Martial Arts News

Statement re Ryan Curtis https://t.co/sGPDpWo1uS pic.twitter.com/gUokQ5HuvD

— Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) January 13, 2024

Irish fighter Ryan Curtis has the whole Irish mixed martial arts community — along with many others — rallying behind him during a difficult time.

Advertisement

The flyweight fighter has lost the use of his arms and legs after suffering injuries to his back, neck and spine in training. Bellator women’s featherweight Leah McCourt, a close friend of Curtis’, recently set up a GoFundMe account in his name with the goal currently raised to $150,000 after nearly having reached the initial target of $100,000. A statement attached to the GoFundMe page reads:

“Ryan has suffered a broken back, broken neck and dislocated spine. During this injury, trauma was also caused to Ryan’s spinal cord. The damage is classified as the most severe that can happen to a spinal cord. He was rushed to the Royal in Belfast and underwent…

Magomed Ankalaev believes he has done his part to receive No. 1 contender status in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division.

Advertisement

The 31-year-old Gorets Fight Team member got some much-needed closure on Saturday night, when he knocked out Johnny Walker 2:42 into Round 2 of their headlining encounter at UFC Fight Night 234. Not only was it a more satisfying conclusion for Ankalaev than their first meeting, which ended via no contest, but it also made a statement about the Dagestani’s overall skill set — one that could make reigning 205-pound champion Alex Pereira take notice.

“I could have come out here today and wrestled against Johnny Walker. I could have taken him down right away and won with my ground-and-pound on the ground, but instead I wanted to send a message. I wanted to stand up and I wanted to knock him out, and that’s what I did,” Ankalaev said through a translator at the UFC Fight Night 234 post-fight press confer…

[embedded content]

Paul Felder is considering a return to the Octagon for a clash against Jim Miller at UFC 300.

Advertisement

Miller put on an impressive performance to earn a submission win over fellow veteran Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday. With his latest win, the 40 year old extended his own record for both most fights (43) and wins (26) in UFC history. Miller, who has notched wins at both UFC 100 and UFC 200, has been eyeing a UFC 300 outing to complete his trifecta.

He reiterated his call for a spot on the UFC 300 card during his post-fight interview, targeting both Felder and Matt Brown as potential opponents.

“UFC 300 is coming up,” Miller said. “I got three months to heal up and stay in shape and stay ready. Paul Felder, I think that would be a fun fight. I’ve got the most finishes at lightweight. Matt Brown, I would love to go up to 170 fight the guy with the most knockouts in UFC history …”

Felder, who was cageside on comme…

Jean Silva claims he can’t explain much about the walkout for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Advertisement

Silva made his first promotional appearance at UFC Fight Night 234 against Westin Wilson. The Brazilian attracted a lot of eyeballs starting from his walkout right up to his victory celebration.

“Lord Assassin” took three minutes and 40 seconds for his walkout, all the while coldly staring into the camera. His overall Octagon time barely exceeded that, as he put on a dominant beating to earn a stoppage win at the 4:12 mark of Round 1. Silva then further added to his intrigue with a barking celebration.

Silva claims it is his alter ego, “Lord Assassin,” who takes over during his extended walkout.

“I’m going to apologize for not knowing how to answer this,” Silva said in a post-fight scrum. I’ve said this before, it’s another person, it’s someone else. I’ve given a name to my alter ego, that’s why ‘Lord Assassin’ came about like it’s …

Shamil Gasanov revealed that his body wasn’t listening to him during his decision win over Ho Taek Oh at One on Prime Video 18.

Advertisement

Gasanov put on a dominant grappling display to earn a unanimous decision win over his opponent to bounce back from his lone career loss against Garry Tonon. “The Cobra” subsequently revealed that he was suffering from food poisoning and felt its effects severely as he battled his way to victory. The Dagestani standout said that while he felt in good shape while warming up, his body stopped listening to him after the opening frame.

“I don’t know what happened,” Gasanov said at the post-fight press conference. “When I was warming up, I felt pretty good and everything was well but at the same time, after the first round, I couldn’t feel my body well. My arms and legs weren’t listening to me but at the same time just because of my willpower and because of my trainer, I was able to get through the fight and win.”

Despite t…

Kwon Won Il made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

Advertisement

Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…

Won Il Kwon made his case for a ONE Championship MMA bantamweight (145-pound) title shot after his win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at One on Prime Video 18.

Advertisement

Kwon scored a second-round stoppage win over Zoltsetseg via ground-and-pound to extend his winning streak to three. The South Korean standout subsequently called for a title shot against champion Fabricio Andrade, who had handed him his last loss in June 2022.

