Martial Arts News

Conor McGregor has several options once he fulfills his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

The former two-division champion has one fight remaining on his current UFC deal, although an ACL and meniscus injury suffered in his recent rematch with Max Holloway is expected to keep him sidelined well into 2027. Once that obligation is fulfilled, BKFC chairman Dave Feldman believes McGregor could make the move to bare-knuckle boxing.

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Conor McGregor could join BKFC after completing final UFC fight McGregor underwent surgery earlier this month and will have to complete his recovery before returning to the Octagon. Once he’s out of contract and enters free agency, the head of BKFC claims the Irishman wants to compete in the promotion.

“He’s really looking forward to coming back and getting that last fight under his belt,” Feldman told SunSport. “So that way it clears him up for the ability to fight in the BKFC. And I really do think you see that happe…

Arman Tsarukyan believes Charles Oliveira never wanted their rematch.

Tsarukyan was rumored to be booked against Oliveira on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles, but the matchup was scrapped before the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced the card. He will instead meet surging Brazilian contender Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331.

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Arman Tsarukyan believes Charles Oliveira preferred a potential Diego Lopes fight Tsarukyan questioned Oliveira's withdrawal during a recent interview, saying the UFC told him the Brazilian needed time away from training following the recent death of his longtime Chute Boxe teammate, Alan Nascimento.

“I was supposed to be fighting Charles Oliveira in the co-main event, five rounds, when I was in the mountains they called me and said ‘We’ve got a new name for you,’” Tsarukyan told Ariel Helwani. “I said, ‘No problem.’ [The reason the UFC gave for the withdrawal] was because Charles’ friend died and he cannot train. But I don’t…

Carlos Prates is high in confidence following Islam Makhachev’s latest title defense.

Prates was in attendance at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia as Makhachev defeated Ian Garry by unanimous decision to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title in the UFC 330 main event. The Brazilian is certain he’ll knock out the Russian champ when they lock horns.

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Carlos Prates vows to knock out UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev Makhachev was pushed to the limit by Garry and needed a dominant final round to seal the decision win. However, many of his takedowns and submission attempts were shut down by the challenger. This marks Makhachev’s second decision win in as many welterweight bouts after finishing most of his challengers at lightweight.

After the event, Prates made a bold claim, vowing to put the Dagestani pound-for-pound king to sleep.

“I will knock you out, bro,” Prates said. “I will knock you out. I will bring that b…

Conor McGregor has reacted to Ian Garry’s post-fight mindset after the latter’s unsuccessful bid for welterweight gold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Garry recently suffered just the second loss of his professional career, dropping a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia. Following the loss, McGregor offered some encouragement to his compatriot.

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Ian Garry stays defiant after losing UFC title fight to Islam Makhachev Garry remained defiant after the defeat, insisting that Makhachev was simply the better man on the night and vowing to learn from the experience. In a social media post the following day, “The Future” reiterated his positive outlook after the loss. Responding to the video, McGregor praised Garry.

“Champion mindset!” McGregor wrote in the comments.

McGregor had previously backed Garry to pull off a major upset, predicting before UFC 330 that the fellow former Cage Warriors champ wo…

Anthony Smith has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges stemming from a July domestic incident in Nebraska.

Court records confirmed Smith's plea, resulting in the cancellation of an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 17. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title challenger is now due back in court for a status hearing Sept. 21 in Sarpy County.

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith faces four felony charges stemming from an alleged July domestic incident in Gretna, Nebraska Smith faces one Class 2 felony count involving an attempted Class 1 offense, a terroristic-threats charge and two counts of first-degree false imprisonment, all classified as Class 3A felonies. A Class 2 felony in Nebraska can carry a prison term of one to 50 years, while Class 3A felonies carry up to three years of imprisonment and 18 months of post-release supervision.

Prosecutors allege that Smith became involved in an altercation with his wife at a Gretna, Nebraska, ba…

Islam Makhachev has responded to Max Holloway's criticism of his post-fight celebration.

Makhachev successfully defended the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330, earning a unanimous decision win in Philadelphia. The Russian was seen holding two belts as he was announced the victor, which Holloway called into question.

Islam Makhachev answers Max Holloway’s criticism after UFC 330 Holloway was quick to question Makhachev posing with two belts despite vacating his lightweight title last year.

“Why the f*ck do you have two belts? For aura? You’re just defending one belt, bro,” Holloway said during a recent Kick stream.

Makhachev was quick to react, taking a sly dig at the former featherweight and BMF champ.

“I don’t know bro,” Makhachev commented on Instagram. “It’s even too heavy to hold. But you don’t understand, sorry.”

