Martial Arts News

Islam Makhachev believes Usman Nurmagomedov is as good as any UFC lightweight. 

While most elite fighters of Makhachev’s team are in the UFC, Nurmagomedov is making waves in the Professional Fighters League. The undefeated PFL lightweight champion is inevitably being compared to top-tier UFC lightweights. Makhachev knows Nurmagomedov’s true potential, having trained with him since childhood. The UFC welterweight champion believes Nurmagomedov can pose a serious threat to the best UFC lightweights. 

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Nurmagomedov has one fight left on his current PFL contract, which will expire at the end of 2026 regardless of whether he fights again. While Makhachev believes Nurmagomedov is already ready for the UFC, he doesn’t want his teammate to rush things. Makhachev believes it will be the perfect time for Nurmagomedov’s UFC career once his PFL contract expires in 2026.Plenty of Time Ahead “Honestly, I don’t think Usman is any worse than anyone [in the…

The level of competition Alden Coria faces in training is difficult match for his opponents inside the Octagon. 

Coria recently made his sophomore Octagon appearance in a flyweight matchup against Luis Gurule at UFC Houston on Saturday. Coria displayed impressive range control, picking his opponent apart from a distance, to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

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Coria says the fight went exactly how he had expected. “Cobra” knew that Gurule was a tough customer and difficult to dispatch within three rounds. Coria knew that Gurule would pressure him from the onset, which he did. However, Coria trains with UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van, who is known for his pressure. Having trained with the champion of his division, Coria says it’s difficult to match Van’s pressure.No Surprises“It was exactly how I expected it,” Coria told the UFC. “I knew this guy was gonna be very tough, hard to get him out of there. That’s what he brought, really brough…

Jacobe Smith doesn’t want to spend his bonus money on a trip to Disney World. 

Smith took on fellow undefeated prospect Josiah Harrell in a welterweight matchup at UFC Houston on Saturday. “Cobe” capitalized on a takedown attempt by Harrell, took side control, and finished him with ruthless ground-and-pound in the first round. The finish secured a $100,0-00 “Performance of the Night” bonus for Smith in the new Paramount era. However, upon securing the finish, Smith was first worried about spending the money on a trip to Disney World. Smith’s children had asked him for a trip to Disney World if he secured a bonus for his win. Smith called for Disney World to sponsor his family trip if they are listening.

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“First thing that went through my mind after it happened – my daughter and my son were like, ‘If you win the bonus, can we go to Disney World?’” Smith told the UFC. “So I’m like, ‘I’m gonna win all this money, but I’m going to give it to Disney W…

Professional Fighters League on Thursday revealed two bouts for its April 11 event at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.

Headlining “The Windy City” card will be former Bellator MMA bantamweight king Sergio Pettis (25-7) against undefeated 135-pound prospect Mitchell McKee (10-0).

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Pettis was last seen in competition with an incredible knockout of Magomed Magomedov back in October. McKee will be making his major league debut following a stint in the Legacy Fighting Alliance.

The event’s co-feature will host a middleweight clash pitting Jordan Newman (8-0) against former LFA two-division champion Joshua Silveira (15-5).

April 11’s main card will air live in the U.S. on cable network ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The prelims will stream exclusively in the ESPN app via subscribers who have access to the ESPN Unlimited plan. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, Feb. 20 through Ticketmaster.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗠 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗦@sergiopettis makes hi…

There came a moment when Khamzat Chimaev’s coach, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, knew that his fighter could control the animal inside him.

Nascimento believes Chimaev substantially changed ahead of his fight against Robert Whittaker in 2024. While Chimaev once flipped off the crowd after missing weight by 7.5 pounds, “Borz” wore glasses and was respectful towards everyone going into his fight against Whittaker. This even had fans worried as they thought the wild and often unruly fighter had lost his hunger and aggression.

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However, Nascimento wasn’t worried as he had been observing Chimaev change since the birth of his son a year ago. Nascimento assured others that, while Chimaev previously used to be controlled by the animal inside him, he was now in control of the beast and would unleash it when needed. Chimaev proved “Finfou” right by breaking Whittaker's jaw with a face-crank in the first round to earn a stoppage win.

“The biggest change in Khamzat …

Usman Nurmagomedov says the shoes of their late coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, have been filled nicely by his son, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Usman, Khabib, Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov and their entire team, filled with elite fighters, were initially trained by Abdulmanap in the mountains of Dagestan.

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Abdulmanap later brought the team to the U.S. to train at American Kickboxing Academy under Javier Mendez. Khabib retired as undefeated Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion after the death of his father in 2020. “The Eagle” has since taken up the responsibility of guiding the team alongside Mendez.

Usman believes Khabib has fit into Abdulmanap’s role extremely well. The Professional Fighters League lightweight champion says his cousin Khabib knows exactly how much a fighter must be pushed in training. With the team being filled with champions from every major MMA promotion, one would expect that they would train adequately by themse…

Raul Rosas Jr. doesn’t want to keep fighting after he achieves all his goals.

