Martial Arts News

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream Dana White’s Contender Series live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev was bent on netting a UFC contract, and woe betide any man — or any ligaments — that got in his way. The 28-year-old Russian prospect finished Jansey Silva with an excruciating-looking kneebar in the first round of their middleweight feature at DWCS Week 9. Omargadzhiev struck for an early takedown and the fight never made it back to the feet, as he stayed busy with chipping ground-and-pound while relentlessly working towards dominant positions. With just over a minute left in the round, Omargadzhiev leaned back for a leg attack. The Brazilian elected to try and defend by punching, but to no avail, as Omargadzhiev isolated and hyperextended Silva’s knee. Silva tapped quickly, and referee Herb Dean jumped in for the stoppage at 4 minutes, 19 seconds. With the win, the first kneebar in Contend…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Sherdog's live DWCS 2021 Week 9 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 Murad probes with a high kick that misses that mark. Muradpresses the action with left hands and they’re brawling early. Murad is doing most of the damage, getting in Bin’s face landing left hands and knees in close quarters. Murad lands a right but then slips and Bin scrambles into top position. Bin is working from inside his opponent’s full guard, and he doesn’t appear concerned with passing to a better position. Bin drops a couple right hands from top position. Bin stands, throws a punch and backs away, and Murad is up. murad stalks Bin and lands a couple stinging lefts. A left cross by Murad stops Bin in his tracks. They tie up and Murad lands a …

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The Professional Fighters League Championships will proceed as planned, as all 12 athletes set to compete in title bouts made weight without issue.

The card will be headlined by a women’s lightweight championship bout between Kayla Harrison and Taylor Guardado. Harrison tipped the scales at 153.8 pounds, while Guardado checked in at 154.4 pounds. In the co-main event, Ray Cooper III (169.8) will attempt to repeat as welterweight champion against Magomed Magomedkerimov (170). All of the undercard competitors made weight without issue, as well.

The PFL Championships take place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Wednesday night. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while the preliminary card streams on ESPN+ beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. The winners of the championship bouts will receive $1 million payouts.

Harrison will attempt t…

BOOM. Welcome to the BKFC @PlatinumPerry - Watch out 175ers pic.twitter.com/qUKrQpj6q0

— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) October 26, 2021

Mike Perry is headed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

The UFC veteran has signed a multi-fight deal with BKFC, with a debut date yet to be determined. The organization confirmed the signing following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Let’s skip all the formalities!” Perry said a release. “This sport is evolving, and I am here to strike fear into the hearts of my competitors! I plan to intimidate the world when I show what a truly skilled combat specialist is capable of with his bare hands. I will dismantle the opposition and reach the glory I have longed for my entire life. I will be crowned King of the streets and King of combat sports! They will make me a Platinum Crown and carry me on the bloody backs of my defeated rivals! I am here to go strai…

Fabian Edwards will step in for the injured Norbert Novenyi Jr. and face Charlie Ward at Bellator 270.

Promotion officials confirmed the new middleweight booking following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Novenyi Jr. announced that a torn ACL forced him to withdraw from the event. Bellator 270 takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on Nov. 5 and is headlined by a clash between Peter Queally and Patricky Freire for the vacant lightweight championship.

Edwards, the younger brother of UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards, began his professional tenure with nine consecutive victories, including four under the Bellator MMA banner. The 28-year-old Team Renegade product is coming off back-to-back losses against Costello van Steenis and Austin Vanderford in his last two outings.

Anchored at SBG Ireland, the 40-year-old Ward has been victorious in six of seven appearances within the California-based promotion. Ward went 2-0 in 2020, posting victories against…

Light heavyweight grand prix semifinal winners Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson topped the payroll for Bellator 268.

The Arizona Department of Gaming recently released salaries from the event, which took place at the Footprint Center in Phoeniz, Ariz., on Oct. 16.

Nemkov, the promotion’s reigning 205-pound champion, earned $250,000 for his fourth-round submission of Julius Anglickas ($150,000) in the evening’s main event. Anderson, meanwhile, pocketed $200,000 for a first-round TKO of ex-champ Ryan Bader ($150,000) in the co-headliner. Nemkov and Anderson will square off with light heavyweight gold on the line at an as yet to be determined event next year.

The only other six-figure earner on the card was former UFC lightweight king Benson Henderson, who garnered $150,000 for a decision loss to Brent Primus ($50,000) in a featured 155-pound contest.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretion…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

The original pairing for the middleweight finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 29” is slated to go down early next year, as Bryan Battle will lock horns with Tresean Gore on Feb. 5.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Gore was forced to withdraw from their bout at UFC on ESPN 30 on Aug. 28 after suffering a knee injury. The UFC Fight Night event does not yet have an official location or headliner.

