Martial Arts News

Nkosi Ndebele will look to build upon his PFL Africa championship in 2026. | PFL

The second season of PFL Africa is set to kick off this spring.

The PFL announced on Tuesday that the promotion will return to the continent for an event at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa on April 10. The card will be headlined by a bantamweight showcase bout between inaugural PFL Africa bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele and Michele Clemente. In the co-main event, Justin Clarke will lock horns with Abdoulaye Kane at heavyweight. Broadcast information — as well as additional bouts — are expected to be announced soon.

Advertisement

“PFL Africa reflects the ambition, energy, and identity of the continent,” said PFL Africa general manager Elias Schulze in a release. “It’s more than MMA — it’s a fast-rising cultural platform built around Africa’s elite athletes, delivering world-class entertainment that extends far beyond the cage. As we grow, we’re uniting sp…

Mike Tyson came up short against Jake Paul in his last fight. | Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

Two of the biggest names in boxing history are reportedly set to collide in a bizarre exhibition match. 

Rumors of an exhibition boxing match between Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather have been floating around for a while now. Boxing reporter Mike Coppinger recently confirmed that the matchup has been scheduled for April 25 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Breaking the news on @InsideRingShow with details on the Mike Tyson-Floyd Mayweather exhibition in the Democratic Republic of Congo on April 25. pic.twitter.com/pbAPoRFm71

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) February 16, 2026

Tyson’s title reign was one of the most violent in the history of boxing. The former heavyweight champion officially retired from the sport in 2005. The 59-year-old has since competed in exhibition boxing matches against Roy Jones Jr. and Jak…

Zabit Magomedsharipov might not be done with combat sports just yet. 

Magomedsharipov is set to return to competition after a lengthy hiatus, but not in MMA. Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu recently announced that they have signed Magomedsharipov.

Advertisement

ACBJJ president Zaurbek Khasiev wrote in a statement on social media: “Major decisions are made in silence. Negotiations are complete. Zabit Magomedsharipov joins ACBJJ. We’re assembling the elite, stay tuned.” An Early Exit Magomedsharipov (18-1) is considered one of the biggest what ifs in the history of MMA. Few have retired from the sport as early and as abruptly as the Dagestani star. Magomedsharipov has finished 13 of his 18 career wins while suffering one professional loss. Magomedsharipov was undefeated in six UFC outings with wins over Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar, which had made him relevant in the featherweight title picture.

However, Magomedsharipov was just 28 when…

Jorge Masvidal is bringing his bareknuckle MMA promotion back to life. | Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com

After a hiatus that lasted well over a year, Jorge Masvidal is reviving Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger revealed to MMAjunkie.com that his organization will return on April 10 in the Dominican Republic, with another event planned for May 1 in Miami. The promotion’s relaunch is highlighted by two $500,000 tournaments, which will feature 16 fighters in brackets at heavyweight and lightweight.

Masvidal announced four of the heavyweight pairings on Monday: Anthony Smith vs. Chase Sherman; Guto Inocente vs. Mohammed Usman; Alexandr Romanov vs. Nikolay Kovalenko, and Todd Duffee vs. Bruno Cappelozza. Smith is the biggest surprise of the field: The former UFC light heavyweight title challenger retired last year.

The last Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA event was held on Nov. 15, 2024 at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, M…

Michael Chiesa will call it a career after his fight at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

Michael Chiesa plans on hanging up the four-ounce gloves in his home state next month.

“The Ultimate Fighter 15” winner will Carlston Harris in a welterweight bout at UFC Seattle on March 28, and he confirmed during an appearance on the “Anik & Florian Podcast” that it will be his retirement fight.

Advertisement

’It’s Like the Universe is Telling Me Something’ "Yeah, this is my last fight. I've been kind of on the fence about it. It's a hard decision to make," Chiesa said. "I had my first fight when I was 20 years old in 2008. All good things come to an end. I wanted to fight out this contract. I just signed a new deal before the Court McGee fight. That was my plan: ‘I’m going to fight out this deal, then I'm done.' It's not like I want to go into free agency – I love where I'm at. I love the UFC. I have no reason to want to go fight anywhere else. I want …

Nate Diaz is looking for a fight.

At least that was the message from the Stockton, California, native when he briefly spoke to TMZ Sports on the red carpet during a party over Super Bowl weekend.

Advertisement

“I’m ready to get back in real action,” Diaz said in a video that was posted on Monday. “I want to fight either [Conor] McGregor 3. I want to fight maybe Dustin Poirier, if he stops being such a p—y, and then maybe Mike Perry. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

Diaz rose to superstardom thanks to his rivalry with McGregor, particularly when he submitted for the former two-division champion in their first meeting at UFC 196 in March 2016. Diaz would lose the rematch to the Dublin native via majority decision at UFC 202. While McGregor has seemed intent on fighting at the UFC’s White House event, the “Notorious” hasn’t competed since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

As for Poirier, the popular Louisiana native retired from the spo…

Jailton Almeida went 8-3 during his UFC tenure. | Getty/UFC

Not even the promise of a change in weight classes was enough to save Jailton Almeida.

