Martial Arts News

Tom Nolan did not disappoint.

The undefeated Team Compton Training Centre prospect was one of five hopefuls to book spots on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster during Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he put away Bogdan Grad with punches in the first round of their lightweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Grad (11-2, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 1:23 into Round 1, suffering his first loss since Sept. 25, 2020.

Advertisement

Nolan (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) offered the Ettl Brothers MMA export no opportunity to operate. The 6-foot-3 Australian floored Grad with a surgical straight left, jumped in top position, shed an attempted armbar and applied his ground-and-pound before he returned to his feet. Nolan flurried again soon after and slammed a concussive left hook into his opponent’s jaw. Grad crashed to the canvas in a dazed state and ate a follow-up standing-to-ground left before referee Kerry Hatley could arrive on the scene. Middle…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2023 Week 1 coverage will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Round 1 Chris Tognoni will oversee the first Contender Series bout of the new season. Dias opens up with a lead leg kick. He targets the lead leg two more ties while feinting and moving, but it’s Borjas that lands a right hand. Borjas rips the body in an exchange. Dias just misses a big overhand right. The Brazilian pressures and lands a takedown near the fence. Dias laces Borjas’ legs as the Peruvian posts with his right arm. Dias peppers the ribs with left hands in the meantime. It’s early, but Dias already has a mouse under his eye. Borjas frees his legs and stands, but Dias maintains a body lock. He pulls Borjas down to his seat, but Borjas uses a wizzer to stand while landing a few rapid-fire punches. Dias still hasn’t broken his grip, however, and he presses Borjas into the fence. Dias knees the thighs from this position before spinning Borjas off the cage and onto the mat. Dias applies heavy sho…

BREAKING: Sydney, your #UFC293 main event is official!! 🚨🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/D2t7xTy8Ns

— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2023

Israel Adesanya’s next middleweight title defense will not come against the opponent many initially anticipated.

Advertisement

UFC president Dana White announced on Tuesday that Adesanya will face Sean Strickland in the UFC 293 main event in Sydney, Australia on Sept. 9. Three other fights were confirmed for the card: Alexander Volkov vs. Taia Tuivasa at heavyweight; Kaia Kara-France vs. Manel Kape at flyweight and Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa at heavyweight.

“This will be Adesanya’s 11th consecutive title fight. What I love about Israel is he’s always ready to take on the best in the world — anyone, anytime,” White said. “And Strickland is an absolute maniac who doesn’t back down from anyone. This will be a great fight.”

Adesanya was supposed to face top middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis, as indicated by th…

Logan ‘The Maverick’ Paul is 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 🥊 @LoganPaul vs @dillondanis is CONFIRMED for the Prime Card in Manchester on Oct 14th live on @DAZNBoxing 💥 @PrimeHydrate | @MF_DAZNXSeries | #KSIFury | #PaulDanis pic.twitter.com/FlDFlD0sHh

— Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) August 8, 2023

Dillon Danis is scheduled to make his return to combat sports in a boxing match against social media personality Logan Paul on Oct. 14.

Advertisement

The bout will be on the undercard of the KSI vs. Tommy Fury event and takes place at AO Arena in Manchester. The card will air on pay-per-view via Dazn. Danis vs. Paul is scheduled for six, three-minute rounds and will be contested at 195 pounds, according to MMAjunkie.com.

Danis, a training partner of Conor McGregor, drew attention for his brash personality after signing with Bellator MMA. He earned a pair of first-round submission victories from 2018 and 2019 but hasn’t competed for the organization since then. …

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

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jose Johnson will step in on short notice to face Da'Mon Blackshear at UFC on ESPN 51 this Saturday.

Advertisement

Johnson is a replacement for Brady Hiestand, who withdrew from the card due to a “medical issue.” The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new bantamweight pairing on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 51 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Vicente Luque against Rafael dos Anjos.

Johnson enters the matchup on a three-fight winning streak. He last appeared at the Contender Series in August 2022, when he earned a unanimous decision triumph over Jack Cartwright. The 28-year-old Flint, Michigan, native owns a 15-7 career mark with appearances in Fury Fighting Championship and Legacy Fighting Championship to his credit.

A former Cage Fury Fighting Championships title holder, Blackshear is 1-1-1 since making is Octago…

Viviane Araujo will have both an opponent and venue change for her next fight.

Advertisement

Araujo was originally slated to face Casey O'Neill at UFC 293 in Sydney on Sept. 9 before her opponent withdrew from the bout. Instead, the Brazilian flyweight will lock horns with Jennifer Maia at a UFC Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 14. The new bout was initially reported by Sherdog contributor Christian Stein.

Araujo will attempt to snap a two-fight skid against Maia. The 36-year-old Cerrado MMA export last appeared at UFC 285, where she suffered a unanimous decision loss to Amanda Ribas on March 4.

