Martial Arts News

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. Two European fighters will join two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison in 2022. The Professional Fighters League 2021 Season isn’t over yet, but the orginization is already planning its next move. On Wednesday morning, the PFL announced that sambo world champion Marina Mokhnatkina and former ISKA K-1 kickboxing queen Martina Jindrova would participate in the women’s 155-pound division in the 2022 season. The roster also includes Harrison and Larissa Pacheco, among the names fighting for the $1 million prize.

“We are very excited to bring two women of this caliber into our women’s lightweight division,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo in a press release. “The goal has been to elevate our roster each year and that will be the case once again in 2022. These signings, along wit…

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

It appears that Tatiana Suarez will have to wait a bit longer before making her Octagon return. On Tuesday night, ESPN reported that Suarez pulled out of her scheduled strawweight UFC 266 clash with Roxanne Modafferi due to an injury. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is currently looking for a replacement to keep Modafferi on the card. Shortly after the news broke, Suarez herself took to her social media to reveal that she needs to undergo surgery to heal her knee.

“Life really hits us hard sometimes,” she wrote. “I’d lie and say I have it together but I don’t. It’s been tough to say the least. I was really excited to fight again and I felt so ready and up for the task. I still can’t believe this is my reality. It’s heartbreaking to say the least. I was in this same position a little over two years ago. I had to suck it up and focus on gettin…

On Tuesday, Invicta Fighting Championships announced its return to pay-per-view with the upcoming Invicta FC 44: A New Era. It will be the promotion’s first pay-per-view since Invicta FC 7, which took place on Dec. 7, 2013. After that, the promotion signed a deal to broadcast its events on UFC Fight Pass. The agreement held since Invicta FC 43, after which the promotion aired on Axs TV.

Fans can order the Invicta FC 44 event on Fite.tv for $19.99 in the United States, $14.99 in Canada and $9.99 in the rest of the world. For the occasion, the card will feature a pair of title fights. The main event will crown a new straight queen as Emily Ducote and Danielle Taylor clash for the vacant championship. In the co-main event, Lisa Verzosa faces Taneisha Tennant for the bantamweight title.

“I'm excited for our athletes to showcase their skills on pay-per-view again,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp in a press release. "These title fights feature some of the most tale…

Another hit for #UFCVegas33, the new co-main event of Lazzez-Stolze is off. Lazzez has visa issues (shouldn't he have been in Vegas by now?) and Stolze will remain on the card against an unnamed replacement, per Stolze's Instagram. pic.twitter.com/mFfUtAXdkP

— Jay Pettry (@jaypettry) July 27, 2021

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.

In a short span of time, UFC on ESPN 28 has lost two main card fights.

On Tuesday news broke that Mounir Lazzez won’t fight Niklas Stolze in a welterweight scrap on Saturday. Stolze took up to his social media accounts to share the information, revealing that his opponent had some visa issues that prevented him from entering the United States. According to “Green Mask,” the Ultimate Fighting Championship is currently looking for a replacement.

A day prior, the…

OFFICIAL: 2x PFL Lightweight World Champ @NatanSchulte faces off against @oliaubin in the 2021 #PFLPlayoffs Prelim headliner on Friday, August 13!

https://t.co/qRUFMymxAv pic.twitter.com/nnIS3LzWBx

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 27, 2021 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. One of the most anticipated fights in Professional Fighters League will take place on Aug. 13.

On Tuesday morning, PFL revealed the full lineup for its upcoming playoff event. As announced last week, the card will feature the semifinals at lightweight and welterweight. The bill is headlined by a clash between Rory MacDonald and Ray Cooper III. In the co-main event, Joao Zeferino (26-9, 5-1 PFL) will square off with Magomed Magomedkerimov (27-5, 9-0 PFL). The winners will advance to the finale, where the winner will take home the much-cov…

@PhenomLima vs. @Michaelpage247 2️s a GO!

No. 1️nd No. 2️meet in the #Bellator267 Welterweight Main Event at The @ssearena, Wembley in London on Friday, Oct. 1.@AXS_UK pre-sale is LIVE Thursday, July 29 at 10 AM BST. pic.twitter.com/DmXQWdQASD

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) July 27, 2021 “Venom” will get an opportunity to revenge his only defeat.

On Tuesday morning, Bellator MMA announced that Douglas Lima would square off with Michael Page once again in October. The first time “The Phenom” and “Venom” locked horns, Lima handed Page his first defeat after knocking him out 35 seconds in the second stanza at Bellator 232. The pair will headline the upcoming Bellator London card, which also marks the promotional return in the Old Continent following the COVID-19 outbreak. The latest Bellator event outside the United States dates back to Bellator 240, which took place in Dublin on Feb. 2020.

