Martial Arts News

.@GLORY_WS @EnfusionLIVE

We are excited to announce a series of joint events with Enfusion, kicking off in May. Full details coming shortly.#GLORYRivals pic.twitter.com/zhFwNpdFFQ

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) January 5, 2022 Glory Kickboxing has announced a new series called "Glory Rivals."

The new series aims to form relationships with other top kickboxing promotions around the world to do cross-promotion kickboxing events. In the announcement, Glory revealed that “Glory Rivals” will kick off with a cross promotion with the Eurpoean-based Enfusion organization. Glory also announced a partnership with RISE, which is based in Japan.

Executive vice chairman Scott Rudmann weighed in on the motivation behind the decision to push for cross-promotion events in kickboxing, citing fans and promotions wanting to see the best fight the best. Rudmann believes that Glory has the best kickboxers in the world and is ready to pony up and prove it …

Juliana Velasquez’s next flyweight title defense will likely take place in the spring, according to Bellator president Scott Coker.

Velasquez is targeted to face former UFC 135- and 125-pound title challenger Liz Carmouche at an as yet to be announced Bellator MMA event. The exact date is tentative, but Coker told MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview that the if all goes as planned, Velasquez vs. Carmouche will happen by April.

“I believe that fight will happen in April,” Coker said. “I think that’s when we were told Velasquez would be ready to go so. As soon as she’s ready, we’ll get her back in there, but I think April is the date.

“All of our champions, the launch of the tournament, the finals of our light heavyweight tournament, the [Michael Page] fight, Juliana Velasquez, Cyborg – all these fights will happen let’s say between January and April. It’s kind of what we’re shooting for.”

Velasquez claimed 125-pound gold with a five-round verdict over Ilim…

Drew Dober will square off against Ricky Glenn in a lightweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on March 12.

Iridium Sports Agency first brought word of the booking. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev.

After winning six of seven UFC appearances from 2017 to 2020, Dober dropped back-to-back fights to Islam Makhachev and Brad Riddell last year. The 33-year-old Elevation Fight Team product is 9-7 with one no contest over the course of his Octagon tenure and 23-11 as a professional overall.

Glenn’s 2021 campaign included a 37-second knockout win over Joaquim Silva at UFC on ESPN 25 and a majority draw against Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 196. The former World Series of Fighting title challenger has gone 4-3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

#TeamIridium Fight News

Our …

A bantamweight matchup pitting Brett Johns against Khurshed Kakhorov has been booked for Bellator MMA’s upcoming Dublin card.

TJ Sport News was first to report the bout. Bellator Dublin takes place at 3Arena on Feb. 25 and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Gegard Mousasi and Austin Vanderford.

A seven-time UFC veteran, Johns came up short in his debut with the California-based promotion, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Danny Sabatello at Bellator 259 this past May. The former Titan FC and Cage Warriors title holder was coming off back-to-back wins over Montel Jackson and Tony Gravely prior to that defeat.

Kakhorov improved to 8-0 in his promotional debut, as he outpointed Jair Junior at Bellator 267 on Oct. 1. The former German MMA Championship competitor has finished six of his victories by KO/TKO.

HOLY

Danaa Batgerel has thunder in his hands #UFCVegas40 pic.twitter.com/5oLLrrFQ7j

— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2021 Montel Jackson will lock horns with Danaa Batgerel in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night on March 26.

Jackson’s management, Iridium Sports, first announced the booking. UFC Fight Night is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic. The event doesn’t have an official location or venue.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Jackson has won five of his first seven Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Red Schafer MMA product set a bantamweight record with four knockdowns during a unanimous decision victory over J.P. Buys at UFC Fight Night 192 this past September.

Batgerel has been on a roll since dropping his promotional debut to Heili Alateng at UFC Fight Night 157 in August 2019. The Mongolian fighter rebounded to score successive first-round finishes ag…

Tafon Nchukwi will square off against Azamat Murzakanov on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s March 12 card.

Cageside Press was first to report the light heavyweight pairing. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Magomed Ankalaev.

Nchukwi has been victorious in two of three Octagon appearances since earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020. Most recently, the 27-year-old Cameroon native outpointed Mike Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 192 on Sept. 18.

