Martial Arts News

DIVISION ON NOTICE

@AmirAlbazi - welcome to the Octagon!

Action continues on @ESPN / E+ for #UFCFightIsland2 pic.twitter.com/I6NZJCbNCM — UFC (@ufc) July 18, 2020

A proposed flyweight bout pitting Amir Albazi against Zhalgas Zhumagulov has been pulled from the UFC on ESPN 18 lineup.

Russian outlet TASS was first to report the news. The cancellation reportedly occurred because of a passport issue involving Zhumagulov. As it stands now, UFC on ESPN 18 will move forward with 11 fights.

UFC on ESPN 18 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A veteran of Bellator and Brave CF, Albazi made successful Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 172, where he submitted Malcolm Gordon with a triangle choke in the opening stanza …

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Joaquin Buckley followed up his “Knockout of the Year” frontrunner with another stoppage victory at UFC 255 this past Saturday, but that doesn’t mean “New Mansa” is going to quit his day job.

Buckley revealed to TMZ Sports that he is working on getting an apparel business up and running, but until that happens, he plans on keeping his gig at national pharmacy store chain Walgreens.

“Besides the UFC, and they’re giving me these big checks, I still don’t have a business of my own,” Buckley said. “I need to just keep working and having that working mentality and work ethic. So I’m just gonna keep holding down the job. Until my business is off the ground, we’re gonna still keep working at Walgreens.”

Buckley likely clinched the top spot for best KO of 2020 with his spinning back kick finish of Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night 179 on Oct. 10. The 26-year-old St. Louis native wasn’t quite as spectacula…

Two contests have been added to the UFC 257 bill, as Shane Burgos will meet Hakeem Dawodu at featherweight, while Umar Nurmagomedov will face Sergey Morozov at bantamweight on Jan. 23.

Burgos announced his matchup with Dawodu on his Instagram story following a report from MMA Empire, and Morozov confirmed his fight against Nurmagomedov in a post on his Instagram account. UFC 257 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Burgos had a three-fight winning streak halted at UFC on ESPN 11, where he dropped a unanimous verdict against Josh Emmett on June 20. The 29-year-old Team Tiger Schulmann product is 6-2 during his promotional tenure and 13-2 as a professional overall.

Dawodu, meanwhile, has been victories in his last five UFC appearances. Most recently, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada, resident captured a split-decision triumph against Zubaira Tukhugovat UFC 253 on Sept. 26. Three of Dawodu’s fi…

With victories in four of his last five UFC appearances, Alistair Overeem is still going strong.

Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Dutchman acknowledges that he is nearing the end of his mixed martial arts career. Overeem laid out a tentative timeframe for retirement in a post on social media Tuesday.

“I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you can clearly see that in my fights,” Overeem wrote. “I’m still on a learning curve. But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the mission is completed.”

I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you can clearly see that in my fights. I’m still on a learning curve. But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the mission is completed #onefinalrun pic.twitter.com/gxQrZrrhhc

— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) November 24, 2020

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Bantamweight champion Petr Yan has broken his silence on the reason for his withdrawal from UFC 256.

Over the weekend it was revealed that Yan’s title defense against Aljamain Sterling had been pulled from the Dec. 12 card. As a result, the promotion rushed to book Deiveson Figueiredo against Brandon Moreno to serve as the new UFC 256 headliner.

Yan revealed on Instagram Live (translation courtesy of RT Sport) that numerous factors played a role in the postponement of the bout. The UFC is reportedly looking to reschedule Yan vs. Sterling for early next year.

"Everything's in force for the fight. It's going to be postponed for about a month and a half, but everything's in order," Yan said. "There were different problems, with the flight, with the visa, during training I flew away for a visa deadline, lots of factors. 

"We decided with the team to move everything to next year, perhaps the card will be more suitable… Everything is…

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All eyes of the fighting world will be on the Staples Center this Saturday when Mike Tyson returns to the ring to face fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

According to the California State Athletic Commission, the fight will be contested under special exhibition rules: The bout will be eight, two-minute rounds instead of 12, three-minute rounds, and both fighters will wear 12-ounce gloves in order to minimize damage. CSAC executive director Andy Foster has also said that the bout will be stopped if there’s a cut and competitors will not be permitted to knock their opponent out. However, Tyson’s trainer, Rafael Cordeiro, believes the fighters trained hard in order to provide an entertaining ending for the fans watching on pay-per-view.

“As soon as there’s an athletic commission, three judges (the bout will not be officially scored, but three ex-fighters have been assigned to determine an unofficial winner…

Even at 45 years old, the competitive fires still burn strong within Anderson Silva.

