Martial Arts News

A potential all-action lightweight bout is on tap for UFC 285, as Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner will lock horns on March in Las Vegas.

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Hooker first announced the booking during an interview with The Mac Life, and it was later confirmed by Turner on social media. UFC 285 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight championship clash pitting Jon Jones against Ciryl Gane.

After losing four of five fights from June 2020 to March 2022, Hooker rebounded at UFC 281, where he finished Claudio Puelles with a body kick 4:06 into the second round of their encounter at Madison Square Garden last November. The 32-year-old City Kickboxing representative owns notable wins over the likes of Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, Gilbert Burns and Jim Miller during his UFC tenure.

Turner enters the matchup with Hooker on a five-bout finishing streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, “The Tarantula” submitted Brad Ridde…

Brunno Ferreira pulled off an upset at UFC 283, stepping in as a replacement against Gregory Rodrigues and knocking out his fellow Brazilian in the first round.

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The Evolucao Thai product, who is a black belt in both judo and jiu-jitsu, is now unbeaten in 10 professional appearances.“Hulk” looks forward to showcasing his other skills in future UFC bouts.

“Today I was just able to show my knockout power, but I’m anxious to show my grappling game,” Ferreira said after the bout. “I'm bringing a different mix of porrada (brawling), judo and jiu-jitsu that will scare the other guys in the division. If you look at my [record], you will see my fights never go to a judges’ decision. I have seven knockouts and three submissions in my 10 MMA fights.”

According to his trainer, former Pride competitor and Chute Boxe member Daniel Acacio, Ferreira has the ability to be a major factor in the UFC’s middleweight division.

“Judo gave him the discipl…

A heavyweight showdown pitting Alexander Volkov against Alexander Romanov has been added to the UFC Fight Night 221 lineup.

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Eurosport was first to report the pairing. UFC Fight Night 221 takes place at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on March 11 and is headlined by a bantamweight clash between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.

Volkov is coming off a 1-1 campaign in 2022 in which he suffered a first-round submission loss to Tom Aspinall at UFC Fight Night 204 before scoring a first-round technical knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Fight Night 207. The former Bellator and M-1 Global champion owns wins over the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Alistair Overeem, Tim Johnson and Marcin Tybura.

Romanov began his professional tenure with 16 consecutive triumphs before dropping a majority decision to Tybura in his last outing at UFC 278. The Moldovan known as “King Kong” has finished all but one of his victori…

Chris Curtis will lock horns with Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight scrap at UFC 287.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC 287 takes place on April 8, with a headliner yet to be confirmed. While a venue has yet to be announced, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., is rumored to be a likely destination for the event.

The 35-year-old Curtis is 4-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with his lone setback coming against Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 208 this past July. The former CES MMA champion last appeared at UFC 282, where he defeated Joaquin Buckley via second-round KO on Dec. 10.

Gastelum, meanwhile, was supposed to face Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 217 on Jan. 14, but a mouth injury forced him to withdraw on the week of the fight. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner has struggled of late, losing five of his last six Octagon appearances – including a unanimous decision defeat t…

Conor McGregor has been accused of attacking a woman on his yacht in Ibiza, Spain, last July.

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According to a report from Spanish outlet Ultima Hora, a 42-year-old woman was partying at the Ocean Club in Ibiza on July 16 with mutual friends when she was invited back to McGregor’s yacht. The alleged victim said she knew McGregor because they’re from the same neighborhood in Dublin.

The alleged incident occurred the following morning when the woman claimed that McGregor began to insult her appearance and then kicked her in the midsection, punched her and threatened to drown her. The woman told Irish police that she “feared for her life,” and she jumped in the water to flee from the attack, where she was eventually rescued by a Red Cross boat.

“His whole behavior changed and he became very aggressive,” the woman told police.

According to the report, the alleged victim did not initially indentify McGregor as her attacker to Spain’s Civil Gu…

A featherweight bout between Jack Shore and Makwan Amirkhani has been added to the UFC 286 lineup.

Promotion officials announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 286 takes place at the O2 Arena in London on March 18 and is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Shore suffered his first loss in 17 professional appearances at UFC on ABC 3, where he suffered a second-round submission loss to Ricky Simon this past July. The former Cage Warriors champion began his Octagon tenure with five consecutive triumphs prior to that defeat.

Amirkhani has struggled recently, with losses in four of his last five UFC bouts. In his last outing, “Mr. Finland” suffered a second-round TKO loss to Jonathan Pearce at UFC Fight Night 208 on July 23. Amirkhani began his promotional tenure with victories in five of his first six appearances but is just 2-5 in UFC competition since November 2019.

