Martial Arts News

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To say that mixed martial arts fans were disappointed with the announcement of the UFC 300 main event would be an understatement.

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After all, UFC CEO Dana White had promised a mind-blowing headliner, but instead, the revelation of the Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill feature was almost buried at the conclusion of last Saturday’s UFC 298 event.

While the main event might lack the “wow” factor that was expected, UFC 300 is nonetheless one of the deepest cards in recent memory. Hill, who will be making his return from a ruptured Achilles tendon, doesn’t understand the criticism.

“There’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things like that,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “To be honest, it’s crazy to me because for the most part a lot of these people are the same people that have spent the better part of a year or however long calling me ‘cry baby,’ but it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked—the main card lit…

Viewers will be able to watch Francis Ngannou’s boxing match against Anthony Joshua for slightly less than they paid to see “The Predator” take on Tyson Fury last October.

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According to PPV.com, Ngannou vs. Joshua will be $69.99 and is available to order now. Meanwhile, Ngannou vs. Fury, which aired on pay-per-view via ESPN+, cost $79.99. Ngannou vs. Joshua takes place on March 8 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou made his boxing debut against Fury on Oct. 28. The former UFC heavyweight champion outperformed all expectations, as he dropped Fury in Round 3 en route to losing a competitive split decision. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman is also under contract with Professional Fighters League and has vowed to return to MMA at some point, though a date for his promotional debut has yet to be confirmed.

Joshua meanwhile, owns a 27-3 career mark in professional boxing, with 24 of those triumphs coming by way of knockout. After droppi…

Injuries suffered in sparring have forced Leah McCourt to pull out of a proposed featherweight clash against Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 302.

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McCourt announced the news Tuesday in a post on social media. McCourt vs. Kavanagh was scheduled to be the Bellator 302 co-main event. It’s currently unknown if Kavanagh will remain on the March 22 card against a replacement opponent.

“Devastated to have to write this and let you know during a sparring accident, I sustained a broken rib and torn oblique. I cannot get medically cleared to fight nor could I physically be able to fight in Belfast. This may require surgery and will know more in the next few weeks,” McCourt wrote.”The muscle has been ripped from the bone and the pain is excruciating. When I didn’t get the title fight, I asked what fight wanted, it was this so especially disappointed.

“I don’t understand the heartbreak and pain of circumstances of everything that’s happened so far this year,…

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6⃣Weight Classes3⃣Cities3⃣Action Packed Nights

𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗼. 𝗟𝗮𝘀 𝗩𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘀. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼. Get ready for the start of the 2024 #PFLRegularSeason 🔜 pic.twitter.com/DKaCPUtU6F

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 20, 2024

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The Professional Fighters League season will begin in April with events in three different cities.

The organization announced on Monday that its season format — which now will include fighters from Bellator MMA — will take place on April 4, April 12 and April 19 in San Antonio, Las Vegas and Chicago. Fighters in six different weight classes will compete in the PFL season, with the winners earning a $1 million prize at the end of the campaign along with their championship status.

“The toughest test in MMA, the PFL regular season, just got tougher with the addition of stars from Bellator,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray in a release.

“The PFL is excited to kick off the 2024 regular season in front of our great fans in San A…

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Alexander Volkanovski is maintaining a strong sense of resolve on the heels of his second consecutive knockout loss.

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Volkanovski relinquished the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria in the UFC 298 headliner this past Saturday, as he succumbed to a devastating right hook from his opponent at the 3:32 mark of Round 2. The defeat ended a championship reign at 145 pounds that had lasted more than 1,500 days for the 35-year-old Australian.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski assessed his performance, pointing out some of the positives that occurred before the decisive punch landed.

“This is a crazy game we play,” he said. “We can’t win them all. Sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail. Last fight I was the nail; I’ve been the hammer many times. I’ve ruined a lot of people’s parties many times. [Saturday] night, Ilia got the job done.

“I thought I was doing great. I felt great in there. I think the judge…

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Brandon Moreno has received a spot in his own ESPN commercial.

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The former flyweight champion will make his “This is SportsCenter” commercial debut on all ESPN platforms ahead of his bout against Brandon Royval in the UFC Fight Night 237 headliner this Saturday.

The humorous spot is entitled “Elevator” and depicts Moreno and his team arriving at their desired floor as they would for a fight night walkout. Meanwhile, SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe looks on indifferently as the fighter exits and the elevator doors close.

