Martial Arts News

Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria must prove himself before a rematch. | 📷: Getty/UFC

Justin Gaethje believes Ilia Topuria has to work his way back into title contention.

Gaethje challenged Topuria for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250. While Topuria was a massive betting favorite and nearly found a finish in the second round of their bout, Gaethje rallied to pile on the damage in the next two frames.

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The fight ultimately ended due to a corner stoppage before the final round and Gaethje was crowned the new undisputed champion. Topuria subsequently vowed to make amends in a rematch on social media, but the Georgian-Spaniard will need to return to the win column before another title shot, according to the new lightweight king.UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria must return to the win column Gaethje was recently asked if he would consider an immediate rematch against …

The fight game is an unforgiving one.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, PFL DC will no longer feature Thad Jean (10-0) vs. Shamil Musaev (18-1-1) in the main attraction. Due to problems from his weight cut, Musaev has been forced to withdraw from his welterweight championship affair headlining the card at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. In the Russian’s stead will be Ernesto Rodriguez (11-1), who first posted of his change in opponent and vastly elevated stakes on Wednesday night—he was expecting to battle Aaron McKenzie—and then fully confirmed the news shortly after its announcement. Jean did as well shortly thereafter on his Instagram Stories. PFL released a statement following those social media posts.

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A welterweight title fight headlines PFL Washington DC: Tune on Saturday, July 25 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This is one of numerous cancelations on fight week and earlier, as Professional Fighters League athletes Magomed Umalatov, Jack Cartwrigh…

Canelo Alvarez's return to the ring has been pushed back.

The former undisputed super middleweight champion has revealed that his bout against WBC 168-pound titleholder Christian Mbilli has been rescheduled for Oct. 31. The championship clash was originally slated for Sept. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before being postponed earlier this month.

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Canelo Alvarez postpones Christian Mbilli bout after family issue delays training camp According to Alvarez, family matters prevented him from beginning preparations for the bout, prompting the postponement.

“Some problems in my family came up,” Alvarez told Ariel Helwani. “I wasn’t ready to go into training camp because I needed to deal with that first.”

The fight will remain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is expected to air on DAZN via pay-per-view and the platform's Ultimate tier. Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) hasn't competed since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford in September 2025, a …

Dana White isn't changing his stance on the GOAT debate in MMA.

During a recent appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO once again declared Jon Jones the sport's undisputed GOAT despite their well-documented business disagreements over the years. White even compared Jones to an NBA Hall of Famer.

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Dana White’s Jon Jones GOAT argument and Michael Jordan comparison in MMA history White recently addressed the GOAT debate, upholding his earlier stance. He once again called Jones the greatest in the sport’s history.

“Me and Jon have our... there’s the business side and then there’s the personal side,” White said. “But even on the business side, I always respect Jon Jones. Jon Jones knows who he is and Jon Jones knows what he does, and there’s no delusion there. I’ve said it and I’ll say it again: He’s the greatest of all time.”

White acknowledged how Jones continued to win big despite issues outside the Octagon fre…

Josh Hokit claims Ryan Clark has fallen victim to a "curse."

The unbeaten Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight reacted to Clark's abrupt exit from ESPN by claiming that the former NFL player was the victim of retribution after criticizing his controversial post-fight comments at UFC Freedom 250.

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Josh Hokit’s ‘Hokit Curse’ claim follows Ryan Clark’s ESPN exit after UFC Freedom 250 criticism Hokit sparked widespread uproar at UFC Freedom 250 for his unsavory comments about former first lady Michelle Obama after his win over Derrick Lewis. Clark then criticized Hokit’s comments during a recent episode of his "The Pivot" podcast featuring UFC CEO Dana White.

Following Clark’s shocking departure from ESPN, Hokit shared his take, claiming the analyst deserved to be let go by the sports broadcaster.

“FOFO… Podcast with Dana aired a day after he was fired,” Hokit wrote on X. “Every podcast creates a script of questions days in advance of the s…

Gable Steveson will return to the wrestling mat following his triumphant debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the Olympic gold medalist has been added to the lineup for RAF 12, where he will meet former collegiate foe Anthony Cassioppi at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Aug. 22.

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Gable Steveson returns to Real American Freestyle for RAF 12 matchup with Anthony Cassioppi after UFC 329 victory After making his Octagon debut at UFC 329, Steveson is returning for a wrestling matchup with RAF before his next UFC fight. He will compete at RAF 12, which streams on Fox Nation, marking the first anniversary of the promotion.

