Martial Arts News

Mauricio Ruffy has reflected on his recent defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ruffy took on Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331. The Brazilian rocked Tsarukyan early, leaving him with a swollen eye in the first round. The latter survived the early scare and knocked Ruffy out with an elbow from the clinch in the dying seconds of the round.

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Mauricio Ruffy explains why he relaxed his defense in the final seconds against Arman Tsarukyan Ruffy on Wednesday addressed his loss to Tsarukyan. While Ruffy is one of the most feared strikers among active UFC lightweights, he isn’t really known for his ground game. He wanted to silence his doubters and also prove to himself that he could handle the wrestling exchanges against Tsarukyan.

To Ruffy’s credit, he defended every takedown attempt from Tsarukyan. Ruffy says he could gradually feel Tsarukyan’s grip become weaker as he kept defending takedowns. He was confident that he would finish off t…

Ciryl Gane recently went off on Tom Aspinall.

Gane challenged Aspinall for the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title in October last year. The fight ended in an unfortunate no-contest after a double-eye poke from Gane left Aspinall unable to continue. The Frenchman has now slammed his English counterpart, labeling him “mentally fragile.”

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Ciryl Gane criticizes Tom Aspinall’s response to their controversial UFC no-contest Gane believes Aspinall had every right to stop fighting after getting poked in the eye. However, “Bon Gamin” says it wasn’t wise of the Brit to keep whining about it publicly after the fight. He also claims that he kept fighting despite having compromised vision after suffering an eye poke in his stoppage win over Derrick Lewis in 2021.

“Tom Aspinall was seen as a monster really, like a freak of nature, but when you look at the numbers, it’s a different story, you know?” Gane said on the “Zack En Roue Libre” podcast. “The…

Raul Rosas Jr. isn’t intimidated going into his first five-round fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Rosas Jr. is scheduled to headline UFC Vegas 121 against Raoni Barcelos on Sept. 26 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Rosas Jr. is particularly excited to test himself in the fourth and fifth rounds as it will prepare him for potential title fights in the future.

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Raul Rosas Jr. embraces 25-minute test against Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 121 Rosas Jr. also wants 25 minutes to try and finish his wily veteran opponent, who has been knocked out and submitted only one time each in his entire career.

“It’s different managing a five-round fight for sure,” Rosas Jr. said on Wednesday. “And I’m excited to go in there for the first time for five rounds. It makes me more excited if it does go to the fourth and fifth round. Because I’m starting to get used to this as the championship fights are coming [closer]... I want to have five rounds to try to finish h…

Norma Dumont’s rivalry with Ailin Perez goes way beyond the Octagon.

Dumont (13-3) and Perez (13-2) are set to meet in an Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 26 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. There is serious bad blood between Dumont and Perez leading up to the fight.

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Dumont explains the personal issues fueling her UFC Vegas 121 fight with Ailin Perez Perez posted a video last month accusing Dumont’s boyfriend, UFC middleweight Marco Tulio, of checking her out while training at the UFC Performance Institute.

While Dumont understands Perez’s style of mental warfare, she vows not to be affected. The Brazilian plans to stay unfazed by Perez’s gimmicks and focus on letting her fists do the work this weekend. Dumont is just glad to have the opportunity to legally beat up someone she truly hates.

“It’s a fight that literally has a personal anger, a personal issue, that the two of us have against each other,” Dumo…

Bare Knuckle Boxing returns to London in November.

BKB 61 goes down on Nov. 14 at the Indigo at O2 Arena in London. Lee Selby will have the English home crowd rallying behind him as he returns to the Trigon in the main event. The former IBF featherweight world champion and the WBC international featherweight champion will take on a yet-to-be-named opponent.

Lee Selby returns at BKB 61 in London after knockout win in his bare-knuckle debutBKB CEO David Tetreault said, “Lee Selby is a proven world champion and one of the biggest names in boxing, so having him back in the Trigon for BKB 61 is a huge moment for us. London is the perfect stage for a fighter of his caliber, and we know the fans will create an incredible atmosphere. As BKB continues to expand globally, attracting champions and boxing stars like Lee is a strong testament of our growth and momentum as the world’s largest bare-knuckle boxing organization.”

Selby hung up his boxing gloves in 2022. He made his bar…

Khamzat Chimaev is set to welcome Robbie Lawler to Real American Freestyle.

Chimaev and Lawler are scheduled to compete in a catchweight wrestling match in the co-main event at RAF 14 on Oct. 23 at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. The card will be headlined by Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dillon Danis.

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Robbie Lawler returns for Khamzat Chimaev wrestling match at RAF 14 The matchup marks Lawler’s RAF debut. It’s also the former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder’s return to competition since retiring from the UFC in 2023.

Meanwhile, Chimaev lost his UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland this past May. “Borz” has since defeated Danis, Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns, all via pinfall or tech fall, in wrestling matches at RAF.

The card also features the return of Michael Page, who’s competing for the first time since his controversial UFC exit. He takes on Russian veteran Alexander Shlemenko.

