Martial Arts News

It seemed that a fourth meeting between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno was a virtual certainty until the Brazilian flyweight champion recently used Instagram to challenge Kai Kara France for his next title defense.

"I was informed through international media that my next fight would be against Moreno, but I never accepted that,” Figueiredo told Sherdog.com. “My manager, Wallid, called me last week saying that the UFC wanted the [Moreno] fight and I told him that, as a champion, I should have the right to choose a challenger that motivates me. I fought this guy three times in 13 months. There are a lot of great talents in the division and the weight class must move forward. Moreno lost to [Alexandre] Pantoja twice. if he beats him, we can talk about a fourth fight, but not now.”

Figueiredo also admitted that what he claims have been racist attacks from Moreno’s team, which he mentioned on Instagram, motivated his decision to pursue a fight against Kara France.<…

A previously reported middleweight championship clash between Gegard Mousasi and Johnny Eblen has an official date and event.

The California-based promotion announced Tuesday that Mousasi will defend his 185-pound belt against Eblen in the Bellator 282 headliner on June 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Additionally, two bantamweight grand prix quarterfinals will take place at Bellator 282. Magomed Magomedov will face the Enrique Barzola-Josh Hill winner, while Leandro Higo will square off against the Jornel Lugo-Danny Sabatello winner. A preliminary clash pitting Alejandra Lara against Ilara Joanne was also confirmed for the card.

Mousasi last appeared at Bellator 275 on Feb. 25, when he made short work of the previously undefeated Austin Vanderford in a first-ro…

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

@DricusDuPlessis putting South Africa on the map! #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/kinqJld3o9

— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021 Kelvin Gastelum will remain on the UFC 273 card after all, as Dricus Du Plessis has agreed to step in and face “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner on April 9.

Gastelum was originally slated to meet Nassourdine Imavov before the bout was canceled due to visa issues for his opponent. ESPN was first to report the new middleweight booking. Du Plessis was scheduled to fight Anthony Hernandez at UFC 273, but according to MMAFighting.com, Hernandez will remain on the bill and lock horns with promotional newcomer Josh Fremd.

This is the third different opponent for Du Plessis at UFC 273. Before being booked against Hernandez, he was supposed to square off against Chris Curtis, who pulled out due to a wrist injury. The former KSW and EFC champion has won four straight fights, including back-to-back knockouts of Trevi…

The first ever UFC PPV in South East Asia is coming, and it is STACKED

Register your interest now - https://t.co/6O0EJtkELc 🔗

[ #UFC275 | @VisitSingapore | #UFCSingapore | #PassionMadePossible | #SingapoReimagine ] pic.twitter.com/JytxBSv2tc — UFC (@ufc) March 29, 2022

Singapore will host an Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event for the first time ever on June 11.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed on Tuesday that UFC 275 will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium and is headlined by a light heavyweight title tilt between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka. The card will also see women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defend her belt against Taila Santos, while ex-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker takes on Marvin Vettori in a pivotal middleweight clash.

Two other bouts were also announced for UFC 275: Brendan Allen vs. Jacob Malkoun at middleweight and Kyung Ho Kang vs. Saimon Oliveira at feath…

A matchup between 2021 heavyweight champion Bruno Henrique Cappelozza and Englishman Stuart Austin will serve as the headliner for Professional Fighters League’s second regular season card on April 28.

PFL 2 will be held at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, and features a lineup of heavyweights and featherweights. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. In the co-main event, Dana White’s Contender Series alum and Cage Warriors veteran Brendan Loughnane will square off against Japanese prospect Ryoji Kudo at 145 pounds.

Two other heavyweight pairings round out the main draw, as Ante Delija meets Matheus Scheffel while Renan Ferreira takes on Jamelle Jones.

The evening begins with the following six bouts on the preliminary card: Lance Palmer vs. Chris Wade at featherweight; Bubba Jenkins vs. Sung Bin Jo at featherweight; Denis Goltsov vs. Sam Kei at heavyweight; Ali Isae…

Emily Ducote will welcome Alesha Zappitella to the strawweight division in a title fight at Invicta FC 47 on May 11.

The all-female promotion announced the headlining bout on Tuesday. A location and broadcast details for the card will be announced in the coming weeks. Recent Invicta events have aired on the organization’s YouTube channel.

Five other bouts were also confirmed for Invicta FC 47: Courtney King vs. Chelsea Chandler at featherweight; Lindsey VanZandt vs. Jillian DeCoursey at atomweight; Lisa Verzosa vs. Serena DeJesus at bantamweight; Janaisa Morandin vs. Liana Pirosin at flyweight and Jennifer Chieng vs. Alyssa Linduska at strawweight.

