Martial Arts News

The rumors of Henry Cejudo’s second retirement were apparently premature, according to the man himself.

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This s*** is far from over! @danawhite I want @MerabDvalishvil head on a plate! #ufcboston pic.twitter.com/ME9ygzPaJG

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 8, 2023 Things didn’t go according to plan for former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner as “The Messenger” dropped a narrow split decision to bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Cejudo removed his gloves in the cage and teased that he might be done with MMA once again. A few hours later, however, Cejudo announced via Twitter that he wanted to don the four-ounce gloves at least once more, against Sterling’s teammate and good friend Merab Dvalishvili.

“This s—t is far from over,” Cejudo wrote. “Dana White, I want [Dvalishvili’s] head on a plate.”

…

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Tony Ferguson is lucky he emerged uninjured.

According to TMZ on Sunday morning, Ferguson allegedly crashed his truck into a pair of parked cars in Hollywood, California. The lightweight was picked up around 2 a.m. local time for a misdemeanor charge of DUI, and according to the arrest record from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, his bail has been set at $30,000. TMZ subsequently stated that for refusing the field sobriety test, he might have his driver’s license suspended.

Ferguson was allegedly driving his truck by a Hollywood nightclub, where he struck the cars including one reported to be owned by rapper Cash Gotti. The truck flipped on its side and stopped moving. Remarkably, no persons were injured during the incident, including Ferguson himself, per TMZ. A law enforcement officer told TMZ that Ferguson “reeked of alcohol” while sporting “bloodshot eyes.”

A local news outlet of KTLA disputed the TMZ report o…

Diego Lopes gave Movsar Evloev a tougher test than anyone could have imagined, and both fighter’s bank accounts benefitted as a result.

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Evloev and Lopes garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining featherweight feature bout at UFC 288 on Saturday night. Lopes, who accepted the bout on less than a week’s notice, rocked his foe with a right hand early and threatened with multiple submission attempts throughout the fight. Ultimately, Evloev prevailed via unanimous decision behind superior striking, pressure and wrestling.

Elsewhere, Xiaonan Yan earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for her first-round knockout of Jessica Andrade in a strawweight clash on the main card. Yan capitalized on her opponent’s reckless aggression, as she dropped Andrade with a counter right hand and finished the bout with follow-up punches on the canvas at the 2:20 mark of the period.

Finally, Matt Frevola received the even…

Aljamain Sterling remains the gold standard in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

Sterling (23-3, 15-3 UFC) retained his 135-pound belt with a hard-fought split-decision triumph over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in the UFC 288 main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday night. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon both submitted 48-47 tallies in favor of “The Funk Master,” while Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Cejudo. It was the first bout for the Olympic gold medalist since he retired following a victory against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.

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Sterling utilized his reach advantage, working behind unorthodox movement, stance switches and a toolbox of kicks — with calf kicks being an especially effective weapon. The Serra-Longo Fight Team member set the tone in the opening stanza, when he landed some knees to the body in close quarters and secured a late takedown, working his …

Sherdog's live UFC 288 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ribeiro (-175), Holmes (+150)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Aliskerov (-210), Hawes (+180)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BET…

STEAMROLLA DID THAT 👊 #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/isFkRr6lqe

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 7, 2023

Matt Frevola went toe-to-toe with Drew Dober and got the best of the encounter.

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The Dana White’s Contender Series alum added to his highlight reel with an explosive technical knockout victory against Dober in the UFC 288 featured prelim at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday night. Frevola (11-3-1, 5-3-1 UFC) dropped his adversary with a counter right hand to the chin and then sealed the victory by swarming with ground-and-pound 4:08 into Round 1. Frevola has finished three straight fights in UFC competition. Frevola enjoyed success early behind a steady diet of straight right hands and kicks to the body. Dober took a little longer to find his range, but he was beginning to land more impactful offense before the fight-ending exchange occurred. When Dober attacked the body with a left, Frevola capitalized with a dev…

LOUGHRAN SILENCES THE CROWD!!!#CW154 pic.twitter.com/2CE7r8eJz3

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 6, 2023

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship crowned a new 135-pound kingpin in its second event in Rome, Italy, but it wasn’t the one for which Italian fans had hoped.

