Martial Arts News

We’re back at this.I think I’m the only 185er that can say that has never pulled out of a fight but anyway smash boys I’ll get you back to back lets do it I’m willing to die just show up @KChimaev @darrentill2 @Mickmaynard2 @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite

— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) April 20, 2022

A much-anticipated middleweight clash has been scratched from the upcoming UFC 275 card on June 11 as Marvin Vettori won’t be facing former UFC 185-pound titleholder Robert Whittaker. On Wednesday morning, Vettori wrote a fiery tweet that implied “Bobby Knuckles” had pulled out of their scheduled meeting. A source close to the situation confirmed to Sherdog that Vettori is looking for a new opponent. An official reason hasn’t been disclosed for Whittaker’s withdrawal.

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“We’re back at this. I think I’m the only 185er that can say that has never pulled out of a fight but anyway smash boys I’ll get you back to back lets do it I’m…

The 2022 Professional Fighters League Season kicks off Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.

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PFL 1 “Collard vs. Stephens” takes place on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while the prelims stream to ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knap…

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Lightweights and light heavyweights will step to the stage when the Professional Fighters League kicks off its 2022 campaign and the chase for $1 million bounties begins.

Clay Collard tipped the scales at 155 pounds in advance of his PFL 1 headliner opposite fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jeremy Stephens (156) on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Meanwhile, Raush Manfio (156) and Don Madge (155.75) were also given the green light to compete at Tuesday’s official weigh-in.

PFL 1 “Collard vs. Stephens”—which airs live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—features two other matches on the main card, as Antonio Carlos Jr. (205.5) locks horns with Delan Monte (205) at light heavyweight and Natan Schulte (156) toes the line against Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155.75) at lightweight. The six-fight undercard, highlighted by a light heavyweight tilt between Emiliano Sordi (…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7HMAswHyY&w=560&h=315]

Should things go according to Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s plans, fans are about to be treated to a dream heavyweight matchup.

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In a recent interview with TMZ, White expressed his hopes about enrolling former 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones for an upcoming UFC event. While White didn’t expressly indicate the name of the card, it is safe to assume that he was hinting at International Fight Week, which is headlined by UFC 276.

“Listen, people have been talking about how awesome this card is, and I was just telling somebody the other day our lineup for this summer is incredible,” White said. “I’m hoping that Jon Jones is gonna be a part of that lineup this summer.”

When asked about a potential opponent for “Bones,” the first name that came to White’s mind was the one of former heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic.

“Yeah, Stipe makes sense.”

The las…

Also, the matchup between Buchecha and Reug Reug has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later event #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 18, 2022

Destiny appears not to favor a Marcus Almeida vs. Oumar Kane matchup. On Monday morning, the Singapore-based promotion announced that One “Reloaded” lost the much-anticipated heavyweight matchup. An official reason hasn’t been disclosed, but One aims to reschedule the clash for an as-yet unannounced event. It is the second time the promotion has postponed the fight after the pair was supposed to collide at last year’s ONE on TNT 1.

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Multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu heavyweight champion Almeida (2-0, 2-0 One) impressed in his mixed martial arts debut, where he submitted Anderson “Braddock” Silva thanks to a vicious north-south choke at 2:55 in the opening frame at One: “Revolution.” In his most recent appearance, “Buchecha” forced Ji …

JUST LIKE THAT@ToshiJJ gets the tap in the very 1st round

AND STILL

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#RIZIN35 Watch on @livenowglobal→https://t.co/6gKrHxMVSe pic.twitter.com/GAqnNgEJjd — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 17, 2022

Rizin Fighting Federation’s latest event went down at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo, Japan, and featured three championship rematches.

The Rizin 35 headliner saw Roberto de Souza facing Johnny Case in a lightweight championship clash. De Souza (14-1, 7-1 Rizin) and Case (27-8-1, 3-2 Rizin) had a brief exchange on the feet before “Satoshi” shot for a single-leg takedown. Case reversed the attempt in the brief scramble that followed. Shortly afterward, Case ended up in the crucifix position before De Souza shrugged him off his back. “Hollywood” looked good on the feet as his jab was starting to hit the mark more frequently. In turn, the Brazilian champion quickly jumped on Case’s back and locked up a trian…

Andre Fialho is $50,000 richer after securing his first UFC victory.

