Martial Arts News

When Kevin Holland debuted in the UFC, Dana White dubbed him “Big Mouth” due to his talkative nature in the Octagon.

Holland emerged as a serious prospect after losing his debut to Thiago Santos, as he won eight of his next nine bouts within the Las Vegas-based promotion. However, with a serious opportunity in front of him, Holland seemed more interested in talking than he did in fighting, and the result was a lackluster decision loss to Derek Brunson in the UFC on ESPN 21 headliner on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

All too often, Holland seemed content to talk to Brunson from his back after being taken down. Although he had some positive moments on the feet and become the first person to take Brunson down in UFC competition, it wasn’t nearly enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.

White thinks there may have been something more serious going on with Holland.

“I think that was a mental breakdown,” the UFC president told Yahoo Sports. “The only other th…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A flyweight scrap pitting Montana De La Rosa against Ariane Lipski is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s June 5 card.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The event does not have an official location or headliner but is expected to include a pair of heavyweight bouts: Walt Harris vs. Marcin Tybura and Ilir Latifi vs. Tanner Boser.

De La Rosa is 4-2-1 in UFC competition since appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter 26.” In her first outing of 2021, she battled Mayra Bueno Silva to a majority draw at UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27.

A former KSW champion, Lipski had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent appearance when she suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Antonina Shevchenkoat UFC 255. The “Queen of Violence” is 2-3 wthin the Las Vegas-based promotion and 13-6 as a professional overall.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A flyweight scrap pitting Montana De La Rosa against Ariane Lipski is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s June 5 card.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The event does not have an official location or headliner but is expected to include a pair of heavyweight bouts: Walt Harris vs. Marcin Tybura and Ilir Latifi vs. Tanner Boser.

De La Rosa is 4-2-1 in UFC competition since appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter 26.” In her first outing of 2021, she battled Mayra Bueno Silva to a majority draw at UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27.

A former KSW champion, Lipski had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent appearance when she suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Antonina Shevchenkoat UFC 255. The “Queen of Violence” is 2-3 wthin the Las Vegas-based promotion and 13-6 as a professional overall.

While Dana White left the door open for a Khabib Nurmagomedov comeback for months, the former UFC lightweight champion never truly considered it to be an option.

Nurmagomedov announced his retirement after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but White continued to insist that he could lure the Dagestani grappler back into the Octagon. After their most recent meeting, however, White and the UFC made it official: Nurmagomedov was not coming back.

For most observers, the writing had been on the wall for some time. Nurmagomedov admitted that the recent announcement only confirmed what he had known for months.

“Dana called this official, but I retired like four, six months ago,” Nurmagomedov said on ESPN Saturday night. “It’s very funny: Dana told me when he posted that someone commented saying, ‘Hey, he retired not today, he retired about five months ago,’ and I was like it’s funny. We had some conversations with Dana a couple of times and like two days ago we mee…

After an intense war, Ayaka Hamasaki (@kk331ayaka) retains her belt against Kanna Asakura (@a_kanna_)!#RIZIN #MMA #Kickboxing #RIZIN27 pic.twitter.com/mFTMPN60OA

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 21, 2021

Though the rematch was more difficult than the first fight, Ayaka Hamasaki nonetheless seems to have Kanna Asakura’s number.

Hamasaki retained her atomweight crown with a split-decision triumph over Asakura in the Rizin Fighting Federation 27 headliner at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan, on Sunday. The reigning champion had previously faced Asakura at Rizin 14 in December 2018, winning via second-round armbar.

After a wild exchange in the bout’s opening moments, Hamasaki took Asakura down, where she landed a couple solid knees on her grounded opponent. The 23-year-old Paraestra Matsudo product turned the tide in Round 2, when she grounded Hamasaki, defended an armbar and ended the frame unloading ground-and-pound from mount.…

There were several memorable knockouts at UFC on ESPN 21, and the promotion doled out four “Performance of the Night” bonuses as a result.

Max Griffin received $50,000 for a short night at the office against Kenan Song in the evening’s middleweight co-main event. The former Tachi Palace Fights champion finished his foe off with a blitz of punches against the fence, sending Song facedown into the canvas 2:20 into Round 1.

