Martial Arts News

Colby Covington believes Carlos Prates stands no chance against Islam Makhachev.

Prates (24-7) is currently considered a leading contender for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot against Makhachev (29-1). Covington predicts that the Brazilian would be the easiest opponent of Makhachev’s career.

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Covington predicts Islam Makhachev will submit Carlos Prates, questions Michael Morales’ experience According to Covington, Makhachev would have little trouble taking Prates down and submitting him.

“Carlos has nothing for him,” Covington told Ariel Helwani. “He’s just a straight striker. That’s gonna be the easiest fight of Makhachev’s career. I think [Makhachev] takes him down and submits him with a kimura or a head-and-arm choke.”

Unbeaten welterweight Michael Morales is another leading contender at 170 pounds. Covington is unsure how Morales would fare against Makhachev, noting that the Ecuadorian has had few opportuniti…

Petr Yan is considering a move to featherweight in the future.

Yan was recently asked whether he would be interested in fighting Joshua Van if the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion moves up to bantamweight. The Russian said that question is for Van to answer, as the decision to change weight classes is his to make.

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Why Petr Yan is hesitant to challenge Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds “No Mercy” indicated that he is more interested in moving up to featherweight but has no desire to fight his friend, reigning 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“If someone wants to move up and challenge me, it’s a question for them, not for me,” Yan told Full Violence. “But personally, for myself, moving up sounds interesting too, maybe somewhere in the future. Just 145 pounds champ is my friend Alex Volkanovski, so I don’t want to beat him up.”

Yan (20-5) reclaimed the bantamweight title with an upset victory over Merab Dvalishvili (2…

The animosity between Jon Jones and Colby Covington remains strong.

Jones’ protégé, Gable Steveson, suffered a shocking 12-second knockout loss to Sean Sharaf in one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history at UFC 331 on Sept. 19. Covington subsequently blamed Jones for Steveson’s defeat, claiming the Olympic gold medalist needed to distance himself from Jones’ “bad energy.”

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Jon Jones attacks Colby Covington's career after Gable Steveson knockout Jones has since fired back at Covington. “Bones” pointed out that although they were once college roommates, he has achieved far more in his career than Covington. Jones also questioned Covington’s criticism of his negative energy, claiming the former interim welterweight champion needs security when traveling in his own country.

Jones suggested that Covington’s repeated criticism of him shows that “Chaos” is obsessed with him.

“It’s funny that you blame Gable’s loss on my “neg…

Sean Strickland has once again publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with fighter pay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Strickland (31-7) has threatened to leave the UFC unless “things change.” The middleweight champion pointed to Conor McGregor's alleged $30 million payday for a recent appearance that Strickland claimed lasted just 30 seconds. He is now considering fighting out his contract and leaving the promotion.

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Sean Strickland considers fighting out UFC contract amid pay dispute Strickland says he is considering vacating his 185-pound title and moving up to light heavyweight to fulfill his UFC contract. He also floated a potential fight against Jake Paul as a financial incentive to leave the promotion.

“I gotta be honest unless things change with the UFC Im kinda over it,” Strickland posted on X. “McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 second and they dont want to pay us a fraction of it. Contemplating just going to 205 knocking out…

Alvin Hines’ pursuit of his first win in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been delayed.

Hines was scheduled to face Gabriel Lourenco in a heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 293 on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However, Hines has announced his withdrawal from the fight because of vertigo.

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Alvin Hines withdraws from UFC Fight Night 293 against Gabriel Lourenco Hines plans to continue training with adjustments while recovering from vertigo and hopes to return to competition at full strength.

“I had to pull out of this one for medical reasons due to vertigo,” Hines wrote on Instagram. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but I know I need to be able to step into that Octagon at 100% and perform to my true potential. I’m going to continue fight camp with some adjustments while I work through this and get myself back to where I need to be. I’m not walking away from the fight. I’m taking the time to get right so when I’m back in there, I can put on th…

Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior made his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a first-round submission victory.

Moreira Junior (12-3) handed Alexander Chavez (9-1) his first professional loss in a flyweight matchup on Week 9 of DWCS Season 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. After holding his own in the striking exchanges, the Brazilian was slammed to the mat while securing a triangle choke but held onto the maneuver, forcing the tap at 3:37 of Round 1.

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Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior submits Alexander Chavez to earn UFC contract on DWCS The victory marked a successful return to DWCS for Moreira Junior, who suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Imanol Rodriguez in Season 9 last year. He compared his second outing on the UFC recruitment show to competing in the World Cup.

“This is the best day of my life so far,” Moreira Junior said. “This is like bein…

Bare Knuckle Boxing returns to London on Nov. 14, with a world championship bout added to the BKB 61 lineup.

Reigning BKB bridgerweight champion Marko Martinjak will defend his title against former British cruiserweight champion Matty Askin at indigo at The O2. The bout will serve as the co-main event under Lee Selby vs. Ollie Sentance.

