Martial Arts News

Order Now! UFC 302 "Makhachev vs. Poirier" Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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Roman Kopylov taught the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s newest crossover kickboxing star why they call it “mixed” martial arts.

In the top prelim of UFC 302 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, Kopylov (13-3) gave Cesar Almeida (5-1) a taste of what might await him as he scaled the UFC middleweight ranks. Kopylov, himself usually a kickboxer by preference, elected to test the unproven grappling of “Cesinha,” trying for a takedown in the opening minute, then succeeding a moment later, grounding the Brazilian at the base of the fence. Almeida got back up quickly but was floored by a Kopylov left hand near the midpoint of the round. Kopylov let his man back up, but was wide open for yet another takedown late, and rode out the balance of the round from top position. Almeida regrouped for the second frame, turning aside Kopylov’s first several takedown attempts, slipping his pun…

Arman Tsarukyan says if Dustin Poirier called him a motherf***er, his hand "definitely would've reached the target" 😳

"I need to react. To say that we are from a different culture and such things should not be told to us.

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It's good for Islam that he is not a very… pic.twitter.com/KS8fKWq9ew — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 1, 2024

Arman Tsarukyan is admittedly not as tolerant as Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev defends his strap against Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. During their pre-fight face off, “The Diamond” called Makhachev a “motherfuc*er,” evidently irking the champion. The Dagestani sternly asked Poirier to avoid using that term but refrained from getting physical with the Louisiana native.

Tsarukyan recently weighed in on the incident, claiming he would have reacted differently than Makhachev. “Ahalkalakets” indicated that mos…

[embedded content] Order Now! UFC 302 “Makhachev vs. Poirier” Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ After a rare week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with a thrilling lightweight title fight and an intriguing UFC 302 pay-per-view card.

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The main event for the 12-fight card is now official. Both champion Islam Makhachev and challenger Dustin Poirier weighed 155 pounds on the dot for the five-round fight. One fighter missed weight as Andre Lima came in at 130 pounds for his flyweight fight against Mitch Raposo. He'll be fined 30% of his purse as a result.

Fans will be treated to see Makhachev (25-1) up against another proper lightweight after back-to-back title defenses over Alexander Volkanovski. While the first outing was quite close, Makhachev knocked out "The Great" with a brutal head kick in the first round of their short-notice rematch. The Russian fighter won the belt in 2022 by submitting Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke.

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Paul vs Tyson update. pic.twitter.com/7jPUN5KeSq

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) May 31, 2024 Legendary boxer Mike Tyson needs to heal up and recover before getting back to the ring again.

Tyson (50-6, 2 NC; 44 KOs) was slated to take on Jake Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) on July 20 in a modified pro boxing match. The two were expected to tangle at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. However, Tyson suffered a medical issue involving an ulcer on Sunday during a flight, and medical professional had to tend to him. This has resulted in Tyson being forced to stop training for a few weeks, until his recovery allows him to do so without limits. Due to this, the event has been postponed to a future date, one that will be announced on June 7.

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The fight, and potentially the remainder of the card, will still be held in the same building. Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions organization has stated in a press release that all ti…

Hay regreso argentino🇦🇷🔥 Hay batalla de veteranos en las 1️⃣7️⃣0️⃣ libras el sábado 13 de julio❗️@SPonzinibbioMMA vs Muslim Salikhov pic.twitter.com/FoWAjnAevU

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) May 31, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be bringing a striker’s delight battle to Denver in July.

Per the organization on Friday, Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-7) and Muslim Salikhov (19-5) will come to blows on July 13. The two welterweights will collide at a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night card that will be held at the Ball Arena in Denver. They combine for 29 knockouts in their lengthy careers, with 20 of those coming in the first round.

This will be Ponzinibbio’s first appearance in over a year, with his last outing an unsuccessful one when he faced and fell to a ferocious left hook from Kevin Holland. The fighter currently known as “Argentine Dagger” has struggled as of late, dropping three of his last four bouts. A pair of split deci…

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Paul Hughes became one of Ireland’s most popular fighters in under a dozen bouts. Now, his sights are set on the globe. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion has big plans since signing with the Professional Fighters League last April, but first, he must handle business on home soil.

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Before competing in the PFL season, the 27-year-old Belfast native will make his company debut against Bobby King in the Bellator Champions Series Dublin co-main event on June 22 at 3Arena. The event will stream live in HBO’s Max app in the U.S.

Hughes co-headlines the card led by Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jason Jackson’s showdown against Ramazan Kurmagomedov, but will receive the most love from the hometown fans. Hughes is a budding star and will have the pro-Irish crowd in the palm of his gloves.

