Martial Arts News

“The Burmese Python” Is BACKAung La N Sang FIGHTS for Myanmar! See the ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion in action NEXT WEDNESDAY on TNT! @AungLANsang @StephenTrumble @tntdrama @BleacherReport @BR_MMA @brlive #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT4 pic.twitter.com/FTjXc2WaSe

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 23, 2021 The upcoming One Championship show has just experienced a massive shakeup.

ESPN first reported on Friday that Vitaly Bigdash (10-2) has been forced out of his trilogy contest against Aung La N Sang (26-11, 1 NC) after testing positive for COVID-19. The two were looking to settle the score on the headliner of One on TNT 4 on April 28, which will be held inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. In Bigdash’s stead will be another rival of Aung La, as Reinier de Ridder (13-0) will get a chance to wrest Aung La’s 225-pound throne away as well. A promotion official has since confirmed this news to Sherdog, while a…

The Legacy Fighting Alliance hosts a strawweight title fight for its vacant championship today.

The main event of LFA 105 features Pierangela Rodriguez Giunta and Svetlana Gotsyk battling for gold and the knowledge that winning a championship in the LFA is the fastest way to get signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The eight-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. Three fighters missed weight, but both main eventers hit their marks.

Giunta (5-0) will look to keep her undefeated record intact. The Panama native most recently defeated Kayla Hracho in January 2020. This is her first fight since the pandemic. "La Fiera" officially stepped on the scales at 114.8 pounds.

Also looking for the biggest win of her career is Gotsyk (13-4). The Ukraine fighter is on a three-fight win streak and has only lost once since losing to Weili Zhang in 2016. "Phoenix" tipped the scales at 114.6 pounds.

The LFA 105 main card will air live on UFC Fight Pa…

Now that the #LFA105 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/79XqojTZtJ

: https://t.co/YDZRtZqpcK@ShellsDotCom@TheDiceTeam@GLCDirect2000@TeamSmartStop@SheathUnderwear@GrandCasinoOKC@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/feWjrr4dCj — LFA (@LFAfighting) April 23, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance hosts a strawweight title fight for its vacant championship on Friday.

The main event of LFA 105 features Pierangela Rodriguez Giunta and Svetlana Gotsyk battling for gold, and the knowledge that winning a championship in the LFA is the fastest way to get signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The eight-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. Three fighters missed weight, but both main eventers hit their marks.

Giunta (5-0) will look to keep her undefeated record intact. The Panama native most recently defeated Kayla Hracho in January 2020, but has not competed in nearly 15…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c17evi-A4BA&w=560&h=315] Even the threat of fine and a newly established penalty for playoff points did not inspire every fighter to make weight.

The Professional Fighters League makes its return this Friday after taking all of 2020 off. PFL 1: 2021 Regular Season features the start of the season for both the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Headlining the card is a lightweight bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Anthony Pettis against Clay Collard, with the latter returning to mixed martial arts after a memorable foray into boxing. One fighter did miss weight: Mikhail Odintsov, who is now unable to earn playoff points if he wins on Saturday.

This is the first fight for Pettis (24-10) outside of the UFC. He exits the organization on a two-fight win streak, having picked up decision wins over Alex Morono and Donald Cerrone. "Showtime" will look to add another highlight to his already impressive re…

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Jorge Masvidal has plans for starting his own combat league in the near future.

On Thursday, shortly before the UFC 261 press conference, Masvidal put out an announcement video of his new league. Masvidal will be teaming up with rapper Anuel AA to launch a bare-knuckle MMA league titled Gamebred Fighting Championship. "Gamebred" will be competing against Kamaru Usman in a rematch of their 2020 battle on Saturday, and he already has his sights set on the future, win or lose.

The organization will reportedly use rules under the Unified Rules of MMA, only that there will be no gloves used by the fighters. The first event is scheduled to take place in Miami on June 25, and no competitors or a venue have been announced at this time. Masvidal’s partner Anuel AA owns a clothing brand called Real Hasta La Muerte, or “Real Until Death,” and every competitor will be wearing outfits from this company.

According to Masvidal at the afo…

Excited to join the @PFLMMA team @Complex https://t.co/uekZCDBsNi pic.twitter.com/tG1TNTRYaF

— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) April 22, 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. The Professional Fighters League will be gaining a major name in pop culture and music to boost its status. On Thursday, the PFL announced via press release that popular rapper Wiz Khalifa has invested in the company. Additionally, he will join the ownership group that consists of names like actor Kevin Hart and television producer Mark Burnett. As an advisor, Khalifa will be put on pop culture duty, relating to younger fans and providing his music for events and coverage.

