Martial Arts News

Dana White has addressed Raoni Barcelos’ concerning stoppage loss to Raul Rosas Jr.

Barcelos was ahead on the judges’ scorecards heading into the fifth round of his Ultimate Fighting Championship main event against Rosas Jr. at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Sept. 26. However, the Brazilian appeared to lose consciousness during a wrestling exchange against the Octagon wall, prompting the referee to stop the UFC Vegas 121 headliner. He was later removed from the Octagon on a stretcher.

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Raoni Barcelos is conscious and walking as doctors await test results Barcelos was transported to a hospital, where he subsequently regained consciousness. According to White, Barcelos is lucid and able to walk while awaiting test results to determine what caused the episode.

White said all pre-fight medicals were triple-checked before the event. According to the UFC CEO, three ambulances and six doctors were present at Meta APEX when Barcelos lost consciousness. White al…

Dana White claims resistance to his involvement in boxing is primarily coming from the United Kingdom.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to clash in a highly anticipated boxing bout on Dec. 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The fight will be broadcast on Netflix, which has announced that Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and Dana White will collaborate to promote the event. However, White’s longtime rival, Eddie Hearn, disputes the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO’s involvement.

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Dana White says British boxing figures are pushing back on his involvement White labeled traditional boxing promoters taking issue with his involvement an “ego thing.” He admitted that boxing isn’t what it was in the United States two decades ago and claimed it has become primarily a British sport. According to White, the complaints and resistance surrounding his involvement are coming from the U.K.

“Boxing has taken a hit in the United States,” he said at the la…

Anthony Wint believes his stint in the National Football League prepared him to handle the spotlight in the UFC.

Wint (8-0) is scheduled to make his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance against Lucas Armand (6-0) at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The former New York Jets linebacker says he isn’t overwhelmed by being around UFC stars or being viewed as a celebrity.

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Anthony Wint says his NFL experience changed how he handles the UFC spotlight Wint has been training with several top-ranked and rising UFC fighters, including Esteban Ribovics, Gregory Rodrigues, Anthony Hernandez, Reinier de Ridder and Roman Dolidze. However, “Bow Down” isn’t starstruck, having already been around high-profile athletes in the NFL. Wint also learned not to be overwhelmed by the spotlight after his NFL career didn’t develop as he had hoped.

“I played in the NFL and I’m used to being around the stars… I’m used to people seeing me as a c…

Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 featured just four fights due to a last-minute cancellation.

Ilias Bulaid and Erick Visconde were scheduled to kick off the card in a featherweight bout Tuesday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. However, the bout fell through at the 11th hour after Bulaid fell ill despite making weight. The matchup has been postponed to Week 10 of DWCS 2026.

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Dana White blasted Adama Diop’s performance before awarding him a UFC contract at DWCS Week 8 Aieza Ramos Bertolso (8-0) took on Camila Reynoso (9-2) in a strawweight matchup. Bertolso dominated Reynoso in all aspects before forcing her to tap to a Brabo choke in the first round.

While she was a -500 favorite going into the fight, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White initially didn’t believe the odds. However, White admitted that Bertolso proved the oddsmakers correct with her dominant showing.

“Let’s start with Aieza… So, you looked great on your feet,…

Eric Nolan wants to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory for his fellow U.S. Marines.

Nolan (8-5) is scheduled to fight Court McGhee (22-14) in a welterweight matchup at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. He started training in mixed martial arts while serving in the Marine Corps and has always wanted to represent the Marines at the highest level of MMA.

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Eric Nolan seeks his first UFC victory against Court McGhee at UFC 332 Nolan believes he has disappointed his fellow Marines by losing both of his UFC fights so far and wants to earn his first Octagon victory for them on Saturday.

“When I started MMA, I always said I wanted to represent the United States Marine Corps at the highest level of the sport,” Nolan told MMA Fighting. “And it took me eight years to get here. And I finally have the opportunity to do that. And I’ve been disappointing them. And I know my brothers and sisters out there are rooting for me. So,…

Mikey Musumeci is close to transitioning to mixed martial arts and is targeting gold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Musumeci, 30, defeated Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11 on Sept. 24 and subsequently revealed that he plans to make his MMA debut soon. The jiu-jitsu standout eventually wants to become the UFC’s flyweight champion but knows that remains a distant goal.

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Musumeci is developing his striking as he prepares for his MMA debut Musumeci is currently focused on developing his striking so that he can take the fight to the ground without getting knocked out.

“My goal would be to go to the UFC at 125 pounds and win that belt,” Musumeci told Ariel Helwani. “I have a lot of work to do before then. That’s us seeing super far ahead. One match at a time. Let’s get my level up, let’s get me not to get killed standing and let’s get me to the floor. I think people are going to be really surprised at my level.”

Musumeci also revealed that he ha…

Marcus McGhee believes the biggest fight of his career halted his momentum.

