Martial Arts News

By pushing Tyson Fury to the limit, Francis Ngannou may have opened the door to a whole new world on Saturday night.

While Ngannou lost a split decision to the man regarded as the best heavyweight on the planet, many observers believed “The Predator” deserved to get the nod on the scorecards. With that in mind, Ngannou would seemingly have plenty of options for future fights in the Sweet Science, where paydays often exceed those offered in mixed martial arts. For now at least, Ngannou still plans on being a double-threat in combat sports.

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“I can do both. Nothing can stop me from doing both,” Ngannou said in a post-fight interview with ESPN. “If I have the skill for both of them, why not? As for right now, I have a deal with PFL, and I’m intending to fight MMA again. I still love it. I might do some MMA fight, but I’m still going to do boxing. I never intend to just step over and do one fight and go out. That wasn’t the plan at all, never. The plan is …

Francis Ngannou is well aware of how these things work.

While the former UFC heavyweight champion did everything in his power to outduel Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut on Saturday in Saudia Arabia, he knew that if the fight went the distance, the scorecards weren’t likely going to be in his favor. That proved to be the case, as Fury emerged with a hard-fought split decision their non-title bout.

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However, Ngannou says Fury knows who really won that fight.

“If he was being honest, he would say I won that fight,” Ngannou said in a post-fight interview with ESPN. “I won that fight. There’s no question about it.

“Even before getting here, I knew if this fight gets to a decision, I’m not winning – not because I didn’t do good, (but) because I’m the new guy in the house. I come here and I just want to kick into people’s business. There’s a structure of business out there and you need to do a lot to destroy it. I wasn’t just expecting to wi…

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All the gears finally seem to be shifting in the right direction for Conor McGregor’s return to action.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest superstar has been inactive since July 2021, rehabbing a broken leg sustained in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier. The Irishman was also absent from the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing pool since the third quarter of 2021 until recently.

After months of back and forth with the USADA over a six-month testing window stipulation, McGregor (22-6) finally re-entered the testing pool on Oct. 8, which makes him eligible to compete in April 2024. The Dublin native has also now submitted his first test samples as per online records. Both blood and urine were seemingly collected, as there were a total of three samples taken, although the date of collection wasn’t specified.

McGregor re-entering the pool was soon followed by the news that the UFC-USADA partnership would conc…

Stipe Miocic claims he wasn’t offered an alternative fight when scheduled opponent Jon Jones pulled out of UFC 295.

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Jones (27-1) was slated to defend his heavyweight title against Miocic (20-4) in the main event at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden. However, “Bones” was forced out of the card after sustaining a pectoral muscle tear during a grappling session hardly two weeks away from fight night.

An interim heavyweight title matchup between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich has been added to the card as the co-main event. Meanwhile, the original co-main, a light heavyweight title clash between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira, has been bumped up to the main-event slot.

While Jones was forced out of the card due to an injury, Miocic saw himself removed due to no fault of his own. The former UFC heavyweight champ, who hasn’t fought since losing his strap to Francis Ngannou in March 2021, was expectedly disheartened upon hearing the ne…

The UFC 295 lineup has undergone yet another change with two weeks to go before fight night.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight veteran Matt Schnell (16-7) had been scheduled to take on the surging Steve Erceg (10-1) on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden. However, “Danger” will no longer be competing on the card due to undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by Brazilian prospect Alessandro Costa (13-3). The change in booking was first reported by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes on Saturday.

Schnell hasn’t fought since last December when he suffered a second-round knockout loss against Matheus Nicolau at UFC on ESPN 42. The Louisiana native has won only two of his last six, though all the losses have come against elite competition. Meanwhile, Erceg made his promotional debut in June on the back of an eight-fight winning streak, which the Australian extended to nine with a unanimous decision win over David Dvorak.

Erceg’s new …

LeBron James was among a long list of athletes who believe Francis Ngannou was robbed of a decision win against Tyson Fury in their boxing match on Saturday night.

Ngannou was a +800 underdog going into his pro boxing debut against the WBC heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former UFC heavyweight champ put on a spectacular performance, knocking Fury down in the third round of an otherwise evenly-contested battle. “The Predator” eventually came up on the short side of a split decision, which many believe should have gone the other way.

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James, among others, was unhappy with the outcome of the fight and voiced his displeasure on social media.

Exactly why i don't watch boxing! C'mon man! 🤦🏾‍♂️

— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 28, 2023 Former UFC superstar Nate Diaz also minced no words while weighing in on the outcome of the fight.

Tyson Fury lost and the boxing commentary biased af dumb…

The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, saw a unique combat sports spectacle on Saturday night.