Former 170-pound champion Lima (32-9, …

Per sources, Chris Daukaus and Shamil Abdurakhimov has been removed from Saturday's card and will be rescheduled to an upcoming card TBD.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 27, 2021

The “UFC Vegas 33” card has lost two more fights just days away from the event.

On Monday night, news broke that the Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov heavyweight matchup had once again been called off. Sherdog’s own sources confirmed the news following an initial report by TSN. At the moment of writing, the reason is still undisclosed. The pair had been scheduled to square off at UFC on ESPN 27 last weekend, but the fight was postponed after someone in Abdurakhimov's camp tested positive for COVID-19. Now, it has been rescheduled for an unspecified later event.

In his last appearance, Daukaus (11-3, 3-0 UFC) scored his fourth straight victory, taking out Alexey Oleynik with punches 1:55 into Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 185, earning a “Performance …

Photo Credit: Fury FC

If cancer couldn’t stop Kolton Englund, best of luck to anything or anyone else between him and a shot at regaining the Fury FC lightweight title.

In the main event of Fury FC 48 on Sunday, “The White Assassin” scored a third-round knockout of Alec Williams, his third straight win since returning in March from the health issues that had kept him on the shelf since 2019. Englund took control of the cage from the start, stalking Williams around the perimeter of the cage and tagging him with heavy punch combinations. Williams worked hard for takedowns in the second round, but failed to secure any, and Englund nearly finished the fight late in the round, dropping Williams with punches and teeing off as referee Jeff Rexroad looked on closely. Williams survived to hear the bell, but Englund picked right back up where he left off in Round 3. The end came at 4:34 of the round, as Williams wilted under a pair of huge hooks to the head.

That b…

The upcoming Bellator 264 card has gained several intriguing matchups.

Bellator MMA’s Aug. 13 card is beginning to take shape, as several matchups were announced on Monday. As first reported by MMA Junkie and confirmed by several other outlets, former 170-pound kingpin Andrey Koreshkov will make his return to the Bellator cage after nearly two years since his latest fight under the California-based promotion’s banner. Koreshkov is set to face Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Sabah Homasi on the main card, marking his promotional return after a brief stint in AMC Fight Nights (previously known as Fight Nights Global).

After dropping a narrow split decision to Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 229, Koreshkov (23-4, 13-4 Bellator) was forced to stay away from competition for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like some other fighters, “Spartan” reached a deal with Bellator for a one-off to stay active. Most recently, he submitted Adriano Rodrigues de Oliveira thanks to a fi…

Two bitter rivals will have the chance to settle their rivalry once and for all inside the Octagon.

It appears that Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington will square off again with Usman’s welterweight title on the line. According to ESPN, the Ultimate Fighting Championship currently targets the rematch between “The Nigerian Nightmare” and “Chaos” for UFC 268. The card does not yet have an official date or location, but the promotion is aiming for Madison Square Garden in New York City. The first time the two fighters met, in the main event of UFC 245 in December 2019, Usman stopped Covington with punches 4:10 into Round 5 for his first title defense.

UFC welterweight champion Usman (19-1, 14-0 UFC) has won 14 straight fights, the longest active winning streak in the promotion. After overcoming Covington, Usman upended Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision at UFC 251 before smashing Gilbert Burns at UFC 258. In his latest Octagon walkout, Usman rendered Masvidal unconscious…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 264 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Perhaps surprisingly, given the number of finishes and tremendous back-and-forth battles, UFC on ESPN 27 saw just four bonuses. Winning out for fight of the night in the hotly-contested field was Kyler Phillips against Raulian Paiva, a majority decision that saw an incredible comeback by the Brazilian. In Round 1, Phillips battered Paiva from pillar to post, visibly hurting him again and again with a deadly cross and coming very close to a stoppage on several occasions. Despite the dominance and damage of the stanza, only one judge gave Phillips the 10-8 round. This opened the door for Paiva, who, after Phillips gassed himself going so hard for the finish, came back to win Round 2 and then barely edged out his rival in Round 3. While most media members and fans alike saw it as a 28-28 draw, two of the three judges had it 29-28 Paiv…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 264 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. T.J. Dillashaw returned from more than a two-year absence to reclaim his spot as one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premier bantamweights. In his first appearance since completing a United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension, Dillashaw scratched and clawed his way to a split decision over former Elevation Fight Team stablemate Cory Sandhagen in the UFC on ESPN 27 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges scored it 48-47: Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo for Dillashaw, Derek Cleary for Sandhagen.

Pace and pressure served as Dillashaw’s avenues to victory. He routinely pushed Sandhagen (14-3, 7-2 UFC) into the fence and worked from the rear waistlock position, burying knees into the back of his legs. Dillashaw (17-4, 13-4 UFC) did not escape unscathed. Sandhagen was the superior fighter in spa…