Martial Arts News

Chris Avila has stayed active in boxing in recent years. | Esther Lin/Fanmio

Most Valuable Promotions has finalized its first-ever mixed martial arts card with a matchup of two UFC veterans.

Chris Avila will lock horns with Brandon Jenkins in a 165-pound catchweight bout at the May 16 event, which takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. MVP confirmed the booking on Saturday. Avila had previously been slated for the event but did not have an opponent when the card was initially announced.

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Well-Traveled Veterans A training partner of Nate Diaz, Avila fought twice for the UFC in 2016, dropping decisons to Artem Lobov and Enrique Barzola. The 33-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight team represenetative has compiled an 8-9 record over the course of his professional tenure, also competing for organizations such as Bellator and Combate Americas. His last pro MMA appearance came in 2021, but he has remained active in professional boxing since t…

Steve Erceg is done putting his opponents on a pedestal. 

Erceg had a wildcard entry into the UFC flyweight title picture. “Astro Boy” challenged Alexandre Pantoja for the title in his fourth UFC fight and came up short. Erceg then went on to drop two more against top contender Kai Kara-France and former champ Brandon Moreno. The Australian has since rebounded with a narrow unanimous decision win over Ode Osbourne, who fought him on 11 days’ notice. 

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Erceg (13-4) is now scheduled to fight veteran Tim Elliott (21-13) at UFC Perth on May 2. Erceg plans to have less respect for his opponents going forward. Having fought a streak of elite opponents, Erceg admits that he put them on a pedestal going into his fights. However, the 30-year-old has now realized that he can hold his own against the best fighters in the world.Just Normal People “Less respect for my opponents [going forward], basically,” Erceg told Australian MMA. “There has to be a re…

⚖️#PFLPittsburgh Weigh Ins Underway!

Middleweight Main Event:🇺🇸Johnny Eblen: 185.8 lbs🇺🇸Bryan Battle: 186 lbs

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PFL Pittsburgh will air LIVE this Saturday, March 28th on ESPN 2#PFLPittsburgh | Saturday, March 28th | UPMC Events Center | Pittsburgh, PA | 10PM EST pic.twitter.com/3RRmcjjvzZ — PFL (@PFLMMA) March 27, 2026

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

The Professional Fighters League's second event in March is now set following the PFL Pittsburgh weigh-ins.

The main event of the 12-fight card will see former middleweight king Johnny Eblen take on fellow contender Bryan Battle. Both men will be looking to earn a title shot and had no issue making weight. All other fighters also made weight for the event.

Eblen (16-1) is coming off suffering the first defeat in his career to Costello van Steenis. "Pressure" tapped to a rear-naked choke…

Making weight in style 🤩@Stylebender weighs in at 186lbs!

[ #UFCSeattle | TOMORROW 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/S6bwvXMtCF

— UFC (@ufc) March 27, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Washington is now official after the UFC Seattle weigh-ins took place on Friday.

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Headlining the 13-fight card is a bout between former champ Israel Adesanya and middleweight prospect Joe Pyfer. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight without issue. All other fighters on the card were also professionals, as everyone made weight.

Adesanya (24-5) is in desperate need of a win as he's on a three-fight losing streak. Surprising losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis saw the reign of "The Last Stylebender" come to an end. Now 36, and coming off a TKO defeat to Nassourdine Imavov, the City Kickboxing product will look to show that he still has more left in the tank by taking a slight ste…

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Diego Sanchez has not received jail time for his offenses last year.

In July 2025, Sanchez was arrested for firing a pistol out of his window while riding past an automobile accident on an Albuquerque, New Mexico, highway. The arrest reports verified the weapon in question and identified recently spent bullet casings, while the driver, friend Derrick Montoya, admitted to the arresting officer that Sanchez had discharged his weapon and laughed about it.

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The prosecutors sought a sentence of two years in prison based on the fourth-degree felony charge of discharging a firearm at or from a motor vehicle. He was also charged with a misdemeanor of negligent use of a deadly weapon, but per MMAJunkie, the latter was dismissed when Sanchez agreed to a guilty plea for the former.The price I have to pay Per local outlet KRQE, Sanchez was ultimately sentenced with five years of supervised probation, while he also will be …

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Jack Cartwright wants to build on his momentum in the Professional Fighters League.

The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder will do battle with Allan Begosso at a 140-pound catchweight in the featured PFL Pittsburgh prelim on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center. Cartwright has prepared himself for long-term success, and seeing fellow countrymen like Brendan Loughnane excel inside the PFL only spurs his motivation. He liked what he saw from the company in his promotional debut, as he bested Caolan Loughran by unanimous decision at PFL Champions Series 3 on Oct. 3 in the United Arab Emirates.