“I only want one thing. Give me the title shot,” Won said. “I want Fabricio. I’m going to kill him. That’s my plan. That’s it…I’m going to kill you baby. Where are you Fabricio? I’m coming for you.”

When asked how he sees the fight playing out, Won kept it simple.

“Knockout,” he said. “I’m going to knock him out.”

Andrade dethroned John Lineker in February 2023 with a lopsided beating that made the former champ’s corner throw in the towel before the fifth round. Lineker has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Jae W…

Liam Nolan wants be a ONE Championship muay thai title holder by the end of 2024.

Advertisement

One on Prime Video 18 saw the British fan favorite take on Russian striker Ali Aliev, who stepped up on short notice for French Glory Kickboxing veteran Theo Avon. Nolan earned a unanimous decision win over Aliev in his first bout since November 2022.

Nolan started his ONE Championship tenure on a two-fight skid, but he bounced back with consecutive wins over Brown Pinas and Kim Kyung Lock. Nolan then came up short against former lightweight title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee before besting Eddie Abasolo. Nolan was then out of competition throughout 2023 due to health issues, which forced him to miss out on a rematch against Klinmee.

He believes his latest win over Aliev now puts him only one fight away from a title shot against lightweight champ Regian Eersel.

“To fight next, I don’t know but I definitely want to be ending the year with a ONE belt on my shoulde…

Jim Miller is aging like a fine wine.

In his 43rd Octagon appearance, the New Jersey native pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his submission of Gabriel Benitez in the UFC Fight Night 234 co-main event. Miller ended the lightweight contest with a face crank at the 3:25 mark of Round 3.

Advertisement

That was one of four “Performance of the Night” bonuses handed out by the promotion.

Elsewhere, Magomed Ankalaev received a $50,000 check for a knockout of Johnny Walker in the evening’s headliner. After their first meeting ended in a no contest, the Dagestani left nothing to chance, as he dropped his foe with a right hook and sealed his victory with an uppercut against the fence 2:42 into the second period.

Meanwhile, Brunno Ferreira garnered $50,000 of his own with a first-round finish of Phil Hawes in a featured middleweight affair. The Brazilian battered his foe with a barrage of offense, dropped him with a straight left and put Hawes a…

Magomed Ankalaev shifted ever closer to another shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title and perhaps boosted the rhinoplasty market in the process.

The stoic 31-year-old Russian turned away Johnny Walker with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 234 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, likely closing the book on their brief but eventful head-to-head series. Referee Marc Goddard rescued Walker (21-8, 7-5 UFC) from further damage 2:42 into Round 2.

Advertisement

A little less than three months after their initial encounter resulted in a controversial no contest, neither man made much headway in the first round of their rematch. Ankalaev (18-1-1, 10-1-1 UFC) was content to stay at a safe distance while his volatile counterpart unleashed flashy, inefficient attacks. Midway through Round 2, the Gorets Fight Team product dropped Walker to a seated position against the fence with a brutal right hook. The right upp…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 234 “Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 4:15 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Van (-218), Bunes (+180)Round 1 It’s showtime! The UFC is back, and the Apex is its home for its first card of the year. With no further introductions necessary, we get right into the action. Flyweights take center stage first as the surging Van (9-1, 2-0 UFC) welcomes the well-traveled Brazilian Bunes (13-6, 0-0 UFC) to the promotion. The former has won seven straight, while the latter claimed the LFA flyweight strap by punching out Yuma Horiuchi at the beginning of January. The referee for the first UFC bout of 2024 will be Mark Smith, and he clocks in the fight as the two men touch gloves. Van takes the middle of the cage first and ignores an inside leg kick as he tries to find his range. Bunes is a bit more jittery out of the gate, pawing out jabs and low kicks. Van advances and pushes out a front kick, only to be met by a sla…

Farid Basharat answered a lot of questions regarding his status as a future contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division.

Repeated takedowns, time-consuming clinches and superior activity in the standup exchanges carried the undefeated Xtreme Couture standout to a unanimous decision over former TKO Major League MMA champion Taylor Lapilus in a featured UFC Fight Night 234 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Basharat (12-0, 3-0 UFC).

Advertisement

Lapilus (19-4, 4-2 UFC), who suffered his first setback in almost 2,000 days, was a difficult nut to crack but had no real answer for his adversary’s relentless tenacity. Basharat pursued takedowns in all three rounds, even as many of them were negated, and kept his foot on the accelerator for 15 minutes. He ducked into a takedown behind an overhand right in the third round, set up in side control and eventually threatened the …