Martial Arts News

Alexei Pergande submitted Joe Hamm with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their PFL Challenger Series 7 lightweight attraction and in doing so netted a Professional Fighters League contract on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Pergande (1-0), who has spent time at the powerhouse Sanford MMA camp, brought it to a close 4:42 into Round 2.

Hamm (0-1) was largely ineffective. Pergande managed distance, controlled the clinch and shifted momentum with takedowns. He grounded Hamm with 90 seconds left in the second round, climbed to full mount and zeroed in with punches. From there, Pergande progressed to the back, transitioned to the choke and let his squeeze do the rest.

Meanwhile, Sanford MMA prospect Andrija Stankovic pieced together educated striking combinations, surprising takedowns and suffocating top control, as he banked a unanimous decision over Louis Brewington in a three-round welterweight feature. Stankovic (1-0) swept the scorecards wit…

A crossover matchup between a top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight and another in the top 10 at strawweight will go down this May.

Combate was first to report the pairing in March, announcing that Katlyn Chookagian (17-4) will be squaring off with Amanda Ribas (11-2) at a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on May 14. The two will face off in the flyweight division, with Chookagian re-signing a deal with the promotion after ending her contract while Ribas will come back to the division after two appearances at 115 pounds. Ribas was initially booked against Michelle Waterson for March, but the fight was postponed once to May and then called off again due to what Waterson called a “career-threatening injury.” Chookagian vs. Ribas has since been confirmed by multiple outlets as well as Chookagian herself on Instagram on Friday.

Chookagian concluded her last UFC deal after capturing a trio of decision wins over Cynthia Calvillo, Viviane Araujo and Jen…

It’s no April Fools’ joke, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter William Knight is officially moving to heavyweight.

Late Thursday night, MMA Junkie reported that Knight (11-3) would be stepping up to the heavyweight division on April 16. At UFC on ESPN 34, he will be taking on fellow former light heavyweight Devin Clark (12-6) inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. News of this short-notice booking has since been confirmed by other outlets as well as Knight himself on Instagram.

Knight last competed in February, where he dropped a decision to Maxim Grishin after missing weight by 12 pounds to make the matchup a de facto heavyweight contest. His weight miss clocked in as the largest among all bouts that have taken place inside the Octagon. The defeat to Grishin ended a two-fight win streak with a knockout of Fabio Cherant and a decision over Alonzo Menifield. Win or lose, every career bout for “Knightmare” has ended by knockout or decision, without a submission on his…

A huge win for Justin Burlinson! After a bell to bell war, he gets the win via submission

What do you think is next for Justin?#CW135 pic.twitter.com/KYGn1v2zNv

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) April 1, 2022 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returned to the BEC Arena in Manchester, England, with a card chock full of finishes. In the CW 135 headliner, Dana White's Contender Series alum Justin Burlinson took on Daniel Skibinski in a welterweight tilt. Skibinski (18-7, 0-1 CW) relied on his fast hands to bust up his opponent’s face and ensure that Burlinson could not get off his powerful counters. In turn, Burlinson (7-1, 2-0 CW) kept advancing, and ended up waiting for the right moment to fire off a big right hand. Skibinski hurt his foe with a swarm of punches, coming inches away from notching a stoppage. Ultimately, Burlinson’s durability and youth advantage allowed him to survive and change strategies, where he began to unload with thuddi…

Weigh-ins are complete for #CW136, which is set for tomorrow night at Manchester's BEC Arena 🔥https://t.co/xBjWS5tV1F pic.twitter.com/drq0WjLkyr

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) April 1, 2022 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship caps off a busy weekend of back-to-back events with Cage Warriors 136, which will see the middleweight title up for grabs.

The main event will see Djati Melan defend his 185-pound strap against Christian Leroy Duncan. While both headliners made championship weight, two undercard fighters did not as both Luke Riley and Manny Akpan came in heavy for their respective bouts. Both men have been fined percentages of their respective purses, and the matches will otherwise continue as scheduled.

Melan has been perfect in his professional mixed martial arts career, amassing eight wins without a single defeat. He most recently claimed the title after winning a unanimous decision over Matthew Bonner. His first defense comes ag…

Kredit: Getty / UFC Bildnachweis: Getty / UFC Alle und ihr Bruder freuen sich auf die bevorstehende Ultimative Kampfmeisterschaft Weltergewicht matchup zwischen Khamsat Chimaev und Gilbert Burns.

Chimaev wird gegen den gepriesenen Grappler antreten Gilbert Burns auf der Hauptkarte von UFC 273 am 9. April in Florida. Chimaev gilt als ein riesiger Wettfavorit in diesem Wettbewerb und ein Titel im Weltergewicht gelegenheit kann auf der Linie sein. "Finfou" Alan do Nascimento, der Brasilianischer Jiu-Jitsu-Trainer von Chimaev und ein schwarzer Gürtel von der berüchtigte Checkmat Academy, sprach diese Woche mit Sherdog über die bevorstehender Kampf seines Schülers.

“Wie ich Ihnen vor ein paar Monaten sagte, ist das einzige Problem, mit dem ein Trainer zu tun hat Khamzat überzeugt ihn, weniger zu trainieren ", wiederholte Nascimento. “Wenn du ihn nicht kontrollierst, trainiert er den ganzen Tag.”

