Martial Arts News

Anatoly Tokov will return to action for the first time since October 2019 when he squares off against Sharaf Davlatmurodov in a middleweight bout at Bellator 269.

Promotion officials on Wednesday announced the pairing, which is set for the evening’s main draw on Oct. 23. Bellator 269 takes place at VTB Arena in Moscow and is headlined by a heavyweight duel pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Timothy Johnson. The card will air on Showtime, with broadcast details to be announced soon.

Additionally, four contests were confirmed for the Bellator 269 preliminary card: Vladimir Tokov vs. Aymard Guih at lightweight; Aiden Lee vs. Alexander Osetrov at featherweight; Gadzi Rabadanov vs. Alexander Belikh at featherweight and Darina Mazdyuk vs. Katarzyna Sadura at flyweight.

The 31-year-old Tokov has been victorious in his first five appearances since signing with the California-based promotion, posting notable wins over ex-middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko and UFC vet…

Jailton Almeida never bought into the hype.

The LG System representative was one of five competitors to land Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the previously unbeaten Nasrudin Nasrudinov in the second round of their light heavyweight attraction on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Almeida (14-2) drew the curtain 1:49 into Round 2, extending his winning streak to nine fights.

“Malhadinho” pressured Nasrudinov (9-1) until he broke. The Russian sambo practitioner conceded a takedown to Almeida in the first round but managed to return to his feet and connect with a few standing-to-ground punches. He was not as fortunate in the second. Almeida executed another takedown, advanced to the back and flattened out the Akhmat Fight Club export. From there, he hunted the choke, tightened his squeeze and prompted the tapout. In addition to Almeida, UFC President Dana White signed Albert Duraev, Jack Della Maddal…

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 3 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 Jasudavicius takes the center of the cage and pumps out a couple jabs, looking to utilize her height and reach advantage. Jasudavicius secures the clinch and trips Polastri down near the fence. Jasudavicius works to free her left leg and pass to full mount. Jasudavicius postures up and then stands, landing some ground-and-pound from above. Jasudavicius drops back into half guard and drops an elbow. Jasudavicius remains heavy on top as we approach the 2:00 mark of the period. Polastri is limiting ground-and-pound offense, but she isn’t threatening to scramble back up. Jasudavicius increase the intensit…

The boxing match pitting social media personality Jake Paul against Tyron Woodley proved to be a solid draw for Showtime on pay-per-view.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, the card drew approximately 500,000 pay-per-view buys. Digital sales via Showtime have been tallied, but figures from other providers that offered the fight have not been determined. Still, those totals are not expected to alter the final numbers significantly.

Paul vs. Woodley took place on Aug. 29 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, and saw Paul earn a split-decision triumph in the evening’s main event. Paul improved to 4-0 as a professional boxer in the victory, while Woodley dropped his pro debut.

Jake Paul wasn’t able to outsell his brother, Logan Paul, whose exhibition matchup with Floyd Mayweather on June 6 sold nearly 1 million pay-per-view buys. While Woodley pushed for a rematch in the immediately aftermath of the bout, Paul has claimed to have moved on f…

Conor McGregor is probably a long way off from being fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered at UFC 264 this past July, but the Irish star seems to at least be in an optimistic state of mind.

The former UFC two-division champion, who was in New York to attend the MTV Video Music Awards, provided an update on his condition in an interview with journalist Adam Glyn.

“I feel like I could kick right now,” McGregor said. “I honestly feel like I could kick right now, but I’ve just got to listen to the doctors, listen to the people that are guiding me. That’s what I’ve done so far, I’ve committed myself to the work and I’m back on the feet. It’s so good to be back on the feet.”

“Notorious” suffered fractures to his tibia and fibula in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier on July 10 that required surgery, a procedure that required the insertion of a rod, plate and screws. McGregor admitted that the injury took a toll on him mentally. Despite the fact the he’s feeli…

A middleweight clash pitting Brendan Allen against Brad Tavares is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 4.

Allen initially announced the bout on social media. The card is likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but does not have a main event at this time. Other reported matchups for the card include Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill and Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, Allen has been victorious in five of his first six promotional appearances, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Sean Strickland. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 2-0 thus far in 2021, with a submission win over Karl Roberson and a decision triumph against Punahele Soriano to his credit.

After suffering back-to-back losses to Israel Adesanya and Edmen Shahbazyan from 2018 to 2019, Tavares has returned to post a 2-0 mark this year. The 33-year-old Hawaiian took a unanimous verdict over Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC 25…

It appears that both Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley were fighting clean during their boxing match last month.

