Martial Arts News

Daniel Cormier would preferably not include either Khabib Nurmagomedov or Islam Makhachev on any football team. 

Cormier is close to Nurmagomedov, Makhachev and the rest of their Dagestani team. “DC” doesn’t miss any chance to pull the leg of Nurmagomedov or Makhachev, who also return the favor. 

Rules Optional Cormier was recently asked to pick the better football player between Nurmagomedov and Makhachev. Cormier immediately called out both of them for not following any rules. Cormier noted that their famous games of Dagestani basketball is a mixture of rugby and basketball with almost no rules. Cormier would preferably not include them on any team as they would try to modify the rules according to their convenience. However, if bound to choose, Cormier would pick Nurmagomedov, whom he sees as the bigger and rougher one.

“Islam and Khabib, they don’t follow rules,” Cormier told the NFL. “Have you ever seen them play basketball? Their basketball is a mix of f…

Dillon Danis and Craig Jones will headline the Craig Jones Invitational 3 tournament.

Danis and Jones will meet in a jiu-jitsu matchup for the title of the “Greatest Grappler in the World.” The date and venue for the event are yet to be announced. The announcement of the matchup promoted Danis as the No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA and jiu-jitsu fighter in the world, with Jones as the No. 2. 

  

Grappling Roots Jones is an accomplished grappler considered to be among the best of all time in jiu-jitsu. Jones claims to have developed a counter to Dagestani grappling and frequently helps fellow Australian and Kiwi UFC fighters in their training camps. 

Meanwhile, Danis initially rose to fame as the primary grappling partner of Conor McGregor, ‘El Jefe” was a part of the infamous UFC 229 brawl involving McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teams. Danis has since gained notoriety for stirring up trouble at combat sports events. Danis has competed only twic…

⚖️ PFL Dubai Official Weigh Ins

PFL Lightweight World Title bout is official! 🏆Usman Nurmagomedov: 155 lbsAlfie Davis: 154.6 lbs#RoadToDubai | Saturday, February 7th | Dubai, UAE | Prelims 9AM EST | Main Card 12PM EST | 📺Streaming on the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/cpxTiPZrBP

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 6, 2026 The Professional Fighters League kicks off its 2026 schedule with two title fights, which are now official following the PFL Dubai weigh-ins.

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Headlining the card, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates, is a lightweight title fight between champion Usman Nurmagomedov and challenger Alfie Davis. Both fighters made weight, as did Ramazan Kuramagomedov and Shamil Musaev, who will battle for the vacant welterweight title in the co-main event. The only fighter on the 13-fight card who missed weight was Antonia Silvaneide, who came in a pound overweight for her flyweight bout against Denise Kielholtz. Silvaneide ha…

One of bantamweight’s best 💪@Bautista_MMA weighs in at 135.5lbs!

[ #UFCVegas113 | TOMORROW at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ETdw1vBEWo

— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2026 Thus far this year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to be having an issue with fighters coming in at their proper weights.

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Headlining UFC Vegas 113 is a bantamweight fight between contenders Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira. Both men successfully made weight as they look to make a case for being in title contention.

However, four other fighters on the card came in over their weight limits. Both Muin Gafurov and Gianni Vazquez came in five pounds overweight for their respective fights against Jakub Wiklacz and Javid Basharat. Both heavy men will be fined 25% of their respective purses, and the bouts will otherwise proceed as planned. Finally, Cong Wang and her opponent, Eduarda Moura, missed weight by 1.5 and one pound, respect…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s plans for its landmark card at the White House are taking shape.

During the Friday edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO Group President Mark Shapiro sat down to discuss some upcoming plans for the promotion. The hosts posed a few questions to the executives regarding the show scheduled for June 14 that is slated to take place on the grounds of the White House. A couple statements, including an inflated claim by President Donald Trump who said 100,000 fans would be “in a stadium” for this card, were challenged.

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The executives stated that Trump’s high number included the “fan fest” that would likely be a Washington, D.C., version of the UFC’s International Fight Week. This includes additional events during the week, fighter gatherings for fans, possible other shows going on from some of their other properties like Zuffa Boxing or UFC BJJ, and more. As for the event itself, Emanuel spec…

One prominent Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight is not mad, he's just disappointed.

After suffering his second defeat in the promotion to Alexander Volkov at UFC 321, the 10-fight UFC vet Jailton Almeida returns to the Octagon on Saturday. He battles another Russian in the hulking Rizvan Kuniev, with the two coming to blows at UFC Vegas 113, also known as UFC Fight Night 266, in Las Vegas. In a conversation with Ag. Fight on Wednesday, the Brazilian revealed why he accepted the short-notice matchup with the unranked Kuniev.

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“Actually, I always stay active,” Almeida explained. “Even when I don’t have a fight, I’m helping my teammates. When the UFC offered the fight three weeks ago, with the option to renew the contract, I talked to my manager and we decided to accept this first fight of the new contract.”

