Martial Arts News

Carlos Prates is now 4-for-4 when it comes to securing post-fight bonuses in the Octagon.

Advertisement

The Fighting Nerds representative earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his quick finish of Neil Magny in the UFC Vegas 100 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After fending off his opponent’s attempts at grappling, Prates knocked Magny out cold with a glancing left hand 4:50 into the opening round of their welterweight showdown — his fourth consecutive finish in UFC competition.

Also on the main card, Mansur Abdul-Malik pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for an impressive Octagon debut. The MMA Masters prospect put away Dusko Todorovic with a knee and follow-up punches 2:44 into Round 1 to improve his professional mark to 7-0.

Elsewhere, Charlie Radtke garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by dispatching Matthew Semelsberger in their preliminary welterweight matchup. Radtke wobbled his oppo…

😁 Jon Jones wants to get a KO victory using 12-6 elbows now that they've been legalized in MMA.

🎥 @espnmma ▫️ pic.twitter.com/WDDIkYtPn6

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 9, 2024

For Jon Jones, finishing the UFC 309 headliner with 12-to-6 elbows will somewhat right the only blemish on his record.

Jones’ otherwise perfect record is marred by a controversial disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in December 2009. Jones was mauling Hamill on the ground with 12-to-6 elbows, which were then illegal, forcing referee Steve Mazzgatti to call off their fight in the first round. Jones recalls that maintaining his perfect record in the UFC was very important for him. The manner in which he suffered his lone pro defeat left “Bones” devastated and in tears backstage.

“When I lost that night, I actually cried backstage,” Jones told ESPN. “It was absolutely devastating to me. I had always had this vision in my mind and in my heart tha…

[embedded content]

Stipe Miocic is not bothered by fan criticism leading up to his return to the Octagon.

Advertisement

Miocic will return to action after a hiatus of over three years to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The matchup has been widely criticized, as Jones is adamant on fighting Miocic while interim champ Tom Aspinall sits on the sidelines. Although Miocic has cemented his legacy as arguably the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, many consider Aspinall the rightful title contender at the moment.

However, Miocic has simply shut out all the chatter from detractors going into UFC 309. The Ohio-based firefighter also admitted that he might have been affected by fans’ criticism at an earlier point in his career. Miocic more recently recalled the exact point in his career when he learned to be unbothered by outside noise. It was after a second-round technical knocko…

[embedded content]

Michael Chandler has set some lofty goals for his near future.

Advertisement

Chandler will be returning after a hiatus of almost two years in a rematch against Charles Oliveira in a five-round, co-headliner at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Despite having gone 2-3 in his UFC career, “Iron” hasn’t lost championship aspirations yet.

Chandler believes he will be title talks with a potential win over Oliveira, a former lightweight champion. Meanwhile, No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan is expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title next year, potentially at UFC 311 in January. Chandler envisions himself facing the winner of that fight if he can get past “do Bronx.” The 38-year-old veteran believes he will become the oldest lightweight champ in UFC history by next year.

“I’d like to say Chandler 1.0 was out for blood, Chandler 2.0 is out for the title,” he recently told Shakiel Mahjouri. “I made a lot of changes…

[embedded content]

Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones continue to feud although the Englishman has seemingly stopped chasing a matchup with the reigning UFC heavyweight king.

Advertisement

Jones defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. While many consider interim champ Aspinall the rightful title contender, Jones is adamant on fighting Miocic, who hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021.

Jones recently dismissed the idea of fighting Aspinall, claiming the Brit hasn’t achieved enough to lure him into that matchup.

“Tom Aspinall – I don’t want to say [he is a] nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything,” Jones recently told New York Post Sports. “He hasn’t done anything… Really nothing, you know? I find him annoying. I mean, he just… I’ve been here for so long. He just got to the UFC not so long ago. If he wanted to fight me, he could have been here. I was …

Half of our #UFCVegas100 main event is good to go!@NeilMagny weighs in at 171lbs!

[ LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/boadyIxpQS

— UFC (@ufc) November 8, 2024 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 8 p.m. ET to reflect fine amounts for heavy fighters.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hitting a milestone this weekend by putting on its 100th event from the UFC Apex, and a handful of fights are on the rocks for the UFC Fight Night 247 card after the official weigh-ins took place.

