Martial Arts News

Brandon Royval believes Youssef Zalal is one of the best bantamweights at Factory X who just hasn’t gotten his share of recognition yet.

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Royval (15-6) is currently gearing up to challenge Alexandre Pantoja (26-5) for the Ultimate Fighting Championshipflyweight title in the co-main event at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Raw Dawg” has been training with elite bantamweight contenders like Chris Gutierrez and Jonathan Martinez at the Factory X gym in Colorado. However, Royval claims former UFC fighter Youssef Zalal is probably the best of the lot.

“Being on the rise with some of these guys is – like I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I’m at without having the best 135ers around me. And that’s including Youssef Zalal. Youssef Zalal is probably better than all of us, it's just that he’s not getting his opportunity yet,” Pantoja told Sportskeeda MMA.

Zalal was released by the UFC on the back of an 0-3-1 streak which star…

Alexander Volkanovski is eager to remind the world of his greatness when he defends the featherweight strap against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.

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Volkanovski will look to return to the win column against Topuria on Feb.17 after his second failed bid at earning double-champ status against lightweight king Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October. “The Great” stepped up on short notice as a replacement for Charles Oliveira and went on to suffer a brutal Round 1 head-kick knockout loss.

Volkanovski was on a collision course with Topuria before stepping up for the double-champ bid. In the meantime, the undefeated Spanish standout opted to wait for his title shot. “El Matador” even uploaded a theatrical video implying he will maintain his undefeated record against Volkanovski.

Volkanovski believes his last loss against Makhachev is being perceived as a sign of weakness by some, and the Australian icon wants to shut them up. “The Great” discussed that per…

Amanda Serrano remains steadfast in her demand for women to compete under the same rules as men in the sport of boxing.

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Serrano, who is also signed to compete for Professional Fighters League in its Super Fight Division, has now vacated her World Boxing Council strap in protest against the organization not allowing women to compete under the same rules as women.

While men typically compete for 12 three-minute rounds, women’s bouts are for 10 two-minute rounds. Serrano is among a long list of female boxers demanding the choice to compete under the same rules as men.

The WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine title holder beat Danila Ramos via a lopsided decision in October, which was the first time a women’s title bout was stipulated for 12 three-minute rounds since 2007. However, Serrano’s WBC title was not on the line, as the organization refused to sanction the fight. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman compared the difference in stipulation t…

UFC Fight Night 233 is down to 11 bouts following the cancellation of a 140-pound catchweight clash between Daniel Marcos and Carlos Vera.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report that visa issues for Marcos nixed the bout, which had only been recently added to the event. UFC Fight Night 233 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Yadong Song and Chris Gutierrez.

Peru’s Marcos owns a 15-0 professional mark that includes wins over Saimon Oliveira and Davey Grant in his first two UFC appearances. He has finished eight of his career triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

Vera was set to make his Octagon debut after winning his last four outings under the Fury FC banner. The 36-year-old is 11-3 over the course of a pro tenure that began in 2014.

While Rodolfo Bellato’s comeback victory over Ihor Potieria at UFC on ESPN 52 earned him a $50,000 bonus, 2023 didn’t start out so well for the Brazilian light heavyweight.

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"If someone told me in February that 2023 would be the best year of my life, I would think it was some kind of [joke]. After all, I had lost to [Vitor] Petrino in September 2022 and my dream of going to UFC looked far away,” Bellato told Sherdog.com.

After a pair of victories under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner earlier this year, Bellato got a second chance on Dana White’s Contender Series this past October. This time, he earned a UFC contract after scoring a technical knockout victory against Murtaza Talha Ali.

“A few weeks later, the UFC invited me to debut against Potieria, a guy who knocked out [Mauricio Rua] and had twice as many fights as I did. I knew it would be a war, but I decided that the only way he was going to beat me was to knock me out,” Bellato said. Read more

Lipeng Zhang will square off against Maurice Abevi in a 170-pound tilt at ONE on Prime Video 18 on Jan. 12.

Promotion officials confirmed the booking to Sherdog.com. ONE on Prime Video 18 takes place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok and features a 135-pound kickboxing title bout between Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Elias Mahmoudi. Additionally, UFC veteran John Lineker will compete in muay thai against Liam Harrison at 145 pounds.

Zhang has been victorious in three of his four appearances under the ONE banner. Most recently, the 33-year-old China native scored a first-round technical knockout win against Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE on Prime Video 15 on Oct. 6. “The Warrior” notably went 2-2 during a four-bout UFC stint from 2014 to 2015. Zhang is 25-3-1 since parting ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

After winning his first six professional outings on the regional circuit, Abevi split a pair of appearances with ONE in 2023. The Swiss fighter began his …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Darren Till might grace the Karate Combat pit sometime next year, according to company president Asim Zaidi.

