Martial Arts News

Luke Rockhold will make his return from a lengthy hiatus against Sean Strickland in a middleweight bout at UFC 268.

UFC broadcast partner ESPN confirmed the booking following an initial report from TSN. Both Rockhold and Strickland have verbally agreed to the bout. UFC 268 is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 6 and is headlined by a welterweight championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Rockhold will fight for the first time since a move to 205 pound resulted in a second-round knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 on July 6, 2019. The 36-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product is a former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion but has lost three of his last four appearances. Rockhold owns notable wins over the likes of Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping, Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy and Keith Jardine.

Strickland, meanwhile, is coming off a decisive five-round victory over Uriah Hall in…

Chad Mendes is returning to combat sports, but his next fight won’t be inside the Octagon.

The former UFC title challenger revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience” that he has signed a multi-fight contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Mendes is expected to compete at 155 pounds and has targeted Chandler, Ariz., on Oct. 22 for his BKFC debut.

“I just signed a big contract – I’m coming back to fighting,” Mendes told Rogan. “But I’m not coming back to MMA. … I’m coming back to boxing. I want to try something different. I think we’re going to throw some bareknuckle in there, bro – just mix it up and get real crazy. This is something that’s kind of been in the works for probably a year now.”

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, the contract is “the most lucrative deal” of Mendes’ fighting career. The Team Alpha Male product had existing fights on his UFC contract but was granted his release by the Las Vegas-based promotion to sign with BKFC.

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Nicco Montano is no longer part of the UFC roster following her latest debacle on the scales.

The promotion released the former flyweight queen on the heels of Montano missing weight by seven pounds for a scheduled clash with Yanan Wu at UFC on ESPN 28 this past weekend. Montano later released a statement regarding her weight miss and the subsequent cancellation of the bout.

“So I’ve been eating less for my workout sessions, training up until I had to come to the quarantine bubble and had to start my cut pretty high. I have done this cut before but unfortunately it just didn’t work out this time around. I think the most important thing for me to do is focus on getting my weight down healthily,” Montano wrote on Instagram.

“Believe me I didn’t want this to happen and did everything in my power to make sure it didn’t but sometimes life kicks you in the balls over and over and over. But I’m learning that it’s only making me stronger and more resilient for what’s t…

Both components of this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 28 headliner are facing potential six-month medical suspensions.

Sean Strickland needs an X-ray of his left thigh and knee as well as dental evaluation of his lower prosthetic tooth, and if he doesn’t receive clearance, he will be out until Jan. 28. At a minimum, Strickland is sidelined with no contact until Aug. 31. Hall, meanwhile, must have a right orbital fracture cleared by an ENT doctor or he will be out until Jan. 28. At a minimum, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist is suspended until Sept. 30 with no contact until Sept. 15.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions to mixedmartialarts.com. Strickland captured a clear cut unanimous verdict against Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Eight other fighters from UFC on ESPN 28 are facing possible six-month terms pending medical clearance: Jared Gooden (hands), Melsik Baghdasaryan (left …

Contract signed drunks#chivas #blacklabel pic.twitter.com/2s8J268tHd

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) August 3, 2021

Paulo Costa isn’t taking himself too seriously in the lead-up to his recently announced matchup against Marvin Vettori.

After some controversy regarding his pay in recent months, “Borrachinha” has signed a contract to return to the Octagon. The former middleweight title challenger poked some fun at himself on social media, posting a picture of himself signing the agreement with an empty bottle of whiskey in the vicinity.

“Contract has been signed and tasted,” Costa wrote on Instagram. “Salute.”

The post is a nod toward the Brazilian’s post-fight comments following a second-round technical knockout loss to Israel Adesanya last September, when Costa claimed that he drank an entire bottle of wine because he was having difficulty sleeping the night before the middleweight title bout.

Costa vs. Vettor…

A proposed featherweight clash between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez that was supposed to take place this summer has a new prospective date.

UFC president Dana White recently informed TSN that the bout will likely take place on Nov. 13 at an as yet to be announced location. The 145-pound fight, which has not yet been finalized, is expected to headline the card.

Holloway and Rodriguez were intially slated to lock horns at UFC on ESPN 26 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. However, Holloway suffered an injury approximately one month out and the fight had to be postponed.

