Martial Arts News

It was a big deal for Youssef Zalal to share the Octagon with Calvin Kattar.

Advertisement

So much so that Zalal even needed a little reminder from his coach that he belonged in the cage with the accomplished featherweight before their fight in the UFC Vegas 102 co-main event in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“I don’t think people realize how much pressure I put on myself in every single fight. I remember coach telling me before I walked out: ‘He’s just a face, remove the name.’ I’m still learning that,” Zalal said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m a fan of this sport, No. 1. Also, sometimes I go in there and forgot that I am that good. I am that exciting, I am that guy.”

Zalal relied on speed and mobility to cruise to a unanimous decision triumph over Kattar in their clash, earning his fourth consecutive UFC triumph — and seventh victory in a row overall. An accurate jab and solid leg kicks were the weapons of choice for “The Moroccan Devil” as he rac…

Belal Muhammad says he would never fight Islam Makhachev, and would rather move up to 185 and let Islam fight for the 170 title

“I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class, besides Khamzat. Bro, Strickland and Du Plessis suck.”

Advertisement

🎥 @barstoolchicagopic.twitter.com/uwAKNSVHtk — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 16, 2025

Belal Muhammad would rather move up in weight than fight Islam Makhachev.

Like many UFC champs, Muhammad and Makhachev have recently expressed double-champ aspirations. However, Makhachev’s primary hindrance is Muhammad, as he is a good friend and training partner of the welterweight champ.

Muhammad also recently clarified that he isn’t willing to welcome Makhachev to welterweight under any circumstance. Muhammad would rather move up to middleweight and let the lightweight champ climb to 170 pounds. While Makhachev has defended his lightweight strap four times, Muhammad is yet to defend h…

A matchup of women’s bantamweights has been added to UFC 315.

Nora Cornolle (8-2) and Hailey Cowan (7-3) will trade leather at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The matchup was first reported by MMAjunkie.com.

Both Cornolle and Cowan will attempt to return to the win column after losses in their previous outings. Cornolle looked to avenge a loss in her pro debut against Jacqueline Cavalcanti when they met in a rematch at UFC Paris in September 2024. However, the Frenchwoman dropped a split decision against Cavalcanti, the only opponent to beat her. That snapped an eight-fight winning streak for Cornolle, who had been victorious in her first two UFC outings.

Meanwhile, Cowan earned her UFC contract with a split-decision win over Claudia Leite on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022. “All Hail” suffered a unanimous decision loss against Jamey-Lyn Horth in her UFC debut in 2023. She has since seen bookings against Zarah Fai…

Even at 40 years old, Jared Cannonier isn’t here to be a steppingstone in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.

Advertisement

He proved that on Saturday night, when he rallied for a fourth-round technical knockout victory against Gregory Rodrigues in the UFC Vegas 102 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rodrigues entered the bout having won five of his last six Octagon appearances, but “The Killa Gorilla” denied the Brazilian’s entry into the upper echelon of the division.

Cannonier balked at the notion that he was settling into a gatekeeper role at this point in his MMA career.

“I don’t think anybody’s put that tag on me. It’s just when I was doing all these interviews, the way I was answering the questions it sounded as if I was a gatekeeper,” Cannonier said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Because you guys kept saying ‘you’re fighting this up and comer, you’re fighting a second up and comer, you’re fighting another up…

Anthony Smith is expected to make his final walk to the Octagon against Mingyang Zhang at UFC Kansas City.

Multiple outlets confirmed the light heavyweight booking following an initial report from Kangzif on social media. The UFC Fight Night event takes place on April 26 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Kansas, and also includes a middleweight scrap between Michel Pereira and Abusupiyan Magomedov. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

Smith is coming off a 1-2 campaign in 2024. He began the year with a first-round submission of Vitor Petrino but then dropped back-to-back fights against Roman Dolidze and Dominick Reyes. After a second-round TKO loss to Reyes at UFC 310, the former 205-pound title challenger revealed that he would like to have one more Octagon appearance before calling it a career.

The 26-year-old Zhang will enter the matchup on an 11-bout professional winning streak. The Chinese standout has kicked off his UFC tenure with …

Alex Pereira recently had an emotional reunion with a fan.

Advertisement

Pereira initially met Ashton during a visit to a cancer treatement center in Australia in June 2024. Ashton was battling cancer and expected to lose his hair due to the treatments. An avid Pereira fan, Ashton asked his idol to shave his hair, and the UFC champ obliged with tears in his eyes.

