Martial Arts News

Kanako Murata fought valiantly even after her left arm was severely compromised at UFC on ESPN 25, but ultimately the Japanese judoka was unable to continue in her bout against Virna Jandiroba after two rounds.

Murata recently shared an X-ray of her dislocated left elbow, which was injured after being trapped in a Jandiroba armbar in the opening frame. Murata continued to fight for the entirety of the second stanza with her left arm held low, which allowed her opponent to connect with multiple right hands and high kicks.

“Thank you for your generous support [UFC],” Murata wrote on Instagram. “I will be stronger and come back.”

Buena con los puños y en le piso! @VirnaJandiroba quiere finalizar! #UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/B8Alv6jmL4

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) June 19, 2021

The former Invicta FC title holder entered Saturday night on an eight-bout winning streak, which included a unanimous decision triumph over Randa Markos …

It took a full 15 minutes of hard work, but Nico Echeverry is back on track to contend for the Fury Fighting Championship belt he once owned.

In the main event of Fury FC 47 on Sunday, former Fury lightweight champ Echeverry took a clear unanimous decision over Kenn Glenn, showcasing his superiority in all phases and gaining momentum as the fight went on. For most of the first round, Echeverry elected to keep the fight standing, flashing a crisp jab and keeping the shorter Glenn at bay with well-timed kicks to the legs and body. Round 2 saw the former champ turn to his ground game, taking Glenn down repeatedly and advancing to dominant positions. In the final round, perhaps sensing his opponent was tiring, Echeverry turned up the aggression, grounding Glenn once again, taking his back and working briefly for a choke. Glenn was game throughout, and never in serious danger of being finished even in Round 3, but the lopsided final frame put the stamp on an increasingly…

China's top pound-for-pound kickboxer has ARRIVED in ONE Super Series! Who's FIRST? #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/y1DTRE2JWH

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 21, 2021

One Championship has made some significant additions to its roster.

The Singapore-based promotion announced Sunday that it has signed Chinese kickboxing standout Qui Jianliang, who is a multiple time world champion and ranked No. 1 in the world at super featherweight (150 pounds) by Combat Press. Jianliang, who will compete in One’s Super Series, owns a 51-7 career mark and has won his last 17 bouts overall.

“I am very honored to join ONe Championship, the world’s largest martial arts organization. I am excited to take my professional fighting career to the next level,” Jianlinag said in a release. “Right now, Xiong Jing Nan is the only Chinese One world champion, but that will soon change. I want to make history as the first-ever male ONE world champ…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGjhPMCWN-o&w=560&h=315]

Vitor Belfort has high expectations for his upcoming boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya.

After it was announced that Belfort would face De La Hoya in an exhibition bout on Sept. 11 in Las Vegas, “The Phenom” told TMZ Sports that the fight could be the biggest off all time.

“Oscar is an Olympic gold medalist one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever,” Belfort said. “He revolutionized the sport. Vitor was the youngest UFC champion.  If it were not for Oscar, [Floyd] Mayweather wouldn’t exist. If it were not for Vitor Belfort, [Conor] McGregor wouldn’t exist. Now the new generation will be taught about the history of the sport. This fight will break all the records. This fight will sell more than Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman.”

In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, Belfort criticized the grappling specialists that are representing MMA against boxers under boxing rules.

“I just…

UFC 263 did approximately 600,000 pay-per-view buys, according to a report from the Sports Business Journal.

That figure includes 500,000 buys domestically through ESPN+ and another 100,000 internationally. Those figures are based on industry estimates, because the Las Vegas-based promotion does not release official buy rates.

UFC 263 took place at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on June 12 and saw Israel Adesanya retain his middleweight crown with a unanimous verdict over Marvin Vettori in the evening’s headliner. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno claimed the 125-pound belt with a third-round submission of Deiveson Figueiredo. The card also featured the return of Nate Diaz, who lost a five-round verdict to Leon Edwards in a non-title, welterweight affair.

That represents a significant increase from UFC 262, which was headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler and drew around 300,000 buys on May 15.

Adesany…

Dan Ige kept his head held high following a unanimous decision loss to Chan Sung Jung in the UFC on ESPN 25 main event on Saturday.

The Xtreme Couture product had his moments standing against “The Korean Zombie” in their featherweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but the South Korean standout ultimately relied on his grappling to frustrate Ige and get the nod from the cageside judges.

In a post-fight interview in the Octagon, Ige paid tribute to his opponent while expressing resolve to climb to the top of the 145-pound division.

