Martial Arts News

Tenshin Nasukawa and Takanori Gomi return to action. Pay-Per-View to be featured on LIVENow platform, Frank Trigg and Joe Ferraro provide with English commentary.

Yogibo presents #RIZIN26Dec 31, 2020 2:00PM（JST）Saitama Super Arenahttps://t.co/J8mFeQ0UKC

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 21, 2020 Former Pride Fighting Championships superstar Takanori Gomi and kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa will compete at Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve event.

The Japanese promotion announced the late additions to Rizin 26 on Monday. Rizin 26 takes place on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama Japan and is headlined by a bantamweight championship clash between Kai Asakura and Kyoji Horiguchi. Additionally, Ayaka Hamasaki and Miyuu Yamamoto will square off for the atomweight belt.

Gomi will square off against kickboxer Koji Tanaka in a special standing bout in which both fighters “will only be allowed to punch with t…

A featherweight championship bout pitting Amanda Nunes against Megan Anderson has been rescheduled for UFC 259.

ESPN was first to report the matchup. Nunes and Anderson were initially slated to meet at UFC 256 on Dec. 12 before the Brazilian champion withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and also includes a light heavyweight clash between Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic. A location for the event has not been revealed, and its unclear if Nunes vs. Anderson will serve as the headliner.

A UFC champion at featherweight and bantamweight, Nunes is currently riding an 11-bout winning streak headling into her matchup with Anderson. The 32-year-old American Top Team representative, who is Sherdog.com's No. 1 pound-for-pound ranked female fighter, is coming off a five-round verdict over Felicia Spencer in a 145-pound title defense at UFC 250 on June 6. “Lioness” owns other notable wins against the likes of Germaine de Randamie (t…

ICYMI: #KSW58 is Official!!

@szymonkolecki Zawada@salahparnasse Torres

January 30th - Live on KSWTV pic.twitter.com/tqSZ3MySG9 — KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 19, 2020

Olympic gold medal-winning weightlifter Szymon Kolecki will square off against Martin Zawada in the KSW 58 headliner.

The Polish promotion announced the booking over the weekend. KSW 58 takes place in Lodz, Poland, on Jan. 30 and will see Salahdine Parnasse defend his featherweight crown against Daniel Torres in the co-main event. The event can be viewed via pay-per-view on KSWTV.com.

Kolecki, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is 8-1 since making his mixed martial arts debut in 2017. The 39-year-old Pole rebounded from his first career defeat to earn first-round stoppages of Mariusz Pudzianowksi and Damian Janikowski in his first two KSW bouts in 2019. Kolecki has finished all eight of his triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

Germany’s Zawada is …

It wasn’t an easy lead-up to UFC Fight Night 183 for Geoff Neal, and once he stepped in the cage, it didn’t get any better.

Neal suffered his first promotional defeat in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, falling to former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision. The Fortis MMA product was hospitalized with heart trouble earlier this year, an issue that forced him to withdraw from a proposed clash with Neil Magny on Aug. 29. And on Saturday, “Handz of Steel” was without his usual group of cornermen due to COVID-19. That included Fortis MMA head Sayif Saud.

“So much adversity dealing leading up to this fight,” Neal wrote on Instagram. “Sepsis, congestive heart failure, three of my corners testing positive for covid, with one of them being the General Sayif Saud, but I still made that walk and fought that fight.

“Couldn’t see out of my right eye for four rounds and still managed to hang in there with a guy who’s been …

@MarcinTybura FLEXING THE POLISH POWER! The G&P closes it out! #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/WmgYmbNLd4

— UFC (@ufc) December 20, 2020

Saturday’s loss to Marcin Tybura exposed a glaring weakness in Greg Hardy’s game.

After an opening round in which the former NFL Pro Bowler’s standup looked as good as it ever has in the Octagon, he appeared to be just as helpless on the canvas in Round 2. Once Tybura executed a takedown, it was academic from there, as Hardy wilted under an onslaught of punches and hammerfists 4:31 into the second period.

The image of a defenseless Hardy covering up against Tybura’s ground-and-pound should be ammunition for future opponents. Prior to UFC Fight Night 183, Hardy had only absorbed three significant ground strikes in seven Octagon appearances.

Hardy admitted that he is still a work-in-progress as a mixed martial artist following the discouraging defeat.

“Gotta take my Ls like a man. Always have …

Jose Aldo displayed his versatility in a much-needed victory against Marlon Vera in the UFC Fight Night 183 co-main event on Saturday night.