[embedded content] “It was really good, and I really enjoyed it,” Cartwright told Sherdog.com. “It was really nice, as you can imagine. Everything was professionally run. Everyone treated me really nice. I hit the ground running, th…

Only a few more grains of sand remain in the Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino hourglass.

The Brazilian icon will square off with Paulina Cardona for the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association super welterweight championship this Saturday in Curitiba, Brazil. Cyborg enters the ring with a perfect 7-0 record as a pro boxer, having stopped five opponents by knockout. Only Cardona stands between the decorated mixed martial artist and her first boxing title.

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“This belt will be special if I win it, God willing,” Cyborg told Sherdog.com. “It’s the belt that Laila Ali, Holly Holm and Amanda Serrano have held. They are legends of the sport.”

Cyborg, who turns 41 in July, has entered a period of reflection as she closes in on the end of her combat sports race. More than two decades have passed since she made her MMA debut.

“This whole time, I’ve always been at the top, or very near the top,” Cyborg said. “I feel a lot of gratitude. I never stopped…

It’s officially official: Professional Fighters League and Rizin Fighting Federation are co-promoting.

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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During a press conference on Thursday, Rizin officials announced that their former bantamweight champion, Naoki Inoue (20-5), would be departing its confines to take a match outside of Asia. The organization will now be working with PFL for the time being, lending Inoue to the former tournament-based league to take on a home-grown talent. Inoue will be squaring off with 2025 bantamweight tourney victor Marcirley Alves (15-4) at PFL Brussels in Belgium’s capital city on May 23.

Kill Cliff FC product Inoue saw his four-fight win streak come to a grinding halt when he lost a split decision to Danny Sabatello in December. First winning the strap by knocking out Soo Chul Kim in 2024, Inoue registered a pair of defenses against Yuki Motoya and Ryu…

Cette différence de hauteur 👀

Premier face-à-face de la semaine du combat entre Sebastian Fundora et Keith Thurman🥸 pic.twitter.com/wqSf9bke4Y

— Boxing_Mma 74 (@DarlyMungo95043) March 26, 2026 Sebastian Fundora's third WBC super welterweight title defense is officially set.

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Both Fundora (23-1-1) and challenger Keith Thurman successfully made weight for their title clash. It will be Fundora's third title defense. Fundora came in at 153.6 pounds, while Thurman (31-1) weighed 152.6 pounds. While the weights are similar, Fundora will have an 11-inch reach difference and stands six inches taller.

Fundora has held the WBC's super welterweight title for a second time since March 2024 after he won a split decision over Tim Tszyu. A TKO win over Chordale Booker followed before a rematch against Tszyu, who retired after the seventh round of their 12-round title fight. His only defeat came in 2023 to Brian Mendoza, who knocked …

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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A long-awaited return may soon reveal whether or not the whole absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder proverb rings true for Natan Schulte.

The two-time Professional Fighters League lightweight tournament winner will climb into the cage for the first time in almost three years when he confronts the undefeated Jakub Kaszuba in a featured PFL Pittsburgh prelim on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center. Schulte rose to prominence when he was the company’s last man standing at 155 pounds in 2018 and 2019, resulting in two seven-figure paydays.

“The PFL wasn’t that well known, even by professional fighters,” Schulte told Sherdog.com. “After I was the champion in both of those years, I went from being just another fighter outside the UFC to being recognized internationally. The main change for me was being able to dedicate myself full-time to trainin…

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Bryan Battle could not ask for more in terms of a promotional debut.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 winner and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran will draw his first assignment under the Professional Fighters League flag when he meets former Bellator MMA titleholder Johnny Eblen in the PFL Pittsburgh main event on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center. It signals a new chapter in Battle’s life and career.

“I’ll tell you what, it feels so good to be with the PFL,” he told Sherdog.com. “I wish I could’ve fought sooner. I’m happy to be here, and I’m ready to rock and roll. I’m ready to compete. I’m hungry. I’m ready to get after it. I’m happy that the first fight is here.”[embedded content] After departing from the UFC on the heels of a tumultuous, up-and-down tenure with the company, Battle found a new home in the PFL. His only mission…

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

Sumiko Inaba already tested herself against the best the Professional Fighters League women’s flyweight division has to offer, and she hopes to learn from those lessons.

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Inaba will welcome Ultimate Fighting Championship castoff Ariane Lipski da Silva to the promotion when they collide in a featured PFL Pittsburgh attraction on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center. Armed with a Top 5 ranking at 125 pounds, she plans to break through to the top of the weight class. Inaba last appeared at PFL Champions Series 2, where she dropped a three-round unanimous decision to budding superstar Dakota Ditcheva on July 19. Though she fell short in her bid to upset the undefeated American Top Team export, the insight the bout provided was invaluable.[embedded content] “It was an amazing experience to fight someone at that level, to test myself at that level. I …