Martial Arts News

One of these two Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights will get back in the win column when the dust settles.

MMAJunkie first broke the news on Thursday that Ismael Bonfim (19-4) and Vinc Pichel (14-3) will be competing in a lightweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. Bonfim confirmed the pairing on Instagram shortly after its announcement.

Brazil’s Bonfim saw his mighty 13-fight win streak come to a crashing halt when Benoit St. Denis tapped him out with a face crank in July. Before then, “Marreta” rattled off eight stoppages along the way, including his most recent victory with a flying knee knockout of Terrance McKinney in his UFC debut. Bonfim will be competing at this event along with his brother, Gabriel Bonfim, who is slated to take on Nicolas Dalby. Over the years, the two brothers have fought on four events together, and they both picked up wins on all four of those fight cards.

While he did not sport 13 wins in a row leading up to his…

[embedded content] Some fighters just don’t know when to stop.

Brazilian heavyweight Junior Coelho is in hot water after continuing to strike his opponent, MMA debutant Tiago Garcia, even after the referee had stopped their fight. The incident took place during the main event of Sept. 2’s PMW Ultimate Fight card, which occurred in Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil. As a result of his actions, Coelho was ultimately disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, in addition to the illegal punches he threw after the referee had halted the contest.

Just a few seconds into their main attraction, Coelho (1-2) had the upper hand, hurting Garcia with a cross followed by a straight punch. As Garcia (1-0) crumpled to the floor with the cage at his back, Coelho raining down punches all the while, referee Andre Madeira tried to stop the fight right around the 14-second mark.

While Madeira stepped in, Coelho continued to drop down punches on his defeated foe. In a display of recklessness …

The unique UFC belt called ‘Tribe Belt #1’ that was presented to Alexa Grasso before her defense against Valentina Shevchenko at #NocheUFC. Do you like the design? pic.twitter.com/ZFz7o33O8c

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) September 14, 2023

Alexa Grasso will put her Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title on the line against Valentina Shevchenko in the Noche UFC main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 16. Grasso became the first-ever female Mexican champion with a massive upset win over “Bullet” in their first clash at UFC 285 earlier this year.

Grasso has now been presented with a custom “Tribe Belt No. 1” in her first title defense on Mexican Independence Day. Custom made by renowned The Taller Jacobo y Maria Angele, the strap is a tribute to women icons who have conquered adversities. The belt incorporates elements of Mixtec/Zapotec societies and the colors utilized highlight the “duality of life.”

A press relea…

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Raul Rosas Jr. is not surprised that some fans turned into critics in the wake of his first career loss; he has seen them turn on their heroes many times.

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Rosas Jr. made headlines last September when he earned an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract at the age of 17 with a decision win over Mando Gutierrez on Dana White's Contender Series. “El Nino Problema” quickly justified his signing with a first-round submission win over Jay Perrin in his promotional debut at UFC 282 in December.

Rosas Jr. would subsequently proceed to make a number of lofty claims, including that he could beat then-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. The prospect was even a sizeable -225 favorite going into his next clash against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 this April. However, Rosas Jr. had to face disappointment in his sophomore Octagon outing as Rodriguez put on a technical masterclass en route to an emphatic decision win.

While Rosas …

Combate Global has announced the lineup for its Sept. 16 card in Miami, which will be broadcasted live on Paramount Plus (9:30 p.m. ET.)

Surging Mexican atomweight prospect Estefania Rodriguez will take on American grappling ace Stephanie Hernandez in a “Mexico vs. USA” main event. Representing Killer Bees Mexico, Rodriguez (23) boasts a perfect 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Hernandez, 30, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and is on a three-fight win streak of her own.

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While the Sept. 16 card will mark Rodriguez’s promotional debut, Hernandez is coming off a decision win against Natalie Schlesinger under the Combate Global banner.

Former Mexican national boxing and kickboxing champion, Ivan Nunez will make his professional mixed martial arts debut at bantamweight against Loxbey Montalvan in the co-main event. While Nunez, 24, has amassed an impressive 5-0 amateur record, his opponent is coming off a second-round technical knockout over Daniel Gonzalez i…

Kevin Holland takes on surging Australian prospect Jack Della Maddalena in the Noche UFC co-main event on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Known for being one of the most active fighters on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s roster, “Trailblazer” has already fought twice in 2023, earning a knockout over Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 287 in April, followed by a first-round submission of Michael Chiesa at UFC 291 in July.

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“I’m entertaining, they say [Maddalena is] entertaining, and we shall find out. If we’re both entertaining, it should make for a great match that night but, like I said, I’m good with all styles, so I’ll be straight,” Holland told UFC.com’s E. Spencer Kyte.

