Martial Arts News

Oron Kahlon (left) missed weight (3lbs too heavy) for his scheduled fight tomorrow at #DWCS. He will be fined 20% of his purse.

Javid Basharat wasn't happy about it and didn't shake hands with Kahlon. Kahlon called him a terrorist soon after.... pic.twitter.com/N5pflxW2wU

— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) October 25, 2021 There will be some added animosity heading into the bantamweight showdown between Oron Kahlon and Javid Basharat on Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Following weigh-ins on Monday morning, Kahlon, who hails from Israel, can be heard calling his opponent a “terrorist” during a face-off. Basharat is based in England with the London Shootfighters but is originally from Afghanistan.

Perhaps some of the tension during the face-off stems from Kahlon’s struggles on the scales, as he missed weight by three pounds for the bout, which led to Basharat refusing a handshake from his opponent. The two exchanged words prior to …

It was almost like Fedor Emelianenko turned back the clock.

The Russian’s legendary hand speed was front and center in the Bellator 269 headliner, as he knocked out former interim heavyweight title challenger Timothy Johnson 1:40 into the opening round at VTB Arena in Moscow. It was Emelianenko’s fourth victory in his last five outings in Bellator, but there was something different about his most recent performance.

“That was really special,” Coker told assembled media after the event. “I’ve been in the fight game a long time and for him to really deliver in his hometown in front of all of his fans, it was really fun to watch. It was a real special night and like I said, being a promoter for so long there’s a few times that just capture that moment in time and really this was that night.

“I was like, wow, at 45 he can still bring it. He threw combinations at Tim that I haven’t seen for a little while, honestly. I think the pressure of him being at home really h…

All but one of the 12 athletes slated to compete on Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series made weight on Monday.

The lone exception was Oron Kahlon, who tipped the scales at 139 pounds for a bantamweight clash against Javid Basharat (136). The fight will proceed as planned, but Kahlon will be fined 20% of his purse.

The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The featured bout on this week’s card is a middleweight tilt pitting Jansey Silva (185.5) against Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (186).

Silva has compiled a 7-1 record while competing exclusively for the Brazilian organization Watch Out Combat Show. The 26-year-old Tata Fight Team member has finished five of his wins by knockout or technical knockout.

Russia’s Omargadzhiev is 12-0 since beginning his professional tenure in 2013. The CSKA Moscow representative has earned eight of his triumphs by KO/TKO and two via submission.

Co…

Credit: M-1

A matchup between up-and-coming featherweights Movsar Evloev and Ilia Topuria is in the works for UFC 270.

The pairing was first reported by the Red Fury MMA Instagram page and has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. UFC 270 takes place on Jan. 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and is headlined by a heavyweight title unification bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

Evloev is unbeaten in 15 professional appearances — including five triumphs in UFC competition. The 27-year-old Russian last appeared at UFC 263, where he outpointed Hakeem Dawodu on June 12. Evloev has gone the distance in each of his Octagon triumphs, also earning wins over the likes of Nik Lentz, Mike Grundy, Enrique Barzola and Seung Woo Choi.

Spain’s Topuria is 11-0 as a pro, a run that includes a 3-0 mark within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Brave Combat Federation veteran is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories against Damon Jackson and …

Troubled former fighter Jason Miller is facing a pair of felony charges for a bar fight that occurred in September, according to a report from TMZ Sports.

The UFC and Strikeforce veteran is facing charges of assault and battery after allegedly breaking a man’s ribs outside a San Fernando, Calif., bar last month. The man Miller injured initially elected not to file charges but later changed his mind after a hospital visit. That resulted in police charging Miller with felony battery and felony assault.

The news comes on the heels of “Mayhem” being arrested for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles on September 10. The 40-year-old was held on bail of $1.385 million after a women called 911 screaming for help and police arrived at the scene to find her with marks on her face and neck. Miller initially resisted being taken into custody and was tased and cuffed as a result.

The former “Bully Beatdown” host has a lengthy history of running afoul of the law. Less th…

The knee that opened the cut!

VODs available herehttps://t.co/Md8kjceRGe#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF #RIZIN31 pic.twitter.com/0BhoaQ3ASs

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) October 24, 2021 Deep champion Juntaro Ushiku now has another piece of championship hardware to add to his trophy case.

Ushiku defeated Yutaka Saito via technical knockout in the Rizin Fighting Federation 31 headliner to capture the promotion’s featherweight crown on Sunday in Yokohama, Japan. A flying knee from Ushiku opened a gash on Saito’s head and forced doctors to call the contest at the 4:26 mark of Round 2.

Ushiku has won eight of his last nine professional appearances dating back to November 2018, while Saito sees a four-bout winning streak snapped in defeat.

Huge upkicks by Saori Oshima (@cb_saori)

VODs available herehttps://t.co/Md8kjceRGe#RIZIN #MMA #RIZINFF #RIZIN31 pic.twitter.com/N6HO4ciZ4N

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin…

What a historic night for Fedor Emelianenko and #Bellator in #Moscow!

