Martial Arts News

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

Advertisement

As Steven Ray trapped Anthony Pettis in a modified twister in the second round of their PFL regular season bout on June 24, “Showtime” had a difficult decision to make.

On one hand, he could fight to escape the submission and risk injury — as well as his spot in the playoffs. One the other hand, he could tap and save himself from further damage.

Ultimately, he chose the latter option.

“In that fight, I had to make a decision to let the rib pop or tap out before I got to that point,” Pettis said during a PFL media day. “I already had a spot guaranteed for the playoffs, so it was a split decision I had to make — would I get injured and possibly get out of the submission or tap out? Injur…

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

Advertisement

Rob Wilkinson had a short-lived stint in the UFC, but he was able to find some valuable takeaways from the experience nonetheless.

According to Wilkinson, his loss to reigning Israel Adesanya at UFC 221 proved to be particularly useful. In hindsight, Wilkinson wishes he followed the reigning UFC middleweight champion’s career path a little bit more closely.

“I definitely learned some lessons from fighting Israel. Even after fighting him, I got invited to train with him for a while,” Wilkinson said at a PFL media day. “And even how he approached going to the UFC, he actually turned them down for few years before he was ready to go straight to the top.

“I feel like I was so excited to ge…

The #PFLPlayoffs return on Aug. 5 in New York City!

📍 @HuluTheaterMSG🎟 https://t.co/ISyZ9PnODmPrelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+Main Card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/7KmjEcPsT9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) July 31, 2022

Advertisement

With his Professional Fighters League season on the line, Steven Ray delivered in emphatic fashion the first time around against Anthony Pettis.

The 32-year-old Scot authored a “Submission of the Year” candidate at PFL 5 on June 24, tapping Pettis with a modified twister 3:57 into the second round of their regular season bout. Not only did Ray punch his ticket to the postseason, but the victory set up a rematch with “Showtime” in the lightweight semifinals on Friday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Rematches don’t normally happen so quickly, but the PFL format dictates a quick turnaround. That said, “Braveheart” is confident he’ll have the advantage against Pettis in multiple as…

Both Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena have been sidelined indefinitely following their bantamweight championship bout in the UFC 277 headliner.

Advertisement

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event, which took place at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Nunes regained the 135-pound belt with a dominant unanimous decision victory, avenging an upset loss to Pena that occurred at UFC 269 last December.

Nunes is suspended indefinitely with a minimum term of 45 days, while Pena is also out indefinitely but with a minimum sit of 60 days. The Texas commission did not specify the nature of each suspension. Everyone on the card received at least a seven-day precautionary sit.

Three other fighters from UFC 277 received indefinite suspensions: Drew Dober, Drakkar Klose and Adam Fugitt.

UFC 277 Medical Suspensions: Amanda Nunes: Suspended indefinitely; minimum 45 daysJulianna Pena: Suspend…

Former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will need surgery after suffering a broken ankle in his loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277.

Advertisement

Multiple outlets confirmed the news following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The injury occurred when Smith threw a kick in the opening round of the light heavyweight bout at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

“Lionheart” nonetheless fought into the second round, before suffering a technical knockout loss at the 3:09 mark of the period. That snapped a three-bout winning streak for Smith. Ankalaev, meanwhile, has won nine consecutive fights.

It’s currently unclear how long Smith will be sidelined as a result of the injury.

Philip De Fries will attempt to extend his reign as heavyweight champion when he defends his crown against Ricardo Prasel at KSW 74.

Advertisement

De Fries confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. KSW 74 takes place on Sept. 10.

After a bumpy stretch in the UFC earlier in his career, de Fries has emerged as one of the most successful heavyweights in the sport. The 36-year-old England native has won nine consecutive fights and has authored six successful heavyweight title defenses since capturing the KSW heavyweight strap in 2018. Most recently, he defeated fellow UFC vet Darko Stosic via fifth-round TKO at KSW 67 on Feb. 26.

Prasel enters the matchup with de Fries riding the momentum of consecutive finishes of Daniel Omielanczuk and Michal Kita under the KSW banner. The 31-year-old Germany-based Brazilian also appeared on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he fell to Don'Tale Mayes via first-round TKO.

Flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev will lock horns with Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280.

Advertisement

ESPN was first to report the 125-pound booking. UFC 280 takes place on Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight championship showdown between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling will defend the bantamweight crown against T.J. Dillashaw.

