Martial Arts News

Alex Pereira has a new UFC deal. | Getty/UFC

There will be no contract dispute between Alex Pereira and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

During a Monday appearance on “"The Ariel Helwani Show,” the former two-division champion revealed that he recently inked a new eight-fight deal with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Pereira recently vacated the 205-pound belt to move up to heavyweight, where he will face Ciryl Gane for the interim title in the UFC White House co-main event on June 14. The decision to give up the light heavyweight championship wasn’t too difficult once Pereira received a new contract offer. While “Poatan” did not share financial terms, it was clear he was quite pleased with the results.

Easy Choice "It was a pretty easy choice when I expressed I wanted to go [heavyweight.] Of course, I had to let go of the belt, but they gave me a new contract and I’m really, really happy with my new contract,” Pereira said through a translator. "I…

Mauricio Ruffy will face Michael Chandler at the UFC White House card. | Getty/UFC

Mauricio Ruffy turned out to be correct in the prediction of the venue for his next fight.

Four days before the official announcement of the UFC White House fight card, Ruffy said in an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, “The UFC is really liking my performances. What I can say now is that my next fight will either be at the White House or five rounds.”

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A few days later, Dana White would confirm the Brazilian's statement, revealing that Michael Chandler would be his opponent at the UFC White House event on June 14.

“I have to thank Hunter and Dana a lot. I will complete two years in the UFC in May, already fulfilling a dream,” Ruffy said in a recent inteview with Sherdog. “I have a lot of respect for Chandler not only as a fighter, but as a family man. He is a very dangerous oponent. What I can say is that I will get in there in great shape, and Cha…

It's been a while since Nate Diaz had an MMA fight. | Getty/UFC

Most Valuable Promotions is planning on making a serious impact with its first mixed martial arts event.

MVP announced on Monday that a five-round clash pitting Nate Diaz against Mike Perry has been added to its May 16 card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Diaz vs. Perry will be contested at welterweight. The MVP card is headlined by a women’s featherweight tilt between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, while Francis Ngannou will square off against Philipe Lins in the evening’s co-main event. The card will be the first MMA event to be broadcast on Netflix.

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"MVP delivered the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable, and now we're set to break records again with the biggest viewership in MMA history with the addition of Diaz vs Perry to Rousey vs Carano and Ngannou vs Lins," said MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian in a release. "Nate Diaz is the real BMF, and Mike Perry is the …

Myktybek Orolbai didn’t compromise on his religious duties while preparing for his latest fight. 

Orolbai (16-2) took on veteran Chris Curtis (32-13) in a welterweight matchup at UFC Vegas 114 last Saturday in Las Vegas. Orolbai dominated Curtis, landing 19 takedowns, the second most in a UFC fight in history, to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

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In a preparation video leading up to the fight, Orolbai’s coach, Urijah Faber, revealed that the Kyrgyz prospect was observing Ramadan throughout camp. Ramadan is the holy month where Muslims observe fast from dawn till dusk. Faber says Orolbai would train once in the morning and again after sunset.Discipline and Dedication “Myktybek is kind of on autopilot,” Faber said. “He knows what he has to do, you don’t have to bug him about it, he works very hard. He’s been working smart through Ramadan. Staying with Ramadan throughout the whole month and also training a little bit in the morning and then…

The Treigning Lab can be a humbling experience even for elite athletes. 

The Treigning Lab, under the guidance of head coach Sam Calavitta, has been the strength & conditioning home to elite fighters like Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan. Khalil Rountree is now the latest addition to the lab, helping Chimaev prepare for his upcoming title fight.  Rountree reveals that training at The Treigning Lab has sometimes been a humbling experience. While Rountree considers himself fit, some training sessions remind him that there are still miles to go.

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Much More to Go “It was painful,” Rountree said on "The Jaxxon Podcast.” “There were definitely moments where I would call them humbling because it makes me question certain things that I even say about myself. Sometimes I think I'm really good or in good shape, and then I face a workout like this, and it makes me realize that there's so much more to go. And so it's eye-opening.”

Rountree (14-7…

Youssef Zalal is upset with Alexander Volkanovski for never mentioning his name. 

Volkanovski is one of the most game UFC champions. “The Great” goes out of his way to call out contenders who could potentially pose a threat to him. The featherweight champion is one of the few fighters to call out contenders like Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. 

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However, surging contender Zalal has seemingly escaped Volkanovski’s notice so far. Zalal is scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 274 against Aljamain Sterling on April 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal notes that Volkanovski has mentioned Sterling multiple times. “The Moroccan Devil” wants to make a statement with a win over Sterling so that Volkanovski is bound to mention his name.The Chance to Make a Statement “The one thing that still pisses me off and I can’t wait to prove it, is Volk doesn’t mention my name ever, in any interviews, anything,” Zalal told MMAjunkie.com. “He mentioned Alja…

Rodrigo Nascimento will make his next PFL appearance in the Windy City. | PFL MMA

The Professional Fighters League has announced another fight for its upcoming card in Chicago, a heavyweight showdown that will see Rodrigo Nascimento take on Slim Trabelsi.

