Martial Arts News

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champ Belal Muhammad’s foot is a balloon.

The 170-pound beltholder revealed on social media on Thursday that a bone infection in his foot—one that made a toe dangerously swell up—has forced him out of action for the next six weeks. As a result of this, Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC) will no longer be competing atop UFC 310 on Dec. 7. News of his withdrawal first came from Al Zullino on X, the service formerly known as Twitter. Per other outlets, the organization is trying to find a replacement opponent for challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0), but he may not remain on the lineup at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on that date.

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Rakhmonov chimed in after learning the news, wishing Muhammad well and expressing his interest in rebooking the matchup at a later date. He still has his eye on the prize.

“Wishing Belal a quick recovery,” Rakhmonov wrote. “We’ll meet when you’re back at 100%. For now, I’m ready to take …

Ailin Perez will square off against Karol Rosa in a women’s bantamweight bout at UFC 311.

Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing following an initial report from Gaston Reyno. UFC 311 takes place on Jan. 18. A venue and headliner have not been confirmed for the card, which is also expected to include a heavyweight showdown between Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac.

Perez has won four straight contests since dropping her Octagon debut to Stephanie Egger at UFC Fight Night 209 in September 2022. Most recently, the Argentina native known as “Fiona” scored a first-round submission victory over Darya Zheleznyakova at UFC Paris on Sept. 28.

Rosa, meanwhile, is 3-3 in her last six promotional appearances. The 29-year-old Brazilian kicked off her 2024 campaign with a three-round verdict over Pannie Kianzad at UFC on ESPN 61 on Aug. 10.

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Prior to UFC 308, Dricus Du Plessis was operating under the assumption that he was going to face Sean Strickland in a rematch for his next middleweight title defense.

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There was a shift in thinking, however, when Khamzat Chimaev submitted ex-title holder Robert Whittaker with a face crank 3:34 into the opening round of their co-main event clash at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi this past Saturday. As a result of that performance, Chimaev might have skipped to the front of the line at 185 pounds.

Chimaev definitely caught the attention of Du Plessis, who claimed the middleweight belt with a split-decision triumph over Strickland at UFC 297 before defending the strap with a fourth-round submission of Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Aug. 17.

“We always knew between Rob and Khamzat if there was going to be something exceptional that happens, there might be a change in the title fight,” Du Plessis told Radioraps. “We have no clarity on tha…

James Llontop will replace Charlie Campbell and lock horns with Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 309.

Llontop confirmed the booking via social media following an initial report from Te La Cante MMA. UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Peru’s Llontop is still looking for his first promotional triumph. After competing on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2023, “Goku” has fallen to Chris Padilla and Viacheslav Borshchev in his first two UFC appearances. The 25-year-old Llontop owns a 14-4 career mark.

Ruffy, meanwhile, has been victorious in his last five professional outings. Also a former Contender Series winner, Ruffy made a splash in his Octagon debut with a first-round technical knockout win against Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301. The Fighting Nerds product has finished all 10 of his career wins by KO or TKO.

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Caio Borralho has no doubt that Khamzat Chimaev can dethrone Dricus Du Plessis.

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Chimaev scored a dominant first-round submission win over Robert Whittaker in the co-main event at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The performance might have been enough to get the Chechen-born Swede the next title shot at 185 pounds, which was previously promised to Sean Strickland.

Borralho is very confident about the outcome of a potential clash between Chimaev and Du Plessis. “The Natural” believes Du Plessis will meet the same fate as Whittaker did against Chimaev, even if it takes a little more time. While Du Plessis is arguably a better wrestler than “Bobby Knuckles,” Borralho doesn’t think the South African can hold his own on the ground against Chimaev.

“I definitely think Khamzat [will win]. I think it’ll be the same as Robert,” Borralho told Submission Radio. “I know that Dricus has a little bit more wrestling skil…

It appears that Sharabutdin Magomedov has his next fight date set already.

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Magomedov is one of the fastest-rising stars in the UFC thanks to both his persona and his entertaining style. With a thick head of curly hair and vision in only one eye, “Shara Bullet” cuts pirate-like figure, an image which the Dagestani has come to embrace.

Magomedov most recently took on Armen Petrosyan in the main card opener at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. Prior to the fight, Magomedov’s coach, Gor Azizyan, declared that his fighter’s style was more entertaining than light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira’s. Magomedov did his best to back up the coach’s statement with the first-ever double spinning backfist knockout in the first round, earning himself a “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process.

“Shara Bullet” went on to call out former champ Israel Adesanya in his post-fight Octagon interview. Azizyan recently revealed that Magomedov’s next fight date i…

Diego Lopes wasn’t happy about not being included in the UFC’s initial list of potential opponents for Ilia Topuria.

