Martial Arts News

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Conor McGregor is coming back soon.

Ultimate Fighting Championship star McGregor has often been a subject for discussion since his last fight in July 2021 when Dustin Poirier broke his leg in their trilogy match. Regularly injecting himself into championship conversations, keeping himself in the news by floating things like vying for the middleweight belt, he has been regularly asked about by fans and media members alike.

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On Thursday, UFC chief Dana White appeared on “The Jim Rome Show,” where he spoke about McGregor’s future with the promotion. White explained upfront that the relationship between McGregor and the company is indeed in a good place. He further noted that the comeback for the Irishman, who will turn 38 in July, is in the works. McGregor himself often posts photos and videos of his training to get in shape for his next match.The cure for the summertime bluesIf what White says comes to fruition…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship's biggest grudge match of 2026 is now official after the UFC 328 weigh-ins.

UFC middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev and challenger Sean Strickland have had a war of words in the lead-up to their five-round fight, and it's clear no love has been lost. However, both men were pure professionals when it came to making weight for the UFC 328 main event, as both came in under the 185-pound championship limit. Meanwhile, flyweight champion Joshua Van and challenger Tatsuro Taira both weighed 125 pounds on the dot for their co-main event fight. In total, 13 fights are now set after all fighters made weight with the exception of Jeremy Stephens, who came in four pounds over the lightweight limit for his fight against King Green and will be fined 30% of his purse as a result.

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The undefeated Chimaev (15-0) will look to make his first championship defense against his one-time training partner. "Borz" is coming…

When looking solely at the revenue statements, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is bigger and badder than ever.

During a TKO-run financial call on Wednesday, TKO Group Holdings President Mark Shapiro shrugged off any concerns that fans and media have raised lately about the quality of its events. All across social media, fans have lambasted the UFC’s matchmaking and card creation decisions this year since the Paramount deal came into play. The claims of fewer ranked combatants on the billing, a smaller number of championship pairings and more fights with athletes on long losing streaks have plagued the promotion as of late.

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Prior to UFC 328 on Saturday, the promotion has only run three championship bouts this year: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 and Carlos Ulberg vs. Jiri Prochazka. Four more are on the books through June, with two of those at UFC 328 and the other two at the UFC White House event.

As …

Before you read how much it will cost some to attend the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s White House show, you might want to be sitting down.

At the UFC White House card on June 14, approximately 4,000 to 4,500 individuals will be able to attend in the newly constructed arena built for this event alone. It will be held on the White House lawn, with stands for seating and a giant framework overhead for lighting and possibly rain protection in the event of inclement weather. Some have hailed the structure, which was seen being put together in Pennsylvania, as something reminiscent of a roller coaster.

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The promotion has said it will be spending around $30 million of its own money to run this event, reportedly without assistance from the government. Public seating will not be available, although there will be limited opportunities for fans to win contests and earn tickets. Otherwise, those seats will be specifically sold by the UFC in conjunction with …

The four men at the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship White House card billing can win a two-of-a-kind prize.

On Wednesday, the promotion brought the four headliners of the UFC White House event to the White House for some staredowns, interviews and meet-and-greets with the president. President Donald Trump showed off mockup images of the arena that will be constructed specifically for the event. Additionally, he revealed that there will be custom belts up for grabs.

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Atop the billing is a unified lightweight championship pairing between Georgian champ Ilia Topuria and American interim titleholder Justin Gaethje. In the co-main attraction, Brazilian former two-division champion Alex Pereira will move up to challenge French ex-interim titlist Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight strap. All four men were in attendance clad in suits for the big day. Per the reveals, both newly crowned champions will be taking home a specially created gold be…

It was always a question of when, not if, the Professional Fighters League would hold a fight card in Saudi Arabia this year.

Via press release on Thursday, the organization announced that June 19 would be the date of the next Saudi Arabian fight card run by the PFL. The event, which is currently listed as PFL MENA 10, does not currently have a headliner or billing set. Fights will go down at the King Abdullah Sports City Indoor Arena in Jeddah. The promotion announced that a pair of local athletes would be competing at the event, with one of the two making their professional debuts.

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Currently 3-0 as a professional, the PFL has indicated that Jeddah native Malik Basahel will absolutely be part of the lineup. He does not yet have an opponent announced, with that news coming soon. A longtime amateur, Basahel dabbled in the PFL three times as an unpaid athlete until he flipped the switch in May 2025 to enter the professional ranks. Over the course of …

Despite not winning a performance bonus for his victory over Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327, Paulo “Borrachinha” Costa has nothing to complain about regarding the fruits of his labor.

