Martial Arts News

The UFC White House card could lose its official status over a $100 permit. 

The UFC will host a one-of-a-kind card at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14. The card billed as Freedom Fights 250 is a tribute to America’s 250th year of independence. 

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However, the card now faces the threat of losing its official status over a $100 permit. The UFC needs a $100 permit to sanction the event. However, the chairman of the District of Columbia Combat Sports Commission, Andrew Huff, claims that UFC officials have refused to obtain the permit as the event is taking place on “federal land.” Huff says that the fights would be unsanctioned without the permit and wouldn’t go down in the fighters’ official records. Setting a Bad Precedent“We don’t know anything,” Huff told the Washington Post. “Every promoter in the District of Columbia should be, and is, held to the same standard, whether you’re putting on a small w…

Claressa Shields considers Amanda Nunes to be the MMA version of herself. 

Shields retained her undisputed heavyweight boxing title with a victory in a rematch against Franchon Crews Dezurn in Detroit last month. The two-time Olympic gold medallist has since expressed interest in an exhibition boxing match against Nunes.

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"I would fight against Amanda Nunes in boxing. Absolutely,” Shields told TMZ Sports. “That would be a good one."

Shields and Nunes are considered the female GOATs in boxing and MMA, respectively. Shields has dominated women’s boxing since her debut and has gone on to win titles in three weight classes. Meanwhile, Nunes is the most dominant women’s MMA fighter of all time, having run through the UFC bantamweight and featherweight divisions. While Shields respects Nunes’ skills, she believes she would defeat “The Lioness” in boxing.

‘I’m That Girl’ "I would win, but I think she's very heavy-handed, she's strong, and she's a g…

Colby Covington is willing to settle the bad blood with Bo Nickal inside the Octagon.

Nickal has been calling out Covington for over a year, either for a UFC fight or a wrestling match at RAF. Covington recently accepted the callout while going on a rant about Nickal. “Chaos” slammed Nickal for pulling out of a RAF 5 booking against Yoel Romero after Romero missed weight. Considering Nickal is particular about weight classes, Covington wants the middleweight wrestler to drop to welterweight to fight him.

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“I know you’re a big fan of weight classes and refused to fight a man that was six pounds too heavy… I propose we do this in a weight class where one of us is ranked and has actual stakes,” Covington said on YouTube. “So how about bring that stupid ginger bowl cut down to 170, and I’ll grant your wish to fight the biggest name in the welterweight division.”

Despite being an avid supporter of Donald Trump, Covington is not a part of the UFC White H…

Kevin Vallejos earned his biggest victory to date at UFC Vegas 114. | Getty/UFC

Kevin Vallejos announced himself as a person of interest in the featherweight division on Saturday night.

In his first headlining appearance, “El Chino” made short work of veteran Josh Emmett, dispatching his adversary with a barrage of strikes at the 3:33 mark of the opening stanza at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday night. Vallejos has won seven straight professional outings — including four in the UFC.

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While Vallejos declined to make a specific callout in the immediate aftermath of his biggest win to date, he acknowledged that matchups against the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega or Jean Silva would be appealing during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“Any of those four names are good. Obviously Volk being the champion. I think a fight against Yair or Brian would be great. I think those would be good fights,” Vallejos said.…

Tai Tuivasa has lost six straight UFC appearances | Getty/UFC

The UFC can’t quit Tai Tuivasa.

Despite being in the midst of a six-bout losing streak, the Australian heavyweight will get another shot in the Octagon when he faces Sean Sharaf at UFC Perth on May 2. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking over the weekend.

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Tuivasa returned following a nearly year-and-a-half hiatus at UFC 325, where he dropped a lackluster unanimous decision to Tallison Teixeira on Jan. 31. That extended his losing streak to six, a slump that also includes setbacks to Jarizinho Rozenstruik, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane. “Bam Bam” emerged as a popular figure thanks to a number of knockout victories earlier in his UFC tenure along with his penchant for enjoying post-fight “shoeys.”

Sharaf made his promotional debut with just a 4-0 professional record. He has since suffered technical knockout losses against Jus…

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is no longer facing domestic violence charges. | Getty/UFC

Domestic violence charges have been dropped against UFC veteran Jairzinho Rozenstruik following a dispute with his wife earlier this year in Florida.

According to TMZ Sports, the Broward County district attorney’s office elected not to pursue charges because “the victim refused to provide a sworn statement” and "parties were engaged in mutual combat and provided conflicting accounts of the incident.” Due to the lack of cooperation from the victim, the DA determined it was unlikely that Rozenstruik would be convicted.

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In January, Rozenstruik was arrested on charges of false imprisonment and touch or strike/battery/domestic violence. During the dispute with his partner, which occurred while the couple was driving from a storage unit in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Rozenstruik allegedly slapped the woman’s phone out of her hand, grabbed her arm and bit her when s…

Eryk Anders just wants to coach casuals after hanging up his MMA gloves. 

