Martial Arts News

Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre Topuria, is reportedly set to return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship later this year.

The 30-year-old bantamweight is in talks to face Santiago Luna at UFC Qatar on Nov. 21 in Doha, according to Álvaro Colmenero.

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Aleksandre Topuria is in talks to face Santiago Luna at UFC Qatar Aleksandre (7-1) hasn’t competed since defeating Bekzat Almakhan by unanimous decision in November last year, which marked his second UFC win. He hasn’t been active in recent years, primarily focusing on coaching his brother Ilia, the former featherweight and lightweight champion.

With Ilia having recently lost the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 and set to return only next year, Aleksandre will look to pick up his third Octagon victory in November. His opponent, Luna (8-1), is 2-1 in the UFC and is coming off the lone defeat of his professional career, a submission loss to Bryce Mitchell this past Ju…

Ilia Topuria is back to full fitness.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight titleholder recently announced that he has completed medical testing and received clearance to resume competition three months after his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.

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Ilia Topuria teases Justin Gaethje rematch after receiving medical clearance Gaethje nearly got finished in the second round and weathered the storm before piling on the damage against Topuria in the main event of the White House card. “El Matador” sustained significant facial damage in the bout, to the point where his vision was severely affected. Topuria’s corner called for the end of the fight after the fourth round, crowning Gaethje the new undisputed champ.

Topuria recently took to social media to announce that he has been cleared to return to full training.

“Final medical tests done. I’m back,” Topuria wrote on X. “To all the clowns who’ve been talkin…

Arman Tsarukyan believes Ilia Topuria isn’t handling his first professional loss well.

Justin Gaethje pulled off a historic upset against Topuria at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s White House event this past June. Topuria was a massive favorite going into his first UFC lightweight title defense against then-interim champion Gaethje, who forced a corner stoppage before the final round.

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Topuria recently made some curious claims about the fight, drawing a strong reaction from Tsarukyan.Arman Tsarukyan tells Ilia Topuria to accept his loss to Justin Gaethje Gaethje survived a treacherous second round before putting a beating on Topuria in the third and fourth frames at UFC Freedom 250. “El Matador” sustained extensive facial damage and his vision was significantly affected during the fight. Topuria recently announced that he is medically cleared to return to action. He also called for a rematch against Gaethje, claiming the champion put something …

Robelis Despaigne believes experience outside the Octagon has prepared him for a second run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Despaigne had finished all four of his pro fights within a combined cage time of 5:13 when he made his UFC debut in 2024. The Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist lived up to his hype by finishing Josh Parisian in 18 seconds in his promotional debut. However, Despaigne’s flaws were exposed as he was outwrestled in consecutive losses against Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane.

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Robelis Despaigne details his improved ground game before facing Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331 Despaigne (6-2) was released from the UFC in 2024 and went on to compete in Karate Combat, where he won the heavyweight title. “The Bad Boy” returned to mixed martial arts competition this past May with a first-round knockout win over Junior dos Santos at Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural MMA event.

Despaigne has now re-signed with the UFC and is scheduled to b…

Paulo Costa claims he has been drug-tested around 200 times.

Arman Tsarukyan, who is scheduled to fight Mauricio Ruffy on Sept. 19, recently received a clean record jacket from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for 50 successful drug tests. Costa subsequently took to social media to demand a jacket of his own.

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Paulo Costa reacts to Arman Tsarukyan’s 50-test UFC milestone Reacting to a video of Tsarukyan receiving the milestone jacket, Costa asked for his own, claiming to have been drug-tested 200 times.

“I keep asking where is my f*ck 200 tests Ugly jacket son of a b*tchessssss,” Costa posted on X.

Costa is among the UFC’s most tested athletes. While “Borrachinha” never tested positive for any banned substances, he accepted a six-month suspension from the UFC’s then-drug testing partner, USADA, in 2019 for using an IV infusion to recover from a weight cut. Costa has previously complained about drug testing authorities turning up at his resid…

Tyron Woodley recently admitted that he mentally hit rock bottom after losing his Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Woodley (19-7) was unbeaten in seven straight outings since 2014, including four title defenses, when he put his welterweight title on the line against Kamaru Usman in 2018. Usman dethroned Woodley via a dominant unanimous decision. The latter recently revealed that he felt like a laughing stock after losing his belt.

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Tyron Woodley recalls depression after Kamaru Usman ended his UFC title reign “The Chosen One” felt like all his detractors finally got what they had been wishing for when he lost the belt to Usman in a one-sided fight. Woodley revealed that his close friend, UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, tried to help him deal with his depression.

“D.J. tried for a long time to put me out of it,” Woodley told Ariel Helwani. “Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was laughing at me. I thought the UFC was laughing at me. Usm…

Jon Jones’ protégé, Gable Steveson, believes the former Ultimate Fighting Championship double champ could return to action.

