Martial Arts News

Leon Edwards proved yet again that bite matters far more than bark in a dog-eat-dog world.

The Team Renegade star kept his emotions in check and outstruck Colby Covington across five rounds to retain the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title with a unanimous decision in the UFC 296 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Edwards (22-3, 14-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46 marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary.

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Covington (17-4, 12-4 UFC) seemed tentative and unsure of himself, and while he delivered takedowns in the third and fifth rounds, he failed to consolidate them with anything meaningful. The spaces in between were dominated by Edwards. He chopped away at Covington’s lead leg with kicks, leaned on surgical counters and hammered the MMA Masters rep’s midsection with front kicks. The challenger scrambled into top position in the back half of Round 5 and applied some mild ground-and-pound,…

Sherdog's live UFC 296 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Buday (-148), Gaziev (+124)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fili (-175), Almeida (+145)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ulanbekov (-170), Dur…

Alonzo Menifield turned several explosive moments of offensive into one of his most significant victories to date in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

The Saekson Muay Thai product knocked down Dustin Jacoby twice with left hooks and laid claim to a unanimous decision over the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder in the featured UFC 296 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Menifield (15-3-1, 8-3-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the judges.

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Jacoby (19-7-1, 7-5-1 UFC) performed well in defeat and operated behind a punishing jab. However, he had no answer for Menifield’s ability to turn the tide with a single punch. The 2018 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate floored Jacoby with a left hook in the second and did so again the third. Menifield pursued the finish on both occasions, and though he came away empty-handed, he piled up the points when he had the chance.

I…

JUMPING KNEE!!!!

🇵🇱 @bartos_mma 👑 XTB #KSW89 pic.twitter.com/VmFqkC6DWy

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 16, 2023

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History was attempted but not made Saturday night as Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki welterweight champion Adrian Bartosinski foiled double champ Salahdine Parnasse’s quest for a third title in a major mixed martial arts organization. After five gritty rounds, Bartosinski (14-0) successfully retained his belt after bullying his way to a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in the KSW 89 main event at PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland.

Parnasse (18-2) tried to do something that no fighter has ever done and quickly found out how difficult it would be. Bartosinski used his superior size to bully and push Parnasse’s back toward the fence and keep him at bay. The fight was mostly spent in the clinch where Bartosinski was able to ragdoll and stifle Parnasse’s offense.

When the two fighters were disengaged, the bout …

Conor McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, recently revealed that they are pushing hard for the Irishman’s return at UFC 300 min April 2024.

McGregor (22-6) has been out of competition since July 2021, rehabbing from a broken leg he suffered in a trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier.

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Attar revealed that the team is doing their best to make McGregor's return possible at UFC 300, although the former two-division champ would jump into the Octagon next weekend if he could.

“If it was up to him, he’d be fighting Saturday, so ultimately we’re just trying to make sure we’re doing everything right and following all the standard operating procedures to get him back in the octagon as soon as possible,” Attar told MMA Junkie on Friday at the World MMA Awards. “UFC 300 would be amazing, and obviously we’re pushing as hard as we can to make that happen. Ultimately, it’s going to be an exciting 2024 for his return.”

McGregor starred opposite Michael Chandler as…

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Reigning middleweight king Sean Strickland went on a verbal tirade against Colby Covington in his appearance at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s seasonal press conference on Friday.

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Covington (17-3) is set to challenge Leon Edwards (21-3) for the welterweight title at UFC 296 this weekend. Leading up to the event, “Chaos” not only aimed his distasteful humor at his upcoming opponent, but he also made his disdain for Strickland (28-5) very clear, labeling the middleweight champ a “pathetic human being.”

Responding to Covington's verbal attack, Strickland retorted:

“Colby is an utter piece of sh*t... “If you know Colby on a personal level, he f*cked over everybody he f*cking knows. I take Colby as a personal insult to me because the Trumpsters, the Republicans, you guys are my f*cking people; the blue-collar workers. You guys are my f*cking people, and you guys have a c*nt like Colby come in here taking advantage. He do…

Jake Paul promised to deliver a memorable performance going into his ninth professional boxing match with Andre August on Saturday at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando.

In the end, “The Problem Child” (8-1), lived up to his claim by knocking out the three-time Golden Gloves winner at the 2:32 mark of the very first round.

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Interestingly, Paul walked out with Team USA Boxing stars Morelle McCane and Joshua Edwards, dancing to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” However, once in the ring, he was all business. Paul displayed good movement at the onset and eventually sent August crashing to the canvas with a vicious right uppercut to end the contest on the spot.

