Martial Arts News

This Saturday. Included with your @triller #TrillerFightClub PPV purchase

No Holds Barred Alternative Commentary from #DonaldTrump and @DonaldJTrumpJr.

Live In-Person from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, #Florida

[ Sept. 11 | https://t.co/Qts9ZGywTR ] pic.twitter.com/Eq32d7JsRA

— FITE (@FiteTV) September 8, 2021

Fight fans will hear from the former President of the United States this weekend.

The upcoming boxing Triller card that features the clash between former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Vitor Belfort and former cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will have a special guest as commentator. On Wednesday morning, Fite confirmed that the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, would do live commentary on the much-anticipated boxing debut of “The Phenom.”

“I love great fighters and great fights. I look forward to seeing both this Saturday night …

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT @bensaddikjamal returns to the GLORY ring and will face @AdegBenny during GLORY COLLISION 3, Gelredome Arnhem The Netherlands.

Tickets go on sale on the 14th of September. Buy your tickets at https://t.co/MuEo6F8v8i pic.twitter.com/U6PHnT17vm

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) September 8, 2021 Glory “Collision 3” has found its co-main event as Benjamin Adegbuyi and Jamal Ben Saddik are set to fight on Oct. 23. The fight, which is a rematch, will serve as primer for the upcoming mega fight between Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven as he takes on Alistair Overeem in the Reem’s return to kickboxing after a decade-plus stint in mixed martial arts.

The first fight between Saddik and Adegbuyi was Saddik’s last fight, which was in 2018. Saddik, who was the heavyweight champion at the time, knocked out Adegbuyi in 1:54.

While Saddik hasn’t fought since then, Adegbuyi has stayed relatively busy. Having not lost since,…

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will finally make his long-awaited mixed martial arts debut.

It appears that 13-time world jiu-jitsu champion Marcus Almeida has a new opponent for his One Championship debut. A few days ago, the Singapore-based promotion announced that ‘Buchecha' was scheduled to face Thomas Narmo. Now, MMA Fighting first reported that the Norwegian fighter is out of the clash and Almeida will lock horns with Glory alum Anderson Silva at “One: Revolution” in Singapore on Sept. 24. Sherdog’s own sources confirmed the news. The reason Narmo pulled out of the fight is currently undisclosed.

Two-time ADCC gold medalist Almeida (0-0, 0-0 One) has long made preparations for his MMA debut. In April, the 31-year-old Brazilian was attached to face Oumar Kane at One on TNT 1 before One paired him with Ji Won Kang. In August, the American Top Team representative was scheduled to collide with Narmo. Now, ‘Buchecha’ got a fourth matchup for his MMA crossover.

Sil…

Carlos Vergara made the most of his moment in the spotlight.

The Fury Fighting Championship titleholder on Tuesday was one of five competitors to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he cut down Bruno Mesquita with a knee strike to the body in the first round of their flyweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Mesquita (12-4-1) bowed out 41 seconds into Round 1, suffering his first defeat in nearly four years.

Vergara (9-2-1) flew out of the gate and never looked back. He sat down “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 4 semifinalist with a right hook, snatched a front headlock and connected with a few knees to the head before he disengaged. As Vergara separated, he delivered a devastating knee to the liver that shut down Mesquita and prompted referee Herb Dean to intervene.

In addition to Vergara, UFC President Dana White elected to sign Josh Quinlan, Chidi Njokuani, Saimon Oliveira and Chad Anheliger. Read more

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 2 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 Kicking off the card, Tajikistan's Muin Gafurov (16-3), a long-time veteran of ONE at only 25 years old, is a prohibitive favorite against Canada's Chad Anheliger (10-5), all five of whose losses have come by submission. Referee Mike Beltran gets the assignment. Gafurov lands a thunderous leg kick to start, spinning Anheliger around. Anheliger lands one of his own, although it isn't as powerful. Gafurov shoots in on a very deep low double-leg and converts it. Anheliger does, however, manage to scoot to the fence. Gafurov is wise to it, however, and tries to turn him around. Anheliger builds up his bas…

I’m told Jimmy Crute vs Jamahal Hill will take place on December 4 on a Fight Night card, presumingly set to take place in Las Vegas.

The light-heavyweight duo had originally been expected to square off on October 2.

Such a great fight pic.twitter.com/KdmIfMde1k — Jordan Ellis (@JordanEllisUK) September 6, 2021

An exciting 205-pound bout has reportedly been added to Dec. 4’s UFC bill.

According to LowKick MMA, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jamahal Hill will face fellow DWCS graduate Jimmy Crute on an upcoming UFC Fight Night event that’s supposed to go down on Dec. 4. The matchup has been confirmed by several media outlets since it was first reported. Initially, the Ultimate Fighting Championship targeted the clash for its Oct. 2 UFC Fight Night card before moving it.

