Martial Arts News

Cristiane Justino is still the Bellator MMA women's featherweight champion and picked up her first submission win in the process.

"Cyborg" put the title she won from Julia Budd on the line against challenger Arlene Blencowe. Justino (23-2, 1 NC) took her opponent down midway through Round 1 and easily gained mount. After transitioning to the back, the Brazilian was able to unleash powerful punches. The tough challenger survived the first round but it set the pace the fight would follow.

Justino opened Round 2 by bloodying up Blencowe (13-8) on the feet with an incredible flurry of punches and then took her opponent down. Heavy shots from mount forced the Australian to give up her back and "Cyborg" locked in a rear-naked choke at 2:36 of the round. This marks the first submission win for the champion.

Outside of the main event, there was some late drama at Bellator 249. The scheduled co-main event between Patricky Freire and Jaleel Willis was scrapped by the Mohegan …

Now that the #LFA93 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tomorrow night?

: https://t.co/PbqpznyvHh

: https://t.co/sdWQ4RCJNb@ogRISK@PsoRite@ShellsDotCom@AthleticCBD@GLCDirect2000@USENDmoney@IncaKolaUSA@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/ijaocvrCSf — LFA (@LFAfighting) October 16, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance continues its eventful October with its second mixed martial arts event of the month.

LFA 93 is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Dana White’s Contender Series alum Aaron Jeffery and undefeated prospect Andre Petroski. The nine-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place on Thursday.

The more experienced of the two fighters is Jeffery (8-2), who has double the fights of his opponent. The Canadian came up short against Brendan Allen in his lone DWCS bout but has won six of his last seven. Five of those wins have come via TKO, including his most recent fi…

Conor McGregor a -180 favorite vs Dustin Poirier (+155).

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) October 15, 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. Although the Ultimate Fighting Championship rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is far from official, betting lines have opened. On Thursday, BetOnline opened a line on the prospective McGregor (22-4) vs. Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) bout. The two have accepted the bout through a cordial Twitter exchange, but UFC President Dana White stood hard-and-fast about the date of their meeting.

Should they actually lock horns, it would take place on Jan. 23 and not other previously mentioned dates like Nov. 21, Dec. 12 or Dec. 19. There has not been a venue, location or even an official announcement that the Jan. 23 event will be held. It would be expected to be a pay-per-view card should it come to…

Although it has been delayed a while, the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix will be back sooner than most expect.

Bellator's 145-pound tournament was put on hold this past March after the promotion was forced to cancel events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization confirmed to Sherdog today that the tournament will start back up in November with a trio of major bouts.

Bellator lightweight and featherweight champion Patricio Freire (30-4) will defend his 145-pound belt against Pedro Carvalho (11-3) in a quarterfinal matchup of the tournament. The scrap will headline Bellator 252, which will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Nov. 12. The two were originally slated to do battle back at Bellator 241 this past March, but the entire event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Freire reached the quarterfinals after besting current Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta. “Pitbull” took a unanimous decision in the openi…

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. After almost three years away from the Octagon, Brazilian bantamweight Thomas Almeida will finally make his return against Jonathan Martinez at the featherweight division. “I’m really glad Martinez accepted that fight on such short notice,” Almeida told Sherdog. “When I was in London, getting the connecting flight to Abu Dhabi, [UFC matchmaker Sean] Shelby called us telling [me] my opponent got [COVID-19]. I got really upset. After almost the years away, after all the diet, the strong camp, that was unbelievable. But Shelby told me, ‘don’t worry, you will fight.’ And when I got in Abu Dhabi, he already got Martinez. The only point is that he couldn’t reach bantamweight on time so I accepted to fight in featherweight. What actually turned into being an amazing experience.

“I don’t recall [ever being allowed to eat] an ice cream one…

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 path back to Ultimate Fighting Championship title contention for Anthony Smith will begin with an unranked opponent. The news first coming from MMA Junkie on Thursday, Smith (33-16) will be competing again at the light heavyweight division against Devin Clark (12-4). The two will come to blows at the Nov. 28 UFC Fight Night card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Clark was originally booked against Shamil Gamzatov, but the Russian pulled out due to visa issues. In his stead will be Smith, and the matchup has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Although Smith discussed a potential return to the middleweight division after a pair of one-sided losses to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic, the former light heavyweight title challenger is staying at 205 pounds for the foreseeable future. “Lionheart” moved to light heavyweight a…

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. Jessica Andrade is ready to become the first female fighter to compete in three Ultimate Fighting Championship weight classes on Saturday, and she is willing to move around the divisions depending on her options. Gilliard Parana, the head coach of PRVT Girls, spoke with Sherdog about Andrade’s upcoming fight against the #1 ranked flyweight contender Katlyn Chookagian this weekend.

