Martial Arts News

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The heavyweights will be in the spotlight for Week 6 of the PFL Challenger Series on March 25.

The promotion announced on Wednesday the matchups for all four heavyweight bouts: former UFC middleweight talent Bevon Lewis vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Marcelo Nunes; undefeated Brazilian prospect Giacomo Lemos vs. 2019 Legacy Fighting Alliance heavyweight tournament champion Brett Martin; undefeated Bellator veteran Adam Keresh vs. ex-Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Chad Johnson and former Temple University fullback Daiqwon Buckley vs. Jackson-Wink MMA representative Jon Cunningham.

One winner will be selected to compete in the heavyweight division for the 2022 PFL season or will receive a developmental contract in hopes of appearing in a future PFL campaign.

The PFL Challenger Series takes place at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and airs on Fubo Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT…

It’s not exactly a retirement announcement, but it doesn’t sound like Megan Anderson will be resuming her mixed martial arts career anytime soon, either.

The former UFC featherweight title challenger and Invicta FC champion released a statement via social media providing an update on her fight plans, or in this case — a lack thereof.

“For all those that are asking and continue to ask me daily, I have no plans to fight right now,” Anderson wrote on Instagram. “I'm not saying that I will never fight again, but at this point in my life, I'm loving everything else I'm doing. From gaming and streaming, working as an analyst for ESPN and Invicta, and currently filming my first major feature film. I couldn't be happier and fighting really isn't on my mind.

“I'm currently not affiliated with any gym, I'm not signed to any promotion right now and haven't been pursuing a new fight contract. I appreciate the love and interest from everyone hoping to see me in the cage…

The ground game of @AndreMunizUFC is NO JOKE #UFC269 pic.twitter.com/oWFvJ2Cw4h

— UFC (@ufc) December 12, 2021

Andre Muniz will take a four-fight promotional winning streak into his matchup with “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night on April 16.

“Hall is very tough, experienced guy who already had great fights against top opponents,” Muniz told Sherdog.com. “We already studied some of his fights against jiu-jitsu opponents and we know how hard it is to take him down. He has good takedown defense and strong jabs and spinning kicks.

“So there is no easy way to fight him. I will have to brawl with him, answering every single strike, pressuring him and when I get the right timing, take him down.”

Muniz, who lives in Minas Gerais, Brazil, came to Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 30 to begin his camp at Tata Fight Team.

“I’m already in Rio doing my camp at TFT with my masters Philipe Lima and Tata Duarte,” Muniz sai…

More PFL Challenger Series Matchups are Set #PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/VX4Clb65tz

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 2, 2022

The pairings are in place for two more PFL Challenger Series events.

The promotion on Wednesday announced the matchups for the women’s lightweight card on March 4 and men’s featherweight bill on March 11. Both events air on the Fubo Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on their respective dates.

The four 155-pound female bouts for the PFL Challenger Series are as follows: Martina Jindrova vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti; Jackie Cataline vs. Evelyn Martins; Julia Dorny vs. Jeslen Michelle and Michelle Montague vs. Olivia Parker. Jindrova vs. Cavalcanti will receive top billing on the card.

Noticeably absent from the lineup is French Olympic wrestler Cynthia Vescan, who was originally announced as part of the lightweight field. A reason for Vescan’s departure was not given in the PFL release.

Meanwhile, the four men’s …

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After the controversy surrounding his inability to make the middleweight limit for his last fight with Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa surprised the MMA community by demanding an immediate rematch with “The Italian Dream.”

Vettori ultimately agreed to face Costa at 205 pounds in the UFC Fight Night 196 main event this past October and defeated the Brazilian via unanimous decision. It was Costa’s second consecutive loss within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I don't respect him. I want to end his life. He's an asshole, a fool. He had this victory over me and he thinks he's 'the man,’” Costa told Brazilian outlet Ag Fight. “But he's an asshole, he can't even wear his shorts right. But I will fight him again. Well, at least I intend to.”

Costa revealed that he has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, but he is only interested in facing Vettori. “Borrachina” says he has made his wishes very clear.

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Marlon Moraes will attempt to snap the first losing streak of his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure when he faces Yadong Song at UFC Fight Night 203 next month. His plans were threatened a few weeks ago, however, when he grew ill en route to Phuket, Thailand for training, an illness that ended up being COVID. In an exclusive conversation with Sherdog, Moraes talked about the nightmarish situation of being sick and under quarantine in another country, the reasons the American Top Team mainstay was in Thailand in the first place, and whether it affected his preparations for the Song fight.

You last fought in September of 2021. You’re currently booked to fight again in March. Around Jan. 12, you revealed that you were COVID-positive in Thailand. Can you provide an update since that time?I caught COVID. I got a bit sick. I was isolated for some time. I was afraid that I wouldn’t have sufficient time to get ready for my fight but thankfully, I recovered fast. I’ve been i…

Jiri Prochaska ist der neueste große Name Kopf bereit zu kämpfen bereite dich auf einen bevorstehenden Kampf vor.

