Martial Arts News

Two grapplers in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division will have 25 minutes to make their mark in June.

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Per the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Thursday, Jack Hermansson (23-8) and Brendan Allen (21-5) will be squaring off in the main event of an upcoming UFC Fight Night event on June 3. The event, which may or may not be airing on the main ESPN airwaves, does not currently have a venue or location on the books. Hermansson was quick to post about the news on his Instagram Stories shortly after it broke.

Sweden’s Hermansson has alternated wins and losses in his last eight outings dating back to 2019, with victories over names like Ronaldo Souza and Kelvin Gastelum interspersed by defeats against Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze. In his last time out, Dolidze trapped him with an unorthodox leglock and pounded him out, but before then, he snagged a unanimous decision over Chris Curtis. “The Joker” has seen 74% of his career wins…

Paulo Costa has come to terms on a new contract with the UFC, clearing the way for the former middleweight title challenger to compete sometime in 2023.

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After a contract dispute led to a potential booking against Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 falling through, Costa revealed to Sherdog.com on Wednesday that he has reached an agreement with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I finally came to an agreement with the UFC,” Costa said. “The contract was not signed yet, but we finally agreed about values.”

According to Costa, he has been offered potential fights against Sean Strickland in May and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 21. Nothing is finalized at this time, but Costa is interested in facing both opponents if possible.

The 31-year-old Brazilian last appeared at UFC 278 last August, where he ended a two-bout skid with a unanimous verdict over Luke Rockhold. He is 6-2 in UFC competition, with other notable triumphs against th…

It was a short stint in the Professional Fighters League for Fabricio Werdum.

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The former UFC heavyweight champion announced during an interview with Canal Encarada that he has fulfilled the terms of his contract with the organization and is free to pursue other offers.

“My contract with PFL is over,” Werdum said (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I did that fight and had all that problem, and stayed out for two years. Not because of that [loss], but I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I needed this time off, and the contract ended.”

The 45-year-old Brazilian competed just once under the PFL banner. It was a controversial bout, as “Vai Cavalo” initially suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Renan Ferreira on May 6, 2021, but the result was overturned to a no contest because Ferreira appeared to tap to a triangle choke from Werdum moments earlier. Referee Keith Peterson did not see the initial tap, however.

Werdum later wit…

Holly Holm’s tenure with the Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t ending anytime soon.

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The 41-year-old former bantamweight champion signed a new six-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion ahead of her showdown with Yana Santos (formerly Yana Kunitskaya) at UFC on ESPN 43 on Saturday. Holm’s longtime representative, Lenny Fresquez, confirmed the news to the Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday. The deal was reportedly completed in December but wasn’t announced until recently.

“[The UFC] knew Holly had lots of options out there,” Fresquez told the Journal. “She was very sought after and probably could have earned more money elsewhere.

“They love Holly,” he added, “they know she’s one of the faces of the UFC and they wanted her to stay.”

Holm is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Ketlen Vieira in the UFC Fight Night 206 main event last May. Prior to that, “The Preacher’s Daughter” earned back-to-back decision triumphs …

Junior dos Santos knows Stipe Miocic well after having fought the former heavyweight king twice under the UFC banner.

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With that in mind, “Cigano” expects Miocic to present a far more formidable threat to newly-crowned heavyweight champ Jon Jones than did previous opponent Ciryl Gane.

“I was pretty sure he would impose his game against Gane or [Francis] Ngannou, but against Miocic the challenges will be different,” dos Santos told Sherdog.com. “Actually I see Stipe as the challenge to Jon Jones.”

The Brazilian believes Miocic’s wrestling ability will force Jones to take more risks.

“If he insists on taking Miocic down, he must use a lot of strength,” dos Santos said. “Now, as a heavyweight that may take its toll in the later rounds. But I do believe Jones is the favorite, I would say 60-40. I’m really excited to see that one.”

Dos Santos also says that Jones hasn’t faced an opponent who possesses knockout power comparable to Miocic’s. Wh…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

UFC bantamweight Kyler Phillips has been temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition drug test.

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The sanction was announced during an NSAC meeting on Tuesday. Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Darrius Flowers was also temporarily suspended for a positive ostarine test. Further sanctions will be announced at a future disciplinary hearing. Phillips was recently removed from a proposed matchup with Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 221 on March 11, while Flowers was supposed to make his promotional debut against Erick Gonzalez at UFC Fight Night 220 on Feb. 25 before being pulled from the card.

Ostarine is a Selective Androgen Receptor Module (SARM) that is banned at all times according to the WADA prohibited list. Ostarine is categorized as an anabolic agent and can aid in areas of athletic performance such as muscle growth, fat…

Arnold Allen has gradually worked his way up the featherweight ladder during his tenure with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, compiling a 10-bout winning streak as quietly as one possibly can.

