Tag: Top Stories

Dmitry Bivol Gets His Revenge, Outpoints Artur Beterbiev In Riyadh Rematch To Become Undisputed Champion

The scorecards in Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 were the same as their first fight — but in the other fighter’s favor. Bivol scored a majority decision win over Beterbiev in the main event of a card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to become the new undisputed light heavyweight champion and hand the Russian-Canadian his […]

The scorecards in Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 were the same as their first fight — but in the other fighter’s favor.

Bivol scored a majority decision win over Beterbiev in the main event of a card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to become the new undisputed light heavyweight champion and hand the Russian-Canadian his first loss in the professional boxing ring, just as Beterbiev did to him months ago.

From the second the fight opened, it was as closely contested as their first. Beterbiev looked to bring pressure right away in the first round, but the challenger worked his hands well to bring it back. Bivol continued to keep busy in the third round, keeping this pace up through various combinations thrown.

Beterbiev respond well over the next couple of rounds, bringing intense pressure and a dominating attack to the body. Bivol, in fact, had a notable mark on his forehead by the end of the fifth round, a frame which seemed to show the challenger getting visibly hurt by a Beterbiev right hand.

After a quiet sixth round, Beterbiev kept his control of the fight in tact, up until his rival started to gain momentum toward the end of the seventh. Bivol then got back to landing better combinations and reset the momentum in his favor, seeming to get a second bursts of attack and control on.

The 34-year-old continued this pacing as he let his hands go more as the fight got later. Beterbiev, however, was not going down without a fight, landing strong punches in the final round, cutting open his challenger over one of his eyes.

Dmitry Bivol Avenges Loss To Artur Beterbiev, Wins Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship

One judge scored the bout 114-114, but they were overruled by scores of 115-113 and 116-112 in Bivol’s favor.

Bivol now gets a taste of revenge after losing the WBA light heavyweight title in his first undisputed title encounter with Beterbiev in October.

Bivol was WBA (Regular) champion in 2017 before becoming WBA (Super) champion in 2019. Bivol’s loss to Beterbiev was his first, having had an unbeaten record that saw him score victories over Canelo Alvarez, Gilberto Ramirez, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr.

Beterbiev had won the IBF light heavyweight title originally in November 2017, defeating Enrico Kolling. He then defeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk in October 2019 to win the WBC title and Smith Jr. in June 2022 to win the WBO gold.

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2, Joseph Parker vs. Martin Bakole Live Results & Highlights

The “fight card of the century” goes down today in Riyadh, topped by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed championship rematch. MMA News has you covered with all the action! A stacked lineup is set for Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday, February 22. In the headlining act, Beterbiev and Bivol will run back their […]

The “fight card of the century” goes down today in Riyadh, topped by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed championship rematch. MMA News has you covered with all the action!

A stacked lineup is set for Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday, February 22. In the headlining act, Beterbiev and Bivol will run back their undisputed light heavyweight title fight from last October.

First time around, the 40-year-old Russian-Canadian fell on the right side of a highly debated majority decision verdict. Bivol will now have his eyes on redemption after having his previously undefeated record blemished.

Before they go to battle, the co-main event will see Joseph Parker and Martin Bakole collide on just days’ notice. The New Zealander was originally slated to challenge IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois before the Brit fell ill during fight week.

The card will also see title defenses for Shakur Stevenson, Carlos Adames, Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Joshua Buatsi.

With today’s event underway, see below for live results, followed by all the highlights as they come.

Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 Results & Highlights

Fight Card (10:30 AM ET, DAZN/PPV.com):

  • Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship Main Event: Artur Beterbiev (C) vs. Dmitry Bivol
  • Heavyweight Co-Main Event: Joseph Parker vs. Martin Bakole
  • WBC Lightweight Championship: Shakur Stevenson (C) vs. Josh Padley
  • WBC Middleweight Championship: Carlos Adames (C) vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
  • WBC Interim Super Welterweight Championship: Vergil Ortiz Jr. (C) vs. Israil Madrimov 
  • Vacant WBC Interim Heavyweight Championship: Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
  • WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Championship: Joshua Buatsi (C) vs. Callum Smith

UFC Fight Night: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Results & Highlights (6PM ET) 

UFC Fight Night takes place tonight from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!  In the main event, bantamweights Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong will clash. While in the co-main event, Brendan Allen will face Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight matchup.  All fighters made […]

UFC Fight Night takes place tonight from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights! 

