Martial Arts News

29-0 it is.

He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend. pic.twitter.com/QeoSP12zw2

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 19, 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. Editor's note: The article has been updated at 1 a.m. ET on March 19 to add a statement from the former champion.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division formally has no champion any longer.

UFC President Dana White announced on social media that he was officially giving up the chase to keep Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) active on the roster. The lightweight king announced his retirement after his victory at 254 over Justin Gaethje, with it being his final bout after his father’s passing in 2020. The UFC head persisted to change Nurmagomedov’s mind, but the Dages…

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 Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division is as alive as it has ever been. ESPN reported on Thursday night that T.J. Dillashaw (16-4) will be coming off his two-year suspension on May 8. There, he will take on surging contender Cory Sandhagen (14-2) in a possible bantamweight title eliminator match, as the main event for the evening’s UFC Fight Night foray. The event does not yet have a destination selected, as the promotion is still preparing for its April trip to Florida with a full crowd in attendance for UFC 261.

Dillashaw last competed in January 2019, when he tried to take the trip down to flyweight to become a two-division champion. Henry Cejudo turned him away in 32 seconds, thereby keeping Dillashaw’s career pattern of winning four fights only to lose the fifth intact. After the loss, Dillashaw surrender…

Per sources, Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) vs. Rob Font (@RobSFont). May 22. Five rounds. Main event. Sick fight ... Who you got? pic.twitter.com/mAWt96o1jk

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 19, 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 top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight tilt is finding its way to a headliner near you in May. Late Thursday night, ESPN announced that Rob Font (18-4) would be squaring off with Cody Garbrandt (12-3) for major bantamweight divisional implications atop the UFC Fight Night event on May 22. The card does not yet have a destination or venue set, and it is unclear if the promotion will continue to use the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., following its trip there for UFC 261 in April.

Font has surged since a decision loss to Raphael Assuncao in 2018, taking two decis…

A SPINNING HEEL KICK! off the break and Manny Akpan gets it done in one

A sensational finish here at #CW120

Watch the #CW120 prelims now on @UFCFightPasshttps://t.co/7leygYh4QaYork Hall, London pic.twitter.com/SazQc1y3Gl — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 18, 2021 “The Trilogy” is back with a vengeance for Cage Warriors Fighting Championship.

The CW 120 main event saw the promotional debut of Bellator MMA veteran Kent Kauppinen (13-6), who took on Jamie Richardson (9-7) at middleweight. Kauppinen worked his opponent’s legs with kicks on the inside and outside, but they did not appear to affect Richardson early. “Young Gun” replied with polished combinations, until he shot in and scored a takedown with seconds left in the round. Even though Kauppinen got back to his feet quickly, there was little time for more action before the horn sounded.

Richardson celebrated some success with his hands early in the second round, clipping Ka…

Ylies Djiroun has a debut to remember as he submits Abdul-Rakhman Makhazhiev in the third round of #BRAVECF48#ArabianNight pic.twitter.com/SDih8FBYih

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) March 18, 2021 Ylies Djiroun, also known as “Broly,” announced to Brave Combat Federation that his power is maximum.

The Brave CF 48 main event saw Professional Fighters League vet Djiroun (17-6) debut with Brave against Rakhman Makhazhiev (9-6) at 155 pounds. “Broly” dropped Makhazhiev with a punch-head kick combination early in the first round. Djiroun pushed to finish “Ot Dushy Paren” with some hammerfists from side control, but the Russian recovered from the shots and composed himself. Sensing that he had an edge in the striking exchanges, the Frenchman got back to his feet and invited his opponent to follow him. Makhazhiev di not oblige, instead pressuring Djiroun with his wrestling to grind out the round.

In the second stanza, Djiroun managed to k…

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Ricardo Ramos only needed a month for his turnaround after losing a fight in March. MMA Junkie was first to report the booking of Ramos (14-3) against Bill Algeo (14-5) at UFC on ESPN 22. The April 17 event is expected to be held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as the last fight card before the promotion travels to Florida to put fans in the building again. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets along with Algeo himself on his Twitter page.

Ramos was originally slated to face Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC Fight Night 187 in March, only for Tukhugov to suffer an injury and fall out of the bout roughly a week before the match. “Carcarinha” will be looking to notch his first win this decade, as the Brazilian suffered a knockout loss at the hands of Lerone Murphy in 2020. The los…

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 intriguing Ultimate Fighting Championship prospect has her sophomore appearance on the books. On Wednesday, Casey O'Neill (6-0) posted on her Instagram that her contract had been signed for her next appearance. At nearly the same time, her prospective foe, Lara Procopio (7-1) did the same. MMA Fighting then reported on Thursday that the two would be coming to blows at a UFC Fight Night event on June 19, which still does not yet have a destination or venue in place.

