Martial Arts News

@DCTAbuDhabi is to host the third instalment of UFC Fight Island on @yasisland from 16 to 24 January, welcoming a limited number of spectators to the new Etihad Arena. pic.twitter.com/ALyCyaCRrx

— (@admediaoffice) January 7, 2021

For its trio of events at “Fight Island” to open 2021, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will bring back something not seen since last March, namely: spectators.

On Thursday, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism announced that the three UFC cards scheduled for Jan. 16-24 on Yas Island—branded “Fight Island” by the promotion—will feature “a limited number of spectators.” The press release did not specify how many tickets would be sold for each show at Etihad Arena, whose normal capacity is approximately 18,000, but by Friday afternoon, individual seats for all three events were showing as sold out, with tickets available only as packages.

The UFC temporarily suspended its event schedule after UFC Figh…

Receiving information that #UFC fighter Irwin Rivera has been detained by police after allegedly stabbing sisters. More to come.

— Eric Kowal - MyMMANews.com (@MyMMANews) January 7, 2021 Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Irwin Rivera has been booked and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Florida.

The news first broke from MyMMANews on Thursday, with the outlet reporting Rivera was brought in after allegedly stabbing his sisters. Per the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Rivera was booked on Thursday morning and has been charged with two counts of Homicide – Murder, First Degree Premeditated. He is being held without bond. According to the 2020 Florida Statutes, “the unlawful killing of a human being…when perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or any human being” is punishable by either death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

In a statement from the…

Receiving information that #UFC fighter Irwin Rivera has been detained by police after allegedly stabbing sisters. More to come.

— Eric Kowal - MyMMANews.com (@MyMMANews) January 7, 2021 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 1:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 8 to reflect additional information regarding Rivera's charges. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office listed Rivera's charges as first-degree murder, and not attempted murder.

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Irwin Rivera has been booked and charged with two counts of attempted murder in Florida.

The news first broke from MyMMANews on Thursday, with the outlet reporting Rivera was brought in after allegedly stabbing his sisters. Per the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Rivera was booked on Thursday morning and has been charged with two counts of Homicide – Murder, First Degree Premeditated. He is being held without bond for these charges of attempted murder. According to the…

Breaking: Four champions now compete at #UFC259 on March 6 as Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling joins Blachowicz vs. Adesanya and Nunes vs. Anderson.

Myself and @mma_kings have the news. https://t.co/qdNScXHYXM

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) January 7, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is stacking its March pay-per-view card about as much as it possibly can.

MMA Junkie first reported the news of this booking on Thursday, as Petr Yan (15-1) will look to defend his bantamweight strap for the first time against Aljamain Sterling (19-3). The two will compete at UFC 259, which takes place on March 6 at an undetermined venue. The matchup, which was once booked for UFC 256 only to get scuttled when Yan withdrew, has since been confirmed by ESPN. Should all three championship affairs stay intact, t…

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 is extending its arrangement with the Cleveland Clinic to study brain health for the next several years. The promotion announced via press release on Thursday that it has signed a five-year extension to work with the Cleveland Clinic. The goal of this collaborative effort is to study “the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma and factors that put certain individuals at high risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).” In addition to its support, the company is donating $1 million to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. This study has been going on for 10 years, and the UFC will make sure it is a part of at least the next five.

“UFC is proud to continue its support of both Cleveland Clinic and the Professional Athletes Brain Health Study,” UFC Chief Operating Of…

In 2021, Italian MMA hopes to see some much-desired light after several dark months.

The first Italian promotion to break the ice in the new year will be The Golden Cage, which will hold its third event on Feb. 6. The event will go down behind closed doors at the Heaven Fight Arena, the home of the Aurora MMA team, and it will be headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Leonardo Damiani and Marco Saccaro.

Sherdog spoke with the two minds behind the upcoming Golden Cage event. The first was Luigi Perillo, the founder of Icon Holding. He recollected that his adventure with MMA started after watching UFC 1 on videotape, instantly falling in love with the sport. Over the years, his passion for MMA grew into a business opportunity called The Golden Cage.

"The Golden Cage is a concept that I developed with two of my former business partners,” Perillo said. “We took the idea of a traditional MMA card and added some musical interludes. The final result was a sor…

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. Count teammate Warlley Alves among those that believe the sky is the limit for Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Raoni Barcelos. Alves (13-4) is preparing to fight Mounir Lazzez (10-1) on short notice at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Champion of Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” Alves is expecting a violent encounter with the Tunisian striker nicknamed “Sniper.”

