Martial Arts News

[embedded content] For now, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship' return to the United States will carry on with eight bouts after the weigh-ins for CW 143 took place.

Lightweights have been given the main event spotlight as promotional newcomer Erick Sanchez will take on James Lynch, who has become a mainstay of Cage Warriors' San Diego events. Both California-based headliners made weight for the main event, but same could not be said for one of the competitors in the other marquee matchup.

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A veteran of Combate Global and Bellator MMA, Sanchez (10-6) finds himself in a high-profile bout for his Cage Warriors debut. The Sacramento native is 2-2 in his last four outings, but is coming off a rear-naked choke win over Jordan Beltran. The 31-year-old will look to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since 2016. Sanchez officially weighed 155.7 pounds.

Meanwhile, Lynch (5-2) will compete in his fifth bout for the promotion. The lightweight that call…

[embedded content] The recent domination of this year’s Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Championship event by Gordon Ryan has blown away the jiu-jitsu community.

The 14th edition of the ADCC Worlds, which were held on Sept. 17 and 18 in Las Vegas, delivered for fans of the gentle art. Several competitors made names for themselves, including Amy Campo for her victory over Gabi Garcia and Kade Ruotolo by winning the 170-pound championship at only 19 years of age. No star shone brighter, however, than Ryan, who triumphed over the field in the 99+ kg division (218.25 pounds) with four victories in no-gi competition to win the gold. After pulling that off, Ryan submitted one of the greatest champions ADCC had ever seen in Andre Galvao, landing the rear-naked choke in their superfight after racking up 12 points.

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Multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends and past ADCC competitors Fabricio Werdum, Fabio Gurgel and Carlos Barreto, all had something to say about this do…

While Islam Makhachev is the most accurate takedown artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, not everyone believes he is guaranteed to take his next opponent down.

In August, Chute Boxe head coach Diego Lima revealed to Sherdog that ex-UFC champ Charles Oliveira had a secret weapon in his training camp. The Iranian wrestler known as Alireza Noei had joined the team some years before, with the singular goal of helping fighters in the camp train their wrestling. Noei specifically devoted a great deal of focus on Oliveira, especially ahead of the Brazilian’s October meeting with Makhachev, and Noei believes that Oliveira’s chops on top and bottom are exceptional.

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“We have been working together for the last four years and I’m really impressed by how he has evolved,” Noei admitted to Sherdog. “Even for myself, who always competed in high level wrestling, [it] is hard to take him down. He is good both attacking and defending.” Read more

[embedded content] Bellator MMA returns to Ireland for Bellator 285, which is headlined by an anticipated lightweight main event.

The headline fight will see former champion Benson Henderson take on Irish contender Peter Queally over five rounds. Both headliners looked great on the scale, with "Smooth" weighing 155.4 pounds and his Irish opponent officially came in at a trim 154.2 pounds. All fighters successfully made weight for the 13-fight card.

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Henderson (29-11) made it clear he still had more left in the tank in his last bout against Islam Mamedov. After taking a split decision win, "Bendo" re-signed with the promotion. This key victory came after three straight defeats for the veteran lightweight. He'll look to go on his first win streak since 2019 with a victory here.

"The Showstopper" has won two of his last three bouts, splitting fights with Patricky Freire in his last two outings. While he was on the wrong side of a TKO in his last fight,…

UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos has been suspended for one year by USADA after failing an out-of-competition drug test.

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The 35-year-old Brazilian tested positive for ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator, on April 8. MMAFighting.com was first to report the positive test, which has not been yet been formally announced by USADA. Zaleski denies knowingly taking the banned substance, blaming the result on a contaminated supplement.

While Zaleski’s manager, Tiago Okamura, told MMAFighting that even though the supplement in question was identified, the compounding pharmacy that produced it denied responsiblility. As a result, dos Santos was unable to secure a reduced suspension from USADA.

“The talks with Elizeu and the doctor went as expected but the pharmacy denied compounding ostarine and later questioned the tested sample and even the packaging it was sent to the lab in,” Okamura wrote in a statement. “With the pharmacy …

Dana White believes Raul Rosas Jr. proved he was ready for the bright lights of the UFC with his victory on the Contender Series Tuesday night.

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The 17-year-old Las Vegas resident put on a grappling clinic en route to a three-round verdict over Mando Gutierrez, an opponent who was eight years his senior. Rosas Jr. was active on the canvas, threatened with submissions and never appeared to fatigue, and that was enough to earn a UFC contract from White.

“For a 17-year-old to conduct himself the way he did in this fight, I was blown away by it. Blown away,” White said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “After what I just saw, this kid’s ready to fight in the UFC.”

With that, Rosas Jr. becomes the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. According to White, a lack of experience shouldn’t be an issue when someone is as talented as Rosas Jr.

