Martial Arts News

Themba Gorimbo will return to action against Kiefer Crosbie on Feb. 3 at a yet-to-be-announced Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Gorimbo confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMA Mania. The card does have an official location or headliner.

Gorimbo (11-4) made headlines earlier this year due to his inspirational story, which came to light following his first promotional triumph against Takashi Sato at UFC Fight Night 223 on May 20. The South Africa native debuted in the Octagon with a loss to A.J. Fletcher at UFC Fight Night 219 after competing primarily on the African regional scene.

An SBG Ireland product, Crosbie will look to bounce back from a first-round submission loss against Kevin Jousset in his promtional debut at UFC 293. His 10-4 career mark notably includes a 3-3 stint in Bellator MMA.

UFC Fight Night 232 has undergone a couple of changes less than a week before Saturday’s card.

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Christian Leroy Duncan (8-1) was originally scheduled to welcome undefeated Brazilian debutant Cesar Almeida (4-0) to the Octagon at Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex. However, Almeida withdrew due to an infection and has now been replaced by Russia’s Denis Tiuliulin (10-8).

Duncan is coming off the first professional loss of his career via unanimous decision against Armen Petrosyan in June. The former Cage Warriors middleweight champ will look to return to the win column with a decisive victory over Tiuliulin, who is on a two-fight skid with a 1-3 promotional record so far.

The update was first reported by Vestnik MMA on Instagram and subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

Meanwhile, promotional newcomer Jonny Parsons (9-3) has withdrawn from his scheduled welterweight clash against Uros Medic (9-1) due to undisclosed reasons. Parsons wil…

A welterweight matchup has been added to the first Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event of 2024, which is set to go down at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20.

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Sam Patterson (10-2) will face Canada's Yohan Lainesse (9-2) in what will mark the Englishman's first professional fight in the welterweight division at UFC 297. The matchup was first reported by Eurosport Nederland’s Marcel Dorff on Nov. 3 but was just recently confirmed by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Patterson, a Brave Combat Federation alum, made his Octagon debut at UFC 286 on the heels of a six-fight win streak, including a Round 2 submission victory against Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci in Dana White’s Contender Series.

Unfortunately for Patterson, his promotional debut didn't go as planned as the Team Crossface product suffered a brutal Round 1 knockout loss at the hands of Israeli fighter Yanal Ashmoz. Meanwhile, Lainesse is 2-2 in his last four. The Canadian …

For the most part, Kayla Harrison has been an extremely active competitor since making her professional mixed martial arts debut in 2018.

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With the exception of the COVID-altered 2020 campaign, the two-time Olympic gold medalist fought at least three times a year — and usually four — from 2018 through 2022. That changed this year, when Harrison was sidelined as the Professional Fighters League introduced a featherweight division. The two-time 155-pound champion revealed earlier in the year that it wasn’t necessarily her choice to sit out the season. However, she gained valuable perspective in multiple aspects of her life during her downtime.

Much of that had little to do with fighting.

“I was still in the gym training every day. I went from training twice a day pretty much year round to training once a day, focusing on where I can get better — a lot of the holes in my game,” Harrison said during a PFL media day. “But the biggest gains I feel li…

Clay Collard is probably more qualified than most to comment on Francis Ngannou’s professional boxing debut.

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Collard, who owns a 9-6-3 record as a professional boxer, was just as surprised as anyone to see Ngannou hold his own against Tyson Fury in their match on Oct. 28 in Saudia Arabia — especially after training alongside “The Predator” in the past.

“I’ve got to give him props,” Collard said during a recent PFL media day. “I trained with him a little bit back at Xtreme Couture, and I never would’ve guessed that would’ve been the case, him going in there and dropping Fury. A lot of people might have him winning.

“I wish him all the success. I think he can take it as high as he wants to go in boxing or mixed martial arts. Baddest man on the planet, PFL.”

While Collard has plenty of experience in the Sweet Science, his current focus is winning the PFL lightweight championship against Olivier Aubin-Mercier on Nov. 24 in Washington, D.C. Their …

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has adopted new thresholds for several previously prohibited substances, according to a report from MMAjunkie.com.

During a meeting on Tuesday, thresholds were approved for the following substances: GW1516, dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) long-term metabolite (M3), clomiphene, epitrenbolone (trenbolone metabolite), and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS). The new policy is designed to help distinguish between drug tests results that are “atypical” and those that are “adverse.”

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NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen offered further details on the newly-approved policy in a statement.

“Any positive test of a proposed substance which is below the respective proposed threshold would be considered atypical requiring additional investigation,” Mullen said. “This investigation may include, but not be limited to, review of the fighter’s test history, interviews, and possible additional testing. The resu…

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UFC Fight Pass commentator Carlos Barreto was disappointed by Alex Pereira’s decision to call out Israel Adesanya for a trilogy fight following his championship victory at UFC 295.

