It’s never a good idea to go to the mat with reigning RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi Souza. In…
It’s never a good idea to go to the mat with reigning RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi Souza.
In the first of three world title tilts at RIZIN’s massive New Year’s Eve event inside the legendary Saitama Super Arena, Souza put his gold on the line against 20-win veteran Vugar Karamov.
It took Souza less than a round to score the 17th finish of his career, catching Karamov with a slick triangle choke and forcing him to tap out with only 15 seconds left in the round.
Official Result: Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Vugar Karamov via submission (triangle choke) in Round 1 to retain the RIZIN lightweight championship.
With the win, Souza extended his unbeaten streak to three under the RIZIN banner and maintained his incredible 94% finish rate. Overall, the BJJ black belt is 18-3 in his mixed martial arts career with 11 of his wins coming by way of submission and another six via KO.
Check out highlights from Roberto Satoshi Souza vs. Vugar Karamov at rIZIN 49:
It’s never a good idea to go to the mat with reigning RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi Souza. In…
It’s never a good idea to go to the mat with reigning RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi Souza.
In the first of three world title tilts at RIZIN’s massive New Year’s Eve event inside the legendary Saitama Super Arena, Souza put his gold on the line against 20-win veteran Vugar Karamov.
It took Souza less than a round to score the 17th finish of his career, catching Karamov with a slick triangle choke and forcing him to tap out with only 15 seconds left in the round.
Official Result: Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Vugar Karamov via submission (triangle choke) in Round 1 to retain the RIZIN lightweight championship.
With the win, Souza extended his unbeaten streak to three under the RIZIN banner and maintained his incredible 94% finish rate. Overall, the BJJ black belt is 18-3 in his mixed martial arts career with 11 of his wins coming by way of submission and another six via KO.
Check out highlights from Roberto Satoshi Souza vs. Vugar Karamov at rIZIN 49:
The 26-year-old entered the ring for a showdown with 41-fight veteran Yusuke Yachi as part of the festivities and started the fireworks early with a quick-fire TKO.
After a brief exchange, Sakuraba threw a kick that Yachi caught. As Yachi continued to hold his leg, thew newcomer unleashed a left hand that sent Yachi crashing to the canvas. ‘Saku Jr.’ swarmed his opponent, landing a series of solid ground-and-pound strikes before the referee saw fit to step in and call for the stoppage less than half a minute into the scrap.
Having only competed in grappling tournaments until now, ‘Saku Jr.’ walked into the bout as a +220 underdog against the far more experienced Yachi.
He is now 1-0 in his professional MMA career, snapping Yachi’s four-fight win streak under the RIZIN banner.
Check Out Highlights from Taisei Sakuraba’s impressive debut at RIZIN: Decade
The 26-year-old entered the ring for a showdown with 41-fight veteran Yusuke Yachi as part of the festivities and started the fireworks early with a quick-fire TKO.
After a brief exchange, Sakuraba threw a kick that Yachi caught. As Yachi continued to hold his leg, thew newcomer unleashed a left hand that sent Yachi crashing to the canvas. ‘Saku Jr.’ swarmed his opponent, landing a series of solid ground-and-pound strikes before the referee saw fit to step in and call for the stoppage less than half a minute into the scrap.
Having only competed in grappling tournaments until now, ‘Saku Jr.’ walked into the bout as a +220 underdog against the far more experienced Yachi.
He is now 1-0 in his professional MMA career, snapping Yachi’s four-fight win streak under the RIZIN banner.
Check Out Highlights from Taisei Sakuraba’s impressive debut at RIZIN: Decade
For a company that claims to put fighters first, the PFL certainly seems to have pissed off a lot…
For a company that claims to put fighters first, the PFL certainly seems to have pissed off a lot of them.
In November 2023, the Professional Fighters League announced that it had purchased Bellator MMA, folding the promotion’s entire roster into its own in an attempt to further compete with the UFC. Thus far, the PFL has run six events with the Bellator name attached, including a PFL vs. Bellator card in 2024 that pitted top stars from the two organizations against one another.
Unfortunately, the promotion rubbed a lot of fighters the wrong way when it canceled events in Chicago, Paris, and Japan that were scheduled to go down between October and December 2024.
Since then, multiple fighters have expressed their frustration with how the PFL is handling the merger and its failure to properly manage its massive roster. Patricio Pitbull, Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson, and Patchy Mix are just a few PFL contracted fighters who have slammed the organization in recent months.
Now you can add former Bellator standout Sabah Homasi to the list of fighters speaking out.
Though no longer with the organization, ‘The Punisher’ was more than willing to share his candid thoughts on the promotion now that he’s exited the PFL in favor of a more fighter-friendly company — Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
“[The past year] wasn’t the greatest, let’s just say that,” Homasi told MMA Fighting. “We ended on a great note. That’s all that matters. Between PFL acquiring Bellator, which was super shitty, and just not fighting for over a year. That was the worst part. Whatever, we’re back on track.