“Last time in Abu Dhabi [at UFC 251], Jessica faced the hardest experience of her life to reach the limit of strawweight division due to a series of factors like jet lag, local temperature and also the fact that Jessica’s body is getting old,” Parana told Sherdog. “Actually, she is only 29, but her body already faced 28 battles [so] of course it’s getting harder to lose weight.”

Parana believes that moving the whole PRVT team to Las Vegas in 2021 w…

It appears that Conor McGregor is willing to back off on his original demand of a fight before the close of 2020.

Shortly after UFC president Dana White revealed that the promotion had offered Dustin Poirier as an opponent to McGregor on Jan. 23 and was unwilling to book the fight any earlier, the former two-division champion accepted the date on Twitter. McGregor added that he is targeting Cowboys Stadium as a potential venue for the event, which has not been formally announced by the promotion.

“I accept, Jan 23rd is on!” McGregor wrote on Twitter. “My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! [Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans! Then Manny.”

I accept, Jan 23rd is on!My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be rea…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLLpdD_Ey6w&w=560&h=315]

Bellator has signed the only man to defeat UFC bantamweight king Petr Yan.

In an interview with CBS Sports, Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that the promotion has signed former ACB (now Absolute Championship Akhmat) bantamweight champion Magomed Magomedov to an exclusive, multi-fight deal.

“We’re very excited for this signing of Magomed Magomedov,” Coker said. “My team and I continue to search the planet for the top up-and-coming-fighters and we feel that Magomedov has the potential to be a world champion in the sport.”

A date for Magomedov’s debut is currently unknown. The 28-year-old Moscow native owns a 16-1 professional record that includes a five-round split verdict over Yan in March 2016. Yan later regained the ACB 135-pound crown with a unanimous decision triumph in a rematch approximately a year later. Magomedov hasn’t competed since a first-round submission of Walter Pereira Jr. a…

A KO UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

Four days later and we still can't wrap our heads around this @Newmansa94 finish pic.twitter.com/QyeqWZ7kg8

— UFC (@ufc) October 14, 2020 Joaquin Buckley won’t have to wait too long to capitalize on the momentum of his “Knockout of the Year” contender at UFC Fight Night 179.

According to ESPN, Buckley will square off against Jordan Wright in a middleweight bout at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight title bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Alex Perez.

Buckley went viral with his spinning back kick KO of Impa Kasanganay on Oct. 10 in Abu Dhabi. The LFA and Bellator MMA veteran debuted in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 174, where he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Kevin Holland. “New Mansa” 11-3 with eight KO/TKO wins over the course of his pro career.

Wright, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 12 professional outings, though a TKO …

The UFC Fight Night 180 headliner between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung will serve as a No. 1 contender bout for the featherweight division.

"It's absolutely a No. 1 contender fight," UFC president Dana White told ESPN. "First of all, this fight should have happened a long time ago. We're finally here. All the crazy stuff that's happened. Crazy stuff always happens in this sport. Zombie [Jung] vs. Ortega. Absolutely, the winner of this fight should be the next title shot.”

Ortega and Jung were scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night 165 on Dec. 21, but Ortega was forced to withdraw from the contest due to a knee injury.

Ortega hasn’t competed since falling to Max Holloway via four-round doctor stoppage at UFC 231 in December 2018. Prior to that, “T-City” had won six straight Octagon appearances. Ortega is 14-1 with one on contest as a professional overall.

After Ortega exited their proposed clash, Jung dispatched replacement foe Frankie Edgar via first-ro…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 2020 calendar is full, but Conor McGregor has the opportunity to fight Dustin Poirier early next year if he wishes to accept the promotion’s offer.

UFC president Dana White told ESPN that he wants to book McGregor vs. Poirier for Jan. 23. However, McGregor recently wrote on Twitter that he wants to fight before the end of the year and would accept dates on Nov. 21, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19.

Hello Dustin! I accepted the @ufc offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020. I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation https://t.co/23hN4AHtoI

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 8, 2020

"We offered him a fight. We got him his own date," White told ESPN. "We didn't have a date this year. We have everything laid out for this year, with world champions fighti…