Martial Arts News

UFC 334 has a new middleweight matchup after Baisangur Susurkaev withdrew from his bout against fellow undefeated prospect Donte Johnson.

Cesar Almeida has reportedly agreed to step in and face Johnson at the Nov. 14 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Advertisement

Cesar Almeida reportedly steps in to face unbeaten Donte Johnson at Madison Square Garden Susurkaev (12-0) vs. Johnson (9-0) was among the most intriguing undercard bouts announced for the UFC’s upcoming trip to the Big Apple. Susurkaev has withdrawn from the matchup for undisclosed reasons.

Almeida (7-3) has now replaced Susurkaev, according to a report from AG Fight. The Brazilian is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Damian Pinas in July and is 3-3 in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Johnson is 3-0 in the UFC. He most recently stopped Eric McConico at UFC 330 after previously defeating Cody Brundage and Sedriques Dumas.

The updated UFC 334 lineup, as of Sept. 29, is as follows: Read more

Ilia Topuria is back in the gym.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight titleholder recently shared photos of himself hitting mitts on Instagram with the caption, “Back to the office.”

Advertisement

Ilia Topuria resumes full training after receiving medical clearance following his loss to Justin Gaethje The post comes after Topuria announced earlier this month that he had completed medical testing and was cleared to return to full training. He suffered his first professional loss against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Topuria has said he sustained significant facial damage during the bout that severely compromised his vision.

His corner ultimately stopped the fight after the fourth round.

Topuria has remained vocal about the result since receiving medical clearance. In announcing that he had been cleared, Topuria called for a rematch with Gaethje and accused the American of illegally loading his gloves.

A…

Marvin Vettori has changed things up in an attempt to snap his losing streak.

Vettori (19-10) has lost four fights in a row in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is scheduled to face Ismail Naurdiev (25-8) at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Italian recently revealed that he has parted ways with American Top Team and returned to Kings MMA.

Advertisement

Beneil Dariush takes over as Vettori's head coach ahead of UFC 332 While Vettori has no complaints about ATT, he believes the gym wasn’t getting the best out of him. The former title challenger has returned to his roots in California, where he trained during his ascent through the middleweight ranks. While the Kings MMA team he previously trained with no longer exists in the same form, Vettori said he is now training with Beneil Dariush as his head coach.

“I made some changes… I’m back in California,” Vettori told MMA Fighting. “I had to find myself again and I did. I feel good. I'm …

Jose Aldo has offered some advice and encouragement to former rival Conor McGregor.

McGregor injured his knee in the opening seconds of his rematch against Max Holloway in July, which marked the end of a five-year Octagon hiatus. He damaged his ACL and meniscus and underwent surgery in August. The Irishman is targeting a return in the summer of 2027 for what would be the final bout of his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Advertisement

Not only does Aldo wish McGregor the best, but he also believes the former two-division champion can shake things up at lightweight and potentially reclaim UFC gold.Jose Aldo believes Conor McGregor can re-enter the UFC lightweight title picture at 155 Aldo and McGregor shared a contentious relationship in the lead-up to their 2015 title bout, which McGregor won by knockout in just 13 seconds, ending Aldo’s 18-fight, nearly decade-long winning streak. McGregor frequently mocked and belittled Aldo as part of his pre-fight psyc…

Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington are finally set to square off.

Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder and former interim champion will collide for the cruiserweight crossover championship at RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14. The event will take place at Etihad Arena.

Advertisement

Khamzat Chimaev will challenge Colby Covington for the RAF cruiserweight crossover title in Abu Dhabi Covington captured RAF’s inaugural cruiserweight crossover championship by defeating Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 11. Chimaev later called for a match against “Chaos” after his recent victory over Gilbert Burns. That bout served as the co-headliner at RAF 13, where Covington defended his title against Belal Muhammad.

The feud between Covington and Chimaev dates back to Covington’s time in the UFC, and the bad blood continues to this day.

RAF Abu Dhabi will also feature Arman Tsarukyan, Henry Cejudo, Jordan Burroug…

Jiri Prochazka returns to action against Navajo Stirling in the main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming trip to Qatar.

The five-round light heavyweight clash tops a stacked card set for ABHA Arena in Doha on Nov. 21. The UFC Qatar lineup features former champions, up-and-coming prospects and fan favorites.

Advertisement

UFC Qatar features Aljamain Sterling, Brian Ortega, Kyoji Horiguchi and more Prochazka will look to rebound from his loss to Carlos Ulberg in April. The former 205-pound champion needs a victory to work his way back into title contention but faces a stiff test against an undefeated Stirling.

The Kiwi has quickly ascended the UFC light heavyweight rankings. The City Kickboxing fighter improved to 11-0 with a first-round stoppage of former champion Jan Blachowicz in August. The victory also marked Stirling's sixth UFC win and his third in 2026.

Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will also compete in Doha, where…

Dana White has addressed Raoni Barcelos’ concerning stoppage loss to Raul Rosas Jr.

Barcelos was ahead on the judges’ scorecards heading into the fifth round of his Ultimate Fighting Championship main event against Rosas Jr. at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Sept. 26. However, the Brazilian appeared to lose consciousness during a wrestling exchange against the Octagon wall, prompting the referee to stop the UFC Vegas 121 headliner. He was later removed from the Octagon on a stretcher.

Advertisement

Raoni Barcelos is conscious and walking as doctors await test results Barcelos was transported to a hospital, where he subsequently regained consciousness. According to White, Barcelos is lucid and able to walk while awaiting test results to determine what caused the episode.

White said all pre-fight medicals were triple-checked before the event. According to the UFC CEO, three ambulances and six doctors were present at Meta APEX when Barcelos lost consciousness. White al…

Dana White claims resistance to his involvement in boxing is primarily coming from the United Kingdom.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to clash in a highly anticipated boxing bout on Dec. 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The fight will be broadcast on Netflix, which has announced that Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and Dana White will collaborate to promote the event. However, White’s longtime rival, Eddie Hearn, disputes the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO’s involvement.

Advertisement

Dana White says British boxing figures are pushing back on his involvement White labeled traditional boxing promoters taking issue with his involvement an “ego thing.” He admitted that boxing isn’t what it was in the United States two decades ago and claimed it has become primarily a British sport. According to White, the complaints and resistance surrounding his involvement are coming from the U.K.

“Boxing has taken a hit in the United States,” he said at the la…

Anthony Wint believes his stint in the National Football League prepared him to handle the spotlight in the UFC.

Wint (8-0) is scheduled to make his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance against Lucas Armand (6-0) at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The former New York Jets linebacker says he isn’t overwhelmed by being around UFC stars or being viewed as a celebrity.

Advertisement

Anthony Wint says his NFL experience changed how he handles the UFC spotlight Wint has been training with several top-ranked and rising UFC fighters, including Esteban Ribovics, Gregory Rodrigues, Anthony Hernandez, Reinier de Ridder and Roman Dolidze. However, “Bow Down” isn’t starstruck, having already been around high-profile athletes in the NFL. Wint also learned not to be overwhelmed by the spotlight after his NFL career didn’t develop as he had hoped.

“I played in the NFL and I’m used to being around the stars… I’m used to people seeing me as a c…

Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 featured just four fights due to a last-minute cancellation.

Ilias Bulaid and Erick Visconde were scheduled to kick off the card in a featherweight bout Tuesday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. However, the bout fell through at the 11th hour after Bulaid fell ill despite making weight. The matchup has been postponed to Week 10 of DWCS 2026.

Advertisement

Dana White blasted Adama Diop’s performance before awarding him a UFC contract at DWCS Week 8 Aieza Ramos Bertolso (8-0) took on Camila Reynoso (9-2) in a strawweight matchup. Bertolso dominated Reynoso in all aspects before forcing her to tap to a Brabo choke in the first round.

While she was a -500 favorite going into the fight, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White initially didn’t believe the odds. However, White admitted that Bertolso proved the oddsmakers correct with her dominant showing.

“Let’s start with Aieza… So, you looked great on your feet,…

Eric Nolan wants to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory for his fellow U.S. Marines.

Nolan (8-5) is scheduled to fight Court McGhee (22-14) in a welterweight matchup at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. He started training in mixed martial arts while serving in the Marine Corps and has always wanted to represent the Marines at the highest level of MMA.

Advertisement

Eric Nolan seeks his first UFC victory against Court McGhee at UFC 332 Nolan believes he has disappointed his fellow Marines by losing both of his UFC fights so far and wants to earn his first Octagon victory for them on Saturday.

“When I started MMA, I always said I wanted to represent the United States Marine Corps at the highest level of the sport,” Nolan told MMA Fighting. “And it took me eight years to get here. And I finally have the opportunity to do that. And I’ve been disappointing them. And I know my brothers and sisters out there are rooting for me. So,…

Mikey Musumeci is close to transitioning to mixed martial arts and is targeting gold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Musumeci, 30, defeated Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11 on Sept. 24 and subsequently revealed that he plans to make his MMA debut soon. The jiu-jitsu standout eventually wants to become the UFC’s flyweight champion but knows that remains a distant goal.

Advertisement

Musumeci is developing his striking as he prepares for his MMA debut Musumeci is currently focused on developing his striking so that he can take the fight to the ground without getting knocked out.

“My goal would be to go to the UFC at 125 pounds and win that belt,” Musumeci told Ariel Helwani. “I have a lot of work to do before then. That’s us seeing super far ahead. One match at a time. Let’s get my level up, let’s get me not to get killed standing and let’s get me to the floor. I think people are going to be really surprised at my level.”

Musumeci also revealed that he ha…