Author: Guilherme Cruz

Brandon Vera will fight for the ONE Championship heavyweight title on Dec. 11.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that the longtime UFC veteran, who made his debut under the ONE banner last December with a first-round knockout over Igor Subora, will meet undefeated Chi Lewis Parry at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena.

“We’re thrilled to be returning to Manila to bring our loyal fans one of the biggest fights of the year,” ONE CEO Victor Cui stated in a release. “Brandon Vera and Chi Lewis Parry are two of the most exciting heavyweight fighters in the world, and with the ONE heavyweight title on the line we can expect a fantastic fight! These two have been on a collision course for some time, and it will all come to a head at ONE: Spirit of Champions!”

Vera looks for his second win since leaving the UFC, where he built an 8-7 record with one no-contest in seven years.

“I’m excited to have the honor of fighting for the ONE heavyweight world championship in the Philippines,” Vera said. “I am very much looking forward to fighting Mr. Parry, especially since he’s been asking for it.”

Parry signed with ONE in 2014 after racking up a perfect 5-0 record, but his promotional debut against Alain Ngalani ended in a no-contest due to an accidental knee to the groin. He rematched Ngalani six weeks later, stopping him in one round via TKO.

“Firstly, I’d like to state just how appreciative I am of this opportunity,” said Parry. “ONE Championship is an elite organization for a reason, they put on the fights the fans want to see. This clash with Vera has been brewing for over a year now and finally, the truth will be told, the score will be settled, and the world will witness greatness happen this December! Chopper’s coming… to Manila.”

Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem are set to co-headline UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando on Dec. 19, and the Brazilian is happy to finally have the chance to meet his old foe.

“Cigano” and Overeem were slated to meet inside the Octagon two times before, but the former K-1 and Strikeforce heavyweight champion pulled out both time for different reasons. At UFC 146, Overeem tested positive for elevate levels of testosterone. A year later, in 2013, he suffered an injury prior to UFC 160.

The UFC announced on Tuesday that dos Santos and Overeem will meet in a three-round bout at the Amway Center in Florida, and “Cigano” hopes his rival makes it to the fight this time.

“I don’t choose opponents, but I’m not gonna lie — it will feel great to shut this guy up,” dos Santos posted on his Instagram following the announcement. “USADA Let’s work.”

The former UFC heavyweight champion, who will likely train for the bout at American Top Team in Florida, added in Portuguese, “I hope he doesn’t fail the drug test this time.”

dos Santos (17-3) enters the fight coming off a close decision win over Stipe Miocic in 2014, while Overeem (39-14, 1 no-contest) looks for his third straight victory following a first-round knockout over Stefan Struve and a decision win over Roy Nelson.

Erick Silva had the chance to win his third straight in the UFC Octagon for the first time Sunday night, but came up short against Neil Magny in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 74 in Saskatoon, Canada.

Disappointed with his performance after a split decision loss, Silva took on his social media to apologize, and hinted at a possible injury he suffered before the fight.

“Honestly, I didn’t like my performance,” Silva posted on his Instagram. “I was defeated. I’m embarrassed with my performance, my body. I know I’m way more than this Erick that fought last night. My main mistake was having insisted on fighting, and put not only my head at stake but also my coaches’ and doctors’ who did the best they could to at least get me to the fight. It wasn’t a good month for me, but no one has to know, it’s no one’s problem. I had a ridiculous performance and deserved to lose. I paid the price for it.”

Silva, who entered the fight coming off a pair of first-round finishes over Josh Koscheck and Mike Rhoodes, said he won’t enter the Octagon again if he’s injured.

“The only thing left for me is to guarantee that the next time I step inside that Octagon again I will be 100 percent physically, no injuries, and with a full training camp,” he wrote. “Otherwise, I’ll do like everyone does, and cancel the fight.”

Silva dropped to 6-5 under the UFC banner with the loss, while Magny returned to the win column following a dominant loss to Demian Maia earlier this month, improving to 9-3 inside the Octagon.

One of the most prestigious grappling tournaments will take place Saturday and Sunday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the list of Abu Dhabi Combat Club 2015 competitors is finally complete.

ADCC officials released the full list of competitors to MMAFighting.com on Monday, and the list includes several MMA fighters. Former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson will compete in the 77kg (170 pounds) division, while welterweight contender Hector Lombard competes in the 99kg (218 pounds) division.

In the superfights, Mario Sperry battles Ricardo Liborio, while Andre Galvão takes on Roberto Abreu. The event is expected to start Saturday, 8:30 a.m. ET for weight divisions, finishing with Sperry vs. Liborio. On Sunday, semifinals and finals will start at 10 a.m. ET, and then the openweight division kicks off. Galvao vs. Abreu takes place later that day, right before the openweight final.

