Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCa2NC7VxQA&w=560&h=315]

David Onama will become the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first athlete from Uganda when he locks horns with Mason Jones this Saturday.

Onama is a short-notice replacement for Alan Patrick, who pulled out of the lightweight matchup with Jones due to COVID-19-related protocol. MMA DNA was first to report the Onama vs. Jones booking. UFC Fight Night 196 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

Anchored at Glory MMA & Fitness, Onama is undefeated in eight professional outings. Onama boasts five first-round stoppages on his ledger and has finished all of his opponents inside the distance while competing on the Midwest regional scene.

Jones is still looking for his first promotional triumph after dropping a decision to Mike Davis in his debut and having his first booking against Patrick end in a no contest due to…

International fighters hoping to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will face a new hurdle beginning next month.

While the UFC does not require any of the athletes in the organization to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, the Las Vegas-based promotion will adhere to the policy from the United States government that requires all travlers from abroad to have proof of vaccination beginning on Nov. 8. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell sent out a memo to fighters, coaches and managers providing notice that the policy will affect international fighters traveling to the U.S. for fight cards beginning on that date.

“Recently the U.S. government announced that beginning on November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of their vaccination status to fly to the United States,” the memo states. “Fully vaccinated travelers will also be required to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 te…

A illness has forced Jessica Eye to pull out of a proposed flyweight clash against Andrea Lee at UFC Fight Night 197.

As a result, Cynthia Calvillo will step in to face Lee on Nov. 13. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight tilt pitting Max Holloway against Yair Rodriguez.

Eye announced her withdrawal in a recent Instagram story.

“[This past Thursday], I thought I was dealing with an allergic reaction to fish eggs that I didn’t notice on my sushi [roll] until it was too late,” Eye wrote on Instagram. “Extremely allergic to eggs. Thursday night is when the fever started. So I followed protocol for when I am exposed to a food allergy. Thursday was rough but woke up on Friday feeling OK but [with] brain fog, which is usually [a] symptom after I have an allergy attack or exposure to foods I’m allergic to.

“Friday was a normal day and I was ready for t…

According to Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman would’ve paid dearly if he hadn’t agreed to their rematch in the UFC 268 main event.

Usman and Covington initially fought at UFC 245 in December 2019, with Usman retaining his welterweight crown with a fifth-round technical knockout victory. Covington has campaigned for a rematch since then but claims that Usman and his team did everything in their power to avoid the return date.

In the meantime, Covington returned to action with a fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley in September 2020. Usman has been more active, with a pair of successful title defenses against Jorge Masvidal as well as a victory over Gilbert Burns.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen. They did not want it to happen,” Covington told ESPN. “His manager, they were refusing. They were trying to find every way in the book out of fighting this rematch. They didn’t want this fight, man, and the only reason they have to take it is the UFC gave him no choice. They…

The rivalry between UFC Night 196 main event headliners Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa extends years back beyond the fighters to members of their respective camps.

King’s MMA head coach Rafael Cordeiro, who trains Vettori, recalled the old Vale Tudo days when he and Costa’s manager, Wallid Ismail, were big rivals. At the time, Cordeiro was part of the Chute Boxe team, while Ismail represented Carlson Gracie. Cordeiro said the he and Ismael both agreed that the level of respect in combat sports was different back then.

“Actually, this fight started when Wallid called me a few months ago to set it up, and I told him that was the fight to be made,” Cordeiro said. “It was funny that during the conversation we commented that today we live in a totally different reality from when we grew up, where opponents are not enemies and we respect each other a lot. But we both agreed on one point, if ‘Borrachinha’ and Vettori understand what our generation lived in the past, it´s gon…

Eric Albarracin is currently working with a number of top fighters at Arizona-based MMA camp Fight Ready, and he expects that the team will only continue to get better.

Currently, Albarracin has coached the likes of Weili Zhang, Deiveson Figueiredo, Patricky Freire and Paulo Costa at the gym, which is located in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"The structure here is amazing and we are mixing the best from all over the world — China, Brazil, USA. Fight Ready is still crawling now, but soon we will be flying,” Albarracin said.

According to Albarracin, Zhang, the former UFC straweight champion, will impress the world with the new skills she has gained. Zhang is slated to face Rose Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 268 after relinquishing the strap to Namajunas in a shocking KO loss this past April.

“Zhang is a completely different fighter and you will see that in Nov. 6. Our muay Thai, boxing and wrestling coaches have done an incredible job,” Albarracin said. “I truly be…

No charges have been filed against Chuck Liddell in an alleged domestic violence incident involving the former UFC champion and his wife last week.