However, the story seemingly has a fairytale ending, as Pereira was much happier when he reunited with Ashton during a recent trip to Australia. While he had to once leave muay thai practice to battle cancer, Ashton confirmed that he is now three months cancer-free. While “Poatan” is a two-division UFC champ, the Brazilian hailed Ashton as a real fighter.

“I’m here with Ashton,” Pereira said in a video on Instagram. “I don’t know if you remember, about a year ago or so I came to Australia… I cut his hair at the institute of cancer here in Australia. It was something very emotional, very heavy fo…

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Dagestani fighters are unbeatable, and he has the recent proof to back up that assertion.

Advertisement

Dvalishvili is the only fighter to have beaten a Dagestani in a major title fight in recent times. After winning the UFC bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 last year, Dvalishvili was initially loathe to immediately defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. “The Machine” claimed that the undefeated Dagestani was being gifted a title shot because of the legacy of his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

However, Dvalishvili eventually agreed to the matchup, which took place in the co-main event at UFC 311 in California last month. While Nurmagomedov didn’t lack in skills, Dvalishvili’s legendary cardio was enough to hand the challenger his first pro loss.

Dvalishvili has subsequently refuted the popular aura of invincibility surrounding Dagestani fighters. While he admits that the region has produced great athlet…

Yaroslav Amosov will return from a lengthy hiatus to square off against Curtis Millender at Fightality “Legacy Revival” on March 14.

Advertisement

The promotion recently announced the pairing on social media. Fightality “Legacy Revival” takes place at Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois. It’s expected to be a potential showcase for Amosov before moving on to the UFC.

Amosov hasn’t competed since relinquishing the Bellator MMA welterweight strap to Jason Jackson in a third-round knockout loss in November 2023 — his first setback in 28 professional appearances. “Dynamo” did not compete at all once Bellator resumed operations under Professional Fighters League ownership last year. Amosov owns notable wins over the likes of Logan Storley (twice), Douglas Lima, Ed Ruth and Erick Silva.

Millender is a well-traveled veteran who has enjoyed stints in the UFC, Bellator and PFL. He is coming off an 0-2 campaign in 2024 that saw him suffer first-round defeats at…

The UFC Vegas 102 headliner was a fight of major momentum swings.

While the last of those belonged to Jared Cannonier in a fourth-round technical knockout victory, both he and opponent Gregory Rodrigues received an additional $50,000 for their efforts. The middleweight clash, which saw Cannonier recover from two first-round knockdowns to put “Robocop” away 21 seconds into Round 4, was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night” honors on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Edmen Shahbazyan earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his quick finish of Dylan Budka in a featured middleweight clash. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum sent his foe to the canvas with a perfectly-timed counter right hand, then sealed his victory with a few follow-up strikes on the floor 1:35 into the opening period.

Finally, Gabriel Bonfim secured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by putting Kalinn Williams to sleep in their preliminary welterweight bout. The Bra…

Jared Cannonier may not be as far over the hill as some thought.

The 40-year-old MMA Lab star stood his ground in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he punched out Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth round of their UFC Fight Night 251 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cannonier (18-8, 11-8 UFC) closed it out 21 seconds into Round 4, rebounding from back-to-back defeats to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in resounding fashion.

Advertisement

Rodrigues (16-6, 7-3 UFC) roared out of the gate with an overwhelming first round, as he decked “The Killa Gorilla” twice with right hands. However, it proved to be an unsustainable pace for the Brazilian. Cannonier called upon his guile and big-fight experience to push the former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder out of his comfort zone and beyond his bounds. He leveled Rodrigues with a standing elbow and followed up with ground-and-pound near the end of the third round, and as th…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 102 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 251. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cavalcanti (-440), Avila (+340)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Walker (-225), Mayes (+185)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler…

Jose Delgado sent a loud-and-clear message to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division: He intends to stick around awhile.

The MMA Lab prospect made quite the impression in his organizational debut, as he wiped out Connor Matthews with elbows and punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 251 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Matthews (7-3, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 2:58 into Round 2.

Delgado (9-1, 1-0 UFC) took his time, probed for openings and unleashed his hands. He floored Matthews with an overhand right and immediately powered into full mount, prompting the New England Cartel product to surrender his back. A few elbow strikes and punches from Delgado were enough for referee Dan Miragliotta to wave it off.

Meanwhile, Alliance MMA standout Angela Hill rebounded from an Aug. 24 loss to Tabatha Ricci and did just enough to skate past fellow former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Ketlen Souza …