Martial Arts News

There was a time when Maurice Greene would take virtually any fight offered in hopes of a payday.

Advertisement

Greene admits that approach had its downside, but things have changed in recent times now that the “The Crochet Boss” is training alongside current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“I’ve been fighting for a long time, and for a long time it was literally just I was trying to get the biggest bag,” Greene said at Professional Fighters League press conference. “Sometimes you don’t get a full fight camp to get the bag, you have to just take fights as they come. Sometimes you don’t have all the training partners in the room, you don’t have all the resources.

“It’s hard not to do it right when you’re training with Jon Jones. It’s hard not to do it right when you’re in his camps,” Greene added. “There’s a bunch of things I do different now that I never did before. Training with Jon and the small group of guys that we’re with, it kind of resparked the f…

All but one athlete made weight on Monday ahead of Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Emrah Sonmez tipped the scales at 147 pounds for a proposed featherweight clash against Hyder Amil (146). The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not clear Sonmez to continue cutting weight following his initial attempt, so he will be fined a percentage of his purse and the fight will proceed as scheduled.

Advertisement

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Next week, the event will return to its regularly scheduled time of 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. This week’s card is topped by a lightweight clash pitting Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (155.5) against George Hardwick (155).

Anchored at Fortis MMA, Al-Selwady enters the Contender Series on a four-bout winning streak. In his last outing, the Amman, Jordan, native took a five-round verdict over Mike Murphy at Fury FC 75 to claim the promotion’s 155-pound belt…

[embedded content]

ONE on Prime Video 15 has gained an intriguing clash as Timofey Nastyukhin and Lipeng Zhang will collide in ONE Championship’s lightweight division, learned Sherdog Monday morning.

Nastyukhin (14-7, 7-6 One), a former ONE lightweight championship challenger, boasts a victory over former Ultimate Fighting Championship 155-pound titleholder Eddie Alvarez in 2019. After also defeating Pieter Buist, the Russian fighter challenged Christian Lee for the divisional belt, losing via technical knockout in 73 seconds at One on TNT 2.

Zhang (33-12-2, 2-1 One) has been on the sidelines since September when he dropped a unanimous decision to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé, Saygid Izagakhmaev. It marked the UFC vet’s first loss in four years as “The Warrior” had amassed six straight positive results prior, including a draw with Ednilson de Jose Barros and a dominant performance over two-time One titleholder Eduard Folayang.

One on Prime Video 15, als…

OFFICIAL: Updated August 23rd Fight Card

•Magomed Umalatov is out•New Welterweight Semifinal: Magomed Magomedkerimov will now face @RenfroSolomon

Advertisement

[ Wednesday, August 23rd | 6:30pm ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLPlayoffs] pic.twitter.com/uaWUNd0DRe — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 11, 2023

The Professional Fighters League has lost an intriguing welterweight semifinal matchup.

The organization recently announced that Solomon Renfro will replace Magomed Umalatov and face Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL 9 on Aug. 23. A reason for Umalatov’s withdrawal was not given. PFL 9 takes place at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and features lightweight and welterweight semifinals on the main card.

With victories in his first five PFL appearances, Umalatov has emerged as a talent to watch at 170 pounds. He clinched his spot in the postseason with victories over Dilano Taylor and Nayib Lopez, but will now have to wait another…

In the midst of a four-bout winning streak, Khalil Rountree appears to be in peak form — but he still has greater goals to achieve.

Advertisement

“The Ultimate Fighter 23” alum kept his momentum going at UFC on ESPN 51 with a first-round technical knockout victory over converted heavyweight Chris Daukaus in a featured 205-pound clash at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. Rountree has finished three of his four opponents during his current hot stretch, and now he believes he’s ready to test himself in a main event.

“The reason why I want to fight five rounds is because I want to be ready for a championship fight as soon as possible,” Rountree said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I’m ready for a title, but I have to fight five rounds before I can fully say that.

“I’ve never fought a main event before. Where my mind is and where I’m going, I’m here to fight the best. I’m here to go after it and be a contender. So whoever makes sense in a five-round mai…

This one meant a little bit more to Vicente Luque.

Advertisement

After suffering a brain bleed following his loss to Geoff Neal in August 2022, Luque was sidelined for a year before returning to the Octagon at UFC on ESPN 51, where he earned a unanimous decision triumph against Rafael dos Anjos in Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“It was like having the most amazing win for me, just because of everything,” Luque said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “So many changes in my life. I moved to Florida, moved my family, a new way of life and just training and going through the injury. At the beginning, not knowing if I was ever going to be able to do this again and then I got cleared. Then going through the training camp, I’m going to fight a legend like Rafael. It’s a special win.

