Martial Arts News

Bellator MMA’s return to SSE Arena in London saw an American imposing his will on British soil.

The headliner featured an interim welterweight championship affair between Michael Page and Logan Storley as 170-pound titleholder Yaroslav Amosov is involved with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. From the opening seconds of the fight, it was clear that Storley (14-1, 9-1 Bellator) wouldn’t exchange with "Venom" on the feet as the American relied on his wrestling and moved the action to the canvas. "Storm" didn't secure much damage, but he kept himself busy and constantly looked to improve his position. Page (20-2, 16-2 Bellator) scored a few points thanks to his peculiar style in Round 2, but he couldn’t prevent his foe’s takedown attempts. Page smiled every time he was taken down while Storley accumulated some precious control time.

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Round 4 was the closest round for the Page as he connected with several weapons in his arsenal while his adversary l…

Sherdog's live Bellator 281 coverage kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.

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Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Bellator Welterweight Interim Title Fight:Michael Page (168.6) vs. Logan Storley (169.4) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

🇵🇱 @JanBlachowicz is in at 205.5 - we have a main event!

[ #UFCVegas54 | Tomorrow | Main Card 10pmET | LIVE on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/1uqlbxre8P

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2022 Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves on Saturday with another evening of mixed martial arts action with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz taking on contender Aleksandar Rakic.

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It was a largely an uneventful weigh-in as all fighters, including the headliners, made weight except for one. The lone unprofessional mixed martial artist was Carlos Candelario, who came in .5 pounds over the flyweight limit. Candelario's bout against Tatsuro Taira is still set, though, with Candelario being fined a percentage of his purse.

This is the first fight for Blachowicz (28-9) since dropping his light heavyweight title in a shocking upset against Glover Teixeira. Prior to the setback, the Polish fighter had picked up…

Excitement will be on the menu for this upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight tilt.

The city of Dallas is expected to play host to UFC 277, a pay-per-view card that will go on at the end of July. Joining the loaded lineup is a fight at 155 pounds, as first reported by Ariel Helwani on Thursday, between Diego Ferreira (17-5) and Drakkar Klose (12-2-1). The pairing has since been confirmed by Klose on his Instagram account.

At 37 years of age, Ferreira has fallen on hard times of late, losing three straight fights during a disappointing 2021 run. A split decision defeat to Beneil Dariush, in a rematch of their 2014 meeting, started the skid that included stoppage setbacks to Gregor Gillespie and Mateusz Gamrot. In the latter, Ferreira became the first and only competitor inside the Octagon to tap to strikes that year.

Klose bounced back from the first stoppage loss in his career by taking over two years away from the sport. This layoff did includ…

In the works … Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA) vs. Geoff Neal (@handzofsteelmma) for a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 6, location TBD. Fun, important matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division. pic.twitter.com/paN8sYEklY

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 12, 2022 A spot inside of the top 10 of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s ultra-competitive welterweight division will be up for grabs in early August.

The promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN broke the news on Thursday that Vicente Luque (21-8-1) would be taking on Geoff Neal (14-4) at a UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 6. ESPN did note that the contracts had yet to be signed, but verbal agreements are in place. The destination of the event has not been announced, but it may be staged in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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Brazil’s Luque saw a four-fight finish streak come to a grinding halt in a rematch with Belal Muhammad in April. In their five-round battle, Muhammad won the …

Our #UFCLondon card gets even bigger!@PCraigMMA vs @Volkan_Oezdemir is signed!

🎟️ https://t.co/SBdaztkmfe pic.twitter.com/jDjoN5Uc4F

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 12, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is stacking the deck when it comes to its return trip to London this July.

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On Thursday, the organization announced a high-stakes light heavyweight battle for the UFC Fight Night event on July 23. The event currently has no title, but it does have its headliner as well as a destination. It will be held at the O2 Arena in London, for a card that has gained Paul Craig (16-4-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (17-6) on a billing that already includes multiple intriguing fights.

