Martial Arts News

Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall will headline the card when the Ultimate Fighting Championship heads back to London on July 23.

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Ariel Helwani was first to report the heavyweight bout, which is expected to be finalized soon with verbal agreements already in place. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at the O2 in London and will mark the promotion’s second trip to the city in 2022.

Blaydes made his first appearance of the year at UFC on ESPN 33, where he defeated Chris Daukaus via second-round technical knockout on March 26. The Elevation Fight Team representative has been victorious in six of his last seven Octagon appearances, with his lone defeat coming against Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.

A native of Manchester, England, Aspinall has emerged as a person of interest at heavyweight following five straight victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, Aspinall submitted former Bellator and M-1 Global champ Alexander…

Ein Matchup von Fliegengewichtsaussichten Lochfraß Carlos Candelarios gegen Tatsuro Taira wird nicht bei UFC auf ESPN 35 am Samstag als untergehen ursprünglich erwartet.

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Die in Las Vegas ansässige Promotion kündigte einige Stunden vor der ereignis, bei dem der Kampf aufgrund eines Candelario-Krankheit. Die 125-Pfund-Paarung wurde verschoben für UFC auf ESPN 36 am 14. Mai.

Infolgedessen wird UFC auf ESPN 35 mit 11 Kämpfen fortfahren. Karte findet im UFC Apex in Las Vegas statt und wird von einem showdown im Bantamgewicht zwischen Rob Font und Marlene Vera.

Candelario erlitt seine erste Niederlage in neun Profi-Einsätzen letzten August, als er eine geteilte Entscheidung fallen ließ Victor Altamirano in der Contender-Serie von Dana White.

Japans Taira ist 12-0 als Profi und kommt von drei aufeinanderfolgende Siege in der ersten Runde, zwei mit Shooto und eine mit Vale Tudo Japan.

UFC auf ESPN 36 findet auch im UFC Apex in Las Vegas statt u…

Alex Polizzi will replace Melvin Manhoef and face Yoel Romero at Bellator 280.

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Dutch outlet Redactie Telesport was first to report the new booking, and Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the bout with a promotion official. Manhoef was forced to withdraw due to an injury incurred in the recent apprehension of three burglars at his home. During that incident, Manhoef reportedly smashed a car window with his bare hand, which resulted in the Dutch striker needing stitches.

Bellator 280 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris on May 6 and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo. Romero vs. Polizzi is currently scheduled to be the card’s co-main event.

Polizzi has been victorious in four of his five promotional appearances, with his lone defeat coming to light heavyweight grand prix competitor Julius Anglickas at Bellator 251. The Madison, Wisc., native is currently in the midst of a three-bout winning streak tha…

AnnMaria DeMars, the mother of ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey, was recently appointed to the California State Athletic Commission.

The move was announced by the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday. She will serve as a commissioner on the six-person CSAC team and will have a say in the regulation of combat sports in the state. DeMars needs approval from the California state senate to make her position official, but that is expected to be a formality. The full statement regarding De Mars is as follows:

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AnnMaria DeMars, 63, of Santa Monica, has been appointed to the State Athletic Commission. DeMars has been President at the Julia Group since 2008 and at 7 Generation Games since 2013. DeMars was Partner at Spirit Lake Consulting from 2002 to 2008. DeMars is a member of the American Statistical Association, National Indian Education Association, Judo Black Belt Association and United States Judo Association. She earned a Master of Business A…

Y’all watch me choke my chicken in Austin, TX on June 18th!!!!!! 🍗 🐔 🦢

Ohh and I cashed out on that Cowboy Oliveira bounty…. 50G’s baby #dirtybird #austintx #2022 #fightnight #webackoutside #onlyfanshaditfirst pic.twitter.com/1jBfmkWh10

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) April 29, 2022 Leave it to the Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipKevin Holland to turn a standard fight announcement into a big drama show.

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Holland (22-7, 1 NC) released a video on Friday that gave out the date and location of his next fight, as well as his opponent. Fighting with someone dressed up as Big Bird wearing roller skates, Holland declared that he would be taking on Tim Means (32-12-1, 1 NC) on the unnamed UFC Fight Night card on June 18. The two will tangle in the welterweight division at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, signaling his return to his adopted state of Texas for the first time since 2018. It will be the first appearance f…

1️⃣3️⃣6️⃣ for @ChitoVeraUFC 💪

[ #UFCVegas53 | Prelims 4pm ET on ESPN 2 | Main Card 7pm ET LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/MClsC0vUci

— UFC (@ufc) April 29, 2022 Despite Rob Font missing weight, UFC on ESPN 35's main event is still set as Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender Marlon Vera is going forward with their five-round scrap.

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Font (19-5) officially weighed 138.5 pounds for his third UFC main event, or 2.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. As a result, Font has been fined 20% of his purse that will go to his opponent. The rest of the 12-fight card all made weight, making Font the lone unprofessional participant.

