Martial Arts News

Aaron Pico celebrated his 27th birthday in style on Saturday.

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The Jackson-Wink MMA product made short work of Pedro Carvalho in the Bellator 299 co-main event, winning via technical knockout 3:05 into the opening stanza of their featherweight bout at 3Arena in Dublin. Pico took his foe down multiple times before sealing his victory with punches and elbows from top position.

“I felt really good throughout the whole fight. Of course, you’re going to get hit, it’s a fight. But I was able to stay composed, pick my shots, slow the fight down with my wrestling,” Pico said at the Bellator 299 post-fight press conference.

“And my ground-and-pound was vicious. I think he was really rocked on the bottom because I was throwing those elbows, and I felt no movement in his neck. In this sport you don’t stop until the ref pushes you off. Those elbows that I landed, I think he was out of it. What you’ll do to another human being inside this cage is crazy. It’s…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Nate Diaz will not be charged for his role in a brawl on Bourbon Street in New Orleans this past April.

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Diaz, who voluntarily turned himself in to police, was arrested on a charge of second-degree battery after videos surfaced of the fighter choking social media influencer Rodney Peterson unconscious during what police described as a “large altercation” on the 400 block of Bourbon Street. In the video, Diaz is seen applying a standing choke and throwing a knee to the midsection fof Peterson, who is known for his resemblance to Logan Paul. Peterson eventually is rendered unconscious as Diaz drops him to the street. Diaz was in New Orleans to attend a Misfits Boxing event.

Diaz representative Zach Rosenfield released a statement to ESPN on Monday announcing that the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office has dropped all charges against the popular UFC veteran.

"Since Rodney Peterson sought out to …

Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 fighters made weight without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured clash is a welterweight bout pitting Danny Barlow (170.5) against Raheam Forest (171).

Barlow is 6-0 since making his professional debut in October 2021. He has earned four of those victories inside of a round, including a first-round TKO of Jarious Gill in his most recent outing at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 121 on July 14.

A former CFFC title holder, Forest has been victorious in seven of his first eight pro appearances, with his lone defeat coming to current UFC talent Charlie Radtke “Rambo” is coming off a 26-second knockout of Treston Vines at CFFC 121.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Danny Barlow (170.5) vs. Raheam Forest (171)
Alexander Soldatkin (246) vs. Mario Piazzon (240)
Danny Silva …

Heavyweight veteran Andrei Arlovski will return to action early next year as he takes on up-and-comer Waldo Cortes-Acosta at a UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 13.

The record holder for the most wins in UFC heavyweight history, Arlovski will make his 47th walk to the Octagon as he takes on the Dominican Republic native fighting out of Phoenix. The matchup was first reported by ESPN commentator Gaston Reyno. Cortes-Acosta later confirmed the bout on social media.

Arlovksi had a four-fight winning streak snapped with a submission loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in October 2022. Arlovski subsequently went on to suffer a knockout loss to Don’Tale Mayes earlier this year, making it two defeats in a row for the 44-year-old.

Meanwhile, Cortes-Acosta is coming off the first stoppage win of his UFC career, a brutal first-round TKO win over Lukasz Brzeski in Singapore in August. “Salsa Boy” earned his UFC contract with a finish over Brazil’s Danilo Suzart last year on t…

Rashad Evans consoling his long time friend Michelle Waterson-Gomez#UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/YIqIeq23XG

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 24, 2023

Michelle Waterson-Gomez suffered a second round technical knockout loss in a rematch against Marina Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday.

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“The Karate Hottie” was thoroughly outclassed by Rodriguez on the feet with a 90-16 total strike differential. While Rodriguez seemed close to finishing to bout in the opening frame, Waterson-Gomez displayed commendable toughness in weathering the storm. As the beatdown continued, referee Kerry Hatley stepped in to halt the bout at 2:42 of the second round. A bloodied Waterson-Gomez broke down in tears after the defeat.

UFC Hall of Famer and Waterson-Gomez’s former teammate at Jackson-Wink MMA, Rashad Evans, who was an analyst for the event, consoled the 37-year-old outside the Octagon as she was overwhelmed by emotions. Sharing …

Khamzat Chimaev will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon next month against Paulo Costa in the co-main event at UFC 294 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Chechen-born finishing machine will no longer be representing Sweden, which has been his home since the age of 18.

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Chimaev has been a long-time member of the Allstars Training Center in Stockholm and has been representing Sweden since his UFC debut in 2020. However, “Borz” has now reportedly emigrated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will be representing his new home when he faces Costa at UFC 294.

The news was revealed by his manager Majdi Shammas to Swedish outlet SVT Sport.

“He has emigrated, he is no longer Swedish,” Shammas said, while refusing to divulge any more information. “He wants to emigrate.”