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The Portugal native received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his first-round stoppage of Miguel Baeza in a featured welterweight affair at UFC on ESPN 34 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Fialho rocked his foe with a series of uppercuts in the clinch, dropped him with a left hook and finished the fight with a hammerfist on the ground at the 4:39 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Mayra Bueno Silva and Yanan Wu garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their three-round bantamweight clash. Both fighters had their moments, but ultimately Silva landed the harder shots to win a unanimous decision in her 135-pound debut.

Finally, Drakkar Klose took home the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck by virtue of a second-round TKO of Brandon Jenkins in a preliminary lightweight affair. Klose nearly finished Jenkins in Round 1 with …

Belal Muhammad is a much-improved fighter since the first time he and Vicente Luque crossed paths, and it showed on Saturday night.

Muhammad (21-3, 12-3, 1 NC UFC) executed his game plan to near perfection, capturing a unanimous decision against Luque (21-8-1, 14-4) in the UFC on ESPN 34 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. “Remember the Name” received scorecards of 49-46 (twice) and 48-47 from the cageside judges to extend his unbeaten streak to eight — the third-longest in the UFC’s welterweight division.

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“This is my hump I had to get over,” Muhammad said. “He knocked me out. He beat me. I had to think about that my whole camp.”

While Luque needed just 79 seconds to finish Muhammad at UFC 205 in November 2016, the rematch was more of a chess match — and the Roufusport product was always one step ahead of his rival. Muhammad utilized back-and-forth movement to confound Luque for the duration of the bout, and he grounded his o…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 34 coverage will begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC on ESPN 34. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

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Use code: SHERDOG

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the roun…

Clark sent Knight to the moon 🌙 #UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/3w6WGHBbV4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 17, 2022 Devin Clark survived William Knight’s initial sprint and once he did, the fight was his for the taking.

Clark (13-6, 7-6 UFC) defeated Knight via technical knockout in their heavyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 34, ending the contest at the 3:21 mark of Round 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Clark snaps a two-fight skid in victory, while Knight has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.

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Knight put together a strong start, threatening Clark with a tight guillotine early and then following a jumping knee with a flurry of power punches in the waning moments of Round 1. From there, Knight’s output waned and Clark took control. The Elevation Fight Team landed takedowns in both the second and third rounds and also controlled Knight (11-4, 3-3 UFC) in the clinch.

Clark set the stage for…

グスタボ、2R KOで返り討ち！！やっぱ強い！！#RIZIN_TRIGGER3 pic.twitter.com/lXP3aPEISV

— たなえい、押忍 (@1_mma_w) April 16, 2022

After more than a two-year hiatus, Luis Gustavo Felix dos Santos made his Rizin Fighting Federation return in emphatic fashion on Saturday.

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The 25-year-old Evolucao Thai product defeated recent lightweight title challenger Yusuke Yachi via technical knockout in the Rizin "Trigger 3rd" main event at Musashino Forest Plaza in Tokyo, Japan. Dos Santos swarmed his opponent near the fence, dropped him with a right hand and was pulled off by referee Minoru Toyonaga before any more damage could be done at the 3:14 mark of Round 2. Dos Santos and Yachi previously squared off at Rizin 12, with the Brazilian winning via second-round knockout.

It was the first appearance for dos Santos (11-2, 3-2 Rizin) since December 2019, when he fell to current Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire as part of…

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The stage has been set for a trio of title fights at the top of the Rizin Fighting Federation 35 card.

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All six competitors slated to compete for championship gold made weight ahead of their Rizin 35 bouts on Saturday. Roberto Souza tipped the scales at 156.4 pounds for his lightweight title defense against Johnny Case (156.3) in the evening’s main event, while reigning featherweight king Juntaro Ushiku checked in at 145.2 pounds for his showdown against Yutaka Saito (145.2). Finally, Ayaka Hamasaki weighed 107.6 pounds for a super atomweight championship clash against Seika Izawa (107.9).

Rizin 35 takes place at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday and airs on pay-per-view at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT. The event can be purchased for $24.99 here.

Souza enters the main event on a four-bout winning streak after suffering his lone career defeat at the hands of Case at …