Martial Arts News

Carlos Leal outdueled Chidi Njokuani at UFC Houston. | Getty/UFC

When he entered the Octagon this past Saturday to face Chidi Njokuani on the last fight of his UFC contract, Carlos Leal knew there was only one possible path: to win, and in a convincing way.

“I knew that my future depended on my performance, so I entered that Octagon thinking, no matter what happens, I can bleed, break myself, but I will keep moving forward in search of the knockout,” Leal told Sherdog.com.

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Leal, who defeated Njokuani via unanimous decision in their welterweight bout at UFC Houston, revealed that he broke his hand during the fight.

“It was right at the beginning of the second round. I was sure I had broken it when I landed a second punch to his head that got him dizzy,” Leal said. “Even in a lot of pain, I kept punching him with the broken hand. I fought like I was fighting for my life, and it was worth it.”

The Brazilian left the Octagon certain…

Joshua Van admittedly didn’t know that one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time was in the UFC. 

Van (16-2) won the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja via a freak injury at UFC 323 this past December. “The Fearless” had sparked controversy in the lead-up to the fight by labellng Pantoja the greatest flyweight of all time. Fans instantly brought up Demetrious Johnson (25-4), who is widely considered not only the greatest flyweight, but arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Van later explained that he hadn’t watched much of Johnson’s fights and grew up watching Pantoja. 

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Not a Historian Van recently revealed that he wasn’t even aware that Johnson was in the UFC. The UFC flyweight champion only knew of “Mighty Mouse” from highlights of his viral flyweight knee knockout over Adriano Moraes.

“I swear to God, I didn’t know he was in the UFC,” Van said on the "Jaxxon Podcast.” “I saw him fighting in ONE Championship. His hig…

Carlos Prates doesn’t think he is the ideal return fight for Conor McGregor. 

McGregor has been teasing a return to competition once again, this time at the White House in June. Prates’ name has somehow been brought up in rumors as a welcome back matchup for McGregor. 

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Prates clarified that he has yet to hear anything from the UFC about a potential fight against McGregor. While Prates would be honored to fight the former UFC double champion, he doubts that the matchup will come to fruition. Prates notes that McGregor hasn’t fought since 2021 and is likely retired from MMA. Prates believes McGregor wouldn’t be inclined to return against a dangerous welterweight like him. Prates doesn’t doubt that he would inflict serious damage on McGregor and believes “Notorious” ideally shouldn’t return against him.A Bad Idea for a Comeback Fight “A lot you guys have been asking me about the Conor McGregor fight,” Prates said on Instagram. “And I didn’t ge…

Israel Adesanya wants harsh laws for sucker punches in New Zealand. 

Adesanya’s teammate, Liufau Vake, popularly called Fau, was killed by a sucker punch in 2021. Vake and his brother Ika were attacked by four men outside a bar on Symonds Street in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 16, 2021. The 25-year-old Vake was punched on the side of the head by Daniel Havili when he wasn’t alert. Vake was unable to break the fall and hit his head on the side of the road, leading to a skull fracture and brain bleeding. Vake couldn’t recover despite undergoing surgery and passed away nine days later. 

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Havili pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Meanwhile, another assailant, Ofa He Mooni Folau, pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months’ home detention. 

Adesanya has since been working on making the laws harsher so people hesitate before punching someone. Adesanya further notes that one…

Logan Storley is undefeated in South Dakota. | PFL MMA

Logan Storley is headed home for his next Professional Fighters League appearance.

Storley will face Florim Zendeli in a featured welterweight attraction at PFL Sioux Falls on May 2, the promotion announced on Wednesday. The card takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and will also see former Legacy Fighting Alliance champ Cheyanne Bowers make her PFL debut against Sabrina de Sousa in a women’s flyweight encounter. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes in the United States beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims kick off on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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A South Dakota native, Storley reached the finals of PFL’s 2025 welterweight tournament, where he lost a unanimous decision to Thad Jean last August. Storley is a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and an ex-Bellator MMA interim welterweight champion who owns notable triumphs over the li…

Charles Oliveira was scared that his career was over after a mysterious injury in his first fight against Max Holloway. 

Holloway (27-8) will put his BMF title on the line in a rematch against Oliveira (36-11) in the main event at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. The two lightweights had met for the first time more than a decade ago in a featherweight matchup in 2015. Oliveira was in visible agony after an attempted takedown in the opening round. While “do Bronx” got back to his feet, he kept holding his neck in pain, forcing the referee to step in. 

