Martial Arts News

DOMINATED @JasonWittMMA controlled this one from start to finish! #UFCVegas12 pic.twitter.com/YBsGRN8c25

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) October 31, 2020

Jason Witt will lock horns with Matthew Semelsberger at UFC Fight Night on March 13.

Both welterweight fighters recently confirmed the matchup on their respective social media accounts. The event does not currently have a location or headliner.

Witt is 1-1 in two UFC appearances. After suffering a 48-second technical knockout loss to Takashi Sato in his Octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 12, “The Vanilla Gorilla” rebounded to submit Cole Williams in the second round at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31. The 34-year-old Glory MMA & Fitness member has compiled an 18-6 mark since beginning his MMA career in 2013.

Semelsberger, meanwhile, extended his winning streak to four with a decision triumph over Carlton Minus in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 15. The 28-year-old is 7-2 as a professional…

Down goes Sana! #ONECollisionCourse2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/cgCSp75W8M

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 25, 2020

He had to wait until Christmas Day to open it, but Jamal Yusupov may have unwrapped a One Championship muay Thai title shot.

In the main event of the tape-delayed One Championship: Collision Course 2 broadcast on Dec. 25, Yusupov overcame Samy Sana via unanimous decision in a featherweight muay Thai clash. The Russian generally proved to be more precise and effective with his striking. In the second stanza, Yusupov dropped Sana with a perfectly-placed left hand. In the third round, "AK-47" involuntarily hit Yusupov with a low blow, but the Yusupov was able to continue after taking some time to recover from the shot. Considering Yusupov's performance, an assault at current One muay Thai champion Phetmorakot Petchyindee Academy may not be very far away.

The co-main event featured an MMA catch…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3bbmAd2O1k&w=560&h=315] Count current Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy among those that took issue with Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s recent video release.

On his podcast “Weighing In” on Thursday, McCarthy and fellow Bellator commentator Josh Thomson weighed in on the video released by Dana White on Monday. In White’s Dec. 21 video, the UFC head lashed out at MMA media, claiming that the media was trying to shut the promotion down in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The video, which showed several longstanding media members in a harshly negative light, pulled clips and articles from March to May about how the promotion should continue. At that time, the UFC did not release public details of its coronavirus protocols, leaving the media critical of the procedures while asking what was going on.

Among White’s many complaints in what several in the media space have considered a “victory lap” f…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5LP1MJRnvw&w=560&h=315] Bellator MMA has added another solid name to its growing light heavyweight division.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Stephan Puetz (20-4), a light heavyweight out of Germany, has been signed by Bellator. A Bellator official has since confirmed Puetz’ signing to Sherdog.

The 6-foot-6 light heavyweight joins a roster recently bolstered by signings of names like Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson. A former M-1 Challenge champion, Puetz left the league in 2018 after a pair of stoppage losses in Round 3. Since then, Puetz has rattled off five wins in the German MMA Championship and Fair Fighting Championship promotions in Germany, winning belts in both and finishing four of five foes.

Throughout his career, “T-800” briefly dabbled at heavyweight after defending his 205-pound throne a few times. His move to heavyweight matched him against current Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender M…

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. The new year has not yet begun and the Ultimate Fighting Championship is already changing up events in 2021. Makhmud Muradov (24-6) announced on his Instagram on Thursday that he would be competing at UFC 257 in place of Andre Muniz at middleweight. Muradov will be facing Andrew Sanchez (12-5) on the card that will go down on Jan. 23 at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Muniz was forced to withdraw for currently undisclosed reasons. Muradov attempted to compete through 2020 on four separate occasions, and all four were scuttled for various reasons.

“My next fight will take place on January 23rd against Andrew Sanchez,” Muradov wrote on his Instagram via Google Translate. “In Sha Allah ovsem soon I will please you with another victory! Thank you all very much for your support.”

“Mach” is currently ridi…

IT’S SHOWTIME!

Welcome to the PFL, @Showtimepettis! pic.twitter.com/FwPDt3ozhF

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) December 23, 2020 It didn’t take long for Anthony Pettis to find a new promotional home.

One day after announcing he was parting ways with the UFC to become a free agent, “Showtime” has signed a contract with Professional Fighters League. ESPN was first to report the news, and the PFL confirmed the signing shortly thereafter.

