Martial Arts News

There’s something special about fighting in New York for Rose Namajunas.

“Thug” Rose improved to 3-0 in the Empire State with a split-decision triumph over Weili Zhang in the UFC 268 co-main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to successfully defend her strawweight title. Her success at the famous venue began in November 2017, when she initially captured the 115-pound belt with an upset win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217, and she also bested Jedrzejczyk in a five-round rematch at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in April 2018.

“New York City inspires me,” Namajunas said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Like I said at weigh-ins, it’s the toughest people in the world. It’s the coolest city.”

The rematch with Zhang took on a far different look than their first meeting, when Namajunas vanquished her Chinese opponent with a head kick 78 seconds into the opening stanza at UFC 261. This time around, the bout was far more closely conte…

When all was said and done, Kamaru Usman was able to bury the hatchet with Colby Covington following their rematch at UFC 268.

The two men shared a moment of respect following Saturday’s headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Usman retained his title with a unanimous decision victory — his second triumph against Covington in a little less than two year’s time. Both fights against “Chaos” were hard-fought, which Usman acknowledged while making a lofty comparison regarding their rivalry at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“As a competitor I respect him – that’s the next best guy in the division. “This guy’s tough as nails. He’s very, very tough,” Usman said. “Let’s be honest: [Muhammad] Ali needed a [Joe] Frazier. All these guys. You can be the great one, but there’s always going to be the one guy that can push you. He is that guy. As much of him outside the Octagon as most people don’t like, myself included, you have to respect him as a competito…

Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler delivered on the hype in a big way at UFC 268.

The lightweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their slugfest at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday in a bout that will likely lead many “Fight of the Year” lists in the weeks to come. While Gaethje was rocked early in the first round, he maintained his composure and gradually pulled away from Chandler for an enthralling unanimous decision triumph.

Meanwhile, on an evening that featured a number of memorable finishes, the Las Vegas-based promotion handed out a quartet of $50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks to deserving athletes.

Marlon Vera earned one of those bonuses on the strength of a front kick knockout of Frankie Edgar in a featured bantamweight clash. After two competitive rounds, Vera emphatically brought the show to a close at the 3:50 mark of Round 1, becoming just the eighth fighter in promotion history to win a bout via f…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The gulf between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington appears to have shrunk ever so slightly but not enough to necessitate a changing of the guard. “The Nigerian Nightmare” maintained his stranglehold on the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown with a unanimous decision over Covington in the UFC 268 headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. All three cageside judges scored it for Usman (20-1, 15-0 UFC): 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

SWANGIN' & BANGIN'

[ #UFC268 | We’re LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/xRVlqJBhNX ] pic.twitter.com/xNso0eL5Ag

— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021 An understandably cautious Covington (16-3, 11-3 UFC)—who succumbed to fifth-round punches from the champion in their December 2019 encounter at UFC 245—took some time to get going. Usman floo…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 268 “Usman vs. Covington 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scor…

The MW division just got put on NOTICE

[ #UFC268 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/wZbuaYuLal

— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Alex Pereira announced his arrival from the air.

The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion dazzled in his hotly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he brought down Andreas Michailidis with a spectacular flying knee in the second round of their featured UFC 268 prelim on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pereira (4-1, 1-0 UFC) lit the crowd on fire 18 seconds into Round 2.

Michailidis (13-5, 1-2 UFC) closed the distance to great effect for much of the first round—he even managed to ground the Teixeira MMA middleweight twice—but bled his gas tank dry in the process. Pereira took flight in the opening mo…

Ali "Puncher King" Bagautinov stops Sean Santella in the very first round and advances to the final of the BRAVE CF Flyweight Tournament pic.twitter.com/tG6cowx2p3

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) November 6, 2021

It wasn’t the opponent he originally expected, but Ali Bagautinov is nonetheless moving on in the Brave Combat Federation flyweight grand prix.