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“Adesanya tried to come up to light heavyweight and lost his first fight against Jan Blachowicz. ‘Poatan’ moved up, defeated Blachowicz and got the belt after beating another former champion, [Jiri Prochazka],” Barreto said on his weekly videocast, Papo de Luta. “Adesanya already said he is taking some time off and in addition, he has unfinished business to solve at middleweight with [Sean Strickland or Dricus Du Plessis).

“‘Poatan’ should understand that the best storyline for him is undoubtedly Jamahal Hill. Glover [Teixeira] was beaten by Prochaska, and ‘Poatan’ avenged him. It would have been a perfect time to use the microphone to say ‘Hill get well soon, I ́m waiting for you and I ́m going to beat you up and avenge Glover again.’ That's the narrat…

From visa complications to crippling back pain, Tom Aspinall had a lot going on in the lead up to his short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

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While Pavlovich was supposed to be the backup for the originally scheduled title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, Aspinall stepped up on less than three weeks’ notice when that fight fell through. The Brit recently revealed that he couldn’t even train for most of whatever little time he had due to severe backache.

Aspinall shared footage of when his back suddenly stiffened up during training due to no apparent reason. Unable to train or even walk for a couple of days after, Aspinall revealed on "The MMA Hour” that he considered pulling out of the fight.

“I just wanted to get one good spar under my belt before we basically leave and travel to the U.S.” Aspinall said. “This was in the fourth round of sparring. Never experienced anything like it before. I just had a c…

Dustin Poirier believes that the version of Charles Oliveira he faced can dethrone Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Islam Makhachev.

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Oliveira was coming off finishes of Michael Chandler, Poirier and Justin Gaethje when he was submitted by Makhachev in the second round of their title bout at UFC 280 in October 2022. The Brazilian bounced back with a first-round KO over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 in June, securing a rematch against Makhachev.

Oliveira was 12 days away from having a chance to avenge his loss against Makhachev at UFC 294 when a gruesome cut suffered in sparring forced him out of the fight. Oliveira was replaced by featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who went on to suffer a brutal first-round KO loss.

Poirier believes “do Bronx” has what it takes to defeat the Dagestani champ if they run it back. According to the Louisiana native, Oliveira didn’t show up at his best when he lost the strap to Makhachev at UFC 2…

Leon Edwards claims there is no one exciting enough left for him at welterweight after his upcoming title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

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Edwards dethroned Kamaru Usman in a shocking upset at UFC 278 before defending the belt via decision in a rematch at UFC 286 in March. While many expected Belal Muhammad to get his long due title shot next, Dana White was adamant on giving it to Covington, who hasn’t fought since a decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

If he defeats Covington at UFC 296, Edwards is no longer interested in defending his title at 170 pounds. “Rocky” recently told Sky Sports that he is eyeing double-champ glory with a middleweight title shot in his next outing.

Edwards will be keenly watching the upcoming UFC 297 title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, both of whom he considers to be good matchups.

"One hundred percent, definitely [moving up to challenge the middleweight cha…

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Paddy Pimblett claims the ongoing feud between Leon Edwards and Ian Garry has already been settled inside the gym.

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Garry recently revealed that he was no longer welcome at Edwards’ Team Renegade, which has been one of his two major training homes along with Kill Cliff FC in South Florida. “The Future” called Edwards a “b—ch” for allegedly throwing him out of the gym to avoid “doubts and insecurities.” Meanwhile, Team Renegade said that the decision was primarily due to Garry’s nomadic nature, which wasn’t in line with the gym’s vision.

Pimblett has now added fuel to the fire by dropping a massive gym rumor. While discussing potential opponents for Edwards during a recent interview, Pimblett agreed that Shavkat Rakhmonov could go on to challenge “Rocky” if he gets past Stephen Thompson at UFC 296. However, Pimblett dismissed Garry’s name, claiming that debate has allegedly been settled with “The Future” getting knocked out by Edwa…

Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker will attempt to settle some unfinished business in the headliner of an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 13.

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John Kavanagh, Walker’s coach, announced the pairing on"The MMA Hour," and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The card hasn’t been announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion, so it doesn’t have an official location or venue as of yet.

The first meeting between Ankalaev and Walker ended in controversial fashion at UFC 294. After Ankalaev landed an illegal knee on his opponent in the opening stanza, a cageside physician was called in to examine Walker. After a series of questions, the fight was waved off — much to the displeasure of both combatants.

It was the second straight disappointing outcome for Ankalaev, who battled Jan Blachowicz to a majority draw with the vacant light heavyweight title on the line at UFC 282. As a result, the belt remained vacant, and both Ankalaev and Blacho…