Martial Arts News

Enjoy Olivier Aubin-Mercier while he’s around, because his days in mixed martial arts could be numbered.

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“The Canadian Gangster” has won nine straight bouts under the Professional Fighters League banner, and he will attempt to capture his second lightweight title in the organization when he faces Clay Collard at the 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 24. After that fight, Aubin-Mercier plans on going on a lengthy hiatus at the very least. There’s only one thing that could entice him to return sooner than planned, if he returns at all.

“For sure I’m gonna take a big break,” Aubin-Mercier said during a recent media day session. “There’s no question about that. I don’t think you’re going to see me next year. If PFL wants to come to Montreal, and they want to give me some good money, and have some friends of mine on the card, then for sure I’m going to fight one more time.

“But other than that I have no interest in doing the next season. I have no inte…

Derrick Lewis isn’t taking his recent arrest for reckless driving too seriously.

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“The Black Beast” was caught driving 136 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone while behind the wheel of a red Lamborhini in Harris County (Texas) last week. He reportedly passed a law enforcement officer while “weaving in and out of traffic and making unsafe lane changes.”

Lewis was given a $100 personal recognizance bond and released from custody the same day as his arrest. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 27.

When asked about the incident during a media scrum ahead of UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo, Lewis responded in lighthearted fashion.

“Nah, I don’t even think that was me,” Lewis said. “That guy had hair. You seen the picture? I don’t got no hair. That ain’t me.”

Lewis’ remarks are in reference to the arrest report, which state that the man detained had black hair and was 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. Lewis is bald and weighed in at 264 pounds a…

The UFC Sao Paulo card has undergone yet another change only a few days before fight night.

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Esteban Ribovics (12-1) is out of his scheduled lightweight clash against fellow Brazilian standout Elves Brener (15-3). Ribovics was coming off his first promotional win against Kamuela Kirk at UFC 290 in July after a foiled debut against Loik Radzhabov at UFC 285 in March.

Ribovics will be replaced by fellow countryman and Dana White's Contender Series graduate Kaynan Kruschewsky (15-2). “Bahia” steps up on three days’ notice for his UFC debut, which will also be a quick turnaround after a first-round submission win over Dylan Mantello on Dana White’s Contender Series in September.

The news was first reported by Octagon MMA on social media. The new booking will is expected to take place at a 165-pound catchweight.

Brener made his UFC debut in February, picking up a split decision win over Russian veteran Zubaira Tukhugov. The 26-year-old was a …

The heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury (34-0-1) and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0) has been pushed back a few months after the Brit’s near upset loss against Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last weekend.

A +800 underdog going into his boxing debut, Ngannou took the WBC heavyweight champ to a controversial split decision, which didn’t go the Cameroonian’s way despite him having scored the lone knockdown of the bout. Most of the combat sports fraternity, including the former UFC heavyweight champ himself, called it a robbery. Usyk, who was in attendance for the fight, entered the ring after the bout to cut a promo for his upcoming fight against Fury.

Fury vs. Usyk was announced just weeks before the Ngannou fight despite Fury’s disapproval of the timing. While the clash was originally targeted for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, it has now reportedly been pushed back to February for a yet-to-be-decided date. The change in date was first reported by ESPN.

The fig…

A flyweight clash has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s card in Shanghai, China, on Dec. 9.

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Undefeated Japanese standout Tatsuro Taira (14-0) will take on Carlos Hernandez (9-2) at an event that marks the Las Vegas-based promotion's return to China after four years. Both fighters confirmed the pairing on social media following an initial report from Eurosport NL.

Taira last fought at UFC 290 in July, notching a dominant decision win over Edgar Chairez. While the 23-year-old was originally scheduled to take on Kleyson Rodrigues at UFC Jacksonville in June, the fight fell through after the Brazilian missed weight by three pounds. Taira’s win over Chairez marked his fourth promotional win in 14 months, which includes two submissions.

Meanwhile, Hernandez is coming off a technical decision win over Denys Bondar back in June. After dominating Bondar throughout the fight, the American landed a last-minute takedown and proceeded to …

X Series 011 is here 🤩@liljarviss and @bdave69 top a card filled with 50/50 battles, live on @DAZNBoxing 🔥

Tickets on sale Friday, 10am 👉 https://t.co/cxuEWQjj2D#XSeries011 | November 17, York Hall | @MF_DAZNXSeries | @PrimeHydrate | @KickStreaming pic.twitter.com/kgtAqyIn0s

— Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) October 31, 2023

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Anderson Silva's son, Gabriel Silva, is set to take on YouTube personality Okem Jibunor Rose in a boxing match under the Misfits Boxing banner.

Silva and Rose will clash on the undercard of Misfits Boxing 11, which goes down at the York Hall in London on Nov. 17. The card will be headlined by influencers Jarvis and BDave, with Jully Poca and Alaena Vampira clashing for the women’s cruiserweight title in the co-main event.

