Martial Arts News

Jack Della Maddalena didn’t stop responding to Carlos Prates despite being on the losing end of their fight. 

Prates (24-7) took on Maddalena (18-4) in enemy territory at UFC Perth earlier this month. Prates picked apart the former welterweight champion before finishing him in the third round. Prates recently revealed that he kept talking to Maddalena during the fight. 

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When Maddalena shot for a takedown in the opening round, Prates taunted him with Nate Diaz’s famous quote, “So you’re a wrestler now?” Maddalena responded by proclaiming himself a well-rounded fighter. When Prates started dominating Maddalena, he apologized to the Australian, explaining that he was only a hurdle on the way to a title shot. Maddalena urged Prates to go with him until the final bell. Prates was impressed with Maddalena’s toughness.A Little In-Fight Banter “I started to talk with him, like, ‘Ah, you become a grappler now? You’re a wrestler?’ And then he goes, ‘N…

Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling must be given credit when it is praised by one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time. 

Abdulrashid Sadulaev recently heaped praise on Tsarukyan’s wrestling. Sadulaev says Tsarukyan often trains in their camp and with other elite Russian wrestlers. Sadulaev also notes that Tsarukyan trains with one of the most respected coaches, Vladimir Modosyan. According to the two-time Olympic gold medalist, Tsarukyan would land in the Top 5 if he competed in the Russian wrestling championship.

High Praise “Arman frequently joined us in camps,” Sadulaev told Red Corner MMA. “He trained with the best wrestlers. Also he always worked with one of our best coaches, it’s one of Russia’s honored coaches — Vladimir Modosyan. I think his wrestling skills are above average. For example, if he competed at the Russian championships he could’ve made it in Top 5.”

Tsarukyan (23-3) remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture despite being wi…

Referee Mark Lyson allegedly admitted to making a mistake in Rico Verhoeven’s controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Lyson was the third man inside the ring when Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. A massive underdog, Verhoeven landed the more significant strikes for the most part. Verhoeven appeared to be on the way to a monumental upset win when Usyk dropped him late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of unanswered shots. Lyson abruptly stepped in and called a stop to the contest with officially a second left in the 11th round. 

If the official stoppage wasn’t already controversial enough, some rumors suggest that Lyson stopped the bout after the bell went off. The make matters worse, there was no fight clock for viewers on the live broadcast. Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury claims Lyson was travelling with him on the same fli…

Sean Strickland is completely unhinged. 

Strickland recently uploaded a video of himself teaching kids “valuable” skills. Strickland can be seen teaching kids how to load a belt-fed machine gun. The UFC middleweight champion compares the feeling to that of an African rebel teaching young kids the same skill.

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Role Model? “I’m teaching the youth valuable skills… I would imagine this is how an African rebel feels, teaching kids how to load a belt-fed machine gun,” Strickland said.

“Passing on valuable skills to the youth. Pay it forward,” he added in the caption.

Strickland has faced backlash in the past over his controversial stance on gun control. Himself an owner of a large collection of guns, Strickland also encourages others to exercise their rights. Strickland had also slammed the Australian government over gun laws ahead of his rematch against Dricus Du Plessis in Sydney last year. Australia had banned guns following Martin Bryant’s …

Not everyone counted Sean Strickland out against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Strickland (30-7) challenged Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 328 earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland was a massive +450 underdog going into the bout. While Chimaev controlled Strickland on the ground in the first round, the tide turned in the second round. Strickland completely took over in the third round, and Chimaev failed to mount a comeback despite a valiant effort in the championship rounds. Strickland earned a split decision victory in one of the biggest upsets in recent UFC title fight history. 

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Faith in Strickland Paid Off While most expected Chimaev to dominate on the ground, many considered Strickland the biggest threat to “Borz.” Among the latter was UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone. “Cowboy” revealed he won $45,000 after betting $10,000 on Strickland to win.

“Yeah, I won $45,000,” Cerrone told The Schmo. “I put $10,000 on Sean.”

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Michael Bisping is not impressed with Alex Pereira’s latest sparring footage.

Pereira (13-3) is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14. Having started his MMA career at middleweight, the jump is massive for Pereira. 

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Pereira recently uploaded a sparring video with UFC heavyweight Tallison Teixeira. Bisping is concerned about Pereira’s heavyweight move after watching the footage. Bisping notes that Pereira doesn’t have much output and also gets clipped by “Xicao.” While Bisping gives Teixeira due credit, “The Count” doesn’t think he is on the same level as Gane. Bisping expects Pereira to have his way with Teixeira if he is preparing to fight Gane. Bisping also expects Gane to have a speed advantage over Pereira.Analyzing the Tape “Tallison Teixeira is a good fighter; he’s got a big fight coming up… But for Alex Pereira going up against Ciryl Gane, you would think that he would be having his …

Conor McGregor will return to action at UFC 329 on July 11. | Getty/UFC

Everything is in place for Conor McGregor to make his first Octagon appearance since July 2021.

