Martial Arts News

Ailin Perez believes in creating viral moments to sell fights.

Perez is scheduled to take on Norma Dumont in an Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight matchup in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 16 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. There is serious bad blood between the two leading up to their fight.

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Ailin Perez says Norma Dumont confronted her near the UFC PI bathroom ahead of UFC Vegas 121 Perez recently accused Dumont’s boyfriend, UFC middleweight Marco Tulio, of checking her out at the UFC Performance Institute. Dumont claims Tulio has had to block Perez on social media as she kept tagging him. The Brazilian is just glad to have the opportunity to hurt Perez without getting arrested.

However, Perez isn’t taking things too personally. She recently detailed an encounter with Dumont at the UFC P.I. where things got heated. Dumont reportedly came to the bathroom with her team looking for Perez.

While Dumont never mentioned t…

Natalia Silva’s team believes her upcoming title bout will be a treat for fans.

Silva is scheduled to face Cong Wang for the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight title on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The bout came together after Valentina Shevchenko vacated the crown because of injury. The Brazilian’s coach recently previewed the matchup, which is set to headline UFC 332.

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Carlos Costa calls Natalia Silva and Wang Cong the division’s two best strikers According to Silva’s coach, Carlos Costa, the camp had originally been built around Shevchenko before Wang replaced her.

“We had been preparing for Valentina for months and doing a full technical study of the champion,” Costa told Sherdog. “We were especially focused on takedowns, since Valentina had been taking down a lot of her opponents. Our main focus was timing on entries and distance control. When the UFC told us she was out of the fight, and it happened somewhat a…

Asael Adjoudj will face two-time Professional Fighters League featherweight tournament champion Movlid Khaybulaev at PFL Dubai on Nov. 14 at Coca-Cola Arena.

The promotion announced the matchup on social media on Thursday, with the featherweight bout joining the card for the PFL’s return to the United Arab Emirates.

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Asael Adjoudj faces Movlid Khaybulaev at PFL Dubai on Nov. 14 Adjoudj has won three consecutive fights under the PFL banner, most recently stopping Keisuke Sasu with a second-round head kick and punches in May. The victory improved his professional record to 11-1, with four knockouts and two submissions among his wins. His last loss dates back to 2020 against Constantin Blanita.

Khaybulaev, meanwhile, owns a perfect record with 24 victories and one draw. The Russian captured the PFL featherweight tournament championship in 2021 and most recently submitted Jesus Pinedo in the 2025 PFL World Tournament final. Before that, Khaybulaev beat…

The betting lines for UFC Vegas 121 have been released, with Raul Rosas Jr. favored against Raoni Barcelos in the main event.

Yazmin Jauregui is the biggest favorite on the card at -1000 against Vanessa Demopoulos, while the closest matchup is Ailin Perez vs. Norma Dumont, with Perez at -138 and Dumont at +117.

UFC Vegas 121 betting lines for Rosas vs. Barcelos and the full 11-fight card Here are the current money lines and odds for the 11-fight card:

Raul Rosas Jr. (-175) vs. Raoni Barcelos (+150)Total: Over 4.5 (-125) / Under 4.5 (-105)

Rodolfo Vieira (-155) vs. Robert Bryczek (+133)Total: Over 1.5 (-120) / Under 1.5 (-110)

Mehemmedali Osmanli (-290) vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (+240)Total: Over 2.5 (-105) / Under 2.5 (-125)

Melissa Amaya (+180) vs. Valesca Machado (-215)Total: Over 2.5 (-325) / Under 2.5 (+230)

Josiah Harrell (-142) vs. Elves Brener (+122)Total: Over 2.5 (-135) / Under 2.5 (+105)

Brady Hiestand (+280) vs. Rinya Nakamura (…

Bella Mir has her next combat sports assignment lined up.

Real American Freestyle on Thursday announced that Mir will face Hope Chase at RAF 14 on Oct. 23 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The event will be available to watch on Fox Nation. This marks her first competitive outing since losing on Dana White’s Contender Series.

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Bella Mir will face Hope Chase at RAF 14 in her first competition since Dana White’s Contender Series Mir captured an NCAA women’s wrestling championship before committing to mixed martial arts. She’s now set to take on Chase as she looks to return to winning ways at RAF 14.

The card has also undergone a change involving Michael Page vs. Alexander Shlemenko. Page is out of the previously announced matchup with Shlemenko, with Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Brendan Allen now stepping in to face the Russian.

The updated lineup for RAF 14 includes:

Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dillon Danis (middleweight)Khamzat Chimaev vs. R…

Josh Hokit has fired back at Alexander Volkov after the Russian mocked the recently announced Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title bout.

Hokit is set to face Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight championship at UFC 334 after Tom Aspinall vacated the title. Volkov poked fun at the UFC’s decision to hand Hokit a title shot, sarcastically suggesting the promotion made a special exception for the unbeaten contender.

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Josh Hokit attacks Alexander Volkov’s UFC record after criticism of his Ciryl Gane title fight Volkov sarcastically commended the UFC for giving Hokit a title shot during his appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” claiming the American’s “serious mental condition” warrants a shot at gold.

