Martial Arts News

Rafael de Freitas, a former competitor on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” and a prominent jiu-jitsu instructor in Albuquerque, N.M., has been accused of drugging and raping a client, according to a report from the Albuquerque Journal.

De Freitas, who is known as “Barata,” has been jailed and charged with criminal sexual penetration stemming from a Nov. 7 incident after a female client captured the alleged incident on a security camera in her living room. De Freitas is a primary instructor at Gracie Barra New Mexico Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Albuquerque and was part of Holly Holm’s team as recently as the former bantamweight champion’s victory over Irene Aldana at UFC on ESPN 16 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 3, according to posts on de Freitas’ Instagram page.

According to the Journal report, de Freitas was also listed as an instructor on the Jackson-Wink MMA website as recently as Saturday morning before the page was removed from the site.

“All I’ve been told is he is no…

STILL UNDEFEATED

@JamahalH has gone up another level tonight!

[ Main event next on ESPN2 & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/qYPvu5uuqh — UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020

Jamahal Hill’s latest performance got the attention of the man many consider to be the sport’s pound-for-pound GOAT.

While former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones dismissed comparisons between himself and Hill, “Bones” praised the Dana White’s Contender Series alum following his second-round technical knockout of Ovince St. Preux in the UFC on ESPN 19 co-main event on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

“His style is a lot more boxing based,” Jones wrote. “Looks amazing.”

Jones is familiar with the challenges that St. Preux presents. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout took a five-round verdict against “OSP” in an interim 205-pound title bout at UFC 197 in April 2016.

“Get out of here, OSP is a beast brother,” Jones wrote in response to a Twitter user who claime…

Marvin Vettori fought Israel Adesanya before “The Last Stylebender” was truly a superstar, and the Italian middleweight almost came away with a victory on the scorecards.

The 27-year-old Kings MMA product dropped a split decision to Adesanya at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018 in what was the current middleweight champion’s second Octagon appearance. Since then the City Kickboxing star has racked up seven more victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion — including a pair of title defenses — and now has enough clout to be on the verge of pursuing two-division dominance.

Meanwhile, Vettori appears to be just now coming into his own at 185 pounds following an impressive five-round verdict over Jack Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 29 headliner at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. “The Italian Dream” has won four straight fights and is gradually climbing toward the top of the division. Vettori remembers Adesanya’s recent dismissive comments toward him, and now he believes his o…

When it comes to UFC roster reduction, Yoel Romero could be just the beginning.

The former middleweight title challenger was surprisingly released from his contract late last week despite reportedly having three fights remaining on his existing deal. The 43-year-old American Top Team standout is currently on a three-fight losing streak, but his last appearance was a decision loss to Israel Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 248 in March — and that matchup came at the request of the reigning champion.

At Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White indicated that Romero won’t be the only high-profile release in the coming weeks.

“It’s not just Yoel,” White said. “We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old.

“Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big c…

HE KNOCKED HIM OUT WITH THE SLAM @jojo_monkeyking #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/JSDgYRaJkH

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 6, 2020

Slam knockouts are an infrequent occurence in UFC competition.

So infrequent, in fact, that there have been just 12 in the history of the Las Vegas-based promotion after Jordan Leavitt knocked Matt Wiman unconscious with a slam just 22 seconds into the opening round of their lightweight clash at UFC on ESPN 19. It was certainly a memorable way to make an Octagon debut for the recent Dana White’s Contender Series competitor.

“It’s crazy. I’ve never removed anybody from their consciousness before in a fight, that’s my first time,” Leavitt said. “Honestly it’s a little bit anticlimactic. I’ve been waiting for this for 10 years and then it’s over very quickly, but definitely really happy.”

Leavitt’s finish was beautifully executed. The Syndicate MMA product changed levels for a double-leg takedown, lifted his …

Marvin Vettori wasn’t originally expected to be in the UFC on ESPN 19 headliner, but his presence was profitable for both himself and Jack Hermansson.

Vettori and Hermansson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for an entertaining five-round middleweight affair at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Vettori very nearly ended the fight in Round 1 after dropping Hermansson, but the “Joker” recovered to make the remaining 20 minutes interesting. Ultimately, “The Italian Dream” emerged with a unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Gabriel Benitez garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck thanks to a first-round stoppage of Justin Jaynes in a featured lightweight encounter. Benitez sent Jaynes to the canvas with a powerful step-in knee and finished the contest with follow-up strikes 4:06 into Round 1.