It could be a while before Deiveson Figueiredo makes his debut in the UFC’s bantamweight division.

According to UFC 283 medical suspensions released by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA), Figueiredo must be cleared by a facial CT scan or face a 180-term. At a minimum, he is suspended for 45 days. Figueiredo revealed on Instagram that he may need surgery for a fractured orbital. The Brazilian lost the flyweight belt to Brandon Moreno via doctor’s stoppage when his right eye swelled completely shut after three rounds.

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UFC 283 took place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday. In the main event, Jamahal Hill defeated Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision to capture the vacant light heavyweight championship. Both Hill and Teixeira are facing 180-day suspensions pending doctor clearance.

Multiple other fighters from UFC 283 are facing potential six-month terms including Lauren Murphy, Paul Craig, Ihor Potieria, Melquizael Co…

Bellator MMA continues to lock up its top talents.

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After recently re-signing former featherweight king A.J. McKee to a multi-year deal, the California-based promotion did the same for Vadim Nemkov this week. Bellator announced the news on Monday through ESPN, but terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"Vadim Nemkov was another athlete that we wanted to make sure we had on the Bellator roster for the foreseeable future," Bellator president Scott Coker said. "He's a huge part of a division that we feel is the strongest in all of mixed martial arts. Our light heavyweight tournament showcased that we have the top talent in the world at 205 pounds and we're proud to be able to retain such a talented fighter to continue to lead that division. I am looking forward to seeing Vadim in exciting matchups in 2023 and beyond.”

Nemkov is unbeaten in his last 11 professional appearances, a streak that dates back to 2016 and is only marred by a no conte…

Yadong Song will square off against Ricky Simon in a bantamweight tilt at UFC Fight Night on April 22.

Eurosport was first to report the matchup. UFC Fight Night doesn’t currently have a confirmed location or headliner. The card is also expected to include a lightweight showdown between Bobby Green and Jared Gordon as well as a featherweight scrap pitting Karol Rosa against Norma Dumont.

Song had a three-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a technical knockout loss to Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Fight Night 210 headliner on Sept. 17. The Team Alpha Male product is 8-2-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Simon has been victorious in his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the American Top Team Portland representative submitted Jack Shore in the second round of their UFC on ABC 3 clash this past July.

Luke Rockhold has walked back the retirement announcement he made following a loss at UFC 278 this past August.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour,” the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion announced that he has entered free agency and is ready to resume his combat sports career. Rockhold revealed that he had multiple fights remaining on his UFC contract, but an amicable relationship with chief business officer Hunter Campbell resulted in him being released from that deal.

“Me and Dana [White)]always haven’t seen eye-to-eye, and we’ve had our differences, but I’ve been through some injuries and some things, and I’ve done my thing,” Rockhold said. “I asked for a release. I asked for my freedom to be able to go and do things elsewhere. And I was granted that.

“Me and Hunter – I’ve paid my dues, and he granted me my wish to be able to go have freedom, to be able to box, to go fight elsewhere. There’s a lot of different avenues. Yo…

A heavyweight showdown pitting Marcelo Golm against Daniel James will serve as the main event for Bellator 293 on March 31.

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Promotion officials announced the card on Monday. Bellator 293 takes place at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif., and will also see Cat Zingano square off against Leah McCourt in the evening’s featherweight co-headliner. Two other main card bouts were also confirmed: John Salter vs. Aaron Jeffery at middleweight and Jaleel Willis vs. Rustam Khabilov at welterweight. The Bellator 293 main draw airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

A four-time UFC veteran, Golm enters Bellator 293 on a four-bout winning streak in which he has finished all of his opponents inside the distance. Most recently, the 30-year-old Brazilian submitted Davion Franklin in the third round of their clash at Bellator 283.

James, whose two promotional appearances occurred more than eight years apart, earned the biggest victory of his career t…

Sage Northcutt will return from a lengthy hiatus to face Ahmed Mujtaba at One on Prime Video 10 on May 5.

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The Singapore-based promotion announced the lightweight (170-pound) bout on Monday. One on Prime Video 10 takes platce at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo., and is headlined by a championship trilogy bout between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

Northcutt hasn’t competed since his promotional debut at One Championship “Enter the Dragon,” when he suffered multiple facial fractures in a brutal KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre on May 17, 2019. Prior to that, the 26-year-old Katy, Texas, native compiled a 6-2 record in the UFC from 2015 to 2018.

A native of Pakistan who trains with Astra Fight Team as well as American Kickboxing Academy, Mujtaba will bring a 9-2 record into his matchup with Northcutt. “The Wolverine” is 4-2 under the One banner, including a first-round submission of Abraao Amorim Magalhaes in his last outing at One 163…