Martial Arts News

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want any fun and games with Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Dvalishvili was scheduled to wrestle Henry Cejudo at RAF 8 last weekend. However, Cejudo was forced out due to an injury just hours before the bout. Dvalishvili was later asked if he would be interested in a wrestling match against former opponent Umar Nurmagomedov. However, Dvalishvili shut down the idea, citing the beef between them. 

Advertisement

Dvalishvili explains that while his job is fighting in MMA, wrestling matches are fun to him. However, Dvalishvili doesn’t want to do anything for fun with Nurmagomedov as he feels disrespected by the Dagestani.No Fun Allowed “I don’t like this guy, because he disrespect me,” Dvalishvili told Adam Zubayraev. “My job is to fight. Whoever the UFC gives me, I will fight. UFC gives me [Umar], I will fight. Wrestling is for fun. I’ll never do fun matchup against this guy. Because it’s not fun for me, it’s real.” 

Dvalishvili’s (21-5)…

Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t want to drop down to featherweight unless it’s for a title shot. 

Tsarukyan (23-3) recently revealed that he is considering a return in June, with the opponent yet to be decided. Tsarukyan has been teasing a move to featherweight for a while now and doubled down on it. However, Tsarukyan will only consider dropping down a weight class to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the title. 

Advertisement

Tsarukyan’s podcast host suggested that “Ahalkalakets” could be booked against Movsar Evloev, where the winner would challenge Volkanovski. However, Tsarukyan clarified that he would prefer staying at lightweight unless offered a title shot at featherweight. Tsarukyan believes the lightweight division is more stacked, filled with more stars and opportunities to make more money.Weighing His Options “Roughly around June. They’re still deciding who I’ll fight,” Tsarukyan told IbraTV. “It’s even possible that I drop down to [featherweight] t…

Youssef Zalal is confident he will break one of Charles Olveira’s many records by the time he retires. 

Zalal is scheduled to fight Aljamain Sterling in a featherweight tilt in the main event at UFC Fight Night 274 on April 25 at the Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal revealed that he would prefer a submission win over a knockout win against Sterling. Zalal explains that he is close to Charles Oliveira’s record of the most submissions in UFC featherweight history. Zalal also wants to be the first person to submit Aljamain Sterling, whose only two stoppage losses have come via knockouts.

Advertisement

“[Oliveira] still has the featherweight’s most submissions,” Zalal told MMAjunkie.com. “And I was like, ‘Damn, I see my name right there. Two more Youssef, you get tie.’ Nobody ever submitted Aljamain in his whole career… So, I think if I had to pick, I would pick that sub.” Closing In on History Oliveira holds the record for the most submissions in UFC featherweight…

Ilia Topuria continues to downplay Arman Tsarukyan as a potential opponent. 

Topuria (17-0) is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5) in the main event at UFC White House on June 14. Meanwhile, the widely considered rightful title contender Tsarukyan has been left out of the title mix. 

Advertisement

However, Topuria has always shrugged off Tsarukyan as a potential threat. “El Matador” recently went off on Tsarukyan’s antics outside the Octagon. Tsarukyan is often seen flying in private jets and having expensive feasts. However, Topuria believes “Ahalkalakets” is projecting a lavish life off of his father’s money. Topuria believes Tsarukyan is yet to mature as a person.Childish Mentality “I’m really impressed with how dumb he is,” Topuria said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He’s a retard. He looks like a kid. His mentality, he is dumb as f—k. Everything that I saw about him on the internet is embarrassing,…

Paulo Costa has backtracked on his hatred for Russians. 

Bogdan Guskov recently called out Costa over his comments about Russian fighters.

Advertisement

“Paulo Costa has got a huge hype at the moment,” Guskov told Red Corner MMA. “He has just beat one of the boogeyman of our division. It would be certainly very cool for me to fight him. Even more so as he talked something about ‘Russian guys’. Here I am, a Russian fella who was raised in Uzbekistan, who’s ready to share the Octagon with him anytime. We will make him eat his own words.”Changing His Tune? Costa (16-4) handed Azamat Murzakanov his first professional loss at UFC 327 earlier this month. It was Costa’s second consecutive upset win over a Russian fighter. Costa clearly expressed his hatred for Russian fighters going into his bout against Murzakanov, while also calling out Khamzat Chimaev. However, Costa now claims that he specifically has an issue with “Chechen” fighters, not all Russias.

“Good cal…

Rose Namajunas is ready to get back to work.

The former strawweight queen had to undergo surgery after being poked in the eye multiple times during a loss to Natalia Silva at UFC 324 on Jan. 24. As a result of the fouls, Namajunas had to have a silicone tube inserted in her eye for approximately three months.

Advertisement

A Modest Proposal In a post on Instagram, Namajunas revealed that she has been cleared to train while proposing that eye pokes lead to an “instant purse deduction in the future.”

“So you wanna be a fighter? Three months and now I’m healthy finally,” Namajunas wrote. “Thumb and eye are all fixed up. Im a bit out of shape but I’m cleared to train now. I really hope eye pokes will be taken more seriously in the future. I propose instant purse deduction even for an accident. An accident that could seriously affect a fighter’s health long term. Anyways I’m just grateful that it was not more serious.”