While the 26-year-old Silva has been competing in kickboxing since 2019, he made his pro boxing debut back in April at Hollywood Fight Nights, where he earned a decision win …

Derrick Lewis was recently arrested in Harris County (Texas) for reckless driving.

According to a report from Texas affiliate ABC 13, Lewis was caught driving 136 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone while behind the wheel of a red Lamborghini. He reportedly passed a law enforcement officer while “weaving in and out of traffic and making unsafe lane changes.”

Lewis was given a $100 personal recognizance bond and released from custody the same day as his arrest. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 27.

“The Black Beast” is expected to face Jailton Almeida in the UFC Night Night 231 main event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday. Lewis was a short-notice replacement for the injured Curtis Blaydes. The Houston native last appeared at UFC 291, where he halted a three-fight skid with a 33-second stoppage of Marcos Rogerio de Lima on July 29.

UFC Sao Paulo is down to 13 bouts after David Onama was forced to pull out of a proposed featherweight clash against Lucas Alexander due to injury.

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Onama announced the news via social media. Alexander is not expected to remain on the UFC Fight Night 231 card.

“Unfortunately due to injury, I’ve had to pull out of my upcoming fight in Sao Paulo,” Onama wrote. “I apologize to Lucas and his team. I know my health comes first and I hope to be back next year. Thank you all for the love and support.”

Unfortunately due to injury, I’ve had to pull out of my upcoming fight in São Paulo. I apologize to Lucas and his team. I know my health comes first and I hope to be back next year. Thank you all for the love and support pic.twitter.com/jFvDbCAkel

— David A. Onama (@DavidOnama145) October 26, 2023

UFC Fight Night 231 takes place on Saturday at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt…

UFC Austin will feature a double main event of sorts.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced late Monday night that a lightweight clash between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan will serve as the main event for the Dec. 2 card. Meanwhile, Bobby Green and Dan Hooker will square off in another five-round, 155-pound pairing in the evening’s co-headliner.

UFC Fight Night takes place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, and also includes a bantamweight showdown pitting Rob Font against ex-flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo as well as a welterweight tilt between Sean Brady and Kelvin Gastelum.

Dariush compiled an eight-fight winning streak in the Octagon to find himself on the brink of a title shot before suffering a first-round TKO defeat against Charles Oliveira at UFC 289 in his most recent outing on June 10. The Kings MMA product’s resume includes wins over the likes of Mateusz Gamrot, Tony Ferguson, Drew Dober, Thiago Moises, Jim Miller and Michael Jo…

Francis Ngannou’s impressive performance against Tyson Fury this past Saturday has drawn well-deserved praise from the MMA community.

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Even former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira, who typically maintains a low profile, published a video in Portuguese on his Instagram account while watching the fight with teammate Alex Pereira. Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round but would go on to lose a contentious split decision against “The Gypsy King.”

“Francis Ngannou… damn, my brother! It surprised me, surprised the world and shut up these boxing guys, who don't know s—t about fighting,” Texeira said. “Because they make a lot of money, they think they're the real deal and an MMA fighter won't have a chance.

“Who [really] doesn’t have a chance is a boxing fighter who comes to fight in MMA rules, like James Toney did against Randy Couture. MMA fighters are the gladiators of the new generation. Nobody trains like us.”

Parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a carefully considered decision for former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

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Ngannou left the promotion at the beginning of the year after contract negotiations spanning over a year fell through. While the major bone of contention between the two parties was Ngannou wanting to compete in crossover boxing matches, “The Predator” also had other demands. The Cameroonian had touched upon important issues like like health insurance for fighters, a fighter advocate at board meetings and a new sponsorship deal.

At the end, Ngannou was absolutely sure about exiting the UFC when he did. The 37-year-old went on to secure a multi-fight deal with the surging rivals of the UFC, the Professional Fighters League. He later secured a boxing match against Fury, which went down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 28, reportedly resulting in a payday of more than $10 million for the former sand mine worker. “The Pr…

While Tyson Fury believes his victory over Francis Ngannou was well deserved, “The Gypsy King” can’t help but give his opponent due credit.

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Ngannou was a +800 underdog going into his boxing clash against Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king took Fury to a hard-fought decision, even scoring the lone knockdown of the bout in round 3. However, Ngannou ended up on the short side of a split decision that a majority of fans and pundits believe should have gone the other way.

Fury has now admitted that Ngannou gave him the toughest test in the past 10 years of his career. The WBC champ claims he didn’t underestimate Ngannou in any way but had a lack of material to research when it came to the Cameroonian’s boxing.

However, “The Gypsy King” believes he outboxed Ngannou throughout the fight, barring the third round knockdown.

“No, didn’t underestimate him… We didn’t know how good he…