Martial Arts News

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Thiago Tavares has taken on a new challenge outside the cage.

Tavares (24-11-1) retired from mixed martial arts in 2021 and used some of his career earnings to pursue medical school. The Brazilian is now a practicing physician specializing in neurology and is working on a master's thesis exploring potential markers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in former fighters.

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Thiago Tavares seeks potential CTE markers in former UFC fighters Speaking to Sherdog, Tavares explained that CTE can currently be definitively diagnosed only by examining brain tissue after death. His research aims to explore whether brain wave measurements and artificial intelligence could help identify a reliable marker in living patients.

“Unfortunately, the only way to confirm CTE is through the study of brain tissue (a post-mortem biopsy) in the anatomopathological exam,” Tavares said. “There is still no reliable mar…

Former boxing world champions Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi are set to meet under the BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing banner.

BKB announced Saturday that Ortiz and Malignaggi will headline BKB 62 on Dec. 5 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The bout will take place inside the promotion’s Trigon ring, with tickets scheduled to go on sale Oct. 12.

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Former boxing world champions Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi headline BKB 62 Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KOs) is a former WBC welterweight champion who faced Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto and Marcos Maidana in traditional boxing. He made his bare-knuckle debut at BKB 56, earning a unanimous decision over Dominic Salcido.

“I’ve been in some of the biggest fights of my career, and now I’m ready for a completely different challenge in the Trigon. Paulie is a former world champion with a lot of experience, but this is bare-knuckle boxing and I’m coming in prepared to fight,” Ortiz said.

Malignaggi (36-8, 7 …

Quillan Salkilld appears to be targeting February 2027 for his return.

Salkilld has won six straight fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. The Australian lightweight hinted at his return timeline on social media, seemingly eyeing the promotion’s upcoming Sydney event.

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Quillan Salkilld targets February after finishing Dariush and Gamrot Salkilld is coming off finishes of Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot. With the UFC scheduled to return to Sydney on Feb. 7, he appears interested in competing on the card.

“Reporting for duty #feb,” Salkilld wrote on X.

The UFC has announced that its Sydney Fight Night will take place at Afterpay Arena. The promotion’s most recent numbered event in Australia was UFC 325 in Sydney on Feb. 1, local time. It also held a Fight Night in Perth in May.

Reporting for duty 🔒 #feb 🎯🤞 https://t.co/5jOEQ5ewoZ

— Quillan Sa…

Malcolm Wellmaker says he gave his all in preparing for his latest bout, which ended in his third straight Ultimate Fighting Championship defeat.

Wellmaker faced Otari Tanzilovi in the main card opener at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday. He had moments of success but was stopped in the second round after Tanzilovi landed a head kick and follow-up punches.

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Malcolm Wellmaker reflects on American Top Team camp, Otari Tanzilovi stoppage and UFC future Wellmaker said he suffered no major injuries. His game plan was to close the distance to neutralize Tanzilovi’s kicks, an approach he felt was working early. He also said he moved his family to Florida to prepare at American Top Team.

“The Machine” believes he has improved during his few months at ATT. Although uncertain about his next step, he intends to continue fighting as long as it offers a way to provide for his family.

“First and foremost, I’m healthy, no major injuries, so that’s the biggest ble…

Brendan Allen is critical of his latest performance despite securing a finish and a post-fight bonus.

Allen faced Christian Leroy Duncan in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight main event at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday. He submitted Duncan with a rear-naked choke in the fifth round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

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Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with his performance.Brendan Allen says he felt slow against Christian Leroy Duncan despite fifth-round submission Allen found success on the ground, while Duncan had the edge in the striking exchanges. After losing a point for an eye poke in the second round, Duncan pressed the attack in the final frame before Allen took him down and secured the finish.

Allen later said he was disappointed despite the victory. He had expected to be quicker and felt he had been slow to react.

“Ultimately, I’m just disappointed in myself,” Allen said on the Paramount+ post-fight show. “Not havin…

Ryan Garcia criticized an interviewer’s question to Conor Benn as disrespectful.

Garcia retained his WBC welterweight title against Benn last month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, scoring a second-round technical knockout after dropping the challenger with a right hand. Garcia has since criticized a question Benn received about the loss.

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Ryan Garcia blasts Wesley Graham over disrespectful Conor Benn interview question Gunman Boxing’s Wesley Graham recently interviewed Benn about the fight.

“Your fight against Ryan Garcia didn’t go as planned,” Graham said. “Second round, man. Stretched you out like a limousine. No one expected that. I didn’t expect that. What happened?”

Benn responded by reiterating that a difficult weight cut had affected his performance.

