Martial Arts News

A blazing-hot Ultimate Fighting Championship prospect is going to need to cool things down to heal up.

According to MMA Junkie on Friday, Bo Nickal (3-0) will no longer be competing at UFC 282 on Dec. 10. His middleweight match against Jamie Pickett (12-8) has been nixed from the event due to an injury Nickal suffered during training. It is unclear at this time if Pickett will be rebooked against a new opponent, or if the matchup will be preserved. The organization is considering March 4 for Nickal’s return, which is rumored to be the pay-per-view offering of UFC 285. The fight scratch has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Advertisement

Nickal, oft-discussed as one of the greatest collegiate wrestlers ever, surged into MMA in 2021 with a pair of speedy finishes on the amateur circuit. The Colorado-born Nickal then debuted as pro in June 2022 on iKon Fighting Championship 3, where he decimated John Noland in 33 seconds. The 26-year-old, with one pro win unde…

Jonathan Di Bella DROPS "The Fighting Rooster" in the FINAL MINUTE! 🤯#ONE162 | #ONEChampionship🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🇹🇭🇧🇷🇸🇦 Watch live on ONE YouTube 👉 https://t.co/uL1aHqdmel🌍 Watch live 👉 https://t.co/8MeKhRvqhy pic.twitter.com/bEUGmhEeJJ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 21, 2022 Italy can now boast of one more champion among the ranks of One Championship.

The One 162 main event featured a clash for the vacant kickboxing strawweight championship between Peimian Zhang and Jonathan Di Bella. The pair put on an entertaining back-and-forth battle, showing off their best offensive skills. Zhang answered the Italian’s fast hands with quick kicks as both contestants produced a remarkable striking output. Neither man backed down from relentless exchanges, nor could they gain a significant advantage as the battle progressed. In Round 5, Di Bella landed a perfectly timed head kick that nearly cold-cocked “The Fighting Rooster.” While the Chinese combatan…

[embedded content] There was no trouble on the scales this time for Charles Oliveira.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ successfully made weight for his UFC 280 showdown against Islam Makhachev. "Do Bronx" was first to the scales and weighed 154.5 pounds. This was a far cry from Oliveira's previous weigh-in, which saw the Brazilian lose his lightweight belt on the scale. Makhachev was next up and also weighed 154.5 pounds.

Advertisement

While Oliveira (33-8, 1 NC) was disgraced at the UFC 274 weigh-in, he impressed the night after by him impressively choking out Justin Gaethje in just over 3 minutes. The Brazilian is on an incredible 11-fight win streak that includes dramatic finishes over Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Kevin Lee. Oliveira will look to reclaim the lightweight championship to start his second reign.

This marks a huge step up in competition for Makhachev (22-1). The Dagestani fighter has only suffered one defeat in…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship beltholder Robert Whittaker is getting a local matchup for the first time in over three years.

Frequently rumored and discussed across the MMA community, the UFC officially confirmed that Whittaker (24-6) will be squaring off against Paulo Costa (14-2) at UFC 284. The two 185ers will toe the line at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11. The promotion did state that the bout has not yet been cleared by the Western Australia Combat Sports Commission, but there do not appear to be any obstacles on paper for it coming together. It is the first fight set for this Australian event, which will be the UFC’s first journey to the Commonwealth of Australia since October 2019 – an event in which Whittaker headlined.

Whittaker bounced back from a close defeat to Israel Adesanya by beating Marvin Vettori on the scorecards in September. “Bobby Knuckles” moved up to the middleweight division after beating Mike Rhodes in 2014, and he rattl…

BREAKING

The DAZN x PFL era begins in 2023

Advertisement

DAZN will become the exclusive home of PFL in 53 international markets. pic.twitter.com/lDNBVDFUFN — PFL (@PFLMMA) October 20, 2022 The Professional Fighters League is bringing broadcaster Dazn back into the sport of MMA.

Per a press release on Thursday, the PFL and Dazn are teaming up to put PFL Europe together. This regional league will serve as the feeder to the main PFL organization, and European fans will be able to watch these events on Dazn. Additionally, Dazn will become the provider for every PFL fight card for the “53 international markets” that Dazn covers, including Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. According to PFL, this branch of the company will serve as “a pathway to becoming European champion and springboard into the PFL global league.”

The four-year deal does not have additional terms announced, and it will only be for those unspecified nations and…

Eric Albarracin, the wrestling coach of Patricio Freire and Patricky Freire, will spend about half of 2022 in Natal, Brazil.

Advertisement

After actively participating in Patricio “Pitbull's” entire camp for his recent fight with Adam Borics, “Captain America” returned to Rio Grande do Norte, where he is helping Patricky “Pitbull” prepare for his title defense against Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288 on Nov. 18.

