Martial Arts News

The legend @DominickCruz makes tomorrow's #UFCSanDiego main event official with a weight of 135 pounds ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/juzXHdowyl

— UFC (@ufc) August 12, 2022 Former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is set to return to the Octagon for his first fight of 2022 against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC on ESPN 41.

All fighters made weight, although there are several catchweight contests to note. Rescheduled from UFC on ESPN 40 last week, Jason Witt vs. Josh Quinlan transformed into a 180-pound catchweight bout, while Angela Hill vs. Lupita Godinez is booked at 120 pounds as it was moved up several months to this event.

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Coming off of impressive wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz, "The Dominator" is looking to show that he still has plenty left in the tank at 37. While the former bantamweight king lost to two-division champion Henry Cejudo after a layoff of over three years, Cruz…

A massive Ultimate Fighting Championship rematch for the light heavyweight belt is in the works for December.

According to MMA Fighting on Thursday, the UFC is setting up the second iteration of Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1) vs. Glover Teixeira (33-8). Per the report, the two 205ers have verbally agreed to the pairing, but the contracts have not been signed. Should it come together, the two will meet again at UFC 282, likely in the headliner spot, on Dec. 10. The destination is not yet official, but it is expected this year-end pay-per-view card will be staged at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No other fights have been booked for this show thus far.

In just three trips to the Octagon, Prochazka went from newcomer to contender to champion. His first appearance in 2020 saw him starch Volkan Oezdemir with one punch. This springboarded the Czech fighter to a top-ranked matchup in 2021 with former title challenger Dominick Reyes, and the two put on a show until Prochazka flatt…

One of these two rising Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights will likely reach the top 10 after a win in New York.

The news first broke on Thursday morning from Erin Blanchfield’s Instagram page, where she announced she would be facing off against Molly McCann (13-4) on Nov. 12. The two flyweights will throw down inside Madison Square Garden in New York, and they will likely be positioned on the main card of UFC 281. McCann confirmed this shortly after its announcement, while also stating she has signed an eight-fight contract with the UFC as well.

Blanchfield (9-1) has been on a mission since her first career defeat, suffered in the Invicta Fighting Championships ranks in her fourth pro bout. Since that split decision setback to Tracy Cortez – a contentious one still debated to this day – Blanchfield has rattled off six straight victories, including three inside the Octagon. Two decisions over Sarah Alpar and Miranda Maverick in 2021 lifted “Cold Blooded” into a…

BREAKING: Due to the inability to secure a visa to enter the United Kingdom, Denis Goltsov and Magomed Umalatov will be replaced by alternates @chosenjuan285 & @PostmanTaylor. #PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Oj7PAfu6sy

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 11, 2022 The Professional Fighters League’s decision to hold its playoff shows in the U.K. has backfired for multiple semifinalists.

The organization released the news on Thursday that two semifinal matches at PFL 8 Playoffs had changed. Both heavyweight Denis Goltsov and 170-pounder Magomed Umalatov were unable to acquire visas to enter the United Kingdom. This forced them out of their semifinal bouts with Matheus Scheffel (16-8) and Rory MacDonald (23-9-1), respectively. Their replacements will be Juan Adams (10-4) for Goltsov, and Dilano Taylor (9-2) for Umalatov. On just a few days’ notice, Taylor and Adams will be competing at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, on Aug. 13.

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#Bellator284 Official Weigh-In Result: #4-Ranked Flyweight @Ilimanator (129) * pic.twitter.com/qmuidtO218

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 11, 2022 The Bellator 284 weigh-ins were anything but a formality, with multiple fighters missing weight and one bout scratched as a result.

Bellator MMA's lone event in August will see welterweight contenders Neiman Gracie and Goiti Yamauchi meet in the main event of Bellator 284. While the headliners had no issue making weight, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the card. The most notable miss came from former flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who came in at 129 pounds for her bout against Bruna Ellen and looked extremely disappointed on the scale. Fellow flyweight Justine Kish weighed in 2.4 pounds over the limit as well, and both she and Macfarlane have been fined a percentage of their respective purses. Finally, prelim competitor Nick Perez clocked in 1.4 pounds over the…

Patricky Freire is expected to defend his Bellator lightweight crown against Usman Nurmagomedov at a Bellator MMA event on Nov. 18.

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MMA Fight Universe was first to report the bout. The Bellator event doesn’t have an official location or venue and has not been announced by the promotion. Freire vs. Nurmagomedov is expected to headline the card.

Freire captured lightweight gold when he defeated Peter Queally via second-round TKO at Bellator 270 on Nov. 5. He was scheduled to make his first title defense against Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 283 but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. “Pitbull” is a long-tenured Bellator athlete who has been with the organization since 2011. He has been victorious in eight of his last 10 professional outings.

