Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card of 2025 has undergone a couple of changes a little less than a week before the event.

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Jacobe Smith will make his Octagon debut on short notice against Preston Parsons at UFC Vegas 101 — also known as UFC Fight Night 249 — on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith is a replacement for Andreas Gustafsson, who withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking.

Meanwhile, Joe Solecki will replace Yanal Ashmouz and face Nurullo Aliev in a lightweight bout on the same card. Both Aliev and Solecki confirmed the booking via social media. UFC Vegas 101 is headlined by a strawweight rematch between Amanda Ribas and Mackenzie Dern.

A former wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith has kicked off his professional tenure with nine straight triumphs — seven by KO or TKO. He earned a UFC contract with a second-round stoppage of Christien Savoie on D…

Matt Hamill began the new year with a very special moment.

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Hamill, the first deaf athlete to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, revealed on social media that he was able to hear his family for the first time with the assistance of special digital hearing aids.

“I just got the most powerful digital hearing aids ever made,” Hamill recently wrote on Instagram. “For the first time in 41 years, I can finally hear my kids’ voices, the sounds of people walking and laughing. I finally heard my mom’s voice and she cried. I’m looking forward to hearing my brother Pat’s voice too. I only hope he doesn’t have a voice like a foghorn. This is awesome, although I know it will take time to adapt to all of this. Happy New Year!”

The now 48-year-old Hamill compiled a 13-8 record over the course of a professional MMA career that began in 2005. He appeared on Season 3 of the “The Ultimate Fighter” and went on to have a 15-bout tenure in the Las Vega…

👏🦅Umar Nurmagomedov calls himself ‘Just Eagle’ and Khabib ‘Old Eagle’:

“I think on January 18th, I will deserve this name - Eagle. No more young, just Eagle.”😁

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🎥 @akajav ▫️ pic.twitter.com/0UavJ9Neo8 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 4, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov wants to follow in the footsteps of cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov in every aspect.

Umar challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Undefeated like his cousin Khabib, Umar now looks to become a UFC champ like “The Eagle” and even potentially take over his moniker.

While he is yet to have an official nickname, Umar is popularly known as “Young Eagle” because of his relation to Khabib and their similar styles. However, Khabib seemingly declared that Umar can no longer be called “Young Eagle” after the latter turned 29 this past weekend. When their lo…

Conor made you famous. https://t.co/88ycFRkTCf

— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) January 3, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent comments have reignited the Dagestan-Ireland mixed martial arts rivalry.

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Nurmagomedov’s feud with Conor McGregor is arguably one of the most memorable in the history of the sport. McGregor’s fellow countryman Paul Hughes (13-1) will challenge Khabib’s cousin Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) for the lightweight title in the main event at Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai on Jan. 25 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE.

In a recent interview with PFL, which now owns Bellator, Nurmagomedov downplayed the significance of Irish fighters as compared to Dagestanis. According to the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ, Irish MMA isn’t even half as good as Dagestani MMA.

“Eagle” further doubled down on his comments in a tweet, declaring Dagestani MMA superior to any other coun…

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Going on to become an Ultimate Fighting Championship champion with one eye is a feat only Michael Bisping (30-9) has achieved and it wasn’t easy for the Brit in any aspect.

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A perennially ranked middleweight contender, Bisping (30-9) took on Vitor Belfort in a title eliminator back in 2013. Bisping suffered a second round knockout loss that also left him with a retinal detachment and eventually loss of vision. The eye injury was not immediately detected and had worsened further by the time it was diagnosed.

It should be noted that Belfort is known to have been using testosterone replacement therapy until 2014, when the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned its approved use.

Despite doctors advising him to retire, Bisping continued fighting, hiding his eye injury the best he could for fear of losing his career. When Bisping went completely blind in the right eye, it was a huge challenge for him to pass the pre-fight tests …

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While tensions have been rising between Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili ahead of their UFC 311 bout, the No. 1 contender doesn’t believe he has ever disrespected the reigning bantamweight champion.

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“It’s a little bit emotional,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with the UFC. “I don’t think he is an angry person. I don’t think he is a bad person. I really don’t know what he is talking disrespect … I talk about the fight. I said, Hey Merab, your title is awaiting me. You don’t mention my name. It looks insane. Everybody talked about that, not just me. When they pushed him to fight…and he doesn’t say nothing.”

Dvalishvili initially was reluctant to face Nurmagomedov because he felt the Dagestani hadn’t done enough to earn the title shot. He has since claimed that Nurmagomedov is too “cocky” for his liking. According to Nurmagomedov, there might be an ulterior motive behind Dvalishvili’s initial reluctance.

“I think he…

Andre Petroski will step in for the injured Jacob Malkoun and face Rodolfo Vieira at UFC Vegas 102 on Feb. 15.