Hill (8-1, 1 NC, 2-1, 1 NC UFC) will try to bounce back after being put away with elbows and punches by Paul Craig at UFC 263. That night, “Sweet Dream” …

The BIGGEST kickboxing event of the year is on 15 October at ONE: FIRST STRIKE Don’t miss Giorgio Petrosyan and Superbon’s World Title clash, Rodtang’s return, the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix quarterfinals, and MORE! #ONEFirstStrike #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/7lsjnq1Qz4

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 7, 2021

For the first time, there will be no mixed martial arts bouts on a One Championship card.

On Tuesday morning, One Championship announced that its upcoming “One: First Strike” bill would feature just muay Thai and kickboxing fights. In the main event, the 2019 One kickboxing featherweight grand prix champion Giorgio Petrosyan will collide with Superbon Banchamek to crown the first featherweight kickboxing titleholder in the Singapore-based promotion’s history.

Petrosyan is currently looking for his seventh victory under One’s banner. In his latest appearance, the Italian outclassed…

One shot at a UFC contract

[ #DWCS this Tuesday at 8pm ET on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/FIoFbyDngB

— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2021 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. Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 6 to reflect additional information.

Thanks to an 11th hour replacement fighter stepping up on Sunday, Dana White's Contender Series will still roll on with five fights.

A proposed welterweight tilt that served as the main event between Darian Weeks and Josh Quinlan fell through when a member of Weeks’ corner tested positive for COVID-19. Signing on the dotted line as a replacement on Sunday was Logan Urban, who takes the fight in the same division of welterweight. Despite the short-notice nature of the step-in, Urban successfully…

NEWS ALERT The fight between Denice Zamboanga and Seo Hee Ham is under official review by the ONE Competition Committee. @DZDenice @yodchatri #ONEEmpower #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/vZ2FkPf3wZ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 5, 2021

Seo Hee Ham may not get to savor her debut win in One Championship for too long.

In a tweet Sunday, the promotion echoed a similar tweet from One Championship founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, stating, “The fight between Denice Zamboanga and Seo Hee Ham is under official review by the ONE Competition Committee.” The fight in question, which took place last Friday at One Championship “Empower”, was a competitive fight between undefeated rising contender Zamboanga and star free agent acquisition Ham. In the immediate aftermath, the result was announced as a split decision victory for Ham, but that outcome now appears to be potentially changing.

One Championship has unilaterally …

Tom Aspinall is willing to gradually work his way to the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division.

The Team Kaobon product earned his fourth straight promotional triumph — and seventh in a row overall — at UFC Fight Night 191, where he stopped Sergey Spivak with an elbow and follow-up punches 2:30 into the opening round of their heavyweight co-main event clash. Aspinall, who was originally supposed to face Sergey Pavlovich on the card, was able to adjust relatively easily to the new opponent and snap Spivak’s three-bout winning streak.

“I’ve actually trained for Spivak before, even though we didn’t fight. I know what Spivak’s all about.  Spivak’s a very, very durable guy,” Aspinall said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m not trying to sound cocky or anything, but I was in first gear in that fight because I know he waits for his opponents to get tired before he starts to attack. I was just taking my time in there. I wasn’t doing expl…

Under normal circumstances, most observers would agree that Derek Brunson performed quite well in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event. It turns out that he dealt with some adversity leading up to his latest victory.

The North Carolina native relied on his wrestling against Darren Till on Saturday, grounding his opponent three times before winning via rear-naked choke at the 2:13 mark of the third round in their middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. After his fifth consecutive Octagon triumph, Brunson revealed that his training camp for Till was severely limited.

“I had a rib injury,” Brunson at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I thought I broke my ribs. I got kicked in the ribs really hard by someone’s toe. This guy was about 240 [pounds]. It was kind of like a bad thing sparring with someone so heavy when I’m getting my body down to my fight weight and I’m getting ready to compete.

“But yeah, I thought I broke my ribs. The last thr…

The featured matchup for Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series has been altered just a few days prior to the card.

Darian Weeks has pulled out of his scheduled clash with Josh Quinlan after someone in his camp tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Logan Urban will now face Quinlan in a welterweight matchup on Tuesday. MMA DNA was first to report the new booking. The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Urban has been victorious in five of his first six professional fights. In his most recent outing, the 27-year-old known as “Hulk” scored a second-round KO of Antoine Blassingame at Ohio Combat League 14 on July 24.

A three-time Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor, Quinlan will take a 5-0 mark into his matchup with Urban. “The Renegade” has finished all of his triumphs inside the distance, including a third-round submission of Dallas Jennings in his most recent ou…