Martial Arts News

Jarrah Al-Silawi’s chance to regain his Professional Fighters League roster spot could rely on him winning the eight-man PFL MENA Welterweight Season. Despite his setbacks during the previous two years, Al-Silawi says he’s become a brand-new fighter.

“I feel that I’m one of the most experienced fighters in the field,” Al-Silawi told Sherdog.com. “This camp, however, gave me the chance to improve and work on new things to become Jarrah 2.0. With that comes the responsibility to perform and do well in this tournament.

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“I’m very excited to fight in an Arab country again,” he added. “I think it gives me a chance to prove that I’m one of -- if not the best -- Middle Eastern fighters, and who knows, maybe this will lead to me fighting on the big show again.”

Al-Silawi (19-6) will face Algeria’s Rayan Atmani (4-2) at 2024 PFL MENA 2 Regular Season on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armani has never been outside the first round and coul…

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Sean Strickland’s back-and-forth with Navy SEALs has pulled David Goggins into the fray.

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Since February, Strickland (29-6) has been trading barbs with Navy SEALs after he claimed that none of them could endure one week of training with him. While Strickland expectedly received severe backlash from SEALs, one even recently showed up to spar the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ. Strickland showed no mercy, putting an absolute beating on former Navy SEAL turned mixed martial arts fighter Mitch Aguiar.

Now Goggins, a former Navy SEAL turned fitness motivational influencer, has issued Strickland a challenge.

“Cause this is your opportunity to show the world that you can f*ck me up. I will have camera crews out there,” Goggins said in a video released on TalkSport. “You make sure you bring your f*cking camera crew out there because you’re going to want to get this on camera. Cause a 49-year-old, broke down …

Matt Frevola will lock horns with Fares Ziam in a lightweight bout at UFC Paris.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Marcel Dorff. UFC Fight Night takes place at the Accor Arena in Paris on Sept. 28 and features a lightweight showdown pitting Benoit St. Denis against Renato Carneiro.

Frevola is coming off a first-round knockout loss against St. Denis at UFC 295 this past November. Prior to that, “The Steamrolla” had earned consecutive opening round stoppages against Genaro Valdez, Ottman Azaitar and Drew Dober in the Octagon.

Ziam, meanwhile, has been victorious in five of his last six UFC bouts. In his first appearance of 2024 Kill Cliff FC-trained Frenchman garnered a split-decision triumph over Claudio Puelles at UFC Fight Night 237 on Feb. 24.

Some prominent names have been confirmed for Bellator Champions Series San Diego.

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The promotion announced on Wednesday that Douglas Lima, Lorenz Larkin and Raufeon Stots will all be competing on the card, which takes place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Sept. 7. Lima will face Aaron Jeffery at middleweight, while Larkin will lock horns with Levan Chokheli in a welterweight clash. Stots, meanwhile, will take on Marcos Breno at bantamweight in the evening’s co-main event.

Bellator Champions Series San Diego is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Usman Nurmagomedov and Alexandr Shabliy. The card will air in its entirety on Max in the United States.

A former Bellator welterweight champion, Lima will return to action for the first time in more than a year. In his last outing, the 36-year-old Brazilian snapped a four-fight skid with a unanimous decison triumph over Costello van Steenis at Bellator 296 in May 2023.

Jeffery, meanwhile, …

🗓️ Coming 2025#PFLAfrica pic.twitter.com/oAWhQpCMwL

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 10, 2024

The groundwork has been laid for Professional Fighters League to plant its flag in Africa.

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The organization announced on Wednesday that PFL Africa will debut in the second quarter of 2025. Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who hails from Cameroon, will serve as chairman for the league. PFL Africa will follow a format similar to that of affiliate regional leagues PFL Europe and PFL MENA, with a regular season and postseason featuring fighters from throughout Africa.

“I am excited and honored to serve as Chairman of PFL Africa, a league that will shape the very foundation of African MMA,” Ngannou said in a release. “As we have seen there is a great wealth of talent in Africa just waiting to be given a global stage. I am so very proud to give back to my homeland and to provide great content to a region with such a passionate a…

Six contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in seven appearances on Dana White's Contender Series. Twenty victories in 24 fights. Four bonuses in 2024.

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Although The Fighting Nerds debuted in the Octagon less than two years ago, there is no doubt that the Brazilian team has made a significant impact in the sport in a short period of time. Captained by former boxer Pablo Sucupira, the team already has seven athletes in the UFC: Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy, Bruna Brasil, Carlos Prates, Thiago Moises, Jean Silva and Kaynan Kruschewsky.

In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Sucupira revealed that the team emerged from his frustration as a fighter.

