Martial Arts News

Ilia Topuria’s top three preferred matchups include Conor McGregor. 

Topuria recently revealed that his top three preferred opponents are Islam Makhachev, McGregor, and Paddy Pimblett. Topuria added that he would love to hand Pimblett the first knockout loss of his career.

“Islam, Conor, and Paddy,” Topuria told Adin Ross on a Kick stream. “… I’d love to do that - to be the first one [to KO Paddy]. If someone else did it, I can do it too. And if no one did it, I can always be the first to do it.”

High-Profile Foes Topuria (17-0) was the featherweight champion when he started rallying for a double champ bid against then-lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. However, that matchup never came to fruition as Makhachev moved up and won the welterweight title. Meanwhile, Topuria moved up and became the lightweight champion. While both parties continue to tease the matchup, Makhachev is unwilling to move down to lightweight. 

Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’t fought since…

Colby Covington wants to settle the score with Kamaru Usman, but in wrestling. 

Covington recently called out Usman for a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle. While Usman is currently rallying for a UFC welterweight title shot, Covington is ready to wrestle him if he can't secure the gold bid. Covington believes Usman would be interested in the proposition, despite having beaten him twice in the UFC. “Chaos” disputes his title losses against Usman – the first one as an early stoppage, and the rematch as a decision robbery.

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'It's a Huge Matchup' “I’d like to see Usman in Real American Freestyle,” Covington recently told Bloody Elbow. “We need to settle the trilogy in RAF. If Usman doesn’t get the title fight, come see daddy at Real American Freestyle and let’s do this trilogy, bitch… I think he would take the challenge - he’s a competitor, he likes to compete. He still has that fire and drive; he wants these title fights, he wants these bi…

Max Holloway’s pointing down at the ground in the final 10 seconds of his fights started with one of his former opponents taunting him. 

Holloway inviting his opponents to a slugfest in the final 10 seconds of the fight has gained a cult following in MMA now. “Blessed” recently revealed that his iconic move originated in his fight against Ricardo Lamas in 2016. 

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Holloway felt that he was comfortably winning the fight and planned to remain defensively sound in the last round. However, Lamas threw his hands up in the air in the final seconds, hinting that Holloway was coasting. Holloway initially couldn’t understand why Lamas was taunting him when he was winning. However, when Lamas did it a third time, Holloway threw caution to the wind and invited him to a brutal brawl. Holloway respects Lamas for honoring the invitation and letting his hands go.‘He Threw Down’ “It all started because I fought Ricardo Lamas… I felt like I was handling that f…

Ilia Topuria doesn’t want to leave any chinks in his armor when he steps inside the UFC Octagon.

Topuria (17-0) has never fought more than twice a year. Topuria recently revealed why he doesn’t like to be too active. “El Matador” wants to step into a fight with a complete training camp, which is why he never makes quick turnarounds. The undefeated UFC lightweight champion also claims that he has never gone into a fight with an injury. Topuria even avoids random sparring in training and only focuses on situational, technical sparring.

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Proper Training Camps “Everyone has his own style,” Topuria said on Adin Ross’ Kick stream. “If that’s something that makes him happy, he has to do that. For me, I don’t like to fight three or four times in a year because I really enjoy having proper training camps. I never go inside the Octagon with an injury. When I go in, I go at 100%... I do very specific sparring. I don’t go inside the gym, pick guys and say, ‘Let’s…

Sometimes these things happen in boxing.

The Ring announced on Friday that Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his heavyweight crown on May 23. He will be squaring off with kickboxing all-time great Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO Box; 66-10, 21 KOs KB) at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The event titled “Glory of Giza: Undefeated Icons” will put up for grabs Usyk’s WBC belt, despite the heavyweight serving as the unified champion across all major sanctioning bodies. The boxing showcase will air on Dazn.

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Unbeaten after 24 walks to the ring as a pro, Usyk appeared just once in 2025, where he mollywhopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth round to hold onto his titles while securing the IBF’s as well. Several of his recent outings the last few years have taken place in Saudi Arabia, where he squared off with names like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. In his last six bouts, he has beaten those three aforementioned boxers twice each.

In a statement provid…

Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship talent Melquizael Costa believes he has his division figured out.

Now a ranked 145-pounder after becoming the first man to stop Dan Ige as a pro, Costa took a long look at the rest of his division. While he currently rides a six-fight win streak, the man known as “The Dalmation” knows he still has some work to do to get to the top of the ladder. The next crack at Alexander Volkanovski’s throne may go to the upcoming victor of Lerone Murphy vs. Movsar Evloev, and after that, it remains to be seen. Costa spoke to Sherdog on Monday after his victory, where he broke down the future of his weight class.

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“UFC is looking for exciting fights,” Costa noted. “In the papers, the winner of Evloev and Murphy might get the title shot, but I believe Jean Silva provides much more excitement, as he showed on his last fights, and I think he will cut that line.”

