Martial Arts News

Professional Fighters League’s return to Belfast is now official, as all 24 fighters slated to compete made weight without issue on Wednesday.

PFL Belfast takes place on Thursday at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern, Ireland and is headlined by a ligthweight clash between Darragh Kelly (155.3 pounds) and Jay-Jay Wilson (156). The prelims air on the ESPN app at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT, while the main card airs on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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⚖️PFL Belfast Official Weigh In

Lightweight Main EventDarragh Kelly: 155.3 lbsJay Jay Wilson: 156#PFLBelfast | Thursday , April 16th | SSE Arena | Belfast, N. Ireland | Early Card 3PM EST on ESPN App | Main Card 7PM EST | ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/xD8cLZKLYz

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 15, 2026

Ireland’s Kelly is unbeaten in nine professional outings. He went 2-0 under the PFL banner in 2025, scoring submission victories against Mike Hamel and Bakhtiyar Abdulloev. “The Moville Mauler” a…

Gina Carano fighting in the UFC never became a reality. | Dave Mandel

Before Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey were booked to fight on Netflix as part of Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event, there was some discussion that the fight might happen under the UFC banner.

According to Rousey, that possibility ended with the Paramount deal — which eliminated the UFC pay-per-view model for numbered events. Now, Rousey and Carano will meet on May 16 as part of the first ever MMA card on Netflix.

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It wasn’t the first time Rousey vs. Carano in the UFC was discussed. When “Rowdy” was still UFC champion, Dana White confirmed that there were discussions to bring Carano into the promotion for a high-profile fight between the two stars more than a decade ago. Ultimately, the bout didn’t come to fruition.

As for Carano, she admits that competing in the UFC would have been a big deal.

“I really wanted to. I really wanted to do the UFC, make that w…

Conor McGregor has settled the lawsuit filed by former friend and training partner Artem Lobov. | Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions

Conor McGregor has reached a settlement with Artem Lobov in a lawsuit regarding profits from the sale of the Proper No. 12 whiskey brand, according to a report from the Irish Independent.

McGregor, along with partners Audie Attar and Ken Austin, sold their majority share of the whiskey brand for $600 milion in 2021. Lobov was was initially suing for five percent of the revenue from the sale. McGregor admitted to offering Lobov $1 million — which was declined — but denied making an agreement with his teammate regarding a certain percentage of the sale. Lobov claimed that he was the initial creator and co-founder of the whiskey and that he was “muscled out” of the deal. McGregor reportedly made $100 million from the sale.

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Moving Forward Lobov’s attorney, Andrew Walker appeared in court on Wednesday and announ…

Patricio Freire came up short against Aaron Pico at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

Three days after suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Aaron Pico at UFC 327, Patricio Freire posted a video on Instagram thanking fans for their support and providing more details about the fight held last Saturday.

"Congratulations to my opponent, he was well-trained and very fast," the Brazilian acknowledged at the beginning of the video.

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Freire then addressed a common observation that his overall performance dropped after a strong opening stanza. As it turns out, there was a good reason for that.

“I saw many analysts saying that I started the first round well and had a very strong drop in performance from the first to the second,” he said. “In reality, right at the beginning of the second round, I took a clean punch to the eye, with my eye open, a jab and straight punch sequence, and it ended up fracturing the orbital bone along with the side of my no…

Mike Malott gets his first UFC headlining opportunity on Saturday. | Getty/UFC

If it wasn’t for one “bad minute,” Mike Malott might still be an undefeated fighter in UFC competition.

Likely up on the scorecards against Neil Magny at UFC 297, the 34-year-old Canadian faded badly in the waning moments en route to losing via technical knockout at the 4:45 mark of Round 3. What turned out to be a monumental comeback for Magny was a learning experience for Malott.

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“Ran into an issue in that one fight I lost; stuff came up in that one and I grew a lot from it, learned to humble myself in certain ways,” Malott told UFC.com. “I know I’m an elite-level fighter, but recognizing that ‘Hey man — sometimes you’re fighting the best guys in the world and you don’t need to force a finish’ [is really important]. I didn’t need to force a finish in that fight; I could have coasted to a decision and won, and looking back, that’s one of the things I changed……

Mark Hunt was arrested on alleged domestic violence charges on Tuesday. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight Mark Hunt was arrested on domestic violence charges in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hunt was arrested in the Northern Rivers region of Australia on Tuesday evening on charges of stalking or intimidation with intent to cause physical harm. Per the report, Hunt allegedly threatened to physically assault a family member at the property. The 52-year-old was denied police bail ahead of a court appearance on Wednesday.

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It revealed during Wednesday’s testimony, according to the report, that Hunt was helping the family member with an unspecified task when he began acting in an “intimidating and berating manner” that caused “fear and distress” for the woman and another witness. Hunt also allegedly previously sent the woman a threatening text: “I’m just going to murder you…

Carlos Ulberg lost the UFC belt he won on Saturday night in Miami. | Getty/UFC

Carlos Ulberg apparently misplaced a key piece of hardware during the euphoria of his championship celebration.

