Martial Arts News

Robert Whittaker is almost certain about moving up to light heavyweight for his next fight. 

Whittaker (26-9) has long been a perennial UFC middleweight contender, even when he hasn’t held the title. However, “The Reaper” revealed that his last two weight cuts to make 185 pounds left him weak by the end of the camp. Whittaker is now considering a move up to light heavyweight, where he believes he can outclass some opponents with his style. While Whittaker admits that he can still be convinced against moving up, he is 90% sure that he will fight at light heavyweight next.

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‘The Division is Open’ “The last couple of cuts have been hard … I feel like the division is open,” Whittaker said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I feel like there are a lot of guys that my skill set can prevail on. I’m at a point where I could be convinced out of [moving up] but… I feel so weak by the end of the 185 pound camp. It takes a lot of fun out of it… I’m 90% there [tow…

Umar Nurmagomedov believes having Khabib Nurmagomedov in the corner is a bonus advantage. 

According to Umar, his cousin’s presence is mental warfare on his opponents by itself. Throughout his career, Umar has seen his opponents feeling the pressure of Khabib being in his corner.

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It’s In the Eyes “Khabib's influence puts more pressure on your opponents,” Umar ssaid in a recent interview with mr.kingsman (via Red Corner MMA). “I felt that throughout my career. I always saw it in my opponents’ eyes. That pressure when Khabib is there with our team. It’s like a bonus advantage.”

Khabib is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. “The Eagle” defended the UFC lightweight title thrice before retiring as the undefeated champion in 2020, following the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Khabib’s teammates, Umar, Usman Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and others were all originally honed by Abdulmanap. …

Lerone Murphy kept wondering what he would have done instead of Diego Lopes as he watched the Brazilian lose to Alexander Volkanovski last weekend. 

Murphy and Movsar Evloev, even according to Volkanovski, are the most deserving featherweight title contenders. However, Volkanovski was scheduled to defend his title in a rematch against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 on Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Volkanovski displayed exemplary footwork in outclassing Lopes to earn a unanimous decision win. 

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Murphy saw some improvements in Lopes since he lost to Volkanovski in their first encounter last year. However, Murphy believes everyone knew how the rematch would eventually play out. Murphy believes Father Time catches up with everyone, and Volkanovski is no exception. While “The Iceman” means no disrespect to Volkanovski, he believes he could have dethroned the champion if given an opportunity at UFC 325.Volk Has His Number “I think everybody knew what was…

Niko Price will fight on less than one week's notice at UFC Fight Night 266. | Getty/UFC

The UFC Fight Night 266 lineup has undergone a change with less than a week to go before the event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that Niko Price will replace Jose Henrique and face Nikolay Veretennikov at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. UFC Fight Night 266 is headlined by a bantamweight clash pitting Mario Bautista against Vinicius Oliveira and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

In Need of a Win The 36-year-old Price has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances. In his lone outing of 2025, “The Hybrid” suffered a second-round submission defeat to Jacobe Smith at UFC 317 on June 28. Price debuted with the organization at UFC 207 in December 2016 and has compiled an 8-9 mark with two no contests during his tenure.

Veretennikov, meanwhile, has lost three of his four UFC bouts, with his lone victory coming against Francisco Prado last Ju…

Alexander Volkanovski appeared to be in peak form at UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

There was a point during Alexander Volkanovski’s training camp for UFC 325 where it looked like the featherweight champ wasn’t going to make it to fight night.

That’s according to coach Joe Lopez, who revealed on Daniel Cormier's YouTube channel that Volkanovski injured his shoulder about a month before facing Diego Lopes this past Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

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"To be fair, Alex, four weeks ago, we didn't think he was going to fight," Lopez said. (transcription via MMAjunkie.com) "He pulled his shoulder out, really. He's been compromised for the last four weeks with a busted shoulder."The Old Volk While Volkanovski might not have been 100 percent, that didn’t prevent the Aussie from securing a relatively clear-cut unanimous decision triumph over Lopes in their rematch. “The Great” also defeated Lopes via unanimous decision at UFC 314. The coa…

A change of scenery did Mauricio Ruffy some good ahead of UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

After rebounding from a loss to Benoit St. Denis with a impressive TKO win over Rafael Fiziev last Saturday at UFC 325, Mauricio Ruffy revealed how important it was for him to spend two months training with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in Australia.

"In my mind I had a very good takedown defense — at least that what I´ve always heard. But after my last fight, I decided to go after improvement. Those two months in Australia were really important. Training with Volkanovski, I found out that I know nothing about grappling,” Ruffy told Laerte Viana.

