Martial Arts News

High kick city for @JamiePickettMMA #UFCVegas46 pic.twitter.com/awvBz9pKcq

— UFC (@ufc) January 15, 2022

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Jamie Pickett took another step toward steadying himself inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Joseph Holmes in the featured UFC on ESPN 32 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the assembled judiciary saw it 29-28 for Pickett (13-6, 2-2 UFC).

Holmes (7-2, 0-1 UFC), who entered his promotional debut on the strength of seven straight stoppage victories, enjoyed some early success behind a kick-heavy approach. However, he appeared to run out of steam and competitive drive in the latter half of the match. Pickett answered with b…

The Golden Boy keeps the gold!!

Marian Ziółkowski with the biggest win of his career!! #AndStill #KSW66 pic.twitter.com/N6Mf5iRNoe

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 15, 2022 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki started the new year with a double championship headliner that went down at the Netto Arena in Szczecin, Poland.

KSW 66 was headlined by a closely-contested lightweight championship affair between divisional kingpin Marian Ziolkowski and former 170-pound titleholder Borys Mankowski. The defending champion Ziolkowski (24-8-1, 1NC; 5-2 KSW) utilized his crisp jab and footwork as he stung his opponent throughout the fight. Meanwhile, Mankowski (22-9-1, 11-6 KSW) retaliated with takedowns and shots from short distance. The match was pretty even going into the fifth stanza, as both fighters took home two rounds each. However, the strategy of “The Golden Boy” turned out to be the most efficient in the final frame, as he continued to score points with his ja…

Hearts all over the world tonight... are happy with joy! Chris Brown gets it done! #LFA121 pic.twitter.com/nT9wE0ESja

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) January 15, 2022 Chris Brown turned a rather uneventful fight into an explosive finish in the blink of an eye as he finished Steven Jones in the third with a barrage of punches. The two men clashed in a 174 lb. catchweight battle in the main event of LFA 121 Friday night inside The Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas, but it was Brown who had his hand raised when the dust settled.

Brown (8-3) had a difficult time landing any of his kicks or punches cleanly early on, as he used a tactical approach against his adversary. Jones (8-3) was looking to take the fight to the canvas throughout, but it was Brown’s power that paved the way toward victory. A left hook on the forehead early in the third wobbled Jones’ legs and when he stumbled down to the canvas, Brown pounced. Brown unloaded an endless s…

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. Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Claudio Puelles is about to receive a very stern litmus test. First announced by FordewinMMA on Twitter on Friday, Clay Guida (37-21) will be facing Puelles (11-2) at a currently unnamed UFC Fight Night card on April 23. This matchup, which currently has no location set, was subsequently confirmed by Puelles’ management team of Iridium Sports Agency, and then by Puelles on Instagram shortly thereafter. The two men will be facing off at lightweight, on a card that has only one additional fight booked: Louis Cosce vs. Preston Parsons at welterweight, which also broke on Friday from Team Iridium.

Guida earned one of his biggest wins in years in his last performance against Leonardo Santos in December. Taking serious damage in the opening round only to pull off a comeback for the ages…

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. Viewer discretion is advised for the image of Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Greg Hardy at the bottom of this article. Per his Instagram on Friday, Hardy (7-4, 1 NC) has suffered a gruesome finger injury that will keep him out of action for the near future. Hardy was expected to face Sergey Spivak (13-3) at UFC 270, with an opponent in Spivak stepping in on short notice to replace Alexey Oleynik on Thursday. The timetable for Hardy’s return is currently unknown, as are the plans for the promotion to seek another replacement fighter or pull the matchup altogether.

Hardy was aiming to put an end to a two-fight knockout skid at the hands of Marcin Tybura at the end of 2020 and Tai Tuivasa in July 2021. The much-maligned football star posts a career knockout rate of 86% as a pro, while putting away Maurice Greene, Juan Ad…

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. Don’t look now, but Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Andrei Arlovski is a few appearances away from the UFC’s all-time record. On Friday, a heavyweight matchup pitting Arlovski (32-20, 2 NC) against Jared Vanderaa (12-6) was announced by Vanderaa’s management team of Iridium Sports Agency. The two are set to battle it out on the loaded UFC 271 card on Feb. 12, which will take place in the Toyota Center in Houston. The former heavyweight champ confirmed the news of this matchup on his Instagram shortly after it was announced.

Arlovski will be entering into his 37th UFC bout when he takes on Vanderaa, one shy of the record currently held by Jim Miller while tying Donald Cerrone for the second-most in UFC history. “The Pitbull” is far and away the most active heavyweight to ever compete inside the Octagon, and his 37 fights in…

One Championship has heard the cries of “50 G’s, baby,” and successfully answered the call.

