Martial Arts News

A middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori is in the works to serve as the main event for a UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 23.

UFC broadcast partner ESPN was first to report the booking. The event does not yet have a location, and definitive broadcast plans have not been revealed. Vettori targeted the matchup against “drunk guy” Costa following a loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title bout at UFC 263, and the Brazilian responded by mocking a photo of “The Italian Dream.”

The unanimous decision loss to Adesanya on June 12 snapped a five-bout winning streak for Vettori. The Kings MMA product established himself as a contender with key victories over the likes of Kevin Holland, Jack Hermansson and Karl Roberson over the course of the past year after beginning his promotional tenure with wins in just two of his first five appearances.

Costa, meanwhile, began his MMA career with 13 consecutive triumphs —including five in the UFC — before…

The boxing pay-per-view card headlined by a clash between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley has an official price point.

Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza revealed to MMAFighting.com that the Aug. 29 event will cost $59.99. The card takes place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland and airs via pay-per-view beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Showtime. A previously announced bout pitting Amanda Serrano against Yamileth Mercado will serve as the co-main event.

“That reflects a couple of things,” Espinoza told MMAFighting regarding the price. “It’s in the ballpark of where similar fights have been. It is at a point below a lot of other higher priced pay-per-views, but in particular on this one, I think you’ve got a full boxing card of exciting young fighters. That was the key.”

On Monday, Showtime Sports announced three more bouts that will round out the Paul vs. Woodley undercard. Former junior welterweight world champion Ivan Barancyhk will face Montana…

Former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov will return to action for the first time in more than two years when he faces Tyrell Fortune in the promotion’s Moscow debut on Oct. 23.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official after Bellator president Scott Coker announced the bout via Russian news outlet Tass. The card takes place at the VTB Arena and will also see Fedor Emelianenko square off against an as yet to be announced opponent.

Minakov hasn’t competed since a first-round knockout victory over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 225 on Aug. 24, 2019. Prior to that, he suffered his first career defeat in a decision loss to Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216. The 36-year-old Russian claimed Bellator heavyweight gold with a first-round stoppage of Alexander Volkov in November 2013 before defending the crown in a five-round verdict over Kongo. He was stripped of the belt due to inactivity and enjoyed a 7-0 stint with Fight Nights Global before returni…

Things didn’t go as planned for Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner.

“The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist was outstruck by Sean Strickland for the better part of five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat. Strickland set a UFC middleweight record in the process, outlanding “Primetime” by a 186-to-107 count in significant strikes.

Hall didn’t appear at the post-fight press conference, but he did release a brief statement via Instagram.

“Tough one last night,” Hall wrote. “Congratulations to [Sean Strickland]. I was prepared he was just the better man last night. This one hurts, but I’ll be back. Thank you for all the messages and love. It means more then you know.”

Prior to Saturday, the 37-year-old Fortis MMA product was on a four-bout winning streak that included triumphs over Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva, Antonio Carlos Jr. and Bevon Lewis.

A middleweight tilt pitting Julian Marquez against Jordan Wright is slated for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Oct. 16.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. The card does not have an official location or headliner but also includes a women’s featherweight clash between Holly Holm and Norma Dumont.

A competitor on Season 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Marquez has been victorious in three of his four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” submitted Sam Alvey in the second round of their bout at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10.

Wright, who fought Season 2 of the Contender Series, is also 3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. In his last outing, “The Beverly Hills Ninja” stopped Jamie Pickett in 64 seconds at UFC 262 on May 15.

After an exciting back and forth first round, Mohamad Said Maalem lands a beautiful counter follow up with devastating GnP to finish Fakhreddine and become the BRAVE CF Light Heavyweight World Championship pic.twitter.com/iUBK05hV0b

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2021

It was a night of finishes at Brave Combat Federation 52, as all the fights on the card ended inside the first two rounds.

The main event of Brave CF 52 saw Mohamed Said Maalem (12-3) taking on Mohammad Fakhreddine (14-5) with the vacant light heavyweight championship on the line. Fakhreddine, who is also the current 185-pound kingpin, stepped into the cage on a mission to become the first two-division champion in the promotional history. Both contenders exchanged a few shots in the first seconds before the action moved near the fence, where Maalem imposed his larger frame to keep his opponent pinned with his back against the wire. During the grappling exchan…

Sean Strickland doesn’t hesitate when it comes to making off-color comments, whether it’s critiquing his own performance, owning up to his love for adult films or sharing some of his darker aspirations in the cage.

Strickland earned his fifth consecutive win in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner, taking a clear-cut decision over Uriah Hall at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the process, Strickland set a middleweight record with 186 significant strikes landed. It’s a milestone that doesn’t impress the 30-year-old Team Quest member.

“I need to learn how to hit harder,” Strickland said at the post-fight press conference. “I kind of hit like a pansy. I kind of sucked. They’re like, ‘You know you won the middleweight striking record.’ I’m like, ‘What does that mean? That means I can’t hit that hard.'”

Despite his recent run of success, Strickland isn’t dwelling on thoughts of climbing to the top of the middleweight division. He’s more interested in the financial r…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

Prior to walking to the cage at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night, A.J. McKee envisioned a quick finish of Patricio Freire in the Bellator 263 headliner.

“Honestly, I dreamt the fight,” McKee said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com). “I knew I won the fight. I prayed about it and the same night I had a vision. So I knew I had a victory but it wasn’t the dream that I had which was peculiar. Now, maybe that’s the 155-pound title that I saw. I don’t know. I’m just enjoying this moment, man. I knew it was going to come.”

McKee made short work of the man who many regarded as the greatest fighter in Bellator history. He stunned Freire with a head kick, dropped him near the fence with a flurry of punches and after a premature celebration, locked in a guillotine choke which eventually rendered the Brazilian unconscious at the 1:57 mark of the first round.

“Man, to do it the way I did it, I said I was going to do it in s…

Es war eine unvergessliche Nacht für Cheyanne Kaufen an UFC auf ESPN 28.

Dana White ' s Contender Series Alaun erhielt ein $50.000 "Leistung der Nacht" Check für ihren technischen KO-Sieg gegen Gloria de Paula am Abend Co-Main Event. Kauft landete ein perfekt getimter Kopfstoß, als ihr Feind versuchte, zu ihr zurückzukehren füße, und trotz ihrer besten Bemühungen konnte De Paula nicht bleiben aufrecht nach dem Absorbieren dieses Schlags. Kauft gefolgt mit boden-und-Pfund von der Halterung, um die Unterbrechung zu erzwingen 60 Sekunden in der Strohgewichts-Kampf.

Anderswo, Melsik Baghdasaryan sammelte die andere $50.000 “Leistung des Abends der Nacht" Auszeichnung dank einer Unterbrechung der anderen Anwärter-Serie Alauns Collin Anglin in einem vorgestellten featherweight matchup. In der zweiten runde, Baghdasaryan verbunden Shin-to-skull mit einem Kopfstoß und finshed den Kampf mit Follow-up-Schläge an der 1: 50 Marke der Zeitraum.

Schließlich, Jason Witt und B…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sean Strickland’s bite was every bit as bad as his bark. The Syndicate MMA rep set up shop as a serious contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he laid claim to a clear-cut unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges sided with Strickland (24-3, 11-3 UFC): 50-44, 50-45 and 49-46.

Hall (17-10, 9-9 UFC) was never much of a factor. Strickland wrecked the former Ring of Combat champion with a consistent and damaging jab across all five rounds. He mixed in clean one-twos and occasional kicks, overwhelming the typically flashy Hall with basic but effective offensive techniques. Strickland was at peak strength in the third round, where he followed an overh…