner of the UFC. Jones told APD in a phone conversation on April 6 that he did use profanity during the sample collection but he did not threaten to harm either of the agents. MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the updated police report.

In an initial police report, Jones was accused of threatening DFSI employee Crystal Martinez and taking her phone. As a result, a summons was issued charging Jones with assault and interference with communications.

In the updated report, Jones admitted that he was “bothered a little because he had been hungover from the night before.”Jones also denied taking Martinez’s phone, but he…

Marvin Vettori was clearly not impressed with Brendan Allen’s performance.

Advertisement

Vettori, who was originally supposed to face Allen in the UFC Fight Night 240 main event before withdrawing from the card due to injury, took to social media to critique Allen’s split-decision victory over replacement foe Chris Curtis at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was Allen’s seventh consecutive triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion and sixth in a row at middleweight. In the immediate aftermath, “All In” made his case for a 185-pound title shot, something that Vettori doesn’t believe he deserves.

“Allen [what the f—k you] calling for the title, man? You looked like dog s—t, got rocked every single round and prayed you were getting the takedown just to hang in there,” Vettori wrote on X. “That s—-t was embarrassing.”

Allen wtf u calling for the title man you look like dog shit got rocked every single round and prayed yo…

Chris Curtis appeared to be in a great deal of pain at the conclusion of the UFC Fight Night 240 main event.

Advertisement

As it turns out, there was good reason for that, as “The Action Man” likely suffered a torn hamstring in the waning moments of his split-decision loss to Brendan Allen at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

News of Curtis’ injury was first revealed on the post-fight show on ESPN+, and the middleweight later revealed similar concerns in a post on Instagram. If the injury is confirmed, that could mean a four-month recovery for Curtis.

“Not the result we wanted, but it is what it is,” Curtis wrote. “I thought we had it, but congrats to [Brendan Allen]. Love you brotha and enjoy the night. But remember, it's 1-1, you owe me the trilogy lol. Rest up and enjoy your family. Thank you all for the support, and I'm sorry. I felt good, I was ready, maybe I'm just getting to old for this s—t. Lol time will tell. Until next time guys.

…

Ignacio Bahamondes’ victory over Christos Giagos on Saturday saw him bounce back from a loss that sent him to a difficult space in life.

Advertisement

Bahamondes scored a high-reel, bonus-winning knockout over Giagos in the very first round of their UFC Fight Night 240 clash. That allowed “La Jaula” to return to the win column after a decision loss against Ludovit Klein in August 2023 that snapped a three-fight winning streak.

Bahamondes revealed that while losing a fight is hard enough, he also had the added grief of his wife’s miscarriage, which happened a couple of weeks after the defeat to Klein. Bahamondes had no will to train but depended on faith to get his life back on track, which he successfully did. The 26-year-old is now expecting another child from his wife, who is five months pregnant.

“You know, for an MMA fighter, losing is not something nice,” Bahamondes said at the post-fight press conference. “I think it is the worst for a fighter. My w…

Jean Matsumoto wants Raul Rosas Jr. for his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship outing after a successful debut against Dan Argueta.

Advertisement

Matsumoto submitted Argueta in a second-round buzzer beater at UFC Fight Night 240, scoring his third career submission via guillotine choke. While Matsumoto admits that the empty Apex was good to start off his promotional journey, the Brazilian believes he’s even better with a crowd in attendance. Matsumoto called for a spot on the UFC’s card scheduled for Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

“Actually, fighting here was better because of no pressure, since it was my debut,” Matsumoto said during a post-fight media scrum. "But honestly, I’m a better fighter with the crowd, and I’m willing to fight in front of the crowd. And I heard there is a huge event coming to Vegas at The Sphere, Mexican Independence Day, and I’d love to be part of that show.”

Matsumoto also has a Mexican …

Nora Cornolle has revealed that she and opponent Melissa Mullins had mutually agreed to miss weight for their UFC Fight Night 240 clash.

Advertisement

Cornolle folded Mullins with a devastating knee to the body followed by head kicks in the second round to start off the preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. While Cornolle weighed in at 138 pounds, Mullins weighed in at 138.5, making it essentially a catchweight bout.

Cornolle subsequently revealed that a catchweight bout was being discussed throughout the day of the weigh-ins. According to “Wonder,” Mullins was in bad shape when they met at the UFC Performance Institute, where they were both cutting weight.

Cornolle claims Mullins immediately approached her with the proposal of a catchweight contest, which she was also considering as she didn’t want the bout to fall through. But Cornolle planned on trying to make weight till the very end and advised her opponent the same.

Howeve…