Martial Arts News

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Despite all the noise surrounding his next booking, Steve Erceg is laser-focused on his upcoming flyweight title meeting with Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 and is hoping to walk away with a statement win over the Brazilian in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

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Much has been made of Erceg (12-1) receiving a title shot just three wins and 11 months into his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure. And while the Australian admittedly got the opportunity perhaps because he was “at the right place at the right time,” that won’t deter him from attempting to walk away with a decisive win over “The Cannibal.”

While “Astro Boy” sees Pantoja as a class act with superior grappling, the 28-year-old also sees himself soundly defeating the Brazilian, “especially on the feet.”

“Well, I like the way he carries himself; he carries himself respectfully. He has a great heart, super tough, obviously great grappling, he looks very strong. I just think there'…

If the skills explained by her coach come to fruition, Manon Fiorot is going to give Erin Blanchfield fits on Saturday.

Undefeated in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and riding a six-fight win streak in the organization itself, French striking ace Fiorot hired an important reinforcement for the camp to face Blanchfield on Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey: Brazilian luta-livre and jiu-jitsu black belt Flavio “Peroba” Santiago. Living in France since 2002, Santiago joined up with the burgeoning flyweight in December. He spoke to Sherdog ahead of her headlining appearance at UFC on ESPN 54, where he explained how training has fared thus far.

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“I’m really impressed by her work ethic,” Santiago gushed. “Every time I taught her some new technique, she repeated [it] until [getting] it done perfectly, and every new sparring, she came with some notes to ask me.”

The coach revealed that he was not just teaching her instructions from afar. Roughly …

A slow start did nothing to slow down Seiya Matsuda in his ONE Championship debut.

Multiple takedowns, ground-and-pound and a near submission carried the unbeaten Blue Dog Gym export to a split decision over Mikhail Gritsanenko in a ONE Friday Fights 57 catchweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Two of the ringside judges struck scorecards for Matsuda (4-0, 1-0 ONE), who was overcome by emotion following the three-round battle at 163 pounds.

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Gritsanenko (3-2, 0-1 ONE) leaned on deft footwork and sharp counterattacks throughout much of the first round, where he let fly with two- and three-punch combinations, occasionally punctuating them with thudding kicks to the body. It was not enough to throw Matsuda off the scent. The 28-year-old organizational newcomer took down Gritsanenko in Round 2, moved to the north-south position and locked in a kimura. Pain contorted the Russian’s face, as he tried and failed to free …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves for the second straight week.

Headlining UFC on ESPN 54 is a key women's flyweight fight between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot. Both main event fighters successfully weighed in under the 126-pound limit. As for the rest of the card, everyone made weight except for Julio Arce, who came in one pound over the featherweight limit for his bout against Herbert Burns. The match will continue, with Arce being penalized 20% of his purse that will go to Burns.

This marks the second headlining fight for Blanchfield (12-1). Just 24 years of age, "Cold Blooded" is currently riding a nine-fight win streak. She hasn't lost since joining the promotion and is coming off impressive wins over Taila Santos, Jessica Andrade and Molly McCann. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product stepped on the scale at 125 pounds on the dot.

Meanwhile, this marks the first main event for Fiorot (11-1). Ten years her opp…

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Jamall Emmers wants to correct every blemish on his mixed martial arts record.

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Emmers (20-7) will take on fan-favorite Nate Landwehr (17-5) on three weeks’ notice at UFC Atlantic City on March 30.

Emmers replaced Pat Sabatini, who withdrew due to unknown reasons. “Prettyboy,” who suffered a submission loss against Sabatini in 2021, would like the opportunity to avenge that in the future. In fact, the 34-year-old wants to avenge all seven losses of his professional career, even against fighters who have retired.

“Of course, every loss I want back,” Emmers said during UFC Atlantic City media day. “Just letting everybody know this: every loss I want back. Who beat me in the UFC? Pat [Sabatini], we got Julian Erosa, who else, drawing a blank right now. Everybody that beat me, even guys that’s not in the UFC. Probably don’t even fight no more, I still want that back. It’s seven guys that beat me and I want it all back.”

E…

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Joaquin Buckley had no qualms about accepting a short-notice clash against Vicente Luque, as he has seemingly been preparing for the fight for a while now.

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Buckley (17-6) is scheduled to meet Luque (22-9) in the co-main event at UFC Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall on March 30. Going into arguably the toughest matchup of his career, Buckley is glad for the opportunity to be able to prove his mettle.

“It feels good. This is something I have been asking for and shouting about via social media for a long time. To get that big name, to get somebody that I feel like will really get the respect that it deserves with all the work I’ve been putting in. So now that I get the fight I asked for, it’s a beautiful situation,” Buckley said during UFC Atlantic City media day.

