Martial Arts News

Brandon Royval once missed out on a main event spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship due to his social media following.

Royval was scheduled to fight Askar Askarov in October 2022 in Las Vegas. Despite being a high-ranked flyweight contender, he wasn’t given the headliner spot on the card. Alexa Grasso headlined the card instead, with the Mexican taking on Viviane Araujo.

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Brandon Royval explains UFC matchmaking decision involving Alexa Grasso Royval recently revealed that the UFC told him Grasso had jumped ahead of him to take the main event spot because she had substantially more social media followers. He was livid at losing out on a headlining role, although it eventually didn’t matter as Askarov pulled out due to weight cut issues.

“Having followers is such a big deal,” Royval told Ariel Helwani. “I remember they didn't book me as the main event, and their reasoning was, I think it was Alexa Grasso, who they boosted in front of me. They we…

Axel Sola considers his last defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship an “alpha loss.”

Sola put his perfect record on the line in a lightweight tilt against Mason Jones at UFC London this past March. Sola and Jones put on a back-and-forth slugfest for 15 minutes that stole the show. While the French lightweight suffered a decision loss, both fighters walked home with an extra $100k each after earning Fight of the Night honors.

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Sola has now outlined the positives of his last bout.Axel Sola explains the impact of his Mason Jones loss before UFC Abu Dhabi Despite losing his undefeated record, Sola believes it made him a better fighter. The Frenchman also claims that the loss earned him more stardom and money than his past 11 wins.

“Great experience,” he said in a recent interview when asked about his last fight. “It definitely made me a better fighter. In one loss, I had more gain in visibility and money than in 11 wins. So, it was an alpha loss,…

Mike Davis needs to win at UFC Abu Dhabi to take the next leap in his career.

Davis is scheduled to fight Nurullo Aliev in a lightweight matchup on July 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He wants to secure a win so he can use the money to move to Las Vegas, considered the home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Mike Davis explains why Las Vegas move could boost his UFC career Davis claims moving to Las Vegas is the ideal next step to advance his career. Considering Meta Apex and T-Mobile Arena are the UFC’s most frequented venues in recent years, the 155-pounder believes it’ll allow him to stay more active.

Davis regularly visits Las Vegas, where he trains at the UFC Performance Institute, known for its state-of-the-art facilities. Having been injury-ridden throughout his career, he believes he will be healthier if he regularly visits the UFC PI.

“After this win, I plan to use the funds to move to Vegas,” Davis said in a recent interview.…

The Professional Fighters League and Rizin Fighting Federation are set to make history with a fight that will have two titles on the line.

PFL and Rizin just announced a cross-promotional championship fight for Super Rizin 5 on Sept. 10 at Kyosera Dome Osaka in Japan.

Rajabali Shaidullaev and A.J. McKee will fight for both the PFL and Rizin featherweight championships in Osaka Rizin Featherweight Champion Rajabali Shaidullaev (19-0) will face A.J. McKee (25-2) with both the Rizin and PFL featherweight titles on the line. Shaidullaev has finished all 19 of his career wins so far, 13 of them in the first round. The undefeated Kyrgyz champion has won and defended his title thrice in less than a year. Meanwhile, McKee is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

“There have been several occasions in the past when a fighter has entered another organization and challenged for that promotion’s championship,” Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said in a statement. “This time…

Thad Jean is confident that he can land a fight-ending blow in his upcoming bout against Shamil Musaev on July 25.

The undefeated 2025 Professional Fighters League welterweight tournament champion will challenge former tourney winner Musaev for the vacant PFL welterweight championship in the main event of PFL Washington D.C. at CareFirst Arena.

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Thad Jean discusses his strategy against Shamil Musaev ahead of the PFL welterweight championship bout Jean enters the title fight with an unblemished 11-0 record, while Musaev has an 18-1-1 slate and captured the 2024 PFL welterweight tournament before falling short in his bid for the inaugural divisional crown earlier this year. Ahead of their championship bout, Jean explained how he plans to make a statement against Musaev.

When asked if he has a prediction for the bout, Jean claimed he’ll take advantage of the fact that Musaev is coming off his first pro defeat.

“I think after his last loss, he wi…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Ben Askren says his body simply ran out of gas in the final wrestling match of his decorated career.

Just over a year after surviving a life-threatening bout of pneumonia that resulted in a double lung transplant, the former UFC welterweight contender returned to the mat at RAF 11 in Milwaukee, where he dropped a 6-3 decision to ex-UFC champion Belal Muhammad.

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Ben Askren explains final wrestling loss to Belal Muhammad Askren had a dream start after taking a lead through the opening two periods. However, Muhammad rallied in the third, scoring a takedown and reversal before pulling away late. Reflecting on the match, Askren told FloWrestling that his body could not keep up.

