Martial Arts News

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Michael Chandler will enter the UFC in an interesting position.

Instead of being booked against a marquee opponent for his Octagon debut, the former Bellator champion instead will serve as an alternate for the lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.

“A lot of guys would at it and say, ‘This guy’s silly for doing this.’ I look at like it’s the perfect way to introduce myself…this is just an opportunity for me to show up,” Chandler recently told ESPN. “Whether I fight Oct. 24 or I do not fight Oct. 24, I’m training as if I am, I’m showing up as if I am, I am making weight as if I am. It just goes to show exactly who I am.

“I think it’s a perfect introduction to the UFC and the UFC fans of who I am and how I conduct myself.”

Chandler was reportedly considered as a p…

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Lara Fritzen Procopio has accepted a six-month suspension from USADA for an anti-doping violation.

Procopio tested positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition sample collected on Feb. 17. The Nova Uniao product was apple to provide a sample of a supplement she received from a Brazilian compounding pharmacy, and although no banned substances were listed, lab analysis revealed the presence of ostarine.

As a result Procopio received a reduced sanction of six months from the normal two-year period, and her period of ineligibility concluded on Aug. 17, 2020.

The 24-year-old Brazilian dropped a split decision against Karol Rosa in her promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 157 on Aug. 31, 2019. Rosa began her professional tenure with six consecutive victories on the regional circuit.

The full USADA statement regarding Procopio is as follows:

USADA announced today that Lara Fritzen Procopio , of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,…

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Despite a discouraging three-fight skid in the UFC, Tyron Woodley does not have designs on calling it a career just yet.

Woodley is coming off a technical knockout loss to bitter rival Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night 178 in which the bout was halted early in Round 5 due to a rib injury. The former welterweight champion was not especially competitive prior to the stoppage, as Covington controlled the majority of the fight.

“I’m not retiring – I’m not giving it up,” Woodley said on Instagram. “I’m not switching all my coaches up. I’m not changing the continent I live on. I’m not doing all that.

“Some s—t didn’t happen and guess what? I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I did everything to make it happen. Now we just take a deep breath and see what’s next.”

Woodley’s statement is in contrast to the advice …

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Recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Phil Hawes will make his Octagon debut against Robert Whittaker training partner Jacob Malkoun at UFC 254.

AgFight was first to report the middleweight booking. UFC 254 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24 and is headlined by a lightweight championship tilt pitting Khabib Nurmagomedov against Justin Gaethje.

Hawes earned a UFC contract with a 78-second TKO of Khadzhimurat Bestaev on the Contender Series on Sept. 8. The 30-year-old Sanford MMA representative, who came up short on Season 1 of the show, enters his first promotional foray on a four-bout winning streak. Hawes is 8-2 as a professional overall and has finished all his victories inside the distance.

Malkoun, who is based at PMA Super Martial Arts in Sydney, Australia, is unbeaten in three fights…

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Steven Ray has retired from mixed martial arts at 30 years old.

The Braveheart MMA founder revealed his decision in a video on Facebook, citing a knee injury as the motivating factor behind the announcement. Ray said that those knee issues caused him chronic pain in recent years and prevented him from training as consistently as he would like despite undergoing three separate surgeries.

“Going back, before that, for my last three fights my knee’s been pretty badly damaged,” Ray said. “Those that train with me or are close to me know that I was having to spend a lot of days off training, icing my knee, when my opponent was probably training.

“It was f—-ing with my head taking days off and not going into the fight as confident. A lot of stuff I wasn’t able to do. For example, really struggling to wrestle and thro…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpIrFEwlKwY&w=560&h=315]

Legacy Fighting Alliance welterweight champion Jaleel Willis has signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

The California-based promotion confirmed the deal following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com on Sunday. A date and opponent for Willis’ second Bellator appearance were not revealed. The Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu product previously competed for the organization in 2016, when he outpointed Omar Johnson at Bellator 162.

The 28-year-old Willis claimed welterweight gold with a five-round verdict against Vinicius de Jesus at LFA 88 on Aug. 21. Willis owns a 13-2 professional mark overall and has earned five of his victories by KO/TKO and eight via decision.

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While Saturday’s majority draw with Niko Price was a disappointing result — one that Donald Cerrone actually regards as his fifth consecutive defeat — the popular veteran is nowhere near hanging up his four-ounce gloves.

“No. Don’t stretch that by any means,” Cerrone said following UFC Fight Night 178.

“I just need to figure out something that I’m doing wrong,” he added. “I don’t know where it is along the line, but I need to figure out what’s causing me to be—let’s just rewind it. Last fight with Pettis I felt great. That was the best I ever felt. The fight before with Conor [McGregor], with the biggest lights, the biggest stage, the biggest chance of my entire life — I didn’t want to be there at all. I did not want to be in that cage… That’s not me. That’s not who I am.”

Cerrone hasn’t tasted victory since a f…

ARE YOU SERIOUS!? #UFCVegas11 pic.twitter.com/ihvYCLVTYX

— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2020

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Khamzat Chimaev more than lived up to the hype at UFC Fight Night 178.

The Allstars Training Center representative made short work of Gerald Meerschaert, knocking his opponent out with a right cross just 17 seconds into their featured middleweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. After using his grappling to dominate John Phillips and Rhys McKee in his first two promotional appearances, Chimaev was pleased to showcase a different element to his game. The 26-year-old’s first two performances had drawn comparisons to reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but Chimaev wants the world to know he is more than that.

“Everybody says, ‘You’re Khabib. Khabib No. 2,’ someth…

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Colby Covington had a night to remember on Saturday, when he vanquished rival Tyron Woodley via fifth-round technical knockout in the UFC Fight Night 178 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Woodley suffered a rib injury 1:19 into Round 5, bringing an anticlimactic end to a bitter rivalry between former American Top Team members.

“He was done,” Covington said at the UFC Fight Night 178 post-fight press conference. “I broke him. In the third round I broke him. He quit. I put vicious ground and pound. He was done. He told his coach he was done and he was looking for a way out. He knew I trapped his arm and I was getting ready to put vicious ground-and-pound on him and he took the easy way out. He would rather be the spineless coward like he is. He’s a woke little f—k and he got exposed tonight.”

While conductin…

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. Tyron Woodley has endured a steep decline since his reign as UFC welterweight champion. The 38-year-old suffered his third consecutive loss at UFC Fight Night 178, falling to Colby Covington via fifth-round technical knockout in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. That defeat comes on the heels of lopsided setbacks at the hands of Gilbert Burns at UFC on ESPN 9 this past May and to reigning 170-pound king Kamaru Usman in 2019.

UFC president Dana White believes Woodley’s recent struggles could signal the end of the line for the Missouri native.

“I think that he should start thinking about hanging it up,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 178 post-fight press conference. “He’s had a great career, he’s had a great run. He’s made money.”

When Woodley was initially expected to face Covington at UFC 228 in Se…

Cashing in on a WILD night of fights!

: @KChimaev: @MackenzieDern: @RandyCosta135: Damon Jackson pic.twitter.com/SI6iexwtoc

— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2020 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. UFC Fight Night 178 featured plenty of fun fights and impressive finishes, which has led to four mixed martial artists becoming $50,000 richer.

The most obvious pick was Khamzat Chimaev, who wiped out Gerald Meerschaert with just one punch. With the 17-second KO, Chimaev improves to 9-0.

Also earning $50,000 is Mackenzie Dern, who put on a grappling clinic against Randa Markos. The Arizona native was able to put Markos in a tight armbar and earned a submission win just 3:44 into the fight. Dern advances to 9-1 with the victory.

Randy Costa's incredible high kick KO of Journey Newson was also compensated financially. The fini…