Martial Arts News

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Herb Dean’s activity in the UFC 306 main event didn’t go unnoticed by Aljamain Sterling.

The UFC 306 main event clash between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas started off bizarrely, though that wasn’t necessarily due to Dean. Dvalishvili suddenly stopped fighting in the opening seconds, frantically pointing at O’Malley coach Tim Welch in the corner.

Dean issued a stern warning to Dvalishvili for taking the liberty to stop the action by himself. Meanwhile, Welch, who has a history of shouting instructions to O’Malley’s opponents, also received a warning for excessive coaching. However, Dean began attracting attention, including those of the commentators, thank to his repeated intervention as the fight progressed.

Despite a lopsided grappling display from Dvalishvili, Dean inexplicably kept calling for more action, threatening to stand them up even as “The Machine” kept working continuously. Like th…

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Head coach John Wood is rallying hard behind new bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili.

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Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O'Malley via unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Leading up to the fight, Dvalishvili had already shown some disregard for bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov.

“The Machine” claimed Nurmagomedov’s name was pushed into the title picture off of only one notable win due to his relation to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Regardless, immediately after Dvalishvili’s title win, Joe Rogan asked him about potentially fighting Nurmagomedov, who was also shown on the big screen while attending UFC 306.

Dvalishvili refused to immediately plot his next move, claiming he needed to soak in the moment. The Georgian then went on to call out former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo at the post-fight press conference.

Wood is now backing Dvalishvili’s call to fight Figueiredo ov…

Max Holloway believes that the UFC was "shelling" Ilia Topuria away from him 😳

"I believe that the UFC made me fight every other contender at 145 except for [Ilia] for a reason...

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I'm gonna prove come October 26th why the UFC was shelling him away from me."

🎥 YT /… pic.twitter.com/GXuCr2znT1

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 17, 2024

Max Holloway believes the UFC was protecting Ilia Topuria from him and he plans to show why in their upcoming matchup.

Holloway will challenge Topuria for the featherweight title in the main event at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Topuria earned the belt with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February. Many believe it Volkanovski’s short return timeline from a knockout loss against Islam Makhachev in October 2023 that affected his performance in that bout.

But Holloway doesn’t want to take anything …

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Khamzat Chimaev claims to have drastically changed his training approach leading up to his upcoming fight.

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Chimaev’s seemingly promising UFC career has not fully lived up to its expectations after being plagued a lack of activity in recent years. The Chechen-born Swede is infamous for his massive weight miss for a scheduled fight against Nate Diaz in September 2022 in addition to multiple withdrawals.

Most recently, Chimaev was scheduled to headline UFC Saudi Arabia against Robert Whittaker this past June. However, “Borz” pulled out with less than two weeks to go after becoming violently ill. Chimaev was replaced on nine days’ notice by Ikram Aliskerov, who suffered a first-round knockout loss against Whittaker.

The booking between Whittaker and Chimaev is now rescheduled for UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev revealed that he has reunited with his first wrestling coach, Salim Noutsalkhanov, going…

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Merab Dvalishvili claims Sean O'Malley only hurt him to the body due to the food he had before their fight.

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Dvalishvili challenged O’Malley for the bantamweight title in the main event at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. It was grappling-heavy domination from the Georgian for the majority of the fight until the final round, when Dvalishvili appared to be hurt by a teep to the body from “Suga,” immediately dropping his hands low. However, “The Machine” was able to coast his way to unanimous decision victory from there.

Dvalishvili now claims that O’Malley only hurt him to the body because of some unfamiliar food he had the night before. Dvalishvili claims his stomach was already hurting after having the food and the pain returned when O’Malley kicked his belly in that final minute.

“John Wood gave me some – they give you a bag – and I ate that yogurt or something sweet,” Dvalishvili said in an interview with Dani…

Talisson Teixeira handled his business and inspired immediate intrigue.

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The Team Mineiro prospect was one of four hopefuls to sign an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he cut down Arthur Lopes with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The monstrous 6-foot-7 Teixeira (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) slammed the door 1:57 into Round 1.

Lopes (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) closed the distance behind wild hooks from both hands but failed to connect with anything at full force. Teixeira stayed composed under duress, rolled with punches and set up a surgical strike. He backed up Lopes with a knee, then sent him crashing to the canvas with a laser-guided right cross. Teixeira followed with a standing-to-ground hammerfist before referee Gary Copeland could arrive on the scene.

The 24-year-old Teixeira has finished all seven of his opponents inside one round.

