Martial Arts News

If Dana White truly is “Lookin’ for a Fight,” he surely found some on Sunday at Fury FC 46. The Ultimate Fighting Championship head man and his partners in scouting, Din Thomas and Matt Serra, witnessed a card topped by three Fury Fighting Championship title fights and stacked with UFC and Dana White's Contender Series veterans getting a second look, as well as a hearty helping of rising local prospects.

In the main event, Nikolay Veretennikov (9-3) needed less than a round to put away Anthony Ivy and capture the Fury welterweight title. Veretennikov, a Kazakhstani by birth but longtime Texas resident, fought off Ivy’s attempts to bring the fight to the floor and punished him with knees in the clinch. The beginning of the end came when Veretennikov shucked off a double-leg attempt, then landed a knee to the ribs that doubled “Aquaman” over. Sensing his foe was hurt, Veretennikov followed Ivy to the ground, but landed only a punch or two before referee Jacob Montalvo…

It doesn’t appear that the UFC is going to give in to Jon Jones demands for a higher payday to accompany his move to heavyweight.

Recently, UFC president Dana White proposed a matchup between Jones and ex-champ Stipe Miocic while Francis Ngannou defends his crown in a rematch against Derrick Lewis later this summer. Jones balked at that option in a series of tweets he later deleted.

At Saturday’s UFC 262 post-fight press conference, White claimed that Jones’ Octagon return is based primarily on the Jackson-Wink MMA representative’s desire to compete. If Jones doesn’t agree to the UFC’s terms, White made it sound like he’s at peace with the former light heavyweight champ never returning to the Octagon.

“Listen, that’s up to Jon Jones, whether he wants to fight or not,”White said. “There’s fights available. They’re here. I’m gonna keep making fights every weekend, doing fights.

“If Jon Jones wants to fight, he can. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t have to. Nobody’s gonna …

WOW @andremunizufc is able to earn a submission against Jacare at #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/45NMJCn4TF

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2021

Ronaldo Souza will underdo surgery after having his arm broken in a submission loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262 on Saturday night.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, “Jacare” suffered a fractured right humerus in the middleweight bout due to a Muniz armbar. That bout ended at the 3:59 mark of Round 1, as the decorated grappler’s upper arm audibly snapped.

Souza’s doctor, Rickson Moraes, described it as an “urgent procedure” while adding: “But in general he’s fine, despite the fracture.”

Souza will have surgery on Monday in the United States, per an ESPN report. The former Strikeforce champion is in good spirits after the injury.

“The UFC is giving me all the support,” he told ESPN. “When the world stopped, the UFC was moving and taking care of all the athletes.”

Souza has lost fo…

It feels as though Charles Oliveira has been around forever in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He debuted with the Las Vegas-based organization in 2010 and experienced an up-and-down tenure as a featherweight in which he flashed dynamic finishing ability but did not appear to be a serious contender. The narrative began to shift following his transition to 155 pounds in 2017, and that culminated in a title-clinching victory over Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night.

It only took 28 Octagon appearances, a nine-bout winning streak and one of the sport’s best ever to vacate the lightweight throne for Oliveira to finally reach the summit.

“When I got into the UFC, a lot of people said I was crazy and I said I wanted to be the best in the world and I wanted to break records,” Oliveira said. “Now I’m the biggest finisher, I’m the second in post-fight bonuses, I’m making history today becoming the lightweight c…

At UFC 262, Tony Ferguson looked to be far removed from the 12-bout winning streak he authored from 2013 to 2019.

“El Cucuy” was outgrappled and largely dominated over the course of three rounds in Saturday’s co-main event at the Toyota Center in Houston, as Beneil Dariush rolled to a unanimous decision triumph in their lightweight bout. That makes three straight defeats for “The Ultimate Fighter 13” winner, who also has fallen to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira in lopsided fashion over the course of the past year.

Ferguson took a tremendous amount of damage in the interim lightweight title against Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020 and he hasn’t been the same since. The Team Death Clutch representative is also 37 years old, which is an time when many high-level athletes begin to experience a decline. According to UFC president Dana White, both factors could have contributed to Ferguson’s recent woes.

“It could be (the Gaethje fight), it could be, just, time ge…

For a few fleeting moments, it appeared as though Michael Chandler was on his way to adding an Ultimate Fighting Championship belt to his trophy case.

