Martial Arts News

Magomed Ankalaev captured light heavyweight gold with a win over Alex Pereira in March 2025. | Getty/UFC

Magomed Ankalaev is set to get back to work for the first time since losing the light heavyweight crown this past October.

Ankalaev will face former title challenger Khalil Rountree in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event, while Umar Nurmagomedov will lock horns with David Martinez in the evening’s bantamweight co-headliner. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the bouts on Monday. UFC Abu Dhabi — also known as UFC Fight Night 282 — takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

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Ankalaev last appeared at UFC 320, where he suffered an 80-second technical knockout loss to Alex Pereira in a light heavyweight championship rematch this past October. Prior to that, “Big Ank” authored a 14-bout promotional unbeaten streak that saw him claim 205-pound gold with a five-round verdict over “Po…

Sean Strickland recently unveiled another controversial social media post. | Getty/UFC

Sean Strickland has changed his stance on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. 

Known for being unhinged, Strickland has previously faced backlash for insensitive comments about Palestine. That was actually the beginning of Strickland’s feud with Khamzat Chimaev while they were training together at Xtreme Couture. Belal Muhammad, who is also a staunch supporter of Palestine, had also slammed Strickland for his comments. 

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Changing His Tune However, Strickland has since changed his stance on the conflict. Strickland has been repeatedly lashing out at Israel for allegedly “bombing kids.” Following his massive upset win over Chimaev at UFC 328 last month, Strickland also made a joke about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which was censored on the Paramount+ broadcast. Strickland then had an online spat with Jew…

Melquizael Costa had a six-bout winning streak snapped in a loss to Arnold Allen. | Getty/UFC

Melquizael Costa has decided to move up a weight class. 

Costa recently announced on the MMA HOJE podcast that he is officially moving up from featherweight to lightweight. 

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It was a good run in this category, but my body can't handle cutting 22 kilos for each fight anymore.Let’s go Lightweight @arielhelwani @UFCBrasil @mmahoje

— 𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙠 “𝐷𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛” 𝘾𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖 (@MelkCostaCauthy) June 1, 2026 On the Heels of Defeat Costa’s decision comes following his unanimous decision loss against top featherweight contender Arnold Allen last month. While Costa put on a gritty performance, Allen just outclassed him in a technical affair. Costa went 1-2 in his first three UFC outings after making his debut in 2023. “The Dalmatian” then rebounded with a six-fight winning streak, with four finishes, which ended with his loss to Al…

Islam Makhachev recently shared a heartwarming moment with one of his diehard fans. 

Makhachev FaceTimed his fan, who is battling cancer. Makhachev shared words of support and invited the fan to his next fight, expected in August. Makhachev promised to send him tickets for the fight and also to give him one of his T-shirts after the fight.

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“Hey, hello uncle, how are you? When you come to visit us? I want to invite you to my next fight in August,” Makhachev said. “I will send you tickets. Uncle, be strong, we will see you soon. I will give you T-shirt after the fight.” UFC Diehard While the name of the fan is not known, he became famous on social media when his daughter shared a video of his UFC-themed birthday party. The UFC took notice and started sending him merchandise, filling up his entire wardrobe. As the man is a hardcore fan of Makhachev, people started sharing his posts so that they could reach the UFC welterweight champion. The post…

Drew Dober made some precise picks for fighters he would train, fight or party with. 

Dober was asked to choose between Michael Chandler, Ilia Topuria, and Josh Hokit to train, fight, or party with. Dober picked Chandler to fight without hesitation. While Chandler is booked to fight Mauricio Ruffy at UFC White House on June 14, Dober believes it should have been him instead of Ruffy.

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 “Why am I not fighting Michael Chandler on this card?” Dober told Max Warin on YouTube. “It’s a disservice to Americans, I feel. First and foremost, I will fight Michael Chandler.”

Dober wants to train with Topuria to learn his knockout skills. While Dober is somewhat of a knockout artist himself, he notes that “El Matador” has been putting legends to sleep.

“I would train with [Ilia] Topuria,’ Dober said. “Because 5-foot-7 knocking people out. Dude, teach me your ways. I know I knock people out but he is doing it to cooler people.”

A Potential Spectacl…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship recently released a new video promoting its highly-anticipated White House event.

The focus of the video is the UFC White House co-main event, where Alex Pereira will attempt to become a three-division champion when he faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight crown.

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I think greatness is drive, determination. It’s about the legacy I leave behind. That’s what greatness is to me,” Pereira says in the video. “Accomplishing your dreams.

“When I look at where I came from and where I am now, that means a lot to me. But I want to do something no one’s ever done: Win the belt and say I’m a three three-division champion.”

UFC White House takes place on June 14 and is headlined by a lightweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje. The card airs on Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Watch the Latest Promo Video for UFC White House:[embedded content]

Islam Makhachev’s upcoming fight announcement is seemingly overdue. 

