Martial Arts News

Edson Barboza sees plenty of himself in Mauricio Ruffy and believes the surging Brazilian has become an “improved version” of him.

Barboza, who recently retired from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, claims Ruffy is one of his favorite fighters to watch. Ruffy is set to face Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 331 co-main event on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles and Barboza recently broke down the matchup, having trained alongside Tsarukyan at American Top Team.

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Barboza compares Mauricio Ruffy to Anderson Silva ahead of Arman Tsarukyan fight Barboza gave his assessment of the matchup in an exclusive interview with Sherdog. He claims Ruffy reminds him of UFC legend Anderson Silva before drawing a comparison between Tsarukyan and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Ruffy is one of my favorite fighters right now,” Barboza said. “He’s extremely creative and skilled, and he reminds me of Anderson Silva. He just needs one opportunity to finish a fight. I’d say he’s the improved ver…

Jordan Burroughs has called for a wrestling match against Georges St. Pierre, revealing that the Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is his top choice.

The Olympic gold medalist recently called out the UFC Hall of Famer for a freestyle wrestling match under the Real American Freestyle banner, proposing a meeting at RAF 14 in Las Vegas on Oct. 3.

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Burroughs names GSP his top choice and proposes an Oct. 3 showdown at RAF 14 Burroughs discussed a potential match with St. Pierre during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show” after his recent RAF victory over Sean Brady on Aug. 22. When the Canadian’s name came up as a possible opponent, Burroughs made his interest clear.

“Yeah, Georges, if you're out there, I would love to compete against you,” Burroughs said. “I'd love to wrestle you. I honor you. I honor your legacy. And I don't want to embarrass you. I don't want to humiliate you. I just would love to share the stage with you. And so, he's No. 1.…

Colby Covington took shots at Ian Garry and Bo Nickal in a recent interview.

Covington offered harsh assessments of Garry and Nickal while speaking to Submission Radio. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship interim titleholder addressed Garry’s unsuccessful title bid against Islam Makhachev and Nickal’s recent wrestling defeat under the Real American Freestyle banner.

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Covington reacts to Ian Garry’s UFC 330 defeat and writes off a potential Bo Nickal wrestling matchup When asked about Garry's defeat at UFC 330, Covington took the opportunity to poke fun at the Irishman, referencing the controversy and online discourse surrounding his marriage.

“I don't know. I didn't really pay attention, so I didn't really care about it,” Covington told Submission Radio. “But the one thing fitting that I did see is now, you know, the wife got to sit in a corner and watch him get dogged out for once. So, at least the roles got reversed for once. You know, the w…

Former football player Anthony Wint recently opened up about the moment he realized mixed martial arts was his next career path.

Wint, who emerged victorious in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC Sacramento, recently reflected on his transition from football to MMA after the Covid-19 pandemic during an appearance on the “Deep Waters” podcast.

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Anthony Wint explains how early grappling success convinced him to commit to fighting Wint recalled working with veteran manager Malki Kawa before transitioning to MMA. Kawa manages several prominent fighters and Wint remembers seeing a picture of Jon Jones in his office.

“I didn't know Malki did fighting,” Wint said. “I remember going up his stairs and seeing the picture of Jon Jones. I was like, damn, you know Jon Jones? He's like, I manage Jon Jones.”

Wint was initially headed toward the CFL, but the 2020 season was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that period, Kawa encour…

Jiri Prochazka has shut down ongoing rumors about his return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion recently addressed rumors linking him to an interim title fight against Paulo Costa while reigning champion Carlos Ulberg recovers from injury. While Prochazka is staying consistent with his training regimen, he’s yet to lock in a fight.

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Prochazka says his next UFC fight is not confirmed amid Paulo Costa speculation Prochazka last competed at UFC 327, suffering a first-round knockout loss to Ulberg in a bid for the vacant light heavyweight championship. Ulberg suffered an ACL injury in the bout and is expected to return next year, paving the way for an interim title.

Amidst rumors linking him to an interim title bout with Costa, Prochazka took to social media to clear the air, claiming that his next bout is unconfirmed.

“Strong week, great rounds and teamwork,” Prochazka wrote on Instagram. “…

Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes the rule under which Paddy Pimblett’s purse is being withheld is extremely unreasonable.

Pimblett scored a first-round submission win over Benoit St. Denis at UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in July. “The Baddy” hasn’t yet received his purse for the fight due to a highly criticized rule. Pimblett’s purse is being withheld because he celebrated his win by jumping on the cage. Max Holloway and Gable Steveson, who also celebrated their respective wins at UFC 329 by jumping on the cage, are also under investigation.

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Paddy Pimblett's UFC 329 purse remains withheld over his post-fight cage celebration Bisping believes this rule needs to change for good. The former UFC middleweight champion believes it is absolutely justified to climb on the cage after a win.

“It all goes back to when Paddy beat Benoit St. Denis. What did he do? He celebrated. He jumped on the cage as a lot of f…

Paulo Costa claims the Ultimate Fighting Championship is “lost” without Dana White being more actively involved.

