Martial Arts News

Perennial flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez is retiring from mixed martial arts at 37 years old.

Multiple outlets confirmed that Benavidez has elected to remove himself from the USADA drug testing pool. Benavidez exits the sport with a 28-8 career mark that included four attempts at flyweight gold in the UFC and a failed bid at the 135-pound belt in World Extreme Cagefighting. MMAjunkie.com first brought word of Benavidez’s retirement.

“I’ve known for a while,” Benavidez told MMAFighting.com. “I’ve always fought to be the best and also because it was fun. I probably knew my last title shot was my last shot ever so that was kind of not going to happen for me.

“I still knew I could compete in the top five. I could beat guys in the top five, top 10 easy but one of the main things is a lot of these guys that are coming up that are killers or I see them, it’s their UFC debut and they take pictures with me in the back and say, ‘I’ve looked up to you for so …

Demetrious Johnson will be branching out in his next One Championship appearance.

The former UFC flyweight king will face muay Thai flyweight title holder Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules match on Dec. 5, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced during an appearance on the “MMA Hour” Wednesday.

Johnson vs. Jituangnon will consist of four, three-minute rounds, with the ruleset alternating between muay Thai and MMA in each frame. Four-ounce gloves will be worn for the contest.

Johnson began his promotional tenure with three consecutive triumphs to win the One flyweight grand prix. “Mighty Mouse” came up short in his bid for the title, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Adriano Moraes at One on TNT 1 on April 7.

Jituangnon is widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound muay Thai fighter in the world and owns a career mark of 267-42-10 in that realm. The 24-year-old is currently on a 10-bout winning streak under the One banner. Read more

SWITCH KNEE KO TO START THE NIGHT!Brandon Jenkins takes home the 1st W!

2021 #PFLPlayoffsLIVE NOW ESPN+https://t.co/WfOt9XBfzk pic.twitter.com/q6CHOdCUWN

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 27, 2021 Dakota Bush is out of a proposed lightweight clash against Zhu Rong at UFC Fight Night 192 after testing positive for COVID-19.

As a result, Brandon Jenkins will replace Bush and face Rong on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the change. UFC Fight Night 192 is headlined by a light heavweight clash between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann. The card will stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Jenkins is coming off a flying knee knockout of Jacob Kilburn at a Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 27. The 29-year-old Prior Lake, Minn., native has compiled a 14-6 career record while also competing for organizations such as Legacy Fighting Alliance and King of the Cage.

China’s Rong, meanwhile, saw a 1…

UFC president Dana White is no fan of the boxing event held by Triller over the weekend, but he did have some very positive things to say about former middleweight king Anderson Silva.

Silva knocked out Tito Ortiz 81 seconds into the first round of their matchup, which was supposed to be contested at 195 pounds. That fight, along with the rest of the card — which included Vitor Belfort’s first-round TKO of Evander Holyfield in the main event — were ultimately deemed to be exhibitions by the Florida commission after initially being promoted by Triller as professional bouts.

While speaking to assembled media following Week 3 of the Contender Series, White briefly discussed the Triller-promoted event, along with Silva’s performance and standing in combat sports.

“Guys, let me put it to you this way: anybody who is f—-ing dumb enough and willing to pay and watch these f—-ing fights, Anderson Silva boxed Tito Ortiz,” White said. “[He] boxed Tito Ortiz. Tito Ortiz ha…

Anatoly Tokov will return to action for the first time since October 2019 when he squares off against Sharaf Davlatmurodov in a middleweight bout at Bellator 269.

Promotion officials on Wednesday announced the pairing, which is set for the evening’s main draw on Oct. 23. Bellator 269 takes place at VTB Arena in Moscow and is headlined by a heavyweight duel pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Timothy Johnson. The card will air on Showtime, with broadcast details to be announced soon.

Additionally, four contests were confirmed for the Bellator 269 preliminary card: Vladimir Tokov vs. Aymard Guih at lightweight; Aiden Lee vs. Alexander Osetrov at featherweight; Gadzi Rabadanov vs. Alexander Belikh at featherweight and Darina Mazdyuk vs. Katarzyna Sadura at flyweight.

The 31-year-old Tokov has been victorious in his first five appearances since signing with the California-based promotion, posting notable wins over ex-middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko and UFC vet…

Jailton Almeida never bought into the hype.

The LG System representative was one of five competitors to land Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the previously unbeaten Nasrudin Nasrudinov in the second round of their light heavyweight attraction on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Almeida (14-2) drew the curtain 1:49 into Round 2, extending his winning streak to nine fights.

