Martial Arts News

The straw hat worn by Fernando Padilla during his UFC on ESPN 53 walkout is a representation of a new chapter with added responsibilities in his life, according to the Mexican featherweight.

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Padilla dropped Ecuadorian debutant Luis Pajuelo before submitting him with a standing brabo choke less than three minutes into their fight on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Padilla was seen sporting a straw hat during his walkout and after the fight, which he later revealed was a tribute to a fictional anime character. Padilla’s hat resembled that of Monkey D. Luffy, also known as "Straw Hat" Luffy, a protagonist in the Japanese manga series “One Piece” and founder and captain of the “Straw Hat Pirates.”

Much like Luffy, Padilla, who has been a longtime member of the Team Oyama gym in Irvine, California, is looked up to by his teammates. Under the guidance of head coach Colin Oyama, Padilla is ready to take up some leadership responsibilities and plan…

Andre Lima picks up the win over Igor Severino due to a DQ from Severino, who bit Lima’s arm 😳 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/NQTJuSh9G3

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 23, 2024

A clash of highly-touted flyweight debutants met an unfortunate end due a blatant foul on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 53.

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Undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series graduates Igor da Silva and Andre Lima met in the second fight of the card, setting the standard high early on with fast-paced action. Both fighters went toe-to-toe from the very onset, splitting the judges’ scorecards for the first round. The second round continued to show all the promises of a barnburner before Lima complained of da Silva biting him in a clinch position.

Referee Chris Tognoni paused the contest and called in the cageside doctor to inspect. A deep bite mark could be seen on Lima’s left bicep, leading to da Silva getting disqualified at the 2:52 mark of Round 2. This…

Julian Erosa chose to forgo his planned callout during his Octagon interview at UFC on ESPN 53, but he didn’t remain silent for the rest of the night.

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After getting cracked by Ricardo Ramos in opening exchanges, Erosa locked in a slick guillotine, which earned him the tap less than halfway through the opening frame. While “Juicy J” chose to skip his planned callout in the Octagon, he went through with it during the post-fight media scrum.

Owing his dislike for “cheaters”, Erosa took a dig at controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. A former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, Thomas underwent gender transition through hormone replacement therapy. While Thomas competed for the University of Pennsylvania men’s team in 2018-2019, she later went on to compete for the women’s team and in January 2022 became the first openly transgender athlete in history to win a NCAA Division 1 championship in any sport.

“I was gonna say that I don’t like ch…

Tonight's BOTN 💰💰 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/Ngttbbryr8

— UFC (@ufc) March 24, 2024

Andre Lima’s Ultimate Fighting Championship debut didn’t go exactly as planned, but he did earn some additional income for his troubles.

After earning a disqualification victory over Igor da Silva when his opponent bit his arm 2:52 into Round 2 of their preliminary flyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 53, Lima received a $50,000 “Bite of the Night” bonus from the Las Vegas-based promotion. This compensation was enhanced by the fact that Lima also got a tattoo to commemorate the moment on the spot where the bite occurred.

The UFC also handed out its more traditional bonuses on Saturday.

Payton Talbott and Fernando Padilla each received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks for finishes on the evening’s main card. Talbott overwhelmed Cameron Saaiman en route to a technical knockout victory 21 seconds into Round 2 of their bantamweight affair, whil…

Perhaps Rose Namajunas can redefine herself at 125 pounds after all. If nothing else, her latest performance represents a step in the right direction.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder on Saturday used her vast array of tools to capture a five-round unanimous decision over Amanda Ribas in the UFC on ESPN 53 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, all for Namajunas (12-6, 10-5 UFC), who bounced back from consecutive losses to Carla Esparz and Manon Fiorot.

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Neither woman gained a discernible standup edge in a showdown that was heavy on tactics and light on highlights. Namajunas was the cleaner striker, but her Brazilian adversary was the busier of the two. “Thug Rose” shined brightest in the ground exchanges. She executed takedowns of her own and made a number of high-risk head-and-arm throws from Ribas work in her favor—a development that allowed the Milwaukee native to shi…

Julian Erosa still has a don’t-blink quality about him.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist on Saturday moved his Ultimate Fighting Championship record back to .500, as he rallied to submit Ricardo Ramos with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featured UFC on ESPN 53 featherweight prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Erosa (29-11, 7-7 UFC) drew the curtain 2:15 into Round 1, closing the book on his two-fight losing streak.

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The 28-year-old Ramos (16-6, 7-5 UFC) employed an active kicking game and decked the Xtreme Couture standout with a concussive right hand before swooping in for a takedown. He connected with some mild ground-and-pound, only to see the crafty Erosa escape to his feet. Ramos shot on the hips soon after but left his neck exposed while doing so. Erosa bit down on the guillotine, refused to relinquish his grip and prompted the tapout.

