Martial Arts News

Rico Verhoeven believes the scorecards did the talking in his clash against Oleksandr Usyk.

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, on Saturday. Going in as a +1400 underdog, Verhoeven shocked the world by dominating the early rounds against Usyk, even stunning the unified heavyweight champion. However, Usyk gradually started landing in the later rounds and dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the 11th. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk cornered him with another barrage of shots. Referee Mark Lyson then unexpectedly stopped the fight with a second left in the 11th round, declaring a stoppage win for Usyk. The controversial stoppage is facing widespread backlash in the world of combat sports. 

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Verhoeven says the lesson he learned from his fight is never to get comfortable and always stay focused.

“Never get comfortable,” Verhoeven told Boxing King Media. “Stay focused, stay switc…

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Francis Ngannou slightly disagree on Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Rico Verhoeven. 

Usyk put his WBC heavyweight title on the line against former kickboxing champion Verhoeven in front of the Pyramids in Egypt on Saturday. A +1400 underdog going into the fight, Verhoeven surprised everyone by dominating the early rounds. While Verhoeven appeared to be en route to one of the biggest upset wins in boxing history, Usyk dropped him with an uppercut in the 11th round. Verhoeven returned to his feet but immediately found himself on the receiving end of a flurry from Usyk. While Verhoeven was still on his feet, referee Mark Lyson bizarrely stopped the fight with a second left in the round. 

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Difference of Opinion While the stoppage is facing massive backlash from fans and pundits, Canelo thinks it was fair. The former multiple-division world champion believes the referee saved Verhoeven from a vicious knockout.

“Very good fig…

Patrick Habirora showed no respect to one of his most accomplished elders.

“The Belgian Bomber” stepped up his ascent in the Professional Fighters League and blew away onetime Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Benson Henderson with punches in the first round of their PFL Brussels welterweight main event on Saturday at ING Arena in Belgium. Henderson (30-13, 0-1 PFL) met his end just 20 seconds into Round 1.

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Habirora (9-0, 5-0 PFL) intercepted the MMA Lab cornerstone with a left hook and backed it up with a right hook that sent the John Crouch protégé into a nosedive. Prone and badly hurt, the 42-year-old Henderson ate a series of right hands before referee Mike Beltran could arrive on the scene to rescue him.

Meanwhile, former Ares Fighting Championship and TKO Major League MMA titleholder Taylor Lapilus cruised to a clear-cut unanimous decision over Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jake Hadley in their t…

Sherdog's live PFL Brussels coverage will begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

An elite and undefeated welterweight prospect headlines PFL Brussels against a former UFC champ: Tune in Saturday, May 23 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores …

The UFC White House event is just around the corner, and the promotion has provided some insight into how things will look come June 14 in the nation’s capital.

The UFC on Saturday released renderings of both the setup for the UFC White House and the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest, which will include a number of fight week events as well as a watch party on fight night.

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History in the making 👀

New visuals for #UFCWhiteHouse and the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest are here!

[ Presented by @Cryptocom & @RamTrucks ] pic.twitter.com/PQP7dut7fE

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2026

UFC White House is headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will vie for interim heavywight gold in the co-main event. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

UFC White House Card Ilia Topuria vs. Justin GaethjeAlex Pereira vs.…

Former Bellator president Scott Coker has big plans for his new organization. | Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA

If one thing is inevitable about any Scott Coker-led MMA promotion it’s this: There will be a tournament.

Earlier this week, Coker announced his return as the head of an as-yet-to-be-named organization that will launch next year behind a team of investors and familiar faces from the entertainment industry. At the time, details were scarce, but the former Strikeforce and Bellator MMA leader has since offered some more insight into the fledgling promotion in an interview with the New York Post.

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According to Coker, the debut date is expected for January 2027 and will be highlighted by “a gauntlet of events that we produce in the first half of the year.” This includes a tournament that will feature a field “way north of eight” fighters. Coker, of course, was well known for producing tournaments during both his Strikeforce and Bellator t…

Sergio Pettis suffered an upset loss to Mitchell McKee at PFL Chicago. | PFL MMA

Sergio Pettis will face another up-and-coming talent in the PFL Austin co-headliner.

The former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion will square off against Lewis McGrillen-Evans on July 18 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The bout was announced during the PFL Brussels broadcast on Saturday. PFL Austin is headlined by a middleweight title rematch between Costello van Steenis and Johnny Eblen.

