Martial Arts News

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 DWCS 2020 Week 7 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 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:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Keith Shillan scores t…

Saturday's Ultimate Fighting Championship event suffered another change.

AG Fight is reporting that Miguel Baeza isn't locking horns with Mickey Gall at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 178 event after Gall pulled out of the scheduled contest due to an undisclosed injury. Instead, Baeza will clash with UFC newcomer Jeremiah Wells.

Baeza, 9-0, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum earned his UFC contract after edging Victor Reyna back in June 2019. After joining the big leagues, he scored two second-round TKO victories at the expense of Hector Aldana at UFC Fight Night 161 and Matt Brown UFC on ESPN 8.

Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships champion Wells (8-2-1) is making his first Octagon walkout by riding a two-streak bout. In his latest cage appearance, he submitted Marco Smallman via rear-naked choke in the second stanza of their CFFC 78 championship encounter. Wells also captured the Classic Entertainment and Sports MMA belt when he overcame Jason Norwood…

Thiago Santos' return to action has been postponed.

A light heavyweight clash targeted for Oct. 3 will not proceed as planned. According to a report by Combate, Santos is out of his scheduled fight against Glover Teixeira at UFC on ESPN 16. “Marreta” allegedly tested positive for COVID-19 and he won't be able to travel to Yas Island.

Santos (21-7) was supposed to make his long-awaited return after a hiatus that lasted more than a year. The last time he competed, he challenged former divisional kingpin Jon Jones at UFC 239. “Bones” emerged victorious via split decision after a back-and-forth battle, but “Marreta” fought to the bitter end. That loss snapped Santos’ four-bout winning streak that included victories over Jan Blachowicz and Jimi Manuwa.

UFC vet Teixeira (31-7) is currently living experiencing a resurgence. After dropping a decision in front of Corey Anderson back at UFC Fight Night 134, the former 205-pound title contender scored a series of three straight v…

Daniel Cormier says he discovered something was off with him thanks to a smart ring device.

COVID-19 impacted DC’s life this summer. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division king revealed that he started to guess something was wrong midway through his training camp for UFC 252. On July 1, one of Cormier's teammates tested positive for the virus. Even though the tests of Cormier -- who immediately wanted to make sure he had not been infected -- came back negative a few days later, he began to feel symptoms by the end of that week.

“But over the weekend, I started feeling a little sick,” Cormier said. “Things weren't exactly ... well, let me put it this way: I wasn't sick, but I got a little tired and peaked. Monday comes, I go to practice and I spar and I worked out three times. I felt OK, but I was a little bit tired is, I guess, how I would put it.”

The constant fatigue summed up with an unusually high resting h…

It appears that the second fight of “Moicano” in the 155-pound division will have to wait.

According to a report by Ag Fight, Renato Carneiro is unable to leave the United States and won't compete against Magomed Mustafaev on Oct. 17. The UFC is currently looking to reschedule the fight for later this year.

In his latest appearance, Carneiro (14-3-1) scored an impressive first-round submission of Damir Hadzovic back in March. The UFC Fight Night 170 encounter also marked the debut of "Moicano" in the lightweight division after a stint at 145 that ended with a 5-3 record, including victories against Cub Swanson and Calvin Kattar.

Mustafaev (14-3) is also looking to bounce back after dropping a decision to Brad Riddell at UFC Fight Night 168.

The upcoming UFC Fight Island event is taking place in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 17. The main event will feature a featherweight clash between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung, better known as “The Korean Zombie.” The card will…

It seems that one of the protagonists of Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event is out.

Fans will have to wait to see the clash between Luiz Eduardo Garagorri and Mirsad Bektic. According to a report by MMA Fighting, a test of someone from Garagorri's team tested positive for COVID-19 and the Uruguayan fighter was forced to pull out. The UFC is currently looking for a new opponent for Bektic.

Garagorri (13-1) made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 156, where he edged Humberto Bandenay via decision. In his subsequent cage appearance, he got submitted by Ricardo Ramos at the 3:57 mark of the first stanza at their UFC Fight Night 164 encounter, losing for the first time in his professional career.

Bektic (13-3) is looking to bounce back after a couple of unsuccessful battles. The last time he competed, he dropped a decision to Dan Ige at UFC 247. Prior, he lost to Josh Emmett via first-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 155. Bektic's latest victory date…

BELLATOR EUROPEAN SERIES RETURNS⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀eptember - Edwards vs. Van Steenisctober - Gallagher vs. Ellenor⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Both events take place in Milan, Italy and will be broadcast live on Channel 5 pic.twitter.com/54gzu4BShj

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) September 15, 2020

The Bellator European Series is back with two more dates: Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.

