Martial Arts News

The coach of former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Charles Oliveira has made public his secret weapon to prepare Oliveira for his next fight.

In October, ex-lightweight king Oliveira will vie for the vacant belt against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280. The Brazilian only lost his title after missing weight by a fraction of a pound, and he went on to tap Justin Gaethje in the first round to record the victory. The surging 32-year-old has beaten Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje in the span of a little over two years, firmly cementing himself as the best fighter in the division. Oliveira is coached by Diego Lima, the head of Chute Boxe, who earned a nomination in the 2022 World MMA Awards for “Coach of the Year” due to his fine work in building Oliveira into the force that he has become. Lima spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday about his fighter’s achievement, as well as his own.

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“I was really happy to have my job reco…

All #PFLPlayoffs NYC fighters have hit the official scale!

Ceremonial Weigh-ins go down at 6pm ET for the final face-offs ahead of fight night pic.twitter.com/waiqi1BvwC

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 4, 2022 The Professional Fighters League's 2022 playoffs commence with PFL 7 on Friday, and all fighters made weight.

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The card features lightweight and light heavyweight semifinal bouts, and is headlined by a rematch between Anthony Pettis and Steven Ray. It was Ray (24-10) that shocked "Showtime" with a twister submission in June, forcing the former UFC champion to tap at 3:57 of Round 2. Pettis (25-13) will look to get revenge and make his first PFL finals against the winner of Alex Martinez (156) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155).

Light heavyweight semifinal matches see Omari Akhmedov (204.6) take on former LFA champion Joshua Silveira (206) and Rob Wilkinson (205.8), who is 2-0 in his first PFL season, test his skills agains…

Two rising Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights with an eye on the top five will throw down in December.

The news broke on Thursday from MMA Junkie that Matt Schnell (16-6, 1 NC) will come to blows with Matheus Nicolau (18-2-1) at the UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 3. This fight card does not currently have a destination on the books, nor a designation. Schnell confirmed the existence of his upcoming bout on his Instagram on Thursday morning. Other than Schnell-Nicolau, the only match booked on the lineup is a flyweight contest between Amanda Ribas and Tracy Cortez.

Schnell put an end to a two-fight winless stretch with an all-action thriller against Su Mudaerji in July. In a comeback for the ages, Schnell survived a knockdown and several bad spots to hurt Mudaerji and ultimately submit him with a triangle choke. The two claimed “Fight of the Night” for their scrap, and this put Schnell back on track and in the hunt for contention. “Danger” has only gone the dista…

A potential striker’s delight is set for a UFC card on Oct. 29, as Dustin Jacoby will square off against Khalil Rountree at light heavyweight.

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Jacoby’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, announced the booking. Additionally, a featherweight tilt pitting Steve Garcia against Chase Hooper is also on tap for the event. That bout was first reported by Sherdog’s Tudor Leonte. The card is also expected to include a featherweight matchup between Edson Barboza and Ilia Topuria.

Jacoby is unbeaten in his last nine professional outings dating back to June 2019. The former Glory Kickboxing competitor 6-0-1 during his second UFC stint, including a first-round KO of Da Un Jung in his last outing at UFC on ABC 3.

Rountree has won two straight, scoring TKO finishes of Modestas Bukauskas and Karl Roberson in his last two promotional appearances. “The War Horse” has been up-and-down during his UFC tenure, compiling a 6-5 record with one no contest.

Garc…

Thiago Santos is an underdog against Jamahal Hill in the UFC on ESPN 40 main event, but the odds don’t bother the Brazilian at all.

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“Facing scary guys like him really motivates me,’ Santos told Sherdog.com. “Hill is a tall guy, very aggressive and walks forward all the time. [Jiri] Prochazka, Hill, those are exactly the type of opponents I like to face. I truly hope he fights against me like he fought [Johnny] Walker and [Jimmy] Crute. If I don’t knock him out by the second round, he will be punished for five rounds.”

According to “Marreta,” the strategy that worked for Hill against Walker won’t work against him. Hill defeated Walker by first-round knockout in the UFC Fight Night 201 main event on Feb. 19.

"Walker was fighting well but was surprised when Hill changed his southpaw stance to orthodox and ended up being caught,” Santos said. “That’s not my case. I also fight in both stances. If he changes stances, it is no surpri…

A bout between recent lightweight title challengers Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler is in the works for the end of the year.

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According to a report on “The MMA Hour,” the fight has been targeted for UFC 281, which takes place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Meanwhile, promotion broadcast partner ESPN confirmed that while the bout is in the works, Chandler prefers that it take place in December. Poirier also reportedly wants the fight to be contested over five rounds.

Poirier and Chandler were involved in a brief confrontation while attending UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on July 2. While it’s unclear what started the altercation, both men had to be separated by security while they yelled obscenities and threats at one another.

