Tag: Karate Combat

Anthony Pettis Scores Third career Victory over Ben Henderson – Karate Combat 43 (Highlights)

Anthony PettisMore than a decade removed from their lightweight title clash at UFC 164, Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson ran…

Anthony Pettis

More than a decade removed from their lightweight title clash at UFC 164, Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson ran it back inside The Pit at Karate Combat 43 on Friday night.

The opening round saw both fighters offer little offense as they got familiar with their surroundings. Still, the pace picked up significantly in the second round with Henderson looking to get in and out with his striking. Henderson’s game plan began paying dividends in the third as he began to control the pace of the fight and seemingly run away with it on the scorecards.

However, Pettis was far from out of it, landing a solid head kick in the fourth round, though that did not deter Henderson from staying on the attack.

In the fifth and final round, Henderson came out aggressive, pressuring Pettis to the ground and unloading a series of strikes before ‘Showtime’ was allowed back to his feet. Pettis snapped back with a big 1-2 combination that popped Henderson’s head back with 100 seconds left in the fight. As the clock winded down, both fighters began to let their fists go with Henderson once again coming out on top in the striking exchange by landing the better blows despite giving up the advantage on volume.

In a shocking turn of events, we went to a sudden death sixth round to determine the winner.

Pettis came out with a renewed sense of confidence and began targeting the body of Henderson while ‘Bendo’ was beginning to overcommit with his strikes. In the end, Pettis appeared to land the more significant blows in the sixth which was more than enough for the judges to give him the nod in a very close and somewhat controversial decision.

Official Result: Anthony Pettis def. Ben Henderson via unanimous decision

Check Out Highlights From Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson at KC43 Below:

Ex-UFC Champions Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson to Complete Trilogy at Karate Combat 43

Anthony PettisFormer UFC champions Benson Henderson and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis will complete their trilogy, but this time, the two human…

Anthony Pettis

Former UFC champions Benson Henderson and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis will complete their trilogy, but this time, the two human highlight reels will face-off under the Karate Combat banner.

Per a report from MMA Fighting, the long-awaited threequel will go down at 170-pounds and will headline Karate Combat 43 on December 15 at the Expo at World Trade Market in Las Vegas. Both fighters are said to have verbally agreed to the matchup which will come more than a decade removed from their last clash at UFC 164.

Anthony Pettis enters the bout with a career record of 25-15, including two wins over Benson Henderson, the first coming under the WEC banner in 2010. Three years later, they would meet again inside the Octagon with the UFC lightweight title on the line. Showtime’ scored a first-round submission via armbar to go two-up on Henderson.

Pettis closed out his career with the UFC in 2019, earning wins over Charles Oliveira, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Gilbert Melendez, Jim Miller, and Michael Chiesa along the way.

“I am excited to announce my next endeavor with the Karate Combat family,” Pettis said. “I am returning to my traditional martial arts roots for this one. I am the most complete and exciting striker in martial arts and I will show the world where my expertise in MMA comes from. I want to help grow this sport and I can’t wait to put on a show for this organization. It’s Showtime!”

In April, Pettis earned a majority decision against legendary pugilist Roy Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4 after going 1-4 competing inside the PFL Smart Cage.

After amassing an impressive 11-3 record with the UFC, including wins over Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson signed on the dotted line with Bellator MMA in 2019. ‘Smooth’ would go 7-7 with the promotion, completing his contract in March following a first-round defeat at the hands of lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Following the announcement, Asim Zaidi, the new president of Karate Combat, added, “I wanted to start off by gifting the combat sports community with an epic fight featuring two former UFC champions free on YouTube.”

The promotion is also said to be in talks with former UFC champions Jose Aldo, Luke Rockhold, and Lyoto Machida for potential matches in the pit, as well as high-profile free agents Michael ‘Venom’ Page and Darren Till. 

Ex-UFC standout ‘Smilin’ Sam Alvey signs with Karate Combat, set for heavyweight debut in September

Sam Alvey‘Smilin’ Sam Alvey is back! After more than a decade of competing inside the Octagon, the ex-UFC standout is ready to start a new chapter of his career with fast-rising promotion, Karate Combat. The announcement came courtesy of the promotion’s official account on Instagram. “With wins over the likes [of] Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt […]

Sam Alvey

‘Smilin’ Sam Alvey is back!

After more than a decade of competing inside the Octagon, the ex-UFC standout is ready to start a new chapter of his career with fast-rising promotion, Karate Combat.

The announcement came courtesy of the promotion’s official account on Instagram. “With wins over the likes [of] Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt we believe Sam will make an exciting addition to the Heavyweight Roster. Sam has always been a fan favourite and is known to throw down. He will make his Debut in Karate Combat on September 16th in the Dominican Republic.”

Sam Alvey Looking for a Career Resurgence as Coming Up Short in Nine Straight Fights

As the announcement states, Sam Alvey will make his Karate Combat debut when the promotion heads to the vibrant Dominican Republic on September 16th for KC41. In the main event of the evening, reigning bantamweight champion Eoghan Chelmia takes on Myrza-Bek Tebuev. UFC veteran Antonio Arroyo will also compete on the card, facing Elvin Aghayev in a clash of heavyweight contenders.

No official announcement regarding Sam Alvey’s opponent has been revealed as of yet.

His KC debut will be Alvey’s 54th career fight dating back to his pro mixed martial arts debut in 2008. During that run, ‘Smilin’ has amassed a record of 34-18-1. During his decade-long run in the UFC, Alvey went 10-13-1, exiting the promotion in 2022 after going winless in nine straight fights.