With a long history at middleweight and now ranked No. 7 by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the light heavyweight division, Costa feels he has a real chance of competing for the 205-pound interim belt soon with champ Carlos Ulberg recovering from a serious knee injury. He has also been called out by former champion Jiri Prochazka.

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And the Brazilian's range of possibilities doesn't end there. After challenging Josh Hokit for “stealing his bonus” at UFC 327 and receiving a positive response from the American, a match at heavyweight has also become an option for Costa.

“I have one more fight on my UFC contract and thank God there are plenty of options,” Costa said. “I can fight in all three divisions.”

When asked who he would select between Hokit, Prochazka and m…

Johnny Eblen has waited patiently, and will now get his shot at redemption 364 days after losing his crown.

That moment will come on July 18 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, as the Professional Fighters League on Wednesday revealed its plans for a rematch pitting PFL middleweight champion Costello van Steenis against the man he dramatically upset almost a year ago to the day.

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“This is the fight that fans have been asking for since the moment Costello secured the rear-naked choke in the final seconds of their first world championship fight,” PFL CEO John Martin stated in a news release. “There were a lot of opinions about how that fight ended, and both fighters have something to prove. Now we have a massive rematch with everything on the line, validation for ‘The Spaniard,’ or redemption for ‘Pressure.’ I can’t wait to see how it plays out on July 18.”

Eblen (17-1) was widely considered to be one of the best middleweights in the world before…

Khamzat Chimaev has shared a glimpse of his sparring with Sean Strickland.

Chimaev will put his middleweight title on the line against Strickland in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. There is some serious beef between Chimaev and Strickland from their time training together.

Chimaev (15-0) briefly trained with Strickland (30-7) at the Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas. Things allegedly went sour between the two after Strickland made insensitive comments about Chimaev’s homeland of Chechnya. Strickland claims Chimaev didn’t show up when invited to settle things like men. Meanwhile, Chimaev says those who saw them train together know what went down.

Chimaev also made Strickland tap out in sparring, which the American admitted in a previous interview with “The Schmo.” However, Strickland has since dismissed it as a situational grappling session.

Strickland has recently accused Chimaev of bullying lesser fighters in …

While both are known for their trash talk, Sean Strickland is not a fan of Josh Hokit.

Hokit has quickly risen to stardom in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, cutting pro wrestling-style promos. “The Incredible Hok” also toes the boundary at times, like saying Curtis Blaydes’ parents knew the exact position of coitus to have ugly offspring.

Strickland, who is known for his controversial trash talk, believes Hokit’s style is fake and fabricated. Strickland claims he instantly shuts off clips of Hokit whenever they pop up on his feed. Strickland is also not a fan of Hokit interviewing random people on the streets. However, Strickland has nothing personal against Hokit and even likes him as a person. Strickland further admits that while he may not like it, Hokit’s style is seemingly working as it has landed him a spot on the UFC White House: Freedom 250 card.

“I respect him for doing it,” Strickland said on UFC on Paramount. “To me, it’s too much. It’s so fake …

Khamzat Chimaev is unfazed by Sean Strickland’s trash talk days before their UFC 328 clash.

Chimaev (15-0) will look to defend his middleweight title against Strickland (30-7) in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While Strickland’s trash talk is bordering on sinister, Chimaev has an unusually calm aura heading into the fight.

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Strickland recently said that he would confront Chimaev in the hotel lobby if both the teams are treated unfairly by the UFC. However, Chimaev claims he has been waiting in the lobby for three days with no sign of Strickland. UFC head honcho Dana White said there will be no face-off between Chimaev and Strickland and that security will be increased for safety. Chimaev believes the extra security is for Strickland’s safety, not his own.

Strickland also threatened to shoot Chimaev and his team if they try to jump him. Responding to Strickland’s death threats, Chimaev says he is not sc…

Carlos Prates should not count himself out of the next Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot just yet.

Prates, Michael Morales, Ian Garry and Kamaru Usman are all in the running for the next welterweight title shot against Islam Makhachev (28-1). Prates dominantly beat down Jack Della Maddlena en route to a third-round stoppage win at UFC Perth last weekend and subsequently claimed that Makhachev is set to defend his title against Garry in August. “The Nightmare” said that he is willing to wait for the winner of that bout, which was allegedly confirmed. However, Makhachev says no one from the UFC has said who his next opponent will be. According to Makhachev, there are still four contenders in the running for the next title shot, including Usman, who himself admitted that he is out of the race.

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“The UFC haven’t informed me yet, but there’s been a lot of rumors about me fighting Ian Garry next,” Makhachev told Red Corner MMA. “Yet, I…