In the main event, bantamweights Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong will clash. While in the co-main event, Brendan Allen will face Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight matchup. 

All fighters made weight at the weigh-ins. Make sure to catch all the UFC Fight Night results and highlights as they happen below! 

Main Card (ESPN+, 9PM ET): 

  • Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong  
  • Middleweight: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez  
  • Catchweight (140lbs): Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto  
  • Featherweight: Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan  
  • Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker 

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 6PM ET):

  • Light Heavyweight: Ion Cu?elaba vs. Ibo Aslan 
  • Featherweight: Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa  
  • Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein  
  • Bantamweight: Ricky Simón vs. Javid Basharat  
  • Catchweight (175lbs): Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Austin Vanderford 
  • Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico  
  • Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira 

UFC Fight Night Results & Highlights: Song Yadong Decisions Henry Cejudo

UFC Fight Night took place tonight from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!  In the main event, bantamweights Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong clashed. While in the co-main event, Brendan Allen faced Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight matchup.  UFC Fight Night Results: Main […]

UFC Fight Night took place tonight from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights! 

In the main event, bantamweights Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong clashed. While in the co-main event, Brendan Allen faced Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight matchup. 

UFC Fight Night Results: Main Card

  • Bantamweight: Song Yadong def. Henry Cejudo via technical decision (29-28×2, 30-27)
  • Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
  • Catchweight (140lbs): Rob Font def. Jean Matsumoto via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
  • Featherweight: Jean Silva def. Melsik Baghdasaryan via TKO: R1, 4.15  
  • Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield def. Julius Walker via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)

Preliminary Card

  • Light Heavyweight: Ion Cu?elaba def. Ibo Aslan via submission: R1, 2.51
  • Featherweight: Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili via submission: R1, 4.30  
  • Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via TKO: R2, 3.24
  • Bantamweight: Ricky Simón def. Javid Basharat via KO: R1, 3.58
  • Catchweight (175lbs): Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via TKO: R2, 4.13
  • Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via TKO: R2, 0.33
  • Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas def. Raffael Cerqueira via KO: R1, 2.12

Preliminary Card Highlights

Modestas Bukauskas def. Raffael Cerqueira

Modestas Bukauskas earned a first-round KO of Raffael Cerqueira in their light heavyweight bout.

Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico

Nursulton Ruziboev earned a TKO in the second round against Eric McConico.

Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov

Austin Vanderford stopped Nikolay Veretennikov in the second round of this 175-pound catchweight bout.

Ricky Simón def. Javid Basharat

Ricky Simón knocked out Javid Basharat in the first round of their bantamweight bout.

Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein

Mansur Abdul-Malik got it done in the second round against Nick Klein.

Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili

Melquizael Costa submitted Andre Fili in the first round of their featherweight matchup.

Ion Cu?elaba def. Ibo Aslan

Ion Cu?elaba tapped out Ibo Aslan in the first round.

Main Card Highlights

Alonzo Menifield def. Julius Walker

Alonzo Menifield got it done with a split decision against Julius Walker.

Jean Silva def. Melsik Baghdasaryan

In this featherweight bout, Jean Silva earned a TKO of Melsik Baghdasaryan in the first round.

Rob Font def. Jean Matsumoto

Rob Font earned a split decision against Jean Matsumoto.

Anthony Hernandez def. Brendan Allen

In the co-main event, Anthony Hernandez got it done on the scorecards against Brendan Allen.

Song Yadong def. Henry Cejudo

In the main event, Song Yadong got the win via technical decision after an eye poke to Henry Cejudo forced him out of the fight.

ONE 171 Results & Highlights: Joshua Pacio TKOs Jarred Brooks

The stacked ONE 171 event took place on Thursday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! ONE Championship was back in Qatar this week, where the Lusail Sports Arena played host to a number of intriguing battles across four different sports. Asia’s premier martial arts organization brought with it to the Middle […]

The stacked ONE 171 event took place on Thursday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

ONE Championship was back in Qatar this week, where the Lusail Sports Arena played host to a number of intriguing battles across four different sports.

Asia’s premier martial arts organization brought with it to the Middle East a deep lineup, filled with champions and plenty of prominent names in MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling.

