Martial Arts News

Jim Miller has never made championship-level money during his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, but thanks to his staying power, he’s done quite well for himself.

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During a recent appearance on "The TRUTH Podcast," UFC CEO Dana White discussed the topic of fighter pay with host Vivek Ramaswamy. During that segment of the show, White referenced Miller as an example of someone who has done much better for himself under the UFC banner than he would in another combat sport such as boxing.

“When you become a world champion, you become a partner. When you got a belt, you share in the pay-per-view revenue,” White said.

That, of course, is limited to only a handful of fighters within the Las Vegas-based promotion. However, competitors such as Miller are their own type of success story.

“Boxing does [it too]. Whoever is the champion in boxing, you get the lion’s share of the revenue. Here, it’s dispersed through across everybody,” White con…

The vacant light heavyweight strap will be on the line when Corey Anderson and Karl Moore square off at a Bellator MMA event in Belfast on March 22.

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Anderson confirmed the pairing on social media following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The card in Belfast will mark the promotion’s first event since Professional Fighters League’s acquisition of Bellator late last year. Broadcast plans and a venue for Bellator Belfast have not been announced.

Vadim Nemkov officially vacated the Bellator 205-pound belt this year. He will make his heavyweight debut against Bruno Cappelozza at PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions on Feb. 24.

Anderson twice come up short against Nemkov in title bouts under the Bellator banner. “Overtime” appeared to be winning their first meeting at Bellator 277 before an accidental clash of heads resulted in the bout being ruled a no contest. The rematch went differently, however, as Nemkov captured a clear-cut unanimou…

History in the making! ✍️👏

Welcome the newest Amatuer signee to the Professional Fighters League @hattanalsaif24 pic.twitter.com/d3jAnPCKMt

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 30, 2024

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Professional Fighters League has signed Saudi-born Hattan Alsaif to an exclusive, multi-fight contract.

According to a release, Alsaif is the first female fighter from Saudi Arabia to ink a deal with a global MMA promotion.

“Receiving a contract from the PFL is a dream come true,” Alsaif said. “As the first Saudi woman signed to a global MMA contract I do not take the responsibility lightly, and I am committed to representing my country. I hope to pave the way for aspiring female fighters. I am thankful to God and the PFL for this incredible opportunity.”

The 22-year-old Alsaif has not yet competed in MMA, but she comes from a decorated muay thai background. She was a gold medal winner at the 2023 International Federation of Muay Thai As…

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship founder David Feldman believes Conor McGregor could some day take off his gloves and give bare knuckle fighting a shot.

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McGregor previously competed in a crossover boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which is the only time in Ultimate Fighting Championship history that Dana White entertained the idea of cross promotion. With that in mind, Feldman refuses to rule out the possibility of McGregor competing under the BKFC banner despite being under UFC contract.

“Look, theoretically he can't because he's under contract with the UFC and we actually have a great relationship with the UFC,” Feldman told The Sun. “But I think Conor plays by a different set of rules anyway. Maybe there’s a way to partner on an event, who knows? But as far as us doing it by ourselves, I don’t think that ever happens. But maybe a collaboration? It could happen, he likes it.”

Conor McGregor was present ringside when his former…

Jared Cannonier is willing to rebook the Khamzat Chimaev fight if he is guaranteed a title shot next.

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While Cannonier was offered a short-notice booking against Chimaev at UFC 294, “The Killa Gorilla” suffered an MCL tear in practice shortly after getting the call. Chimaev welcomed former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman to middleweight instead, edging out a majority decision win.

“Borz” claims to have been guaranteed a title shot with a win over Usman and has voiced his frustration about the delay in proceedings. However, Cannonier believes he also has a legitimate claim to title contention and wouldn’t mind taking on Chimaev in a No. 1 contender fight.

“It’ll sound cool to say, ‘I’m your huckleberry.’ It does sound cool,” Cannonier told Inside Fighting. “At this point in time, he’s ranked No. 9. I’m down to make it happen, as long as it’s clear that this is a contender's match. … When I get back, if they’re not going to give me the title …

Henry Cejudo is contemplating retirement yet again.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship double champ previously announced a surprising retirement in May 2020 after defeating Dominick Cruz via technical knockout at UFC 249.

“Triple C” came out of retirement for a bantamweight gold bid against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in May last year, suffering a split decision loss.

Cejudo is now slated to face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

With Aljamain Sterling booked for his featherweight debut, the winner of the Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili clash is expected to fight for the title next against the winner of Sean O’Malley’s UFC 299 title clash against longtime rival Marlon Vera.

However, if the 36-year-old Cejudo comes up short at UFC 298, he would consider calling it a career again.

“This is for the No. 1 contender spot,” he told The HJR Experiment. “I think to have to lose it to Alja…

Luke Rockhold is of the opinion that Sean Strickland is not the safest training partner.  