“I’m so proud to join forces with the Professional Fighter League,” Khalifa wrote in a statement. “I’ve been doing MMA training for years now, and am also the biggest MMA fan – to be able to bring …

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 high-stakes Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight tilt has seen a change in opponent that should be no less exciting. According to MMA Junkie on Thursday, Alex Perez has been forced out of his UFC 262 appearance on May 15. The reason for Perez’ withdrawal has not yet been disclosed. The event that will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston now sees Matt Schnell (15-5) take on Rogerio Bontorin (16-3, 1 NC) instead. The matchup has since been confirmed by Schnell on his Instagram page.

Brazil’s Bontorin will be looking to snap the first losing streak of his career, as he lost to Ray Borg in 2020 by decision, and was subsequently knocked out by Kai Kara France in March. The then-once-beaten Bontorin surged his way on to the Brazilian edition of Dana White's Contender Series in 2018, where he tapped out Gustavo Gabriel Si…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c17evi-A4BA&w=560&h=315] Even the threat of fine and a newly established penalty for playoff points did not inspire every fighter to make weight.

The Professional Fighters League makes its return this Friday after taking all of 2020 off. PFL 1: 2021 Regular Season features the start of the season for both the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Headlining the card is a lightweight bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Anthony Pettis against Clay Collard, with the latter returning to mixed martial arts after a memorable foray into boxing. One fighter did miss weight: Mikhail Odintsov, who is now unable to earn playoff points if he wins on Saturday.

This is the first fight for Pettis (24-10) outside of the UFC. He exits the organization on a two-fight win streak, having picked up decision wins over Alex Morono and Donald Cerrone. "Showtime" will look to add another highlight to his already impressive re…

John Lineker remains your top bantamweight contender with a THUNDEROUS KO of Troy Worthen! @johnlineker @tntdrama @BleacherReport @BR_MMA @brlive #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT3 pic.twitter.com/DDLzTD4oND

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 22, 2021

Troy Worthen woke up looking at the lights, the latest victim of John Lineker’s handiwork under the One Championship banner.

Lineker wiped out the Sanford MMA prospect with punches in the first round of their One on TNT 3 headliner on Wednesday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. Worthen (7-2, 3-2 One) bowed out 4:35 into Round 1, as he suffered his second defeat in as many appearances.

A sense of pending doom enveloped the cage once Lineker (34-9, 3-0 One) zeroed in on the American’s body with brick fists and bad intentions. Late in the first round, he denied a takedown from an increasingly desperate Worthen, then leveled him with a crushing right hand as he …

Sherdog's live One on TNT 3 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 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

The welterweight title will be on the line in the UFC 261 main event on Saturday, and Colby Covington figures to be an interested observer when Kamaru Usman defends his belt in a rematch against Jorge Masvidal at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

Another rematch could be in store if Usman is victorious. “The Nigerian Nightmare” defeated Covington via fifth-round TKO in the UFC 245 headliner, and UFC president Dana White recently told TSN that a second meeting between the two is likely, provided Usman beats Masvidal.

“He’s at a point in his career now where he’s looking at who’s next again,” White said of Usman. “He’s coming back and going to be facing guys that he already beat. Obviously, Masvidal took that fight on short notice so let’s give him this fight, and we can do away with all the excuses. Then, Colby Covington’s next.

“Who knows. Anything can happen. Guys get injured, things happen, timing. Who knows, especially in this day and …

A middleweight headliner with championship implications brought a decent amount of eyes to ESPN on Saturday.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, UFC on ESPN 22 averaged 935,000 viewers for Saturday’s main card on ESPN. The five-bout offering didn’t offer a lot of depth, but it did feature former middleweight king Robert Whittaker’s entertaining five-round verdict over Kelvin Gastelum. Additionally, longtime heavyweight veteran Andrei Arlovski earned a decision win against Chase Sherman in the co-headliner.

That figure ranks as the top rating for a UFC on ESPN card thus far in 2021. None of the other three cards on the network this year topped 721,000 viewers for the main draw. The card had some stiff competition in the combat sports realm, going head-to-head with Triller Fight Club’s Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event, which reportedly drew more than 1 million pay-per-view buys.

Meanwhile, the preliminary card averaged 879,000 viewers on ESPN. That featured bout on that …