Buckley accepted the matchup on a little more than a month’s notice, replacing Sean Brady, who pulled out due to an injury. “New Mansa” revealed that he had no issue…

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According to Vicente Luque, Michael Page’s Ultimate Fighting Championship debut was proof that the Las Vegas-based promotion is on a different level compared to its counterparts.

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After months of negotiations with the UFC, Page signed with the promotion last December and made his debut against Kevin Holland at UFC 299earlier this month. Known for his highlight reel knockouts, “Venom” did put on a show, completely outclassing Holland on the feet mixed with some signature showboating. However, the former Bellator MMA star failed to score a finish or even hurt “Trailblazer” significantly in a fight that was seen as lukewarm by some.

Welterweight veteran Luque (22-9) also didn’t see Page looking as good in his UFC debut as the Brit did in his previous outings. “The Silent Assassin” believes it might have to do with the pressure of performing on the biggest stage in the world. Regardless, Luque is excited about the attention Page will…

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Manon Fiorot is determined to fight for a title next should she defeat Erin Blanchfield at UFC Atlantic City on March 30.

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Fiorot will headline UFC on ESPN 54 opposite Blanchfield in what is essentially a title eliminator. However, a win doesn’t guarantee an immediate championship fight, given that the title picture is currently in a state of flux.

Champion Alexa Grasso is starring opposite former champ Valentina Shevchenko in the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The season premieres in June, after which the two are expected to meet in a trilogy clash, causing a delay in Fiorot’s potential title shot. But the French standout is insistent on fighting for a belt next and willing to wait for her turn.

“You know, obviously, I already deserve two times the title shot, but you know life goes on, sometimes injuries [happen.] That’s the way it is. Of course, I know and I believe the next fight will be the title and I know…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural visit to Saudi Arabia will have a marquee bout at the top of the bill.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced late Wednesday evening that Khamzat Chimaev will face Robert Whittaker in the card’s middleweight main event on June 22. Meanwhile, Sergei Pavlovich will square off against Alexander Volkov at heavyweight in the co-headliner. Volkov had been previously expected to meet Jailton Almeida at UFC 302, but apparently those plans have changed.

White also confirmed the following three bouts for UFC Saudi Arabia: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez at welterweight; Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir at light heavyweight and Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Ihor Potieria at light heavyweight.

“This card is going to be badass from top to bottom,” White said. “It’s going to be historic. It’s our first ever show from the Kingdom.”

UFC Saudi Arabia will air on ABC, per White. The event is a far cry from the card that …

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

We are headed back down under to @WestAustralia for #UFC305!

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✈️🎟Visit https://t.co/zdYvdmX8jR to register for pre-sale tickets or book your Travel Package right now! | #WAtheDreamState pic.twitter.com/YueP1OKcAn — UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) March 28, 2024

For the third time in promotion history, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will bring a pay-per-view event to Perth, Australia.

UFC 305 will take place on Aug. 17 -- Aug. 18 in Australia -- at RAC Arena, the Las Vegas-based organization announced on Wednesday. According to a release, the event is part of a multi-year partnership in which the UFC will also hold a Fight Night event in Perth in the coming years. No bouts were revealed for UFC 305.

“After a record-breaking event in 2023, I can’t wait to bring another massive pay-per-view to Western Australia,” UFC CEO Dana White said in a release. “Perth is a world class city with some of the mo…

ONE Championship has announced the two featured bouts for its return to the United States.

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Stamp Fairtex will challenge Jingnan Xiong for the strawweight (125-pound) title in an MMA bout, while Jonathan Haggerty will defend his ONE bantamweight (145-pound) muay thai belt against ONE flyweight kickboxing champ Superlek Kiatmoo9.

ONE on Prime Video 26 will take place on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena in Denver and will air on Prime Video in the United States. The Singapore-based promotion made its stateside debut last May with ONE on Prime Video 10, which was headlined by a trilogy bout between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

Fairtex, a three-sport champion under the ONE banner, is already scheduled to defend her atomweight (115-pound) MMA title against Denice Zamboanga at One Championship 166 in Thailand on June 7. The 26-year-old has been victorious in six of her last seven MMA bouts in ONE competition.

Xiong, the reigning 125-pound que…

Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his Karate Combat debut against Joe Schilling next month.

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Both fighters announced the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by multiple outlets. Rockhold vs. Schilling will take place at Karate Combat 45 on April 20 in Dubai and will be contested at 195 pounds.

Rockhold’s last combat sports appearance came at BKFC 41, where he fell to Mike Perry via second round TKO in April 2023. Prior to that, he returned from a three-year hiatus in MMA to face Paulo Costa at UFC 278, where he dropped a unanimous decision to his Brazilian foe.

Schilling, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he suffered a knockout loss to Tony Johnson at Bellator 229. The 40-year-old Schilling, who is also a veteran of Glory Kickboxing, compiled a 4-6 record in MMA.