Martial Arts News

The Professional Fighters League has officially put together the second phase of its Global tournament.

On Thursday, the PFL announced via press release all 11 fights that make up the 2025 PFL World Tournament 7 Semifinals event taking place on June 27 in Chicago. Middleweights, light heavyweights and heavyweights will all hold their semifinals in the Wintrust Arena in the Windy City, along with a trio of alternate bouts and pair of showcases including an exciting tilt at 135 pounds. Two former Bellator MMA champions and ex-training partners will toe the line, as Sergio Pettis (23-7) collides with Raufeon Stots (21-2) in what could be a title eliminator that could face the winner of the bantamweight bracket at year’s end.

Pettis surrendered his 135-pound crown in 2023 to Patrick Mix, who has since left the organization and reportedly signed with the UFC. A rematch with Kyoji Horiguchi, whom he won the belt from in 2021, did not go his way last year. This two-fight…

😧 Gilbert Burns tells how after Khamzat Chimaev fight he started making more money and gained fame which led him to lose focus.

"That took me slowly away of my path, that Durinho that trains really hard, that wants to become a champion."

🎥 @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/TKlxSAkTty

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 14, 2025

Gilbert Burns’ celebrity status following his fight with Khamzat Chimaev may have robbed him of some hunger.

Burns (22-8) came up short in a welterweight championship bid against former teammate Kamaru Usman in 2021. After bouncing back with a win over Stephen Thompson, a still peaking Burns was matched up in a potential title eliminator against Khamzat Chimaev. “Durinho” put on arguably one of the greatest performances of his life in a barnburner, despite dropping a unanimous decision against the undefeated contender.

Burns recently revealed that the hype behind that matchup changed things for him…

Jiri Prochazka has his priorities sorted.

If anyone could turn down an Ultimate Fighting Championship matchup, probably for the title, it had to be Prochazka (31-5). The former light heavyweight champ famously lives by the Bushido code and has an unorthodox persona in general.

Magomedov Ankalaev was looking for an opponent to defend his title at UFC 317 on June 28. But the most logical contender, Alex Pereira, wasn’t ready to fight on such short notice. Prochazka’s manager, Tim Simpson, recently revealed that the UFC had asked if “BJP” could be ready on that date. The UFC considering another option even seemingly led to a slight falling out with “Poatan.”

However, Prochazka chose his upcoming university exams over what was a potential title shot.

“We had one offer for a match, but everything is being postponed because of school,” Prochazka’s coach Matin Karaivanov told Sportz.cz. “Once he finishes it, we will continue negotiations.”

Prochazka is…

😂Dricus Du Plessis reacted on Instagram to the news that Nassourdine Imavov will be the backup fighter for #UFC319

"Guess I’m fighting Nassourdine Imavov."▫️ pic.twitter.com/w85WgKRWqD

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 14, 2025

Dricus Du Plessis took a dig at Khamzat Chimaev’s history of pulling out after a backup was announced for their upcoming matchup.

Du Plessis (23-2) is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Chimaev (14-0) in the UFC 319 main event on Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago. Nassourdine Imavov was recently announced as the back-up fighter for the middleweight title clash, which means the French striker has to make weight for an opportunity to step in if either du Plessis or Chimaev pulls out.

Reacting to the announcement, du Plessis said he’s fighting Imavov, reminding Chimaev of his history of pulling out.

“Guess I’m fighting [Imavov,]” du Plessis wrote on his Instagram Stories.

<…

Wow! Real exciting times again in the UFC!

Oh Yes! 🙏☘️

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Bravo, Dana White! Never a doubt! @ufc @TKOGrp @bareknucklefc 💰💰💰@tidlsport @ForgedStout 💰💰💰💰@TheMacLife 💰💰💰💰💰 — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 14, 2025

Conor McGregor is teasing an Ultimate Fighting Championship return for the umpteenth time.

McGregor (22-6) seemingly hasn’t given up on his UFC career. UFC CEO Dana White recently made a string of fight announcements that have McGregor excited. Islam Makhachev vacated the lightweight title and moved up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena. Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will fight for the vacant 155-pound strap at UFC 317 on June 28.

Reacting to these announcements, McGregor teased a return, hinting at returning to the drug testing pool.

“Call that big bu** nurse,” McGregor wrote on his Instagram story. “Wow real exciting times ahead again in the UFC. Let’s get …

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Jake Paul plans to make Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. quit in their upcoming boxing clash.

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Paul and Chavez Jr., son of former three-division world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., will trade leather in a Dazn pay-per-view card on June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The two met at a press conference on Wednesday, where Paul promised to prove his doubters wrong and embarrass Chavez.

“I’m going to shock the world once again and prove how good I am, how powerful I am,” Paul said. “This is his toughest fight to date. And I’m going to embarrass him and make him quit like he always does.”

