Martial Arts News

From my #HolyfieldBelfort column. Subscribe: https://t.co/IYwgR1vv4M pic.twitter.com/sKd5fVTZYd

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) September 12, 2021

The boxing victories earned by Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva at a Triller Fight Club event this past Saturday will not count on either fighter’s professional record.

The Florida State Boxing Commission revealed on Monday that all bouts held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., will be regarded as exhibitions. That notably includes Belfort’s stoppage of Evander Holyfield and Silva’s knockout of Tito Ortiz. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael was first to report on the status of the Triller bouts.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Belfort defeated 58-year-old Holyfield via technical knockout 1:49 into the opening round of their heavyweight clash. Belfort was originally supposed to meet Oscar De La Hoya before De La Hoya contracted COVID-19. The event was then relocated from Cali…

Randy Brown and Jared Gooden will square off in a welterweight clash at UFC Fight Night 194.

Brown initially announced the booking on his Twitch channel. UFC Fight Night 194 takes place on Oct. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight tilt pitting Marina Rodriguez against Mackenzie Dern.

Brown, 31, has been victorious in three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Budokan Martial Arts Academy Representative submitted Alex Oliveira in the opening stanza at UFC 261 on April 24.

After dropping decisions to Alan Jouban and Abubakar Nurmagomedov in his first two promotional outings, Gooden scored his first Octagon triumph with a 68-second KO of Niklas Stolze at UFC on ESPN 28.

Conor McGregor is throwing shade at Machine Gun Kelly. #VMAs https://t.co/FJ7v0Kowr4 pic.twitter.com/vtC7ca3oeY

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) September 13, 2021

It seems that controversy has been following “Notorious” recently.

On Sunday night, former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion Conor McGregor took part in the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Irish fighter had a skirmish with Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet, apparently over a photo request from McGregor denied by the rapper. The subsequent hubbub involved the security staff, who intervened to separate the two men.

After the ceremony, McGregor spoke with Entertainment Tonight and denied being involved in an altercation when asked about what happened. Kelly — real name Colson Baker — has yet to express his thoughts on the matter publicly.

“I don’t know,” McGregor stated. “I just showed up, and I don’t know. I don’t…

Why is Conor trying to fight Machine Gun Kelly at the VMA awards. pic.twitter.com/MoN9qa9guU

— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) September 13, 2021

Conor McGregor is still managing to make headlines even as he recovers from a broken leg suffered in his last Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

According to TMZ Sports, the former two-division UFC champion was involved in an altercation with musician Machine Gun Kelly — whose given name is Colson Baker — at MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

McGregor reported approached Kelly initially to ask for a photo and was denied by the musician. That situation reportedly escalated into Kelly shoving McGregor, causing the Irish star to spill his drink. McGregor then threw what was left of his drink at MGK, which led to the two men being separated by security staff on hand.

Things seemed to get a bit heated on tonight's red carpet. Machi…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9buqNAv4R9g&w=560&h=315]

Glory Kickboxing has added five fights to its Oct. 23 “Collision 3” card, including several with potential title implications. Joining the lineup are: Donegi Abena (24-8) vs. Sergej Maslobojov (31-5), Alim Nabiyev (51-8) vs. Troy Jones (13-2), Stoyan Koprivlenski (11-4) vs. Bruno Gazani (66-7-1), Ertugrul Bayrak (18-6) vs. Matej Penaz (23-3), and Michael Duut (43-13) vs. John King (9-6-1).

Abena comes into “Collision 3” riding a three-fight losing streak and looking to turn things around after a 2-0 start in Glory. His opponent, Maslobojov, has won his first two with the promotion, his last being a TKO at Glory 75. Maslobojov looks to notch another win and keep moving up the light heavyweight ladder.

In the welterweight division, Nabiyev is 5-2 in Glory and looks to make a statement with a rebound following his loss to Cedric Dombue. Jones has a fantastic record in Glory at 5-1 and is looking for a shot…

Yo I’m in the @ufc

— Cameron VanCamp (@cameronvancamp) September 11, 2021

Nikolas Motta has a new opponent for this Saturday, and instead of the UFC’s all-time leader in appearances, he will now be facing a fellow Octagon debutant.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had to bring in a short-notice replacement to keep “Iron Motta” on the upcoming UFC Fight Night 192 card following Jim Miller’s withdrawal after testing positive for Covid-19. On Saturday, MMA DNA first reported that promotional newcomer Cameron VanCamp is taking the beloved veteran’s place in the lightweight affair. Both VanCamp and Motta confirmed the news on their social media.

Dana White's Contender Series alum Motta (12-3, 0-0 UFC) picked up his UFC contract after outstriking and outmatching Joseph Lowry in the 2020 season. The onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder will walk out on a three-bout winning streak. In addition to the victory over Lowry, the 28…

On Friday, MMA Fighting reported that Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights Don'Tale Mayes and Josh Parisian are set to collide at an upcoming UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 18. The news was confirmed by Parisian on Instagram, where he stated that he’s “excited to have [such a] dangerous and skilled opponent.”