Steveson will enter the matchup with momentum on his side. The decorated wrestler defeated Alexander Romanov at RAF 9 in May before making a statement in his Octagon debut at UFC 329, where he stopped Elisha Ellison via first-round knockout to improve to 4-0 as a professional.

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Andy Foster believes Herb Dean made the right call in the Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira bout.

The California State Athletic Commission executive director defended Dean's handling of the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane and Pereira. The UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing sequence.

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CSAC official says other referees would’ve done the same as Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250 Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and recent outings.

Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish. However, Fo…

Tom Aspinall says recovering from multiple eye surgeries was more painful than anything he has experienced, including a vasectomy.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king discussed the aftermath of his bout against Ciryl Gane during a recent podcast appearance, where he revealed the extent of pain and inconvenience he faced due to his eye surgeries.

Tom Aspinall’s eye surgeries and Ciryl Gane fight aftermath explained Aspinall's UFC 321 bout against Gane ended in a no contest after multiple accidental eye pokes left the heavyweight champion unable to continue.

“I’ve had three [eye] surgeries,” Aspinall said on the “Great Company with Jamie Lang” podcast. “I had one on the left and two on the right. By the way, I’ve had the snip, right? I’ve had a vasectomy, and I was thinking that has got to be the worst surgery ever. Mate, compared to eye surgery, it is nothing. Honestly.”

Aspinall further revealed that he had to remain awake while doctors operated …

Islam Makhachev is leaving no stone unturned in preparation for his first welterweight title defense, roping in fighters with a similar build to Ian Garry.

Makhachev is scheduled to put his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line against Garry in the main event of UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The Russian has reportedly brought in Alvarez from Spain to help him get familiar with his upcoming Irish foe’s frame.

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Joel Alvarez helps Islam Makhachev prepare for Ian Garry’s height, range and distance game While Makhachev is a heavy favorite going into UFC 330, a lot has been made of Garry’s defensive savviness and distance management. Alvarez stands at 6-foot-2 and is also adept at fighting at a distance and using his range as an advantage, which is likely why he’s been summoned to assist Makhachev. The Dagestani’s teammate, Professional Fighters League champion Usman Nurmagomedov, has also been mimickin…

Nassourdine Imavov is confident about his next opponent in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The French middleweight recently revealed on Jaiden Cable’s YouTube channel that UFC officials have assured him he’ll receive the next crack at the 185-pound title following Sean Strickland's championship-winning victory over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328.

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Nassourdine Imavov says UFC middleweight title fight with Sean Strickland is next after UFC 328 Imavov wants to avenge his 2023 loss to Strickland, especially considering he doesn’t like the outspoken and polarizing American.

“I don’t like him. It’s personal between me and him,” Imavov said of Strickland. “The UFC told me my next fight would be for the belt.”

Imavov revealed that he was initially willing to remain active by accepting a bout against former champion Dricus Du Plessis before the promotion informed him to wait for a title opportunity instead. If those plans remain intact, Imavov expects…

Jessica Andrade is not above working a regular job to make ends meet.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight titleholder has been sidelined for nearly a year while recovering from a shoulder injury. During her hiatus from competition, the Brazilian has turned to working as a delivery driver.

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Jessica Andrade explains why she's working as a delivery driver during her UFC injury layoff Andrade, who has fought 30 times in the UFC, winning the 115-pound title and also challenging for the flyweight belt, has been away from action for almost a year now. However, it hasn’t stopped her from finding alternate paths of income.

“Thank God I managed to save some money, so things are going well,” Andrade said in an interview with Ag Fight. “But whenever I need to, I work as a delivery driver. I deliver meals and things like that. I just pick up orders through an app and make the deliveries. I do whatever it takes. I’m not afraid of hard work. I ca…

Islam Dulatov likes to keep his fights short.

Dulatov (12-1) is scheduled to take on Wellington Turman (18-8) in his second appearance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship since winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. He returns in a welterweight matchup at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25 at Etihad Arena in Yas Island.

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Islam Dulatov says his UFC Abu Dhabi game plan doesn't require studying Wellington Turman Dulatov isn’t bothered by the fact that there isn’t much footage available on Turman. "The Ripper" is confident that he doesn’t need to see Turman’s film to execute his game plan.

“Not that much footage of him,” Dulatov said in a recent interview. “But he is the same person, he has the same chin, and he has the same style he had before. If he learned some stuff it’s good for him. But at the end of the day, for what I want to do with him, I don’t need to see footage. I just want to knock him out.”

Dulatov vows to look for a first-rou…