Martial Arts News

FOR THE INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT BELT 🏆 @thenightmare170 vs. @michaellmma [ #UFC336 | Jan 30 on@paramountplus ] https://t.co/PMzu9hrTa0

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) October 24, 2026

Carlos Prates and Michael Morales will square off for the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim welterweight title at UFC 336.

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The matchup gives both contenders an opportunity to capture UFC gold while undisputed champion Islam Makhachev is unavailable to compete in January. Prates, a Brazilian knockout artist, will face Morales, an undefeated Ecuadorian who has won all seven of his UFC appearances.Prates & Morales Will Fight for UFC Gold While Makhachev Holds Belt Prates (24-7) has won three consecutive fights by knockout or technical knockout and has finished all seven of his UFC victories. Morales (19-0) will look to preserve his unbeaten record, with the winner expected to face Makhachev in a title unification bout. Respondin…

A title fight for the ages! [ #UFC333 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] https://t.co/AEHsOuyyYZ

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) October 24, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's latest trip to Abu Dhabi saw four fighters earn $100,000 performance bonuses, including two titleholders.

In an obvious move, UFC 333 both co-main event fighters took home "Fight of the Night" honors. Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili went back-and-forth over 25 minutes, with "No Mercy" eking out the final three rounds to retain. While the title loss hurts "The Machine," getting an extra $100,000 will help ease that frustration.

Alexander Volkanovski also earned a performance bonus for his main-event win. "The Great" lived up to his nickname by handing Movsar Evloev his first career defeat. In the second round, Volkanovski hurt Evloev on the feet and teed off with punches to secure a late second-round stoppage. It doesn't seem like it will be the last fight for …

VOLK HAS DONE IT HE REMAINS THE FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMP [ #UFC333 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] https://t.co/21n4C8tSTL

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) October 24, 2026

Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski lived up to his nickname: “The Great.”

Volkanovski defended his 145-pound title by stopping previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event of UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Volkanovski (29-4) staggered his challenger with punches during an exchange near the fence and immediately pressed his advantage.Petr Yan beats Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 333 trilogy as both champions retain titles

Volkanovski swarmed Evloev (20-1) with punches, continuing his attack as the Russian dropped to his hands and knees. Referee Marc Goddard intervened at 4:54 of the second round.

The highly anticipated rubber match between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili delivered five comp…

Sherdog's live UFC 333 “Volkanovski vs. Evloev” coverage will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Tree…

Abus Magomedov has a new target after his UFC 333 win.

Magomedov rendered Cameron Rowston unconscious with a first-round guillotine choke on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He then issued a respectful challenge to fellow middleweight Gregory Rodrigues, a former training partner.

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Gregory Rodrigues targeted after Abus Magomedov submits Cameron Rowston at UFC 333 Magomedov said in his postfight Octagon interview:

“Last time in Baku, I told Mick that he give me Adesanya but this guy skip, he didn’t hear me, he didn’t see. Now I have new name, [Gregory] Rodrigues. He don’t have upcoming fight. Let’s fight beginning next year brother. We know each other, back in the days we trained together. But this sport… Let’s go.”

Magomedov has rebounded with consecutive first-round submission victories since losing to Joe Pyfer last year. Meanwhile, Rodrigues is riding a four-fight winning streak, most recently earning a unanimous decision over Anthony H…

Aaron Pico had an early night at UFC 333, but he wasn’t in a hurry.

Pico (15-5) was originally scheduled to face Arnold Allen in a featherweight bout Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, Allen withdrew while recovering from previous treatments and was replaced by Losene Keita (17-3) just over a month before the event. Pico dropped Keita with a right hand before finishing him with ground-and-pound at 1:14 of the opening round.

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Aaron Pico explains patient approach after first UFC stoppage against Losene Keita Pico said afterward that he hadn’t been chasing a quick finish. Confident in his conditioning, he believes longer fights benefit him as long as he can impose his game plan. Still, he welcomed the opportunity to leave the Octagon early.

“Honestly, the longer the fight goes, the better. As long as I’m just cooking the fight from the beginning, sticking to my gameplan, I’m not gonna get tired. So the longer it goes, the more fun I’m gonn…

Dillon Danis was involved in another altercation after his latest wrestling match.

Danis faced Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of RAF 14 on Oct. 23 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Tsarukyan won the one-sided contest by technical fall, 10-0.

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Arman Tsarukyan defeats Dillon Danis 10-0 at RAF 14 before apparent spectator incident Footage shared by Red Corner MMA appears to show a spectator kicking Danis as he left the mat. Security personnel restrained Danis and intervened.

Danis rose to prominence as Conor McGregor’s jiu-jitsu training partner. He was also involved in the brawl between McGregor’s and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teams after UFC 229.