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  It is no secret that Strickland likes hard sparring and has even bragged about breaking multiple noses in the past. Former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold recently recounted Strickland’s visit to RVCA in Costa Mesa, California, where “Tarzan” allegedly went over the line with a sparring partner. 

  “He’s just that guy that doesn’t care,” Rockhold told the JAXXON Podcast. “He’ll try to kill you. Sean Strickland walked into RVCA one time and he was such a loud mouth idiot, I was like, ‘Who the f—k is this guy?’ I was so hungover, so annoyed, I was like, ‘F—k, I’m going to get in a spar with this guy, I can’t even take it.’ But I had seen him... he hurt a guy in the gym. He hurt him with a head kick. 

  “With like 30 seconds left, he wobbled him. And [the coach] was like, ‘Keep going, finish out the round.’ Instead of …

John Dodson will put his flyweight title on the line against Dagoberto Aguero in the BKFC 59 headliner.

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The promotion recently announced the booking. BKFC 59 will take place at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 29. More bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

A two-time UFC flyweight title challenger, Dodson has found success in the bare knuckle realm, posting a 3-0 mark under the BKFC banner since his debut with the organization in August 2022. He’s finished all three of his BKFC opponents inside of a round, including a title-winning victory against J.R. Ridge at BKFC 48 last year. The 39-year-old Albuquerque resident has gone 3-2 in MMA since parting ways with the UFC in 2020. Most recently, “The Magician” dropped a unanimous decision to Hiromasa Ougikubo at Rizin 45 on New Year’s Eve.

Aguero, who hails from the Dominican Republic, defeated Chance Wilson via Round 3 stoppage in his BKFC debut this past November. …

Holly Holm has seemingly been in title contention for the majority of her Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

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That could once again be the case if Holm defeats two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison at UFC 300 on April 13. While the 42-year-old Holm has technically lost two of her last three Octagon appearances — a loss to Mayra Bueno Silva was changed to a no contest — the women’s bantamweight division is currently wide open on the heels of Amanda Nune’s retirement this past June.

Holm has to like her chances considering that the woman who claimed the vacant strap at UFC 297, Raquel Pennington, is 0-2 against the Jackson-Wink MMA standout. After claiming the 135-pound title with her upset of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, “The Preacher’s Daughter” is 0-4 in championship fights — two at bantamweight and two at featherweight. Still, getting back to that point is always her primary objective.

“I fought for the belt more t…

Francis Ngannou’s former training partner recently gave his prediction for the Cameroonian’s upcoming boxing match against Anthony Joshua.

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Darren Sealy, who is 6-foot-9, helped Ngannou prepare for his boxing debut against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, this past October. “The Predator” dropped the WBC champ on his way to a controversial split decision loss. Ngannou is now slated to face Joshua on March 8 in Saudi Arabia in his next boxing outing. Despite his impressive performance against Fury, Sealy believes Ngannou will come up short against Joshua.

“It’s a tricky one, both extremely powerful but I feel the last two, three fights, especially the last fight in December with Otto Wallin, AJ looked brilliant,” Sealy told The Sun. “Everything was firing on all cylinders and I do feel that AJ will be victorious on the night. I don’t know how in terms of round by round or decision, but I do feel he will definitely get the better of Ngannou.”

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Arnold Allen has opened up on his UFC 297 loss against Movsar Evloev.

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Allen dropped a closely-contested unanimous decision against Evloev at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20. The bout also came with a little controversy. While Allen outlanded his opponent by eight significant strikes, he also surrendered five takedowns and more than three minutes of control time. Still, Allen believes he did enough to get the nod.

“Everyone’s saying that I won Round 1 and Round 3. I agree. That’s what I felt too. I felt after Round 1, I was like, ‘Yup, won that one.’ Round 2, I f—-d that one up. And Round 3, that was mine. Very, very, very, very, very frustrating. Not the way I wanted to start things off [in 2024]...I just felt like I deserved to win that. I don’t want to be bitching and moaning or anything like that. I have no ill will against his team or the opponent. I watched it back a few times. I wanted to watch it back before I gave a…

Sean Strickland has slammed UFC commentator Jon Anik for voicing his frustration with the mixed martial arts fan base.

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Anik recently revealed his heightened frustration with MMA fans due to the negativity he received following Strickland’s UFC 297 title loss against Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland dropped a closely-contested split decision against “Stillknocks” in a fight that was viewed as a toss-up. According to Anik, MMA fans responded with hatred no matter how objectively analysts tried to explain Du Plessis’ victory. The UFC color commentator even went to the extent of teasing a career switch to the NFL.

“I am growing tired of this MMA space a little bit and just the morass of negativity when there is a close fight,” Anik said on the Anik & Florian podcast. “Because even if you and I both thought Dricus Du Plessis won the fight, we try to present that information respectfully. When I go onto X or I go to our YouTube comments, it just seems …