Martial Arts News

Following a 52-second win, Denis Goltsov already has his next PFL matchup booked.| 📷: PFL MMA

The Professional Fighters League has added a heavyweight matchup to its upcoming event in Chicago.

Promotion officials confirmed to Sherdog on Wednesday that 2024 PFL heavyweight tournament champion Denis Goltsov will return against Maxwell Djantou Nana on Oct. 16. The matchup features two ranked contenders in the division.

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2024 PFL heavyweight tournament champion Denis Goltsov faces Maxwell Djantou Nana on Oct. 16 Goltsov most recently competed at PFL Charlotte, where he stopped Hasan Mezhiev via technical knockout in just 52 seconds in his first appearance of 2026.

Before that victory, Goltsov suffered a loss to Corey Anderson in July 2025. The Russian entered that bout on a four-fight winning streak that included his run to the 2024 PFL heavyweight tournament championship.

Djantou Nana has emerged as one of PFL Africa’s success st…

Islam Makhachev has revealed how many fights he has left in him before he hangs up his gloves.

Makhachev (29-1) recently defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330. The win over Garry saw Makhachev break Anderson Silva’s record for the longest winning streak in UFC history, having won 17 straight. The Dagestani wants to extend his win streak to 20 before walking away from the sport.

Makhachev eyes three more UFC fights while chasing a 20-fight winning streak Makhachev knows there’s one record that he isn’t likely to break: most title fight wins in UFC history. With seven title wins, Makhachev is still far behind the record holder Jon Jones, who has 16. However, Makhachev notes that he got to fight for a title much later in his UFC career than Jones.

Makhachev revealed that he expects to fight at least three more times before calling it a career. With the logjam of elite contenders in the welterweight division, Makhachev …

Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series saw the biggest upset in the history of the show.

Week 3 of the 10th season of DWCS went down at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 25. All five winners on the card walked away with Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

Alex Apodaca defeats the -6000 favorite to cap DWCS 2026 Week 3 The main event of the card saw the biggest upset in the history of DWCS. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s daughter Bella Mir (4-1) was a -6000 favorite going into her bantamweight clash against Alex Apodaca (5-1). Apodaca outclassed Mir on the feet while holding her own in wrestling exchanges to earn a unanimous decision win.

White admits that while he is mostly unbiased in fights, he was heavily biased towards Mir, having been a mentor to her. White notes that Michael Bisping had correctly expected Apodaca’s experience to play a factor in the fight.

“Alex, what you had to face tonight… Now I’m very proud of myself that in 10 years…

Abubakar Nurmagomedov is set to return to competition after a three-year absence.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight will face David Zawada in an 84-kilogram (185-pound) wrestling rematch under the AIGA banner in Istanbul, Turkey. The match is scheduled for ORA Arena on Sept. 20 as part of the Global Grappling Series 2026.

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Abubakar Nurmagomedov faces former UFC opponent David Zawada in Istanbul They previously met in the Octagon in November 2019 at UFC Moscow, where Zawada submitted Nurmagomedov via first-round triangle choke.

Nurmagomedov went 2-2 during his UFC tenure. His most recent MMA appearance came back in June 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.

Zawada, meanwhile, will look to repeat the result of their first meeting. The German veteran went 1-4 in the UFC, with his lone victory in the promotion coming against the Dagestani in Russia. He’s also competed in Oktagon MMA, the Profes…

Bilal Hasan's Ultimate Fighting Championship debut feels written in the stars.

The undefeated prospect will make his Octagon debut against fellow promotional newcomer Nilson Rojas at UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, with the significance of the date not lost on Hasan.

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Bilal Hasan plans a special walkout for his UFC Shanghai fight against Nilson Rojas Hasan takes on Rojas on Michael Jackson's birthday, a coincidence he described as almost prophetic.

“It still feels so surreal to be halfway across the world fighting in China on August 29th on Michael Jackson's birthday,” Hasan said in a recent interview. “Sounds like something out of like a prophecy or something like that. It still doesn't feel real.”

Hasan, a big fan of “The King of Pop,” plans to make the occasion memorable with his walkout.

“I have a sick walkout planned,” he added.

The matchup will open the UFC Shanghai main card, giving Hasan his first opportunity to compete since earning h…

Yadong Song has left no stone unturned in preparation for his upcoming bout against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Song claims to be well-equipped to deal with Nurmagomedov’s grappling prowess ahead of their Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight clash at UFC Shanghai. The Chinese 135-pounder even worked with Georgian wrestlers who are familiar with the wrestling system used by Nurmagomedov’s team.

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Yadong Song trained with Olympic and world champions ahead of UFC Shanghai While Song is a competent grappler, he’s well aware of the challenge Nurmagomedov presents and is confident should the fight hit the mat.

“Umar is a very tough guy,” Song said in a recent interview. “Even everybody knows he's a very good grappler. So, I just prefer to use striking... But if you want to grapple, let's grapple. Doesn't matter.”