Initially a YouTuber-turned-boxer, Paul started gaining attention when he knocked out former One Championship king Ben Askren in a boxing match. “The Problem Child” has since made a successful business out of fighting and mostly beating legendary boxers and MMA fighters well past their prime. Paul has victories over the likes of Anderson Silva,…

Charles Oliveira has opened as a massive betting underdog against Ilia Topuria.

Islam Makhachev vacated his lightweight title and moved up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena after the Australian dethroned his friend Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. Makhachev would have defended his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria had Muhammad retained his belt.

However, Topuria (16-0) will now fight former champ Charles Oliveira (35-10) for the vacant 155-pound title in the UFC 317 main event on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Topuria also recently vacated his featherweight crown in pursuit of a lightweight strap.

Oliveira has opened as a massive +250 underdog on most sportsbooks while Topuria is a -300 favorite. Despite this being Topuria’s debut against a former champ, the odds speak of how highly “La Leyenda” is regarded. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard has finished 14 of his 16 pro wins, 8 of which came in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Topuria…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your #PFLWorldTournament 5️⃣ Fight Card! 👊

The Lightweight, Women's Flyweights & Bantamweight PFL World Tournament Semi-Finals roll through Wichita, Kansas! pic.twitter.com/SbtbSoHUpa

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 14, 2025

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The lineup for the PFL World Tournament 6 event is now complete.

The promotion on Wednesday announced the finalized card for the event, which features tournament semifinal bouts at lightweight, women’s flyweight and bantamweight. The evening’s feautured contest will be a 155-pound semifinal pitting Gadzhi Rabadanov against Jay-Jay Wilson. In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche will face Elora Dana in a women’s flyweight semifinal. The four-bout main card also includes both bantamweight matchups: Jake Hadley vs. Marcirley Alves and Mando Gutierrez vs. Justin Wetzell.

PFL World Tournament 6 takes place at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas on June 20. The main cad airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9…

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After defeating former champion Alexa Grasso at UFC 315, Natalia Silva reiterated her desire to fight for the flyweight belt.

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With seven consecutive victories in the Octagon and an overall professional winning streak that stands at 13, the Brazilian believes that her time has come to fight Valentina Shevchenko.

During a video interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana last, the Brazilian took the opportunity to respond to the champion, who after defending the title against Manon Fiorot, reportedly said that she does not know the Brazilian.

“She said she did not know me, I do not know if it is because she does not really follow the category or if it was out of disdain,” Silva said. “But I think now is the time for her to get to know me. This fight is interesting to do and it is good for the UFC.”

While Silva ranks among the top contenders at flyweight, reigning strawweight title holder Weili Zhang also expressed i…

Jean Silva is willing to lend a helping hand to Charles Oliveira in his latest bid for lightweight gold.

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After Dana White confirmed that Islam Makhachev will go up to welterweight to fight against Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight belt and former featherweight king Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight belt, “Do Bronx” received an unexpected offer from The Fighting Nerds representative.

“I believe that if Charles fights like in his last fight, he will pass over Topuria,” Silva told AgFight. “Anyway, I'm available to help him with his sparring. I know exactly how to imitate Topuria, even his facial expressions.”

The statement was a surprise for Brazilian MMA community after Fighting Nerds leader Pablo Sucupira compared their rivalry with Chute Boxe to the Brazilian Top Team-Chute Boxe battles of the Pride Fighting Championships era following Ian Garry’s recent victory over Carlos Prates.

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🚨THE RETURN OF A LEGEND🚨

Holly Holm is back — and lacing up the boxing gloves once again.On Saturday, June 28, “The Preacher’s Daughter” steps into the ring against Yolanda Vega at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA live on DAZN PPV.

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MVP is also excited to announce that Holly… pic.twitter.com/FegJyzaKLl — Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) May 14, 2025

Holly Holm is returning to the Sweet Science.

The former UFC women’s bantamweight queen has signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, it was announced during a press conference in Anaheim on Wednesday. Holm will box Yolanda Vega on the Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard on June 28.

Holm hasn’t fought in a boxing match since May 2013, when she outpointed Mary McGee at Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The Preacher’s Daughter” owns a 33-2-3 career mark and held multiple world titles in three weight classes. She was inducted…

Nassourdine Imavov will be ready to step in if anything goes awry with the UFC 319 main event combatants.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight crown against Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 16. Imavov will weigh in as the backup fighter for the title bout, according to RMC Sport Combat. If either Du Plessis or Chimaev were unable to compete on that date, Imavov would get the main event spot.

Imavov secured the biggest victory of his career to date on Feb. 1, when he defeated former 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya via second-round TKO in the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner. The 30-year-old Frenchman has also bested Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze during his current four-fight winning streak.

The MMA Factory representative made his Octagon debut in October 2020 and has compiled an 8-2 record with one no contest during his tenure …