Martial Arts News

It appears that Sean O'Malley will continue to compete under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner for the foreseeable future.

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UFC president Dana White announced on Saturday that the bantamweight star had signed an eight-fight deal to remain with the promotion, and O’Malley himself confirmed the news on his podcast. O'Malley represented himself in negotiations with the UFC.

“I did re-sign with the UFC. I got a very gracious contract that I’m proud of,” O’Malley said. “… I got a number that I’m very happy with. I truly don’t think any manager that I had could have went in there and got me what I got. That also helps with the relationship built with the UFC. I feel like I have earned this contract. I feel like I have earned the amount that I’m getting paid. I think the UFC is fine with paying people what they earn. I’m very happy with how the negotiations went.”

After appearing on Season 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, O’Malley has emer…

It was a good night for reigning champions at Bellator 290.

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In the main event, Ryan Bader defended his heavyweight belt with a first-round technical knockout of the retiring Fedor Emelianenko. Meanwhile, Johnny Eblen retained the middleweight strap with a five-round verdict against Anatoly Tokov in the evening’s co-headliner.

As it turns out, Bader and Eblen were the top earners at the event as well. Both pocketed $150,000 for their championship triumphs. Emelianenko earned $100,000 in his swan song, while Tokov garnered $75,000 for his loss to Eblen. The California State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of salaries from the event, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night.

There were two other six-figure earners at Bellator 290: Sabah Homasi ($100,000), who suffered a second-round TKO loss to Brennan Ward ($75,000) and Christopher Gonzalez ($100,000), who stopped Max Rohskopf ($30,000) with punches…

Johnny Eblen wasn’t completely flawless in his first Bellator middleweight title defense — but he was pretty close.

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“The Human Cheat Code” relied on takedowns, ground-and-pound and some timely striking to capture a unanimous decision triumph against Anatoly Tokov in the Bellator 290 co-main event at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. Eblen received scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 from the cageside judges to end his opponent’s seven-fight winning streak within the promotion. After the opening stanza, Eblen gradually took control, punctuating his victory with a spectacular belly-to-back suplex in Round 5.

“First round was tough,” Eblen said at the post-fight press conference. “After that, I just did what I wanted to do with him, started pulling away. He’s the first guy to beat me in a round because two judges gave him the first round.”

Despite a relatively clear-cut victory, Eblen still found some flaws in his performance, t…

While Sergey Spivak’s overwhelming victory over Derrick Lewis may have been surprising to many observers, it wasn’t to the man himself.

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“The Polar Bear” dominated Lewis in the UFC Fight Night 218 headliner, tossing his opponent all over the Octagon before locking in an arm-triangle choke at the 3:05 mark of Round 1. It was a significant statement against a two-time heavyweight title challenger.

“We were ready for everything,” Spivak said at the post-fight press conference “Today, I showed you guys my judo style, my sambo style, my boxing style, and in the future, I’ll show you guys more.”

Spivak transitioned seamlessly to the fight-ending choke, and that wasn’t by accident.

“I trained a lot for this moment,” he said. “My friend Misha Cirkunov showed me this triangle choke and we worked a lot for this moment. I saw Derrick Lewis doesn’t have good balance and grappling. I took the moment.”

Spivak has won six of his last seven UFC appearan…

Fedor Emelianenko lays down his gloves surrounded by legends!

Tune in to @CBS and @paramountplus NOW. #Bellator290 #Bellator #MMA @BellatorMMA @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/DgXYmEfskx

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) February 5, 2023

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When it comes to combat sports, legends rarely get a happy ending.



 That was again the case in the Bellator 290 headliner, when Ryan Bader defeated Fedor Emelianenko via first-round technical knockout in the Russian’s farewell fight at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. While there was some hope coming into the bout that “The Last Emperor” could turn back the clock one more time, Bader dispelled that notion in short order, as he floored his opponent with a right behind the ear before sealing his victory with a series of unanswered punches on the canvas.



 While the ending was bittersweet, Emelianenko was content with his decision to retire. Ultimately, Father Time is a r…

Sergey Spivak was absolutely dominant in the UFC Fight Night 218 headliner, and he was compensated accordingly.

