Martial Arts News

Breaking: Brandon Moreno confirms Amir Albazi is out of the Feb 24th. card in Mexico City, Brandon Royval will be his new opponent in the main event

More to come on @espnmma pic.twitter.com/L5HAYFHFlJ

— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) January 12, 2024 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 8:40 p.m. ET on Jan. 11 to include a statement from Albazi.

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When it comes to the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division, few fights in the top 10 will be disappointing.

According to the promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Thursday, Amir Albazi (17-1) will no longer be competing in the headliner of UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24. In his place will be Brandon Royval (15-7), who will take on former foe Brandon Moreno (21-7-2) in the Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. Albazi has since posted on social media that he was forced out of the fight due to a neck injury. Moreno and Royval previously faced off in 2020…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship beltholder Cody Garbrandt is getting what he asked for.

At UFC 296, Garbrandt (14-5) laid waste to Brian Kelleher with one punch, putting himself on his first win streak since starting his career undefeated which culminated in winning the bantamweight belt in 2016. The knockout was his first stoppage in three over three years, and he used his post-fight interview to call out former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo (22-3-1). The promotion has elected to put that together for UFC 300, according to Ag. Fight on Thursday. The two will collide on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and it was subsequently confirmed by Figueiredo on his Instagram Stories on Thursday.

Garbrandt returned to his victorious ways in March 2023 when he captured a decision over Trevin Jones, and he followed that by wiping out Kelleher in December. Those two triumphs put a rough 1-5 stretch in the rear-view mirror, which saw him lose by knockout four …

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Chris Weidman will make a decision regarding his future in the Octagon as his next bout approaches.

Weidman (15-7) suffered a career-threatening leg break in a rematch against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021. After two years of rehab, the former middleweight champion returned to action against Brad Tavares at UFC 292 in August 2023. Weidman suffered a unanimous decision loss, which made it 2-6 for “The All-American” since dropping the crown.

Weidman is now slated to face Bruno Silva (23-10) at UFC Atlantic City on March 30.

The Baldwin, New York, native recently revealed that he wasn’t sure if he would return to action after the bout with Tavares and will make a decision regarding his retirement as he approaches his upcoming Octagon outing.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure. I’m setting myself up for the future, and I wasn’t sure,” Weidman told Daniel Cormier. “I was kind of listening to my body and trying to get healthy. Mentally and m…

Paulo Costa continues to eye a matchup against Khamzat Chimaev despite having his next booking confirmed.

Costa (14-2) was scheduled to face Chimaev (13-0) at UFC 294 in October but was forced out due to a severe elbow infection. The Brazilian was ultimately replaced on short notice by former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who went on to drop a majority decision against “Borz.”

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“Borrachinha” is now scheduled to face former champ Robert Whittaker (24-7) at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

According to Costa, he was initially pursuing the Chimaev fight but accepted the Whittaker booking as he didn’t want to wait very long.

“I was trying to fight Gourmet Chechen — Chimaev. I was trying. Since I could not fight and he fought against Kamaru — he won, but he didn’t convince anyone I don’t think, me and the people I talk with, at least, and most of the fans I don’t think,” the Brazilian said on The MMA Hour. “I wa…

Two Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights looking to get back into contention will throw down in March.

At the currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night Event on March 16, a show that will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Thiago Moises (17-7) and Brad Riddell (10-4) will collide. News of this lightweight pairing first came on Wednesday night courtesy of Eurosport NL, and it has since been confirmed by Moises’ management team on Thursday.

Moises ended his 2023 campaign unsuccessfully when he faced Benoit St. Denis at UFC Fight Night 226, ultimately succumbing to strikes near the end of Round 2. That defeat concluded a two-fight submission streak for the Brazilian, who tapped Christos Giagos with a rear-naked choke and crushed Melquizael Costa’s face with a crank. Each of the last five outings for the submission specialist have ended inside the distance, win or lose.

Riddell has struggled as of late, suffering three stoppage losses in 2021 and 2022. When t…

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Arman Tsarukyan is looking to put on an unforgettable showing against Charles Oliveira to cement his status as the No. 1 lightweight contender.

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Tsarukyan (21-3) and Oliveria (34-9) are slated to throw down on the marquee UFC 300 card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

While Oliveira is a feared submission specialist and Tsarukyan comes from a wrestling background, “Ahalkalakets” believes the fight doesn’t necessarily have to go to the ground.

“If you know wrestling and jiu-jitsu, how to defend, it’s a completely different game,” Tsarukyan told Daniel Cormier. “If we’re going to do jiu-jitsu without ground and pound, of course, he can maybe get any submissions. But when you punch someone, he can’t think about like, ‘Oh, I got to get his arm,’ or whatever. He’s got to defend himself; you know? That’s why it’s so difficult. Especially with high-level fighters right now.

“First two rounds, it’s almost impossible to choke…

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Manel Kape expects to leap the flyweight queue with a stoppage on Saturday.