Bant…

A potential strawweight title eliminator is on tap for UFC 310, as Virna Jandiroba will lock horns with Tatiana Suarez on Dec. 7.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report from Ag.Fight. UFC 310 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card does not currently have a main event, but it is also expected to include a light heavyweight scrap between Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes. Suarez and Jandiroba were initially slated to meet last year before the Brazilian withdrew from their bout due to a knee injury.

A former Invicta FC title holder, Jandiroba will take a four-bout winning streak into the matchup with Suarez. Most recently, “Carcara” earned a second-round submission victory against ex-title challenger Amanda Lemos in the UFC on ESPN 60 headliner on July 20. Jandiroba has also earned wins over Lupita Godinez, Marina Rodriguez and Angela Hill during her current winning streak.

Suarez, meanwhile, is undefeated in 10 p…

Sherdog’s live coverage of DWCS 2024: Week 6 will begin Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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Round 1 Keith Peterson will officiate this lightweight affair. Hassanzada comes out firing overhands and kicks. The Afghan fighter is also spamming spinning attacks. Hassanzada shoots behind all that aggression and Mantello defends again the fence. He angles out and tags Hassanzada with a body shot after another failed spinning backfist. Mantello stalks and pressures with punches. A straight left lands for Hassanzada. Hassanzada throws a straight to the body and Hassanzada shoots for another takedown, driving his foe into the fence. He connects his hands and carries Mantello to the center of the cage before slamming him to the mat. Hassanzada is in his foe’s full guard. He punches the body and creates space for a short elbow. Mantello scoots to the fence in a seated position. Hassanzada maintains good pressure from above. Mantello nearly gives up his back as he attempts to…

Professional Fighters League heavyweight Daniel James has been suspended 10 months after testing postive for a banned substance.

According to a statement from USADA, James tested positive for bis-(4-cyanophenyl) methanol — a metabolite of letrozole — in an out-of-competition sample collected on May 8. Letrozole, which is listed in the class of hormone and metabolic modulators, is primarily used to treat breast cancer in women but can also be used to prevent unwanted side effects from steroid use.

A positive test for letrozole typically comes with a 12-month sanction, but James was given a reduced suspension for his full and complete cooperation, according to USADA. As a result, he will be able to return to active competition on March 8, 2025. James has twice failed drug tests while competing under the Bellator MMA banner, including one instance that led to his November 2022 victory over Tyrell Fortune being overturned to a no contest.

James made his PFL d…

A Bellator middleweight championship rematch pitting Johnny Eblen against Fabian Edwards has been added to the main card of Professional Fighters League’s upcoming pay-per-view.

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The promotion announced the bout, which was originally supposed to headline Bellator Champions Series London last weekend, on Tuesday. While Eblen vs. Edwards 2 will take place under the PFL banner, the Bellator 185-pound strap will still be on the line, according to a release.

"Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact" takes place on Oct. 19 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou and 2023 PFL king Renan Ferreira. In the co-main event, Bellator featherweight title holder Cristiane Justino will face two-division PFL champ Larissa Pacheco at 145 pounds. The main card airs at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT will be available on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Eblen initially defended his 185-pound belt against E…

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Sean O'Malley is taking a hiatus from the sport after his recent title loss against Merab Dvalishvili.

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O’Malley put his bantamweight title on the line against Dvalishvili in the main event at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. Outside of a last round flurry of teeps to the body that had Dvalishvili visibly hurt, O’Malley was largely on the wrong side of a one-sided beatdown for five rounds. Arguably one of the biggest current stars in the promotion, “Suga” was seen apologizing to Dana White as the scorecards were announced unanimously in favor of Dvalishvili.

O’Malley recently revealed that he will be taking a short hiatus from the sport to fully heal up from injuries. O’Malley won the title with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023. He immediately set up a rematch against Marlon Vera, where he defended his title via a dominant unanimous decision at UFC 299 this past March. By then, Dvalishvili, w…

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If a polygraph test is to be believed, Ilia Topuria might not be feeling as invincible as he claims to be.

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Topuria recently entered a polygraph test challenge with his brother, recently signed UFC featherweight Aleksandre Topuria. The first question the featherweight champ asked Aleksandre was if he thinks he can win a potential matchup between the two.

“The question is quite deep. If you had to be my opponent one day, I would have no doubt that I would beat you,” Aleksandre answered on Ilia’s YouTube channel.

And the polygraph went green, signaling a correct answer. Aleksandre then asked Ilia if he has ever felt invincible enough to think that he can beat any UFC fighter.

“Have you ever felt so invincible that you thought you could beat any UFC fighter?” Aleksandre said.

“El Matador” answered in the affirmative, setting off red lights on the polygraph, signaling a lie. However, the Georgian-Spanish champ continued to…