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Till was granted his UFC release earlier this year on the heels of three consecutive losses. While “The Gorilla” revealed that he was still on good terms with the promotion, his future in MMA remains unclear.

A longtime muay thai practitioner, Till recently sounded dismissive of Karate Combat fighters, claiming he could beat anyone on the roster. The promotion’s 185-pound champ, Ross Levine, challenged Till in response, leading to the promotion courting the Liverpudlian regarding a title fight debut.

Zaidi recently revealed that Till’s title fight with Levine was originally being targeted for Karate Combat 43 on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. However, that fell through and Levine will now defend his strap against UFC vet Sam Alvey. The card will be headlined by a rubber fight between former UFC champs…

Dan Hooker believes Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ Islam Makhachev won’t risk having his throne challenged by Arman Tsarukyan.

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Tsarukyan recently announced his arrival in the lightweight title picture with a spectacular knockout win over Beneil Dariush in the main event at UFC Austin on Dec. 2. “Ahalkalakets” subsequently called for a rematch against Makhachev, who defeated Tsarukyan in his UFC debut in 2019. UFC CEO Dana White also admitted that Tsarukyan’s win over Dariush complicates the question of the next title shot at lightweight, which was expected to be given to Charles Oliveira until now.

Hooker, a former opponent of Makhachev’s, said on "The MMA Hour” that he believes the champ will hang up his gloves before facing Tsarukyan. Hooker also thinks that Tsarukyan is too risky a stylistic matchup for Makhachev while not being a big draw.

“He ain’t gonna fight him. I guarantee he’ll retire,” Hooker said. “He’ll retire b…

Regardless of the outcome of his upcoming clash against Shavkat Rakhmonov, Stephen Thompson is looking forward to having a few battle scars after their fight.

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After turning down a booking against Rakhmonov on multiple occasions in the past, “Wonderboy” is slated to meet the undefeated Kazakh sensation with a 100% finish rate at UFC 296 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 16.

Rakhmonov is heavy -500 betting favorite going into the clash, which could be attributed to his superior grappling skillset. One of the most elite strikers in MMA, Thompson believes “Nomad” will eventually prefer going to the ground against him. However, “Wonderboy” is glad that Rakhmonov is the kind of fighter who Will Hunt for the finish, giving him the opportunity to go out on his shield.

“Now, do I feel like Shavkat is going to stand there bang with me? I don’t think so,” Thompson told Submission Radio. “I think eventually he’s going to shoot. He’s going to s…

Gilbert Burns claims to have fully recovered from his shoulder injury and is plotting a return to the Octagon, with a specific foe in mind.

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Burns (22-6) is coming off a decision loss against Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 in July after appearing to damage his left hand early in the fight. “Durinho” went on to severely injure his shoulder in training, which has kept him on the shelf ever since. The Brazilian now claims to have fully recovered from the injury and is now back to training. Burns told MMA Junkie:

“I’m 100 percent and back to training. I’m in no pain and injury free. I didn’t get surgery. I almost did. My ligament was barely hanging on my shoulder. My deltoid and my AC joint was very compromised, so I had to rest a lot. I couldn’t do anything for like three months, and then I started my (physical therapy), and then I put a couple of stem cells, and now I’m back to training.”

While Burns is eyeing a return in March or April and is alread…

Jon Jones has taken notice of Tom Aspinall’s suggestion that he be stripped of the UFC heavyweight crown.

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Jones, who was forced to withdraw from the UFC 295 headliner against Stipe Miocic due to a torn pectoral, issued a strong response on Monday to the recently-crowned interim champion on social media.

“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now,” Jones wrote. “During camp for a title defense I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that’s hilarious.

“In my 15 year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”

I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now…

Giga Chikadze has withdrawn from a proposed UFC 296 clash against Josh Emmett on Dec. 16.

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Emmett initially announced that Chikadze had pulled out of the event on social media, and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. Later, Chikadze revealed that he suffered a torn groin. "I'll be back soon," he added.

Giga’s Out ❌-Who’s ready Dec 16th? #UFC296

— JOSH EMMETT (@JoshEmmettUFC) December 4, 2023

UFC 296 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend the flyweight crown against Brandon Royval.

Sh*t happens! Tore groin! I’ll be back soon! pic.twitter.com/ABMggWhHdM

— GIGACHAD (@giga_chikadze) December 5, 2023

After a hiatus that lasted more than a year and a half, Chikadze returned to action at UFC Fight Night 225, where he outpointed Alex …