Martial Arts News

Brandon Royval dragged Lone'er Kavanagh into deep waters at UFC 329. | 📷: Getty/UFC

Brandon Royval showed his experience en route to a thrilling submission victory over fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.

The back-and-forth 125-pound clash went on to win the Fight of the Night honors, with both earning $100,000 extra each. Royval ultimately submitted Kavanagh in the final frame following two chaotic rounds.

UFC 329’s Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh fight ends with dramatic submission Royval started aggressively, pressuring Kavanagh with his volume early on. Kavanagh responded sharply and dropped Royval with a perfectly timed right hand in the second round, but the latter survived the onslaught and rallied late. After a frantic exchange in the final frame, Royval forced the tap with a rear-naked choke to earn a dramatic submission victory.

Royval, who absorbed several damaging blows at UFC 329, p…

UFC 329’s win set Robert Whitaker up for some intriguing matchups at 205. | 📷: Getty/UFC

Robert Whittaker feels on “top of the world” after he returned to winning ways and delivered a statement win at UFC 329.

The bout marked Whittaker's light heavyweight debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Australian was coming off back-to-back losses at middleweight, which prompted the move up. “The Reaper” sent a message to the rest of the 205-pound division with his third-round technical knockout victory over Nikita Krylov.

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Whittaker's knockout of Nikita Krylov changes the conversation at 205 pounds Krylov enjoyed early success before Whittaker found his rhythm and landed a clean right hand in the third round, followed by another heavy strike. The former then grabbed his jaw and turned away, and the referee subsequently intervened to stop the bout. It appeared as though Whittaker had severely damaged Krylov’s jaw.

“I feel top of the…

An apparent knee injury snuffed out whatever magic Conor McGregor planned to rekindle in his first Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment in five years.

Max Holloway was awarded an anticlimactic technical knockout over the SBG Ireland cornerstone in the first round of their UFC 329 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A disappointed and dejected McGregor (22-7, 10-5 UFC)—who had beaten the Hawaiian by unanimous decision in their first meeting in 2013—bowed out 1:09 into Round 1.

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It was essentially over before it began. McGregor appeared to suffer the injury while throwing a jumping round kick inside the first 10 seconds. He collapsed on multiple occasions afterward, unable to put any weight on his right leg while he attempted to engage Holloway (28-9, 24-9 UFC). It soon became clear to all involved that McGregor was compromised to such an extent that he could not move forward with the match.

Meanwhile, former Cage Warriors ch…

A fast finish and an action-packed flyweight bout were among the UFC 329 bonus winners.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out a pair of Performance of the Night awards and a Fight of the Night bonus, with each recipient pocketing an extra $100,000 over their contracted fight purse. The fight card featured 11 finishes in total, but a couple of bouts concluded in anticlimactic fashion, with the main event ending via an unfortunate injury.

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UFC 329 bonus winners include Paddy Pimblett, King Green and Royval-Kavanagh Paddy Pimblett secured a $100,000 POTN bonus for his submission of Benoit St. Denis in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It took Pimblett under a minute to put away his French counterpart, sealing one of the quickest and most emphatic victories of his UFC tenure.

King Green also earned a $100,000 POTN bonus following a dramatic first-round comeback against Terrance McKinney. Despite initially facing an early barrage…

Bucking a trend that has become beyond familiar to those that watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Paramount+ in the U.S., Dustin Poirier was not featured in Bud Light’s commercials during UFC 329.

Poirier (30-10) was recently arrested at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport for public drunkenness. The former UFC interim lightweight champion threatened to fight and used a racial slur directed at a police officer after being denied permission to board his flight for being intoxicated. He has been charged with a misdemeanor and is currently out on bail.

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Poirier subsequently opened up about his mental issues while addressing the incident. “The Diamond” also revealed that he lost a major sponsor and several business deals in the aftermath of his arrest. There were also rumors of Bud Light canceling Poirier’s sponsorship.Dustin Poirier absent from the latest Bud Light adWhile Poirier’s official sponsorship status with Bud Light is unk…

King Green rallied to upset Terrance McKinney at UFC 329. | 📷: Getty/UFC

King Green is eager to extend his win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after his come-from-behind victory over Terrance McKinney at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.

McKinney started as he always does, marching down Green with forward pressure. “T.Wrecks” came close to locking in a submission, but his veteran counterpart escaped. Green then landed a flurry of strikes to finish McKinney with a second to spare in the opening round.

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King Green’s late-career run continues after UFC 329 victory over Terrance McKinney Kicking off the UFC 329 main card at T-Mobile Arena, Green notched his fourth straight victory. After the fight, Green said that he wants to keep the momentum rolling.

