Martial Arts News

Sharabutdin Magomedov (15-1) will yet again fight on a UFC Abu Dhabi card. 

Magomedov is set to trade leather with middleweight veteran Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9) at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 26. The promotion announced the booking on Tuesday.

Magomedov is coming off his first pro loss, which came against elite striker Michael Page at UFC Saudi Arabia this past February. An uncanny striker, Magomedov came into the UFC riding an 11-fight winning streak that included 10 finishes — seven in the first round. He then racked up four straight wins in the UFC with two finishes, one of which was an iconic double-spinning backfist knockout that will go down in the history books. 

Meanwhile, Barriault came into the UFC as a highly-touted prospect in 2019, but his career hasn’t panned out exactly as planned so far. “Power Bar” dropped all three of his bouts last year, including consecutive first-round stoppage losses. However, Barriault r…

"Patchy" Mix is officially a free agent.

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The Professional Fighters League on Tuesday announced that it will not be extending Mix’s contract. That will allow the bantamweight standout to pursue other options. Mix was one of a number of former Bellator MMA athletes who had expressed frustration over a lack of activity since the promotion was purchased by the PFL.

“Professional Fighters League and Patchy Mix have mutually agreed not to extend his contract. We both decided that this is the best course of action for PFL and him,” the PFL wrote in a statement. “Patchy is a fantastic fighter and we wish him well. PFL is excited to crown our next 135-pound champion in the PFL World Tournament.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Professional Fighters League and Patchy Mix have mutually agreed to not extend his contract.

We wish Patchy Mix all the best in his future pic.twitter.com/xUHSZ45we6

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 13, 2025

Mix fought once with…

Dricus Du Plessis’ opponent for his next title defense has been set for a while. It was simply a matter of selecting a date and venue.

On Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Du Plessis will defend his middleweight belt against No. 1 contender Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner. The card takes place on Aug. 16 at the United Center in Chicago, marking the promotion’s first trip to the city since 2019.

Du Plessis is unbeaten in his last 11 professional outings, a streak that dates back to before his Octagon debut. “Stillknocks” become the 185-pound champ at UFC 297, when he took a split vedict over Sean Strickland. The South African has since defended the throne with victories over Israel Adesanya and in a rematch with Strickland.

Chimaev, meanwhile, is 2-0 since moving up to 185 pounds after weight-cut issues forced him to leave the welterweight division. His middleweight debut came at UFC 294, where he took a majority decision against former w…

The UFC’s International Fight Week card will feature two championship pairings at the top of the bill.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced on Tuesday that Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight strap, while Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight belt against Kai Kara-France at UFC 317. Islam Makhachev is relinquishing his 155-pound title to move up to welterweight, White also confirmed.

UFC 317 takes place on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Other bouts confirmed for the card include a middleweight clash between Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov and a lightweight rebooking pitting Beneil Dariush against Renato Carneiro.

Topuria vacated the featherweight belt earlier this year in hopes of pursuing championship dreams at 155 pounds. “El Matador” captured the 145-pound strap with a second-round KO of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 before defending the crown with a third-round knockout of Max Holloway at UFC 30…

Islam Makhachev won’t be a simultaneous two-division champion after all.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced on Tuesday that Makhachev will vacate the lightweight crown and face reigning welterweight king Jack Della Maddalena at a future event. The date for that fight was not revealed.

Della Maddalena claimed the welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 this past Saturday. That cleared the way for Makhachev to move up a division, because the Dagestani standout didn’t want to fight for the title if Muhammad — a friend and training partner — still held the belt.

Makhachev has won his last 15 UFC appearances, a streak that includes four successful lightweight title defenses. He last competed at UFC 311, where he scored a first-round submission win over Renato Carneiro.

Della Maddalena has won 18 consecutive professional outings — including his first eight Octagon appearances. The Aussie was able to capi…

After a unanimous decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi last Saturday at UFC 315, Jose Aldo announced his retirement.

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However, a post published by Aldo himself on Instagram the following day left open the possibility that the “King of Rio” might rethink his decision.

“This may have been my last time in the Octagon,” Aldo wrote in a three paragraph letter to fans, leaving doubt in the air.

It appears that Aldo’s future could be clarified next Saturday, as the former featherweight champion has called a press conference to further explain his post. The event will be broadcast live on Aldo’s Instagram.

“Stay tuned and follow everything closely,” Aldo wrote.

Aldo’s full Instagram post from this past weekend is as follows:

“This MAY have been my last time in the octagon. During this week, I experienced one of the greatest battles of my life, and it wasn’t against an opponent, but within myself. In recent years, I have once again nurtu…

"This is indeed a landmark moment for ESPN & for sports fans everywhere."