BORZ VS RUTHLES…

The Professional Fighters League just released the full card for its return to Chicago.

PFL Chicago goes down on Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The card will be headlined by the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight title fight between Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop.

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Liz Carmouche-Jena Bishop 2 and Timur Khizriev-Gabriel Braga 2 headline the Oct. 16 lineup Carmouche (26-8) is currently on a four-fight winning streak with three finishes. “Girl-Rilla” knocked out Bishop in their first bout last year to win the 2025 PFL flyweight world tournament. Bishop (11-3) has since rebounded with back-to-back first-round submission wins.

Timur Khizriev (18-0) takes on Gabriel Braga (17-3) in a featherweight rematch in the co-main event. Khizriev returns to action after nearly two years, as he was recovering from an armed attack and a broken hand. The undefeated Dagestani defeated Braga by split decision in their first meeting in 2024. Braga has since gone 3-1 i…

メインイベント本野美樹 vs SARAMI👑ストロー級QOP戦👑#pancrase366 pic.twitter.com/sAtpkkqbr6

— PANCRASE｜パンクラス (@_PANCRASE_) September 23, 2026

Strawweight Queen of Pancrase champion Miki Motono successfully retained her title with a dominant second-round TKO victory at Pancrase 366 in Tokyo. Motono stopped reigning atomweight champion Satomi Takano, whose bid to become a two-division titleholder was dashed by an onslaught of punches.

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Miki Motono retained her Queen of Pancrase title with a second-round TKO of Satomi Takano The southpaw Motono (11-5) repeatedly connected with straight left hands, which were the most significant strikes of the opening round. Takano (20-15) secured a brief takedown after catching a kick, but Motono continued to win the boxing exchanges after returning to her feet.

Takano took Motono down in the second round, but Motono quickly reversed into the scarf-hold position and landed dozens of…

Damian Piwowarczyk made the most of his opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series.

The Polish light heavyweight secured an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 7 of Season 10 of DWCS, defeating Emilio Quissua via first-round technical knockout at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

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Damian Piwowarczyk stops unbeaten Emilio Quissua at DWCS Week 7 Piwowarczyk stopped the previously undefeated Quissua with strikes at the 4:55 mark of the opening round after overcoming an early surge from his opponent. The victory earned praise from UFC CEO Dana White, who awarded him a contract.

Piwowarczyk later reflected on the victory and the achievement.

“It was really great. It’s one of the best moments in my life,” Piwowarczyk said in a post-fight interview. “I put a lot of work into this moment. My camp is really long, like three or four months… I just put a lot of work to be here in top shape.”

Piwowarczyk previously made a name for himself unde…

Marcos Degli entered Dana White’s Contender Series with plenty to prove and left the Meta Apex with an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

The Brazilian flyweight submitted Paris Moran with a standing one-arm rear-naked choke at the 4:46 mark of the second round at DWCS Season 10 Week 7, extending his winning streak to 13 straight. Degli had an emotional response to the massive achievement.

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Marcos Degli extends his winning streak to 13 with submission of Paris Moran Degli has built a reputation as one of Brazil’s more dangerous flyweight prospects. Against Moran, Degli showed that his submission game is just as potent as his striking. The victory was enough to convince UFC CEO Dana White to award him a contract.

In his post-fight interview, Degli (15-3) talked about his grandmother.

“I lost my grandma at the start of the year and I wish that she was here to see where her grandson made it. We made it,” Degli said. “I am sure she would b…

Alvi Dasuyev kept his perfect record intact and punched his ticket to the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Jaden Ortega on Dana White’s Contender Series.

The victory moved Dasuyev to 10-0 as a professional and marked only the second time he had seen a second round. UFC CEO Dana White awarded both fighters contracts after the bout, praising Dasuyev while also recognizing Ortega’s performance.

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Alvi Dasuyev explains what went wrong against Jaden Ortega after earning his UFC contract Dasuyev and Ortega went to war over three rounds on DWCS Season 10 Week 7. White had nothing but praise for Dasuyev and even offered Ortega a contract.

In a post-fight interview, Dasuyev expressed his joy at earning a UFC contract.

“It’s a dream that’s coming true,” Dasuyev said. “Really thankful for that. I think it’s a dream for every MMA fighter. I am happy.”

Furthermore, soon after the fight, he revealed that he had jet lag …

Caio Borralho is willing to take a risky matchup to stay active.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight is set to face Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Borralho is among the top-ranked contenders at 185 pounds, while Belgaroui is unranked. The former recently detailed his reasoning for accepting the fight.

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Caio Borralho prioritizes activity against Yousri Belgaroui after emergency surgery Borralho had been sidelined following emergency surgery. Eager to return to competition and avoid another lengthy hiatus from the Octagon, the Brazilian told Sherdog that he’ll accept whatever is offered to him to avoid ring rust.

“I’ve been almost six months without fighting,” Borralho said. “I had to take some time off because I had to undergo emergency surgery on my rib. I want to stay active. I believe I’m one of the best in the world. Whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to have to prove that I’m one …