Martial Arts News

Merab Dvalishvili believes all fighters deserve respect. | Getty/UFC

Merab Dvalishvili believes fighters shouldn’t be disrespected regardless of wins and losses. 

Dvalishvili (21-5) recently lashed out on social media against “s—t talk” toward fighters. While Dvalishvili didn’t clarify the target of his rant, he issued an open challenge to talk trash to his face.

“You disrespect the dedication and hard work to the sport that every fighter puts in when you talk s--t,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “Win or lose we are all warriors and deserve respect. F--k anyone talking what they don’t know - come say it to my face.”

You disrespect the dedication and hardwork to the sport that every fighter puts in when you talk sh!t. Win or lose we are all warriors and deserve respect. F*^k anyone talking what they don’t know - come say it to my face.

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) June 19, 2026 Standing Up for a Fri…

Ronda Rousey and Jake Paul are mocking the viewership numbers for UFC White House card. 

The UFC hosted a one-of-a-kind event at the White House earlier this month. Billed as UFC Freedom 250, the card featured two of the promotion’s biggest stars in Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, alongside other big names like Justin Gaethje, Sean O’Malley and Ciryl Gane. The event had 7 million average viewership in the United States. 

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Despite the magnitude of the card, it failed to beat the viewership numbers for Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" last month, which reportedly did 9.3 million in the U.S. MVP co-founder, Jake Paul, has now declared himself the biggest MMA promoter.

“As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter,” Paul wrote on X.

As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 19, 2026 Rousey Tar…

Zabit Magomedsharipov is set to return to action after nearly seven years. 

Magomedsharipov (18-1) is set to face Raul Rosas Jr. in a no-gi grappling match at ACBJJ 21 on July 5 in Moscow, Russia. The matchup will be in the 70 kg (154 pounds) weight category. 

UFC Past and Present Collide Magomedsharipov is considered to be one of the biggest “what ifs” in MMA history. The exceptionally well-rounded featherweight prospect won four bonuses in his six UFC wins. Magomedsharipov last competed in 2019, when he beat Calvin Kattar via a unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Night” clash. Magomedsharipov then surprisingly retired in 2022 to pursue a career in medicine. 

Meanwhile, Rosas Jr. is currently riding a five-fight winning streak in the UFC. The 21-year-old is coming off his biggest career win against Rob Font. 

Japan’s own 🇯🇵@Kyoji1012 | 125 lbs

[ #UFCVegas119 | SAT JUNE 20 | 8pmET LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/f0MYUyBKXT

— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2026 A key flyweight rematch with Ultimate Fighting Championship title implications is now official following the UFC Vegas 119 weigh-ins.

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The main event of UFC Fight Night 279 sees Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape clash for a second time. Both men made weight for the rematch, which comes nearly a decade after the two met during the 2017 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight with the exception of Kevin Borjas, who will be fined 20 percent of his purse for coming 3 pounds overweight for his flyweight bout against Andre Lima.

Horiguchi (36-5, 1 NC) won the initial fight, submitting "Starboy" with an arm-triangle choke in the third round. "Karate Kid" enters the rematch on an eight-fight unbeaten streak and is 2-0 since returning to…

Meet Pedro Valente Jr., the only person in attendance at both UFC 1 and UFC White House: Freedom 250.

The eldest son of one of Helio Gracie's most respected disciples, Pedro Valente (1938-2016), Pedro Valente Jr. can declare that he is the only eyewitness who was at the first UFC event in 1993 in Denver and at UFC at the White House in 2026.

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“It was a unique emotion to see where this sport has come,” Valente told Sherdog. “I couldn't help but remember the tribute that Rorion [Gracie] paid to his father in the center of the Octagon at UFC 1. The old man would certainly be very emotional to see where it has come.”

Along with his brothers, Joaquim and Guilherme, Valente leads the Valente Brothers Jiu-Jitsu academy in Miami, which counts among its students children and grandchildren of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

“We ended up creating a bond of friendship beyond the mats, which is why we were invited,” Valente said.

According to him, the ide…

Professional Fighters League is bringing a lightweight showcase bout to PFL New York in Long Island with a bit of hometown cooking. The promotion has confirmed to Sherdog that undefeated Longo’s MMA product Levan Khabalaev (5-0) will lock horns with fellow New Yorker Ryan Gerena (4-1).

Russia’s Khabalaev has had his last three fights in recognizable promotions Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Legacy Fighting Alliance, picking up finishes in two of those three wins.

Gerena has spent his entire professional career fighting for Flex Fight Series, and after losing his professional debut, he has won four fights in a row, leading him to get the call from the PFL. Of his four victories, three of them have come by way of stoppage, while he’s also gotten one victory by way of decision.

