Martial Arts News

Dana White’s Contender Series returns on Sept. 22 for Week 7 of Season 10, with five more matchups set to go down at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

The Week 7 lineup features fights across the middleweight, welterweight, flyweight, lightweight and light heavyweight divisions, with Norbert Novenyi Jr. (185.5) and Theo Haig (184) set to headline the card. They are among 10 fighters looking to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. The bill features five undefeated fighters.

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Norbert Novenyi Jr. and Theo Haig headline the five-fight DWCS Week 7 card Norbert Novenyi Jr. (185.5) vs. Theo Haig (184)Alvi Dasuyev (170) vs. Jaden Ortega (170.5)Marcos Degli (125.5) vs. Paris Moran (125.5)Piero Guaylupo (155.5) vs. Callum Connor (155.5)Damian Piwowarczyk (205) vs. Emilio Quissua (204.5)

The fighters of #DWCS Week 7 have weighed in to make it official for Tuesday.

Weigh-In Results ➡️ https://t.co/Aa4LVIrVS5

Watch Season …

Sean Strickland wants to test himself in boxing.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder recently revealed that while he loves mixed martial arts, he wants to try his hand in the squared circle at some point down the line.

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UFC champion Sean Strickland prefers a future boxing fight under Zuffa Strickland foresees boxing fights in his future. He recently took to social media to reveal his desire, eyeing a boxing fight under the Zuffa banner.

“I love MMA but I want to box,” Strickland wrote on X. “Prefer Zuffa but if they can't make that happen…”

Strickland is known for his boxing-heavy approach inside the Octagon. He reclaimed the 185-pound championship in May by defeating Khamzat Chimaev and is rumored to be defending his title in a rematch against Nassourdine Imavov next.

I love MMA but I want to box.. Prefer Zuffa but if they cant make that happen.....

— Sean Strickland (@SStrickla…

Charles Jourdain had a terrifying reason for waving off his recent bout with Marlon Vera.

Jourdain and Vera squared off on the prelims of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s recent numbered event in Los Angeles. In the third round, Jourdain signaled that he didn’t want to take any more damage after being knocked down. While this isn’t the first time the Canadian has been dropped in a fight, he has revealed that the final knockdown against “Chito” compromised his vision.

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Charles Jourdain explains why he waved off his UFC 331 fight against Marlon Vera After Jourdain hit the canvas and signaled that he didn’t wish to continue, the referee stepped in, handing Vera his first finish in four years. While there was initially confusion about Jourdain’s gesture, “Air” has now revealed why he was done fighting after the third-round knockdown, as he couldn’t see anything.

“Lost my eyesight in the third,” Jourdain wrote on Instagram. “I waved the fight ‘cause …

Joshua Van entered his second flyweight title defense with a significant shoulder injury.

Van retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight belt on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, defeating former champion Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 331. “The Fearless” has revealed that he had a less-than-ideal training camp for the rematch.

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Joshua Van says shoulder injury kept him from sparring for most of Alexandre Pantoja camp At the post-fight press conference, Van said he injured the AC joint in his right shoulder following the pre-fight presser in August in Philadelphia and was unable to spar normally for much of camp, relying primarily on cardio training.

“Coming into this fight after the press conference in Philly, I tore my AC joint in my right shoulder and I couldn't even spar,” Van said. “So, the last two weeks was my first time sparring, and this camp we did nothing but cardio. Just running and …

Alexander Volkanovski was visibly distraught after teammate Mauricio Ruffy suffered a knockout loss.

Ruffy was stopped by Arman Tsarukyan with back-to-back elbows at 4:56 of the opening round in their pivotal Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight clash. Volkanovski was in Ruffy’s corner at UFC 331 and his reaction to the finish has gone viral.

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Alexander Volkanovski was in Mauricio Ruffy’s corner when Arman Tsarukyan landed the fight-ending elbows at UFC 331 Ruffy switched gyms after losing to Benoit St. Denis last year, leaving the Brazilian gym Fighting Nerds to train under Volkanovski in Australia. Cameras captured the featherweight champ’s reaction from Ruffy’s corner as Tsarukyan delivered the fight-ending elbows. Volkanovski and former UFC lightweight Brad Riddell were clearly stunned by the outcome.

Ruffy’s takedown defense looked solid in the first round against Tsarukyan, pointing to obvious improvements in his defensive wrestling sin…

Gable Steveson’s sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship outing couldn’t have gone worse, but his team is already looking forward to a comeback.

Steveson suffered the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, getting knocked out by Sean Sharaf just 12 seconds into their heavyweight bout at UFC 331. Steveson’s manager has now addressed the result.

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Abraham Kawa points to Islam Makhachev, GSP and other UFC greats after Steveson’s loss to Sean Sharaf Steveson (4-1) was a massive betting favorite going into UFC 331. He made boisterous claims in the lead-up to the fight, dismissing Sharaf as merely a stepping stone towards his championship aspirations. Fans turned on him as well and the Olympian was relentlessly booed at the pre-fight formalities and on fight night, further fueled by Sharaf taking digs at him at the pre-fight presser.

