Martial Arts News

[embedded content] A number of Brazilian talents including a few Ultimate Fighting Championship greats voiced their thoughts on the upcoming title fight this weekend.

Atop UFC 287 on April 8 in Miami, Alex Pereira (7-1) and Israel Adesanya (23-2) will collide for the second time in the cage, in their fourth meeting across combat sports. “Poatan” has gotten the better of Adesanya on all three prior engagements, winning a close decision in 2016 in kickboxing, and the second ended with Pereira landing a vicious one-punch knockout. Pereira joined up in the MMA ranks and stopped his rival late at UFC 281 in 2022 to claim the title, and the promotion decided to run it back immediately. Sherdog spoke to several notable Brazilian competitors about this matchup, who all had plenty to share about their countryman ahead of his first middleweight title defense.

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Paulo Costa: “Every time they face each other, they are very even,” Costa noted. “Adesanya has the spe…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight strap will be unified once again come July.

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International Fight Week for the UFC now has its first bout coming together, although it has not yet been signed by the competitors. At UFC 290 on July 8 inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) will look to unify his 145-pound belt against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC). The news was first reported on Thursday by Ariel Helwani, and it has since been confirmed by other outlets. It has not yet been determined if that match will headline the tentpole event.

Volkanovski saw his bid for a second strap fall to pieces when he moved up to pieces to take on Islam Makhachev. The Aussie fell short against the 155-pound king in hopes of becoming a two-division champ. According to Fox Sports Australia back in March, Volkanovski had been pushing for an immediate rematch, but the promotion wanted him to return to his form…

[embedded content] An extended run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has taught Gilbert Burns to expect the unexpected.

The Kill Cliff Fight Club standout will try to move one step closer to securing another shot at the undisputed welterweight crown when he faces Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 287 co-headliner on Saturday at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami. Approaching the nine-year anniversary of his arrival in the promotion, Burns has compiled a 14-5 record across his 19 appearances inside the Octagon.

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“I’ve amassed a lot of experience in the UFC,” Burns told Sherdog.com. “At first, I thought my path would be shorter. I thought I would become champion in short order. In the end, things didn’t quite work out that way. I had great wins but also a few losses.”

A multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Burns touched down in the UFC as a prized lightweight prospect in 2014 and later repackaged himself at 170 pounds. He fought for the welterweight…

Jorge Masvidal fight with Kevin Holland in lobby ufc Miami#ufc #ufcmiami #ufc287 #jorgemasvidal #kevinholland #fight #mma #miami pic.twitter.com/yJHv5UOxZR

— Florida Man (@BarryMacokner94) April 5, 2023

UFC 287 is a few days away, but tensions are already high.

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Video surfaced on Wednesday of Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland engaged in a shouting match at the UFC fight hotel.The two athletes were separated by security, and according to multiple reports, the altercation never got physical.

It’s unclear what started the incident, but it is reportedly common knowledge that Masvidal and Holland are not on the best of terms. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Holland commented on the altercation.

“That video is going to come out,” Holland said. “Then, they’re probably going to do an opponent change again.”

Masvidal is slated to meet Gilbert Burns in Saturday’s welterweight co-main event, while Holland will f…

While she was competing for Bellator MMA, Julia Budd always hoped to be involved in a tournament.

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Though that didn’t come to fruition with the Scott Coker-led promotion, Budd will get that opportunity — in a sense, at least — with the Professional Fighters League season format at 145 pounds. It will mark the debut of the weight class in the league after the PFL previously held women’s fights at 155 pounds.

“This is something I always wish Bellator did,” Budd said during a PFL media day. “When I fought for them for seven years and they started doing those tournaments, I thought it would be so cool if they did a female 145 tournament. Now PFL is doing it and I’m here. It just feels like the perfect timing.”

Budd will square off against defending lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco in the PFL 2: 2023 Regular Season headliner on Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN 2 beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.…

Diego Ferreira will lock horns with Michael Johnson in a lightweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on May 20.

MMA Mania was first to report the booking. The UFC Fight Night event does not yet have a location or headliner.

Ferreira, 38, hasn’t competed since December 2021, when he suffered his third consecutive promotional defeat at the hands of Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 199. The ex-Legacy Fighting Championship title holder enjoyed his greatest success in the Octagon when he authored a six-bout winning streak from 2016 to 2020 that include triumphs over the likes of Anthony Pettis and Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Johnson, meanwhile, won two of his three UFC appearances in 2022. Most recently, “The Menace” outpointed Marc Diakiese at UFC on ESPN 42 this past December. Johnson has struggled in recent years overall, going just 2-7 in the promotion before his mini-resurgence last year.

After relinquishing the lightweight crown to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Charles Oliveira is scheduled to return to the Octagon against Beneil Dariush at UFC 288.

