Martial Arts News

H E A T E D 🔥 #TUF31 pic.twitter.com/dfc89L3gfm

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) July 5, 2023

While many fans believe the fight between “The Ultimate Fighter 31” coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will be postponed until 2024, Gilbert Burns has heard otherwise.

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In a recent interview with Sherdog.com, Burns claims that Chandler, a training partner at Kill Cliff FC, told him the bout will happen in December.

"He was already relaxed when he met [UFC president Dana White] backstage at UFC 290 and Dana told him to be ready, that it will happen by the end of the year,” Burns said. “The following day Chandler posted a Christmas tree [on Twitter]. So I think it's on and will happen in December.”

Burns does not believe that the current version of McGregor matches up well with Chandler.

"If we were talking about the prime Conor, who beat [Jose] Aldo and [Eddie] Alvarez, that guy was really a badass and I …

Super Rizin 2 has a new matchup for promotion’s vacant bantamweight championship.

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Hiromasa Ougikubo will replace the injured Kai Asakura and square off against Juan Archuleta for the 135-pound belt on July 30 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The promotion announced the new bout after Asakura recently revealed he would have to withdraw from the event.

A former Bellator bantamweight king, Archuleta has won his last three outings — two of which occurred under the Rizin banner. “The Spaniard” last appeared at Rizin 42, where he outpointed Naoki Inoue on May 6. He also owns victories over Soo Chul Kim and Enrique Barzola during his current streak.

Ougikubo, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back defeats against Kyoji Horguchi and Soo Chul Kim in 2022. Prior to that, the 36-year-old Paraestra Matsudo representative won five consecutive bouts under the Rizin banner, including a decision against Asakura, the man he replaced.

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Two-time NCAA national wrestling champion Jordan Oliver will make his professional MMA debut against Andrew Triolo in a featherweight fight on the preliminary card at Bellator 298.

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The promotion on Tuesday announced the finalized lineup for the card, which also includes a new bantamweight matchup pitting Josh Hill against Kasum Kasumov. Bellator 298 takes place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Logan Storley and Brennan Ward. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT and features a newly-elevated featherweight tilt between James Gallagher and James Gonzalez.

Oliver, who twice won national titles at Oklahoma State University, signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator earlier this year. He was 89-6 over the course of his collegiate career, with the two aforementioned national titles in folkstyle wrestling. He was also a 2019 U.S. national champion in freestyle wrestling.<…

An interim atomweight (115-pound) title bout pitting Stamp Fairtex against Seo Hee Ham will be one of the featured contests at One on Prime Video 14.

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The Singapore-based organization announced that the card will put the spotlight on women of the promotion, with four female bouts atop the card. This includes three title fights across three different disciplines as well as a special rules bout.

In addition to Fairtex vs. Ham, One Fight Night 14 will also feature a women’s strawweight muay thai title bout between Smilia Sundell and Jackie Buntan; a showdown for the inaugural women’s atomweight grappling championship between Danielle Kelly and Jessa Khan and a special rules striking bout pitting Xiong Jing Nan against Wondergirl. In that last contest, combatants will wear four-ounce gloves while being allowed to throw punches only — kicks, knees and elbows are prohibited — and judging and scoring will adhere to One’s protocols for kickboxing and muay t…

After a run with Bellator MMA that began more than a decade ago, Michael Page will get a chance to test the free agent waters.

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Page announced Monday on "The MMA Hour" that his contract with the California-based promotion has expired. Bellator still retains matching rights, but the 36-year-old welterweight is interested exploring his options, which could include returns to boxing or bare knuckle boxing. “Venom” also plans on attending this Saturday’s UFC event at the O2 Arena in London. Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed with a Bellator official that Page is indeed a free agent.

“I think it’s time for me to just explore what else is out there,” Page aid. “It doesn’t mean I’m not going to go back with Bellator. It just means I want to see what other people think of ‘MVP.’”

Page was victorious in 17 of 19 Bellator appearances since making his debut with the organization in March 2013. His record includes wins over the likes of Douglas Lima, Pau…

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A few years back, Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones were not on the best of terms.

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That rivalry centered primarily on a hypothetical meeting between the two UFC stars back when Jones was reigning light heavyweight champion and Adesanya was considering a move up to attempt to become a two-division title holder. Today, however, Jones is the heavyweight king, and Adesanya is fully entrenched in his second reign as 185-pound ruler. So when the two fighters recently crossed paths during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, it became a viral feel-good moment.

The encounter almost didn’t happen, but when Adesanya elected to leave his hotel room to hang out at the casino bar, Jones happened to be in the same place. While “The Last Stylebender” won’t reveal exactly what was discussed, there was an instant positive connection.

“It’s no one’s business [what was discussed], that’s between me and him, but it definitely wasn’t a fake encount…

Jack Della Maddalena got all he could handle from short-notice foe Bassil Hafez in the UFC on ESPN 49 co-main event.

