Martial Arts News

Vadim Nemkov will defend his Professional Fighters League heavyweight championship against Sergey Bilostenniy in November.

The promotion recently announced that former Bellator champ Nemkov (20-2) will meet the No. 3-ranked Bilostenniy (15-4) in the main event of PFL Dubai on Nov. 14 at Coca-Cola Arena.

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Team Fedor's Sergey Bilostenniy challenges Nemkov at PFL Dubai Nemkov, a protégé of Fedor Emelianenko, moved up to heavyweight in 2024 and captured PFL gold last December.

Bilostenniy is 4-1 in the PFL and has earned notable finishes over Karl Williams, Tyrell Fortune and former PFL champion Renan Ferreira. Like Nemkov, he trains under the Team Fedor banner and has previously shared training camps with the champion.

This marks the first PFL main event in Dubai since the promotion's merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

“Dubai has become a special city for PFL and the site of some unforgettable moments in our history,” PFL CEO John Mart…

Khamzat Chimaev isn’t going to change his style in a sport as unpredictable as mixed martial arts.

Umar Nurmagomedov (20-2) was a massive favorite going into his pivotal clash against Yadong Song. Nurmagomedov was shooting a takedown when Song timed a flush uppercut to put his Dagestani counterpart to sleep. Chimaev, who has a wrestling-heavy approach, is undeterred by the threat of a knockout while shooting for a takedown.

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Chimaev explains why Nurmagomedov’s loss to Yadong Song won’t alter his approach The former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder was recently asked whether he’s going to be more cautious going forward, considering how Nurmagomedov lost.

“Borz” believes Nurmagomedov will bounce back stronger. As for himself, Chimaev says he is going to stick to his bread and butter: wrestling. He notes that an unlucky shot can put anyone to sleep in a sport like MMA and doesn’t see the point in changing his style out of fear of being knocke…

Ten prospects are set to compete on Sept. 8 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas as Season 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series reaches Week 5.

The Week 5 lineup features matchups across the light heavyweight, welterweight, middleweight, bantamweight and flyweight divisions. Quentin Pasley and Arlind Berisha are set to headline, with Reginaldo Geraldo Jr. vs. Isaac Moreno, Martin Kozak vs. Christian Echols, Apollo Gomes vs. Won Il Kwon and Colton Loud vs. Christian Natividad rounding out the card. All fighters successfully made weight with the exception of Echols, who became the first fighter to fail on the scale in Season 10 of DWCS.

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The event will be available to stream on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 Week 5 weigh-in results:Quentin Pasley (204.5) vs. Arlind Berisha (205.5)Reginaldo Geraldo Jr. (170.5) vs. Isaac Moreno (170.5)Martin Kozak (185) vs. Christian Echols (189: Missed Weight)Apollo Gomes (135.5) vs. Won …

Tony Ferguson will return to the boxing ring later this month.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship interim champ is scheduled to face former professional soccer player Kenzo Biyong in a five-round boxing matchup at Misfits Boxing on Sept. 26 at James L. Knight Center in Miami.

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Tony Ferguson will face Kenzo Biyong at Misfits Boxing on Sept. 26 Ferguson will take on former professional soccer player Kenzo Biyong on the undercard of Henry Cejudo vs. "Deen The Great" at Misfits Boxing.

Ferguson is 2-0 under the Misfits banner, with one professional victory and one exhibition win. His most recent boxing appearance came in December, when he defeated Warren Spencer by unanimous decision. Ferguson has also competed in wrestling since then, losing to Arman Tsarukyan by technical fall at Real American Freestyle.

Biyong, 28, will make his striking debut against Ferguson, though he has previous combat-sports experience. He competed in UFC BJJ 7 in …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Marlon Moraes now deals with real-world situations, as seen in a recent South Florida traffic stop.

Viral footage circulating on social media shows Moraes, now working as a police officer, dealing with a motorist who repeatedly confronted and verbally challenged him. After several warnings to back away, the man moved toward Moraes, who responded by taking him to the ground.

Marlon Moraes hip tosses motorist while working as South Florida police officerThe incident took place on March 27. Moraes joined the Davie Police Department in Florida in June 2024 before taking a position with the Coral Springs P.D. later that year.

In the viral footage, the situation escalates after the motorist repeatedly insults Moraes and another officer. Moraes warns him against moving closer before eventually using a hip toss to bring him to the ground, where other officers move in to handcuff him.

The incident adds another chapte…

Shavkat Rakhmonov isn't ready to say that his Ultimate Fighting Championship career is over, but the unbeaten welterweight admits his return is far from guaranteed.

Rakhmonov has been sidelined since defeating Ian Garry in December 2024. He entered that bout with a knee injury and it left a long-lasting impact. In a new interview, he reflected on the fight and where he stands in the 170-pound division.

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Shavkat Rakhmonov details the knee injury that has kept him sidelined since beating Ian Garry “Nomad” admits that he should not have competed with his injury. He also took a shot at Dagestani stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, claiming they would never fight injured.

