Month: September 2026

Colby Covington isn’t closing the door on an Ultimate Fighting Championship return.

The former UFC title challenger exited the promotion after his defeat to Joaquin Buckley in 2024. He now says the decision was taken so he could pursue opportunities outside the UFC in wrestling, but remains open to returning to mixed martial arts.

Advertisement

Colby Covington says big UFC fights could bring him back to MMA Covington is 4-0 under the Real American Freestyle banner and recently captured the promotion's inaugural cruiserweight crossover championship with a victory over Arman Tsarukyan. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, he said an MMA return is possible after previously disagreeing with the UFC on certain matchups and his omission from UFC Freedom 250.

“I'm technically retired, technically, but that was just the red proverbial tape I needed to get by so I could get the biggest matchups in RAF,” Covington said. “Everybody knows my first love and passion was al…

Valentina Shevchenko's coach has shed light on the injury that prompted her to vacate the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight title.

Shevchenko was rumored to defend the title against Natalia Silva at UFC 332 on Oct. 3, but an undisclosed injury forced her out. The UFC subsequently announced that Shevchenko would relinquish the belt, with Silva and Cong Wang now set to fight for the vacant championship in Salt Lake City.

Valentina Shevchenko suffered shoulder and back ligament injuries before vacating her UFC title Ushatayka’s Telegram channel revealed what Pavel Fedotov, Shevchenko’s coach, said about her injury.

“We were supposed to fight on Oct. 3 against Natalia Silva, but due to an injury to the ligaments in the shoulder and back, we decided not to push things and postpone the fight,” Fedotov said. “Given that the recovery will take a long time, we’ve made the decision to temporarily vacate the belt and once she recovers, she will fight for it again.”…

Daniel Rodriguez seemingly felt disrespected by Daniil Donchenko’s callout.

Donchenko (15-2) called out Rodriguez (20-6) after a win over Punahele Soriano on the main card of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest trip to Paris. Rodriguez responded to Donchenko’s callout with an emoji and an odd song choice, hinting at his disapproval.

Advertisement

Daniel Rodriguez responds after Daniil Donchenko targets him following his win over Punahele Soriano Donchenko called for a fight against Rodriguez after his unanimous decision victory over Soriano. Rodriguez responded on Instagram stories, sharing Donchenko’s callout accompanied by a middle-finger emoji and Drake’s “I’m Upset” playing in the background.

Donchenko has finished 11 of his 15 career wins so far. The Ukrainian is undefeated in four UFC outings with two finishes. Meanwhile, Rodriguez was on a three-fight winning streak when he was arrested in August 2025 for crossing the border into Mexico with marij…

Alex Pereira already knows who he wants next.

The former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder is campaigning for a rematch with Ciryl Gane after losing to the Frenchman in their interim heavyweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250.

Advertisement

Pereira says a second fight with Gane makes sense after their UFC Freedom 250 finish Pereira took to Instagram to call out Gane. He touched on the controversial nature of the finish when they squared off at the White House in June and seems confident the matchup will come to fruition.

“After much time resting and doing what I needed to do, after much work, after my last fight, many people are talking about who will Alex fight,” Pereira said in an Instagram video. “I’m seeing many opinions, but I think the fight that makes sense is Ciryl Gane. That’s the fight. I’m going to work on that and from what I’m seeing, it’s something that’s going to happen. How the last fight ended: there were illegal shots.” Read more

Vadim Nemkov will defend his Professional Fighters League heavyweight championship against Sergey Bilostenniy in November.

The promotion recently announced that former Bellator champ Nemkov (20-2) will meet the No. 3-ranked Bilostenniy (15-4) in the main event of PFL Dubai on Nov. 14 at Coca-Cola Arena.

Advertisement

Team Fedor's Sergey Bilostenniy challenges Nemkov at PFL Dubai Nemkov, a protégé of Fedor Emelianenko, moved up to heavyweight in 2024 and captured PFL gold last December.

Bilostenniy is 4-1 in the PFL and has earned notable finishes over Karl Williams, Tyrell Fortune and former PFL champion Renan Ferreira. Like Nemkov, he trains under the Team Fedor banner and has previously shared training camps with the champion.

This marks the first PFL main event in Dubai since the promotion's merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

“Dubai has become a special city for PFL and the site of some unforgettable moments in our history,” PFL CEO John Mart…

Khamzat Chimaev isn’t going to change his style in a sport as unpredictable as mixed martial arts.

Umar Nurmagomedov (20-2) was a massive favorite going into his pivotal clash against Yadong Song. Nurmagomedov was shooting a takedown when Song timed a flush uppercut to put his Dagestani counterpart to sleep. Chimaev, who has a wrestling-heavy approach, is undeterred by the threat of a knockout while shooting for a takedown.

Advertisement

Chimaev explains why Nurmagomedov’s loss to Yadong Song won’t alter his approach The former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder was recently asked whether he’s going to be more cautious going forward, considering how Nurmagomedov lost.

“Borz” believes Nurmagomedov will bounce back stronger. As for himself, Chimaev says he is going to stick to his bread and butter: wrestling. He notes that an unlucky shot can put anyone to sleep in a sport like MMA and doesn’t see the point in changing his style out of fear of being knocke…

Ten prospects are set to compete on Sept. 8 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas as Season 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series reaches Week 5.