Makhachev (28-1) recently attended PSG’s Champions League victory match against Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary. Makhachev revealed that he would be going into fight camp immediately after, eyeing a return in August. Makhachev also acknowledged Ian Garry (17-1) as the frontrunner for the next welterweight title shot against him. While Makhachev also mentioned that there are other contenders, the Dagestani star doesn’t plan on parting with his belt.

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“Right after here I’m going to camp,” Makhachev told UFC on TNT Sports. “[Return likely in] August. I will be ready. Lot of contenders but No. 1 is Ian Garry. We still have couple of more [contenders] who want to take the belt but I don’t give no one.” A Variety of Contenders Garry has contenders like Carlos Prates and Michael Morales in the race with him. However, Prates recently said that Garry would fight Makhachev in August. The…

Bryce Mitchell was successful in his bantamweight debut. | Getty/UFC

Bryce Mitchell has received a new opponent less than a week before UFC Fight Night 278.

Mitchell will square off against Santiago Luna at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luna is a replacement for Victor Henry, who withdrew from the bantamweight bout for undisclosed reasons. The promotion confirmed the change following an intiial report from MMA Latinoamerica.

Taking on a Surging Prospect Mitchell made his 135-pound debut at UFC on ABC 9, where he outpointed Said Nurmagomedov at UFC on ABC 9 last July. “Thug Nasty” began his Octagon tenure at featherweight, where he was victorious in his first six appearances. After going 2-3 in his next three UFC bouts, the Sherwood, Arkansas, native elected to try his hand at bantamweight.

Luna is undefeated in eight pro fights — including two in UFC competition. The 21-year-old Mexican has defeated Quang Le via first-round knockout and Angel Pacheco via de…

Shane Burgos hasn't fought since facing Clay Collard in August 2023. | PFL MMA

Shane Burgos has been quiet for nearly three years, but it appears that’s about to change.

In a post on Instagram, the UFC and Professional Fighters League veteran indicated that he was ready to return to mixed martial arts. The 35-year-old Team Tiger Schulmann representative hasn’t competed since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Clay Collard under the PFL banner in August 2023.

Refreshed and Ready “One more run,” Burgos wrote. “I needed that break from fighting. The weight cuts, the training camps, everything that goes into it burned me out. That’s in the past tho. I’ve never stopped working. I need to be back in that fire again. I miss it. Excited for whatever’s next.”

Burgos debuted in the UFC in 2017, compiling a 8-3 record in the Las Vegas-based organization over the course of a tenure that concluded in 2022. “Hurricane” then signed with the PFL, where he went 1-2 …

Ludovit Klein will return to action at UFC Belgrade. | Getty/UFC

Ludovit Klein will lock horns with Tofiq Musayev at UFC Belgrade.

Musayev confirmed the pairing on social media following an intial report from Heavy.com. UFC Belgrade — also known as UFC Fight Night 283 — takes place on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez.

Coming Off Victories A native of Slovakia, Klein has been victorious in five of his last six Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Mr. Highlight” took a majority decision against Mateusz Rebecki at UFC 321 this past October.

Musayev, who competed in Bellator and Rizin before signing with the UFC, is 1-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion. After suffering a first-round submission defeat to Myktybek Orolbai in his first Octagon foray, Musayev outpointed Ignacio Bahamondes in his last outing at UFC Seattle on March 28.

Doctors have determined that B.J. Penn is mentally fit to stand trial, according to Hawaii News Now.

The UFC Hall of Famer was in court this past Friday for a hearing in his ongoing domestic violence case. Penn faces multiple charges including assault and violating a restraining order imposed by his mother, Lorraine Shin. Shin has alleged that she has been subject to “extreme psychological abuse” from her son. Meanwhile, Penn has claimed that his mother and brothers have been murdered and replaced by imposters. Shin has as stated that she believes her son suffers from Capgras delusional syndrome, a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter

Ongoing Legal IssuesPenn’s attorney plans to file a motion to dismiss the charges against his client, per the report. The former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion was arrested multiple times over the course of 202…

Real American Freestyle has announced a marquee pairing for its event in Milwaukee.

The wrestling promotion on Saturday announced that Colby Covington will face Arman Tsarukyan in the RAF 11 headliner on July 18. The event takes place at UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and streams on Fox Nation.

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Past and Present Contenders Covington announced his retirement from MMA last week. The former welterweight title challenger has stated that while he won’t rule out a UFC comeback, his focus is on RAF going forward. “Chaos” improved to 3-0 under the RAF banner on Saturday with a victory over fellow UFC veteran Chris Weidman.

Tsarukyan is widely regarded as the top lightweight contender in the UFC. After pulling out of a title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, Tsarukyan spent most of the year sidelined until he submitted Dan Hooker in the UFC Qatar headliner this past November. The Russian standout is 5-0 in RAF and is coming off a victory …