Martial Arts News

Yadong Song took another step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division—albeit an anticlimactic one—and settled for a technical unanimous decision over Henry Cejudo in the UFC Fight Night 252 headliner on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it for Song (22-8-1, 11-3-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

An inadvertent eye poke left Cejudo (16-5, 12-5 UFC) unable to continue after the third round. Fans in attendance lustily booed the outcome.

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Song seemed to be in control up until the finish. The Team Alpha Male standout tore into Cejudo’s lead leg with damaging kicks, often forcing him to switch stances to shield the appendage from further exposure. Song countered effectively throughout, used occasional level changes to keep the onetime Olympic gold medalist honest and leaned into potent jabs. Cejudo was effective in spurts but seemed to be trending downward at the time th…

Sherdog's live UFC Seattle coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 252. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the roun…

Ion Cutelaba excels in chaos.

“The Hulk” continued to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he dismissed Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 252 prelim on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Cutelaba (19-10-1, 8-9-1 UFC) slammed the door 2:51 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission win since April 4, 2015.

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They traded barbs throughout their brief but eventful encounter. Cutelba sat down the Gym 23 product with an overhand right and later delivered a double-leg takedown. He laced the legs, climbed toward mount and scrambled into position for the arm-triangle. It soon became clear that there was no escape for Aslan (14-2, 2-1 UFC), who tapped with resignation.

Meanwhile, onetime Predador Fighting Championship titleholder Melquizael Costa turned away Andre Fili with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight confron…

One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE 🏆

Get to know the Bantamweights(135lbs) set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ Friday , April 11th | 📺 11:30 PM EST | ESPN 2 | B2YB @Cloudbet ] pic.twitter.com/Ky2dBRg666 — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 21, 2025 Fighters from a total of eight weight classes will vie for the top prize in Professional Fighters League’s 2025 tournament.

In previous years, the PFL ran its tournaments with six divisions up for grabs. A new development for 2025, the promotion announced on Friday that the bantamweight division would officially be opened, setting the stage for eight weight categories in this season of the tourney. Eight participants, several of whom pulled over from the Bellator MMA-PFL merger, will be part of the 135-pound bracket. A few notable names are absent, including champion Patchy Mix and former beltholders Raufeon Stots, Sergio Pettis and Kyo…

Main event READY 🔒@HenryCejudo weighs-in at 135lbs!

[ #UFCSeattle | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/MLdYfIlZVU

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's final card of February is now official after the UFC Seattle weigh-ins finalized 12 fights.

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The main event will see former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo look to continue his comeback against Yadong Song. Both men came in under the 136-pound limit for the five-round headlining fight. All of the rest of the fighters made weight, as well, making it an entirely professional weigh-in.

Cejudo (16-4) is 0-2 since returning from retirement. However, the losses were a close split decision defeat to then-champ Aljamain Sterling and current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili. "The Messenger" will look to show that he still has another run left in him at 38 and stepped on the scale weighing 135 pounds on the dot.

Mea…

A key top-10 contest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division is booked for its May return to Canada.

In January, Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Gilbert Burns (22-8) would square off with Michael Morales (17-0) in Miami on April 12. The promotion changed course for this 170-pound pairing, shifting it one pay-per-view later to UFC 315 on May 10. The two will collide inside of the Bell Centre in Montreal, likely as part of the main card. The pairing was confirmed on Thursday by the promotion.

Former title challenger Burns has struggled as of late, recording his last win in April 2023 when he outworked Jorge Masvidal. Since then, Burns fell short to future champ Belal Muhammad, got knocked out by Jack Della Maddalena and dropped a decision to Sean Brady. Despite the recent setbacks, the Brazilian finisher can still hang his hat on wins over names like Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson over the years, and he had then-champ Kam…

Just a day on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, and Patricio Freire is already calling his shots.

After months of mystery, Freire was announced on Wednesday by Dana White as a new UFC featherweight. The former Bellator MMA great will make his new promotional debut at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12, where he will come to blows with former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. Full of vim and vigor, “Pitbull” talked to multiple Brazilian YouTube channels on Thursday, revealing details about the negotiation process and where he sees himself in the landscape.

