Martial Arts News

With its heavyweight champ tied up in the light heavyweight tournament, Bellator MMA is adding an interim heavyweight belt to the mix.

On Friday, MMA Junkie announced that Bellator is planning an interim heavyweight title tilt between Timothy Johnson (15-6) and Valentin Moldavsky (10-1) atop Bellator 261. The June 25 event will be held in the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and fans will reportedly be in attendance per Bellator head Scott Coker in a media scrum on Thursday. The promotion has since confirmed this news via press release.

Johnson punched his ticket to a title fight with a three-fight win streak over Tyrell Fortune, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo in 2020. The burly brawler is currently on his longest win streak since a run from 2011 to 2015 where he finished eight consecutive foes to get into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A tenure where Johnson alternated wins and losses in seven UFC bouts led to him joining the Bellator ranks, where he lost t…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFRXGeBkLrU&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Everyone has an opinion about the latest Professional Fighters League controversial stoppage. It’s been a long time since a fight result has brought so much controversy to the Brazilian MMA community. Considered one of the most popular MMA fighters in the country, former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum received strong support from the fans on social media after his last bout. Atop PFL 3: 2021 Regular Season, Werdum seemed to have forced Renan Ferreira to tap out to a triangle choke, but Ferreira denied this and went on to knock Werdum out. To shed some light on the matter, Sherdog spoke to three different parties: Werdum, Ferreira and respected Brazilian referee Osiris Maia.

“He got the triangle,” Ferreira admitted, “But it was n…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Sara McMann will be looking to exact revenge in August. Per MMA Fighting on Friday, Ketlen Vieira (11-2) will once again be facing McMann (12-6) at bantamweight, with the two aiming to square off at the previously unannounced Aug. 28 UFC Fight Night card. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets. There has been no location announced for this event, nor are there any other matches slated for the card at the moment. The two first met in 2017, and Vieira landed an arm-triangle choke on the former Olympian to advance her record to 9-0.

Since posting a 10-0 record including four wins inside the Octagon, Vieira has run into some relatively hard times. Her first loss came at the quick hands of Irene Aldana, who punched her into unconsciousness at UFC 245 in 2019. Although she reb…

Main event official!

@KarateHottieMMA is officially in at 125 lbs for #UFCVegas26. pic.twitter.com/1XDKwR2flM

— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. In what should be a formality, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s weigh-ins for its upcoming card were anything but.

The UFC on ESPN 24 headlining bout between Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson is now official after the weigh-ins took place this morning. Neither main eventer had trouble making weight for the short-notice bout since they both normally compete at strawweight, but the same could not be said for the rest of the card.

A flyweight contest between Ryan Benoit and Zarrukh Adashev was called off after Benoit was ruled ineligible by doctors. Benoit was unable to stand still on his initial weigh-in try, then minutes later came in at 129 pou…

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The most significant victory of Renan Ferreira’s career will likely come with an asterisk attached.

Ferreira spoiled Fabricio Werdum’s hotly anticipated Professional Fighters League debut, as he took care of the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder with punches in the first round of their 2021 PFL 3 headliner on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Werdum (24-10-1, 0-1 PFL) met his end 2:32 into Round, and it was not without controversy.

A two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, Werdum struck for an inside trip takedown, shifted to half guard and appeared poised to move to full mount. However, the 6-foot-8 Ferreira swept into top position and immediately wandered into a triangle choke. Werdum tightened his squeeze while being punched, appeared to elicit a tapout and then relaxed. Referee Keith Peterso…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL and UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live PFL 2021 3 coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A failed Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight has decided to move back to the featherweight division. On Thursday, Felicia Spencer (8-2) spoke on the Fight Bananas podcast, where she announced that Danyelle Wolf has been forced out of her fight for undisclosed reasons. In Wolf’s stead will be one-time featherweight Norma Dumont (5-1), who will be returning to the division after a few ill-fated trips down to 135 pounds. The two will square off at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22, which is set to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Dumont made her UFC debut in 2020 against Megan Anderson, and she was punched out by the future featherweight title challenger in the first round. The Brazilian attempted to drop down to bantamweight, and she missed weight badly against Ashlee Evans-Smith but won a decision. A subsequent att…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ZbdkBLELg&w=640&h=360] The latest Bellator MMA weigh-ins largely went off without a hitch, as every fighter on the card made weight except for preliminary competitor Johnny Soto, who came in 2.5 pounds over the featherweight limit.

