Martial Arts News

While it might be difficult to believe now, Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev allegedly got along well with each other in training. 

Strickland (30-7) is scheduled to challenge Chimaev (15-0) for the middleweight title at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. There seems to be some bad blood between the two, originating from their training sessions in the past. 

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However, Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, claims they got along really well when Chimaev visited the Xtreme Couture gym. According to Nicksick, the dynamic between Strickland and Chimaev was mostly competitive, with the two pushing each other to their limits. Nicksick has no idea when the relationship turned sour.‘They Pushed Each Other’“Honestly, I thought they got along really well,” Nicksick said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I thought they pushed each other really well. I felt like it was more of a competitive environment than anything. Where it ki…

Khamzat Chimaev finds time to play games even during fight camp. 

Chimaev (15-0) puts his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland (30-7) in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tsarukyan, a close friend of Chimaev, was recently invited to his camp. Tsarukyan couldn’t resist a laugh when he found Chimaev and his entire team playing Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, an online battle royal shooting game.

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Leisure Time Tsarukyan recorded Chimaev playing PUBG and said on his Instagram Stories: “Khamzat says: Come to camp, it will be fun, very fun, very fun. Absolutely amazing.”

Chimaev defended himself in response: “How else can we spend time in the evening?”

Apart from PUBG, Chimaev has also talked about playing Dota 2 and Counter-Strike since his teens. “Borz” has finished six of his nine UFC opponents so far. While Chimaev’s becoming a UFC champion seemed like a mere inevitability s…

Jorge Masvidal wonders who in the UFC is getting paid their worth, if not Jon Jones.

Jones (28-1) and the UFC had a public falling out since the announcement of the UFC White House card. Jones initially stalled the heavyweight division for over a year before retiring unceremoniously last June. Dana White kept promising that Jones would fight interim champion Tom Aspinall. White would even ragebait reporters who questioned him about Jones by labelling “Bones” the greatest fighter that ever lived. While Jones retired without fighting Aspinall, he returned to the drug testing pool as soon as the White House card was first mentioned. However, White always sounded sceptical about the idea, citing Jones' unreliability. 

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Despite rallying for a spot on the card for nearly a year, Jones failed to make it. White said that Jones was never part of the plan for the White House card. Jones lashed out on social media, claiming to have been in lengthy negotiat…

Charles Oliveira’s wife, Vitoria Brum, recently defended her husband’s performance against Mauricio Ruffy’s criticism. 

Oliveira (37-11) challenged Max Holloway for the BMF title in the main event at UFC 326 earlier this month. Oliveira controlled Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes to earn a dominant decision victory. However, Oliveira’s win received mixed reactions from fans and pundits. While some lauded the dominant performance, others deemed it lukewarm considering the BMF title at stake. To Oliveira’s credit, he threatened Holloway with multiple submission attempts. 

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Ruffy (13-2) was also critical of Oliveira’s performance, citing the lack of damage “do Bronx” landed on Holloway. Oliveira’s wife came to his defense, reminding Ruffy that there will be grappling in an MMA fight. Brum further noted that Oliveira has more submission wins than Ruffy has overall fights.The Numbers Speak for Themselves “Let's schedule a boxing match t…

Alex Pereira has a new UFC deal. | Getty/UFC

There will be no contract dispute between Alex Pereira and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

During a Monday appearance on “"The Ariel Helwani Show,” the former two-division champion revealed that he recently inked a new eight-fight deal with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Pereira recently vacated the 205-pound belt to move up to heavyweight, where he will face Ciryl Gane for the interim title in the UFC White House co-main event on June 14. The decision to give up the light heavyweight championship wasn’t too difficult once Pereira received a new contract offer. While “Poatan” did not share financial terms, it was clear he was quite pleased with the results.

Easy Choice "It was a pretty easy choice when I expressed I wanted to go [heavyweight.] Of course, I had to let go of the belt, but they gave me a new contract and I’m really, really happy with my new contract,” Pereira said through a translator. "I…

Mauricio Ruffy will face Michael Chandler at the UFC White House card. | Getty/UFC

Mauricio Ruffy turned out to be correct in the prediction of the venue for his next fight.

Four days before the official announcement of the UFC White House fight card, Ruffy said in an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, “The UFC is really liking my performances. What I can say now is that my next fight will either be at the White House or five rounds.”

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A few days later, Dana White would confirm the Brazilian's statement, revealing that Michael Chandler would be his opponent at the UFC White House event on June 14.

“I have to thank Hunter and Dana a lot. I will complete two years in the UFC in May, already fulfilling a dream,” Ruffy said in a recent inteview with Sherdog. “I have a lot of respect for Chandler not only as a fighter, but as a family man. He is a very dangerous oponent. What I can say is that I will get in there in great shape, and Cha…

It's been a while since Nate Diaz had an MMA fight. | Getty/UFC

Most Valuable Promotions is planning on making a serious impact with its first mixed martial arts event.

