Martial Arts News

Raquel Pennington will step up on short notice to face Aspen Ladd at UFC 273 on April 9.

Pennington is a late replacement for Irene Aldana, who withdrew from the bantamweight clash after suffering an undisclosed injury. Eurosport Netherlands was first to report the new matchup. UFC 273 takes place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung.

Pennington enters the matchup with Ladd on a three-bout winning streak. The former bantamweight title challenger last appeared at UFC Fight Night 199, where she submitted Macy Chiasson with a second-round guillotine choke this past December. “Rocky” has also secured decision triumphs over Pannie Kianzad and Marion Reneu during her current streak.

After nearly two years on the sidelines due to knee surgery, Ladd moved up to featherweight in her Octagon return at UFC Fight Night 195, where she dropped a five-round verd…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday with a pivotal heavyweight matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus, but the big boys weren’t the only fighters who nabbed the attention of the combat sports world.

Four fighters on the UFC on ESPN 33 marquee pocketed quite a bit of bonus cash for their efforts, with Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena nabbing the Fight of the Night bonus and the aforementioned Blades and Chris Gutierrez taking home an extra $50K apiece for their Performance of the Night accolades.

Brown, a41-year-old hometown fan favorite, waged a memorable three-round war with Barberena, driving the capacity crowd into a frenzy. While Brown scored critical takedowns in rounds two and three, it was Barberena’s powerful elbows and fists that buckled the Ohioan’s knees a few too many times when it mattered most. And while both men were on the verge of being stopped multiple times, Brown was battered far wors…

Curtis Blaydes has more than one dimension—a reality to which Chris Daukaus can now attest.

Blaydes stayed relevant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division, as he took apart the former Philadelphia police officer with punches in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 33 headliner on Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Daukaus (12-5, 4-2 UFC) bowed out 17 seconds into Round 2.

Curtis Blaydes WITH THE TKO 😱 #UFCColumbus pic.twitter.com/jb8u5mLwa9

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 27, 2022 The 31-year-old Blaydes (16-3, 11-3 UFC)—the UFC’s all-time heavyweight leader in completed takedowns—chose to stand and exchange, and the approach paid dividends. He ate a few right hands from Daukaus early in the bout but stayed the course and let his talent seize the reins. Blaydes buckled the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships contender with a two-punch salvo in the first round and opened a cut near his left eye, setting t…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 33 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

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 Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Sco…

Back in the win column! @Sara_McMann w/ the UD win at #UFCColumbus! pic.twitter.com/bnIS4So7Hc

— UFC (@ufc) March 26, 2022

Sara McMann went back to basics, and the results were revelatory.

The 2004 Olympic silver medalist stood her ground in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division, as she took a unanimous decision from Parana Vale Tudo’s Karol Rosa in the featured UFC on ESPN 33 prelim on Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for McMann (13-6, 7-6 UFC).

Rosa (15-4, 4-1 UFC) failed to maintain a manageable distance with the Team Alpha Male representative. McMann secured takedowns in all three rounds, stifled the Brazilian with top control and progressed to the back on more than one occasion. Rosa finally sprang a reversal late in the third round and applied some significant ground-and-pound, but the finish she needed never materialized.

The defeat halted R…

One Championship on Saturday celebrated its 10th anniversary by putting on one of its best cards to date at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It featured everything combat sports fans come to expect from a special occasion.

In the One Championship “One X” headliner, Angela Lee made her promotional return against Stamp Fairtex after taking off two years and a half for maternity leave. Lee (11-2, 11-2 One) shook off cage rust by attacking her opponent right out of the gate with a flurry of punches. Stamp (8-2, 7-2 One) stayed composed and waited for the right moment to retaliate with a liver shot that almost folded “Unstoppable” where she stood. While she was in evident distress, Lee bit down on her mouthpiece and survived the subsequent barrage of punches and kicks. In the second frame, Lee moved the action to the canvas as soon as possible. Once there, she showcased an arsenal of submission attempts, including a triangle choke and a twister that almost sealed t…

Bellator MMA veteran Adam Keresh disposed of Chad Johnson with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase at PFL Challenger Series 6 on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Johnson (6-4) checked out 3:34 into Round 1, as he suffered his third consecutive defeat.

Afterward, the Professional Fighters League signed Keresh to its 2022 roster.