The commercial features both English and Spanish-language versions. In the Spanish version, SportsCenter anchor Jorge Eduardo Sanchez and ESPN Deportes commentator Mauricio Pedroza struggle to exit the elevator as Moreno bounces around and his coach barks out instructions.

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“Early mornings are part of the job here at ESPN. Whether it’s your team hyping you up or a cup of coffe…

WHOA! 😲😲😲@MikeChandlerMMA just called out @TheNotoriousMMA on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/pUN2dUFW1r

— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2024

The power of the UFC-WWE merger under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella was on full display Monday night.

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UFC lightweight Michael Chandler appeared on WWE Raw and took the microphone to call out Conor McGregor in front of those in attendance at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The timing worked out well because Chandler had been in attendance for UFC 298 at the same venue two days prior.

“Hey, what’s up Anaheim. You are now in the presence of the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet,” Chandler said. “Hey, now there’s a man from Ireland that’s been making me wait for way too long, and I’ve still got one dude on my mind. Conor McGregor, get your candy ass back to the Octagon. We’ve got some unfinished business, boys. God bless. I’ll see you at the top.”

Chandler has been awa…

A featherweight showdown pitting Nate Landwehr against Pat Sabatini has been added to the UFC on ESPN 54 lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking in a release on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 54 takes place on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot.

Landwehr had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Dan Ige at UFC 289 last June. Prior to that, the former M-1 Global champion had earned successive victories over Ludovit Klein, David Onama and Austin Lingo.

Sabatini, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of his seven Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old suffered a first-round KO loss to Diego Lopes at UFC 295 this past November.

U-Next adds PFL to MMA line-up https://t.co/kpszADy0hh @PFLMMA

— Loren (@lorenmackpro) February 20, 2024

Professional Fighters League has a broadcast home in Japan.

The PFL recently announced a multi-year agreement with Japanese streaming platform U-Next to broadcast its events in Japan. This includes the PFL regular season events, PFL Europe and PFL MENA as well as archival content. Additionally, Bellator MMAr events will continue to broadcast on U-Next, beginning with Bellator 302 in Belfast on March 22.

The deal will kick off with Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator card in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“A core component of our global expansion strategy is to partner with leading media platforms in key territories around the world, and we couldn’t be more excited about this multi-year agreement with U-NEXT to bring the best in MMA to fans in Japan,” said PFL SVP of International James Frewin in…

The PFL vs. Bellator card has undergone some last-minute shuffling during fight week.

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2023 PFL featherweight finalist Gabriel Braga will step in against Bellator champion Patricio Freire following the withdrawal of Jesus Pinedo due to injury. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Ag.Fight.

Meanwhile, Aaron Pico, who was Braga’s original opponent, is expected to remain on the card in a rematch against Henry Corrales. That bout was first reported by MMAjunkie.com.

Braga was victorious in his first 12 professional outings — including three triumphs during the 2023 PFL campaign — before falling to Pinedo via third-round TKO at the organization’s championship event this past November.

Freire is coming off back-to-back losses to Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis. Prior to that, “Pitbull” had been victorious in 10 of his previous 11 professional outings.

Pico and Corrales initially squared off at Bellato…

Co-main event competitors Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa are among nine fighters facing a potentially lengthy layoff on the heels of UFC 298.

Whittaker is suspended for 180 days unless he receives doctor clearance for a potential fracture to his hand. The former middleweight champion also received a 60-day suspension pending physician clearance for lacerations to his right eye and foot. At a minimum, he is suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact.

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Costa, meanwhile, is facing a potential 180-day sit unless cleared due to potential fractures to his right foot and leg. He is also suspended 60 days for lacerations pending doctor clearance, and at a minimum, is suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.

Whittaker took a hard-fought unanimous decision verdict against Costa in their middleweight clash at UFC 298.

The California State Athletic Commission recently released a list of medical suspensions from the event. UFC 298 took place on Sat…

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While the lineup for UFC 300 is nearly complete, the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro is currently in limbo with the availability of several top Brazilian stars in question.

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UFC 301 is scheduled to take place on May 4 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and is currently without a headliner. However, Alex Pereira, who is slated to face Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 main event, would be willing to make the 21-day turnaround to compete in his home country.

“We were talking with the UFC to make this fight in Brazil,” Pereira said through an interpreter on YouTube. “Then they came up with the idea to bring it a little earlier and make it on UFC 300, which for me is a good thing because I’ve already been training hard. The fight being before what was expected makes it even better for me. I’m in good shape, I’ve been training hard, and I’m excited for the fight.”

It’s not unprecedented for Pereira, who has made quick turnarounds du…