With Gore out, Battle captured the “TUF 29” crown with a second-round submission of Gilbert Urbina at the event. The man known as “Pooh Bear” has won five straight outings as he heads into his sophomore Octagon appearance.

Gore was 3-0 as a professional before his stint on “TUF 29,” where he bested Ryder Newman and Urbina to reach the middleweight finals before being derailed by the aforementioned injury. Gore is anchored at American Top Team Atlanta.

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While the Ultimate Fighting Championship is hitting the road for its pay-per-view events, it has remained at its home base for the majority of its schedule since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Normally, a UFC Fight Night card is a chance for the Las Vegas-based promotion to travel throughout the United States — as well as overseas — build its fanbase and allow fighters with local ties to get a little extra shine. It’s something UFC president Dana White hopes to resume sometime in the near future.

“We’ve got to get back on the road,” White said Saturday folllowing UFC Fight Night 196. “We’ve got to start going to places like Oklahoma and all these other small towns that we do Fight Nights in. We eventually have to get back to work. I’m looking forward to it. Sooner than later.”

On the other hand, White admits that it can be nice to having everything close to home at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. However, w…

Oron Kahlon (left) missed weight (3lbs too heavy) for his scheduled fight tomorrow at #DWCS. He will be fined 20% of his purse.

Javid Basharat wasn't happy about it and didn't shake hands with Kahlon. Kahlon called him a terrorist soon after.... pic.twitter.com/N5pflxW2wU

— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) October 25, 2021 There will be some added animosity heading into the bantamweight showdown between Oron Kahlon and Javid Basharat on Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Following weigh-ins on Monday morning, Kahlon, who hails from Israel, can be heard calling his opponent a “terrorist” during a face-off. Basharat is based in England with the London Shootfighters but is originally from Afghanistan.

Perhaps some of the tension during the face-off stems from Kahlon’s struggles on the scales, as he missed weight by three pounds for the bout, which led to Basharat refusing a handshake from his opponent. The two exchanged words prior to …

It was almost like Fedor Emelianenko turned back the clock.

The Russian’s legendary hand speed was front and center in the Bellator 269 headliner, as he knocked out former interim heavyweight title challenger Timothy Johnson 1:40 into the opening round at VTB Arena in Moscow. It was Emelianenko’s fourth victory in his last five outings in Bellator, but there was something different about his most recent performance.

“That was really special,” Coker told assembled media after the event. “I’ve been in the fight game a long time and for him to really deliver in his hometown in front of all of his fans, it was really fun to watch. It was a real special night and like I said, being a promoter for so long there’s a few times that just capture that moment in time and really this was that night.

“I was like, wow, at 45 he can still bring it. He threw combinations at Tim that I haven’t seen for a little while, honestly. I think the pressure of him being at home really h…

All but one of the 12 athletes slated to compete on Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series made weight on Monday.

The lone exception was Oron Kahlon, who tipped the scales at 139 pounds for a bantamweight clash against Javid Basharat (136). The fight will proceed as planned, but Kahlon will be fined 20% of his purse.

The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The featured bout on this week’s card is a middleweight tilt pitting Jansey Silva (185.5) against Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (186).

Silva has compiled a 7-1 record while competing exclusively for the Brazilian organization Watch Out Combat Show. The 26-year-old Tata Fight Team member has finished five of his wins by knockout or technical knockout.

Russia’s Omargadzhiev is 12-0 since beginning his professional tenure in 2013. The CSKA Moscow representative has earned eight of his triumphs by KO/TKO and two via submission.

Co…

Credit: M-1

A matchup between up-and-coming featherweights Movsar Evloev and Ilia Topuria is in the works for UFC 270.

The pairing was first reported by the Red Fury MMA Instagram page and has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. UFC 270 takes place on Jan. 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and is headlined by a heavyweight title unification bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

Evloev is unbeaten in 15 professional appearances — including five triumphs in UFC competition. The 27-year-old Russian last appeared at UFC 263, where he outpointed Hakeem Dawodu on June 12. Evloev has gone the distance in each of his Octagon triumphs, also earning wins over the likes of Nik Lentz, Mike Grundy, Enrique Barzola and Seung Woo Choi.

Spain’s Topuria is 11-0 as a pro, a run that includes a 3-0 mark within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Brave Combat Federation veteran is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories against Damon Jackson and …