“I always say that a good coach is a frustrated fighter, as frustration in the ring leads him to develop solutions for his athletes,” he said. “And it was like that with me. I started boxing when I was 29 years old. I achieved good results, but when I realized that I wouldn't be able…

Andre Petroski has been calling Bo Nickal out since before the decorated wrestler’s Ultimate Fighting Championship debut — and he continues to do so.

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Petroski started calling out the three-time NCAA national champion for a grappling or MMA matchup before his unanimous decision win over Wellington Turman in November 2022. Petroski doubled down on his callout after a spilt-decision win over Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 292 in August 2023.

However, Petroski has since suffered consecutive stoppage losses against Michel Pereira and Jacob Malkoun. Petroski will now look to return to the win column against Josh Fremd at UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday. Petroski believes a win over Fremd could put him right back into talks of a potential matchup against Nickal.

Malkoun recently announced a matchup with Nickal for UFC 302 in New Jersey, which was immediately denied by the latter’s management and ultimately didn’t come to fruition. However, Petroski had deeme…

More than halfway into 2024, top contender Magomed Ankalaev has vowed to knock out UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira before the year ends.

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Ankalaev is the only one of top contenders in the division who hasn’t fallen prey to Pereira. After recently defeating former champ Jiri Prochazka for the second time at UFC 303, Pereira will most likely face Ankalaev next.

However, Ankalaev has been levelling shots at Pereira since “Poatan” merely asked Anthony Joshua’s to suggest potential opponents for a future boxing move.

“[Alex Pereira] kept away from me for a reason, and I do understand this is business,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “[In the UFC the] best fight the best, and he is the best for now. I will keep my work. I will knock him out. [Mick Maynard] [Dana White] nothing better than you’ve seen an event somebody going to sleep.”

@AlexPereiraUFC kept away from me for a reason, and I do understand this is business @ufc best …

Drew Dober (27-13) is looking to make the most out of upcoming opponent Jean Silva’s (13-2) unusual walkout.

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Silva will step up a weight class to replace Mike Davis for a short-notice lightweight clash against Dober in the co-main event at UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday. It will also be a quick turnaround of two weeks for Silva, who brutally knocked out Charles Jourdain at UFC 303 on June 29 but missed weight for the fight.

In addition to his nearly perfect finishing rate, Silva is also known for a bizarrely long walkout that approaches five minutes in length. Dober will be walking out second and waiting in the tunnel while Silva takes his time on his way to the Octagon. However, Dober believes Silva might end up at a disadvantage at UFC Denver because of the long walkout. Despite having started his early fighting career in Denver, Dober will be fighting in the city under the UFC banner for the first time this weekend. Dober claims he will draw more mo…

Rose Namajunas believes she isn’t far away from a title shot in her new weight class.

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Namajunas moved up to flyweight after her second strawweight title run ended with a split-decision loss against Carla Esparza at UFC 274. Namajunas dropped a unanimous decision loss against Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut at UFC Paris in September 2023. However, Namajunas has since bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Amanda Ribas this past March to regain relevance in the flyweight division.

Namajunas revealed that winning a second title has certainly motivated her move up to flyweight — though that wasn’t the only reason.

“When I first started my career in the UFC, that was kind of like my vision that I had in mind,” Namajunas told MMAjunkie.com. “It wasn’t like super solid, but I definitely wanted to become champion. And then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought to become champion in two divisions as well. But that was so far in the…

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Flyweight prospect Stewart Nicoll (7-0) has been booked for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in August.

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The undefeated Australian will make his promotional debut against Jesus Santos Aguilar (10-2) in front of a home crowd at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The matchup was first reported by MMAjunkie.com.

Nicoll’s UFC signing was initially announced by "From the Stands” and confirmed by Beatdown Promotions, where he has fought for most of his career.

“Stoked to see the man that has worked so hard and consistently for years to achieve a dream. Stayed the course. Well done [Stewart Nicoll],” wrote UFC alum and Beatdown Promotions owner Damien Brown on Instagram.

Nicoll has finished six of his career wins so far — four via technical knockout and two by way of submission. A former Xtreme Fighting Championships flyweight champion, Nicoll most recently scored a first-round TKO win over Japan…

A 185-pound mixed martial arts clash between Hiroyuki Tetsuka and Isi Fitikefu has been added to the ONE Championship 168 lineup.

Sherdog confirmed the booking with a source close to the situation. ONE 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver, and features a muay thai title bout between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9 and a 125-pound MMA championship clash between Stamp Fairtex and Jingnan Xiong.

Japan’s Tetsuka will take a five-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Fikitefu. Most recently, the 34-year-old known as “Japanese Beast” scored a second-round submission victory against Valmir da Silva at One on Prime Video 21 on April 5.

Australia’s Fitikefu has been victorious in eight of nine professional appearances since beginning his career in 2015. The 31-year-old earned his first promotional win in April 2023, when he submitted da Silva in the opening stanza at ONE on Prime Video 9.