PFL New York will be headlined by a lightweight title fight pitting champ Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0) against Archie Colgan (13-0). Also on the card, superstar Dakota Ditcheva …

Erin Blanchfield is 8-1 in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

A pair of flyweights looking climb into title contention will square off at UFC 330.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that Erin Blanchfield will meet Jasmine Jasudavicius in a 125-pound clash at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. UFC 330 is headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry, while Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight crown against Gillian Robertson in the evening’s co-main event.

A Common Foil Blanchfield has been victorious in eight of her nine Octagon appearances. That lone defeat, a unanimous decision setback against Manon Fiorot in the UFC on ESPN 54 headliner in March 2024, has kept “Cold Blooded’ on the outskirts of a title shot. The 27-year-old New Jersey native has since rebounded to post back-to-back triumphs over Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez.

Jasudavicius has also had her momentum halted by Fiorot. After winnin…

Jamahal Hill's light heavyweight tenure was highlighted by a title victory over Glover Teixeira. | Getty/UFC

Jamahal Hill is leaving the light heavyweight division.

The former UFC champ announced plans to move to heavyweight on his YouTube channel. The 35-year-old known as “Sweet Dreams” hasn’t competed since June 2025, when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Khalil Rountree in the UFC on ABC 8 main event. Hill has been sidelined by a knee injury since then.

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"I'm going to go ahead and say it now: I'm going to heavyweight," Hill said. "That's the announcement, breaking news. So, I'm officially going to say it: I'm going to heavyweight. It's been something I've been working on now for a few months, putting on the necessary weight and putting on the muscle and everything like that to move up.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better if I came back and went and won the heavyweight title? I think that means more than winning the light heavyweig…

The day after recording a video for his channel criticizing Herb Dean's refereeing in his UFC White House fight with Ciryl Gane, Alex Pereira spoke with fellow Brazilian Renato "Moicano" on his YouTube channel.

In a nearly 30-minute conversation, Poatan reacted to the video posted by Dean explaining exactly where the area where strikes are prohibited is located, clarifying his decision.

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"This video is a joke. The guy puts a coin and says here you can't hit, but there's an area around it where you put a limit. The fact is that if he signaled during the fight, my opponent would certainly think about the possibility of the fight being stopped there," said Pereira, reiterating his desire to see the referee penalized. "Something needs to happen. Dana doesn't fire fighters, why not referees?”No More DeanThe Brazilian did not mention appealing to the athletic commission to change the fight result to no contest, but made it clear that he will no longer acce…

Islam Makhachev will make his first welterweight title defense at UFC 330. | Getty/UFC

Some championship hardware will be at stake when the Octagon touches down in the City of Brotherly Love later this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed that UFC 330 will be headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry, while Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight crown against Gillian Robertson in the evening’s co-main event. Both matchups have been rumored for quite some time but had not been officially announced by the UFC until Wednesday. UFC 330 takes place on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

After a successful reign at 155 pounds that included four successful title defenses, Makhachev moved up to welterweight at UFC 322, where he claimed that division’s belt with a dominant five-round verdict against Jack Della Maddalena this past November. The 34-year-old Dagest…

A Professional Fighters League event slated for Friday in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia has been postponed just days before the event.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that PFL MENA 10 has been “postponed until further notice.” The PFL is evaluating future dates for the event and will provide an update as soon as more information is available.

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Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“The decision is based on internal operational and event readiness considerations, as we continue to ensure the highest standards of delivery,” the release states. “We remain committed to hosting PFL MENA in Jeddah and look forward to welcoming fans for what promises to be another exciting night of world-class mixed martial arts action."

PFL MENA 10 was scheduled to be headlined by Hattan Alsaif making her professional MMA debut against Dania Ouhachi in a 110-pound catchweight clash. The event was also expected…

Conor McGregor believes the UFC didn’t want him to return to competition at welterweight. 

McGregor (22-6) returns from a five-year hiatus in a welterweight tilt against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There were brief rumors of McGregor potentially returning against surging welterweight contender Carlos Prates.

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McGregor recently confirmed that Prates had indeed been suggested to him as an opponent. “Notorious” claims he verbally accepted a matchup against Prates. However, McGregor claims he didn’t receive any contract after accepting the booking. McGregor believes the UFC wanted him to return at lightweight. According to McGregor, the UFC brass was suggesting tough matchups for him to scare him away from the welterweight division.Ready and Willing “They said to me about [Prates],” McGregor said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I said, ‘Yeah, no problem. Send the contract.’ So I’m saying yeah for about …