“I want to be honest with you. I’m very supportive of this fight from the UFC,” Volkov told Ariel Helwani. “I have a lot of reasons that this fight should happen because Josh Hokit, from what I know about him, is clearly dealing with some mental ill…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has signed one of the most sought-after bantamweights in mixed martial arts, Asaf Chopurov.

Beyond his stellar pro record of 11-0, he went 34-1 as an amateur. The 24-year-old is now set to join the premier MMA promotion, with his debut set for October against a fellow prospect on the undercard of his training partner’s title bout.

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Asaf Chopurov expected to face Colby Thicknesse in UFC 333 debut Chopurov is a training partner of UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. He is expected to make his UFC debut at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi against Colby Thicknesse (9-1). Yan will put his title on the line in a trilogy bout against Merab Dvalishvili on the same card.

Chopurov has finished 10 of his 11 career wins so far. The undefeated Azerbaijani won the vacant UAE Warriors bantamweight title last year and has defended it twice.

In the caption of his Instagram post announcing the signing, “Honey Badger” made it c…

Petr Yan isn't impressed with fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweights.

The 135-pound champ returns at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 against Merab Dvalishvili in a trilogy bout. Yan recently shared his assessment of the division and its top-ranked contenders, claiming that not a single bantamweight stands above the rest. Nevertheless, he’s open to whoever he’s offered by the UFC matchmakers.

Petr Yan assesses Yadong Song, Umar Nurmagomedov and the UFC bantamweight title picture Yan hasn’t competed since defeating Dvalishvili by unanimous decision in December last year to reclaim the championship. The Russian subsequently underwent lumbar surgery in January and has spent the ensuing months recovering.

While Yan has been sidelined, the pecking order at bantamweight has shifted, especially after Yadong Song knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov. Yan, however, already has a win over Song.

“To be honest, I’ve been watching the division and nothing really impresses me because…

Mehemmedali Osmanli targets “easy” matchup against Sean O'Malley.

Osmanli (11-1) is scheduled to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Sept. 26 against fellow promotional debutant Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (9-3). He hopes to make quick work of his Kyrgyz opponent and return to action at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi before breaking into the Top 15 at bantamweight.

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Mehemmedali Osmanli wants Sean O'Malley after his UFC debut against Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu The Azerbaijani prospect, who’s riding a nine-fight winning streak with six finishes since 2022, made his intentions clear ahead of his Octagon debut. He’s looking to finish Uulu and then fight closer to home, in Abu Dhabi, when the UFC heads to the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 24.

“I hope I finish him easily,” Osmanli said at media day ahead of UFC Vegas 121. “And then I want to fight Abu Dhabi card, October 24. Maybe Top 15 someone…”

Osmanli was then asked who he would like to fight in the Top 15…

Raul Rosas Jr. wants to retire early.

Rosas Jr. became the youngest fighter to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he was just 17 years old in 2022. “El Nino Problema” previously claimed that he wants to hang up his gloves by the age of 25. He recently revealed that he’s still open to the idea of retiring in his mid-20s after having accomplished the goals he set for himself.

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Raul Rosas Jr. wants a UFC title, multiple defenses and moves up in weight before retiring Rosas Jr., who’s on a five-fight win streak, returns to action in his first main event on Sept. 26 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, headlining UFC Vegas 121 opposite Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos.

The bantamweight prospect wants to win a UFC title, defend it and move up a weight class or two before riding off into the sunset.

“If by 25 I’ve accomplished everything I want, I’m just gonna step back from the sport,” Rosas Jr. told Full Send MMA. “The goal is to get the belt…

Eddie Hearn didn’t hold back after Dana White’s name was featured in Netflix’s press release for Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua.

Fury and Joshua are set to clash on Dec. 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with the matchup streaming on Netflix. The fight’s location had been a major talking point during negotiations, with Hearn pushing for the United Kingdom while Fury’s side campaigned for Madison Square Garden in New York.

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Netflix’s Fury-Joshua announcement puts Dana White at center of dispute with Eddie Hearn Netflix’s announcement described the bout as a co-promotion between Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and White, but did not mention Hearn or Matchroom Boxing, who represent Joshua, or Frank Warren and Queensberry, who represent Fury.

Hearn, speaking with IFL TV, immediately disputed White’s involvement while pointing to the agreement surrounding the fight.

“Dana White cannot be involved in this fight,” Hearn said. “Netflix clearly didn…

Mickey Gall’s return to competition has fallen through.

Gall was scheduled to return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas against Sedriques Dumas at UFC Vegas 121 after nearly two years away. However, he has been pulled from the fight due to an undisclosed medical issue. Recent Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Luis Hernandez has now stepped up to face Dumas on short notice.

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Mickey Gall says a pre-fight medical issue made him ineligible to face Sedriques Dumas Gall claims the UFC pulled him from the fight. He said the UFC informed him on Sept. 24 that something on his pre-fight medical tests made him ineligible to fight. Gall is disappointed as he was looking forward to giving his fans a win, having not won since 2021. The 34-year-old vows to be back once he has got the situation sorted.

“I have been pulled back from this fight by the UFC,” Gall said on Instagram. “I was contacted this morning. Something came back on …