Martial Arts News

Manuel Torres didn’t waste time in the UFC Mexico co-main event.

Advertisement

The Entram Gym product secured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round stoppage of Drew Dober in their lightweight showdown. Torres dropped Dober with a one-two and then sealed his victory with about 15 unanswered hammerfists to the side of the head as his opponent clinged to his leg. The official time of the stoppage came 1:45 into Round 1.

Elsewhere, Edgar Chairez pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for a submission of C.J. Vergara in a featured flyweight matchup. Chairez set the stage for the finish by dropping his adversary with a left hook and follow-up blows. From there, he worked his way to the back, locked in a face crank and forced a tapout at the 2:30 mark of the opening period.

Earlier, David Martinez had a debut to remember, scoring a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a finish of Saimon Oliveira in a main-card banta…

Brandon Moreno rose to the occasion yet again.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder moved forward in his quest to reclaim the 125-pound throne with a five-round unanimous decision over Steve Erceg in the UFC on ESPN 64 headliner on Saturday at CDMX Arena in Mexico City. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 49-46 for Moreno (23-8-2, 11-5-2 UFC), who has posted three straight wins since his controversial Feb. 24 loss to Brandon Royval.

Advertisement

Erceg (12-4, 3-3 UFC) excelled in spurts, especially with his calling-card jab and sneaky front kicks to the body. However, he could not match Moreno’s aggression. The Fortis MMA star thumped Erceg repeatedly with overhand rights, worked his weapons to all levels and even mixed in strategic takedowns in the fourth and fifth rounds. While it was far from the comprehensive performance for which Moreno has become known, it was enough to get him past the game Aussie. Read more

Sherdog's live UFC Mexico coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC on ESPN 64. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Mederos (-192), Hubbard (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Emmers (-340), Miranda (+270)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result BETTING …

Even the toughest men have their limits.

Manchester Top Team prospect Ateba Abega Gautier found the off switch on Jose Medina and announced his arrival in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he felled the durable Bolivian with a knee strike in the first round of their featured UFC on ESPN 64 prelim on Saturday at CDMX Arena in Mexico City. Stopped by knockout for the first time in his 16-fight career, Medina (11-5, 0-2 UFC) met his end 3:32 into Round 1.

Gautier (7-1, 1-0 UFC) took his time and waited for an opening to present itself. He stunned Medina with a thudding left hook, pressed him backward with follow-up punches, closed the distance and brought the knee up the middle. Down went Medina. One look at the dazed Dana White’s Contender Series graduate was enough for referee Raul Porrata to intervene on his behalf.

The 22-year-old Gautier has won six fights in a row, all of them finishes.

Meanwhile, Chute Boxe rep Melquizael Costa o…

The UFC 314 main card has taken a hit, as a welterweight bout pitting Geoff Neal against Carlos Prates has been removed from the lineup.

Advertisement

It was announced during the UFC Mexico broadcast on Saturday that Neal was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury. Prates will not remain on the card against a replacement opponent, but UFC commentator Jon Anik indicated that there could be big news involving the rising Brazilian star in the weeks to come.

UFC 314 takes place on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and is headlined by a featherweight championship fight pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Diego Lopes. It is currently unclear what will replace Neal vs. Prates on the main card.

Neal snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos via first-round TKO at UFC 308 this past October. “Handz of Steel” is 8-4 during his promotional tenure.

Prates has emerged as a person of interest at 170 pounds after w…

Guadalajara, aquí vamos! 🇲🇽#UFC320 at Noche UFC presented by Bud Light on Saturday, September 13th!

Register your interest 👉 https://t.co/6FMnUziUQL pic.twitter.com/LwomeKpU82

— UFC (@ufc) March 30, 2025

Advertisement

For the first time since its inception, Noche UFC will be heading to Mexico.

The promotion announced on Saturday that the third iteration of its celebration of Mexican Independence Day will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Sept. 13. The first two editions took place in Las Vegas.

No bouts were announced for the event, but it is likely to feature a number of fighters from Mexico and other Latin American countries. According to Las Vegas-based organization, the upcoming Noche UFC will also be known as UFC 320 — likely a pay-per-view offering.

The first Noche UFC event — which was also known as UFC Fight Night 227 — took place on Sept. 16, 2023, and saw Valentina Shevchenko and Alex Grasso battle to a spli…

[embedded content]

The Rizin 50 main event is official, as both Naoki Inoue and Yuki Motoya hit their contracted marks ahead of their bantamweight championship bout on Sunday.

Advertisement

Inoue tipped the scales at 134.3 pounds, while Motoya checked in at 134.2 for the headlining clash. Rizin 50 takes place at Anabuki Arena Kagawa in Kagawa, Japan and is available for free via Rizin.TV.