He has since returned to the win column, scoring a third-round TKO over Cameron Graham under the B2 Fighting Series banner in May.

Karate Combat boss offers UFC alums Darren Till, Uriah Hall fight to end bitter rivalry: ‘Settle this in the pit’

Darren Till Uriah Hall UFC Karate CombatKarate Combat head-honcho, Adam S. Kovacs has offered former UFC middleweight contenders, Darren Till, and Uriah Hall the opportunity to end their long-standing rivalry under the promotion’s banner – urging the striking duo to take their talents to ‘The Pit’ in the future. Earlier this Wednesday afternoon, former UFC welterweight title challenger, Till, confirmed his […]

Darren Till Uriah Hall UFC Karate Combat

Karate Combat head-honcho, Adam S. Kovacs has offered former UFC middleweight contenders, Darren Till, and Uriah Hall the opportunity to end their long-standing rivalry under the promotion’s banner – urging the striking duo to take their talents to ‘The Pit’ in the future.

Earlier this Wednesday afternoon, former UFC welterweight title challenger, Till, confirmed his departure from the Dana White-led banner – explaining how the promotion had granted him his release from his current contract, however, stressed his intentions to return to the Octagon in the near future.

As for Hall, the Spanish Town striker and Ultimate Fighter alum ended his storied tenure with the UFC back in the summer of last year following a submission loss to recent impromptu UFC Vegas 70 main event feature, Andre Muniz. 

Prior to his July loss to the Brazilian, Hall, who has since retired from professional mixed martial arts competition – was campaigning for a fight with the aforenoted Team Kaobon staple, Darren Till for the promotion’s second outing in London last year, with the bout ultimately failing to come to fruition.

Karate Combat offer to host Darren Till, Uriah Hall grudge match following UFC release

And upon the confirmation of Till’s release from the UFC this week, the above-mentioned, Kovacs offered to host a fight between the Liverpool striker and Hall under the scrutiny of Karate Combate – pointing to the latter’s prior war of words with the former welterweight title challenger.

“Gents, now that you are free, would you like to settle this in the @KarateCombat pit?” Adam S. Kovacs tweeted. “@darrentill2 @UriahHallMMA.” 

Suffering three consecutive losses to end his topsy-turvy tenure with the UFC, Darren Till most recently suffered a third round submission loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282 back in December of last year, which followed a rear-naked choke loss to soon-to-be common-opponent, Derek Brunson – and a decision blemish against former champion, Robert Whittaker.

Karate Combat Fighter Finishes Opponent After Heated Fight Week Incident

Karate fighter Samuel Ericsson got the last laugh against Tarek Khelifi at Karate Combat 37 earlier this month. Ericsson and Khelifi squared off in a lightweight matchup in the Karate Combat pit. Khelifi was making his promotional debut while Ericsson …

Karate fighter Samuel Ericsson got the last laugh against Tarek Khelifi at Karate Combat 37 earlier this month. Ericsson and Khelifi squared off in a lightweight matchup in the Karate Combat pit. Khelifi was making his promotional debut while Ericsson made his second appearance after a win last year. Ericsson and Khelifi came face-to-face in…

Continue Reading Karate Combat Fighter Finishes Opponent After Heated Fight Week Incident at MMA News.

Former UFC fighter James Vick to debut in Karate Combat on October 29

James Vick Karate CombatFormer UFC competitor James Vick will be making his debut in Karate Combat on October 29. ‘The Texecutioner’ has taken some MMA and boxing fights since parting ways with the UFC in 2019. Karate Combat made the announcement for James Vick vs Jorge Perez on Twitter: “The Official Main Card For #KC36! Bruno Souza takes on the former […]

James Vick Karate Combat

Former UFC competitor James Vick will be making his debut in Karate Combat on October 29. ‘The Texecutioner’ has taken some MMA and boxing fights since parting ways with the UFC in 2019.

Karate Combat made the announcement for James Vick vs Jorge Perez on Twitter:

“The Official Main Card For #KC36! Bruno Souza takes on the former lightweight champion Edgars Skrivers, Igor De Castaneda returns to battle against Franklin Mina and more! You can watch KC36 live on http://Karate.com on October 29th at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.”

Jorge Perez is from the Dominican Republic and sports a 2-2 record in Karate Combat.

James Vick ended his UFC run with four consecutive losses. Three of which were by KO/TKO. ‘The Texecutioner’ then earned one more KO loss in MMA before turning to boxing. The US-born fighter has taken three boxing fights in 2022 and has earned a 2-1 record. Now, he turns his focus to Karate Combat.

James Vick in Karate Combat

‘The Texecutioner’ will be making his debut in the organization at Karate Combat 36 upcoming later this month on October 29. Karate Combat is a martial arts organization that mixes rules from Karate, Kickboxing, and MMA. According to their website, the organization:

“Karate Combat is the future of combat sports. Merging the ancient art of karate, millions of die-hard fans and practitioners, and cutting edge video production, Karate Combat is the premiere karate organization in the world.”

MMA legends Georges St-Pierre, Lyoto Machida, Bas Rutten, and Stephen Thompson all work alongside the organization on its broadcast side. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Georges St-Pierre explained:

“I’m very happy to be part of Karate Combat. I first started martial arts by practicing karate. That was a passion, which turned into my love for mixed martial arts. This is a very dynamic sport, and the show is going to be spectacular. People are going to be really entertained… This is a show I believe in. The fights are very exciting and the level of athleticism showcased is amazing, and the whole story is great. It’s just an overall great show, and the fans of combat sports will be blown away.”