Martial Arts News

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5j13ySzV6o&w=560&h=315] The Legacy Fighting Alliance's busy April comes to an end with LFA 106.

Top light heavyweight prospect Joshua Silveira will look to keep his undefeated record intact against Rafael Viana, with the latter competing in mixed martial arts for the first time since 2016. The main eventers had no issue making weight, and all but one fighter hit the scales at their contracted weights. Edwin Chavez missed weight by two pounds for his featherweight bout against Cheyden Leialoha, and the bout will continue with Chavez being fined a percentage of his purse.

Silveira, the son of American Top Team co-founder Marcus "Conan" Silveira, has learned from some of the best athletes in the sport. So far, the grappler holds a 4-0 record having submitted three opponents. He also scored a head kick KO against Cody Rolling, proving he's more than just a ground specialist. Silveira hit the scales well under the light heavyweight …

Bellator MMA has decided to keep a former title challenger on its upcoming card instead of rescheduling his grudge match for later.

MMA Junkie first reported the news on Thursday that Patrick Mix (13-1) has elected to remain on Bellator 258 and receive a new opponent. Mix was originally slated to face James Gallagher, but the Brit was forced out of their bantamweight battle. In Gallagher’s stead will be Albert Morales (10-6-1). Although the promotion has yet to comment on the matchup, the new pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets and Mix via his Twitter.

Mix suffered his first career defeat when he vied for the 135-pound throne in his last time out. Against Juan Archuleta, Mix dropped a hard-fought but one-sided decision to “The Spaniard,” which also put an end to a streak where “Patchy” had finished his foe in eight consecutive bouts. The Angola, N.Y., native earned a crack at the belt after a pair of wins with Bellator and a Rizin Fighting Federation cro…

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 2 coverage will begin at 6 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

Welcome to the League @MoneyLynch!

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 29, 2021 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. Chalk up one more big name that has bought into the Professional Fighters League this season. Like last week, the PFL sent out a press release announcing a new owner has joined the group. The previous week, Grammy nominated rapper Wiz Khalifa had joined the team. Per the organization on Thursday, Super Bowl 48 champ and five-time Pro Bowler Marshawn Lynch has joined the team. Lynch has joined the PFL’s ownership group alongside celebrities and personalities like Kevin Hart, the aforementioned Khalifa and TV producer Mark Burnett. Lynch’s stake in the company, and his overall investment, was not disclosed.

When Khalifa joined PFL, his contribution was to be his music as well as multimedia content for the promotion. Lynch will begin his …

Professional Fighters League light heavyweight Jordan Young will be left without a dance partner on Thursday after all.

Young (11-1) was originally booked at light heavyweight against Smealinho Rama for PFL 2: 2021 Regular Season, which takes place on April 29 at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The 2019 PFL semifinalist withdrew, and fellow 2019 playoff participant Vinny Magalhaes joined in his stead. Magalhaes, a finalist in the 2018 season, was also forced out after he was hospitalized due to a bad weight cut. On a day’s notice, Askar Mozharov (21-8) was in as a replacement, but he too has now pulled out from the event, per ESPN on Thursday. PFL has confirmed it on its own site, while Young has since voiced his frustrations on his Instagram account.

“After Vinny pulled out on 24 [hours] notice due to his weight cut - I accepted a fight with an unknown steroid head Ukrainian [and] after this little sucker [pulled] s--- [at] the weigh ins [and] he pu…

クォーターネルソン膝 @ABEMA で視聴中 https://t.co/6XhvXFqmJw #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/MDH8fPlV0w

— ＮＨＢ (@324121212121212) April 29, 2021

Life could not get much better for Reinier de Ridder.

“The Dutch Knight” became a simultaneous two-division titleholder, as he captured the One Championship light heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision over Aung La N Sang in the five-round One on TNT 4 headliner on Wednesday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. De Ridder (14-0, 5-0 One) had laid claim to the promotion’s middleweight championship in October, also at Sang’s expense. The rematch was an exercise in futility. De Ridder executed takedowns in all five rounds, moved either to the back or full mount on multiple occasions, mixed in some ground-and-pound and threatened with various submissions. He nearly finished it inside the first round, where he transitioned to an arm-triangle choke and had Sang (26-12, 11-3 One) in…

Sherdog's live One on TNT 4 coverage will begin at 8:30 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 Muay Thai Bout:Jackie Buntan vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva 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 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

UFC on ESPN 24 has taken another hit, as Diego Sanchez is out of a proposed welterweight clash with Donald Cerrone.

