Martial Arts News

Belal Muhammad doesn’t think there will be any real MMA fans at the UFC White House card.

The UFC will host a one-of-a-kind event at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday, June 14, on the South Lawn of the White House. The card, billed as Freedom Fights 250, will be a celebration of America’s 250th year of independence. 

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Muhammad recently compared the event to “The Hunger Games,” the dystopian series of movies based on the books written by Suzanne Collins. The movies portray a survival competition where participants must fight to the death until the last man stands. Muhammad recalls a scene from the first movie where the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, goes for her tryouts, while uninterested rich patrons go on with their discussions. Muhammad believes the White House crowd will also not be paying much attention to the action inside the Octagon, barring the occasional highlight-reel knockout.No Real Fan…

Patricio Freire sees a major chink in his upcoming opponent’s armor. 

Freire (37-8) is scheduled to fight fellow Bellator MMA alum Aaron Pico in a featherweight matchup at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. While Freire respects Pico’s overall skill set, he sees a major flaw in his chin. Freire will look to exploit Pico’s chin and end the fight with a single shot.

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“He has a lot of gifts as a fighter,” Freire told MMAjunkie.com. “But he has a fatal flaw, which is: Whenever he gets hit with a hard shot, he goes down. So that’s something that I’m hoping to exploit in our fight. But aside from that, he is a great fighter.”

Three of Pico’s (13-5) five career losses have come via knockout. The 29-year-old made his UFC debut as a highly touted training partner of Khamzat Chimaev last year. Pico faced Lerone Murphy in a potential featherweight title eliminator at UFC 319 in August. Murphy knocked out Pico with a highlight reel …

Arman Tsarukyan continues to stay active in grappling competitions.

Tsarukyan is reportedly set to face Dillon Danis in a grappling match at Hype FC on April 8 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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“Arman will be in São Paulo on April 8, and his opponent will be Dillon Danis,” Hype FC CEO Armand Martirosian told Red Corner MMA. “The odds of it happening are 99.9%.”Staying Busy Tsarukyan has become a mainstay of Hype FC cards, starting with his grappling match against Sharabutdin Magomedov in Armenia last year. Tsarukyan was originally scheduled to face Georgio Poullas in a grudge rematch at Hype FC in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, last weekend. However, Poullas pulled out and was replaced on short notice by Muhammad Mokaev, who suffered a submission loss against Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan will face Poullas in a rematch at RAF 7 on March 28, hardly over a week before his clash against Danis at Hype FC. 

Meanwhile, Danis has gained notoriety over the years for getting into …

Undefeated Legacy Fighting Alliance standout Christian Natividad looked to earn a title fight or a UFC signing by impressing against Adrian Garcia in the LFA 228 main event.

Both men came out looking to strike initially, with the pressure and body work of Natividad (9-0) being an early highlight. However, the grappling of Garcia (10-4-1) proved to be his undoing, as "The Hawaiian Punch" was able to easily control his opponent on the ground. Garcia spent most of the last two rounds defending submission attempts and had little to offer in terms of offense. After 15 minutes, the judges awarded Natividad a unanimous decision victory with three 30-27 scorecards in his favor.

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Bantamweight prospect Amari Sengsavanh came into the night's co-main event undefeated but was at a weight disadvantage after opponent Carlos Tardio came in 4.4 pounds overweight. Sengsavanh (8-1) was unable to make his opponent pay for his unprofessionalism, as Tardio (12-2) was …

First to the scale ⚖️@JoshEmmettUFC weighs in at 146 lbs!

[ #UFCVegas114 | LIVE TOMORROW at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/rln4jOV211

— UFC (@ufc) March 13, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's busy March continues with its latest card from the Meta Apex, which is now official after the UFC Vegas 114 weigh-ins.

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Headlining UFC Vegas 114 is a featherweight tussle between the hard-hitting Josh Emmett and surging contender Kevin Vallejos. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight. All of the rest of the fighters also hit their marks without issue for the 14-fight card.

Emmett (19-6) is in desperate need of a win, as he's 1-4 in his last five fights. Sandwiched between losses is a devastating knockout over Bryce Mitchell, though. The 41-year-old "CC0" most recently submitted to an armbar from Youssef Zalal. The Team Alpha Male product weighed 146 pounds on the dot for his 26th career figh…

Aljamain Sterling is chasing title dreams at featherweight. | Getty/UFC

A featherweight clash with title implications is set for UFC Fight Night 274.Ex-Champ vs. Rising Star Ex-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will lock horns with the streaking Youssef Zalal in a key 145-pound clash at UFC Fight Night 274. Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report from Leo Guimaraes. UFC Fight Night 274 takes place on April 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on Paramount+.

Sterling, 36, is 2-1 since moving up from 135 pounds. “Funk Master” is coming off a five-round verdict over Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai in a bout that was moved to a catchweight after his opponent missed weight. Sterling’s other featherweight appearances include a victory over Calvin Kattar and a loss to Movsar Evloev.

