Martial Arts News

From grinder to showstopper: Danny Sabatello made a statement on Saturday in Japan. | 📷: Rizin FF

Seeking to shake off his reputation as a one-dimensional wrestler, Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion Danny Sabatello put forth one of the most entertaining performances of his career in his main event victory Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: Landmark Vol. 15 in Hiroshima, Japan. Sabatello outstruck and outgrappled challenger Jinnosuke Kashimura before brutally knocking Kashimura out in the third round.

Sabatello (19-4-1, 5-0 Rizin) did face some adversity early in the first round. Kashimura (12-6, 2-2 Rizin) struck first with a head kick and a left hook, but his attempt to take Sabatello down led to the American reversing into top position. Kashimura quickly scrambled and trapped Sabatello in an inverted triangle choke, but the champion was unfazed and he worked his way free. On the feet, the Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League vete…

⚖️ #PFLAustin Official Weigh Ins

Interim PFL Middleweight World Title Main Event is official!

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Johnny Eblen: 184.2 lbsImpa Kasanganay: 183 lbs#PFLAustin | Saturday, July 18th | 📺Prelims 5:30 PM EST on the ESPN App | Main Card 8PM EST on ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/CY1YR1q6MZ — PFL (@PFLMMA) July 17, 2026 Johnny Eblen looks to win an interim Professional Fighters League middleweight championship on Saturday following the PFL Austin weigh-ins.

Originally set to face middleweight champ Costello van Steenis in a rematch of their 2025 fight, Eblen (17-1) will now take on Impa Kasanganay for a second time instead. Both men made weight for the rematch, which originally took place in 2024 during the PFL vs. Bellator event. All fighters made weight with the exception of Jesus Pinedo, who came in .8 pounds over for his featherweight contest against Joey Ruquet. He'll be fined a percentage of his purse as a result.

Eblen is 3-1…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship may be quietly allowing its 135-pound women’s division to wind down.

MMA Fighting initially reported on Friday that Irene Aldana (15-8), former bantamweight title challenger and top-ranked athlete, has retired at the age of 38. The news has since been confirmed by ESPN Deportes, who further indicated that Aldana is not done with combat sports overall.

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The perennial contender leaves this sport behind with her name littered throughout the record books in her division. One of the more active competitors in UFC women’s bantamweight history, Aldana boasts a litany of top-10 distinctions in categories like most appearances, knockdowns and many more. Despite her last appearance in September 2024, the Mexican boxer still holds the second-most significant strikes landed in her division’s history, 1,028 compared to the leader of Raquel Pennington at 1,148.[embedded content]Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Thro…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Valter Walker is not the type of guy who keeps his opinions to himself.

Parked outside of the UFC’s top 10 at heavyweight looking in, Walker spoke with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana on Thursday to discuss the plight of his division. With no active champion—Tom Aspinall has stated he informed the UFC he will be coming back soon, but there is no date on the calendar—and an interim title back in the works again, Walker sees that the division may be wide open. Even so, he sees a chasm of talent in his class, while holding off-and-on training partner Sergei Pavlovich in extremely high regard.

Walker first spoke about his own prospects, where he freely admitted that he is not where he feels he needs to be to challenge the best in his weight category.

“You have to know which doors to open,” Walker said in regards to what heavyweight has to offer him in the immediate future. “For example, I don’t think I’m ready to fight any…

Prepare for a dance-off before, after or even during the matchup.

The fourth Ultimate Fighting Championship card of September was announced by ESPN Knockout’s fighter-turned-commentator Gaston Reyno, who declared on social media on Friday the first pairing slotted into UFC Fight Night 289. The event, which will likely also be titled UFC Vegas 121, will go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 26. That matchup, which is not expected to be the main attraction, comes at 135 pounds between Norma Dumont (13-3) and Ailin Perez (13-2). The Argentinian has since confirmed this potential title eliminator on Instagram.

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War of the asses The two ladies have been eying one another in the logjammed bantamweight division since 2024, when Perez defeated Joselyne Edwards to push her win streak to three. Perez has called for the match repeatedly, even titling it “the war of the asses” in a past interview with MMA Junkie. Dumont has suggested that the matchup has…

A grand don't come for free.

Perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Volkan Oezdemir made a statement on Instagram Friday revealing the news of his failed drug test. He does so prior to any statements from the organization or its anti-drug testing wing of Combat Sports Anti-Doping. In February, he failed an out-of-competition test for EPO. The Swiss athlete assumed full responsibility for his actions and explained in detail what took place in this unusual situation. The UFC and CSAD have yet to provide a public statement on the matter, but indicated to MMA Junkie that they worked alongside the World Anti-Doping Agency to review this matter.

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The former light heavyweight title challenger will be out of action for 16 months effective his failed testing date, with CSAD reducing his suspension from 18 months, two years or greater due to his alleged complete cooperation in handling the case. In his statements, Oezdemir indicated that he was app…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had to dig deep to find someone to face Jan Blachowicz.