McGregor will face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While their first meeting was contested at 145 pounds, the return date will take place in the welterweight division. Perhaps most importantly, the Irish star is happy with the financial terms that led to his UFC return.

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"It's like a musical – music to my ears, it is. I'm out so long, five years,” McGregor told Mac Energy (via Championship Rounds). “My body's fresh. My mind is sharp. I'm ready to come back. I've got a great opponent. I've got a great deal off the UFC. I'm very, very happy, They honored me, finally.

"July 11, and the opponent is a man I've beaten before in Max Holloway. He's an established fighter, an accomplished fighter, former UFC world champion, mul…

Aleksandar Rakic has lost four straight UFC outings. | Getty/UFC

Aleksandar Rakic is officially headed to the big man’s division.

The former light heavyweight contender will square off against Marcin Tybura at UFC Belgrade, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday. UFC Belgrade takes place on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, and is headlined by a welteweight showdown between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez. A middleweight tilt pitting Dusko Todorovic against Robert Valentin was also confirmed for the card.

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Time for a Change Rakic, 34, has lost his last four Octagon appearances at 205 pounds. In his lone appearance of 2025, “Rocket” suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321 this past October. The Austrian fighter won six of his first seven outings to emerge as a contender in the light heavyweight division before his current skid, which also includes setbacks to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka …

If career transition is one of the biggest concerns for MMA athletes after fighting, Renato "Moicano" Carneiro has reason to celebrate.

As far as MMA goes, the 37-year-old “Moicano” showed he still has plenty of fight left in him on April 4 by submitting American Top Team training partner Chris Duncan in the main event of UFC Fight Night 272.

Thanks to the resounding success of his YouTube channel, the ATT athlete already has an excellent career transition guaranteed when he decides to retire. Last Saturday, almost a month after being awarded best influencer in Brasilia at the Brazilian internet Oscars (iBEST), “Moicano” took another step towards this successful transition. He once again used his well-known sense of humor to innovate and achieve success, this time as the promoter of Money Moicano MMA, an event with 10 MMA fights held in São Paulo last Saturday at the Cornerman Academy.

With a dwarf as the announcer, fights between amateurs registered on his channel…

Joe Schilling's first MMA fight since 2019 ended in controversy. | PFL MMA

Joe Schilling’s first mixed martial arts appearance in more than six years ended in unusual fashion at PFL Brussels.

Schilling was on his back during a light heavyweight matchup against Donegi Abena when his opponent headbutted him while inside guard. “Stitch ‘Em Up” was visibly angry as the bout was halted due to the foul. The fight appeared ready to resume after referee Mike Beltran took a point from Abena, but Schilling decided to call it quits when the fighters were repositioned on the canvas. As a result, Schilling suffered a technical knockout loss due to retirement at the 36-second mark of Round 1.

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😱 C'EST DU JAMAIS VU !

Joe Schilling met fin au combat après avoir pris un coup de tête de son adversaire, parce qu'il n'est pas d'accord avec la position pour reprendre l'action ! pic.twitter.com/hggZdvQlsU

— RMC Sport Combat…

Daniel Rodriguez has won his last three UFC appearances. | Getty/UFC

Daniel Rodriguez is going from Mexican prison to the main event of the UFC’s first ever card in Serbia.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that Rodriguez will face Uros Medic in the UFC Belgrade headliner on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Also known as UFC Fight Night 283, the card is also expected to include a heavyweight tilt pitting former 205-pound talent Johnny Walker against Ante Delija.

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Quite the Turn of Events Rodriguez will return to action for the first time since July 2025, when he extended his promotional winning streak to three with a unanimous decision triumph over Kevin Holland at UFC 318. Shortly after that victory, Rodriguez was arrested for attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with marijuana, and he spent approximately eight months in Mexican prison as a result of that transgression. The 39-year-old’s current winni…

Sean Strickland lashed out at the influencer community after attending Adin Ross’ boxing event. 

Ross hosted the Brand Risk 14 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sunday. The card featured renowned personalities like musician Ray J, former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel, and former NBA players Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson. Meanwhile, it also had bizarre matchups like dwarves fighting each other in MMA. Strickland, fellow UFC fighter Arman Tsarukyan and UFC head honcho Dana White were in attendance at the event. 

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However, Strickland (30-7) regretted attending the event and vented as soon as it ended. The UFC middleweight champion claims he feels “less of a man” after being a part of the event.

“I have never been a part of anything so shameful in my life,” Strickland said on his Instagram Stories. “And I hate myself and I feel like less of a man after being here. Oh God, why did I agree to this? I'm sick to my stomach.”

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