Martial Arts News

Sherdog's live UFC Perth coverage will begin Saturday at 4 a.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 275. Round 1 Good evening, or as we say here in Texas, good morning! In the UFC Perth curtain jerker, Road to UFC product Mar Fan (9-2) makes his proper Octagon debut against Dana White's Contender Series Season 8 alum Steele (7-1; 0-1 UFC). The third man in the cage is referee Matt Wynne. Both lightweights set up in orthodox and it’s the taller Mar Fan pawing out with a long jab. Steele shoots a double-leg from outside and secures a clean takedown. Mar Fan closes his guard and uses his arms to control Steele’s posture. Ninety seconds in, Steele passes to half guard. He’s throwing short punches and using shoulder pressure to make his foe uncomfortable. Steele tries to pass to mount as Mar Fan looks for a sweep. He does, but Mar Fan times him perfectly and rolls him right over, sweeping to top position. Steele scrambles and they end up in an awkward-looking legloc…

Sherdog's live PFL Sioux Falls coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp sc…

ABSOLUTE BANGER

Jack Della Maddalena vs @thenightmare170

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[ #UFCPerth | May 2 | 7amET | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/fXQt1mOHBR — UFC (@ufc) May 1, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's second Australian card of 2026 is officially set following the official UFC Perth weigh-ins.

Headlining the event is former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, who will take on Brazil's Carlos Prates in his first fight since losing the title. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight. The only fighter to miss weight was Gerald Meerschaert, as the would-be middleweight clocked in four pounds overweight at 190 pounds. As a result of his weight miss, opponent Jacob Malkoun will receive 30% of the purse of "GM3."

Della Maddalena is fighting back in his home country for the first time since 2023. The 29-year-old was last seen losing a one-sided decision to Islam Makhachev. Prior to the set…

⚖️ #PFLSiouxFalls Weigh Ins

Welterweight bout is official!Logan Storley: 170.4 lbsFlorim Zendeli: 171 lbs #PFLSiouxFalls | Sat, May 2nd | 📍Sanford Sports Complex | Early Card 7PM EST | Main Card 10PM EST | ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/wdEsGHNTPL

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 1, 2026 The Professional Fighters League kicks off its busy May with a 12-fight card that features an exciting welterweight clash.

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The PFL Sioux Falls main event is now official after Logan Storley and Florim Zendeli both made weight. The five-round main event will see the former interim Bellator champion look to get back into the win column at the expense of the Albanian, who is undefeated within the promotion. As for the rest of the card, a flyweight fight between Sabrinna de Sousa and Cheyanne Bowers was bumped up to a 134-pound catchweight, and Magomed Magomedov missed weight by .8 pounds for his bantamweight fight against Leandro Higo. Magomedov will be fi…

For the first time in his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, Johnny Walker will not have to cut weight for a fight.

Towering 6-foot-5 Brazilian striker Walker (22-10, 1 NC) has elected to move back to heavyweight, a division in which he competed at for a few years earlier on in his career but no later than 2018. Cutting a massive amount of weight and reportedly walking around at 245 pounds or so, the 34-year-old has not missed weight since joining the promotion. He relocates up in weight, per MMA Mania on Thursday, to face Ante Delija (26-8) at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1. Opponent Delija has since confirmed the pairing on his Instagram Stories on Friday.

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Walker has struggled as of late, winning once in his last five outings. Since a no contest with future champ Magomed Ankalaev in 2023—and a rematch less than three months later that spelled disaster for Walker—Walker has gotten his raised a single time when he stopped surging Mingyang Zhang with leg…

For the past two years, Gadzhi Rabadanov has been a staple in the Professional Fighters League’s lightweight division, competing in back-to-back tournaments, winning in the 2024 PFL Season. Although he came up short last year, losing in the championship to Alfie Davis, Rabadanov is ready to move forward and get back to being the best version of himself under the new format with sans tournament and new division rankings.

Rabadanov returns to action May 2 at PFL Sioux Falls in a co-main event showdown against former PFL Europe champion Aleksandr Chizov, a big time matchup for both parties. Speaking to Sherdog.com ahead of his fight, Rabadanov expressed his excitement for the change in format, as well as his approach for his path back into the title picture.

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“I’m excited; after I had surgery, I rested, recovered and now I’m very healthy,” Rabadanov said. I’m very excited to be back in the cage again. I think the time off since my last fight has helped …

[embedded content] The World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization cruiserweight world championship will be on the line tomorrow as David Benavidez vs. Gilberto Ramirez is now set following the official weigh-ins.

