Martial Arts News

After a career filled with ups and downs, Corey Anderson is on the verge of taking home some championship hardware if he can defeat Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 277 on Friday night.

Advertisement

The bout will serve as the finals of the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix, and Anderson has been impressive thus far, earning TKO wins over Ryan Bader and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov to make his way through the bracket. The man known as “Overtime” has enjoyed a resurgence in Bellator after suffering a first-round knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in his last UFC appearance, a defeat that removed him from consideration for a potential title shot in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

It’s not the first time Anderson has bounced back. He also lost three of four UFC bouts from from 2016 to 2017 — including two via KO. This time around, Anderson says a new mindset accompanied the move to a new organization.

“It came full circle. I started off in this game young. A lot of pe…

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix has undergone yet another change, as Nikita Mikhailov will step in for Josh Hill against Enrique Barzola in the wild card round.

Advertisement

The promotion announced the new pairing, which is slated for Bellator 278, on Monday. Reasons for Hill’s withdrawal have not been disclosed. The Mikhailov-Barzola winner will advance to face Magomed Magomedov in the 135-pound semifinals at Bellator 282 on June 24.

Bellator 278 takes place on April 22 at Neil S. Blasdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is headlined by a women’s flyweight championship tilt between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche.

A 23-year-old Fedorteam export, Mikhailov has been victorious in eight of his nine professional outings thus far. The Fight Nights Global veteran kicked off his promotional tenure with a decision win over Brian Moore at Bellator 269 and a third-round TKO of Blaine Shutt at Bellator 273.

After a 6-3-1 stint in the UFC, Barzola ma…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is parting ways with longtime veteran Alex Oliveira.

Advertisement

The promotion elected not to re-sign the 22-time Octagon competitor after Oliveira completed his current contract in a second-round TKO defeat to Kevin Holland at UFC 272 on March 5. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news.

Oliveira exits the Las Vegas-based organization on a four-bout skid, falling to Holland, Niko Price, Randy Brown and Shavkat Rakhmonov in his last four outings. The 34-year-old Brazilian known as “Cowboy” went 11-10 with one no contest over the course of a UFC tenure that began in March 2015.

The Rio de Janeiro native enjoyed his greatest run of success in the promotion from May 2015 to September 2018, when he was victorious in nine of his 12 UFC appearances while establishing himself as a reliable action fighter. Oliveira’s resume includes notable wins over the likes of Carlos Condit, Tim Means, Max Griffin, Will Brooks and K.J. No…

Legend LegendPudzian Materla

This. Is. Happening #KSW70 pic.twitter.com/zULEU4Kuqv

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 11, 2022

Advertisement

A heavyweight superfight between five-time “World’s Strongest Man” Mariusz Pudzianowski and ex-middleweight champion Michal Materla will headline KSW 70 on May 28.

The Polish promotion announced the booking Monday. KSW 70 takes place at Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, and is available via pay-per-view at KSWTV.com. Pudzianowski and Materla are two of the most popular athletes in KSW history and according to a release, “both men are credited with having a major impact on the growth of KSW and are sporting icons in their native Poland.”

Pudzianowski, 45, is in the midst of a four-bout winning streak in which he has finished all of his opponents by knockout or technical knockout. Most recently, the WCA Fight Team member knocked out Serigne Ousmane Dia, also known as “Bombardier,” in 18 seconds at KSW 64 th…

Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most heavily-hyped talents to compete in the UFC in recent memory, but until Saturday night, he hadn’t truly been tested in the Octagon.

Advertisement

Chimaev rolled through his first four UFC opponents, with his most notable victory coming in the form of a first-round submission against Jingliang Li this past October. While Li was on the fringe of the welterweight rankings, stepping up to face Gilbert Burns was another matter entirely. The Brazilian known as “Durinho” entered Saturday night as a former title challenger with wins over the likes of Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson at 170 pounds.

Heading into UFC 273, Chimaev vs. Burns was arguably the most anticipated fight on the card – including the two title bouts – and it delivered beyond any reasonable expectation. Most importantly for Chimaev, he survived his first real adversity to capture a unanimous decision triumph against one of the top welte…

The championship fights at the top of the UFC 273 card were apparently enough to inspire Henry Cejudo to come out of retirement.

Advertisement

Cejudo’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, informed ESPN that the former UFC two-division champion will re-enter the USADA drug testing pool on Monday. Fighters are generally subject to six months of drug testing before they can return to active competition, according to the UFC’s anti-doping policy.

"Henry will focus on his fight and training," Abdelaziz told ESPN. "He never stopped training. I truly believe Henry can come back to win the [bantamweight] title and go up to 145 and win that. He will be the only fighter in UFC history to win three world titles.”