BKB bridgerweight champion Marko Martinjak will defend against Matty Askin in LondonAccording to BKB’s announcement Tuesday, Martinjak (13-2, 13 KOs) will return to action against Askin (1-0, 1 KO) in the title matchup.

Croatia’s Martinjak will look to continue his reign as BKB bridgerweight champion. Askin, meanwhile, enters his biggest bare-knuckle bout after winning his promotional debut. The matchup adds another former boxing champion to a BKB 61 card already headlined by Selby, a former IBF featherweight champion.

The promotion also announced a welterweight rematch between Aaron McCallum and Simey Doherty. Ash Devenport will …

Mateus Soares earned an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract Tuesday, stopping Ryuho Miyaguchi in just over a minute on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Soares (12-2) faced Miyaguchi (7-2) in a bantamweight matchup on Week 9 of DWCS Season 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The Brazilian dropped Miyaguchi with a right hand before following up with a barrage of strikes to force the stoppage 1:03 into the first round.

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Mateus Soares stopped Ryuho Miyaguchi in the first round at DWCS Week 9 Soares entered DWCS 2026 Week 9 looking to impress Dana White and the UFC matchmakers. The 22-year-old did just that, finishing his Japanese counterpart in a short but explosive bout. He was visibly emotional in his post-fight interview.

“I can't believe I'm here,” Soares said via an interpreter in his post-fight interview with Laura Sanko. “I've been dreaming of this since I was seven years old.”

When asked about White praising his fight and finish, Soares said…

Natalia Silva is the new Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight champion, and oddsmakers are already looking ahead to her first title defense.

Silva captured the vacant 125-pound championship by defeating Cong Wang via unanimous decision in the UFC 332 main event on Saturday in Salt Lake City. Looking ahead to the Brazilian’s next bout, BetOnline has posted early lines for potential matchups against former champions Alexa Grasso (18-5-1) and Valentina Shevchenko (26-4-1).

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Valentina Shevchenko opens at -190 against +165 UFC champion Natalia Silva Silva is listed as a -300 favorite against Grasso (+250). The latter has recorded back-to-back victories over Maycee Barber and Manon Fiorot since losing to Silva in May 2025. The odds reflect how their first fight played out, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 at UFC 315.

While she’s favored against Grasso, Silva opened as an underdog against two-time champion Shevchenko. She’s listed …

Oscar De La Hoya has explained why he didn’t attend Ryan Garcia’s victory over Conor Benn, drawing a response from Dana White.

Garcia stopped Benn in the second round of their WBC welterweight title bout on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. De La Hoya, who previously said he’d attend the event, was notably absent on fight night despite having a seat and VIP access.

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Dana White disputes Oscar De La Hoya’s reason for skipping Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn Speaking to Fight Hub TV, De La Hoya said he chose not to attend because he believed he would be embarrassed at the event, which was co-promoted by White’s Zuffa Boxing and De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

“I wasn’t going to show up to be embarrassed,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV. “It was a Zuffa f*cking event. A ‘Zuffa event,’ a ‘Turki event’ [doing quotation marks with his hands]. I was not going to show up and be embarrassed, because that’s exactly what they were going to do to me. I was no…

Edson Barboza retired from mixed martial arts earlier this year, but the Brazilian veteran isn’t walking away from combat sports.

Barboza (24-15) has signed with Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, according to an announcement from the grappling promotion, continuing his combat sports career after calling time on his MMA career in August.

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Edson Barboza signs with ACBJJ after ending his 17-year MMA career Barboza announced his retirement following a fourth consecutive defeat, a second-round technical knockout loss to Esteban Ribovics at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. The loss marked the end of his 17-year professional MMA career.

Barboza has now signed with ACBJJ, which holds gi and no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, superfights and mixed grappling events.

Barboza has already tested himself in grappling. He faced UFC middleweight Sharabutdin Magomedov under the Hype FC banner in March, with their match ending in a draw.

“I did the…

Preston LaGrange made the most of a short-notice opportunity Tuesday, earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a first-round knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series.

LaGrange (7-1) took on heavy favorite Nell Ariano in a light heavyweight matchup that headlined Week 9 of DWCS Season 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 6, securing the finish midway through the opening round to earn his spot on the UFC roster.

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+400 Underdog Preston LaGrange Scores Stunning KO to Earn UFC Contract LaGrange took the fight on two weeks’ notice and moved up a weight class for the opportunity. He weighed in at 199.5 pounds for the light heavyweight bout and was a +400 underdog but proved the oddsmakers wrong with his performance, impressing UFC CEO Dana White and the promotion’s matchmakers.

“It feels good,” LaGrange said in his post-fight interview. “I am excited to be here, and I am ready to put on a show for the UFC.”

When asked when he would …