Martial Arts News

Cristiane Justino will defend her featherweight crown against Leslie Smith in the Bellator 259 main event.

The California-based promotion recently announced the booking. Bellator 259 takes place on May 21 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and the main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Two other bouts were confirmed for the card: Adam Piccolotti vs. Georgi Karakhanyan at lightweight and Christian Edwards vs. Ben Parrish at light heavyweight.

Justino and Smith initially squared off at UFC 198, where “Cyborg” earned a technical knockout victory 1:21 into the opening stanza of a 140-pound catchweight affair.

“I believe [after] five years she’s going to be a better fighter,” Justino said. “More training, more working and fighting. More experience. The first fight was very fast, so I think this one is going to be a longer fight. She’s a warrior. She likes to fight and it’s going to be nice to fight somebody like this.”

A former 145-pound ch…

Sherdog's live Bellator 255 coverage kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Also, free live streams of the prelim and main cards can be watched here.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pett…

Greatness comes in all shapes and sizes. In Bellator MMA, it has taken the form of a 5-foot-6, 145-pound Brazilian.

Patricio Freire retained his undisputed featherweight championship, as he choked Emmanuel Sanchez unconscious with a guillotine in the first round of their Bellator 255 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Sanchez (20-5, 12-4 Bellator), who had never before been finished, lost his grip on reality 3:35 into Round 1.

Champion and challenger fought at a measured pace, their mutual respect evident from the start. Midway through the first round, Freire (32-4, 20-4 Bellator) stepped into punching range and knocked down the Roufusport standout with a ringing left hook. In his haste to return to his feet, Sanchez left his neck exposed. “Pitbull” bit down on the choke, jumped into full guard and let his squeeze do the rest.

In addition to serving as a successful title defense, the win advanced Freire to the final of th…

Dustin Poirier has officially signed his contract to fight Conor McGregor on July 10, sources say. McGregor, as we know, was already in.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 2, 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. It’s on. On Friday, ESPN broke the news that Dustin Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) and Conor McGregor (22-5) had officially signed their bout agreements to compete on UFC 264 on July 10. The two lightweights will headline the pay-per-view event that is expected to take place in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with fans in attendance. The two had been targeted for the matchup back in March, and the bout has now been made official. No title will be on the line, but McGregor has suggested a custom belt be created for the victor of this match.

Poirier and McGregor are 1-1 headed into the trilogy match, with each scoring a knockout…

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. After over two years away, Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Michel Prazeres is ready to get back in action. Late Thursday night, Georgian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Prazeres (26-3) was gearing up to make his return to the Octagon on June 26. The unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on this date does not currently have a headliner, location or venue established, as it could take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or elsewhere depending on the status of the coronavirus pandemic. On this card, he will be squaring off with unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov (13-0) in the welterweight division. The matchup has since been confirmed by multiple outlets as well as Rakhmonov himself on his Instagram.

Prazeres was suspended in 2020 for failed drug tests the previous year, with his results showing the anabolic steroid boldenone and i…

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in the great sport of MMA, something new happens – and on April Fools’ Day, no less.

On Thursday night, the first event in a doubleheader for Cage Fury Fighting Championships took place in Philadelphia titled CFFC 94. The event was capped off by a thrilling welterweight championship clash between Evan Cutts and Bassil Hafez, where it became the first bout in the organization’s history to reach the fifth round – CFFC title fights are four-round affairs, with the possibility for a fifth should it be tied up. Even though this was a historic occasion, the biggest story was not about the championship showdown, the omoplata that occurred earlier in the night or the other fun fights on the card. The most noteworthy was that a fighter lost a finger.

The co-headliner saw undefeated Devin Goodale square off against 2012 Olympic wrestler Khetag Pliev in a 180-pound catchweight contest. The two battled it out for ten hard-fought minutes, and …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzYEqTbwvvI&w=560&h=315] If you thought Full Metal Dojo would run out of wild ideas for its “Fight Circus” series of events, you haven’t been paying attention.

On Tuesday, the Thailand-based organization announced that its third Fight Circus event, titled “Fisting for Dollars,” would take place on April 9 in the U.S. and April 10 in Thailand. Like the previous cards, Fight Circus Vol. 3 will be streamed live and free on the CamSoda platform, with a wide variety of bouts scheduled throughout the night. Although there may not be a single traditional MMA bout on the card, FMD is branching out to many different facets of unarmed combat.

