Martial Arts News

Dricus Du Plessis is far from certain to receive the next UFC middleweight title shot.

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After Du Plessis handily defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 291 and subsequently engaged in a heated confrontation with Israel Adesanya in the Octagon, it looked like the promotion had a ready-made storyline at the top of the division. However, it appears that some parties — namely, Dana White and Adesanya — involved have cooled on the possibility of Du Plessis as the No. 1 contender after the South African balked at facing “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 due to lingering injuries.

Now, Adesanya will defend his crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday night in Sydney. While the reigning champion is heavily favored to dispatch his opponent, it’s not a given that Du Plessis will be next in line.

“You know how much I love when guys turn down fights,” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Contender Series on Tuesday night. “I don’t kno…

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Those who choose to exchange with Brendson Ribeiro do so at their own risk.

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Sherdog’s coverage of DWCS 2023, Week 5 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Mark Smith gets the first officiating assignment of the card. De Lima charges forward and lands a right hand. Guerrero answers with a right hand of her own. De Lima connects on a body kick but loses her balance, and Guerrero takes advantage, executing a takedown near the fence. Guerrero passes to half guard, but de Lima reverses into top position. The Brazilian transitions to the back, but she positions herself off to the side, looking for a belly-down armbar. Guerrero keeps her composure and frees her limb. They scramble to their feet but de Lima closes the distance in short order and attaches herself to Guerrero. De Lima controls the clinch and then tosses Guerrero to the canvas, landing in a side headlock while trapping Guerrero’s arm with her legs. Guerrero grimaces at the torque on her arm, but she’s able to free herself and reverse into top position. Guerrero is now working from inside de …

Rose Namajunas isn’t listening to the naysayers – and that includes UFC Fight Night 226 opponent Manon Fiorot.

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The former strawweight champion revealed during a video on social media that she plans on remaining at 125 pounds following a unanimous decision loss to Fiorot in the UFC Fight Night 226 co-main event this past Saturday.

“I’m definitely going to stay [at flyweight],” Namajunas said. “I want to put a little more muscle on. I don’t want to go back down [to strawweight], definitely not. I felt so much better not cutting that weight.

“I already did conquer 115 and to go and do that again, that just seems harder than conquering 125 because of that freaking weight cut. Seriously. Draining your body like that is not good. Your kidneys and your brain and all that stuff. Plus I have a little more time. I’m going to definitely be lifting some freaking weights more. I’ve already been lifting a lot and I got a lot stronger but next time will be …

Sean Strickland’s trip Down Under has apparently already included a run-in with a fan.

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In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, the UFC middleweight revealed that he punched a supporter of the middleweight champion in the stomach after he told Strickland “Izzy is gonna f—-k you up.”

“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland said. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo. Because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your f—-ing mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.

“Uppercut to his stomach. Then I walked away. But if I see the guy again, man, no problems. ... I’ll thank him for not pressing charges.”

Strickland has risen to prominence in the UFC thanks in large part to an outspoken persona known for making controversial remarks. Whether this particular claim proves to be true remains to seen, but ac…

While he might not have a date set for his UFC return, Conor McGregor is still working on his overall game.

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The former UFC two-division champion announced Monday on social media that he received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“Received my black belt tonight from my coach, friend, and mentor, [John Kavanagh] of [SBG Ireland]. 20 years of hard work!” McGregor wrote. “Thank you John for everything over the years, and to all of my team mates throughout this incredible jiu jitsu journey! Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart! A Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, wow! Praise be to God and then Helio. I’ll be in the Gi in it tomorrow Helio, I promise, and I cannot wait.”

McGregor, who is best known for his knockout power, hasn’t displayed his grappling often during his MMA career, as he has just one submission among 22 professional triumphs — and none in the UFC. McGregor is supposed to face fellow “Ultimate Fighter 31” coach Michael C…

If something goes awry with the scheduled UFC 293 headliner, the promotion has a contingency plan in place.

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According to MMAjunkie.com, Jared Cannonier is in Sydney and will weigh in as the backup fighter for Saturday’s middleweight championship clash between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.

