Martial Arts News

An Ultimate Fighting Championship event set to go down at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas will undergo a significant change two weeks before fight night.

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Undefeated Russian prospect Azamat Murzakanov (13-0) was originally scheduled to take on Khalil Rountree (12-5) in a light heavyweight clash in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9. However, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Murzakanov is now out of the matchup due to pneumonia and will be replaced by Anthony Smith (37-18).

Smith is coming off a split-decision win in a rematch against Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 233 that saw him bounce back from consecutive losses against top contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. The former title challenger’s last win prior to that also came against Spann via first-round submission in September 2021.

Meanwhile, Rountree is riding a four-fight win streak, which includes technical knockout wins over Modestas Bukauskas, Karl …

Colby Covington claims his two title losses against Kamaru Usman played significant role in Leon Edwards’ eventual victory over “The Nigerian Nightmare.”

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Covington is currently scheduled to challenge Edwards for the welterweight strap at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Covington will receive that opportunity despite not having fought since outpointing Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022. “Chaos” is 2-2 in his last four Octagon appearances, with both of those defeats coming at the hands of Usman in welterweight title bouts.

Covington claims that his UFC 245 and UFC 268 losses against Usman took the fight out of “The Nigerian Nightmare,” which led to him getting dethroned by Edwards at UFC 278.

“No doubt about it, I took the fight out of Usman,” Covington told UFC.com. “His chin was never the same, and I’m the one that loosened up that chin. I head kicked him and had him on wobbly legs, then he calls timeout. It’s not…

Two-time Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison wants to face reigning Bellator MMA women’s featherweight titleholder Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino next. However, the decorated judoka has no plans to sit around and waste her prime while she waits for the highly anticipated bout to come to fruition.

Harrison (16-1) returned to action from a year of inactivity following her first pro defeat against Larissa Pacheco. The two-time Olympic gold medalist outpointed Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Aspen Ladd to a unanimous decision in a 2023 PFL Championships catchweight showcase on Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. Despite Ladd’s relentless spirit and durability, Harrison comfortably rolled to 30-27 scores across the board. Harrison outstruck her counterpart by a 165-27 margin.

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Afterward, she proceeded to call out Cyborg.

“I’m excited that PFL just acquired Bellator,” Harrison said. “I heard there’s a girl in…

The mixed martial arts world may have witnessed Olivier Aubin-Mercier step foot inside the cage for the last time.

Aubin-Mercier (21-5) clinched his second consecutive Professional Fighters League lightweight title against Clay Collard in the 2023 PFL Championships main event on Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. While Collard (24-11) had his moments early in the bout while regularly landing damaging leg kicks and body shots, Aubin-Mercier racked up a significant amount of control time on the ground and even came close to submitting the American with a rear-naked choke in the final frame. In the end, “The Canadian Gangster” secured a unanimous decision, with 49-46 marks on all three judges’ scorecards.

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Afterward, Aubin-Mercier declared his intention to take a hiatus from the sport.

“Sand in between my toes I would say [is next],” he said. “I’m going to take a break. Two years ago, I told my little girl it was the last summer I was going to w…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Derek Brunson has taken aim at a showdown with YouTube star turned boxer Jake Paul following a triumphant Professional Fighters League debut against Ray Cooper III at the 2023 PFL Championships on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Brunson (24-9) signed with the PFL in October after he “mutually” parted ways with the UFC. The North Carolina native entered his first assignment with the company on the heels of back-to-back losses to Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis inside the Octagon. Brunson rebounded and found his way back into the win column in his catchweight clash with Cooper at The Anthem.

Apart from facing some adversity in the first round, where Cooper staggered him while countering a takedown, Brunson managed to control and beat up the Hawaiian throughout the three-round affair. Judges awarded him 30-27, 30-25 and 30-25 marks on the scorecards. Afterward, Brunson looked forward to partaking in the biggest fights…

Under the chin!#PFLWorldChampionship LIVE NOW🇺🇸 ESPN+ PPV🔗 https://t.co/9tors69QSM🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/dFXPaDBCte

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 25, 2023 Five new Professional Fighting League world champions took home a belt and a $1 million payday Friday night at the 2023 PFL Championships in Washington D.C.

However, the main event saw a familiar face claim championship glory. Last year’s lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier (21-5, 10-0 PFL) defended his title against the surging “Cassius” Clay Collard in a competitive scrap. Collard dug in stinging body shots and pushed the Canadian back to the fence, but Aubin-Mercier routinely worked Collard (24-11, 6-3 PFL) on the ground. This resulted in "OAM" taking a unanimous decision win with a trio of 49-46 scorecards in his favor.