Nurmagomedov, the cousin of ex-UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, is 15-0 thus far in his pro career. He is 4-0 in Bellator, including a first-round submission of Christopher Gonzalez i…

A middleweight clash pitting Jared Cannonier against Sean Strickland is in the works to headline a UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 15.

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The bout, which has not yet been finalized, was first reported by Ariel Helwani. The card doesn’t have an official location, but it will likely take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cannonier is coming off a failed bid for middleweight gold at UFC 276, where he dropped a five-round verdict to Israel Adesanya on July 2. Prior to that, “The Killa Gorilla” had been victorious in five of six promotional appearances, earning wins over the likes of Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum, Jack Hermansson and Anderson Silva.

Strickland had his own bid for title contention shot down at UFC 276, as he suffered a first-round KO defeat to former Glory Kickboxing champ Alex Pereira. That defeat snapped a six-bout winning streak for the 31-year-old Team Quest representative.

A middleweight clash pitting Phil Hawes against Roman Dolidze has been added to the lineup for the UFC's Oct. 29 card.

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Sentanta Sports first reported the bout. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and also includes a featherweight clash between Edson Barboza and Ilia Topuria.

Hawes has been victorious in four of five Octagon appearances since earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020. The 33-year-old last appeared at UFC on ESPN 37, where he dominated Deron Winn en route to a second-round TKO.

Dolidze is also 4-1 in UFC competition. Most recently, the 34-year-old Xtreme Couture representative scored a first-round KO of Kyle Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 37 on June 18.

Arjan Singh Bhullar and Anatoliy Malykhin will square off in a heavyweight title unification bout at One Championship 161.

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The Singapore-based promotion confirmed the booking following an initial report on “The MMA Hour” by Ariel Helwani. One Championship 161 takes place on Sept. 29 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

A four-time UFC veteran, Bhullar claimed the heavyweight crown with a second-round technical knockout victory against Brandon Vera at One Championship “Dangal” in April 2021. Bhullar has won four straight fights and 11 of 12 professional outings overall.

Malykhin, meanwhile, is undefeated in 10 professional appearances — including three triumphs under the One banner. He claimed the interim belt with a second-round KO of Kirill Grishenko at One Championship “Bad Blood” on Feb. 11.

Cristiane Justino’s long-discussed professional boxing debut finally has a date and opponent.

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“Cyborg” announced on "The MMA Hour" that she will square off against Simone Silva in the main event of a Fight Music Show card on Sept. 25. The event will take place at Athletico Paranaense Arena in Curitiba, Brazil, and the organization’s middleweight title will be on the line.

Justino has long expressed a desire to make a foray into the Sweet Science, even going so far as to receive her boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission in 2017. “Cyborg” has previously spent time training with boxing champ — and PFL talent — Claressa Shields. She has also dabbled in muay Thai, notably falling to Jorina Baars under the Lion Fight banner in 2014. As far as MMA goes, the heavy-handed Brazilian is coming off a successful featherweight title defense in a rematch with Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 on April 23.

The 39-year-old Silva owns a…

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Brazil for the first time since March 2020.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that UFC 283 will take place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21. It will be the UFC’s 38th event in the South American country and marks the first card there since UFC Fight Night 170 on March 14, 2020, which marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. No bouts were revealed for the upcoming event.

Additionally, the promotion announced that UFC Fight Pass, along with Band TV network, will be the broadcast home in Brazil for all UFC events. The streaming service will launch in Brazil on Jan. 1 and includes 12 free events annually on Band. All other UFC events will air in the country via Fight Pass. The UFC’s existing broadcast deal with Globo is set to expire at the end of 2022.

“Anyone who follows this sport knows how important Brazil is to mixed martial arts and to UFC…

It wasn’t quite a full-fledged retirement, but it doesn’t sound like Uriah Hall plans on fighting anytime soon, either.

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The UFC middleweight posted a statement on Instagram announcing that he’ll be “stepping away” from mixed martial arts, a sport where he has competed professionally since 2005.

“It is with great sadness that I will be stepping away from the greatest sport in the world. I’m going to miss the incredible UFC staff that has became like family and the mentors I have met along the way. The UFC has given me the best opportunity to step completely outside my comfort zone,” Hall wrote.

The 38-year-old Hall is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 276 on July 2, his second consecutive defeat within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Prior to that, “Primetime” compiled a four-bout winning streak that featured triumphs over the likes of Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva and Antonio Carlos Jr.

“Throughout the years I’ve…