Martial Arts News

Edgar Berlanga overcame an early scare to score a statement victory, while Richardson Hitchins impressed in his welterweight bout at Zuffa Boxing 9.

Zuffa Boxing graced The Big Apple on July 26, putting on an event at Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden.

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Zuffa Boxing 9 Results: Edgar Berlanga stops Steven Butler, Richardson Hitchins wins side Berlanga rallied following a knockdown to stop Steven Butler via technical knockout in the seventh round of a super middleweight bout. Berlanga responded with relentless pressure after being dropped, gradually breaking Butler down before scoring a knockdown of his own in Round 6.

In the co-main event, Hitchins turned in a dominant performance, cruising to a unanimous decision over Ricardo Salas. Using his superior speed, reach and jab, the New Yorker outboxed Salas from bell to bell, earning identical 100-90 scores on all three judges' cards.

Elsewhere on the card, Jalil Hackett earned a unanimous de…

Valter Walker has issued a warning to his heavyweight peers in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for when the fight hits the mat.

The Brazilian submission specialist continued his remarkable streak at UFC Abu Dhabi, forcing a tap from Thomas Petersen with a rare calf slicer in the first round. This marked only the fourth successful calf slicer in Octagon history and extended Walker's streak of sub victories to five straight.

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Valter Walker says he has an answer when opponents defend his heel hook. Walker (16-1) secured four consecutive wins via heel hooks going into UFC Abu Dhabi and added yet another leg-based submission conquest to his record with his victory over Petersen. “The Foot Hunter” later explained that the finish came after his American counterpart successfully defended the heel hook.

“If you’re ready for the heel hook, I have a variation to find a way to win the fight,” Walker said in a post-fight interview. “If the fight is on the gr…

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin saw several fighters make a statement at PFL Washington D.C.

The PFL put on a show at CareFirst Arena in the American capital, where Thad Jean (12-0) and Ernesto Rodriguez (11-2) fought for the vacant welterweight title in the main event. Rodriguez accepted the matchup on 48 hours’ notice after Jean’s original opponent, Shamil Musaev, pulled out due to weight cut issues.

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The PFL CEO believes Shamil Musaev deserves the next title shot Jean survived a knockdown scare in the second round and pounded out an exhausted Rodriguez to earn a stoppage win in the third period. Martin appreciates Rodriguez for stepping up to save the main event, although the Cuban was originally supposed to fight Aaron McKenzie on the same card. Martin also praised Jean for accepting a sudden change of opponent and would like to see him defend his title against Musaev next.

“Let’s start with Ernesto… 48 hours ago, he was preparing …

Rizvan Kuniev bagged his second win in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, getting his hand raised at UFC Abu Dhabi, but he isn’t entirely content with his performance.

Kuniev secured a finish against Tyrell Fortune at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The back-and-forth heavyweight clash was later awarded Fight of the Night, with both heavyweights having their moments before the third-round stoppage.

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Rizvan Kuniev reflects on mistakes after Tyrell Fortune stoppage at UFC Abu Dhabi Fortune (18-4) proved to be a solid test for the Russian, who eventually landed two back-to-back knees to prompt the referee to intervene. Despite finding a finish, Kuniev (14-3) later admitted that he expects more from himself moving forward, especially considering his championship aspirations.

“Of course I made some mistakes,” Kuniev said in a post-fight interview. “Because I rushed sometimes too fast into the fight, but we will work it out and as my coach said, I’m on top n…

Ramazonbek Temirov has highlighted what separates himself from the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division.

Temirov delivered a resounding statement against former title challenger Steve Erceg at UFC Abu Dhabi. The Uzbek prospect secured a first-round knockout, taking his professional record to 20-3. In a post-fight interview, he discussed the X-factor he possesses at 125 pounds.

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Ramazonbek Temirov’s knockout ability stands out after UFC Abu Dhabi win over Steve Erceg Temirov put his Australian counterpart to sleep with a crushing right hand in the co-main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, extending his UFC record to 3-0 and earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts. Speaking after the victory, he explained why he feels he's different from the rest of the division, emphasizing how flyweights rarely pull off one-shot knockouts as he did against Erceg.

“I haven’t seen all the fighters just fighting like me. Just striking p…

Magomed Zaynukov couldn't have asked for a better start to his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

The unbeaten Dagestani prospect earned a unanimous decision over Damian Rzepecki in his Octagon debut at UFC Abu Dhabi, neutralizing his opponent's grappling while showcasing the polished striking that saw him earn a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.

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Magomed Zaynukov breaks down his unanimous decision victory over Damian Rzepecki in his UFC debut Following his victory over Rzepecki, Zaynukov shed light on the preparation that went into his UFC debut.

“I thought they liked me only that much in America, but they also like me in Abu Dhabi as well,” Zaynukov said in a post-fight interview. “And I really wanted to show a good performance. I know a lot of people were counting on me, a lot of people were waiting for me to debut. I worked really, really hard. I had a crazy hard camp. I had really good sparring. Good sparring partners. …

Carlos Ulberg isn't rushing his return to the Octagon.

The reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder provided an update on his recovery from an ACL injury following UFC Abu Dhabi, revealing that he is targeting an early 2027 return to action.

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Carlos Ulberg discusses ACL recovery and UFC light heavyweight title plans Ulberg suffered the injury in his title-winning knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka earlier this year. He recently emphasized that he does not want to risk any further injury and hence plans to take his time. In a recent interview with UFC's Charly Arnolt, “Black Jag” gave an update on his injury.

“I’m just making sure I do everything I need to keep on task with my injury, but then also just been working closely with the UFC PI and make sure I can get back in there as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible,” Ulberg said. “We’re looking at early next year, so 2027 if we’re being smart, so we don…

The lineup for the opening two weeks of the 10th season of Dana White’s Contender Series has been unveiled.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the bout order during the UFC Abu Dhabi broadcast, confirming 10 fights across the first two episodes of the annual prospect series, which returns to Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 11. Each event will stream live on Paramount+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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DWCS Season 10 opening fights feature Anthony Wint vs. Matthew Adams and 10 UFC hopefuls Dana White's Contender Series has become one of the UFC's primary talent pipelines, producing numerous ranked contenders and champions, including current light heavyweight king Carlos Ulberg.

The upcoming season opener is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Anthony Wint and Matthew Adams, while lightweight prospects Fabrizio Escarrega and Abe Alsaghir meet in the co-main event. The second episode’s headliner sees Namo Fazil taking on Kaik Brito, wi…

Jean Silva won’t desert his teammate out of fear of getting embroiled in controversy.

Silva’s Fighting Nerds teammate Ilay Barzilay (7-1) is from Israel, and like some athletes from the country, Barzilay is facing backlash amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Barzilay is scheduled to fight Lucas Almeida (15-5) at Gordon Fight Nights 1 on July 27 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv and Silva is set to corner Barzilay for his upcoming fight.

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A fan recently noted that Silva being in the Israeli capital will likely see him be labeled a ‘Zionist’ in Brazil. However, the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight refused to part ways with his longtime teammate. “Lord” also says that he had to go to Israel as none of their other Fighting Nerds teammates could make it. The Brazilian also believes a win over Almeida could earn Barzilay a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series.

“I'm here 100% because of the fight of the Fighting Nerds fighter…

Carlos Ulberg has a pitch for how the Ultimate Fighting Championship should handle the light heavyweight title mix.

The reigning champion believes none of the division's top-ranked contenders have done enough to earn a title shot, so he proposed a solution, essentially laying out a four-man tournament to determine his next opponent.

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Carlos Ulberg’s UFC matchmaking idea targets Magomed Ankalaev, Jiri Prochazka and more Ulberg took on the role of a matchmaker and offered some suggestions for how the top of the division should be matched up to determine the next title challenger in a new Instagram post. This came shortly after Magomed Ankalaev's win at UFC Abu Dhabi, where the Kiwi was in attendance.

"After last night's fights, here's my thoughts," Ulberg wrote on Instagram. "Ankalaev vs. Jiri. Give them both full camps. It's a fight the division deserves, and stylistically, it's one the fans would love to see. Costa vs. Rountree. That's a wildcard. …

THAD JEAN GAVE 110% 🔋

WHAT A BATTLE#PFLDC | Main Card LIVE NOW on ESPN pic.twitter.com/iTAj3uzkjn

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 26, 2026

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Thad Jean overcomes late replacement Ernesto Rodriguez after Shamil Musaev withdraws to capture the PFL welterweight championship Carefirst Arena in Washington, D.C., was the venue for Professional Fighters League's latest “Summer Series” fight night on Saturday, July 25.

In the main event, two of the top welterweights in the world were due to battle it out as 2025 tournament champion Thad Jean was set to fight 2024 tourney king Shamil Musaev, but the latter had complications with his weight cut and was replaced by Ernesto Rodriguez.

We were initially scheduled to an incredible fight on paper, but what we got in practice was somehow even more special as Jean and Rodriguez went to war from the bell. Jean was rattled by Rodriguez right hands multiple times in the opening frame, but gave a…

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It wasn’t especially compelling viewing, but Magomed Ankalaev (21-2-1) showed beyond a doubt that he is simply too much for the vast majority of light heavyweights to handle.

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In the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday at Etihad Arena, the recently dethroned champ faced Bogdan Guskov (18-4-1), who was promoted from next week’s Belgrade card to headliner duty when Khalil Rountree withdrew from the fight last month. Guskov had the opportunity to jump the line to a title shot if he could defeat Ankalaev, but there never appeared to be even the slightest chance, as the Dagestani dominated virtually every moment of the fight.

The first round was a tense affair, as Ankalaev employed his usual methodical approach on the feet while Guskov constantly switched stances and moved in and out of range, looking for an opportunity to land one of his trademark power shots. The haymaker never came, but Guskov landed enough kicks to…