Zalal is in the midst of an eight-fight professional winning streak that includes five consecutive victories inside the Octagon. In his most recen…

It appears that Reinier de Ridder is headed to the light heavyweight division.

The former ONE Championship two-division title holder lost his second consecutive Octagon appearance at UFC 326 last Saturday, falling to Caio Borralho via unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In a video post to his Instagram account, “The Dutch Knight” revealed that his next fight is likely going to be at 205 pounds.

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Moving on Up “I came up a little short. I think it could have gone either way but I’m happy that I got my body back most importantly. I was able to go three hard rounds. I think I have a lot more to show,” de Ridder said.

“I brought you guys doughnuts because I need you guys heavy, I need you guys strong because I’m coming at 205 [pounds], baby.”

Competing in higher weight classes is nothing new for de Ridder, who fought as high as heavyweight in ONE. De Ridder began his Octagon tenure with four consecutive triumphs to emerge as a con…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are joining forces.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that the UFC will visit FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico, Va. on March 14 and 15 to host a seminar for academy students and senior FBI staff.

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Curent and former UFC athletes that are expected to be in attendance include Justin Gaethje, Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Claudia Gadelha, Michael Chandler, Manel Kape and Renzo Gracie. UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard will also be part of the proceedings.

According to a release, the UFC talent “will provide insight into how they train for competition, as well as demonstrate specific techniques and tactics, offering a unique perspective to the students as they prepare to enter the field office.”

“I’m thrilled to announce this historic seminar between the FBI and the UFC at Quantico,” said FBI director Kash Patel. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our …

Valentina Shevchenko is arguably the top women's talent in MMA today. | Getty/UFC

Valentina Shevchenko has taken exception to Ronda Rousey’s speculation regarding her use of OnlyFans.

One of the statements that raised eyebrows during Rousey’s rant about UFC fighter pay during Tuesday’s MVP press conference was in regards to Shevchenko needing to use OnlyFans as an additional source of income.

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“It’s why so many of their top athletes are leaving to go and find pay elsewhere,” Rousey said of the UFC. “It’s why their champions like Valentina are selling pictures of their titties on OnlyFans. These people, a lot of them at the ground level, they can’t support their families. They’re living poverty-level fighting full-time.”Out of Touch? Once Shevchenko got wind of those comments, she issued a scathing response to Rousey via social media, indicating that the former UFC bantamweight champion might be out of touch with how the platform can be …

Joaquin Buckley wants to go back to the early days of the UFC. 

Buckley recently proposed an open-weight tournament for the BMF title. Buckley suggests that the only requirement to compete in the tournament should be to sign up for it.

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“I think they should keep [the BMF title],” Buckley said on Instagram. “But the only thing about the BMF title, you gotta run it tournament-wise, open weight class. Any person that wants to sign up for it, you can fight for it. But you can fight heavyweight, you can fight flyweight, it don’t matter… But you really prove that you’re the baddest motherf—-er.”BMF Bracket Buckley played matchmaker, suggesting matchups for the quarterfinals:

Max Holloway vs. Islam Makhachev Kevin Holland vs. Joaquin Buckley

Jon Jones vs. Jiri Prochazka
Alex Pereira vs. Paulo Costa

The significance of the BMF title has always been vague. The idea was proposed by Nate Diaz, and Jorge Masvidal defeated him to win the ti…

Alexander Volkanovski says that the BMF title is not like any other UFC belt. 

Charles Oliveira (37-11) defeated Max Holloway (27-9) to win the BMF title in the main event at UFC 326 last weekend. Oliveira dominated Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes en route to a unanimous decision win. While Oliveira threatened submissions, he didn’t land any significant damage on Holloway. 

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Despite the dominant win, Oliveira’s performance received mixed reactions from fans and pundits. While some defended the lopsided win, others didn’t see it as befitting of the BMF title.Something Completely Different Volkanovski understands that one must do everything to win in a fight. However, the featherweight champion notes that the BMF title is not like other UFC titles of the champions of different weight classes. Volkanovski notes that the title was created in the first place for fighters willing to put on a show. While Volkanovski lauds Oliveira’s inc…

Francis Ngannou wants UFC fighters to push for the sunset clause in their contracts. 

The sunset clause means a fighter’s contract with the UFC expires after a certain time period, regardless of whether they fight or not. The sunset clause is what allowed Ngannou to leave the UFC in 2023 after yearlong failed contract negotiations.  

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UFC fighter pay and contracts are once again making headlines after the announcement of the White House card. Despite having rallied for a spot on the card for a year, Jon Jones has been left out. Jones has since publicly called for his release from the UFC. Ngannou advises UFC fighters to include the sunset clause in their contracts, to allow them the freedom to leave after a certain period if they want.‘I’m Not Signing My Life Off’ “The sunset clause. Because we have to understand, the key here is the freedom, it’s not the money,” Ngannou said at media scrum. “You can convert your freedom to money,…