McGhee (11-2) went undefeated in his first four Ultimate Fighting Championship outings before taking a massive step up in competition against Petr Yan last year. Yan earned a unanimous decision over McGhee and went on to win the bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in his next fight.

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“The Maniac” claims the promotion has held him back since that result, but he doesn’t know why.Marcus McGhee questions his UFC matchmaking ahead of UFC 332 McGhee returned to the win column in June against unranked John Yannis, who is now 1-2 in the UFC. He is scheduled to return at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 against Bernardo Sopai.

McGhee admits that he accepted the matchup against Sopai (13-3) to stay active. He believes the loss to Yan led to the recent decline in his level of opposition and that the UFC has been pushing him back since the defeat.

In an interview ahead of his Octagon re…

Lee “Lightning” Selby will headline BKB 61 against Ollie “The Death” Sentance on Nov. 14 at Indigo at The O2 in London.

BKB announced the all-British matchup Tuesday, with the former IBF featherweight champion set to make his second appearance in the promotion’s Trigon. Selby had previously been confirmed for the event, but his opponent had not been announced.

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Lee Selby faces 2-0 bare-knuckle finisher Ollie Sentance in London Selby retired from professional boxing in 2022, bringing an end to a career in which he captured the IBF featherweight championship. He made his BKB debut at BKB 55 in June, stopping Antonio Rizzo via second-round TKO.

The 39-year-old Welshman will now make his first BKB appearance in London, where he will face another undefeated bare-knuckle fighter in Sentance.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the Trigon and fighting in London again,” Selby said. “Ollie is a tough opponent and I know he’ll be coming to bring…

The bantamweight finale of the latest season of “The Ultimate Fighter” ended in a disqualification, but Dustin Poirier has questioned the victor’s reaction to the foul.

Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu won the “TUF” 34 championship after Mehemmedali Osmanli was disqualified for landing an illegal knee to a grounded opponent at 2:19 of the opening round of their clash at UFC Vegas 121 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Poirier, however, questioned Uulu’s reaction to the illegal blow.

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Dustin Poirier questions Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu’s reaction to illegal knee Poirier discussed the foul that ended the fight alongside Jorge Masvidal and Chris Weidman on “Deep Water.” On the replay, Uulu appeared to reach for Osmanli’s leg before the referee intervened.

Poirier claimed that Uulu’s reaction changed once he realized the fight was being stopped. The former interim champion and Masvidal viewed the sequence as an exaggerated response, joking that it was a “flop” and comparing the …

Bella Mir has a wrestling assignment lined up before competing for Real American Freestyle.

Mir is scheduled to compete at the U23 Wrestling World Championships in Las Vegas from Oct. 12-18, giving her another competition before her Oct. 23 RAF 14 matchup with Hope Chase. RAF announced the matchup last week, marking Mir’s return to competition after her loss on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Bella Mir will represent the US at the U23 Wrestling World Championships before facing Hope Chase at RAF 14 The opportunity comes after Mir’s scheduled wrestle-off with Kennedy Blades did not take place. Instead, Mir will retain the No. 2 position on the 2026-27 U.S. Senior National Team and represent the United States at the upcoming U23 World Championships.

Mir captured an NCAA women’s wrestling championship before transitioning to mixed martial arts. She most recently competed in August on DWCS, suffering a loss to Alex Apodaca. “Lady” is currently 4-1 in her professional mixed …

Movsar Evloev wants to make a statement in his first Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenge.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. While Evloev has long been considered a top contender, he has yet to record a finish in the UFC.

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Evloev wants to stop Alexander Volkanovski in his first UFC title challenge Evloev is looking to win the featherweight title in style.

“This is my first title fight,” Evloev told MMA Fighting. “And we’re looking to make it my first finish in the UFC.”

The unbeaten Russian says that while he has defeated champions on the regional scene, he often didn’t receive credit for those victories. According to Evloev, his detractors would argue that his opponents were past their prime or coming from a bad camp. He doesn’t want to hear the same criticism if he dethrones the 38-year-old Volkanovski and is eager to f…

Luis Hernandez believes he can end Chris Curtis’ Ultimate Fighting Championship career, but not just yet.

Hernandez had an altercation with Curtis and Sean Strickland at a Tuff-N-Uff event last year. He mocked Curtis and Strickland after defeating their Xtreme Couture teammate Miles Hunsinger, drawing a strong reaction from the two before security intervened to prevent the situation from escalating beyond Strickland throwing a blow.

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Luis Hernandez explains why he wants to build his name before fighting Chris Curtis Hernandez made his UFC debut on two days’ notice at UFC Vegas 121, finishing Sedriques Dumas in less than a minute. Curtis recently claimed that he contacted UFC matchmakers about facing Hernandez after “The Stache” earned his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this month.

According to Curtis, UFC matchmakers declined the matchup because of the disparity in experience. Curtis said he contacted them again after Hernandez…