First Round Management’s Abraham Kawa backed his client t…

Iwo Baraniewski is taking his first professional loss in stride.

Baraniewski (9-1) took on Alonzo Menifield (19-6) in an Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight tilt at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. Baraniewski was a heavy -250 favorite going into his biggest step up in competition so far.

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Iwo Baraniewski reflects on Alonzo Menifield loss at UFC 331 Having never seen the second round in his career before UFC 331, Baraniewski came out all guns blazing, looking to finish Menifield in the first round. However, Menifield weathered the early storm and started gaining momentum in the second round. “Atomic” braved through the third round, fighting with an injured thumb to earn a split-decision victory.

This was Baraniewski’s first professional loss. However, the 27-year-old says this isn’t the first time he’s experienced failure. “Rudy” wants to take some time to recover and vows to return stronger.

“My first professional loss, but no…

Sean Sharaf was going through tough times just weeks before pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

Sharaf was a +1000 underdog and likely fighting for his spot on the roster going into his UFC 331 clash against Gable Steveson, a -2500 favorite. Sharaf flatlined Steveson with a left hook in just 12 seconds. UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has now revealed some details about Sharaf’s pre-fight predicament.

Sean Strickland shares Sharaf’s living situation three weeks before UFC 331 Strickland, who was rooting for Sharaf, recently shared their DMs from just three weeks before UFC 331. Sharaf sent Strickland a photo of his living arrangement: a mat on the floor to sleep on and his belongings packed into luggage. The champ then advised him to at least buy a cheap mattress rather than sleeping on the floor.

“Bro getting off the floor sucks,” Strickland wrote in response to Sharaf’s image. “Least get a cheap Amazon mattress …

California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster recently discussed some potential rule changes in mixed martial arts.

UFC 331 went down at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. Foster subsequently discussed some rules at a CSAC debrief, touching on oblique kicks, a polarizing and highly effective tool in MMA, among other subjects.

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CSAC's Andy Foster wants to discuss banning oblique kicks after UFC 331 Edmen Shahbazyan earned a unanimous decision win in a middleweight bout against Brunno Ferreira at UFC 331. Shahbazyan was complaining to the referee about Ferreira throwing side-kicks to the knee, seemingly unaware that they are legal.

While kicks to the knee don’t look like much, they can deal dangerous damage to the knee at certain angles. While it is considered a cheap shot in sparring and banned in most gyms, it is perfectly legal in pro MMA. However, Foster now wants to discuss banning side-kicks to the knee. Foster als…

The disclosed salaries for UFC 331 have been released by the California State Athletic Commission.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja led the way with a flat $650,000 purse for his rematch with Joshua Van, who bagged half a million for his second title defense. The pay figures released by CSAC don’t include bonuses or additional payments to fighters that remain undisclosed.

UFC 331 disclosed payouts put Alexandre Pantoja ahead of champion Joshua VanAlexandre Pantoja: $650,000 — no win bonusJoshua Van: $500,000 — no win bonusArman Tsarukyan: $350,000 — no win bonusMauricio Ruffy: $110,000Patricio “Pitbull” Freire: $400,000 ($200,000 to show, $200,000 to win)Doo Ho Choi: $85,000Sean Sharaf: $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)Gable Steveson: $160,000Iwo Baraniewski: $50,000Alonzo Menifield: $310,000 ($155,000 to show, $155,000 to win)Robelis Despaigne: $200,000 ($100,00 to show, $100,000 to win)Tai Tuivasa: $350,000Giga Chik…

UFC 331 delivered several memorable finishes.

The card featured six knockout victories and one submission. Joanderson Brito, Ryan Gandra, Sean Sharaf, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Arman Tsarukyan delivered first-round knockouts, Marlon Vera recorded his first finish in four years and Casey O’Neill pulled off a bonus-worthy submission at the latest numbered event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

UFC 331 featured six knockouts and one submission at Crypto.com Arena Watch every finish from the card in the player below.[embedded content]

UFC 334’s lineup has been revealed, as have the opening odds.

In the main event, Ciryl Gane is set to defend the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title against Josh Hokit on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The card is co-headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes.

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BetOnline has released its current odds for both championship bouts, with Gane favored over Hokit and Harrison favored over Nunes.UFC 334 betting lines move for Gane-Hokit and Harrison-Nunes Gane opened at -150 and is now at -235. The Frenchman is favored to beat the undefeated Hokit, who is currently listed at +195. Both fighters secured finishes at UFC Freedom 250 in their last outings. Gane was promoted to undisputed champ after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt.

The Harrison-Nunes line was originally released in November 2025 after they were announced for UFC 324, with Harrison opening at -155 and Nunes at +135. The fight…