Martial Arts News

First to the scale @CorySandhagen locks himself in for tomorrow night's main event 🔐#UFCNashville | TOMORROW | Live on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus 📺 pic.twitter.com/ENn8B0ipFh

— UFC (@ufc) August 4, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves for its first event of August.

The 12-fight UFC on ESPN 50 card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. The main event is a 140-pound catchweight battle between bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font, who both made weight. "The Sandman" was initially set to face Umar Nurmagomedov, although an injury to the Dagestani fighter led to Font (20-6) accepting the fight on short notice. All fighters on the card made weight except for late-notice replacement Dennis Buzukja, who came in .5 pounds over the featherweight limit.

Advertisement

The surging Sandhagen (16-4) has turned a corner since back-to-back defeats to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan. In his last two main ev…

⚖️Jesus Pinedo weighs in over the 146 pound limit for his 2023 Featherweight Semifinal bout

[ Friday, August 4th | 6:30ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLPlayoffs] pic.twitter.com/bofCKcCVuT

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 3, 2023 Professional Fighters League kicks off its 2023 playoffs this week with PFL 7.

Advertisement

Eight playoff participants will compete on Friday, although only seven made weight. Jesus Pinedo missed the featherweight limit by coming in at 146.4 pounds for his main event clash against Buba Jenkins. The fight will continue, although Jenkins will be awarded 20 percent of Pinedo's purse.

The other featherweight semifinal will see Gabriel Braga take on Chris Wade. Meanwhile, the two light heavyweight semifinals will see Joshua Silveira face Ty Flores and Marthin Hamlet go up against Impa Kasanganay. The winning fighters will then face off at the 2023 championship event later in the year.

The PFL 7 main card will …

The upcoming Fight Nation Championship event will feature two behemoths colliding for the heavyweight title in an actual Roman Colosseum.

FNC 12 will be headlined by Michal Andryszak and Ivan Vitasovic, Sherdog has learned. The source asked for anonymity since the matchup hasn’t been made public. FNC 12 will go down at Arena Pula in Pula, Croatia, on Sept. 2.

Andryszak (25-10, 1NC) is best known for his Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki stint, where he went as far as challenging Philip De Fries for the heavyweight title in 2018, suffering a first-round stoppage. The résumé of “Longer” includes victories over the likes of Michal Kita and Guto Inocente. He’ll walk into his next assignment riding a three-bout winning streak.

Hailing from Pula, Vitasovic (11-5-1) has picked up five straight victories, including four finishes. Most recently, he forced a first-round doctor stoppage in his clash with veteran Geronimo dos Santos in their FNC 7 clash last September.

Undisputed featherweight boxing titleholder Amanda Serrano is the Professional Fighters League’s latest high-profile acquisition.

Advertisement

🚨𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨

Welcome to the Professional Fighters League @Serranosisters

“The Real Deal” is signed and set to fight in the PFL’s PPV Superfight division pic.twitter.com/38LgKRYdUD — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 2, 2023

On Wednesday, the PFL announced they added Serrano (2-0-1, 0-0 PFL) to the PPV Super Fight Division. The promotion hasn’t announced an opponent or a date for Serrano’s promotional debut. Serrano, a historic figure from Puerto Rico, holds an impressive 44-2-1 record in boxing, with 30 knockouts. Serrano is set to compete this weekend as she attempts to defend her titles against Heather Hardy on Aug. 5.

"I joined the PFL PPV Super Fight Division because of their revolutionary format that empowers fighters like never before. The PFL's commitment to promoting high-profile,…

Breaking news 🚨Unfortunately I received an injury and my fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov off/delayedFull video on my YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/NXxvHjU54U

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) August 1, 2023

Sept. 16’s UFC Fight Night 227 Las Vegas card lost one of its protagonists after Kelvin Gastelum suffered an injury in training.

Advertisement

Gastelum (18-8, 1NC; 12-8, 1NC UFC) took to his social media accounts to announce his assignment was off. According to the fighter, he suffered fractures following an elbow strike in training. The Fight Ready representative was scheduled to compete at 170 for the first time since moving up to middleweight in 2016. Gastelum picked up a victory in his latest foray, a unanimous decision win over Chris Curtis at UFC 287, bouncing back after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.

“Unfortunate news, my fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov is off. I received an el…

Ben Duffy/Sherdog.com illustration

Nominees for the 15th annual fan-selected World MMA Awards have been announced, and your favorite outlet—hopefully—is up for MMA Media Source of the Year.

Advertisement

Fighters Only Magazine, which has covered mixed martial arts since 2005 and launched its annual awards in 2008, on Tuesday announced the nominees in over 20 categories for the 15th edition of its World MMA Awards. The contest year covers July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The categories cover a broad range of subjects including fighters, fight outcomes, coaches, promoters, ring card girls, media outlets, and the recently added “Fighting Spirit Award,” which honors fighters for courageous behavior in or out of the cage as well as good citizenship and philanthropy.

“I am honored and excited to have reached a 15-year anniversary with the Fighters Only World MMA Awards,” Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt said in a press release. “To see the growth of the sport du…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

The third time is the charm—or so Sean Woodson must hope after seeing his opponent change that many times in the past few days.