A former featherweight champion, Holloway rebounded from back-to-back losses against current title holder Alexander Volkanovski in his last outing at UFC on ABC 1, where he authored a dominant five-round verdict over Calvin Kattar on Jan. 16. Holloway’s ledger also includes victories over the likes of Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Charles Oliveira and …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jHi7QbiJu8&w=560&h=315]

A documentary starring Nicco Montano, the UFC’s inaugural women’s flyweight champion, is set to premiere in Las Vegas on Friday.

The film, which is entitled “Warrior Spirit,” is directed by Landon Dyksterhouse and will focus on the dangers of extreme weight cutting in the UFC. The documentary has already been featured in a segment on “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” that dealt with the extreme weight cuts. The film also examines issues such as fighter pay, insurance and unionization. Dyksterhouse has previously directed MMA-themed documentaries “The Proving Grounds,” which examines the success of the camp now known as Jackson-Wink MMA, and “El Pantera,” which looks at the rise to prominence of UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez.

In the clip above, Montano is shown struggling to make weight ahead of her first 125-pound title defense against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. Ultimately, Montano was hospitali…

Women’s lightweights and men’s heavyweights will be in the spotlight during the second Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 19.

PFL Playoffs 2 will be headlined by a 155-pound clash between second-seeded Kayla Harrison and No. 3 Genah Fabian, while No. 1 Larissa Pachecho will square off against No. 4 Taylor Guardado on the other half of the bracket. In men’s heavyweight action, top seed Bruno Cappelozza will lock horns with No. 4 Jamelle Jones, while No. 2 Denis Goltsov will face No. 3 Ante Delija.

The semifinal winners will advance to the PFL Championship, where they will have a chance to earn a $1 million prize.

“PFL’s second playoff event on Thursday, Aug. 19 will feature an incredible and action-packed card that only the PFL can deliver to the 550 million MMA fans worldwide,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “These athletes are putting it all on the line to secure a spot in the PFL Championship. Nothing in sports compares to the intensity of a must-w…

A high-profile lightweight matchup between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been added to the UFC 267 lineup.

According to ESPN, both fighters have agreed to the bout. UFC 267 takes place on Oct. 30 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship showdown between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. The event does not yet have an official location but is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev vs. dos Anjos was previously scheduled twice in 2020, but was scrapped on both occasions, once because dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and later when Makhachev withdrew due to illness.

Makhachev is currently in the midst of an eight-bout winning streak and is one of the hottest talents in the UFC lightweight division. The Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner is coming off his first main event appearace, where he submitted Thiago Moises in the fourth round of their UFC on ESPN 26 showdown on July 17.

A former lightweight champion, the 36-year-old…

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has joined forces with Wimp2Warrior, the grassroots training program that works to increase participation in MMA.

As part of a multi-year partnership, the Daniel Cormier Wrestling Academy in Gilroy, Calif., will host “multiple in-person series for the W2W program,” according to a release. The first season is slated to begin later this year. W2W vice president and former Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou announced the news on Tuesday.

“‘DC’ has a true love of the sport and his knowledge and understanding of MMA is second to none,” Chou said. “Whether it be his accomplishments in the Octagon, his broadcast work, or his dedication as a coach developing young athletes, he has solidified his standing as one of MMA’s most visible global ambassadors. As W2W continues to accelerate our growth, being able to have a 360 partnership with ‘DC’ further validates our commitment to growing the sport by converting fandom to participation wo…

Joanne Calderwood is expected to lock horns with Alexa Grasso in a flyweight affair at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 20.

ESPN was first to report that the bout is in the process of being finalized. The card does not yet have an official location but will likely take place in Las Vegas.

Calderwood has alternated wins and losses in her last six promotional outings. Most recently, the Scotland native dropped a split decision to Lauren Murphy in a title eliminator bout at UFC 263. Calderwood recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, according to ESPN.

After beginning her UFC tenure as a strawweight, Grasso has scored back-to-back decision victories against Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber at 125 pounds. The Mexican fighter is 5-3 in the Octagon and 13-3 as a professional overall.

Cody Garbrandt will make his long-awaited flyweight debut against Kai Kara-France at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 11.

ESPN first brought word of the bout. The Las Vegas-based promotion has not formally announced the event or a location, but the matchup has nearly been finalized.

A former UFC bantamweight champion, Garbrandt has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances at 135 pounds, with his only victory during that time coming via second-round KO against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250. Most recently, “No Love” dropped a five-round verdict to Rob Font in the UFC Fight Night 188 headliner.

Anchored at City Kickboxing, Kara-France is coming off a first-round knockout of Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 259 on March 6. The 28-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native is 5-2 in UFC competition and 22-9 with one no contest as a professional overall.