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With multiple Bellator MMA champions in the crowd to promote eventual cross-promotional fights as a part of PFL’s takeover o…

#RIZIN45 Press Conference #3📸

4 more matchups for New Year's 👀 pic.twitter.com/dp9dulOS2l

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 24, 2023 Rizin Fighting Federation’s year-end show has gained four matches and lost one a bit over a month before it takes place.

Per a press release provided by the organization on Friday morning, Rizin 45 will be gaining four matches, including one involving a pound-for-pound talent. The Dec. 31 show will take place in its annual showcase site of the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and multiple championship tilts will play out across the evening. Four new fights have graced the lineup, while one additional match has been scratched.

Bouts added to the billing include a major women’s super atomweight tilt (108 pounds) between no. 1 atomweight Seika Izawa (11-0) and aging divisional stalwart Miyuu Yamamoto (6-7). Izawa claimed the top spot by knocking off Ayaka Hamasaki at Rizin 33 to end 2021…

The 2023 Professional Fighters League Playoffs wrap up on Friday in Washington D.C. at the 2023 PFL Championships. The undercard airs live on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET, with the main card starting on ESPN Pay-per-View at 8 p.m ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated at 4:45 p.m. ET to reflect the cancellation of a bout.

After all the vitriolic back-and-forth about their Professional Fighters League rubber match, Chris Wade vs. Bubba Jenkins 3 failed to get off the starting block.

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The weigh-ins for 2023 Season Championships took place on Friday, and all six championship affairs are set and ready to go on Friday. The main event will take place in the lightweight division as Olivier Aubin-Mercier looks to repeat against Clay Collard. Collard (24-10) came in at 154.8 pounds, as did Aubin-Mercier (20-5). While all 12 finalists made weight, three undercard fighters missed weight: Ray Cooper III (186.8), Wade (148.4) and Josh Blyden (146.8). Cooper and Blyden have been fined percentages of their purses, and Wade's match has been canceled.

The PFL 2023 Championships will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view on Friday. The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, whi…

“The Young Punisher” might not be as young anymore, but he wants to show he still has plenty of punishment left to give.

Brazil’s Pedro Munhoz (20-8, 2 NC) will be returning to the Octagon on March 9 at UFC 299 against Kyler Phillips (11-2) in a significant bantamweight matchup. This is just the second fight reported for this event, one that does not officially have a location or venue on the books. The fight card will be headlined by a 135-pound championship rematch between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera. News of this Munhoz-Phillips tilt broke courtesy of Phillips’ management team of Iridium Sports.

Munhoz has struggled the last few years, with just two wins since 2020 over Jimmie Rivera and Chris Gutierrez. In that three-year stretch, he has lost decisions to Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Marlon Vera in a veritable murderer’s row of bantamweight opposition. Before this rough patch, Munhoz registered victories over the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font a…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be putting on the Joe Pyfer show in February.

Currently unranked as a middleweight with the company, Pyfer (12-2) will be snagging a main event spot against Sherdog’s no. 15-ranked Jack Hermansson (23-8) on Feb. 10. The two 185ers will battle it out atop an evening scheduled at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on the currently unnamed UFC Fight Night card. News of this pairing was announced by the UFC on Thursday.

Since making his debut off of his second chance on Dana White's Contender Series, Pyfer has rattled off three straight stoppages in the Octagon. Pyfer introduced himself to the promotion by blasting Alen Amedovski in under four minutes. “Bodybagz” returned to the cage over six months later to lay waste to Gerald Meerschaert, and he earned win no. 3 in the UFC by rendering Abdul Razak Alhassan unconscious with an arm-triangle choke in October. As a pro, Pyfer has only gone the distance one time, in his second bout against Dere…

The time and place of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria is now official.

Per the promotion on Thursday, UFC 298 will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Feb. 17. The Ultimate Fighting Championship had previously announced that the featherweight championship clash of Volkanovski (26-3) vs. Topuria (14-0) would sit atop the billing, and its date of Feb. 17 had been discussed as well. However, the destination of California was not official until its announcement.

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This event will be the first at this venue since UFC 270 in early 2022, when Francis Ngannou beat Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight strap. The home to NHL team Anaheim Ducks has played host to a number of major UFC cards over the years, from UFC 76 titled “Knockout” which did not feature a single knockout to UFC 157 which brought women’s MMA to the organization. This fight card will feature the first men’s headliner in a division below light heavyweight for the building,…