Martial Arts News

Dominick Cruz could be sidelined for up to six months following his knockout loss Marlon Vera in the UFC on ESPN 41 main event.

Cruz is facing a 180-day term unless he is cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor for a potential nose injury. The former UFC bantamweight champion’s nose was clearly damaged from the head kick that ended his night at the 2:17 mark of Round 4. At a minimum he is suspended for 45 days with 30 days of no contact. The California State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

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Everyone on the card received at least a seven-day mandatory medical suspension. Meanwhile, four other fighters are facing potential 180-day sits pending doctor clearance: Devin Clark (left hand, right foot), Lupita Godinez (chest), Gabriel Benitez (left hand, left ankle, left elbow) and Charlie Ontiveros (right toe).

UFC on ESPN 41 Medical Suspensions:

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For many years, Leandro Vieira was responsible for sharpening the ground skills of American Kickboxing Academy fighters.

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For the last two years, however, the brother of legendary Leonardo Vieira did not renew his contract with AKA and instead decided to focus 100% on his jiu-jitsu classes.

"The way everything finished with AKA, even still having many friends out there, I decided to not work with MMA [fighters] anymore,” the black belt said.

Vieira changed his mind upon receiving an invitation from UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera.

"Actually we knew each other on ‘TUF: Latin America,’ where I was the BJJ coach for [Cain] Velasquez and he was from the [Fabricio] Werdum team,” Vieira said. “Two years ago we met again at RVCA and I showed him some tips on knee control, and he got mad and invited me to train with him. Since his fight with [Sean] O´Malley, we have been working together. I had no doubt he was going surprise O’Malley, just like…

Huseyn Aliyev got a second chance at the Fury FC featherweight belt, and he made it count.

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Aliyev defeated Andres Quintana in an interim title bout in February but missed weight, rendering him ineligible to win the belt. Nonetheless, the “Azeri Warrior” showed enough in that performance to earn a shot at lineal titleholder Nate Richardson, and their five-round duel at Fury FC 67 on Sunday was as hard-fought and evenly matched as any in the promotion’s history. The early rounds were characterized by the contrast between Richardson’s sharp jab and chopping low kicks, and Aliyev’s crushing pressure against the cage. Aliyev made numerous takedown attempts using a variety of judo trips and throws, but never succeeded in bringing the fight to the ground for any appreciable length of time. With the exception of Round 4, when Aliyev dropped Richardson with a pair of right hooks, every round of the fight was a battle in itself that could have been scored for …

Former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes will return to action for the first time in more than a year when he meets Ryan Spann at UFC 281.

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MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 281 takes place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York and features a middleweight title fight pitting Israel Adesanya against Alex Pereira.

Reyes began his professional career with 12 consecutive triumphs — a run that included six wins in the UFC. He lost a narrow decision to Jon Jones in a light heavyweight title bout at UFC 247 and has since suffered KO/TKO losses to former champ Jan Blachowicz and current 205-pound king Jiri Prochazka. His most recent appearance, a second-round KO loss to Prochazka at UFC on ESPN 23, occurred on May 1, 2021.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Spann has been victorious in six of his eight Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Superman” submitted Ion Cutelaba in the opening sta…

A third meeting between Angela Lee and Jingnan Xiong will serve as the main event for One Championship’s second event on Amazon Prime Video.

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The Singapore-based promotion confirmed the pairing on Monday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. One on Prime Video 2 takes place on Sept. 30 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The evening’s main card will stream live in the United States on Prime Video at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Xiong’s strawweight (125-pound) belt will be on the line in the trilogy bout.

Lee and Xiong initially squared off at One Championship “A New Era,” with Xiong retaining her belt with a fifth-round technical knockout victory in March 2019. Xiong dropped to atomweight (115 pounds) for the rematch in an attempt to become a two-division champion, but Lee retained her crown with a fifth-round submission at One Championship “Century Part 1” in October 2019.

Lee returned following more than a two-year layof…

Professional Fighters League made Shane Burgos an offer he couldn’t refuse.

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The 11-time UFC veteran announced Monday on "The MMA Hour” that he has parted ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion to sign a contract with the PFL. Burgos completed his deal with a majority decision triumph over Charles Jourdain at UFC on ABC 3 on July 16.

“That was the last fight of my deal,” Burgos said. “I said after the fight that I wanted to test free agency, test the waters. I know what I am worth, I wanted to see what everyone else thought I was worth. So I went out there, I tested the free agency market and I’m excited to announce that I’m signing with the PFL.

“It was not an easy decision. It was an offer I couldn’t turn it [down]. I’ve got two daughters, I’ve got to go back home, I’ve got to look at them in the face when it’s all said and done in this sport. With this deal I feel like that will secure that.”

