Martial Arts News

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 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 25 to reflect additional information. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has lost a thriller of a matchup days before it was set to go down.

First reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday, William Knight (9-1) vs. Alonzo Menifield (9-2) at light heavyweight has been scratched from the UFC Fight Night 186 lineup. The Feb. 27 event saw the bout fall through when Menifield tested positive for COVID-19, and the news has since been confirmed by other outlets. The promotion intends on rebooking the match at an upcoming event, and not scuttling the pairing altogether. Per MMA Fighting shortly after the news broke, the two will instead be squaring off at UFC 260 on March 27.

A potential slugfest will have to wait, as Knight was looking to extend his overall win streak 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. A highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship rematch is on the books for June. First reported by the promotion’s broadcast partner ESPN on Thursday, Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) and Brandon Moreno (18-5-2) are going to run it back for the flyweight strap on June 12. The event, which should be titled UFC 263, does not currently have a location listed at the time. It is expected that should it not take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, it will be located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The two flyweights went toe-to-toe for five hard rounds in December, and an errant groin strike from Figueiredo resulted in an immediate point deduction that ultimately resulted in the fight getting scored a majority draw. Both men had their moments, and “The Assassin Baby” came at Figueiredo like few have before, putting …

A women’s flyweight clash between Gillian Robertson and Miranda Maverick has been rebooked for UFC 260.

The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 258, but a non-COVID related illness” forced Robertson to withdraw on the day of the event. Both fighters confirmed the new booking on social media following an initial report by Fighter Path.

Robertson went 2-1 during three Octagon appearances in 2020. After defeating Cortney Casey by submission at UFC on ESPN 11 and outpointing Poliana Botelho at UFC Fight Night 180, “The Savage” dropped a unanimous verdict to Taila Santos in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19. Robertson is 6-3 during her promotional tenure and 9-5 as a professional overall.

Maverick is currently on a four-bout winning streak, including a TKO of Liana Jojua in her Octagon debut at UFC 254.The 23-year-old went 6-2 in Invicta FC prior to signing with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Maurice Greene will meet Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a heavyweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on May 8.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. The card includes a women’s bantamweight bout between Holly Holm and Julianna Pena and a welterweight clash pitting Donald Cerrone against Diego Sanchez. A location has not been formally announced.

Greene has lost three of his last four promotional outings. Most recently, the 34-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA representative suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Greg Hardy at UFC Fight Night 181 last October.

De Lima has alternated wins and losses in his last 10 UFC appearances dating back to December 2014. The 35-year-old Brazilian went 1-1 in 2020, earning a first-round TKO against Ben Sosolli at UFC Fight Night 168 before being submitted by Alexander Romanov at UFC on ESPN 17.

A middleweight showdown pitting Sean Strickland against Krzysztof Jotko has been added to the UFC’s May 1 lineup.

Paradigm Sports, which represents Strickland, initially announced the pairing on social media. UFC Fight Night is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka. A location for the card has not been confirmed.

After injuries from a motorcycle accident sidelined Strickland for two years, “Tarzan” returned to earn Sherdog.com’s "Comeback Fighter of the Year" honors with a 2020 campaign that featured victories over Jack Marshman and Brendan Allen. The 29-year-old Californian is 9-3 during a promotional tenure that has occurred primarily at 170 pounds.

Poland’s Jotko has rebounded from a three-bout losing streak that ran from 2017 to 2018 to post successive triumphs over Alen Amedovski, Marc-Andre Barriault and Eryk Anders in his last three Octagon appearances. The 31-year-old American Top Team representative is 9-4 in …

Patricky Freire, the older brother of the Bellator double champion Patricio Freire, is anxiously awaiting a decision from the organization concerning his next challenge.

"My brother is fighting in the featherweight grand prix and already said that he has no intention of remaining in the lightweight division,” Freire told Sherdog.com. “Everybody knows that he just went up to beat Michael Chandler. He already declared that he would vacate the title if I were to get a shot. Brent Primus already agreed to fight for the title against me, I dont know why Bellator is taking so long to announce that. I´m anxious to start my camp.”

Freire hasn’t fought since December 2019, when he lost a decision to Tofiq Musayev in the finals of the Rizin lightweight grand prix. Prior to that, the 35-year-old had been on a seven-bout winning streak dating back to 2017. Even without his next Bellator bout scheduled, Patricky is helping his brother prepare to face Emmanuel Sanchez in the s…

Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight belt against former 115-pound champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 261.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout to broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday. UFC 261 takes place on April 24 at an as yet to be announced location. It is unclear if Shevchenko vs. Andrade will serve as the evening’s main event.

