Martial Arts News

The One Championship 157 main event on Friday featured a featherweight muay Thai title affair, as defending champion Petchmorakot Petchyindee locked horns with Jimmy Vienot at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

The French challenger looked sharp in the first two frames, where he kept intercepting Petchmorakot’s kicks and throwing him to the mat to disrupt his rhythm. Petchmorakot started countering Vienot’s offense in Round 3, ducking his opponent’s long punches and retaliating with some shots of his own. The Thai champion knocked down Vienot right out of the gate in the fourth thanks to a short hook. While the Frenchman bounced back on the feet following the referee’s count, he did not show the same crispness he showed in the preceding rounds. Petchmorakot felt he was ahead on the scorecards in the fifth stanza and limited risk to cruise past his adversary, leaving the fight to run its course. Ultimately, the judges were split about the result. Two of the three…

🇮🇪 #BellatorDublin is 🔥.@StrabanimalMMA vs. @36Johns joins a 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 card at the @3ArenaDublin, headlined by @BensonHenderson vs. @peterqueally & @team_manhoef vs. @YoelRomeroMMA.

Tickets for #Bellator's Dublin return on Friday, Sept. 2️⃣3️⃣rd 👉 https://t.co/A0GUahCvHv pic.twitter.com/gB6oKTT9P5

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 20, 2022 Bellator MMA on Friday revealed part of its lineup for a Sept. 23 event at 3Arena in Dublin. The bill will be headlined by a lightweight affair between former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Benson Henderson and Peter Queally. Meanwhile, legendary knockout artist Melvin Manhoef takes on 2000 Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero in the light heavyweight co-feature.

Henderson (29-11, 6-6 Bellator) is coming off a split decision over Islam Mamedov at Bellator 273 that snapped a three-bout skid. Queally (13-6-1, 2-2 Bellator) is looking to bounce back following the second-round stoppage he suf…

135.5 for the legend @HollyHolm - we have a main event! 🎉

[ #UFCVegas55 | TOMORROW | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/BCyLvygb6l

— UFC (@ufc) May 20, 2022 Ultimate Fighting Championship hosts another ESPN+ card this weekend from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira atop the UFC Fight Night 206 bill. The 11-fight card is now set after all 22 fighters made weight.

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Despite being 40-years-old, "The Preacher's Daughter" has shown little sign of slowing down. Holm (14-5) is riding a two-fight win streak, most recently winning decisions over Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana. However, this is Holm's first fight since 2020, so she will look to shake off any rust quickly. Always fit, the former UFC bantamweight champion weighed 135.5 pounds.

Vieira (12-2) picked up a marquee win over Miesha Tate in her last outing. However, prior to that triumph, "Fenomeno" had last two of her last three bouts havi…

The previously scheduled fight between Buchecha and Hugo Cunha has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.#WeAreONE #ONEChampionship

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 19, 2022 One Championship on Thursday announced that multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus Almeida would not be facing Hugo Cunha at One Championship 157 due to COVID-19 protocols. The heavyweights were scheduled to collide on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It marks the second time Almeida has lost an opponent mere hours before an event. The American Top Team representative was supposed to lock horns with Oumar Kane in April, only to see the match fall off the card a few days prior.

Almeida (2-0, 2-0 One Championship) started his mixed martial arts career on the right foot when he submitted Anderson “Braddock” Silva with a north-south choke 2:55 into the opening round of their One Championship “Revolution” …

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎-𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋⚖️

🇧🇷 Junior dos Santos 245.6 lbs🇨🇻 Yorgan de Castro 264.2 lbs

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🇨🇺 Hector Lombard 203.8 lbs🇧🇷 Thiago Silva 206 lbs #EagleFC47: Dos Santos vs. De Castro | TOMORROW 6P ET| Watch Eagle FC LIVE and FREE on FLXcast. pic.twitter.com/23Ctt1fWNG — Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) May 19, 2022 Eagle FC returns to the United States for another intriguing card full of prospects and veteran fighters. EFC 47 is headlined by former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Junior dos Santos as he looks to get back in the win column against Yorgan De Castro.

While the main event heavyweights had no trouble making weight, four other fighters were heavy. This includes middleweights Maki Pitolo and Dough Usher, who weighed in 187.4 and 189 pounds, respectively. Also overweight was Alexandre Almeida, who was 158.4 pounds for his lightweight bout against Roosevelt Roberts, and Paulo Silva, who came in…

First Time Ever!! The Octagon lands at #UFCParis on Sept 3! 🇫🇷

Register now for early access to tickets ⤵️

🎟️ https://t.co/IFdZXeHldm pic.twitter.com/Q21KS3FDQn

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 19, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Thursday announced that France would host its first UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 3 at the Accor Arena in Paris.

While the UFC has not yet announced an official fight, former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane expects to clash with Tai Tuivasa. Meanwhile, Marvin Vettori has campaigned to face former middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker at the event after their scheduled clash was scratched from the forthcoming UFC 275 show in June.

Besides Gane, several other French competitors seem likely to be under consideration for the card, including Nassourdine Imavov, Manon Fiorot, Alan Baudot and Zarah Fairn dos Santos. France has long been home to mixed martial artists in all major promot…

PFL CEO @PeteMurrayPFL on how today’s funding will help the Fans, Fighters, and the growth of MMA pic.twitter.com/SrOYAjzAxy

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 19, 2022

The Professional Fighters League on Thursday announced the completion of a $30 million Series E equity round to fund global expansion and launch its new “PPV Super Fight Division.”

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The funding was ushered by Waverley Capital, a venture capital firm guided by Daniel Leff and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Former Major League Baseball superstar and current businessman Alex Rodriguez also took part and will join Leff on the PFL Board of Directors.

A press release sent Thursday morning stated that the PFL has total funding $200 million from dozens of sports stars, media leaders and influencers, including Ted Leonsis, Brandon Beck, Mark Lerner, Debra Cafaro, Ray Lewis and Wiz Khalifa.

“With this new capital, PFL is open for business to sign the biggest MMA star fighters in th…

Two more fights have been added to the UFC’s Aug. 13 lineup, as Sara McMann will face Aspen Ladd at bantamweight, while Bruno Silva will meet Gerald Meerschaert at middleweight.

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McMann vs. Ladd was first reported by All Access MMA, and Ag.Fight initially brought word of Silva vs. Meerschaert. The Aug. 13 UFC Fight Night card does not yet have a location or headliner.

An Olympic silver medalist and former bantamweight title challenger, McMann has been victorious in two of her last three Octagon appearances. Most recenty, the South Carolina native outpointed Karol Rosa at UFC on ESPN 33 on March 26.

The 27-year-old Ladd has fallen on hard times of late with losses in three of her last four promotional outings. The MMAGold Fight Team member is coming off a decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 273 on April 9.

Silva, a former M-1 Global champion, saw a seven-fight professional winning streak come to an end at UFC Fight Night 203, wher…

Andre Fialho continues to be the most active fighter on the UFC roster in 2022, as he will lock horns with Jake Matthews at UFC 275 on June 11.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Full Violence. UFC 275 takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore and is headlined by a light heavyweight title clash between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka.

Fialho will fight for the third time in three months and the fourth time overall this year when he squares off against Matthews. After dropping a decision against Michel Pereira at UFC 270, the Bellator veteran has rebounded to score back-to-back KO/TKO victories over Miguel Baeza and Cameron VanCamp in the Octagon.

The 27-year-old Matthews will be making his first appearance of 2022. The Australian known as “The Celtic Kid” had a three-bout winning streak halted in his last outing, when he was submitted in the third round by Sean Brady at UFC 259.

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

After kicking off his Octagon tenure with two impressive wins, Alex Pereira will make his third promotional appearance against ranked middleweight Sean Strickland at UFC 276 on July 2.

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As a result of two kickboxing victories against Israel Adesanya, another impressive performance against Strickland could fast track Pereira to a title shot against “The Last Stylebender.”

While oddsmakers have “Poatan” as a slight favorite against Strickland, Brazilian trainers Rafael Cordeiro and Vinicio Anthony are not so optimistic about Pereira’s chances.

"He went to Kings [MMA] a couple of times and did tough sparring with [Marvin] Vettori,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com. “He is very hard to spar against. Long range, very aggressive, always walking forward. I agree ‘Poatan’ should be favored but I don’t visualize an easy fight.”

Antony, the former head coach of Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida, takes it on…

As his first light heavyweight title defense draws near, the finish line is in sight for Glover Teixeira.

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Teixiera is scheduled to face Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 275 main event on June 11 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The 42-year-old Brazilian has his ideal scenario laid out, which of course begins with a win over Prochazka.

“The perfect plan would be winning this fight, which I have full focus on,” Teixeira said on the Mundo da Luta podcast (translation via MMAFighting.com). “And fighting one last time in November, in New York, which is close to the city I live for 20 years, and close to my gym. It would be my farewell from fighting. That’s what I’m thinking right now.”

The UFC has not announced an event for New York, but November is typically when the Las Vegas-based promotion travels to the Empire State, including UFC 268 last year. If Teixeira does call it a career, he wants his retirement to stick. That isn’t so co…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPn48bMd6V8&w=560&h=315]

If Junior dos Santos takes care of business at Eagle FC 47, big things could be in store for the Brazilian heavyweight.

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That is, if Eagle FC promoter Khabib Nurmagomedov gets his way. Dos Santos will face fellow UFC veteran Yorgan De Castro in the Eagle FC 47 main event on Friday at FLXCast Arena in Miami.

“If Dos Santos wins, I really want to make Dos Santos versus Fedor [Emelianenko],” Nurmagomedov said at the Eagle FC 47 pre-fight press conference. “He has to focus on Yorgan next because Friday he has a tough opponent.

“He has to stay focused but I want to talk to my friend [Bellator president] Scott Coker because Fedor is under Bellator contract. I don’t know what they’re going to do next with him but definitely we can talk and we can create some good stories.”

Emelianenko is expected to have his farewell fight with Bellator at some point this year. Coker and the California…