In the One: “Heavy Hitters” main event, reigning 125-pound queen Jingnan Xiong notched her fifth successful title defense after an uneventful clash with Ayaka Miura. Xiong (17-2, 8-1 One) spent most of the time defending takedown attempts from Miura. The Japanese fighter never managed to implement her game plan, and often times stalled the action by grinding her opponent against the fence. Every time Xiong disengaged from the clinch, she scored with punches. In the championship rounds, Xiong landed a well-timed head kick and some knees to the body, but she never pushed to finish her adversary. Miura (11-4, 1 NC; 4-2 One) showed that she had no plan B, sticking to tiresome takedown attempts that were denied by “The Panda” time and time again. In the final minute, the headliners yelled at one another to try to force a brawl, but neither did enough to take the fight out of the hands of …

The Boston Finisher makes your first main event of 2022

[ @CalvinKattar | #UFCVegas46 | Tomorrow | Main Card 7 LIVE on @ESPN & E+ ] pic.twitter.com/jZtW2eVJwx

— UFC (@ufc) January 14, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make its 2022 debut with UFC on ESPN 32.

The card is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze. All fighters made weight for the first UFC card of the year with a weigh-in ceremony devoid of drama.

"The Boston Finisher" is looking to rebound from a beating from former titleholder Max Holloway. Prior to the defeat, Kattar (22-5) had won four of his last five, with a loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov sandwiched between wins over quality opponents such as Dan Ige and Ricardo Lamas. Kattar officially weighed in at 146 pounds.

This marks the second UFC main event for Chikadze (14-2). "Ninja" is undefeated inside the Octagon, and most recently knocked Edson Barboz…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCBm_Q7mBdk&w=640&h=360] Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's first event of 2022 is now set with two title fights.

Both champions and challengers successfully made weight, although one bout was changed due to medical reasons. Tomasz Romanowski was pulled from his bout against Krystian Kaszubowski. Romanowski has been replaced by Robert Maciejowski, and Maciejowski will hit the scales later when he arrives.

Headlining KSW 66 is a lightweight title bout between champ Marian Ziolkowski and Borys Mankowski. Ziolkowski (23-8-1, 1 NC) is riding a two-fight win streak after dispatching both Maciej Kazieczko and Roman Szymanski. Mankowski (22-8-1) has put together three straight wins after a three-fight skid. Both fighters weighed in at 155 pounds.

The other championship bout will see light heavyweight king Tomasz Narkun look to defend his title against Ibragim Chuzhigaev. Narkun (18-4) is coming off a defeat to Philip De Fries last year for t…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fCHIBGGDmI&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. At this rate, the next Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view will look nothing like it did even a few weeks ago. Initially broken by MMA reporter Alvaro Colmenero on Thursday, Ilia Topuria (11-0) has a new opponent for his featherweight tilt on UFC 270. He was initially set to take on Movsar Evloev, but the Russian tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was scratched. Instead of preserving the matchup, the promotion elected to replace Evloev with Charles Jourdain (12-4-1) for the Jan. 22 event. This battle at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., will take place on the prelims, and it has been subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

On the heels of the first decision win of his career – a unanimous verdict over Andre Ewell in December – Jourdain will s…

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 heavyweight matchup on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next pay-per-view has gone through a change in opponent a little over a week before it will take place. Ariel Helwani first broke the news on Thursday that Alexey Oleynik will no longer be competing at UFC 270. The well-traveled Russian submission artist was slated to take on Greg Hardy (7-4, 1 NC) on the main card of the PPV, but in his stead will be Sergey Spivak (13-3). The news was immediately confirmed by additional outlets. The two are expected to compete on the main card of this event, although it is unclear if the change in opponent for Hardy will shift his matchup to the prelims.

Spivak will be stepping in on a little over a week’s notice, and he will be looking to bounce back after a first-round knockout defeat to Tom Aspinall in September 2021. That loss to A…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDYdAFE8wAw&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. Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Bruno Silva is a firm believer of the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Riding an impressive streak of seven straight knockouts, “Blindado” Silva is not planning to change his style any time soon. On March 12, he will face former two-division Glory kickboxing champion Alex Pereira, and he is ready for what comes in Las Vegas. Silva spoke to Sherdog about his UFC Fight Night 103 bout, and how his training camps have evolved.

“I don’t do camps; I train the whole year the same way,” Silva admitted. “So I didn’t change anything about that fight with ‘Poatan.’”

According to “Blindado,” which means armored in Portuguese, his only adjustments preparing for a fight are to focus on his food, and get his mind ready fo…