Martial Arts News

WOW. Daniel Frunza cracks Haris Talund?i? with a brutal elbow and gets the finish with 1 second left in the fight. Crazy ending in the LFA main event. #LFA170 pic.twitter.com/bQa4BKN3QN

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 28, 2023

Romanian welterweight Daniel Frunza (7-2) secured his seventh professional victory with an emphatic knockout in the last second of his bout against Bosnia's Haris Talundzic (6-2) in the Legacy Fighting Alliance 170 170 main event at the Dobson Arena in Vail, Colorado, on Friday night.

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The fight was competitive right up until the finish. Talundzic managed to keep the fight close with his cage control and grappling pressure. Round 3 also saw the Bosnian control Frunza on the side of the cage for a considerable amount of time before being separated by the referee due to inaction.

With barely a few seconds left in the final round, Frunza managed to land a thudding right elbow on Talundzic that lef…

play-by-play and round-by-round scoring kicks off Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. ET with results of the undercard. Full PBP and virtual scoring from three unofficial judges will commence as business picks up for the main event.

Alcibiade Duran vs. Jack McGann

Carlos Takam vs. Martin Bakole

Moses Itauma vs. Istvan Bernath

Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Junior Anthony Wright

Joseph Parker vs. Simon Kean

Fabio Wardley vs. David Adeleye

Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: Round 4 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Sc…

#ANDSTILL! @dannimccormack puts Karolina Wojcik to sleep and retains the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship! #InvictaFC54 pic.twitter.com/PsBXHAWAgX

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) October 28, 2023 Danni McCormack is still the Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight champion.

The Invicta FC 54 main event saw McCormack take on challenger Karolina Wojcik. It was a closely contested fight on the feet over the first three rounds, with McCormack (8-2) walking forward and Wojcik (11-4) countering well with punches. However, the fourth frame would see McCormack get a takedown, secure the back of Wojcik and sink in a rear-naked choke. The tap officially came at 1:22 of Round 4.

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The co-main event was a pivotal flyweight scrap between Kristina Williams and Dee Begley. The first two rounds were largely contested on the feet, with Williams (7-4) having a clear striking advantage. Begley (4-3) would have her best moments in the…

The Notorious heads to The Kingdom 🇸🇦👑 #furyngannou pic.twitter.com/dZOCQMXvkI

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 26, 2023 Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor will be making an appearance at the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match on Saturday.

The Irishman will join several renowned athletes and celebrities, including a swath of former boxing and MMA champions, as well as soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo. McGregor claimed he received a formal invitation from the House of Saud, the royal ruling family of Saudi Arabia. McGregor posted on social media on Thursday night to confirm he would be in attendance in Riyadh on Saturday, while also weighing in on the matchup itself.

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“What’s up guys, the notorious Conor McGregor here,” the Irishman declared. “Just getting on to happily announce I will be heading to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia early AM tomorrow for the big blockbuster fight between boxer Tyson Fury …

[embedded content] Meat is back on the menu for the all-heavyweight Top Rank boxing main card on Saturday.

With no cap on the heavyweight division, none of the 10 competitors on the main card of Top Rank: Fury vs. Ngannou was at risk of missing weight. As a result, weights ranged from a shade under 230 pounds to a whisker below 300 pounds, and the green light has been given to the entire lineup.

The main event, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28, comes in a non-title, 10-round exhibition match between lineal boxing heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury (277.7) and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (272.1). Both men hit the scales above 270 pounds, with about five and a half pounds separating the two heavy hitters. Despite Fury not putting any of his titles on the line in this pairing, with Ngannou an unranked boxer ineligible for any gold, the WBC elected to create the “Riyadh Champion” belt for the victor.

The co-featured attraction…

Fans may get to witness Jorge Masvidal put his striking skills on display once again, only in the squared circle rather than the Octagon.

The longtime veteran known as “Gamebred” (35-17) announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns (22-6) at UFC 287 in April. The loss marked Masvidal's fourth consecutive defeat with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, including two failed title bids against then-champion Kamaru Usman.

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Since then, the UFC and Strikeforce stalwart has been focused on promoting his Gamebred FC events, which dabble in boxing as well as bare-knuckle MMA. In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, the 38-year-old confirmed that he will be making his return to boxing in early 2024. In 2005, “Gamebred” made his boxing debut against Joseph Benjamin in Miami, and he captured a majority decision in a four-round affair.

When asked if he would be re-entering the boxing world, Masvidal replied, “It's a y…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Jon Jones is in good spirits despite suffering a serious injury requiring months of recovery.

