Martial Arts News

Bobby Green will square off against Mauricio Ruffy in a lightweight showdown at UFC 313.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC 313 takes place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje will face Dan Hooker in a five-round, non-title affair.

Green, who now goes by his former moniker of “King,” has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 38-year-old veteran of 50 fights suffered a first-round submission loss against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 this past July.

After earning a UFC deal on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2023, Ruffy has kicked off his promotional tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Jamie Mullarkey and James Llontop. The 28-year-old Fighting Nerds representative has been victorious in 11 of his 12 professional outings…

Islam Makhachev doesn’t think an eventual move to 185 pounds is unrealistic.

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The reigning UFC lightweight champ hasn’t been shy about his desire to eventually become a two-division champion. However, a friendship with current 170-pound king Belal Muhammad complicates matters. If Muhammad holds on to the welterweight belt, Makhachev sees another path to two-division gold.

“My height allows [a move to middleweight],” Makhachev recently told Ushatayka. “I think my physical data allows it, too. I just need to work with my specialists, gain muscle mass, add a little weight. I think I can try. As I already said at the press conference after the fight, if they offered it to me tomorrow and say they will give me time to gain weight, I would not turn it down. I would 100% agree to fight at middleweight.

“I’m not saying that I have a better chance, that I can 100% finish [Dricus] Du Plessis, but watching his fights, watching his style, I think I have the…

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Those who have followed mixed martial arts for any period of time know that retirements rarely last.

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However, Chris Weidman’s farewell was short-lived even by MMA standards. Approximately one week after announcing his retirement ahead of UFC 311, Weidman was selected in the Global Fight League draft. According to the former UFC middleweight champion, it was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

“The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC. A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn’t know,” Weidman said on the GFL draft stream. “I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but they had to be good.”

A lot of that had to do with some of the other athletes who are currently expected to be part of the fledgling promotion.

“This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a history with,” Weidman said. “You’ve got Luke Rockhold, you’ve got Gegar…

Alexandre Pantoja was able to benefit from a different perspective at UFC 311.

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The reigning flyweight champion was in Renato "Money" Moicano’s corner for his lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Even though his teammate lost via first-round submission, Pantoja found it to be a valuable experience.

“As a fighter it's very important to have the opportunity to see a fight from the trainer's point of view,” Pantoja told Sherdog.com. “I told ‘Moicano’ that he gave a child a VIP ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.”

Pantoja also revealed an interesting detail regarding the night American Top Team training partner Arman Tsarukyan had to withdraw from the main event, which resulted in him being replaced by “Moicano” on one day’s notice.

 "When I woke up I got a voice message from Parrumpa [coach Marcos da Matta] saying, ‘Call me as soon as you wake up,’” said Pantoja, who initi…

It’s officially the end of an era in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as longtime Octagon competitor Clay Guida confirmed his departure from the Las Vegas-based promotion in a lengthy Instagram post over the weekend.

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“This is not my retirement,” Guida wrote. “This is simply a thank you for now and a passing of my UFC torch to the next generation of warriors and wrestlers. We were built to last. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The best is yet to come!”

It’s unclear if Guida was released or if his UFC contract wasn’t renewed. Twitter account UFC Roster Tracker initially brought word of Guida’s exit from the promotion.

Guida, 43, has 37 UFC appearances to his credit, a figure that current ranks No. 4 all-time. He compiled an 18-19 mark since beginning his Octagon tenure in 2006, earning victories over the likes of Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, Anthony Pettis, B.J. Penn and Michael Johnson, to name a few. His 2009 lo…

Two of the sport’s all-time greats took time to exchange pleasantries backstage at Road to Dubai on Saturday.

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In a video posted on the Bellator MMA Instagram account, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov are seen exchanging pleasantries and posing for a photo in the locker room at the Coca-Cola Arena. Emelianenko was on hand to corner Vadim Nemkov in the co-main event, while Nurmagomedov was coaching a number of Dagestani fighters — most notably lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Emelianenko is a former Pride Fighting Championships standout who is widely regarded as perhaps the best heavyweight in MMA history. He famously went unbeaten in 28 consecutive fights from 2001 to 2009.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, retired from the sport in 2020 as the reigning UFC lightweight champion. “The Eagle” went 29-0 over the course of a career that began in 2008. Like Emelianenko, the Dagestani star is considered to be one of the top pound-for-po…

Paul Hughes’ first championship opportunity in Professional Fighters League resulted in a near miss.