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Spivak received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for his quick submission of Derrick Lewis on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “The Polar Bear” tossed his opponent to the canvas repeatedly before locking in an arm-triangle choke to force the tapout 3:05 into the opneing stanza of their heavyweight clash.

Meanwhile, Anshul Jubli garnered a $50,000 “Peformance of the Night” award thanks to a stoppage of Jeka Asparido Saragih at lightweight. A barrage of punches and elbows from top position led to a technical knockout victory for Jubli at the 3:44 mark of the second stanza.

Rinya Nakamura earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to an emphatic knockout of Toshiomi Kazama in a preliminary bantamweight affair. Nakamura floored his foe with a counter left hand before sealing his victory with one fo…

Ryan Bader made certain a true all-time great walked off into the sunset empty-handed.

The two-time NCAA All-American successfully defended his undisputed Bellator MMA heavyweight championship, as he stopped the retiring Fedor Emelianenko with punches in the first round of their Bellator 290 headliner on Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California. In the final appearance of his incredible career, Emelianenko (40-7, 4-3 Bellator) succumbed to blows 2:30 into Round 1.

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Bader (31-7, 9-2 Bellator) wisely steered clear of the Russian’s fabled overhand right and picked his spots. He backed up Emelianenko with punches, then floored him with a glancing right behind the ear. Bader set up shop in top position, cut loose with ground-and-pound and eventually trapped the former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder’s arm behind him before closing it out with unanswered punches to the face.

In the co-main event, Johnny Eblen kept his perfect professional …

Sherdog's live Bellator 290 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scor…

SERGHEI SPIVAC SUBMITS LEWIS IN ROUND 1 🗜 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/qSlnn4mnBv

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Sergey Spivak was completely dominant in his first UFC main event.

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The Moldovan ragdolled former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis all over the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 218 before locking in an arm-triangle choke for a submission victory at the 3:05 mark of the opening stanza. Spivak (16-3, 7-3 UFC) has won three straight fights and six of his last seven UFC appearances overall. Lewis (26-11, 1 NC, 17-9 UFC) never had a chance to get going. Spivak executed a hip toss within the bout’s first 30 seconds, and the rout was on from there. “The Polar Bear” slammed a helpless Lewis to the mat repeatedly while punishing his foe with ground-and-pound from mount. Finally, after slamming Lewis to the canvas one last time, Spivak deftly transitioned to the fight-ending maneuver to mercifully bring an e…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 218 coverage will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Taira (-1200), Aguilar (+800)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Park (-270), Tiuliulin (+210)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:The Official Result …

For the first time in two decades, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading to Miami.

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Dana White announced on Saturday that UFC 287 on April 8 will be held at Miami-Dade arena in the Sunshine State. The Las Vegas-based promotion hasn’t been to Miami since Matt Hughes defended his welterweight crown with a five-round decision against Sean Sherk in the UFC 42 headliner on April 25, 2003.

“I’m always talking about big destination fights, and we are going back to Miami,” White said.

UFC 287 is headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between reigning champion Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. Perhaps even more notable in this case is the co-main event, which sees Miami native Jorge Masvidal return for the first time in more than a year against Gilbert Burns.

Other bouts slated for UFC 287 include Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio at welterweight; Rob Fant vs. Adrian Yanez at bantamweight; Michael Chiesa vs. Jingliang Li at…

“The Ultimate Fighter 31” figures to be one of the more intriguing seasons in recent memory.

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UFC president Dana White on Saturday announced that Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will serve as coaches on “TUF 31” before squaring off in the Octagon later this year. The series will premiere on May 30 via ESPN/ESPN+ and runs through Aug. 15. A date and venue for McGregor vs. Chandler was not confirmed.

McGregor will be making his second appearance on the long-running reality show after serving as a coach opposite Urijah Faber on “TUF 22” in 2015. The Dublin native hasn’t competed since July 10, 2021, when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor has lost three of his last four promotional appearances dating back to October 2018.

Chandler, who has openly campaigned for a fight against McGregor, is coming off a 1-1 campaign in 2022. After scoring a highlight-reel front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, the ex-Be…