Martial Arts News

While Alexander Volkanovski was lauded for stepping up on short notice to face Islam Makhachev for the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC 294, it seems he was not the only contender who accepted the offer.

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The promotion was left scrambling after Makhachev’s scheduled opponent, Charles Oliveira, pulled out due to a severe cut suffered in sparring on Oct. 10, just 11 days before the fight. The next day, it was announced that Oliveira had been replaced by featherweight champ Volkanovski, but in the meantime, the UFC had apparently been weighing its options, as former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier (29-8) claims he received a call from UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell around the same time asking if he could make weight on short notice. According to “The Diamond,” he agreed and was very excited at the possibility, though Campbell didn’t give him any assurances. Poirier never received the call back as he believes t…

A bantamweight clash pitting Yadong Song against Chris Gutierrez will serve as the main event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming card in Shanghai, China.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report from MagicM_MMABets on social media. UFC Fight Night 233 takes place at Shanghai Indoor Stadium on Dec. 9 and also includes a middleweight showdown between Andre Muniz and Jun Yong Park as well as a flyweight matchup between Tatsuro Taira and Carlos Hernandez.

A native of Tianjin, China, the 25-year-old Song has won four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the “Kung Fu Kid” defeated Ricky Simon via fifth-round technical knockout in the UFC on ESPN 45 headliner on April 29.

Gutierrez, meanwhile, is 8-1-1 in his last 10 UFC outings. The Factory X standout has split his first two fights of 2023, dropping a unanimous verdict to Pedro Munhoz at UFC on ESPN 44 before outpointing Heili Alateng at UFC Fight Night 230.

One of the top female flyweights in the world is no longer on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

Ex-title challenger Taila Santos has been released by the Las Vegas-based promotion on the heels of back-to-back losses. Multiple outlets confirmed the news following after it was initially shared by UFC Roster Tracker on social media. According to MMAjunkie.com, Santo had “a couple of fights” left on her contract when she was cut.

A competitor on the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s in 2018, Santos compiled a 4-3 mark in UFC competition. The Astra Fight Team product won four straight bouts from 2020 to 2021 to earn a title shot, and she was extremely competitive in dropping a split verdict against then champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275. Most recently, the 30-year-old Brazilian suffered a unanimous decision defeat against Erin Blanchfield at UFC Fight Night 225 this past August.

Santos owns a 19-3 career mark that includes wins over the likes o…

Sean O'Malley has doubled down on his stance of not accepting his lone professional loss.

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The UFC bantamweight champion suffered his only pro defeat against Marlon Vera back in 2020, a loss he refuses to accept to this day. Vera hurt O’Malley’s lead leg with a low kick in the opening frame and followed it up with vicious ground-and-pound to earn a TKO victory. According to O’Malley, the kick damaged his peroneal nerve by fluke.

O’Malley is now scheduled to defend his title against Vera in a rematch in the main event of UFC 299 in March. “Sugar” refuses to believe that Vera will be able to damage his nerve again, but he is willing to accept even the first loss if history is repeated.

O’Malley, who sounds extremely confident going into the rematch, believes Vera is scared becaue the Ecuadorian knows the first win was a “fluke.”

“Like, it doesn’t happen that much. And if it happens again, then I’ll never — I’ll say, ‘Alright, I lost twice.…

Jiri Prochazka is not a fan of fights going to the judges’ scorecards.

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According to Prochazka, with three different judges scoring the fight there are too many variables at play in arriving at the result. “BJP” would rather have two fighters simply go to battle with no time limits or no judges like in the early days of the UFC.

“I think the fights, especially in the UFC, can’t end for the points. Because for the points everytime there is a referee [judge], one referee is for him, one referee is for him and tell me, who wins. I think the best time for fighting was when that’s end for like no time limit…Bring it back,” Prochazka said recently on "The MMA Hour.”

If fights were to go on longer, Prochazka might have a slight advantage thanks to his past experience in Rizin Fighting Federation. The Czech was a light heavyweight champ in the Japanese promotion, which prior to 2018 had a rule set that featured a 10-minute first round followed by two …

Jorge Masvidal claims he is not done with Colby Covington despite having reached a plea deal in a criminal case that dates to March 2022.

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Masvidal was accused of attacking Covington outside a Miami steakhouse hardly a fortnight removed from their UFC 272 clash, which “Chaos” won via unanimous decision. On Monday, “Gamebred” pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge as part of a plea deal to have two felony charges of battery and criminal mischief dropped.

While Masvidal is relieved that the lawsuit is finally over, he claimed his saga with Covington is not done during a recent appearance on "The MMA Hour.”