Keresh (5-0) tested the waters with a few kicks and waited for an opportunity to present itself. He sprawled on Johnson, forced him down to all fours and connected with a brutal right hand underneath the armpit. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum reacted immediately, retreated to a belly-down position and ate a few more punches before referee Andrew Glenn intervened on his behalf.

Meanwhile, Robert Drysdale-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Marcelo Nunes submitted Bevon Lewis with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their heavyweight co-feature. Nunes (8-1) drew out the surrender 2:39 int…

OZZY DIAZ IS THE NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!!#LFA127 pic.twitter.com/2UbTecahUl

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 26, 2022 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new middleweight champion in the main event of LFA 127.

Competing for the vacant title in a classic striker versus grappler match were the hard-hitting Osman Diaz and Brazilian submission specialist Bruno Assis. The striking difference was demonstrated early with Diaz (7-1) flooring Assis (12-6) and then wisely not following him to the floor. A second knockdown would come late in the round with another flurry of punches ending the fight right before the round came to an end. Diaz officially claimed the championship at 4:53 of Round 1.

Featherweights Chase Gibson and Javier Garcia both had great moments in the back-and-forth co-main event. The first round would see each fighter gain back control and threaten with chokes, but it was Gibson (11-5) that ended the frame on top. R…

Romance can be quite a powerful motivator.

Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight contender Matheus Nicolau has grand designs on his division, and he does not plan on being at the top by himself. The upcoming UFC on ESPN 33 card on Saturday will have two important chapters to set up the future of flyweight division, and Nicolau aims to cement his place as a top contender with a decisive win.

Besides the fight between Askar Askarov and Kai Kara France, ranked two and six, respectively, there is one more matchup pitting top-10 flyweights against one another. The Columbus, Ohio, event will also feature a fight between Brazilian Nicolau (17-2-1) and the surging David Dvorak (20-3), with the latter coming off three straight UFC wins. Nicolau spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming bout, and what he plans after it takes place.

“David is a pretty solid fighter [and] well-rounded,” Nicolau admitted. “He has the same number of knockouts and submissions. For being very experience…

UFC finalizing undefeated Casey O’Neill (@kingcaseymma) vs. Jessica Eye (@jessicaevileye) for UFC 276 on July 2, per sources. O’Neill looking to improve to 5-0 in the UFC. Eye looking to hang on to her No. 10 ranking. Who you like in this one? pic.twitter.com/hQ3GNeyAVl

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 25, 2022 Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Jessica Eye will try to hold the line in the top 10 in July.

Per the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Friday, Eye (15-10, 1 NC) will be making her return to the cage after just under a year off against Casey O'Neill (9-0) at UFC 276. The event will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2, as the conclusion of the promotion’s annual International Fight Week celebration. The fight is expected to be official soon, with O’Neill remarking on the upcoming matchup on her Instagram stories on Thursday.

“Evil” Eye expected to be back in action far sooner than July 2022, with her la…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrpOL-OLSvY&w=560&h=315] Two-time Professional Fighters League champ Natan Schulte will return to action in the organization’s first regular season event of 2022.

The 2022 PFL tournament will kick off on April 20 at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, with lightweights and light heavyweights on tap for the first fight card. PFL 1: 2022 Regular Season had the lion’s share of its lineup announced, and sources close to the situation informed Sherdog on Friday of its final pairing in the lightweight division. 2018 and 2019 tourney champ Schulte (21-4-1) will be coming back to fight at this event, and he will be taking on Olivier Aubin-Mercier (13-5) in the lightweight division.

Schulte was once booked to fight Aubin-Mercier at PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs in August 2021, but he was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons. In the initial event of the 2021 season, Schulte lost for the first time since PFL’s rebranding when …

WE HAVE A MAIN EVENT!@RazorBlaydes265 is in at 259 pounds ⚖️

[ #UFCColumbus | TOMORROW | LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/IE1bt8yYE6

— UFC (@ufc) March 25, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Ohio for UFC on ESPN 33. The card is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus, who both had no issue coming in under the 265-pound limit. The rest of the 13-fight card also made weight, as there was little to no drama on the scale.

Blaydes enters his fifth UFC main event with a 15-3 record. The heavyweight most recently rebounded from a Derrick Lewis KO defeat by winning a decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik. "Razor" is 5-1 in his last six bouts, and stepped on the scale weighing 259 pounds.

This is the second main event for Daukaus, who was knocked out by the aforementioned Lewis in his last time out. Prior to the setback, Daukaus had won five straight bouts, four of which were inside the Octago…