Meanwhile, Adrian Yanez authored a more measured effort against Gustavo Lopez, but the end result was largely the same. The bantamweight prospect found his opening in Round 3, ending the contest with a powerful right hook 27 seconds into the period for his second promotional triumph and an extra $50,000.

Elsewhere, Grant Dawson waited until the last minute to put Leonardo Santos away, but the finish was worth a $50,000 payday. After a largely competitive fight, Dawson unloaded with standing-to-ground hammerfists as Santos attempted a heel hook …

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. Derek Brunson paid no attention to all the extracurricular activity associated with Kevin Holland. The Sanford MMA representative on Saturday executed takedowns in four of the five rounds, piled up copious amounts of control time, applied his ground-and-pound and ignored the interminable trash talk, as he took a unanimous decision from Holland in the UFC on ESPN 21 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 49-45, 49-46 and 49-46, all for Brunson (22-7, 13-5 UFC).

Holland (21-6, 8-3 UFC) was effective while he remained upright. However, Brunson withstood his bursts of violence and used his aggression against him, closing the distance to either clinch or pursue takedowns. Holland did what he could to hide his frustration, but his deficit grew with each passing round. He opened a cut near Brunson’s right eye in the fifth …

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 21 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores…

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.

Macy Chiasson appears to be well on her way to Top 10 status in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 28 winner on Saturday leaned on crisp standup and a robust clinch, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over Marion Reneau in the featured UFC on ESPN 21 prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Chiasson (7-1, 5-1 UFC) drew 29-28 nods from all three judges and continued to distance herself from a September 2019 loss to Lina Lansberg.

Renau (9-7-1, 5-6-1 UFC) used efficient punching combinations and evasive lateral movement in putting together a successful first round. However, Chiasson turned the tide in the second, where she bloodied the Californian’s nose with a crushing left hand and later forced her to retreat on the end of a wicked kick to the body. The…

Mariusz 'PUDZIAN' Pudzianowski! #KSW59 pic.twitter.com/gUcwrqLkbK

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) March 20, 2021

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's main event underwent a last-minute change after Serigne Ousmane Dia suffered an acute appendicitis attack and had to be hospitalized ahead of Saturday’s card in Lodz, Poland.

The new KSW 59 headliner saw Mariusz Pudzianowski (14-7, 1 NC) taking on MMA debutant Nikola Milanovic (0-1) in the super heavyweight division. Milanovic took the fight on less than 24 hours notice, but he could do nothing to stop “Pudzian” from ending the contest in the opening frame. Milanovic attacked the legendary strongman with a couple of leg kicks as soon as the battle started, and Pudzianowski retaliated with a jab. The Serbian fighter rushed then to push his opponent against the cage, looking for a double-leg takedown.

While the takedown attempt likely would have been successful, “Pudzian” grabbed the fence to defen…

We go the distance!!#CW122 pic.twitter.com/Y9u6LvNgAy

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 20, 2021

The latest installment in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship “Trilogy” series crowned a new champion.

The Cage Warriors 122 main event saw Jordan Vucenic (8-1) dethrone Morgan Charriere (16-8-1) thanks to a narrow decision at the end of a featherweight championship encounter at York Hall in London on Saturday. The challenger looked sharper than the defending champion from the first frame, attacking “The Last Pirate” with a variety of punches and continuously switching stances. Charriere didn’t look impressed by his opponent's striking, but it took a while before he got himself out of first gear and began to focus on close-range combat and wrestling.

“The Last Pirate” looked better in the championship rounds, where his grinding started paying dividends, coinciding with Vucenic starting to go low on his energy tank. The last two stanzas…

The featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega scheduled for #UFC260 has been postponed.

Volkanovski was forced from the fight due to COVID-19 protocols, per tonight's broadcast. pic.twitter.com/JOvtIbZTFX

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 21, 2021 UFC 260 is a championship doubleheader no more.

The promotion announced during Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 21 broadcast that COVID-19 protocols have resulted in the postponement of the featherweight championship clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. The matchup is expected to be rescheduled for a future UFC card.

Volkanovski released a statement on Twitter shortly after the postponement announcement:

pic.twitter.com/TFFvTXe08U

— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) March 21, 2021

UFC 260 takes place on March 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight championship rematch between Stipe Miocic and Fr…