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“This guy thought I was old, but my manager was able to convince him on the contrary by recalling that I was born in the same, day, month and year as [Alex Pereira],” Freire explained to “Sexto Round.”

The fighter believed that he was being held out of the UFC because one of the matchmakers did not want him on the roster. When that concern fell away, Freire wanted to hit the ground running, …

Bantamweights will be on the marquee for the UFC’s first trip to Iowa since 2000.

Brazilian journalist Leo Guimaraes first broke the news on Thursday that Cory Sandhagen (17-5) and Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) would be throwing down on May 3. The two 135ers will serve as the main attraction to UFC Des Moines, which will take place in the Wells Fargo Arena in Iowa’s capital city. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Both fighters are coming off five-round decision losses to top contenders. In August 2024, Sandhagen came back after a year layoff to face Umar Nurmagomedov, falling short to the Russian in a bout closer than the scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 indicated. That defeat halted a three-fight victorious stretch for the Colorado native, who had forced the doctors to intervene in his 25-minute match against Yadong Song before claiming decision verdicts over Marlon Vera and Rob Font.

Former flyweight king also saw a three-fight win st…

Two championship bouts will get featured billing at UFC 315.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced on Wednesday night that the May 10 card will be headlined by a welterweight championship tilt between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight strap against Manon Fiorot. UFC 315 takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

While Shavkat Rakhmonov was expected to be the next title challenger at 170 pounds, White revealed that the Kazakhstan native suffered an injury and was unable to compete. That led to Della Maddalena being pulled from his original booking: the UFC London headliner against Leon Edwards on March 22.

Muhammad will return to action for the first time since capturing the welterweight crown with a five-round verdict against Edwards in the UFC 304 main event this past July. “Remember the Name” is in the midst of an 11-fight unbeaten streak in the Octagon that…

Ilia Topuria’s reign at 145 pounds will be short lived.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced on Tuesday night that Topuria will vacate the featherweight title as he transitions to 155 pounds. As a result, Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes for the vacant 145-pound belt in the UFC 314 main event. Topuria captured the belt with a second-round knockout of Volkanovski at UFC 298 and defended the title with a third-round stoppage of Max Holloway at UFC 308 this past October. UFC 314 takes place on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

According to White, a fight for Topuria will be announced soon.

Volkanovski has not competed since the aforementioned loss to Topuria. Prior to that, the 36-year-old Aussie had an impressive run at 145 pounds, accumulating 12 consecutive victories and five successful title defenses along the way. However, he did suffer a pair of losses against Islam Makhachev at lightweight in a bid to become a two-division champ…

Sean Brady will fill the spot vacated by Jack Della Maddalena when he meets Leon Edwards in the UFC London headliner.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new welterweight bout on Wednesday night. Maddalena was tabbed to challenge Belal Muhammad for the welterweight crown at UFC 315, clearing the way for Brady to step in against Edwards. UFC London — also known as UFC Fight Night 255 — takes place at the O2 Arena and also includes a light heavyweight showdown between Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg.

Brady has been victorious in seven of his eight Octagon appearances, with his lone setback coming at the hands of Muhammad in October 2022. The Renzo Gracie Philly product has since rebounded to post back-to-back triumphs against Kelvin Gastelum and Gilbert Burns.

Edwards will return to action for the first time since relinquishing the 170-pound strap to Muhammad in a unanimous decision defeat at UFC 304 this past July. Prior to that, “Rocky” had gone u…

The UFC 314 card will have plenty of depth.

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In the evening’s co-headliner, Michael Chandler will lock horns with Paddy Pimblett in a five-round, non-title affair. Meanwhile, former Bellator featherweight champ Patricio Freire will make his promotional debut against Yair Rodriguez in another featured clash. UFC CEO Dana White announced the pairings on Wednesday night. UFC 314 takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 12 and is headlined by a showdown for the vacant featherweight title between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.

Multiple other bouts, some previously reported, were also confirmed for UFC 314: Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates at welterweight; Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight; Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson at featherweight; Xiaonan Yan vs. Virna Jandiroba at strawweight; Jim Miller vs. Chase Hooper at lightweight; Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa at featherweight; Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk at middlewe…