Martial Arts News

Kayla Harrison says recovering from neck surgery left her questioning whether she would ever feel like herself again.

The reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight champion withdrew from her scheduled title defense against Amanda Nunes at UFC 324 in January to undergo surgery for herniated discs in her neck. On the “Deep Waters” podcast, Harrison discussed the physical and mental challenges of her recovery.

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Kayla Harrison recalls doubts about feeling like herself again before Amanda Nunes title fight at UFC 334 Harrison described the operation as the most serious of four surgeries she has undergone in the past four years.

“I feel awesome,” Harrison said. “To be honest, it was rough in the beginning. I think more just obviously physically, but mentally. It was such a big surgery and I went ten years without surgery. I had reconstructive knee surgery between my two Olympics and then I went ten years with no surgery. But in the las…

Paulo Costa says he intends to fight before the end of the year, potentially outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Costa is disputing the terms of the final bout on his UFC contract. “Borrachinha” has criticized the promotion for offering five-round fights without additional compensation. The Brazilian wants to complete his contract and has hinted on social media at competing elsewhere.

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Paulo Costa hints at fighting outside UFC while disputing final-bout contract terms Costa (16-4) said he had received no recent update from the UFC but remained determined to compete this year.

“Nothing from the UFC,” Costa wrote on X. “I’m going to fight at an event at the end of the year. I’m in great shape and in my prime. I’m going to do what I love—fight somewhere.”

Costa is coming off victories over Roman Kopylov and previously unbeaten Azamat Murzakanov. He previously sought an interim light heavyweight title fight while champion Carlos Ulberg rec…

Dana White’s Contender Series returns Tuesday for Week 10, the Season 10 finale.

The event takes place Oct. 13 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas and streams live on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The five-bout lineup spans the welterweight, middleweight, featherweight, lightweight and women’s bantamweight divisions. Weigh-in results are listed below in pounds.

Dana White's Contender Series Season 10 concludes with five fights on Oct. 13 Ilias Bulaid (146) vs. Erick Visconde (146)Aline Pereira (135) vs. Smilla Sundell (135)William Rentz (171) vs. Luis Francischinelli (170)Davi Cabral (184.5) vs. Douglas Lapa (184.5)Jason Asher (154.5) vs. Gregory Foster (155.5)

Rolando Dy retained his BKB super welterweight world title with a third-round stoppage of Scott McHugh at BKB 60 on Saturday in Newcastle, England.

Dy (7-1, 6 KOs) overwhelmed the five-time BKB champion after a competitive opening round, dropping McHugh (16-6, 6 KOs) three times in the second. McHugh survived the onslaught, but another knockdown in the third prompted his corner to throw in the towel.

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Rolando Dy retains world title after third-round stoppage of Scott McHugh Dy entered the bout coming off a stoppage victory over former two-division boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi.

Elsewhere on the card, David Winiarski knocked out Geraint Goodridge in the first round, while Brian Hyslop earned a split decision over former boxing world champion Joseph Diaz Jr. Adel Altamimi recovered from two first-round knockdowns to stop Tom Mowbray in the second, and Aaron Ashton rallied to defeat Mark O’Neill by technical knockout.

Mick Kelly stopped …

Brendson Ribeiro used his postfight platform to appeal for help finding his brother, who he said disappeared nearly six months ago.

Ribeiro (18-11, 1 NC) submitted Felipe Franco (11-3) with a guillotine choke at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, snapping a four-fight losing streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Brazilian became emotional after the victory as he discussed his missing brother.

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Brendson Ribeiro seeks answers about brother missing since April 27 Speaking through an interpreter after the fight, Ribeiro said his brother disappeared April 27 in his hometown in Brazil. He said authorities have yet to provide answers.

“He is my blood brother from my dad's side,” Ribeiro said at the UFC Vegas 122 postfight news conference. “On April 27, in the township that I'm from, the authorities have not said anything. My family has no voice there. As an athlete that has a platform right now, I just want to get it out there for someone to …

Brendan Allen battled a staph infection during fight week before submitting Christian Leroy Duncan in the Ultimate Fighting Championship main event at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday, according to teammate Belal Muhammad.

Former UFC welterweight champion Muhammad said Allen had been dealing with the infection since Tuesday and required antibiotics before competing at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 10.

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Belal Muhammad details Allen's fight-week illness before Duncan submission Allen (28-7) submitted Duncan (15-3) with a fifth-round rear-naked choke for his fourth consecutive victory. Muhammad said Allen still had five days left on his course of antibiotics after the bout.

“What people don’t know is Brendan was dealing with a staph infection since Tuesday of fight week,” Muhammad wrote on X. “Had to get on antibiotics, still has 5 days left on them, and despite all that adversity, went out there and got the finish. Never complained, never made excuses, jus…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Thiago Tavares has taken on a new challenge outside the cage.

