Martial Arts News

Raoni Barcelos can exploit any opening, no matter how narrow.

The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil titlist re-established himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he rallied to submit Cristian Quinonez with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 237 prelim on Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Quinonez (18-5, 1-2 UFC) tapped 2:04 into Round 3.

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Barcelos (18-5, 7-4 UFC) bided his time, made the necessary adjustments and leaned into his experience. Quinonez handled his business through the first 10 minutes with clean combination punching, steady leg kicks and expert grappling. Barcelos, however, never went away. He caught a kick and followed a right cross into a takedown early in the third round. From there, he climbed to the back, snuck his arms into place and finished the choke.

The victory was Barcelos’ first in 511 days.

Meanwhile, onetime Ultimate Wa…

Raul Rosas Jr. vs Ricky Turcios has been canceled from tonight's card due to a Rosas illness #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/H1qDmw1nDa

— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024

A main card bantamweight clash between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios slated for UFC Fight Night 237 has been pulled from the card at the last minute.

The bout was canceled due to Rosas Jr. falling ill. According to the broadcast team, the 19-year-old prospect did his best to make the walk to the Octagon but it was ultimately determined that he would be unable to compete.

While it has yet to be confirmed, the promotion is trying to keep the booking intact and reschedule it for UFC Fight Night 238, which goes down a week later on March 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Rosas, who is the youngest fighter on the roster, is coming off a first-round TKO win over Terrence Mitchell last September. Meanwhile, Turcios is coming off a split-decision win over Kevin Natividad a…

OH MY WORD :exploding_head:

Renan Ferreira stops Ryan Bader in less than 30 seconds 🌬#PFLvsBellator | Live on DAZN pic.twitter.com/dnZOJ7Ntuw

— DAZN MMA (@daznmma) February 24, 2024

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Renan Ferreira entered the cage Saturday night with Professional Fighters League’s honor riding on his shoulders. His response: No “Problema.”

By the time the main event of PFL “PFL vs. Bellator Champs” rolled around on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, PFL’s representatives were down 0-5 against their Bellator MMA counterparts. Ferreira represented PFL’s last chance to pick up a win over the promotion it acquired in a headline-making sale late last year, and standing in his way was Ryan Bader, a former two-division Bellator champ who had looked largely dominant in going undefeated at heavyweight. None of that mattered once referee Kerry Hatley motioned the two men into action, however. The 6-foot-8 “Problema” caught Bader on the …

PFL vs. Bellator Champs is set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The card will mark the first collision between Professional Fighters League and Bellator MMA since the PFL acquired Bellator late last year.

Freshly minted super fight championship belts are up for grabs in this showcase of three-round title bouts, offering the enticing prospect of winner-takes-all stakes.

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The preliminary card will stream on ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. ET, while the main card will air on pay-per-view (ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET, showcasing two significant champion-vs.-champion fights at the top of the lineup. Sherdog brings to you live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the excitement. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its sixth journey to Mexico City for UFC Fight Night 237. The card is lined up as a distinguished setting for Mexican and Latin American athletes to flaunt their skills. Sherdog.com will bring you live play-by-play coverage of the action, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement.

The event is set to be headlined by a critical flyweight rematch between former champion Brandon Moreno and recent title challenger Brandon Royval. In the co-main event, former 145-pound interim champ Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega are primed to refresh past acquaintances in a five-round clash.

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Join us on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT for live play-by-play updates of UFC Fight Night 237 from Arena CDMX in Mexico City. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Naimov (-360), Silva (+285)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 2 …

#AndNew XTB #KSWEpicKSW LHW Champion🇵🇱 Rafal Haratyk 👑 pic.twitter.com/B7pJQN5OqV

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 24, 2024

Rafal Haratyk and Damian Piwowarczyk left it all on the line in the KSW “Epic” one-night light heavyweight tournament. The winner was to be crowned as the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki 205-pound champ and you could’ve made a case for Haratyk or Piwowarczyk winning the fight.

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Piwowarczyk’s heavy hands made it a nightmare for Haratyk to come inside but the savvy vet kept the pressure and secured pivotal takedowns at the right time. In the end, the fight was scored a split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) for the “Polish Tank.” With the win, Haratyk claimed the belt, but his first challenge could await him in Ivan Erslan, who impressed earlier in the day with a first-round knockout over Bogdan Gnidko.

