Martial Arts News

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 223 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Sato (-110), Gorimbo (-110)Round 1 The last UFC card before a much-needed weekend off is upon us, and it will be in the form of a dozen-fight showcase at the UFC Apex. There are two ranked fighters on the entire billing, both coming in the main attraction, but with any luck, those numbers will not matter when the cage doors close and the competitors all get after it. The first match of the evening comes in the welterweight division between two men who would very much like a win. With three losses in his last three appearances, Sato (15-6, 2-4 UFC) may need to get his hand raised to stay on the roster. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Gorimbo (10-4, 0-1 UFC) is hoping to have a second chance to make a first impression. This classic Japan vs. South Africa (or Zimbabwe, if you prefer birth nation) battle will be overseen by referee Chris Tognoni and his sweet mustach…

“Slava Claus” delivered an emphatic technical knockout victory to the UFC Apex on Saturday evening.

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Viacheslav Borshchev snapped at two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 223, as he defeated Maheshate Hayisaer via technical knockout in their preliminary lightweight showdown. Borschev (7-3, 2-2 UFC) dropped Hayisaer (9-3, 1-2 UFC) with a clean right hook to the chin and sealed the victory with about six standing-to-ground strikes at the 2:37 mark of Round 2. Borschev flashed his power on multiple occasions. After a competitive striking battle for the majority of the opening frame, the Team Alpha Male product dropped Hayisaer with a short right near the end of the period. The show continued in the second frame. Borschev sat his Chinese foe down with another right early in the period before putting Hayisaer away with the finishing sequence moments later. Borschev has finished six of his seven professional triumphs via KO or TKO. Kowalkiewicz Stymies Demopo…

Jacobi Jones spilled blood and a lot of it.

The Factory X rep laid claim to the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship, as he dispatched Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani with punches and elbows in the second round of their LFA 158 headliner on Friday at Gila River Resorts and Casinos’ Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. Jones (6-1, 6-1 LFA) brought it to a close 2:18 into Round 2.

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Lebosnoyani (5-2, 4-1 LFA) applied maximum pressure but could not force his counterpart to break. Jones dodged a bullet in the first round, escaped an armbar from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and tore open multiple cuts with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Lebosnoyani pressed forward in Round 2, where he was met with a picture-perfect knee strike that appeared to lengthen one of the lacerations. Blood poured from the wound, covered both participants and painted various parts of the canvas. Jones moved into top position near the base of the fence, uncorking pun…

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6:30 p.m. ET to reflect the reason for Klein's withdrawal.

Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Jim Miller has a new opponent just a few weeks before his fight.

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The Underground broke the story on Friday that Jim Miller (35-17, 1 NC) would no longer be taking on Ludovit Klein at UFC on ESPN 46. Instead, the grizzled lightweight will be facing off against Jared Gordon (19-6, 1 NC) on about two weeks’ notice. According to MMA Junkie, Klein is out of the matchup due to illness. Gordon has since confirmed this June 3 UFC Apex-located pairing on Instagram.

It will have been a bit over a month removed from Gordon’s last appearance, which ended in the first round when he and Bobby Green clashed heads to force a no contest. Instead of booking the immediate rematch, Green took a fight in July against Tony Ferguson. “Flash” is aiming to get back in the win column after a two-bout winless stretch that includes …

[embedded content] The very first color commentator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Jim Brown, has died at the age of 87.

The Associated Press first reported of Brown’s passing on Friday, stating that the football great “passed away peacefully” in his home in Los Angeles on Thursday night, with wife, Monique, at his bedside. While known for a litany of accolades over his storied lifetime, Brown made his appearance as the first color commentary on a UFC broadcast, sitting along with play-by-play caller Bill Wallace and fellow commentator and martial artist Kathy Long at UFC 1 in 1993.

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Brown sat cageside for the first six UFC cards, accounting for the entire early era of Royce Gracie winning UFCs 1, 2 and 4. The football star spoke highly of the combatants, at the time generally specialists in one particular martial art.

“Bill, I’ve been around the toughest fighters in the world: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson,” Brown stated at UFC 1. “…

Bellator MMA will be making its annual trip to Sioux Falls this August.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, the organization is headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Aug. 11. The event at the Sanford Pentagon, currently billed as Bellator 298, will feature a local in the main attraction. Over the course of five rounds, welterweights Logan Storley (14-2) and Brennan Ward (17-6) will throw down. The only other fight currently agreed for this show is a featherweight scrap pitting Akhmed Magomedov (9-1) against Kai Kamaka III (11-5-1), according to Twitter account Bellator Zone. News of this event has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Although born in Roslyn and fighting out of Webster, the match for Storley in Sioux Falls – about 150 miles away – will be considered home game. The NCAA wrestling standout from the University of Minnesota has competed in that building five times in the past, including twice with Bellator, and he is perfect in those five outings. Storley la…

Ready for action!@MackenzieDern in at 115lbs for tomorrow's #UFCVegas73 main event 💪 pic.twitter.com/HeqpreevYW

— UFC (@ufc) May 19, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its busy May with a UFC Apex card headlined by two fan-favorite strawweight fighters.

