Martial Arts News

Jose Mariscal was so embarrassed by missing weight for his clash against Damon Jackson on Saturday that he almost pulled out of the fight.

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UFC on ESPN 61 allowed only one hour for fighters to weigh in instead of the usual two. Mariscal, who weighed in at 3.5 pounds over the featherweight limit, was one of three fighters who missed weight for the event. However, Mariscal doesn’t blame the short weigh-in window and instead takes responsibility for his weight miss.

A lifetime martial artist, Mariscal knows the importance of making weight. “Chepe” didn’t even want to be seen in the arena, but his coaches put his mind back on track. An undisclosed portion of Mariscal’s purse was offered to Jackson, who agreed to proceed with the fight. Mariscal went on to earn an impressive unanimous decision win over Jackson in a high-paced, entertaining affair.

“We kind of calculated the weight cut kind of wrong, especially with the Vegas heat and everything — …

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Dricus Du Plessis credits coach Morne Visser for the tip which helped him finish Robert Whittaker to earn a UFC middleweight title shot.

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“Stillknocks” scored a second-round stoppage of Whittaker in their title eliminator matchup at UFC 290 in July 2023. The South African revealed that it was his coach’s plan to fight southpaw that earned him the finish.

While Du Plessis admits Whittaker is almost technically flawless, his team noticed “Bobby Knuckles” getting clipped against southpaws even when the Australian emerged victorious. Du Plessis listened to his coach’s advice to go southpaw and was rewarded perfectly.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! “All credit to my coach for that fight,” Du Plessis said on the UFC 305 Countdown show. “There’s very very few holes in the game of Robert Whittaker. Fighting southpaws, he beat all of them but he got caught a few times coming in. And we went thro…

Impa Kasanganay won’t dwell on his initial meeting with Joshua Silveira going into their upcoming clash next weekend.

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Kasanganay and Silveira will headline PFL 8 in a light heavyweight semifinal matchup on Aug. 16 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The two previously met at last season’s final in November 2023, when Kasanganay earned a unanimous decision victory to win $1 million and rise to stardom as the promotion’s light heavyweight champion.

However, Kasanganay is considering their upcoming clash a “new hunt” rather than a rematch. Acknowledging his opponent’s skillset, “Tshilobo” says he expects Silveira to have put the previous loss behind him.

“I expect Josh to be the best version of himself. Josh is a solid fighter; he’s smart and coached well. To me, it’s not a rematch. It’s a whole new hunt. Last year is behind us. I always say burn the ships, so, what title?” Kasanganay told Sherdog.com.

“For me, I could care less …

Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be part of the broadcast table for UFC 305 while Joe Rogan takes his customary absence during an international event.

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Cruz will join Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik for the pay-per-view event on Aug. 17. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Rogan will likely return to his usual role for UFC 306, which is scheduled for The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. In the co-main event Kai Kara France will square off against Steve Erceg in a matchup of flyweight contenders.

The UFC 305 main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims will begin on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT before shifting to ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Serghei Spivac wasted little time exacting revenge on Marcin Tybura.

The Moldovan made short work of Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 headliner, submitting his Polish opponent in the opening stanza of their heavyweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. An armbar from Spivac (17-4, 8-4 UFC) elicited a verbal tap from Tybura (25-9, 12-8) at the 1:44 mark of Round 1. “The Polar Bar” has finished 15 of his 17 career triumphs — including 11 inside a round. Tybura defeated Spivac via unanimous decision in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 169 in February 2020.

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Spivac closed the distance quickly and made his way to Tybura’s back early in the fight. However, Tybura was able to reverse into top position shortly thereafter. That success proved to be short lived, as Spivac worked his guard up, flipped his opponent over and locked in the decisive hold.

Spivac has won four of his last five promotional appearances, while Tybura has dro…

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 61 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Luciano (-185), Alencar (+154)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Zalal (-395), Errens (+310)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW |…

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Sometimes, a fight comes down to the winning fighter having one elite technique, the moxie to use it, and an opponent who cannot or will not make adjustments.

