Martial Arts News

A previously postponed women’s bantamweight showdown between Miesha Tate and Ketlen Vieira officially has a new date.

Promotion officials announced Wednesday that Tate vs. Vieira wll serve as the main event for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 20. The bout was initially slated for UFC Fight Night 195 on Oct. 16 before Tate tested positive for COVID-19.

Tate ended a five-year retirement at UFC on ESPN 26, where she returned with a third-round TKO triumph over Marion Reneau on July 17. “Cupcake” is a former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight queen with notable wins over the likes of Holm, Sara McMann, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Julie Kedzie and Marloes Coenen, to name a few.

After beginning her promotional tenure with four consecutive victories, Vieira has lost two of her last three UFC appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Brazilian was outpointed by Yana Kunitskaya at UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20.

Jon Jones has broken his silence after being arrested for battery domestic violence and vehicle tampering in Las Vegas last week.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion released a statement on his Instagram story on Tuesday after a police report revealed disturbing details regarding an alleged assault against his fiancee, Jesse Moses.

The post shows Jones lifting weights with the Randy Newman song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” playing in the background along with several statements scattered around the video. Jones does not directly address his arrest.

“I have way too much trauma to consume alcohol,” Jones wrote. “My brain simply can’t handle it anymore. I will leave alcohol in my past forever.

“Now is the time to work harder than ever.

“Turn this nightmare into the best thing to ever happen in my life.

“What the devil means for bad, God means for good.

“Get right back on my horse.”

Police were called to Caesars Palace in Las Vega…

Brian Ortega displayed a massive amount of heart agains Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 266 headliner. He also absorbed a great deal of punishment during their featherweight title bout.

“T-City” is now facing a potential six-month medical suspension following his unanimous decision loss to Volkanovski on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ortega must receive clearance from an ophthalmologist for a right orbital blowout fracture or he will be sidelined until March 25. At a minimum, he is out until Nov. 25 with no contact until Nov. 10.

Volkanovski, meanwhile, is suspended until Oct. 26 with no contact until Oct. 17 after making his second consecutive successful 145-pound belt defense. The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions to mixedmartialarts.com.

Nine other athletes from UFC 266 are facing six-month terms pending medical clearance: Jairzinho Rozenstruik (needs dental clearance), Marlon Moraes (right …

That escalated quickly

Ihor Potieria poured it on for the finish on #DWCS pic.twitter.com/VzR5jqgpiR

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 29, 2021 Ihor Potieria proved he belongs with overwhelming force.

The Ukrainian was one of two hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he dismissed the previously unbeaten Lukasz Sudolski with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Potieria (19-2) brought it to a close 3:41 into Round 1.

Sudolski (8-1) fired off a few thudding inside leg kicks but struggled to manage distance. Potieria engaged him in the clinch and worked punches, elbows and knees along the fence. The World Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder exploded out of a break, smashed Sudolski with chopping punches and floored him with a right hand. Potieria offered no refuge, swamped the Berserker…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live DWCS 2021 Week 5 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Kuniev opens up with an oblique kick to the knee, then an outside leg kick. Kuniev gets clipped with a short right hand and stumbles forward. He recovers and the Brazilian tags him again. Kuniev and Santos both land before tying up. Santos with a hard knee to the midsection of his heavier opponent. Another knee lands for Santos before they separate. The Brazilian whips out an outside leg kick, which is answered by Kuniev. Kuniev forces the clinch against the cage, but Santos lands another hard knee. Kuniev drives his man into the fence, but lands a low blow and the action is paused. The action is rese…

Never in mixed martial arts history have so many Brazilian fighters trained as part of American MMA teams.

In addition to the growth of the sport and the increasing number of events in the U.S., one of the main reasons for that exodus is the UFC’s outfitting sponsorship contract with Reebok, which has since changed to Venum. Once that deal was implemented, many brands that supported athletes, teams and Brazilian events for decades left MMA, making it impossible for most event promoters and gym owners to keep their businesses afloat.

Among those who have continued to fight against the current are teams such as Nova Uniao, Team Nogueira, CM System, Evolucao Thai, PRVT, Rizzo RVT, TFT and Chute Boxe. Diego Lima, the leader of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo and the head coach of UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, revealed that he is actually expanding his gym.

"Today Chute Boxe São Paulo has the biggest MMA structure in Brazil. We moved to a four-floor building wher…

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

With Aljamain Sterling still on the mend from neck surgery, an interim bantamweight championship bout has been booked for UFC 267.

UFC president Dana White informed broadcast partner ESPN on Tuesday that Petr Yan will square off against Cory Sandhagen for the interim 135-pound crown on Oct. 30 in Abu Dhabi. Yan was supposed to face Sterling in a title rematch after being disqualified for landing an illegal knee in their first meeting at UFC 261. The Yan-Sandhagen winner will presumably be booked in a title unification bout against Sterling at some point in 2022.