There are currently nine announced matches for the event, with each one under a different ruleset. While more traditional combat sports such as muay Thai, lethwei and bare-knuckle boxing bouts are booked, the intrigue lies with the unusual matchups. Carrying on the trend from the past two Fight Circus…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf72PMU-7RM&w=640&h=360] Nach dem Wiegen-ins statt, alles eingestellt wie Bellator MMA zurück für seine erste Veranstaltung in 2021 und seinen ersten auf Showtime.

Bellator 255 titelte ein Federgewicht Titel Kampf zwischen der amtierende champ Patricio Freire und Herausforderer Emmanuel Sanchez. Die Gewinner kommen ins Finale der promotion featherweight world grand prix-Turnier zu Gesicht A. J. McKee. Beide Weltmeister und Herausforderer aus Gewicht, obwohl die rest der Karte nicht als drama-frei wie drei Kämpfer gescheitert schlagen Ihre vertraglich vereinbarten GEWICHTE, während ein Kampf war nixed.

Da klopfen sich leichte Michael Chandler in knapp über einer minute bis zu einem zweifachen champion, "Pitbull" hat beeindruckt, in den grand prix. Freire (31-4) beat up Juan Archuleta über fünf Runden in der ersten Runde, und dann knocked out, Pedro Carvalho in unter einer halben Runde auf seinem Weg in die Halbfinale. Die Titelver…

Damnn. An accumulation of damage to the left leg of Ismail Naurdiev puts an end to the Brave main event. Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi finishes the UFC vet with low kicks in R2. #BRAVECF50 pic.twitter.com/RKUpajVOC8

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 1, 2021 The judges put in overtime at Brave Combat Federation’s jam-packed card on Thursday.

The main event of Brave CF 50 saw 175-pound titleholder Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi (16-3) notching his first title defense at the expense of Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Ismail Naurdiev (20-5). “The Jordanian Lion” and Naurdiev spent most of the opening stanza studying one another, with the defending champion landing effective kicks while his opponent returned fire with repeated jabs. Al-Silawi’s gameplan started paying dividends as the bout progressed, as “The Austrian Wonderboy” started losing his footwork. The defending champion forced Naurdiev to back against the fence as he hunted his opponent down wit…

Update April 1st, 2021 pic.twitter.com/IAkryJWTZx

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) April 1, 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 standout Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight has embraced the old adage of “ask and ye shall receive.” The UFC on ABC 2 main event was minus a competitor after Darren Till broke his collarbone earlier this week. Immediately after this news broke, Kevin Holland (21-6) spoke up, saying he would take the fight against Marvin Vettori (16-4-1). Per Holland on social media, and then confirmed by multiple outlets, the two middleweights will now headline the April 10 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Holland last competed at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20, where he dropped a decision to Derek Brunson to snap a five-fight win streak. The Texas native will tie a record held by Deiveson Figueiredo and Mich…

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. Another talented Invicta Fighting Championships competitor has been plucked to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. On Wednesday, Sportskeeda reported that Erin Blanchfield (6-1) will be fighting in the UFC for the first time, replacing Bea Malecki against Norma Dumont (5-1). ESPN and Blanchfield have both confirmed this news on Thursday, with Blanchfield moving up to the bantamweight division at UFC on ABC 2. The career flyweight will be appearing on April 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The Invicta standout rebounded from her first career loss in 2019 – a split decision defeat to Tracy Cortez – by finishing Gabriella Gulfin and Victoria Leonardo. Most recently, “Cold Blooded” captured a unanimous verdict over Brogan Walker-Sanchez in July 2020. Her stoppage of current UFC fighter Leonardo came from a head kick, e…

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. An unbeaten prospect is stepping up on short notice to join the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Jessica Penne (12-5) was originally set to face Hannah Goldy (5-1) at UFC 260 in March, but Goldy fell out of her bout after testing positive for COVID-19. The match was pushed to UFC on ESPN 22 on April 17, but according to MMA Junkie on Thursday, Goldy will not be competing on this event either for undisclosed reasons. In her stead will be newcomer Lupita Godinez (5-0), who will be making her promotional debut at strawweight. Godinez confirmed her signing later in the day on her Instagram.

Undefeated as a pro, Godinez captured the Legacy Fighting Alliance 115-pound crown in a thriller against Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos at LFA 94 in 2020. The Mexican fighter out of Canada fighter made her way to the LFA with victories in…