Murzakanov will make his promotional debut after securing a UFC deal with a first-round TKO of Matheus Scheffel on the Contender Series this past August. The 35-year-old Russian is 10-0 as a professional, with other notable wins over UFC competitors Andre Muniz and Guto Inocente.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

After winning his first four Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, Khamzat Chimaev has risen to No. 11 in the promotion’s latest welterweight rankings and is just waiting for a call to confirm his Octagon return.

“If it were up to him, I think he would fight every month. I never worked with someone so competitive,” Alan Nascimento, Chimaev’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, told Sherdog.com.

According to Nascimento, Chimaev will sleep in the academy whenever he has a UFC fight announced.

“He just doesn't want to lose time, so he moves into a room inside the academy during the whole camp,” Nascimento said. “And in training, if he loses one round or gets swept by someone, he always asks me to [do it again], and that's the most difficult part of my job with him. He came from a family where his father and brother were also wrestlers, so he always dealt with a lot of pressure. My job is to make him understand that, in the …

A welterweight showdown between Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley will headline Bellator 274 on Feb. 19, promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Bellator 274 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and will also see ex-welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov face Mukhamed Berkhamov in the co-main event. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Two other bouts were also confirmed for the evening’s main draw: Keri Melendez vs. Veta Arteaga at flyweight and Davion Franklin vs. Said Sowma at heavyweight.

Additionally, five fights were announced for the preliminary lineup: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Adam Piccolotti at lightweight; Mandel Nallo vs. Nick Browne at lightweight; Jaylon Bates vs. Chris Disonell at bantamweight; Corey Samuels vs. Justin Montalvo at lightweight and Isaiah Hokit vs. Albert Birckhead at feathe…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card of 2022 is down one bout, as a proposed middleweight tilt between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Joaquin Buckley is no longer part of the lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the cancellation, which came after Alhassan withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons. The promotion is looking to reschedule the bout, but a date has not been finalized. UFC Fight Night 200 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 15 and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze.

Alhassan snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last outing, as he knocked out Alessio Di Chirico with a head kick 17 seconds into their encounter at UFC on ESPN 30 on Aug. 28. The Fortis MMA product has finished all 11 of his professional victories via knockout or technical knockout, including five triumphs in UFC competition.

Buckley, meanwhile, is best known for his viral knockout of Impa Kasanganay at UF…

A light heavyweight showdown pitting Johnny Walker against Jamahal Hill has been booked for UFC Fight Night on Feb. 19.

MMA Ideas initially brought word of the matchup, and MMAFighting.com later confirmed the date. The UFC Fight Night show takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card does not yet have a headliner.

Walker has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Brazilian suffered a closely-contested unanimous decision defeat to Thiago Santos in the UFC Fight Night 193 headliner on Oct. 2. The Brazilian Contender Series alum began his promotional tenure with three consecutive first-round finishes prior to his current slump.

Also a former Contender Series competitor, Hill is coming off a 48-second knockout victory against Jimmy Crute at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4. The Black Lion Jiu-Jitsu representative is 3-1 with one no contest within the Las Vegas-based promotion and has lost just one of his 11 professional appear…

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

An intriguing featherweight matchup is in the works for an upcoming UFC Fight Night event, as Alex Caceres is expected to meet Sodiq Yusuff on March 12.

The pairing was initially mentioned during a Caceres interview with The Schmo, and it has since been confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event will likely take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Santos.

A competitor on Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Caceres is currently enjoying the most successful stretch of his 25-bout UFC tenure. “Bruce Leeroy” secured his fifth consecutive Octagon triumph at UFC Fight Night 196, where he submitted Seung Woo Choi in the second round of their bout.

Yusuff, meanwhile, saw a six-bout professional winning streak come to an end at UFC on ABC 2, where he dropped a decision to fellow featherweight contender Arnold …

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

After the controversy that ensued when he faced Marvin Vettori one division above their contracted agreement at UFC Fight Night 196 last October, Paulo Costa was informed by Dana White that his next promotional appearance would be in the light heavyweight division.

However, according to Costa’s manager, Wallid Ismail, the UFC president has since changed his mind.

 “The UFC is not the biggest fighting company in the world by chance,” Ismail told Sherdog.com. “They know that ‘Borrachinha’ was injured and that's why he had problems with his weight. There is no doubt his next fight will take place in the middleweight division.”

Ismail says Costa is currently waiting for the UFC’s call to decide when the former middleweight title challenger will return.

“We will fight whoever the UFC decides. I keep believing that ‘Borrachinha’ will be the champion,” Ismail said. “He just has to train right…