Martial Arts News

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…

LuizClaudio submits himself while attempting a leg lock at FMS Fight Night 2🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/l90YByWN4X

— Matysek (@Matysek88) October 30, 2023

A regional MMA event in Brazil on Saturday featured an extraordinary finish that fans may never see again.

At FMS: Fight Night 2 in Curitiba on Saturday, Yabna Ferreira N'Tchala and Luiz Claudio Bezerra Filho met in a preliminary lightweight bout which ended less than half a round when Filho effectively tapped himself out. The Curitiba native was scrambling hard for a heel hook when he got his legs entangled between N'Tchala's. “Black Panther” had to merely sit up to catch “Luizinho” in an awkward kneebar, forcing an immediate tap at 1:54 of the opening frame.

Footage of the bizarre submission has since been doing rounds on social media. The win put N'tchala back on the win column after the 26-year-old suffered his first professional loss against Yazid Chouchane at UAE Warriors 35 – Afri…

Cody Brundage will get in one more Octagon appearance before the end of the year.

Brundage (9-5) has been booked to welcome undefeated promotional debutant Zachary Reese (6-0) in a middleweight contest at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming fight night in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 2. The matchup was first reported on Monday by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. It will be the fourth fight of 2023 for the 29-year-old Factory X product, who will look to even up his record for the year after following up back-to-back losses to Rodolfo Vieira and Sedriques Dumas in April and June with a disqualification win over Jacob Malkoun at UFC Fight Night 228 last month. Brundage’s overall UFC record currently sits at 3-4 since joining the promotion in September 2021, a year after his unsuccessful appearance on Dana White's Contender Series.

Meanwhile, Reese earned his UFC contract with a first-round submission win over Eli Aronov on the Contender Series in August. The Hou…

While Jorge Masvidal appears to be all-in on promoting bare-knuckle fights, he claims we will never see him compete in one.

The 38-year-old hung up his MMA gloves for good following a decision loss against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April, the fourth setback in a row for the former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title challenger and inaugural BMF champ. “Gamebred” will remain closely involved with the sport, however, as his eponymous promotion, Gamebred Fighting Championship, has put on boxing as well as MMA events—both of the bare-knuckle variety—since its debut in June of 2021.

Gamebred FC’s events have usually featured well-known names, including numerous UFC veterans; its latest card on Sept. 8 was headlined by former heavyweight champs Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum in a rematch of their first meeting at UFC 90 a decade and a half ago, with dos Santos prevailing to go 2-0 against “Vai Cavalo.” The league is set to put on its next show …

Options abound for Francis Ngannou following his near miss against Tyson Fury over the weekend.

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During a Monday appearance on "The MMA Hour," Ngannou discussed some of the possibilities that he could pursue after falling to Fury via split decision this past Saturday in Saudia Arabia. Perhaps the most intriguing of those is a mixed martial arts bout against boxing heavyweight Deontay Wilder, a former WBC champion who went 0-2-1 against Fury. The former UFC champion confirmed that there have been talks regarding such a fight against Wilder.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Ngannou said. “In fact, we have spoken about that. That has been in the discussions. So that’s something that can potentially happen. Nothing is set, but it’s been something been coming to my attention, so that’s something that makes sense. He’s really serious about MMA. …

“It’s going to be a different beast for him. Unlike this time that I was the one experiencing the mountain,…