Martial Arts News

The Paratrooper drops HAMMERS on Spong and finishes him in round 2! #EagleFC44 pic.twitter.com/4KwK0CO6eS

— Eagle Fight Club (@EagleFightClub) January 29, 2022 Sergei Kharitonov, one of the best fighters from the glory days of Pride Fighting Championships, continues to stay afloat in the mixed martial arts world at the ripe old age of 41. Kharitonov trounced fan-favorite striking powerhouse Tyrone Spong Friday night in the main event of Eagle FC 44 in Miami, Fla. Friday night and escaped the skirmish with only a few scratches.

Kharitonov (32-8) absorbed powerful leg kicks and jabs early in the first, but his veteran instincts allowed him to take “The King of the Ring” down easily and dominate from mount position. Spong (2-1) tried to stay on his feet in the second and did well behind the jab, but “The Paratrooper” scored another takedown at the midway point and immediately moved to mount. From there, Kharitonov unloaded punches until referee…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. It may come as a shock that these two Ultimate Fighting Championship all-action mainstays have never crossed paths before. MMA Junkie was the first to break the news on Friday that Donald Cerrone (36-16, 2 NC) will throw down with Joe Lauzon (28-15) at lightweight on April 30. The UFC Fight Night card on that date does not currently have a destination, but it has been confirmed by the promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN shortly after its announcement. There is no main event scheduled for the event yet, and this new bout likely serves as the highest billed fight of the lineup thus far.

The two longtime vets combine for 64 Octagon appearances, and they have taken home an incredible 33 post-fight bonus checks over their storied careers. Cerrone will tie the record for the most appearances in company history with 38 when he compete…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZsBfyTOFvY&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo has embraced the whirlwind since winning his belt back less than a week ago. After four months of hard training at Fight Ready in Arizona, and five rounds of bonus-winning action with Brandon Moreno, Figueiredo could not rest until arriving in Brazil on Thursday. After coming out on top at UFC 270, his team wanted nothing more than to celebrate all through the night. Any hopes of relaxation were out the window for the Brazilian, who found himself surprised by his teammates. Figueiredo spoke to Sherdog after his fight, primed and ready to speak highly of his training partners.

“The climate was so unique,” Figueiredo admitted. “My teammates worked so hard with me for the last four months. Each…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfkBghODmps&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two action Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights won’t disappoint when they are locked in the cage in March. In a past episode of Michael Bisping’s podcast “Believe You Me” on Jan. 14, Paul Craig (15-4-1) hinted that his next opponent would be Nikita Krylov (26-8). On Friday, the promotion revealed that the fight had been made official, with the two throwing down at UFC Fight Night 204 inside London's O2 Arena on March 19. In their combined 55-fight careers, Krylov and Craig have only gone the distance four times.

Krylov has alternated wins and losses in his last six, with an inconsistent return to the UFC in his last five outings that has seen him win against Ovince St. Preux and Johnny Walker. Those victories are interspersed by setbacks to Jan Blacho…

Both One Championship kickboxing finalists showed little difficulty punching their tickets to the featherweight grand prix finale.

In the One: “Only the Brave” headliner, “Sitthichai” Anulak Jansuk barely broke a sweat overcoming Davit Kiria in the semifinal of the featherweight (155-pound) tournament. Former Lumpinee Stadium welterweight king and Glory lightweight titleholder Sitthichai dictated the pace of the match, forcing his opponent to fight off his back foot for most of the contest. The Thai fighter took the initiative, scoring cleaner shots than the decidedly stiff Kiria throughout their three-round clash.

Sitthichai CRACKS Davit Kiria with a head kick! #ONEOnlyTheBrave #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/rc2olSkmmO

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 28, 2022 In the second frame, Sitthichai comfortably displayed a wide array of punches and kicks with little concern of anything coming back his way. Right before…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdo5gGr7E10&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. One Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight’s loss is another’s gain in this era of constant fight replacements. On Thursday, Makhmud Muradov (25-7) announced on Instagram that he had injured his arm and will no longer be competing at UFC Fight Night 202 on Feb. 26. A day later, the organization set a replacement for him in Wellington Turman (17-5), who will step in to face Misha Cirkunov (15-7) at the Las Vegas event inside the UFC Apex. This news first came from MMA Junkie on Friday, and this new pairing has been confirmed by other outlets.