MVP announced on Monday that a five-round clash pitting Nate Diaz against Mike Perry has been added to its May 16 card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Diaz vs. Perry will be contested at welterweight. The MVP card is headlined by a women’s featherweight tilt between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, while Francis Ngannou will square off against Philipe Lins in the evening’s co-main event. The card will be the first MMA event to be broadcast on Netflix.

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"MVP delivered the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable, and now we're set to break records again with the biggest viewership in MMA history with the addition of Diaz vs Perry to Rousey vs Carano and Ngannou vs Lins," said MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian in a release. "Nate Diaz is the real BMF, and Mike Perry is the …

Myktybek Orolbai didn’t compromise on his religious duties while preparing for his latest fight. 

Orolbai (16-2) took on veteran Chris Curtis (32-13) in a welterweight matchup at UFC Vegas 114 last Saturday in Las Vegas. Orolbai dominated Curtis, landing 19 takedowns, the second most in a UFC fight in history, to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

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In a preparation video leading up to the fight, Orolbai’s coach, Urijah Faber, revealed that the Kyrgyz prospect was observing Ramadan throughout camp. Ramadan is the holy month where Muslims observe fast from dawn till dusk. Faber says Orolbai would train once in the morning and again after sunset.Discipline and Dedication “Myktybek is kind of on autopilot,” Faber said. “He knows what he has to do, you don’t have to bug him about it, he works very hard. He’s been working smart through Ramadan. Staying with Ramadan throughout the whole month and also training a little bit in the morning and then…

The Treigning Lab can be a humbling experience even for elite athletes. 

The Treigning Lab, under the guidance of head coach Sam Calavitta, has been the strength & conditioning home to elite fighters like Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan. Khalil Rountree is now the latest addition to the lab, helping Chimaev prepare for his upcoming title fight.  Rountree reveals that training at The Treigning Lab has sometimes been a humbling experience. While Rountree considers himself fit, some training sessions remind him that there are still miles to go.

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Much More to Go “It was painful,” Rountree said on "The Jaxxon Podcast.” “There were definitely moments where I would call them humbling because it makes me question certain things that I even say about myself. Sometimes I think I'm really good or in good shape, and then I face a workout like this, and it makes me realize that there's so much more to go. And so it's eye-opening.”

Rountree (14-7…

Youssef Zalal is upset with Alexander Volkanovski for never mentioning his name. 

Volkanovski is one of the most game UFC champions. “The Great” goes out of his way to call out contenders who could potentially pose a threat to him. The featherweight champion is one of the few fighters to call out contenders like Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. 

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However, surging contender Zalal has seemingly escaped Volkanovski’s notice so far. Zalal is scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 274 against Aljamain Sterling on April 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal notes that Volkanovski has mentioned Sterling multiple times. “The Moroccan Devil” wants to make a statement with a win over Sterling so that Volkanovski is bound to mention his name.The Chance to Make a Statement “The one thing that still pisses me off and I can’t wait to prove it, is Volk doesn’t mention my name ever, in any interviews, anything,” Zalal told MMAjunkie.com. “He mentioned Alja…

Rodrigo Nascimento will make his next PFL appearance in the Windy City. | PFL MMA

The Professional Fighters League has announced another fight for its upcoming card in Chicago, a heavyweight showdown that will see Rodrigo Nascimento take on Slim Trabelsi.

Both fighters find themselves ranked in the Top 10 of the newly-released rankings for the PFL in 2026, with Nascimento coming in at No. 6, while Trabelsi is listed two spots behind him at No. 8 in the division.

A Middleweight World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET.The 33-year old Nascimento has competed twice in the PFL. He made his promotional debut in 2025, where he would go 1-1 in the tournament. His most recent fight was a loss to Oleg Popov. Nasicmento is also a veteran of Dana White's Contender Series under the UFC umbrella, where he won a contract in 2019. He would go on to compete for the promotion eight times, finishing with a 4-3 record with one…

Paddy Pimblett isn’t a fan of fighters tattooing their own names. 

Pimblett recently took a challenge of identifying 40 UFC fighters by their tattoos. “The Baddy” guessed most correctly, with the exception of a few like Tony Ferguson, Kevin Holland, and Antonio Nogueira. 

Pimblett is also unimpressed by fighters who tattoo their own names, like Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. However, the Liverpudlian rates Ilia Topuria’s back tattoo the worst of all, as he considers it a copy of McGregor’s. Pimblett seems to be a fan of the Japanese art style, as his two best-rated tattoos are in that genre. Pimblett's favourite ones are Marvin Vettori’s chest and sleeve tattoo and Sean Brady’s back tattoo. Vettori’s sleeve has a samurai and a dragon drawn in the Japanese art style. Meanwhile, Brady’s back tattoo is a Japanese Oni (demon) which was drawn by one of his early sponsors.

‘Are You That Stupid?’ “The worst ones are when people have their own name tattooed o…