Ducote claimed the 115-pound strap with a head kick knockout of Daniell Taylor at Invicta FC 44 this past August. The Bellator MMA veteran has been victorious in four of her last five professonal outings. Ducote is 10-6 over the course of a tenure that began in 2015.

Zappitella will be making her strawweight deb…

UFC 273 has undergone a couple changes with less than two weeks remaining before the pay-per-view event.

A welterweight showdown between Kelvin Gastelum against Nassourdine Imavov has been canceled due to visa issues for Imavov. Gastelum will not be given a replacement opponent. It is unclear if the matchup will be rescheduled, but Gastelum posted on Twitter that “we’re trying to figure out other options.”

Unfortunately my opponent was unable to obtain a visa.Hopefully that gets worked out ASAP.We’re trying to figure out other options.So stay tuned…..#UFC273

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) March 28, 2022

Meanwhile, a heavyweight tilt pitting Ilir Latifi against Alexey Oleynik has been added to the UFC 273 bill. Latifi vs. Oleynik was originally slated for UFC on ESPN 33 before Latifi pulled out hours before the card due to illness.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the updates on Monday. UFC 273 takes place at Vystar Vete…

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https://t.co/TrFZh8ylKA @BellatorMMA @arielhelwani

— Vechtsport Info (@vechtsport_Info) March 28, 2022

Melvin Manhoef reportedly made a trio of would-be burglars regret targeting his residence.

Manhoef revealed to Dutch outlet Vechtsport Info that he chased down three men who tried to break into his house near Landsmeer, Netherlands, on Monday. The fighter then reportedly ran the burglars’ vehicle off the road and smashed one of the car windows with his bare fist.

Manhoef said he then made the three men wait on their knees until police arrived. The burglars were allegedly seen around Manhoef’s home will he was doing a promotional visit to Paris for Bellator MMA before making their robbery attempt the second time around.

Manhoef is slated to return to action against former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero in a light heavyweigh bout at Bellator 280 on May 6 in Paris. It will be his first fight since suffering a second-round TKO defea…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTq7MfaUgnk&w=560&h=315]

For nearly three months, Paulo Costa insisted on a rematch with Marvin Vettori, a fight that didn’t make much since to either Vettori or the UFC.

That focus shifted after Sean Strickland defeated Jack Hermansson via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 200 in February and then challenged the Brazilian on social media. By the time “Borrachinha” responded to Strickland’s callout, it was too late. Strickland is now expected to face Alex Pereira at UFC 277 on July 30.

Carlos Borracha, Costa’s brother and head coach, discussed Costa’s next move backstage after Jungle Fight 106 with PVT journalist Leonardo Fabri.

“Strickland challenged ‘Borrachinha’ a long time ago, [but] when He accepted, Strickland ran from us and they ended up giving him to ‘Poatan,’” Borracha said. “Strickland chickened out, but we have other ranked fighters in our target like [Derek] Brunson.

“We truly hope Brunson keeps his…

You’d have to go back to 2014 to find the last time Alexa Grasso finished a professional mixed martial arts bout, but the Lobo Gym MMA product’s stoppage of Joanne Wood on Saturday was far more significant for her career.

Grasso defeated Wood via rear-naked choke at the 3:57 mark of Round 1 in the UFC on ESPN 33 co-main event on Saturday at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, for her third consecutive triumph in the promotion at 125 pounds.

“It feels amazing. Finally, three wins [in a row] in the UFC and my first finish – my first submission on my record,” Grasso said at the post-fight press conference.

Prior to Saturday, all five of Grasso’s previous UFC victories had gone the distance. That wasn’t by design.

“Of course, as a fighter you always want to finish a fight,” she said. “It took a long time … but now I feel great. As I’m getting older, too, I feel more mature – my mind, my body, and my fight game.”

Grasso has always been best known for …

Chris Daukaus is trying to focus on the positive following his second consecutive defeat in the Octagon.

The Philadelphia police officer released a brief statement via Twitter in the aftermath of UFC on ESPN 33, where he fell to Curtis Blaydes via technical knockout 17 seconds into Round 2 of their headlining heavyweight bout at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, this past Saturday.

“There’s always negativity from people after a loss, often we linger too long on that,” Daukaus said. “I’m very appreciative for the people who have not done that and who have reached out with positivity. You guys are the best, especially @[email protected] thank you.”

There’s always negativity from people after a loss, often we linger too long on that. I’m very appreciative for the people who have not done that and who have reached out with positivity. You guys are the best, especially @Boogerbeard1 @MacMallyMMA thank you.

— Chris Daukaus (@ChrisDaukau…