Advertisement

Woodson (9-1-1, 3-1-1 UFC) seems to have found his final opponent for the upcoming UFC on ESPN 50 event, as Mairon Santos Alves has stepped up to replace Jesse Butler on short notice. Originally a replacement for Steve Garcia, Butler was pulled out of the contest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to safety protocols, as he suffered a knockout loss 23 seconds into his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Jim Miller at UFC on ESPN 46 on June 3. Woodson confirmed the matchup on his socials, though it was not immediately clear whether the fight will take place at featherweight, as the Butler and Garcia matchups had both been scheduled to do, or at a higher weight.

A Dana White's Contender Series graduate, Woodson is coming off a rare split draw in hi…

Justin Gaethje wasn’t impressed that he captured Conor McGregor’s attention Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

Gaethje (25-4, 8-4 UFC) is coming off an impressive performance against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 291 headliner, a second-round knockout victory that earned “The Highlight” his second consecutive triumph and the symbolic “BMF” title. In victory, Gaethje also avenged the loss he suffered at the hands of Poirier in their first encounter in 2018. Moments after his win, Gaethje was called out by former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion McGregor, who promised to “slap” Gaethje around in a since-then deleted Tweet.

On previous occasions, the former World Series of Fighting champ attempted to face McGregor in the Octagon, but the matchup never materialized. In the UFC 291 post-fight press conference, Gaethje stated he wasn’t interested in the McGregor fight anymore, implying “The Notorious” was taking illegal substances since he wasn’t in the USA…

[embedded content] Bellator MMA great Patricio Freire will be out of action for the foreseeable future.

Earlier in the week, Freire (35-7) volunteered for a short-notice fight against Chihiro Suzuki (11-3, 1 NC) at Super Rizin 2. The two agreed to the pairing with the same amount of notice, and agreed to square off at about 155 pounds. Just after the midpoint of Round 1, Suzuki toppled Freire with a ferocious right hand. The victory for the Japanese fighter immediately vaulted itself into consideration for one of the biggest upsets of the year, even one month removed from Freire’s loss at bantamweight to champ Sergio Pettis. Freire spoke to Sherdog shortly after the defeat, where he explained why he took the fight, and what he wants to do next.

Advertisement

Freire initially traveled to Japan to corner his brother, Patricky Freire, who won earlier that night. Freire talked about his sudden decision to take a fight, saying, “They invited me to a fight. In my vein ru…

のむシリカ presents#超RIZIN2 powered by #UNEXT📣試合結果🔥

⚔️第8試合⚔️👑フェザー級王座戦RIZIN MMAルール 66.0kg

Advertisement

🟥朝倉未来【LOSE】ーー🆚ーー🟦ヴガール・ケラモフ【WIN】🏆@vugar_karamov

1R 2分41秒 SUB(#タップアウト #リアネイキッドチョーク)https://t.co/FfSpJ8Qa2B pic.twitter.com/FhtvhEHva3

— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) July 30, 2023 Super Rizin 2 saw the crowning of two champions and a titleholder securing her place in the 108-pound division.

In the headliner, Vugar Karamov rose as the new ruler of the Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight division after overcoming Mikuru Asakura. With the vacant title on the line, Karamov (19-4, 5-1 Rizin) took his time to feel out his opponent’s reactions and quickly came up with an effective strategy. Karamov surprised Asakura (17-4, 1NC; 11-3 Rizin) with his wrestling, grounding his foe with a well-timed takedown that allowed him to gain the mount position. Once there, “Vugi” puni…

Four MASSIVE finishes earn your #UFC291 POTN bonuses!

[ B2YB @PrimeHydrate ] pic.twitter.com/ZNGjB9kJSN

— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship gave four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC 291 pay-per-view card.

Fresh off winning the "BMF" championship, Justin Gaethje also received $50,000 for his stunning head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier. The rematch came to an end one minute into the second round, with Gaethje landing a thudding head kick that took out Poirier. The win cements Gaethje as the top contender and likely earns the action fighter another lightweight title shot.

Two impressive submission victories were also awarded $50,000 bonuses. Bobby Green got the extra cash for his impressive last-second arm-triangle choke win over Tony Ferguson, which left his lightweight foe unconscious. Meanwhile, Kevin Holland's impressive brabo choke win over Michael Chiesa also received submission of th…

“The Highlight” remains as fitting a nickname today as the day it was given to him.

Justin Gaethje laid claim to the symbolic BMF title and established himself as the No. 1 contender for the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown, as he brought down Dustin Poirier with a perfectly placed head kick in the second round of the UFC 291 headliner on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gaethje (25-4, 8-4 UFC) filed away his latest victory 60 seconds into Round 2.

Advertisement

Poirier (29-8, 21-7 UFC) struggled to establish a rhythm throughout a competitive first round but managed to cut the former World Series of Fighting champion near his left eye with a clean one-two. Gaethje, meanwhile, invested in leg kicks and power punching combinations. Early in the second round, he backed up a right hand with an exquisitely timed head kick, his lower leg wrapping around Poirier’s defenses before detonating behind the ear. The Louisiana native cras…