Martial Arts News

Arman Tsarukyan wants upcoming lightweights to get a chance against perennial top contenders. 

Tsarukyan says the Top 5 of the UFC lightweight division is an exclusive club, where they repeatedly fight each other. “Ahalkalakets” wants the lower ranked fighters to get a chance against the old timers, for some new contenders in the division.

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“I don’t know why they give these old guys chances – Gaethje, Oliveira,” Tsarukyan said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I wouldn’t be surprised if Oliveira fights for the title again… We need new names. New names coming up – give them chance. For example, someone who just got to top 10, Top 15, give them a chance with Top 5 and maybe switch the names.” The Old Guard Tsarukyan’s claims certainly hold some weight. Perennial contenders like Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira have been ruling the top of the lightweight division. Gaethje has made two unsuccessful title bids, become the interim champion twice, a…

Alexa Grasso got back on track at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

While there was initially some confusion as to the official method of victory for Alexa Grasso in the UFC Seattle co-main event, there was no question in Dana White’s mind as to where it stacks up among MMA’s all-time best.

”I think it's one of the greatest finishes in the sport's history, let alone this year or tonight or whatever," the UFC CEO said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. "It was incredible.”

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Grasso officially defeated Maycee Barber via knockout at the 2:42 mark of Round 1, but it was the way in which she dispatched her opponent that truly stood out. The Mexican standout crumpled Barber with a left hand and tagged her with a quick follow-up shot before swiftly securing a rear-naked choke on her fallen adversary. The submission was hardly necessary — Barber was already unconscious — but it only added to the overall visual of the moment.

While Grasso will l…

Joe Pyfer put Israel Adesanya away with ground-and-pound at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

Joe Pyfer rose to the UFC through Dana White's Contender Series, earning a contract in his second appearance after suffering an elbow injury in his initial outing. That prompted the UFC CEO to urge other UFC hopefuls to "Be Joe Pyfer.”

After defeating Israel Adesanya via second-round technical knockout in the UFC Seattle headliner this past Saturday, Pyfer has designs on changing the perception of what the actually means.

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“I’m in a really good spot mentally,” Pyfer said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “The ‘Be Joe Pyfer,’ who I was as a person is dead, but the ‘Be Joe Pyfer,’ thing will live on in a much greater way now, where people can be inspired by it, and it actually means something. So, I’m proud of who I am now. …

“So, yeah, ‘Be Joe Pyfer’ will still be a thing, it’s just got a different meaning now.”

Leading up to UFC Seattle,…

Maycee Barber says she's OK after suffering a scary knockout loss to Alexa Grasso. | Getty/UFC

It’s hard to blame Maycee Barber for avoiding social media following her brutal knockout loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC Seattlethis past Saturday.

Grasso sat Barber down with a laser-like straight left, spinning her opponent around in the process. She landed one more quick shot to the chin before deftly locking in a rear-naked choke on Barber, who was already out. After the bout was halted, Barber lay motionless on the canvas for several minutes before leaving the Octagon under her own power. The official result of the fight was a knockout, because it was determined that Barber was unconscious once the submission was applied.

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While her team initially took to social media to provide an update on the fighter’s condition, Barber would later issue her own video statement via Instagram.

“Well this is not the post or video that I wanted to be makin…

Yoel Romero believes only his opponent, Vagab Vagabov, was happy with the outcome of their latest bare-knuckle fight. 

Romero and Vagabov headlined IBA 4 in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday. Despite Romero scoring a knockdown, Vagabov was declared the winner after five rounds. The crowd immediately expressed its disagreement with the decision by raining down boos. 

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IBA president Umar Kremlev has since announced that Romero’s loss will now be reviewed under a special commission, and Vagabov might have his win taken away. Romero supports IBA’s decision to review the result, which he believes only satisfied Vagabov and his team. Romero says that reviewing the fight is the right way to protect the image of IBA.Protecting the Image of the Company “About the decision, about the fight, nobody stay happy,” Romero told Red Corner MMA. “I think the only people who stay happy about the decision is my opponent and his team. The president is making th…

Colby Covington has doubled down on his claims of having dominated Arman Tsarukyan in training. 

Tsarukyan defeated Georgio Poullas in a wrestling rematch in the main event at RAF 7 on Saturday. Covington defeated Dillon Danis on the co-main event of the same card. Covington had recently claimed that he schooled Tsarukyan in training when he was at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. However, Tsarukyan has since denied the allegations, claiming to have never trained with Covington at ATT. Tsarukyan and Covington could be on a collision course for a wrestling match at RAF, as they have both expressed interest in the idea. 

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Covington (17-5) has since accused Tsarukyan (23-3) of lying by denying that they trained together. But Covington plans to remind Tsarukyan of their grappling practice in a potential matchup at RAF.

“He’s lying about it because he was a young kid at that time… Now he is in his prime, he feels like he is unbeatab…

Johnny Walker says it is best to train with a variety of sparring partners. 