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro & ESPN EVP of Programming & Acquisitions Rosalyn Durant share key points from Tuesday's announcement of ESPN's new direct-to-consumer offering

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More: https://t.co/zaHcX88OEq pic.twitter.com/e6VAWLp5sh — ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 13, 2025

ESPN will be increasing its focus on streaming in the coming months with an update that will directly affect Ultimate Fighting Championship fans.

The Worldwide Leader announced on Tuesday that a new direct-to-consumer streaming service — simply known as “ESPN” — will launch this fall. For a $29.99 per month subscription fee (or $299.99 annually), viewers will be able to access the entire lineup of ESPN networks and content. In a release, this is referred to as the unlimited plan. There are also bundling options with Hulu and Disney+ available for $35.99 per month with ads or …

Jon Jones doesn’t appear to be too concerned with public perception.

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During a recent session on Instagram Live, the UFC’s reigning heavyweight champion addressed accusations that he has been actively avoiding a fight against interim title holder Tom Aspinall. While UFC CEO Dana White has been confident that Jones vs. Aspinall will happen this year, there has been little tangible progress made — at least publicly — when it comes to negotiations for that fight.

In the meantime, Aspinall has grown exceedingly frustrated with the wait, as he has not competed since defending the interim crown with a stoppage of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. In a recent interview, the Englishman suggested that he would be ready to move on from Jones if the bout isn’t finalized soon.

Jones, however, doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get back in the Octagon.

“I’ve got people in the chat calling me a ‘duck,’” Jones said. “Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life…

The results of the two title bouts at UFC 315 could ultimately affect several weight classes.

On his weekly podcast, “Papo de Luta,” UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto noted the direct impact caused by Valentina Shevchenko and Jack Della Maddalena’s victories at UFC 315. Barreto admitted that he was surprised by both results, which could impact as many as four divisions.

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“I expected an extremely aggressive Manon [Fiorot] to surprise Valentina with her good speed, greater reach and tactical understanding, but it ooks like the trilogy with Alexa rekindled the best Valentina,” Barreto said. “She came back renewed, dominated Fiorot and showed once again that she is among the greatest of all time.”

Barreto also thought that Muhammad would take away Maddalena’s space for striking by mixing up his attacks.

“The [Gilbert] Burns fight was very good for Maddalena to correct gaps (mainly takedown defense),” Barreto said. “Belal surprised me…

Khamzat Chimaev went off on 'fake' Belal Muhammad following his loss at #UFC315 😬

"Yes he call me Muslim brother then he go saying he wants to beat me, so [why] should I be nice to you?

I like real people not fake. If you call me brother you should be my brother." pic.twitter.com/7cMIGfesEX — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 12, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev isn’t hesitating to kick Belal Muhammad while he is down. 

Muhammad and Chimaev have had a rivalry brewing for a while, although they belong to different weight classes. Muhammad even recently teased a move up to middleweight to fight Chimaev. 

Muhammad lost his welterweight title against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 last weekend in Canada. While it was one of Muhammad’s most entertaining performances, “Remember the Name” didn’t display any of his elite grappling. Chimaev mocked Muhammad on the loss and posted a now-deleted picture from the fight saying,…

UFC fighter Jean Silva put a fan to sleep 😳 pic.twitter.com/l0tMew2zYo

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 12, 2025

Jean Silva is unapologetic after choking out a fan.

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One of the quirkiest characters on the Ultimate Fighting Championshiproster, Silva is as well known for his loud presence as his finishing skills. “Lord” was recently attending a muay thai event in Floripa, Brazil, where he was seen choking out a fan. 

Silva caught the fan in a rear-naked choke and refused to let go even after he tapped and went to sleep. However, there were seemingly no ill feelings exchanged as the fan hugged it out with Silva after regaining consciousness. 

However, the episode didn’t go down well with all fight fans. A Twitter user shared screenshots of DMs from another incident reporting about the incident. According to the messages, the fan had just asked for a photo with Silva holding him in a rear-naked choke. 

“…

Though it might not always seem like it, Tom Aspinall is an admirer of Jon Jones’ body of work.

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That is at least part of the reason that the Englishman has been so determined in his pursuit of a fight against the current UFC heavyweight champion.

“I think Jon is amazing at MMA,” Aspinall said on the High Performance podcast. “You can never be a complete UFC fighter. It’s impossible. That’s one of the things that draws me to the sport so much because you’re constantly chasing perfection — but you’re never gonna get it. No one’s ever gonna be the perfect, complete fighter. But Jon, in my opinion, if you look at his body of work over the last 15 years, he’s as close to perfection as you can get as possible.

“That being said, he’s got a lot of miles on the clock and he’s fighting one of the most concussive punchers in UFC history. I just think I can exploit it. I think to get out the way of me for 25 minutes, at this point in his career, without g…