“Patricky is ready in all areas. Kennedy Monday’s help has been really important in this camp. It will be a confrontation between two great schools, and I'm sure Patricky will return with the belt for Natal,” Albarracin told Sherdog.com.

In regards to another Brazil vs. Dagestan matchup, Albarracin shared his thoughts on the lightweight championship fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 on Saturday.

“If Charles does what he said and pulls guard, it will make Makhachev's life easier,” Albarracin said. “These Russians have e…

A one-night tournament to determine the next strawweight champion will headline Invicta FC 50 next month.

Advertisement

The promotion announced the event on Wednesday. Invicta FC 50 takes place at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Nov. 16 and airs on AXS TV and the Invicta FC YouTube and Facebook pages at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

The four tournament participants are as follows: Dana White’s Contender Series alum Valesca Machado, four-time UFC veteran Gloria de Paula, 20-year-old former Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor Edianna Silva and two-time KSW veteran Karolina Wojcik. Both the semifinals and finals will consist of three, five-minute rounds and will take place on the same card. Matchups for the bracket will be drawn at weigh-ins on Nov. 15.

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

Invicta FC 50 will also include two tournament reserve matchups in case anything happens to the originally scheduled participants. Sharon Jacobso…

An intriguing lightweight showdown between Magomed Mustafaev and Yamato Nishikawa will not be happening at UFC 280 as originally planned.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the cancellation on Tuesday, citing “multiple issues” in a statement. It was initially rumored that the bout was scrapped because Nishikawa was still under contract with another organization, but the Japanese fighter denied those reports.

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

UFC 280 will move forward with 13 bouts. The card takes place on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight title clash between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, while prelims are broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT.

Mustafaev hasn’t competed since February 2020, when he dropped a split decision to Brad Riddell at UFC Fight Night 168. The …

A pivotal women’s flyweight clash pitting Jessica Andrade against Lauren Murphy has been booked for UFC 283.

Advertisement

MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. UFC 283 takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21 and features the fourth flyweight championship clash between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

Andrade, who owns victories in three different weight classes in the Octagon, is coming off a first-round submission of Amanda Lemos in a 115-pound clash at UFC Fight Night 205 this past April. “Bate Estaca” has won three of her last four bouts, with her lone defeat coming against Valentina Shevchenko in a flyweight title tilt at UFC 261.

Murphy, meanwhile, rebounded from a title fight loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 266 by spoiling Miesha Tate’s flyweight debut in a unanimous decision triumph at UFC on ABC 3 on July 16. The 39-year-old known as “Lucky…

[embedded content]

Zuffa Boxing may no longer be on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean UFC president Dana White isn’t interested in letting competitors show off the skill in their hands in a different way.

Advertisement

On Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved a petition for slap fighting to be regulated in Nevada, clearing the way for Dana White’s Power Slap League to run events in the state in the near future. The organization is expected to debut at the UFC Apex in late 2022 with an ownership group that includes White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, “The Ultimate Fighter” producer Craig Piligian, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell and UFC chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein. MMAjunkie.com was first to report White’s interest in bringing slap fighting to Nevada.

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

According to slapfight.com, “slap fighting is a rapidly growing sport where two robust fighters take tur…

[embedded content]

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday handed heavyweight Ilir Latifi a temporary suspension for competing with a staph infection at UFC Fight Night 211.

Advertisement

Latifi initially revealed the ailment during a post-fight interview following a unanimous decision victory against Alexey Oleynik on Oct. 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“Even this week, my leg is swollen. I didn’t even tell my coaches, but I got a staph infection two days ago," Latifi said in the cage. "As you can see, my leg is all swollen. It’s an amazing sport, but the margins are so small. You put in so much work, and this thing happens the last day. Today, actually when I woke up, my leg was swollen. I was like, ‘I can’t cancel again.’ So I had to fight like this with a fever and a staph infection. That’s part of being a fighter.”

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

As a result of that revelation, Latifi will not be allowed to c…

Former UFC competitor Bobby Nash has signed an exclusive, multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.

Advertisement

The California-based promotion confirmed the news following a report from MMAFighting.com on Tuesday. Nash will reportedly make his Bellator debut late this year or in the first quarter of 2023.

Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+

The 32-year-old Nash won eight of his first nine professional outings before hitting a speed bump in the Octagon. The East Lansing, Mich., native went 0-3 in the UFC in 2017, suffering a trio of KO/TKO losses at the hands of Jingliang Li, Danny Roberts and Kenan Song.

Nash returned to action in 2019 and has since scored four consecutive first-round finishes on the regional scene to run his career mark to 12-4.