While a wrestler in Curtis Blaydes and a striker in Volkov have gotten the better of him in the cage thus far, Almeida sees a far diffe…

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Vinicius Oliveira has already passed one major test on Friday: successfully making weight.

After four consecutive victories in the UFC, Brazil’s “Lok Dog” Oliveira will have the chance to headline his first event on Saturday against Mario Bautista. He and Bautista will battle in the five-round main attraction of UFC Fight Night 266, also known as UFC Vegas 113, in Las Vegas' UFC Apex. Large for his division at 5-foot-9 with a 70-inch wingspan, the 30-year-old knows his time at bantamweight is limited.

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Speaking with the UFC on Thursday, Vinicius promised that he intends on moving up in weight, but only after he claims the bantamweight belt.

“When I found out about the fight three months ago, I weighed 183 lbs.,” the Brazilian admitted. “Since then, I started the process with a nutritionist who helped me get to 163 lbs. by fight week. On Friday I will be at weight as I always have been. I have the size to f…

A bare-knuckle brawler with sneaky jitz skills has joined the ranks of the Professional Fighters League.

The promotion announced on Thursday that it had picked up former Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship lightweight beltholder Franco Tenaglia (5-2 MMA, 5-1 BK). The Argentina-born 155er will be debuting with the organization at PFL Madrid on March 20 at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid, Spain, which also serves as his home city. His opponent has yet to be announced.

The Spanish combatant leaves behind the bare-knuckle ranks for the time being, although the PFL did not state the contract was exclusive as fighters on its roster occasionally can compete elsewhere. With BKFC, Tenaglia never lost a match, winning all five of his appearances that culminated in his picking up a title. When planned on putting it on the line in 2025 in a rematch with the man in Tony Soto whom he won it against, visa issues forced him out of the pairing. As a result, BKFC stripped his belt and…

According to Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Ilia Topuria, he’s back.

Current lightweight king and former featherweight beltholder Topuria (17-0) declared on Thursday that he was going to return soon to competition. The Spanish fighter born in Germany to Georgian parents has settled his case out of court with ex-wife Georgiana Uzcategui, with Spanish outlet Marca first breaking the news that the two had come to an agreement.

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Per Marca, the settlement offer initially given by Topuria has been accepted, resulting in Uzcategui withdrawing her lawsuit against him. Recent rumors were dispelled by his post, including that he had been forced to sell his home in Madrid, Spain. Topuria ended any doubt by posting training videos in that house, a standalone gym that includes ample training gear and even a few recovery tanks like a hyperbaric chamber.We’ll Be the Main EventIn his post on social media on Thursday, the lightweight kingpin did no…

Shamil Musaev can say a lot with a few words, hence the nickname “The Silent Assassin.”

Undefeated through 21 career bouts, he will face Russian compatriot Ramazan Kuramagomedov for the inaugural Professional Fighters League welterweight championship in the PFL Dubai “Nurmagomedov vs. Davis” co-main event on Saturday at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It marks Musaev’s first appearance since he won the PFL welterweight tournament in November 2024.

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With 2026 being the first year under new CEO John Martin, the PFL made plenty of changes to its format, the most notable being the remove of its tournament and season-based schedule. A new rankings system should allow for the best to face the best. Musaev understands the change but admits he will miss the activity the previous format brought the table.

“This is going to be different for me, for sure,” he told Sherdog.com. “With the tournament, you knew when and how many times you could p…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is down one Nurmagomedov come Saturday.

With the report first coming from MMA Latinoamerica on Thursday, Said Nurmagomedov has been forced to withdraw from UFC Vegas 113, also known as UFC Fight Night 266. The Russian bantamweight was booked against Javid Basharat (14-2, 1 NC), the elder of the Basharat brothers, on the prelims set for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. His replacement, Gianni Vazquez (13-5), has confirmed the initial news as well as his status as a new addition to the roster.

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Nurmagomedov, who withdrew for currently undisclosed reasons, has had a great deal of difficulty getting to the UFC cage since he joined the roster in 2018. Thus far, he has only made 11 walks to the Octagon, with 2022 his high-water mark as he appeared thrice that year. Since 2023, he has fought twice, losing both outings to headliner Vinicius Oliveira and Bryce Mitchell. Whether due to injury or an issue for his opponent, Nurmagome…

Armed with an impressive resume and one of the best nicknames in the sport, Abdoul Abdouraguimov plots his return to the Professional Fighters League.

“The Lazy King” will take on Kendly St. Louis in a PFL Dubai “Nurmagomedov vs. Davis” welterweight attraction on Saturday at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he draws his first assignment since December 2024. Abdouraguimov was originally scheduled to meet Magomed Umalatov but had no issues with the change in opponent.

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“First of all, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to fight in Dubai,” he told Sherdog.com. “You know, I took the chance. They proposed Umalatov to me and I said, ‘Yes, I have the chance to be at the top.’ In life, you have to take risks, but he didn’t want to fight this guy. Umalatov didn’t want to fight me. They came to me, [and] I took the risk. So now, I don’t have Umalatov, but I am at the top, so everything is good. In my career, I never scheduled my own fight…