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Currently ranked No. 6 at flyweight, Kape (19-6) is slated to take on No. 5-ranked Matheus Nicolau (19-3) in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 234 this weekend. While the flyweight title picture is in a bit of a logjam, Kape believes a stoppage win over Nicolau should leave no doubt regarding his status as the No. 1 contender.

“My goal is to be a champion. I believe that beating Matheus Nicolau -- I’ll get the title shot. This is my goal. It’s obvious… Of course it’s going to be dependent on how I win, and that’s going to dictate everything. I’m looking for the knockout or to finish him in the first round; definitely,” Kape said Wednesday during media day.

Kape will look to avenge a split decision loss dating back to 2021 when he faces Nicolau. Kape has since racked up four consecutive wins, with a decision victory over Felipe dos Santos in his …

[embedded content] One Championship is adding a bit of circus flair to its upcoming numbered event.

According to a release by ONE on Thursday, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Nieky Holzken will engage in an unusual battle on Jan. 28. At the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, the two will throw down in a mixed-rules affair under a ruleset titled “Trinity Rules.” This unorthodox type of bout was popularized by Thai-based league Full Metal Dojo, where combatants engage in three rounds of action, and each round, they come together under a different discipline. The first round is exclusively boxing, the second muay thai and the third MMA. It is unclear if the 187-pound fight at ONE 165 will give the fighters three minutes or five minutes per round, but this exhibition will not go on anyone’s permanent record.

Akiyama (16-7, 2 NC), 48, comes into this pairing on a win streak, albeit one that took years to put together. The fighter known as “Sexyama” broke out of rough patch by starching Sherif M…

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Dricus Du Plessis (20-2) paid a considerable price for jumping out of the Octagon to meet Donald Trump at UFC 290.

“Stillknocks” is slated to challenge Sean Strickland (28-5) for the middleweight title at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. The South African earned the shot with a second-round knockout over former champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July. Following his stoppage win over “The Reaper”, du Plessis jumped over the fence to greet former United States President Donald Trump, resulting in a $10,000 fine. The fine did not come as a surprise as the South African, who had admittedly been warned of the consequences several times. However, du Plessis found it “too cool” of an opportunity to let go.

“That was the initial fine for jumping over the cage. They said – they told us beforehand – if you jump over [the fence], you’re getting a $10,000 fine,” the 29-year-old said in an interview with Fight in Sight. “I was like, ‘I don’t know why you g…

UFC 300 has its first title fight.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced Wednesday evening that reigning strawweight title holder Weili Zhang will defend her belt against Xiaonan Yan at the April 13 event.

“This is the first time two Chinese contenders have faced off for the world title,” White said.

A two-time 115-pound champion, Zhang enters her matchup with Yan on a three-bout winning streak. The Fight Ready standout reclaimed the belt with a second-round submission of Carla Esparza at UFC 281 before authoring a successful title defense with a five-round verdict over Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 this past August. “Magnum” initially claimed strawweight gold with a 42-second TKO of Jessica Andrade in August 2019 but would later relinquish the belt to Rose Namajunas. The 34-year-old is 8-2 during her promotional tenure and 24-3 as a professional overall.

Yan, meanwhile, has also been victorious in eight of her 10 Octagon appearances. Most recently,…

Brunno Ferreira has learned valuable lessons from defeat.

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After an impressive knockout of Gregory Rodrigues in his promotional debut at UFC 283, Brunno Ferreira lost for the first time in his career, falling to Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC on ESPN 48 this past July.

On Saturday, the Brazilian known as “The Hulk” will attempt to return to the win column against Phil Hawes in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 234. He believes the KO loss to Ruziboev was important to his growth as a fighter.

"That loss made me stronger because it helped to improve me as a fighter,” Ferreira told Sherdog.com. “I corrected mistakes I used to make and added new tools to my game, and I’m going to show that in the Octagon on Saturday.

According to his head coach Andre Dida, Ferreira may get to show his judo black belt skills for the first time.

Brunno is like a dream fighter to any trainer,” Dida said. “… He only showed his knockout power in the UFC, b…

Unbeaten middleweight Murad Ramazanov has signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with Professional Fighters League.

The PFL announced the signing on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ramazanov, who has primarily competed at 185 pounds during his professional tenure, is expected to make his PFL debut in the first half of 2024.

“I'm looking forward to continuing my career in the PFL,” Ramzanov said in a release. “There is no one in my division from now on.”

A native of Dagestan, the 28-year-old Ramzanov counts the likes of Islam Makhachev and Usman Nurmagomedov among his training partners. He is 11-0 with one no contest since beginning his MMA career in 2014, with seven of those triumphs coming inside the distance. Ramzanov notably competed under the ONE Championship banner, winning his first three appearances before his most recent outing against Roberto Soldic ended via no contest in Round 1 when he landed an accidental knee to the groin…