“Undoubtedly, he made a great UFC debut against Abdul Razak Alhassan last July,” Alves told Sherdog. “Very aggressive, sharp attacking with knees and elbows and great cardio. That’s the type of fighter I like to face; I’m expecting three rounds of violence.”

Coming off of a submission defeat by triangle choke to Randy Brown 14 months ago, Alves guaranteed that he is bringing back his best for h…

In one sense, it doesn’t matter if Calvin Kattar was fighting Max Holloway on national television or in a half-empty nightclub.

Either way, Kattar will be squaring off against one of the sport’s greatest featherweights in a headlining battle where a victory could do wonders for his career. However, “The Boston Finisher” acknowledges that it is significant to be part of the promotion’s first ever event on ABC on Jan. 16.

“Honestly, it’s always the same risk, [so] it’s nice to have a backside reward,” Kattar recently said on the ”UFC Unfiltered” podcast. “There’s a lot more eyes on it, so cool. I’m all for it. I know it’s gonna be a big opportunity. It’s the same fight. It’s the same Octagon. It’s the same 25 minutes. It’s just more eyes on it. Like I said, it’s the same risk – just more reward.”

Kattar then jokingly points out that his upcoming fight might be more accessible for a certain demographic.

“You know what it’s easier for? Telling people over the…

Last month, UFC president Dana White indicated that Rose Namajunas did not want the next strawweight title shot.

It was a strange statement considering that Namajunas had avenged a previous loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 251 in July to potentially solidify herself as the No. 1 contender for Weili Zhang’s belt.

“I don’t think she did [like the pressure of being champion],” White told BT Sport. “We’ll see how that all plays out. If you look at the rankings and how it plays out, it would play out Weili vs. Carla Esparza.”

At the time, Pat Barry, who is Namajunas’ coach and fiancée, denied White’s claim, and he further addressed the situation during a recent appearance on the ”UFC Unfiltered” podcast.

“That was just a misunderstanding of some sort,” Barry said. “I’m sure the UFC knows what they’re doing. Dana White knows what they’re doing. We know the call is coming. There must have been some miscommunication somewhere, but she absolutely—Yeah, of course, t…

It’s Finally Official

Welcome to KSW Uros Jurisic (11-0) pic.twitter.com/eqxbqrqrjq

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 6, 2021 Former Titan Fighting Championship wetlerweight title holder Uros Jurisic has signed a contract to compete for Polish promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki.

KSW confirmed the deal via social media on Wednesday. A date for Jurisic’s debut is currently unknown.

A 28-year-old native of Slovenia, Jurisic is 11-0 since beginning his professional career in 2012. He competed on Season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he lost a decision to Luiz Firmino as part of the show’s American Top Team vs. Blackzilians theme.

Jurisic went on to capture Titan FC 170-pound gold in 2018 but was stripped of the belt due to inactivity. Most recently, he submitted Walter Gahadza in the opening round at Bellator 247 on Oct. 1. Jurisic has finished all but one of his opponents inside the distance.

Bethe Correia’s swan song in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will have to come at a later date.

The former bantamweight title challenger revealed via Instagram that she recently required emergency surgery for appendicitis and has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Yanan Wu at UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16. Correia had previously indicated that the matchup with Wu would be her reitrement fight.

“God always knows what is best for us ...I was training so hard for this fight. However, in the middle of the night I started to feel an unbearable pain. I was admitted to the hospital and I was diagnosed with appendicitis,” Correia wrote. “The doctors advised me and my family that it was a severe case and that I would require an emergency surgery.

“I want to thank the UFC and Dana White for all the support over the years. My last dance and my retirement fight will have to be postponed for a little while. I cannot wait to put on amazing performance for you…

Julia Avila will face Julija Stoliarenko in a bantamweight contest at a UFC card on March 20.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. The event is headlined by a middleweight clash pitting Kevin Holland against Derek Brunson and does not yet have an official location.

Avila had a four-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent outing when she dropped a unanimous decision to Sijara Eubanks at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12. “Raging Panda” began her promotional tenure with victories over Gina Mazany and Pannie Kianzad. The 32-year-old also owns notable triumphs agianst Nicco Montano and Marion Reneau on the regional scene.

A native of Kaunas, Lithuania, Stoliarenko fell to Yana Kunitskaya via unanimous decision in her second Octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8. Her debut, a split-decision setback against Leah Letson at “The Ultimate Fighter 28” finale, came nearly two years earlier. The 27-year-old had won five straight bouts in vari…