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While the Australian welterweight struggled with the takedowns and top control from his opponent, he ultimately avoided an upset with a split-decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was trying few weeks for Della Maddaleba, who had a pair of matchups fall through at UFC 290 one week prior.

“When I look back it wasn’t my best performance but it was a lot of fun,” Della Maddalena said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I came in with a crazy three weeks and at the end of the day, you’ve just got to get in there and grit out a tough fight. It was a tough fight. That’s what I came here for. The team came out and it was a tough fight. I expected a tough fight. A guy with a big opportunity on his hands and he delivered. It was a lot of fun.

“I never underestimate anyone’s toughness. For a guy to st…

The UFC women’s bantamweight division is wide open following Amanda Nunes’ retirement in June.

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Mayra Bueno Silva emerged as one of the top contenders for the vacant 135-pound on Saturday night when she scored a second-round submission victory of ex-champ Holly Holm in the UFC on ESPN 49 main event. It was a little bit of a surreal experience for the 31-year-old Brazilian.

“I’m very happy. I don’t know what’s happening today,” Bueno Silva said at the post-fight press conference. “It’s Holly Holm. I’m very emotional. I’m grateful for my [life], for my team.

“God told me, ‘Hey, you win this fight.’ I believe too much in God. This week, I’m afraid of Holly, every f—-ing day. I cry too much. I don’t believe me in this fight. When I win...what? I win! This was in my mind.”

After a rough stretch in which “Sheetara” won just one of four Octagon appearances from 2020 to 2021, the American Top Team export has put together a four-bout winning streak wi…

The injury isn’t for the faint of heart.

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Istela Nunes dislocated her elbow when she posted her left arm while defending a takedown against Victoria Dudakova in their preliminary strawweight bout at UFC on ESPN 49 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The injury caused Nunes to scream in pain and brought an end to the contest just 34 seconds after it began.

Damn....full and speedy recovery to Istela Nunes 😔🙏 pic.twitter.com/YkaqAyhqKm

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) July 16, 2023

Shortly thereafter, UFC president Dana White posted a photo showing X-ray imaging of Nunes’ dislocated elbow. It’s unclear exactly how long Nunes will be sidelined following the injury, but a later image did show the elbow having been reset back in place.

Well Istela Nunes’ arm is back in place now. Per Dana White’s IG #UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/Z77q51GNli

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 16, 2023…

Show stopping finishes over tough competition 😤

💸 Your POTN belongs to @MayraSheetara & @Fran_Prado_MMA!

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[ B2YB @KudoSnacks ] pic.twitter.com/Rg2cppIslH — UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC on ESPN 49 card.

Mayra Bueno Silva made the most of her UFC main event slot as she managed to put away former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the second round with an impressive standing guillotine choke. As a result of her submission win, Silva took home an extra $50,000 after being awarded a Performance of the Night bonus. The stoppage officially came just 38 seconds into Round 2.

The other Performance of the Night bonus went to Francisco Prado. The Argentina native quickly put away Ottman Azaitar with a series of punches that were landed on the ground after scoring a beautiful spinning elbow. Finally, Fight of the Night …

Mayra Bueno Silva is officially a title contender in the women’s bantamweight division.

The Brazilian earned the most significant victory of her career to date, as she submitted former 135-pound champ Holly Holm with a modified standing guillotine choke -- also known as a ninja choke -- in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 49 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 38 seconds into the period, giving Silva her third straight victory via submission. After the victory, the American Top Team member called for a showdown with Julianna Pena for the title that has been vacant since Amanda Nunes retired in June.

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“I do what said (I’d do). Now I want a belt,” Silva said. “Nobody finishes like me. I am a new face. I finish my fights.”

Holm (15-7, 8-7 UFC) began with a familiar game plan, blending combination punching and the occasional kick with plenty of control time against the fence. While that may have banked the first round for …

29-28 across all of the scorecards 👏

🇦🇲 @Melsik_The_Gun is back in the win column! #UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/dRl6CP3hhf

— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2023

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Glendale Fighting Club member Melsik Baghdasaryan earned a hard-fought three-round verdict against fellow Contender Series alum Tucker Lutz in the evening’s featured prelim at UFC on ESPN 49 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. All three cageside judges scored the featherweight contest 29-28 in favor of Baghdasaryan (8-2, 3-1 UFC).

Lutz (12-4, 1-3 UFC) got out of the gates quickly, as he walked Baghdasaryan down with body kicks before ending Round 1 with a takedown and more than two minutes of top control. Baghdasaryan began to find a rhythm in the second frame, when a counter combination that included a left uppercut put his opponent on the retreat. Lutz did his best to make it a grind in Round 3, as he landed a takedown and threatened a back take. However, he…