Martial Arts News

Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series is official, as all 10 athletes slated to compete made weight without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a heavyweight clash between Shamil Gaziev (259.5) and Greg Velasco (263.5). The card airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Gaziev is undefeated in 10 professional appearances, with all but one of those triumphs coming inside the distance. Most recently, he scored a first-round stoppage of UFC veteran Darko Stosic at Brave CF 69 on Feb. 18.

Velasco, meanwhile, has compiled a 6-0 mark while competing exclusively under the Cage Fury Fighting Championships banner. In his last outing, “The Viking King” defeated Ronald Coleman via second-round TKO at CFFC 117 on March 31.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Shamil Gaziev (259.5) vs. Greg Velasco (263.5)Jacobi Jones (156) vs. Daniel James Allen (156)Stephanie Luciano (115.5) vs. Talita Alencar (115)…

Leon Edwards last defended his welterweight title in a trilogy clash against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 in March.

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UFC president Dana White subsequently insisted on Colby Covington being next in line for the title shot, drawing protests from other elite welterweights like Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.

While White has stood firm on his stance, there has since been a lull in fight talks, which has raised some concerns among fans. Fabian Edwards, who makes his own bid for gold at Bellator 299 at the 3Arena in Dublin on Sept. 23, recently addressed fans’ concerns about the delay in the UFC champ’s next title defense.

According to the champion’s younger brother, the delay is mainly due to negotiations, as “Rocky” is training and ready to go.

“Fans keep asking but he's ready to go, he's ready to get in there it's just about the negotiations,” Fabian told The Daily Star . “It’s about location and so many things. At the moment the focus is on…

Valentina Shevchenko challenged Alexa Grasso in a rematch for the UFC women’s flyweight title in the main event at Noche UFC on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Grasso retained her title when the contest was ruled a split draw following 25 back-and-forth minutes.

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Judge Mike Bell submitted a 10-8 fifth round in favor of the champ, a tally that Shevchenko blamed on the Mexican Independence Day “pressure.” Meanwhile, Grasso didn't seem too keen on a trilogy fight, although she said she would ultimately accept the UFC’s decision in regards to matchmaking.

UFC flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield also believes that the division needs some new blood. However, in case the trilogy takes place, “Cold Blooded” doesn’t mind proving herself one more time against French standout Manon Fiorot, who is trailing her in the UFC.com rankings.

“I feel like I definitely should be next,” Blanchfield said in an interview with The Schmo. “I feel like t…

Kevin Holland came up on the wrong side of split decision against Australian standout Jack Della Maddalena in the co-main event at Noche UFC on Saturday.

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While Holland immediately expressed his disappointment with the decision, many fans have accused “Trailblazer” of a lackluster showing.

Holland was coming off consecutive stoppage wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michael Chiesa going into his Noche UFC clash against Maddalena. Holland has now issued a callout to welterweight veteran Neil Magny, who is ranked right above him. “Trailblazer,”who has made clear that title contention isn’t his immediate goal, proposed an unusual “loser cuts hair” matchup against Magny on his Instagram Stories.

“Props to [Jack], good guard. I'd like to go watch it back! I see y'all talking about poor performance. I really honestly thought I outworked dude but [what the hell] do I know? [For] those that ride with me, how about Neil Magny loser cuts [their] hair.…

Raul Rosas Jr. clearly wasn’t dwelling on the first loss of his mixed martial arts career.

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The 18-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum returned to the win column in impressive fashion at UFC Fight Night 227, as he dispatched Terrence Mitchell via technical knockout in just 54 seconds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was a much-needed performance after Rosas fell to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 this past April.

“[I] never had any doubts about my skills,” Rosas said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “The only thing that loss changed was my record, and tonight I showed that nothing has changed.”

The typically wrestling-minded Rosas showcased some different skills against Mitchell, dropping his foe with a big punch and finishing the contest with ground-and-pound on the canvas.

“My grappling and my timing was on point,” Rosas said. “If it touched the ground, I knew I was going to find the submission. We put i…

Alexa Grasso knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in as a title hopeful.

So while her rematch with Valentina Shevchenko didn’t bring any closure to their rivalry, Grasso didn’t seem especially excited jumping right back into a trilogy with “Bullet” in her next Octagon appearance.

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“It’s an interesting question,” Grasso said at the UFC Fight Night 227 post-fight press conference. “I don’t like to stop the division. There’s a lot of girls fighting to have this opportunity like I did, so I don’t like to stop it.”

If the promotion wants Grasso to run it back with Shevchenko immediately, she won’t offer serious resistance. However, there are other worthy contenders at flyweight, with both Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot putting togething impressive runs in the division.

“It all depends on the UFC. If they want a trilogy, let’s do this,” Grasso said. “If not, I would like to give an opportunity for another girl. I know how it is to be fi…

Alexa Grasso made her first flyweight title defense against Valentina Shevchenko in the main event at Noche UFC on Saturday. “Bullet” looked to regain the title she’d lost to the Mexican in a huge upset at UFC 285 earlier this year. 

