Tag: Karate Combat

Ex-UFC star Luke Rockhold signs with Karate Combat, set to fight Joe Schilling in April debut in Dubai

Luke Rockhold signs with Karate Combat set to fight Joe Schilling in April debut in DubaiFormer undisputed UFC middleweight champion continues his combat sports career outside of the Octagon following a recent venture to…

Luke Rockhold signs with Karate Combat set to fight Joe Schilling in April debut in Dubai

Former undisputed UFC middleweight champion continues his combat sports career outside of the Octagon following a recent venture to bare knuckle fighting – this time penning a deal to compete under the Karate Combat banner against kickboxing talent, Joe Schilling in an April 20. debut in Dubai.

Rockhold, a former undisputed middleweight titleholder under both the UFC and the now-defunct Strikeforce banner, has been sidelined from combat sports since he suffered a second round TKO loss to fellow Octagon alum, Mike Perry back in April of last year in his debut with BKFC.

Luke Rockhold eyes potential UFC return despite retiring it's on my terms

As for Schilling, the former Bellator MMA kickboxer and mixed martial artist has been sidelined from combat sports since a 2019 knockout loss to Tony Johnson at Bellator 229 – with his record slumping to 4-6 as a professional.

Luke Rockhold signs with Karate Combat, booked for April debut

And according to a report from MMA Junkie this Wednesday evening, Luke Rockhold will make his return to combat sports alongside Ohio striker, Joe Schilling – with the duo headlining a Karate Combat card on April 20. in Dubai. 

Making his most recent Octagon outing back in 2022, Luke Rockhold suffered his third consecutive defeat in the form of a unanimous decision loss to former title challenger, Paulo Costa, before confirming his decision to retire from MMA in the immediate aftermath.

Luke Rockhold

During his tenure with the promotion, Santa Cruz native, Rockhold landed the middleweight title with an eventual fourth round ground strikes TKO win over Chris Weidman back in 2015.

Rockhold’s most recent victory in mixed martial arts came in the form of a second round strikes to submission win over David Branch in the pair’s UFC Fight Night Pittsburg main event fight back in 2017. 

Joe Schilling stand your ground law Florida KO bar avoids lawsuit
Mandatory Credit: Bellator MMA

Back in 2013, the above-mentioned Schilling won the GLORY Kickboxing middleweight World Champion Tournament with a decision win over Russian striker ace, Artem Levin.

Who wins in their Karate Combat showdown: Luke Rockhold or Joe Schilling?

Video – BJJ ace Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle submission of UFC star Phil Rowe against wall

Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle win against wall in fight with UFC star Phil RoweBJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a…

Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle win against wall in fight with UFC star Phil Rowe

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a minute of their submission grappling match. 

Jones added yet another notch to his belt after landing a flying triangle during Krate Combat 44 in what was part of their Pit Submission Series. Prior to their match, Craig Jones spoke to the importance of securing a finish, even if it was just to get a one up on his friend. Check out the impressive submission below. 

Craig Jones used wall to land flying triangle

“Phil Rowe faced Nicky Rod,” Jones bag via the El Segundo Podcast Clips YouTube channel. “Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him, that enticed me to do the match because I said ‘Hey if Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him and I can finish him, when I finally return to the B-Team I can say hey kiss the ring mate, the king of B-team is back’. And he’s a mid-30s cocaine and Xanax-addicted professional athlete and he submitted an opponent you couldn’t.” 

In the same video, Jones also discussed how the Pit wall could change the dynamic of the match, much like it did in his actual finish. 

“We’ll actually be in the Pit,” Jones said. “It’s actually really f*****g stirred my interest. The shape of the Pit is sick, it’s not fence wrestling – if I shoot on you and your back hits the wall, there’s a platform for you to use the wall to stay up. But the pit is an angle. If I shoot on you can’t sprawl your feet are going to hit the base of the pit. Maybe you jump your feet up the Pit and you do some young Anthony Pettis s**t but how many people are gonna do that? For me, I think if you shoot a double, there’s no ability to sprawl you can just run them into the pit wall.”

Outside of competition Jones has become a very popular figure not just in the BJJ world but has made himself in the MMA sphere. Jones has amassed a good following on social media and continues to put more time into YouTube and podcasts. 

Who would you like to see Craig Jones face next?

Video – BJJ ace Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle submission of UFC star Phil Rowe against wall

Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle win against wall in fight with UFC star Phil RoweBJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a…

Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle win against wall in fight with UFC star Phil Rowe

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a minute of their submission grappling match. 

Jones added yet another notch to his belt after landing a flying triangle during Krate Combat 44 in what was part of their Pit Submission Series. Prior to their match, Craig Jones spoke to the importance of securing a finish, even if it was just to get a one up on his friend. Check out the impressive submission below. 

Craig Jones used wall to land flying triangle

“Phil Rowe faced Nicky Rod,” Jones bag via the El Segundo Podcast Clips YouTube channel. “Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him, that enticed me to do the match because I said ‘Hey if Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him and I can finish him, when I finally return to the B-Team I can say hey kiss the ring mate, the king of B-team is back’. And he’s a mid-30s cocaine and Xanax-addicted professional athlete and he submitted an opponent you couldn’t.” 

In the same video, Jones also discussed how the Pit wall could change the dynamic of the match, much like it did in his actual finish. 

“We’ll actually be in the Pit,” Jones said. “It’s actually really f*****g stirred my interest. The shape of the Pit is sick, it’s not fence wrestling – if I shoot on you and your back hits the wall, there’s a platform for you to use the wall to stay up. But the pit is an angle. If I shoot on you can’t sprawl your feet are going to hit the base of the pit. Maybe you jump your feet up the Pit and you do some young Anthony Pettis s**t but how many people are gonna do that? For me, I think if you shoot a double, there’s no ability to sprawl you can just run them into the pit wall.”

Outside of competition Jones has become a very popular figure not just in the BJJ world but has made himself in the MMA sphere. Jones has amassed a good following on social media and continues to put more time into YouTube and podcasts. 

Who would you like to see Craig Jones face next?

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.