Tavares (24-11-1) retired from mixed martial arts in 2021 and used some of his career earnings to pursue medical school. The Brazilian is now a practicing physician specializing in neurology and is working on a master's thesis exploring potential markers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in former fighters.

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Thiago Tavares seeks potential CTE markers in former UFC fighters Speaking to Sherdog, Tavares explained that CTE can currently be definitively diagnosed only by examining brain tissue after death. His research aims to explore whether brain wave measurements and artificial intelligence could help identify a reliable marker in living patients.

“Unfortunately, the only way to confirm CTE is through the study of brain tissue (a post-mortem biopsy) in the anatomopathological exam,” Tavares said. “There is still no reliable mar…

Former boxing world champions Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi are set to meet under the BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing banner.

BKB announced Saturday that Ortiz and Malignaggi will headline BKB 62 on Dec. 5 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The bout will take place inside the promotion’s Trigon ring, with tickets scheduled to go on sale Oct. 12.

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Former boxing world champions Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi headline BKB 62 Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KOs) is a former WBC welterweight champion who faced Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto and Marcos Maidana in traditional boxing. He made his bare-knuckle debut at BKB 56, earning a unanimous decision over Dominic Salcido.

“I’ve been in some of the biggest fights of my career, and now I’m ready for a completely different challenge in the Trigon. Paulie is a former world champion with a lot of experience, but this is bare-knuckle boxing and I’m coming in prepared to fight,” Ortiz said.

Malignaggi (36-8, 7 …

Quillan Salkilld appears to be targeting February 2027 for his return.

Salkilld has won six straight fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. The Australian lightweight hinted at his return timeline on social media, seemingly eyeing the promotion’s upcoming Sydney event.

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Quillan Salkilld targets February after finishing Dariush and Gamrot Salkilld is coming off finishes of Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot. With the UFC scheduled to return to Sydney on Feb. 7, he appears interested in competing on the card.

“Reporting for duty #feb,” Salkilld wrote on X.

The UFC has announced that its Sydney Fight Night will take place at Afterpay Arena. The promotion’s most recent numbered event in Australia was UFC 325 in Sydney on Feb. 1, local time. It also held a Fight Night in Perth in May.

Reporting for duty 🔒 #feb 🎯🤞 https://t.co/5jOEQ5ewoZ

— Quillan Sa…

Malcolm Wellmaker says he gave his all in preparing for his latest bout, which ended in his third straight Ultimate Fighting Championship defeat.

Wellmaker faced Otari Tanzilovi in the main card opener at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday. He had moments of success but was stopped in the second round after Tanzilovi landed a head kick and follow-up punches.

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Malcolm Wellmaker reflects on American Top Team camp, Otari Tanzilovi stoppage and UFC future Wellmaker said he suffered no major injuries. His game plan was to close the distance to neutralize Tanzilovi’s kicks, an approach he felt was working early. He also said he moved his family to Florida to prepare at American Top Team.

“The Machine” believes he has improved during his few months at ATT. Although uncertain about his next step, he intends to continue fighting as long as it offers a way to provide for his family.

“First and foremost, I’m healthy, no major injuries, so that’s the biggest ble…

Brendan Allen is critical of his latest performance despite securing a finish and a post-fight bonus.

Allen faced Christian Leroy Duncan in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight main event at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday. He submitted Duncan with a rear-naked choke in the fifth round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

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Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with his performance.Brendan Allen says he felt slow against Christian Leroy Duncan despite fifth-round submission Allen found success on the ground, while Duncan had the edge in the striking exchanges. After losing a point for an eye poke in the second round, Duncan pressed the attack in the final frame before Allen took him down and secured the finish.

Allen later said he was disappointed despite the victory. He had expected to be quicker and felt he had been slow to react.

“Ultimately, I’m just disappointed in myself,” Allen said on the Paramount+ post-fight show. “Not havin…

Ryan Garcia criticized an interviewer’s question to Conor Benn as disrespectful.

Garcia retained his WBC welterweight title against Benn last month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, scoring a second-round technical knockout after dropping the challenger with a right hand. Garcia has since criticized a question Benn received about the loss.

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Ryan Garcia blasts Wesley Graham over disrespectful Conor Benn interview question Gunman Boxing’s Wesley Graham recently interviewed Benn about the fight.

“Your fight against Ryan Garcia didn’t go as planned,” Graham said. “Second round, man. Stretched you out like a limousine. No one expected that. I didn’t expect that. What happened?”

Benn responded by reiterating that a difficult weight cut had affected his performance.

“You go swimming, you get wet,” Benn answered. “You pay the price. No problem. You bounce back, it’s life, it happens…”

Garcia took issue with Graham’s wording and urged Benn not…