Darko Stosic starched Professional Fighters League alum Matheus Scheffel in the first round of their heavywe…

PFL MENA IS OFFICIAL! pic.twitter.com/G0sRCdKxo5

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024

The Professional Fighters League will officially break ground in the Middle East this April.

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The organization announced on Saturday that PFL MENA will debut in April 2024. The inaugural season will feature 32 fighters competing across four weight classes in a season format, similar to what PFL Europe did during its inaugural campaign in 2023. The four-event season will include cards for the regular season, postseason and championship. A roster for PFL MENA will be announced in March, according to a release.

PFL MENA is backed by SRJ Sports Investments, which acquired a minority stake in PFL last year to aide in PFL’s Middle East expansion and to collaborate with the league to host PFL pay-per-view events in Saudi Arabia. Multiple fighters with Middle Eastern roots were on hand at PFL vs. Bellator in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday to…

🇧🇷Luiz Gustavo keeps his win streak alive!

Title shot soon?... 👀

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📢Watch the fights and join the discussion NOW on #RIZIN TV!🔗https://t.co/SJYljaZ7L1

[ #RIZIN_LANDMARK8 ] pic.twitter.com/en47o6KiyA

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) February 24, 2024 Brazilian standout Luiz Gustavo notched his sixth Rizin Fighting Federation victory in a thrilling lightweight main event on Saturday at Rizin “Landmark Vol. 8” in Saga, Japan. Gustavo overcame a strong second round from opponent Yoshinori Horie and prevailed via unanimous decision. Early in the opening round, Gustavo (14-2, 6-2 Rizin) scored with a head kick that seemed to land with full force, but Horie (13-5, 4-2 Rizin) barely flinched and he continued to press forward. The fighters exchanged leg kicks and a welt began to form on Gustavo’s left calf. He dropped Horie with a left hook late in the round, however, and Horie stood and responded with an elbow at the bel…

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It was all but a certainty that Henry Cejudo would retire for a second time if he lost to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

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Apparently Cejudo’s plans have changed.

After dropping a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili in a featured bantamweight bout at UFC 298, the former two-division champion recently confirmed that he will continue fighting in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Was Dana White right that [I] did leave three years behind? Three of [my] prime years? Yeah, I’ll give it to him. Recognizing it now, the way that I did feel Saturday, the way that [the situation] already kind of played out, you start to kind of psychologically just like, ‘Damn, are these dudes right? I couldn’t have it any other way?’” Cejudo said. “One, if I could change everything, I probably would never come back — but now that I’m back, now I’ve got to s—t where I sleep. And for that reason, man, I just cannot go out like that.

“So I’m here today…

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Joel Alvarez (20-3) is set to take on Dana White’s Contender Series alum Mateusz Rebecki (19-1) on a Fight Night card scheduled to go down on April 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The bout was first reported by Marcel Dorff on X (formerly known as Twitter). Although the Spaniard was initially slated to take on Ludovit Klein on March 2, “El Fenomeno” has now been rescheduled to take on Rebecki on the aforementioned date due to undisclosed reasons.

Alvarez will enter the Octagon against Rebecki coming off a Round 2 submission victory against Marc Diakiese in July last year. The win saw him bounce back from a Round 2 technical knockout loss against lightweight Arman Tsarukyan in February 2022. Prior to losing to Tsarukyan, “El Fenomeno” was on a four-fight winning streak in the promotion, defeating the likes of Thiago Moises, Joseph Duffy and Alexander Yakovlev in the first round.

Meanwhile, Rebecki is currently on a 16-fight winning streak — including thre…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A welterweight clash between Jared Gooden and Kevin Jousset has been added to a UFC Fight Night event set to go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 11.

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The news was first reported by Marcel Dorff on X (formerly known as Twitter) and was later confirmed by Jousset in a social media post.

Jousset (10-2) joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2023 with an 8-2 record on a three-fight winning streak. The Kiwi has gone 2-0 in the Las Vegas-based promotion since then, first recording a Round 1 submission against Kiefer Crosbie at UFC 293 followed by a unanimous decision win over Kenan Song in December.

Meanwhile, Gooden (23-9) is currently on his second UFC stint after going 1-3 in his first go with promotion. Looking to make it back to the big leagues, “Nite Train” returned to the regional circuit and went on to compile a record of 4-1 with three Round 2 finishe…