Martial Arts News

Junior dos Santos expects Alex Pereira to have great success in his heavyweight debut. | Getty/UFC

Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had his final Octagon appearance against Ciryl Gane at UFC 256 in December 2020.

With fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira scheduled to face Gane in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14, dos Santos offered some insight as to what fans can expect in the interim heavyweight title bout.

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“First of all, I would advise ‘Poatan’ to the take care with the illegal blows,” joked dos Santos, who complained about Gane an illegal elbow to the back of his head following their bout.

As for the fight itself, “Cigano” believes the Pereira will have advantage.

“There couldn't have been a better fight for ‘Poatan´s’ debut at heavyweight,” he said. “Ciryl Gane will be a great challenge, as he is very fast and skilled for a heavyweight. But I think ‘Poatan’s' style will confuse him. ‘Poatan’ goes on th…

Michael Chiesa has a new opponent at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

The six-bout main card for UFC Seattle is set — with a late update.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the lineup over the weekend. The one noteworthy change will see Niko Price replace Carlston Harris in a welterweight bout against Michael Chiesa. The fight is slated to be a farewell for “Maverick,” a Washington native.

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Chiesa has been victorious in three straight Octagon appearances and is coming off a three-round verdict over Court McGee at UFC on ESPN 69 in June 2025.

Price, meanwhile, has lost five of his last six outings. Most recently “The Hybrid” suffered a first-round knockout loss against Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC Fight Night 266 on Feb. 7.

UFC Seattle -- also known as UFC Fight Night 271 — takes place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and is headlined by a middleweight duel pitting ex-champ Israel Adesanya against Joe Pyfer. The card airs in its en…

In his post-fight interview, Lerone Murphy said that his “hip popped” late in the UFC London main event.

Now, “The Iceman” knows the extent of his injury. In a post on his Instagram Stories on Monday, Murphy revealed that he suffered a torn hip flexor in Round 4 of his majority decision loss to Movsar Evloev on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.

🚨 Lerone Murphy reveals he tore his hip flexor in round 4 pic.twitter.com/dl7ydoJQhg

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) March 23, 2026

Murphy started well in the featherweight title elliminator, but Evloev pulled away down the stretch by effectively mixing his striking and wrestling. However, the majority of media scorecards on MMADecisions.com either scored the fight a draw or 48-46 in favor of Murphy.

Back with a Vengeance Murphy, who had a nine-bout UFC winning streak snapped, reacted to the loss in a separate post on Instagram.

“Loved every second of the fight,” he wrote. “I thought I …

Arman Tsarukyan believes Georgio Poullas can’t be trusted to stand his ground. 

Tsarukyan and Poullas are scheduled to wrestle in a grudge rematch at RAF 7 on March 28. The two have a lot of bad blood spilled over from their first meeting at RAF 6 last month. Poullas was accused of multiple fouls and penalized on points. Tsarukyan eventually won the match and punched Poullas, leading to an all-out brawl. 

Tsarukyan is wary of hitting Poullas going into their rematch at RAF 7. “Ahalkalakets” says Poullas is not a man of his word and might make an excuse to pull out of the bout or even sue him. However, the UFC lightweight doesn’t guarantee that there won’t be any trouble in the rematch. Tsarukyan also warns that as a UFC fighter, he won’t have any trouble seriously hurting the social-media wrestler.

‘A Tricky Guy’ “If Georgio was a man, I would have a problem with the guy, but with these guys I'm never gonna have problems because he's not a man of his word…

Joel Alvarez felt the difference in power after moving up to welterweight. 

Alvarez (23-3) moved up from lightweight to welterweight, replacing Santiago Ponzinnibbio on short notice against Vicente Luque (23-12) at UFC Rio in October 2025. Alvarez reveals that Luque is the hardest puncher he has ever faced, surprising him twice with his power.

Size Matters “Speaking of the power of hitting – Vicente Luque,” Alvarez said on ZZEN Talks. “He surprised me twice when he hit me. I said, ‘Holy s—t, this is the punching power of welterweights.’” 

Alvarez’s bout against Luque didn’t go down without some controversy. Alvarez caught Luque in the eye socket with what appeared to be a punch in the first round. Referee Osiris Maia called a stop to the contest, declaring a technical knockout win for Alvarez as Luque dropped to his knees in agony. However, the doctors were later brought in to check on Luque, and the fight was bizarrely resumed again. Alvarez eventually earne…

Khabib Nurmagomedov has unwavering support for Movsar Evloev. 

Evloev defeated Lerone Murphy via a majority decision in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Nurmagomedov congratulated the fellow Russian on his win via social media.

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“Congratulations brother,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram Stories.

While Evloev (20-0) doesn’t train Nurmagomedov’s team, he has always shared a close bond with the entire Dagestani brigade. “The Eagle” has previously raised his voice in support of Evloev, accusing the UFC of denying him a title shot. 