A former bantamweight title challenger, Shevchenko has been victorious in her last six Octagon appearances. “Bullet” captured the 125-pound title with a five-round verdict over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 and has followed with four successful defenses. Most recently, Shevchneko earned a lopsided unanimous verdict against Jennifer Maia at UFC 255. The 32-year-old’s only two defeats in 11 UFC fights have come against two-division champion Amanda Nunes.

Andrade made a successful 125-pound debut last October, when she scored a first-round knockout of former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian at UFC Fight Night 180. The 2…

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T.J. Dillashaw believes Petr Yan will retain his bantamweight crown against Aljamain Sterling, but he also says the challenger has a style that could cause problems for the reigning champion.

The former UFC bantamweight champion gave his assessment of the UFC 259 title bout during an appearance on “The Real Quick with Mike Swick” podcast.

“I think it’s a tough fight for Yan because of the style of the fighter. I think Yan’s the better, well-rounded fighter. He’s got more of the skills and more aspects of fighting. But Sterling’s wrestling is very aggressive,” Dillashaw said.

“[Sterling’s] striking is real uncomfortable. He doesn’t really set anything up – he just kind of bombs kicks non-stop, kind of got that distance. But then he can grab a hold of you. He’s got great wrestling and his jiu-jitsu is amazing, too. I watched him take [Cory] Sandhagen out in 45 seconds. We watched him do a lot of grea…

Sage Northcutt will return to active competition for the first time since May 2019 when he locks horns with Shinya Aoki at One Championship’s April 28 event.

The bout will be contested in One’s lightweight division, which is 170 pounds. ESPN was first to report the booking. The card is the final of four consecutive events for the Singapore-based promotion that will air on cable network TNT from April 7 to April 28.

Northcutt hasn’t fought since suffering a 29-second knockout defeat in his One Championship debut against Cosmo Alexandre on May 17, 2019. As a result of that bout, Northcutt was forced to undergo a nine-hour surgical procedure to repair multiple fractures in his face. Prior to that loss, Northcutt went 6-2 during a UFC stint from 2015 to 2018.

A former One, Dream and Shooto champion, the 37-year-old Aoki enters the matchup with Northcutt on a three-bout winning streak. “Tobikan Judan” last appeared at One “Unbreakable,” where he submitted James Na…

An undisclosed injury has forced Blagoy Ivanov to withdraw from a proposed heavyweight clash against Marcin Tybura at UFC 260.

Both fighters confirmed the news on social media following an intial report by 24Chasa. UFC 260 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 27 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.

“Same story over and over again,” Tybura wrote on Twitter. “Yo heavyweights, where you at? Anyone wants to meet me [March 27] in Vegas?”

Ivanov was looking to halt a two-bout skid after dropping consecutive split decisions against Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai. The former World Series of Fighting champion is 2-3 in UFC competition.

After having mixed results early in his UFC tenure, Tybura has been victorious in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, he scored a second-round TKO of Greg Hardy at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

Curtis Blaydes isn’t going to dwell on his knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.

Heavily favored heading into last Saturday’s heavyweight main event, Blaydes was floored by a Lewis uppercut when he shot for a takedown, and his opponent punctuated the upset victory with two massive ground strikes 1:26 into Round 2.

Blaydes released a statement regarding the defeat Tuesday on his Instagram stories.

“Sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail,” Blaydes wrote. “This game has a razor thin margin for error and I just got caught, it happens. Props to Derrick. No shame in it my head’s still held high.”

Blaydes entered the contest on a four-bout winning streak and appeared to be closing in on a UFC heavyweight title shot. All three of the 30-year-old Elevation Fight Team representative’s defeats — once to Lewis and twice against Francis Ngannou — have come via knockout. Blaydes currently has one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

Former UFC and boxing champion Holly Holm will be part of the broadcast team for Claressa Shields’ next fight.

Holm will help to commentate the boxing event “Superwomen: Shields vs. Dicaire,” which takes place on March 5 at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. The headliner will see Shields (10-0), the WBC/WBO super welterweight world champion, lock horns with IBF super welterweight champion Marie-Eve Dicaire (17-0) in a 154-pound unification bout. The card airs on Fite.TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Holm will share the host desk with Dan Canobbio and will also serve as the evening’s unofficial scorer. Before she transitioned to mixed martial arts, Holm compiled a 33-2-3 mark in professional boxing while winning titles in multiple weight classes.

“These are the top media professionals that this historic night for female boxing deserves,” promoter Dmitriy Salita said in a release. “Holly Holm is one of the most popular female fighters in history and she’ll b…