Martial Arts News

[embedded content] The Professional Fighters League will turn to the second leg of its 2024 tour of The Old Continent with PFL Europe 2 on Saturday at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. Current undisputed super-middleweight boxing champion Savannah Marshall headlines the bill in her non-tournament mixed martial arts debut opposite Mirela Vargas at a 160-pound catchweight.

PFL Europe 2—which streams live on DAZN in many territories across the globe at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT—shines the spotlight on quarterfinal bouts in the welterweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight divisions. It also features a lightweight co-main event pitting Manchester Top Team’s Kane Mousah against James Doolan protégé Dylan Tuke at 155 pounds.

A closer look at the PFL Europe 2 particulars:

THE LINEUP 160: Savannah Marshall vs. Mirela Vargas155: Kane Mousah vs. Dylan Tuke170: Jack Grant vs. Charlie Leary135: Lewis McGrillen-Evans vs. Matiss Zaharovs135: Dean Garnett vs. Ayton De Paepe…

As soon as Evgeniy Antonov sensed an opening, he unleashed hell.

The undefeated Russian prospect enjoyed a stellar ONE Championship debut, as he took care of Islam Kukaev with a burst of elbow strikes in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 66 catchweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Kukaev (4-2, 0-1 ONE) checked out 4:50 into Round 1.

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Antonov (4-0, 1-0 ONE) stayed composed under initial duress. Kukaev executed multiple takedowns and applied his ground-and-pound but failed to corral his counterpart on the canvas. Antonov eventually escaped to his feet and piled up points and damage with crisp combinations before swooping in for a takedown of his own. He then postured in half guard and cut loose with unanswered elbows until the job was done.

The 25-year-old Antonov has finished all four of his opponents, three of them inside one round.

Meanwhile, Torepchi Dongak put away the Hiroto Masuda with a vol…

Tha Killa Gorilla is ready to go 💪

Jared Cannonier makes weight at 185 pounds for tomorrow night's main event! #UFCLouisville pic.twitter.com/3nZLW8mRs8

— UFC (@ufc) June 7, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves with an intriguing middleweight main event.

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UFC on ESPN 57 is headlined by Jared Cannonier taking on fellow middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov. Both main event fighters weighed exactly 185 pounds. The only weight miss on the card was strawweight Eduarda Moura (116.5), who came in half a pound over the strawweight limit and has been fined 20% of her purse as a result.

Cannonier (17-6) is riding a two-fight win streak since coming up short against Israel Adesanya. Victories over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori have kept "The Killa Gorilla" a top contender despite being 40. He'll look to keep his title shot dreams alive with a win in his sixth UFC main event.

Meanwhile…

#PFLNewcastle Official Weigh In Result:

Savannah Marshall - 160.8lbsMirela Vargas - 158.7lbs

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Presented by @thatprizeguy 🤝 #PFLNewcastle | TOMORROW | Live on DAZN pic.twitter.com/b35uVkgkj9 — PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) June 7, 2024 Boxing champion Savannah Marshall will make her mixed martial arts debut in the main event of PFL Europe 2.

The latest Professional Fighters League card is now official after the PFL Europe 2 weigh-ins took place. Nearly all fighters on the card made weight, with the exception of Dee Begley, who missed the flyweight limit by 4.3 pounds. As a result of the miss, Begley will forfeit 30 percent of her purse to opponent Paulina Wisniewska and will begin the fight with a point deduction.

The main event will see Marshall, who holds an impressive boxing record of 13-1 make her MMA debut against Mirela Vargas. Marshall could potentially set up an MMA fight against boxing rival Claressa Shields…

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While Kade Ruotolo will make his mixed martial arts debut Friday, he is no stranger to fist fighting, having grown up with twin brother Tye Ruotolo.

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Ruotolo is scheduled to make his MMA debut against Blake Cooper (2-1) at ONE 167 on June 7 in Bangkok. Having been in regular bare-knuckle fights with his brother since a young age, the elite jiu-jitsu practitioner claims to have picked up on the striking aspect of MMA with ease. While preparing for his upcoming fight, Ruotolo has already surprised a lot of people who were expecting him to come in as a pure jiu-jitsu practitioner and plans to surprise many more.

“It’s kind of a hard question to say that exactly. When we were growing up – it wasn’t at a very high level, it was at our jiu-jitsu gym for around two years when we were around the age of 13, give or take. We did about two years of Muay Thai, so we had an idea of how to throw a kick, how to throw a punch, things like that,”…

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Brendan Loughnane (27-5) believes the Professional Fighters League tournament format isn’t meant for everyone and claims to know a lot of Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters that agree with him.

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Loughnane will take on Justin Gonzales (14-4) in the main event at PFL 6 2024 Regular Season, featuring featherweights and welterweights on June 28 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The 2022 PFL featherweight champion has been with the promotion since 2019 and is no stranger to the unique format.