Of all the men in the top 15 at 145 pounds, Costa points to the Fig…

Here’s one you never saw coming: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Jorge Masvidal, with a twist.

Russian quasi-MMA league Hype FC released the news on Friday that it would be holding an event on March 11 in Rio de Janeiro. The top of that card will see a submission-only grappling match between “Shara Bullet” Magomedov against Masvidal, with the two tangling for five-to-10 minutes at the Farmasi Arena in Brazil’s second-largest city—Sao Paulo holds the top spot. A previous big-name grappling bout held by Hype FC between Arman Tsarukyan and the aforementioned Magomedov resulted in a draw last year.

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Hype FC, the target of at least one police raid in Moscow due to a myriad of charges ranging from drug trafficking to fight fixing, has been flagged by Sherdog Fight Finder for its illegitimacy. While the league purports to run MMA matches, it does so with modified rules including limited grappling time with automatic standups/separations. It also put together a re…

The lineup for one of Professional Fighters League’s April shows is starting to come together.

The promotion released a trio of matchups for its PFL Chicago event on April 11, one that will be capped off by a Sergio Pettis-Mitchell McKee main attraction. The three fights will take place inside of the Wintrust Arena in the Windy City. Each of the new pairings will see a PFL-ranked fighter take on an unranked adversary.

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First among those new tilts is a featherweight contest as Gabriel Braga (16-3) faces the debuting Mehdi Baydulaev (19-2). Since making his PFL debut on the 2023 installment of the Challenger Series, Braga has served as one of the best 145ers to not win a tourney. In his three attempts to claim a tournament title, Braga has been knocked out in the playoffs each time, with two of those three defeats coming to Jesus Pinedo. On the other side of the equation, Chechnya’s Baydulaev has won his last 13 outings, nine by submission, dating bac…

The Professional Fighters League has given undefeated Darragh Kelly his next challenge.

Per the organization on Friday, Kelly (9-0) will be squaring off with Mexico’s Sergio Cossio (19-11-1) at PFL Belfast on April 16. The two will tangle at lightweight on a lineup currently headlined by another 155-pound clash pitting Paul Hughes against Jay-Jay Wilson.

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A Mauler from Moville The “Moville Mauler” has mauled his competition since making his pro debut in 2022, racking up seven stoppages across his nine victories to date. The 27-year-old from Moville, Ireland, has made all but one of his pro walks to either a Bellator MMA or PFL cage, with a lone stop off at Clan Wars in 2023 to land a second-round brabo choke. Kelly is coming into 2026 with a banner year last year, notching subs of Mike Hamel and Bakhtiyar Abdulloev to establish himself as a threat in his division.

While it has been nothing but green grass and high tides for Kelly, his foe is enteri…

Brandon Moreno weighing in at 125.5lbs 🇲🇽

[ #UFCMexico | SAT FEB 28 | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/P7X7Mu9fHm

— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Mexico for the first time in 2026 this weekend.

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Headlining the UFC Mexico card is a fight between former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and Lone'er Kavanagh. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round main event without any issue. All other fighters on the card also made weight, so it was an uneventful weigh-in for those looking for drama.

"The Assassin Baby" enters the fight looking to rebound from a TKO defeat to Tatsuro Taira. Prior to the setback, Moreno (23-9-2) had put together back-to-back wins against Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi. Just 32, the Mexican fighter will look to show that he has plenty left in the tank while impressing the fans in his home country. Moreno officially weighed 125.5 pounds for …

Two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Diego Lopes is looking for a new lease on life at lightweight.

After suffering his second championship defeat to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 325, Lopes took the opportunity to spend three weeks with his family in Manaus, Brazil. On Wednesday, Lopes spoke with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, where he broke down his unsuccessful jaunt for the belt while giving the Aussie his laurels.

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“We did everything in our power and it wasn’t enough,” a resigned Lopes admitted. “I just have to admit that he is better. He moves well to the left and right. I’m not the first person to lose twice to him in a title fight, so I’m quite calm about it.”

After his failed second try for the 145-pound throne, rumors spread that the Brazilian by way of Mexico damaged one or both feet during the match. Lopes shed light on the injuries he sustained against Volkanovski, where there were no outright breaks but some min…

The Zuffa Boxing signing of Conor Benn has been a controversial topic this past week.

Benn reportedly received a $15 million contract for one fight, which is significantly more than most — if not all — UFC athletes earn on a per fight basis. Since Dana White is the head of both the UFC and Zuffa Boxing, that sparked plenty of criticism from fighters who go to work inside the Octagon. Former bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley was in disbelief that Benn would be paid that much, while Michael Page expressed disappointment that White would place such value on someone outside of the promotion where he “built his reputation.”

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However, during a quarterly financial call on Wednesday, TKO Group Holdings (the parent company of the UFC and Zuffa Boxing) president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro attempted to quell some of that controversy by revealing that Benn’s signing was entirely funded by the company’s partners in Saudia Arabia, which includes ente…