“It’s going to be a big moment for me because 3Arena is so iconic,” Hughes said. “To have the opportunity to co-headline it is a…

We aren't back because we never left. Now it's time for us to do the talking....#InvictaFC55 | Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall @Talita_MMA(c) vs @bigbad2_0 for the bantamweight title

Full card and tickets released May 31st

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NEW DISTRIBUTION DEAL ANNOUNCED SOON pic.twitter.com/TAxPcuAXyu — Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) May 28, 2024 It’s been a while, but Invicta Fighting Championships is coming back in full swing this summer.

On Tuesday, organizational chief Shannon Knapp announced on the “MMA Today” show on the MMA on SiriusXM radio channel that Invicta would be staging its first event of the year in June. The women’s-only league last ran a show in October 2023, and rumors had spread that Invicta was in jeopardy. According to a press release on Friday, a full seven-fight offering will be held at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The broadcast arrangements have not yet been made public, but Invicta later poste…

Surging bantamweight Carlo Bumina-ang made quick work of Chayan Oorzhak and secured his fifth ONE Championship victory in a ONE Friday Fights 65 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bumina-ang (5-0, 5-0 ONE) came out with guns blazing and was quick to floor his opponent with a straight left before slamming him to the canvas and unleashing a barrage of strikes from mount. Oorzhak (8-3, 3-1 ONE), now leaking blood from the top of his face thanks to the assault, was quick to scramble and offer his back to Bumina-ang. However, the Russian proved to be crafty on the ground and was wise to Bumina-ang’s submission attacks. With less than a minute left in the frame and no submission in sight, Bumina-ang chose to stand up and engage with his opponent on the feet, landing several jarring kicks to the head and body to end the round.

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Round 2 saw Bumina-ang drop Oorzhak with another straight left within the first minute…

Order Now! UFC 302 "Makhachev vs. Poirier" Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ In a stunning turn of events, Brazilian fighters and analysts pick against one of their countrymen in an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

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Among one of the more popular MMA fighters in Brazil, Paulo Costa (14-3) has the eyes of Brazilian faithful focused on his Octagon return on Saturday. In the co-main event of UFC 302, “Borrachinha” faces former champion Sean Strickland (28-6) in a major five-round middleweight matchup. With three losses in his last four outings, the former title challenger is coming in as the betting underdog. Sherdog reached out to six Brazilian coaches, competitors and analysts, who weighed in on the pivotal 185-pound contest.

Vinicio Antony, former head coach of Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida: “Strickland is such an animal. A long time ago, we paid him to help Lyoto in a camp, I think it was for the fight against Rockhold, and he really impresse…

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Islam Makhachev believes he has the blueprint for a quick night at the office against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

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Makhachev will look to defend his lightweight strap against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 this weekend at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This will be the third title shot for Poirier, whose first gold bid was foiled by a third-round submission loss to Makhachev’s teammate and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in 2019. Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev also doesn’t think Poirier has made any significant improvements since that loss. Makhachev also believes that both Poirier and his coach Mike Thomas Brown don’t think “The Diamond” can win at UFC 302. Makhachev acknowledges Poirier’s elite striking, but considers himself the worst stylistic matchup for the Louisiana native.

“Honestly, he’s the same you know. Maybe [he’s aged,]” the lightweight champ said during UFC 302 media day. “And he doesn’t believe …

And this 👇 pic.twitter.com/YiEzrIx6yh

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 29, 2024

Conor McGregor will seemingly never get over his rivalry with Dagestani fighters, judging by his recent dig at Islam Makhachev.

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Makhachev is scheduled to defend his lightweight strap against Dustin Poirier (30-8) in the UFC 302 main event Saturday. In a recent picture of both fighters sporting the new 3Eight and 5Eight gloves, hawk-eyed fans spotted a mark on Makhachev’s leg, sparking off speculation of a potential staph infection. As of now, there is no confirmation whether Makhachev really has staph and its possible implications on the fight.

McGregor didn’t miss the opportunity to slam Makhachev and his team on social media. However, “Notorious” also predicted that the Dagestani will submit Poirier in the first round regardless.

“Staph again. This inbred however lives with Staph,” McGregor said on X, formerly known as Twitte…

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Islam Makhachev favors former foe Charles Oliveira in a potential clash against Colby Covington.

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Makhachev dethroned Oliveira via Round 2 submission at UFC 280 in October 2022. Oliveira bounced back with a knockout win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 to earn a rematch against Makhachev and was once again scheduled to take on the Dagestani phenom at UFC 294 in October 2023, but was forced to withdraw due to a nasty cut suffered in sparring just 11 days before the fight.

Oliveira was replaced on short notice by Alexander Volkanovski, who suffered a head-kick knockout loss against Makhachev, who is now slated to put his title on the line against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event on June 1.

Order Now! UFC 302 “Makhachev vs. Poirier” Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Meanwhile, Oliveira recently returned to action, coming up on the short side of a split decision against surging contender Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator…