Martial Arts News

Khamzat Chimaev has signed with Real American Freestyle weeks ahead of his first UFC title defense. 

Chimaev’s signing was announced during the RAF 8 broadcast on Saturday. The UFC middleweight champion is expected to make his debut at RAF 10 on June 13 in St. Louis. 

Chimaev’s close friend Arman Tsarukyan defeated Urijah Faber via technical fall (13-1) at RAF 8. Tsarukyan has been extremely active at RAF while he remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture.  Meanwhile, Chimaev (15-0) is scheduled to defend his middleweight title for the first time against Sean Strickland (30-7) in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Chimaev dominantly dethroned Dricus Du Plessis to win the title at UFC 319 last year. 

The Wolf is Coming

The Wolf is coming to RAF. pic.twitter.com/F1niSf7osV

— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA) April 19, 2026

Four fighters walked away with bonuses at UFC Winnipeg.

Mike Malott (14-2) took on veteran Gilbert Burns (22-10) in front of a home crowd in the main UFC Winnipeg main event on Saturday. Malott picked apart Burns from the opening bell and gradually broke the Brazilian down before finishing him in the third round. Malott earned a $100k Performance of the Night bonus for his victory over “Durinho.” Meanwhile, Burns laid down his gloves following a seven-fight slump to wrap up his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure that spanned more than a decade.

Canada’s Charles Jourdain (18-8) took on Kyler Phillips (12-5) in a bantamweight tilt in the co-main event. While Phillips tried to control Jourdain on the ground, “Air” scrambled throughout the fight, never accepting bottom position. Jourdain also put on an entertaining display with flying knees and rolling thunders, eventually landing more damage to earn a unanimous decision win. The bout was awarded the Fight of the Nigh…

Mike Malott proved he could more than handle the stressors of a top-of-the-ticket assignment in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The burgeoning Niagara Top Team star put away Gilbert Burns with punches in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 273 headliner on Saturday at the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Malott (14-2-1, 7-1 UFC) brought it to a decisive close 2:08 into Round 3, as he logged the most significant victory of his 17-fight career.

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Burns (22-10, 15-10 UFC) tried and ultimately failed to keep the Canadian at bay with leg kicks. Malott employed bulletproof takedown defense and chipped away at the four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with accurate combination punching. By the time the middle stanza rolled around, damage had begun to build on Burns’ face. Malott dropped the Kill Cliff Fight Club mainstay with a right uppercut and left hook, allowed him to stand, reset and resumed his assault. An overhand right droppe…

Sherdog's live UFC Winnipeg coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 273. Jamie Siraj (136) vs. John Yannis (136) BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Siraj (-250); Yannis (+200)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result John Castaneda (139) vs. Mark Vologdin (138.5) BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Castaneda (-120); Vologdin (+100)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the …

Marcio Barbosa swings a mighty sledgehammer, even at 5-foot-6, 145 pounds.

The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate shined in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he zapped Dennis Buzukja for a sensational one-punch knockout in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 273 prelim on Saturday at the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Barbosa (18-2, 1-0 UFC) drew the curtain 1:20 into Round 1.

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Buzukja (12-6, 1-4 UFC) tested the water with a one-two and a front kick to the body, then allowed himself to be lured into a close-quarters exchange. Barboza found the off switch with a clean left hook. Buzukja collapsed to the canvas, his eyes open, the thousand-yard stare in full effect. No follow-up shots were required.

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 32 finalist Robert Valentin turned away Julien Leblanc with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight scrap. Leblanc (10-3, 0-1 UFC), who climbed into the…

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Arman Tsarukyan just cannot seem to avoid making headlines wherever he goes.

On Thursday, Russian journalist Adam Zubayraev posted a video purportedly showing Tsarukyan’s ejection from an American Airlines commercial aircraft. Per Zubayraev, he and two friends—American Airlines later noted four individuals were involved—were forced to disembark the flight before departure. The initial reason given was that Tsarukyan would not get off his phone during the takeoff procedure, despite the airline staff telling all fliers that they must disable all electronic devices or place them on airplane mode.

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Tsarukyan and his team were en route from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. The fighter still plans on headlining Real American Freestyle 8, the professional wrestling organization which has gained crossover interest from athletes domestic and abroad. Tsarukyan will be wrestling Urijah Faber in their main attraction on Satu…

Professional Fighters League will next be stopping off in South Dakota in a couple weeks.