Waiting on a Title Shot Evloev’s clash against the previously undefeated Murphy was widely considered the featherweight title eliminator. Evloev is now on a 10-fight winning streak in the UFC, the second highest among active UFC fighters, only behind Nurmagomedov’s successor, Islam Makhachev. Following his win, Evloev called for a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, who had no qualms accepting imm…

Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotion and Netflix are seemingly coughing up big bucks to break into the MMA space.

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will headline MVP’s first MMA cardon Netflix on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. The card also features former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou against fellow UFC alum Philipe Lins.

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Meanwhile, Nate Diaz will also make his MMA return on the card against Mike Perry. During a recent episode of the JRE podcast, former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub said that he heard that Diaz is making $10 million for the fight against Perry. Meanwhile, UFC commentator Joe Rogan then claimed to have heard that Diaz is getting paid even more. Money to Burn The upcoming Netflix MMA card is being considered a counter to the UFC’s dominance in MMA. Rousey, around whom the card is built, has been going off on the UFC brass since the card was announced. However, MVP and Netflix might be offering massive pa…

Arman Tsarukyan might be considering a change in weight classes. | Getty/UFC

Arman Tsarukyan is teasing a move to featherweight. 

Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy clashed in a featherweight title eliminator in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. The fight turned out to be a highly technical affair, with nothing resembling domination from any either side. Despite getting deducted a point due to a low blow, Evloev walked away with a unanimous decision win. 

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However, the win was seemingly not enough to convince everyone that Evloev is getting the next featherweight title shot. Jean Silva, who was in attendance at UFC London, claims he is signing a contract for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, lightweight contender Tsarukyan is also fancying his chances for a featherweight title shot.

“UFC fans, is it time for me to save the featherweight division?” Tsarukyan wrote on Threads.

Tsarukyan a…

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t agree with the scorecards of the UFC London main event between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. 

Evloev (20-0) and Murphy (17-0) traded leather in a featherweight title eliminator at UFC London on Saturday. It was a closely-contested affair, and Evloev won Rounds 1, 3, and 5 on two of the judges’ scorecards. Meanwhile, one judge gave Murphy the first round, and all three gave him the second round. Despite getting deducted a point in Round 4, Evloev earned a majority decision victory. 

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#UFCLondon Official Result: Movsar Evloev (48-46, 48-46, 47-47 | @MovsarUFC) defeats Lerone Murphy via Majority Decision.

Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/hXnMr9XkMa

Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/icLfg0ppXx pic.twitter.com/IChg6zKI9P — UFC News (@UFCNews) March 21, 2026

Sterling has voiced his doubts about the scoring criteria following Evloev’s win. Sterling posted a screenshot…

Movsar Evloev has his sight fixed on Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title. 

Evloev handed Lerone Murphy his lone pro loss via a majority decision in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Currently unbeaten in 10 UFC outings, Evloev is now considered the frontrunner for the next title shot against Volkanovski.

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“Took London, coming for Sydney,” Evloev wrote.

Took London, coming for Sydney. #ufc pic.twitter.com/FkojJWqzql

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) March 22, 2026 While Evloev is known for his elite grappling, the Russian also held his own on the feet against Murphy. Evloev sincerely believes that he won’t need wrestling to beat Volkanovski.

“I’ll listen to your interview, and one thing about me, I’ll never make excuses,” Evloev wrote. “I truly don’t believe I need wrestling to beat you. You’re a great champion, and I respect you, but it would be something special to take your throne. Big respect see you…

Lerone Murphy suffered his first defeat at UFC London. | Getty/UFC

Lerone Murphy took a slight dig at the scorecards following his loss to Movsar Evloev. 

Murphy (17-1-1) and Evloev (20-0) put their undefeated records on the line in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. The fight was a technical masterclass, which had fans and pundits divided on how to score it. Evloev eventually earned a majority decision win despite getting penalized a point in the fourth round due to a low blow. 

Murphy congratulated Evloev in his post-fight Octagon interview, while also calling for the Russian to get the next featherweight title shot. However, Murphy is seemingly having second thoughts after rewatching the fight. Not one to talk much, the Englishman posted a laughter emoji upon rewatching the fight.

A Jab at the Judges? “Just watched the fight back,” Murphy wrote on X. “Congrats to [Evloev] either way.”

Just watched the fight…

Mauricio Ruffy will have to figure out his corner situation for his next fight. | Getty/UFC

The fact that Jean Silva was invited to attend UFC London was viewed by some as a way to pressure Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy to finish their title eliminator before the fifth round.

That didn’t happen, however, as the Russian won a majority decision after 25 competitive minutes. That result kept Jean Silva’s hopes alive of getting the next featherweight title shot and greatly reduced Mauricio Ruffy’s chances of doing his training camp at The Fighting Nerds.

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In an interview with Brazilian journalist Diego Ribas published on Ag.Fight’s YouTube channel last Thursday, Pablo Sucupira revealed details of his last conversation with Ruffy about his problems with Silva and the possibility of doing his camp for Michael Chandler at The Fighting Nerds. Sucupira said he wouldn't have any problem training Ruffy at Cornerman's facilities, which are often…