The PFL season consists of two regular season matches across six weight classes to decide who proceeds to the playoffs based on a points system scored by the method of victory. The playoffs feature semi finals and a final with $1 million on the line.

This, combined with the league’s pay-per-view cards, keeps a PFL fighter busier compared to most other organizations. Loughnane notes that the PFL tournament format can be …

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Mikey Musumeci deems Joao Gabriel Sousa’s body type as the biggest challenge, apart from the Brazilian’s strength.

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Musumeci will look to correct a 2021 loss when he takes on Sousa in a 145-pound rematch at ONE 167 in Bangkok on June 7. Musumeci hasn’t lost a bout since suffering a submission loss against Sousa in their first encounter. Reflecting on that loss, Musumeci admits that Sousa was evidently stronger than him.

Planning to leave no stone unturned to exact revenge, Musumeci has been working on his strength with Sam “Coach Cal” Calvitta at the Treigning Lab. Apart from the strength, Musumeci sees Sousa’s body type as the biggest challenge. According to “Darth Rigatoni,” comparatively short-limbed fighters like Sousa have an advantage in no-gi jiu-jitsu as they are hard to grab ahold of.

“Gabriel has very small limbs. He has no arms, no legs. Which in no-gi, it helps people built like that; like dinosaurs kind of. In …

Adrian Lee will look to make a statement in his professional mixed martial arts debut at ONE 167 on Friday.

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Lee will have his family name to live up to when he makes his pro debut against Antonio Mammarella on June 7 in Bangkok. While Lee’s elder sister Angela Lee retired as the reigning ONE Championship atomweight queen last year, elder brother Christian Lee currently holds the lightweight and welterweight titles. Another sibling, Victoria Lee, who was just as promising as her kin, unfortunately took her own life in 2022.

Lee’s main focus going into his pro debut is to make a statement by finishing his opponent as early as possible. While he isn’t too focused on producing highlight-reel footage, he doesn’t believe in spending more time in the cage than necessary.

“During this camp, we've been practically focused on everything. The main thing we've been focused on is just how to get the job finished as soon as possible, “ Lee said. “You …

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is expanding its reach to the Far East.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour” on Wednesday, BKFC president David Feldman and Rizin Fighting Federation boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that the organizations have agreed to a talent-sharing partnership with plans for co-promoted events in the near future.

“Today we get to announce the official partnership with BKFC and Rizin to produce Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship shows in Japan and all over the southeast Asia region, as well as assist Rizin with whatever else they need from around the world,” Feldman said. “We’re really super excited about this partnership and to partner with such a legend like Sakakibara.”

The arrangement will begin with Rizin fighters competing under the BKFC banner at an upcoming event on July 12 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. There, Rizin’s Tatsuki Shinotsuka will face Cary Caprio in a bare-knuckle bo…

The lineup for UFC Fight Night in Denver continues to grow, as a lightweight clash between Drew Dober and Mike Davis has been added to July 13 bill.

The Denver Post was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night takes place at Ball Arena and is headlined by a flyweight showdown between Rose Namajunas and Maycee Barber.

Dober is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Renato Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 235 in his first appearance of 2024. The Elevation Fight Team member is 4-2 in the Octagon since 2022, with all of his victories during that time coming via knockout or technical knockout.

Davis, meanwhile, will take a four-bout winning streak into the matchup. In his last outing, “Beast Boy” submitted Natan Levy in the second round of their encounter at UFC Fight Night 239 on March 16.

Dustin Poirier is one of 10 fighters facing a potential indefinite suspension on the heels of UFC 302.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control board recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place this past Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In the evening’s headliner, Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight crown with a fifth-round submission of Poirier.

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As a result of the damage he suffered in the Octagon, Porier needs ENT clearance for his nose and orthopedist clearance for his left knee before he can compete again. Makhachev, meanwhile, was suspended for 30 days with no contact due to facial lacerations.

Co-main event competitors Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa were among the other fighters from UFC 302 who received indefinite terms. Strickland, who won a split decision over his Brazilian foe, needs an x-ray and orthopedist clearance on his left tibia before he can return to action. At a…

A welterweight clash pitting Jarrah Al-Silawi against Bashar Thaer will serve as the main event for PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on July 12.

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The PFL announced the card in a release on Wednesday. The event takes place at The Green Halls and features athletes competing in the organization’s season format in the welterweight and lightweight divisions.

"The Professional Fighters League is excited to return to Riyadh for PFL MENA 2. The PFL along with our great partners, SURJ Sports, could not be happier to see a shared vision become a reality,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. “PFL MENA has put a global spotlight on great fighters across the region and provided passionate MMA fans with a premium live experience.”

A former Brave Combat Federation champ, Al-Silawi is 1-3 in PFL competition and also has a victory in PFL Challengers Series to his credit. Most recently, the Jordanian fighter earned a unanimous decision over Nenad Avramovi…