Martial Arts News

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Birmingham's Tom Breese is going to kick off 2021 against Omari Akhmedov on Jan 16! pic.twitter.com/P4iIgedkIK

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 7, 2020 Omari Akhmedov will lock horns with Tom Breese in a middleweight bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 16.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking via social media on Monday. A location for the event has not been formally announced but it is expected to take place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card is headlined by a featherweight scrap pitting Max Holloway against Calvin Kattar.

Akhmedov, 33, had a six-bout unbeaten streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8. The Dagestani known as “Wolverine” is 8-4-1 during his promotional tenure and 20-5-1 as a professional overall.

Breese, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last four Octag…

Ground game on point! @Savage_UFC puts the finishing touch on a dominant performance.

#UFCVegas3 continues on @ESPN and E+. pic.twitter.com/PK9UIw0AaJ

— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2020 The lineup for UFC Fight Night 183 has two new flyweight additions, as Taila Santos will meet Gillian Robertson, while Jimmy Flick will face Cody Durden.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the fights over the weekend. Santos was initially slated to square off against Montana De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN 19, but the bout was canceled when one of her opponent’s cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Robertson, meanwhile, was booked against Andrea Lee at UFC 256 before Lee pulled out of the matchup due to injury.

Flick and Durden were also scheduled to collide at UFC on ESPN 19 but a non-COVID medical issue forced Durden off the card on fight day.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a welterweight…

DON'T CALL HER AN UNDERDOG!!@shana_dobson with the RELENTLESS GnP #UFCVegas7 pic.twitter.com/O5bQkmZdkb

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 23, 2020

Shana Dobson will welcome the undefeated Casey O'Neill to the Octagon at a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 20.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the flyweight pairing. The event doesn’t have a location or headliner as of yet.

Dobson snapped a three-bout skid when she defeated Mariya Agapova by technical knockout 1:38 into the second round of their encounter at UFC on ESPN 15 on Aug. 22. The former “Ultimate Fighter 26” competitor is 2-3 in UFC competition with a stoppage of Ariel Beck to her credit.

Australia’s O’Neill is 5-0 to kick off her professional tenure. The Tiger Muay Thai export is a former Eternal MMA strawweight queen and is coming off a second-round knockout of Christina Stelliou at UAE Warriors 13 on Sept. 25.

Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future. #CovidFuckingUpEveryonesSeason #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/karOTjqZO2

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) December 7, 2020

Angela Hill has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to compete against Tecia Torres at UFC 256 as expected.

The strawweight fighter announced the news on social media Sunday night.

“Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future,” Hill wrote.

“Was a little sick over the weekend but feeling back to normal now. Would be trying to fight under different circumstances but thankful for my hea…

https://t.co/XC53S0ivef

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) December 6, 2020

In the carnival-like world of combat sports, exhibition boxing matches are all the rage right now.

That trend will continue early next year, as retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and YouTube sensation Logan Paul will square off in an exhibition bout on Feb. 20. The event will be available on pay-per-view via Fanmio. The first million pay-per-view buys will cost $24.99, according to the event page. After $1 million sold it goes up to $39.99 and then to $59.99 on Dec. 29 and $69.99 on Feb. 11.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones exhibition, which reportedly drew more than $1 million buys for the 12-round bout on Nov. 28. According to The Athletic, Mayweather vs. Paul “has been in the works for a while.” Otherwise, details regarding the bout are scarce at this point in time.

It will be Mayweather’s second appearance s…

Jack Hermansson paid the price for going five hard rounds against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 19.

In addition to a unanimous decision defeat, “The Joker” revealed in an Instagram post following the bout that he suffered fractures to his toe and face in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“Broken toe and broken eyesocket but not a broken spirit,” Hermansson wrote. “The goal remains the same. Thank you for your support.”

Hermansson demonstrated great resilience in defeat, as he was dropped and nearly finished by Vettori in the opening stanza. The 32-year-old Swede was able to survive that initial onslaught and remain competitive until the final horn. All told, Hermansson and Vettori combined to set a UFC middleweight record with 286 significant strikes landed, an effort that earned the combatants “Fight of the Night” honors.

Hermansson has lost two of his last three promotional appearances after a four-bout win…

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…