Martial Arts News

Four months after their first encounter ended in a no contest due to an illegal knee, the second battle between Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker at One on Prime Video 7 was definitely worth the price of admission.

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Just like the first meeting, Andrade used his superior muay thai and reach advantage to control the distance, eventually hurting Andrade badly enough to cause manager/cornerman Alex Davis to stop the fight before the final round. With the victory, Andrade captured the undisputed One bantamweight title. Despite the high stakes involved, Davis doesn’t regret his decision.

 “I would be a criminal if I allowed my fighter to return with both eyes closed,” Davis told Sherdog.com. “It was hard to do, especially with it being a title fight, but I had to take that decision. Safety comes first.”

Davis’ only regret is that Lineker arrived in Thailand just one week before the rematch, which was held at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in …

Brendan Allen unveiled a fairly lengthy callout list following his submission victory against Andre Muniz in the makeshift UFC Fight Night 220 main event.

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The former Dana White’s Contender Series alum first mentioned rematches against Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis, the only two men to defeat him thus far during his 9-2 run in the UFC. If those aren’t possible, “All In” also targeted bouts against either Jack Hermansson or Dricus Du Plessis. At the post-fight press conference, Allen explained his reasoning behind the opponent wish list.

“At this point, I’m not really trying to chase anything. I’m a super competitive guy. I like Sean and Chris, I think they’re very good guys. We talked for 40 minutes at the UFC PI in the cafeteria,” Allen said. “That’s just business and there’s a lot of eyes if I fought Strickland again, especially me coming off a win and him having fought the champion before, so that sets a statement.

“I understand how thi…

Former KSW two-division champion Roberto Soldic will fight on U.S. soil for the first time when he locks horns with Zebaztian Kadestam at One on Prime Video 10 on May 5.

Promotion officials initially confirmed the 185-pound booking to ESPN. One on Prime Video 10 takes place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo., and is headlined by a flyweight (135-pound) title trilogy clash between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes. The event marks One’s U.S. debut and airs on Prime Video.

Soldic’s promotional debut at One on Prime Video 5 ended prematurely when opponent Murad Ramazanov landed a low blow in the opening round of their Dec. 2 matchup. The 28-year-old Croatian entered the bout on a seven-fight winning streak that included victories over the likes of Dricus Du Plessis and Mamed Khalidov.

Sweden’s Kadestam is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts under the One banner. Most recently, “The Bandit” scored a 57-second stoppage of Iuri Lapicus at…

2022 Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion Ante Delija will begin his attempt for a repeat when he faces Yorgan De Castro in the PFL 2 headliner on April 7.

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The promotion announced the card for its second regular season event — which features heavyweights and women’s featherweights — on Monday. In the co-main event, 2022 women’s lightweight winner Larissa Pacheco will square off against ex-Bellator champ Julia Budd at 145 pounds. Two more heavyweight bouts round out the main draw: Bruno Cappelozza vs. Matheus Scheffel and Renan Ferreira vs. Rizvan Kuniev.

Seven bouts were announced for the preliminary portion of the card: Denis Goltsov vs. Michal Andryszak; Martina Jindrova vs. Amber Leibrock; Olena Kolesnyk vs. Aspen Ladd; Marcelo Nunes vs. TBA; Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Yoko Higashi; Amanda Leve vs. Karolina Sobek and Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. TBA.

PFL 2 takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN…

Gunnar Nelson has a new opponent at UFC 286.

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The promotion recently announced that Bryan Barberena will replace Daniel Rodriguez and face the Iceland native in a welterweight bout on March 18 at the O2 Arena in London. A reason for Rodriguez’s withdrawl was not given. UFC 286 is headlined by a welterweight title rematch between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Barberena had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a second-round submission loss to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN 42 on Dec. 3. Prior to that, “Bam Bam” had earned successive victories over the likes of Darian Weeks, Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler.

Nelson returned following an absence that lasted more than two years at UFC Fight Night 204, where he defeated Takashi Sato via unanimous decision in March 2022.

Tatiana Suarez made her long-awaited return at UFC Fight Night 220, where she defeated Montana De La Rosa via second-round submission in a flyweight bout.

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The long-term plan, however, is for Suarez to return to 115 pounds, where she established herself as a contender with wins over the likes of Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Nina Nunes. Her career was put on hold due to injuries, and Satruday marked her first bout since June 2019.