Looking to Rebound Pettis had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing at PFL Chicago, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to undefeated newcomer Mitchell McKee on April 11. Prior to that, “The Phenom” had earned consecutive triumphs over Magomed Magomedov and Raufeon Stotts. Pettis claimed Bellator gold with a victory over Juan Archuleta and defended the crown against Kyoji Horiguchi and Patricio Freire before relinquishing the strap to Patrick Mix at Bellator 30…

PFL MENA 9 is now official, but the card did undergo one significant change during Saturday’s weigh-ins.

According to a video posted by PFL MENA on social media, Zakaria Bichi did not make weight for his lightweight tournament bout against Basel Ahmed Shalaan. As a result Shalaan (155.6 pounds) will lock horns with Abdullah Saleem (155.6). Shalaan vs. Saleem was originally supposed to be a showcase bout at PFL MENA 9 before the card underwent other changes. Now it will be part of the 155-pound bracket.

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Bichi’s weight was not revealed. In the aforementioned video, a promotion official simply stated that he was “way heavier” and “cannot fight in the lightweight division.”

🚨 تحديث جديد على بطولة اللايت ويت

بعد سلسلة تغييرات في آخر لحظة… باسل شعلان أصبح رسميًا داخل البطولة وسيواجه عبدالله سليم في ربع النهائي

الفيديو يوثق لحظة إبلاغه بالخبر من فريق عمليات النزالات 📋

[#PFLMENA9 | الأحد، ٢٤ مايو | كوكاكولا أرينا، دبي | …

Absolute chaos between Khamzat Abaev and Luca Poclit at the #PFLBrussels weigh-ins on Friday! pic.twitter.com/McCxfBtsw1

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) May 22, 2026 While Professional Fighters League's early PFL Brussels weigh-ins proved relatively uneventful, the ceremonials had a bit of a brouhaha.

Headlining the Belgian event is a welterweight fight between mixed martial arts legend Benson Henderson and undefeated rising star Patrick Habirora. Both men had no issue making weight for the five-round main event. There was also one late adjustment to the card as Movsar Ibragimov will no longer face Youssouf Binate at bantamweight and will now take on Shane Campbell in a 140-pound catchweight fight.

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During the ceremonial weigh-ins, Khamzat Abaev and Luca Poclit squared off despite bad blood practically boiling over between the two. Earlier in the week during the faceoffs, the welterweights nearly engaged in fisticuffs. This…

World Boxing Council heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk will be the lighter man in his championship defense against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven.

Both heavyweights weighed in on Friday ahead of tomorrow's championship clash. Ukraine's Usyk is the much smaller man, as he only weighed 233.3 pounds, while the challenger came in at 258.7 pounds. That's a 25-pound difference in favor of Verhoeven. All other boxers on the card successfully made weight.

The undefeated Usyk (24-0) is widely considered the best heavyweight in boxing and is coming off recent wins over Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, each of whom he defeated twice. Also a former cruiserweight standout, he's one of the few boxers to have become undisputed in multiple weight classes. Meanwhile, Verhoeven is just 1-0 as a professional boxer and is 12 years removed from his debut. The former Glory heavyweight champion is considered one of the best kickboxers of all-time and has an impressive 66-…

Keweny “Leao” Lopes was born into deep poverty in the interior of Brazil. It’s not a rare scenario, but through hard work, belief in a higher power and maybe a little luck, the fighter finds himself in the Professional Fighters League with a chance to impress fans around the world.

He shared his personal history with Sherdog.com:

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“I’ve had every kind of job, except for trafficking or selling my body. I’ve never experimented with my health by taking drugs. I’ve been a cook, did laundry, was a janitor, a juice vendor, a stone smith, mechanic and factory worker. Thankfully I met some people who broadened my horizons and, through studies, I was able to improve my standard of living. It’s necessary to understand logistics and prepare well, so every mission can be accomplished.”

By age 20, Lopes moved to Rio de Janeiro to join the world-famous Nova Uniao team.

“I lived there until 2022. That’s when I moved to Zurich, Switzerland, to live with my son…

This departing Ultimate Fighting Championship talent is sticking to his guns of title or bust.

Surprising fans and media with a sudden announcement on Thursday, UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo (14-7) has decided to hang up his gloves. The Zimbabwe-born Gorimbo last competed mere weeks ago, dropping a split call to Jonathan Micallef to lose his third straight. Posting on Instagram giving his thanks to supporters and farewell to the sport, Gorimbo declared that if he could not be a champion, he would not continue.

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Gorimbo made waves in the community by declaring after his first UFC victory—a decision over Takashi Sato in 2023—that he was flat broke, with a mere $7.49 in his bank account. This garnered the attention of pro wrestling superstar-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who explained that hearing Gorimbo’s story reminded him of his own difficulties coming up as an athlete, right down to seven-dollar similarity. Johnson surprised Gorimbo by …