Martial Arts News

[embedded content] Bellator MMA returns to Ireland this week with a middleweight title fight.

The main event will see champion Johnny Eblen attempt to make his second title defense after claiming the belt from Gegard Mousasi and defeating Anatoly Tokov. Vying for the title is a fan-favorite in English fighter Fabian Edwards. Both title fight participants made weight, as did the rest of the 20-fight card with one exception. Piotr Niedzielski, who will fight Khasan Magomedsharipov, missed the featherweight limit by 1.8 pounds, and will be fined a percentage of his purse as a result.

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A perfect 13-0 as a professional, Eblen has looked unstoppable within Bellator. Prior to claiming the belt, the American had picked up wins against John Salter and Collin Huckbody. "Diamond Hands" is 9-0 inside the Bellator cage. Meanwhile, Edwards (12-2) is riding a three-fight win streak. After back-to-back defeats to Austin Vanderford and Costello van Steenis, "The Assass…

BREAKING!!! More fights on Dec. 16th in Vegas. Tickets on sale Oct. 20th #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/JHpQtqYSbw

— danawhite (@danawhite) September 23, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is taking a very specific path of matchmaking to build a budding star.

Earlier on Friday, Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov publicly posted about their upcoming matchup on social media. The UFC subsequently confirmed this on Friday night, announcing that fight as part of UFC 296 along with an unannounced matchup. Joining the two title fights and aforementioned Thompson-Rakhmonov tilt will be a lightweight clash pitting Paddy Pimblett (20-3) against Tony Ferguson (25-9). The bouts will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 16.

Liverpool, England’s Pimblett currently rides a six-fight win streak that includes all four of his appearances in the Octagon. His last bout came at UFC 282 in December, where he won a unanimous decision over …

If this upcoming middleweight matchup is not the main event, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has something big in store for the fans in December.

According to ESPN on Friday, Roman Dolidze (12-2) has been pulled from UFC 295. Initially slated to face Derek Brunson, Brunson withdrew from the bout and announced that he was no longer under contract with the promotion. The middleweight has had his Octagon return pushed from Nov. 11 to Dec. 2, where he will now collide with Jared Cannonier (17-6). The two 185ers will battle it out on the main card ? but not the main attraction ? of an unnamed UFC Fight Night card at a currently undetermined location.

Cannonier last prepared for competition back in September, where he weighed in as the alternate for the Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland title fight. Nearly tapped for the event due to an incident involving Strickland and a fan during fight week, Cannonier ended up watching on the sidelines and will not be receiving the …

Per sources: Michael Morales vs. Jake Matthews set for Nov 18th UFC event

Vía @ESPNDeportes pic.twitter.com/NdjAUtTkED

— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) September 22, 2023 Some days, the Ultimate Fighting Championship decides to open the gates and let loose a number of new matchups into the wild all at once.

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Per ESPN Deportes, the UFC’s Spanish-language broadcast partner, an intriguing welterweight pairing between Michael Morales (15-0) and Jake Matthews (19-6) has come together. This fight with potential rankings implications will be held on Nov. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as part of UFC Fight Night 232.

The 23-year-old Morales out of Entram Gym burst onto the scene when he staged the upset and topped Nikolay Veretennikov on the scorecards at Dana White's Contender Series. This contract-winning victory put the youngster in the Octagon, where he celebrated this by smashing Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt in…

Contender Series alum Azamat Murzakanov, who is now 3-0 in the UFC and ranked No. 12 at LHW, will face No. 11 Khalil Rountree on Dec. 2 per sources. Rountree on a four-fight win streak.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 22, 2023 Even without a location on the books, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is building up its first December card in a big way.

On Friday, two high-stakes matchups at 135 and 205 pounds were announced by various outlets. Courtesy of MMA Fighting, and confirmed by other outlets, Rob Font (20-7) will be welcoming former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo (21-3-1) up to 135 pounds on Dec. 2. The untitled UFC Fight Night event on that date does not have a headliner or a specific location yet, although rumored venues include the Target Center in Minneapolis and the 3Arena in Dublin.

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While still a top-10 name in the talent-rich bantamweight division, Boston-based Font has fallen on hard times a…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not skimping on exciting matchups in its return to Madison Square Garden this November.

Per the Two to Tango with Steam & Scoob podcast on Friday, Matt Frevola (11-3-1) announced that he had signed a new deal with the UFC. The first fight on his new contract will be against surging Frenchman Benoit St. Denis (12-1, 1 NC), and the lightweights will tangle at UFC 295 on Nov. 11. This will be Frevola’s third jaunt at Madison Square Garden in New York, with a draw against Lando Vannata and a knockout of Ottman Azaitar in that building on his ledger.

