Anchorage’s Jared Cannonier made a triumphant return to the octagon with a five-round unanimous decision over Arizona’s Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Fighting for the first time in nine months, the 37-year-old Cannonier delivered a...
Connecting you with Alaska athletes.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
These stories are made possible by:
Heun KOs opponent in 72 seconds to collect 15th pro victory
Palmer’s Jake Heun made quick work out of an accomplished fighter with a first-round TKO victory over Satoshi Ishii in a heavyweight bout at Rizin FF 20 in Saitama, Japan. The fight lasted 72 seconds – his third-fastest win of his 24-fight MMA professional career....
Vanderford remains unbeaten, moves to 9-0 after win in Israel
Ninilchik’s Austin Vanderford won another MMA fight to push his professional record to 9-0. The 29-year-old earned a unanimous decision over Russian Grachik Bozinyan at Bellator 234 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Vanderford, of Ninilchik High fame, used a fabulous final-round...
Vanderford moves to middleweight, wins Bellator fight by TKO
A step up to middleweight didn’t slow down professional MMA fighter Austin Vanderford of Ninilchik. The 29-year-old bloodied and battered previously undefeated Joseph Creer of Georgia to win by second-round TKO at Bellator 225 in Samford, Connecticut. Vanderford...
Murphy scores biggest victory of pro career at UFC Newark
Eagle River’s Lauren Murphy won the biggest fight of her professional career with a third-round TKO of Italy’s Mara Romero Borella in a fight between top-20 contenders at UFC Newark in New Jersey. The 36-year-old veteran fighter improved her career record to 11-4,...
Heun wins by TKO in Japan to earn 14th professional victory
Palmer’s Jake Heun used a devastating elbow blow to end in the third round his mixed martial arts fight with Russia’s Vitaly Shemetov on the Rizin 17 fight card in Japan. Six of Heun's 14 professional wins have come by knockout, but this one may have been the biggest...
Heun earns split decision in Japan to get back into win column
In need of a win in a bad way, Jake Heun of Palmer moved up to heavyweight to face an opponent who had lost just once in the last eight years. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a fearless fighter like Heun. His bravado was rewarded in a big way as the 31-year-old...
Vanderford improves to 7-0 with victorious Bellator debut
Just because he has a championship background in wrestling doesn’t mean MMA fighter Austin Vanderford of Ninilchik prefers that method of operation in the octagon. But it sure comes in handy. The 28-year-old has won three out of his last four fights by submission,...
Vanderford wins by 98-second KO, stays unbeaten as pro fighter
Ninilchik’s Austin Vanderford earned another win by stoppage over another solid opponent, helping the 28-year-old mixed martial arts fighter move to 6-0 for his professional career. The former NAIA wrestling champion out of Southern Oregon University knocked out...
Heun cleared to fight, will headline Rizin main event in Japan
Palmer’s Jake Heun has been cleared to fight again and is wasting no time getting back to work. The 31-year-old brawler is set to make his return in the Japanese mixed martial arts organization Rizin Fighting Federation next month at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan....
Vanderford wins MMA fight in Contender Series, improves to 5-0
Austin Vanderford’s extensive background as a champion wrestler paved the way for the 28-year-old from Ninilchik to win his fifth straight pro mixed-martial arts fight. The former NAIA national champion and two-time state champion earned his second consecutive win via...