A reason for Sanchez’s withdraw is currently unknown. Carlos Contreras Legaspi first brought word of Sanchez’s exit on Twitter. It’s the second significant loss for the card in the span of a couple days: A cut in training forced T.J. Dillashaw to pull out of the main event against Cory Sandhagen. That bout will be rescheduled, and a women’s strawweight clash pitting Michelle Waterson against Marina Rodriguez has been targeted as the new headliner.

Sanchez and Cerrone previously trained at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, and tensions flared between the two when Sanchez took coach Mike Winkeljohn’s side when “Cowboy” left the gym prior to a bout against Mike Perry. Sanchez is no longer at Jackson-Wink, either.

According to multiple reports, a replacement opponent for Cerrone is being sought.

UFC on ESPN 24 takes place on May 8 at the UFC Apex…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-CGx_3k_Zk&w=560&h=315]

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.

The stage has been set for Rory MacDonald’s long-awaited Professional Fighters League debut.

The former Bellator welterweight champion tipped the scales at 170.6 pounds for his headlining matchup with Curtis Millender at PFL 2. Millender, who is also making his promotional debut, checked in at 171 pounds.

The PFL’s second regular season event takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on Thursday and will feature welterweights and light heavyweights. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Not everything went as smooth during weigh-ins on Wednesday. Vinny Magalhaes was ruled medically unable to compete, and as a result, Askar Mozharov…

Yair Rodriguez has been out of action since October 2019, but the featherweight contender has targeted some big fights for the second half of 2021.

Since besting Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 6, Rodriguez has been forced to pull out of a proposed August 2020 booking against Zabit Magomedsharipov due to an ankle injury and was then suspended by USADA for a whereabouts violation that sidelined him until March.

The Mexican star told ESPN that he tried to find a silver lining in the extended layoff.

"I've been in contact sports since I was 5 years old," Rodriguez said. "I think at some point, my body was going to go through something like this, injury or something. I've never went through an injury like that before. I think it's been good for me to let my body heal and my mind heal.”

Rodriguez, who is currently training with Donald Cerrone at the BMF Ranch in New Mexico, believes that oft-targeted showdown with Magomedsharipov is inevitable.…

Two more bouts have been added to the UFC Fight Night card on July 24, as Mickey Gall will face Jordan Williams at welterweight, while Adrian Yanez will take on Randy Costa at bantamweight.

MMAFighting.com initially brought word of Gall vs. Williams, while MMAjunkie.com was first to report Yanez vs. Costa. UFC Fight Night doesn’t have an announced location or headliner as of yet.

The 29-year-old Gall has compiled a 6-3 career mark with all but one of his bouts coming under the UFC banner. Most recently, the Miller Brothers MMA member fell to Mike Perry via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 12.

After splitting a pair of appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series, Williams made his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 16, where he lost a decision against Nassourdine Imavov on Oct. 3. The former Bellator MMA competitor is 9-4 with one no contest as a professional overall.

Yanez earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last August, and since then, he ha…

@FrancisNgannou gets a hero's reception on his return to Cameroon!

The new heavyweight champion put the belt on his mother and toured the streets of Douala!

( @ckomentmagazine & @DidierLefa) pic.twitter.com/Esak79mSE6 — UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) April 28, 2021

Francis Ngannou recently returned to Cameroon for the first time since winning the UFC heavyweight championship, and he was greeted with a hero’s welcome.

“The Predator” arrived in his home country to a rowdy reception as he put the belt on his mother and then drove through the streets of Douala for a championship parade as thousands celebrated his victory.

Ngannou claimed heavyweight gold with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on March 27. The 34-year-old was in talks to face former 205-pound king Jon Jones for his first title defense, but those negotiations have stalled. Now, a rematch with Derrick Lewis appears to have been targeted for a futur…