UFC Fight Night 223 will see Mackenzie Dern take on Angela Hill in a five-round main event. Both women successfully made weight and are familiar faces to fans. However, two undercard fighters missed weight as both Vanessa Demopoulos and Orion Cosce came in 1.5 pounds over their respective weight class limits. Demopoulos came in at 117.5 pounds for her strawweight fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, while Cosce came in at 172.5 for his welterweight clash against Gilbert Urbina. They have each been fined 20% of their respective purses, and the bouts will otherwise continue as scheduled.

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Dern (12-3) will be looking to bounce back after a decision loss to X…

Now that the #LFA158 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to most?

ℹ️: https://t.co/xX2U05ALqZ

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📸: https://t.co/moCfaMzqPN@BetOnline_AG@OnlyFans@RealFlexCBD@DripOilsH3@TheMMAShark@MRTNZ1976@TeamSmartStop@LACScottsdale@PlayAtGila@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/KERGHgI4pV — LFA (@LFAfighting) May 19, 2023 The Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to Arizona with an intriguing lightweight title clash.

The main event of LFA 158 will see Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani take on Jacobi Jones for the promotion's lightweight championship. Both title participants made weight, although Eric McConico and Joe Stafford missed weight for their respective bouts. Both fights will continue, with the overweight fighters being fined.

The main event will be a test of grappling styles. Lebosnoyani is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who holds a 5-1 professional mixed martial arts record. "The Lifeguard" is on a three-fight …

Just a few years ago, it would have been practically unimaginable that Mexico could not only get on the board but hold more Ultimate Fighting Championship titles than powerhouse countries Brazil or Russia.

The promotion currently has three Mexican champions: Brandon Moreno at flyweight, Yair Rodriguez as the interim featherweight beltholder and Alexa Grasso as the women’s flyweight champ. This ties the nation with the United States, in which Aljamain Sterling (bantamweight) Jamahal Hill (light heavyweight) and Jon Jones (heavyweight) hold straps in their weight categories. If the prediction of recent UFC signee and Lobo Gym Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Diego Lopes is accurate, Mexico will have its fourth concurrent champion on June 10. That night, at UFC 289 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Mexican challenger Irene Aldana will take on vaunted bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes in the main attraction. Lopes, in an interview with Sherdog shortly after his thrilling performanc…

🚨The Boss has made it official!🚨 pic.twitter.com/UF7LD8YHEg

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) May 17, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be heading to Australia’s most populous city on a regular basis for the next few years.

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Dana White on Wednesday announced that UFC 293 will be held in Sydney on Sept. 9, making it the first event held in the Australian city since 2017. It will be the first of three pay-per-view events to be held in Sydney over the course of the next four years as part of a deal the promotion has signed with the New South Wales government.

“I just want to say thank you to New South Wales’ government, Premier Chris Minns and the team at Destination New South Wales for making all of this happen,” White said. “I will see you all in Sydney.”

The promotion’s last venture to Sydney was UFC Fight Night 121 on Nov. 18, 2017, when Fabricio Werdum outpointed Marcin Tybura in the evening’s heavyweight headl…

Jimmy Crute and Alonzo Menifield will attempt to gain some closure when they square off for a second time at UFC 290.

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The promotion confirmed the light heavyweight pairing in a release on Wednesday. UFC 290 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 8 and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Yair Rodriguez. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno will defend his flyweight belt against Alexandre Pantoja. Crute and Menifield first fought on Feb. 11, when they battle to a majority draw at UFC 284.

The 27-year-old Crute is winless in his last three Octagon appearances, as he suffered back-to-back KO/TKO defeats against Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith before facing Menifield. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum began his promotional tenure with wins in four of his first five bouts.

Prior to his matchup with Crute, Menifield had been victorious in four of his last five UFC outings. He went 2-0…

Nine fighters from the first leg of the Professional Fighters League regular season are facing punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failed drug tests in relation to their bouts.

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During a meeting on Wednesday, the NSAC announced sanctions or future hearings for the following PFL athletes: Alejandro Flores Garcia , Krzysztof Jotko, Bruno Cappelozza, Rizvan Kuniev, Mohammad Fakhreddine, Cezar Ferreira, Will Fleury, Daniel Torres and Thiago Santos. All of those fighters competed at PFL events held on April 1, 7 or 14.

Three of those fighters received fines and suspensions on Tuesday. Flores, who defeated Torres via unanimous decision at PFL 1 on April 1, was suspended six months and fined $2,926 after testing positive for furosemide. His victory was also overturned to a no contest. Jotko, who dropped a unanimous verdict to Fleury at PFL 1, was suspended six months and fined $6,826 after testing positive. Cappelozza, who defeated Mat…