“It was amazing [working with BKFC]. They welcomed me with open arms. I talked a lot with everybody upon arrival and checking in and on fight night, it was the weirdest thing ever, I had no nerves. Before the fight started I got into the ring and I looked at my guys in the corner and I’m like guys, I’m too calm right now. It’s scary how calm I am. I was just in my element. Just comfortable being where I’m at. [BKFC president] Dave Feldman’s a great guy. Met him, chopped it up with him a bit.
“He’s amazing. I’m looking forward to my future with BKFC. It feels good to be a part of an organization that actually takes care of their fighters. Not like f*cking sh*tty ass PFL.”
Homasi made his BKFC debut at the promotion’s December 21 event in Hollywood and scored himself a 62-second knockout of Eduardo Peralta.
Homasi calls PFL’s acquisition of Bellator the ‘worst thing to happen in mMA today’
Despite PFL co-founder Donn Davis’ promise that “all of them are coming over” in regards to Bellator fighters remaining on the roster following the merger, Homasi says that dozens of fighters were shown the door almost immediately.
“I literally called it,” Homasi said. “I told everybody. I said it before it happened. I said this would be the worst thing to happen in MMA today. It f*cking happened. They did a huge disservice to veteran fighters on their roster. They cut over 100 people. 100 high-level fighters. It’s like where are these guys going to go fight?”
Obviously, Homasi isn’t shy about sharing his poor experience with the promotion and is more than willing to offer a word of advice to fighters either under contract with the PFL or those considering signing with the promotion.
“As soon as PFL came into the picture and they acquired Bellator, those guys are a bunch of f*cking jokes,” Homasi said. “They don’t know how to run a f*cking show. I feel like they came into MMA and they wanted to become popular and be around a bunch of fighters, who the f*ck knows. But those guys f*cking suck. They don’t know how to run an MMA organization. They put on shows and there’s no one in the godd*mn stands.
“I did an interview after the fight, I said listen my advice to fighters in PFL or anyone considering signing with PFL, get it while there’s still water in the well because that f*cking well is going to run dry. That’s it.”
Former middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping believes things will look a lot different in the UFC once 2025 comes to…
Former middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping believes things will look a lot different in the UFC once 2025 comes to a close.
During a recent appearance on TNT Sports’ Fight Week, ‘The Count’ suggested that four fighters will become first-time champions over the next year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of those names is the undefeated Chechen monster, Khamzat Chimaev.
“It’s interesting because I’m looking at the rankings here. I never thought we’d see a year where Robert Whittaker wasn’t in the conversation,” Bisping said. “It just shows the sport is such a cruel mistress. Obviously, Khamzat Chimaev squeezed his teeth out last time, and yeah, I’m gonna have to say Khazmzat. Dricus (Du Plessis) is a tremendous champion.
“I think him and Sean (Strickland) will have another close fight, but I think regardless, when Khamzat gets his chance, he’ll be victorious. I mean, what he did to Robert Whittaker – I’ll never underestimate that man ever again” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Next up on Bisping’s list was another undefeated standout — Tatiana Suarez.
After going 10-0 in her mixed martial arts career, the Covina, California native will attempt to cash on her first shot at UFC gold when she challenges Zhang Weili for the strawweight crown at UFC 312 on February 8.
“I’ve got to go with Tatiana Suarez,” he said. “I did say that this time last year. Of course, she’s fighting Zhang Weili, so we’ll see how that plays out. I just think the wrestling that Tatiana Suarez has is going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of people. This time next year, one way or another, she’ll be the champ.”
“The women’s bantamweight champion, there’s only going to be one name in discussion: Kayla Harrison,” Bisping said. “No offense to Julianna Peña, I think she’s great for the sport, she’s a fun person. She’s fun to sit and watch fights with because she talks a lot of s-h-i-t the whole time.
“She’s great, but Kayla Harrison, I believe, will be too big, too strong, too good at judo, too mentally strong, too fit. She’ll drag her down, she’ll get the submission, and she’ll also get the belt.”
Bisping picks Tom Aspinall to defeat Jon Jones in inevitable UFC title unification clash
Last but not least is Tom Aspinall, the UFC’s reigning interim heavyweight world champion. Aspinall captured the temporary title in November 2023 with a 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. Since then, he’s defended the belt against Curtis Blaydes while waiting for Jon Jones to settle some business with former two-time champ Stipe Miocic.
With Jones handing Miocic a decisive defeat at UFC 309, all signs point toward Aspinall finally merging his title with Jones’ undisputed heavyweight crown in what could very well become the biggest fight in the division’s storied history.
“If there is an interim champion, it will be Tom Aspinall,” Bisping said. “However, I don’t think there will be one. I believe that the reason Tom isn’t fighting at London is because Jon Jones–Tom Aspinall will go down. The biggest heavyweight fight the sport has ever seen. Maybe the biggest fight period that this sport has ever seen. Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, and when the dust settles, ‘Tommy Aspinall, Aspinall, Tommy Aspinall! Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!’”
Last year, Bisping went 6-12 on his year-end predictions, correctly predicting that Alexandre Pantoja, Islam Makhachev, Dricus Du Plessis, Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall (interim), and Jon Jones would end 2024 as world champions.