Month: August 2026

Sherdog's live UFC Shanghai coverage will begin Saturday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 286. Round 1 Welterweights kick off festivities at UFC Shanghai, as Ding (35-10, 0-1 UFC) squares off with Nelson (7-1, 0-0 UFC) at 170 pounds. Matt Wynne polices the proceedings. Customary glove touch gets them started. Ding switches stances early and often, pawing with his lead hand from both sides. He counters a leg kick with an overhand right, then resets. Ding jabs at the body and gets off a body kick. Nelson answers with a low kick, then another. Raucous crowd already. Hard leg kick from Ding followed by a straight left. Strong start from the Colin Oyama protégé. They trade in the center of the cage before they exchange leg kicks. Nelson circles on the outside. Two minutes to go in the round. Nelson changes levels, ducks into a takedown and lands in side control. A short burst of significant ground-and-pound ensues from the Niagara Top Team rep.…

Ready for his second career UFC main event 🤩@UNmgdv | 135.5 lbs

[ #UFCShanghai | AUG 29 | 6amET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/RFPDW49s5b

— UFC (@ufc) August 28, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to China is set following the UFC Shanghai weigh-ins, although three fighters came in overweight.

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Bantamweight contenders Umar Nurmagomedov and Yadong Song will clash atop the 13-fight card. Both headliners had no issue making weight. However, several prelim fighters weren't as professional. Andre Lima missed weight for his flyweight fight against Namsrai Batbayar by 1 pound and will be fined 20 percent of his purse as a result. Meanwhile, both Jingnan Xiong and Julia Polastri failed to make the strawweight limit for their bout, with Xiong coming in 1 pound overweight and Polastri weighing 2.5 pounds over the limit.

Nurmagomedov (20-1) has bounced back from his first career defeat to Merab Dvalishvili wi…

The Professional Fighters League continues to build its upcoming event, scheduled for Oct. 16 in Chicago.

The card will be headlined by an undisputed women’s flyweight title fight between Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop. The bout is a rematch of the 2025 PFL women’s flyweight tournament final, which Carmouche won by knockout.

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Earlier this week, the promotion added a heavyweight matchup between Denis Goltsov and Maxwell Djantou Nana. An intriguing bantamweight contest has now joined the lineup.Sarvarjon Khamidov faces Rafael do Nascimento at PFL ChicagoPromotion officials confirmed to Sherdog that Sarvarjon Khamidov (17-1) will face Rafael do Nascimento (13-3).

Khamidov is coming off a second-round submission victory over PFL tournament finalist Justin Wetzell in June. The contest marked Khamidov’s first appearance of 2026.

A veteran of Bellator MMA and the PFL, Khamidov has steadily advanced through the bantamweight division.

Do Nascimen…

Joe Lopez has seen major improvements in Mauricio Ruffy's grappling since the Brazilian joined Alexander Volkanovski's team.

Ruffy is preparing for the biggest test of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career when he faces Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan's wrestling prowess is a key factor in the matchup, but Lopez believes his fighter has made significant strides in that area.

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Mauricio Ruffy’s defensive wrestling improves ahead of Arman Tsarukyan fight at UFC 331 Ruffy made the move from the Brazilian gym Fighting Nerds after losing to Benoit St. Denis in September 2025, joining Volkanovski’s team in Australia. Speaking to Submission Radio, Volkanovski’s head coach Lopez said Ruffy's development has been particularly noticeable in defensive wrestling and his ability to escape dangerous positions.

“Well, it’s just chalk and cheese,” Lopez said. “You can just see how he’s improving, you know?”<…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has added four more Meta Apex events to its 2026 schedule.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has approved permits for UFC events on Sept. 29, Oct. 10, Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 at its venue. The Sept. 29 and Nov. 7 cards already have main events, with the headliners for the two October cards yet to be announced.

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Rosas Jr.-Barcelos and Brady-Bonfim are set to headline two upcoming UFC Fight Nights Raoni Barcelos is set to face Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC Fight Night 289 on Sept. 29. The matchup pits an MMA veteran against one of the brightest up-and-coming prospects in the sport.

The main events for the UFC Fight Night on Oct. 10 and the UFC Fight Night on Oct. 31 haven’t been announced as yet, but multiple undercard fights on the cards have been revealed.

Some of the fights scheduled for the Oct. 10 card include Andre Fili vs. Kai Kamaka III, Lupita Godinez vs. Ketlen Souza, Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Otari Tanzilovi and Matheu…

Claressa Shields has revealed why a boxing bout against Cris Cyborg fell through.

During a recent interview, Shields discussed a previous offer for the proposed Cyborg fight, which the Brazilian allegedly turned down.

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Shields says a sparring session changed her relationship with Cris Cyborg Shields claims Cyborg turned down a $2 million offer to box her, despite them being on good terms.

“But as far as Cris, she turned $2 million already back when a guy from Saudi had $3 million for her,” Shields told TMZ Sports. “Well, $3 million for me and $2 million for her and we could [do that at] 154 [pounds]. She turned it down and that's back when we were cool.”

The American now claims that they aren’t on good terms, speculating that the bad blood stems from a previous training session, which Shields claims to have dominated.

