Martial Arts News

Paulo Costa claims the Ultimate Fighting Championship is “lost” without Dana White being more actively involved.

With one fight remaining on his UFC contract, the Brazilian voiced his frustration in an interview with Sexto Round, saying White is “greatly missed” in the matchmaking process.

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Costa criticizes UFC matchmaking with one fight remaining on his current contract Costa said he was ready to compete again shortly after his April victory and reached out to the UFC in June about potential fights in July or August. According to the former title challenger, the promotion told him it had not yet made a decision. “Borrachinha” believes that the promotion is making mistakes and is failing to capitalize on key matchups.

“Dana White is greatly missed,” Costa said. “The UFC is lost. They’re making a lot of mistakes because of fear and a lack of timing. If I said, ‘OK, I don’t mind being tied down, being undervalued and getting paid less than I deserve,’…

Some UFC Sacramento fighters came in substantially heavier on fight night after rehydrating.

The California State Athletic Commission has revealed the fight night weights of fighters at UFC Sacramento. One fighter gained over 25 pounds after weighing in, while the heavyweights on the card weighed in heavier than their in-cage weight.

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Marcio Barbosa jumped from 145.5 to 171 pounds at UFC Sacramento Marcio Barbosa gained the most weight after successfully weighing in at 145.5 pounds for his featherweight tilt against Ryan Kuse. Barbosa gained a whopping 25.5 pounds, weighing 171 pounds on fight night. Meanwhile, Kuse weighed 153.2 pounds, having gained only 8.7 pounds after weighing in at 144.5 pounds. Barbosa made quick work of Kuse with a first-round knockout.

Elsewhere on the card, Kennedy Nzechukwu lost 2.4 pounds after weighing in at 244 pounds for his heavyweight clash against Shamil Gaziev, who weighed 267.4 pounds on fight night after gaining…

Having shared the Octagon with Alexander Volkanovski twice, Islam Makhachev’s take on the featherweight champ’s upcoming title defense holds considerable weight.

Volkanovski (28-4) is set to put his Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title on the line against Movsar Evloev (20-0) at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Makhachev believes it will be a highly competitive bout, which Evloev is also aware of.

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Makhachev backs Movsar Evloev to dethrone Volkanovski at UFC 333 Makhachev predicts that Evloev being five years younger will help him dethrone the 37-year-old Volkanovski. The UFC welterweight champ believes that while Volkanovski is still dangerous, he’s past his prime.

“[Movsar] knows himself that the fight won’t be easy, that Volkanovski is a tough opponent for anyone,” Makhachev said at a recent presser in Russia. “But I think Movsar will manage with his youth. Volkanovski, honestly speaking, is not at the s…

Gregory Rodrigues denies cheating against Anthony Hernandez.

Rodrigues extended his win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to four with his decision win over Hernandez at UFC Sacramento. “Fluffy” later accused the Brazilian of repeatedly grabbing the inside of his gloves and Rodrigues has now responded.

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Rodrigues responds to Anthony Hernandez’s accusations after their UFC Sacramento main event Rodrigues did extensive damage to Hernandez’s lead leg with calf kicks, but the latter showed immense heart by continuing to pressure forward. However, Rodrigues inflicted damage while defending takedowns as well. At the post-fight presser, Hernandez accused “Robocop” of grabbing his gloves in the wrestling exchanges and claimed to have repeatedly complained to referee Herb Dean to no avail.

Rodrigues denies the accusations and says that Hernandez also knows that he didn’t cheat. He argues that the referee would’ve intervened if he was blatantly ch…

Merab Dvalishvili recently opened up about his backstage altercation at RAF Georgia.

Dvalishvili defeated fellow former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henry Cejudo in a wrestling match at RAF Georgia in July. He later shut down talks of a potential wrestling match against Umar Nurmagomedov in strong words. Nurmagomedov’s friend, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, then approached Dvalishvili and confronted him about his comments.

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Dvalishvili responded by slapping Gadzhimagomedov, leading to an all-out brawl.Dvalishvili says Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck before the RAF Georgia brawl Dvalishvili says he was relaxing backstage when Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck and loudly confronted him in Russian. While “The Machine” barely understands Russian, he knew Gadzhimagomedov was talking about Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili defends his action, saying Gadzhimagomedov had no business meddling in the feud between him and Nurmagomedov. The former UFC…

Even elite athletes should leave certain jobs to medical professionals.

Just one week after defending his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330, Makhachev was in the corner of a longtime teammate, Professional Fighters League athlete Magomed Magomedov.

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Makhachev tried to pop Magomedov’s shoulder back in place after an apparent in-fight dislocation, drawing a reaction from a real doctor online.Dr. Brian Sutterer critiques Makhachev’s response to Magomed Magomedov’s apparent shoulder injuryMagomedov faced former UFC bantamweight Daniel Marcos in the latter's promotional debut at PFL Tampa. The Russian seemingly suffered a shoulder dislocation and during the break between rounds, Makhachev attempted to put it back into position.