ADCC 2015 will also feature UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Vagner Rocha, Milton Vieira, Gilbert Burns and Vinny Magalhaes, and jiu-jitsu stars Romulo Barral, Keenan Cornelius, Pablo Popovich, Rafael Lovato Jr., Alexandre Ribeiro, Rodolfo Vieira, Michelle Nicolini, Mackenzie Dern, Bia Mesquita and Gabi Garcia.

Here is the updated list of ADCC 2015 São Paulo Brazil, which takes place at the Ibirapuera gymnasium.

Male -66 kg
1. Rubens Charles “Cobrinha” – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Asadulaev Surkhay – Russia (1st European Trials Winner)
3. Nicolas Renier – France (2nd European Trials Winner)
4. Tezekbaev Rasul – Kyrgyzstan (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
5. Yuto Hirao – Japan (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
6. Geovanny Martinez – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
7. Edward Cummings – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
8. Renan Sancar Santos – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
9. Gabriel Marangoni – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
10. Jeff Glover – USA (Invited)
11. Augusto Mendes – Brazil (Invited)
12. Justin Rader – USA (Invited)
13. Bruno Frazatto – Brazil (Invited)
14. Gianni Grippo – USA (Invited)
15. Mark Ramos – USA (Invited)
16. Alexandre Vieira – Brazil (Invited)

Male -77 kg
1. Gamrot Mateusz – Poland (1st European Trials Winner)
2. Abdulkadirov Magomed – Russia (2nd European Trials Winner)
3. Lachlan Giles – Australia (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
4. Young-am Noh – Korea (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
5. Enrico Cocco – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
6. Vagner Rocha – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
7. Davi Ramos – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
8. Gabriel Rollo – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
9. Garry Tonon – USA (Invited)
10. Otavio Sousa – Brazil (Invited)
11. Lucas Lepri – Brazil (Invited)
12. Ben Henderson – USA (Invited)
13. Dillon Danis – USA (Invited)
14. Gilbert Burns – Brazil (Invited)
15. AJ Agazarm – USA (Invited)
16. Milton Vieira – Brazil (Invited)

Male -88 kg
1. Romulo Barral – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Zbigniew Tyszka – Poland (1st European Trials Winner)
3. Jesse Urholin – Finland (2nd European Trials Winner)
4. Craig Jones – Australia (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
5. Hidemi Mihara – Japan (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
6. Matthew Arroyo – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
7. Mike Perez – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
8. Claudio Calasans – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
9. Keenan Cornelius – USA (Invited)
10. Rustam Chsiev – Russia (Invited)
11. Pablo Popovich – USA (Invited)
12. Rafael Lovato Jr. – USA (Invited)
13. Ezra Lenon – USA (Invited)
14. Neiman Gracie – Brazil (Invited)
15. Yuri Simoes – Brazil (Invited)
16. Ricardo Ramos De Mesquita – Brazil (Invited)

Male -99 kg
1. Joao Assis – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Tomasz Narkun – Poland (1st European Trials Winner)
3. Kamil Uminski – Poland (2nd European Trials Winner)
4. Tobias Green – Australia (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
5. Yukiyasu Ozawa – Japan (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
6. Tom DeBlass – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
7. Jason Bukich – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
8. Roberto Alencar – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
9. Cassio Francis Da Silva – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
10. Alexandre Ribeiro – Brazil (Invited)
11. Hector Lombard – USA (Invited)
12. Felipe Pena – Brazil (Invited)
13. Rodolfo Vieira – Brazil (Invited)
14. Jimmy Friedrich – USA (Invited)
15. Adam Sachnoff – USA (Invited)
16. Lukasz Michalec – Poland (Invited)

Male +99 kg
1. Janne-Pekka Pietiläinen – Finland (2nd European Trials Winner)
2. Lee Hyoung Chul – Korea (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
3. Hideki Sekine – Japan (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
4. Jason Lees – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
5. Paul Ardila – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
6. Leonardo Nascimento Lucio – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
7. Gabriel Lyrio Lucas – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
8. Rodrigo Cavaca – Brazil (Invited)
9. Joao Gabriel Rocha – Brazil (Invited)
10. Dean Lister – USA (Invited)
11. Vinny Magalhaes – Brazil (Invited)
12. Orlando Sanchez – USA (Invited)
13. Rodrigo Artilheiro – Brazil (Invited)
14. Bernardo Faria – Brazil (Invited)
15. Jeff Monson – USA (Invited)
16. Jared Dopp – USA (Invited)

Female -60 kg
1. Michelle Nicolini – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Kethe Marie Elgesem Engen – Norway (European Trials Winner)
3. Rikako Yuasa – Japan (Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
4. Tammi Musumeci – USA (North American Trials Winner)
5. Ana Michelle Tavares Dantas – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
6. Mayra Mello Mazza – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
7. Mackenzie Dern – USA (Invited)
8. Beatriz Mesquita – Brazil (Invited)

