Martial Arts News

Jared Cannonier’s path to the top of the middleweight division just got a little more clear.

The MMA Lab product put forth arguably the finest performance of his career to date, as he battered Marvin Vettori for the better part of five rounds to win a unanimous decision in the UFC on ESPN 47 main event on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges scored the fight for Cannonier: 49-45, 49-45, 48-46. “The Killa Gorilla” has been victorious in four of his last five promotional appearances.

Advertisement

Initially it appeared as though Vettori (19-7-1, 9-5-1 UFC) would make it a short night at the office when he hurt Cannonier (17-6, 10-6 UFC) with a left hand early in the opening round. While Cannonier recovered from being rocked, Vettori still controlled the stanza behind his boxing. It was all Cannonier from there, however. He took control in Round 2, as he walked “The Italian Dream” down and teed off with numerous powerful right hands. The lop…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 47 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Bukauskas (-200), Pauga (+170)Round 1 Welcome to another installment of Dana White’s Saturday Night Contender Series, also known as UFC on ESPN 47 or UFC Vegas 75. This dozen-fight show in the Apex is extremely light on star power, with just three ranked competitors on the whole billing, and two of those are in the main attraction. Starting low in the standings at 205 pounds, either one of these men will reach .500 or pass it with a win today. The latter can be said for Pauga (6-1, 1-1 UFC), while the former is available for Bukauskas (14-5, 2-3 UFC) on his second stint with the promotion. The third man in the cage for the first fight of the night is referee Mark Smith, and the two fighters choose la violencia and proceed without a glove touch. Bukauskas takes the middle of the fence, and Pauga practically runs at his opponent. Swinging his fists wildly, Pauga c…

VICIOUS elbows for the finish for Alessandro Costa 💥 #UFCVegas75 pic.twitter.com/XLksrikZgq

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 18, 2023

Alessandro Costa found a weak point and attacked without remorse.

Advertisement

The former Lux Fight League champion put together a punishing performance in a technical knockout victory against Jimmy Flick on the UFC on ESPN 47 preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Costa (13-3, 1-1 UFC) ended the bout with a series of brutal elbows from top position at the 1:03 mark of the second stanza. The Brazilian Warriors export has finished 10 of his 13 professional triumphs inside the distance. Costa laid the foundation for his victory by chopping away at Flick’s left leg, an approach that gradually immobolized the Oklahoman. In between, Costa unloaded with rapid-fire punching volleys to the head and body. Outgunned on the feet, Flick was unable to initiate any takedowns and by the beginni…

Vadim Nemkov added another high-profle name to his resume, as he took a lopsided unanimous verdict against former UFC middleweitht title challenger Yoel Romero in the Bellator 297 main event on Friday night.

Advertisement

“I’m very happy about this win,” Nemkov said at the Bellator 297 post-fight press conference. “It was very important to me. He’s a great fighter. He’s a legend. He’s an Olympian, so to win over somebody like him who was fighting with a lot of great fighters, top fighters, it means a lot to me.”

Romero absorbed copious amounts of punishment in the bout, but his durability carried him through to the final horn. “The Soldier of God” had his best moment in Round 5, when he was able to take Nemkov down, but other than that the most entertaining portions of the contest occurred when the Cuban feigned being stunned by stumbling around the cage.

Nemkov came away impressed by his opponent’s toughness.

“I was surprised about his head. It’s r…

We told you that tonight could get interesting 👀

The faceoff that you all were waiting for #PFLRegularSeason pic.twitter.com/lLonBECFUY

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023 It’s probably the closest Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou will get to a confrontation for the foreseeable future.

The heavyweight stars came face-to-face on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Jones was at the venue to corner training partner Maurice Greene, who lost a decision to Ante Delija in the PFL 5 main event. Ngannou, meanwhile, was on hand after recently signing with PFL as a highly-coveted free agent.

During the interaction, Jones can be heard telling Ngannou, “You don’t want no smoke” but the conversation appeared to be mostly cordial, and the fighters shook hands multiple times. Ngannou parted ways with the UFC earlier this year when he was unable to come to terms with the promotion for a new contract after his existing deal expired. Jones subsequently …

Ante Delija made sure someone would be there to keep him company on the outside looking in when the Professional Fighters League playoffs start in August.

The Mirko Filipovic protégé bounced back from a tepid start to outstrike and outgrapple Maurice Greene to a unanimous decision across three rounds in the PFL 5 headliner on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Delija (24-5, 8-2 PFL).

Advertisement

Greene (11-8, 1-2 UFC) did his best work in Round 1, where he stalled the Croatian in the clinch, kneed the legs and secured a takedown. Momentum, as it often does, proved fleeting. Delija found his rhythm in the middle stanza, where he engaged his 36-year-old counterpart at close range, fed him a steady diet of power punches and applied merciless pressure. Greene failed to alter the narrative down the stretch. Delija executed a takedown midway through the third round and dialed up just enough ground-and-pound to av…

The best of the best! 🔥

Another phenomenal victory for Vadim Nemkov. Can anyone stop the light-heavyweight king here in Bellator? 🤔#Bellator297 pic.twitter.com/warQbO5UEu

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 17, 2023

Advertisement

Yoel Romero hoped to turn back the clock and win his first world title, but Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov was having none of it.