“The match was going relatively well,” he recalled. “At the end of the second period, when I walked over to my corner, I’m like, ‘sh*t! My legs have nothing left.’ I’m gonna have a hard time being in my stance. I’m gonna have a hard ti…

One of kickboxing's fastest-rising talents appears ready to test himself in a new arena.

K-1 cruiserweight champion Thian de Vries revealed via Instagram Stories that he plans to transition to mixed martial arts after completing two more kickboxing bouts following his latest win in Japan.

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Thian de Vries on what’s next after kickboxing: ‘MMA is the future’ The Dutchman, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in kickboxing, recently announced that he plans to move to MMA soon. While de Vries did not reveal when or with which promotion he intends to make his MMA debut, he indicated that he first intends to fulfill two remaining kickboxing commitments before making the switch.

“I am so f*cking happy and grateful guys,” the 25-year-old wrote in a new Instagram story. “It's been a tough year for me with injuries, a mental struggle sometimes. King of the Jungle is back, 2 more kickboxing fights and afterwards full focus on MMA, MMA is the future.”

He’ll loo…

Ilia Topuria was in a celebratory mood following Spain’s win against Argentina in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Just five weeks after losing the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, the former champion was spotted celebrating Spain's victory while wearing sunglasses.

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Spain's World Cup celebration sparks questions about Ilia Topuria's recovery Spain captured its second World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina, completing an impressive tournament run in which the European champions conceded just one goal across eight matches. Spain dominated possession against the former world champions as Argentina failed to create any meaningful opportunities of their own.

Topuria, who is of Georgian descent but was raised in Spain, joined supporters at a watch party, where he can be seen celebrating the victory with his son on his shoulder and many other Spanish fans.

Another …

Damian Pinas continues to generate buzz following his latest knockout victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras believes the surging middleweight is unlike anyone he has coached before.

Pinas bagged another UFC victory with a first-round knockout of Cesar Almeida at UFC 329. The Aruba native has now recorded nine knockouts in 10 professional victories, with one submission.

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Andre Pederneiras discusses Damian Pinas after UFC 329 knockout Pederneiras, who has spent more than three decades developing elite mixed martial artists, told Sherdog’s Marcelo Alonso that he immediately recognized Pinas' potential when he arrived at Nova Uniao for a tryout in 2024.

“I've held pads for a lot of heavyweights, including elite strikers, and I've never seen anyone hit as hard as he does,” Pederneiras said. “Right away I realized he was a special talent, and from that moment on he started training with us ... Besides …

Oleksandr Usyk says plans are beginning to take shape for what he expects will be the final fight of his storied professional boxing career.

The former undisputed heavyweight champion is targeting one final marquee bout before calling time on his career. Deontay Wilder has emerged as the leading candidate, while Dana White's Zuffa Boxing is reportedly among the promotional options.

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Oleksandr Usyk says his retirement fight could take place in the United States against Deontay Wilder as Zuffa Boxing emerges as an option Speaking on Daily Mail’s "The Hook" podcast, Usyk revealed that his farewell bout is expected to take place in the United States against a high-profile opponent. He added that his last fight will either take place at the year-end or in early 2027.

“Maybe in New York, [in a] stadium. It’s going to be against a big name,” Usyk said. “This could be maybe early next year, or at the end of this year, maybe December.”

The Ukrainian was…

Dustin Poirier is concerned for Michael Chandler.

Poirier has openly expressed his dislike for Chandler previously, which ramped up in the aftermath of their 2022 clash in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. "The Diamond" slammed the former Bellator champion for the repeated use of illegal moves like fish-hooking. While they’ve since buried the hatchet, Poirier wants to see Chandler hang up the gloves.

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Michael Chandler’s UFC future questioned by former rival Dustin Poirier Chandler is 2-6 in the UFC, with wins over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, and his last victory came all the way back in 2022. He is on a four-fight skid and recently teased a move up to welterweight following a first-round knockout loss against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250.

Poirier believes moving up a weight class is a terrible idea for Chandler considering the damage he is already taking at lightweight.

“With all due respect, we've buried the hatchet and shook hands,…

Ian Garry believes defeating Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 would make his greatness "undeniable."

The Irish welterweight challenges Makhachev for the 170-pound title in the UFC 330 headliner on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Considering the Dagestani champion’s accolades, taking the title off him is a monumental feat, according to Garry.

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Ian Garry views UFC 330 clash with Islam Makhachev as a career-defining fight Ahead of their fight, Garry acknowledged the magnitude of the challenge, calling Makhachev the best fighter in mixed martial arts today.

“I know how good Islam Makhachev is,” Garry told High Performance. “I know how talented he is. He’s 29-1 in the sport. He’s a two-weight division champion. He’s the most successful lightweight champion of all time and had the most lightweight defenses of all time. He is the current welterweight champion of the world. He came up a division and won …