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo weekend, the anticipated 12-round boxing fight will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday. The fight sees Benavidez, an undefeated two-division world champion, move up in weight for another championship shot against Ramirez, who holds two cruiserweight world titles. Both men had no issue making weight for the championship showdown.

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Benavidez (31-0), who has held world championship status in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, looks to continue challenging himself. "The Mexican Monster" most recently knocked out Anthony Yarde and David Morrell. A heavy favorite priced at 2/7, Benavidez weighed 196.8 pounds.

Looking to retain his belts and cause a stir in the boxing world with an upset …

If Ultimate Fighting Championship fans already weren’t excited enough for the summer, the “Bud Light UFC Summer Series” is here to pump things up.

Bud Light, the UFC’s official beer sponsor, launched the “Bud Light UFC Summer Series” that will feature three numbered UFC events, two Fight Nights and additional cards to keep fans engaged.

The series will be featured at UFC 328 in Newark, UFC 329 in Las Vegas, UFC 330 in Philadelphia, and two Fight Nights, which are yet to be announced.

The platform will feature a Bud Light Summer Concert at the Toshiba Plaza, outside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, on July 10. Limited edition Bud Light cans featuring the UFC logo and an Octagon are now up for sale at retailers. Bud Light will also make content featuring UFC stars. There will also be special co-branded arena cups and LED boards available at specific venues.

Todd Allen, SVP of Marketing for Bud Light at Anheuser-Busch, said: “It's going to be a summer unlik…

Aleksandr Chizov achieved his highest level of success in the Professional Fighters League when he won the PFL Europe lightweight tournament in December and picked up two finishes during his three-fight run to the title. It was only a matter of time before the powers that be brought him onto the global roster.

The 28-year-old Latvian gets a major step up in that regard when he takes on Gadzhi Rabadanov in the PFL Sioux Falls co-main event on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. Rabadanov was a 2024 PFL tournament winner and marches into the match with victories in 12 of his past 13 appearances. It serves as stern challenge for Chizov.

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A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

“I’m feeling great,” he told Sherdog.com. “For me, it’s a dream come true. Since day one when I started to compete in MMA, I wanted to fight in the United States. Listen, I am from Latvia. It’s a sm…

A youthful appearance hides the fact that Leandro Higo has quite literally pursued his passion for decades. He made his pro debut at the age of 17 and has fought virtually everywhere since, from Jungle Fight, the Resurrection Fighting Alliance and the Legacy Fighting Alliance to “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 4 and Bellator MMA.

Higo now readies himself for his second appearance under the Professional Fighters League flag, as he will face Magomed “Tiger” Magomedov in a PFL Sioux Falls bantamweight showcase on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. It has been quite a journey for the 37-year-old Brazilian.

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A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

“It’s been 20 years since my debut, when I started fighting vale tudo in my hometown of Mossoro,” Higo told Sherdog.com. “I started out without any expectations. It was just a dream. I couldn’t imagine getting as far as I …

Karl Williams knows the drill.

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound heavyweight will set out in search of his second Professional Fighters League victory when he squares off with Maxwell Djantou Nana as part of the PFL Sioux Falls undercard this Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. Williams, 36, holds a 1-3 record with the promotion and last competed on Feb. 7, when he tapped to a second-round arm-triangle choke from Pouya Rahmani at PFL Dubai. It was his fourth consecutive defeat dating back to his exit from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Williams makes no excuses for his recent run of adversity.

“The results have been the results, and every time it’s like that, I can only control what I can control,” Williams said. “I go into the gym, [and] I work as hard as I can [and] get with the best training partners. I’ve been training with …

Liz Carmouche won the PFL flyweight tournament in 2025. | PFL MMA

A women’s flyweight tilt with championship implications will serve as the PFL San Diego co-headliner.

Liz Carmouche will square off against Viviane Araujo on June 27 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, the promotion announced on Wednesday. Carmouche is currently No. 2, while Araujo checks in at ninth in Professional Fighters League’s 125-pound rankings. PFL San Diego is headlined by a featherweight clash pitting A.J. McKee against Salamat Isulaev. The PFL San Diego main card airs on ESPN 2 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims will be broadcast via the ESPN app at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Championship Credentials A San Diego native, the 42-year-old Carmouche comes off a 3-0 campaign in 2025 in which she won the PFL flyweight tournament. During that run, ‘Girl-Rilla” bested Ilara Joanne, Elora Dana and Jena Bishop — earning two of her victories via knockout or technical knockout. Carmouche is a …