In an Instagram post over the weekend, “The Spider” expressed a desire to continue fighting despite recently being released from his UFC contract.

I didn’t want to talk about this subject, especially because I’m on vacation and as the saying goes, ‘a deal is a deal,’” Silva wrote. “I’ll make it clear to all my fans that this is a moment of joy and gratitude!!! I feel free, after an attempt to force my retirement!

“I love and have always loved what I do, winning and losing are a part of it, it has absolutely nothing to do with age, I made technical mistakes and lost, but I didn’t lose what’s most important, the will and the desire to continue doing what I love,” he continued. “I still have the warrior spirit and that burning flame in my heart that motivates me, I have total belief that I can continue to compete in the elite of MMA. I take this moment to reflect about my career a…

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A heavyweight fight between Ruslan Magomedov and Dmitry Poberezhets has been added to the preliminary card of Absolute Championship Akhmat 115.

ACA 115 will take place in Moscow on Dec. 13 at the VTB Arena. Magomed Ismailov and Ivan Shtyrkov will meet in the main fight of this event. ACA president Aleksey Yatsenko said that every effort will be made to accommodate fan attendance while respecting COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. If spectators are allowed, the venue will only be allowed to fill to 25 percent capacity.

Magomedov’s 15-1 record includes triumphs over Viktor Pesta, Josh Copeland and Shawn Jordan in the UFC. However, Magomedov received a liftetime ban from the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019 due to multiple violations of the UFC anti-doping policy. Magaomedov returned to active competition following a four-year absence at ACA 101, where he earned a unanimous verdict over Daniel James in Novem…

A light heavyweight clash pitting Alonzo Menifield against William Knight has been targeted for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 27.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the bout. The UFC Fight Night event does not have a location but is expected to be headlined by a 205-pound tilt between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka.

Menifield is coming off an 0-2 campaign in 2020 in which he dropped a unanimous decision to Devin Clark at UFC 250 and suffered a second-round KO defeat to Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 176 on Sept. 5. The Contender Series alum was unbeaten in his first nine professional outings, including KO/TKO victories over Vinicius Moreira Castro and Paul Craig in the Octagon.

After a pair of triumphs on the Contender Series, Knight was successful in his promotional debut, as he earned a unanimous decision over Aleksa Camur at UFC 253 on Sept. 26. The 32-year-old Thornton Martial Arts member has lost just once in 10 pro appearances — a …

Alex Perez and Jennifer Maia are among nine fighters from UFC 255 who are facing potential six-month medical suspensions.

Mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the main event, Deiveson Figueiredo submitted Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into the opening stanza to retain his flyweight crown, while Valentina Shevchenko garnered a five-round verdict over Maia to defend her 125-pound belt in the evening’s co-headliner.

Perez needs an X-ray and doctor clearance on his right hand or he will be sidelined 180 days. Maia, meanwhile, needs clearance of a nasal fracture or she will also be facing a 180-day suspension. At a minimum, Maia is suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact.

Seven other fighters from UFC 255 are also facing 180-day terms: Cynthia Calvillo (right shoulder), Brandon Royval (right shoulder), Joaquin Buckley (right hand), Ariane Lipski (orbital fr…

WOAH! @BulldozerBoser showcasing INSANE GnP!

The card continues on @ESPN.#InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi | #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/QXA2ZTVjPf

— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2020 UFC heavyweight Raphael Pessoa has accepted a one-year suspension for an anti-doping violation, USADA announced Monday.

Pessoa tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 4. HCTZ is a diuretic, which can dilute urine and disguise the presence of other banned substances in a drug test.

According to the statement, the results of Pessoa’s test were delayed by laboratory closures forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. That allowed Pessoa to compete at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Tanner Boser. Normally Pessoa would have been pulled from that bout ahead of time upon testing pos…

It was supposed to be Cody Garbrandt standing across the Octagon from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255.

However, a bicep injury forced the former bantamweight champion to withdraw from the bout, and Alex Perez took “No Love’s” spot against the reigning champion. Figueiredo made short work of Perez on Saturday night, winning via guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1 of the UFC 255 main event in Las Vegas. Garbrandt wasn’t particuarly impressed by the Brazilian’s quick victory.

“Alex Perez was just someone they gave Deiveson Figueiredo to build up our fight more,” Garbrandt recenty told ESPN. “I knock [Figueiredo] out in the first or second round. I’ll be ready by March.”

Garbrandt’s timeline could potentially work well for both Figueiredo and the promotion: The flyweight champion has already been booked for a quick turnaround against Brandon Moreno at UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

In a separate post on social media, Garbrandt revealed that he was affected by COVID-19 and…