Martial Arts News

Charles Oliveira has opened as a massive betting underdog against Ilia Topuria.

Islam Makhachev vacated his lightweight title and moved up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena after the Australian dethroned his friend Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. Makhachev would have defended his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria had Muhammad retained his belt.

However, Topuria (16-0) will now fight former champ Charles Oliveira (35-10) for the vacant 155-pound title in the UFC 317 main event on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Topuria also recently vacated his featherweight crown in pursuit of a lightweight strap.

Oliveira has opened as a massive +250 underdog on most sportsbooks while Topuria is a -300 favorite. Despite this being Topuria’s debut against a former champ, the odds speak of how highly “La Leyenda” is regarded. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard has finished 14 of his 16 pro wins, 8 of which came in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Topuria…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your #PFLWorldTournament 5️⃣ Fight Card! 👊

The Lightweight, Women's Flyweights & Bantamweight PFL World Tournament Semi-Finals roll through Wichita, Kansas! pic.twitter.com/SbtbSoHUpa

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 14, 2025

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The lineup for the PFL World Tournament 6 event is now complete.

The promotion on Wednesday announced the finalized card for the event, which features tournament semifinal bouts at lightweight, women’s flyweight and bantamweight. The evening’s feautured contest will be a 155-pound semifinal pitting Gadzhi Rabadanov against Jay-Jay Wilson. In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche will face Elora Dana in a women’s flyweight semifinal. The four-bout main card also includes both bantamweight matchups: Jake Hadley vs. Marcirley Alves and Mando Gutierrez vs. Justin Wetzell.

PFL World Tournament 6 takes place at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas on June 20. The main cad airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9…

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After defeating former champion Alexa Grasso at UFC 315, Natalia Silva reiterated her desire to fight for the flyweight belt.

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With seven consecutive victories in the Octagon and an overall professional winning streak that stands at 13, the Brazilian believes that her time has come to fight Valentina Shevchenko.

During a video interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana last, the Brazilian took the opportunity to respond to the champion, who after defending the title against Manon Fiorot, reportedly said that she does not know the Brazilian.

“She said she did not know me, I do not know if it is because she does not really follow the category or if it was out of disdain,” Silva said. “But I think now is the time for her to get to know me. This fight is interesting to do and it is good for the UFC.”

While Silva ranks among the top contenders at flyweight, reigning strawweight title holder Weili Zhang also expressed i…

Jean Silva is willing to lend a helping hand to Charles Oliveira in his latest bid for lightweight gold.

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After Dana White confirmed that Islam Makhachev will go up to welterweight to fight against Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight belt and former featherweight king Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight belt, “Do Bronx” received an unexpected offer from The Fighting Nerds representative.

“I believe that if Charles fights like in his last fight, he will pass over Topuria,” Silva told AgFight. “Anyway, I'm available to help him with his sparring. I know exactly how to imitate Topuria, even his facial expressions.”

The statement was a surprise for Brazilian MMA community after Fighting Nerds leader Pablo Sucupira compared their rivalry with Chute Boxe to the Brazilian Top Team-Chute Boxe battles of the Pride Fighting Championships era following Ian Garry’s recent victory over Carlos Prates.

…

🚨THE RETURN OF A LEGEND🚨

Holly Holm is back — and lacing up the boxing gloves once again.On Saturday, June 28, “The Preacher’s Daughter” steps into the ring against Yolanda Vega at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA live on DAZN PPV.

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MVP is also excited to announce that Holly… pic.twitter.com/FegJyzaKLl — Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) May 14, 2025

Holly Holm is returning to the Sweet Science.

The former UFC women’s bantamweight queen has signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, it was announced during a press conference in Anaheim on Wednesday. Holm will box Yolanda Vega on the Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard on June 28.

Holm hasn’t fought in a boxing match since May 2013, when she outpointed Mary McGee at Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The Preacher’s Daughter” owns a 33-2-3 career mark and held multiple world titles in three weight classes. She was inducted…

Nassourdine Imavov will be ready to step in if anything goes awry with the UFC 319 main event combatants.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight crown against Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 16. Imavov will weigh in as the backup fighter for the title bout, according to RMC Sport Combat. If either Du Plessis or Chimaev were unable to compete on that date, Imavov would get the main event spot.

