Combat Press

Combat sports reward the guy who can train hard, show up healthy, and repeat it week after week. The problem is that camp is usually built like a highlight reel: hard sparring, hard pads, hard conditioning, then a cut on top. The cardio adapts fast. The nervous system adapts fast. Tendons, joint surfaces, and connective tissue do not. Combat Press covers the fight-week story, but the real work happens when nobody’s watching: the mid-camp grind where overuse injuries quietly pile up.

On Tuesday, Sep. 22, the UFC hosted Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 7, live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nev. The event featured fighters vying for UFC contracts. When the dust settled, six fighters earned contract, including two bout losers. The event aired live on Paramount+ starting at 7 p.m. ET. Check below for full results. FULL RESULTS Middleweight: Norbert Novenyi Jr. def. Theo Haig by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3) Welterweight: Alvi Dasuyev* def.

Grand Sumo’s 2026 September tournament wraps up on Sunday. The 15-day tournament has provided dozens of thrilling matches as the makuuchi (top division) fights it out for the yusho (championship). Below are the top-division standings as of Day 10, followed by some news and notes on the tournament so far.

For Mason Fowler, a career as one of the top jiu-jitsu competitors in the world was never really the plan. In fact, the reigning UFC BJJ light heavyweight champion originally wanted to fight in the UFC. Now, years after concussion issues pushed him away from MMA and toward full-time grappling, Fowler will enter the bowl at UFC BJJ 11 with UFC gold around his waist and a chance to avenge one of the few losses of his career. On Thursday, Sep.

PURE Fighting brought its debut season to a close on Sep. 19, staging PURE Ascension at the Centro Pavesi in Milan, Italy, in front of a crowd of roughly 1,000. The card put all five Pure Challenge finals on the same night, crowning the promotion’s first champions across two Muay Thai and three kickboxing divisions.

BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing is heading back to London this fall, and former boxing world champion Lee “Lightning” Selby will be front and center. BKB announced that BKB 61 will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, at indigo at The O2 in London, England. Selby will headline the event as he makes his second appearance inside the Trigon. Selby made the move from traditional boxing to bare-knuckle competition earlier this year.

On Saturday, Sep. 19, BKB Brae Knuckle hosted BKB 59 Tijuana: Fernandez vs. Podmore, live from the Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, Mexico. The event featured two title fights. The event aired live on Vice TV starting at 9 p.m. ET. Check below for full results. FULL RESULTS TikTok Live Card Jose Munoz def. Jesus Navarrete by KO. Round 1, 0:17 Ramon Olivas def. Jovani Misael Sanchez by KO. Round 1, 2:29 Sergio Zarate def. Rolando Paredes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) Jesus Rodriguez def.

On Friday, Sept. 11, Legacy Fighting Alliance hosted LFA 242 live from Mystic Lake Hotel & Casino in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Flyweights were in the main event, and Brazil’s Davi Bittencourt got a big win over Canada’s Devon Lozej. In the second round, Bittencourt broke free of a clinch and threw an instant high kick. It landed flush, and Lozej went out cold. That win improved Bittencourt’s record to 17-4. All he’s done is win since getting finished on Contender Series in 2023.

On Saturday, Sep. 19, KSW hosted KSW 121 live from Home Credit Arena in Liberec, Czechia. The main event was supposed to feature longtime KSW heavyweight champ Phil De Fries, but a spine injury removed him from this card and forced him to vacate his title (which he had defended an incredible 14 times). Štefan Vojčák, De Fries’ original opponent, stayed on the card. He got to fight Marcin Wójcik for the interim title, and it was Vojčák who took that gold home. He finished Wójcik in the fourth round.

On Saturday, Sep. 19, the UFC will host UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja, live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. The event features a battle for the flyweight title in a rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. The event airs live on Paramount+ starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. Check below for full results. FULL RESULTS Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja – for the flyweight title Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy Patricio Pitbull vs. Doo Ho Choi Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf Alonzo Menifield vs.