Martial Arts News

Justin Gaethje has a well-earned reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.

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He once again delivered in that regard in the UFC 286 co-main event, earning a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus check for his majority decision triumph over Rafael Fiziev at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. While the fight featured plenty of entertaining striking exchanges, it wasn’t necessarily the all-out slugfest that Gaethje has occasionally been involved with throughout his professional tenure. For that, “The Highlight” is grateful.

“I look pretty good, so I did a good job,” Gaethe said at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference. “The key is not to get hit, and I did a good job at that. I took a couple of shots. I say two or three to the head. I asked and prayed that neither of us sustained chronic injury.”

During his post-fight interview in the Octagon, Gaethje hinted that his time in the sport might be limited. While he hasn’t set an expirat…

Leon Edwards didn’t have long to enjoy his second victory over Kamaru Usman before his next assignment became apparent.

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Dana White announced during the UFC 286 post-fight press conference that Colby Covington will receive the next welterweight title shot. Covington was in London to weigh-in as a back-up fighter for the main event and was very animated from his cageside seat in the aftermath of Edwards’ majority decision victory over Usman.

“I don’t know when we’ll do it but that’s the fight that makes sense and Colby came here and cut weight and did everything to be here for this fight,” White said. “He deserves the fight. Not to mention that he’s the second- or third-best guy in the world.”

Covington hasn’t competed since March 2022, when he defeated Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision in the UFC 272 headliner. Covington, a former interim title holder, twice came up short in title bouts against Usman. Edwards was less than thrilled to lear…

Cementing a legacy as one of the best to ever do it! 🕷️

Congratulate @SpiderAnderson as he becomes the newest addition to the UFC Hall of Fame 🙌

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[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/0KyXQBsN0C — UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2023

Anderson Silva, regarded by many as the greatest middleweight in the history of the sport, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

“The Spider” will be inducted into the Hall of Fame’s “Pioneer Era Wing” during a ceremony this July as part of UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The Pioneer Wing includes fighters who turned professional before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old and have been retired for a minimum of a year.

“Anderson Silva is one of the greatest athletes of all time,” UFC president Dana White said. “Anderson’s 16-fight winning streak in the UFC, 10 successful title defenses and almost seven years as middleweight champion were one of the most re…

Leon Edwards still occupies the throne.

Kicks to the body, head and legs, extraordinary takedown defense and stellar counterstriking carried the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder to a majority decision over Kamaru Usman in the emotionally charged UFC 286 headliner on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Scores were 48-46, 48-46 and 47-47.

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Edwards (21-3, 13-2 UFC) completes his trilogy against “The Nigerian Nightmare” with a 2-1 advantage and now holds sway over the 170-pound weight class.

Usman (20-3, 15-2 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to pry the champion away from his gameplan. Edwards zeroed in on the body and legs with repeated kicks, staggered the Onx Sports representative with a knee strike off the break in the second round and managed to minimize his rival’s gains in the grappling exchanges. Usman appeared to turn the corner in Round 3, where he also benefitted from a point deduction due to a pair of fe…

Sherdog's live UFC 286 coverage will begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Veronica Macedo (125.5) vs. Juliana Miller (125.5) BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Miller (-435), Macedo (+350)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Klein (-190), Herbert (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Shane Clifford scores the round:The Official…

Jack Shore adapted to his new surroundings just fine.

The Welshman upshifted to the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division and disposed of Makwan Amirkhani with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their featured UFC 286 prelim on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Shore (17-1, 6-1 UFC) drew the curtain 4:27 into Round 1, as he bounced back from his July 16 defeat to Ricky Simon.

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Amirkhani (17-9, 7-7 UFC) dictated terms for much of the first round after securing a takedown and chewing up clock. However, he emerged for the middle stanza visibly diminished by fatigue. Shore rang his bell with a few head kicks, executed a takedown and progressed to half guard before climbing to full mount. He bailed an attempted arm-triangle, wheeled to the back and cinched the choke for the finish. Meanwhile, American Top Team export Chris Duncan made a successful Octagon debut with a split decision over fellow Dana White’s Contender Series gradu…

MORE VIOLENCE 😳 #UFC286 pic.twitter.com/KIonr3sByJ

— UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC 286 pay-per-view card.

Gunnar Nelson received an extra $50,000 for the impressive armbar submission he locked in on the main card. "Gunni" was able to submit Bryan Barberena in under a round as he forced "Bam Bam" to tap at the 4:51 mark. Additionally, Jake Hadley received the same monetary bonus for his impressive stoppage of Malcolm Gordon on the prelims.

