Martial Arts News

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Former American Top Team training partners Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will finally get to settle their differences in the cage in the UFC 272 headliner this Saturday.

“I feel like a little kid the night before Christmas,” Covington said in an interview with TMZ Sports. “I’m super excited to hold this kid accountable for all the reckless words he’s said to the media. He’s been lying this whole time and I can’t wait to expose him in front of the world.”

Covington is coming off a five-round unanimous decision loss to Kamaru Usman in a 170-pound championship rematch at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden this past November. Despite falling to 0-2 against Usman, Covington isn’t lacking for confidence.

“I’m the best fighter in the world right now, I don’t care what anybody says,” he said. “I won three rounds out of my last undisputed title fight withUsman. The people saw at Madison Square Garden, j…

Per his #instagram, undefeated @BellatorMMA Welterweight World Champion @YaroslavAmosov is defending his home in #Ukraine . Stay safe, Dynamo. https://t.co/2XNqXriRss

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) February 27, 2022

Count Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov among those who will remain in his native Ukraine to help defend against the Russian invasion.

  In a post on his Instagram account, Amosov revealed that he has evacuated his family to a safe zone but will remain in Ukraine to fight for his home country. Amosov is from Irpin, Ukraine, which is near the country’s capital of Kyiv. Russian troops invaded Ukraine earlier this week.

Amosov released a video message translated by Ringside24 addressing the situation in his homeland. The full message is as follows:

Greetings. Probably, many will think that I ran away, I’m hiding or something like that, but this is not so. I took my family to the safe zone. Now…

Islam Makhachev expects Charles Oliveira to retain his lightweight crown when he defends the belt against Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 headliner this May.

“I think it’s going to be a good fight because those guys are high level,” Makhachev said at the UFC Fight Night 202 post-fight press conference. “Charles improved his striking game and he have more than Justin in the ground game. I think they going to strike a little bit, then Charles is going to take him down, take his back and finish him there. Like third round or second round.”

If that happens, Makhachev is confident that he has compiled the resume necessary to be next line to face “Do Bronx.” The American Kickboxing Academy product secured his 10th straight victory on Saturday, running through short-notice opponent Bobby Green in Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Makhachev has finished his last four opponents, adding Green to a list that also includes Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises and Drew Dober…

Bobby Green took plenty of confidence into his headlining showdown with Islam Makhachev at UFC Fight Night 202, but he ultimately met the same fate as many of the Dagestani grappler’s opponents.

Green, who stepped in for Beneil Dariush on short notice just two weeks after defeating Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271, was overwhelmed as soon as Makhachev took him down, fallling via technical knockout 3:23 into Round 1. Makhachev’s victory in the 160-pound catchweight affair was his 10 straight within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Shortly after the loss, Green issued a brief statement on his Instagram story.

“Expensive pain – expensive pain,” Green said. “Wins and losses. Wins and losses. I just want to thank all my guys, all my peoples for riding with me. I apologize, but this is what it comes with when you throw this s— together, you know what I’m saying? It’s last minute. I put it together as much as I can guys. I appreciate you. The s—t we do for our families. Love…

The light heavyweight title clash between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka will take place a little bit later than originally anticipated.

The bout, which was originally scheduled for UFC 274 on May 7, will now happen at UFC 275 in June. An exact date and location for UFC 275 have not been announced and the reason for the shift is currently unknown. ESPN confirmed the new date after Teixeira initially discussed the change in an interview with Brazilian outlet Canal Combate.

The 42-year-old Teixiera is currently in the midst of a late-career resurgence that has seen him compile a six-fight winning streak dating back to Jan. 2019. That stretch culminated in a second-round submission of Jan Blachowicz to claim light heavyweight gold in the UFC 267 headliner on Oct. 30. The Brazilian initially challenged for the belt in his sixth Octagon appearance, falling to Jon Jones via unanimous decision at UFC 172 in April 2014.

Prochazka is a former Rizin Fighting Federat…

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. Bobby Green never stood a chance—a testament to just how dominant Islam Makhachev has become. In perhaps his final step toward a title shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, Makhachev put away Green with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 202 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Filling in for the injured Beneil Dariush, Green (29-13-1, 10-8-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:23 into Round 1.