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Topuria successfully defended his featherweight title by knocking out Max Holloway for the first time at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. Lopes, who was also in attendance for the event, was pitched as a potential opponent for Topuria during the champ’s post-fight interview. However, Topuria expressed more interest in a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski, whom he dethroned via knockout at UFC 298 this past February.

Meanwhile, Topuria is also looking to move up to lightweight for a double-champ bid against Islam Makhachev. And former middleweight champ Kamaru Usman has suggested that “El Matador” should be pitted against Conor McGregor to be established as the new face of the promotion.

Volkanovski, Makhachev and McGregor were all featured in a recent "What’s next for Ilia Topuria" graphic, while a fourth spot was left blank. Lopes was un…

Bruno Silva's fourth consecutive defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship caught the attention not only of fans accustomed to his aggressive style, but mainly of his head coach, Andre Dida. In this exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, the leader of Brazilian TKO spoke about the anxiety crisis that is affecting “Blindado” and commented on the importance of professional athletes taking the psychological aspect of the sport seriously. He also analyzed Brunno Ferreira’s defeat on the same card and Brendson Ribeiro's fight at UFC Edmonton on Saturday.

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What was the tactical plan for "Blindado" against Ismail Naurdiev?Our tactic was to keep the fight standing, use a lot of calf kicks, front kicks to the face and head kicks and a lot of boxing. We were sure that Bruno was superior in all areas — under normal conditions he would not lose this fight. We studied his opponent and saw that he had already lost two fights with a calf kick and had already bee…

Ultimately, Robelis Despaigne didn’t deliver upon his considerable hype.

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The Cuban heavyweight was one of seven fighters that recently parted ways with the UFC. The others were as follows: Matheus Nicolau, Jessica Penne, Tamires Vidal, Vinicius Salvador, Charalampos Grigoriou and Jesse Butler.

MMAFighting.com confirmed the cuts after an initial report from Twitter account UFC Roster Watch. It is unclear if the aforementioned fighters were released or if the promotion simply elected not to renew their contracts.

Despaigne entered the UFC to much acclaim thanks to five first-round finishes on the regional circuit. That fanfare only increased when “The Bad Boy” stopped Josh Parisian in just 18 seconds in his Octagon debut at UFC 299. However, back-to-back losses against Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane left plenty to be desired — particularly when it came to his lack of defensive wrestling ability.

Nicolau, meanwhile, exits the promoti…

A heavyweight clash pitting Sergei Pavlovich against Jairinzho Rozenstruik is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Saudi Arabia early next year.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC Saudi Arabia takes place on Feb. 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh and will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s second visit to the Middle Eastern country. The card does not yet have a main event.

Pavlovich will look to halt the first two-bout losing streak of his professional tenure. The 32-year-old Russian last appeared at UFC on ABC 6, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to former training partner Alexander Volkov at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That setback came on the heels of a 69-second knockout loss to Tom Aspinall in an interim heavyweight title bout at UFC 295 last November. Prior to that skid, Pavlovich had finished six consecutive UFC opponents inside of a round.

Rozenstruik…

Jon Jones will no longer face charges for an alleged altercation with a drug testing agent from Drug Free Sport International at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home earlier this year.

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On Tuesday, the UFC heavyweight champion reached a pre-adjudication agreement to dismiss the misdemeanor charges of assault and interference with communications stemming from that incident. Judge Asra I. Elliott approved the agreement between the defense and prosecutors provided that Jones completes four hours of anger management and avoids legal trouble for the next 90 days. Jones attended the hearing with attorney Christopher Dodd via Zoom.

Jones released a statement on social media shortly after the hearing.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the justice system for reaching a prompt resolution in this matter, which affirms my innocence and enables me to maintain my focus on the upcoming fight,” Jones wrote. “I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to defend …

Carlos Barreto doesn’t see anyone stopping Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight after the Chechen-born Swede’s dominant performance against Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.

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"Whittaker was the worst combination in the division for Chimaev,” said the UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator on the Papo de Luta podcast. “I’ve always said that Whittaker is the most complete fighter in the division, not only because of his movement, but also because of his excellent takedown defense and good jiu-jitsu skills. Because of the dominant way Chimaev beat him, making it look easy, I have no doubt he will devastate the division.

“His physical imposition goes very well with his wrestling and jiu-jitsu technique. Anyone in the division who grapples with him is going to get hurt. But an unquestionable fact is that his physical imposition game depends on being healthy."

While many fans are already starting to dream of a fight between Chimaev and current light heavyweight ki…