Martial Arts News

🇵🇹 Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs Martina Jindrova 🇨🇿

Our Week 3 Main Event! 🔥🔥#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/CzdpcmmRKS

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 3, 2022 The Professional Fighters League's Challenger Series continues this week with its third installment, with women's lightweights vying for a contract with the promotion. PFL Challenger Series 3 focuses on the women's lightweight division, and is headlined by Martina Jindrova vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti. All eight women on the card successfully made weight, and Shaquita Woods also weighed in as an alternate.

Jindrova sports a 3-1 record, and is looking to bounce back from her first career defeat. Prior to losing to Tamires Vidal, the Czech Republic fighter won three straight, with her last two wins being finishes. Meanwhile, Cavalcanti is undefeated at 2-0, and most recently won a decision over Nora Cornolle. The Brazilian weighed in at 155 pounds on the dot, while Jindrova stepped on the scale at 155…

💪 The fighters are all weighed in for our first event of the year, #CW133!

🙌We kick off our 2022 schedule from 5:30pm PT tomorrow night, live on @UFCFightPass! https://t.co/jUwv4ySEKO pic.twitter.com/KPczjmarWA

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 3, 2022 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returns to the United States for Cage Warriors 133, which its first event of 2022. The weigh-ins were devoid of drama, as all 24 fighters for the San Diego event made weight. Headliners Joshua Jones and Kyle Driscoll both made lightweight for their three-round main event, with Driscoll weighing 155.6 pounds for the bout, while Jones came in at 155.4 pounds.

Driscoll (12-3) is riding a seven-fight win streak, and hasn't lost since 2017. Meanwhile, Jones (11-5) is coming off back-to-back wins over Brandon Bender and Johnny Cisneros. This is both fighters' Cage Warriors debut.

Cage Warriors 133 begins on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on UFC…

For a brief period, it appeared that Islam Makhachev would be the one to step in against Rafael dos Anjos on short notice at UFC 272.

According to UFC president Dana White, a deal was almost done for the bout before Makhachev ultimately elected to turn it down.

“Pretty close – I thought we had it done,” White told Barstool Sports in a recent interview. “When I went to bed one of the nights, I thought it was done. Woke up the next morning and found out they turned it down. Islam [turned it down]. No clue [why].”

Instead, former featherweight contender Renato Moicano agreed to face dos Anjos in a five-round, co-main event bout on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“The best fight that we could possibly make would have been him and Islam. RDA and Islam,” White said. “Islam turns down the fight. What’s the [next] best fight you can make? [Renato] Moicano.”

Makhachev is coming off a first-round TKO of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202 last wee…

Cain Velasquez has been formally charged with attempted murder, premeditated murder and other related charges after firing shots at a vehicle containing three people in Morgan Hill, Calif.

The ex-UFC heavyweight champion is facing additional charges of shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft, assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon. According to a statement from the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, the 39-year-old Velasquez fired a .40 handgun “multiple times” into a truck carrying Harry Goularte and two of Goularte’s older male relatives and “rammed” the vehicle with his truck. Goularte’s relative, who is 63 years old, was struck once by the shots but is expected to survive.

Velasquez, who was driving a Ford Truck, began shooting at the vehicle at Cochran Road and Butterfield Boulevard in Morgan Hill at approximately 3 p.m. local time Monday. What ensued was an 11-mile chase through “busy streets” in San Jose between Velasquez and a Che…

A middleweight matchup pitting Lorenz Larkin against Khalid Murtazaliev has been added to the lineup for Bellator Paris.

A promotion official confirmed the booking to Sherdog.com following an initial report from mixedmartialarts.com. Bellator Paris takes place on May 6 at Accor Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo.

Larkin will take a five-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Murtazaliev. The former Strikeforce and UFC talent returned following a year-and-a-half hiatus at Bellator 258 last May, when he defeated ex-champ Rafael Carvalho via split decision.

Dagestan’s Murtazaliev had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, as he fell to Anthony Adams via unanimous decision at Bellator 266 last September. The 28-year-old has compiled a 15-3 career mark while competing for Fight Nights Global, the UFC and M-1 Global.

Priscila Cachoeira may have emerged from UFC Fight Night 202 with a controversial decision triumph over Ji Yeon Kim, but the slugfest did take a toll on her body.

Cachoeira must have a right nasomaxillary suture fracture and a metacarpal base fracture cleared by doctors or she will be sidelined until Aug. 26. At a minimum, the Brazilian is suspended until Apri l13 with no contact until March 29. Kim, meanwhile, is suspended until April 13 with no contact until March 29 for laceration repair. The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com.

UFC Fight Night 202 took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Islam Makhachev defeat short-notice foe Bobby Green via first-round TKO in the evening’s catchweight headliner. Green is suspended until March 29 with no contact until March 20, while Makhachev emerged with a clean bill of health.

