Martial Arts News

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Updated PFL Mohegan Sun Fight Card

•Blagoy Ivanov is out•New Matchup: Marcelo Nunes vs Oleg Popov•Steve Mowry is out•New Matchup: Danilo Marques vs. Gokhan Saricam•Kaytlin Neil is out.•New Matchup: Saray Orozoco vs. Sumiko Inaba•Melissa Balic vs.… pic.twitter.com/bCB89EkoqZ

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 7, 2024

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Professional Fighters League has done some reshuffling for its next regular season event.

The organization on Tuesday announced multiple changes and updates to PFL 4, which features heavyweights and women’s flyweights and takes place on June 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In the heavyweight division, Steve Mowry, who was supposed to face Gokhan Saricam, and Blagoy Ivanov, who was slated to meet Oleg Popov, have withdrawn from the card for undisclosed reasons. Instead, Danilo Marques will lock horns with Saricam, while Marcelo Nunes will square off against Popov. Marques and Nunes were…

Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa

India’s Anshul Jubli isn’t shying away from the responsibility that comes with representing an entire country on the biggest mixed martial arts platform in the world.

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While former Matrix Fight Night champ Puja Tomar recently joined Jubli as the only other Indian on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, “King of Lions” is widely regarded as the face of Indian MMA.

While Jubli acknowledges the gravity of the responsibility of shouldering an entire country’s expectations, the 29-year-old welcomes the opportunity. Jubli believes not everyone is blessed with such a burden and that no one could have shouldered it better than him.

“Yes, it’s a huge, huge responsibility to represent the entire country on a platform like the UFC. But I think it’s a good thing, right?” Jubli told fans during a recent meet and greet. “Such responsibilities don’t come to everyone like …

Sean Strickland coach Eric Nicksick revealed that there is always a risk of the former middleweight champ not listening to his corner.

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Strickland (28-6) is scheduled to fight Paulo Costa (14-3) in the co-main event at UFC302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland’s only knockout loss in the recent past came against Alex Pereira in 2022, when he inexplicably chose to stand in the pocket against the former Glory Kickboxing champion. With Costa also being known for an explosive style, Nicksick admitted that there is always the possibility of Strickland fighting the Brazilian’s game.

“Of course, I’m always worried. He doesn’t listen for s—t,” Eric Nicksick told Sportskeeda MMA. “There’s elements I think that we need to address. Especially in a five-round fight, it’s important to utilize a full MMA skills set. You’ve heard me say this time and time again with Sean. And will he probably listen, probably not.”

Following …

Next stop @3ArenaDublin ☘️ pic.twitter.com/UpDYghVPDc

— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) April 29, 2024

Coveted mixed martial arts prospect Paul Hughes claims the choice between the Professional Fighters League and the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a no-brainer for him.

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After fighting out his Cage Warriors Fighting Championship contract with a first-round knockout win over Fabiano Silva last month, Hughes briefly explored free agency before signing with the PFL. “Big News” recently explained that while the UFC had an offer on the table, it stood no comparison to the PFL’s.

“It [the choice] wasn’t really difficult, to be honest, at all. [The PFL’s offer] was just a lot better, a lot better," Hughes said on "The MMA Hour". “They [the UFC] had an offer but it just wasn’t… No, it wasn’t [a Contender Series offer], it was mentioned but it wasn’t concrete and that was it. It [the PFL’s] was just a way better offer, it…

Alexandre Pantoja is eyeing a future dream fight against Demetrious Johnson after his latest title defense.

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Pantoja recently defended his flyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg in the main event at UFC 301 UFC 301. Having successfully defended his strap for the second time, Pantoja believes he can make a case for a matchup against the former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champ and MMA GOAT contender. If a fight doesn’t come to fruition, “The Cannibal” is also content with a hard sparring session against Johnson.

“Yeah, he’s the GOAT you know, how I can not say that? I think right now after two title defense I can speak a little bit about that. Because I have a huge respect for Demetrious Johnson. I can’t try to compare myself with him. And right now, I can say something you know, more coins to put on the table,” Pantoja said on “The MMA Hour”.

“And I think that’s dream for me. I don’t like to say I have dre…

Four fighters from UFC 301 could be sidelined for a significant period following Saturday’s card in Rio de Janeiro.

Drakkar Klose (right knee), Dione Barbosa (left shoulder), Ismael Bonfim (left foot, left leg) and Kevin Borjas (left leg) are all facing potential 180-day medical suspensions, per the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA). All of those terms can be reduced by physician clearance. Every fighter on the card received at least a precautionary 14-day suspension with seven days of no contact.

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Meanwhile, Jack Shore was suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact after his bout against Joanderson Brito was stopped at the 3:35 mark of Round 2 due to a cut on his shin. While a cageside physician feared that Shore might have a fracture, his coach later revealed that was not the case.

UFC 301 took place at Farmasi Arena and saw Alexandre Pantoja retain his flyweight title with a five-round verdict against Steve Erceg in the evening’s main …

Michel Pereira didn’t need long to put on a show for Brazilian fans at UFC 301.