“You go swimming, you get wet,” Benn answered. “You pay the price. No problem. You bounce back, it’s life, it happens…”

Garcia took issue with Graham’s wording and urged Benn not…

THAT'S WHAT HE DOES BEST 💪 @BrendanAllenMMA sinks in ANOTHER RNC for the main event victory at #UFCVegas122! https://t.co/fgyoOjZIrq

— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's latest Meta Apex event saw four fighters earn performance bonuses worth an extra $100,000.

UFC Vegas 122 headliner Brendan Allen earned an extra $100K with his fifth-round submission win over Christian Leroy Duncan. "All In" made sure the competitive middleweight bout didn't go the distance by sinking in a rear-naked choke late against "CLD." Allen (28-7) has now won four straight fights.

Two of the performance bonuses went to beautiful head-kick knockouts by Otari Tanzilovi and Andre Fili. It was Tanzilovi (11-3) who struck first as he destroyed Malcolm Wellmaker with a well-placed head kick and several follow-up punches. Not to be outdone, Fili (26-14, 1 NC) followed up with his own stellar head kick KO over Kai Kamaka III just 22 secon…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 122 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 290. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knap…

BRENDAN ALLEN GOES ALL OUT FOR THE SUBMISSION 😤 [ #UFCVegas122 | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] https://t.co/xNOClDmg1o

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) October 11, 2026

Brendan Allen strengthened his case for a middleweight title shot by submitting Christian Leroy Duncan in the fifth round of their UFC Vegas 122 main event Saturday at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

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The competitive encounter featured striking exchanges, grappling battles and a second-round point deduction against Duncan for an eye poke. Duncan (15-3) found success on the feet, while Allen relied on his superior ground game.Brendan Allen secures fifth-round rear-naked choke against Christian Leroy Duncan Allen’s grappling ultimately proved decisive. “All In” scored a takedown against the cage in the fifth, worked his way to Duncan’s back and secured a rear-naked choke. “CLD” tried to escape but tapped at 2:46 of the final round, allowing Allen to improve to 28…

KANE RULES CASABLANCA! 🇸🇳👑 He did it again! Abdoulaye Kane brings explosive heavyweight fire to the main event stage and takes the TKO huge win back home to Senegal! 🇸🇳🔥 An absolute titan in the cage! #PFLMorocco | LIVE NOW | Mohammed V Complex | Live on SuperSport & STARZPLAY

— PFL Africa (@PFLAfrica) October 10, 2026

The Professional Fighters League Africa held its tournament semifinals Saturday at Mohammed V Sports Complex in Casablanca, Morocco.

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The PFL Africa 3: 2026 Playoffs headliner featured a heavyweight clash between Abdoulaye Kane and promotional newcomer Badr Medkouri. The heavyweights exchanged shots early before the action was temporarily stopped following an apparent eye poke by Kane. Medkouri was given time to recover and was able to continue.Abdoulaye Kane finishes Badr Medkouri in the first round in Casablanca When the action resumed, Kane (6-2, 3-2 PFL) controlled Morocco’s Medkouri (9-4, 0-1 …

Aiming for a big moment in the main event 😁 @BrendanAllenMMA | 186 lbs [ #UFCVegas122 | LIVE OCT 10 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] https://t.co/DPIFdqdrv8

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2026 The UFC Vegas 112 weigh-ins saw three fighters miss weight.

Headlining the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 12-fight card is a five-round bout between middleweight contenders Brandon Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan. Neither headliner had an issue making weight, as both came in under the limit of 186 pounds. However, there were three weight misses of varying severity: First, Ketlen Souza came in a pound overweight for her strawweight fight against Lupita Godinez; Meanwhile, Brendson Ribeiro weighed 2.5 pounds over the light heavyweight limit for his contest versus Felipe Franco; Finally, Ismael Bonfim missed weight by a massive 7.5 pounds for his lightweight fight against Francisco Prado. All fighters will be fined a percentage of their purse if their respective b…

MAIN AND CO-MAIN HIT THE SCALE Tomorrow night, we see who rules the cage. Weights are locked and Casablanca is set for action. Abdoulaye Kane (265.2 LBS) vs. Badr Medkouri (246.8 LBS) Taha Bendaoud (145 LBS) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (146 LBS) Who takes it? Comment your winners below! #PFLMorocco | Saturday, October 10 | Mohammed V Complex

— PFL Africa (@PFLAfrica) October 9, 2026 The Professional Fighters League Africa's latest event is now set after the PFL Africa 3 weigh-ins.

11 fights are now official for the event, which takes place in Morocco. The PFL Africa 2026 playoff card is headlined by two heavyweights. Abdoulaye Kane will take on the more experienced Badr Medkouri at heavyweight. Meanwhile, semifinals at welterweight, lightweight, and bantamweight will take place. The winners will fight later this year to earn the coveted championship.

Kane (5-2) enters the main event 2-2 inside the PFL. A two-fight winning streak was recently sn…