Rosas Jr. is the youngest ever fighter to enter the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The 21-year-old recently revealed that, like most modern mixed martial arts stars, he eventually wants to be a two-division champion. If “El Nino Problema” can win a second title and defend it a couple of times by 25, he will consider retirement.

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Rosas Jr. clarified that he will continue past that age if he doesn’t accomplish all his goals by then. However, if he becomes a two-division champion, Rosas Jr. doesn’t want to keep fighting hungry opponents who want what he has already achieved.

“If I accomplish all my accomplishments by 25, like if I’m already able to try to challenge for the second belt on the second division and defend it a couple of times, if I still haven’t done that, then I’m gonna keep going,” Rosas Jr. told Dominick Cruz. “But if I’ve done what I wanted to do, I don’t wa…

Khamzat Chimaev had to part with his lucky shorts after joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Chimaev’s (15-0) longtime grappling coach, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, recently recalled giving his fighter a pair of shorts that would stay with him for a long time. “Finfou” gave Chimaev his own shorts ahead of his amateur debut against Khaled Laallam in 2017. While Nascimento wanted his shorts back if Chimaev lost, the future UFC champion was certain that he would win. Chimaev washed the shorts and hung them up to dry before sewing a patch of his coach’s logo on them.

Chimaev went on to submit his opponent in the first round with a brabo choke. Chimaev’s talent was evident in his first fight, and “Borz” turned pro the following year after two more amateur wins. “Finfou” recalls that Chimaev used to wear the same pair of shorts for every fight before he entered the UFC. Chimaev was inactive for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic when his manager suddenly secured a UFC…

Joaquin Buckley is disappointed with Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White for forgetting his name.

Buckley has recently been calling out Terence Crawford for a street fight. When asked about the idea, White started with, "Crawford and who?” White found the idea dumb that Crawford, who retired with $55 million for his last win over Canelo Alvarez, would fight Buckley in a street fight.

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Buckley called out White for forgetting his name to begin with. “New Mansa” reminded White that his flying spinning back kick knockout win over Impa Kasanganay in 2020 still remains one of the most viral knockouts in UFC history. Buckley challenged the UFC head honcho to put him in a boxing match against Callum Walsh, WBC welterweight champ and Zuffa boxing’s star recruit.

“Dang, Dana. You done forgot who I was? You done forgot the dude with Knockout of the Year 2020? One of the most viral knockouts in the UFC… One of your most viral fighters?... It ain’t not…

Khamzat Chimaev’s coach, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, believes detractors will always find something to criticize no matter how good a fighter is.

Chimaev was originally scheduled to fight Paulo Costa at UFC 294 in 2023. However, an injured Costa was replaced by Kamaru Usman on nine days’ notice. While Chimaev earned a majority decision victory, Usman was arguably his toughest test to date. As Chimaev was visibly exhausted in the final round, many believe that Usman could have won if the fight had been a five-round bout. However, Nascimento explains that they had specifically prepared for a three-round fight, which is completely different than preparing for a five-rounder.

Chimaev finally went five rounds while challenging Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 319 last year. “Borz” ragdolled du Plessis for 25 minutes to earn a dominant, unanimous decision victory. While critics have stopped questioning Chimaev’s gas tank for now, he was slammed for a boring…

Vinicius Oliveira is calling out Aljamain Sterling for a featherweight matchup.

Oliveira had recently admitted that his days at bantamweight were numbered. Oliveira’s latest loss to Mario Bautista earlier this month was seemingly the final nail in the coffin. “LokDog” is now calling for a featherweight matchup against former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.

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“New category, common opponents with zero risk, fight more times in a year, make more money, reach the belt faster, not to mention that I’m hearing @funkmasterMMA has nightmares about me and already warned his friend @MerabDvalishvili about it — if he wants it, I want it,” Oliveira wrote on X.

Sterling downplayed the callout, saying:

“Lol bruuh… cmon man. Don’t do that.”

Oliveira responded:

“I want new challenges. You're still a champion, you spoke well of me, I admire that, but you're the only good guy in the 66kg weight class that I know, so t…

Anthony Hernandez believes he can overwhelm Khamzat Chimaev with his well-roundedness.

Hernandez is scheduled to headline UFC Houston against Sean Strickland on Feb. 21 in a potential middleweight title eliminator. A win over Strickland would potentially make “Fluffy” a frontrunner for the next middleweight title shot against Chimaev (15-0).

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Hernandez believes his grappling defense would hold up well against Chimaev’s relentless wrestling. However, Hernandez is not wary of going to the ground against “Borz.” Hernandez believes he is way more well-rounded than the champion, whose wrestling is his bread and butter.

“My grappling defense is really good,” Hernandez told New York Post Sports. “I think I can force [Khamzat] to have to stay on his feet. Honestly, even with him, I don’t give a f*ck where it goes, grappling, striking, standing up, he’s got one thing and I’ve got a f*cking arsenal. So I really don’t give a f*ck. I want my time to prove that …