Ramos has suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in his 22-fight car…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A pair of flyweight matchups have been added to a UFC Fight Nightevent set to go down at the Apex in Las Vegas on June 15.

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Alex Perez (24-8) will take on Tagir Ulanbekov (15-2), while Nathan Maness (15-3) is scheduled to lock horns with Jimmy Flick (17-7). Perez vs. Ulanbekov was first reported by Eurosport NL’s Marcel Dorff on X (formerly known as Twitter), while James Lynch initially brought word of Maness vs. Flick.

Perez is currently on a three-fight losing skid, most recently suffering a unanimous decision loss at the hands of the surging Muhammad Mokaev in March. Prior to that, the California native suffered back-to-back Round 1 submission losses against Deiveson Figueiredo and Alexandre Pant…

Lightweights Ismael Bonfim and Vinc Pichel will lock horns at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

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The news was first reported by Eurosport Nl’s Marcel Dorff on X (formerly known as Twitter) and later confirmed by Bonfim on his social media accounts. UFC 301 will be headlined by a flyweight title clash between reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg.

Bonfim (19-4) will enter the Octagon coming off a Round 1 submission loss to Frenchman Benoit St. Denis in his sophomore promotional outing in July last year. The loss snapped the promising Brazilian’s 13-fight win streak, which included eight finishes.

Pichel (14-3), a former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant, will enter the Octagon coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mark O. Madsen in April 2022. The loss to O. Madsen spoiled a three-fight win streak for the American, which included wins over the likes of Jim Miller, Austin Hubbard and Roosevelt Roberts.

Bonfim and Pich…

A featherweight clash pitting Alex Caceres against Missouri's own Sean Woodson has been added to the UFC Fight Night event set to take place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 11.

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The bout was first announced by Woodson’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Caceres (21-14) will face Woodson coming off a unanimous decision loss to Giga Chikadze in August of last year. “Bruce Leeroy” has emerged victorious in seven of his last nine Octagon outings, only recording decision losses against Soddiq Yussuf and the aforementioned Chikadze.

Meanwhile, Woodson (11-1) will enter the Octagon on a five-fight undefeated streak, most recently clinching a hard-fought split-decision victory against Charles Jourdain at UFC 297. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has wins over the likes of Kyle Bochniak, Terrance McKinney, Dennis Buzukja and Collin Anglin.

UFC on ESPN 56 will notably feature a lig…

THAT'S WHY HE'S THE CHAMP!

🇧🇷Roberto Satoshi Souza stops K-Taro Nakamura in under 2 minutes!

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Order the replay on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/YZq8qSBHwN

[ #RIZIN_LANDMARK9 ] pic.twitter.com/QE5XITai0b

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 23, 2024 Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi de Souza made a strong statement in his quick and punishing main event victory on Saturday at Rizin “Landmark Vol. 9” in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. De Souza destroyed multi-time UFC veteran Keita Nakamura with a barrage of strikes early in their non-title matchup to cap off the 14-fight card. De Souza (16-3, 9-2 Rizin) nearly knocked out Nakamura (36-12-2, 1 NC, 2-1 Rizin) with a head kick and punches during the opening minute of the evening’s headliner, but Nakamura narrowly survived the onslaught. De Souza stood over his downed foe and unleashed a series of soccer kicks before Nakamura finally got back to his feet…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brings Octagon excitement to the Apex Facility in Las Vegas for the second consecutive time with UFC on ESPN 53. Stay plugged into the pulse of the event with Sherdog’s live play-by-play coverage, capturing every moment as it unfolds inside the cage starting at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Parkin (-142), Usman (+120)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Lima (-180), da Silva (+150)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay…

Ten years after winning "The Ultimate Fighter," Corey Anderson finally accomplished his life dream and claimed a world title after outworking Karl Moore over five rounds to win the vacant Bellator Championship Series light heavyweight title Friday in the Bellator Champions Series Belfast main event at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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For Anderson (18-6, 1 No Contest), the victory was emotional and long-awaited. After falling short of the Ultimate Fighting Championship title, Anderson signed with Bellator in 2020 to get a fresh start. Four years and two disappointing cracks at Vadim Nemkov’s title later, Anderson finally claimed his shot at gold.

Moore (12-3) wouldn’t make it easy, however. In the first round, the Belfast native ignited the crowd after he cracked Anderson with a left hand, which was followed by a head kick that made his legs buckle. Anderson staggered back to the fence but the vet recovered calmly and won the round with…