Martial Arts News

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…

Rizin Fighting Federation will put on its third event of 2023 as Rizin 42 is now official after the weigh-ins took place.

There wasn't too much drama on the scale as most fighters made weight, including main eventers Kai Asakura and Yuki Motoya for their bantamweight clash. However, Takuya Yamamoto failed to make weight for his featherweight fight against Takeji Yokoyama. Yamamoto came in at 147.5 pounds, which was over the limit by 1.6kg. As a result, Yamamoto has received a red card penalty under the "no contest rule," which means he is ineligible to win the fight, and it will be declared a no contest if he wins a decision.

As for the main event, Asakura came in at 134.2 pounds. The 19-4 fighter is looking to bounce back from a defeat to Hiromasa Ougikubo, which snapped a three-fight win streak. Meanwhile, Motoya (33-9, 1 NC) has won his last five fights and came in at 134.4 pounds.

Rizin 42 will air live on Fite starting at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT.

Rizin 42 W…

FIERY FACE OFF 🔥

Dylan Hazan 🆚 @DonCaolan135 for the VACANT bantamweight title!

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📺 Watch #CW154 on @UFCFightPass from 9PM CEST tomorrow night pic.twitter.com/qOgoqTVsaS — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) May 5, 2023 Dylan Hazan and Caolan Loughran have acquired their target: the vacant Cage Warriors Fighting Championship bantamweight title.

The unbeaten Hazan checked in at 135 pounds ahead of his high-stakes showdown with the undefeated Loughran (135) in the CW 154 main event on Saturday at the Fiera Roma in Rome. Meanwhile, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Lean Aliu (186) and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Darren Stewart (185.4) also met their contracted weight requirements without issue at Friday’s official weigh-in.

Cage Warriors 154 streams live to UFC Fight Pass at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT.

CAGE WARRIORS 154 WEIGH-IN RESULTS: Caolan Loughran (135) vs. Dylan Hazan (135)Darren Stewart (185.…

ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship [embedded content]

Demetrious John…

#AndStill pic.twitter.com/rwGFJLdQIf

— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) May 4, 2023 Bellator MMA is holding on tight to its dominant women’s 145 champ.

The organization announced on Thursday that it had come to terms with champion Cristiane Justino (26-2, 1 NC), whose contract had concluded after her most recent defense in April 2022. After a pair of boxing matches for the Brazilian powerhouse, “Cris Cyborg” signed a new, exclusive deal with Bellator. The specifics have not been stated, other than that it was a multi-fight contract.

Justino was elated in her new arrangement with the promotion, saying in the press release, “After receiving multiple offers from several promotions I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division. Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to…

Rayanne Amanda dos Santos took her game to another level.

The Marajo Brothers product walked away with the undisputed Invicta Fighting Championships bantamweight title, as she cruised to a unanimous decision over Jillian DeCoursey in the five-round Invicta 53 headliner on Wednesday at ReelWorks in Denver. Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 48-47—all for dos Santos (14-6, 2-0 Invicta). That the fight never felt particularly competitive was a testament to the Brazilian’s considerable efforts.

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Moments of success were few and far between for DeCoursey (6-4, 5-3 Invicta), who struggled and ultimately failed to match her challenger’s output, consistency and speed. Dos Santos tore into her with blinding combinations, incorporated leg kicks when the situation called for it and ran circles around her in the grappling exchanges. DeCoursey was left with significant damage to her left eye, multiple facial cuts and a ruptured cauliflower ear.

Meanwhile, Great Britai…