Chimaev ist nicht der einzige Kämpfer, der an diesem ernsthaften Training bet…

Fighter removed: Ben Rothwell

— UFC Roster Watch (@UFCRosterWatch) March 31, 2022 After 17 appearances under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner, heavyweight vet Ben Rothwell’s time with the promotion has come to an unexpected end.

At the UFC Fight Night event on May 21 headlined by Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira, Alexander Gustafsson and Rothwell were going to square off on the main card. On Thursday, plans changed, as the automated Twitter account UFC Roster Watch first noted that Rothwell had been released from the organization. Following this post, the UFC confirmed to MMA Fighting of Rothwell’s release for currently unknown reasons, despite his May booking.

Rothwell made his UFC debut back in 2009 when he took on future champ Cain Velasquez at UFC 104. Falling victim to Velasquez’ ruthless ground-and-pound, and then losing two of his next four after that defeat, the man once known as “Big Ben” finally notched a signature win when…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iSR1tS8AKQ&w=560&h=315] The son of Pride Fighting Championships talent Ryan Gracie may make his way to MMA someday.

Teddy Riner, a three-time Olympic judo gold medalist at heavyweight as well as a 10-time world champion, wanted to change things up in his training regiment, leaving his home country of France to do so. Heading down to Brazil, he joined up with the Brazilian national judo team and together with some Olympic France teammates. After one week of interchange, Riner asked the Brazilian Confederation (CBJ) to train with some Brazilian jiu-jitsu guys, CBJ called up Paulo Caruso -- a black belt in both judo and BJJ -- to coordinate a short, but intense four-day jiu-jitsu training series.

Among those who joined in were the sons of Brazilian MMA fighters Ryan Gracie and Marcio Cruz: Rayron Gracie and Renan Cruz. Born on Dec. 8, 2001, and not completely dwarfed by the 6-foot-8 Frenchman, Riner found Rayron to be a very suitabl…

Our Week 7 MAIN EVENT!

Andrija Stankovic vs Louis Brewington!#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/dvsO9enxcU

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 31, 2022 Professional Fighters League will bring 10 MMA newcomers for its next installment of the Challenger Series, which hit a snag for its main event. Headlining PFL Challenger Series 7 is a bout between Andrija Stankovic (170.8) and Louis Brewington. The main event was initially booked at welterweight, but Brewington missed weight by 1.6 pounds to force the pairing to a 173-pound catchweight. Every other fighter on the card made weight.

A kickboxer from Serbia, Stankovic will look to make his overweight opponent pay after successfully hitting own marks at 170.8 pounds. To prepare for his transition to MMA, Stankovic has been training at renowned Florida-based team Sanford MMA. Despite missing weight, Brewington is quite experienced in the amateur ranks with a dozen matches under his belt, and the majority of his…

All fighters are on weight for #CW135, which goes down tomorrow night at Manchester's BEC Arena 🔥 https://t.co/6GeUF76RaQ pic.twitter.com/86u9PHoNVm

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 31, 2022 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship kicks off its first of two April events on Friday with Cage Warriors 135, which is now official with 13 fights set.

All 26 fighters on the card successfully made weight. This includes the two main eventers, Daniel Skibinski and Justin Burlinson, who both easily made the welterweight limit. This veteran vs. prospect bout will see experienced Polish competitor Skibinski (18-6) look to rebound from his first loss in 13 fights, while Burlinson (6-1) is coming off his first professional defeat.

Cage Warriors 135 will air live on UFC Fight Pass on Friday, with the main card starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT and prelims beginning at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Cage Warriors 135 Weigh-in Results: Daniel Skibinski (170.9) …

It appears that Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Ilir Latifi’s ailment will keep him out action a bit longer than he anticipated.

Hours before UFC on ESPN 33 was set to take place on March 26, Latifi fell out of his match with Alexey Oleynik (59-16-1) due to an illness unrelated to COVID-19 claimed by some to be a stomach bug. The promotion went ahead to reschedule the pairing for two weeks later, and they were to square off at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla., on April 9. Per the UFC on Thursday, Latifi will not be competing on this card either, and in his stead will be Jared Vanderaa (12-7). Vanderaa has since confirmed his appearance at the event on his Instagram page.

Oleynik will gunning for his 60th victory at UFC 273, all while attempting to end the first three-fight skid in his illustrious career. Oleynik has not taken home a win since snaring a split decision over ex-champ Fabricio Werdum in May 2020, with a trio of setbacks to Derrick Lewis, Chris D…

Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan

Former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Anthony Adams will replace Khalid Murtazliev and lock horns with Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 280.

The California-based promotion announced the new middleweight contest at a press conference on Wednesday. A reason for Murtazliev’s withdrawal was not given. Bellator 280 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris on May 6 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo.

Adams defeated Murtazliev via unanimous decision in his promotional debut at Bellator 266 before signing a multi-fight deal with the organization. The Elevation Fight Team representative went 0-2 on the Contender Series, dropping a split decision to Chibwikem Onyenegecha and falling to Impa Kasanganay via unanimous decision. “Sugafoot” is 9-2 as a professional overall, with eight of …