A two-time 115-pound champion, Namajunas is…

Cody Durden will attempt to snap a four-bout skid on short notice. | Getty/UFC

This weekend’s UFC Vegas 116 card has undergone a couple late changes, the promotion announced Monday.

Lucas Rocha has withdrawn from a proposed flyweight booking against Jafel Filho due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Cody Durden will step in on less than a week’s notice to face Filho. Additionally, a lightweight pairing pitting Francis Marshall against Lucas Brennan has been added to the UFC Vegas 116 bill.

Advertisement

UFC Vegas 116 — also known as UFC Fight Night 274 — takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Aljamain Sterling and Youssef Zalal. The event airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Durden will take a four-bout losing streak into his short-notice assignment. Most recently, the 35-year-old Georgian dropped a unanimous decision to Nyamjargal Tumendemberel at U…

Barring some special circumstances, Ronda Rousey’s return to mixed martial arts is likely a one-and-done scenario.

Rousey will compete for the first time since December 2016 when she faces Gina Carano in the main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card streamed via Netflix on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. While the former UFC bantamweight queen has appeared to be fully invested in her comeback, both in terms of training and in promotional efforts, she has no designs on sticking around for too long.

Advertisement

“I’m done fighting after this,” Rousey recently told "The Breakfast Club” (via MMAFighting.com). “Unless something goes down in this match that it deserves a trilogy from me and Gina. But I promised my husband, I promised my sister, everybody that this is my last one. I want to have more kids, too.”Money Not an IssueRousey currently has two kids with her husband, former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. The desire to focus on family surpasses a…

Jason Jackson will face a "TUF 33" vet on May 16. | PFL MMA

Jason Jackson will remain on Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card.

After Lorenz Larkin withdrew from the event due to injury, Jefferson Creighton will step in and face Jackson at MVP "Rousey vs. Carano" on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The promotion announced the new booking on Monday.

Advertisement

MVP “Rousey vs. Carano” airs on Netflix and is headlined by a five-round featherweight showdown between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. Other featured contests include a heavyweight matchup pitting Francis Ngannou against Philipe Lins and a welterweight scrap between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.Plenty of Momentum Creighton will take a seven-bout winning streak into the matchup with Jackson. Most recently, the Poway, California, native defeated Diego Bianchini via unanimous decision at LFA 223 this past November. During his current run, Creighton has also won titles in Melee Combat Ch…

Ciryl Gane has called upon the help of a man who once defeated Alex Pereira under the Glory Kickboxing banner.

Gane, who will face “Poatan” for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC White House on June 14, has been training with Artem Vakhitov ahead of that fight. Vakhitov defeated Pereira via majority decision at Glory 78 in September 2021.

Advertisement


Vakhitov, who owns a 3-1 MMA record, posted video of some sparring with Gane via Instagram on Monday. Vakhitov earned a contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2024 but was unable to come to terms with the Las Vegas-based promotion.Gane, Vakhitov Go Head-to-Head

Gane, a former interim heavyweight champion, has twice come up short in bids for undisputed heavyweight gold, dropping a unanimous verdict to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 and suffering a first-round submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285. More recently, a title clash against Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 ended in a no contest after Gane poked his op…

Sean Strickland’s longtime coach, Eric Nicksick, recently reflected on their brief falling out last year. 

Strickland looked to reclaim his middleweight title in a rematch against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 in February 2025. Strickland dropped a lopsided unanimous decision against the champion. Nicksick seemingly just failed to get his fighter going despite his best efforts.  The Xtreme Couture coach subsequently lashed out at Strickland publicly, calling the performance “underwhelming.” Strickland responded, saying Nicksick would most likely not remain his coach any longer. However, they buried the hatchet soon after, and Strickland still continues to train under the tutelage of Nicksick at Xtreme Couture. 

Advertisement

Reflecting on the brief spat, Nicksick recently admitted that he deserves criticism. Nicksick revealed that he was also dealing with a lot in his personal life, which, added to Strickland’s performance, made him lash out at the f…

Paddy Pimblett has learned a lot from his loss against Justin Gaethje. 

Pimblett took on Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 this past January. While Gaethje put a beating on Pimblett, “The Baddy” showed grit and heart in refusing to go down. Gaethje eventually earned a unanimous decision win, handing Pimblett his first UFC loss. Pimblett believes he learned more from the loss against Gaethje than he did from his unbeaten seven-fight run in the UFC. Pimblett is now returning for revenge and hopes to get a future rematch against Gaethje. While Pimblett respects Gaethje, he also recalls “The Highlight” poking him in the eye.

Destiny Awaits “I’m coming back for revenge... Everyone loses, and that’s how you learn, that’s how you get better,” Pimblett told iFL TV. “I probably learned more from losing that fight than winning seven other UFC fights. But I will be back better and stronger. It’s in me destiny that I’m gonna be world champion of the worl…