On Tuesday, the promotion indicated that the UFC Belgrade co-headliner of Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov would no longer be happening. Due to an injury to Khalil Rountree prior to his main attraction matchup against Magomed Ankalaev the week before, Guskov was pulled from that pairing and slotted against Ankalaev.

With Blachowicz needing a new dance partner, the organization announced on Friday that stepping up on a late notice will be Navajo Stirling (10-0). The two light heavyweights will tangle in the second-to-last match at UFC Fight Night 283, which will go down on Aug. 1 at the Belgrade Arena in the Serbian capital city.

From Guskov to Stirling: A Serbian filmThe former champ from Poland was expecting to rematch Guskov following a surprising majority draw in December. On the UFC 323 main card opener, Guskov dropped his foe in the second stanza and picked up a 10-8 score…

The Nigerian Nightmare at middleweight 🇳🇬@Usman84kg weighs in at 186lbs!

[ #UFCOKC | LIVE JULY 18 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/HEThuZ1dMw

— UFC (@ufc) July 17, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will look to put on a more satisfying main event than last week, as the UFC Oklahoma City card is now official following the official weigh-ins.

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The UFC OKC main event will see two former champions clash, as former welterweight king Kamaru Usman takes on ex-middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round middleweight main attraction. As for the rest of the card, lightweight Chase Hooper and featherweight Ezra Elliott missed weight by 1.5 pounds for their respective fights. As a result, they'll each be fined 20% of their purses.

"The Nigerian Nightmare" enters his latest headlining bout after outwrestling Joaquin Buckley last year. That unanimous decision victor…

Jared Cannonier isn't bothered by the impression that he's become a gatekeeper in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's middleweight division.

A former title challenger and longtime contender at 185 pounds, Cannonier will look to defend his place in the rankings when he meets rising prospect Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18. Rather than viewing the matchup as a springboard for Duncan, "The Killa Gorilla" sees it as another opportunity to prove he still belongs among the division's elite.

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Jared Cannonier says facing Christian Leroy Duncan is another chance to protect his UFC middleweight ranking and restart his title pursuit While many veteran fighters see being a divisional gatekeeper as a negative, Cannonier is taking it in his stride. The 42-year-old acknowledges that he’s struggled with consistency in his last few bouts, which set up the clash against the 30-year-old Brit riding a four-fight win streak.

“So here I am, the g…

The Professional Fighters League has finalized the lineup for its upcoming event in Austin, Texas, with one late change to the main card.

The promotion recently announced that Levy Saul Marroquin has been removed from the PFL Austin card on July 18 at Moody Center. As a result, Joey Ruquet will now face former PFL featherweight champion Jesus Pinedo in a 145-pound bout.

Sergio Pettis withdrawal and Levy Saul Marroquin removal alter the PFL Austin lineupThe main event features former Bellator MMA middleweight king Johnny Eblen running it back with 2023 PFL light heavyweight tournament winner Impa Kasanganay for the interim PFL middleweight championship. The bout was booked after undisputed champion Costello van Steenis was forced to the sidelines with an injury.

The co-headliner has undergone a change, with Rafael do Nascimento stepping in to face 2024 PFL Europe bantamweight champion Lewis McGrillene-Evans following Sergio Pettis' withdrawal due to injury.

Else…

Khamzat Chimaev is eager to settle unfinished business with Sean Strickland.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion suggested on Instagram that Strickland is avoiding a rematch following their clash at UFC 328 earlier this year.

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Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev rematch talk heats up after UFC 328 Chimaev had previously claimed the 185-pound belt with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Dricus Du Plessis, using his renowned ground game to dethrone the South African. However, "Borz" then dropped the championship to Strickland in a lackluster performance that he seemingly gassed out in, picking up the lone blemish on his pro record.

In pursuit of a rematch, Chimaev has now shared four photos from his five-round battle with Strickland along with a brief caption.

“Someone is running, I'm ready, just tell me where and when I'll be there,” he captioned his post.

Strickland previously revealed that he is reco…

Kamaru Usman isn't limiting himself to a single division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former UFC welterweight champion returns to middleweight against former champion Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC Oklahoma City main event on July 18. Rather than committing to one division, Usman says he’s interested in certain matchups across the 170 and 185-pound brackets.

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Kamaru Usman explains plans for welterweight and middleweight fights ahead of UFC Oklahoma City "The Nigerian Nightmare" snapped a three-fight skid with a unanimous decision over170-pound contender Joaquin Buckley in his most recent outing. Instead of staying at welterweight, he opted for a high-stakes matchup against du Plessis next. Usman wants to keep his options open, rather than restricting himself to just one division.

"For me, I've always said this. I'm a moneyweight fighter," Usman said in a recent interview. "So, it's not about '85 or '70. I can hit both. I'm not the bigge…