Martial Arts News

Ange Loosa insists that an eye poke from Bryan Battle left him unable to continue in their co-headlining clash at UFC Fight Night 239 on Saturday.

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Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa before an unintentional eye poke from “The Butcher” brought the contest to a halt in the second round. Loosa told the cageside doctor that he couldn’t see, which led to the fight being declared a no contest.

Tensions ran high inside the Octagon, as Battle accused Loosa of quitting, insisting that the Congolese fighter could see with his eye. “The Last Ninja” has since addressed the situation, and he claims to still be dealing with his eye injury.

“[The UFC] wants to send me to an ophthalmologist,” Loosa told MMAjunkie.com. “I have to see another one back in Florida. We will check and see what’s going on, but I feel like there’s something inside [my eye]. It’s itchy and hurting a little bit. We’ll check the eye and see how it goes from there.”

Battl…

IT'S OFFICIAL! Former UFC executive, @MrMarshallZ returns as new CEO of GLORY, the world leader in kickboxing, and will usher in the next phase of continued growth for GLORY.

Full article: https://t.co/F6IaeMcBQT

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) March 18, 2024

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship executive Marshall Zelaznik is returning to Glory Kickboxing for a second stint as the organization’s CEO.

Glory announced the news in a release on Monday. Zelaznik previously served as the promotion’s CEO from 2018 to 2020. During his initial tenure, Glory grew its television distribution and increased sponsorship revenues to “record highs,” according to a release. Zelaznik’s time with Glory was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Marshall’s return is what Glory needs, and we are delighted to have him back. He is the perfect fit for Glory. His track record over the years in combat sports and business speaks for itse…

This was me for years before Conor even got here they want u to die before u get out these contracts it’s up to u to make something pop no one gonna help you but youFree Conor it’s at pattys day in this bitch ☘️ pic.twitter.com/X4WQVNV79X

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 17, 2024

Nate Diaz has found some common ground with former rival Conor McGregor: The oppressive nature of Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

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In recent months, McGregor has expressed frustration with the lack of progress in booking a fight for his UFC return. While the former two-division champion initially announced June 29 for his comeback fight, UFC CEO Dana White denied McGregor’s claim and instead has tentatively targeted the fall without offering any concrete details.

“I was hoping for a December date, then a January date, then it keeps getting pushed back, then I lose interest and stop training for a while,” McGregor recently told The M…

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Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall came face-to-face for the first time over the weekend.

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Jones was making an appearance at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England, on Saturday, when Aspinall arrived to meet the reigning heavyweight champ. The interaction was largely amicable, though Jones did remove Aspinall’s hand from his shoulder. Aspinall posted a video of the meeting on his YouTube channel.

“Are we going to do this thing?” Aspinall says.

“I would hope so,” Jones responds.

While Jones did grant Aspinall’s request for a photo, he declined a face-off with the interim heavyweight title holder. Aspinall claimed the interim crown with a first-round stoppage of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 this past November. Since then, the Englishman has lobbied hard for a shot at Jones. It’s unclear when Jones vs. Aspinall might happen because “Bones” is expected to be rebooked against Stipe Miocic once he recovers from the torn pec…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your updated 2024 PFL Welterweights roster set to bring the action in the Windy City on April 19th

-Kyle Crutchmer is OUT-Brennan Ward is in the 2024 #PFLRegularSeason pic.twitter.com/4lJXj3gUp3

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 17, 2024

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There’s a new entrant at welterweight for the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Bellator MMA staple Brennan Ward will replace Kyle Crutchmer and face Don Madge in a 170-pound bout at PFL 3 on April 19. The organization announced the change on Sunday. A reason for Crutchmer’s withdrawal from the event was not given. Ward is now expected to take part in the entirety of PFL’s season format.

PFL 3 takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and features welterweight and featherweight athletes. The card is headlined by a clash between ex-Bellator champ Andrey Koreshkov and undefeated Bellator veteran Magomed Umalatov.

The 35-year-old Ward has competed under the Bellator …

Mark Coleman continues to battle health issues after rescuing his parents from a house fire at his childhood home in Fremont, Ohio, last week.

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According to a post from his daughter, Kenzie, on Coleman’s social media accounts, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ was recently readmitted to the hospital after developing pneumonia.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week,” she wrote on Saturday. “Yesterday, my dad was released from [St. Vincents] in Toledo, where they thought he was stable enough to go home. We were only home for about an hour in Columbus when he started to have numbness in his arms and chest pain. Of course, my sister and I rushed him back to the hospital where we found out he has now developed pneumonia.

“Despite all of this he is still his same positive, spunky, spitfire self just as you can imagine from the video above. He wants to again thank you all for the support and love you have shown him and us during th…

Marcin Tybura hasn’t completely shut the door on fighting Jairzinho Rozenstruik after submitting Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 239.