“I feel blessed. I feel amazing. Now it’s like all the decisions that were taken and everybody that was around to help me, we did the right moves and we’re victorious…

Cub Swanson looked as surprised as anyone when his unanimous decision victory over Hakeem Dawodu in the UFC on ESPN 51 co-main event was announced.

Advertisement

“I felt like I was in the moment and having fun,” Swanson said during his Octagon interview. “I thought I took more shots. I always beat myself up so I’d have to watch it again. I was so worried going into this fight. I got a name now and people expect greatness.”

Each round was closely contested, but according to MMADecisions.com, 11 of the 13 media members who scored the bout saw it in favor of Dawodu. However, all three cageside judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of Swanson. At the post-fight press conference, the World Extreme Cagefighting veteran reiterated his earlier sentiment that he thought his opponent would get the nod.

“I’m always hard on myself,” Swanson said. “I didn’t think I won the first round. Everyone in my corner said I did, and that it was an easy one to call. I thought …

Da'Mon Blackshear gets the third twister submission in UFC history 🤯 #UFCVegas78 pic.twitter.com/XGt0lN46X6

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 12, 2023

Da'Mon Blackshear scored himself a piece of history at UFC on ESPN 51, and he was compensated accordingly for his work.

Advertisement

Blackshear was an easy choice to receive a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus, as he utilized the rarely-seen twister to submit Jose Johnson 3:47 into the opening round of their preliminary bantamweight clash. Blackshear is just the third person in promotion history to finish a fight with that maneuver.

Meanwhile, Khalil Rountree pocketed an additional $50,000 for his first-round technical knockout victory against Chris Daukaus in a featured light heavyweight affair. A powerful straight left dropped Daukaus, and Rountree sealed his triumph with a couple follow-up strikes on the mat at the 2:40 mark of Round 1.

Strawweight prospect Isamin Lucindo…

Vicente Luque remains a force in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.

Repeated takedowns and a grinding clinch game carried the Kill Cliff Fight Club standout to a unanimous decision over Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC on ESPN 51 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47—all for Luque (22-9-1, 15-5 UFC), who passed his first test since suffering a career-threatening brain bleed.

Advertisement

Dos Anjos (32-15, 21-13) stood his ground for much of the 25-minute battle but had no real answer for the size and strength deficits with which he was faced. Luque bullied him at close range, stole momentum with takedowns and frustrated his fellow Brazilian across wide swaths of time. Dos Anjos was effective in open space—he even cut loose with a flying elbow at one point—but struggled to manage distance consistently.Swanson Decision Stings Dawodu World Extreme Cagefighting holdover Cub Swanson rebounded from hi…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 51 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Santos (-155), Miller (+130)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Blackshear (-280), Johnson (+220)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BE…

MARCUS MCGHEE DID THAT 💥 #UFCVEGAS78 pic.twitter.com/d3S78uzMP4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 12, 2023

A narrow opening was enough for Marcus McGhee to strengthen his position on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

The MMA Lab rep on Saturday punched out a reeling J.P. Buys in the featured UFC on ESPN 51 bantamweight prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Buys (9-6, 0-4 UFC)—a short-notice substitution for Gaston Bolanos—packed his bags 2:19 into Round 1, his unsightly losing streak having been extended to four bouts.

McGhee (8-1, 2-0 UFC) utilized fluid stance switches, walked through a few chopping right hands from the South African grappler and let his quick, powerful punches fill in the blanks. After he stunned Buys with a clean one-two, the 33-year-old John Crouch disciple stepped into a counter right hook that dropped his adversary to all fours. It soon became apparent to everyone, including referee Jason Herzog, that Buys…

Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of a proposed clash against Mario Bautista at UFC 292.

Advertisement

Garbrandt’s exit from the bantamweight bout was announced during the UFC on ESPN 51 broadcast on Saturday night. The nature of Garbrandt’s injury was not revealed. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for Bautista. UFC 292 takes place on Aug. 19 at the TD Garden in Boston and is headlined by a bantamweight title clash between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.

Garbrandt returned to the win column at UFC 285, where he captured a unanimous verdict against Trevin Jones on March 4. The 32-year-old Team Alpha Male product has struggled in recent years, going 2-5 in UFC appearances since 2017.

Bautista, meanwhile, has won four straight in UFC competition after falling to Jones via second-round TKO at UFC 259.