“He’s absolutely special,” White said. “The amount of fighters that were blowing me up, going, ‘Oh my G…

These days, Floyd Mayweather prefers to be in the exhibition business.

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As his matchup with Mikuru Asakura this weekend at Super Rizin draws near, the retired former boxing champion discussed what the future holds for him — and that could include a rematch with Conor McGregor.

'I want to go out there this weekend and have fun,” Mayweather told Sportsmail. “Then I have another exhibition Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023.

“We don't know if it's going to be an exhibition or a real fight,” he said of a potential rematch with McGregor. “But there's been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition.’”

“Money” has squared off against the likes of Tenshin Nasukawa, Logan Paul and Don Moore in exhibition bouts over the past few years. He defeated Nasukawa via TKO at Rizin 14, while the fights with Paul and Moore were both declared draws. Mayweather explained his reasoning for wanting exhibitions over professional bouts at this point …

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If Dana White goes, so does Joe Rogan.

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The longtime UFC commentator revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience” that his time with the Las Vegas-based promotion will come to an end when White steps down.

“If Dana leaves, I’m gone,” Rogan said (via MMAjunkie.com). “It’s in my contract.”

Rogan has been with the organization since 1997, when he debuted as a backstage interviewer at UFC 12. The 55-year-old stand-up comedian has reduced his duties over the years, as he now generally only works broadcasts for pay-per-view events in the United States. He inked a lucrative deal with Spotify in 2020 for his podcast valued at more than $100 million, and is one of the most recognizable figures associated with the UFC.

White remains a figurehead of the UFC and has cashed in since the company was sold to Endeavor. He hasn’t publicly mentioned a plan for stepping down, so it’s likely that Rogan will be around for the foreseeable future.

Eddie Alvarez is no longer under contract with One Championship, according to the South China Morning Post.

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Alvarez and the Singapore-based promotion reportedly agreed to an early release from his contract, though it is unclear how many fights “The Underground King” had remaining on his deal. Alvarez was in attendance for the press conference in Los Angeles to announced the joint-partnership between One and Amazon Prime, and at the time it sounded like he intended to remain a part of the organization.

“The goal has always been the triple crown,” Alvarez said of his dream to win titles in three promotions. “I have fought for every organization. I’ve pretty much become the champion in every organization. That’s always been the main goal from the gate.

“But I think One is making strides and for right now I think it’s about getting a footprint here in the United States and this is the start of it right here with Amazon Prime.”

Things didn’t go a…

One clubbing right hand was all Brunno Ferreira needed to shift momentum—permanently.

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The undefeated Brazilian was one of five competitors signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship from Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he wrecked Leon Aliu with punches in the first round of their middleweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Aliu (10-2, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 95 seconds into Round 1.

Ferreira (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) tested the water with kicks, then connected with a right hook to the temple that set the Albanian on rubbery legs. Aliu never recovered, his equilibrium having been shaken beyond repair. Ferreira gave chase with punches, denied a desperate single-leg takedown attempt, drove his compromised counterpart to the canvas and connected with a diving standing-to-ground right hand that drew the curtain.

In addition to Ferreira, the UFC also linked arms with bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr., lightweight Nurullo Aliev, flyw…

Cody Garbrandt will not remain on the UFC Fight Night 211 card following an injury suffered in training.

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Multiple outlets confirmed Garbrandt’s exit from the event following an initial report from ESPN. Garbrandt was originally expected to face Rani Yahya at the event, but Yahya pulled out of the fight as a result of a neck injury. Garbrandt was initially going to stay on the card against a replacement opponent.

A former 135-pound champion, Garbrandt is returning to the division following a short-lived stint at flyweight. In his lone 125-pound appearance, “No Love” fell to Kai Kara France via first-round technical knockout at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The 31-year-old Ohioan has lost five of his last six in UFC competition.

UFC Fight Night 211 takes place on Oct. 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight tilt pitting Mackenzie Dern against Xiaonan Yan.

Jailton Almeida and Shamil Abdurakhimov will lock horns at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22.

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Almeida confirmed the heavyweight booking on his Instagram account following an initial report from AgFight. Almedia and Abdurakhimov were initially slated to square off at UFC 279 before Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw from the event due to visa issues.

Almeida has been on a tear since earning a UFC contract with a second-round submission of Nasrudin Nasrudinov on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. He has kicked off his promotional tenure with first-round finishes of Danilo Marques, Parker Porter and Anton Turkalj. The 31-year-old Brazilian known as “Malhadinho” has won his last 12 professional outings overall.

The 41-year-old Abdurakhimov will enter the matchup with Almeida on a three-bout skid in the Octagon. The Dagestani last appeared at UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich. Abdurak…