“Right now, she got all this, ‘Oh, she don't like me,’” Shields added. “I think she don't like me because I whooped her a*…

Alex Apodaca has little time to celebrate the biggest win of her career.

Apodaca pulled off the biggest upset in Dana White’s Contender Series history on Aug. 25, earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract after defeating heavily favored Bella Mir over three rounds. When asked how she plans to celebrate the major victory, Apodaca said that she has a day job obligation scheduled for the next morning.

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Alex Apodaca plans to keep accounting job after upsetting Bella Mir on DWCS Despite beating Mir and pulling off the biggest upset in DWCS history, the 32-year-old bantamweight won't be stepping away from her day job just yet. Apodaca revealed after the fight that she had an early morning commitment at her accounting firm.

“I am gonna party my *ss off, but I have work in the morning. I have a call at like 7:30 a.m.,” Apodaca said at the post-fight presser following Week 3 of DWCS Season 10.

Apodaca works full-time as a consultant at an ac…

Alejandra Lara has been suspended and fined by the Nevada Athletic Commission after reportedly testing positive for a cocaine metabolite.

The commission recently announced that Lara settled for a nine-month suspension stemming from a positive test for benzoylecgonine. She was also fined $412.50 and ordered to pay $250.60 in legal fees.

Alejandra Lara reportedly tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine Lara will become eligible to return on Jan. 24, 2027. The 32-year-old Colombian reportedly tested positive in connection with her April 24 bout at Tuff-N-Uff 153. Lara lost the fight to Jaleen Robledo via third-round guillotine.

The defeat dropped Lara's record to 12-10 and she’s gone 3-3 since departing Bellator in 2023.

Lara spent much of her Bellator tenure competing in the promotion's women's flyweight division. She went 3-6 inside the organization and challenged Ilima-Lei Macfarlane for the Bellator women's flyweight title in June 2018. Lara lost t…

Merab Dvalishvili has clarified that he has no bad blood with Islam Makhachev despite what the latter believes.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder addressed recent comments from Makhachev after the welterweight champ appeared to accuse Dvalishvili of being unhappy with his success after he defended his title against Ian Garry at UFC 330.

Merab Dvalishvili explains what really upset him after Islam Makhachev's UFC 330 win Dvalishvili explained on social media that his frustration with Makhachev's victory at UFC 330 was directed at the latter's team bringing a Russian flag into the Octagon, rather than at the champion himself.

“I like Islam Makhachev,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “I think he’s a great and humble champion. I respect all the hard work he has put into his career, I have nothing but respect for him. But when I saw his team bring the Russian flag into the Octagon, I was upset. And the reason I reacted that way is because, first du…

Tyson Fury has admitted he did not take Francis Ngannou seriously, a mindset that nearly cost him the fight.

Fury faced Ngannou in October 2023 in the latter's professional boxing debut. Despite being knocked down by a powerful punch in the third round, Fury recovered to edge Ngannou by split decision over 10 rounds.

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Francis Ngannou knocked Fury down after the heavyweight dismissed the bout as an exhibition In a recent interview with ALF Global, Fury admitted he was underprepared for his bout with Ngannou. He explained that he viewed the matchup more as an exhibition than a serious fight.

“No, I didn’t train for him because I didn’t think he was a good fighter,” Fury said. “I knew he was a good fighter, but to me it’s levels to boxing.”

Fury explained that he viewed the matchup differently because the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ doesn’t have any boxing credentials or accolades. The Englishman also discussed Ngannou’s mindset g…

Rafael dos Anjos claims multiple surgeries forced his long hiatus.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder returns to the Octagon after nearly two years against Alexander Hernandez at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Brazilian suffered a 90-second stoppage loss after injuring his left knee in his last outing against Geoff Neal in October 2024.

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Rafael dos Anjos details the knee surgeries that threatened his UFC career In a recent interview, dos Anjos revealed that he has since undergone three surgeries on his left knee. A doctor in Brazil initially stitched up his meniscus, which apparently was a big mistake. He again tore his meniscus after a few months and underwent surgery in Austin, Texas, in the U.S.

However, the American doctor allegedly left some stitches inside dos Anjos’ knee, which subsequently led to inflammation. The former champ then went under the knife for the third time earlier this y…

Sean Brady claims Carlos Prates doesn’t have the tools to deal with Islam Makhachev’s wrestling.

Michael Morales (19-0) and Prates (24-7) are the leading contenders for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot against Makhachev (29-1). Brady believes Morales will give Makhachev a harder time than Prates will, citing how the Ecuadorian is more of an unknown and his grappling hasn’t been put to the test in the UFC.

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Sean Brady explains why Michael Morales poses a tougher test for Islam Makhachev While Brady (19-2) acknowledges Prates’ dangerous knockout power, he believes Makhachev will have his way against the Brazilian on the ground. Brady notes that we’re yet to see Morales get challenged on the ground, hence making him more of a puzzle for the UFC welterweight champ.

“I think Prates can knock anybody out, for sure,” Brady told Ariel Helwani. “Out of Prates and Morales, everyone’s gonna say I’m biased because I lost to Morale…