“I don’t know when, but me and Colby are going to see each other at some point, whether it’s in a f—ing cage or I don’t know where the f—k it’s going to be,” Masvidal said. “We’re going to see each other. For him lying on my name, for him pressing charges, for everything he’s done, we are going to see each other. It’s going to be fun…

Raush Manfio is no longer part of the Professional Fighters League roster.

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The 2021 lightweight champion announced his release via social media on Monday.

“I would like to announce that I’m no longer part of the PFL, but also thank [PFL] for all these years with the promotion,” Manfio wrote (translation via MMAFighting.com). “We came in from the front door and left with my head held high knowing it wasn’t the way we wanted to end this season, but the year isn’t over yet.”

Manfio’s PFL tenure comes to a close in disappointing fashion. In his last appearance, Manfio dropped a unanimous decision to longtime friend and training partner Natan Schulte at PFL 6 on June 23. The bout was criticized for its lack of activity, which resulted in both Manfio and Schulte being suspended by the organization. Additionally, Schulte was removed from the postseason, with Shane Burgos taking his place.

Manfio enjoyed his fair share of success in the PFL, …

The stakes will be much greater when Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera run it back.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Monday that O’Malley, the promotion’s reigning bantamweight champion, will lock horns with Vera in a rematch atop the UFC 299 lineup in March. An exact date and venue for the event were not confirmed.

O’Malley suffered his lone professional defeat to Vera at UFC 252 in August 2020. In that bout, “Sugar” was hindered by an apparent calf issue after absorbing a low kick before losing to Vera via first-round technical knockout. The MMA Lab standout has since rebounded to go unbeaten in his next six promotional appearances, culminating in a second-round TKO of Aljamain Sterling to claim 135-pound gold at UFC 292 this past August.

Vera has won five of his last six fights in UFC competition — with a split-decision defeat against Corey Sandhagen the only blemish on his ledger during that time. In addition to besting O’Malley, Vera owns notable wins over th…

While it won’t come quite as early as he wanted, Alexander Volkanovski will still get a relatively quick return to the Octagon.

The reigning featherweight king will defend his belt against Ilia Topuria in the UFC 298 headliner, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Monday. A date and venue for the event are currently unknown, though the card will take place sometime in February.

Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in his second bid to become a two-division champion at UFC 294 this past October. The City Kickboxing accepted the bout on short notice when Makhachev’s original foe, Charles Oliveira, was unable to compete after suffering a cut in training. An emotional Volkanovski requested a quick return in the aftermath of the defeat, targeting UFC 297 in January. Instead, his first 145-pound title defense since July — a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 — will occur the following month.

Topuria, meanwhile, has been v…

Sean Strickland’s first middleweight title defense won’t come against Khamzat Chimaev as originally anticipated.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced Monday that Strickland will face Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 main event. While Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman in what was billed as a title eliminator at UFC 294 on Oct. 21, “Borz” might not be ready to compete in January after suffering a torn ligament in his hand during the bout.

UFC 297 takes place on Jan. 20 in Toronto and will also see Raquel Pennington square off against Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

Du Plessis was initially supposed to face then-champion Israel Adesanya in a grudge match at UFC 293, but the South African standout was not healthy enough to fight at the event. That opened the door for Strickland, who took a surprising five-round verdict against “The Last Stylebender” to claim 185-pound gold in Sydney on Sept. 9. Strickland has won nine of his las…

The owner of one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s longest-ever unbeaten streaks without a title shot is ready to press the issue.

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Welterweight contender Belal Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) will only fight for the title next even if he has to wait for it, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, who recently spoke to MMA Fighting about his client’s long climb up the 170-pound ladder. Undefeated in his last 10 outings, with nine wins and a no contest against current champ Leon Edwards, and ranked No. 2 on the welterweight ladder, Muhammad has long been rallying for a shot at the title. While many consider “Remember the Name” to be most deserving of the next chance at the belt, the promotion has passed him over repeatedly, most recently in favor of Colby Covington, who is scheduled to challenge Edwards at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

While Covington hasn’t fought since a decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022, Muhammad has competed three times since the…

Jorge Masvidal reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Monday to have two felony charges dropped in relation to his attack on Colby Covington on March 2022.

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According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, Masvidal pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge in Miami-Dade County (Fla.) court as part of the plea agreement. Masvidal, who was in attendance alonside his attorney, Saam Zanganeh, was sentenced to time served and court costs. Time served includes previous appearances at police stations and court hearings.

More significantly for Masvidal, two felony charges of battery and criminal mischief were dropped. The former UFC welterweight contender had faced up to 15 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for the felony charges. The guilty verdict for the misdemeanor battery charge will remain on Masvidal’s criminal record. Covington was reportedly given the option to be in court, but he was not present on Monday.

Masvidal attacked Covington out…