Martial Arts News

Jeremy Stephens is taking another gamble late in his combat sports career.

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Stephens is returning for his second Ultimate Fighting Championship stint after a successful run in BKFC. Stephens’ name was the biggest surprise addition to the upcoming UFC Des Moines card. Stephens will take on Mason Jones in front of home fans at the Wells Fargo arena in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 3.

Stephens was visiting his parents in Iowa when his wife advised him to reach out UFC CEO Dana White. Stephens had to wait for a week before White responded. A call from UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell followed and Stephens’ return was set up. Stephens revealed that his new UFC contract is a one-fight deal. While he is always up for any opportunities that present themselves in the UFC, Stephens mostly sees himself returning to BKFC following UFC Des Moines.

“It’s just a one-and-done, dude. Again, I’m betting on me, I can really set myself up for an opportunit…

Bryce Mitchell says he’s been having ‘demonic dreams’ since the #UFC314 press-conference, and believes Jean Silva is possessed by “a legion of demons” 😳

“When I said the name Jesus he was provoked to maliciousness, and he started barking like a dog.”

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🎥 @ThugnastyMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/L0sBH4Vevs — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 17, 2025

Jean Silva believes Bryce Mitchell’s demonic dreams stem from fear.

Silva and Mitchell are scheduled to fight at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The two already traded barbs at a promotional press conference, where Silva successfully started “F--k Bryce Mitchell” chants.

Mitchell, who is an avid flat-earther, is known for his absurd and often controversial opinions. “Thug Nasty” now claims he has been unable to get sound sleep since the press conference. According to Mitchell, demons appear in his dreams, who then turn into beautiful women…

Leon Edwards recently shared his prediction for the upcoming title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.

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Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While Edwards believes it’s mostly a pick ‘em matchup, he would put his money on Maddalena if he had to. Edwards believes Maddalena is easy to take down but hard to control on the ground. According to “Rocky,” the Australian has good enough boxing to shut down Muhammad.

“If I had to put money on it, I’d probably favor JDM. If I had to put money on it,” Edwards said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.”

“Actually I don’t know, 50-50… I feel JDM, his boxing [will] shut him down. And he’s a good anti-grappler, JDM. It’s easy to take him down, but his scrambles on the floor are good. I feel like Belal won’t be enough to hold him down for that long. So maybe JDM.”

Edwards lost hi…

.@TheNotoriousMMA is in D.C. to raise issues that Ireland faces (including illegal immigration). "Our government abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland. Our money is being spent overseas on issues that have nothing to do with the Irish people."

pic.twitter.com/szlmn8CJ2m

— Toria Brooke ☘️ (@realtoriabrooke) March 17, 2025

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Conor McGregor is hoping to help heal the issues he believes are ailing his home country by meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

The Dublin native arrived at the White House on Monday — which also happened to be St. Patrick’s — and revealed his intentions during a press briefing. McGregor is expected to meet with Trump and other administration later in the day.

“Ireland and America, we are siblings,” McGregor said. “We consider America our big sibling. It’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, happy, prosperous country for the 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to vi…

Tom Aspinall on the Ankalaev vs Pereira fight:

“I can’t believe people watched that fight and thought that Pereira won.

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It’s just wild to me how many uneducated fans are out there.”

🎥 @JamalNiaz #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/uyDxoHiECv

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 16, 2025

Tom Aspinall was bewildered by some fans’ assessment of the UFC 313 title fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

Ankalaev dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 313 earlier this month. Ankalaev used his forward pressure to put Pereira on the back foot for the most part of 25 minutes. While Pereira defended all of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts, Aspinall still has some doubts about the Brazilian’s wrestling. Aspinall believes “Poatan” was wary of getting taken down by Ankalaev. And he also thinks Ankalaev didn’t go all in on most attempts, rather just using them to tire Pereira.

“I think [Perei…

Magomed Ankalaev’s coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, claims that Alex Pereira might have been greasing in their light heavyweight championship fight.

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Magomedov was cornering Ankalaev when he dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313 earlier this month. According to Magomedov, Pereira seemed greased up with something when Ankalaev was grappling with him on the fence.

Magomedov believes it could have been the kind of grease fighters use during sparring sessions to make it difficult to grab a hold of them. He also thinks it could be a kind of ointment used in weight cuts to clog the sweat. Magomedov also claims Ankalaev smelled some kind of ointment and the Brazilian’s hair also felt sticky. Magomedov also indicated that Pereira’s long-term coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, is savvy with such tricks.