“I went out there I fought my best. I came in at my absolute best. I have no excuses,” Ige said. “The ‘Zombie’ is an absolute legend. I’ve been watching this guy since I graduated from high school. I was watching him from the WEC days to here now in the UFC, and he’s still one of the best in the world – and that’s all I want.

“I want to test myself against the absolute best in the world. I truly believe I can still be a cham…

Avenging a previous loss to Davey Grant was more meaningful to Marlon Vera than most people might realize.

After falling to Grant via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 84 in February 2016, Vera outpointed Grant in their rematch at UFC on ESPN 25, a bout that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

“It feels amazing. He got me back in the day when I was younger and green in the game. You aren’t beating me twice,” Vera said. “That’s not going to happen. When they called me for this fight, I was honestly expecting a bigger fight. Everybody was like, ‘Easy fight.’ There are no easy fights in the Octagon. That got proven today. I also proved my level, gas tank and technique. I’m not going to just give up.

  “The guy beat me when I was young and a newcomer. He broke my heart, because that was the fight that made me leave to the U.S. I told myself I couldn’t be in Ecuador anymore. Now we’re here after five years. It’s pretty damn good.”

At the time, the los…

An old injury briefly made an appearance during Chan Sung Jung’s victory over Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN 25 on Saturday night.

According to his coach, Eddie Cha, Jung had some issues with his shoulder during the five-round featherweight headliner. The injury ultimately didn’t affect the “Korean Zombie’s” performance, as he relied on his grappling to take a five-round verdict against Ige at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“Out of all of the UFC main events he’s had, this is the first one he’s had a decision. He’s kind of disappointed in it, but at the same time, he did pop his shoulder in and out,” Cha said on the ESPN+ post-fight show.

“(It’s the) same shoulder that he messed up in the Aldo fight,” Cha added. “He won’t ever say that kind of stuff, that’s why I kind of just put it in there. … In the second round when he went for the takedown and took his back, that’s when it kind of popped in and out a little bit. We were constantly telling him to raise his hands. Then, …

.@SpiderAnderson wins a split decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.!!!!!

77-75 77-75 (For Silva) 75-77 (For Chavez Jr)#TributetotheKings

PPV: https://t.co/ZUiLgsTmuO pic.twitter.com/7bda85FU9l — FITE (@FiteTV) June 20, 2021

Anderson Silva shocked the world in his first professional boxing match since 2005.

The former UFC middleweight champion upset Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision (75-77, 77-75, 77-75) in an eight-round bout at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalarjara, Mexico as part of the “Tribute to the Kings” pay-per-view event on Saturday night. The bout was contested at 182 pounds, but Chavez Jr., a former WBC champion, foreited $100,000 of his purse to Silva after missing weight by 2.4 pounds on Friday.

According to most accounts, “The Spider” didn’t find a rhythm until after the third round, when the Brazilian began to taunt his opponent and drop his hands. Despite just two prior pro bouts to his credit, Silva began to h…

In the case of Marlon Vera vs. Davey Grant, the sequel was better than the original.

Vera and Grant received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining bantamweight scrap at UFC on ESPN 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Vera grew stronger as the bout progressed, pulling away for a unanimous decision triumph and avenging a previous loss to Grant.

Elsewhere, Matt Brown garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a one-punch knockout of Dhiego Lima in a featured welterweight affair. After a competitive opening stanza, the 40-year-old veteran connected with a right hand that sent his opponent tumbling face first to the canvas 3:02 into Round 2.

Finally, Seung Woo Choi captured the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check on the strength of a quick finish of Julian Erosa at featherweight. Choi floored Erosa with a left hook early in the bout, then clinched his victory with punches from top pos…

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. Once upon a time, Chan Sung Jung’s default mode was to brawl and throw caution to the wind. On Saturday, “The Korean Zombie” displayed a different element to his game, as he incorporated timely grappling with his striking to capture a unanimous decision triumph over Dan Ige in the UFC on ESPN 25 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jung received scorecards of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 to rebound from a loss to current No. 1 contender Brian Ortega this past October.

The 34-year-old South Korean appeared to be in typical form in Round 2, when he buckled Ige (15-4, 7-3 UFC) with a right hook. Jung wasn’t content to stay on the feet, however, as he ended the frame with a back take against his Hawaiian opponent.

That would turn out to be a prevailing theme in the fight. “The Korean Zombie” landed …

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 25 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay P…