Martial Arts News

Jordan Heiderman might be most unknown commodity among the PFL heavyweight semifinalists.

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The former college football player fought just once during the PFL regular season, earning a spot in the playoffs thanks to a first-round finish of Patrick Brady on June 16. That has earned him a showdown with Denis Goltsov — perhaps the favorite in the field — on Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT following prelims on ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

“I love being the new guy, the darkhorse,” Heiderman said during a PFL media day. “It’s a perfect fight. I love being the no-name. I’m gonna come in and turn some heads with my performance.”

Some might remember Heiderman from “The Ultimate Fighter 30,” where he fell to Zac Pauga in the semifinals of the reality show. The 31-year-old says he’s “evolved tremendously” since then.

“I definitely think I’m light years better …

Anthony Hernandez has a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 227.

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Chris Curtis has withdrawn from the Sept. 16 card after suffering an injury in training and as a result, Roman Kopylov will step in against Hernandez in a new middleweight booking. Hernandez confirmed the change on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 227 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight championship rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

“[Word’]s out, had to pull out from September 16. I jacked a rib up wrestling and [Ian Garry] landed the perfect kick to finish it off,” Curtis wrote on social media regarding his injury. “That’s the fight game sometimes... if I didn't have bad luck I would have no luck at all. Good luck and my apologies to Fluffy. Next time brotha.”

Words out, had to pull out from September 16. I jacked a rib up wrestling and @iangarryMMA …

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady was virtually flawless in terms of execution.

The Fortis MMA lightweight was one of five prospective competitors to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship Championship contract during Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over George Hardwick on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Al-Selwady (15-3, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from all three judges.

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Hardwick (12-2, 0-1 DWCS) was never out of it but simply lacked enough of the necessary answers. Al-Selwady leaned on educated feints and stellar lateral movement, all while mixing in leg kicks and clean punching combinations. The former Fury Fighting Championship and Brave Combat Federation titleholder’s footwork kept him out of danger and allowed his hands and gas tank to work to maximum effect. When Hardwick landed, he was limited to single shots.

The 28-year-old Al-Selwady will carry a five-fight …

Sherdog's live DWCS 2023 Week 2 coverage will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS:Round 1 Blake Grice will oversee this strawweight pairing. Moura lands a couple punches before changing levels for a relatively easy takedown. Moura hovers over her foe before moving into Silva’s full guard. Silva looks to prevent damage holding her opponent close, but Moura connects with a short elbow. Moura slides Silva to the fence, slamming her several times on the journey. Moura passes to half guard and then stands as Silva looks to stay active with her guard. Moura works from half guard, with Silva’s right hip turned over. Silva gets her guard back but Moura steps over on the other side, and she looks to stay busy with ground-and-pound. A few shots are getting through now, and Moura steps over to side control, nearly securing a crucifix. Moura goes to mount, postures up and rains down punches before Silva gives up her back. Moura capitalizes immediately,…

The possibility of a mixed martial arts bout between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk has generated a fair amount of attention — both from the mainstream audience and the mixed martial arts community.

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Recently, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong shared his thoughts on how a fight between the two billionaires might look.

"I normally don't like to get involved in other people's spats, but I am compelled to say something on the latest development of the potential fight between Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk,” Sityodtong wrote on Facebook. “A few hours ago, Elon said that he was planning to show up to Mark's house to fight him. Elon is one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history and I have a lot of respect for his guts, accomplishments, and intellect. However, I dislike bullying of any kind.

“First, Elon genuinely knows nothing about fighting or martial arts despite his claims to the contrary. As a lifelong expert martial artist who has been in my…

Confira bastidores da pré-estreia do documentário “Dos Samurais ao MMA”; saiba onde e quando assistirhttps://t.co/H6C5wDYwTd pic.twitter.com/JQdv8tUmur

— Portal do Vale Tudo (@portaldovt) August 10, 2023

Those interested in the history of combat sports in Brazil have just gained a significant option for knowledge.