Turman was originally slated to take on Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 270, but Vieira fell ill and pulled out of the matchup on the day of weigh-ins. In his last time out, he fought Sam Alvey and secured a strange split decisio…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A surging Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight has a top-10 opponent for a classic striker vs. grappler affair. According to a report from MMA Fighting on Thursday, Andre Muniz (22-4) has his sights set on moving up the rankings, and he will find his next test in Uriah Hall (17-10) on April 16. The two middleweights have agreed to fight one another at the UFC Fight Night on that date, one which does not currently have a venue and location, although the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is on the table. The intriguing stylistic clash has been subsequently confirmed by Muniz on his Instagram on Friday.

Since earning a roster spot on the third season of Dana White's Contender Series, Muniz has shot up the ranks with four wins in four appearances. Debuting by being triumphant on the scorecards over Antonio Arroyo in 2019, the next three …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DETWiAmQUmc&w=640&h=360] Bellator MMA's first event of 2022 is officially set after the Bellator 273 weigh-ins took place.

All fighters but one made weight for the event, which is headlined by a heavyweight unification match between champion Ryan Bader and interim titleholder Valentin Moldavsky. The lone fighter to miss weight is Fabricio Franco (151.2), who came in 5.2 pounds over the featherweight limit, and his bout against Weber Almeida (145.2) was canceled as a result. The card also features two former champions in Benson Henderson (155.8), who goes up against Islam Mamedov (155.6), and Darrion Caldwell (135.8), who looks to correct a two-fight skid at the expense of newcomer Enrique Barzola (136).

This is the first heavyweight bout for Bader (28-7, 1 NC) since 2019 when "Darth" poked Cheick Kongo in the eye to result in a no contest. Since then, Bader lost his light heavyweight belt to Vadim Nemkov, won a unanimous decision…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The next Ultimate Fighting Championship card on ESPN has lost its headliner. Per MMA Kultura on Thursday, and later from Ariel Helwani, Jan Blachowicz (28-9) has been forced out of his light heavyweight main event at UFC on ESPN 33 against Aleksandar Rakic (14-2) due to an undisclosed injury. According to the reports, Blachowicz will not be replaced as the matchup will be preserved for a later date, and the UFC is searching for an entirely new main event to sit atop the show at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 26.

Blachowicz was looking to get back in the win column after surrendering his belt to Glover Teixeira in late 2021. The former champ had a five-fight win streak snapped at the conclusion of UFC 267, where he fell victim to a rear-naked choke from the Brazilian. Blachowicz first claimed the vacant strap by …

Dana White on why he wasn't out there for the main event and didn't put the belt on Francis Ngannou.#UFC pic.twitter.com/8Z0BKBwILM

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 27, 2022 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship head Dana White is adamant that there was nothing to read from his nonappearance at the end of UFC 270. Historically, White has served as the person to wrap the belt around the champion’s waist after Bruce Buffer announced the victor in the UFC. While he did hand the flyweight belt to Deiveson Figueiredo at the conclusion of the UFC 270 co-main event, he was noticeable absent for the heavyweight headliner. Instead, matchmaker Mick Maynard presented “The Predator” with his unified title, instantly drawing questions from fans and media alike as to why White was not present. Many speculated that…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champ Jessica Andrade is moving back to her old stomping grounds of 115 pounds. Last Friday, the news first broke from MMA Fighting, who reported that Andrade (22-9) will be dropping back down to strawweight at an unnamed UFC Fight Night card on April 23. At this event that may be held in the UFC Apex, contingent on the status of the coronavirus pandemic, Andrade will be facing Amanda Lemos (11-1) in a battle between hard-hitting Brazilians. The two women will be competing over the course of five rounds as the main event, and the news has since been confirmed on Thursday by Lemos on her Instagram page.

Andrade shifted gears to the flyweight division after dropping two to Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas. In her 125-pound debut, she handed Katlyn Chookagian her second career stoppag…

Times are tough for 38-year-old combat sports veteran Melvin Guillard.

According to a release from the Association of Boxing Commissions on Thursday, the Florida State Athletic Commission has denied Guillard’s license to compete at BKFC: Knucklemania 2 on Feb. 19. The event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., was to feature a scrap between Guillard and ex-boxer Ulysses Diaz, but it has been shut down due to a “serious concern” regarding Guillard’s health.

“On the surface, the fight might look competitive,” the release noted, as transcribed by MMA Junkie, “but after doing due diligence, the executive director Patrick Cunningham found a serious concern with the health of Melvin Guillard. In checking the certified ABC record sources, BoxRec and the MMA database, it was determined Guillard is suspended and requires a neurological exam, but even if he cleared that Guillard had lost the past four BKB bouts and had a lost nine mixed martial art [fi…