“Well, that’s my problem; I couldn’t fight,” Rakhmonov told Alf Global. “If I had fought, I could’ve become champion, but that’s how it turned out. I was injured. What can I do? We are only human. I actually shouldn’t even have fought Ian Garry at all. With injuries like that…

Salahdine Parnasse made a statement in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

The former two-division KSW champion stopped Dan Hooker with a body kick and follow-up strikes in the first round of the UFC Paris main event. Parnasse subsequently reiterated his claim that he’s already one of the best in the world.

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Salahdine Parnasse targets Max Holloway after stopping Dan Hooker at UFC Paris Parnasse carried a five-fight win streak into his Octagon debut and is high in confidence after a near-perfect introduction to UFC fans. He was in good spirits after the fight, claiming that his performance reflects just how dangerous he is to other UFC lightweights.

“I threw the kick and then I threw a punch and to be honest with you, I got to rewatch the fight, but I don’t remember exactly everything,” Parnasse said in a post-fight interview. “I showed that I’m one of the best in the world, I showed that I’m dangerous and I’m here.”

The Frenchman also ca…

Oumar Sy wanted to give French fans a stoppage win to celebrate, resulting in his loss.

Sy was a -210 favorite going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship clash against Modestas Bukauskas in front of a home crowd at UFC Paris. He now admits that chasing the finish led to his defeat.

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Oumar Sy says pursuing a stoppage against Modestas Bukauskas contributed to his UFC Paris defeat Sy dominated Bukauskas in the first round, landing brutal elbows towards the end of the round with referee Jason Herzog watching very closely. Bukauskas was barely saved by the bell, with Herzog warning him to defend himself. While Sy started the second round with the same dominance, Bukauskas was able to return to his feet and defend a desperate takedown attempt. Bukauskas then dropped Sy with a knee and rained vicious follow-up shots to earn a shocking upset win.

Sy apologized to his fans, whom he wanted to give a stoppage win. However, he assures that the loss won’t de…

Islam Makhachev accepted Jordan Burroughs’ recent callout, but with a condition.

Burroughs took on Magomed Kurbanaliev in a wrestling match at RAF Moscow. Burroughs took less than 90 seconds to defeat Kurbanaliev via a 10-0 tech fall and subsequently called for a wrestling matchup against Makhachev in Russia.

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Jordan Burroughs challenged Islam Makhachev after dominant win in Russia The Olympic gold medalist called out the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champ in his post-fight interview.

“Islam, where are you? Hey, I came to your country, to your capital city, and tech-fall’d one of your champions. I will be back to Russia very soon and the only person I want to share the stage with is Islam.”

Makhachev congratulated Burroughs on the win while calling him a legend. The Dagestani accepted a matchup against Burroughs, but inside the cage, probably referring to an MMA bout.

“Congrats on your win legend,” Makhachev wrote…

Michael Page once again left the Octagon feeling he had more to offer.

Page beat Nursulton Ruziboev via unanimous decision in the final bout of his current Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Having built a reputation as one of the most feared knockout artists in mixed martial arts prior to joining the UFC, the Englishman is frustrated with yet another decision win.

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Michael Page wants to take more risks after beating Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris Page admitted during a post-fight interview at UFC Paris that feeling comfortable during a fight can sometimes be a bad sign because it means he hasn’t pushed himself enough. He believes he needs to take more chances rather than constantly searching for the perfect moment to land flashy strikes.

“The frustrating thing is I feel great, which sometimes means I haven't done enough and the results show that I haven't done enough,” Page said. “Probably need to push myself a little bit more, take a few m…

Paddy Pimblett claims he hasn’t been offered a fight against Ilia Topuria amidst rumors the two could square off next.

Sean O'Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, recently claimed to have heard rumors of a potential matchup between Pimblett (24-4) and Topuria (17-1) being in the works for December. However, while “The Baddy” admittedly wants to return in December, he says he hasn’t been offered Topuria and is open to fighting any of the top lightweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Paddy Pimblett says UFC hasn't approached him about Ilia Topuria fight Pimblett claims he hasn’t been approached by the UFC about a potential Topuria fight, but is open to taking on the former two-division champ next, in addition to Arman Tsarukyan, Mauricio Ruffy, Charles Oliveira and current champ Justin Gaethje.

“I’d love to smash [Ilia’s] head in, lad, but we need to wait and see. No one spoke to me about it,” Pimblett told Eze Obasi. “[I could fight] Arman, Gaethje,…

Khamzat Chimaev’s hit list for his next fight has been cut in half.

“Borz” had recently shortlisted Sean Strickland, Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus Du Plessis and Caio Borralho for his next fight. Borralho had accepted Chimaev’s callout, proposing a matchup in November at Madison Square Garden. Chimaev’s stance has now changed.

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Chimaev says UFC told him Caio Borralho and Dricus Du Plessis are injured Chimaev claims the UFC recently informed him that Borralho and du Plessis are currently injured. Meanwhile, Imavov is expected to challenge Strickland for the UFC middleweight title next. While Chimaev acknowledged Imavov as a deserving contender, he will be ready to face either “The Sniper” or Strickland if their title fight doesn’t come to fruition.

“I call out everyone,” Chimaev told Red Corner MMA. “I want to come back as soon as possible. Earlier, I said that I want to return in October, and I called Hunter. They told me that Caio and du Plessis are in…