Pettis will compete in the promotion’s lightweight division as part of the 2021 season. The PFL canceled its 2020 campaign due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic but will return beginning in April of next year. PFL’s most recent 155-pound champion was Natan Schulte, who outpointed Loik Radzhabov in the organization’s final event of 2019. Schulte was also the PFL lightweight champion in 2018. The PFL awards its champions in each weight class with a $1 million payout at the end of the season.

I…

.@LFAfighting kicks off the 2021 @UFCFightPass schedule with the #Lightweight Championship at #LFA97! @NyquilNickvs.@AEstrazulasMMA

: https://t.co/YvHX113INK

Friday, January 15@HartmanArena#ParkCity, #Kansas#MMA#LFANation@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/nSmcJK0qUv — LFA (@LFAfighting) December 23, 2020

Legacy Fighting Alliance will begin its 2021 schedule with a lightweight championship bout on Jan. 15.

The promotion announced this week that Nick Browne will square off against Arthur Estrazulas for the 155-pound belt in the main event of LFA 97 at the Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. Browne and Estrazulas were originally supposed to meet at LFA 95 but the bout was postponed due to coronavirus testing protocols. LFA 97 will stream on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Browne has been victorious in 10 of his 11 professional outings, including two fights under the LFA banner. Most recently, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black bel…

Devonte Smith (10-1) runs roughshod over Dong Hyun Ma, mowing down the "Maestro" in round one! "King Kage" rides a six-fight tear. The Contender Series grad has stopped all of his wins, nine by knockout, and seven in the first round. #UFC234 pic.twitter.com/6156Y4zjRO

— Bulgogi Jones (@Hamderlei) February 10, 2019

Devonte Smith will lock horns with Alex da Silva Coelho at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Feb. 6.

MMA journalist James Lynch first brought word of the matchup. The card does not yet have an official location but is expected to feature a heavyweight clash between Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov.

A competitor on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Smith kicked off his promotional tenure with KO/TKO triumphs against Julian Erosa and Dong Hyun Ma before being stopped in the opening stanza by Khama Worthy in his most recent outing at UFC 241 in August 2019. An Achilles injury has sidelined “King Kage” since …

A flyweight clash pitting Jordan Espinosa against Tim Elliott has been moved from the UFC’s Jan. 16 event to UFC 259 after Espinosa tested positive for COVID-19.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and is expected to include a women’s featherweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. A location for the event has yet to be revealed.

The 31-year-old Espinosa has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Luttrell-Yee MMA representative dropped a unanimous verdict against David Dvorak at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19.

Elliott snapped a three-bout losing streak in his last outing, when he earned a decision triumph over Ryan Benoit UFC on ESPN 13. Elliott’s three previous defeats came against reigning champ Deiveson Figueiredo and contenders Askar Askarov and Brandon Royval.

Thank you @ufc @danawhite pic.twitter.com/pJtBo2Hpxc

— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 23, 2020

Anthony Pettis is parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former lightweight champion announced on social media Tuesday that he is a free agent after fulfilling the last fight on his most recent UFC deal. Pettis also issued a lengthy statement thanking UFC staff and fans. That statement is as follows:

Almost 12 years with this company and so many amazing memories. From winning my first world title at 23 years old to becoming the UFC world champion at 26 in my hometown. From being on MTV to the cover of the Wheaties box, I am forever grateful for everything I have experienced and accomplished with this company!!!

Dana – thank you for everything you have done for me. I was just a kid from the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a big dream. You helped me turn thta dream into a reality. THANK YOU!!!

Loren…

It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed back to network television.

The Las Vegas-based promotion is expected to move its Jan. 16 card from the ESPN family of networks to ABC. It would be the first time a UFC event was broadcast on ABC. The news was first reported by MMAjunkie.com and Twitter user DonKingLV.

It is currently unclear how the broadcast will be presented on ABC, or if part of the carried will be carried by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN+. The UFC Fight Night event takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is currently headlined by a featherweight tilt between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. Assuming the deal is finalized, it will mark the first time the organization has been on network television since UFC on Fox 31 on Dec. 15, 2018.

Meanwhile, MMA DNA was first to report that a UFC event tentatively slated for Jan. 30 has been removed from the schedule. The card was never officially announced by the promotion, but fights previously targ…

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…