I’m getting back in the pool!

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) April 10, 2022

Shortly after the conclusion of UFC 273, Cejudo tweeted, “I’m getting back in the pool,” which signaled that the Olympic gold medalist is planning to end his retire…

Gilbert Burns is holding his head high following a decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273.

The bout was lauded as an instant classic, and Burns clipped his opponent on multiple occasions during a back-and-forth slugfest but was unable to do enough to get the nod in the eyes of the cageside judges. The former welterweight title challenger did give Chimaev the toughest test of his career to date, and their bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors and could be up for “Fight of the Year” down the road.

Burns released a couple statements on his social media, one via video and another that was written, both of which expressed positive sentiments in the face of defeat.

“Thank you everybody for the wishes, everybody for the messages. It was a tough one,” Burns said in a video on his Instagram stories. “I mean, I had fun. It wasn’t the result that I wanted. But unfortunately, life’s like that. A lot of work, a lot of discipline, but it is what it is. … [I’m] out, but…

While blowout victories are nice, Khamzat Chimaev gained a measure of credibility in his three-round war against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.

To hear him tell it, it was exactly the type of test that Chimaev desired.

“I like that s—t,” Chimaev said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I love my face bloody and sweaty and kick somebody, punch somebody. Make money, I got [$50,000]. I’m happy.

“Before, I didn’t get that fight. It was my first fight like that. I loved it. I was waiting for that for a long time. I had 10 fights and 10 finishes but this fight happened. I bled, sweat and fought three rounds.”

Indeed, Chimaev vs. Burns figures to be at the top of the list for “Fight of the Year” in 2022 when all is said and done. Chimaev appeared to be on the verge of a finish after dropping Burns in Round 1, but his opponent was able to survive the follow-up salvo of ground-and-pound. From there on, it was a back-and-forth war in which both men showcased impr…

Alexander Volkanovski did exactly what he was expected to do at UFC 273, but that doesn’t make his performance any less impressive.

The reigning featherweight champion overwhelmed Chan Sung Jung in all aspects of their fight en route to a fourth-round technical knockout stoppage at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. Volkanovski was a significant favorite heading into the fight with “The Korean Zombie,” who was a replacement opponent for the injured Max Holloway. Volkanovski has now won 21 straight fights and 11 in a row in UFC competition — the second-longest active winning streak in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I said that’s what I was going to do,” Volkanovski said at the UFC 273 post-fight press conference. “I’d been showing everyone – telling everyone all week I’m going to show I’m on another level. I’m raising the bar each time, and you saw that. All these guys can’t touch me. I don’t think anyone’s ever done that to…

Aljamain Sterling didn’t take long to set his sights on a new opponent following a split-decision triumph over Petr Yan in the UFC 273 co-main event.

“Funk Master” used his post-fight microphone time to call out former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, who was in attendance at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. Sterling elaborated on his fiery speech at the UFC 273 post-fight press conference.

“The guy’s just been nonstop talking about me, talking about my heart and ... the spirit of a fighter,” Sterling said of Dillashaw. “The spirit of a fighter is someone who’s never going to give up, if you ask me, and I think I showed that this time. I think I showed that even in my worst night, which was my first performance against Yan. That was a shell of myself and he couldn’t get me out of there that night, and he wasn’t going to get me out of there this night, either. I showed what I’m capable of, and where my mental fortitude is at…

The story of @CubSwanson & Dooho Choi’s all-time classic

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/kCkc7Uf9sC

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022 Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi are headed to the UFC Hall of Fame thanks to their memorable bout more than five years ago.

The promotion announced on Saturday night that Swanson vs. Choi will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing” as part of a ceremony for the 2022 class held during International Fight Week in July. The induction will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

“The fight between Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi is one of the greatest fights of all time,” said UFC president Dana White. “This fight was an absolute war for all three rounds and both guys left everything they had inside the Octagon, it was crazy. This fight was an incredible display of heart, endurance and determination and it was so good, it was named the 2016 ‘Fight of the Year.’ Congratulations …

When all is said and done, Khamzhat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns may have locked up “Fight of the Year.”

For now, the two welterweights will have to settle for “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece following their memorable slugfest at UFC 273 on Saturday night at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Chimaev, one of the most heavily-hyped talents in recent memory, passed the most significant test of his career to date with a unanimous decision triumph over Burns, a former No. 1 contender at 170 pounds.

Meanwhile, reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a dominant performance against Chan Sung Jung in the evening’s main event. The City Kickboxing representative battered Jung all over the Octagon before a pair of right hands had “The Korean Zombie” essentially out on his feet for a technical knockout stoppage 45 seconds into Round 4.

Finally, veteran submission specialist Alexey Oleyn…