Walker is scheduled to fight Dominick Reyes at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Walker trains at Xtreme Couture, which is also home to Francis Ngannou. Walker recently revealed that he ate a clean uppercut from the former UFC heavyweight champ just last week. 

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Walker explains that one has to mix up powerful and technical sparring partners depending on what stage of training camp they are at. The Brazilian says that it is OK to get hit hard early in camp, as there is ample time to recover. However, with less than two weeks left for his upcoming fight, Walker now plans to spar against technical and easy partners.Finding the Right Mix “I got a clean uppercut [from Ngannou] last week, and f—k, heavy handed, bro, crazy… It’s better to mix [powerful and technical sparring partners],” Walker told Full Mount MMA. “It depends where you are in the …

Colby Covington doesn’t think Sean Strickland’s wrestling defense will work against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Strickland is scheduled to challenge Chimaev for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland jumped ahead of Nassourdine Imavov for the title shot with a stoppage win over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston last month. A massive underdog going into the fight, Strickland completely shut down Hernandez’s gruelling wrestling. 

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The performance against Hernandez made many believe that Strickland can pull off a similar upset against Chimaev. However, Covington doesn’t think Strickland stands a chance against “Borz.” Covington believes Chimaev’s wrestling is on a completely different level than Hernandez’s. “Chaos” predicts that Chimaev will either earn a submission win over dominate Strickland on the ground for five rounds.Completely Different Levels “I’m not giving [Strickl…

Francis Ngannou was reminded of the sport's ruthless nature after watching his friend Israel Adesanya’s loss on Saturday. 

Adesanya took on Joe Pyfer in the main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday. While it was a closely-contested first round, there were glimpses of a prime Adesanya as he chipped away with leg kicks and a stiff jab. “The Last Stylebender” appeared to have found his groove in the second round as he started unleashing combos and hurting Pyfer. Ngannou thought the old Adesanya of championship days was back after the first round. However, Pyfer took Adesanya down and took his back, threatening a rear-naked choke. Adesanya shifted between giving up his back and giving Pyfer the mount. Pyfer finally flattened Adesanya out and unleashed a barrage of unanswered shots, forcing the referee to step in at 4:18 of Round 2. 

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Ngannou was heartbroken watching his friend’s brutal loss. The former UFC heavyweight champion got a reminder that …

Colby Covington wants to find out who’s the real All-American between him and Chris Weidman. 

Covington dominantly beat Dillon Danis in a wrestling match at RAF 7 on Saturday. Covington subsequently called for a RAF matchup against Arman Tsarukyan, who did not entirely shut down the idea. However, the UFC is allegedly not allowing its active fighters to wrestle each other at other promotions. 

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If a matchup against Tsarukyan doesn’t materialize, Covington claims he has a booking against Weidman sealed. “Chaos” claims he has a “done deal” to wrestle the former UFC middleweight champion at RAF 9 on May 30 in Dallas, Texas.Back to Work “This is the backup plan if we’re not able to get Arman, since they’re saying no right now,” Covington told Submission Radio. “That’s already a done deal. Me and Chris Weidman’s a done deal for RAF 9, which is gonna be on Dallas, Texas, it’s gonna be on May 30. So I’m back in training camp tomorrow, I’m gonna get…

Israel Adesanya is dealing with the roughest patch of his career. 

Adesanya fought way down the rankings, taking on Joe Pyfer in the main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday. After a close first round, “The Last Stylebender” appeared to be gaining momentum in the second round. However, Pyfer took Adesanya down, flattened him out, and unleashed brutal ground-and-pound to secure the finish in the second round. The defeat extended Adesanya’s longest losing streak of his career to four in a row. 

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'Respawn and Go Again' The former middleweight champion has since opened up about his loss. While Adesanya knows it’s a hard time for his supporters, the former middleweight champion humbly admits that he is going through an even harder time. Regardless, Adesanya vows to rise again and keep going.

“I know it’s hard on my people seeing me fall,” Adesanya wrote on Instagram. “I promise you it’s harder on me. Regardless, we respawn and go again.”

Ade…

Colby Covington’s UFC career is currently at a crossroads. 

While Covington (17-5) hasn’t fought in the UFC since December 2024, he has been active in wrestling competitions under the Real American Freestyle banner. “Chaos” defeated Dillon Danis in the co-main event at RAF 7 on Saturday. Covington was subsequently asked if he would continue being active in RAF or consider a UFC return soon. The former UFC interim welterweight champion confirmed that he will be committed to RAF going forward, claiming to have invested his own money in the wrestling promotion. Covington wants to build the RAF in the greatest combat sports league in the world. Covington also says that he has done everything he needed to do in the UFC, reiterating his recent falling out with the promotion.

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Back to His Roots “I’m all in on Real American Freestyle,” Covington told Red Corner MMA. “I’ve invested my own hard-earned money to Real American Freestyle. I want to see this pl…