Martial Arts News

T.J. Dillashaw completely turned his life around by winning the bantamweight title against Renan Barao. 

Dillashaw (17-5) ended Barao’s title reign with a fifth-round knockout at UFC 173 in 2014. Dillashaw revealed that he got just $18,000 to show and $18,000 to win for his his first title victory. Dillashaw earned his UFC contract on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 in 2011, although he lost to John Dodson in the finale. Dillashaw explained that “TUF” fighters were onboarded with a $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win contract, which got upgraded every three wins. Dillashaw was glad to tear apart his “TUF” contract after dethroning Barao as his stardom skyrocketed overnight. 

‘I Shocked the World’ “My life changed completely after beating Barao,” Dillashaw said on "The Jaxxon Podcast” “I was on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ contract. I was fighting for a world title for $18,000. When I got to rip that contract… You’re on a 10-fight contract when you get on from ‘The Ult…

Khamzat Chimaev is a humble champion. 

Chimaev recently came across T.J. Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson while they were filming for the "Jaxxon Podcast” at their training facility in Newport Beach, California. Jaxxon’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bear Degidio, lauded all three fighters as “three of the UFC’s greatest champs.” However, Chimaev humbly refused to be put in the same league as Dillashaw and Johnson. Chimaev noted that while he has only one title win, Johnson (15) and Dillashaw (5) have won 20 title fights between them.

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“No, no. Bro, one belt against 20 belts,” Chimaev said.Building a Resume Johnson is considered one of the greatest fighters to ever grace the sport, who has most consecutive title defenses in UFC history. The latest UFC Hall of Fame inductee also went on to have a stellar career at ONE Championship after parting ways with the UFC. Meanwhile, Dillashaw’s status as one of the greatest bantamweights of all time is marred b…

Nate Diaz wanted a shot at the UFC belt he helped name. 

The UFC’s BMF belt was originally Diaz’s idea, although he fell short against Jorge Masvidal in the inaugural BMF title fight in 2019. Meanwhile, the belt is currently held by Charles Oliveira (37-11), who won it against Max Holloway at UFC 326 last month. Diaz recently went off on Oliveira over a past callout. Oliveira shut down Diaz’s callout after winning the lightweight title in 2021, citing his preference for bigger, championship fights. However, “Do Bronx” surprised everyone, including Diaz, by subsequently calling out Conor McGregor, who had just suffered a leg injury.

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“This fool is walking around with my title,” Diaz told Theo Von. “This fool actually won the title one time, and I said I’ll fight Oliveira, I know I’ll beat Oliveira. And then Oliveira’s like, ‘No thanks, homie, I’ll try to fight for big stuff, world championships.’... And then few months later, after Conor breaks hi…

Demetrious Johnson believes there’s nothing left for Israel Adesanya to achieve in MMA. 

Johnson (24-6)  was in attendance when his friend Adesanya took on Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle last weekend. It was hard for “Mighty Mouse” to see Adesanya suffer a second-round technical knockout loss against Pyfer. Adesanya even congratulated Johnson on his Hall of Fame induction after the fight.  Adesanya has now dropped four in a row since reclaiming his middleweight title in a rematch against Alex Pereira in 2022. 

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Johnson would like to see Adesanya hang up his gloves for good. Johnson notes that Adesanya has already scaled heights in the sport that most only dream of. Additionally, “The Last Stylebender” has had an illustrious career in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. Johnson believes Adesanya now deserves to ride off into the sunset.‘He’s Done Everything’ “I was just gutted… You’ve done everything, just walk away from the sport… I …

Add caption here. | Charles Johnson already has two fights under his belt in 2026.

Charles Johnson will lock horns with Asu Almabayev in a flyweight tilt at UFC Baku.

The booking was first reported by Leo Guimaraes. UFC Baku takes place on June 27 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan and also includes a middleweight showdown pitting Sharabutdin Magomedov against Michel Pereira. A headliner for the event has not been confirmed.

Request Granted Johnson has been active already in 2026. “InnerG” kicked off his campaign at UFC 324, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Alex Perez. He bounced back at UFC Fight Night 269, taking a split verdict over Bruno Silva. The 35-year-old also has notable wins over the likes of Lone’er Kavanagh and Joshua Van in UFC competition. Johnson called out Almabayev following his triumph against Silva.

Almabayev has been victorious in six of his seven Octagon appearances. In his last outing, Almabayev scored a third-r…

Alibi Idiris won't be eligible to return to action until February. | Getty/UFC

Alibi Idiris has been suspended for one year after failing a drug test in relation to his most recent Octagon appearance.

The UFC flyweight tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide in an in-competition sample collected on Feb. 21 in Houston, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced on Tuesday. Idiris defeated Ode Osbourne in a 125-pound matchup at UFC Houston — also known as UFC Fight Night 267 — on that date.

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As a result, Idiris has been suspended for one year, and he will be eligible to return on on Feb. 21, 2027. According to CSAD, Idiris revealed that he had taken hydrochlorothiazide on Thursday of UFC Houston fight week to help with his weight cut.No Reduction “Although Idiris has been fully cooperative with CSAD, CSAD is not suspending or reducing any period of his ineligibility due to the seriousness of knowingly using a diuretic during fight week a…

Gadzhi Rabadanov recently had a 12-bout winning streak snapped. | Getty/UFC

Gadzhi Rabadanov will look to return to the win column when he faces Aleksandr Chizov in the PFL Sioux Falls co-main event.