In no surprise, fight of the night went to Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev. The two lightweights delivered an instant classic with a back-and-forth brawl that eventually was claimed by Gaethje as the former UFC lightweight interim champion came on late with damaging punches that closed the eye of Fiziev. Both fan-favorite fighters have become regulars at winning performance bonuses.

UFC 286 Bonuses: Jake Hadley - $…

Heavyweight Denzel Freeman is the latest fighter to earn a Professional Fighters League contract despite being quite low on the final card for the 2023 PFL Challenger Series.

WELCOME TO THE PFL DENZEL FREEMAN!#PFLonFubo pic.twitter.com/5QRQzxHNI4

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 18, 2023 St. Louis Controls Laia The Week 8 main event saw Kendly St. Louis take on Paulo Henrique Laia in what was supposed to be a lightweight fight but St. Louis (9-4) missed weight. It was St. Louis that found an early advantage as his wrestling allowed him to control Laia (14-7) on the ground. This laid the framework that would be followed for the rest of the fight as the second and third rounds saw St. Louis firmly in control while never coming super close to a finish.

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As expected, St. Louis took a unanimous decision win with scores of 30-27 across the board. Martins Stifles Cataline The lone women's bout on the card saw Jackie Cataline take on fellow fe…

Sherdog's live PFL Challenger Series 8 coverage kicks off Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The action will be broadcast live and free on fuboTV. Round 1 Kicking off this unique card, we begin with welterweights as Sadeck Sanon (3-1) of Burkina Faso battles Ali Omar (4-2). Referee Larry Folsom will preside over this one. Omar begins the action with a body kick and Sanon immediately retaliates with a leg kick of his own. Sanon is bouncing very well on his feet. Omar partially lands another body kick but this time Sanon lands a very hard leg kick in response. Omar with another body kick and this time Sanon closes the distance and clinches. Sanon is getting good positions but Omar just barely manages to stay upright. Omar has a whizzer but it's not the best, though he manages to defend and eventually pushes off. Sanon lands a nice leg kick at range. Omar fires a few punches but Sanon blocks well. Omar does slip a little uppercut, though he doesn't follow up on it. Omar throws a head kick an…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to London and brings with it a highly anticipated championship rubber match between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Edwards and Usman both made championship weight by weighing 170 pounds on the dot ahead of UFC 286. The only miss on the 15-fight card was by Malcolm Gordon, who came in 3.5 pounds over the flyweight limit. As a result, Gordon has been fined 30% of his purse and his fight against Jake Hadley will move forward. In a surprise to both headliners, former title challenger Colby Covington hit the scales during the proceedings to serve as the alternate, checking in at 170 pounds even.

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In the pair's second fight, Usman (20-2) was seemingly in control until a shocking head kick sent "The Nigerian Nightmare" into dreamland. Now champion, Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) is getting to have their trilogy battle on home soil. The shocking title win capped off an incredible stretch for "Rocky" that has…

Robert Ruchala now has some meaningful hardware with which to validate his pristine resume.

The unbeaten Polish prospect walked away with the interim Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki featherweight championship, as he stopped Lom-Ali Eskiev with a burst of elbows in the fifth round of their KSW 80 headliner on Saturday at RSC Hall in Lubin, Poland. Eskiev (20-7, 1-3 KSW) succumbed to blows 4:30 into Round 5.

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Ruchala (8-0, 5-0 KSW) overcame a rough start—Eskiev dropped him with an overhand right, then gave chase with follow-up punches in the first round—and settled into a comfortable cruising speed. He spent much of his time building a lead behind a stiff jab and kicks to the body and legs. Ruchala saved his best efforts for the fifth round. There, he took down Eskiev roughly 90 seconds into the period, moved to the back and hunted a rear-naked choke before turning to his ground-and-pound. Ruchala forced his opponent into a defensive shell, cut off avenues for …

Jordan Vucenic is BACK! It was only fitting he would cap off #CW150 with a RNC 💪🙌 Back in the win column with an impressive performance. pic.twitter.com/mcKEiCRO13

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 17, 2023 Former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship featherweight kingpin Jordan Vucenic successfully bounced back after suffering his first promotional defeat.

The CW 150 headliner featured a featherweight affair between Vucenic (10-2, 6-1 CW) and Tiziano Ferranti. Ferranti (6-1, 0-1 CW) started strong and clipped his opponent a few times before Vucenic successfully grounded his opponent. Vucenic had no problem keeping Ferranti on the mat for much of the round after taking some early damage. “The Epidemic” landed a double-leg takedown almost immediately in Round 2, reaffirming that the Italian was outmatched on the canvas. Slowly but surely, Vucenic improved his position until capturing his opponent’s back. Sensing the end was close, Vucenic s…