Four other fighters from UFC Fight N…

BIG UPDATE: Court docs and sources confirm that ex-UFC champ Cain Velasquez allegedly shot at a man charged with molesting his relative who is a minor; the man's stepdad was hit. The accused man was released after Friday arraignmenthttps://t.co/aWndhplyOJ@mercnews @JakobRodgers

— Robert Salonga (@robertsalonga) March 2, 2022

Cain Velasquez was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after shooting at a man who was charged with molesting a relative of the ex-UFC champion, according to a report from the San Jose Mercury-News.

Harry Gene Goularte is accused of molesting a relative of Velasquez’s at a home daycare in San Martin, Calif. According to a criminal complaint, the 43-year-old Goularte was charged with one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14. The victim’s name and exact relationship to Velasquez were withheld because the child is a minor and a victim of sexual abuse. In a separate report from N…

Valentina Shevchenko is expected to make her next flyweight title defense against Taila Santos at UFC 275.

MMAFighting.com was first to report that both Shevchenko and Santos have agreed to the bout. UFC 275 takes place on June 11 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash pitting Glover Teixeira against Jiri Prochazka but does not yet have an official location. According to the report, Singapore is a top candidate to host the event.

Currently No. 1 in Sherdog.com’s female pound-for-pound rankings, Shevchenko has won her last eight Octagon appearances, a streak that includes six successful title defenses. Most recently, “Bullet” defeated Lauren Murphy via fourth-round technical knockout at UFC 266. Shevchenko’s resume includes victories over the likes of Jessica Andrade, Jennifer Maia, Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Julianna Pena, Holly Holm and Sarah Kaufman.

Santos, meanwhile, will take a four-bout winning streak into he…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Surging flyweight prospect Manon Fiorot has a new opponent and date for her next Octagon appearance.

After Jessica Eye withdrew from a proposed clash against Fiorot at UFC 272 due to injury, former title challenger Jennifer Maia will lock horns with the French standout at UFC on ESPN 33. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing.

UFC on ESPN 33 takes place on March 26 in Columbus, Ohio and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Curtis Blaydes against Chris Daukaus.

A former UAE Warriors title holder, Fiorot has kicked off her Octagon tenure with three consecutive victories. After scoring TKO finishes of Victoria Leonardo and Tabatha Ricci in her first two promotional appearances, “The Beast” outpointed Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Fight Night 195 this past October.

Maia, meanwhile, has split a pair of bouts since falling to Valentina Shevchenko in a 125-pound title clash at UFC 255. The 33-year-old Brazilian retu…

A strawweight showdown between Michelle Waterson and Amanda Ribas that was originally slated for UFC on ESPN 33 on March 26 has been rescheduled for UFC 274.

Waterson was forced to withdraw from the original date after suffering an undisclosed injury. Ag.Fight was first to report the news. UFC 274 takes place on May 7 in Phoenix, Ariz., and is headlined by a lightweight title clash between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

The Waterson-Ribas matchup was initially slated for UFC 257 last January before “The Karate Hottie” pulled out of the fight. Waterson fought once in 2021, dropping a five-round verdict to Marina Rodriguez in the UFC on ESPN 24 main event.

Ribas, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of her first six promotional appearances, including a unanimous decision triumph over Virna Jandiroba at UFC 267 in her last outing.

Renato Carneiro has agreed to step in and fight Rafael dos Anjos on four days’ notice at UFC 272.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. The bout is expected to be contested at a 160-pound catchweight and will serve as a five-round, co-main event on Saturday’s card.

Carneiro is a replacement for Rafael Fiziev, who withdrew from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. A number of fighters volunteered to face dos Anjos, most noticeably Islam Makhachev, who just earned a first-round TKO of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202 this past Saturday. However, that matchup did not come to fruition.

“Moicano” is coming off a victory at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, when he submitted Alexander Hernandez with a rear-naked choke 1:33 into Round 2 of their clash at the Toyota Center in Houston. The 32-year-old Brazilian is 3-1 since moving from lightweight to 145 pounds, with his only setback coming against Fiziev at UFC 256.

A former light heavyweight champion, …

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with an alleged shooting in Morgan Hill, Calif.

The shooting occurred near the intersection of Monterey Highway and Baily Avenue on Monday at 3:14 p.m. local time and left one man injured. The man was transported to a local hospital with “non-life threatening injuries” after being shot “at least once.” NBC Bay Area was first to report the incident, and TMZ Sports to report that Velasquez was arrested.

The SJPD later confirmed via Twitter that Velasquez was arrested in connection with the incident and booked into the Santa Clara County main jail for attempted murder. “The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time,” reads a statement from San Jose Police media relations.

4/ Cain Velasquez was the suspect arrested yesterday in connection with this incident. He was booked into …