Martial Arts News

Ion Cutelaba edged KSW veteran Ivan Erslan over three rounds to close out the UFC Fight Night 243 prelims at Accor Arena in Paris.

Advertisement

“The Hulk” (18-10-1, 7-9-1 UFC) came into the bout having lost four of his last five fights and needed an impressive performance over the UFC debutant. Cutelaba’s heavy hands carried the day early as The Hulk walked down Erslan with heavy haymakers. Cutelaba wobbled and dropped Erslan while trading in the pocket in the second round and even scored an easy takedown.

Cutelaba should’ve stayed on his feet and pressed the action but an ill-time takedown allowed Erslan to climb back into the fight. Erslan rode Cutelaba for most of the final round before Cutelaba reversed position in the closing seconds. The fight looked like a clear 29-28 verdict for Cutelaba, but fans held their breath in fear as the scorecards were read. Luckily for Cutelaba, a split decision verdict (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) wasn’t enough to wipe away his fi…

Sherdog's live 2024 PFL Europe 3: Playoffs coverage will begin Saturday at noon ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores …

Alex Pereira feels a change as he nears his UFC 307 clash against Khalil Rountree.

Rountree (13-5) will challenge Pereira (11-2) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown in UFC 307 headliner on Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advertisement

Pereira believes fans were initially not excited for the matchup when it was announced back in August. However, the champ can feel the excitement building as he nears fight night. “Poatan” vows to put on a show and expects the same from his opponent.

“I feel good, I feel ready. We came here three weeks before this fight to prepare this time,” Pereira told Nina Marie Daniele. “Very pumped. I think it’s going to be a good fight. In the beginning, people didn’t give too much attention for this matchup but now we feel the difference. People are building up to that. And I am prepared to put on a show… I think Khalil, too. So it’ll be a great fight.”

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday…

Raquel Pennington is dealing with a new challenge headed into her UFC 307 title fight against Julianna Pena.

Pennington (16-8) will defend her women’s bantamweight title against Pena (11-5) in the UFC 307 co-main event on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. When “Rocky” won the vacant title against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January, her wife Tecia Pennington (13-7) was taking care of their daughter Alayah Rose during fight camp. When Tecia subsequently dropped a split decision against Tabatha Ricci in May, “Rocky” was there to return the favor.

Advertisement

However, the partners will be sharing the UFC 307 card, with Tecia taking on former champ Carla Esparza (19-7) in the early prelims. With both of them being in camp, the Penningtons have had to deal with the challenge of taking care of their daughter, who is barely over a year old. However, “Rocky” is grateful for the support system around her which has made the camp smooth.

“The new cha…

Julianna Pena wants to defend her title against Amanda Nunes if she dethrones Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.

Pena (11-5) will challenge Pennington (16-8) for the women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 307 co-main event on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The same card also features a potential title eliminator between Ketlen Vieira (14-3) and Kayla Harrison (17-1). Pena claims to know that the winner of Vieira vs. Harrison has been promised the next title shot against the winner of her clash against Pennington.

Advertisement

“I don’t think, I know. I know for a fact that they told whoever is going to be the winner of that fight will face me for the belt,” Pena told MMA Junkie. “And that will be my title defense. So yes, that’s exactly what’s happening.”

Vieira is 1-3 in her last four, having only dropped a razor-thin split decision against Pennington in January 2023. Meanwhile, former Professional Fighters League champ and two-time Olympic gold …

[embedded content] After a week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to France for UFC Fight Night 243.

The main event is an intriguing battle between Renato Carneiro and Benoit St. Denis. Both lightweight contenders made weight, as did everyone else on the card except for Ailin Perez. The would-be bantamweight appeared in poor condition on the scales, shaking and shivering as she missed weight by half a pound for her fight against Darya Zheleznyakova. As a result, she'll be fined 20%% of her purse, but the bout will otherwise proceed as scheduled.

Advertisement

Carneiro (19-5-1) has been on a hot streak. "Money Moicano" has won his last three fights inside the Octagon, including key wins over Jalin Turner and Drew Dober. The 35-year-old is on potentially his last run to the top and needs a win to keep his title hopes alive. The Brazilian officially weighed 156 pounds on the dot.

St. Denis (13-2, 1 NC) is coming off a stunning knockout defeat to Dust…

[embedded content] The Professional Fighters League heads to Scotland for its third PFL Europe event of the year.

Topping the PFL Europe 3 card is a welterweight main event between Steven Ray and Lewis Long. Both men made weight, as did all of the other fighters on the card. The event features eight playoff fights in the bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight and women's flyweight divisions.

Scotland's Ray (25-13) enters the main event looking to break a three-fight losing streak. After two wins over Anthony Pettis, "Braveheart" has come up short against Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Natan Schulte and Clay Collard. Meanwhile, Long (20-7) is 3-1 in his last four outings. "The Foot" most recently submitted Ashley Griffiths with a rear-naked choke.

