Martial Arts News

What a battle! ⚔️

The judges have called this fight a majority draw.#UFCSP pic.twitter.com/UpfbiGfQhW

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2023

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Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was a follow-up punch or two away from pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of the year.

Dropped in the opening minute by the heavy-handed welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov, dos Santos ate overhand rights from the Russian like they were free samples at UFC Fight Night 231.

Fakhretdinov, who entered the fight on a 20-bout win streak, fell in love with his fist and went away from his wrestling background in Round 2. This allowed dos Santos enough time to find and home for his snapping lead body kick.

Tired and tender heading into Round 3, Fakhretdinov succumbed under the assault of dos Santos’ body attack and was nearly finished before being saved by the bell. Two judges scored the third round 10-8 for dos Santos and the war was ultimately scored a majorit…

Hear from @AlexPereiraUFC after he became the third inductee into the GLORY Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/lNunza8c9T

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) November 4, 2023

Alex Pereira has been inducted into the Glory Kickboxing Hall of Fame, the promotion announced over the weekend.

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Pereira captured titles at middleweight and light heavyweight while compiling an 11-4 mark in the kickboxing organization. He also set the record for most championship defenses in Glory middleweight history. “Poatan” joins Joe Valtellini and Semmy Schilt as the third fighter to be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.

“Alex Pereira was one of the greatest champions in Glory history,” said Scott Rudmann, co-founder and vice chairman of Glory. “His accomplishments in the GLory ring speak for themselves, as the only man ever hold the champions belt in two weight classes simultaneously.

“Alex continues to make huge waves in combat sports w…

Shortly after becoming a newly-crowned two-sport world champion, Jonathan Haggerty is already looking forward to the next challenge.

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Haggerty (20-4), ONE Championship’s reigning bantamweight muay thai champion, took on reigning mixed martial arts champion Fabricio Andrade (29-1) in a meeting for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing title at ONE on Prime Video 16 on Friday.

While many expected a competitive bout, “The General” managed to dismantle his Brazilian adversary via knockout in the second frame at the 1:57 mark. Haggerty's speed and precision proved too much for “Wonder Boy” to handle. It was a clean head kick that landed on Andrade a minute into Round 2 that began the finishing sequence for the Brit. Ultimately, he managed to knock down the MMA champion with punches and earn himself the rare honor of being crowned a two-sport world champion.

“The General” isn't done chasing gold, either.

“Fabricio, I want your MMA belt,” he annou…

Known for his keen interest in mixed martial arts, META CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently ran into the first roadblock of his MMA journey.

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The Facebook founder took to Instagram on Friday to reveal that he'd undergone surgery for an ACL tear sustained during a training session in preparation for his first "competitive MMA fight early next year."

Despite the seriousness of the injury, the 39-year-old is confident he will make a full recovery and is still looking forward to a potential bout once he's cleared to compete.

“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram. “Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.”

Interestingly, rumors of a possible MMA bout between the Facebook founder and Elon Musk beg…

WOW!!🤯

Suzuki gets the KO from bottom position and is the new RIZIN Featherweight Champion!

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📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/fsvLfe9ZKD — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 4, 2023 After coming up short in his first title bid in June, Chihiro Suzuki made the most of his second opportunity by scoring a crushing first-round knockout victory on Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation “Landmark Vol. 7” in Baku, Azerbaijan. Suzuki finished Vugar Karamov with a vicious upkick and punches 88 seconds into the opening round to claim the Rizin featherweight title.

Suzuki (12-3, 1 NC, 7-1, 1 NC Rizin) found himself on the mat following an early takedown from Karamov (19-5, 5-2 Rizin), who postured up and punched from the top. When Karamov stood up to try to pass Suzuki’s guard, Suzuki countered with an upkick from the bottom. His heel connected flush with Karamov’s jaw and the dazed Azerbaijani fig…

The UFC women’s bantamweight division will crown a new champion at the beginning of 2024.

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Raquel Pennington will face Mayra Bueno Silva for the 135-pound title at UFC 297 in Toronto on Jan. 20. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Ag.Fight. The bantamweight belt was vacated when Amanda Nunes announced her retirement following a victory against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June.

Pennington, who came up short in her first title bid against Nunes at UFC 224 in May 2018, enters the matchup on five-fight winning streak. Most recently, “Rocky” garnered a split decision triumph over Ketlen Vieira at UFC Fight Night 214 on Jan. 14. Her resume also includes victories against the likes of Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, Pannie Kianzad, Aldana, Miesha Tate and Jessica Andrade.