Tensions between Danis and Tsarukyan escalated before their RAF 14 matchup. At Thursday’s prefight press conference, Danis displayed a T-shirt mocking Tsarukyan’s friend and training partner, Khamzat Chimaev. Tsarukyan then lunged at Danis and appeared to swing at him before security intervened.

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Joaquin Buckley plans to retire after one more fight, citing the toll his latest knockout loss took on his family.

Buckley (21-9) suffered his third consecutive defeat when Mike Malott knocked him out with a knee in the second round of their UFC Edmonton main event on Oct. 17. The loss followed decision defeats to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady.

Mike Malott knockout and third straight UFC loss prompt Joaquin Buckley's retirement decision Buckley said the knockout particularly affected his grandmother, who urged him to retire. After taking time to consider her advice, “New Mansa” decided to step away from the sport, but he wants one final opportunity to end his career with a victory. The 32-year-old announced his plans on social media:

“That fight right there, that was devastating. And it really affected my family, alright. Listening to my grandmother speak and listening to her pray over the phone and really being upset. And her telling me to retire and get away from fighti…

Jorge Masvidal still has confidence in Ilia Topuria.

Topuria (17-1) was a heavy favorite when he put his UFC lightweight title on the line against then-interim champion Justin Gaethje (28-5) at the White House in June. However, Gaethje rallied to win a back-and-forth fight when Topuria’s corner stopped the bout after the fourth round.

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Masvidal praised his former training partner long before Topuria became a two-division champion. “Gamebred” still favors Topuria in a rematch, pointing to his body-shot knockdown of Gaethje as evidence that he could reverse the result. Masvidal said on the “Double Coverage” podcast:

“He dropped Gaethje. Gaethje is the current champion. He dropped him with a body shot. Maybe, had he not gone for the submission, his mind was a little clouded, maybe could have got stopped. I would bet the house on Ilia in a rematch.”

Topuria entered the matchup after consecutive knockout victories over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Hol…

Nothing new for The Champ 👑 @AlexVolkanovski weighs in at 144.5 lbs! @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi [ #UFC333 | LIVE OCT 24 at 2pmET on @ParamountPlus ] https://t.co/JsoLPWZSAt

— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2026 Two Ultimate Fighting Championship title fights are now official following the UFC 333 weigh-ins.

The UFC pay-per-view, which takes place in Abu Dhabi, is headlined by a featherweight championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. Both men made weight, as did the co-main event rematch between champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili, who are fighting for a third time. All other fighters also made weight, with the exception of Nicolle Caliari, who came in 4.5 pounds overweight for her strawweight fight against Iasmin Lucindo. The fight will move forward with Caliari being fined a percentage of her purse.

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Alexander Volkanovski looks to add another title defense to his impressive legacy i…

Cody East plans to spoil the retirement party for Ike LIVE OCT 23 at 7 PM CT | 🎟️ Get tickets at https://t.co/GBzGgysTnE https://t.co/7AXsRdV6X6

— BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing (@bkbbareknuckle) October 22, 2026

Cody “Freight Train” East expects an explosive encounter when he faces Ike Villanueva at BKB Bally’s Fightnight in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the veteran mixed martial artist-turned-bare-knuckle boxer does not anticipate needing all five rounds to settle the contest.

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“I can knock him out. My goal is to stop him. We're two big boys fighting bare-knuckle. I don't see it going five rounds.”

East, a 6-foot-3 fighter from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is preparing to compete at 225 pounds. The 38-year-old brings two decades of combat sports experience into the matchup, along with a training camp he says has left him stronger, better conditioned and more comfortable with his weight.

His opponent, Villanueva, is another exper…

PFL AFRICA IS BACK IN KIGALI! 🇷🇼🔥 Dec 12 | BK Arena | 2026 Season Finals 🥊 WELTERWEIGHT: 🇦🇴 Shido Esperança vs 🇳🇬 David Samuel 🥊 LIGHTWEIGHT: 🇳🇬 Patrick Ocheme vs 🇸🇳 Demba Seck 🥊 BANTAMWEIGHT: 🇱🇷 Dwight Joseph vs 🇳🇬 Raphael Uchegbu 💰 $100K per division 🔥 Kigali Fight Week + 12 days of activations at Zaria Court! 🎟️Secure your seats now on TiCQet: https://t.co/oXiHGhKLe2 #PFLRwanda| Saturday, December 12 | BK Arena | Kigali, Rwanda 🎟️https://t.co/oXiHGhKLe2

— PFL Africa (@PFLAfrica) October 22, 2026

The Professional Fighters League will crown three PFL Africa tournament champions Dec. 12 at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with title fights scheduled in the welterweight, lightweight and bantamweight divisions.

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Shido Boris Esperanca vs. David Samuel headlines PFL Africa 2026 Finals in Rwanda Angola's Shido Boris Esperanca (13-2) will face undefeated Nigerian David Samuel (7-0) in the 170-pound welterweight final, which …