Martial Arts News

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Russian welterweight Sergey Khandozhko has elected to call it a career at 30 years old.

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The three-time UFC competitor announced his retirement on social media Tuesday. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 205 on April 23, when he defeated Dwight Grant via second-round technical knockout.

“12 years have been a long way,” Khandozhko wrote on Instagram. “There were some ups and downs, important victories and heartbreaking losses. There were heavy preparations, injuries, exhausting races of 10-15 kilograms. I've missed many holidays and family feasts. I could not celebrate my birthday for 5 years in a row. But I am happy every day of my professional career. And thankful to God that he gave me this opportunity to be a fighter.

“I fulfilled my childhood dream - I got into the best fighting league in the world. Yes, of course it failed to become a champion. Somewhere hard work, talent and discipli…

Tyson Pedro will lock horns with Mingyang Zhang in a light heavyweight scrap at UFC 284.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the booking. UFC 284 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11 and also includes a middleweight showdown between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.

Pedro returned to active competition with back-to-back wins in 2022 following more than three years on the sideline. After knocking out Isaac Villanueva at UFC Fight Night 205 on April 23, the 31-year-old Sydney native stopped Harry Hunsucker in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC 278 in his most recent outing on Aug. 20. Pedro is now 5-3 under the UFC banner, with other notable wins against Paul Craig and Khalil Rountree to his credit.

Zhang, 24, will make his promotional debut riding the momentum of a nine-bout winning streak. Most recently, the China native known as “Mountain Tiger” knocked out George Tokkos at the first Road to UFC eve…

A proposed heavyweight clash between Jailton Almeida and Maxim Grishin has been pulled from the UFC Fight Night 214 lineup for undisclosed reasons.

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MMAFighting.com was first to report the cancellation. UFC Fight Night 214 will proceed with 12 bouts, including a strawweight headliner pitting Marina Rodriguez against Amanda Lemos. The card takes place at the UFC Apex on Saturday night.

For Almeida, it’s the second fight that has fallen through in recent weeks after a proposed matchup against Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 280 fell through before the event. The Brazilian is 3-0 in the UFC after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. In his last outing, “Malhadino” submitted Anton Turkalj in the opening stanza at UFC 279 to run his career mark to 17-2.

Grishin is 2-2 in the Octagon after a stint with Professional Fighters League. The Russian is coming off a unanimous decision triumph over William Knight at UFC 271 on Feb. 12.

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Aline Pereira will attempt to follow in her brother’s footsteps when she makes her professional MMA debut at Legacy Fighting Alliance 147 on Nov. 10.

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Pereira, who is the younger sister of UFC middleweight title contender Alex Pereira, will square off against Helen Peralta in a flyweight bout on the LFA 147 main card. The promotion recently announced the event.

LFA 147 takes place at the WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa, and is headlined by a lightweight bout between Junior Melo and Melquizael Costa. In the co-main event, Justin Wetzell will meet Rafael do Nascimento at bantamweight. The card will air on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Pereira has compiled a 6-2 record as a professional kickboxer, with multiple appearances under the Glory banner. Most recently, she challenged for the promotion’s super bantamweight title, dropping a five-round decision to Tiffany Van Soest at Glory 77 in November 2021.

A cast memb…

UFC welterweight competitor Jason Witt has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts at 35 years old.

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“It’s taken me a week to decide how to put this into words because nothing seemed to sum up what it means to me…but here it goes,” Witt wrote on Instagram. “I am officially RETIRED from mixed martial arts.”

Witt exits the sport with a 19-9 mark compiled over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2013. He went 2-4 in UFC competition, earning wins over Bryan Barberena and Cole Williams. “The Vanilla Gorilla” last appeared at UFC on ESPN 41 on Aug. 13, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Josh Quinlan. Prior to his UFC stint, Witt fought for organizations such as Legacy Fighting Alliance, Bellator MMA and Titan FC, among others.

“For the past [15-plus] years I dedicated myself and my life to MMA,” Witt wrote. “Through literal blood, sweat and tears it taught me how to be disciplined, how to overcome adversity, and …

A lightweight clash pitting Terrance McKinney against Ismael Bonfim has been added to the UFC 283 lineup.

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McKinney announced the pairing via social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. UFC 283 takes place on Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and features a flyweight title tilt between Deivesion Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

McKinney has won six of his last seven professional outings. The 28-year-old Spokane, Wash., native is 3-1 in UFC competition, with first-round finishes of Erick Gonzalez, Fares Ziam and Matt Frevola to his credit. His lone defeat in his last seven bouts came at the hands of Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 203 this past March.