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Both fighters went toe-to-toe from the opening bell, with Shevchenko likely edging out the first round with some leg kicks and control time against the fence. Nevertheless, Grasso bounced back strong in the second frame, dropping Shevchenko with a huge right hand. However, the former champ managed to control incoming damage by landing an immediate takedown and spending the rest of the round in control. 

Shevchenko’s grappling dominance was also the story of the third round, although Grasso displayed impressive nerves in fighting through a guillotine. The fourth frame was extremely close as “Bullet” failed to control Grasso on the ground while the Mexican unleashed a flurry of knees during a frantic exchange.&…

Flyweight prospect Tracy Cortez took on Jasmine Jasudavicius in the prelims at Noche UFC on Saturday night.

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While Cortez started strong, landing the seemingly heavier shots in the opening frame, Jasudavicius bounced back in the second frame with accurate counters and two late takedowns. Although both fighters threw with intent in the final round, Cortez appeared to land the more damaging shots to edge out a hard-fought unanimous decision win.

During the post-fight media scrum, the Phoenix native revealed she had received the unfortunate news of the death of Henry Cejudo’s sister, Gloria Nelly Cejudo, who lost a two-year battle with cancer a day before the fight. Cortez, who has known the Cejudo family for years, hardly had time to grieve the death of someone she called a “big sister.”

“I was extremely emotional because yesterday I got a call, from, I’m gonna say my family, because I’ve known them my entire life,” Cortez said. “That someone r…

Featherweight veteran Pat Sabatini (18-4) is set to trade leather with Diego Lopes (22-6) at UFC 295.

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The matchup was first reported by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN. UFC 295 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 11 and is headlined by heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Sabatini kicked off his Ultimate Fighting Championship career with a four-fight winning streak which was snapped by a brutal technical knockout loss to Damon Jackson in Sept. 2022. However, the 32-year-old has since bounced back with a second-round submission win against Lucas Almeida earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Lopes failed to earn a UFC contract in his Dana White’s Contender Series appearance in 2021, coming up on the short side of a decision against Joanderson Brito. However, the 28-year-old standout went on to win two of his next three, including back-to-back knockouts, eventually earning himself a UFC card spot on fi…

Daniel da Silva and Edgar Chairez met in a flyweight clash on the prelim card at Noche UFC on Saturday night, but it ended in disappointment for both men.

Da Silva took Chairez down early and managed to get in some ground-and-pound. However, the Mexican scrambled up only to be driven to the fence by his opponent. During that scramble, Chairez attempted a guillotine, making da Silva let go of a single-leg takedown attempt as referee Chris Tognoni watched closely.

Just as the commentary booth expressed their concern about a potential error by the referee, Tognoni called a stop to the contest, seemingly assuming that da Silva had passed out from the choke. “Miojo” immediately protested the stoppage, which was overturned moments later to a no contest after Tognoni and the cageside replay official reviewed the video.

#NocheUFC Highlight Video: EdgarChairez vs. DanieldaSilva Stopped Prematurelyhttps://t.co/ZlLrNUIp87

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom…

Those who got the job done inside the distance received a little something extra at UFC Fight Night 227.

All five fighters — Raul Rosas Jr., Daniel Zellhuber, Lupita Godinez, Roman Kopylov and Charlie Campbell — who secured finishes garnered $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work inside the Octagon at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Rosa Jr. rebounded from his first career defeat in style, as the 18-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum scored a 54-second technical knockout victoy against Terrence Mitchell in a featured bantamweight tilt. Meanwhile, Zellhuber shook off a slow start to submit Christos Giagos with an anaconda choke 3:26 into Round 2 of their main-card lightweight clash.

Godinez closed out the prelims with a dominant effort against Elise Reed, as she tapped her foe with a rear-naked choke 3:30 into the second frame of a strawweight clash, while Kopylov vanquished Josh Fremd with a punch to the body…

Fans were treated to one of the greatest title fights in Ultimate Fighting Championship history but left with a sour taste in their mouths after the highly-anticipated rematch between flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former kingpin Valentina Shevchenko was scored a split draw (48-47, 47-48, 47-47) in the Noche UFC main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night.

Six months after snapping Shevchenko’s nine-fight winning streak and reign as champion, Grasso entered the partisan crowd on Mexican Independence Day as the fan favorite, but "Bullet" was eager to spoil the party.

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Shevchenko dominated on the ground early but looked tense on the feet and Grasso took advantage. The champ dropped Shevchenko in Round 2 and brought the crowd to its feet before piecing her up in the clinch. Shevchenko yet again took the fight to the ground, but it was clear that Grasso was a deserving champion.

Rounds 3 and 4 were back and forth and could’ve swayed e…