Martial Arts News

Former champ Cain Velasquez offered high praise for Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight standout Sergei Pavlovich.

Pavlovich (18-1) and fellow contender Tom Aspinall are widely regarded as part of the next generation to potentially rule over the UFC’s heavyweight division. Recently asked about his opinion on the division, Velasquez hailed Aspinall and especially Pavlovich as future champ prospects.

Velasquez also revealed that he had trained with Pavlovich at American Kickboxing Academy several years ago. The former champ noted that while he still acquits himself well in training, Pavlovich was one of the few he found “difficult” to deal with. He also lauded the wrestling skills of Pavlovich, who is currently on a six-fight first-round KO streak. The 41-year-old recently told The Schmo:

“With Sergey, I’ve actually trained with him,” the former UFC heavyweight kingpin stated. “It was a couple of years ago too. So obviously, when he wasn’t at this level yet.…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brass should be ready to hand out a post-fight bonus check after this upcoming scrap.

On Sunday, management team Iridium Sports Agency announced that Mario Bautista (13-2) and Ricky Simon (20-4) will meet in the first UFC card of 2024 on Jan. 13. The bantamweights will square off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The bout has subsequently confirmed by Bautista, who posted about the matchup on his Instagram, while opponent Simon remarked that he had signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion on his own Instagram page.

MMA Lab product Bautista is riding a five fight win streak that includes three submissions over Brian Kelleher, Benito Lopez and Guido Cannetti. Of note, his reverse triangle armbar of Lopez in 2022 served as just the second of its type in company history. Most recently, the 30-year-old Arizonan picked up a hard-fought decision win over Da’Mon Blackshear at UFC 292 in August.

Simon will be hunting for his first win si…

Jailton Almeida will be going from a grappler to a striker on a month’s notice.

Per Ag. Fight on Monday, Curtis Blaydes will no longer be competing in the headliner of UFC Sao Paulo, also known as UFC Fight Night 231. In his stead will be Derrick Lewis (27-11, 1 NC), who will be stepping in on short notice against Almeida (19-2). The reason for Blaydes’ withdrawal has not yet been made public. News of this change in the heavyweight headliner on Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Lewis saw his career-long three-fight skid come to a crashing halt in July when he smashed Marcos Rogerio de Lima in 33 seconds. This marked his first win since 2021, with stoppage losses to Tai Tuivasa, Sergei Pavlovich and Sergey Spivak along the way. With his speedy finish of Rogerio de Lima, Lewis reestablished himself as the UFC’s knockout king, with 14 victories via strikes in his storied tenure with the company.

Since joining the UFC off t…

It was smooth sailing for the 12 men on the scales ahead of the last week of the 2023 Dana White's Contender Series season.

Due to a weight issue for one of the combatants in Week 9, the organization rescheduled that fight for this event. The show will proceed with six bouts, with the rebooked tilt between Davi Bittencourt (134.5) and Lucas Rocha (133) extending the card beyond its usual five affairs.

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Week 10 of the Contender Series takes place on Tuesday night 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 bout is a bantamweight battle pitting Ramon Taveras (136) against Cortavious Romious (136).

Taveras will try to maximize his second chance to make a first impression, as the Floridian succumbed to strikes in half a round to Serhiy Sidey on DWCS in September. The defeat snapped a four-fight win streak in the Combat Night promotion in Florida, which included three stoppages – with one of tho…

🚨 #TeamIridium News 🚨

Our man @MeanMachine505 eyes his 3rd straight stoppage victory vs. Melquizael Costa on Dec. 2 ✍🏽 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/dUIqb1G5aj

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) October 8, 2023

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The lineup of “UFC Austin” continues to take shape, with the addition of a compelling scrap between two up-and-coming featherweights.

Steve Garcia (14-5) will take on Melquizael Costa (20-6) as the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Texas capital on Dec. 2. The matchup was first announced by Garcia’s management firm, Iridium Sports Agency. After going 1-2 in his first three UFC outings, the Jackson-Wink MMA export seems to have found some momentum. “Mean Machine” will look to extend the first win streak of his UFC run, as he carries the momentum of back-to-back knockout wins over Chase Hooper and Nuerdanbieke Shayilan into the bout.

Costa stepped up on short notice for his promotional de…

N.Ruziboev out. Caio Borralho will now fight Abus Magomedov at #UFCSP on November 4th. (per @MMAFighting) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFCSaoPaulo #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/P0qNF9UrwQ

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 8, 2023

Caio Borralho will not have to miss out on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to Sao Paulo in four years.

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“The Natural” (14-1) was originally scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev (35-8) at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. However, MMA Fighting recently reported that Ruziboev pulled out of the matchup for undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by former Professional Fighters League standout Abusupiyan Magomedov.