“I think they should give me a really good opponent at strawweight and then I’ll earn [a title shot],” Suarez said at the UFC Fight Night 220 post-fight press conference. “I’ve never been given anything in my life. I’ve always earned it, and I don’t mind doing that. I think that builds character. You’ve got to work for the things that you get in your life. I don’t mind doing that because that’s how my mom and my grandma raised me to be. So I’m excited for whoever.”

While Suarez is willing to face anyone in the str…

You wouldn’t have known that Yaroslav Amosov had been away for more than a year and a half by watching his performance in the Bellator 291 headliner.

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Amosov controlled all aspects of his rematch with Logan Storley on Saturday in Dublin, as he unified the welterweight belt with a lopsided unanimous decision triumph. It was a far more decisive victory than his first meeting with Storley — a split-decision win at Bellator 252 in November 2020. That’s a good reason for that, Amosov said.

“Before this fight, I said this fight was different. I have many kilograms that I cut for my first match with Logan,” Amosov said at the post-fight press conference. “Now I had a very good camp and recovery as well as different training. Every day I train hard and become better. I have the best team with me. He’s a very good fighter, and I knew this. All people who enter the cage are strong, so if you go in the cage, you’re a high-level fighter. It’s not a surprise to…

Though it’s now a couple weeks in the rearview mirror, the UFC 284 headliner nonetheless remains a hot topic of conversation.

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Islam Makhachev captured a hotly contested decision win over Alexander Volkanovski to retain his lightweight crown on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia. Many observers thought Volkanovski deserved the nod, and praised the 145-pound champ for giving a larger opponent all he could handle for 25 minutes. Because the fight was so close, there have been calls for an immediate rematch — including from Volkanovski himself.

However, UFC president Dana White isn’t among those who thinks an immediate rematch is the right move to make. For one, UFC 284 also produced a ready made featherweight contender in Yair Rodriguez, who defeated Josh Emmett for the interim crown in the evening’s co-main event. While Makhachev doesn’t have his next opponent lined up, White believes it’s probably best for both champions to fight again before considering a…

Returning after a nearly two-year absence from the cage, Yaroslav Amosov left no doubt that he is one of the top 170-pound fighters in the world.

The destiny of the Bellator MMA welterweight championship was decided on Saturday at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Coming into the main event, Amosov (27-0, 8-0 Bellator) sought to defend his crown for the first time against interim champion Logan Storley (14-2, 9-2 Bellator), who sole loss had been a split decision to Amosov in November 2020. It was Amosov’s first fight in 21 months, a layoff prompted by Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine that saw the undefeated champ return home to active military service. That long hiatus, combined with the popular perception that Storley had improved considerably since their first meeting, saw the line on Amosov contract from nearly three-to-one to a mere -140 by the time they stepped into the cage.

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Amosov proved any doubters wrong, looking superb for 25 straight m…

Brendan Allen reasserted himself as a clear and present danger in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.

The onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder submitted Andre Muniz with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 220 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Muniz (23-5, 5-1 UFC) checked out 4:25 into Round 3, thus ending his run of nine consecutive victories.

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Saturday's planned main event between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann was canceled after Krylov suffered an illness and was not medically cleared to compete. The news was first reported during the UFC Fight Night 220 broadcast at the start of the main card. Allen (21-5, 9-2 UFC) seized the reins from the start in the makeshift main event and remained the aggressor for the duration. He turned the tide in the middle stanza, where he countered a takedown into top position, applied his ground-and-pound and advanced position. Allen later d…

WOW!! Domination!!!

phildefriesmma finishes ToddDuffee in the first round!! #KSW79 pic.twitter.com/RFLaPOO2B0

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 25, 2023

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Eleven years from their first meeting, Philip De Fries got one back on Todd Duffee.

In the headliner of KSW 79, the promotion’s first foray into the Czech Republic, KSW heavyweight champ De Fries (23-6, 1 NC; 9-0 KSW) met Duffee (9-4, 1 NC; 0-1 KSW) for a second time. Their first collision, at UFC 155 in December 2012, ended in a first-round TKO win for the American. This time, the result was a complete reversal for De Fries, who showcased his maturation as a mixed martial artist. Right out of the gate, De Fries scored a perfectly-timed takedown over a head kick from Duffee. De Fries then patiently worked to put his opponent in position for a submission attempt, occasionally adding punches to the mix. After taking his foe's back, the British fighter attacked with a neck cran…

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