Martial Arts News

A pivotal welterweight clash is on tap for Jan. 20 in Abu Dhabi, as Neil Magny is expected to square off against Michael Chiesa at a UFC Fight Night event.

ESPN was first to report the pairing. UFC Fight Night takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a 170-pound tilt between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev. Either Chiesa or Magny could serve as a back up for the main event, according to the report.

After not competing at all in 2019, Magny went 3-0 within the Las Vegas-based promotion this year, earning successive decision triumphs against Jingliang Li, Anthony Rocco Martin and Robbie Lawler. The Elevation Fight Team product is 17-6 in UFC competition with other notable wins against the likes of Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, Hector Lombard, Kelvin Gastelum and Tim Means.

Chiesa, meanwhile, has emerged as a contender at 170 pounds since moving up from lightweight in 2018. “The Ultimate Fighter 15” winner has kicked off his welterweight run wi…

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Jiu-jitsu legend Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida already knows who he will fight against in his MMA debut for One Championship on Feb. 24. 

According to an initial report from Combate, Almeida will square off against Oumar "Reug Reug" Kane from Senegal. Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with sources close to the Brazilian fighter.

“Reug Reug” gained fame due to his exploits in the Senegalese combat art Laamb, which is folk wrestling that allows blows with the hands. The 28-year-old heavyweight then signed with Ares FC and knocked out Sofiane Boukichou in the second round last December in his MMA debut.

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The owner of the record for gold medals at the World Jiu-Jitsu championships with 13, Almeida has recently been training at American Top Team. The Brazilian fighter previously helped Daniel Cormier and Cain Velásquez in some of t…

Credit: Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Credit: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com Credit: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

Mike Jackson, the MMA journalist and fighter who gained notoriety for his victory over former professional wrestling star "CM Punk" in 2018, will return the Octagon against newcomer Dean Barry on Jan. 20.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the bout, which is slated for UFC Fight Night 185. The card takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Jackson hasn’t competed since outpointing Punk at UFC 225 in June 2018. The 35-year-old lost his promotional debut when he was submitted by Mickey Gall at UFC Fight Night 82, which earned Gall the right to get the first crack at Punk. Jackson’s return comes as something of a surprise following the criticism he received from Dana White for not finishing the fight at UFC 225.

“Michael Jackson, I’m not happy with,” White sa…

The knee injury Stephen Thompson suffered at UFC Fight Night 183 is among a few ailments that could keep “Wonderboy” sidelined for up to six months.

Thompson defeated Geoff Neal via unanimous decision in this past Saturday’s welterweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. According to medical suspensions obtained by mixedmartialarts.com, Thompson must have an MRI of his right knee and thigh and an X-ray of his right hand. If he doesn’t receive doctor clearance, he will be out until June 18. At a minimum, Thompson is suspended until Feb. 18 with no contact until Feb. 3.

Neal, meanwhile, is suspended until Feb. 3 with no contact until Jan. 19 due to a laceration on his right eyebrow suffered from an accidental clash of heads.

Nine other fighters from UFC Fight Night 183 are facing six-month sits pending doctor clearance: Marlon Vera (left hand, left wrist), Anthony Pettis (nose, right foot), Pannie Kianzad (left hand, thumb), Deron Winn (left knee), Taila S…

Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev are heading to Fight Island

The main event for Jan. 20 was revealed in a graphic on Dana White's Instagram Story. pic.twitter.com/QmRvOlBE9T

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 22, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next visit to Abu Dhabi is now official.

UFC president Dana White revealed Tuesday via Instagram the previously reported trio of events that will take place next month at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The first UFC Fight Night at the venue will take place on Jan. 16 and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. The ensuing event, also labeled as a UFC Fight Night, goes down on Jan. 20 and is topped by a welterweight duel pitting Leon Edwards against Khamzat Chimaev. Finally, UFC 257 concludes the busy week on Jan. 23 with a lightweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

While it is possible that the Las Vegas-based promotio…

If Conor McGregor is to be believed, UFC 246 sold more pay-per-views than initially projected.

The former two-division champion shared a document from Zuffa, LLC that listed UFC 246 having a projected total of 1.285 million buys and a collected reported figure of 1.353 million buys in regards to McGregor’s pay-per-view points.

McGregor defeated Donald Cerrone via technical knockout 40 seconds into the opening round of their Jan. 18 bout. In his post, McGregor claims that UFC 246 is the promotion’s top-selling event of 2020.

"Congrats to the [UFC] on a well fought 2020! The only sporting company on the planet to come through the entire year! Incredible!” McGregor wrote. “I am honoured to secure their highest PPV of the year with McGregor Vs Cerrone. “Congrats Donald, and also on his double submission win last night.”