The PFL announced the lightweight bout on Tuesday. PFL Sioux Falls takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is headlined by a welterweight scrap pitting Logan Storely against Florim Zendeli.

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When PFL still utilized a season format, Rabadanov captured the 155-pound title in 2024. That was part of a 12-fight winning streak that extended into PFL’s 2025 lightweight tournament. The Dagestani’s run ended in the finals of the bracket, where he dropped a five-round verdict against Alfie Davis this past August. Radadanov’s ledger includes victories over the likes of Kevin Lee, Marc Diakiese, Brent Primus and Steven Siler, among others.

Chizov, meanwhile, is coming off a PFL Europe championship in 2025, as he bested M…

Kai Kamaka III is headed back to the Octagon. | PFL MMA

The UFC Fight Night 272 lineup sits at 13 bouts after a lightweight bout was recently added to the card.

Kai Kamaka III will make his promotional return against Dakota Hope in a 155-pound affair on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Marcel Dorff was first to report the pairing. UFC Fight Night 272 is headlined by a lightweight clash pitting Renato Carneiro against Chris Duncan. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Veteran vs. Prospect Kamaka III went 1-2-1 during a brief UFC stint from 2020 to 2021. “The Fighting Hawaiian” has also competed for organizations such as Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League, earning victories over the likes of Henry Corrales, Bubba Jenkins and Pedro Carvalho. The 31-year-old has more recently fought under the Tuff-N-Uff banner, compiling a 3-1 mark since April 2025.

Hope, 29, has been victorious in 11 of 12 professio…

Gabriel Bonfim has won six of his last seven UFC outings. | Getty/UFC

After knocking out Randy Brown this past November for his sixth victory in seven fights, Gabriel Bonfim is preparing for the biggest challenge of his career to date.

Bonfim will face ex-welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in the UFC Fight Night 278 headliner on June 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

““He does the cage game very well,” Bonfim told Sherdog.com. “I believe he will try to grab me like [Nicolas] Dalby did, but I will get there very well prepared for this fight. Ian Garry showed the way. The idea is to move around, defend takedowns, use low kicks and connect with my hard hands to knock him out.”

The Brazilian believes that if Garry's fight against Islam Makhachev is confirmed and he manages an impressive victory over Muhammad, he could get a title shot afterward.

“In my view, [Michael] Morales is ahead to get the fight with Islam,” Bonfim said. “But I think Garry…

The lineup is complete for PFL Belfast.

The promotion announced the full card for the April 16 event on Tuesday. PFL Belfast takes place on April 16 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Darragh Kelly and Jay-Jay Wilson. In the co-main event, Rhys McKee will face Alex Lohore at a 176-pound catchweight. Rounding out the main draw is a light heavyweight tilt pitting Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov against Tyson Pedro.

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𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your FULL updated #PFLBelfast Fight Card 👊

The PFL returns to Belfast on Thursday, April 16th! #PFLBelfast | Thursday, April 16th | SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 7PM EST | ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/9NhyCCuEDX

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 31, 2026

Newly confirmed bouts on the prelims include Pedro Carvalho vs. Sergio Cossio at 165 pounds and Omran Chaaban vs. Chequina Noso Pedro at welterweight.

PFL Belfast begins with the prelimin…

Arman Tsarukyan was unimpressed with Max Holloway’s latest performance. 

Holloway (27-9) put his BMF title on the line in a lightweight matchup against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 earlier this month. Oliveira took Holloway down with ease and dominated him on the ground for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision win. There are currently rumors floating about Conor McGregor returning to action against Holloway. 

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Tsarukyan believes Holloway is way past his heyday. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Holloway is washed up and fighting merely to collect his paychecks. Tsarukyan was surprised to see Oliveira take Holloway down at will. Tsarukyan questions how Holloway, with nearly two decades of experience, couldn’t defend a takedown against Oliveira, whose wrestling isn’t his strongest suit. While Oliveira is primarily known for his jiu-jitsu, the Brazilian’s win over Holloway felt like a wrestling masterclass to Tsarukyan.‘He Looked So Bad’ “Max is …

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think Israel Adesanya is the same fighter he once was. 

Adesanya (24-6) took on Joe Pyfer in the main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday. “The Last Stylebender” briefly looked his old self, chopping away at Pyfer’s lead leg and maintaining distance with his jab. Adesanya’s shots even seemingly started affecting Pyfer in the second round until things drastically turned around. Pyfer hurt Adesanya, took him down, flattened him out, and unleashed vicious ground-and-pound to secure a stoppage win. 

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Sterling believes Adesanya is not the same as he was when on a stellar run, defending the middleweight title five times. “Funkmaster” primarily noticed Adesanya’s reaction time slowing down compared to his older self. Sterling notes that Adesanya suddenly chose to stand and trade with Pyfer in the second round instead of being his usual elusive self. Sterling believes Adesanya could have won if he controlled the range for five…