Martial Arts News

Gadzhi Rabadanov recently had a 12-bout winning streak snapped. | Getty/UFC

Gadzhi Rabadanov will look to return to the win column when he faces Aleksandr Chizov in the PFL Sioux Falls co-main event.

The PFL announced the lightweight bout on Tuesday. PFL Sioux Falls takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is headlined by a welterweight scrap pitting Logan Storely against Florim Zendeli.

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When PFL still utilized a season format, Rabadanov captured the 155-pound title in 2024. That was part of a 12-fight winning streak that extended into PFL’s 2025 lightweight tournament. The Dagestani’s run ended in the finals of the bracket, where he dropped a five-round verdict against Alfie Davis this past August. Radadanov’s ledger includes victories over the likes of Kevin Lee, Marc Diakiese, Brent Primus and Steven Siler, among others.

Chizov, meanwhile, is coming off a PFL Europe championship in 2025, as he bested M…

Kai Kamaka III is headed back to the Octagon. | PFL MMA

The UFC Fight Night 272 lineup sits at 13 bouts after a lightweight bout was recently added to the card.

Kai Kamaka III will make his promotional return against Dakota Hope in a 155-pound affair on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Marcel Dorff was first to report the pairing. UFC Fight Night 272 is headlined by a lightweight clash pitting Renato Carneiro against Chris Duncan. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Veteran vs. Prospect Kamaka III went 1-2-1 during a brief UFC stint from 2020 to 2021. “The Fighting Hawaiian” has also competed for organizations such as Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League, earning victories over the likes of Henry Corrales, Bubba Jenkins and Pedro Carvalho. The 31-year-old has more recently fought under the Tuff-N-Uff banner, compiling a 3-1 mark since April 2025.

Hope, 29, has been victorious in 11 of 12 professio…

Gabriel Bonfim has won six of his last seven UFC outings. | Getty/UFC

After knocking out Randy Brown this past November for his sixth victory in seven fights, Gabriel Bonfim is preparing for the biggest challenge of his career to date.

Bonfim will face ex-welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in the UFC Fight Night 278 headliner on June 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

““He does the cage game very well,” Bonfim told Sherdog.com. “I believe he will try to grab me like [Nicolas] Dalby did, but I will get there very well prepared for this fight. Ian Garry showed the way. The idea is to move around, defend takedowns, use low kicks and connect with my hard hands to knock him out.”

The Brazilian believes that if Garry's fight against Islam Makhachev is confirmed and he manages an impressive victory over Muhammad, he could get a title shot afterward.

“In my view, [Michael] Morales is ahead to get the fight with Islam,” Bonfim said. “But I think Garry…

The lineup is complete for PFL Belfast.

The promotion announced the full card for the April 16 event on Tuesday. PFL Belfast takes place on April 16 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Darragh Kelly and Jay-Jay Wilson. In the co-main event, Rhys McKee will face Alex Lohore at a 176-pound catchweight. Rounding out the main draw is a light heavyweight tilt pitting Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov against Tyson Pedro.

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𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your FULL updated #PFLBelfast Fight Card 👊

The PFL returns to Belfast on Thursday, April 16th! #PFLBelfast | Thursday, April 16th | SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 7PM EST | ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/9NhyCCuEDX

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 31, 2026

Newly confirmed bouts on the prelims include Pedro Carvalho vs. Sergio Cossio at 165 pounds and Omran Chaaban vs. Chequina Noso Pedro at welterweight.

PFL Belfast begins with the prelimin…

Arman Tsarukyan was unimpressed with Max Holloway’s latest performance. 

Holloway (27-9) put his BMF title on the line in a lightweight matchup against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 earlier this month. Oliveira took Holloway down with ease and dominated him on the ground for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision win. There are currently rumors floating about Conor McGregor returning to action against Holloway. 

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Tsarukyan believes Holloway is way past his heyday. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Holloway is washed up and fighting merely to collect his paychecks. Tsarukyan was surprised to see Oliveira take Holloway down at will. Tsarukyan questions how Holloway, with nearly two decades of experience, couldn’t defend a takedown against Oliveira, whose wrestling isn’t his strongest suit. While Oliveira is primarily known for his jiu-jitsu, the Brazilian’s win over Holloway felt like a wrestling masterclass to Tsarukyan.‘He Looked So Bad’ “Max is …

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think Israel Adesanya is the same fighter he once was. 

Adesanya (24-6) took on Joe Pyfer in the main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday. “The Last Stylebender” briefly looked his old self, chopping away at Pyfer’s lead leg and maintaining distance with his jab. Adesanya’s shots even seemingly started affecting Pyfer in the second round until things drastically turned around. Pyfer hurt Adesanya, took him down, flattened him out, and unleashed vicious ground-and-pound to secure a stoppage win. 

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Sterling believes Adesanya is not the same as he was when on a stellar run, defending the middleweight title five times. “Funkmaster” primarily noticed Adesanya’s reaction time slowing down compared to his older self. Sterling notes that Adesanya suddenly chose to stand and trade with Pyfer in the second round instead of being his usual elusive self. Sterling believes Adesanya could have won if he controlled the range for five…

Francis Ngannou believes Ciryl Gane might be a problem for Alex Pereira. 

With heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recovering from an eye injury, Pereira (13-3) and Gane (13-2) will fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14. Ngannou believes his former training partner will be the quicker fighter. Meanwhile, Ngannou predicts that Pereira will be stronger and more stable in his stance. Ngannou believes Pereira will have a hard time figuring out how to close the distance against Gane to begin with.

A Contrast in Skill Sets “Ciryl Gane comes here more with the strategy of a lighter person,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “Because he moves a lot, he is fast. And I think Alex Pereira will be more stiff, stable, strong, and solid. Ciryl will be more fast, moving around, his technique, he’s good at that. And it’s gonna be very difficult for Alex Pereira to even get to the distance to figure out what he can do.” 

Ngannou and Gane used to be traini…

Francis Ngannou believes Ciryl Gane might be a problem for Alex Pereira. 

With heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recovering from an eye injury, Pereira (13-3) and Gane (13-2) will fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14. Ngannou believes his former training partner will be the quicker fighter. Meanwhile, Ngannou predicts that Pereira will be stronger and more stable in his stance. Ngannou believes Pereira will have a hard time figuring out how to close the distance against Gane to begin with.

A Contrast in Skill Sets “Ciryl Gane comes here more with the strategy of a lighter person,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “Because he moves a lot, he is fast. And I think Alex Pereira will be more stiff, stable, strong, and solid. Ciryl will be more fast, moving around, his technique, he’s good at that. And it’s gonna be very difficult for Alex Pereira to even get to the distance to figure out what he can do.” 

Ngannou and Gane used to be traini…

Sean O'Malley claims he hasn’t been jealous in a long time until he saw Ilia Topuria’s latest partnership deal. 

Topuria recently became the first combat sports athlete to sign with the Swiss luxury watch brand Richard Mille. O’Malley admits that he was jealous when his coach, Tim Welch, shared the news with him. However, O’Malley acknowledges that Topuria has earned the partnership. O’Malley notes that “El Matador” has knocked out three legends in a row in Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, and is now scheduled to headline the UFC’s iconic White House card against Justin Gaethje.

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Well Deserved “I haven’t felt the jealousy emotion in a long time,” O’Malley said on YouTube. “And I felt it when Tim sent me this screenshot – Ilia signed with Richard Mille. That is sick. But I’m also like, [Ilia] knocked out three legends, knocked out three Hall of Famers in a row, he’s headlining the White House. Well deserved, 100%. He deser…

Jose Delgado wants some big names for his next outing. 

Delgado (11-2) is coming off a hard-fought split-decision win over featherweight veteran Andre Fili earlier this month. Delgado recently called out David Onama, Dan Ige and Josh Emmett. While Onama and Emmett are ranked 14 and 15, respectively, in the official UFC featherweight rankings, Ige recently lost his No. 13 spot to Patricio Freire. 

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Emmett headlined the same card against Kevin Vallejos, where Delgado defeated Fili. Vallejos knocked Emmett out clean in the very first round. Despite Emmett’s recent loss, Delgado believes the veteran knockout artist still has the “touch of death.” Delgado recalls when Emmett sent Bryce Mitchell to the shadow realm with a right hand in 2023, in one of the scariest knockouts in recent history.Not Here to Skate By “[David] Onama or Dan Ige would be sweet,” Delgado told Home of Fight. “Even Josh Emmett… Emmett’s got touch of death, man. The Bryce Mit…

Oktagon MMA’s new “Stand and Bang” rules will certainly be a treat for bloodthirsty combat sports fans. 

Oktagon MMA is scheduled to host its next event on April 11 at the Enea Arena in Szczecin, Poland. The main attraction of the card will be a matchup between Poland’s Michal Materla (33-11) and Germany’s Christian Jungwirth (16-9), under the promotion’s new “Stand and Bang” rules. Co-founder Ondrej Novotny recently explained that the new rules include boxing with MMA gloves, clinching, but no kicks or takedowns.

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“Our new rules, ‘Stand and Bang,’ between Materla and Jungwirth, that would be something special,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “… Now it's basically gonna be boxing with small gloves, with elbows also, clinch on the fence, but no takedowns, no kicks. And I believe this will be something special.” ‘Everybody Wants to See Fights Like That’ Novotny explains that the new “Stand and Bang” rules are an upgrade of the older Underground rules, …

Alexandre Pantoja’s arm was dislocated and got set back to position within seconds. 

Pantoja put his flyweight title on the line against Joshua Van in the main event at UFC 323 this past December. It was less than half a minute into the fight when Van caught a kick from Pantoja and dumped him. As Pantoja put his left hand to the ground to balance, he fell back in agony with a visibly dislocated arm. Pantoja gestured to referee Herb Dean to stop the fight just before Van was considering landing follow up shots. 

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Pantoja revealed that he had set his arm back in place just as Dean intervened at 0:26 of the opening round. Pantoja briefly regretted asking Dean to stop the fight. However, a firm believer in God, “The Cannibal” believes everything played out the way it did for his well being. Pantoja believes that while he could have fought with an injured arm, it could have resulted in more serious injuries.Could Be Worse “He knew I hurt my arm,”…