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In the final fight of the four-bout undercard of UFC on ESPN 61 on Saturday in Las Vegas, Karol Rosa (18-6) brutalized Pannie Kianzad (16-9) for three rounds with a barrage of calf kicks. From the opening seconds of the fight, Rosa went to work on the lead leg of Kianzad and those kicks defined the round, as Kianzad first ignored them, then began trying to pull the threatened limb out of danger, and finally, late in the round, had her leg buckle. The onslaught continued in Round 2, with Rosa pouring on the low kicks and meeting “Banzai” with punches and elbow strikes when she tried to close the distance. By the midpoint of the round, Kianzad was limping and bleeding badly from a cut opened by a Rosa elbow, but remained game, marching forward and throwing punches ev…

The three fighters who didn’t need to go to the judges — Serghei Spivac, Toshiomi Kazama and Youssef Zalal — all received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work on Saturday.

Spivac got his revenge on Marcin Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 main event, as he submitted the Pole in their heavyweight rematch at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. An armbar ended the contest at the 1:44 mark of Round 1.

Kazama, meanwhile, had to push through some serious adversity to earn his post-fight bonus. After being dropped by Charalampos Grigoriou early in the second stanza and then absorbing some heavy elbows on the canvas, Kazama rallied to secure a triangle choke submission at the 1:55 mark of the period.

Finally, Zalal continued his resurgence at the expense of Jarno Errens in a preliminary featherweight matchup. Zalal took Errens to the canvas and then transitioned to the back. When his opponent elected to stand, “The Moroccan Devil” was able to secure the fight-end…

Brendan Loughnane has been with the Professional Fighters League since 2019 and has grown with the company to a point where both parties are thriving in the present day.

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Loughnane, who has only lost twice in the PFL, has figured out a method to the promotion’s regular season and playoff format, and five years later he’s prepared for business once again.

Loughnane will begin his bid to become a two-time PFL champion when he takes on UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Kai Kamaka III in the featherweight semifinals at PFL 9 on Aug. 23. During a recent media call, Loughnane discussed his veteran status with the promotion and how he feels this is the time for business with the playoffs having arrived.

“Yeah, this is the business end of the tournament now,” Loughnane said. “I’m feeling great. Another great camp, I’ve managed to stay healthy all year.”

When it comes to experience, it’s not just what he’s done in the PFL. Loughnane noted he has more car…

Brendan Loughnane has been with the Professional Fighters League since 2019 and has grown with the company to a point where both parties are thriving in the present day.

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Loughnane, who has only lost twice in the PFL, has figured out a method to the promotion’s regular season and playoff format, and five years later he’s prepared for business once again.

Loughnane will begin his bid to become a two-time PFL champion when he takes on UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Kai Kamaka III in the featherweight semifinals at PFL 9 on Aug. 23. During a recent media call, Loughnane discussed his veteran status with the promotion and how he feels this is the time for business with the playoffs having arrived.

“Yeah, this is the business end of the tournament now,” Loughnane said. “I’m feeling great. Another great camp, I’ve managed to stay healthy all year.”

When it comes to experience, it’s not just what he’s done in the PFL. Loughnane noted he has more car…

Caio Borralho expects that a title shot could be imminent if he finishes his upcoming opponent.

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The next middleweight championship bout is already set, as Dricus Du Plessis will put his 185-pound strap on the line against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia on Aug. 17. Borralho admits that while he has always mentally wagered against Du Plessis, the champ has proven him wrong time and again. And yet, Borralho predicts that “Stillknocks” will be dethroned by Adesanya due to a stylistic disadvantage.

“I always bet against Dricus you know, but I always lost,” Borralho told MMAjunkie.com. “Not money, but I always think that he was going to lose the fights that he got, but he did an amazing job and won the fights… But this time I think I’m gonna be again against him. I think Adesanya – stylistically I don’t see this fight match. I think Adesanya can manage the distance a lot, can kick him a little bit more. Because all of [his] previous oppon…

A matchup of light heavyweight veterans is in the works for UFC 310.

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Former title challengers Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes are expected to trade leather at UFC 310 on Dec. 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The matchup was first reported by MMA Mania.

Smith is 2-4 in the Octagon since 2022. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 this past June. Prior to that, “Lionheart” submitted Vitor Petrino in the first round of their bout at UFC 301 on May 4.

Meanwhile, Reyes suffered three straight knockout defeats against Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Ryan Spann following his controversial loss against Jon Jones in February 2020. While “The Devastator” was scheduled to return to action after a 19-month hiatus this past February, his return was delayed due to a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially life threatening situation. Reyes return to action in June with a first-round knockout win over Dustin …