Despite the attempt, the shoulder remained a problem for Magomedov going into the third round and Makhachev ultimately had to call for the fight to stop, throwing in the towel. The U…

The Costello van Steenis vs. Johnny Eblen rematch is the biggest fight in Professional Fighters League history, according to the promotion's CEO.

In an interview posted by the PFL on X, John Martin reflected on the rivalry between Eblen and van Steenis, revealing his disappointment with the injury that forced their scheduled rematch to be postponed. He also recalled the chaotic scene that followed Eblen's interim title victory over Impa Kasanganay.

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John Martin points to the bad blood behind Johnny Eblen and Costello van Steenis’ postponed title rematch After Eblen won his fight against Kasanganay, van Steenis unexpectedly entered the cage, setting the stage for a dramatic title unification showdown. Martin's comments suggest the promotion still sees the matchup as a major attraction.

“That was a skirmish in the cage afterwards when Costello unexpectedly climbed in,” Martin said. “And I got a little nervous.” The PFL CEO also recalled Eblen telling …

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin had nothing but praise for Cris Cyborg after her victory in Tampa, Florida.

Martin hailed Cyborg's performance against Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa and called the Brazilian superstar the most accomplished women's MMA fighter in history. Despite the fight being closely contested, Martin believes Cyborg did enough to earn the victory. He also claims a switch to boxing is possible amidst the promotion’s merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

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Cris Cyborg vs. Claressa Shields in boxing is certainly a possibility with PFL-MVP merger Martin did not hold back on his appreciation for Cyborg after her PFL win against Vieira.

“If you've never seen Cris Cyborg fight before, hopefully you can get an appreciation and an understanding of what a legend this fighter is,” Martin said in a post-fight interview. “The most accomplished women's MMA fighter in history. She had a really tough fight tonight, but for five rounds, …

Chris Padilla already has an opponent in mind for his next Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

Padilla (18-6-1) submitted Nasrat Haqparast with an arm-triangle choke at 4:59 of the third round on the UFC Sacramento undercard, extending his UFC record to 5-0-1. He now wants to face veteran UFC star Jim Miller.

Padilla wants to test himself against Miller after submitting Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Sacramento “I need Jim Miller, man,” Padilla told Heidi Androl after his win. “You know, it's a veteran, man. He's been in the game for a really long time. I watched him growing up as a little maggot. So, I just want that, you know what I'm saying? I want fights that are going to give me that little tingle. I got to live my dream, and here I am. The new generation is coming up and I'm here to slaughter every one of them.”

Miller, who debuted in the UFC back in 2008, is coming off a submission victory over Jared Gordon in May, which saw the 42-year-old further extend the record …

Gregory Rodrigues claims his experience and patience helped him avoid a collapse against Anthony Hernandez.

“Robocop” earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Hernandez in their recent Ultimate Fighting Championship main event, surviving his opponent’s constant pressure to secure the victory. Rodrigues explained his approach during a post-fight interview after UFC Sacramento, detailing the mental hurdles he had to overcome in the bout.

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Rodrigues says patience and experience kept him composed in the UFC Sacramento main event Rodrigues admitted that he has faded and fatigued in earlier bouts in the UFC. While he was doing significant damage with calf kicks against Hernandez, the latter’s relentless wrestling never ceased, despite fighting out of southpaw for the majority of the later rounds. Rodrigues claims he wasn’t discouraged by Hernandez's durability.

“I started calf kicks. I couldn't finish. He came back,” Rodrigues said. “He hit me re…

Anthony Smith has spoken publicly for the first time since his arrest in Nebraska.

Smith recently returned home and posted a message on social media days after pleading not guilty to four felony charges stemming from a July incident involving his wife. His message was accompanied by an image of the former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter alongside his family.

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Former UFC contender speaks publicly after pleading not guilty to four felony charges in Nebraska The incident involved an altercation with his wife that eventually received police intervention. Smith has since returned home and shared a family photo alongside his message.

“Happy to be home with my household full of ‘whys,’” Smith wrote on Instagram. “I’ll be able to tell my story someday soon. Until then…you guys just keep making it up as you go. Character is revealed in chaos.”

Smith faces one Class 2 felony charge, one count of terroristic threats and two first-degree false-impr…

Dana White acknowledged that a serious incident involving Namo Fazil occurred behind the scenes, but declined to discuss the details of what happened.

Fazil alleged last week that he was confronted by a group of Chechens while preparing for his Dana White’s Contender Series bout with Kaik Brito. According to Fazil, the incident interrupted his weight cut and escalated into a physical altercation that eventually drew police attention. The Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO has now addressed the incident.

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White acknowledges the promotion addressed an incident Fazil says became physical during Contender Series fight week White was asked about the incident at the UFC Sacramento post-fight press conference and acknowledged that the promotion is aware of what happened.

“You guys have no idea how much sh*t goes on in this business behind the scenes and I said at the press conference that we had kind of a weird week here,” White said.

White was als…