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Back then the injury was deemed to be an esophageal tear. However, Oliveira believes most people couldn’t explain his injury. The Brazilian recently revealed that he lost sensation on his left side following the injury, leading to talks of paralysis. Oliveira couldn't even feel the IV drip on his left arm inside the ambulance. The future lightweight champion admits being s…

Nassourdine Imavov hasn’t been guaranteed a title shot against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Imavov recently revealed that the UFC brass originally wanted to match him against Chimaev in December 2025. The potential timeline was later postponed to this past February, but Chimaev was injured. Imavov says that although matchmaker Mick Maynard recently reiterated his interest in the matchup, nothing has been confirmed yet.

Multiple Delays “No final news yet, no contract signed,” Imavov told MMAFighting.com. “One of the last discussions I had with Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard in Qatar – They told me that they wanted to schedule the fight against Khamzat for December, then for February. But Khamzat got injured. We spoke recently with Mick Maynard, and they want to see the fight happen, but we don’t have final approval.”

Imavov (17-4) is widely considered the most deserving middleweight title contender with wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen, Israel Adesany…

Robert Whittaker believes Max Holloway can’t lose the BMF  title. 

Holloway puts his BMF title on the line against Charles Oliveira in the main event at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. While Whittaker doesn’t exactly understand what the BMF title signifies, he is sure that there is none more deserving of the honor than Holloway. Whittaker recalls Holloway's iconic point down in the final seconds of his fight against Justin Gaethje, and knocking him out in a buzzer beater. Whittaker believes no one except Holloway has the guts to invite their opponent to a slugfest in the final seconds of a fight that they were already winning convincingly. While “The Reaper” likes Oliveira, he is concerned that the Brazilian will suffer serious damage against Holloway.

Safety Concerns “I don’t think Max can lose that title,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “You can’t be up five rounds and then point to the center of the Octagon — nobody else does that. Nobody else can. They d…

Dana White has confirmed the date for UFC White House is still the same. 

The UFC is set to stage a one-of-kind event at the White House in June. The date for the card was initially expected to be June 14, the birthday of President Donald Trump. But recent reports surfaced of the card being postponed to June 26. However, White has since refuted the rumors, assuring fans that the event will take place on June 14, Trump’s birthday.

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Media to Blame White wrote on Instagram Stories: “Media is so full of s—t. White House fight. Date is the same, Sunday, June 14.” 

The idea for the card was initially floated in June last year. The event will be held on the South Lawn of the White House, with potentially four to five title fights on the card. According to White, the $20 million budget for Noche UFC at the Sphere in 2024 is “ashtray money” compared to the cost of the White House card. A plethora of UFC stars have been calling for a spot on the car…

Michael Page was disappointed in the amount of money Zuffa Boxing shelled out for Conor Benn. | Getty/UFC

When the UFC broadcast deal with Paramount was announced, Michael Page took a wait-and-see approach rather than immediately celebrating the news.

Page’s skepticism turned out to be well founded when Zuffa Boxing, which is owned the same parent company as the UFC, made headlines in the combat sports world by signing Conor Benn to a one-fight deal worth a reported $15 million. While salary figures are rarely released these days, there are few, if any, athletes under the UFC banner who make that much for a single fight. Even with the new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast rights deal in place, thus far it doesn’t appear that UFC purses have increased significantly.

"It’s not something that I'm happy about," Page told Yahoo! Sports of the Benn signing. "What I would say is when the announcement of the Paramount, big-money partnership [with the UFC] came…

Brad Kohler (left) squared off against "Babalu" Sobral in 2000. | Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog.com

Brad Kohler once fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the pre-Zuffa era.

In the present day, he has big political aspirations in his home state. Kohler recently announced in a press release that he will be running for governor in Minnesota.

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“Many of you know me as a former UFC heavyweight professional fighter and three-time MMA world champion,” Kohler stated. “Since then, I have been recognized as an author, inventor, small business owner and mentor. From the experiences in my life, the family values and standards I hold myself to, and my business background, I believe I am the best candidate for this office.

“…My relentless commitment to serving the people of this great state has driven me to pursue this opportunity to lead. As governor, I will focus on making Minnesota a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”

From Lo…

Merab Dvalishvili is the latest UFC star to cross over the Real American Freestyle.

The organization announced on Tuesday that Dvalishvili will headline RAF 8 in Philadelphia on April 18. His opponent will be revealed at a later date. RAF 8 will stream exclusively on Fox Nation.

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“One of MMA’s most dominant champions is coming to wrestling’s new main stage,” read a post on social media.A Growing Talent Pool RAF, an unscripted professional wrestling league, has already enlisted the services of former and current UFC stars like Henry Cejudo, Arman Tsarukyan, Bo Nickal, Urijah Faber, Yoel Romero, Colby Covington and Michael Chandler, to name a few. The promotion’s upcoming event, RAF 6, takes place on Saturday in Tempe, Arizona and is headlined by a clash between Cejudo and Faber.

Over the course of a 14-bout winning streak from 2018 to 2025, Dvalishvili established himself as the UFC’s top bantamweight talent. “The Machine” captured 135-pound gold wit…