Martial Arts News

Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will lock horns with top contender Amir Albazi in the co-main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 24.

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ESPN Deportes was first to report the 125-pound pairing was in the works, and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to mark the promotion’s return to Mexico City, though a location has yet to be formally announced. Moreno vs. Albazi will reportedly be contested over five rounds.

Moreno’s second reign as flyweight king came to an end at UFC 290, where he dropped a split-decision to Alexandre Pantoja on July 8. The Mexican standout famously faced Deiveson Figueiredo four times in championship bouts from December 2020 to Janaury 2023, going 2-1-1 against his Brazilian rival. His resume also includes triumphs over the like of Kai Kara France (twice), Brandon Royval, Jussier Formiga and Dustin Ortiz.

Albazi will take a six-fight winning st…

An intriguing flyweight bout between Andrea Lee and Miranda Maverick has been added to the UFC 298 pay-per-view event.

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The bout was first announced by Maverick on her social media and later confirmed by MMAFighting.com.

Lee is currently on a three-fight skid. The Louisiana native is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Natalia Silva at UFC 292, which was preceded by defeats against Maycee Barber and Viviane Araujo.

Meanwhile, Maverick (12-5) has won three out of her last four outings and is coming off a Round 3 submission victory against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 291.

UFC 298 will be headlined by a highly anticipated title fight between reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated contender Ilia Topuria on Feb.17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

A middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Ikram Aliskerov has been added to the UFC 298 card set for Feb.17.

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The news was first reported MMAFighting.com and subsequently confirmed by both fighters on social media.

Hernandez (11-2) is currently on a four-fight winning streak, most recently securing a Round 3 technical knockout victory against Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 223. The Dana White’s Contender series alum kicked off his promotional journey with a 1-2 record, but has turned things around since his loss to Kevin Holland in May 2020.

Meanwhile, Russia's Aliskerov (15-1) is one of the most intriguing prospects to join the UFC’s middleweight division this year. Aliskerov's only professional loss to date came against top contender Khamzat Chimaev back when the two competed under the Brave Fighting Championship banner in 2019. Since then, the KHK MMA Team product has racked up seven consecutive victories — two in the UFC —…

A welterweight matchup between Max Griffin and Jeremiah Wells has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Feb. 10 offering.

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The meeting was first reported by MMAFighting.com and later announced by Griffin in an Instagram post.

Griffin (19-10) has gone 2-2 in his last four outings inside the Octagon, recently losing a unanimous decision to undefeated Ecuadorian prospect Michael Morales in July. “Pain” has recorded notable unanimous decision victories against former champion Carlos Condit and Mike Perry.

Meanwhile, Wells (12-3) is coming off a Round 3 technical submission loss to Carlston Harris back in August. Prior to that loss, the former Classic Entertainment and Sports welterweight champion had racked up four consecutive victories inside the Octagon.

The UFC Fight Night card will be headlined by a middleweight meeting between Jack Hermansson and Dana White's Contender Series alum Joe Pyfer at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

#UPDATE: Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Sports ... James Anthony Hill Jr. is Jamahal Hill's brother. https://t.co/QwVNEtK9Wi

— TMZ (@TMZ) December 1, 2023

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king Jamahal Hill allegedly had a run-in with the law.

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According to TMZ Sports, Hill was arrested earlier this week and charged with one misdemeanor count of aggravated domestic violence in Kent County, Michigan, which is in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area.

Hill allegedly assaulted his elder brother, Jamahal Anthony Hill Jr., who is reported to have sustained “serious or aggravated injury” as a result. Further details regarding the arrest are yet to be released.

As per records, Hill is set to make an appearance in court on Jan.22

The former champion's management rep, Brian Butler, took to social media yesterday evening to provide a statement regarding the situation. Insisting on his client's …

Our #UFCAustin main event is official! @BeneilDariush comes in at 156 pounds 💪 pic.twitter.com/KcDCe4scaN

— UFC (@ufc) December 1, 2023 After a week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves with an intriguing lightweight clash, which is now official after the weigh-ins took place.

Headlining UFC on ESPN 52 is a 155-pound fight between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan. Both headliners made weight for the five-round bout. All other fighters made weight for the card as well, although Melquizael Costa vs. Steve Garcia was canceled after Garcia got ill.

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This marks the first UFC main event fight for Dariush (22-5-1), who has been a promotional mainstay since 2014. The 34-year-old is looking to rebound from a defeat to Charles Oliveira. Prior to the setback, Dariush had won eight straight fights, including decisions over Tony Ferguson and Mateusz Gamrot. The American officially stepped on the scale …

A middleweight meeting between Rodolfo Vieira and Armen Petrosyan has been rebooked for Feb. 10’s UFC Fight Night event. The news was first reported by MMA Fighting.