“When Magomed pushed him to the fence near our corner, it seemed to me that Pereira was greased with something,” Magomedov said Ushatayka (trans…

Marvin Vettori’s first Octagon apppearance since July 2023 didn’t go as he envisioned.

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“The Italian Dream” suffered his second straight defeat in the UFC Vegas 104 headliner, dropping a five-round verdict to Roman Dolidze in a middleweight rematch at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. Vettori defeated Dolidze via unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 286 in March 2023.

While Vettori rocked his adversary in the third frame, Dolidze ultimately outstruck his rival and landed more offense of significance over the course of the 25-minute affair.

“Nothing too bad, just some cuts and bruises,” Vettori said on his Instagram Stories. “F—k man, life sometimes shows you that even if you give your heart out and everything you got, you still fall short. That was a close fight. I almost had him in the third [round] but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

It was Vettori’s first appearance since a unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC on ES…

Roman Dolidze went for name value when he called out Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker following his victory over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Vegas 104 headliner on Saturday night.

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According to “The Caucasian,” seeking fights against the former champions also makes sense from a matchmaking perspective. Dolidze is also willing to take on some of the middleweight division’s rising contenders, but he believes some of those potential opponents might already be on the verge of a title shot.

“Why not? All these guys need opponents. They need to fight somebody. They need to have some opponent,” Dolidze said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I don’t care if it will be somebody else from Top 5, I’m also ready. I don’t really care much. But I said more realistic fights because both of them lost. That’s why I said I don’t really care who it will be from the Top 5.

“[I’m] being realistic of who is ready and who needs opponent. There are some …

👀Paddy Pimblett sends a message to Michael Chandler:

"Everybody saying he’s gonna knock me out. I don’t think he’s going to get near me on the feet…

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I’m gonna show everyone that the old guard’s are on the way out. And new guard’s coming in."

🎥 @PaddyTheBaddy ▫️ pic.twitter.com/VcNdku36rv

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 15, 2025 Paddy Pimblett believes he can outclass Michael Chandler on the feet.

Chandler and Pimblett are scheduled to trade leather in the co-main event at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Chandler will look to get back to contender status as he tries to derail the up-and-coming Pimblett’s hype train.

With Chandler being a proven knockout artist, many expect Pimblett to rely on his grappling skills right away. However, “The Baddy” isn’t scared to stand with Chandler. Pimblett believes he is too slick on the feet for Chandler to catch him. Pimblett also believes…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Alexey Oleynik has fallen on hard times after splitting with his ex-wife, Tatyana.

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Oleynik claims he is left with nothing after his divorce. According to the “The Boa Constrictor,” he left everything for Tatyana and their five children. Oleynik also accuses Tatyana of leaving him as he can no longer earn enough from his fights due to his age. The Russian fighter seemingly tried to save his marriage, as well.

While Oleynik claims to be paying Tatyana full alimony, it’s apparently still not enough to support her allegedly flamboyant and promiscuous lifestyle. Oleynik also accuses his ex-wife of trying to distance his children from him by blocking his contact on their phones.

“I am left with no property, without anything else,” Oleynik told Match TV (translation via Red Corner MMA). “Everything I had I left to my ex-wife and children. I can’t compete due to my age and health conditions and make …

There were a total of nine finishes on the UFC Vegas 104 card, and four of were deemed worthy of some additional compensation.

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Carlos Vera earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his finish of unbeaten prospect Josias Musasa in a preliminary bantamweight encounter. Vera hurt his foe with a head kick, then followed Musasa to the canvas and locked in a rear-naked choke to secure the tapout at the 3:16 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Andre Lima kept his undefeated record intact and garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. The Brazilian overwhelmed Daniel Barez in their flyweight bout before landing a takedown in the third round. From there, he unleashed some ground-and-pound before forcing a tapout with a rear-naked choke 3:05 into the period.

Priscila Cachoeira received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for flatlining Josiane Nunes in their preliminary bantamweight bout. A short uppercut sent Nun…

Roman Dolidze evened the score.

The Xtreme Couture standout avenged a March 2023 defeat and made his most significant move yet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he willed his way to a five-round unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Fight Night 254 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 49-46 for Dolidze (15-3, 9-3 UFC).

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Vettori (19-8-1, 9-6-1 UFC) landed his share of shots—he wobbled the Georgian with a counter left hand over the top in the third round and flurried for a potential stoppage—but seemed to struggle to match his opponent’s output, especially in the back half of the fight. Already ahead on the scorecards, Dolidze turned up the heat in Round 5, where he connected with several clubbing right hands, a few body kicks and a collar-tie knee. He then cut off Vettori’s forward progress with a series of head kicks and crossed the finish line with…