Bonfim, meanwhile, earned a UFC contract after besting Nariman Abbasov via unanimous decision on Dana White’s Contender Series on Sept. 6. The 26-year-old Cerrado MMA representative is 18-3 as a professional, with 12 victories coming inside the distance.

After losing a unanimous decision to Jake Paul in their boxing match on Saturday night, Anderson Silva took the high road and allowed the social media personality to have his time in the spotlight.

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“I think it’s very important that people respect the moment, Jake’s moment now,” Silva said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I know I lost, I know I failed my whole strategy, and my opponent won, and I need to respect that. I’m not the same, like other guys who fought Jake – ‘Oh, I need revenge, I need a rematch.’ I don’t know. Let’s go see what happens. Maybe, I don’t know.”

Silva had his moments throughout the eight-round bout, applying pressure on Paul at times while utlizing his trademark footmark and movement. The defining moment of the fight belonged to Paul, when he dropped the former UFC middleweight champion in the final stanza.

“I failed in the strategy, and the last round, Jake [made] the good punch, and my base was not correct,…

Arnold Allen went into his first main event appearance hoping to make a clear case to be next in line for a featherweight title shot.

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Instead, his UFC Fight Night 213 showdown with Calvin Kattar ended early after his opponent suffered a knee injury late in Round 1. Although Kattar made it out of his corner for the second frame, Allen only needed to land one low kick before “The Boston Finisher” crumbled to the canvas in agony. While Allen was pleased with the way things were going in the opening stanza — he held a 28-to-14 edge in significant strikes landed — the victory wasn’t nearly as satisfying as it could have been.

“It’s bittersweet,” Allen said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Things were going right in the first round. Everything was going as I planned, as I trained and as I prepared. It is what it is. It’s the sport we’re in. Hopefully his injury is not too bad and it heals up quick.”

There hasn’t been much clarity in the…

Jake Paul has just earned some respect on his name.

The main attraction of the MVP and Showtime pay-per-view boxing card came in a 187-pound cruiserweight affair, one in which Paul (6-0, 4 KO) proved he has the wherewithal to stand and trade with a legendary striker in the boxing ring. “The Problem Child” picked up a decision victory over the ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship great Anderson Silva (3-2, 2 KO). Paul vs. Silva began with a tentative first round, one where the two engaged in practically three minutes of a feeling-out process, led to Silva landing two punches – although one made Paul lick his gloves and demand more. After downloading data in the opening minutes, Silva picked things up in the second frame, backing Paul up with several powerful blows. Paul responded with a few clean right hooks, but Silva barely registered their landing. Although Silva pressed forward aggressively in Round 3, Paul showed a composure beyond his years by scoring several heavy, loopin…

Tresean Gore’s first Ultimate Fighting Championship triumph came with a little extra compensation.

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Gore received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus — one of four given out by the promotion — for his second-round submission victory against Josh Fremd at UFC Fight Night 213 on Saturday. “Mr. Vicious” took advantage of a takedown attempt from his opponent, locking up a tight guillotine choke for a technical submission victory 49 seconds into Round 2 of their middleweight showdown.

Roman Dolidze also earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his knockout of Phil Hawes in a preliminary middleweight matchup. Dolidze injured Hawes’ knee with a leg lock after being taken down early, and he finished the victory with a volley of power punches at the 4:09 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Steve Garcia garnered a performance bonus after administering a lopsided beatdown to Chase Hooper in a preliminary featherweight clash. Garcia floored hi…

It may not have ended the way he wanted it to, but rising featherweight contender Arnold Allen nonetheless passed his first main event test in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Allen (19-1, 10-0 UFC) earned his 10th straight promotional triumph, as he defeated Calvin Kattar (23-7, 7-5 UFC) via technical knockout eight seconds into Round 2 of the UFC Fight Night 213 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Kattar injured his right knee when he landed awkardly after missing a leaping attack late in Round 1, and the bout ended quickly in the second frame when he realized he couldn’t plant on his back leg after absorbing an Allen calf kick in the opening moments.

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Both combatants were measured in the early going, but Allen seemed to be finding a rhythm as the first round progressed. The Englishman landed several solid straight lefts in exchanges before backing Kattar up with a rapid-fire punching combination late in the stanza. Kattar’s…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 213 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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