Martial Arts News

Two top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights with recent decision losses to the champ will square off this May.

On Thursday, Ariel Helwani brought word that Robert Whittaker (23-6) will be entering the Octagon in June against Marvin Vettori (18-5-1) in the middleweight division at UFC 275. Whittaker had spoken to The MMA Hour on Wednesday, hinting that he would be facing his opponent in Singapore on June 11. Vettori’s manager has since confirmed the pairing in an interview with Helen Yee on Thursday night.

Former champ Whittaker had a three-fight win streak snapped when he faced Israel Adesanya in a rematch to get his belt back in February. Although he was not knocked out like the first meeting, he did drop a close five-round decision to the champion. Before suffering his second defeat to Adesanya, “Bobby Knuckles” had rattled off a trio of decision wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum to earn another crack at the crown.

Vettori ha…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmyzFeCDJ1E&w=560&h=315] Much of the interest on an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card is not the main event or even the co-headliner, but the main card opener.

Brazilian fans will have the opportunity to see two ranked fighters, Thiago Santos against Russia’s Magomed Ankalaev and Marlon Moraes taking on China’s Yadong Song. Rather than the main or co-main, many are focused on unranked clash of strikers on UFC Fight Night 203. Two Brazilian strikers in Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva will throw down in the middleweight division with hopes of earning a place among the top 15 with a dominant win.

The man named “Poatan” made his name not for his achievements in an MMA setting, but rather for his kickboxing accolades. In 2016, and then again in 2017, Pereira defeated currently UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya in the ring. The first meeting, Pereira won a five-round decision, and the rematch 11 months later saw Pereira cle…

.@ReinaldoEkson1 vs Mike Barnett is official for the Challenger Series Week 4 main event!#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/oqzGh8qJ3g

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 10, 2022 Professional Fighters League's Challenger Series continues trucking along with PFL Challenger Series 4, which highlights several featherweight prospects.

Both main eventers successfully made weight for the four-fight card, as Reinaldo Ekson and Mike Barnett stepped on the scale weighing 145.8 pounds each. Most of the rest of the card followed suit, along with alternate Edward Massey making weight. However, Do Gyeom Lee failed to hit the featherweight cap, coming in heavy at 148.6 pounds.

Ekson (17-5) is riding a three-fight win streak and has won six of his last seven bouts. The Brazilian most recently submitted three straight opponents in EFC Global, and posts seven submission wins throughout his career.

Barnett holds a 10-3 record and successfully bounced back from the third lo…

Karina Rodriguez is now 2-0 against Daiana Torquato, but only by the slimmest of margins.

Rodriguez retained her flyweight crown with a split-decision triumph over Torquato in the Invicta FC 46 headliner on Wednesday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. Rodriguez (10-4, 6-2 Invicta) secured scorecards of 48-47 and 49-46 from the cageside judges, while a third saw it 48-47 in favor of Torquato (10-5, 0-2 Invicta). Torquato was elevated from the co-main event on less than a week’s notice after Kelten Souza was forced to withdraw from the card.

Forward movement and combination punching propelled Rodriguez to her successful title defense. Torquato made things interesting through clinch work, the occasional takedown and held her own in striking exchanges, but Rodriguez’s role as the aggressor — including some wicked elbows when separating from tie-ups — likely curried favor with the judges.

Rodriguez defeated Torquato via unanimous decision in their initial meeting at Invi…

A bantamweight showdown between Rob Font and Marlon Vera is expected to serve as the main event for a UFC Fight Night card on April 30.

The bout is expected to be finalized soon, according to ESPN. The UFC Fight Night event does not have an official venue or location as of now, but it is likely to take place in Las Vegas.

Font had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a five-round verdict to Jose Aldo in the UFC on ESPN 31 headliner on Dec. 4. The 34-year-old Boston native owns notable wins against the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon and Sergio Pettis, to name a few.

Vera, meanwhile, has won three of his last four UFC bouts, with his only defeat during that stretch coming at the hands of Aldo. Most recently, the 29-year-old Ecuadorian scored a spectacular front kick KO of Frankie Edgar at UFC 268.

A potential “Fight of the Night” candidate is on tap for UFC 274, as Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson have agreed to lock horns on May 7.

Sports Illustrated was first to report the lightweight booking. UFC 274 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and is headlined by a 155-pound title tilt between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

Chandler had a memorable first year in the UFC, going 1-2 in the Octagon while establishing himself as one of the promotion’s most exciting talents. After defeating Dan Hooker via first-round TKO in his debut at UFC 257, the former Bellator ruler fell to Charles Oliveira via second-round TKO in a title bout at UFC 262. Most recently, the former University of Missouri wrestler dropped a unanimous decision to Gaethje at UFC 268 in Sherdog’s 2021 “Fight of the Year.”