The organization completed its lineup of 12 matches for its PFL Sioux Falls offering on May 2. The fights are scheduled to take place inside of the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota’s most populous city of Sioux Falls—it is not, however, its capital, as that honor falls to Pierre. Capping off the jaunt to the home state of Mount Rushmore will be a local staple against a PFL Europe champ, as Logan Storley (18-4) looks to defend home turf against Albania’s Florim Zendeli (9-1-1).

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Interim Bellator MMA welterweight titlist Storley was absorbed into the PFL following the merger, joining its roster in 2024. After getting knocked out by the first time in his career at the hands of Shamil Musaev, Storley turned things around to enter the final welterweight bracket of the main tourney. While he reached the finals, Thad Jean turned him away on the scorecards.

It has bee…

Main event ready 💪@GilbertDurinho | 171 lbs

[ #UFCWinnipeg | APRIL 18 | 8pmET LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ou3V3Bjxzp

— UFC (@ufc) April 17, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Canada is now officially set following the UFC Winnipeg weigh-ins.

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Headlining the UFC Fight Night event is a welterweight fight between Gilbert Burns and Mike Malott. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round bout, which sees them meet at very different points in their careers. All 12 bouts are now official after every fighter on the card made their contracted weight.

Burns (22-9) enters his latest UFC main event in desperate need of a win. "Durinho" has come up short against the cream of the crop at welterweight as Belal Muhammad, Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and Michael Morales all handily defeated the 39-year-old. The fan-favorite Brazilian fighter will look to show he still has gas in the tank a…

If anyone knows just how bad Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ Carlos Ulberg’s injury is, it is someone who is going through the same thing.

The newly minted 205-pound king Ulberg starred in one of the most remarkable and improbable scenes in recent memory when he sustained a major injury to his knee in his championship bout atop UFC 327. What very well could be a serious ligament rupture was no reason for Ulberg to quit the fight, as he continued fighting and managed to knock out Jiri Prochazka to claim the vacant belt. His timetable for recovery is currently unknown, but he has already completed surgery, posting about it on Thursday on his Instagram Stories.

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Ulberg is far from the only top-tier fighter to go through this, and not even the lone combatant to blow out his knee recently. Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos ruptured his ACL in his last outing, succumbing to the knee injury 90 seconds into his UFC 308 conte…

If the lineup holds together, the next Professional Fighters League card in Europe will have the majority of red corner athletes sporting surnames starting with the letter “a.”

Per a press release on Thursday, the PFL has finalized its 12-fight lineup for the May 23 show at the ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium. PFL Brussels will be headlined by a non-title, non-tournament main event pitting undefeated Belgian up-and-comer Patrick Habirora (8-0) against 42-year-old former champion Benson Henderson (30-12).

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Making his pro debut in January 2024, Habirora has rattled off eight victories, seven inside the distance, including four under the PFL Europe banner. The 25-year-old exploded onto the PFL scene last year thanks to a pair of first-round knockouts of Danny Roberts and Kevin Jousset. He has only fought beyond the first round twice as a professional.

While Habirora got his start at the beginning of 2024, it has been since March 2023 that Henderson ha…

This time, it was Darragh Kelly who got mauled.

Taking over for Paul Hughes in the PFL Belfast main attraction, Kelly (9-1, 2-1 PFL) put his flawless record on the line in a dangerous lightweight outing against Jay-Jay Wilson (12-2, 2-1 PFL). Kelly may not have closed as the betting favorite, as lines moved quite closely coming into fight night, but he was the favored man at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Fans were on the side of the “Moville Mauler” from the get-go, even with Wilson attempting to win the crowd over with his walkout of Neil Diamond’s singalong “Sweet Caroline.” All that proved for naught when Wilson smashed Kelly in the ribs with his shin and knocked Kelly into unconscious with his left hand.

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The main event for Professional Fighters League’s second trip to Northern Ireland did not end quite as successfully for local audiences as their first, when the aforementioned Hughes smashed his foe in 42 seconds. Wilson proudly s…

Sherdog's live PFL Belfast coverage will begin Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

A high-stakes lightweight clash headlines PFL Belfast: Tune in Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry score…