Imavov secured the biggest victory of his career to date on Feb. 1, when he defeated former 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya via second-round TKO in the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner. The 30-year-old Frenchman has also bested Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze during his current four-fight winning streak.

The MMA Factory representative made his Octagon debut in October 2020 and has compiled an 8-2 record with one no contest during his tenure …

A pair of flyweight contenders looking to return to the win column will square off at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 2.

Tatsuro Taira and Amir Albazi will headline a UFC Fight Night card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Taira’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, initially announced the booking.

Taira suffered his first loss in 17 professional appearances this past October, when he fell to Brandon Royval via split decision in the UFC Vegas 98 headliner. The 25-year-old Japanese prospect began his promotional tenure with six consecutive victories, including a finish of former title challenger Alex Perez in his first main event last June. Taira has finished 12 of his 16 wins inside the distance.

Albazi, meanwhile, returned after more than a year absence at UFC Edmonton, where he dropped a unanimous decision to ex-flyweight king Brandon Moreno. That snapped a six-bout winning streak for “The Prince,” who has bested the likes of Kai Kara-Franc…

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JDM believes he can knock out Islam Makhachev 👀

“I think I can land a lot of shots and I think I can take him out.

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Stuff the takedowns. If I get taken down, I believe I can get back to my feet.”

🎥 @arielhelwani #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/kUDlcVhN7s

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 13, 2025 Jack Della Maddalena (18-2) thinks he will knock Islam Makhachev (27-1) out when they meet. 

Maddalena won the welterweight title with an upset over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last weekend. Makhachev had already announced his plans to move up and challenge Maddalena if his friend Muhammad got dethroned. 

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Makhachev vacated his lightweight title to move up and challenge Maddalena in a future matchup. Meanwhile former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira and former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria will compete for the vacant 155-pound strap at UFC 317 on June 28. 

Maddalen…

Sharabutdin Magomedov (15-1) will yet again fight on a UFC Abu Dhabi card. 

Magomedov is set to trade leather with middleweight veteran Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9) at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 26. The promotion announced the booking on Tuesday.

Magomedov is coming off his first pro loss, which came against elite striker Michael Page at UFC Saudi Arabia this past February. An uncanny striker, Magomedov came into the UFC riding an 11-fight winning streak that included 10 finishes — seven in the first round. He then racked up four straight wins in the UFC with two finishes, one of which was an iconic double-spinning backfist knockout that will go down in the history books. 

Meanwhile, Barriault came into the UFC as a highly-touted prospect in 2019, but his career hasn’t panned out exactly as planned so far. “Power Bar” dropped all three of his bouts last year, including consecutive first-round stoppage losses. However, Barriault r…

Conor McGregor recently voiced his appreciation for Bareknuckle Fighting Championship ring girl Kaitlyn Bertrand.

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Bertrand was bestowed with the BKFC “Ring Girl of the Year” honors consecutively for 2023 and 2024. Bertrand took to Instagram to express her gratitude for her recent success.

“I’m beyond grateful to have been voted Ring Girl of the Year for both 2023 & 2024! This past year has been a whirlwind of back to back shows, and I can’t thank you all enough for the love and support,” Bertrand wrote on Instagram. “It means everything to be recognized doing what I love.”

McGregor, who is now a stakeholder in BKFC, had a short and powerful message for Bertrand. The Irishman wrote in the comments section: “My World Champion!”

Bertrand is a model who has dabbled in making adult content and taken her talents to the boxing promotion ProBox TV. 

Meanwhile, McGregor became part owner of the BKFC in April 2024. “Notorious” is…

🚨 Dana White says he'll be announcing Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall soon 👀

"We'll get Aspinall vs Jones done... the heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I'll announce that soon."

🎥 @danawhite #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/mBFcJcjddo

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 13, 2025

Dana White once again assured the UFC fanbase that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is happening. 

The Jones and Aspinall fight has been in the making for over a year now. Jones won the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in 2023 after returning to action from a three-year hiatus. He was then supposed to defend it against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 later that year, but was forced out with an injury. Aspinall went on to win a short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich, as Miocic refused to fight anyone but Jones. 

Despite Aspinall being the interim champ, Jones remained adamant on defending his title against Miocic, which…