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Petroski recently confirmed the news via Instagram. UFC Vegas 102 — also known as UFC Fight Night 251 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a middleweight showdown between Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues.

Petroski is coming off consecutive decision triumphs over Josh Fremd and Dylan Budka in his last two UFC bouts. The Renzo Gracie Philly product kicked off his promotional tenure with five straight triumphs before dropping back-to-back fights against Michel Pereira and Malkoun. His current winning streak improved his overall UFC mark to 7-2.

A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Vieira has been victorious in three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, he tapped out Armen Petrosyan in the first frame at UFC Fight Night 236 last February.

Naoki Inoue will meet Yuki Motoya in a rematch — this time with the bantamweight title at stake — at Rizin 50.

The bout was announced during Rizin 49 "Decade" after Motoya earned his championship opportunity with a unanimous decision victory over Kyoma Akimoto at Saitama Super Arena on New Year’s Eve. Rizin 50 takes place on March 30 at Anabuki Arena Kagawa in Kagawa, Japan.

Inoue initially bested Motoya via first-round submission at Rizin 26 in December 2020. The 27-year-old Kill Cliff FC representative is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2024 that saw him claim the vacant 135-pound throne with a first-round stoppage of Soo Chul Kim at Rizin 48.

The 35-year-old Motoya went 3-0 in 2024, adding submission triumphs over Shinobu Ota and Sho Hiramatsu to the aforementioned victory against Akimoto. The American Top Team product has competed under the Rizin banner periodically since 2015, often alternating those appearances with fights for the Deep organization.

Joe Pyfer will lock horns with Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout at UFC on ESPN 64.

Pyfer recently confirmed the pairing on Instagram following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC on ESPN 64 is expected to take place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on March 29, though the venu has not been officially confirmed by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Pyfer has been victorious in six of his last seven professional outings. After earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022, “Bodybagz” finished his first three Octagon foes before fallling to Jack Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 236 main event this past February. The 28-year-old Pennsylvania native rebounded in his most recent appearance, when he knocked out Marc-Andre Barriault in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC 303.

Gastelum will be making his 24th Octagon appearance against Pyfer. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner has been triumphant in two of his last three in UFC competiti…

A featherweight matchup pitting Youssef Zalal against Calvin Kattar is in the works for UFC Fight Night 251.

Zalal confirmed the pairing on social media following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Zalal also previously mentioned the bout on the JAXXON Podcast. UFC Fight Night 251 takes place on Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Gregory Rodrigues and Jared Cannonier.

Zalal, who was named Sherdog’s "Comeback Fighter of the Year" for 2024, has won his last six professional apppearances — including three straight in UFC competition. “The Moroccan Devil” went 3-3-1 during his first UFC stint, exiting the Las Vegas-based promotion on the heels of a four-bout winless streak. He has since turned things around in a big way and is coming off triumphs over Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens and Jack Shore in the Octagon.

Kattar, meanwhile, is in the midst of a three-fight skid. In his last outing, “The Boston F…

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After attending Rizin 49 "Decade" as a guest, Sean O'Malley is intrigued about the possibility of competing in Japan — but only under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner.

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“Right now, obviously, I’m with the UFC,” O’Malley said at a post-fight press conference. “I plan to be with the UFC forever, so if the UFC comes here some day, I would love to fight in this arena. There’s a good energy here.”

Rizin 49 served as the Japanese promotion’s traditional year-end event, and as usual, it was quite the spectacle, including a supersized fight card that featured three championship bouts at the top of the bill. O’Malley came away impressed with the proceedings.

“The production of the show was incredible, the energy in the arena was incredible, the ring girls are incredible,” he said. “Overall impression of Japan, this has been the most fun trip I’ve ever been on and I would love to come back.”

However, O’Malley is not as…

✌️ KLEBER IS THE TWO-TIME RIZIN FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION

[ #RIZIN_DECADE | LIVE on https://t.co/LChPUvqSqh ] pic.twitter.com/hA19WeHXjQ

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) December 31, 2024 After losing his title on the scale in June 2023, Kleber Koike Erbst regained the Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight championship on Tuesday in the main event of Rizin 49 "Decade" in Saitama, Japan. Koike earned a unanimous decision victory over champion Chihiro Suzuki to reclaim the belt that he was stripped of prior to his first fight against Suzuki at Rizin 43.

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Koike (34-7-1, 1 NC, 9-2, 1 NC Rizin), whose previous win over Suzuki (13-4, 1 NC, 8-2, 1 NC Rizin) was invalidated as a no contest when he failed to make weight, passed all tests, and he left no doubt in the judges’ minds after 15 minutes of combat. Suzuki had a lot of early success with calf kicks that seemed as if they might hinder Koike’s movement, but Koike pulled guard and effo…