“Malhadinho” pressured Nasrudinov (9-1) until he broke. The Russian sambo practitioner conceded a takedown to Almeida in the first round but managed to return to his feet and connect with a few standing-to-ground punches. He was not as fortunate in the second. Almeida executed another takedown, advanced to the back and flattened out the Akhmat Fight Club export. From there, he hunted the choke, tightened his squeeze and prompted the tapout. In addition to Almeida, UFC President Dana White signed Albert Duraev, Jack Della Maddal…

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 3 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 Jasudavicius takes the center of the cage and pumps out a couple jabs, looking to utilize her height and reach advantage. Jasudavicius secures the clinch and trips Polastri down near the fence. Jasudavicius works to free her left leg and pass to full mount. Jasudavicius postures up and then stands, landing some ground-and-pound from above. Jasudavicius drops back into half guard and drops an elbow. Jasudavicius remains heavy on top as we approach the 2:00 mark of the period. Polastri is limiting ground-and-pound offense, but she isn’t threatening to scramble back up. Jasudavicius increase the intensit…

The boxing match pitting social media personality Jake Paul against Tyron Woodley proved to be a solid draw for Showtime on pay-per-view.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, the card drew approximately 500,000 pay-per-view buys. Digital sales via Showtime have been tallied, but figures from other providers that offered the fight have not been determined. Still, those totals are not expected to alter the final numbers significantly.

Paul vs. Woodley took place on Aug. 29 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, and saw Paul earn a split-decision triumph in the evening’s main event. Paul improved to 4-0 as a professional boxer in the victory, while Woodley dropped his pro debut.

Jake Paul wasn’t able to outsell his brother, Logan Paul, whose exhibition matchup with Floyd Mayweather on June 6 sold nearly 1 million pay-per-view buys. While Woodley pushed for a rematch in the immediately aftermath of the bout, Paul has claimed to have moved on f…

Conor McGregor is probably a long way off from being fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered at UFC 264 this past July, but the Irish star seems to at least be in an optimistic state of mind.

The former UFC two-division champion, who was in New York to attend the MTV Video Music Awards, provided an update on his condition in an interview with journalist Adam Glyn.

“I feel like I could kick right now,” McGregor said. “I honestly feel like I could kick right now, but I’ve just got to listen to the doctors, listen to the people that are guiding me. That’s what I’ve done so far, I’ve committed myself to the work and I’m back on the feet. It’s so good to be back on the feet.”

“Notorious” suffered fractures to his tibia and fibula in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier on July 10 that required surgery, a procedure that required the insertion of a rod, plate and screws. McGregor admitted that the injury took a toll on him mentally. Despite the fact the he’s feeli…

A middleweight clash pitting Brendan Allen against Brad Tavares is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 4.

Allen initially announced the bout on social media. The card is likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but does not have a main event at this time. Other reported matchups for the card include Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill and Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, Allen has been victorious in five of his first six promotional appearances, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Sean Strickland. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 2-0 thus far in 2021, with a submission win over Karl Roberson and a decision triumph against Punahele Soriano to his credit.

After suffering back-to-back losses to Israel Adesanya and Edmen Shahbazyan from 2018 to 2019, Tavares has returned to post a 2-0 mark this year. The 33-year-old Hawaiian took a unanimous verdict over Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC 25…

It appears that both Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley were fighting clean during their boxing match last month.

Paul and Woodley submitted urine samples prior to the Aug. 29 event in Cleveland and the results came back negative, according to the Ohio State Athletic Commission. Initial reports stated that Paul and Woodley would not be tested in relation to their bout before it was confirmed that the fighters would have to submit urine samples to the commission. Prior to the event, Woodley hinted that he believed Paul was on performance-enhancing drugs.

Paul defeated Woodley via split decision in their matchup at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to improve to 4-0 as a professional. Woodley, a former UFC champion, was making his pro boxing debut. Both men earned a disclosed $2 million payday for their efforts.

Four other fighters — Amanda Serrano, Yamileth Mercado, Charles Conwell and Juan Carlos Rubio — from the event were also tested, and their results were negative a…

According to TMZ Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly got into an altercation after Conor asked MGK for a pic, but he declined.

MGK then pushed Conor which led to him spilling his drink. Conor then threw his drink at MGK and Megan Fox. #VMAs pic.twitter.com/3uMw3EDRmq

— Hip Hop Ties (@HipHopTiesMedia) September 13, 2021 New details have emerged regarding the confrontation between Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly that occurred at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

According to a report from ”Extra," the incident occurred because McGregor allegedly messaged Kelly’s girlfriend, movie star Megan Fox. Initial reports stated that MGK shoved the former UFC champion after he asked for a picture, and McGregor responded by throwing a drink at the singer/rapper.

Videos and photos show security separating the two men as McGregor lunged and shouted at Kelly. Both men attended the VMAs, with Kelly performing onstage. In an interview with …