Makhachev (22-1, 11-1 UFC) engaged the former King of the Cage champion on the feet, then crowded him in the clinch and secured a double-leg takedown. From there, the outcome was a formality. Makhachev progressed to half guard, climbed to full mount and ultimately moved to the back. The American Kickboxing Academy star and Khabi…

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. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 202 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese score…

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. Ignacio Bahamondes checked another box in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, as he submitted Zhu Rong with a brabo choke in the third round of their featured UFC Fight Night 202 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rong (18-5, 1-2 UFC), who missed weight by four pounds, conceded defeat 1:40 into Round 3. Bahamondes (13-4, 2-1 UFC) chipped away with crisp jab-cross combinations, bruising leg kicks and sneaky body shots, slowly but surely taking the steam out of the former Wu Lin Feng champion. Rong executed a takedown early in the third round, only to be swept immediately in a demoralizing sequence. Bahamondes cut off his next attempt at a desperate double-leg takedown, clamped down on the neck and moved to a dominant topside position t…

That's now 5 in a row for @ArmanUFC. He's the TRUTH 💪 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/xZEmkgPwja

— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses on the UFC Fight Night 202 card.

Lightweight standout Arman Tsarukyan secured a $50,000 bonus by bloodying up and dominating Joel Alvarez. After using elbows to open up a nasty cut on Alvarez, Tsarukyan finished the fight early in Round 2. The win moves "Ahalkalakets" to 18-2.

The other performance bonus went to co-main event winner, Wellington Turman. The Brazilian fought through adversity and managed to catch opponent Misha Cirkunov with a slick armbar in Round 2 of their middleweight bout. Turman advances to 18-5 with the win and has now won two straight inside the Octagon.

Finally, the fight of the night was awarded to women's flyweight fighters Priscila Cachoeira and Ji Yeon Kim. The two fighters went back-and-forth over thre…

The latest Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki event featured plenty of action as all but one contest ended inside the distance.

In the KSW 67 headliner, Philip De Fries put his heavyweight championship on the line against fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Darko Stosic. Aware that his opponent featured remarkable knockout power, De Fries (21-6, 1NC; 7-0 KSW) immediately resorted to his grappling skills, dragging Stosic to the canvas and letting the Serbian taste leather throughout the fight. The British champion set effective takedowns that allowed him to control the challenger on the mat and score with ground-and-pound. Stosic (16-5, 3-1 KSW) struggled to contain his adversary's offense and was denied in many attempts to get back on the feet.

While De Fries manhandled his opponent on the canvas, the Englishman didn't quite look close to finishing Stosic. In the fifth stanza, things took an unexpected turn, where De Fries captured his opponent's back and unloaded some p…

Lando Vannata will square off against Charles Jourdain in a featherweight contest at UFC Fight Night 205.

Promotion officials recenty confirmed the bout. UFC Fight Night 205 is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on April 23 and is headlined by a strawweight showdown between ex-champ Jessica Andrade and Amanda Lemos.

Vannata has won three of his last five Ocagon appearances dating back to 2019. In his last outing, “Groovy” earned a split-decision triumph over Mike Grundy at UFC 262.

Jourdain, meanwhile, was victorious in two of three UFC bouts in 2021. The 26-year-old Canadian last competed at UFC Fight Night 199, where he outpointed Andre Ewell on Dec. 18.

If all goes as planned, Gegard Mousasi will have an active 2022.

The Armenian-born Dutchman authored an emphatic middlweight title defense in the Bellator 275 headliner, defeating Austin Vanderford via technical knockout 1:25 into Round 1 at the 3Arena in Dublin on Friday. Mousasi has been victorious in seven of eight promotional appearances, with his only defeat coming via majority decision in a title bout at Bellator 223.

The former Strikeforce champion admitted at the Bellator 275 post-fight press conference that he entered the fight against Vanderford more confident than he has been in quite some time.

“I was hungry,” Mousasi said. “I was more determined than him and I’m in my prime. I feel I’m the best middleweight in the world right now. I never said that because I never thought that I was the best. But I told everyone this training camp, that this day, I was the best middleweight. I don’t know about tomorrow, but today I was the best.”

Now 36 years …