Jones (27-1, 1 NC) is determined to make a return to the Octagon as soon as he can, after being forced out of his UFC 295 title fight with Stipe Miocic (20-4) due to a shoulder injury. About two and a half weeks before the highly anticipated heavyweight title attraction, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jones had suffered a pectoral tear during a grappling session that would require surgery.

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With Jones on the shelf for a prolonged period, the promotion elected to create an interim heavyweight strap. Vying for the newly created belt will be top contenders Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich, who will be stepping up on extremely short notice in the co-main event of UFC 295. Jones (27-1) took to social media on Thursday to address his withdrawal, and apologize to his opponent as well as the fans.

“Thank …

Never count out Mark Abelardo in One Championship.

The Fairtex Pattaya product withstood two knockdowns and wide swaths of positional control to put away Georgy Shakhruramazanov with punches in the second round of their ONE Friday Fights 38 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Abelardo (22-10, 7-5 UFC) brought it to a dramatic close 4:43 into Round 2.

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Shakhruramazanov (12-2, 1-1 ONE) floored his counterpart with a spinning wheel kick in the first round and moved into clinch range behind a burst of punches, only to stall in the corner. He caught Abelardo with the same kick in the middle stanza, swarmed with punches and ultimately secured a takedown and advanced to the back. From there, it all went awry. Abelardo scrambled to his feet, initiated an exchange and decked the Russian with a sweeping left hook. A series of standing-to-ground punches followed, necessitating the stoppage.

Meanwhile, former Univer…

Tom Aspinall says his upcoming title shot was just what he expected, and the only surprise was its timing.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Aspinall (13-3) recently received an early morning phone call from the promotion asking if he was ready to fight on two weeks’ notice. A day later Aspinall was booked to take on Sergei Pavlovich (18-1) for the interim title in the co-main event at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 in Madison Square Garden.

The card was originally scheduled to be headlined by Jon Jones defending his strap against heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic. However, the bout fell through as Miocic reportedly refused to accept a change in opponent after Jones was forced out due to a pectoral injury.

Two of the fastest-rising forces in the heavyweight division, Aspinall and Pavlovich have been on a collision course for a while now. Moreover, Aspinall recently revealed that a clash against the Russian, potentially for the vacant titl…

Tyson Fury would have preferred to take things one step at a time, but he says his hand was forced in this case.

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Fury (33-0) is set to take on former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in a crossover boxing superfight on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hardly a month ahead of the matchup Fury’s team announced that “The Gypsy King” will take on Oleksandr Usyk (21-0) in December or January to determine the undisputed heavyweight champ.

For many the Usyk bout announcement seemed dismissive of Fury’s upcoming clash against “The Predator.” Fury claims he was displeased when the news dropped and claims to have played no role in it whatsoever.

According to Fury, who appeared this week on “The MMA Hour,” it is the “paymaster” who is in control of such decisions.

“It wasn’t my choice. I would never in a million years do that. But the people who are putting these fights on, who are paying the money, they’re in contr…

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Rizin Landmark, Vol. 7 truly earns its name, as it will mark the promotion’s first foray outside Japan.

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The latest iteration of Rizin’s Landmark series is slated to go down at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan on Nov. 4. According to a press release from the promotion, the host country will be represented in five out of the 10 total fights, all set to take place after the intermission. The event will stream on pay-per-view through Fite.tv.

The five Azerbaijani fighters on the card include featherweight champ Vugar Karamov and former lightweight titleholder Tofiq Musayev, as well as Mehman Mammadov, Tural Ragimov and Nariman Abbasov, who will take on opponents from Japan, the USA, South Korea and Russia respectively. All fights will be contested under Rizin rules, which allow kicks and knees to the head of a grounded opponent.

Karamov will defend his strap in the main event of the night against Chihiro Suzuki…

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Despite the numerous potential challengers waiting for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira sounds confident about his place at the front of the line.

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Former champ Oliveira (34-9) was scheduled for a rematch against Makhachev (25-1), the man who dethroned him last year, at UFC 294 on Oct. 21. However, a cut suffered during sparring forced “do Bronx” out of the matchup 12 days before fight night. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stepped up on short notice for his own rematch against Makhachev, losing via first-round knockout.

In the wake of Makhachev’s dominant win over Volkanovski, it is an open question whether Oliveira will automatically step back into a title fight once he is fit to compete. While two-time former title challenger Justin Gaethje has made a strong case for himself with his “BMF Belt” win over Dustin Poirier earlier this year, former KSW two-division champ Mateusz Gamrot is also …