Song further revealed that he traveled to Georgia before beginning his latest training camp, where he worked with Olympic and world champion…

Kai Asakura wants to showcase improvement in his next bout.

The former Rizin Fighting Federation champ endured a disappointing start in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, getting finished in his first two appearances. He then secured a win after moving up to bantamweight and is set to meet Qileng Aori next at UFC Shanghai.

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Kai Asakura targets Qileng Aori knockout after successful move to bantamweight Asakura recorded his first win in the UFC against Cameron Smotherman earlier this year. He claims he’s settled in nicely at bantamweight and vowed to finish Aori when they clash on Aug. 29 to extend his win streak. However, he isn’t just looking for a win, stating that he wants to show off some new moves as well en route to finding the knockout.

“I will knock him out and I will show a new combination this Saturday,” Asakura said at UFC Shanghai media day.

The Japanese fighter also revealed that he wants to stay active and compete again before …

Jena Bishop has an Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer helping her prepare for the biggest fight of her career.

The Professional Fighters League recently shared a photo showing Bishop training with Ronda Rousey ahead of the former’s rematch with Liz Carmouche for the inaugural PFL women's flyweight championship.

Jena Bishop challenges Liz Carmouche for the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight championship after training with Ronda Rousey Bishop will face Carmouche in the main event of PFL Chicago on Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena. The bout will crown the promotion's first women's flyweight champion and mark its first new title since the PFL's merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

The clash is a rematch of last year's PFL women's flyweight tournament final. Carmouche stopped Bishop in the third round of that meeting, but the latter has since rebounded with victories over Borena Tsertsvadze and Ariane Lipski da Silva. Carmouche enters following a submission win over Vi…

Umar Nurmagomedov expects a difficult test when he meets Yadong Song in their upcoming main event in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Nurmagomedov is looking to extend his win streak to three straight at UFC Shanghai and the Russian is well aware of the challenge ahead of him in China’s Song.

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Umar Nurmagomedov expects a difficult UFC Shanghai main event against Yadong Song Nurmagomedov has picked up two decision wins since suffering the lone loss of his professional career to Merab Dvalishvili in their bantamweight title fight back in January last year. He’s beaten Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision to return to winning form and defeating Song in the Chinese 135-pounder’s home country could put the Dagestani back in the title mix.

Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov is focused on the task at hand against a well-rounded opponent and isn’t thinking about the title.

“Of course, I'm going to be happy to do a knockout, you know…

Umar Nurmagomedov is targeting a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili.

Nurmagomedov suffered the first loss of his professional career when Dvalishvili defeated him by unanimous decision in January last year in their Ultimate Fighting Championship title bout. The Russian is eager to run it back with “The Machine” and wants to fight him next, regardless of the outcome of the latter's UFC 333 title fight against Petr Yan.

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Umar Nurmagomedov wants revenge against Merab Dvalishvili after facing Yadong Song at UFC Shanghai The tension between Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili has only grown since their first meeting. The former is set to face Yadong Song at UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, and while he’s focused on his upcoming bout, the Dagestani wants revenge for his loss to the former champ.

“First of all, of course I have to win this fight,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie. “Then I will fight with Merab, if he will win or if he will lose, I think we're going to fight.”<…

All fighters successfully made weight for Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series 2026, scheduled for Aug. 25 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.Frank Mir’s daughter faces Alex Apodaca atop Dana White’s Contender Series 2026 Week 3Five matchups for Week 3 of DWCS 2026 are set, with fighters competing for Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s daughter Bella is set to compete in the main event.

The action begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Weigh-in results of Week 3 of DWCS 2026 Bella Mir (136) vs Alex Apodaca (135.5)Mario Piazzon (238) vs Guilherme Uriel (241.5)Gary Belletto Jr. (169) vs Sean Clancy Jr. (170)Ronald Humphrey (169) vs Alexis Miranda (170)Carlos Petruzzella (185.5) vs Nick Galanti (185)

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Sharabutdin Magomedov and Neiman Gracie will meet in a grappling contest at Real American Freestyle in Moscow.

RAF recently announced that the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight will face the former Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League welterweight on Sept. 5.

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Magomedov last competed in June, earning a unanimous decision over Michel Pereira in the UFC. The Russian previously tested his grappling skills under the Hype FC banner, taking on lightweights Arman Tsarukyan and Edson Barboza, with both matches ending in draws.

Gracie, meanwhile, has not competed since losing to Magomed Umalatov in Professional Fighters League in August 2024. The Brazilian challenged Rory MacDonald for the Bellator MMA welterweight title in 2019 but came up short and went 4-5 thereafter. Gracie's most recent grappling appearance came at ADXC 1 in 2023, where he submitted Benson Henderson.

The Magomedov-Gracie matchup joins a loaded RAF Moscow lineup …