Borralho is undefeated in four UFC outings with a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in his most recent walk to the Octagon on April 29. The 30-year-old Brazilian, who has not fought in his native country in nearly three years, will look to put on a showing in front…

N.Ruziboev out. Caio Borralho will now fight Abus Magomedov at #UFCSP on November 4th. (per @MMAFighting) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFCSaoPaulo #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/P0qNF9UrwQ

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) October 8, 2023

Caio Borralho will not have to miss out on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to Sao Paulo in four years.

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“The Natural” (14-1) was originally scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev (35-8) at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. However, MMA Fighting recently reported that Ruziboev pulled out of the matchup for undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by former Professional Fighters League standout Abusupiyan Magomedov.

Borralho is undefeated in four UFC outings with a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in his most recent walk to the Octagon on April 29. The 30-year-old Brazilian, who has not fought in his native country in nearly three years, will look to put on a showing in front…

Terrance McKinney will be fighting at UFC Fight Night 230 this weekend, after all.

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“T. Wrecks” (14-6) was originally slated to face Chris Duncan at the UFC Apex on Oct. 14, but that matchup fell through days after it was announced. The Ultimate Fighting Championship had since been trying to find a new opponent for McKinney and finally found one in Brendon Marotte (8-1), who steps up on less than a week’s notice to make his promotional debut. The news of the booking was first reported by McKinney on an Instagram live session with The Schmo.

This will be a quick turnaround for McKinney, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over Mike Breeden in August. It will also be the fourth outing of the year for the 29-year-old, who suffered stoppage losses against Ismael Bonfim and Nazim Sadykhov in January and July respectively. McKinney also stated that he’d ideally would like to make another walk to the Octagon before the year ends.

Marotte re…

Terrance McKinney will be fighting at UFC Fight Night 230 this weekend, after all.

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“T. Wrecks” (14-6) was originally slated to face Chris Duncan at the UFC Apex on Oct. 14, but that matchup fell through days after it was announced. The Ultimate Fighting Championship had since been trying to find a new opponent for McKinney and finally found one in Brendon Marotte (8-1), who steps up on less than a week’s notice to make his promotional debut. The news of the booking was first reported by McKinney on an Instagram live session with The Schmo.

This will be a quick turnaround for McKinney, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over Mike Breeden in August. It will also be the fourth outing of the year for the 29-year-old, who suffered stoppage losses against Ismael Bonfim and Nazim Sadykhov in January and July respectively. McKinney also stated that he’d ideally would like to make another walk to the Octagon before the year ends.

Marotte re…

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Joseph Pyfer (12-2) became the first fighter to submit Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

Pyfer looked nearly flawless as he outperformed Alhassan on the feet in the opening frame before submitting him with an arm-triangle 2:05 into Round 2. During his post-fight interview, “Bodybagz” revealed that the arm-triangle is his go-to move and that he saw the finish coming the moment Alhassan’s coach advised him to let go of the trapped arm.

Going into the bout, Pyfer had called for “real money” before accepting fights against ranked opponents. While Pyfer claims he isn't unhappy with his current deal, the 27-year-old would like to renegotiate his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship based on three consecutive stoppage wins in as many outings.

“I want to get a new contract. I won three; finished three, Pyfer said. “Let’s talk. I don’t say it disrespectfully. And the clickbait media t…

Dana White has lifted the flag ban saying having no flags at Noche UFC "flipped a switch" #UFCVegas80 pic.twitter.com/K2GIB7LyzN

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

Dana White confirmed that Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters can now carry their country flag in the Octagon once again.

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The promotion had initially banned fighters from carrying flags last year amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, even taking Weili Zhang’s flag away from her following a victory. However, middleweight prospect Joseph Pyfer (12-2) proudly waved the American banner following a stellar submission of Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 229 on Oct. 7.

Asked about the topic during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, White confirmed that “flags are back.” He also shared that his decision to end the ban was inspired by the recently concluded Noche UFC event, held in honor of Mexican Independenc…

Dana White says Conor McGregor has submitted the paperwork to rejoin USADA 👀 pic.twitter.com/1N3oHVXv3E

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 8, 2023

The gears finally appear to be shifting in the right direction for Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon.

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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion has been out of action for over two years, nursing a broken leg suffered in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier (29-8). After months of back-and-forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency about returning to their testing pool, McGregor (22-6) finally seems to have taken some significant steps.

“Notorious” recently claimed to have submitted the paperwork for re-entering the USADA testing pool to the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky. UFC CEO Dana White has now confirmed the same while noting that the Irishman will be officially back in the pool next week…