Martial Arts News

[embedded content] Cory Sandhagen believes he will be on the cusp of a title shot with a spectacular performance on Saturday.

Sandhagen (17-5) headlines UFC Des Moines on Saturday against Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. “The Sandman” considers himself worthy of the next bantamweight title shot if he beats the former flyweight champ in emphatic fashion. Sandhagen also notes that he is the only top contender in his weight class that hasn’t fought champ Merab Dvalishvili yet.

Dvalishvili is set to defend his title against Sean O'Malley at UFC 316 in June, in a rematch of their 2024 encounter where Dvalishvili claimed a decision. If O’Malley prevails, Sandhagen believes a matchup against “Sugar” would delight fans. Sandhagen appeared on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast “Mightycast” on Thursday, where he broke down the title picture in his division and where he thinks he stands up against the past and present beltholders.

“If I …

Francis Ngannou has spoken out about the reports of a motorcycle accident in Cameroon that claimed the life of one woman.

According the various news outlets in the region, Ngannou was allegedly driving a motorcycle through the streets of Yaounde, Cameroon, during Easter weekend when he struck a 17-year-old woman. Ngannou reportedly rushed her to the hospital and paid of all the medical expenses for the woman. However, it was already too late, and the woman died due to her injuries.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion put out a statement to TMZ on Friday, expressing his grief over the matter while stating that he will provide support to her family going forward.

“From the very beginning, I have been by the family's side, offering support, comfort, and deepest condolences during this time,” the heavyweight told TMZ. “I've met with them privately to share in their grief, and I will continue to stand with them every step of the way. I carry their pai…

Our #UFCDesMoines main event is official 🚨@CorySandhagenX hits the scale at 135.5 pounds! pic.twitter.com/6efuEV6Sbh

— UFC (@ufc) May 2, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Iowa is now official after the UFC Des Moines weigh-ins took place.

The main event of UFC on ESPN 67 is now official. Bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo both made weight for the five-round fight. The rest of the 12-fight card also made weight, although Julianna Miller needed two attempts to hit the flyweight mark.

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The always exciting Sandhagen (17-5) is looking to rebound after a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov snapped a three-fight win streak. "Sandman" was on the verge of a title shot following wins over Rob Font, Marlon Vera and Yadong Song. However, the 33-year-old will need to put together another streak if he hopes to get a shot at gold. The American officially weighed 135.5 pounds for the headline bout.<…

The First Round Of the 2025 #PFLWorldTournament has been nothing but STRAIGHT ACTION ✅

The Light Heavyweight & Heavyweights were no different tonight 😤

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PFL World Tournament 4 | Full Fight Highlights pic.twitter.com/oYuJy47R0j — PFL (@PFLMMA) May 2, 2025

Phil Davis hadn’t won a fight in over three years, but the former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion reminded everyone why he’s called “Mr. Wonderful.” Trailing on the scorecards after the opening round, Davis starched former Professional Fighters League king Rob Wilkinson with a bomb of a right hand to secure his spot in the PFL World Tournament semifinals at PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 4.

Davis' second-round TKO (0:51) capped off the main event from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and put the former NCAA DI wrestling national champion back on the big stage. Davis (25-7, 1 NC) tried to find his range in Round 1 but found it hard to ca…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 4 coverage will begin Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the r…

It was a successful trip to Kansas City this past weekend for for Diego Lima.

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The Chute Boxe leader returned to Brazil on Tuesday after cornering Ian Garry to a unanimous decision triumph over Carlos Prates in the UFC on ESPN 66 main event and shared some of the strategy that helped propel “The Future” to victory.

“Prates is such a tough striker,” Lima told Sherdog.com. “Our main goal was to keep moving and avoid his main strikes as well as eliminate his left side. That's why the high kicks were so important to inhibit his straight punches and keep him aware that he could be high kicked. Everything happened as we planned and, in my opinion, he won Rounds 1,2,3 and 4.”

Lima confirmed that Garry emerged from the fight injury free, so he will be ready to be the backup fighter for the welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10.

Lima also commented on the controversy that occurred with Fighting …

There’s now some clarity as to why Taila Santos was unable to take part in the 2025 Professional Fighters League World Tournament.

USADA, the PFL’s anti-doping partner, announced on Wednesday that Santos has accepted a six-month suspension after testing positive for oxandrolone and clenbuterol in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 21. Both oxandrolone and clenbuterol are classified as anabolic agents and are prohibited at all times.