On two separate occasions, the former University of Missouri wrestling standout rocked Charles Oliveira with punches in the opening round of their UFC 262 headlining bout at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. In both instances, the Brazilian managed to survive, which ultimately set the stage for “Do Bronx” to claim the vacant 155-pound belt with a second-round technical knockout.

“He showed that he had the gall to get through that,” Chandler said at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference. “He got dropped, got hurt. I was on top of him. He’s really long and he did a really good job of tying me up so I couldn’t rain down too hard of punches or elbows. He definitely got through some adversity tonight.

“He showed tonight that he is tougher than a lot of us thought he was. Hats off to him. He is our cham…

Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos delivered as advertised, and the featherweights were compensated handsomely for their efforts.

Barboza and Burgos received “Fight of the Night” honors and $75,000 apiece for their main card bout at UFC 262 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. In an entertaining back-and-forth striking battle, Barboza hurt Burgos with a right hand in Round 3, a blow that sent his foe staggering backward to the mat following a delayed reaction. The Brazilian sealed his win with a few follow-up blows on the ground 1:16 into the period.

Elsewhere, newly-crowned lightweight champion Charles Oliveira captured a $75,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his comeback win over Michael Chandler in the main event. After being on his heels on more than one occasion in Round 1, “Do Bronx” dropped Chandler with a left hook, then overwhelmed his foe with punches to secure the finish 19 seconds into the second frame.

Finally, Christos Giagos garn…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. After 28 Octagon appearances, Charles Oliveira can finally call himself an Ultimate Fighting Championship title holder. “Do Bronx” survived some early adversity, then rallied to knock out former Bellator MMA king Michael Chandler 19 seconds into Round 2 of their UFC 262 headlining encounter at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. With the win, Oliveira becomes the promotion’s 11th lightweight champion and claims the title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier this year.

“Michael, you’re a great champion, but today is my day,” a jubilant Oliveira said following his ninth consecutive UFC victory.

It looked as though Oliveira (31-8, 19-8, 1 NC UFC) wouldn’t last long against his heavy-handed foe. Chandler (22-6, 1-1 UFC) landed a solid left early, forcing the Brazilian to shoot for a takedown. Chandler responded w…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 262 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. 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 Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield …

HE BROKE HIS ARM@AndreMunizUFC submits Jacare Souza in Round 1!! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/dH6tn41xhZ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) May 16, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Andre Muniz won’t soon forget his third Ultimate Fighting Championship triumph.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum scored the most significant victory of his career to date at UFC 262, submitting eight-time world jiu-jitsu champion Ronaldo Souza in the opening round of their middleweight clash at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. Muniz (21-4, 3-0 UFC) locked in an armbar 3:59 into Round 1, with an audible snap bringing an immediate end to the contest. Muniz has won his last seven professional bouts.

Souza, who is mired in a four-fight losing streak, was submitted for the first time in his 37-bout professional tenure.

“I’m a fan…

One Championship has crowned its second ever heavyweight king.

The main event of the tape-delayed event One Championship “Dangal” saw former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound and heavyweight contender Brandon Vera (16-9 1NC) put his title on the line against fellow UFC vet Arjan Singh Bhullar (11-1). “The Truth” approached the battle with a cautious gameplan as he kept scoring with his jab and switching stances, as to not to offer any window for Bhullar to showcase his wrestling skills. The Canadian fighter was satisfied with keeping the center of the cage and throwing his jab early. Shortly after the midpoint of the first frame, Bhullar faked a punch before duping his opponent into a successful takedown that led to the Canadian fighter keeping the top position for the rest of the frame, completely unconcerned and unthreatened by Vera’s kimura attempts from the bottom.

The defending champion looked quite fatigued entering into the second stanza. Bhullar made the…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilD7VdIGNl8&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A new Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion will be crowned after the unstoppable Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped away from the sport last year. Headlining UFC 262 is a vacant 155-pound title fight between the streaking Charles Oliveira and former Bellator MMA king Michael Chandler. The UFC's latest pay-per-view card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. All but one fighter made weight, although the "hoop" to cover fighters was needed multiple times.

Having won eight straight fights, Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) is finally living up to his potential. "Do Bronx" most recently bested Tony Ferguson via decision, but had finished all seven of his prior opponents. Along the way, he tapped out names like Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Clay Guida. The 31-year-old…