Burgos said that the PFL contract is not…

The fourth week of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 athletes slated for combat hit their contracted marks on the scale without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout is a lightweight clash pitting Thomas Paull (155.5) against Esteban Ribovics (155).

Paull has won three straight contests, all by knockout or technical knockout. The 27-year-old Englishman known as “Juggernaut” owns an 11-3 career mark and has finished all of his victories inside the distance.

Anchored at Nova Uniao Argentina, Ribovics will bring a perfect 10-0 mark to the Contender Series. The 27-year-old has finished all of his wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, capturing the Fusion Fighting Championship title along the way.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Thomas Paull (155.5) vs. Esteban Ribovics (155)Claudio Ribeiro (181.5) vs. Iva…

Marlon Vera and his team had a pretty good idea that he could finish Dominick Cruz in emphatic fashion.

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In fact, Vera’s coach, Jason Parillo, sent the fighter an image early in the week foreshadowing the head kick knockout that would end Cruz’s night in the UFC on ESPN 41 headliner at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Saturday night.

“Like six days ago, my coach sent a picture,” Vera said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “It was literally [Pedro] Munhoz kicking his body [in their fight at UFC 269], and his head was dipping all the way down. He didn’t text anything, just sent me the picture. I picked it up like he’s giving me a message. And in the third round he told me, ‘Punch in the air, have him dip, and throw a f—ing haymaker.’ And I was like, ‘Thank you, coach.’”

When his opponent dipped his head, Vera landed a vicious head kick that sent Cruz face first to the canvas, and a few follow-up shots sealed the victory at the 2:17 mark of …

B.J. Penn won’t be holding political office in Hawaii.

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The UFC Hall of Famer lost the Republican primary by a wide margin on Saturday, garnering just 22.2 percent of the vote. Two-time Republican Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona won by receiving 47.5 percent of the vote and will go against Democratic representative Josh Green in the general election on Nov. 8.

Penn announced his intention to run for governor this past October with a campaign that focused heavily on lifting COVID-19-related restrictions in Hawaii.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but I would never run from a fight or sell out my people,” Penn wrote last October. “As soon as I step into Hawaii’s Governor office I will remove All new federal and state mandates that have been hurting our economy, residents, and ‘ohana. We will get the best doctors, medicines, therapies, and health care the world has to offer to fight this pandemic and always keep Hawaii among the safest and …

Mega prospect Bo Nickal will make his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series against Donovan Beard on Sept. 27.

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The bout was announced during the UFC on ESPN 41 broadcast on Saturday night. Nickal vs. Beard will take place on the season finale of the Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Nickal impressed with a 62-second submission of Fury FC veteran Zachary Borrego on Aug. 9. While most observers believed that was enough to earn the middleweight a contract, UFC president Dana White elected to have Nickal get more experience on the Contender Series.

“I don’t know what else he could have done to look any better. He looked incredible. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is because he’s 2-0 now,” White said after the fight. “We got eight more weeks of this. Why not have him fight here again, you know what I mean? It just makes sense.”

Beard, 3…

Not only did Marlon Vera score an emphatic knockout victory against Dominick Cruz in the UFC on ESPN 41 headliner, but he was also the event’s highest-paid fighter.

“Chito” took home $300,000 for his fourth-round head kick finish of Cruz ($175,000) on Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. Vera is one of five six-figure earners on the card, according to salary figures released by the California State Athletic Commission.

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Other notable payouts include Angela Hill, who took home $190,000 for a unanimous decision win over Lupita Godinez ($45,000) in a 120-pound catchweight affair, and Gerald Meerschaert, who garnered $146,000 for a third-round submission of Bruno Silva ($40,000) at middleweight. Meanwhile, Gabriel Benitez received $100,000 for a first-round TKO of Charlie Ontiveros ($12,000).

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a…

Rory MacDonald has been fighting professionally since he was was a teenager, but it appears that “The Red King” has reached the end of the line.

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The 33-year-old MacDonald announced his retirement from MMA in statement via Instagram following a first-round technical knockout loss to short-notice foe Dilano Taylor in the welterweight semifinals at the Professional Fighters League playoffs on Saturday.

“My time has come to put the gloves down for good,” MacDonald wrote. “I’m so thankful for this sport and every person I’ve been able to meet along the way.

“I started this sport as a 14-year-old kid, I still remember my first day and knowing this is what I want to spend my life doing. The passion for martial arts and becoming a pro MMA fighter gave me hope and a way to a better life! And I’m so thankful to God for putting that gym Toshido MMA in Kelowna in my path. It truly changed the direction of my life and saved me!

“What an adventure this car…