Martial Arts News

Rory MacDonald will finally make his highly-anticipated Professional Fighters League debut in the main event of the promotion’s April 29 event against David Michaud.

The PFL announced the bout, along with the full card for its second 2021 regular season event, on Tuesday. The lineup will feature welterweights and light heavyweights, with the main card airing on ESPN2 and the prelims streaming via ESPN+.

The rest of the main card lineup is as follows: Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Ponet at welterweight; Jordan Johnson vs. Tom Lawlor at light heavyweight; and Emiliano Sordi vs. Chris Camozzi at light heavyweight.

Meanwile, the preliminary draw will feature a total of six contests: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino at welterweight; Smealinho Rama vs. Jordan Young at light heavyweight; Cezar Ferreira vs. Nick Roehrick at light heavyweight; Gleison Tibau vs. Alexey Kunchenko at welterweight; Sadibou Sy vs. Nikolay Aleksakhin at welterweight; and Dan Spohn vs. Marth…

Lingering effects from COVID-19 continue to take their toll on Khamzat Chimaev.

The UFC welterweight prospect seemingly announced his retirement in a cryptic statement on Instagram Monday evening.

“I want to say thank you all so much for supporting me in my journey in this sport,” Chimaev wrote (translation via Google). “I think I’m done, yes I know I didn’t take the belt but it’s not the most important victory in his life. It may upset you but my heart and body tell me everything. I want to say a big thank you to my team [Allstars Training Center]. I want to say a big thank you to UFC.”

Additionally, Chimaev posted photos on Instagram Stories of what appeared to be blood in a sink. Chimaev was recently flown to Las Vegas by the UFC to receive additional medical care after he withdrew from UFC Fight Night 187 due to lingering symptoms from the virus. It was the second time he was forced to pull out of a fight vs. Leon Edwards due to COVID-19 issues after cont…

BOMBS AWAY

Michał Włodarek collides with the debuting @DarkoStosic92 at #KSW59 pic.twitter.com/CIdhRPE4gZ

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 25, 2021 Four-time UFC veteran Darko Stosic will make his promotional debut against Michal Wlodarek at KSW 59 on March 20.

The Polish promotion recently announced the booking, which will be contested at heavyweight. Four other contests were also confirmed: Damian Janikowski vs. Jason Radcliffe at middleweight; Lukasz Rajewski vs. Mateusz Legierski at lightweight; Sebastian Rajewski vs. Savo Lazic at lightweight and Krystian Kaszubowski vs. Michal Pietrzak at middleweight.

KSW 59 takes place in Lodz, Poland and is headlined by a super heavyweight clash between Mariusz Pudzianowski and Serigne Ousmane Dia. In the co-main event, Antun Racic defends his bantamweight crown against Sebastian Przybysz.

Stosic, 29, debuted in the Octagon with a first-round stoppage of Jeremy Kimball but then proceeded to …

BREAKING: 4 man Welterweight Title Tournament is confirmed

Rostem Akman vs Ian GarryJack Grant vs Madars Fleminas #CW121 // March 19th // #THETRILOGYMore info https://t.co/bIR1I74TFX pic.twitter.com/heo8fyyXWR

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 2, 2021 Cage Warriors will begin its journey to crown a new 170-pound champion with the semifinals of a welterweight tournament on March 19.

The European promotion recently announced that Ian Garry will face Rostem Akman and Jack Grant will meet Madars Fleminas at Cage Warriors 121. The winners of the semifinal bouts will advance to vie for welterweight gold later this year.

“The welterweight division needs a new champion and there is no shortage of contenders,” Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan said in a release. “MMA fans love nothing more than a grand prix, and I am so excited to see how this one plays out.”

Garry has amassed a 5-0 record under the Cage Warriors banner an…

Upon further review, Alexander Hernandez believes he deserved to win his lightweight clash with Thiago Moises at UFC Fight Night 186.

The San Antonio Texas native released a statement on Monday via Instagram regarding Saturday’s unanimous decision loss. All three cageside judges sided with Moises after three rounds: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

“Silence the commentary, watch this fight, and convince me I didn’t win 2 1/2 of 3 rounds,” Hernandez wrote. “It’s extremely difficult to rationalize and agree with the outcome, but it is the outcome. Three more fights to come this year. Onward.”

While the fight was competitive — Moises only held a 53-to-50 edge in significant strikes landed — all 21 unofficial media scorers tracked by MMADecisions.com agreed with the judges and submitted tallies for the ex-Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion.

“Just getting used to being in the Octagon, I train at ATT, the best in the world,” Moises said. “I get better every day,…

Shortly after vanquishing Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 last June, Amanda Nunes raised eyebrows by mentioning the word “retirement.”

“I’m in a moment that I can retire, you know, and I’m in a moment that I can fight. I’m fine,” Nunes said. “There’s nothing else to be done right now in the division. The Hall of Fame will come, for sure. My life going forward, if I do stop now, the UFC will give me every support I need to continue having my money and work.”

As it turns out, Nunes never got too serious about calling it a career, and now the two-division champion will return to defend her featherweight crown against Megan Anderson at UFC 259 on Saturday. The 32-year-old Brazilian is rejuvenated after having a daughter with her fiancee, UFC strawweight Nina Ansaroff. Now, Raegan Ann Nunes provides all the motivation she needs.