The 29-year-old Mayes (8-4, 1-2 UFC) is coming off his first promotional victory after outpointing Roque Martinez in November. Prior, the Dana White's Contender Series graduate tapped to a heel hook by Ciryl Gane at UFC Fight Night 162 before Rodrigo Nascimento choked him in the second frame at UFC on ESPN 8. The Bronx Hill MMA standout has competed three times on DWCS, rattling off two victories and a defeat, all by TKO.

Legacy Fighting Alliance and King of the Cage veteran Parisian (14-4, 1-1 UFC) recently edged Roque Martinez in a narrow split-decision victory at UFC on ESPN 25. That win got Parisian on track after dropping a decision to Parke…

Retired Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce competitor Jason Miller has run afoul of the law once again.

According to a Friday report from TMZ, Miller has been arrested in Los Angeles for a charge of felony domestic violence. Per the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, an arrest record on Sept. 10 confirms this report. The 40-year-old with a history of criminal activity following his fighting career is being held on a bail amount of $1.385 million.

Arrested at 3 a.m. local time on Friday, he was taken by the Los Angeles Police Department to the Van Nuys Jail for processing three hours later. According to TMZ, a woman called 911 screaming for help, and police found her at the scene with marks on her face and neck. When police attempted to take “Mayhem” into custody, he resisted and was ultimately tased and cuffed. He was briefly taken to the hospital for the doctors to examine him before bringing him to jail.

Less than a year ago, Miller was charged wi…

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. Should Alex Caceres win this next one, he will be on the longest win streak of his 31-fight career. On Wednesday, Seung Woo Choi (10-3) announced on his Instagram that he would be facing Caceres (18-12, 1 NC) at UFC Fight Night 196 on Oct. 23. The featherweights will square off inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and both will be putting solid winning streaks on the line.

Caceres has won his last four dating back the last two years, putting together his lengthiest victorious stretch since he started his career at 4-0. Along the way, “Bruce Leeroy” has defeated Steven Peterson, Chase Hooper and Kevin Croom on the scorecards, while tapping Austin Springer in the opening frame. The 33-year-old will officially be marking a decade of UFC competition when he comes into this bout, entering the Octagon for the 24th time.

South Ko…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXm0VtJ0EOI&w=560&h=315] Leave it to an MMA fighter to miss weight for a boxing match.

On Saturday, Triller Fight Club is running a boxing event titled “Legends II” in which it will pit a boxing legend against an MMA legend. For boxing, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield, who has not fought as a pro in over a decade, will represent his sport. Against him is the relatively youthful Vitor Belfort, age 44, who is stepping up from his intended 185-pound scrap with Oscar De La Hoya to meet Holyfield at heavyweight. The heavy hitters had no issues coming in below the unlimited heavyweight cap, but the same could not be said about every competitor on the card.

Beyond a few charity exhibition excursions, this will be Holyfield’s (44-10-2, 1 NC, 29 KOs Box) first boxing tilt since his presumptive retirement match in 2011 against Brian Nielsen. The longtime heavyweight champ retired on a three-fight unbeaten streak, and even won a mid-tier WBF F…

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. Try as it might, the Ultimate Fighting Championship cannot shed COVID-related withdrawals from fight cards. On his Instagram on Friday, beloved veteran Jim Miller (32-16, 1 NC) posted a video announcing that he has come down with COVID-19. His bout with Nikolas Motta (12-3) at UFC Fight Night 192 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 18 has been scratched. As of now, it is unclear if the promotion will be able to find a replacement within the week for the Brazilian lightweight.

“There’s a first time for everything,” a disappointed Miller explained. “In the leadup to my 50th professional fight, having never pulled out of a fight before, I tested positive for ‘rona. So, I will not be fighting next weekend unfortunately. I’ve already talked to [UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby], gonna stay on the grind, take a few days, load up on…

We have signed former @BellatorMMA Bantamweight World Champion @Kyoji1012 Horiguchi and I can’t wait to see him compete in our stacked bantamweight division. pic.twitter.com/m2YKHJf2J0

— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) September 10, 2021 A high-profile free agent has just signed on the dotted line for Bellator MMA.

On Thursday night, Bellator head Scott Coker posted on Twitter that the organization has signed Kyoji Horiguchi (29-3) at bantamweight. He does not currently have his first opponent booked, but it is largely expected he will vie for the bantamweight belt held by Sergio Pettis.

Horiguchi achieved an incredible feat back in 2019 when he captured the Bellator strap from Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222. As the reigning Rizin Fighting Federation kingpin as well, he became the second fighter in major organizational history to serve as simultaneous champion in two different promotions – Alistair Overeem was the first with Strikeforce and …