Anders took on Brad Tavares (21-12) in a middleweight matchup at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. “Ya Boi” earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Tavares. Anders then hung up his gloves inside the Octagon, calling an end to a professional career spanning over more than a decade. 

Too Much Stress Anders subsequently revealed that he wants to put on his coach’s shoes after retiring from professional competition. However, the 38-year-old doesn’t want to coach fighters. Anders explains that watching one’s students go to war inside the cage is just too stressful. Anders wants to spend his time teaching jiu-jitsu to casuals and fitness enthusiasts.

“I’m just gonna be a dad and a coach. I run a gym. Not looking to coach fighters because that s—t is nerve-wracking, watching your guy go through that. I just want to coach jiu-jitsu, soccer moms, working stiffs and thi…

Piera Rodriguez is eyeing Angela Hill after her win at UFC Vegas 114. 

Rodriguez opened the UFC Fight Night 269 action in a strawweight rematch against Sam Hughes on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. “La Fiera” landed the more damaging shots throughout to earn a unanimous decision win over Hughes. 

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Rodriguez then called out four ranked opponents for her next matchup – Angela Hill, Gillian Robertson, Lupita Godinez and Denise Gomez. Rodriguez also named Hill as her most preferred matchup to avenge an old sparring session. The Venezuelan recalls sparring with Hill when she first came to the U.S. While Rodriguez was used to all-around respect in the gym, things allegedly went south in her sparring session with Hill. According to Rodriguez, she took Hill down, which triggered the UFC veteran. “Overkill” then returned to her feet and split Rodriguez’s nose open with a front kick to the face. Hill allegedly didn’t stop even after seeing Rodrigu…

Charles Johnson believes he won every round convincingly against Bruno Silva. 

Flyweight veterans Johnson (19-8) and Silva (15-8) opened the UFC Vegas 114 main card action on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. Johnson initially seemed hesitant and unable to find his range against Silva. However, “InnerG” rallied back as the fight progressed and found his momentum in the latter rounds. Johnson eventually earned a split-decision victory, which many believe could have gone either way. 

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However, Johnson believes he should have earned a clear, unanimous decision victory. While judge Anthony Maness scored all three rounds in favoor of Johnson, judge Mike Bell gave two rounds to Silva. Johnson found Bell’s scorecards “weird,” as he believes he evidently landed the more consequential shots.Confused But Thankful “I thought I won every round,” Johnson said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I was surprised. I had it 30-27, so I thought it was w…

Marwan Rahiki has big aspiration for his UFC career. | Getty/UFC

Marwan Rahiki wants to go out without a blemish on his record. 

Rahiki (8-0) made his UFC debut in a featherweight matchup against Harry Hardwick at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. Rahiki connected flush and landed significant damage on Hardwick, who showed extreme grit in refusing to go down. However, Hardwick had sustained visible damage to his jaw and started keeping his mouth wide open in the second round. Hardwick’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the second round after the Englishman informed them that he had a broken jaw. 

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Rahiki was unable to knock his opponent out clean despite his best efforts. “Freaky” saw that his opponent was physically well prepared, judging by the veins in his chest and shoulders. The undefeated Moroccan-Australian believes all of his opponents prepare extra hard to fight him and come in much better tha…

Steven Asplund got busted up at UFC Vegas 114. | Getty/UFC

Steven Asplund believes he should have won a decision against Vitor Petrino. 

Asplund (7-2) took on Petrino (14-2) in his sophomore UFC outing at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday. Asplund dropped Petrino in the first round and looked close to securing a finish. However, Petrino weathered the early storm and got his offense going in the second round. Petrino left Asplund all bloodied up after 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

However, Asplund believes he did enough to sway the scorecards in his favor. The heavyweight newcomer uploaded a video of his bloodied face from the hospital, urging Dana White to take notice. The 27-year-old was slightly overwhelmed with emotions while thanking his fans for their support.

Still Pushing “That’s clearly not the decision we want,” Asplund said on his Instagram Stories. “I ain’t gonna lie, I thought I was gonna get the nod. My face looks …

Steve Erceg was victorious in his last outing against Ode Osbourne. | Getty/UFC

Steve Erceg will look for a victory in front of his home crowd against Tim Elliott. 

Erceg (13-4) and Elliott (21-13) will meet in a flyweight clash at UFC Perth on May 2 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the booking.

A Quick Ascent Erceg made his UFC debut in 2023 and earned a surprising title shot against Alexandre Pantoja after just three victories. However, Erceg’s stock slightly dropped after a failed title bid against Pantoja in 2024. “Astro Boy” then went on to drop two more against Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno. Erceg has since rebounded with a win over Ode Osbourne in August last year. The only other UFC card on which Erceg fought at home was UFC 305, where he was knocked out by Kara-France in 2024. 

Meanwhile, Elliott has seen it all in the flyweight division in his UFC career spanning over near…