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The Irish standout suffered a closely-contested majority decision defeat in a lightweight title bout against reigning champion Usman Nurmagomedov in the Road to Dubai headliner on Saturday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Hughes gave his thoughts on the ruling and his overall performance.

“We all thought I won that one,” Hughes said in a video on Instagram. “I think the judges’ scorecards were pretty ridiculous. But I’ll watch it back with a clear mind. I’m just judging from the energy of the arena and everyone surrounding the cage that thought it was mine. I’m not going to make excuses, though. I should’ve pushed harder. And I will the next time. I know we’ll fight again.”

“Big News” pointed to a pause in the action that occurred due to an accidental clash of heads in Round 4 as…

While Usman Nurmagomedov gives credit to Paul Hughes for pushing him in the Road to Dubai headliner, he isn’t interested in giving the Irishman an immediate rematch.

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Nurmagomedov edged Hughes via majority decision in a thrilling lightweight title bout at the Cola-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday. Though it was arguably the toughest test of his career to date, the unbeaten Dagestani would like to see Hughes earn his way back to a rematch.

“No, he have to earn with a couple two, three, four fights in [PFL],” Nurmagomedov said in a backstage interview after the event (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “He had only two fights and they gave him title shot. But Paul Hughes, this is all my respect to this guy. I think if he even go to the tournament for $1 million, he 100 percent [has a] chance to take this belt. Then, we can talk rematches.”

Nurmagomedov appreciated the test that Hughes provided, but he admits that he didn’t …

UFC Saudi Arabia has lost a proposed middleweight clash between Andre Muniz and Ikram Aliskerov one week before the event.

Muniz announced via Instagram stories that the fight has been postponed due to passport issues, but he expects it to be rescheduled at an unspecified date in the future. UFC Fight Night 250 takes place on Saturday at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is headlined by a 185-pound showdown pitting Israel Adesanya against Nassourdine Imavov. The event will proceed with 12 fights.

Muniz snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he took split verdict over Jun Yong Park at UFC Fight Night 233 in December 2023. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace is 6-2 since debuting in the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019.

Aliskerov hasn’t competed since falling to Robert Whittaker via first-round knockout in a short-notice main event appearance at UFC on ABC 6 last June. Prior to that, he scored consecutive stoppages against Warlley Alves and Phil Hawe…

When it came to Dagestan vs. Ireland, to paraphrase the great Tito Ortiz, there was never no rivalry.

The Professional Fighters League introduced itself to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with a showcase event pitting competitors from Dagestan against their Irish counterparts. The Russians largely ran through their opposition, culminating with a Bellator MMA lightweight championship defense. Usman Nurmagomedov (19-0, 1 NC; 1-0 PFL) carried the weight of the defunct league on his shoulders, and he approached that challenge with a stoic intensity. In the face of the toughest test of his professional career, Nurmagomedov held on and secured the victory by majority verdict.

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ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!#RoadToDubai | LIVE NOW🇺🇸 MAX🇬🇧🇮🇪 DAZN🇷🇺 OKKO pic.twitter.com/6evoCG5cgl

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 25, 2025 The champ and Paul Hughes (13-2, 1-1 PFL) chewed up the lead legs of one another with kicks in the opening round when no…

Sherdog's live Professional Fighters League PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai coverage will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. The event streams live on the Max app in the U.S. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp …

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Watch the inaugural Global Fight League Draft will in the player above on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with six teams and cities:

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Los Angeles: Known as a hub and home for world-class gyms and athletes, this city will be led by Manager Wanderlei Silva and Coach Rafael Cordeiro, a legendary duo synonymous with Brazilian MMA excellence.

New York: Home to the most sports fans in the world, New York embodies history and grit. Led by legendary Coach Ray Longo, renowned for training champions, the team’s manager will be announced soon.

Miami: Where cultural vibrancy meets fight tradition, Miami thrives under Manager Thiago Alves and Coach Marcus “Conan” Silveira, icons of Brazilian and American MMA with roots in the legendary American Top Team.

Sao Paulo: Sao Paulo embodies the rich heritage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Vale Tudo—the very foundations of modern MMA—guided by former champion Manager Lyoto Machida and legendary Coac…