Author: mmafighting
Pat Sabatini is making a habit of taking out his fellow UFC fighters on the grappling mat. While his most recent octagon outing may have ended in defeat, Sabatini can confidently say he’s entering 2024 on a high note after scoring an amazingly brutal submission at Cage Fury FC’s Fury Pro Grappling 8 event Saturday in Philadelphia. A little over three minutes into his match with UFC welterweight Niko Price, Sabatini took Price’s back and then took his leg before falling to the mat to complete a Suloev stretch. Watch the submission finish below. Sabatini had the hold cinched in…
DAMN! They Were Good celebrates the careers of our favorite fighters in MMA history. On this episode, the MMA Fighting staff takes a deep dive into the legendary career of Mirko Cro Cop. Making a name for himself in kickboxing as one of the most exciting fighters in K-1, Mirko Cro Cop transitioned to MMA in 2001 and quickly became one of the standout fighter in Pride FC. Leaving a trail of unconscious bodies in his wake thanks to his devastating left high kick, Cro Cop became one of the most accomplished and beloved heavyweights in history, most notably winning…
RIZIN closed the year with a night of wild finishes in Saitama, Japan, and crowned Kyoji Horiguchi as its first-ever flyweight champion. Horiguchi defeated Makoto Shinryu in a rematch in the main event of RIZIN 45 on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena. The first bout between the two took place in July and ended in just 25 seconds when an accidental eye-poke resulted in a no-contest. This time, Horiguchi and Shinryu put on a wild display for as long as it lasted. The fast-paced opening round featured multiple submission attempts from both sides, but the finish came…
Conor McGregor has a date for his UFC return. Finally. The former two-division champion announced Sunday that his long-awaited matchup against Michael Chandler is slated for June 29 as part of the UFC’s annual International Fight Week pay-per-view. A cackling McGregor stated in his social media announcement that he wants Chandler to fight at 185 pounds — a demand Chandler quickly agreed to. McGregor, 35, has been tentatively linked to a UFC return bout against Chandler since coaching against the American on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in early 2023. In total, “The Notorious” has fought in MMA just four times…
Leon Edwards has massive plans for 2024. The reigning welterweight champion was in attendance for a match in Birmingham, England, between his club Aston Villa and Burnley on Saturday, and he was brought on the field to address the fans at halftime. During his brief interview, Edwards announced that he plans to fight at UFC 300 and then defend his title again sometime this summer in Birmingham. “I will defend my belt in April at UFC 300 in Vegas again, then hopefully in the summertime get a show back in Birmingham at Villa Park,” Edwards said. “I’m in talks with…
Conor McGregor has a date for his comeback. “Notorious” announced Sunday that he will fight Michael Chandler on June 29 at a UFC event in Las Vegas. According to McGregor, the bout will take place at 185 pounds. See McGregor’s social media announcement below. “Ladies and gentlemen, a Happy New Year to you all,” McGregor said. “I’d like to return date for myself, the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor, the greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week, June the 29th… and the opponent, Michael Chandler. And the weight, Mr. Chandler, 185 pounds.” The UFC…
Aljamain Sterling wants to see more of an actual fight the next time he steps onto the grappling mats. At Fury Pro Grappling 8 (a Cage Fury FC event) in Philadelphia on Saturday, the former UFC bantamweight champion headlined against Kevin Dantzler and was visibly frustrated during the 10-minute contest. Dantzler insisted on fighting off of his back and inviting Sterling to work inside his guard, which Sterling reluctantly did. That strategy led to few dynamic exchanges, though Sterling provided a thrill seven minutes into the match as he countered a Dantzler armbar by picking him up and spinning him…
Dan Hooker believes there’s at least one contender that UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev wants no part of. In the main event of UFC Austin, Arman Tsarukyan made short work of Beneil Dariush to pick up his third straight win and push himself one step closer to a lightweight title shot. Makhachev currently awaits his next challenger, which could come in the form of “BMF” champion Justin Gaethje or past opponent Charles Oliveira. Tsarukyan likely needs one more win to earn a shot at Makhachev, the man who defeated him in his UFC debut back in 2019, but Hooker doesn’t…
By now, you’ve hopefully stuffed your bellies with all of the holiday dinner leftovers, are gearing up to party hearty on New Year’s Eve, and have taken plenty of time to reflect on the chaos that was the 2023 year in combat sports. We here at MMA Fighting have done our part to recap one of the most unbelievable 12-month stretches of drama in and out of the cage that we’ve ever seen, but not everything fit so neatly into the usual “of the Year” categories (which you can check out in the links below). After all, we know this…
Talk about irony. Kota Miura, son of “King Kazu” Kazuyoshi Miura, a soccer legend from Japan, suffered his first MMA defeat via soccer kicks at RIZIN 45, which took place Sunday in Saitama, Japan. Miura fought veteran kickboxer and MMA debutant Koji Tanaka, a.k.a. “Kouzi”, in the main card portion of the show and was dropped with a nasty left elbow from the clinch. “Kouzi” landed heavy strikes from top position on the ground before getting back to his feet and landing soccer kicks, forcing the referee to stop the action for the knockout 59 seconds into the second round.…