The move coincides with Chimaev’s transition to middleweight. The 29-year-old missed weight by 7.5 pounds for his last outing at UFC 279 in September 2022, which le…

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has pleaded guilty to drinking and driving a few weeks before his most recent fight.

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According to a report from the NZ Herald, Adesanya was charged with driving a car in Auckland, New Zealand, with 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood on Aug. 19. The legal limit in the country is 50 milligrams.

“I want to apologize to the community, my family and my team for the decision I made to get behind the wheel after drinking at dinner,” Adesanya said in a statement provided to the Herald.“I was pulled over and gave an evidentiary blood test — the reading was 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

“I am disappointed with my decision to drive, It was wrong,” he added. “I know that people might follow me and I want them to know I do not think this behavior is acceptable.”

Adesanya is due for sentencing on Jan. 10. The maximum penalty for the charge is three months in…

Sean Brady will welcome Kelvin Gastelum back to the welterweight division at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 2.

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The pairing was confirmed by MMAFighting.com after being initially reported on social media by multiple accounts. UFC Fight Night doesn’t have a confirmed location or venue at this time, but the card is also expected to include a middleweight clash pitting Jared Cannonier against Roman Dolidze and a bantamweight showdown between Rob Font and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Brady hasn’t competed since suffering his first career defeat in 16 bouts, a second-round TKO loss against Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 last October. The former Cage Fury Fighting Championships title holder began his promotional tenure with five straight victories, besting the likes of Michael Chiesa, Jake Matthews and Court McGee, among others.

Gastelum was initially supposed to return to 170 pounds against Shavkat Rakhmonov at Noche UFC on Sept. 16, but an in…

Johnny Eblen successfully defended his middleweight title against Fabian Edwards in the main event at Bellator 299 at the 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday.

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Despite being split open and subsequently rocked by Edwards, Eblen turned the tide with a huge right hand in Round 3 and followed it up with some vicious ground-and-pound to record a knockout victory, extending his perfect record to 14-0.

Fueled by the bad blood they shared in the lead-up, Eblen took the chance to speak his mind while towering above his fallen opponent. This prompted Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title holder Leon Edwards to come to his brother Fabian’s defense, leading to a heated exchange of words with Eblen.

However, Eblen doesn’t have any serious bad blood with “Rocky” and claims to have “squashed the beef” backstage. The Bellator middleweight champ is even rooting for Edwards in the UFC champ’s upcoming title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296.

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Mateusz Gamrot and Rafael Fiziev headlined UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday in a highly-anticipated clash of lightweight contenders.

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After mostly feeling each other out in the opening frame, Fiziev dropped to the ground in agony after throwing a right kick which was blocked by Gamrot. As a result, “Gamer” was awarded the technical knockout victory due to injury.

Replay revealed that it was Fiziev’s left knee which gruesomely popped while throwing the kick, bringing the fight to an anticlimactic end early in Round 2. While it definitely isn’t the victory he had imagined, Gamrot noted that he made a conscious effort to defend Fiziev’s kicks.

“Of course, this was not what I would like,” Gamrot said in his post-fight interview. “To be honest, when I prepared for this fight, my goal was that my defense would be stronger than his kick. I prepared very good defense in my gym. I wish a quick recovery for Rafael. A win is a win. I wi…

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Bryce Mitchell survived an early scare and went on to secure a unanimous decision against Dan Ige in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday.

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Despite being busted up near his right eye, which caused the cageside doctor to interrupt the fight twice, “Thug Nasty” showed immense grit in edging out the victory. Known for his polarizing ideas on a variety of topics, Mitchell launched into a bizarre rant on the Hawaii firestorm in his post-fight Octagon interview. Mitchell pledged $5,000 to victims of the tragedy through Ige, who was born in California but calls Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore home.

However, “Thug Nasty,” while giving credit to Ige’s performance, also opined that the fires were a man-made attempt to drive native Hawaiians out of their land.

“He’s the hardest hitter I’ve ever fought. I didn’t expect him to be so fast and move so well. And his grappling defense is so good too,” Mitchell said of Ige. “I b…

Surging welterweight prospect Ian Garry will get another test when he locks horns with Vicente Luque at UFC 296.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking via social media on Sunday. UFC 296 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight belt against Brandon Royval.

A former Cage Warriors champion, the 25-year-old Garry is undefeated in 13 professional appearances — including his first six in UFC competition. In his last outing, the Kill Cliff FC-trained Irishman outpointed welterweight veteran Neil Magny at UFC 292 on Aug. 19.

Luque is a veteran of 20 UFC bouts, and he is second all-time with 13 finishes at 170 pounds. “The Silent Assassin” snapped a two-fight losing streak in his most recent Octagon appearance, as he took a five-round verdict against Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC on ESPN 51 headliner on A…