Martial Arts News

The Lioness’ hunt comes to an end.

Amanda Nunes capped off her hall-of-fame career by masterfully defending her Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title Saturday night, cruising to a unanimous decision victory (50-44, 50-44, 50-43) over Irene Aldana in the UFC 289 main event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

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Nunes easily picked apart Aldana on the feet and took advantage of the challengers’ slow pace. Nunes (23-5) landed hard jabs, right hands, leg kicks and basically anything she wanted as Aldana refused to open up. Nunes tripled Aldana’s output and barely broke a sweat. Aldana’s corner begged for the Guadalajara, Mexico, native to go for broke, but Aldana was helpless to Nunes’ control on the feet and ground.

At age 35, many wondered what would come next for the champion. Archrival and former bantamweight champion Julianna Pena was in attendance. Pena was slated to face Nunes in a trilogy bout before pulling out due to injury. Nunes …

Sherdog's live UFC 289 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Belbita (-115), Oliveira (-105)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dvorak (-260), Erceg (+220)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Bilder (-240), Nelson (+200)Round 1 …

Our Featured Prelim's over early.

It will be ruled a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/YOyydQ0lGw

— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023

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No. 14 Chris Curtis and No. 12 Nassourdine Imavov, came in looking to get back into the win column but neither fighter left the Octagon satisfied after the bout was called by referee Jason Herzog in Round 2 thanks to an accidental headbutt in the featured UFC 289 preliminary match.

Imavov started the fight strong and kept Curtis guessing by mixing clinical muay thai with crafty wrestling. Staying on the outside, Imavov picked apart Curtis’ leg with hard calf kicks before stepping off line and taking The Action Man’s back. Imavov proved that his slick takedown wasn’t a fluke after catching Curtis with the same trap only minutes later. This time however, Imavov nearly ended the fight with a rear-naked choke but Curtis managed to survive till the bell.

Imav…

Regian Eersel 🇸🇷 in 46 SECONDS: wow! #ONEFightNight11 pic.twitter.com/n4bQn7pXYj

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 10, 2023

ONE Fight Night 11 featured an eclectic, electric mix of mixed martial arts, muay thai, Western kickboxing and even submission grappling.

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In the main event, arguably the best muay thai kickboxer in the world today, Regian Eersel, faced superb contender Dmitry Menshikov. Eersel was the reigning ONE champion and had been perfect in the promotion, with his last loss, since avenged, occurring all the way back in 2016. Menshikov was no slouch either, having last lost since 2017 and at 25 years old, getting better and better with each outing. However, the tantalizing contest lasted just 46 seconds. Eersel scored a body kick to draw the challenger's attention away then landed a left hook to the temple so pretty one could frame it over the fireplace. Menshikov crashed to the canvas and was on wobbly feet, …

Sherdog's live ONE on Prime Video 11 coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:J.L. Kirven …

[embedded content] The UFC 289 card is now officially set after the weigh-ins took place, as every combatant hit their proper marks.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship women's bantamweight title will be up for grabs as champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Irene Aldana both made weight. Both women set the standard for the event as all fighters on the 11-fight card successfully made weight. Additionally, main event alternate Raquel Pennington weighed 134.5 pounds.

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This will be Nunes' first fight since she avenged her defeat to Julianna Pena and regained the title. "Lioness" battered Pena over five rounds and has now won 13 of her last 14 fights. Nunes (22-5) officially weighed 135 pounds for the title fight.

This marks the biggest fight in the career of Aldana (14-5). Since losing a unanimous decision to Holly Holm, the Mexican fighter has won two straight by knockout. Finishes over Macy Chiasson and Yana Santos earned Aldana the opportunity at gold.…

A lightning bolt from Jesus Pinedo altered the direction of the Professional Fighters League season in an instant.

The Peruvian featherweight wiped out Brendan Loughnane with an exquisite knee strike and follow-up punches in the PFL 4 headliner on Thursday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Pinedo (21-6-1, 1-1 PFL) drew the curtain 1:34 into Round 1, eliminating the defending league champion from postseason contention in a shocking turn of events.