The middleweights were initially set to compete at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. However, the bout failed to materialize at the last minute due to Petrosyan reportedly falling ill and subsequently withdrawing from the match.

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Vieira (9-2), a jiu-jitsu phenom, has won two of his last three outings inside the Octagon. In his most recent outing in April, the Brazilian secured an impressive Round 2 arm-triangle submission against Cody Brundage.

Petrosyan (9-2), on the other hand, has managed to bounce back from his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship loss to Caio Borralho in July 2022 and is currently on a two-fight winning streak that saw him secure back-to-back unanimous decision wins against A.J. Dobson and Christian Leroy Duncan.

The Fight Night event on Feb. 10, set to go …

Conor McGregor is now a father of four.

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The former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship ruler and his fiancée, Dee Devlin, recently shared the news of the birth of their third son and fourth-born child in a post on social media.

An elated McGregor took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion and express his love for his long-time partner.

“Another chunky healthy boy into the world. Dee you are my hero ❤️🙏,” McGregor wrote.

McGregor (22-6) has been out of competition since he snapped his leg in a trilogy meeting with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in July 2021. Following a tedious recovery process, the Irishman is reportedly aiming to return to the Octagon in the summer of 2024.

While Michael Chandler served as the rival coach in the latest season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” there has been no official confirmation of a scrap between the former Bellator MMA star and McGregor.BR> Nevertheless, “Iron” has been out of ac…

Nachin Sat never bought into the hype.

The Mongolian brute dazzled in his first One Championship assignment, as he put away previously unbeaten Lakay MMA prospect Carlos Neyheban Alvarez with punches in the third round of their ONE Friday Fights 43 featherweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Undone by an accumulation of damage and visible fatigue, Alvarez (3-1, 3-1 ONE) checked out 4:27 into Round 3.

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Sat (5-2, 1-0 ONE) had a little more grit in an action-packed, back-and-forth battle that saw both men in considerable peril. Alvarez floored his adversary with a booming right hand in the first round, then opened a cut near his left eye with topside elbow strikes before nearly drawing the curtain with a rear-naked choke in the second. Sat withstood those considerable efforts, made his way back to an upright position and cut loose with punches, elbows and knees, many of them from close range. Alvarez ultimately wilte…

PFL 🤝 @espn

ESPN will be the home of the Professional Fighters League 🏆💰 pic.twitter.com/s9BVv0l3PT

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 30, 2023

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Two weeks removed from their acquisition of Bellator MMA, Professional Fighters League has signed a new multi-year United States media rights deal with broadcast partner ESPN.

As per the agreement, the PFL regular season, playoffs and championships will be available on ESPN+ and ESPN linear networks. The deal also entails pre- and post-fight coverage of events, as well as shoulder programming.

Additionally, ESPN will also serve as a pay-per-view distributor for the PFL's Super Fight division, which is expected to launch in 2024.

“We’ve had five successful seasons on ESPN and we’re excited for the next phase of growth for MMA and the Professional Fighters League with this agreement,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “Our innovative sport-season format, elite roster of athletes, an…

IT'S ON 😤 Japanese legend Shinya Aoki faces off with American superstar Sage Northcutt on January 28 in Tokyo! 👊💥 @a_ok_i @sagenorthcutt #ONE165 | January 28 at 6PM JST🎟️ Tickets 👉 https://t.co/9BTfk5i7f8🌍 Global broadcast details coming soon pic.twitter.com/l71TsJVwRn

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 30, 2023

Sage Northcutt is gearing up to do battle with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki next year.

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Northcutt (12-3) and Aoki (47-11) will meet in a lightweight clash at ONE 165 on Jan. 28 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, which also marks the promotion’s return to Japan. The card will be headlined by ONE 135-pound muay thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Japanese kickboxing star Takeru Segawa.

Northcutt parted ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2018 for ONE Championship, where his debut was spoiled by kickboxing veteran Cosmo Alexandre via a 29-second knockout. “Super” then went on a three-y…

Colby Covington has brushed several people the wrong way over the years, including lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.

A perennial welterweight contender, Covington (17-3) has also assumed a heel persona by crossing boundaries with his trash talk on several occasions.

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“Chaos” was allegedly sucker punched by former friend and teammate Jorge Masvidal outside a Miami restaurant hardly two weeks removed from his lopsided decision win over “Gamebred” at UFC 272.

However, Masvidal apparently isn’t the only fighter who had a problem with Covington at American Top Team in Florida. A part of ATT since 2011, Covington parted ways with the gym in 2020 over growing tensions with Masvidal, Dustin Poirier and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Covington even issued an uncharacteristic public apology to Poirier (29-8) prior to his exit from ATT after coach Dan Lambert imposed a no-trash talk rule. However, “Chaos” has since gone back and forth with Poirier on multiple occ…