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Oliveira’s coach, Diego Lima, likes the matchup.

"That was the fight that made sense for us,” Lima said. “Dariush is coming from an impressive sequence and is a complete fighter. Good everywhere, just like Charles. I have no doubt it's going to be a great war that will not last three rounds.

While the fight with Dariush will be tough, the Chute Boxe leader still dreams about a rematch with Makhachev for Oliveira.

"Sooner or later that fight must happen,” he said. “Unfortunately that was not our night. Everything we planned didn’t work out, but Charles is training harder than ever and evolving everywhere. If that rematch happens, you can bet it will be a different fight. But the level in the UFC is really high. Let´s have one [battle at a time]. Our…

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It doesn’t look like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship will be an option for ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

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During a press conference for BKFC 41 on Tuesday, promotion president David Feldman briefly addressed the possibility of signing Ngannou. The topic initially arose when Ben Rothwell was asked about fighting Ngannou under the BKFC banner.

“Francis Ngannou, he’s somebody we’ve certainly reached out to,” Feldman said. “We’ve reached out to him, we’ve reached out to his team, and we just feel like he’s asking for unrealistic money, and we’re not willing to pay that kind of money for him.”

Ngannou was released from his UFC contract at the beginning of the year after failing to come to terms with the Las Vegas-based promotion for a fight with Jon Jones. Ngannou recently said that he is in talks for a boxing match against Deontay Wilder this summer, but thus far nothing has been announced. Ngannou has also rep…

Not all that long ago, Kayla Harrison seemed ready to leave the grind of the Professional Fighters League season format in the rearview mirror at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

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It appears that sentiment has changed.

Harrison revealed on "The MMA Hour" that she hoped to take part in the PFL’s 2023 season format. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won two PFL championships at 155 pounds before being upset by Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 final. It was Harrison’s first defeat in 16 professional MMA bouts.

“I wanted to be in the season,” Harrison said. “Of course I wanted to be in the season. The second the tournament was over, the second I lost, I wrote down my goals. I was like: ‘145-pound champ. Going to be in the season. Avenge my loss.’ I had all my key areas of focus, and that’s not in the cards for me. That’s not what they want to do. They want me to fight on the pay-per-view.

Harrison added that she has two fights remaining on her cu…

A heavyweight showdown between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida is the new main event for UFC Fight Night on May 13.

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Previously, a light heavyweight tilt pitting Anthony Smith against Johnny Walker had been slated as the card’s headliner, but the promotion on Tuesday announced Rozenstruik vs. Almeida as the evening’s featured bout. Additionally, Smith informed MMAFighting.com that he was told his fight was getting moved to the co-main event.

𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑽𝒀𝑾𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺 take center stage in Charlotte! 💥@JairRozenstruik and @Malhadinho_UFC will headline May 13th!

[ #UFCCharlotte | Sat. May 13 | @SpectrumCenter ] pic.twitter.com/pLgqkI9zVM

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2023

UFC Fight Night takes place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carollina, and is also expected to include a welterweight bout between Ian Garry and Daniel Rodriguez.

Rozenstruik snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ch…

A welterweight clash pitting Stephen Thompson against Michel Pereira is in the works for UFC 289 on June 10.

The bout was initially reported by MMA Sucka and later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. Pereira also announced the pairing via Instagram. UFC 289 doesn’t have an official location, but it will reportedly take place in Canada.

A two-time welterweight title challenger, Thompson ended a two-bout skid with an entertaining fourth-round technical knockout victory against Kevin Holland at UFC on ESPN 42 on Dec. 3. Since joining the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2012, “Wonderboy” has earned victories over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, Jorge Masvidal, Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.

Pereira will take a five-bout UFC winning streak into the matchup with Thompson. Most recently, “Demolidor” garnered a split verdict against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Fight Night 206 in May 2022. The 29-year-old Brazilian is 8-2 dur…

Eleven-time UFC veteran George Sotiropoulos is expected return to professional MMA competition in nearly nine years when he faces Josh Togo at Hex Fight Series 26.

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The Australia-based promotion recently announced the lightweight booking. Hex Fight Series 26 takes place on May 26 at the Melbourne Pavilion.

The 45-year-old Sotiropoulos hasn’t fought since Aug. 22, 2014, when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Mike Ricci at Titan FC 29. The Victoria, Australia, native appeared on Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and began his UFC tenure with seven consecutive triumphs from 2007 to 2010. He dropped his last four Octagon appearances before being released from the UFC, and he would fight just once more after that. Sotiropoulos owns a 14-7 career mark that includes victories over the likes of Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson and George Roop.

Anchored at Australian Top Team, Togo brings a 12-4 mark into the matchup with Sotiropoulos. He last appeare…