On Tuesday, Bellator MMA announced the dates for two Bellator European Series events that will go down in Milan, Italy. The Oct. 3 card will feature a bantamweight clash in its main event as James Gallagher (10-1) will take on Callum Ellenor (8-2).

“The Strabanimal” will put his three-bout winning streak on the line against longtime rival Ellenor. In his latest cage appearance, the Irishman submitted Roman Salazar thanks to a slick guillotine choke at Bellator 227. Prior, he upended Jeremiah Labiano and submitted Steven Graham at Bellator 223 and Bellator 217, respectively. So far, only Ri…

BELLATOR EUROPEAN SERIES RETURNS⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀eptember - Edwards vs. Van Steenisctober - Gallagher vs. Ellenor⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Both events take place in Milan, Italy and will be broadcast live on Channel 5 pic.twitter.com/54gzu4BShj

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) September 15, 2020

Bellator MMA is returning to Bel Paese with two early fall events.

On Tuesday morning, Bellator MMA announced the return of the Bellator European Series with events scheduled for Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 in Milan, Italy. The first of the two cards will be headlined by a middleweight meeting between Fabian Edwards and Costello van Steenis. The pair were supposed to clash in London back in May, but the COVID-19 outbreak forced the California-based organization to cancel the bill.

Edwards (9-0) has gathered a 4-0 record under the Bellator banner. In his latest cage appearance, he edged former BAMMA middleweight champion Mike Shipman in the co-main event of 2019's Bellator L…

A clash of red-hot lightweights has been added to the UFC Fight Night 182 card.

The matchup between rising contenders Drew Dober and Diego Ferreira, originally scheduled for May, has been announced as part of the UFC Fight Night 182 card in November. The news was first reported by ESPN. Dober and Ferreira had been scheduled to meet on the May 2 card that was cancelled entirely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Dober (23-9, 1NC) is riding a three-bout winning streak since being submitted by Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 146, all three by knockout or TKO. Dober got back on track by smashing Marco Polo Reyes in the opening stanza of their UFC on ESPN 3 encounter, then scored a highlight-reel KO of Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 246 and his latest Octagon appearance, at UFC Fight Night 171, he scored a second-round TKO of Alexander Hernandez.

Ferreira (17-2), undefeated in over five years, will put an impressive six-fight streak on the line against Dober. Last time…

It appears that Dana White’s well-known admiration for President Trump is mutual.

President of the United States, Donald Trump, whose early support for the Ultimate Fighting Championship is frequently mentioned in the narrative of the promotion’s rise, affirmed his close relationship with UFC President Dana White at a campaign rally on Sept. 13. In his remarks, Trump praised White, stating that White not only helped make MMA a popular sport, but also made a lot of money when the UFC was sold to Endeavor.

"He can make everything," Trump said. "He is so smart, so tough, so cunning. He's been a friend of mine for a long time. I've been a friend of his."

The friendship between White and Trump dates back to 2001, when Trump allowed the UFC to host events at the Trump Taj Mahal and other Trump venues while other arenas rejected them. At the 2016 Republican National Convention, White publicly endorsed Trump, support that he has reaffirmed ahead of the 2020 electio…

It's time for a HUGE REMATCH! #KSW55 has a main event!

@scottaskham1 and Mamed Khalidov will meet again but this time in the championship bout pic.twitter.com/qkwNc15xLi

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) September 14, 2020 Two of Europe’s best fighters will meet again, with a title on the line.

On Monday, KSW announced that the title rematch between Scott Askham and Mamed Khalidov will headline the upcoming KSW 55 card.

After an unsuccessful Ultimate Fighting Championship stint that ended with back-to-back defeats, Askham (19-4) found his way back to success in Europe. After upending Luke Barnatt via decision in a back-and-forth battle at ACB 70, Askham landed a fast knockout victory at the expense of Michal Materla at KSW 42. He then went on to join the KSW Middleweight Tournament, scoring a first-round TKO victory against Marcin Wojcik at KSW 45 and another highlight-reel knockout of Materla—with a flying knee this time—in the tournament final at…

“Here’s Lookin’ At You Kid” Pay the man @danawhite @ufc Love ya’ll but let’s give the Hardcore & Casual fans what they deserve, a good fight Sir -CSO- @DustinPoirier #ufc254 pic.twitter.com/uVwwZIUtSd

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) September 14, 2020

It seemed like the matchup fans—and the fighters—wanted, but for now at least, they will have to wait.

A rumored bout between Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) and Tony Ferguson (25-4) for UFC 254 next month had fans buzzing, as the two lightweight contenders discussed the possibility on social media. Even though the Ultimate Fighting Championship never officially announced the matchup, the organization was said to be actively negotiating with both fighters.

On Thursday, it was reported that the matchup was in doubt, due primarily to Poirier’s financial requests. At the press conference after Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 177, UFC President Dana White confirmed that the bout was off and that…