The bantamweight title is officially on the line at Bellator 258. Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis both made weight without issue, and the light heavyweight tournament quarterfinal between Anthony Johnson and Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros has also been cleared.

Archuleta (25-2) picked up the vacant bantamweight belt in his last bout, defeating Patrick Mix by decision and handing Mix his first career loss. Prior to his first title win, Archuleta bounced back from a defeat to Patricio Freire by winning a decision over Henry Corrales. "The Spaniard" officially stepped on the scales at 135 pounds on the dot.

Looking to claim his first title is Pettis (20-5). "The Phenom" is riding a three-fight win stre…

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. Three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Sean Soriano is coming back to the promotion after over six years away. MMA Junkie first reported the news on Thursday that Soriano (14-6) would be making his UFC comeback at UFC 262 in just over a week. At this event that will go down inside the packed Toyota Center in Houston on May 15, Soriano will meet Christos Giagos (18-8). Soriano will be replacing Joel Alvarez at lightweight, who was forced to withdraw from the pairing due to visa issues.

Soriano competed in the UFC from 2014 to 2015, facing Tatsuya Kawajiri, Chas Skelly and Charles Rosa in just over a year’s time. The New Englander suffered his first career defeat to Kawajiri, and he went on to lose to Skelly and Rosas as well to spell his release. The featherweight went on to compete across several American promotion…

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Fabricio Werdum will begin his quest to add a Professional Fighters League championship belt to his trophy case on Thursday night.

The Brazilian heavyweight veteran made weight without issue ahead of the promotion’s third regular season event, as he tipped the scales at 241.4 pounds. His opponent, Renan Ferreira, also hit his contracted mark at 252 pounds.

There was one change to the card, however, as Muhammed DeReese (257.6) replaced Justin Willis and will face Denis Goltsov (240.4) in a heavyweight contest.

PFL 3 takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., and features heavyweights and women’s lightweights. The main card airs on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Prelims begin on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT and then move to ESPN/ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A former UFC champion, Werdum last competed at UFC on ESPN 14 in July 2020, when he submitted former Alexander Gustafs…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Coming off a technical knockout win over Amanda Ribas, Marina Rodriguez will headline UFC on ESPN 24 against Michelle Waterson on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Rodriguez revealed that she was the one who requested that the fight with Waterson be contested at flyweight. Both Rodriguez and Waterson normally compete at 115 pounds.

“Actually we were negotiating that fight for July in our division,” Rodriguez said. “When they [the UFC] called 11 days before the event, we explained that the process to reach the weight on time would certainly compromise my performance, so we proposed to make at flyweight and they accepted.

“Actually, it ended up being great for both sides. Once the UFC recognized my effort in helping them save the event, they renewed my contract with better terms.”

However, Rodriguez has no interest in competing in the flyweight division after Saturday’s bout.

“Let´s say it will …

Burt Watson is back in business with a major mixed martial arts promotion.

The former UFC site coordinator has been hired by Bellator MMA to fill a similar position on a temporary basis. The position could become permanent if Watson proves to be a good fit with the California-based organization. Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

“I’m at Mohegan Sun, but I’m not here to have fun, baby” Watson says in a post on his Instagram account. “I’m here to work. Bellator MMA, baby. All night long.”

Affectionately known as “The Babysitter to the Stars,” Watson spent 14 years with the UFC. In addition to motivating fighters with his popular catchphrases, Watson handled tasks such as fighter ticket allotment, weight-cutting, transportation, workout space and issuing equipment.

He parted ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2015 after UFC 184, claiming that he was “approached wrong” and his “i…