According to an initial report from Laerte Viana, the UFC has released the 34-year-old Brazilian on the heels of back-to-back losses to Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev. Meanwhile, MMAjunkie.com has confirmed that the promotion already has informed Almeida of its decision.

The news comes a couple days after the announcement that Almeida was planning to return to the light heavyweight division, where he began his UFC career.

“Malhadinho” earned a UFC contract by winning a light heavyweight fight on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2021. He was successful in his Octagon debut at 205 pounds, finishing Danilo Marques in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 200 in February 2022. After one 220-pound catchweight victory, the Brazilian moved to the heavyweight division, where he has compiled a 5-3…

Professional Fighters League continues to build the talent pool in its women’s flyweight division.

The promotion has signed former Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight queen Cheyanne Bowers, with a debut date and opponent to be determined. The PFL confirmed the new addition following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

A Knack for Submissions Bowers owns a 7-2 professional mark, with all but one of her bouts taking place under the LFA banner. The 31-year-old known as “The Boss” captured 125-pound gold with a first-round submission of Veronika Borisova at LFA 193 in September 2024. After losing the strap to Shannon Clark in her first title defense, Bowers rebounded to post back-to-back submission victories against Elizabeth Rodriguez and Maritza Sanchez in her next two outings. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has finished five of her career wins via submission.

Bowers will join a PFL women’s flyweight division that includes the likes of Dakota Ditcheva, Liz Carmouche, Tail…

Dana White thinks the UFC White House card will be the promotion's most-watched event of all-time. | Jim Watson/ AFP via getty

As one might expect, Dana White has high hopes for the UFC’s historic event at the White House.

The UFC CEO is expected to begin matchmaking in earnest for the highly-anticipated card this week, with bouts potentially being finalized by the weekend. Ever since the UFC White House event was announced by President Donald Trump, there has been plenty of speculation regarding what the final product will look like, and there have been numerous fighters campaigning to be on the card. Regardless of what the final lineup looks like, White expects the event to be a boon for broadcast partner Paramount.

Advertisement

“We’re going to figure that all out this week. This is like a one-of-one event,” White recently said on CBS Sports. “It’s something that will never happen again. Building this card — we had this video rendering of what it …

Javid Basharat was released from the UFC despite a winning record in the promotion. | Getty/UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is moving on from some fighters following its most recent event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion has parted ways with Javid Basharat, Alex Morono and Lucas Almeida. Sherdog.com contributor Tom Feely initially brought word of the releases, which were later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. It’s unclear if the aforementioned fighters were cut, or if the UFC simply elected not to renew their respective contracts.

Basharat snapped a two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 266 this past Saturday, earning a unanimous decision triumph against short-notice opponent Gianni Vazquez. The Dana White's Contender Series alum compiled a 4-2 mark with one no contest in the Octagon. However, all four of his triumphs came via decision.

No Last Dance Morono, meanwhile, displayed plenty of heart but was largely outmatched in a unanimous decision loss t…

On Tuesday, Flávio Alvaro revealed exclusively to Sherdog.com that he believes Jean Silva and Mauricio Ruffy will eventually overcome their disagreement regarding Ruffy's trip to Australia to train with Alexander Volkanovski.

With Ruffy's return to São Paulo, the coach believes the two will reconcile for the greater good of The Fighting Nerds team's health. During on appearance on Ag.Fight’s "Direto de Las Vegas" podcast, Silva didn’t hesitate when asked to name the best striker in the UFC.

Advertisement

”Mauricio Ruffy,” Silva said. “He’s not pragmatic and manages the fight very well."

When it came time to choose the best grappler, Silva didn't hesitate either.

“[Khamzat] Chimaev. He won the belt fighting five rounds without throwing a single punch,” Silva said.

Arman Tsarukyan was named by Fighting Nerd as the best wrestler across all divisions, and he recognized former opponents Kevin Vallejos and Diego Lopes as having the toughest chins on the…

Tom Aspinall looks like something out of a horror flick after recently undergoing surgery on both of his eyes.

The UFC heavyweight champion recently shared a photo of himself following the procedure, humorously comparing his red-eyed image to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video while playing the theme from “Silence of the Lambs” in the background.

Tom Aspinall shows his eyes one day after surgery 👁️😬

(Via @AspinallMMA ) pic.twitter.com/KDUjNnvULB

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 11, 2026 No Laughing Matter The incident that led to Aspinall’s current plight was no laughing matter, however. The Brit was on the receiving end of a double-eye poke early in his heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 this past October. The bout was ruled a no contest at the 4:35 mark of Round 1 when it was determined that Aspinall couldn’t continue.

The medical team who performed the surgery on Aspinall shared on update on the fig…