Martial Arts News

The UFC 316 lineup continues to grow, as a couple more bouts were made official for the June 7 event.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista will square off at bantamweight, while Johnny Walker will face Azamat Murzakanov on the upcoming card. UFC 316 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and is headlined by a bantamweight championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. Vera vs. Bautista was originally scheduled for UFC Des Moines on May 3, but it is unclear why the booking was moved.

Vera has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, he dropped a unanimous verdict against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ABC 7 this past August. Prior to that, he fell to Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 299.

Bautista, meanwhile, will take a seven-bout promotional winning streak into the match with Vera. He is coming o…

Marvin Vettori is mourning the death of his younger brother following his death in a fire in Italy.

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According to a report from TGCom24, a fire broke out at Patrick Vettori’s apartment in Mezzocorona, which is in the northern Italian province of Trento. Patrick died of smoke inhalation before firefighters could arrive on the scene. He was 30 years old.

You were and always will be [No. 1] my little brother! You left a void that cannot be filled, I will love you until my last breath,” Marvin Vettori wrote on Instagram. “I don’t think I’ll be the same after today because maybe I never told you but you’ve always been my strength. You were the smartest and smartest of the [two], you were creating a wonderful future for yourself and I can’t get over it.

“It is said that Jesus calls back the most beautiful souls prematurely to have them with him in heaven and then I hope that you are there with him looking and watching over us with that goodness th…

😳Jean Silva said he can KO Volkanovski in 2 rounds:

"I like him very, very much, but I think this would be a good fight for me. I could probably go for a knockout in the 1st or 2nd round."

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🎥 @arielhelwani ▫️ pic.twitter.com/nCNw9IHKO9 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 14, 2025

Rising Brazilian standout Jean Silva is the latest to join the list of aspiring title contenders at featherweight.

While Silva isn’t among the most highly-ranked featherweights just yet, “Lord” is aiming for the stars by calling for a title shot next. The Brazilian now wants to challenge Alexander Volkanovski, whom he admittedly likes a lot.

“I actually believe that between me and Volkanovski, we would have a fantastic fight,” he told Ariel Helwani. "I like him very, very much, but I think this would be a good fight for me. I could probably go for a knockout in the first or second round.”

Silva submitted Bryce Mitchell in th…

🥵🤕 Chris Gutierrez was brutally honest about the struggles of his extremely long 21 week training camp ahead of his #UFCKansasCity fight

Certainly not your typical “best camp of my life” story that many fighters claim 🤯

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🎥 @LynchOnSports x @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/DLcGK4OPTv — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 14, 2025

Preparing for a postponed fight can be really tasking, as Chris Gutierrez recently found out.

Gutierrez was originally scheduled to fight John Castaneda at UFC 313 on March 8 in Las Vegas. However, Castaneda was forced out due to an illness just hours before the fight. The fight has now been rescheduled for UFC Kansas City — also known as UFC on ESPN 66 — which goes down at the T-Mobile Center on April 26.

Having been in camp longer than planned, Gutierrez has had to overcome certain problems. “El Guapo” revealed that at one point it felt like nothing was working out for him despite g…

Movsar Evloev is making his case for the next UFC featherweight title shot.

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Evloev has long been one of the most deserving contenders at 145 pounds, although the title shot has evaded him so far. Meanwhile, Alexander Volkanovksi won the vacant title at UFC 314 last weekend with a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes, an opponent Evloev has already beaten. Evloev believes he is now undeniable for the next title shot at 145 pounds.

“I beat Diego Lopes, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, Dan Ige. No one has a better resume than me in 145 pounds except for the champion,” Evloev wrote. “I have the longest winning streak in the featherweight division. Me vs [Alexander Volkanovski] end of June [International Fight Week]”

I beat

Diego LopesAljamain SterlingArnold AllenDan Ige

No one has a better resume than me in 145lbs except for the Champion.

I have the longest winning streak in the Featherweight Division.<…

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Beneil Dariush doesn’t think Belal Muhammad will be at a striking disadvantage against Jack Della Maddalena.

Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While Muhammad was initially expected to face the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, “Nomad” reportedly couldn’t accept the matchup due to an injury.

While Muhammad’s grappling skill is well known, some believe Maddalena can outstrike the champ on the feet. However, Dariush, an ace grappler himself, disagrees. The Assyrian-American believes Muhammad’s skill set is still generally underestimated. According to Dairush, “Remember the Name” not only has a huge wrestling advantage over Maddalena but can also stand up with the Australian for as long as he wants.

“Belal is so good. I think people need to start recognizing his skillset,” Dariush told Submission Radio. “I think he has a big adv…

When Dominick Reyes began his current winning streak a little less than a year ago, it was a feel-good moment in the Octagon.