Makhachev vacated the lightweight championship last year after four successful defenses. H…

Din Thomas has apologized to Gillian Robertson after drawing criticism for his comments following his pupil’s failed title bid in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Thomas, Robertson’s longtime mentor, announced during the UFC 330 post-show that he’s done cornering fighters and that he took “The Savage” as far as he could. The former UFC fighter drew backlash for the timing of his remarks, with both fans and fighters calling him out.

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Din Thomas regrets timing of comments after Gillian Robertson’s UFC 330 title loss Thomas suggested that Robertson had reached her ceiling in the sport after getting thoroughly dominated by Mackenzie Dern. He then claimed that he’s stepping away from being a cornerman, citing the fight week responsibilities, drawing the ire of many. Thomas addressed the controversy on “Deep Waters,” admitting the timing was inappropriate.

“Saturday night was the most inappropriate time for me to bring up that I did not want to corner …

Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, has nothing but praise for Ian Garry.

Makhachev (29-1) put his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line against Garry (17-2) at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. The challenger pushed the champ to the limit, stuffing multiple takedown and submission attempts, but ultimately lost via decision.

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Ian Garry earns praise from Islam Makhachev’s coach after pushing the champion at UFC 330 While Makhachev was able to take Garry down, he wasn’t able to control the Irishman as he did against his previous opponents. Makhachev even missed several takedown attempts altogether. Furthermore, Garry showed no signs of fatigue throughout the bout and appeared to be the fresher fighter the deeper the fight went, while the champion’s face was heavily bruised.

Mendez was impressed with Garry’s valiant display and believes the former Cage Warriors champ should remain the No. 1 welterweight contender on the UFC’s offici…

Henry Cejudo believes Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t do enough in his career to be considered one of the greatest of all time.

While Nurmagomedov is widely considered among the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history, Cejudo argues that “The Eagle” only defended the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title thrice. “Triple C” believes its only title wins and defenses are to be considered for making it to the GOAT list and the Russian’s retirement at 32 leaves many unanswered questions.

Henry Cejudo argues Khabib Nurmagomedov's three UFC title defenses aren't enough for GOAT status Nurmagomedov’s teammate and successor, current pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, defended his welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330. Cejudo believes Makhachev, in pursuit of his fourth title defense overall in the UFC, would have dropped significantly on the pound-for-pound list if he had lost against Garry.

“No, Khabib is not there, bro,” Cejudo said on the “Pound 4 …

Islam Makhachev has named the ideal next challenger for his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title.

Makhachev retained his belt with a hard-fought victory over Ian Garry at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. The Russian revealed that Carlos Prates is the preferred next opponent after recording his first title defense at welterweight.

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Islam Makhachev backs Carlos Prates for next UFC welterweight title shot Prates and Michael Morales, who were both in attendance at UFC 330, are in the running for the next title shot, with Makhachev believing the Brazilian currently has the stronger case. He dismissed Shavkat Rakhmonov, who’s been sidelined with injuries since December 2024, and Morales, who hasn’t been as active as Prates.

“If you ask me today, Shavkat [Rakhmonov] is not fighting; Prates is still fighting, still active,” Makhachev said during the Paramount+ post-fight show. “Morales also is good, but I don’t remember the last time he fought. If you …

Daniel Cormier wants Usman Nurmagomedov to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former two-division UFC champion recently crossed paths with Nurmagomedov at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The unbeaten Dagestani is now a free agent after exhausting his contract with the Professional Fighters League and Cormier has directly challenged him to test himself against the UFC's best.

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Daniel Cormier wants PFL free agent Usman Nurmagomedov to face the UFC's best Nurmagomedov (22-0) stopped Archie Colgan in the final bout of his PFL contract. Amidst the promotion’s merger with Most Valuable Promotions, he’ll likely be offered a bumper new contract to return, as PFL still has a limited exclusive negotiation window before the UFC can make an offer.

Nurmagomedov appeared to question the level of competition available to him in the UFC, calling top-ranked lightweights “bums” while talking to Cormier after UFC 330. The Hall of Famer then claimed t…

Cris Cyborg has accomplished just about everything there is in women’s mixed martial arts and she recently discussed what drives her.

Cyborg returns to action Aug. 22 to defend the Professional Fighters League women's featherweight championship against Ketlen Vieira in the main event of PFL Tampa at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa in what will reportedly be her MMA retirement fight.

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Cris Cyborg reflects on her career approach before PFL Tampa Cyborg has established herself among the sport's elite. With championships across multiple major promotions and more than two decades of competition behind her, the Brazilian has increasingly focused on the impact she can have on women's mixed martial arts.

In a video posted by the PFL, Cyborg explained one of the biggest motivations of her career: making women’s MMA exciting.

Cris Cyborg’s final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“A lot of peo…