Martial Arts News

Shortly after his hard-fought triumph against Brendan Allen in the UFC Seattle co-headliner, Anthony Hernandez alluded to struggling with some illness-related issues leading up to the bout.

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“I plan on getting better for the next one,” Hernandez told Michael Bisping in the Octagon. “I’m sorry about the performance. I just finished my antibiotics yesterday. I was sick as f—k. But I came here and I made the s—t happen. Hope you guys enjoyed the show.”

“Fluffy” was able to elaborate on what he was dealing with during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, while also revealing some additional injury issues that hindered his performance.

“Let’s just say I got off amoxicillin Friday,” Hernandez said. “I felt like s--t, and I’m not going to lie: I messed up my ribs two weeks ago. My ribs were f---ed before. It was just thank God for the [UFC Performance Institute]. They were here and they helped me every f---ing day. We got it to be good enough for th…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA competitor Guilherme Vasconcelos took his own life last year.

According to TMZ Sports, the case report from Oct. 15 reveals that police determined that Vasconcelos committed suicide the previous night at approximately 11:45 p.m. local time. “Bomba” was found by an unidentified woman in the garage of the Illinois residence at 9 a.m. the next day.

A suicide note was not found, and a toxicology report only revealed the presence of caffeine in Vasconcelo’s system. The house was searched and several vials of anabolic steroids were recovered. Two were nearly empty and two were unopened, according to the report. Vasconcelos was 38 years old.

Vasconcelos went 10-6 over the course of an MMA career that began in 2012. After competing on “TUF Brazil 3,” his lone Octagon appearance came at UFC 175, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Luke Zachrich on July 5, 2014. “Bomba” also went 3-3 during a six-bout stin…

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A welterweight clash between Mike Malott and Charlie Radtke has been added to the UFC 315 lineup.

The booking was recently confirmed by the Las Vegas…

While Fabricio Werdum prepares for his Global Fight League debut against Frank Mir, he has decided to hold a special event for up-and-coming mixed martial artists.

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The MMA challenge will take place on Wednesday and features fighters weighing between 65 and 75 kilograms (143 to 165 pounds). The winner will get the opportunity to compete for the Brazil-based Jungle Fight promotion.

“When I started [fighting] I was so eager to have an opportunity,” Werdum said. “In some cases, I even paid my ticket to fight. The idea of the ‘Werdum Challenge’ is to provide that opportunity for fighters. I talked to Wallid [Ismael], who was the first to give me an opportunity, and he liked the idea. So we will start in Jungle Fight, but the idea is also to do it in other MMA promotions and also include grappling.”

According to Werdum, the first iteration of his challenge will air on his YouTube channel.

“The event will take place in Sao Paulo at the train…

Jean Silva and Bryce Mitchell appear to be on a collision course after UFC Seattle.

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Silva fought Melsik Baghdasaryan, who was returning after almost two years, at UFC Fight Night 252 on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Silva starched Baghdasaryan with a right hand to score his fourth straight stoppage win in as many UFC outings. Silva then called out Bryce Mitchell in his post-fight Octagon interview.

Silva targeted Mitchell for his recent anti-semitic comments. Mitchell is flat earth theorist who recently praised Adolf Hitler and went on a widely criticized anti-semitic and homophobic rant. “Thug Nasty” later apologized for his remarks.

Silva elaborated on his callout of Mitchell at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Lord” acknowledged Mitchell’s skillset while also criticizing his recent comments.

“I think that Bryce Mitchell is somebody who would offer me an opportunity for a very good renewed contract if I beat hi…

In the immediate aftermath of his controversial victory over Henry Cejudo in the UFC Seattle headliner, Yadong Song seemed more than willing to run it back against the Olympic gold medalist.

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It might not matter.

Song defeated Cejudo via technical decision when an inadvertent eye poke rendered “Triple C” unable to continue after three rounds. While the “Kung Fu Kid” appeared to be on his way to victory, Cejudo had been competitive enough up to that point to where the championship rounds might have been interesting had they occurred.

However, UFC CEO Dana White doesn’t appear interested in seeing a rematch between Song and Cejudo at a future event.

“Not at all,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Not even a little bit. I just don’t want to see it again.”

After Song committed the inadvertent foul in the third round, Cejudo took the full five minutes given to him by referee Jason Herzog to recover. When the round resumed…

🤝Paddy Pimblett squashes his beef with Dustin Poirier:

"I don’t feel disrespected. I understand what he’s saying… 'legends only.' I’m not a legend.