After winning 12 consecutive promotional appearances from 2013 to 2019, Ferguson has fallen on hard times of late. In his last three appearances, “El Cucuy” h…

As its second United States event draws near, Khabib Nurmagomedov-led promotion Eagle FC has made a slew of big-name signings.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has signed with the organization and will meet follow Octagon vet Yorgan De Castro in the heavyweight headliner of an Eagle FC card on May 20. Additionally, new additions Hector Lombard and Thiago Silva will lock horns in the co-main event. Nurmagomedov confirmed the bookings to ESPN on Wednesday.

Dos Santos, 38, was released by the UFC on the heels of a four-bout losing streak, which included a second-round TKO defeat to Ciryl Gane in his last outing in December 2020. “Cigano” was regarded as one of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s top heavyweights for years, claiming championship gold with a 64-second knockout of Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011. More recently, the Brazilian veteran was supposed to face boxing heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev in a mixed rules bout under the T…

After two postponements, Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker will finally square off on Friday at One Championship “Lights Out” with the bantamweight (145-pound) belt on the line.

Lineker made no effort to disguise his strategy in a recent interview with Sherdog.com.

“I have no doubt Bibiano is a great champion,” Lineker said. “No doubt he is the best jiu-jitsu fighter I´ve ever faced, but the fight starts standing up, and I'm sure that he’s never faced someone with the power I have in my hands.”

Over the course of the past 18 months, Lineker has posted wins over Muin Gafurov, Kevin Belingon and Troy Worthen under the One banner. “Hands of Stone” is skeptical that Fernandes will keep his word and test his standup skills.

“I truly hope he keeps his word and exchanges punches with me, because I´ll keep mine to look for the knockout from the first second,” Lineker said. “I´m physically ready for a five-round war, if necessary, but I don’t see that fight going …

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in recent memory on Dana White’s Contender Series occurred when Jonas Bilharinho wasn’t awarded a UFC contract following his spinning wheel kick knockout of Canaan Kawaihae this past November.

On Friday, Bilharinho will get another opportunity to gain White’s attention when he headlines LFA 126 in Rio de Janeiro with the promotion’s featherweight belt on the line. Bilharinho was supposed to face Rafael Barbosa at the event, but the fighter withdrew from the card after medical exams revealed two small aneurysms. According Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) doctor Fabio Costa, the condition isn’t dangerous for Barbosa’s normal life, but it could expose him to “unnecessary risks” in an MMA fight. Brazilian Top Team’s Jose Mauro do Amaral Delano , who was originally slated to face Rafael Braga on the undercard, has been tabbed as Barbosa’s replacement.

LFA 126 will also feature a welterweight title clash between Gabriel de Sou…

The PFL Challenger Series will unveil an interesting concept for its April 1 offering, as every fighter on the card will be making their mixed martial arts debut.

The card will be topped by a welterweight clash between Serbian kickboxer Andrija Stankovic and American grappler Louis Brewington, who takes a four-bout amateur winning streak into his pro debut.

The PFL Challenger Series takes place at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and airs exclusively on FuboTV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. One winner from the “MMA Debuts” card will be selected to receive a contract to compete in the 2022 PFL season or a developmental deal with the promotion.

The other four bouts for the event are as follows: American Top Team Atlanta export Christian Turner vs. South Florida-based Cuban Chayanne Serrano at lightweight; Alexei Pergande vs. Joe Hamm at lightweight; Santino Zurita vs. Rakim Talley at heavyweight and Jaylong McDaniel vs. Daeri Alderman at featherweight.

“The Pr…

Bellator MMA will make a splash when it returns to Hawaii with a pair of events on April 22 and 23.

Bellator 279 on April 23 will feature a pair of title fights, as Cristiane Justino defends her featherweight crown against Arlene Blencowe in a rematch, while reigning 135-pound king Sergio Pettis will face Raufeon Stots with a belt on line in the opening round of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix.

Also at Bellator 279, Kyoji Horiguchi will lock horns with Patrick Mix in another first-round pairing in the bantamweight grand prix, while former flyweight queen Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will face Justin Kish. KHON2 was first to report the bouts.

Bellator 278 does not currently have any fights announced. Both events will take place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and mark the promotion’s first events in Hawaii since 2019. The main cards will air on Showtime.

Justino defeated Blencowe via second-round rear-naked choke in their first meeting at Bella…

The stage has been set for Karina Rodriguez and Daiana Torquato to run it back.

Rodriguez and Torquato made weight on Tuesday ahead of their flyweight championship rematch in the Invicta FC 46 headliner. Rodriguez tipped the scales at 123.8 pounds, while Torquato checked in at 124.6 pounds.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing at the weigh-ins, however, as Liz Tracy (117.8) missed weight by 1.8 pounds for her strawweight matchup with Danielle Taylor (115.6). As a result, Tracy has been fined 25 percent of her purse. Addtionally, the promotion announced that a proposed strawweight bout between Fatima Kline and Nadia Vera has been removed from the card.

Invicta FC 46 takes place on Wednesday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., and streams on the promotion’s YouTube page beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Rodriguez claimed the vacant flyweight crown with a unanimous decision triumph over Daiana Torquato at Invicta on AXS TV last May. The 36-year-old Lobo Gym MMA represe…