It took a little more than one minute for the former Ultimate Fighting Championship 125-pound title challenger to secure the second spot in the Brave flyweight grand prix finals after stopping Sean Santella (23-8-2, 1 NC; 0-2-1 Brave) in the Brave CF 55 headliner on Saturday in Rostov-On-Don, Russia. Bagautinov was supposed to face Jose Torres, but the latter pulled out 24 hours before the weigh-ins after admitting he wouldn’t hit the contracted weight. Former Cage Fury FC flyweight titleholder Santella was originally slated to lock horns with Rizvan Abuev but agreed to replace Torre…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32uPIGDZupY&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship titles will be on the line at UFC 268 as both championship bouts are now official following the weigh-ins. While the champions and title challengers all showed professionalism, the undercard was a different story as two prelim fighters missed weight. Bruno Souza came in 2.4 pounds heavy for his featherweight bout against Melsik Baghdasaryan. Meanwhile, C.J. Vergara weighed 1.4 pounds over the flyweight limit for his fight opposite Ode Osbourne. Both bouts will continue despite the misses, with each fighter being fined 20% of their purses. Additionally, Vicente Luque was tapped as the alternate in the headliner, but he missed championship weight by 2.2 pounds.

Atop the UFC 268 card is a championship rematch between welterweight k…

The Pitbull legacy continues! #AndNew @PatrickyPitbull joins his brother @PatricioPitbull in the history books as a Bellator Lightweight champion! #Bellator270 pic.twitter.com/8TPMWWD9eF

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 5, 2021

Patricky Freire stands alone after a decade-long climb.

“Pitbull” brought home the vacant Bellator MMA lightweight championship, as he wiped out Peter Queally with punches in the second round of their Bellator 270 headliner on Friday at 3Arena in Dublin. Unable to ride a wave of emotion that saw a ravenous crowd serenade him with The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” Queally (13-6-1, 2-2 Bellator) succumbed to blows 65 seconds into Round 2.

Freire (24-10, 15-8 Bellator)—who debuted with the organization in March 2011—made his intentions known from the start, attacking the Irishman with stinging leg kicks and hooks to the body from both hands. After an eye poke briefly delayed the Brazilian’s march to the title early …

Sherdog's live Bellator 270 coverage kicks off at 2 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Opening the card in Dublin, we have local Irish fighter Stephen Costello facing Yusuf Nazokatov, with both making their pro debuts. Costello was 4-3 as an amateur while Nazokatov hasn't even had a pro bout, so it's anyone's guess what will happen here. Referee John English will see it all. Costello starts with a leg kick, but Nazokatov pulls back in time. Nazokatov misses a right hand and Costello just barely misses a counter. Costello partially misses a leg kick but gets reckless for a takedown afterwards, eating a short punch. They clinch against the cage now, with Nazokatov pushing his Irish foe against the fence. They enter a stalemate, with Costello using the whizzer to stay upright as Nazokatov pushes him against the fence. Finally, Costello spins off and they return to range. Not for long, as Nazokatov's …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zThnRIIbdQQ&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. Two high-flying Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights will go at it on the first card of next year. On Thursday, Michel Pereira’s (26-11, 2 NC) coach told MMA Fighting that Pereira would be facing Muslim Salikhov (18-2) at the UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 15. The two will likely go at it inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Pereira has since confirmed the matchup on his Instagram.

Since his unsuccessful debut in 2017, Salikhov has rattled off five wins over the last four years. Two knockouts of Ricky Rainey and Nordine Taleb springboarded “The King of Kung Fu” into matchups with Laureano Staropoli, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Francisco Trinaldo. The fighter out of Dagestan won all three of those by decision, giving him the second, third and fourth decision …

#RIZIN_TRIGGER at the Kobe World Memorial Hall. Surging Featherweight contenders Shoji Maruyama and Kyohei Hagiwara headline the first event of the TRIGGER series. #RIZIN_TRIGGER 1st2021.11.28[sun]Kobe World Memorial Hall#RIZIN #MMAhttps://t.co/CCKpBqOiSz

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) November 5, 2021 A new era in Rizin Fighting Federation history is set to begin later this month.

Per a press release from the promotion on Thursday, Rizin is officially putting on its Trigger 1st show on Nov. 28 at the Kobe World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan. The event will be unlike any other that the organization has put on, because the fights will be contested inside a cage and not a ring. This fight card is the first of its “Trigger” series, in which Rizin will make its transition to Cagefighting. The “Trigger” series will incorporate both MMA and kickboxing matches in a cage.

“There are many fighters who are looking to compete overseas, where the…