TMZ Sports was first to report that the Los Angeles District Attorney has elected not to prosecute the couple following an argument that turned physical. According to the report, the DA spoke with Liddell, his wife, Heidi Northcott, and the couple’s daughter, and determined that a verbal argument turned physical but no one was seriously hurt as a result of the altercation.

The couple’s daughter reportedly told prosecutors that she witnessed Liddell and Northcott pushing each other. Liddell ended up with a red mark on his face, while his wife had no visible injuries.

Liddell was booked for misdemeanor battery last week when Lost Hills, Calif., police were called to a domestic disturbance. Liddell later released a statement claiming that he was the victim in the incident and has tried to “shield a family mental healt…

Ryan Bader’s bid to reclaim light heavyweight gold came up short in the semifinals of the light heavyweight grand prix, where he suffered a 51-second technical knockout loss to Corey Anderson in the Bellator 268 co-main event on Saturday night.

Despite fighting in front of a hometown crowd at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., the former Arizona State University All-American wrestler was unable to get going against Anderson. Bader was floored by an overhand right early, and though he tried desperately to defend himself against the ensuing hailstorm of follow-up ground-and-pound, his opponent would not be denied.

Bader recently released a brief statement on Instagram in the aftermath of the defeat.

“The game we play…not the result we wanted but felt the love in AZ!” Bader wrote. “Thank you guys for always having my back.”

Though it appears Bader’s run at 205 pounds in Bellator might be at its end, the Power MMA Team stalwart remains the promotion’s rei…

The ongoing Bellator light heavyweight grand prix has reignited the debate regarding the best light heavyweight in the sport, and there are more than a few in the MMA community who believe that the Vadim Nemkov-Corey Anderson winner can lay claim to that top spot.

“This was a gauntlet of 205ers and whoever wins this tournament, to me, is the best 205er on the planet, period,” Bellator president Scott Coker said on Saturday night. “That’s how I feel.”

Anderson was especially impressive in dispatching Ryan Bader in just 51 seconds in the Bellator 268 co-main event at the Footprint Center in Phoenix for his seventh win in eight professional outings across stints in the California-based promotion as well as the UFC. The man known as “Overtime” notably owns victories over both Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, who will square off with light heavyweight gold on the line at UFC 267 later this month.

However, Blachowicz avenged that defeat in Anderson’s final Octagon …

Well-traveled 52-fight MMA veteran Brian Gassaway has died at the age of 49.

Late on Saturday, a friend of Gassaway wrote on Facebook that he had passed. A GoFundMe page has since been created for a memorial fund for Gassaway’s family on Sunday. The news of his death has since been confirmed by multiple MMA media members.

“It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, teacher, and mentor, Brian Gassaway,” the GoFundMe wrote.

“Please know that as much as he helped you, you also helped him,” it continued. “You were the reason he lived. You gave him breath. He absorbed and learned from your experience, sharing it with the next student. As students and teachers of martial arts, we are the sum of the teachers and students before us.

“Brian leaves behind his wife and best friend, Mimi, mother, and brother, Wesley. Brian, our friend, our teacher, you will not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience w…

Conor McGregor is once again in the news for an altercation that occurred outside of the Octagon.

According to a report from Italian outlet Il Messagero, Itallian DJ and singer Francesco Facchinetti has accused McGregor of punching him in the face and breaking his nose. Facchinetti claims that he and his wife were hanging out with the former UFC champion and his fiancee, Dee Devlin, when McGregor allegedly attacked him for no reason at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time.

“I took a punch for nothing,” Facchinetti said on his Instagram story (translations via Pro Sports Extra). “That punch could go to anyone. My friends, my wife, or other friends. That’s why I decided to sue Conor McGregor because he is a violent and dangerous person.”

Facchinetti’s wife also provided an account of the alleged incident on social media.

“Then out of nowhere, he threw a punch in the face of Francesco. He was inviting us to another party. Francesco said, ‘Okay, let’s go’ and …

Aspen Ladd had trouble mounting any kind of significant offense in the UFC Fight Night 195 main event, and the frustration was reflected in her corner between rounds.

Ladd’s coach, Jim West, was caught on the ESPN+ broadcast criticizing the fighter between the third and fourth periods of her matchup with Norma Dumont.

“You’re down 3-0,” West said between Rounds 3 and 4. “Please tell me what you’re doing. You have to throw more than one punch... fight to win, you have to finish.”

This is ABUSE, what a douche

— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 17, 2021

West’s comments were widely criticized throughout the MMA community, with former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate going so far as to call his coaching “abuse.” West, who is also Ladd’s boyfriend, took to social media to apologize for his tactics.

“Tonight was not our night. It’s been our night many many times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself,” West wrote on I…