“Bearjew” Craig will make his way back to action on a six-fight unbeaten streak that includes victories over the likes of Mauricio Rua, Jamahal Hill and Nikita Krylov on his way up. The Scotland native has yet to win a fight on the scorecards, with all 16…

#Bellator281 Official Weigh-In Results: Logan Storley (@storleystorm) (169.4) pic.twitter.com/NW8k3a9344

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) May 12, 2022 Bellator MMA's return to England will see Michael Page look to finally have championship gold, albeit of the interim variety, wrapped around his waist.

The main event of Bellator 281 will see Page take on Logan Storley for the interim welterweight championship. The five-round title fight, like the rest of the card, is now official after the weigh-ins took place on Thursday morning, although prelim fighter Alan Carlos came in 3.2 pounds overweight for his middleweight bout against Charlie Ward. The rest of the mixed martial artists all made weight.

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Page (20-1) has rebounded from his first career defeat, a brutal knockout at the hands of Douglas Lima, by rattling off six wins in a row. Most recently, "Venom" exacted revenge via split decision over Lima. It's now ti…

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Called the best middleweight in the world by Anderson Silva in 2006 and referred to by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as his toughest ground training partner during the Brazilian Top Team era, Paulo Filho has been retired from MMA since 2018.

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However, he still continues to follow the sport, and he was an interested observer in the UFC 274 headlining bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, which “Do Bronx” won via first-round submission.

"The ground level Charles has reached in MMA is something really special,” Filho told Sherdog.com. “The way he moves and reaches submission positions against such high-level opponents is really beautiful to see. It looks like he is playing. I truly don’t see anyone in the division taking this title from him now.”

The only advice the Carlson Gracie black belt has for Oliveira is to take the amount of time of necessary to rest his body before stepping into his next bout, which will be for the now vac…

Michael Page doesn’t need a belt around his waist to make him the biggest star in U.K. MMA. In his mind, he’s already reached that pinnacle.

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“Anybody that doesn’t understand that already is blind. I don’t believe I need a belt to do that,” Page said at Bellator media day. “That was my goal anyway. I think I’ve done enough to have proven myself.”

That said, the flamobyant British striker will get his first opportunity to vie for championship gold when he faces Logan Storley for the interim 170-pound strap in the Bellator 281 main event at the SSE Arena in London on Friday. Storley is a replacement for reigning welterweight king Yaroslav Amasov, who withdrew from the event to defend his native Ukraine against Russian invasion.

“It’s a crazy situation. That fact that I can sit here and tell anybody the reason I’m not fighitng this particular opponent is because they’ve gone out to war is crazy in itself,” Page said. “It shows you the place in the…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNF6fIQVLqM&w=560&h=315]

Unbeaten Mexican strawweight prospect Yazmin Jauregui has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Jaurequi’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, announced the signing on Wednesday. A date for her debut with the Las Vegas-based promotion is currently unknown.

A native of Tijuana, Jauregui trains at Entram Gym, which is notably home to former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and multiple other Octagon veterans. The 23-year-old has kicked off her professional tenure with eight consecutive triumphs, including six by way of knockout or technical knockout.

Jauregui has competed primarily for Combate Global and emerged with a trio of victories against Stephanie Frausto, Criszaida Adames and Claire Lopez as part of a one night tournament last August.

Please help us welcome undefeated #TeamIridium killer Yazmin Jauregui (8-0) to the @ufc #TheDarks…

PFL Regular Season comes to Atlanta & @OvertimeElite

Buy Tickets Now! https://t.co/SJJTGiOAHb pic.twitter.com/fx2Ffoq0bk

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 11, 2022

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The excitement is building in earnest for the second half of the Professional Fighters League regular season.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday for events scheduled for June 17, June 24 and July 1 at the OTE Arena at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Ga. All cards will air on ESPN and ESPN+, according to a release. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Fighters competing in six different weight classes such as Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, Brendan Loughnane, Antonio Carlos Jr., and Rory MacDonald will continue their push to make the PFL playoffs at these events. Matchups have not been announced at this time but are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“The PFL is excited to bring the second half of our 2022 regular season to …