Santos’ suspension is retroactive to March 21, so she will be able to return to active competiton on Sept. 21. The 31-year-old Brazilian was removed from a first-round flyweight tournament bout against Juliana Velasquez on April 11 as a result of the anti-doping violation.

A former UFC title challenger, Santos joined the PFL in 2024, where she bested Ilara Joanne, Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche to reach the 125-pound final. She then suffered a second-round TKO loss to Dakota Ditcheva at the PFL Championships on No…

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The last stage of the Professional Fighters League World Tournament opening round is now official.

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All 18 athletes who weighed in on Wednesday hit their contracted marks without issue, clearing the way for the promotion’s first-round brackets at light heavyweight and heavyweight to move forward.

PFL World Tournament 4 takes place on Thursday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The main card airs on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured bout pits Phil Davis (206) against Rob Wilkinson (206) at light heavyweight.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Thursday, May 1 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

A former Bellator champion, Davis will return to action for the first time since June 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Corey Anderson at Bellator 297. The 40-year-old former Penn State University wrestle…

😬Sean Brady went OFF on Ian Garry for calling for a title shot next:

"You just beat number 13. You don’t deserve anything… He can be a back up fighter all he wants, that don’t mean d*ck."

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🎥 @SteadyPicks ▫️ pic.twitter.com/PRRgycPdrE — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 29, 2025

Sean Brady doesn’t consider Ian Garry to be worthy of a title shot.

Garry earned a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City last weekend. Brady was unimpressed by Garry’s win and accused the Irishman of coasting throughout. Garry also revealed that he is the official backup for Belal Muhammad’s upcoming title defense against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Garry had seemingly asked for the backup spot as part of deal in accepting the Prates matchup. While making the announcement, “The Future” reminded fans that he accepted his last matchup against Shavkat …

Belal Muhammad and Khamzat Chimaev are seemingly teasing a future matchup.

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Muhammad is scheduled to defend his welterweight title in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Middleweight contender Chimaev recently took a shot at Muhammad, calling him a “pony.”

“Bullyb170 where are you going, pony,” Chimaev wrote.

bullyb170 куда ты лезешь пони 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/i4HMuSSavJ

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) April 29, 2025

In response, Muhammad teased a move up to middleweight, which could possibly put them on a collision course.

“Goin to middleweight,” he wrote.

Goin to middleweight https://t.co/u4QzXQb3iP pic.twitter.com/owTlYl8HHH

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) April 29, 2025

While Chimaev used to primarily fight at 170 pounds, the weight cut was too steep for him, which led to him missing weight by a massive 7.5 pounds at UFC 279 in …

Katharina Lehner will lock horns with Olga Rubin in the Invicta FC 62 main event on May 16.

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The all-women’s promotion announced the bantamweight booking on Wednesday. Invicta FC 62 takes place at The Lex at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City and will see DeAnna Bennett face Rayla Nascimento in the evening’s co-headliner. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on Invicta’s YouTube channel and Facebook page at 6:30 p.m./3:30 p.m. PT.

Four other bouts were confirmed for the event: Milana Dudieva vs. Amanda Torres at flyweight; Ashley Yoder vs. Abril Anguiano at strawweight; Ashley Barrett vs. Quinn Williams at flyweight and Charsley Maner vs. Alexandra Lawal at flyweight.

Known as the “German Gypsy,” Lehner has rebounded from a four-bout skid from 2018 to 2022 to win two of her last three professional outings. Most recently, she took a split verdict over Shanna Young at Invicta FC 60 on Feb. 7. Read more

Sedriques Dumas is in trouble with the law again.

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According to Escambia County (Florida) inmate records, the UFC middleweight was arrested on April 28 on multiple charges, including felony robbery home invasion without a weapon, misdemeanor battery, possession of weapon by a convicted felon and felony drug possession. Dumas is currently in Escambia County Jail with bond set at $558,000. His next court date is scheduled for May 6 with Judge Jennie Kinsey.

Dumas was last arrested in February 2024 on a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly slapping the mother of his child. That charge was dropped four months later.

Dumas has a lengthy criminal history that was brought to light prior to his UFC debut. This includes allegedly punching a woman during an incident that began at a bar in Pensacola, Florida in August 2022 a few days before Dumas fought on Dana White's Contender Series. According to a police report, the brawl spilled out of the b…