Finally, Jordan Leavitt earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a memorable Octagon debut against Matt Wiman. Ea…

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. While some fighters shrink in the spotlight, others thrive in it. It seems clear that Marvin Vettori falls in the latter category. Laser-guided left hands, stellar takedown defense and a willingness to go to the end of his rope carried the ascendant Rafael Cordeiro protégé to a unanimous decision over Jack Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 19 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A short-notice substitution for Kevin Holland, Vettori (16-4-1, 6-2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45 marks from the judges.

DROPPED HIM

@MarvinVettori has Hermansson reeling early! #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/ltfBLyq1Jd

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020 Hermansson (21-6, 8-4 UFC) ran into early difficulty, as Vettori dropped him with a left hand in the first round and pursued a finish on the…

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 19 coverage will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 We’re back with another week of UFC fights, with another event taking place on ESPN2. We kick off this now eight-fight card in the heavyweight division with a wild one, as Villante (17-12, 7-9 UFC) collides with Collier (11-5, 3-4 UFC) in a battle between two men relatively new to the weight class. This 507.5-pound affair will be officiated by referee Chris Tognoni, and a sporting touch of gloves begins the night. Collier sticks out a jab early, and he slams his shin into Villante’s lower leg. He fires off another, and Villante visibly reacts to it by recoiling his leg a little too late. When “The Prototype” goes for one more, Villante walks him down and tries to…

No judges needed!

@LastSamuraiUFC makes it straight wins with a finish. #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/jNC999zgy9

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020 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. Early adversity did nothing to divert Louis Smolka from his objective.

The Team Oyama export overcame an inauspicious start and continued to establish himself as a viable player in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division, as he put away “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” finalist Jose Alberto Quinonez with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ESPN 19 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smolka (17-7, 8-7 UFC) drew the curtain 2:15 into Round 2.

Quinonez (8-5, 5-4 UFC) pestered the Hawaiian with low leg kicks for much of the first round, mixed in a few overhand rights and benefitted from an inadvert…

UFC Fight Night 183 has taken another hit.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced that a proposed light heavyweight bout between Misha Cirkunov and Ryan Spann has been postponed due to an undisclosed injury suffered by Cirkunov. The fight is expected to be rebooked at an undetermined future event

Additionally, the UFC confirmed a previous report that a flyweight clash pitting Alexandre Pantoja against Manel Kape at the Dec. 19 event has also been scrapped due to a positive COVID-19 test for Pantoja.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight duel between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Cirkunov last appeared at UFC Fight Night 158, where he submitted Jimmy Crute in the opening stanza to improve to 6-3 in his Octagon tenure. Spann, meanwhile, was victorious in his first four promotional appearances before suffering a first-round KO loss against Johnn…

Demetrious Johnson will get his chance to capture a title belt in another major promotion when he faces reigning champ Adriano Moraes in a flyweight title clash at a One Championship event on Feb. 24.

The Singapore-based promotion recently announced the announced the pairing in a release. Johnson and Moraes were initially scheduled to square off on April 10 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the bout. A location and venue for the event were not confirmed.

After besting Yuya Wakamatsu in his promotional debut, “Mighty Mouse” outpointed Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad to win the One Championship flyweight grand prix and secure a title shot. During his UFC tenure, Johnson was regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound talents thanks to a 14-bout unbeaten run from 2012 to 2017 and 11 consecutive title defenses. He was “traded” to One for Ben Askren following a split-decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227.

Moraes, meanwhile, reclaimed …

Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to return to the win column against Casey Kenney at UFC 259.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and also includes a light heavyweight clash pitting Thiago Santos against Aleksandar Rakic. A location and venue for the card have yet to be officially confirmed.

Cruz returned to the Octagon after a three-and-a-half-year absence at UFC 249, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Henry Cejudo on May 9. Prior to that, the two-time former 135-pound relinquished his belt to Cody Garbrandt in a five-round decision loss at UFC 207 in December 2016.

A former interim bantamweight and flyweight title holder with Legacy Fighting Alliance, Kenney has been victorious in five of his six UFC appearances. Kenney’s run includes a pair of victories this past October, as he earned decisions over Heili Alateng at UFC on ESPN 16 and against Nathaniel Wood at UFC 254.