Congrats to the @ufc on a well fought 2020! The only sporting company on the planet to come through the entire year! Incr…

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Bellator MMA continues to bolster its light heavyweight division, as the California-based promotion has signed Absolute Championship Akhmat title holder Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov to an exclusive contract.

Sherdog.com confirmed the deal following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. A date for Yagshimuradov’s debut is currently unknown.

A 31-year-old native of Turkmenistan, Yagshimuradov will enter his Bellator debut on an eight-bout winning streak. Yagshimuradov claimed ACA gold with a second-round submission of Batraz Agnaev in May 2018 and has since defended the crown with a TKO of Karol Celinski and a decision win against Aleksei Butorin.

Other notable fights on Yagshimuradov’s resume include a first-round KO of ex-UFC competitor Joachim Christensen and a unanimous decision loss to currentl UFC light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankaleav. He has finished 15 of his 18 victories inside the…

Junior dos Santos still hasn’t gotten over the finishing sequence that led to his demise at UFC 256.

The former heavyweight champion suffered a second-round technical knockout defeat to Ciryl Gane on Dec. 12 — his fourth consecutive defeat in the Octagon. Dos Santos protested the stoppage in the aftermath, pointing to what he believes what was an elbow to the back of the head landed by Gane during the finish.

“Cigano” took to social media to speak out about the stoppage, and his stance remains the same.

“I know I hadn’t spoken out about my last fight yet because I expect that the [Nevada State] Athletic Commission and the UFC would have watched the replay of the fight and seen for themselves, which is very clear, that the elbow that knocked me out was illegal,” Dos Santos said. “If you watch the fight, there’s no other understanding possible, but this is not what’s happening among these ‘MMA specialists’ out there.

“OK, even if his forearm may have touch…

Santiago Ponzinibbio has a new opponent for his Octagon return at UFC Fight Night 184.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Jingliang Li has agreed to replace Muslim Salikhov and face Ponzinibbio at the Jan. 16 event. Salikhov withdrew from the bout due to health issues that came from contracting COVID-19 this past September.

UFC Fight Night 184 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. The card is currently expected to stream on ESPN+.

Li competed once in 2020, dropping a unanimous decision to Neil Magny at UFC 248 on March 7. Prior to that, “The Leech” had been victorious in seven of his previous eight Octagon appearances.

Ponzinibbio hasn’t competed in the Octagon since November 2018, when he knocked out Neil Magny in the fourth round of the UFC Fight Night 140 headliner. The 34-year-old Argentinian is currently on a seven-fight winning streak.

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Greg Jackson, who has been one of the most respected mixed martial arts coaches in the sport for more than a decade, is considering a run for Congress in New Mexico.

Axios is reporting Jackson would run as an independent for the U.S. House seat in the state that is being vacated by Deb Haaland, who was chosen by newly elected President Joe Biden to lead the Department of the Interior. According to the report, Haaland’s impending departure “has set off a scramble by aspiring political stars who want the marquee seat representing Albuquerque.”

Jackson is the co-owner of Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he has served as a primary trainer for a litany of UFC stars over the years such as Jon Jones, Georges St. Pierre, Holly Holm, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Carlos Condit, John Dodson and Michelle Waterson, to name a few.

A New Mexico native, Jackson is unaffiliated with any political party but leans Democratic. Jacks…

A pivotal strawweight clash between Nina Ansaroff and Mackenzie Dern is in the works for a UFC card on April 10.

ESPN was first to report the matchup. The Las Vegas-based promotion has not formally announced a location or headliner for the event.

After the birth of her daughter in 2018 and a loss to Amanda Ribas in her promotional return, Dern has enjoyed a productive 2020 in UFC competition. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout has won three consecutive bouts at 115 pounds, including a unanimous decison over Virna Jandiroba in her last outing at UFC 256 on Dec. 12. Dern suffered a broken nose in that victory and will undergo a minor procedure that will allow her to train for Ansaroff.

Ansaroff emerged as a person of interest at 115 pounds from 2017 to 2018, when she authored a four-bout winning streak that featured victories against the likes of Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill. After a decision loss to Tatiana Suarez at UFC 238 in June 2019, Ansaroff more than a y…

Alex Oliveira will lock horns with Randy Brown in a welterweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Feb. 27.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Combate . UFC Fight Night is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Dominick Reyes against Jiri Prochazka. A location for the event has not been formally announced.

Oliveira, 32, had a two-bout winning streak snapped at UFC 254, where he was submitted in the opening stanza by Shavkat Rakhmonov on Oct. 24. The Brazilian “Cowboy” is 11-7-1 with one no contest during his tenure with the Las Vegas based promotion.

Brown is coming off a second-round KO defeat to Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night 173 on Aug. 1. Prior to that, the 30-year-old Jamaican had scored back-to-back finishes of Bryan Barberena and Warlley Alves in the Octagon.