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Ruffy also praised the UFC for having confidence in him after his first loss within the promotion.

"They trusted in my potential and gave me a more difficult opponent than the previous one,” he said.

An Illness Scare After beating Fiziev and winning a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bous, Ruf…

Lerone Murphy will fight on home soil with a potential title shot on the line in March. | Getty/UFC

Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy will have to go head-to-head to earn a shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight crown.

Evloev and Murphy will square off in a potential title eliminator atop the UFC London card on March 21, the promotion announced Monday. Both athletes were regarded as top two contenders in the division, but the latest title shot went to Diego Lopes, who dropped a unanimous decision to Volkanovski in a championship rematch at UFC 325 this past Saturday.

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UFC London takes place at the O2 Arena and will also see Michael Page return to 170 pounds to face Sam Patterson in another featured contest. In the official co-main event, Luke Riley will meet Sam Asell at lightweight. The main card airs on Paramount+ beginning at 4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m.. PT, while prelims kick off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Evloev is undefeated in 19 pro…

Editor's note: The article has been updated to reflect some good news announced by the fighter in question.

One Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite just proved that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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On Thursday, Dan Ige—who is currently the No. 14 featherweight on the UFC’s Official Rankings—posted on social media that he was disallowed to wear red shorts for his upcoming tussle with Melquizael Costa at UFC Houston in February. According to the Hawaiian, his request for shorts is limited to the locales he is permitted to represent.

The man once known as “Dynamite” posted a segment of a message from UFC or Venum staff, who explained that he is only allowed to represent the U.S. or “universal,” meaning no country, when he walks out on Feb. 21. This obstacle hearkens back to the bizarre situation that middleweight Anthony Hernandez faced where he was allegedly forced to prove his family lineage to rep Mexico. Ige claimed that the promotion …

A champion across several major MMA organizations, the legendary Cristiane Justino knows her remaining time as a fighter is limited.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship, Strikeforce, Bellator MMA and Invicta Fighting Championships beltholder has done what no one else has in mixed martial arts: win titles across five major promotions. Currently serving as PFL’s featherweight champ, she claimed that throne by trumping Larissa Pacheco in 2024 across five rounds, and defended it by mollywhopping Sara Collins at the end of 2025. At the age of 40, “Cris Cyborg” wants one more MMA match, and she has already made her thoughts known.

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The Brazilian traveled to Rio de Janeiro recently and appeared on the Wednesday edition of Combate’s “Mundo da Luta” podcast. There, the longtime veteran confirmed that 2026 would be the last year she steps into a cage or a ring as a pro. “Cris Cyborg” solidified her plan to compete just once more in MMA, and only one more time…

Ultimate Fighting Championship 115-pounder Ketlen Souza has her back against the wall, and she is changing things up accordingly.

Souza (15-6) will be facing fellow countrywoman Bruna Brasil (11-5-1) on Saturday at UFC Vegas 113, also known as UFC Fight Night 266. The two Brazilians will collide at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas as part of the preliminaries. Souza, 31, spoke to Sherdog recently, where she discussed her new training regimen away from her traditional team of the Carioca Academy.

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Seeking her third victory inside the organization, Souza enters the matchup at a pivotal moment in her UFC career following two consecutive losses. In preparation for the Feb. 7 fight, the Amazonian athlete joined the Ribas Family team in Varginha, Minas Gerais. The striker by trade completed her entire training camp alongside established UFC fighters like top-ranked strawweight Amanda Ribas and Alexia Thainara.Looking for Evolution According to Souza, the move was m…

A pair of de facto Professional Fighters League vs. Ultimate Fighting Championship matchups are headed to Steel City.

According to the PFL on Thursday, its upcoming event in Pittsburgh has just added two matchups with newly ranked participants. The organization released its own official rankings on Tuesday, and all combatants booked have numbers next to their names. At flyweight, Sumiko Inaba (8-2) will square off with Ariane Lipski da Silva (17-11), with the two ladies toeing the line at the UPMC Events Center in the second-largest city in Pennsylvania on March 28.

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Inaba, 34, will be looking to bounce back from a one-sided decision defeat to Dakota Ditcheva that some considered a “Beatdown of the Year” candidate. That loss to the British striker ended a two-fight win streak for the Hawaiian, who took a win on the scorecards against Saray Orozco and stopped Mackenzie Stiller with strikes. The former Bellator MMA player has never competed outside of…