ESPN zuerst wurde berichtet, dass Prochazka bei der in Arizona ansässigen camp, und ehemaliger Zweitliga-UFC-Champion Henry Cejudo hat ein Foto neben Prochazka in den sozialen Medien gepostet. Prochazka schließt sich einer wachsenden Liste bemerkenswerter Kämpfer an, die zeit im Kampf bereit, einschließlich der ehemaligen 205-Pfund-König Jon Jones, fliegengewicht champ Deiveson Figueiredo, ex-Strohgewichtskönigin Weili Zhang und Federgewicht Anwärter Chan Sung Jung, um nur einige zu nennen.

Prochazka, der normalerweise im Jetsaam Gym Brno verankert ist, ist geplant, um für Halbschwergewicht Gold gegen amtierende Herausforderung champion Glover Teixiera bei UFC 274 am 7. Mai. Die Veranstaltung war ursprünglich für Rio de Janeiro geplant, wird aber voraussichtlich verlegt zu einem noch nicht angekündigten Veranstaltungsort in den Vereinigten Staaten.

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The UFC Fight Night card on May 21 has its main event, as Holly Holm is expected to square off against Ketlen Vieira in a women’s bantamweight bout.

Both fighters have agreed to a five-round headlining bout, which was initially reported by Ariel Helwani. Additionally, two-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson will remain at heavyweight for a matchup with Ben Rothwell. Frontkick Online initially brought word of the Gustafsson-Rothwell pairing.

A former bantamweight champion and featherweight title challenger, Holm hasn’t seen action since a convincing five-round verdict over Irene Aldana in the UFC on ESPN 16 main event in October 2020. Since then, injuries have forced the Jackson-Wink MMA product to withdraw from proposed bouts against Julianna Pena on May 8 and against Norma Dumont on Oct. 16. Holm has won three of her last four Octagon appearances.

Vieira is coming off a 1-1 2021 campaign that saw her drop a unanimous decision to Yana …

After nearly two years on the sidelines, Blagoy Ivanov will return to the Octagon to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 274.

De Lima confirmed the heavyweight booking on social media following an initial report from BJPenn.com. UFC 274 takes place at an as yet to be announced location and features a pair of title bouts at the top of the card: Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka at light heavyweight and Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje at lightweight.

A former World Series of Fighting Champion, Ivanov hasn’t competed since a split-decision defeat against Augusto Sakai at UFC on ESPN 9 in May 2020. The Bulgarian heavyweight is 2-3 in UFC competition, with victories over Tai Tuivasa and Ben Rothwell. His 18-4 career mark includes a 6-1 stint in Bellator MMA.

De Lima, meanwhile, has been victorious in three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 36-year-old Brazilian stopped Rothwell via TKO in 32 seconds at UFC Fight Night 197 this past Novemb…

While it wasn’t surprising to see Jon Jones weigh in on the UFC 270 headliner via social media, reigning heavyweight king Francis Ngannou isn’t holding his breath regarding a potential fight with the former 205-pound champion.

“If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it,” Jones wrote following Ngannou’s unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane on Jan. 22. “Got some more records to break.”

If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it. Got some more records to break

— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 23, 2022

Jones, of course, hasn’t fought since February 2020, when he edged Dominick Reyes in a light heavyweight title defense at UFC 247. In the meantime, “Bones” has often mused about his long-awaited heavyweight debut, but thus far, nothing has come to fruition.

That fact isn’t lost on Ngannou, who has been linked to a mega-fight with Jones since before he won the heavyweight title. “The Predator” is…

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A middleweight clash pitting Sam Alvey against Phil Hawes won’t happen at UFC Fight Night 200 as originally planned.

Alvey announced the bout’s cancellation on his YouTube page, revealing that Hawes had been forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

“I hope he’s OK. I heard he’s injured. I don’t know exactly what happened,” Alvey said. “My prayers are with him. I hope he heals.”

Now, Alvey will square off against Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 200 on short notice. Multiple outlets confirmed the new middleweight booking following an initial report from Eurosport. Hawes was the second proposed opponent for Alvey at UFC Fight Night 200, as Ian Heinisch also withdrew from the event.

“Smile’n” Sam is currently mired in a seven-bout winless streak in which a draw against Da Un Jung at UFC 254 is the only non-defeat during that period. Alvey hasn’t won a bout in the Octagon since June 201…

Lightweight matchups set for PFL Challenger Series on March 18 https://t.co/Vmw3eaRxnA

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) February 1, 2022

The lightweight matchups have been finalized for the PFL Challenger Series event on March 18.

The promotion on Tuesday the following four pairings: Road FC veteran Bruno Miranda vs. Rose City Fight Club representative Carson Frei; former Valor FC champion Damir Ferhatbegovic vs. City Kickboxing export B.J. Bland; Olivier Aubin-Mercier training partner Michael Dufort vs. Elevation Fight Team member Arut Pogosjan and unbeaten Israeli Yanal Ashmoz vs. Wiggins, Miss., native Dennis Hughes Jr.

One winner from that group will receive a contract to compete in the lightweight division during the 2022 PFL season, or at the very least, a developmental deal that could put them on the track to join the organization for a future season.

The card takes place at Universal Studios and airs on Fubo Sports Network beginn…