Paul and Woodley submitted urine samples prior to the Aug. 29 event in Cleveland and the results came back negative, according to the Ohio State Athletic Commission. Initial reports stated that Paul and Woodley would not be tested in relation to their bout before it was confirmed that the fighters would have to submit urine samples to the commission. Prior to the event, Woodley hinted that he believed Paul was on performance-enhancing drugs.

Paul defeated Woodley via split decision in their matchup at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to improve to 4-0 as a professional. Woodley, a former UFC champion, was making his pro boxing debut. Both men earned a disclosed $2 million payday for their efforts.

Four other fighters — Amanda Serrano, Yamileth Mercado, Charles Conwell and Juan Carlos Rubio — from the event were also tested, and their results were negative a…

According to TMZ Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly got into an altercation after Conor asked MGK for a pic, but he declined.

MGK then pushed Conor which led to him spilling his drink. Conor then threw his drink at MGK and Megan Fox. #VMAs pic.twitter.com/3uMw3EDRmq

— Hip Hop Ties (@HipHopTiesMedia) September 13, 2021 New details have emerged regarding the confrontation between Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly that occurred at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

According to a report from ”Extra," the incident occurred because McGregor allegedly messaged Kelly’s girlfriend, movie star Megan Fox. Initial reports stated that MGK shoved the former UFC champion after he asked for a picture, and McGregor responded by throwing a drink at the singer/rapper.

Videos and photos show security separating the two men as McGregor lunged and shouted at Kelly. Both men attended the VMAs, with Kelly performing onstage. In an interview with …

From my #HolyfieldBelfort column. Subscribe: https://t.co/IYwgR1vv4M pic.twitter.com/sKd5fVTZYd

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) September 12, 2021

The boxing victories earned by Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva at a Triller Fight Club event this past Saturday will not count on either fighter’s professional record.

The Florida State Boxing Commission revealed on Monday that all bouts held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., will be regarded as exhibitions. That notably includes Belfort’s stoppage of Evander Holyfield and Silva’s knockout of Tito Ortiz. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael was first to report on the status of the Triller bouts.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Belfort defeated 58-year-old Holyfield via technical knockout 1:49 into the opening round of their heavyweight clash. Belfort was originally supposed to meet Oscar De La Hoya before De La Hoya contracted COVID-19. The event was then relocated from Cali…

Randy Brown and Jared Gooden will square off in a welterweight clash at UFC Fight Night 194.

Brown initially announced the booking on his Twitch channel. UFC Fight Night 194 takes place on Oct. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight tilt pitting Marina Rodriguez against Mackenzie Dern.

Brown, 31, has been victorious in three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Budokan Martial Arts Academy Representative submitted Alex Oliveira in the opening stanza at UFC 261 on April 24.

After dropping decisions to Alan Jouban and Abubakar Nurmagomedov in his first two promotional outings, Gooden scored his first Octagon triumph with a 68-second KO of Niklas Stolze at UFC on ESPN 28.

Conor McGregor is throwing shade at Machine Gun Kelly. #VMAs https://t.co/FJ7v0Kowr4 pic.twitter.com/vtC7ca3oeY

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) September 13, 2021

It seems that controversy has been following “Notorious” recently.

On Sunday night, former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion Conor McGregor took part in the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Irish fighter had a skirmish with Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet, apparently over a photo request from McGregor denied by the rapper. The subsequent hubbub involved the security staff, who intervened to separate the two men.

After the ceremony, McGregor spoke with Entertainment Tonight and denied being involved in an altercation when asked about what happened. Kelly — real name Colson Baker — has yet to express his thoughts on the matter publicly.

“I don’t know,” McGregor stated. “I just showed up, and I don’t know. I don’t…

Why is Conor trying to fight Machine Gun Kelly at the VMA awards. pic.twitter.com/MoN9qa9guU

— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) September 13, 2021

Conor McGregor is still managing to make headlines even as he recovers from a broken leg suffered in his last Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

According to TMZ Sports, the former two-division UFC champion was involved in an altercation with musician Machine Gun Kelly — whose given name is Colson Baker — at MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

McGregor reported approached Kelly initially to ask for a photo and was denied by the musician. That situation reportedly escalated into Kelly shoving McGregor, causing the Irish star to spill his drink. McGregor then threw what was left of his drink at MGK, which led to the two men being separated by security staff on hand.

Things seemed to get a bit heated on tonight's red carpet. Machi…