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Tybura headlined card opposite “Bam Bam,” which also marked the Polish heavyweight’s fourth outing at the UFC Apex. Tybura maintained his perfect Apex record by submitting Tuivasa in the first round after surviving an early onslaught. Tybura got the finish with a rear-naked choke after raining down a barrage of punches on Tuivasa. Tybura admitted to being surprised by the Australian’s durability during the post-fight press conference.

“For sure, the toughness,” Tybura said. “I was on his back and hitting hard there. I don’t know how many punches [that was], but I was feeling like [they were] pretty heavy. And he didn’t care about them at all. He didn’t look like that’ll be changing anything for him, he’ll be still here defending himself. But I knew he’s very tough. I knew he’d be there til the end, til I make him qui…

Bryan Battle is certain Ange Loosa wanted a way out of their UFC Fight Night 239 clash.

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Battle appeared to be getting the better of Loosa in the evening’s co-headliner before an accidental eye poke by “Pooh Bear” brought the contest to a halt in Round 2. Seemingly in agony, Loosa told the cageside doctor that his vision was impaired, leading the fight to end in an unfortunate no contest.

A few heated words were exchanged between both parties inside the Octagon before security intervened. Battle accused Loosa of quitting in his post-fight Octagon interview and reiterated the accusation during the post-fight press conference. Battle admitted that he had initiated the exchange of words. Based on his previous experience with eye pokes, “The Ultimate Fighter 29” middleweight winner is certain that Loosa’s vision wasn’t completely impaired.

“What triggered the argument is I looked at him and I called him a p—y. I knew it wasn’t that bad, I knew it w…

Following an impressive win over Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night 239, Mike Davis revealed how gaming helped him through a dark phase in life.

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Returning to action for the first time since October 2022, “Beast Boy” picked up an second-round submission win over Israel’s Levy in the evening’s featured preliminary bout. Davis subsequently reflected on his love for gaming, even plotting a post-retirement gaming podcast.

Davis named “The Last of Us’”and “Hell Divers” as his current favorite games. However, Davis also mentioned that “Halo” saved his life.

“I like ‘The Last of Us.’ But the game that saved my life was ‘Halo.’ And what am I playing right now? A little bit mixture of everything, but come, on it’s ‘Hell Divers’ – for democracy,” Davis said during a media scum. (video via MMAjunkie.com)

Davis shared intimate details about his childhood in New York, where he was bullied for being Black. The bullying took a toll on him to the point wher…

Marcin Tybura earned some extra income for his first submission victory in nearly a decade.

The Polish heavyweight received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his submission of Tai Tuivasa in the UFC Fight Night 239 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Tuivasa landed some heavy strikes early, but once the fight hit the canvas it was all Tybura, as the M-1 Global veteran unloaded with ground-and-pound before submitting his foe with a rear-naked choke at the 4:08 mark of Round 1. It was Tybura’s first submission triumph since November 2014.

Elsewhere, Macy Chiasson garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for her second submission win over Pannie Kianzad. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner threatened with multiple submissions before eliciting a tap with a rear-naked choke — the same move she used to vanquish Kianzad at the “TUF 28” finale — 3:54 into round one of their featured bantamweight clash.

Meanwhile, Jafel Filho po…

Marcin Tybura exploited the lack of dimension in the game of his heavy-handed dance partner.

The former M-1 Global titleholder strengthened his claim as a Top 10 heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he rendered Tai Tuivasa unconscious with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 239 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tuivasa (14-7, 8-7 UFC) surrendered his grip on reality 4:08 into Round 1.

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Tybura (25-8, 12-7 UFC) walked through considerable fire. Tuivasa blasted him with a series of standing elbows, one of which opened a cut on his scalp. The 33-fight veteran kept his cool under duress, closed the distance behind a one-two and completed a takedown. Tybura hammered away with sustained ground-and-pound and patiently waited for an opening to present itself. Tuivasa chose to go belly down and exposed his neck in the process. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place.

The 30-year-old Tuiv…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Apex Facility in Las Vegas for the fifth time in 2024, presenting a solid card built around a heavyweight clash between ranked contenders Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura. Sherdog.com brings you live play-by-play coverage of every thrilling moment at UFC Fight Night 239, ensuring you don't miss out on any of the Octagon excitement.

Tuivasa, who turns 31 on fight day, enters the bout on a three-fight skid and has been finished in each of those contests. Before that, he amassed five straight victories with five finishes, his best UFC run so far, and will be driven to reclaim his explosive edge. Meanwhile, Tybura registers a 7-2 mark over his last nine fights leading up to the clash against the Australian heavy-hitter. He was last seen inside the Octagon against interim-heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, succumbing in Round 1 via TKO.

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Stay tuned to Sherdog.com at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT for live play-by-play cov…