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Why retire after one fight? Stop being a b*tch arse. Fight a contract out."

🎥 @PaddyTheBaddy ▫️ pic.twitter.com/AgEabNtISb

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 22, 2025 Dustin Poirier believes Michael Chandler will end Paddy Pimblett’s winning streak at UFC 314.

Chandler will look to return to the win column in a lightweight clash against Pimblett at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Both Chandler and Pimblett have opened at nearly even odds on most sportsbooks. And Poirier advises bettors to wager heavy on former opponent Chandler for easy money.

“Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money,” Poirier wrote on X.

Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money https://t…

Alex Pereira responds to DC pic.twitter.com/QTMvuK5ae0

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) February 22, 2025

Alex Pereira recently alleviated Daniel Cormier’s concerns about his upcoming fight.

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Pereira will puts his light heavyweight title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Cormier recently expressed some concern about Pereira’s preparation for the upcoming fight based on his recent activity.

Pereira was spotted in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month when the promotion returned to the country for UFC 312. “Poatan” was also seen meeting and greeting rapper Drake during his concert in Sydney.

Cormier is worried about Pereira catching the infamous “Drake curse” if the musician bets on him. A betting enthusiast, Drake putting his money on an athlete or team is believed to be bad luck for them, often leading to loss. Fighters like Conor McGregor, Mike T…

Belal Muhammad believes he’s “better everywhere” compared to Jack Della Maddalena

“I think they just underestimate my hands and my striking…

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I think I’m gonna go in there and walk through [Jack].”

🎥 @remembertheshow #UFC315pic.twitter.com/UBOh6lG7xf

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025 Belal Muhammad (24-3) thinks he is better than Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) in every aspect.

Della Maddalena challenges Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was originally expected to fight Muhammad, was offered the shot but missed out due to injury.

While Muhammad is one of the best grapplers on the entire UFC roster, Della Maddalena possesses devastating knockout power in his hands. While the Australian is expected to have an advantage over Muhammad on the feet, the champ disagrees. “Remember the Name” …

If Diego Lopes is to be believed, the era of two-division champions is over in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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While some fighters have won belts in two weight classes, only a few have enjoyed the privilege of holding two belts simultaneously, such as Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. However, Lopes claims that will no longer be the case.

Featherweight champ Ilia Topuria recently vacated his belt to move up to lightweight, setting the stage for Lopes to face Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant 145-pound title at UFC 314. UFC CEO Dana White announced that Topuria felt he had accomplished enough at 145 pounds and has difficulty making the weight now.

However, Lopes claims Topuria was forced to vacate his belt in order to move up to lightweight.

“They were very clear to us that they said that they are no longer giving [fighters the] chance to jump from one weight class to another,” Lopes told ESPN. “If you want to move up, y…

Michael Chandler predicts an early KO in his fight against Paddy Pimblett 👀

“It’s a bad matchup stylistically for [Paddy]… I’m gonna land a right hand or a left hook and put his lights out within the first couple rounds.”

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🎥 @espnmma #UFC314pic.twitter.com/XoQZoHXEUx — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025

Michael Chandler (23-9) vows to derail Paddy Pimblett’s (22-3) hype train at UFC 314.

Chandler and Pimblett will meet in lightweight matchup at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Chandler intends to make Pimblett feel from the very first exchange that he’s fighting at a different level.

While Chandler admits that Pimblett is on a streak now, he intends to end it in Miami. “Iron” believes the Liverpudlian will fold under his pressure and go on the backfoot. Chandler will then look for the knockout blow to end the night early.

“I believe he’ll know within his very first exchange h…

There were not many bonuses handed out at UFC Seattle despite being a finish-heavy card.

Also known as UFC Fight Night 252, the bill went down at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. While none of the seven fights on the prelims card went the distance there were only two Performance of the Night bonuses doled out.

Bantamweight veteran Ricky Simon (21-6) was the only prelims fighter to earn an extra $50k bonus for his knockout win over Javid Basharat (14-2). While Simon had difficulty implementing his signature wrestling, he landed a perfect right hand to send Basharat to the shadow realm in the very first round. The win saw the 32-year-old rebound from a three fight skid.

Meanwhile, Jean Silva (15-2) received the second performance bonus of the night for the only stoppage on the main card. “Lord” was thoroughly entertaining right from his walkout, even engaging in a slap-fest with Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-3) before dropping the Armenian. Silva even waited for the ref…