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Now that he’s been able to string three consecutive finishes together, Reyes is more than just a heartwarming redemption story — he’s a genuine light heavyweight contender once again.

“Every opportunity in the Octagon is its own little universe. It really is,” Reyes said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “The losses are completely devastating. The wins are everything. In this organization, every single win means everything — whether you’re barely working your way up the ladder or not — because once you get knocked down a couple rungs it’s really hard to build back up.

“I’m literally on my second UFC run, and the first one felt really good but this one feels just a little bit better because I did fall all the way down. And now I’m on the rise. One away from the title.”

Reyes secured arguably his most impressive vic…

Patricio Freire’s highly-anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut didn’t go as planned, but the Brazilian is already looking forward to his next Octagon appearance.

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The former Bellator MMA two-division champion struggled to pull the trigger against Yair Rodriguez, as he lost a clear-cut unanimous decision in a featured featherweight bout at UFC 314 on Saturday night. “Pitbull” has lost three of his last four professional outings overall.

“Congratulations to [Yair Rodriguez] we’ll see each other again. I’m injury free and ready to go at any time. Thank you to all the fans, I’ll make you all proud, you can count on that,” Freire wrote.

Congratulations to @panteraufc, we’ll see each other again. I’m injury free and ready to go at any time @ufc. Thank you to all the fans, I’ll make you all proud, you can count on that. #UFC314

— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) April 13, 2025

Since he is healthy, Freire h…

While Movsar Evloev might not be a favorite of UFC brass, Alexander Volkanovski seems more than willing to give the Russian his championship opportunity.

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Volkanovski began his second reign as featherweight king when he defeated Diego Lopes via unanimous decision in the UFC 314 headliner to capture the vacant belt at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday night. The 36-year-old Aussie defied age and survived a couple perilous moments to outduel a game Lopes, who had won five straight Octagon appearances entering the bout.

“I feel like he was there to be hit. I feel like I could’ve done a lot more. I just didn’t pull the trigger as much as I’d like – even though there were shots, I just stick out the jab, and it was right there. I could’ve done a lot more, but I’m my hardest critic,” Volkanovski said at the post-fght press conference.

“I’ll watch it back, and then we’ll see, but obviously everyone kind of counting me out, ‘Oh, is he done?’ Obvio…

The lineup for PFL Europe Belfast is now complete.

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The promotion on Monday announced the full card for the event, which takes place at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland on May 10. In addition to a previously-confirmed headliner between Paul Hughes and Bruno Miranda, PFL Europe 1 will also see Lewis McGrillen-Evans square off against Alan Philpott in a bantamweight co-main event.

PFL Europe 1 will also feature the first four bouts of the eight-man lightweight tournament. The card will be broadcast via DAZN in Ireland and the U.K.

Additionally, several other showcase fights were announced on Monday: John Mitchell vs. Lorenzo Parente at lightweight; Haider Khan vs. Sean McCormac at middleweight; Gemma Auld vs. Sammy Jo Luxton at women's flyweight; Eoin Sheridan vs. Malichi Edwards at welterweight and Corey McLaughlin vs. Nahom Wedi at featherweight.

Hailing from Manchester, England, McGrillen has lost just once in 11 professional outings.…

Arman Tsarukyan is trying to maintain composure as his immediate future hangs in the balance.

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Tsarukyan was originally scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the undisputed lightweight title at UFC 311 earlier this year. However, Tsarukyan was forced out due to a back injury a day before the fight and replaced by Renato Carneiro, who went on to suffer a first-round submission loss against Makhachev.

Dana White expressed his frustration with Tsarukyan and confirmed that “Ahalkalakets” wouldn’t getting the next lightweight title shot. There are also rumors that Tsarukyan pulled out on his own accord, and the UFC doctors didn’t suggest that he do so.

Currently at an unsure juncture about his immediate future, Tsarukyan is trying to stay patient and focus on training. The Russian also hinted that he was dealt an unfair hand, which he has accepted as a part of life. Having not fought in over a year now, Tsarukyan just wants to be ready when t…

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Paddy Pimblett has put himself on quite the pedestal in terms of fight IQ.

Pimblett scored the biggest win of his career so far by mauling Michael Chandler en route to a third-round TKO win at UFC 314 on Saturday. “The Baddy” believes he and his team’s game plan had a big role to play in the way he decimated Chandler. Pimblett considers his fight IQ to be comparable to Jon Jones, one of the greatest to have ever graced the Octagon.

While many believed Chandler could knock Pimblett out, the Liverpudlian also outstruck “Iron” on the feet. Pimblett said that he is so confident about his grappling that he has been solely focusing on his stand-up game for a while now.

“Me and my team, we got the best game planners that you can get. We’ve got the best fight IQ,” Pimblett said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “And the only other person that I can compare to us with game plans as good as we do is Jon Jones. We do the best game plans, that’…