Poirier hasn’t competed since UFC 269, when he suffered a third-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira in a 155-pound title bout this past December. That snapped a three-bout winning st…

A matchup between ranked flyweights is on tap for the UFC’s Oct. 15 event, as Askar Askarov will lock horns with Brandon Royval.

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Royval’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, initially brought word of the 125-pound pairing. UFC Fight Night does not yet have an official location or headliner. The agency also announced that a flyweight tilt between Tatsuro Taira and C.J. Vergara has been added to the bill.

Askarov last appeared in a No. 1 contender bout at UFC on ESPN 33, where he fell to Kai Kara France via unanimous decision on March 26. Prior to that, the Dagestani known as “Bullet” was unbeaten in 15 professional appearances, earning notable wins against the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott in UFC competition.

Royval, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the division’s most exciting talents while compiling a 4-2 mark within the Las Vegas-based promotion. His 2022 campaign thus far has included a split-decision win over…

A flyweight showdown between Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo scheduled for the UFC on ESPN 41 co-main event has been removed from the card.

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The cancellation is a result of visa issues for Grasso, and Araujuo will not remain on the card against a replacement opponent. ESPN Deportes first brought word of the canceled bout. Grasso and Araujo were previously slated to meet at UFC 270 before Araujo pullled out of the fight due to injury.

UFC on ESPN 41 takes place at Pechanga Arena on Aug. 13 in San Diego, Calif., and is headlined by a bantamweight duel pitting Marlon Vera against Dominick Cruz.

Grasso has won three straight fights since moving up to 125 pounds, including a first-round submission triumph against Joanne Wood in her last outing at UFC on ESPN 33 on March 26.

Araujo, meanwhile, has been victorious in three of her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 35-year-old Brazilian outpointed Andrea Lee at UFC on ESPN 36 on…

Eric Albarracin has plenty to keep him occupied these days.

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The wrestling coach of Deiveson Figueiredo, Henry Cejudo, Patricio and Patricky Freire is currently splitting time between Natal, Brazil, at the Pitbull Brothers camp and Fight Ready in Arizona. The currently priority is the helping the Freire brothers prepare for upcoming title defenses.

Albarracin is well aware of the Dagestan vs. Brazil rivalry that seem to be brewing in MMA these days, thanks in large part to the upcoming UFC lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. Meanwhile, the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov recently took to Twitter to call for a showdown with Patricky Freire, who withdrew from a scheduled title defense against Sidney Outlaw last month due to injury. His next fight has not been announced by Bellator MMA.

“Khabib was 29-0, Makhachev is 22-1, Usman is 15-0, there is no doubt their game plans are working, but that doesn’t mean they don’t …

Conor McGregor will be making his major motion picture film debut in the near feature.

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According to Deadline, the former UFC two-division champion will star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Prime Video’s remake of the 1980’s action movie “Road House.” Filming is expected to begin in the Dominican Republic this month and will be available via streaming on Prime Video upon its release.

In the reimagined version, Gyllenhaal will play an ex-UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. McGregor’s role is not specified at this time, but he is expected to play an original character and not himself. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey was originally targeted for a leading role in the remake before the project was shelved.

According to the report, McGregor has turned down multiple Hollywood offers in the past, but he was intrigued by the project after recently watching the original movie. After a production …

Instead of a trilogy against A.J. McKee, Patricio Freire will next defend his featherweight title against Adam Borics in the Bellator 286 main event.

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The Press-Telegram was first to report the booking. McKee won’t be far from the featured proceedings, however, as he will make his 155-pound debut against Spike Carlyle in the co-main event. Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the bouts with a promotion official. Bellator 286 takes place on Oct. 1 at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., and the evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

After losing the 145-pound belt to McKee in a first-round submission loss at Bellator 263 in July 2021, Freire regained the title with a five-round verdict against his rival in the Bellator 277 headliner on April 15. “Pitbull” has won eight of his last nine promotional appearances dating back to 2017.

Borics, meanwhile, earned a unanimous decision against Mads Burnell in a title eliminator bout at Bellator 276…

As expected, Tom Aspinall suffered some pretty severe damage to his knee at UFC London last month.

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Early in his UFC Fight Night 208 headlining bout against Curtis Blaydes, Aspinall stepped awkwardly and crumbled to the canvas in agony, ending the heavyweight fight just 15 seconds after it began. The 29-year-old Englishman revealed the extent of the damage in a post on his Instagram account on Wednesday.

“Today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said in a video. “I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus and some ACL damage, so going to get that fixed today.”

Prior to the unfortunate injury, Aspinall established himself as one of the heavyweight division’s top up-and-coming talents with a five-fight Octagon winning streak that included finishes of Alexander Volkov, Sergey Spivak and Andrei Arlovski. The Team Kaobon representative is 12-3 over the course of a pro …