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The 29-year-old Englishman will be impossible to ignore if he wins his next matchup, a main event clash with former featherweight champ Max Holloway at UFC on ESPN 44 on April 15.

“Mentally I feel fantastic. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Allen recently told assembled media at UFC 286. “It’s a very dangerous guy who’s beat a lot of top contenders, and he’s beaten them very well. He’s been a world champion, he’s been pound-for-pound No. 1. He’s stepped up to lightweight and had wars with people like Dustin Poirier. I’m very excited for the opportunity to challenge someone like that and show what I’m able to do.”

Holloway is regarded as one of the sport’s top 145-pound talents of all time. The Hawaiian known as “Blessed” was an established commodit…

Marvin Vettori returned to the win column at UFC 286, relying on his kickboxing to capture a unanimous decision triumph over Roman Dolidze in a featured middleweight bout at the O2 Arena in London this past Saturday.

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While Dolidze spent the majority of the bout headhunting, “The Italian Dream” was more well-rounded, and he racked up points behind low kicks and punching combinations to the head. Vettori knew Dolidze, who had finished his last three opponents, was a dangerous adversary, but he was also confident that he was superior in all aspects.

“I feel like I picked him apart with low kicks and the hands. From the corner they told me don’t go toward the big overhand because that was his biggest weapon,” Vettori said during a media scrum after the bout. “He kind of got me a little bit in the first round, but you know I ain’t gonna go anywhere. You’re not gonna get me out of there. By now, people probably know that.

“I knew I was the better fig…

Millions and millions and millions of ppv buys. https://t.co/Klmi7dNLcK

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 20, 2023

Conor McGregor is expected to return to UFC competition for the first time since breaking his leg in July 2021, but exactly when that will happen remains unclear.

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The Irish star coached opposite Michael Chandler on “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” which will set the stage for their matchup — presumably sometime in 2023. According to UFC president Dana White, “TUF 31” was motivating for McGregor.

“He’s ready to go. He could probably fight tomorrow if he wanted to,” White said at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference. “Conor coming back and coaching ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ was like a [big step] toward coming back. He was telling me Monday that it felt good to be there again – felt good to be in the gym with other guys, felt good to train, felt good to be in Vegas – all that stuff. I don’t know if Conor’s r…

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There seems to be a disconnect between Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev regarding a rumored fight between the two that never came to fruition.

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Covington was in attendance at UFC 286, and his visit with media included a brief rant on Chimaev. The former interim welteweight champion criticized Chimaev for missing weight ahead of a scheduled fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 279 last year. That mishap eventually led to the card being reshuffled, and Chimaev ultimately submitted Kevin Holland in the opening stanza of a 180-pound catchweight bout.

“He’s been saying I want for the title at 170, I want to fight Colby, this and that. The guy quit to the common cold. The guy quit on a weight cut when he had the best professionals that the UFC PI could offer,” Covington told assembled media. “Millions of dollars put into this guy in marketing and he had the easiest fight in the division, the soy boy Nate Diaz, and he still couldn’t make weight…

One Championship lightweight contender Iuri Lapicus died on Monday in Milan, Italy, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

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According to Italian newspaper Il Giorno, a 27-year-old man lost control of his motorbike and collided with a car around noon on Friday, March 17, in Pogliano Milanese, a small community outside Milan. The cyclist in question was confirmed by members of his team to be Lapicus, in response to an inquiry by Sherdog. The driver of the vehicle, a 69-year-old woman, received medical assistance at the scene, but was not reported to have suffered any serious injury. Lapicus’ injuries were severe and he was immediately taken by helicopter to a hospital in Milan, where he fell into a coma. He never regained consciousness and died three days later.

World champion kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan, a longtime friend and teammate, paid tribute to Lapicus on Instagram with a post captioned, “I want to remember you like that. R.I.P.” Read more

Kamaru Usman believes he’ll see Leon Edwards in the Octagon again before all is said and done.

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The former welterweight champion indicated as much when speaking to Daniel Cormier in the Octagon following a majority decision loss to Edwards in the UFC 286 headliner at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. Edwards has won two of the three meetings with Usman in a rivalry that dates back to 2015.

“I think I did enough to win the fight, but I knew it was a close fight,” Usman said “Great game plan. Great game plan. You know, I’ve always said it from the start: I knew I’d see Leon again, and we did it. I’m not done. I’ll see him again, but he put on a hell of a game plan. I’ve always given him props for everything he’s been able to accomplish. He’s a brother, like myself. Much respect. London, you’ve got yourself a hell of a guy, a great champion.”

Not so fast, says Edwards.

“Probably not. Probably not,” Edwards said at the UFC post-fight press confe…