Yan had a 10-fight professional winning streak snapped in the loss to Sterling. The 28-year-old Russian known as “No Mercy” was victorious in his first seven UFC appearances, posting notable triumphs against the likes of Aldo, Urijah Faber, Rivera and John Dodson.

Sandhagen, meanwhile, is coming off a contentious split-decision l…

More details have emerged surrounding Jon Jones’ arrest for battery domestic violence and vehicle tampering last week in Las Vegas, and they don’t paint the former UFC light heavyweight champion in a very flattering light.

According to an arrest report released by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department that was obtained by MMAjunkie.com, Jones allegedly assaulted a woman who was later identified as his fiancée, Jessie Moses, and then head-butted a police vehicle as he was being arrested. Jones was in Las Vegas for the UFC Hall of Fame Induction ceremony that occurred on the night of Sept. 23.

According to the report, police arrived at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to respond to a domestic battery call that left Moses bleeding from her nose and mouth. When interviewed by police, Moses stated that she and Jones have been together for 17 years and have three children together, and that she and Jones had not been arguing prior to the incident. Moses said that she elected t…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwX_9n6-GXs&w=560&h=315]

Henry Cejudo was an interested observer on Saturday night when Alexander Volkanovski defeated Brian Ortega in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 266.

After the event, Cejudo tweeted at UFC president Dana White, with the following claim: “I’m gonna take Alexander the Average’s Soul.” That prompted a succint response from the featherweight champion at the UFC 266 post-fight press conference.

“He’s called out everyone. He’s called out females. Does he actually believe the s—t that comes out of his mouth? Nah, not worried about him. I’ll squash the little germ,” Volkanovski said.

In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Cejudo doubled down on his callout of Volkanovski, pleading with White to allow him to move up to 145 pounds.

“Not only do I believe that I can beat him, I know I can stop him,” Cejudo said. “As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there are still a lot of holes. I believ…

A significant gap in experience will be on display when Greg Hardy locks horns with Alexey Oleynik at UFC 270.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the heavyweight booking. UFC 270 takes pace on Jan. 22 at an as yet to be announced location and will also include a pivotal middleweight bout between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier.

A former NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman, Hardy has compiled a 7-4 mark with one no contest since turning pro in 2018. The American Top Team product is 4-4 in the Octagon and has suffered back-to-back KO/TKO defeats at the hands of Marcin Tybura and Tai Tuivasa in his last two UFC appearances.

The 44-year-old Oleynik will attempt to halt a three-fight UFC skid when he squares off against Hardy. Oleynik’s current slump includes knockout losses against Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus as well as a decision defeat to Sergey Spivak in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 25. “The Boa Constrictor” hasn’t tasted victory since earning a split verdict …

GLORY Collision 3 Main Card (per press release):

Rico Verhoeven vs. Alistair OvereemDonegi Abena vs. Sergej MaslobojevMichael Duut vs. John KingJamal Ben Saddik vs. Benjamin AdegbuyiJames McSweeney vs. Antonio PlazibatHamicha vs. Eyevan Danenberg#GLORYC3 #GLORY79 pic.twitter.com/yA2GJqFRGP

— Kris Dekker (@KrisDekkerMMA) September 28, 2021 The full card for Glory: Collision 3 has been unveiled, and it includes several new bouts.

Glory: Collision 3 takes place on Oct. 23 in Arnhem, The Netherlands and is headlined by heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven defending his title against former K-1 champion and UFC veteran Alistair Overeem. Earlier this month, Sherdog.com reported that Jamal Ben Saddik and Benjamin Adegbuyi were set to rematch in the co-main slot on the card.

In another new addition to the event, Hamicha returns after his first-round finish at Glory 78 on Sept. 4. With three straight first round knockouts, Hamicha is taking on…

A flyweight showdown between Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Manel Kape is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Dec. 4.

Zhumagulov recently announced the pairing via social media. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at an as yet to be revealed location and is expected to be headlined by a 135-pound scrap pitting Jose Aldo against Rob Font.

A native of Kazakhstan, Zhumagulov dropped decisions to Amir Albazi and Raulian Paiva in his first two promotional appearances before submitting Jerome Rivera in the opening frame at UFC 264 on July 10. The former Fight Nights Global title holder is 14-5 as a professional with seven wins via KO/TKO and one by way of submission.

Kape, meanwhile, is an ex-Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight king with a 1-2 mark in UFC competition thus far. The AKA Thailand representative began his Octagon tenure with a unanimous decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja and a split-decision setback to Matheus Nicolau before scoring a first-r…