The Week 5 lineup features matchups across the light heavyweight, welterweight, middleweight, bantamweight and flyweight divisions. Quentin Pasley and Arlind Berisha are set to headline, with Reginaldo Geraldo Jr. vs. Isaac Moreno, Martin Kozak vs. Christian Echols, Apollo Gomes vs. Won Il Kwon and Colton Loud vs. Christian Natividad rounding out the card. All fighters successfully made weight with the exception of Echols, who became the first fighter to fail on the scale in Season 10 of DWCS.

Advertisement

The event will be available to stream on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 Week 5 weigh-in results:Quentin Pasley (204.5) vs. Arlind Berisha (205.5)Reginaldo Geraldo Jr. (170.5) vs. Isaac Moreno (170.5)Martin Kozak (185) vs. Christian Echols (189: Missed Weight)Apollo Gomes (135.5) vs. Won …

Tony Ferguson will return to the boxing ring later this month.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship interim champ is scheduled to face former professional soccer player Kenzo Biyong in a five-round boxing matchup at Misfits Boxing on Sept. 26 at James L. Knight Center in Miami.

Advertisement

Tony Ferguson will face Kenzo Biyong at Misfits Boxing on Sept. 26 Ferguson will take on former professional soccer player Kenzo Biyong on the undercard of Henry Cejudo vs. "Deen The Great" at Misfits Boxing.

Ferguson is 2-0 under the Misfits banner, with one professional victory and one exhibition win. His most recent boxing appearance came in December, when he defeated Warren Spencer by unanimous decision. Ferguson has also competed in wrestling since then, losing to Arman Tsarukyan by technical fall at Real American Freestyle.

Biyong, 28, will make his striking debut against Ferguson, though he has previous combat-sports experience. He competed in UFC BJJ 7 in …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Marlon Moraes now deals with real-world situations, as seen in a recent South Florida traffic stop.

Viral footage circulating on social media shows Moraes, now working as a police officer, dealing with a motorist who repeatedly confronted and verbally challenged him. After several warnings to back away, the man moved toward Moraes, who responded by taking him to the ground.

Marlon Moraes hip tosses motorist while working as South Florida police officerThe incident took place on March 27. Moraes joined the Davie Police Department in Florida in June 2024 before taking a position with the Coral Springs P.D. later that year.

In the viral footage, the situation escalates after the motorist repeatedly insults Moraes and another officer. Moraes warns him against moving closer before eventually using a hip toss to bring him to the ground, where other officers move in to handcuff him.

The incident adds another chapte…

Shavkat Rakhmonov isn't ready to say that his Ultimate Fighting Championship career is over, but the unbeaten welterweight admits his return is far from guaranteed.

Rakhmonov has been sidelined since defeating Ian Garry in December 2024. He entered that bout with a knee injury and it left a long-lasting impact. In a new interview, he reflected on the fight and where he stands in the 170-pound division.

Advertisement

Shavkat Rakhmonov details the knee injury that has kept him sidelined since beating Ian Garry “Nomad” admits that he should not have competed with his injury. He also took a shot at Dagestani stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, claiming they would never fight injured.

“Well, that’s my problem; I couldn’t fight,” Rakhmonov told Alf Global. “If I had fought, I could’ve become champion, but that’s how it turned out. I was injured. What can I do? We are only human. I actually shouldn’t even have fought Ian Garry at all. With injuries like that…

Salahdine Parnasse made a statement in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

The former two-division KSW champion stopped Dan Hooker with a body kick and follow-up strikes in the first round of the UFC Paris main event. Parnasse subsequently reiterated his claim that he’s already one of the best in the world.

Advertisement

Salahdine Parnasse targets Max Holloway after stopping Dan Hooker at UFC Paris Parnasse carried a five-fight win streak into his Octagon debut and is high in confidence after a near-perfect introduction to UFC fans. He was in good spirits after the fight, claiming that his performance reflects just how dangerous he is to other UFC lightweights.

“I threw the kick and then I threw a punch and to be honest with you, I got to rewatch the fight, but I don’t remember exactly everything,” Parnasse said in a post-fight interview. “I showed that I’m one of the best in the world, I showed that I’m dangerous and I’m here.”

The Frenchman also ca…

Oumar Sy wanted to give French fans a stoppage win to celebrate, resulting in his loss.

Sy was a -210 favorite going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship clash against Modestas Bukauskas in front of a home crowd at UFC Paris. He now admits that chasing the finish led to his defeat.

Advertisement

Oumar Sy says pursuing a stoppage against Modestas Bukauskas contributed to his UFC Paris defeat Sy dominated Bukauskas in the first round, landing brutal elbows towards the end of the round with referee Jason Herzog watching very closely. Bukauskas was barely saved by the bell, with Herzog warning him to defend himself. While Sy started the second round with the same dominance, Bukauskas was able to return to his feet and defend a desperate takedown attempt. Bukauskas then dropped Sy with a knee and rained vicious follow-up shots to earn a shocking upset win.

Sy apologized to his fans, whom he wanted to give a stoppage win. However, he assures that the loss won’t de…