Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkNaOR3Xf5c&w=640&h=360] Bellator 271's headline bout for the Bellator MMA women's featherweight championship is now official.

Both women had no issue making weight with Justino (24-2) weighing 145 pounds exactly, and Kavanagh (7-4) coming in at the same weight. However, a prelim bout between Shane O'Shea vs. Jordan Newman has been canceled after O'Shea didn't weigh in for an undisclosed reason, and Pam Sorenson came in .8 pounds overweight for her featherweight bout against Arlene Blencowe.

Justino comes into the bout undefeated inside the Bellator cage. "Cyborg" most recently defeated Leslie Smith in a dominant performance and submitted Arlene Blencowe after finishing Julia Budd to win the belt. Meanwhile, Kavanagh has strung together two wins against Katharina Lehner and Olga Rubin after going 1-4 in her previous five fights.

Bellator 271's main card will air live on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The prelims beg…

Gym owner and former MMA fighter Scott Fairlamb was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for punching a police officer during the Capitol riot that took place in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, according to Politico.

Fairlamb, 44, is the first defendant charged with assaulting an officer to face sentencing. Royce Lamberth, the federal judge who imposed the sentence, said he expects Fairlamb’s term will be lower than the others who are facing charges stemming from the riot. Fairlamb’s decision to plead guilty and expression of remorse helped lower his sentence, according to Lamberth.

“Had you gone to trial, I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you or would have acquitted you,” Lamberth said. “You couldn’t have beat this.”

Fairlamb will also face 36 months of supervised release after he gets out of prison.

Fairlamb was reportedly one of the first people to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, carrying a stolen police baton on his way throu…

Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards will have to settle their differences another day.

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday that Masvidal has withdrawn from the highly-anticipated UFC 269 clash due to an undisclosed injury. According to MMAFighting.com , Edwards is not expected to remain on the card against a replacement opponent. Instead, the British welterweight will seek a title shot against Kamaru Usman.

Edwards reacted to Masvidal's exit on Twitter:

Disappointed but honestly I knew this fraud didn't want to fight me anyway. He was just a stop off on the way to the title. The goal remains the same. Much needed family time now, @usman84kg i will see you soon.

— Leon 'Rocky' Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) November 10, 2021

If Edwards were to have a change of heart, he’d have several willing suitors. Since news of Masvidal’s exit came to light, Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad an…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A heavyweight scrap between Tanner Boser and Sergei Pavlovich has been removed from the UFC on ESPN 31 lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the cancellation, and Boser then confirmed that the fight was off, though he did not offer specific details. “Sorry guys, I hope to have this resolved soon,” Boser wrote on Twitter.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place on Dec. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight clash between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Boser snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ovince St. Preux in the second-round at UFC Fight Night 190. The 30-year-old Canadian is 4-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion and 20-8-1 as a professional overall.

Pavlovich will look to return to action after having a 2020 booking against Ciryl Gane fall through due to injury and a September matchup with Tom Aspinall canceled as a result of visa issues. The Eagles MMA repr…

Angela Hill has agreed to step up and face Amanda Lemos on short notice at UFC Fight Night 199.

Hill is a replacement for Nina Nunes, who withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. Ag Fight was first to report the new strawweight booking. UFC Fight Night 199 takes place on Dec. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus.

Hill has lost three of her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Alliance MMA representative dropped a unanimous verdict to Tecia Torres in a rematch at UFC 265. Earlier in 2021, “Overkill” took a decision win over Ashley Yoder at UFC Fight Night 187 in March.

After falling to Leslie Smith in her promotional debut in July 2017, Lemos has reeled off four consecutive victories in UFC competition. So far this year, the 34-year-old Brazilian has scored back-to-back first-round TKO wins over Livinha Souza and Montserrat Ruiz.

GOOD NIGHT Carlos Ulberg finds the chin and ends the night!

[ Contracts up next on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/JB1vYDZXi5

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2020 A light heavyweight bout pitting Carlos Ulberg against Fabio Cherant is in the works for UFC 271.

Cageside Press was first to report the booking. UFC 271 takes place on Feb. 12 at an as yet to be announced venue. A headliner for the event has not been revealed.

Anchored at City Kickboxing, Ulberg earned a UFC deal with a first-round KO of Bruno Oliveira on Dana White’s Contender Series in November 2020. He came up short in his Octagon debut, falling to 3-1 after a second-round knockout loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 259 this past March.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance light heavyweight title holder, Cherant seeking his first promotional triumph after suffering back-to-back losses against Alonzo Menifield and William Knight in his first two UFC appearances.

A lightweight clash pitting Diego Ferreira against Mateusz Gamrot has been added to the UFC Fight Night 199 lineup.


 MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing, and it was later confirmed by Gamrot on his Instagram account. UFC Fight Night 199 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight bout betwene Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus.

The 36-year-old Ferreira won six consecutive fights from 2016 to 2020 but has dropped back-to-back fights to Beneil Dariush and Gregor Gillespie in his last two promotional appearances. The Fortis MMA product is 8-4 in UFC competition and 17-4 as a professional overall.

A former KSW champion, Gamrot has won two straight UFC outings after suffering his first career defeat against Guram Kutateladze in his promotional debut in October 2020. The 30-year-old Pole has since rebounded to post finishes of Scott Holtzman and Jeremy Stephens in 2021.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A proposed middleweight clash between Kyle Daukaus and Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night 197 has been scrapped.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the cancellation of the bout, which was due to COVID-19 protocols involving Dolidze’s camp. UFC Fight Night 197 will proceed with 11 bouts. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight tilt between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Daukaus was supposed to face Kevin Holland and Dolidze was slated to face Eryk Anders before they were paired up after their original opponents fell off the UFC Fight Night 197 card.

Daukaus had a submission win against Holland overturned at UFC Fight Night 193 on Oct. 2 when it was determined the fight was altered due to an accidental clash of heads. The Martinez BJJ representative has just one victory in four Octagon appearances — a decision win against Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC 255.

Dol…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAIzG2CAX-k&w=560&h=315]

Triller’s latest combat sports offering will feature a hybrid of boxing and MMA rules with a handful of recognizable names from the UFC and Bellator.

The promotion revealed the full lineup and rule set for Triller Triad Combat on Tuesday. The card will be headlined by a nine-round clash between former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and heavyweight boxing contender Kubrat Pulev. Fighters on the card will be allowed to throw strikes from the clinch as well as spinning backfists and hammerfists. Kicks, knees, elbows are not allowed, nor is fighting on the ground. Combatants are allowed to stand on their opponent’s foot while throwing punches, however.

In the co-main event, Bellator and UFC veteran Matt Mitrione will square off against Alexander Flores in a seven-round affair. In another featured matchup, UFC veteran Mike Perry will lock horns with former WBC super middleweight champion Sakio Bika. Other…

A heavyweight showdown between Ovince St. Preux and Philipe Lins will not be contested at UFC Fight Night 197 as originally planned.

The promotion announced St. Preux’s withdrawal from the card over the weekend, and on Tuesday, UFC officials confirmed that Lins will not receive a replacement opponent. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez. A reason for St. Preux’s exit was not given.

St. Preux is currently on a two-bout skid after suffering back-to-back KO/TKO losses against Jamahal Hill and Tanner Boser. The former University of Tennessee football player has won just three of his last nine outings dating back to 2018.

Lins joined the UFC after winning the 2018 Professional Fighters League heavyweight title. The 36-year-old Kimura Nova Uniao product has since fallen to Andrei Arlovski via decision at UFC Fight Night 171 and lost to Boser via firs…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com

Eryk Anders will replace the injured Dricus Du Plessis and meet Andre Muniz at UFC 269.

MMA DNA first brought word of Du Plessis’ exit, while Muniz initially confirmed the new middleweight matchup on his Instagram story. UFC 269 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 12 and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash pitting Charles Oliveira against Dustin Poirier.

Anders has competed twice thus far in 2021, with both bouts coming against Darren Stewart. The first meeting ended in a no contest due to an illegal knee in March, and Anders won a unanimous decision in the rematch at UFC 263.

A two-time winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, Muniz haa kicked off his promotional tenure with three consecutive triumphs. Most recently, the Brazilian broke Ronaldo Souza’s arm at UFC 262 to run his career mark to 21-4. Muniz has won his last seven professional outings.

Frankie Edgar was engaged in a competitive bout with Marlon Vera at UFC 268 before a front kick from his opponent abruptly ended his night 3:50 into Round 3.

Considering the circumstances, it was impressive that Edgar was able to compete as well as he did prior the finish. On the "Champ and the Tramp"podcast (h/t MMAFighting.com), Edgar revealed that he underwent hip replacement surgery this past April.

“I never really made it public. That’s an accomplishment in itself, coming back from that,” Edgar said. “That’s something I wanted to prove to myself. A lot of people think you get something like that, it’s the end of something. And not only did I do it, I f—king did it quickly. I felt amazing, my hip f—king felt amazing.”

Edgar has also been struggling with “nerve issues” in his back, which were alleviated somewhat through he surgical procedure he underwent at 18. Now, however, it’s something he will need to receive additional treatment for to manage. Edgar sa…