Bueno Silva appeared to have earned a signature triumph when she submitted Holly Holm in the second round of their clash at UFC on ESPN 49 this past Ju…

pic.twitter.com/VgZaKVvBxg

— Vinc Pichel 🇺🇸 (@FromHellPichel) November 3, 2023

Vinc Pichel is understandably disappointed with Ismael Bonfim for his massive weight miss that ultimately led to their scheduled UFC Sao Paulo clash being canceled.

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Pichel (14-3) was set to make his return to the Octagon against the younger Bonfim brother (19-4) following a unanimous decision loss to Mark O. Madsen back in April 2022.

However, while Madsen tipped the scales at 155.5 pounds with some additional time, Bonfim weighed in at 159.5 pounds; a whopping 3.5 pounds above the lightweight limit. As a result, the promotion announced that the scheduled main card opener between Pichel and Bonfim had been scrapped.

Soon after the announcement, Pichel took to social media to issue a statement addressing the weight-miss debacle. The 40-year-old made it clear that he had no intention of taking on a fight against an opponent that “didn't …

When Jonathan Haggerty gets you hurt there’s only a matter of time before you’re out. Just ask Fabricio Andrade.

The ONE Championship 145-pound muay thai champion added another belt around his slender waist after dismantling the ONE 145-pound mixed martial arts champion in the second round of their kickboxing chlash in the ONE Fight Night 16 main event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

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“The General” entered the bout on a five-fight win streak fresh off his first-round annihilation over Nong-O Hama in his last fight. The confidence to take out another champion early was evident in Haggerty’s approach.

Throughout Round 1 Haggerty exposed Andrade’s heavy feet by circling and cracking the MMA champion with hard shots. Despite Andrade’s background in kickboxing, Haggerty’s feints and explosiveness kept the Brazilian in constant danger.

The beginning of the end came in Round 2 after Haggerty converted a switch knee into a roundhouse kick over An…

Sherdog's live ONE Fight Night 16 coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven s…

[embedded content] Several fighters ahead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Brazil appear to have forgotten their weight classes.

The UFC Fight Night 231 main event will see heavyweight prospect Jailton Almeida take on former title challenger Derrick Lewis. Both men weighed under the limit, with Lewis coming in 29 pounds heavier than the 236-pound Brazilian. However, four undercard fighters missed weight. Ismael Bonfim came in 3.5 pounds over the lightweight limit for his fight against Vinc Pichel, who also came in a pound heavy. Additionally, Victor Hugo Silva and Eduarda Moura both came in heavy for their respective bouts. All fighters have been fined a percentage of their purses.

Almeida (19-2) is undefeated since entering the UFC. His first main event opportunity saw him submit Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a rear-naked choke after just 3:43. Lewis (27-11, 1 NC) is coming off a quick 33-second win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima that snapped a three-figh…

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Jamahal Hill believes Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira have different ways of winning their UFC 295 matchup.

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Hill (12-1) will officially become a former Ultimate Fighting Championship king the moment Pereira vs. Prochazka kicks off inside the Octagon on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While “Sweet Dreams” put on an incredible performance against Glover Teixeira (33-9) at UFC 283 to claim the vacant heavyweight title, the Michigan native ruptured his Achilles tendon back in July while playing a game of pickup basketball.

Considering how Prochazka was quick to let the division move on when he suffered a disastrous shoulder injury while holding the belt, Hill took the same route and verbally relinquished his title with the assurance that he would receive a title shot on his return regardless of the circumstances.

While Pereira and Prochazka gear up for their upcoming title bout, Hill is not only focused on …

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Beneil Dariush aims not to let his most recent setback deter him from realizing his full potential as a mixed martial artist.

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Dariush (22-5) had his inspiring eight-fight winning streak snapped against former champion Charles Oliveira (34-9). In a bout that served as a title eliminator, “Benny” suffered a devastating Round 1 technical loss.

However, Dariush isn’t one to dwell on his losses and obsess over his mistakes.

“You know, the best way I can explain is it that I was off that night. It wasn't my best performance and Charles had a great performance,” Dariush told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “I really don't have any other excuses besides that. I don't think I performed to the best of my abilities and I think he fought really well. So, congrats to him and that's it. I don't really know what else to tell you, unfortunately. And as far as what I take away from it is just, came home and said ‘I'm going to spend some time with my …