Martial Arts News

Conor McGregor is once again hinting that a comeback is imminent. | Bellator MMA

Conor McGregor might be one step closer to a UFC return — or maybe not.

In a since-deleted post on social media, the Irishman claimed that he had accepted a date and opponent for his next fight.

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“I have been offered an opponent and a date and I accept,” McGregor wrote. “Waiting on my contract.”

🚨 BREAKING: Conor McGregor revealed in a now-deleted tweet that he's been offered an opponent and date for his UFC return and has accepted the offer 👀 pic.twitter.com/QnozWDoLVK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 18, 2026

McGregor has been lobbying hard for a spot on the UFC White House card on June 14. The timing of his post coincides with UFC CEO Dana White’s recent remarks that the card was in the process of being finalized. This past October, McGregor stated that his participation at the highly-anticipated event was a …

The lineup is complete for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming visit to the Steel City.

The promotion on Wednesday unveiled the full card for PFL Pittsburgh, which takes place on March 28 at the UPMC Events Center and is headlined by a middleweight bout pitting former champ Johnny Eblen against UFC veteran Bryan Battle. In the co-main event, Dalton Rosta will lock horns with Impa Kasanganay in another middleweight contest.

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𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your full #PFLPittsburgh Fight Card 👊

What fight are you looking forward to on Saturday, March 28th! #PFLPittsburgh Tickets available now!🎟️ https://t.co/lHUajKu2eV #PFLPittsburgh | Saturday, March 28th | UPMC Events Center | Pittsburgh, PA | 📺 Streaming… pic.twitter.com/dycUfB4USg

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 18, 2026

Several other matchups were also confirmed for PFL Pittsburgh. In the opening main card bout, undefeated former Combate Global talent Lazaro Dayron will face 2…

Drew Dober. | Getty/UFC

The UFC 326 card has received a boost in the form of two long-tenured lightweights.

Drew Dober and Michael Johnson will meet in a 155-pound contest on March 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dober confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. UFC 326 is headlined by a BMF title tilt between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. The event airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

Experience Counts Dober snapped a three-bout skid in his last outing when he scored a third-round TKO of Kyle Prepolec at UFC Vancouver this past October. The 37-year-old Nebraska native is tied for eighth on the promotion’s all-time knockout list with eight. He owns notable wins over the likes of Jamie Varner, Joshua Burkman, Nasrat Haqparast, Alexander Hernandez, Terrance McKinney and Bobby Green. Dober is 14-11 in the Octagon since making his debut in 2013.

Johnson, meanwhile, is in the midst of a three-fight winning st…

Ronda Rousey was the key figure behind bringing women into the UFC. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

While Ronda Rousey essentially convinced Dana White to allow women to fight in the Octagon more than a decade ago, she couldn’t persuade the UFC CEO to book a fight between her and Gina Carano in the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion in the present day.

On Tuesday, Most Valuable Promotions announced that Rousey and Carano will square off in a featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on May 16. The five-round contest will air on Netflix. According to the Olympic judoka, the bout has been in the works for quite some time.

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“I was nine months pregnant, and I saw a video of Gina Carano giving an interview and she didn’t look good,” Rousey told ESPN. “She gained an unhealthy amount of weight and my first thought was, ‘Oh my god, what can I do to help?’ The reason why I had that thought was because she’s the one woman not only…

Ronda Rousey will return to MMA for the first time since 2016. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

A surprise matchup between two mixed martial arts legends will go down in a few months — but it won’t happen at the White House.

Most Valuable Promotions announced on Tuesday that former UFC champion Ronda Rousey and women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano will square off in a five-round, featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on May 16. The fight will air on Netflix, making it the first MMA bout to be broadcast on the streaming platform. More fights are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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Rousey, who is now 39 years old, was one-half of the first woman’s bout under the UFC banner and quickly emerged as one of the promotion’s biggest stars during her peak. The Olympic judo bronze medalist won her first 12 professional bouts — capturing titles in the UFC and Strikeforce along the way — before exiting the sport on the heels of back-to-…

Muhammad Mokaev is seemingly eyeing a Professional Fighters League contract. 

Despite being undefeated, Mokaev was surprisingly released from the UFC following a lackluster win over Manel Kape in 2024. While rumors suggested that it was due to behavioral issues, Mokaev claims he had been warned that his fighting style was not entertaining. 

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Mokaev has since picked up wins in Brave CF, 971 FC and Karate Combat. Mokaev became the inaugural Brave CF flyweight champion with a head-kick knockout win over Gerard Burns last November. Mokaev is now calling for a PFL matchup against Sergio Pettis, the younger brother of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Idols Become Rivals Mokaev recalled sharing a video of Pettis’ fight against Ryan Benoit at UFC 185 eleven years ago. Mokaev believes a potential PFL matchup against Pettis is the biggest possible flyweight fight outside the UFC right now.

“11 years ago , shared this fight on my…

Anthony Hernandez is looking forward to facing Sean Strickland on Saturday. | Getty/UFC

Anthony Hernandez is excited for his upcoming clash against Sean Strickland. 