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In the Cage Warriors 154 headliner, Italy’s own Dylan Hazan took on Caolan Loughran for the vacant bantamweight championship. Hazan (9-1, 4-1 CW) looked faster with his punches while demonstrating intelligent in-and-out movement in the openzing stanza. Still, Loughran (8-0, 4-0 CW) kept his composure and retaliated with heavier shots. By the end of Round 1, “The Don” had already marked Hazan’s face with his haymakers. Things took an ugly turn for Hazan in the second frame, when Loughran pushed the pace and tested his adversary’s chin. A right hook-left uppercut combination shook Hazan before Loughran followed up with a couple more hooks and uppercuts that d…

A big knee to the body gets Kai Asakura the finish, and he will meet Juan Archuleta for the vacant Bantamweight title!

[ #RIZIN42 | @FiteTV | Link in bio ] pic.twitter.com/ShUh2NjRWI

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) May 6, 2023

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Kai Asakura and Juan Archuleta are expected to square off for the vacant Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight crown after earning key victories on Saturday.

Asakura (20-4, 12-3 Rizin) made a statement with a third-round stoppage of Yuki Motoya in the Rizin 42 headliner at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The Tri-Force Akasaka representative put his foe on the defensive with a knee in the clinch while the combatants were engaged near the ropes. Asakura stalked his reeling opponent and threw a couple punches before stepping in with a left knee that folded Motoya (33-10 1 NC, 10-6 Rizin) to the canvas, bringing an end to the contest at the 2:25 mark of Round 3.

Asakura has won four of his last five …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to New Jersey with its latest pay-per-view offering.

UFC 288 is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and former titleholder Henry Cejudo. Both men successfully made weight, making the five-round championship tilt official for Saturday. However, not all combatants were as professional, as the bout between Rafael Ramos Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov was canceled after Estevam had weight issues. Additionally, Joseph Holmes came in three pounds overweight for his middleweight fight against Claudio Ribeiro, and he has received a 20% fine of his purse. Finally, the previously scheduled bantamweight pairing between Daniel Santos and Johnny Munoz Jr. fell through on Wednesday when Santos suffered an injury, with that news first coming from the UFC.

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"Funk Master" will be looking to make his third defense of the bantamweight title. Sterling won the belt after Pe…

The king kept his crown.

Demetrious Johnson successfully defended the undisputed One Championship flyweight title with a unanimous decision over rival Adriano Moraes in the ONE on Prime Video 10 headliner on Friday at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. All three cageside judges sided with “Mighty Mouse,” who closed his trilogy against Moraes (20-5, 11-5 ONE) with a 2-1 advantage.

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Johnson (25-4-1, 5-1 ONE) pressured the Brazilian from the outset and forced him into one tactical error after another. Moraes engaged the AMC Pankration export in the clinch—an area in which Johnson has always excelled—for much of the 25-minute battle, choosing to swim against the current over the path of least resistance. Johnson tore into his body with knees, snuck in repeated short elbows to the head and mixed in some frustrating shoulder strikes to the face. Moraes never changed gears and walked away empty-handed as a result.

Now 36, Johnson has won 18 of his…

Sherdog's live ONE on Prime Video 10 coverage kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Le…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated at 1 p.m. ET on May 5 to add additional information including the identity of the shooter as well as his arrest and charging.

Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Jorge Masvidal is in the headlines again, but not for something he caused.

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According to an initial report from Fox Sports 640AM South Florida on Thursday afternoon, a shooting took place at Masvidal’s house earlier on Thursday. Per the report, and later confirmed by multiple outlets including TMZ, Masvidal's father, Jorge Masvidal Sr., allegedly shot another person during an argument. The early details of the incident were brought to light by local news outlets, including WPLG Local 10 in Miami. The retired fighter was not at his house at the time, as he is preparing to run a Gamebred bareknuckle event on Friday.

The Miami-Dade Police issued a statement to MMA Fighting, although it did not identify the parties. The arre…