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“I’m finally making [Billy Quarantillo] money,” Frevola stated proudly. “I’m gonna announce it right here, right now. It’s gonna be Matt ‘The Steamrolla’ Frevola at MSG, and I’m fighting the French special forces killer in Benoit St. Denis. And, honestly, I had my questions about the French people, not gonna lie. In his last fight, he beat Thiago Mo…

UFC offered and I’ve accepted, @Rakhmonov1994 let’s close out the year strong. Dec 16 can’t wait

— “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) September 22, 2023 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 9:15 p.m. ET to add confirmation from the promotion.

Two top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights went public about a huge fight to end the year.

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On social media, Stephen Thompson (17-6-1) posted on Friday that the organization offered him a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0), and that he had accepted it. Minutes later, Rakhmonov replied, “Let’s go!” to signify his excitement about the prospective welterweight clash. If this bout is made official, according to Thompson, it will go down on Dec. 16 as part of UFC 296, which will take place in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC confirmed this matchup on Friday night.

The unbeaten Rakhmonov has been looking for an opponent since strangling Geoff Neal wi…

[embedded content] In the eyes of champion Sean O'Malley, revenge is a dish best served with sugar.

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley (17-1) seems to be set on rematching Marlon Vera (21-8) for his first title defense. Back in 2020, O'Malley and Vera faced off inside the Octagon at UFC 252. During the course of the first round, Vera's calf kicks impaired “Sugar” severely, eventually crumbling to the floor and succumbing to a TKO defeat via elbows and punches. Since then, O'Malley has repeatedly mentioned avenging the loss and as per the 28-year-old, now is the right time.

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"Sugar" recently claimed the bantamweight crown by putting Aljamain Sterling (23-4) away in the second round with strikes at UFC 292 in August. While some believe Sterling’s teammate Merab Dvalishvili should be next in line for a title shot, especially if Sterling doesn't get the rematch, O'Malley sees this as an opportunity to avenge the onl…

Top Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters from 145 to 170 pounds all want a piece of champ Islam Makhachev.

Per the UFC on Wednesday, the headliner of UFC 296 on Dec. 16 will be Leon Edwards (21-3) against Colby Covington (17-3). Backlash was immediate from the mixed martial arts community as to Covington receiving the welterweight title shot, as other contenders like Belal Muhammad racked up mighty unbeaten streaks next to Colby’s one win since 2021. No stranger to controversy, “Chaos” took it in stride, already making plans for his future championship reign after claiming the belt at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Unsurprisingly, the former interim champion has no doubt he will emerge victorious against Edwards. “Chaos” can already envision a number of "mega-fights" waiting for him once he claims the 170-pound throne. One such matchup includes a showdown against reigning lightweight titleholder Makhachev.

While calling out Makhachev for aspir…

🥋 Great news, martial arts fans!@ONEChampionship is now part of #DIRECTVFORBUSINESS programming! Bars and restaurants like yours can now enjoy monthly Friday night primetime martial arts events!

For more info on this exciting new agreement, visit https://t.co/TxqdwrT0nx pic.twitter.com/yUEQ2IF3CL

— DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS (@directvbusiness) September 21, 2023 One Championship will be available to watch in bars and restaurants across the U.S. by the end of the month.

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On Thursday, the Singapore-based organization announced via press release that it has entered into an agreement with DirecTV for Business. Due to this deal, One cards will be watchable in various restaurants and establishments stateside for its One Fight Night series. The live broadcasts will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, typically on Fridays, and the first event available will be One on Prime Video 14 on Sept. 29.

Chief Sales and Services Officer at DirecT…

It’s fight week 💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/cmx6I7vCaj

— Jessy Jess (@missjessyjess) September 20, 2023 Add Jessica-Rose Clark to the list of women publicly calling for an opportunity to punch Paige VanZant in the face.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Clark is yet another mixed martial artist looking to cross over to pugilism. Clark was released from the UFC following a submission loss to Tainara Lisboa back in May, which marked her third consecutive loss in the promotion. The Aussie defeated VanZant via unanimous decision during their initial clash at UFC Fight Night 124 in 2018.

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“Jessy Jess” has called for a boxing match against former foe VanZant, who was released from the promotion in 2020 following a submission loss to Amanda Ribas. VanZant has since competed twice in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, suffering decision losses against Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich.

Making her case for a rematch ins…

[embedded content] It will take more than a close loss to bring Rafael Fiziev down.

Fiziev (12-2) will look to bounce back from his second-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship loss that snapped a six-fight win streak when he takes on Mateusz Gamrot (22-2) in the main event at UFC Vegas 79 on Sept. 23. “Ataman” came up on the short side of a majority decision against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. Despite the loss, the bout marked the Kazakh’s sixth consecutive bonus-winning performance.

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While Gaethje is often considered responsible for ruining fighters’ careers with his brutal beatdowns, Fiziev claims to have already moved on from the loss.

The 30-year-old said during UFC Vegas 79 media day, “I already forget about [the loss to Gaethje] … I’m focused on my next opponent. Loss is last time – I’m sad for last time. Everybody don’t like loss. I want to come back to good win. I want to make a show again, and I want to get my hand [raised].”

However, F…