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Tuesday marked the premiere of the documentary “From Samurai to MMA —500 Years of Fighting." Conceived by journalist and Sherdog.com contributor Marcelo Alonso and produced by Brazilian company Ciranda Filmes, the documentary is the result of three years of work. It traces the origins of jiu-jitsu, grappling and MMA, highlighting protagonists Jigoro Kano, Mitsuyo Maeda and four generations of Gracie family, culminating in the modern MMA era. The screening at a cinema in Rio de Janeiro was attended by 350 guests from various fighting disciplines: luta livre, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and MMA.

Prominent figures such…

Confira bastidores da pré-estreia do documentário “Dos Samurais ao MMA”; saiba onde e quando assistirhttps://t.co/H6C5wDYwTd pic.twitter.com/JQdv8tUmur

— Portal do Vale Tudo (@portaldovt) August 10, 2023

Those interested in the history of combat sports in Brazil have just gained a significant option for knowledge.

Advertisement

Tuesday marked the premiere of the documentary “From Samurai to MMA —500 Years of Fighting." Conceived by journalist and Sherdog.com contributor Marcelo Alonso and produced by Brazilian company Ciranda Filmes, the documentary is the result of three years of work. It traces the origins of jiu-jitsu, grappling and MMA, highlighting protagonists Jigoro Kano, Mitsuyo Maeda and four generations of Gracie family, culminating in the modern MMA era. The screening at a cinema in Rio de Janeiro was attended by 350 guests from various fighting disciplines: luta livre, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and MMA.

Prominent figures such…

One week after earning just the third twister submission in promotion history, Da'Mon Blackshear will attempt to give an encore performance at UFC 292.

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Blackshear will replace Cody Garbrandt and square off against Mario Bautista on Saturday at TD Garden in Boston. BJPenn.com was first to report the new bantamweight booking. UFC 292 is headlined by a 135-pound title clash between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.

Blackshear is coming off his historic submission win over Jose Johnson at UFC on ESPN 51, his second consecutive triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion. If he were to defeat Bautista, he would be the first UFC fighter to win two bouts in a seven-day span.

Bautista enters the matchup with plenty of momentum. The MMA Lab representative has won four straight fights since 2022, with three of those victories coming by way of submission. Most recently, Bautista tapped out Guido Cannetti in the opening stanza of their UFC Fight Nig…

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Sharabutdin Magomedov, otherwise known as “Shara Bullet” will make his first promotional foray against Bruno Silva at UFC 294.

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The middleweight booking was initially reported by Laerte Viana. UFC 294 takes place on Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and features a lightweight championship tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Charles Oliveira.

Anchored at GOR MMA, Magomedov is 11-0 as a professional. The Moscow native has finished 10 of those victories by knockout or technical knockout, including an eight-second KO of Kushal Vyas in his last outing at Thailand Fighting Championship 10 on Dec. 11.

After beginning his UFC tenure with three consecutive triumphs, Silva has lost three of his last four bouts. Most recently, the former M-1 Global title holder suffered a first-round submission defeat to Brendan Allen at UFC on ABC 5 on June 24.

Renan Ferreira stands just two victories away from a life-changing moment.

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The Brazilian known as “Problema” will square off against Maurice Greene in the heavyweight semifinals at PFL 8 on Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, with Ferreira vs. Greene serving as the featured attraction. Ferreira is well aware of the magnitude of what lies ahead.

“I’ve gone through phases in my life where I didn’t have something to eat, I didn’t have a place to sleep. This for me is a culmination of a dream already,” Ferreira said through a translator during a press conference on Monday. “To be out here fighting in the semifinals, to have an opportunity to hold the belt, to be fighting in a major promotion, this is already the culmination of my dream. Going out there and winning $1 million, changing the financial status of my family, this is what matters to me.”

F…

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

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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.

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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…