Martial Arts News

Rose Namajunas wants to rediscover her motivation before returning to competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The 34-year-old admitted during a recent podcast appearance that she has spent the past few months evaluating her future after multiple disappointing results and the lengthy recovery from injuries sustained in her last bout.

Rose Namajunas discusses injuries, recent losses and her UFC future Namajunas still intends to fight again, but she wants to make sure she has the right reason for returning. The former strawweight champion lost to Natalia Silva at UFC 324 in January and had to undergo surgery shortly after her fight with Silva to repair damage caused by an accidental eye poke.

“It was like a three-month process,” Namajunas said on the "Weighing In" podcast. “After the fight, I had to get this surgery right away. They put this weird silicone tube in my eye. It was a really easy surgery, though. It was just kind of uncomfortable. I couldn’t blow …

Alexander Poppeck (right) will make his UFC debut on Aug. 1. | 📷: PFL MMA

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming visit to Serbia will see new European talent make his Octagon debut.

Alexander Poppeck (21-5) recently signed with the UFC. The German is set to make his promotional debut against fellow UFC debutant Jovan Leka (13-2) at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena.

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Jovan Leka brings a six-fight winning streak into UFC Belgrade against Alexander Poppeck While Poppeck competes at light heavyweight, he will move up to heavyweight for his upcoming bout. Notably, the 34-year-old had suffered a knockout loss to Jamahal Hill on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2019.

One of the biggest names in Oktagon MMA, Poppeck is unbeaten in six outings (1 NC) since 2023, with four finishes. Meanwhile, Leka will have the Serbian home crowd rallying behind him and is on a six-fight winning streak with four finishes.

Leka earn…

Tyson Fury and Mariusz Wach face off ahead of their heavyweight fight. | 📷: Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty

Tyson Fury will give up a significant size advantage when he faces Mariusz Wach.

The former heavyweight champion weighed in at 265 pounds for the bout in Pattaya, Thailand, while Wach came in at a hefty 291.4 pounds, marking a 26.4-pound weight difference in favor of the Polish heavyweight.

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Tyson Fury faces Mariusz Wach after surrendering his usual size advantage Fury acknowledged the size disparity after the weigh-in for his fight with Wach on July 24. "The Gypsy King" highlighted that he’s working his way back to his optimum fighting weight after a lengthy hiatus from the squared circle.

“I've never faced a man heavier than me,” Fury said at the weigh-in (via Sky Sports). “I'm very happy to be fighting. I'm not banking on any fight happening or not happening. I'm a fighter, I want to keep busy. I've had one fight in over two years…

Kamaru Usman is weighing options regarding his future in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

After suffering a one-sided loss to Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC Oklahoma City main event, the former welterweight champion admitted that retirement is now a legitimate possibility as he evaluates the next step in his career.

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Kamaru Usman discusses retirement, Dricus Du Plessis loss and his UFC future Usman plans to consult his coaches before making a decision on his future. The Nigerian-American revealed that retirement is very much on the cards after his recent defeat.

“Right now, I just have to sit with the coaches, sit with the team, assess everything,” Usman said on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. “Assess the place where I’m at in my career. Just all in all, see whether it’s worth continuing to do this. Whether it’s worth continuing to put them through that.”

Usman explained that while previous defeats still left him with positives to build on, the…

Ismael Bonfim had a rough weight cut and missed the mark in his last outing.| 📷: Getty/UFC

Ismael Bonfim learned a lesson the hard way in his last fight.

Bonfim took on Chris Padilla in a lightweight bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship this past November. "Marreta" looked visibly weak and worn out as he weighed in at 161 pounds, missing the non-title lightweight limit by five pounds. The Brazilian was then picked apart by Padilla en route to a second-round stoppage loss.

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Bonfim recently recalled the weight-cut fiasco ahead of his last bout and has made the necessary changes to avoid missing weight again.Ismael Bonfim details failed weight cut before Chris Padilla UFC loss Bonfim revealed that he had relied heavily on dehydration, leaving 22 pounds to cut on fight week. He decided to stop cutting weight after his neck started cramping on the day of the weigh-in. “I relied too much on dehydration,” Bonfim told MMA Fighting. “I go…

Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria must prove himself before a rematch. | 📷: Getty/UFC

Justin Gaethje believes Ilia Topuria has to work his way back into title contention.

Gaethje challenged Topuria for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250. While Topuria was a massive betting favorite and nearly found a finish in the second round of their bout, Gaethje rallied to pile on the damage in the next two frames.