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Loughnane (26-5, 9-2 PFL) was never allowed to get in gear. The gangly Pinedo met him with fluid stance switches and shots from various angles. A perfectly placed knee to the head at close range froze Loughnane where he stood before he collapsed to the canvas in a dazed-and-confused state. Pinedo then pounced with punches, forcing referee Keith Peterson to call for the stoppage.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Movlid Khaybulaev dismissed “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 27 semifinalist Tyler Diamond with an ar…

The 2023 Professional Fighters League Regular Season marches on with 2023 PFL 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN+ and then continues on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET. Round 1 Come hell or high water, the PFL is carrying on its season with a number of cancellations and historic amount of drug test failures, with a landscape drastically different than it was mere months ago. Featherweights and light heavyweights will conclude their regular season stints tonight, in search of enough points to qualify for the four-man playoffs. Before those matches begin, the promotion is plugging in two “showcase” matches at 145 pounds, with the first between a young man that reached the league through the Challenger Series in Pergande (2-0, 2-0 PFL) and a 35-year-old company debutant without a lot of miles on him in Bashir (3-1, 0-0 PFL). Referee Blake Grice draws the first assignment of the night, and the fight begins with a touch of gloves. Bashir strikes with a leg kick, and Pergande imm…

🚨 BREAKING 🚨

Per source, Phil De Fries' next opponent is PFL alum Szymon Bajor at #KSW84. De Fries is looking for his 10th promotional win and 9th heavyweight championship defense. Bajor is a former FEN heavyweight champion.

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Story coming to @sherdogdotcom — Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) June 8, 2023

July 15’s Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki card will see the return of heavyweight kingpin Philip De Fries in an intriguing matchup with Szymon Bajor.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, De Fries and Bajor will collide in the KSW 84 headliner at PolSat Plus Arena in Gdynia, Poland.

De Fries (23-6, 1 NC; 9-0 KSW) is the most dominant champion in KSW history, with eight title defenses under his belt. The Ultimate Fighting Championship alum captured the vacant heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage over Michal Andryszak at KSW 45 in 2018. He then overcame challengers such as former 205-p…

[embedded content] The Professional Fighters League’s 2023 playoffs will wrap up in New York City over the span of six days.

Via press release, the organization announced Thursday that it would be staging its second and third playoff events for the 2023 season in Aug. 18 and Aug. 23. Those two shows will post up inside of The Theater at Madison Square Garden – the recently renamed Hulu Theater – in New York. That Friday the 18th, heavyweights and women’s featherweights will decide the finalists. Five days later on the 23rd, the league will put up its welterweight and lightweight divisions to determine the final combatants up for the $1 million prize.

PFL CEO Peter Murray touched on returning to this venue, one that the PFL has made a second home out of the last few years, stating, “The PFL is thrilled to return to New York City and the ‘World's Most Famous Arena’ with two nights of PFL Playoff action. On August 18 and August 23, the world's best fighters will enter the…

𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 ✅

[ Thursday, June 8th | 10pm ET on ESPN | #PFLRegularSeason | 🎟️ https://t.co/Skcq84VUo6] pic.twitter.com/Fd6wZSyHH1

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 7, 2023

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All but one athlete slated to compete at PFL 4 made weight without issue on Wednesday.

Featherweight headliners Brendan Loughnane and Jesus Pinedo both hit their contracted marks, with each tipping the scales at 146 pounds. The same couldn’t be said for light heavyweight competitor Ty Flores, who checked in at 211.2 pounds for his showdown with Dan Spohn (206). As as a result, Flores will be deducted one point from the PFL standings and forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent.

PFL 4 takes place on Thursday at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

After winning the 2022 featherweight championship, Loughnane kic…

The lineup for the Bellator MMA-Rizin Fighting Federation card continues to grow, as two bouts were announced for the Bellator portion of the show on Tuesday.

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Danny Sabatello will square off against Magomed Magomedov in a bantamweight clash, while Lorenz Larkin will face Andrey Koreshkov in a welterweight rematch on July 30 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Bellator vs. Rizin 2 features a lightweight grand prix showdown between A.J. McKee and Patricky Freire as well as a clash for the promotion’s inaugural flyweight championship pitting Kyoji Horiguchi against Makoto Takahashi. The promotion announced that the Bellator portion of the card, which takes place in a cage, will be broadcast live in the United States on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. The Rizin part of the card, which will be contested in a ring, will not air on Showtime.

A former wrestler at Purdue University, Sabatello has made a name for himself due to his outspoken p…