Martial Arts News

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:40 p.m. ET to add a statement from the UFC. It was edited again at 3:10 p.m. ET to reflect a statement from the Miami Heat.

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor and his team have denied the allegations.

Advertisement

According to TMZ on Thursday, a woman represented by attorney Ariel Mitchell penned demand letters claiming that she was raped by McGregor on June 9. McGregor was present at the fourth game of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and he was involved in a halftime skit that sent the Heat’s mascot to the hospital when it went awry. After the game ended, per the letters, a member of McGregor's security team forced the woman into a stadium restroom, and McGregor allegedly assaulted her in it.

TMZ relayed that the letters wrote, “security refused to let [the woman] exit or allow anyone else, including her friend, inside the bathroom.” They then stated that McGregor came o…

𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 🔥

An explosive night at the @WintrustArena sees BW champ @SergioPettis defend gold against #P4P No.1️⃣ @PatricioPitbull. Who wins? 👊#Bellator297 LIVE FRIDAY:🇺🇸 @SHOsports at 9pm ET/6PM PT🌍 Find out how to watch ▶️ https://t.co/jPjMHzLhCd pic.twitter.com/ffP1jtUzZF

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 15, 2023 Patricio Freire is officially a bantamweight, and he will try to make MMA history on Friday.

Advertisement

Headlining the 15-fight Bellator 297 card is a light heavyweight title fight where champion Vadim Nemkov will take on Yoel Romero. Meanwhile, the co-main event will see Patricio Freire attempt to earn a belt in his third weight class as he takes on bantamweight titleholder Sergio Pettis. All four men in championship matchups made weight, as did the rest of the card.

Nemkov (15-2, 1 NC) is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Corey Anderson in their rematch. The light heavyweight champion w…

It appears Ultimate Fighting Championship great Jose Aldo is taking his burgeoning boxing career seriously.

Per sources close to the situation, Aldo (0-0-1, 0 KOs) will be entering the ring for the third time as a boxer on Sunday. Aldo will square off against Argentinian Esteban Gabriel Espindola (0-1-1, 0 KOs) at Shooto Boxing 2. The event, held inside of the Upper Arena in Rio de Janeiro, will be kicking off locally at 8 p.m. on July 2 – or 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The former UFC featherweight king, who ended his pro MMA career at 31-8, already has another fight planned after Espindola, as he will be rematching Jeremy Stephens at an undisclosed date. The two fought to a draw on the Gamebred Boxing 4 show in April.

The match will last six rounds, and it will take place at 63.5 kg (139.7 pounds). Aldo’s previous pairing in Shooto Boxing against Emmanuel Zambrona was considered an exhibition, in what was slated to be his professional debut at the time. It is currently uncle…

While Sergio Pettis is the one defending the bantamweight championship at Bellator 297 on Friday, he still seems like the B-side to Patricio Freire in many respects.

Advertisement

For one, much has been made of Freire’s cut to 135 pounds and his quest to become a title holder in three different divisions. Meanwhile, Pettis has been flying under the radar during an absence that has lasted more than a year and a half due to recovery from a knee injury. “The Phenom” isn’t concerning himself with any of the external chatter, however.

“I’m not worried about this whole narrative of three-time champion or me coming back,” Pettis said during Bellator media day. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better in the sport and as a person. This whole narrative is cool for social media, but I’m going to go out there and get the job done. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do to win.”

Pettis added that he doesn’t think he will be negatively affected by the layoff.

“I don’t know a…

A light heavyweight bout pitting Carlos Ulberg against Da Woon Jung is on tap for UFC 293.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the pairing via social media. UFC 293 takes place on Sept. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia and is also expected to include a flyweight showdown between Viviane Araujo and Casey O’Neill.

Ulberg has won four straight UFC appearances since dropping his Octagon debut against Kennedy Nzechukwu in March 2021. Most recently, the 32-year-old City Kickboxing representative defeated Ihor Potieria via first-round TKO at UFC on ABC 4 on May 13.

Jung, meanwhile, kicked off his promotional tenure by going unbeaten in his first five bouts. The South Korean has since dropped back-to-back fights against Dustin Jacoby at UFC on ABC 3 and to Devin Clark at UFC Fight Night 218.

After a rough stretch earlier in her career that saw her lose three straight fights in Bellator MMA, Amber Leibrock seems to be hitting her stride.

Advertisement

The 35-year-old Californian made a statement in her Professional Fighters League debut, knocking out 2022 postseason participant Martina Jindrova with a first-round headkick in their PFL 2 bout on April 7. It was the fourth consecutive victory for Leibrock — all inside the distance — and it sets her up for a showdown with Larissa Pacheco at PFL 5 on Friday night at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

Leibrock has pinpointed two key reasons for her career turnaround.

“Everyone asks me, ‘How did you go from the skid to where you’re at now?’ I think it’s accountability,” Leibrock said during a PFL virtual media day. “It’s easy in the fight game to blame somebody else or change camps. At the end of the day it’s all within you, so you have to look at yourself. What are you doing? What are you not doing? Ho…

While Denis Goltsov might be one of the most experienced competitors in the PFL heavyweight field, he knows that can be overrated in the big man’s division.