This was the 's th pro win.#MMA #Bellator269 pic.twitter.com/llxTdLvpm0

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 23, 2021 Fedor Emelianenko was in top form in his victory over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 269.

After a few tense exchanges in the early going, “The Last Emperor” dropped Johnson with a three-punch combination as his opponent rushed forward. Once Emelianenko landed, Johnson crashed to the canvas and the fight was immediately stopped at the 1:40 mark of Round 1. Considering that Johnson was coming off a loss to Valentin Moldavsky in an interim heavyweight title bout, it might be the most impressive victory of Emelianenko’s Bellator tenure.

“I think maybe this is one of the most important wins in my career, taking into consideration the location, the country, the age,” Emelianenko said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Taking into consideratio…

UNDISPUTED @ricoverhoeven #COLLISION3 pic.twitter.com/Kuh4Y4J0r3

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) October 23, 2021

Rico Verhoeven reminded everyone why he is nicknamed the "King of Kickboxing.”

The headliner featured a heavyweight clash between defending champion Rico Verhoeven (59-10) and former two-time rival Jamal Ben Saddik (35-8). The challenger was supposed to be combat sports legend Alistair Overeem, but an injury forced "The Demolition Man" out of the fight. Verhoeven moved around his opponent for most of the time in the opening round, studying his reactions, before Ben Saddik almost knocked him down right before the end of the stanza. Ben Saddik pushed on the accelerator early in Round 2, dropping Verheoven and opening a cut under his right eye.

Verhoeven fought through adversity and made some adjustments after the second stanza as his eye kept swelling. In Round 3, the Dutchman retaliated with several knees, showcased better foo…

UNDISPUTED @ricoverhoeven #COLLISION3 pic.twitter.com/Kuh4Y4J0r3

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) October 23, 2021

Rico Verhoeven reminded everyone why he is nicknamed the "King of Kickboxing.”

The headliner featured a heavyweight clash between defending champion Rico Verhoeven (59-10) and former two-time rival Jamal Ben Saddik (35-8). The challenger was supposed to be combat sports legend Alistair Overeem, but an injury forced "The Demolition Man" out of the fight. Verhoeven moved around his opponent for most of the time in the opening round, studying his reactions, before Ben Saddik almost knocked him down right before the end of the stanza. Ben Saddik pushed on the accelerator early in Round 2, dropping Verheoven and opening a cut under his right eye.

Verhoeven fought through adversity and made some adjustments after the second stanza as his eye kept swelling. In Round 3, the Dutchman retaliated with several knees, showcased better foo…

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

Once it became clear that he wasn’t going to make the middleweight limit, Paulo Costa did everything he could to tilt the odds in his favor heading into the UFC Fight Night 196 main event.

Even though he convinced opponent Marvin Vettori to agree to fight at 205 pounds and he was clearly the larger athlete in the Octagon on Saturday, Costa still dropped a unanimous decision to “The Italian Dream.” As result, UFC president Dana White was singing Vettori’s praises at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“We were trying to keep this fight alive and make sure that it happened, and we couldn’t have done it without a guy like Vettori,” White said. “Vettori acted like an absolute professional, stud, a guy that’s incredible to work with. That’s why this fight happened.”

According to White, Costa entered the cage at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night at 220 pounds, while Vettori weighed 208. De…

Marvin Vettori accepted the challenge of moving up a weight class to fight Paulo Costa at UFC Fight Night 196, and it paid off handsomely for “The Italian Dream.”

Vettori received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a unanimous decision victory over Costa in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The bout was originally scheduled to be contested at 185 pounds until Costa revealed that he wouldn’t be able to make weight, so it was then changed to a 205-pound bout. Vettori took the change in stride, as he set a light heayweight record with 190 significant strikes landed in the five-round affair.

Elsewhere, Alex Caceres pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a first-round submission of Seung Woo Choi in a featured featherweight scrap. After a difficult opening round in which he was rocked by a right hand and an illegal knee, Caceres rebounded to submit Choi with a rear-naked choke at the 3:31 mark of Round 2.

Finally, Gregor…

Let's see that in slow-mo!

Fedor Emelianenko remains undefeated at home.#Bellator269 pic.twitter.com/vOaZOSuMCS

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 23, 2021 If it truly is goodbye, then Fedor Emelianenko gave the Russian fans a memorable farewell.

“The Last Emperor” made short work of recent interim title challenger Timothy Johnson in the Bellator 269 headliner, winning via knockout 3:08 into Round 1 of their heavyweight clash at VTB Arena in Moscow on Saturday. It was the California-based promotion’s first-ever event in Russia and Emelianenko’s first fight in his home country since a controversial majority decision win against Fabio Maldonado at a Fight Nights Global event on June 17, 2016.

The 45-year-old former Pride Fighting Championships title holder demonstrated why he remains dangerous even in the twilight of his professional MMA career. In a bout that was fraught with tension, both heavyweights ventured into the pocket to tr…