Martial Arts News

UFC on ABC 2 averaged 859,000 viewers for its main card on Saturday, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That represents a decline from the Las Vegas-based promotion’s debut on the network, as UFC on ABC 1 drew an average audience of 1.22 million viewers for a card headlined by a featherweight showdown between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar on Jan. 16.

UFC on ABC 2 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Marvin Vettori defeat Kevin Holland via unanimous decision in the evening’s headliner. The co-main event featured a battle of featherweight prospects, as Arnold Allen outpointed Sodiq Yusuff. The evening’s main draw also included noteworthy names such as Mackenzie Dern and Mike Perry for a card that began at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.

Meanwhile, the UFC on ABC 2 prelims attracted an average audience of 377,000 viewers for a broadcast that began at noon ET/9 a.m. PT. The featured bout on that portion of the card saw Joe Solecki take a unanimous decision over 37-time O…

Arnold Allen and Mackenzie Dern are among six athletes from UFC on ABC 2 who are facing six months on the sidelines following their bouts at Saturday’s event.

The Nevada Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the card to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC on ABC 2 took place at the UFC Apex and saw Marvin Vettori take a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland in the evening’s middleweight headliner. Both Vettori and Holland are suspended until May 2 with no contact until April 25.

Allen, who took a three-round verdict against Sodiq Yusuff in the co-main event, will be suspended six months unless he gets doctor clearance on a left-hand X-ray. At a minimum the British featherweight is suspended until May 11 with no contact until May 2.

Dern did not exit her first-round submission victory against Nina Nunes unscathed, either. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt needs a right thumb X-ray and doctor clearance or she will be out until Oct. 8.

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A lightweight showdown pitting Diego Ferreira against Gregor Gillespie has been added to the UFC on ESPN 24.

ESPN was first to report the booking. UFC on ESPN 24 takes place on May 8 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Cory Sandhagen and T.J. Dillashaw.

Ferreira had a six-bout winning streak snapped in a split-decision loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 184 on Feb. 6. The former Legacy Fighting Championship title holder is 8-3 in UFC competition with notable wins over the likes of Anthony Pettis, Mairbek Taisumov, Rustam Khabilov and Ramsey Nijem.

Gillespie was scheduled to return against Brad Riddell at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20, but the contest was scrapped on the day of the event due to COVID-19 protocols. A former national champion wrestler and four-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Edinboro University, Gillespie began his Octagon tenue with six consecutive triumphs before suffering a head-kick KO defeat to…

.@Claressashields is the No. 1 women’s boxer in the world and about to make her MMA debut, but the 2-time Olympic gold medalist says sexism is still a major issue within sport: "It's mind-boggling to me ... I want us to have equal pay, equal opportunity.” @michaelstrahan pic.twitter.com/cZOWoA2Ogu

— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 13, 2021

Boxing champion Claressa Shields will make her first MMA foray at a Professional Fighters League event on June 10.

The date for Shields debut was annoounced during an interview on “Good Morning America.” An opponent for Shields’ bout was not revealed. The PFL card takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist boxer and the reigning WBC and WBO light middleweight champion. She improved her professional mark to 11-0 with a unanimious decision victory over Marie Eve Dicaire on March 5, claiming the vacant IBF and WBA titles in the process. …

With seconds left in the first round, @wrestling_Jp locked up a choke, but @Jacobsilva125 protested the stoppage. #DWCS pic.twitter.com/7n8nPOR0qO

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 18, 2020

Francisco Figueiredo has a new opponent at UFC on ESPN 24.

After Jimmy Flick unexpectedy announced his retirement over the weekend, J.P. Buys has agreed to step in and square off against Figueiredo at UFC on ESPN 24. AgFight was first to report the new flyweight pairing. UFC on ESPN 24 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 8 and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown pitting Cory Sandhagen against T.J. Dillashaw.

Buys earned a UFC contract thanks to a first-round submission of Jacob Silva on Dana White’s Contender Series this past November. He came up short in his Octagon debut, falling to Bruno Silva via first-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20. Buys is 9-3 as a pro, with all but one of his wins coming inside the distance.

Figuei…

Prosecutors dropped rape charges against Albuquerque jiu-jitsu coach and MMA veteran Rafael de Freitas on Friday.

According to a report from the Albuquerque Journal, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office entered a nolle prosequi in the case against de Freitas, which means it was unwilling to prosecute. De Freitas, who is known as “Barata,” was jailed and charged with third-degree sexual criminal penetration after allegedly drugging and raping a jiu-jitsu student at her home in November 2020.

"While probable cause existed at the time of arrest, additional investigation has revealed that, at this time, there exists an insufficient factual basis to meet the State's burden at trial," court records state.

When the charges were initially filed, prosecutors were denied a motion to detain de Freitas until his trial after attorney Jason Bowles argued that it was a consensual encounter.

