Martial Arts News

Colby Covington settled the score with former American Top Team training partner Jorge Masvidal in the best way possible, winning a dominant unanimous decision in the UFC 272 headliner on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After the victory, Covington reflected on the grudge match and what it was like to square off against someone he once considered a close friend.

“Just a lot of emotions going into it,” Covington said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That was a real friend of mine at one point in my career, and he’s such a backstabbing thief, and he talks so reckless. He tried to make some false narratives to the media and lies like he does – he’s a liar. He’s a thief. So I let the emotions get the best of me, but it was still dominant.

“I just showed how good I was, that I am the No. 1 fighter in the world for a reason, and it wasn’t even competitive tonight.”

Covington is ready to close that book on the Masvidal rivalry follow…

For the most part, Jorge Masvidal was fighting an uphill battle against the relentless grappling and wrestling of Colby Covington in the UFC 272 headliner.

That changed briefly in Round 4, when “Gamebred” buckled his rival with a right hand late in the period. Instead of pressuring and pursuing a finish, Masvidal backed off, which allowed Covington to eventually force his way into the clinch and stall the action. In hindsight, Masvidal regrets not doing more in that instance, especially after Covington concluded the bout with a dominant fifth round.

“I didn’t pounce on him after I dropped him. I wasn’t surprised that he bounced up. I was just surprised that I didn’t take his head off,” Masvidal said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I thought he was going to shoot immediately, so I was just thinking of wrong s—t instead of going to take his head off. I was tired. He was tired and hurt.

“That was my chance right there. That was my window of like five o…

A REPLAY OF THAT RIGHT HAND@chihiro19990514 lands clean

Purchase the VODs, link in bio!#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/GRd1sZ2wkW

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 6, 2022 Chihiro Suzuki won for the fifth time in six appearances, taking a unanimous decision against Ren Hiramoto at Rizin ‘Landmark Vol. 2’ in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.

The former Pancrase competitor set the tone in an opening frame in which he outlanded Hiramoto (0-2, 0-2 Rizin) by a 40-to-23 count in total strikes, according to statistics provided by the promotion. While the striking gap narrowed over the final two frames, Suzuki (7-3, 2-1 Rizin)) also landed the fight’s only three takedowns and secured 2:51 of control time against his opponent.

Clean Technique.@chihiro19990514 with the textbook throw

Purchase the VODs, link in bio!#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/xOGrl6PJuo

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 6, 2…

What. A. Fight 🔥🔥🔥

Who you got? #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/yfKv8kPO4K

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses after the UFC 272 pay-per-view card.

It was main eventers Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal that took home fight of the night honors, with each pocketing an extra $50,000. The five-round bout went the full 25 minutes with "Chaos" never slowing down and always pressuring a very game Masvidal, who badly hurt his opponent in Round 4 yet never capitalized on the moment. Ultimately, Covington took a clear-cut unanimous decision win.

Kevin Holland's welterweight debut is off to a good start as "Trailblazer" took home a performance bonus after defeating Alex Oliveira. Holland went back-and-forth with "Cowboy" over the opening frame, but then went into another gear after Round 2 began. A barrage of vicious elbows ended the night for the Brazilian as Holland improved to…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. After plenty of verbal blows from both parties in the months leading up to their bout, Colby Covington settled the score with Jorge Masvidal where it mattered most. Covington relied on his relentless grappling to capture a unanimous decision triumph over Masvidal in the UFC 272 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Covington (17-3, 12-3 UFC) earned scorecards of 49-46, 50-44 and 50-45 from the cageside judges in the welterweight clash to bring an emphatic close to the rivalry with his former American Top Team training partner.

There was no secret to Covington’s game plan, as the former NCAA All-American wrestler grounded Masvidal (35-16, 12-9 UFC) on multiple occasions while threatening with chokes against the fence and landing ground-and-pou…

The Eagle has landed in the UFC Hall of Fame 🦅

Congratulations @TeamKhabib on becoming the first inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 🏆

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/tJHCCLq6RR — UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022

It didn’t take long for Khabib Nurmagomedov to dominate mixed martial arts’ lightweight division and that dominance led immortality.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Saturday that Nurmagomedov, one of the sport’s all-time greats, will be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in its “Modern Wing” this summer.

“Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement. “No one dominated their opponents the way Khabib did, and to retire undefeated, as lightweight champion and the No.1 pound-for-pound athlete in the world is an incredible accomplishment. It will be an honor to induct him into the UF…

strong>Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 272 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 272 “Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 6 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:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Be…

THE 100% FINISH RATE REMAINS 💯

[ @JalinTurner | #UFC272 ] pic.twitter.com/tp1VeerWLb

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 272 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Jalin Turner showed why he was given a featured position on the evening’s preliminary card at UFC 272.

“The Tarantula” secured his fourth consecutive finish in the Octagon, as he defeated Australia’s Jamie Mullarkey via technical knockout in a lightweight clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A flurry of unanswered left hands on the canvas from the Dana White’s Contender Series alum brought a halt to the bout 46 seconds into Round 2.

The matchup delivered on its all-action promise in Round 1, when both lightweights were rocked at different points during exchanges. However, Turner (12-5, 5-2 UFC) was more effective overall, bloodying Mullarkey’s nose and …

Invicta FC 46 has a new headliner after Ketlen Souza has been forced to withdraw from her flyweight title bout against Karina Rodriguez.

As a result, Daiana Torquato will step in and face Rodriguez in a rematch in the evening’s new headliner. The all-female promotion announced the change on Saturday. A reason for Souza’s exit was not given. With Torquato elevated to the main event, Milana Dudieva will square off agianst Denise Gomes in the Invicta FC 46 co-headliner.

Invicta FC takes place at on March 9 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City and airs on the promotion’s YouTube channel beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. ET.

Rodriguez and Torquato initially fought at Invicta on AXS TV last May, with Rodriguez claiming flyweight gold in a unanimous decision triumph. That setback snapped an eight-bout winning streak for Torquato. Neither flyweight has competed since then.

Hiramoto“I’ve been a loud mouth leading up to the fight but tomorrow I will fight for the people who believed in me”

Suzuki“I will show everybody the way of me. Everybody Please fight with me. I appreciate your support. Thank you” pic.twitter.com/FY7z9VTTnF

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 5, 2022 All eight fighters slated for mixed martial arts competition made weight ahead of Sunday’s Rizin “Landmark Vol. 2” card.

The abbreviated event is topped by a featherweight clash between Chihiro Suzuki and Ren Hiramoto. Suzuki tipped the scales at 145.2 pounds, while Hiramoto checked in at 144.7 pounds. Rizin “Landmark Vol. 2” takes place in Tokyo, Japan, and can be viewed via pay-per-view here.

Suzuki last appeared at Rizin “Trigger 1st,” where he outpointed Sora Yamamoto to improve his professional mark to 6-3. Suzuki has won four of his last five outings, with three of those triumphs coming under the Pancrase banner.

Hiramo…

Count Martina Jindrova as the latest addition to the Professional Fighters League roster.

The polished and determined kickboxer did just enough to eke out a split decision over Jacqueline Cavalcanti in the PFL Challenger Series 3 main event on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28, two of them siding with Jindrova (4-2). Afterward, she was awarded a contract by PFL President Ray Sefo.

Cavalcanti (2-1) mixed up her attacks beautifully, made fluid stance switches and occasionally beat her counterpart to the punch. After a competitive first five minutes, Jindrova hit the accelerator in Round 2. There, she had Cavalcanti reeling with right hands, cut off her bids for desperation takedowns and continued to assault her with clean, accurate punches in an attempt to finish. The increased output came at a cost, and Jindrova had little left in the tank in the third. Cavalcanti snapped back the Czech’s head more than once with …

Kyle Driscoll handlin' biz!#CW133 pic.twitter.com/H0sI0NYFaI

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 5, 2022

Cage Warriors returned to the U.S. for its sixth event, CW 133, which went down at the Del Mar Arena in San Diego.

In the headliner, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Kyle Driscoll faced Bellator MMA vet Joshua Jones in a pretty repetitive and uneventful clash. Driscoll (13-3, 1-0 CW) kept his opponent on the canvas for most of the first stanza thanks to a much more polished wrestling background. In his turn, Jones (11-6, 0-1 CW) answered with a deep kimura attempt. In Round 2, it was Jones' turn to shoot for takedowns, which Driscoll denied every time. Jones looked again for the kimura, but his foe shrugged it off and ended the round in full mount. American Kickboxing Academy standout Driscoll fired back with another takedown early in Round 3. Jones retaliated with the third unsuccessful kimura attempt that Driscoll stopped. Dr…