Cannonier challenged for middleweight gold at UFC 276 in July 2022, when he dropped a five-round verdict against Adesanya at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He has since rebounded to earn a split-decision triumph over Strickland at UFC Fight Night 216 and a unanimous verdict against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 47 on June 17. “The Killa Gorilla” has won seven of his last nine Octagon appearances dating back to November 2018.

UFC 293 takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and will also see Alexander Volkov lock horns with Tai Tuivasa in the evening’s heavyweight co-main event. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

It wasn’t completely smooth sailing, but all 10 athletes are official for Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Ramon Taveras tipped the scales at 136.25 pounds on his first attempt but was able to check in at 136 when given additional time for his bantamweight bout against Serhiy Sidey (135.5). All other competitors made weight without issue on Monday.

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Dana White’s 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 card is topped by a light heavyweight showdown pitting Bruno Lopes (204) against Brendson Ribeiro (205.5).

Lopes takes a perfect 11-0 career mark into the Contender Series. He last appeared at Legacy Fighting Alliance 143, where he defeated Willyanedson Paiva via second-round TKO last September. He has finished nine of his triumphs inside the distance.

Ribeiro, meanwhile is coming off back-to-back first-round technical knockout victories on the Brazilian …

The home of Ciryl Gane was reportedly robbed while the French heavyweight competed at UFC Fight Night 226.

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According to French outlet Le Parisien, approximately 150,000 euros — more than $160,000 — of valuables were taken from Gane’s residence, including a Rolex and other jewelry. Police arrived at Gane’s home in Nogent-sur-Marne at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Sunday to discover the break-in and theft.

An investigation is ongoing, and a source close to the case believes that a member of Gane’s entourage may have informed the burglars of his absence prior to the break-in. No arrests have been made at this time.

It was a successful night for Gane in the Octagon, as he defeated Sergey Spivak via second-round technical knockout in the UFC Fight Night 226 headliner at the Accor Arena in Paris. “Bon Gamin” has won nine of 11 promotional appearances since his UFC debut in 2019.

Retired mixed martial artist Jason Miller continues to run into trouble outside of the cage.

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According to TMZ Sports, the UFC and Strikeforce veteran known as “Mayhem” was arrested for allegedly choking a fan at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood on Aug. 29. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records, Miller was arrested on Aug. 30 at 5 a.m. on a misdemeanor charge before being released on bail at 11:25 a.m.

The incident allegedly began when a fan approached Miller to say hello but a “verbal confrontation” ensued, according to the report. From there, Miller was accused of putting the fan in a chokehold before security intervened to separate the two parties.

Miller reportedly left before law enforcement arrived on the scene, but he returned to the club the next day. The police were called by someone who recognized the former fighter, and Miller was subsequently arrested. The case is still under investigation as detectives …

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The rematch between former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabrício Werdum is attracting the attention of Brazilian fans.

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The bareknuckle MMA fight, which will be the main event of Gamebred Fighting Championship 5, takes place almost 15 years after the first showdown and will be broadcast live on the Combate channel in Brazil on Friday. In the first confrontation, at UFC 90 in October 2008, dos Santos made his debut in the promotion and knocked out the favored Werdum, who was on the last fight of his contract and close to a title shot.

“Since I lost, the UFC made an unreasonable proposal and ended up forcing me to leave the promotion and restart my career at Strikeforce,” Werdum told Sherdog.com.

This first fight and its ensuing consequences ended up forging a great rivalry between Werdum and “Cigano. While dos Santos started a meteoric career in the UFC, earning six more victories that would culiminate in a f…

The fans in Paris made a strong impression at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second event in France on Saturday.

The Accor Arena was rocking from the card’s opening fight, all the way until Ciryl Gane dispatched Sergey Spivak in the UFC Fight Night 226 heavyweight headliner. The numerous French fighters on the card drew loud ovations and brought a palpable energy to the audience — something that was noticeable to UFC officials.

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“That felt louder than last year,” said UFC senior vice president for international operations and content David Shaw at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“Last year our feeling was it’s first time in market, we worked so hard to get legalization in France. First time effect — great,” he added. “The event was a huge success. Coming here tonight and having the performance all the athletes put on and the performance also of the fans, it kind of validated what the thesis was from the very beginning, which is we make…