“I lost the belt, bro,” Ulberg told Fox Sports Australia on Monday.

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Ulberg defeated Jiri Prochazka via first-round knockout in the UFC 327 headliner at the Kaseya Center in Miami, capturing the vacant light heavyweight title in the process. The City Kickboxing stalwart didn’t seem too concerned regarding the whereabouts of his belt, as he speculated that it was likely left behind at some point during a night of partying.

I don’t know exactly where it is,” Ulberg said. “Initially after winning, the plan was to not have a drink. But you know how these things go, right? First, someone gives you a champagne to celebrate. Then one thing leads to another and you’re doing shots. So it’s ‘OK, I’ll have another, and another, and another …’

“We’ve got …

Lorenz Larkin recently suffered a knee injury that will keep him off the MVP Netflix card. | Dave Mandel

Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card has suffered its first setback.

UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Lorenz Larkin announced on Tuesday that he has been forced to withdraw from the May 16 event slated for the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Larkin was scheduled to face former Bellator champ Jason Jackson in a welterweight bout. It’s currently unknown if a Jackson will receive a replacement opponent.

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Injury Woes "I'm sorry to all the fans but I had to pull out of the Netflix card due to knee injury," Larkin wrote on Instagram Stories. "Will be rehabing it back to 100% and will be back.”

Larkin, 39, hasn’t competed in MMA since 2024 when he earned a pair of first-round stoppage victories over Alan Dominguez and Levan Chokheli. More recently, “Monsoon” split a pair of bouts under the Karate Combat banner in 2025.

The 35-year-old …

The Octagon will return to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time in more than seven years this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that /events/UFC-330-August-15-112557 will take place at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. No bouts were confirmed for the card, but the event is expected to include a title fight atop the bill, per a release.

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“Pennsylvania is thrilled to host UFC 330 in Philadelphia, the first time a championship bout is coming back to the Commonwealth in fifteen years,” said Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. “This is a huge year for Pennsylvania – all eyes are on the Commonwealth as we celebrate America 250 and host some of the biggest sporting events in the world in the place where it all started. From UFC and March Madness to the FIFA World Cup and the NFL Draft, we’re excited to host world class sporting events that will bring with them incredible opportunities for our businesses, …

Josh Hokit is making a name for himself in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Josh Hokit’s most recent performance has earned him some respect in the eyes of oddsmakers.

According to BetOnline.ag, Hokit is currently a -300 favorite against Derrick Lewis in their heavyweight clash at the UFC White House card. Lewis, meanwhile, checks in as a +250 underdog. The odds are subject to change as the fight approaches.

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Hokit emerged as a star at UFC 327, where he took a unanimous decision triumph over Curtis Blaydes in a “Fight of the Year” candidate. “The Incredible Hok” is 9-0 as a professional — including three triumphs under the UFC banner.

The booking against Lewis came together as the UFC 327 card took place. UFC CEO Dana White revealed that President Donald Trump, who was seated cageside, asked why Lewis wasn’t part of the White House event. After Hokit’s standout effort against Blaydes, booking the upstart prospect against the UFC’s all-time knockou…

Max Griffin boasts a wealth of UFC experience. | Getty/UFC

There will be a significant gap in big-fight experience when Max Griffin and Victor Valenzuela lock horns on April 25.

Griffin, an 18-time Octagon veteran, and Valenzuela, a promotional newcomer, will meet in a welterweight contest at UFC Fight Night 274. The bout was first reported by MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 274 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight scrap pitting Aljamain Sterling against Youssef Zalal.

Veteran vs. Rookie Griffin has last three of his last four outings. Most recently, the 40-year-old Californian dropped a split verdict to Chris Curtis at UFC on ESPN 70 on July 12. Griffin is 8-10 during his UFC tenure, with notable wins over the likes of Tim Means, Carlos Condit and Mike Perry.

Valenzuela, meanwhile, suffered a second-round TKO loss to Michael Oliveira on Dana White’s Contender Series last October. He has since rebounded with a stopp…

Most Valuable Promotions could be in it for the long haul when it comes to staging mixed martial arts events.

Of course, much will hinge on the company’s May 16 debut: a Netflix card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. MVP’s MMA debut also features a number of notable names such as Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, Junior dos Santos and Muhammad Mokaev, to name a few.

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MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian recently discussed the organization’s future in an interview with the Sports Business Journal and admitted that the promotion is interested in MMA beyond one-off events.

“I think a lot of it depends on May 16, right?” Bidarian said. “We’re putting a lot of fire power, star power, distribution to the event. If it works, and I’m very confident it will work, yes -- MVP will be involved in MMA over the long term.”

Netflix will provide MVP will a significant platform for its debut event. The Jake Paul vs. Mi…