The defending champion picked, prodded and peppered Romero with shots for 25 minutes, cruising to another successful title defense (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the Bellator 297 main event Friday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Nemkov quickly gained control of the circle and took advantage of Romero’s notorious workrate. At age 46, Romero’s reliance on explosive blitzes and heavy-handed shots failed him early. Nemkov’s (17-2) jab and discipline on the outside carried the champ throughout the fight and routinely opened up Romero’s guard. In round three, Romer…

The 2023 Professional Fighters League Regular Season marches on with 2023 PFL 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN+ and then continues on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET. Round 1 The PFL continues its second stage of the regular season in Atlanta, this week with the heavyweight and women’s featherweight divisions on full display – plus one amateur fight tossed in. The action for the day begins in a non-tournament matchup between two younger heavyweights, relatively speaking. At 28, the South Carolina native Pinson (2-0, 1-0 PFL) will look to claim his third pro win, while local Georgia fighter Freeman (4-0, 1-0 PFL) wants to secure his fourth knockout in what would be his fifth victory. When the dust settles, one man will lose their shiny 0, and referee Blake Grice will be among the first to know. The big men, who combine for a bit over 510 pounds, come together and tap their fingers to start off the night. Freeman is immediately ready to begin slugging, and he gets in Pinson…

Sherdog's live Bellator 297 coverage will begin Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Round 1 Featherweights Chavez and Law get things started off from Chicago, with set to referee the opening bout of the evening. Chavez is southpaw, Law orthodox as they exchange pawing jabs. Law catches a Chavez kick and counters with a punch upstairs. Chavez is sliding laterally around the outside of the cage as Law gives chase. Law backs Chavez up into the fence and tries to tee off with punches, but Chavez slips most of them and gets out of danger. Law's right cross has landed enough, halfway through the round, that Chavez's face is visibly marked up. Law changes levels for an easy takedown and settles in his opponent's guard near the base of the fence. Law slides around to the back and tries to get a hook in. Chavez fights Law's hands and does a good job of denying hooks. Law is still on Chavez's back with under a minute left. Chavez gets back to his feet, but Law drags him back down and punishes him wi…

One half our main event is OFFICIAL 👏

Jared Cannonier in at 185.5 for #UFCVegas75!

Advertisement

Tomorrow | Main Card 10pmET on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/pXu44cBH1Z — UFC (@ufc) June 16, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves this Saturday for UFC on ESPN 47, and all 24 fighters hit their proper marks.

The 12-fight card is headlined by a middleweight bout between contenders Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier. Both headliners successfully made weight, as did the other 22 competitors ahead of the event.

"The Italian Dream" bounced back by defeating Roman Dolidze in his last outing. That made Vettori (19-6-1) 2-2 in his last four fights, with a victory over Paulo Costa coming sandwiched between losses to Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. Vettori will look to show that he still has upward trajectory, and officially weighed in at 185.5 pounds.

This marks the fifth UFC main event for Cannonier (16-…

🚨BREAKING NEWS 🚨

The Boss just announced main events for:🇺🇸 #UFCNashville - August 5🇸🇬 #UFCSingapore - August 26🇫🇷 #UFCParis - September 2 pic.twitter.com/MueA05dT71

— UFC (@ufc) June 15, 2023 A potential top contender at the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division may emerge at night’s end.

Via the UFC on Thursday, its comeback to Paris on Sept. 2 has been made official. There is currently one fight scheduled for this UFC Fight Night card's lineup, which was just announced between Ciryl Gane (11-2) and Sergey Spivak (16-3). The two heavyweights will battle it out for upwards of five rounds in front of fans at the Accor Arena. This will be the second jaunt for the UFC to France, as it first made the trip with a Gane-featured show on September 2022.

In March, Gane vied for the newly vacated heavyweight throne, and he faced off against former light heavyweight king Jon Jones. After about two minutes, Jones throttled Ga…

🚨BREAKING NEWS 🚨

The Boss just announced main events for:🇺🇸 #UFCNashville - August 5🇸🇬 #UFCSingapore - August 26🇫🇷 #UFCParis - September 2 pic.twitter.com/MueA05dT71

— UFC (@ufc) June 15, 2023 An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight scrap will treat fans atop the August event in Singapore.

On Thursday, the UFC announced the main attraction of its next show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Aug. 26. While only one other fight is currently on the books for the UFC Fight Night event on that date – a bantamweight matchup between Rinya Nakamura and Fernando Garcia – the marquee fight will come at featherweight between former champ Max Holloway (24-7) and perennial contender Chan Sung Jung (17-7). Additionally, the company stated that the Road to UFC semifinals events would be going down on Aug. 27 in the same building, to set the stage for the finals of that contract-earning tourney.

Other than to cha…