Headlining Saturday's show is a five-rounder between Neil Magny and Carlos Prates, which sees the veteran going up against a dangerous prospect in a clash to stay relevant in the welterweight division. Both main event fighters successfully made weight, but the same could not be said about the remainder of the lineup. Late replacement Zach Scroggin (174) exceeded the 171-pound cap ahead of his bout with Elizeu Zaleski do…

[embedded content] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles Oliveira wants his old title back so badly, he can taste it.UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Advertisement

Scheduled to rematch Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 309 next Saturday in New York City, ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira felt that at age 35 he is entering the top of his game. “Do Bronx” revealed to Sherdog this week that his training camp went as smoothly as one ever has, while discussing what he expects on Nov. 16 in Madison Square Garden.

“Everything went out perfectly, and the most important thing is I’m hungry and motivated to defeat Chandler once again and finally get my title shot again,” Oliveira remarked.

The two lightweight greats first tangled at UFC 262 in 2021, and Chandler came out of the gate hot by hurting Oliveira more than once and hitting a crucial takedown early. While Oliveira eventually turned the tables and knoc…

UFC 309 has lost a couple of its original fights less than two weeks before the event.

Advertisement

According to MMAjunkie.com, Azamat Murzakanov has withdrawn from a preliminary light heavyweight clash against Nikita Krylov for undisclosed reasons. It’s unclear if Krylov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

Meanwhile, Lucas Almeida has pulled out of a featherweight showdown with David Onama, also for undisclosed reasons. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Onama is expected remain on the card against a different opponent.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Murzakanov is undefeated in 14 professional outings — including four in the UFC. He is coming off a second-round knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ABC 7. Krylov has won three straight outings, including a first-round submission of Ryan Spann in his last Octagon appearance in March 2023.

Almeida is 2-2 in the promotion and last compet…

While Tom Aspinall is in camp as the backup fighter for the UFC 309 headliner, he doesn’t have a specific focus as he normally would.

Advertisement

That’s in large part because he would only step in if something happened to either Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic ahead of their heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16.

“Usually I’m working to a game plan in training, because obviously I’ve got in mind my opponent who I’m going to fight and what their style brings to the table,” Aspinall recently told Safest Casino Sites. “Whereas right now I can’t really train for anybody because I don’t know who I’m fighting and I don’t know if I’m fighting.

“All I’m focusing on is just getting myself as physically ready as possible: getting myself fit, basically getting myself in fighting shape. As far as tactics and stuff — and I’m a big tactics guy --- there isn’t any, to be honest. I’m just focusing on me and my game as opposed to one of the other guys who I…

When it comes to mixed martial arts, the passion still burns strong for Chris Weidman.

Advertisement

The former middleweight champion will return to action in his home state when he faces Eryk Anders at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s been a long road to recovery for Weidman since suffering a gruesomely broken leg in a loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021. “The All-American” earned his first victory since that injury on March 30, taking a controversial technical decision over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman turned 40 in June, and given his injury history — he claims to have had 30 surgeries throughout his body (including 14 on his leg alone) — it would be reasonable to assume that the finish line might be in sight. For now, he’s still enjoying MMA and doesn’t plan on making any hasty decisions no matter what happens at UFC 309. However, he’s also realistic about his long-term future in the sport.

“I’m pretty much…

Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of a scheduled co-main event clash against Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 100.

BJPenn.com was first to report the news. The reason for Garbrandt’s withdrawal is currently unknown. While Johns reportedly hopes to remain on the card against a short-notice foe, it is unclear if he will get his wish. UFC Vegas 100 — also known as UFC Fight Night 247 — takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight bout between Carlos Prates and Neil Magny.

Garbrandt had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a second-round submission loss to former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 on April 13. “No Love” is 3-6 in his last nine Octagon appearances dating back to 2017.

Johns, meanwhile, has lost just once in his last seven promotional appearances. Most recently, “Chapo” outpointed Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15.

Petr Yan is looking to remind people of who he is in his next outing.

Advertisement

Yan lost his bantamweight title via disqualification against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in 2021. While Yan bounced back with a decision win over Cory Sandhagen, he subsequently came up on the short side of a split decision in a rematch against Sterling. The Russian then dropped consecutive decisions against Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, losing relevance in title talks.

However, Yan started his climb back up with a unanimous decision win over rising Chinese contender Yadong Song at UFC 299 this past March. “No Mercy” is now scheduled to fight former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3) at UFC Macau on Nov. 23 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. Yan’s manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov, says the former champ is looking to making a statement in the fight. While Abdrakhmanov isn’t expecting an immediate title shot for Yan with a potential win over Figueiredo, he is certain t…