With famous Queens, New York, rapper 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” as his life mantra, Holland wants to continue staying active by potentially fighting again before the end of the year.

The former middleweight is eyeing opponents specifically from Kill Cliff FC -- formerly Sanfor…

Two championship bouts will top the lineup for Bellator MMA’s return to the Windy City.

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The promotion announced on Wednesday that Bellator 301 will take place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Nov. 17 and features a welterweight championship clash between Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson as well as a bantamweight title unification bout pitting Sergio Pettis against Patrick Mix. The evening’s main card will also include a lightweight grand prix semifinal matchup between Patricky Freire and Alexandr Shabliy and a rematch between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

After going on hiatus to defend his native Ukraine from Russian invasion, Amosov made a triumphant return at Bellator 291, where he took a clear-cut unanimous verdict against Logan Storley on Feb. 25. “Dynamo” owns a perfect 27-0 career mark and has notable wins over the likes of Douglas Lima, Roberto Soldic, Ed Ruth, Erick Silva and …

Professional Fighters League’s biggest star will get to fight before year’s end after all.

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Two-time lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will return to action against Julia Budd in a 145-pound showcase bout at the 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 24. The pairing was announced on Wednesday. The PFL Championship takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+. The card will feature $1 million championship bouts in six different weight classes. A price point for the pay-per-view was not revealed.

Harrison was originally slated to face Budd at a PFL regular season event in July 2022 before her opponent pulled out of the contest due to an injury. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, Harrison owns a 15-1 mark in MMA since making her professional debut in 2018. The American Top Team representative suffered her lone defeat at the 2022 PFL Championships, dropping a five-round verdict to Larissa Pacheco in one of last yea…

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment recently completed a merger to come under the banner of a new company, TKO Holdings. UFC parent company Endeavor will hold 51% of shares in the new company while WWE stakeholders will have 49%.

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While both promotions will continue to function independently, UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein has a goal of merging the two vastly different fan bases at some point.

“Where we want to get is where every UFC fan is a WWE fan and every WWE fan is a UFC fan,” Epstein told ESPN.

However, UFC president Dana White couldn’t disagree more with Epstein, labeling the latter’s statement as one of the “dumbest of all time.” White, who was made UFC chief executive officer (CEO) with the merger, noted that the fan bases of pro wrestling and unscripted cage fighting are fundamentally different.

“Lawrence, I love you. One of …

Corinne Laframboise: Athlete learns she's three months pregnant days before fighting for UFC contract via @BBCWorld https://t.co/Fagh5OMDTZ pic.twitter.com/yzVAXoNpVp

— BirdOwl (@BirdOwl) September 12, 2023

UAE Warriors women's flyweight champion Corinne Laframboise was scheduled to take on Rainn Guerrero on Dana White’s Contender Series last week. Laframboise thought that her doctor was joking when she received a text informing her of her pregnancy with six days left before the bout.

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While the doctor had initially expected twins, Laframboise is happy to now know that it’s a healthy girl.

“I was in the car waiting for my fiancé and it was like the entire world stopped — we didn't expect it,” the Canadian flyweight told BBC. “The day after we did the scan to see if there was a baby or a mistake [by the doctor], and there was one baby. We heard the heartbeat, we saw the two arms, two feet. And [now] we know it's a girl. A…

Sean Strickland is one of the most polarizing fighters on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, as he is known for going on unhinged rants on a variety of sensitive topics.

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However, even Strickland’s detractors couldn’t take away anything from his dominant title victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

Raised in an abusive home, “Tarzan” has been vocal about his inability to socialize and form trusting relationships with others. However, mixed martial arts seems to have altered his view on life and people in general.

The Xtreme Couture representative seemed uncharacteristically collected as he fought his way to victory against one of the best strikers of all time over 25 minutes.

While the win is a source of great pride for "Tarzan" and his team, for Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, the human aspect of the win is of special significance after having successfully channeled his fighter’s energy.

“Sean the fighter is one thing,…

Jhonata Diniz can be described in one word at this stage of his career: upside.

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The Santa Fe Team export was one of five competitors to book spots on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster during Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he buried Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Eduardo Jose Neves with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Neves (7-2, 0-2 DWCS) succumbed to blows 3:15 into Round 2, his path to the UFC cut off for a second time.

The 32-year-old Diniz (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) weathered some early adversity, as he met with jabs, front kicks to the body and a few combinations from his aggressive countryman. He eventually pushed Neves to the fence before uncorking a right hook and a plunging right cross upstairs. It proved to be the beginning of the end. Neves marched forward and walked into a searing one-two that leveled him where he stood in the center of the cage. No follow-up shots were required.

Diniz has …