Both fighters find themselves ranked in the Top 10 of the newly-released rankings for the PFL in 2026, with Nascimento coming in at No. 6, while Trabelsi is listed two spots behind him at No. 8 in the division.

A Middleweight World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET.The 33-year old Nascimento has competed twice in the PFL. He made his promotional debut in 2025, where he would go 1-1 in the tournament. His most recent fight was a loss to Oleg Popov. Nasicmento is also a veteran of Dana White's Contender Series under the UFC umbrella, where he won a contract in 2019. He would go on to compete for the promotion eight times, finishing with a 4-3 record with one…

Paddy Pimblett isn’t a fan of fighters tattooing their own names. 

Pimblett recently took a challenge of identifying 40 UFC fighters by their tattoos. “The Baddy” guessed most correctly, with the exception of a few like Tony Ferguson, Kevin Holland, and Antonio Nogueira. 

Pimblett is also unimpressed by fighters who tattoo their own names, like Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. However, the Liverpudlian rates Ilia Topuria’s back tattoo the worst of all, as he considers it a copy of McGregor’s. Pimblett seems to be a fan of the Japanese art style, as his two best-rated tattoos are in that genre. Pimblett's favourite ones are Marvin Vettori’s chest and sleeve tattoo and Sean Brady’s back tattoo. Vettori’s sleeve has a samurai and a dragon drawn in the Japanese art style. Meanwhile, Brady’s back tattoo is a Japanese Oni (demon) which was drawn by one of his early sponsors.

‘Are You That Stupid?’ “The worst ones are when people have their own name tattooed o…

The UFC White House card could lose its official status over a $100 permit. 

The UFC will host a one-of-a-kind card at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14. The card billed as Freedom Fights 250 is a tribute to America’s 250th year of independence. 

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However, the card now faces the threat of losing its official status over a $100 permit. The UFC needs a $100 permit to sanction the event. However, the chairman of the District of Columbia Combat Sports Commission, Andrew Huff, claims that UFC officials have refused to obtain the permit as the event is taking place on “federal land.” Huff says that the fights would be unsanctioned without the permit and wouldn’t go down in the fighters’ official records. Setting a Bad Precedent“We don’t know anything,” Huff told the Washington Post. “Every promoter in the District of Columbia should be, and is, held to the same standard, whether you’re putting on a small w…

Claressa Shields considers Amanda Nunes to be the MMA version of herself. 

Shields retained her undisputed heavyweight boxing title with a victory in a rematch against Franchon Crews Dezurn in Detroit last month. The two-time Olympic gold medallist has since expressed interest in an exhibition boxing match against Nunes.

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"I would fight against Amanda Nunes in boxing. Absolutely,” Shields told TMZ Sports. “That would be a good one."

Shields and Nunes are considered the female GOATs in boxing and MMA, respectively. Shields has dominated women’s boxing since her debut and has gone on to win titles in three weight classes. Meanwhile, Nunes is the most dominant women’s MMA fighter of all time, having run through the UFC bantamweight and featherweight divisions. While Shields respects Nunes’ skills, she believes she would defeat “The Lioness” in boxing.

‘I’m That Girl’ "I would win, but I think she's very heavy-handed, she's strong, and she's a g…

Colby Covington is willing to settle the bad blood with Bo Nickal inside the Octagon.

Nickal has been calling out Covington for over a year, either for a UFC fight or a wrestling match at RAF. Covington recently accepted the callout while going on a rant about Nickal. “Chaos” slammed Nickal for pulling out of a RAF 5 booking against Yoel Romero after Romero missed weight. Considering Nickal is particular about weight classes, Covington wants the middleweight wrestler to drop to welterweight to fight him.

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“I know you’re a big fan of weight classes and refused to fight a man that was six pounds too heavy… I propose we do this in a weight class where one of us is ranked and has actual stakes,” Covington said on YouTube. “So how about bring that stupid ginger bowl cut down to 170, and I’ll grant your wish to fight the biggest name in the welterweight division.”

Despite being an avid supporter of Donald Trump, Covington is not a part of the UFC White H…

Kevin Vallejos earned his biggest victory to date at UFC Vegas 114. | Getty/UFC

Kevin Vallejos announced himself as a person of interest in the featherweight division on Saturday night.

In his first headlining appearance, “El Chino” made short work of veteran Josh Emmett, dispatching his adversary with a barrage of strikes at the 3:33 mark of the opening stanza at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday night. Vallejos has won seven straight professional outings — including four in the UFC.

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While Vallejos declined to make a specific callout in the immediate aftermath of his biggest win to date, he acknowledged that matchups against the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega or Jean Silva would be appealing during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“Any of those four names are good. Obviously Volk being the champion. I think a fight against Yair or Brian would be great. I think those would be good fights,” Vallejos said.…