The former featherweight king had a strong opening round that was highlighted by numerous ripping body shots, but Vera seized momentum in the Round 2 behind a steady diet of leg kicks and clinch work. Aldo shifted gears in the final stanza, when he landed a takedown and spent the majority of the round attached to Vera’s back. That was enough to seize the scorecards by a trio of 29-28 counts.

“I knew I had a very good first round. In the second round, he came more aggressive. That told me I needed to win the third round,” Aldo said. “That position is one I train a lot. I know it’s very strong. That’s why I was able to win the round.”

That snapped a three-bout skid for the Nova Uniao star, who was coming off a brutal beating in the late rounds against Petr Yan in a bantamweight title bout this past July. Prior to that, Aldo …

Faced with an opponent who had decimated all opposition in his path, Stephen Thompson made it look easy on Saturday night.

“Wonderboy” was in prime form in the UFC Fight Night 183 headliner, as he outstruck Geoff Neal for the better part of five rounds in a unanimous decision victory at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. As a result, Thompson re-established himself as one of the welterweight division’s top contenders. It wasn’t all easy, however, because the South Carolina native suffered an apparent knee injury late in the fight which hindered his trademark movement.

“After the fourth round, I thought it was my kneecap. I felt this stiffness in my right leg. I looked down and saw this ball and thought it was my kneecap,” Thompson explained. “I tried to bend my knee and it ended up being muscle. Hopefully it’s not too bad and I don’t have to have surgery.”

A veteran of two title bouts and six 25-minute fights in the UFC overall, Thompson let experience take over down th…

Faced with an opponent who had decimated all opposition in his path, Stephen Thompson made it look easy on Saturday night.

“Wonderboy” was in prime form in the UFC Fight Night 183 headliner, as he outstruck Geoff Neal for the better part of five rounds in a unanimous decision victory at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. As a result, Thompson re-established himself as one of the welterweight division’s top contenders. It wasn’t all easy, however, because the South Carolina native suffered an apparent knee injury late in the fight which hindered his trademark movement.

“After the fourth round, I thought it was my kneecap. I felt this stiffness in my right leg. I looked down and saw this ball and thought it was my kneecap,” Thompson explained. “I tried to bend my knee and it ended up being muscle. Hopefully it’s not too bad and I don’t have to have surgery.”

A veteran of two title bouts and six 25-minute fights in the UFC overall, Thompson let experience take over down th…

The wheel kick by @Showtimepettis had Morono on wobbly legs #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/MiS6tylLIy

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 20, 2020

Anthony Pettis earned his second consecutive victory at 170 pounds at UFC Fight Night 183, but it appears that a return to lightweight is in his future.

After a decision victory against Alex Morono on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the former 155-pound champion admitted that his own habits have been holding him back in recent years, which is why he hasn’t been cutting weight as often. Four of Pettis’ last four Octagon appearances have taken place at welterweight.

“Guys at 170 are big dudes. It’s a different beast than 155. The reason I wasn’t at 155 is pure laziness,” Pettis said. “It was me outside the Octagon getting fat and just not caring like I should care about my career. I was doing some of the extracurricular things like clubs, the partying scene and all the food that comes with that. …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship ended the year by handing out $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awards to Stephen Thompson, Rob Font, Marcin Tybura and Jimmy Flick for stellar efforts at UFC Fight Night 183.

Thompson led the way on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as he used accurate straight punches, a variety of kicks and constant movement to earn a five-round verdict against Geoff Neal in the evening’s main event. It was the first appearance for “Wonderboy” since a triumph against Vicente Luque at UFC 244 in November 2019.

Elsewhere, Font also made an impressive return from a lengthy hiatus with a quick stoppage of former title challenger Marlon Moraes in a featured bantamweight encounter. A crisp jab from Font had Moraes stumbling backward, and he sent his foe to the canvas with an uppercut. From there, a barrage of powerful ground-and-pound brought an end to the bout 3:47 into Round 1.

Tybura survived a difficult opening stanza against Greg…

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. When Stephen Thompson fights at his pace and on his terms, he remains a sight to behold and one of the toughest outs in the sport. “Wonderboy” outstruck and outmaneuvered rising Fortis MMA star Geoff Neal across five rounds and kept his spot in line in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division, as he was awarded a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 183 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Thompson (16-4-1, 11-4-1 UFC) pitched a shutout, earning 50-45 scores from all three cageside judges.

Both men battled through serious cuts, the result of an inadvertent clash of heads in the first round. Neal (13-3, 5-1 UFC) had issues with the karateka’s movement and speed for much of the 25-minute confrontation, enjoying brief periods of success when he managed to close the distance. However, Thompson w…

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 Fight Night 183 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Cri…