Martial Arts News

Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas for the strawweight title is in the works for UFC 261 on April 24, per multiple sources.

The fight isn't finalized just yet, however, that's the date the promotion and both fighters are targeting at this time. Hoping to get done in coming days.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 26, 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. Should everything come together, an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship will be bolstered by a duo of major women’s championship matches.

On Friday, ESPN broke the news that the promotion was aiming to book champ Weili Zhang (21-1) against Rose Namajunas (9-4) for the strawweight belt on UFC 261. The fight is not official at the moment, but it is in the works for the April 24 pay-per-view card. In addition to the matchup news, the promotion appears to have abandoned it…

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. The very first Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter from Guyana will make his way to the Octagon in May. On Thursday, Christian Aguilera (14-7) announced that he would be facing newcomer Carlston Lindsay Harris (15-4) at welterweight on May 8. The UFC Fight Night card on that date is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, although its destination is not official at this point. Should this matchup stay together, Harris will become the first to ever represent his home country of Guyana in the UFC cage.

Aguilera suffered his first-ever submission loss when Sean Brady put him to sleep in August 2020. The loss put an end to a three-fight win streak that saw him springboard into the UFC on the heels of a win over Glaucio Eliziario at LFA 81 earlier that year. His promotional debut came some 14 days later, where he k…

Only the prelims are listed thus far so I won’t post the whole thing, but TV listings say Cortney Casey is facing JJ Aldrich on March 13th

— Tom Feely (@omgitsfeely) February 26, 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. A couple weeks before the card will happen, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has added a flyweight matchup. On Thursday, the UFC added Cortney Casey (9-8) vs. J.J. Aldrich (8-4) to its lineup on UFC Fight Night 187. The flyweights will tangle at the March 13 fight card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, per the promotion’s release to cable television outlets. This will be Aldrich’s first appearance since before the pandemic.

Casey has alternated wins and losses in her last five, with losses to Michelle Waterson, Cynthia Calvillo and Gillian Robertson interspersed between victories over Angela Hill and Mara Romero Borella…

Who's YOUR pick for Xiaomi Fight of the Night? #ONEFistsOfFury #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/Wj7ntPmTBe

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) February 26, 2021 The first event in the One Championship “Fists of Fury” trilogy saw most of the fights go the distance.

In the "Fists of Fury" main event, Ilias Ennahachi put his flyweight kickboxing title on the line against Superlek Kiatmoo9. The defending champion took his time to study his opponent in the first round. Superlek had some issues with steadiness early in the first frame as he slipped on the canvas a few times, which may have contributed an accidental groin strike from a back kick. After apologizing, Superlek kept kicking his opponent’s left side, but it was not enough to slow Ennahachi’s offense. The second round saw Ennahachi going in and out with his flashy combinations as his opponent resorted to his kicks.

The third round was arguably the best for the challenger…

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 longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship vet is returning to the weight class where he started his career. For the first time since 2012, Jeremy Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) will be competing at lightweight, first reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Lil Heathen” will meet Drakkar Klose (11-2-1) at his old weight category at a UFC Fight Night card on April 17 that will be held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Stephens initially dropped to 145 pounds against Estevan Payan at UFC 160 in 2013, and although he engaged in a few catchweight contests along the way, this will be his first official lightweight bout since then. Both men hinted at this upcoming fight news on their respective Instagram accounts, while Klose stated when he would be fighting.

Stephens struggled a few times to make weight as a 145er, coming in 3.5 pounds heavy ag…

It’s go time!!! Happy to announce a date and opponent excited to put on a beautiful display of violence #ufc https://t.co/kfSyH4PZOl

— Sasha Palatnikov (@PalatnikovMMA) February 25, 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. The recipient of an all-time great Ultimate Fighting Championship knockout has decided to change weight classes following that spectacular defeat. Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on April 10 has gained a welterweight scrap between Impa Kasanganay (8-1) and Sasha Palatnikov (6-2). The two men will face off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and this will be Kasanganay’s welterweight debut after a career spent at 185 pounds. Palatnikov confirmed the booking on his Twitter page on Thursday night.

Kasanganay will be looking to right the ship after suffering Sherdog’s 2020 “Knockout of the Ye…

Excited for this one.

Undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov will make his @BellatorMMA debut in a lightweight fight against Mike Hamel during the main card of #Bellator255.

The event will air live on @SHOsports on April 2 - pic.twitter.com/Tdl6csfmq5 — Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) February 25, 2021 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 10 p.m. to reflect a confirmation from the promotion.

Bellator MMA is building up its 2021 return in a solid way, with multiple names from famous fighting families on its first show back.

A trio of Bellator 255 fight announcements broke on Thursday, with multiple main card-caliber fights booked for its first show of the year. Bellator President Scott Coker broke the first, with Usman Nurmagomedov (11-0) vs. Mike Hamel (7-4) at featherweight set for the event. Bellator 255 will go down on April 2 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Nurmagomedov, cousin of Ultimate Fighting Championship…

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. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights keen on working their way up the division will meet in May. MMA Junkie first reported the news on Thursday that Andrea Lee (11-5) would be taking on Antonina Shevchenko (9-2) at UFC 262. The two flyweights will collide on May 15 at a currently undetermined venue that is expected to be the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lee confirmed the matchup was pending on her Instagram.

“KGB” Lee is looking to snap a three-fight decision skid since September 2019, where she dropped split verdicts to Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy before losing unanimously to Roxanne Modafferi in September 2020. Before this unsuccessful stretch, Lee had never lost consecutive bouts. With appearances at Legacy Fighting Alliance and Invicta Fighting Championships leading to her rise up the division, Lee went on to …

We've signed welterweights Gleison Tibau, Alexei Kunchenko and Jason Ponet; featherweights Chris Wade and Anthony Dizy, women’s lightweights Kaitlin Young and Taylor Guardado; and light heavyweight Nick Roehrick to complete the 2021 PFL Roster!

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) February 25, 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 has finalized its divisions for its upcoming 2021 season. In a press release sent out by the tournament-based league on Thursday, the PFL has set its 60-fighter lineup for its latest season. Much of its roster had already been disclosed in sections for its weight classes of featherweight and lightweight, welterweight and light heavyweight, and finally, heavyweight and women’s lightweight. Like the past season, each category will initially hold just 10 fighters, and the ranks are no…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OsTq58aI2A&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. Current boxing champ and upcoming Professional Fighters League competitor Claressa Shields weighed in on several MMA topics including Conor McGregor. In a recent interview with the Betway Insider blog, Shields (10-0 Box, 2 KOs) spoke about a litany of issues including training for her MMA debut, transitioning back and forth between boxing and MMA, working with Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White should Zuffa Boxing come to fruition and more. Among other areas of discussion, Shields weighed in on Conor McGregor, his thoughts on her as well as his potential rematch with Dustin Poirier.

Before she steps into the PFL cage in June, Shields will look to defend her WBC and WBO titles while hunting for more against Canada’s Marie-Eve Dicaire (17-0, 0 KOs) i…

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. Editor's Note: The article has been updated at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 25 to reflect additional information. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has lost a thriller of a matchup days before it was set to go down.

First reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday, William Knight (9-1) vs. Alonzo Menifield (9-2) at light heavyweight has been scratched from the UFC Fight Night 186 lineup. The Feb. 27 event saw the bout fall through when Menifield tested positive for COVID-19, and the news has since been confirmed by other outlets. The promotion intends on rebooking the match at an upcoming event, and not scuttling the pairing altogether. Per MMA Fighting shortly after the news broke, the two will instead be squaring off at UFC 260 on March 27.

A potential slugfest will have to wait, as Knight was looking to extend his overall win streak t…

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 highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship rematch is on the books for June. First reported by the promotion’s broadcast partner ESPN on Thursday, Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) and Brandon Moreno (18-5-2) are going to run it back for the flyweight strap on June 12. The event, which should be titled UFC 263, does not currently have a location listed at the time. It is expected that should it not take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, it will be located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The two flyweights went toe-to-toe for five hard rounds in December, and an errant groin strike from Figueiredo resulted in an immediate point deduction that ultimately resulted in the fight getting scored a majority draw. Both men had their moments, and “The Assassin Baby” came at Figueiredo like few have before, putting …