Female +60 kg
1. Gabrielle Garcia – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Sophia Nordenö – Sweden (European Trials Winner)
3. Amanda Santana – USA (North American Trials Winner)
4. Fernanda Mazzelli Almeida Maio – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
5. Jéssica Da Silva Oliveira – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
6. Marysia Malyjasiak – Poland (Invited)
7. Ana Laura Cordeiro – Brazil (Invited)
8. Alison Tremblay – Canada (Invited)

ADCC Stars Superfight
Mario Sperry (Brazil) vs. Ricardo Liborio (Brazil)

ADCC Main Superfight
Andre Galvão (Brazil) vs. Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu (Brazil)

Charles Oliveira’s four-fight winning streak was snapped on Sunday night due to an injury at the UFC Fight Night 74 main event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and it wasn’t the first time the Brazilian suffered that type of injury.

“do Bronx”, who got injured after shooting for a takedown against Max Holloway a minute and a half into the opening round, spoke to MMAFighting.com on Monday morning and explained he had a neck injury going into the fight.

“I injured my neck in training, but did physical therapy and thought everything was fine,” Oliveira told MMAFighting.com, “but when I felt against the cage everything went numb, I couldn’t feel my body.”

The UFC featherweight was rushed to the hospital right after the fight, and has yet to be released by the doctors. “I’m still doing a lot of exams here at the hospital,” he said.

Following a frustrating loss, “do Bronx” hopes the UFC books a rematch against Holloway, who has now won seven in a row in the featherweight division.

“I trained really hard for this fight,” Oliveira said. “I would like a rematch because there was no fight. I got injury literally in the first time I attacked.”

Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway enter their first UFC main event Sunday night in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the winner could be one win away from a shot at the featherweight title.

Holloway enters the UFC Fight Night 74 main event coming off six straight wins with five finishes, but “do Bronx”, who has submitted three opponents in his four-fight winning streak, uses his first five-round fight as extra motivation against the Hawaiian.

“I’m thrilled to be doing my first main event in a city that hasn’t hosted a UFC event before,” Oliveira told MMAFighting.com. “My camp was great, and I can’t wait to get in there to fight and win and show that I’m here to stay.

“I’ve been fighting in the UFC for five years now and it’s about time I’m headlining a card,” he continued. “I’m coming off good wins and they put me in a main event against a tough opponent, and I’ll do my best to come out with another win.”

Oliveira signed with the UFC in 2010 after racking up a perfect 12-0 record, and seven of those wins took place in one-night tournaments. However, according to the Brazilian, entering a 25-minute fight is completely different then facing multiple opponents in one night.

“I fought three opponents in one night two or three times, but never five rounds,” he said. “I changed my training a bit, worked hard on my cardio and every aspect of the game. I fought more rounds in training, so I’m ready.”

Holloway enters UFN 74 coming off a huge submission win over Cub Swanson, but “do Bronx” doubts he will try to grapple with him in Canada.

“Max deserves my respect. He fights really well,” he said. “He has great boxing and muay thai, and has an excellent jiu-jitsu when he goes to the ground too, so it’s going to be a great fight. But no UFC featherweight wants to grapple with me. They all want to stand and trade with me, and that’s why I focused more on my stand-up game lately so I can surprise them in there. I’m ready for all areas. The entire world will see the evolution of my striking in this fight.”

Oliveira wants a shot at the featherweight title in 2016, and he believes the UFC could book a rematch with Frankie Edgar after he beats Holloway on Sunday.

“Every win gets you one step closer,” he said. “I’m ranked at No. 7 today, and my focus is to win to become a top 5. I want what every fighter wants, to fight for the UFC title. Frankie deserved a shot at the title already, but it’s always up to the UFC to decide. If everything goes right and I beat Max — and I will –, a rematch with Frankie might happen next.”

Edgar and Oliveira fought for three rounds at UFC 162, and the former lightweight champion came out victorious via unanimous decision. “do Bronx” hasn’t lost since, and he’s confident he would get his hands raised in a rematch.

“I still blame myself a lot for that fight with Frankie. I made a lot of mistakes,” Oliveira said. “My coaches asked me to stay away from him, but I kept clinching and giving him the opportunity to throw punches and get takedowns. I’m listening to my coaches now, opened my mind, and I’m sure the fight would be different now. It would be a new fight, and I’d win.”

If everything goes according to Oliveira’s plans and he really beats Holloway and Edgar, he expects Jose Aldo to still be the 145-pound champion. “Scarface” will meet interim champion Conor McGregor on Dec. 12, but “do Bronx” sees his fellow Brazilian on a different level.

“Every fight is different, but I believe Aldo has beaten opponents that are way tougher,” Oliveira said. “McGregor talks a lot, but he’s also really tough and deserves our respect. He’s tough, and it’s going to be a tough fight, but I believe the belt will stay in Brazil.”