Hernandez is scheduled to fight Strickland in the main event at UFC Houston on Saturday. Strickland is known as a wild character who doesn’t know easy sparring and often faces backlash for his unhinged comments. Hernandez loves the energy that Strickland brings. And if Strickland wants to throw caution to the wind, “Fluffy” vows to match the energy.

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“This one actually makes me super f—-ing excited because I love the matched energy,” he told the UFC. “If someone wants to get crazy, it's like, ‘Bitch, run it.’ I'm all in for it. I'm actually really looking forward to this fight. It makes me super excited. I get to go out there, show what I can do against a tough motherf—-er that everyone respects.”The Perfect Fight While Hernandez is known for wearing down his opponents…

Ramiz Brahimaj has finished his last three UFC fights. | Getty/UFC

Ramiz Brahimaj plans to put a lot on display at UFC Houston. 

Brahimaj will take on fellow welterweight Punahele Soriano at UFC Houston on Feb. 21. Brahimaj recently changed camps to train at Valle Flow Striking in Chicago. As Brahimaj braves the brutal Chicago winters, he is confident that greatness awaits. While Brahimaj has immense respect for his opponent, the 33-year-old plans to show the “greatness” that he knows is inside him.

“I respect my opponent —I really, really do,” Brahimaj told the UFC. “I have a lot of admiration for Puna —and I understand it’s just business when I walk into that Octagon on Feb. 21, but as I’ve said before, I have to display, I have to showcase my entire arsenal and the greatness that is inside of me, the greatness that has been pushing me. I know it’s gonna propel me to new heights —I feel it, I believe it; I know it’s there… Feb. 21 is my rendezvou…

Nassourdine Imavov believes his fight against Sean Strickland would have ended differently under normal circumstances. 

Imavov (17-4) was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum in 2023. However, Strickland replaced an injured Gastelum on five days’ notice. Strickland (29-7) went on to score a unanimous decision win over Imavov. 

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Strickland is now scheduled to headline UFC Houston against Anthony Hernandez (15-2) on Saturday. The UFC recently posted highlights of Strickland’s win over Imavov, praising the former champion’s forward pressure. Imavov was quick to react, claiming he would have “crushed” Strickland under normal circumstances. Since Imavov didn’t make any excuses for the loss, he probably means the short-notice change of opponent.A Confident Assertion “Make no mistakes, under normal conditions, I’ll crush this guy! Mark my words,” Imavov wrote.

Strickland went on to become the middleweight champion with a huge upset win over Israel…

Jack Della Maddalena knows he has to put in some work to earn a title rematch against Islam Makhachev. 

Makhachev vacated the lightweight title and moved up to welterweight to challenge Maddalena for the title at UFC 322 this past November. There were high expectations from Maddalena after he dethroned Belal Muhammad to win the title in a massive upset at UFC 315. However, Makhachev completely dominated Maddalena on the canvas for five rounds to earn a lopsided unanimous decision win. 

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While an immediate rematch was unlikely for Maddalena, UFC 322 also saw Michael Morales and Carlos Prates emerge as fresh contenders. Meanwhile, Ian Garry defeated Muhammad a week later at UFC Qatar to make a claim for title contention. While Maddalena wants a rematch against Makhachev, the Australian knows that he will have to get past at least one hungry contender first.No Shortcuts “My goal is obviously to go back,” Maddalena told FightWave. “I want to get…

Nkosi Ndebele will look to build upon his PFL Africa championship in 2026. | PFL

The second season of PFL Africa is set to kick off this spring.

The PFL announced on Tuesday that the promotion will return to the continent for an event at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa on April 10. The card will be headlined by a bantamweight showcase bout between inaugural PFL Africa bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele and Michele Clemente. In the co-main event, Justin Clarke will lock horns with Abdoulaye Kane at heavyweight. Broadcast information — as well as additional bouts — are expected to be announced soon.

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“PFL Africa reflects the ambition, energy, and identity of the continent,” said PFL Africa general manager Elias Schulze in a release. “It’s more than MMA — it’s a fast-rising cultural platform built around Africa’s elite athletes, delivering world-class entertainment that extends far beyond the cage. As we grow, we’re uniting sp…

Mike Tyson came up short against Jake Paul in his last fight. | Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

Two of the biggest names in boxing history are reportedly set to collide in a bizarre exhibition match. 

Rumors of an exhibition boxing match between Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather have been floating around for a while now. Boxing reporter Mike Coppinger recently confirmed that the matchup has been scheduled for April 25 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Breaking the news on @InsideRingShow with details on the Mike Tyson-Floyd Mayweather exhibition in the Democratic Republic of Congo on April 25. pic.twitter.com/pbAPoRFm71

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) February 16, 2026

Tyson’s title reign was one of the most violent in the history of boxing. The former heavyweight champion officially retired from the sport in 2005. The 59-year-old has since competed in exhibition boxing matches against Roy Jones Jr. and Jak…