On the one side was lineal UFC champion Francis Ngannou, who won the title by knocking out Stipe Miocic in Round 2, then successfully defended it against interim champion Ciryl Gane. He was making his pro boxing debut against undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who had never lost in his career, most recently knocking out Derek Chisora in the 10th round in December 2022. Would Ngannou's frightful punching power, the most devastating that the heavyweight division and perhaps all of MMA has ever seen, give him a chance against the supremely talented Fury, a 6-foot-9, 270-plus pound goliath with the ring movement and footwork of a skilled light heavyweight? It was a tantalizing matchup, calling to mind the famous showdown between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, another instance where a top MMA striker and champion has challenged a legendary boxer. However, Fury was sti…

Sanjeet Budhwar Defends his Belt and how!🥊🥊🔥🔥🔥🔥.#MFN13 #Winner #TitleBelt pic.twitter.com/U6ZvziY8bV

— Matrix Fight Night (@mfn_mma) October 28, 2023

Featherweight champion Sanjeet Budhwar (10-2) recorded his first title defense via split decision against Shyam Anand (4-2) in the Matrix Fight Night 13 main event at the Noida Indoor Stadium, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Saturday.

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The main event lived up to expectations with both fighters putting on a display of grit and will. In the end, Budhwar managed to secure a split-decision victory that could have very well come down to his performance in the final frame of the bout.

In the co-main event, welterweight champion Darkhanbek Ergeshev (11-2) secured an impressive submission win at the 2:26 mark of the very first frame against Jason Solomon (9-4). Ergeshev's forward pressure and cage control allowed him to eventually take the fight to the ground. Once in mount, Ergeshev w…

Rizin Fighting Federation’s annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza will include a pair of championship bouts.

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The Japanese promotion recently announced that Juan Archuleta will face Kai Asakura for the bantamweight crown, while Kyoji Horiguchi will square off against Makoto Takahashi in a rematch for the flyweight strap at Rizin 45 on Dec. 31.

Rizin 45 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and will also include a featherweight scrap pitting Kleber Koike Erbst against Yutaka Saito and a flyweight showdown between Hiromasa Ougikubo and John Dodson.

A former Bellator 135-pound title holder, Archuleta claimed Rizin gold with a three-round verdict against Ougikubo at Super Rizin 2 on July 30. “The Spaniard” has won four straight contests — including three under the Rizin banner.

Asakura, meanwhile, has been victorious in four of his last five Rizin appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Japan Top Team representative scored a…

WOW. Daniel Frunza cracks Haris Talund?i? with a brutal elbow and gets the finish with 1 second left in the fight. Crazy ending in the LFA main event. #LFA170 pic.twitter.com/bQa4BKN3QN

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 28, 2023

Romanian welterweight Daniel Frunza (7-2) secured his seventh professional victory with an emphatic knockout in the last second of his bout against Bosnia's Haris Talundzic (6-2) in the Legacy Fighting Alliance 170 170 main event at the Dobson Arena in Vail, Colorado, on Friday night.

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The fight was competitive right up until the finish. Talundzic managed to keep the fight close with his cage control and grappling pressure. Round 3 also saw the Bosnian control Frunza on the side of the cage for a considerable amount of time before being separated by the referee due to inaction.

With barely a few seconds left in the final round, Frunza managed to land a thudding right elbow on Talundzic that lef…

play-by-play and round-by-round scoring kicks off Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. ET with results of the undercard. Full PBP and virtual scoring from three unofficial judges will commence as business picks up for the main event.

Alcibiade Duran vs. Jack McGann

Carlos Takam vs. Martin Bakole

Moses Itauma vs. Istvan Bernath

Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Junior Anthony Wright

Joseph Parker vs. Simon Kean

Fabio Wardley vs. David Adeleye

Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round: Round 4 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Sc…

#ANDSTILL! @dannimccormack puts Karolina Wojcik to sleep and retains the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship! #InvictaFC54 pic.twitter.com/PsBXHAWAgX

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) October 28, 2023 Danni McCormack is still the Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight champion.

The Invicta FC 54 main event saw McCormack take on challenger Karolina Wojcik. It was a closely contested fight on the feet over the first three rounds, with McCormack (8-2) walking forward and Wojcik (11-4) countering well with punches. However, the fourth frame would see McCormack get a takedown, secure the back of Wojcik and sink in a rear-naked choke. The tap officially came at 1:22 of Round 4.

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The co-main event was a pivotal flyweight scrap between Kristina Williams and Dee Begley. The first two rounds were largely contested on the feet, with Williams (7-4) having a clear striking advantage. Begley (4-3) would have her best moments in the…