With one fight remaining on his UFC contract, the Brazilian voiced his frustration in an interview with Sexto Round, saying White is “greatly missed” in the matchmaking process.

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Costa criticizes UFC matchmaking with one fight remaining on his current contract Costa said he was ready to compete again shortly after his April victory and reached out to the UFC in June about potential fights in July or August. According to the former title challenger, the promotion told him it had not yet made a decision. “Borrachinha” believes that the promotion is making mistakes and is failing to capitalize on key matchups.

“Dana White is greatly missed,” Costa said. “The UFC is lost. They’re making a lot of mistakes because of fear and a lack of timing. If I said, ‘OK, I don’t mind being tied down, being undervalued and getting paid less than I deserve,’…

Some UFC Sacramento fighters came in substantially heavier on fight night after rehydrating.

The California State Athletic Commission has revealed the fight night weights of fighters at UFC Sacramento. One fighter gained over 25 pounds after weighing in, while the heavyweights on the card weighed in heavier than their in-cage weight.

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Marcio Barbosa jumped from 145.5 to 171 pounds at UFC Sacramento Marcio Barbosa gained the most weight after successfully weighing in at 145.5 pounds for his featherweight tilt against Ryan Kuse. Barbosa gained a whopping 25.5 pounds, weighing 171 pounds on fight night. Meanwhile, Kuse weighed 153.2 pounds, having gained only 8.7 pounds after weighing in at 144.5 pounds. Barbosa made quick work of Kuse with a first-round knockout.

Elsewhere on the card, Kennedy Nzechukwu lost 2.4 pounds after weighing in at 244 pounds for his heavyweight clash against Shamil Gaziev, who weighed 267.4 pounds on fight night after gaining…

Having shared the Octagon with Alexander Volkanovski twice, Islam Makhachev’s take on the featherweight champ’s upcoming title defense holds considerable weight.

Volkanovski (28-4) is set to put his Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title on the line against Movsar Evloev (20-0) at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Makhachev believes it will be a highly competitive bout, which Evloev is also aware of.

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Makhachev backs Movsar Evloev to dethrone Volkanovski at UFC 333 Makhachev predicts that Evloev being five years younger will help him dethrone the 37-year-old Volkanovski. The UFC welterweight champ believes that while Volkanovski is still dangerous, he’s past his prime.

“[Movsar] knows himself that the fight won’t be easy, that Volkanovski is a tough opponent for anyone,” Makhachev said at a recent presser in Russia. “But I think Movsar will manage with his youth. Volkanovski, honestly speaking, is not at the s…

Gregory Rodrigues denies cheating against Anthony Hernandez.

Rodrigues extended his win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to four with his decision win over Hernandez at UFC Sacramento. “Fluffy” later accused the Brazilian of repeatedly grabbing the inside of his gloves and Rodrigues has now responded.

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Rodrigues responds to Anthony Hernandez’s accusations after their UFC Sacramento main event Rodrigues did extensive damage to Hernandez’s lead leg with calf kicks, but the latter showed immense heart by continuing to pressure forward. However, Rodrigues inflicted damage while defending takedowns as well. At the post-fight presser, Hernandez accused “Robocop” of grabbing his gloves in the wrestling exchanges and claimed to have repeatedly complained to referee Herb Dean to no avail.

Rodrigues denies the accusations and says that Hernandez also knows that he didn’t cheat. He argues that the referee would’ve intervened if he was blatantly ch…

Merab Dvalishvili recently opened up about his backstage altercation at RAF Georgia.

Dvalishvili defeated fellow former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henry Cejudo in a wrestling match at RAF Georgia in July. He later shut down talks of a potential wrestling match against Umar Nurmagomedov in strong words. Nurmagomedov’s friend, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, then approached Dvalishvili and confronted him about his comments.

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Dvalishvili responded by slapping Gadzhimagomedov, leading to an all-out brawl.Dvalishvili says Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck before the RAF Georgia brawl Dvalishvili says he was relaxing backstage when Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck and loudly confronted him in Russian. While “The Machine” barely understands Russian, he knew Gadzhimagomedov was talking about Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili defends his action, saying Gadzhimagomedov had no business meddling in the feud between him and Nurmagomedov. The former UFC…

Even elite athletes should leave certain jobs to medical professionals.

Just one week after defending his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330, Makhachev was in the corner of a longtime teammate, Professional Fighters League athlete Magomed Magomedov.

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Makhachev tried to pop Magomedov’s shoulder back in place after an apparent in-fight dislocation, drawing a reaction from a real doctor online.Dr. Brian Sutterer critiques Makhachev’s response to Magomed Magomedov’s apparent shoulder injuryMagomedov faced former UFC bantamweight Daniel Marcos in the latter's promotional debut at PFL Tampa. The Russian seemingly suffered a shoulder dislocation and during the break between rounds, Makhachev attempted to put it back into position.

Despite the attempt, the shoulder remained a problem for Magomedov going into the third round and Makhachev ultimately had to call for the fight to stop, throwing in the towel. The U…