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The fight ultimately ended due to a corner stoppage before the final round and Gaethje was crowned the new undisputed champion. Topuria subsequently vowed to make amends in a rematch on social media, but the Georgian-Spaniard will need to return to the win column before another title shot, according to the new lightweight king.UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria must return to the win column Gaethje was recently asked if he would consider an immediate rematch against …

The fight game is an unforgiving one.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, PFL DC will no longer feature Thad Jean (10-0) vs. Shamil Musaev (18-1-1) in the main attraction. Due to problems from his weight cut, Musaev has been forced to withdraw from his welterweight championship affair headlining the card at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. In the Russian’s stead will be Ernesto Rodriguez (11-1), who first posted of his change in opponent and vastly elevated stakes on Wednesday night—he was expecting to battle Aaron McKenzie—and then fully confirmed the news shortly after its announcement. Jean did as well shortly thereafter on his Instagram Stories. PFL released a statement following those social media posts.

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A welterweight title fight headlines PFL Washington DC: Tune on Saturday, July 25 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This is one of numerous cancelations on fight week and earlier, as Professional Fighters League athletes Magomed Umalatov, Jack Cartwrigh…

Canelo Alvarez's return to the ring has been pushed back.

The former undisputed super middleweight champion has revealed that his bout against WBC 168-pound titleholder Christian Mbilli has been rescheduled for Oct. 31. The championship clash was originally slated for Sept. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before being postponed earlier this month.

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Canelo Alvarez postpones Christian Mbilli bout after family issue delays training camp According to Alvarez, family matters prevented him from beginning preparations for the bout, prompting the postponement.

“Some problems in my family came up,” Alvarez told Ariel Helwani. “I wasn’t ready to go into training camp because I needed to deal with that first.”

The fight will remain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is expected to air on DAZN via pay-per-view and the platform's Ultimate tier. Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) hasn't competed since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford in September 2025, a …

Dana White isn't changing his stance on the GOAT debate in MMA.

During a recent appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO once again declared Jon Jones the sport's undisputed GOAT despite their well-documented business disagreements over the years. White even compared Jones to an NBA Hall of Famer.

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Dana White’s Jon Jones GOAT argument and Michael Jordan comparison in MMA history White recently addressed the GOAT debate, upholding his earlier stance. He once again called Jones the greatest in the sport’s history.

“Me and Jon have our... there’s the business side and then there’s the personal side,” White said. “But even on the business side, I always respect Jon Jones. Jon Jones knows who he is and Jon Jones knows what he does, and there’s no delusion there. I’ve said it and I’ll say it again: He’s the greatest of all time.”

White acknowledged how Jones continued to win big despite issues outside the Octagon fre…

Josh Hokit claims Ryan Clark has fallen victim to a "curse."

The unbeaten Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight reacted to Clark's abrupt exit from ESPN by claiming that the former NFL player was the victim of retribution after criticizing his controversial post-fight comments at UFC Freedom 250.

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Josh Hokit’s ‘Hokit Curse’ claim follows Ryan Clark’s ESPN exit after UFC Freedom 250 criticism Hokit sparked widespread uproar at UFC Freedom 250 for his unsavory comments about former first lady Michelle Obama after his win over Derrick Lewis. Clark then criticized Hokit’s comments during a recent episode of his "The Pivot" podcast featuring UFC CEO Dana White.

Following Clark’s shocking departure from ESPN, Hokit shared his take, claiming the analyst deserved to be let go by the sports broadcaster.

“FOFO… Podcast with Dana aired a day after he was fired,” Hokit wrote on X. “Every podcast creates a script of questions days in advance of the s…

Gable Steveson will return to the wrestling mat following his triumphant debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the Olympic gold medalist has been added to the lineup for RAF 12, where he will meet former collegiate foe Anthony Cassioppi at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Aug. 22.

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Gable Steveson returns to Real American Freestyle for RAF 12 matchup with Anthony Cassioppi after UFC 329 victory After making his Octagon debut at UFC 329, Steveson is returning for a wrestling matchup with RAF before his next UFC fight. He will compete at RAF 12, which streams on Fox Nation, marking the first anniversary of the promotion.

Steveson will enter the matchup with momentum on his side. The decorated wrestler defeated Alexander Romanov at RAF 9 in May before making a statement in his Octagon debut at UFC 329, where he stopped Elisha Ellison via first-round knockout to improve to 4-0 as a professional.

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Andy Foster believes Herb Dean made the right call in the Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira bout.

The California State Athletic Commission executive director defended Dean's handling of the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane and Pereira. The UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing sequence.

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CSAC official says other referees would’ve done the same as Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250 Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and recent outings.

Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish. However, Fo…