Font's impressive four-fight win streak came to an end in his last bout against Jose Aldo. The former UFC featherweight champion turned back the clock and looked great throughout five rounds, leaving Font to go back to the drawing board. Font will look to impress like past showings agai…

My girl @MayceeBarber is up the same night as me! #ufc276 https://t.co/cP7yDgYrLN

— Jessy Jess (@missjessyjess) April 29, 2022 Before the final round of socialing had even gone out, the Ultimate Fighting Championship located an excellent replacement to keep a July matchup intact.

Casey O'Neill withdrew from her matchup with Jessica Eye (15-10, 1 NC) on Thursday due to a torn ACL, scuttling their UFC 276 flyweight pairing. That night, BJPenn.com first reported that the promotion had already locked down someone to fight in O’Neill’s stead: Maycee Barber (10-2). On Friday, Barber confirmed the news of this fight on her Instagram, verifying that this battle will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2.

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Barber comes in with momentum on her side, having won her last two on the scorecards against fellow promising young talents Miranda Maverick and Montana De La Rosa, with the latter coming in April. Those tw…

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for PFL and UFC. Use code SHERDOG and get $2500 in extra money to make fight night even better.

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The 2022 Professional Fighters League Season continues Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Last week in PFL, lightweights and light heavyweights took the stage to start off the 2022 season. This week, fight fans will be treated to 10 matchups – all tournament-eligible this time – in the featherweight and heavyweight categories. We begin the night at 145 pounds, in a classic battle of Mexico vs. Germany as Monterrey native Flores (19-3, 1-0 PFL) faces off against Frankfurt’s own Bolaghi (14-2-1, 0-0 PFL). The referee for the first match of the evening is Keith Peterson, and he starts the night off right by kicking nonsense out of the arena. The two men touch gloves, and Flores sticks o…

6 Points and the 1st round finish for Bruno Cappelozza!#2022PFL2 pic.twitter.com/HcBajmTR8W

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 29, 2022

Bruno Henrique Cappelozza picked up right where he left off in 2021.

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The defending Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion turned away Stuart Austin with punches in the first round of their PFL 2 headliner on Thursday at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A onetime British Association of Mixed Martial Arts titleholder, Austin (15-8, 0-2 PFL) checked out 4:24 into Round 1.

Cappelozza (15-5, 5-0 PFL) bided his time and waited for an opportunity to present itself. A jarring overhand right had Austin diving at the Brazilian’s legs out of desperation and led to his being pinned to the canvas. Cappelozza methodically floated from half guard to full mount, postured in a dominant position and dropped punches until the job was done.

Meanwhile, former Ring of Combat champion Chris Wade reb…

A top-flight Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight prospect has just suffered an injury that will keep her out of action for a long time.

On Thursday, Casey O'Neill announced on Instagram that she has suffered a completely torn ACL that will require surgery and a lengthy recovery process. She was initially booked against Jessica Eye at UFC 276, but she has been forced out of this matchup due to this injury. It is currently unclear if Eye will receive a replacement, or if the promotion will book her on another card.

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Undefeated as a professional at 9-0, Australia’s O’Neill surged into the promotion on the heels of five wins in the span of less than 18 months. From there, she debuted against Shana Dobson and knocked her out in the second round. A pair of subsequent finishes over Lara Procopio and Antonia Shevchenko – all three of those UFC appearances coming in 2021 – she moved towards ranked competition on the heels of those three stoppage wins. …

The latest episode of Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal has just been ratcheted up a notch.

On Thursday, Masvidal appeared on a Zoom call to enter his pleas of not guilty with the 11th Circuit Court of Florida, with Judge Zachary James presiding over the case. As a result, Masvidal has been issued a stay-away order, which will require him to stay at least 25 feet away from Covington, while not coming anywhere closer than 500 feet of Covington’s residence. “Gamebred” cannot contact Covington in any capacity, including by text message or phone call, as well. The next hearing date will be May 12, which is a status hearing that will review the proceedings to that point and possibly set a trial date.

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Modifying his initial complaint, Covington stated that in addition to a fractured tooth, the abrasion to his wrist and the damage to his Rolex watch, he claims he suffered “brain injury” from the alleged attack. T…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4LmQASrtaI&w=560&h=315]

It’s full speed ahead for Week 2 of the Professional Fighters League regular season, as every heavyweight and featherweight set to compete made weight on Wednesday.

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That includes defending heavyweight champ Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, who tipped the scales at 235 pounds for a featured showdown against Stuart Austin (245.8). There was one late change to the card, with Cody Goodale (253.2) stepping in on short notice to face Denis Goltsov (247.4) in a heavyweight tilt that was only recently elevated to the evening’s main card.

PFL 2 takes place at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas on Thursday night. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

After nearly three years away from the sport following a knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at Rizin 11, Cappelozza went 4-0 in 2021 to…