“I told you my activity, and I’m on a roll. And I’m not playing. And I am gonna keep doing this thing that nobody’s ever seen. You know? And I might not be the Conor McGregor or the Max H…

Merab Dvalishvili slapped TF out of Umar Nurmagomedov’s friend 😳 pic.twitter.com/SZsqDOBM9y

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) July 11, 2026

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Arman Tsarukyan has accused Merab Dvalishvili of delivering a sucker-punch to a man he says is Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov’s friend.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Arman Tsarukyan believes it was wrong of Merab Dvalishvili to strike a man he says is Umar Nurmagomedov’s friend.

Dvalishvili recently got into a scuffle ahead of his wrestling win over Henry Cejudo at RAF Georgia. He was asked about a potential wrestling match against Nurmagomedov during the pre-fight press conference. “The Machine” dismissed the idea, calling the Dagestani “spoiled.”

A friend of Nurmagomedov was a part of the contingent of Abdulrashid Sadulaev, who lost to Kyle Snyder at RAF Georgia. Nurmagomedov’s fri…

Sherdog's live UFC 329 “McGregor vs. Holloway 2” coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.Follow our live UFC 329 play-by-play coverage with official results, updates and round-by-round scoring with real-time scorecards from veteran scorers Jay Pettry, Brian Knapp and Tyler Treese for each fight on the card. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Costa (-265), Durden (+215)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gandra (-130), Reese (+110)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy sco…

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor has chimed in on the struggles former opponent Dustin Poirier is facing, but not like most may have expected.

During a Thursday appearance on Smash Cast with hosts Chael Sonnen and Ian Parker, McGregor appeared to discuss a litany of subject. In the show, he discusses topics like how he feels competing back at welterweight, whether he will ever meet Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring again and his former opponents. Notably, the subject of Poirier came up, a man McGregor faced three times and ended up losing the trilogy match to in 2021.

Poirier, now retired, has been open with his struggles keeping himself focused and on task now that he is no longer training to prepare for mutual unarmed combat. In an oft-discussed video, Poirier was filmed heavily intoxicated at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta in late June and arrested for the misdemeanor of public drunkenness.

I hope he comes out right Sonnen asked Mc…

Hang on tight.

Manager Jorge Nojikoski posted on social media Friday morning announcing that ex-Professional Fighters League athlete Bruce Souto had been shot Thursday reportedly following a disagreement involving the sport of soccer. Per the manager, Souto was struck in the buttocks by two of the six rounds fired by the shooter while running away.

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Souto was rushed to the Joao XXIII Hospital in his home city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he has been treated and is in stable condition. He is expected to be discharged soon and his representatives have already posted on social media calling out the alleged shooter.Bruce is fineA member of his team posted a statement on Souto’s Instagram Stories after the shooting, where they confirmed his non-life-threatening status in the hospital while declaring that they knew who the shooter was. “Folks, Bruce is fine, thank God. He's out of danger,” the post wrote in Portuguese, as translated by She…

📸 لقطات من أول ظهور احترافي لهتان السيف

ليلة بدأت بها فصلًا جديدًا في مسيرتها#PFLMENA10 | مباشر الآن | المسرح العالمي، بوليفارد سيتي، الرياض | تابعوا مباشرة عبر STARZPLAY pic.twitter.com/L8vl0IAoFn

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) July 10, 2026

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Hattan Alsaif's pro debut headlines historic night at PFL MENA 10 in Saudi Arabia PFL MENA 10 took place on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the 2026 Professional Fighters League featherweight and welterweight tournaments continued on.

History was made in the main event as rising star Hattan Alsaif squared off against Dania Ouhachi in the main event, the first ever female headliner in Saudi Arabia.

Half of the 10-fight card ended before the final bell, none bigger than Alsaif, who picked up the second-round technical knockout over Ouhachi, sending the Saudi Arabian crowd into a frenzy. Alsaif has been under the spotlight since her arrival in the company, winning all four of her a…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship sees the return of its biggest star this weekend.

Conor McGregor successfully made weight at the UFC 329 weigh-ins. A rematch 13 years in the making against Max Holloway is now set. All other fighters on the 13-fight card successfully made weight, as well.

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This is the first fight for McGregor (22-6) since 2021, which saw "Notorious" lose two fights to Dustin Poirier. Questions abound if he'll be the same fighter after a nasty leg break and five controversial years away from the sport. The electric Irish striker's last win came against Donald Cerrone in 2020, which took only 40 seconds. The 37-year-old Irish fighter weighed 170.5 pounds for his anticipated return.

Holloway (27-9) looks to get revenge on his fellow mixed martial arts icon after losing a clear-cut decision back in 2013. Since then, "Blessed" has held the featherweight title and scored one of the most legendary knockouts ever over …