Aspiring to become a world champion down the line, Paul, 26, has recently directed his attention towards seasoned boxers. The Professional Fighters League-signed star is expected to compete for mixed martial arts organization in 2024 in either an MMA or hybrid-rules contest.

Notably, Pau…

Headlined by three ONE World Title showdowns, we close out 2023 with a BANGER 👑 Tune in on December 22 for ONE Friday Fights 46 — the most stacked edition in history! 👊💥#ONEFridayFights46 | Fri Dec 22🌍 Global PPV on https://t.co/eBUfsOmxDL | 9:30PM ICT/9:30AM ET🌍 Check… pic.twitter.com/3lkDaiWtiD

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 15, 2023 One Championship is testing the waters of a pay-per-view model next week.

According to a release from the promotion on Friday, ONE Friday Fights 46, which will be held on Dec. 22 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, will be a pay-per-view event. The entire card will consist of muay thai or kickboxing matches, without the early preliminaries containing an MMA bout or two. The price of the event will be $39.99, or $33.99 if ordered before event day. Three belts will be on the line on the five-fight main card, with the headliner for the 155-pound muay thai strap between Tawanchai P.K. Saencha…

[embedded content] Backups will not be necessary, as every fighter ahead of the the Ultimate Fighting Championship's final pay-per-view of the year successfully made weight on Friday.

UFC 296 is headlined by two championship bouts, with the welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington as the main event. Meanwhile, flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja will look to make his first defense against Brandon Royval. Both title fights are now official, as each set of champ and challenger successfully made weight.

Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) hasn't lost a fight since 2015. Riding high with two wins over Kamaru Usman, "Rocky" will look to take out Covington next. The English fighter stepped on the scale weighing 170 pounds on the dot.

Primed for a third shot at the undisputed 170-pound title, Covington (17-3) previously came up short twice against Usman. "Chaos" most recently defeated Jorge Masvidal last year but hasn't been active since. The 35-year-old will l…

Leon Edwards THREW A WATER BOTTLE AT COLBY 😳 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/cXyH92Xspo

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 15, 2023

Colby Covington has proven once again that he is willing to cross all lines in order to get under the skin of his opponents.

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Fans certainly expected Covington (17-3) to come out with his over-the-top trash talk during the press conference. The former interim champion was more than happy to take aim at other fighters on the podium including Stephen Thompson and Tony Ferguson.

However, during one of his verbal back-and-forths with Leon Edwards (21-3), “Chaos” opted to go with a distasteful joke about Edwards' late father, who was murdered when “Rocky” was just 13 years old.

“On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be,” Covington shouted. “I’m going to bring you to the seventh level of hell. We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

While “Rocky” seemed un…

Suleyman Suleymanov threaded the needle with picture-perfect technique.

The unbeaten Dobrynya export made a successful One Championship debut, as he put away Nursultan Toktorov with a guillotine choke in the second round of their ONE Friday Fights 45 lightweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Suleymanov (10-0, 1-0 ONE) coaxed the tapout 12 seconds into Round 2.

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Toktorov (4-1, 0-1 ONE) acquitted himself well in the first round, where he battered his counterpart with kicks to the lower leg. Twice Suleymanov was swept off his feet. The 30-year-old Azerbaijan native was unshaken. Toktorov moved on an ill-advised takedown attempt at the start of the middle stanza, wandered into Suleymanov’s waiting arms and found himself hopelessly entangled in the guillotine. Surrender was his only option.

Suleymanov has finished five of his 10 wins, four of them via submission.

Further down the card, undefeated Kak’s Fight Cl…

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According to former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt, his UFC 296 appearance this weekend will mark the first time he enters a fight without any nagging injuries or recurring personal issues since his title bout with Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 back in December 2016.

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Garbrandt (13-5) is set to take on Brian Kelleher (24-14) on the preliminary portion of Saturday’s UFC 296 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Following his title win back in 2016, Garbrandt had to deal with considerable adversity, both inside and outside the Octagon: back-to-back losses, divorce and even a team change.

Nevertheless, coming off a unanimous decision victory against Trevin Jones at UFC 285, “No Love” is confident in his preparation for his upcoming fight.

“This is the best I’ve felt in all of my camps,” Garbrandt told ESPN's Marc Raimondi. “I haven’t been able to train this consistently and this mu…