Muhammad is unbeaten in nine professional outings, including a pair of triumphs in UFC competition. In his last outing, “The Punisher” landed 12 takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over Charles Johnson at UFC Fight Night 208 in London on July 23.

After coming up short in his first two UFC appearances, Gordon has won back-to-back fights in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The former TKO MMA flyweight champion is coming off a first-round stoppage of Denys Bondar at UFC Fight Night 200 on Feb. 5, a victory that ran his professional record to 14-5.

It’s been nearly two years since James Krause last set foot in the Octagon, and according to him, that was his last time competing as a professional mixed martial artist.

Advertisement

The 36-year-old Glory MMA & Fitness leader officially announced his retirement on Monday during an appearance on "The MMA Hour." Krause was last in action at UFC Night 180, when he earned a unanimous decision victory against Claudio Silva on Oct. 17, 2020. Krause has been a prominent figure as a coach in recent years, including cornering Brandon Moreno in his interim flyweight title win over Kai Kara France at UFC 277 this past weekend.

“I’ve said this so many times, and this is the No. 1 problem with the sport and the fighters — this has to come to an end at some point. It has to. And professional athletics as a whole has to come to an end,” Krause said. “Football players, they don’t play until they’re 50. This has to come to an end, and unfortunately, we don’t get to pick it…

Roberto Soldic: ONE FC is biggest martial arts in the world.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/lzu2s0WglN

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 1, 2022

Two-division KSW champion Roberto Soldic has left the Polish promotion to sign with One Championship.

Advertisement

Soldic announced the news on "The MMA Hour" on Monday. Soldic, who held titles at 185 and 170 pounds in KSW, said his decision was motivated in part by the opportunity to compete for belts in other combat sports.

“I chose One because it’s the biggest martial arts promotion in the world," Soldic said. "They give me opportunity to take all the belts: kickboxing world champion, muay Thai world champion, MMA world champion, also boxing world champion. So this makes me something new. I want to create something for my people, for my own legacy. So I chose One for sure.

“After I went to Singapore and I saw the atmosphere with Mr. Chatri [Sityodtong], how he treats the fighters,…

Renato Carneiro is eager to return to action after falling to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272 this past March.

Advertisement

“I'm just waiting for a UFC call. Just give me four weeks and I'll be ready for anyone,” Carneiro told Sherdog.com.

“Moicano” is 3-2 at 155 pounds after moving up from featherweight. With that in mind, the American Top Team-trained fighter recognizes he is not in a position to choose opponents.

“As a fighter we must understand our role in the [show]. I'm coming from a defeat and expecting UFC to offer me some undefeated guy making his UFC debut or some tough Russian, but that's not a problem — I'm used to killing two lions per day and that's what I need do that in order to return to the rankings,” he said. But if they want to give me a surprise gift, Paddy Pimblett would be very welcome.”

According to Carneiro, the popular Englishman is one of the most vulnerable fighters in the lightweight division.

“No doubt he has qualities,” Ca…

Week 2 of the latest iteration of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 athletes slated to compete hit their contracted marks on the scale without issue on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday night 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 Charlie Campbell (155) against Chris Duncan (155.5).

Anchored at Longo Weidman MMA, Campbell enters the matchup on a five-bout winning streak. He has finished his last three opponents inside the distance and is coming off a first-round knockout of Guilherme Santos at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 107 on April 15.

Duncan will be making his second appearance on the Contender Series after suffering a second-round KO loss to Viacheslav Borschev last October. The three-time Bellator veteran has been victorious in eight of nine professional appearances overall.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Charlie Cam…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Joseph Pyfer, the lone fighter to be rewarded with a contract on Week 1 of the current season of Dana White’s Contender Series, will make a relatively quick turnaround for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Advertisement

Pyfer will make his first promotional foray against Alen Amedovski at UFC Fight Night 210 on Sept. 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The middleweight booking was first announced during the UFC 277 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC Fight Night 210 is headlined by a bantamweight scrap between Cory Sandhagen and Yadong Song.

After falling to Dustin Stoltzfus in his first appearance on the Contender Series in August 2020, Pyfer made an impression on July 26, scoring a second-round technical knockout victory against Legacy Fighting Alliance champ Osman Diaz in the evening’s featured bout. “Bodybagz” is 9-2 as a professional, with all but one of his triumphs coming inside the distance.

…