Martial Arts News

Cory Sandhagen believes Merab Dvalishvili rushed into his rematch against Petr Yan.

Dvalishvili (21-5) defeated Yan (20-5) via a lopsided unanimous decision in their first matchup in 2023. While Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title soon after, Yan hasn’t lost a fight since. Yan earned a chance to avenge the loss in a rematch against Dvalishvili at UFC 323 this past December. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili looked to defend his bantamweight title for the fourth time in a year in his rematch against Yan. Dvalishvili made a two month turnaround from a successful title defense against Sandhagen in October. Yan put on a technical masterclass, outclassing Dvalishvili in every aspect to earn a huge upset win. 

Sandhagen admits he expected Dvalishvili to win the rematch against Yan. However, Sandhagen believes “The Machine” slightly underestimated Yan in making a quick turnaround for the rematch. Yan is currently recovering from a back surgery and is expected to face Dvalishvil…

Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think Khamzat Chimaev has any right to call a fight boring. 

Max Holloway put his BMF title on the line against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 earlier this month. Oliveira dominated Holloway on the ground to earn a unanimous decision win. Despite Oliveira’s dominant performance, some felt that the performance didn’t do justice to the BMF title. Chimaev also mocked the fight for lack of entertainment.

“This was crazy highlight fight,” Chimaev wrote.

This was crazy highlight fight 😂

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) March 8, 2026

Du Plessis slammed Chimaev for criticizing the fight. Du Plessis believes “Borz” doesn’t have the right to call out a fight for inactivity after their clash at UFC 319 last year. Du Plessis defended Oliveira’s performance, citing the Brazilian’s constant submission threats.

Pot, Meet Kettle “I saw Khamzat commenting and saying how boring that fight was,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast. …

Carlos Prates believes former foe Ian Garry has the best chance of dethroning Islam Makhachev. 

Prates believes Garry’s well-rounded skillset and elite movement can make for a competitive fight against Makhachev. While Garry has lost to an elite grappler in Shavkat Rakhmonov, Prates believes a potential matchup against Makhachev will be different. Competing with Garry for the next welterweight title shot is Michael Morales. However, Prates believes Makhachev will successfully defend his title against Morales.

An Intriguing Challenge “I think Ian Garry,” Prates told Red Corner MMA.”I think it’ll be little bit different [than the Shavkat fight]. Because Ian Garry knows how to move a lot, how to be really competitive in any place, on the ground or stand up. So I think that fight would be interesting.”

Makhachev dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to the welterweight title at UFC 322 last November. Prates also entered the welterweight title picture by knocking out Leon Edwa…

Colby Covington believes the UFC has become lackadaisical after the Paramount deal. 

The UFC is set to host a one-of-a-kind event on President Donald Trump’s birthday, June 14, at the White House lawn. The card, billed as Freedom 250, is a tribute to America’s 250th year of independence. An avid supporter of Trump, Covington had been rallying for a spot on the card ever since it was first mentioned last year. However, when the card was announced last weekend, Covington left out. 

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Covington can’t comprehend why he isn’t a part of the White House card. “Chaos” believes the UFC has disappointed its hardcore fanbase with the White House lineup. According to the former welterweight title challenger, the UFC has become indifferent since landing the $7.7 billion deal with Paramount. Covington even makes a lofty prediction that the RAF 7 wrestling event on March 28 will be bigger than the White House card.‘It’s Just Sad’ “It doesn’t make sense to …

Cory Sandhagen believes Sean O'Malley has the privilege of choosing his opponents. 

Sandhagen (18-6) has been calling out O’Malley (19-3) for a matchup, which would be a striking treat for fans. Instead, O’Malley is now booked to fight Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14. 

Sandhagen holds Sean O’Malley responsible for them not being booked against each other. O’Malley claims he was never offered Sandhagen for the White House. However, Sandhagen believes that’s not how it works for “Suga.” Sandhagen thinks O’Malley has the privilege of rejecting and picking fights of his choice. According to Sandhagen, not mentioning his name specifically was a clear duck from O’Malley. Sandhagen has now given up hope of the O’Malley matchup after multiple callouts. “The Sandman” also believes O’Malley will retire if he loses to Zahabi or even if he doesn’t see a certain route to a title run next.

‘A Cop-Out Punk Move’ “I don’t think the dude’s ever going to fight…

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…