“What is gonna keep me moving forward?…This time it’s different. This time I’m gonna be able to share with my daughter,” Nunes told TSN. “To see…

Thirteen-time world jiu-jitsu champion Marcus Almeida will finally make his MMA debut on April 7 against South Korean Ji Won Kang under the One Championship banner.

Sherdog.com confirmed the heavyweight bout following an initial report from Combate.com. Kang is already scheduled to face Amir Aliakbari at One Championshp “Fists of Fury” on March 5. It is unclear if he will remain on this week’s card and face Almeida next month.

Kang made his MMA debut in 2018 and has won his first four appearances by knockout or technical knockout inside of a round. The 25-year-old last appeared at One Championship “Unbreakable 3” where he stopped Mehdi Barghi at the 4:50 mark of Round 1 on Feb. 5.

Almeida, who trains at American Top Team, recently retired from grappling competition to pursue an MMA career. The 30-year-old has won numerous gold medals and championships during his grappling tenure, including gold medals in the Pan American Championship and IBJJF World Championshi…

Those within the American Kickboxing Academy camp have high expectations for Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev will return to action for the first time since September 2019 when he squares off against Drew Dober on the massive UFC 259 card in Las Vegas card Saturday. The event, if all remains intact, features a trio of championship fights at the top of the bill.

Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier and lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov both believe Makhachev will be in a similar position before too long.

"For 10 straight years, we've had title fights out of AKA," Cormier told ESPN. "How do we continue that? Islam is the guy. We all believe right now Islam is our next best chance to have someone great."

Makhachev has been victorious in 18 of 19 professional outings and is currently on a six-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. He’s had multiple matchups fall through since outpointing Davi…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

On paper, the UFC Fight Night 186 co-main event looked to be one of Saturday’s most entertaining pairings.

When Magomed Ankalaev and Nikita Krylov stepped into the Octagon, however, they ended up being one of eight fights on a nine-bout card that went the distance. And despite the finishing track record of both light heavyweights, the bout was a bit of a grinder as Ankalaev emerged with a unanimous decision victory.

“I was planning to fight standing up but once he started wrestling with me, I had to change my tactics and I also wrestled,” Ankalaev said.

“I feel great, but the fight didn’t go as I expected. I could say that it was a little boring, but the end result is that I’m happy with my win. I’m not disappointed because my victory is what matters.”

Ankalaev has now won six consecutive fights and is a rising star in the 205-pound division. He hopes that his latest victory can push him to a greater stage.

“I ho…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEjlGq_X9RQ&w=560&h=315]

All signs still seem to be pointing toward a trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor later this year.

Porier is coming off a second-round technical knockout victory against the Irish superstar at UFC 257 on Jan. 23, while McGregor stopped “The Diamond” via first-round TKO in their first meeting at UFC 178 in September 2014. During a recent appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Poirier discussed why a third matchup remains appealing.

“Conor wants the trilogy and I do too,” Poirier said. “We’re just trying to get the right deal structured. This is going to be a big fight. He knocked me out, I knocked him out. The trilogy. For sure one of the biggest fights this year, but maybe of all time... So I think the trilogy makes a lot of sense and a lot of money. So we’re just trying to get the right deal structured and see what the time frame is. Because for a guy like Conor, you want th…

Patrick Mix Quadratur off gegen James Gallagher in einem bantamweight showdown an Bellator 258.

MMA-DNA war der erste Bericht der Buchung. Bellator 258 dauert Platz bei der Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, am 7. Mai und titelte eine 135-Pfund-Meisterschaft Neigung zwischen Juan Archuleta , und Sergio Pettis. Die main card will air on Showtime 9 Uhr ET/6 Uhr PT.

Der 27-jährige Mix erlitt seine erste professionelle Niederlage in 14 Ausflüge in eine Meisterschaft Kampf gegen Archuleta bei Bellator 246 im September letzten Jahres. Der ehemalige König des Käfigs herausragenden begann seine Amtszeit mit der in Kalifornien ansässige promotion mit siegen über Ricky Bandejas und Jesaja Chapman vor Absenden Yuki Motoya in einem crossover bout at Rizin 20.

Gallagher hat unterdessen gewann vier aufeinander folgenden Gefechte seit zu verlieren zu Bandejas bei Bellator 204 im August 2018. Der 24-jährige SBG Irland-Produkt zuletzt erschien bei Bellator Mailand, …

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Ciryl Gane has only been a professional mixed martial artist for less than three years.

Such thinking might have tempered expectations at UFC Fight Night 186, when the Frenchman cruised to a forgettable five-round verdict against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in Saturday’s heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It wasn’t the type of performance that will propel Gane to the top of the division, but it was nonetheless significant for an athlete who is still learning and progressing.

“This guy is really dangerous, he is really tough, he has big knockout power, so we have to manage the fight with this guy, manage the distance and be focused, be careful,” Gane said. “We did it, we did it well and we did more. We made pressure against the cage, we did maybe two, three takedowns, maybe more. I tried to finish the fight. I try, I try, but yes it was a good fight.”

It was also Gane’s first time going a full 25 minutes in the cage, …