Martial Arts News

Two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison will face the most accomplished opponent of her career to date when she squares off against Julia Budd in the PFL 6 main event.

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The promotion announced the lineup for the card, which features women’s lightweights and welterweights, on Wednesday. PFL 6 takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, on July 1 and will see Rory MacDonald square off against Sadibou Sy in the evening’s co-headliner. Two 170-pound pairings round out the main card: Ray Cooper III vs. Brett Cooper and Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino. The PFL 6 main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

The following bouts were confirmed for the undercard: Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Magomed Umalatov at welterweight; Larissa Pacheco vs. Genah Fabian at lightweight; Nikolay Aleksakhin vs. Gleison Tibau at welterweight; Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Abigail Montes at l…

Some think that jumping into a title shot at this point in his career might be a little too much, too soon for Johnny Eblen.

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But after taking a clear-cut victory over former No. 1 contender John Salter at Bellator 276, Eblen believes he is exactly where he’s supposed to be: preparing for a middleweight title shot against Gegard Mousasi in the Bellator 282 headliner on June 24.

“I think we’re right on the right path,” he said at a Bellator 282 virtual press conference. “This is the next best fight for me.”

After cutting his teeth in MMA with four victories under the Shamrock FC banner, Eblen has gone 7-0 in Bellator. Salter is his most notable victory by far, but the resume of past opponents pales in comparison to that of Mousasi’s. However, Eblen is confident that he hasn’t shown his full potential in a fight as of yet.

“I like being the underdog. I really don’t mind it. The only thing that matters is when I’m in that cage and I’m putting on…

Gegard Mousasi ist unbeeindruckt von der Möglichkeit, sich gegen ein weiterer Wrestling-gesinnter Gegner.

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Der amtierende Mittelgewichts-Champion wird versuchen, seinen Gürtel zu verteidigen wenn er sich stellt Johnny Eblen in der Modell: Bellator 282 headliner am 24. Juni in der Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Zu Eblens Referenzen gehört eine ungeschlagene MMA rekord und eine herausragende Karriere als Wrestler an der Universität von Missouri. Nach Unterbrechung gewinnt gegen Austins Vanderford und John Satler in seinen letzten beiden Promotionen Mousasi glaubt jedoch nicht, dass Eblen etwas Neues mitbringt Tabelle.

“Die letzten beiden Gegner waren Wrestler mit ähnlichem Stil, nimm dich runter, halt dich fest und zerquetsche. Grundsätzlich habe ich trainiert für einen Typen wie ihn seit fast einem Jahr ", sagte Mousasi während eines Bellator 282 virtueller Medientag. “Also nichts Neues.”

Eblen sicherte sich den Titelschuss mit einem Dr…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Taila Santos got started in combat sports as a teenager, and by the time the UFC came to her hometown, she herself as almost ready to step into the cage for the first time as a professional.

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“I started practicing muay Thai when I was 14. When I was 19 years old, the UFC came to my city (Jaragua do Sul), and I was able to get an autograph from Vitor Belfort one day before he knocked out [Luke] Rockhold,” Santos told Sherdog.com.

Coincidentally, Santos made her MMA debut three months after UFC passed through her city. Since then, she has been victorious in 19 of 20 fights and will take a four-bout winning streak into her matchup with reigning flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC 275 co-main event on June 11.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

“My back…

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa has been accused of striking a nurse with an elbow during a dispute over a COVID-19 vaccination card, according to a report from Globo.

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The alleged incident occurred at a shopping center on Monday night in Contagem, Brazil, when Costa arrived and said he wanted to be vaccinated. However, the fighter then reportedly attempted to leave with the card before the shot was administered.

"The card was filled out. The workers said that, at the time of application, he did not accept to be vaccinated. He wanted to leave with the card and they did not accept it. At that moment, a nurse was elbowed,” municipal guard Marco Mota said.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Costa, however, provide…

A matchup of middleweight contenders has been rebooked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut event in Paris.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori will square off on Sept. 3 at Accor Arena in Paris, France. Whittaker and Vettori were originally slated to meet at UFC 275 on June 11 before Whittaker was forced to pull out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury.