A former flyweight title challenger, Maia is coming off back-to-back decision wins against O’Neill and Maryna Moroz. The former Invicta FC title holder is 6-5 during her tenure with the Las Vegas based promotion.

Only a handful of fighters elected to reveal their payouts from UFC 291 following a change in policy from the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission.

Advertisement

Kevin Holland ($356,000) topped the list of disclosed salaries from the July 29 event, which took place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bobby Green, Gabriel Bonfim and C.J. Vergara were the only other fighters who made their paydays public.

No other salaries were released, as the commission revealed that it entered into “confidentiality agreements” with athletes competing at UFC 291 ahead of the event. According to a statement from Utah commission executive director Scott Bowler, which was obtained by MMAjunkie.com, the fighters “expressed valid concerns regarding the public disclosure of the compensation amount in bout agreements, because public disclosure of their purse amounts will negatively impact their individual ability to negotiate compensation or purse amounts for future events.”<…

The first week for a new season of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official.

All 10 competitors made weight on Monday, including scheduled headliners Cesar Almeida (185.5) and Lucas Fernando (186). The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday, with fighters attempt to earn a UFC contract based on their performance in the Octagon. The card airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT — one hour earlier than normal.

A kickboxer with a 47-8-1 career mark, Almeida has been victorious in his first three professional MMA appearances. Most recently, the 35-year-old Lotus MMA member scored a 38-second knockout of Danilo de Souza Silva at Shooto Brazil 110 in December 2021.

Fernando will carry a 9-1 record into the matchup with Almeida. In his last outing, Fernando claimed the Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight crown with a fourth-round KO of Jansey Silva at LFA 154 on March 10.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Cesar Almeida (185.5) vs. L…

Cory Sandhagen did quite well despite not fighting at full capacity.

Advertisement

Sandhagen received a six-month suspension following his unanimous decision victory over Rob Font in the UFC on ESPN 50 headliner at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Saturday night. The Elevation Fight Team product relied on a steady diet of takedowns and top pressure to neutralize Font, an approach that drew boos from the fans but led to a relatively clean victory in a short-notice catchweight matchup.

“Fully torn tricep in Round 1,” Sandhagen revealed on Instagram. “Wasn’t able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like s—t. Did what I had to do to win that night.

“Surgery this week — back soon.”

The Tennessee Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event. The nature of the majority of those suspensions was not specified. Two other fighters from UFC on ESPN 50 are facing potential six-month sits: Gavin Tucker …

Things went exactly according to plan for Cory Sandhagen against Rob Font in the UFC on ESPN 50 main event.

Advertisement

Sandhagen relied on takedowns and suffocating top control to cruise to a five-round verdict in their 140-pound catchweight clash at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Saturday night. Those in attendance were not pleased with the performance, and while Sandhagen understands the angst, it was far more important for him to earn his third straight UFC victory.

“That was the game plan,” Sandhagen said at the post-fight press conference. “I thought that honestly he would have made some pretty good adjustments and stuff a couple of them later in the fight. Font doesn’t wrestle that good. He doesn’t have an immediate wrestler reaction. He doesn’t get up very well. The only way that he really gets up is on that underhook, and if I just shut that down, he’s not going to really get up.

“I know that there’s lots of boos and it’s not the most exciting…

If there was any question before, there isn’t now: Tatiana Suarez is back.

Advertisement

Viewed as a future title contender during her rise to prominence in the UFC from 2016 to 2019, injuries halted Suarez’s momentum and sidelined her until earlier this year. The 32-year-old Millennia MMA representative has made up for lost time, earning submission wins over Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Andrade in 2023. The latter was especially impressive, as Suarez outclassed Andrade, a former 115-pound champion, in the UFC on ESPN 50 co-main event before winning via second-round guillotine choke at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night. Even before the finish arrived, Suarez was able to hold her own with Andrade during exchanges.

“I’m just really excited about this one, because I think a lot of people fear her on the feet. That’s where she has her most success, and of course, me, I decided to strike with her a lot more than I do in all my other fights,” Suarez said at Saturd…

pic.twitter.com/ZGHDFMR115

— UFC (@ufc) August 6, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded five fighters performance bonuses following the UFC on ESPN 50 card.

Every fighter that earned a finish on the card was awarded an extra $50,000. The most notable finish came in the co-main event, which saw Tatiana Suarez return and impress against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. Suarez proved she hadn't lost a step and finished the veteran with a guillotine choke.

The lone knockout on the card came from Dustin Jacoby, who was able to starch Kennedy Nzechukwu with a series of punches in the very first round. The other three finishes were all submissions. These included Diego Lopes' impressive armbar win, the shocking guillotine choke comeback from Carlston Harris and Asu Almabaev's impressive rear-naked choke over Ode Osbourne.

UFC on ESPN 50 Bonuses: Tatiana Suarez - $50,000Dustin Jacoby - $50,000Diego Lopes - $50,000…