Elsewhere, Spike Carlyle (160.9) missed weight for his lightweight bout against Takeshi Izumi (156.5). As a result, if Carlyle wins or the bout ends in a draw, the official result will be recorded as a no contest. Additionally, the fight will begin with a point deduction for Carlyle and he will forfeit 50% of his purse.

Inoue initially bested Motoya via first-round submission at Rizin 26 in December 2020. The 27-year-old Kill Cliff FC representative is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2024 that saw him claim the vacant 135-pound throne with a first-round stoppage of Soo Chul K…

A proposed middleweight clash between Joe Pyfer and Kelvin Gastelum won’t be happening at UFC Mexico on Saturday as originally anticipated.

Advertisement

A few hours before the card, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced that the bout was canceled due to Pyfer coming down with an undisclosed illness. It is unclear if the fight will be rebooked at a later date.

"Just wanna say my heart is broken. I couldn't fight today. I got super sick and hopefully we can reschedule this fight for a few weeks from now," Pyfer wrote on his Instagram Stories. "Unfortunately comes with the territory of traveling outside the States. Never again. My apologies guys. We'll be back."

UFC Mexico — also known as UFC on ESPN 64 — will proceed with 12 bouts. The card, which takes place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, begins at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT and airs in its entirety on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Pyfer has been victorious in four of his five Octagon appearances and is coming off a fi…

🏆 Bo Nickal gives the edge to Khamzat Chimaev in a title fight against Dricus Du Plessis:

"I think the striking is pretty even. Khamzat has obviously massive advantage in grappling.

Advertisement

You just don't get strong grapplers like that competing. Dricus is not gonna have a gameplan… pic.twitter.com/A2nN53YvGf — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 27, 2025

Bo Nickal favors Khamzat Chimaev in a potential clash against Dricus Du Plessis.

Chimaev is likely to be the next title challenger at middleweight against Du Plessis. Nickal believes they are both even on the feet, while the champ might even have better cardio. However, Nickal believes it is Chimaev’s wrestling prowess that will give him an edge of “Stillknocks.”

Nickal claims that nothing can prepare Du Plessis for the skillset that “Borz” brings to the table. The former three-time NCAA Division I champ believes on he is on the same level as Chimaev when it comes…

First to the scale 💪

Brandon Moreno weighs in at 125 pounds ahead of tomorrow's #UFCMexico main event! pic.twitter.com/JftZLOAOmK

— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns south of the border with 13 fights that are now official following the UFC Mexico weigh-in results.

Advertisement

Headlining the event is a flyweight main event featuring former titleholder Brandon Moreno going up against Steve Erceg. Both men successfully made weight for the fight, which could have major implications for the division moving forward. As for the rest of the card, the only fighter to miss weight was Ronaldo Rodriguez, who came in a pound over the flyweight limit for his fight against Kevin Borjas. As a result, Rodriguez will be fined 20% of his purse.

Moreno (22-8-2) got back into the win column in his last outing after winning a unanimous decision over Amir Albazi. Prior to the win, "The Assassin Baby" had lost his t…

Just like that, the Bader era for Bellator MMA and the Professional Fighters League is over.

On Wednesday, Ariel Helwani reported that Ryan Bader had parted ways with his organization, despite the heavyweight having one more fight on his deal. The departure was amicable, and Bader will now become a free agent. He confirmed this news on social media on Thursday, thanking both organizations for his time with them while pitching his upcoming film “The Smashing Machine.”

“Just an update…officially a free agent,” Bader wrote. “PFL and our team came up with terms we were both happy agreeing on with one fight remaining on contract. The Bellator run was one for the books. What a blast, and being surrounded by great people running that org. I’m still open to different opportunities in the fight game. The Smashing Machine movie will be released somewhat soon and it will be an exciting year for sure. Big thanks to [Bellator matchmaker] Mike Kogan for always treating the fight…

[embedded content] Gilbert Burns plans on digging deep into his bag of tricks to eject Michael Morales from the ranks of the unbeaten.

While Burns (22-8) enters his match with Morales (17-0) on a three-fight skid, the vaunted grappler still remains a ranked welterweight. The two 170ers plan on crossing swords at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, as part of UFC 315 on May 10. The 38-year-old told Sherdog that he has shaken some issues that plagued him in recent camps, and that his training partners have made him a more complete fighter as of late. He also weighed in on the landscape of his division and gave his thoughts on a few key matchups the Ultimate Fighting Championship is planning.

Advertisement

“I had some problems in the previous camps,” Burns admitted, “but now, I’m doing very well, and there are still six weeks until the fight. He has a [two-meter, or 79-inch] reach, and in my gym, I have a lot of sparring partners helping me with similar characteris…