"This obviously is a case of what was consensual sex with a female who h…

After being taken down a combined 17 times in back-to-back five-round losses against Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson, it’s clear that defensive wrestling is Kevin Holland’s weakness.

That doesn’t mean, however, that he plans on completely changing his identity for his next Octagon appearance.

“Can’t say too much changes,” Holland said during an interview on the UFC on ABC 2 post-fight show on ESPN+. “We’ll see what it is. I honestly don’t know. Go spend some time with D.C. (Daniel Cormier) for sure, work on some of those wrestling things. Go work on wrestling of course. Learn how to stop some of these takedowns. Other than that, same old same.

“I’m not going to change the fighter I am and try and become a wrestler just because all these guys want to wrestle. It’s like, I like to strike, I like to bang. I just [need] to do a better job of keeping the fight up on its feet and deliver some more knockouts to the people and that way they’ll be back on the bandwagon …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASMlbQ0CvY&w=560&h=315]

There has been a change to one of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 22 bouts, as Austin Hubbard will now face Dakota Bush instead of Natan Levy.

MMAFighting.com reported that an injury led to Levy’s withdrawal, and Hubbard confirmed the new pairing on his Instagram account. UFC on ESPN 22 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT following prelims at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A seven-time Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran, Bush enters his Octagon debut with an 8-2 career mark. The 26-year-old St. Clair, Mo., native is coming off back-to-back first-round finishes of Brian Del Rosario and Austin Clem under the LFA banner.

Hubbard, meanwhile, is 2-3 in the Las Vegas-based promotion after winning a championship belt in LFA. Most recently, the Elevation Fight Team member wa…

One month after being released from the UFC, middleweight American Top Team fighter Markus Perez accepted an invitation from Jake Paul´s team to help him with sparring to prepare for his boxing match against Ben Askren on April 17.

In an interview with Brazilian outlet AgFight, “Maluko” detailed how what was supposed to be a friendly training session turned into a war. Perez immediately felt disrespected upon his introduction to the YouTube personality.

“To tell you the truth I had no idea who he was, but when someone related to him offered me $300 (to train with him), I decided to accept. When I arrived at his house with my friend Alexandre Pantoja, I politely went to greet everyone,” Perez said. “But when I went to shake hands, he gave me a closed fist. Then I looked at Pantoja and asked, ‘That was the guy I came to help?’”

Once Perez and Paul hit the ring to spar, intensity quickly reached levels beyond what is normal for that type of session.

“He st…

LEGEND VS. LEGEND TRILOGYShinya Aoki will now face Eduard Folayang in the final chapter of their historic rivalry on 28 April! @a_ok_i @efolayang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT4 pic.twitter.com/v8HClJw49m

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2021 Lingering COVID-19 symptoms have forced Sage Northcutt out of a proposed clash with Shinya Aoki at One on TNT 4.

As a result, Eduard Folayang will step in and face Aoki on the April 28 card at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Promotion officials announced the change on Monday. Folayang was initially slated to face Yoshihiro Akiyama on the same card, but Aikyama pulled out of the event due to injury. One on TNT 4 airs on live on TNT in the United States at 10 p.m. ET and is headlined by a light heavyweight title tilt between Aung La N Sang and Vitaly Bigdash.

The 37-year-old Folyang has fallen on hard times of late, losing four of his last five appearances under the One Championship banne…

Tensions are rising between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor heading into their trilogy bout at UFC 264.

While the two lightweight stars were generally cordial with one another in the lead-up to their rematch at UFC 257, the tone of their relationship took a turn when Poirier revealed that McGregor never followed through on a promised $500,000 donation to his charity, The Good Fight Foundation. Poirier’s claim came in response to the SBG Ireland standout’s prediction for their fight.

“That’s a fun prediction! You also predicted a donation to my foundation and you and your team stopped responding after the fight in January,” Poirier wrote. “See you soon. July 10th Paid In Full!”

That's a fun prediction! @TheNotoriousMMA you also predicted a donation to my foundation and you and your team stopped responding after the fight in January.See you soon.July 10th Paid In Full!

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) April 11, 2021

The Good Fight is …

Ryan Bader is moving on in Bellator’s light heavyweight grand prix, and that means the heavyweight division could be moving forward – at least temporarily – without him.

Bader defeated Lyoto Machida via unanimous decision in the opening round of Bellator’s 205-pound grand prix on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. That means his next appearance, tentatively slated for July according to the tournament bracket, will be again at light heavyweight against the winner of the Bellator 257 matchup between Corey Anderson and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.

Regardless of how Bader fares going forward, even a loss in the next round would mean that a heavyweight title defense would be unlikely to happen until late 2021 at the earliest. For now, he is intent on reclaiming the 205-pound belt he lost to Vadim Nemkov via second-round TKO at Bellator 244 in August 2020.

With that in mind, Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that the promotion will likely move …