O’Neill made her triumphant debut in February, when she smashed Shana Dobson in the second round to improve her unbeaten record to six up and none down. The 23-year-old from Australia made her way to the promotion from four victories on her father’s Eternal MMA league, followed by a battering of Christina Stelliou at an Abu Dhabi Warriors card in September.

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feN2Mo3KNuQ&w=560&h=315] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Junior dos Santos is looking to right a perceived wrong suffered before his release.

On Thursday, ESPN announced that dos Santos (21-9) will be appealing his UFC 256 loss to Ciryl Gane from Dec. 12. According to dos Santos’ agent Ana Guedes, the ex-champ has filed his appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday, while requesting a hearing before the commission. His claim, as he has levied in the past, is that he was struck illegally behind the head from Gane, which resulted in him being finished.

Dos Santos seeks the bout status – a TKO loss at 2:34 of Round 2 – to be overturned to a no-contest or even a disqualification, depending on the verdict of the commission. Although there was a January appeal that dos Santos’ team filed, the commission rejected it on the grounds that dos Santos did not clarify exactly what “a referee misinterpretation o…

We have signed 2x French Olympian Wrestler Cynthia Vescan to the PFL roster!

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) March 18, 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 is looking for ways to bolster its lone women’s division, and did so by signing a talented international wrestler. The tournament-based league released a press statement on Thursday announcing that it had signed Cynthia Vanessa Vescan (0-0) to its roster. The French freestyle wrestler has not yet competed in MMA, and she had to delay her training by several years due to her involvement in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Vescan competed at women’s heavyweight at 72 kg (158.4 pounds), where she placed 12th in 2012 and 16th in 2016. She also earned a bronze medal in the European championships in 2018.

PFL President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo b…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siz5uuWcb4o&w=560&h=315] Glory two-division champ Alexsandro Pereira is not your average training partner.

Scheduled to face former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in the first April 9 bracket of the grand prix, Lyoto Machida received two important reinforcements in the final weeks of his camp. Both Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran and next light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira as well as Glory’s 185- and 205-pound champion ‘Poatan’ Pereira, and the latter spoke with Sherdog right after his arrival to Florida.

“It’s such an honor to be learning from these two MMA legends,” Pereira explained. “I came with Glover to help Lyoto, but I’m the one who is being helped here.”

After his impressive debut in Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he demolished Thomas Powell in the first round, Pereira has his sights set on ruling the kickboxing realm. Pereira is the only man to knock out UFC middleweight champion Is…

The second leg of the 2021 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship trilogy is good to go after every fighter made weight.

The CW 121 main event pits Agy Sardari against Donovan Desmae with the 155-pound championship on the line. In his latest performance, Sardari (13-2, 1-0 CW) edged Jack Grant via split decision, taking home the vacant belt and becoming the first Dutch Cage Warriors champion since Gegard Mousasi won the 185-pound belt in 2006. “The Wolverine” had no issues in making the championship weight as he tipped the scale at 154.8 pounds.

Desmae (12-6, 5-3 CW) earned a shot at the divisional title following back-to-back victories. Recently, the Belgian fighter submitted Tim Barnett with a rear-naked choke at the 2:49 mark of the opening stanza at CW 107. Before then, he smashed Alexander Jacobsen in the second stanza of the CW 105 co-main event. “Vegas” weighed in at 154.4 pounds to make the headliner official.

In the co-main event, 135-pound kingpin Jack Cartwrig…

Tai Tuivasa will remain on the UFC on ESPN 21 card against a new adversary, as Harry Hunsucker will step in for Don'Tale Mayes on Saturday.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the new pairing, and it was later confirmed on broadcast partner ESPN’s event listing. UFC on ESPN 21 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Kevin Holland and Derek Brunson. The main card, including Tuivasa vs. Hunsucker, airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Hunsucker came up short in his bid to earn a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series this past November, when he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Jared Vanderaa. The Elite Martial Arts & Fitness member owns a 6-3 professional mark, with all of his victories coming inside the distance.

Tuivasa halted a three-bout Octagon skid with a first-round KO of Stefan Struve in his most recent outing at UFC 254 this past October.