Advertisement

“Of course it’s nice to have that (experience),” Goltsov said through an interpreter during a PFL virtual media day. “However, in a fight one punch can change the outcome of everything, especially at heavyweight. I just have to do my job and concentrate on getting the win.”

Goltsov will square off against Yorgan De Castro at PFL 5 on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. Goltsov vs. De Castro is currently slated for the preliminary portion of the event.

Golstov is sitting pretty for a postseason birth following a first-round finish of Cezar Ferreira at PFL 3. The 33-year-old Russian is well aware of the challenges his upcoming opponent, a UFC veteran,…

Past results are clearly influencing the odds for a potential rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.

Advertisement

According to online oddsmaker BetOnline, Makhachev is currently listed as a -350 favorite for a second meeting with “Do Bronx.” Oliveira, meanwhile, is a +285 underdog. Makhachev was also favored in their first bout at UFC 280, but those odds ranged from -166 to -205.

The lightweights initially squared off for the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22, 2022. Makhachev claimed the throne with a dominant performance, winning via second-round submission and ending Oliveira’s 11-bout promotional winning streak in the process. Oliveira returned for the first time since that defeat at UFC 289, where he earned a technical knockout over top lightweight contender Beneil Dariush in the first round of the evening’s co-main event. After that emphatic victory, the Brazilian immediately set his sights on a rematch.

Thoug…

Ian Garry will take a step up in competition when he meets Geoff Neal at UFC 292 in Boston.

Advertisement

RTÉ Sport was first to report the welterweight booking. UFC 292 takes place at TD Garden on Aug. 19 and is headlined by a bantamweight title tilt pitting Aljamain Sterling against Sean O’Malley.

A 25-year-old native of Dublin, Garry is undefeated in 12 bouts since beginning his professional tenure in 2019. The ex-Cage Warriors champion is 5-0 within the Las Vegas-based promotion, including a first-round technical knockout victory over Daniel Rodriguez in his last outing at UFC on ABC 4 on May 13. He’s finished seven of his career triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

Neal had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent Octagon appearance, when he suffered a third-round submission defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285. Prior to that, “Handz of Steel” had earned back-to-back victories over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Vicente Luque. The Fort…

Nate Diaz is going to have the opportunity to put his vaunted gas tank to work when he faces Jake Paul in a boxing match on Aug. 5.

Advertisement

According to ESPN, Diaz requested to extended his fight with Paul from eight rounds to 10 rounds, and Paul agreed to those terms. Now both parties are waiting on approval of the change from the Texas Combative Sports Program.

“Nate Diaz wants 10 rounds. I guess he has good cardio,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “OK Nathan, 10 rounds it is.”

Nate Diaz wants 10 rounds. I guess he has good cardio. Ok Nathan, 10 rounds it is.

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 13, 2023

Assuming the request is approved, Diaz vs. Paul will take be contested at 185 pounds over 10 rounds using 10-ounce gloves. The fight takes place at American Airlines Center in Dallas and airs via pay-per-view via DAZN as well as through all major cable and satellite providers.

Diaz ended his Octagon tenure last September following…

Renan Ferreira and Matheus Scheffel both suffered losses in the first leg of the 2023 PFL season.

Advertisement

However, the Brazilian heavyweights have new life after opponents Rizvan Kuniev and Bruno Cappelozza tested positive for banned substances in relation to their fights.

Ferreira and Scheffel likely need a victory to advance to the PFL heavyweight postseason, and both are focused on earning the six points that come with a first-round finish. Ferreira and Scheffel will square off on the PFL 5 main card on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

“I'm not going to lose that second chance,” Ferreira told Sherdog.com. “Matheus has heavy hands, but I'm 100% focused on getting a quick victory to guarantee a place in the playoff.

While the 6-foot-9 Ferreira, who was nicknamed “Problema” due to the difficulties he gave his sparring partners, might be perceived as the favorite, Scheffel isn’t fazed by the odds.

“In all my fights I go in as i…

Considered to be the most complete historical book about the origins of jiu-jitsu and vale tudo, “Long Before MMA” (Part 1) is now available in English at Amazon.com.

Advertisement

The project was sponsored by UFC former contender Demian Maia, who also wrote the preface of the book, which is as follows:

I've always been passionate about history, and of course, martial arts. Since the age of 12, I consumed everything that appeared related to the theme. When the trilogy “Long Before MMA” fell into my hands at the recommendation of my good friend and journalist specialized in fights, Marcelo Alonso, I was pleasantly surprised. I soon realized that the information was supported by several sources of the time, mainly newspapers and books. However, the coolest thing was to see that — even knowing that neutrality is something unattainable — the authors Elton Silva and Eduardo Correia made an effort to maintain the greatest impartiality in the face of the facts. And we…