Jones retired last year as the heavyweight champion after repeatedly stalling on a title unification bout with then-interim champ Tom Aspinall. Aspinall was then promoted to undisputed status after Jones’ retirement. However, the Englishman recently vacated the belt, which Steveson believes could pave the way for Jones’ Octagon return.

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Gable Steveson believes the open UFC heavyweight title picture could tempt Jon Jones out of retirement Aspinall put his title on the line against Ciryl Gane last October. The fight ended in an anticlimactic no-contest after a double-eye poke by Gane in the first round left Aspinall unable to continue. Aspinall has since been inactive as he recovers from multiple eye surgeries. He recently vacated the heavyweight title of his own accord.

Amid rumors linking unbeaten Josh Hokit to fighting Gane fo…

Gilbert Burns believes Khamzat Chimaev can become a double champion if he follows one crucial bit of advice.

Burns gave Chimaev one of the toughest tests of his career when they collided in 2022 in an Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight bout. They are now scheduled to meet in a freestyle wrestling match at RAF 13 on Sept. 18 at Watsco Center in Miami. The Brazilian recently revealed what he believes is holding Chimaev back in his UFC career.

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Gilbert Burns wants Khamzat Chimaev to find a stable team after losing the UFC middleweight title Chimaev (15-1) is coming off his first professional defeat, losing his middleweight title to Sean Strickland (31-7). Burns believes “Borz” will come back hungry and strong. However, “Durinho” doesn’t think Chimaev benefits from changing coaches and camps frequently.

Chimaev previously trained out of Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden. Burns believes the Chechen was doing better under head coach …

Ray Lewis could be the latest prominent crossover athlete to grace the Real American Freestyle mat.

RAF co-founders Chad Bronstein and Izzy Martinez recently revealed that discussions are underway for the Hall of Famer to compete for the promotion before the end of 2026.

Ray Lewis is in discussions to compete for Real American Freestyle before the end of 2026Lewis, who has a legitimate background in wrestling, may soon make his debut in RAF, as there are ongoing discussions between the former professional football linebacker and the wrestling promotion. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley, who has competed twice for RAF, is helping facilitate the crossover.

He was a state wrestling champion in high school and has credited the sport for aiding his National Football League career.

According to MMA Fighting, a deal hasn’t been finalized, but the two sides are moving in a positive direction.

Muhammad Mokaev was offered an opportunity to compete under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner again, but declined.

Mokaev, who controversially exited the UFC in 2024, has revealed that he was offered a UFC BJJ title match against Mikey Musumeci. He recently detailed turning down the matchup as he continues to campaign for a return to the promotion’s flyweight mixed martial arts division.

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Muhammad Mokaev says UFC BJJ title fight against Mikey Musumeci came without MMA return Speaking to BBC Sport, Mokaev said that the issue wasn’t with the opponent he was offered. Instead, he objected to the UFC's reluctance to link the grappling appearance to a full return to the roster.

According to Mokaev, he was offered $10,000 to compete against Musumeci in UFC BJJ and was prepared to accept the matchup if it came with a UFC contract afterward. When the promotion indicated that the grappling appearance was separate from its MMA plans, “The Punisher” dec…

Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones are going back and forth online.

Makhachev recently discredited Jones’ title run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship because of repeated drug-testing violations. Jones fired back at Makhachev, claiming the UFC’s drug-testing partners at the time had dismissed his failures as unintentional and not performance-enhancing.

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Jon Jones invokes Islam Makhachev's lone loss before the UFC pound-for-pound king targets Jones' past In addition to defending his run-ins with USADA, “Bones” further boasted his near-perfect record while reminding Makhachev of his lone career loss against Adriano Martins in 2015. Jones listed several reasons why he considers his legacy superior to that of Makhachev, referencing praise he once received from Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, before taking a shot at Daniel Cormier.

Jones wrote on X:

“Let’s start this week by dispelling rumors that have been spread by people chasing me: 1. If you believe USADA…

Adrian Yanez looks set to return to action at Madison Square Garden.

Yanez (18-6-1) is booked to face Juan Diaz (16-1-1) in a bantamweight matchup on Nov. 14 at MSG in New York City, per Marcel Dorff. This marks the third matchup tied to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next event in the Big Apple, UFC 334.

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Adrian Yanez reportedly set to face Juan Diaz at Madison Square Garden Yanez enters the matchup after returning to the win column with a knockout victory over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt in July, marking just his second win over the last three years.

Meanwhile, Diaz submitted Malcolm Wellmaker in his Octagon debut in May after earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He’s riding a nine-fight win streak and has never been finished.

The UFC has yet to officially announce any fights for UFC 334. So far, apart from Yanez vs. Diaz, the only other reported matchups for the card are Bilal Hasan v…