While Whittaker vs. Vettori is the only official fight for the event, UFC Paris is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight showdown pitting Ciryl Gane against Tai Tuivasa. Also previously reported for the card is a women’s flyweight clash between Katlyn Chookagian and Manon Fiorot.

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Whittaker last appeared at UFC 271, where he came up short…

BT Sport @danawhite @AdamCatterall caught up with the boss as BT Sport is confirmed as the long-term home for UFC in UK and Ireland

Let's goooooooooo! pic.twitter.com/88Ok4euMYO

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 31, 2022

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The broadcast relationship between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and BT Sport will continue for the foreseeable future.

BT Sport announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to a “new multi-year media rights deal that builds upon their existing broadcast partnership for the UK and Ireland, ensuring that BT Sport will remain the exclusive media home for UFC.” The UFC and BT Sport partnership began in 2013.

The agreement includes all live UFC events as well as “hundreds of hours” of original programming and classic bouts from the promotion’s library.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or…

A featherweight showdown pitting Leah McCourt against Dayana Silva has been added to the Bellator 285 main card.

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Promotion officials announced the booking on Monday. Bellator 285 takes place at 3Arena in Dublin and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Benson Henderson and Peter Queally. The main card airs on Showtime in the United States at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT.

McCourt had a six-bout professional winning streak snapped in her last outing, when she dropped a unanimous decision to Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 275 on Feb. 25. The 29-year-old Northern Ireland native is 4-1 in Bellator and also owns a notable win against UFC flyweight contender Manon Fiorot under the Cage Warrior banner.

A former competitor on the Brazilian version of Dana White’s Contender Series, Silva fell to Julia Budd and Ar…

Australian prospect Jack Becker will face a lengthy recovery process after gruesomely breaking his leg at Eternal MMA 66 on Sunday.

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Becker, who was defending his lightweight title against Aidan Aguilera in Perth, Australia, had his leg snap early in the first round of the bout when he had a leg kick checked by his opponent. The scene was reminiscent of what happened when Anderson Silva suffered a similar injury when he had a kick checked by Chris Weidman in a middleweight title bout at UFC 168.

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Eternal MMA posted video of the fight on its social media account.

Becker, a 29-year-old Tristar Gym export, entered the bout on a three-bout winning streak that included victories in championship bouts over Daniel Hill and Brenton Mumford under the Eternal MMA ba…

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

Abusupiyan Magomedov will lock horns with Makhmud Muradov at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming event in Paris.

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Both middleweights recently confirmed the pairing on social media. UFC Fight Night takes place at Accor Arena in Paris on Sept. 3 and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Ciryl Gane against Tai Tuivasa.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

A five-time Professional Fighters League veteran, Magomedov will return to action for the first time since December 2020, when he submitted Cezary Kesik in the second round at KSW 57. “Abus” went 3-1-1 in the PFL, falling to Louis Taylor in the 2018 middleweight finals.

Muradov began his Octagon tenure with three straight triumphs — including KO/TKO wins ag…

Conor McGregor’s first priority remains a UFC comeback, but the Irish star eventually plans on making a return to the Sweet Science, as well.

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The former two-division UFC champion briefly discussed his plans during an interview with Sky Sports. McGregor is currently on the mend from a broken leg suffered in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July. A date for his Octagon return is currently unknown.

“Boxing is my first love in combat sports,” McGregor said. “I had such a great time the last time I was out there [boxing].

“Obviously, my return will be inside the octagon for the UFC and mixed martial arts. That story is far from over. In fact, that story is just being written, it’s just the beginning — so that’s where I’ll make my return.”

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

McGrego…

After defeating Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision to reclaim the flyweight crown in their trilogy bout at UFC 270, Deiveson Figueiredo was not happy the promotion decided to create an interim belt some six months later.

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Moreno will face Kai Kara France for interim gold at UFC 277 in Dallas on July 30. Figueiredo makes it clear that he will not recognize the winner as a champion.

“I got really upset. I didn't expect that from UFC,” Figueiredo told Brazilian outlet AgFight. “I just couldn't believe when I heard that news. We fought in January, and they know I have a hand injury. After that decision I have to use Charles [Oliveira’s] words: The champion has a name and it's Deiveson Figueiredo.’ This plastic belt has no value.”

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 207 "Volkov vs. Rozenstruik" live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The disappointment with the UFC’s…