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Shortly after a controversial backflip by Pereira sent his knee crashing dangerously close to the head of grounded opponent Ihor Potieria, “Demolidor” secured a guillotine choke and elicited a tap 54 seconds into Round 1. Ultimately, it was determined that Pereira did not land an illegal strike, and he was awarded one of the evening’s four $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for his efforts.

Shortly after his victory, Pereira revealed to Sherdog.com that he had previously trained with Potieria before Saturday’s bout.

"We did sparring together at Xtreme Couture, but I didn’t show the real Michel Pereira. It was more like light sparring,” he said. “Actually, that's how I train. I give training to anyone who spars with me. I don't necessarily want to get a knockout every time I spar.”

According to Pereira, the backflip the he dubbed “Fumo Mix” wasn’t an illega…

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Based on what he saw in the UFC 301 headliner, Demetrious Johnson believes Muhammad Mokaev can dethrone reigning flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.

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Johnson was not impressed by Pantoja’s unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg in the main event at UFC 301 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. Johnson saw a one-dimensional showing from “The Cannibal,” who failed to land much damage on Erceg despite ground control time of over eight minutes.

“When I was watching the fight, I didn’t feel like [Alexandre] Pantoja was a better fighter…” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “His grappling is his strongest suit. If you can keep him away from his grappling then you can pretty much, I feel, you can take advantage of him. He can’t fight in the clinch, there’s no elbows, there’s no dumping him to the side. It was basically running at you with my hands down and punch and go for a takedown and then take you down.”

Johnson also deems Pantoja’s p…

Let the talking begin on the way to #BellatorParis 🗣️🔊🔊@CedricDoumbe x @jaleelwillis1

[ #BellatorParis | Fri May 17 | 🎟️ https://t.co/0SdSBmsFhj] pic.twitter.com/ijNIx0FkXu

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 3, 2024

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Jaleel Willis isn’t buying the Cedric Doumbe hype.

Willis, a short-notice replacement for Derek Anderson, will face the French striker in the co-main event of Bellator Champions Series Paris on May 17 at Accor Arena. Doumbe’s signing was met with much fanfare, and he delivered in his Professional Fighters League debut, knocking out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds this past September. His sophomore outing didn’t go as planned, however, as he suffered a technical knockout loss to Baissangour Chamsoudinov when a splinter in his foot forced the bout to be halted at the 1:21 mark of Round 3.

Still, Doumbe remains one of the most highly-touted fighters on the PFL and Bellator roster, and he repeatedly called himself t…

Cory Sandhagen will face Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bantamweight pairing on Monday. UFC Fight Night takes place at Etihad Arena and is one of two visits the organization will make to Abu Dhabi in 2024. Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov were originally scheduled to meet last August at UFC on ESPN 50 before Nurmagomeodv withdrew from the bout due to a shoulder injury.

Sandhagen remained on the UFC on ESPN 50 card, where he took a clear-cut unanimous decision against Rob Font in the new main event. The 32-year-old Elevation Fight Team representative has won three straight outings, a run that also includes triumphs over Marlon Vera and Yadong Song.

Nurmagomedov is undefeated in 17 professional appearances. The 28-year-old Dagestani has won his first five promotional outings, including a three-round verdict over Bekzat Almakhan in his m…

While he ultimately won via knockout, Akbar Abdullaev explained why his recent display of grappling against Halil Amir shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

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Abdullaev knocked out Amir with a left hook 2:52 into Round 2 of their One on Prime Video 22 clash on May 3 to earn a $50,000 performance bonus.

“I'm feeling great. I have so many emotions now so it's really difficult to describe everything with words,” Abdullaev said at the post-fight press conference. “I'm feeling great. I'm feeling the best. It's like a dream now. I'm feeling like I'm in a dream and I'm happy. I'm really happy.”

Before knocking Amir out cold in the second round, Abdullaev also asserted his superior ground game over the previously undefeated Turkish standout in the opening frame. Despite having scored 10 of his 11 career wins via knockout, Abdullaev explains that his impressive grappling shouldn’t come as a surprise given his country’s rich wrestling history.

“When …

Dmitry Menshikov wants to be a ONE Championship title holder in both muay thai and kickboxing.

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Former muay thai lightweight title challengers Menshikov and Sinsamut Klinmee recently clashed at One on Prime Video 22. Menshikov scored a third-round TKO win over Klinmee in front of the latter’s home crowd at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. While Menshikov was well aware of his opponent’s star power going into the bout, the Russian wasn’t bothered about fighting in enemy territory.

“You know what, I was doing my job,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t think of this much. Of course, I knew that he’s a really famous Thai fighter. I knew that people were going to support him, but I didn't care. My job is simple — to fight. And I was doing my job.”

Menshikov suffered his lone career loss via second-round knockout in failed title bid against Regian Eersel in June 2023. He has since earned his way back into the title pic…