PFL Europe 3 will air live on Dazn at noon ET/9 a.m. PT on Saturday.

PFL Europe 3 Weigh-in Results: Steven Ray (170.4) vs. Lewis Long (170.6)Robert Whiteford (150) vs. Roger Huerta (149.4)Dean Garnett (136) vs. Lewis McGri…

𝙈𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Stevie Ray and Lewis Long go face to face outside the OVO Hydro ahead of Saturday night’s welterweight main event!

Advertisement

Presented by @unibet

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #PFLGlasgow📅 Saturday 28th September🏟️ OVO Hydro📍 Glasgow, Scotland🎟️ On Sale NOW!… pic.twitter.com/yBtsivcW4N

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 25, 2024 As the matchmaker of Professional Fighters League’s Europe series, former fighter Dan Hardy feels a tremendous sense of pride when scouting a diamond in the rough. Dan Hardy has been instrumental to the growth of the PFL, especially in the European market. As PFL Europe shipped 2023 champions Jakob Nedoh and Dakota Ditcheva to the PFL global season in 2024, matchmaker–and commentator—Hardy has established a revolving door of rising talents on the Europe roster. Ahead of PFL Glasgow, Hardy spoke with Sherdog about what to expect in the semifinals and how he views his role with the organization…

Grizzled veteran Roger Huerta has seen it all in his many years of fighting.

The 41-year-old Huerta, who has competed for a number of major organizations over the years, is returning to the sport after over three years away. “El Matador” will be making his Professional Fighters League debut at PFL Glasgow on Saturday, competing lighter than he ever has in his lengthy career.

Advertisement

The first MMA fighter to ever grace the cover of “Sports Illustrated,” Huerta is well aware that his athletic prime is well behind him. Having lost four in a row—a career-tying losing streak—he introduces himself to PFL with plenty of pressure on him. After dropping four straight under the Bellator MMA banner, Huerta hopes that this shift in organization will give him a new lease on life. The longtime vet sees this newly merged company of Bellator and PFL as a new opportunity not just for himself but for other athletes in the sport. Huerta spoke to media about his newfound intere…

For the first time in their professional careers, siblings Daniele Scatizzi and Valentina Scatizzi will compete on the same card together.

Coming into PFL Glasgow, both Daniele (13-7) and sister Valentina (3-2) share the underdog label as they are taking on tough foes with no losses between them. Daniele is currently a +425 dog against unbeaten 2023 PFL Europe lightweight champ Jakub Kaszuba (12-0), while Valentina (+550) will face undefeated Shanelle Dyer (5-0).

Advertisement

Daniele, a Bellator MMA regular, came over to the PFL ranks after an unsuccessful outing at against Dmytrii Hrytsenko at Bellator 291 in 2023. Following the merger of Bellator and PFL, the Italian was slotted into the PFL Europe’s lightweight bracket. Daniele introduced himself to PFL brass by landing a heel hook on the heavily favored Aleksandrs Chizovs to reach the semifinals.

Valentina made her way to PFL a year earlier than her brother, reaching the semifinals of the inaugural PFL Euro…

New date, same mission 😤@MovsarUFC vs @FunkmasterMMA has been rescheduled to take place at #UFC310 👊 pic.twitter.com/aWYCPfPdt8

— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2024 A potential title eliminator-turned-grudge match for the Ultimate Fighting Championship will go on a few months later than expected.

For the UFC 307 card in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5, the UFC had matched Movsar Evloev (18-0) against Aljamain Sterling (24-4) together for a possible no. 1 contender contest at 145 pounds. Sterling suffered an injury in September that forced him out of the contest, and the promotion opted not to slot in a late replacement. Instead, about two months later, the two will collide. The UFC released the news on Friday that Evloev and Sterling will handle their business at UFC 310, which will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 7.

In this rescheduled top-tier grappling-centric tilt, Evloev will put his unbeaten record on the line, as he is cu…

Fresh out of a short-lived retirement, Steven Ray is firmly a member of team Professional Fighters League.

Ray (25-13) will be back in action on Saturday in the main event of PFL Glasgow, competing on home soil for the first time since 2017. Ray will come to blows with Lewis Long (20-7) on Sept. 28 at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Speaking to the media on Thursday, he discussed the happiness he feels as part of the PFL roster as well as what he has learned about himself after returning from injury and two retirements.

Advertisement

“I’ve realized that I have a lot of discipline, I’ve noticed a big difference between me and some other fighters,” Ray remarked. “I might be being biased or big-headed, but I truly believe that if some people had to deal with some of the s--t that I’ve had to deal with over the last 15 years, mentally, physically, [they would not fare well].”

The 11-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran saw his expulsion from the roster d…