And there were championship stakes in the first of those sports that headlined ONE 171, with Filipino strawweight kingpin Joshua Pacio and American standout Jarred Brooks completing their trilogy by unifying the title.

While “The Monkey God” dethroned “The Passion” back in 2022, the rematch saw the belt return to Pacio after Brooks was disqualified for an illegal slam. Having since captured the interim strap with a first-round submission of Gustavo Balart last August, Brooks had his sights on regaining undisputed status.

But the American failed in that regard, with Pacio overcoming a strong start from his challenger to find the TKO finish late in the second frame.

Gold from a different sport was also be on the line in Qatar. After losing his Muay Thai strap in Denver last year, Jonathan Haggerty ensured he kept hold of his remaining title by defending the bantamweight kickboxing championship against Chinese challenger Wei Rui.

Elsewhere, former two-division KSW champion Roberto Soldi? made his long-awaited return, Kill Cliff FC standout Aung La N Sang added a 46th fight to his illustrious record, ex-bantamweight kingpin Bibiano Fernandes closed out his career with one last bout and submission grappling star Kade Ruotolo competed in MMA for the third time.

With today’s card complete, see below for the full results, followed by all the highlights.

ONE 171 Results & Highlights

Main Card:

  • Strawweight MMA Championship: Joshua Pacio (C) def. Jarred Brooks (IC) via TKO: R2, 4:22
  • Bantamweight Kickboxing Championship: Jonathan Haggerty (C) def. Wei Rui via unanimous decision
  • Welterweight MMA: Roberto Soldi? def. Dagi Arslanaliev via KO: R1, 1:55
  • Middleweight MMA: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via KO (head kick): R1, 0:28
  • Featherweight MMA: Shamil Gasanov def. Martin Nguyen via unanimous decision
  • Bantamweight MMA: Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon via split decision
  • Heavyweight MMA: Kirill Grishenko def. Mauro Cerilli via KO (leg Kick): R1, 3:28
  • Bantamweight Muay Thai: Jake Peacock def. Shinji Suzuki via TKO: R3, 1:29
  • Atomweight MMA: Ayaka Miura def. Ritu Phogat via submission (kneebar): R1, 2:24
  • Lightweight MMA: Kade Ruotolo def. Nicolas Vigna via submission (arm-triangle choke): R1, 3:04

Preliminary Card:

  • Openweight Submission Grappling: Zayed Alkatheeri def. Mohammed Hilal Ahmad Abu Rumuh via submission (armbar): R1, 2:21
  • Lightweight MMA: Abdullo Khodzhaev def. Wilian Poles via TKO: R1, 4:56
  • Featherweight MMA: Hussein Salem def. Walter Cogliandro via KO: R1, 2:25

Hussein Salem Def. Walter Cogliandro

Abdullo Khodzhaev Def. Wilian Poles

Zayed Alkatheeri Def. Mohammed Hilal Ahmad Abu Rumuh

Kade Ruotolo Def. Nicolas Vigna

Jake Peacock Def. Shinji Suzuki

Kirill Grishenko Def. Mauro Cerilli

Bibiano Fernandes Def. Kevin Belingon

Shamil Gasanov Def. Martin Nguyen

Shamil Erdogan Def. Aung La N Sang

https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1892635685548655018

Roberto Soldi? Def. Dagi Arslanaliev

Jonathan Haggerty Def. Wei Rui

Joshua Pacio Def. Jarred Brooks

Ilia Topuria Vacates UFC Featherweight Title, Volkanovski vs. Lopes Announced

Ilia Topuria is officially moving up to the lightweight division, and a fight for his newly vacated UFC featherweight title is already set. Topuria outlined his intentions to achieve two-division glory soon after capturing the 145-pound crown at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski last February. And after just one successful defense opposite Max Holloway, the […]

Ilia Topuria is officially moving up to the lightweight division, and a fight for his newly vacated UFC featherweight title is already set.

Topuria outlined his intentions to achieve two-division glory soon after capturing the 145-pound crown at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski last February. And after just one successful defense opposite Max Holloway, the Spaniard suggested his time in the division was done.

That’s turned out to be the case, with UFC CEO Dana White confirming Thursday that Topuria has indeed relinquished the featherweight belt ahead of a permanent move up.

With that, a clash for the championship between former titleholder Volkanovski and surging contender Diego Lopes will take place at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12.