Martial Arts News

Kamaru Usman is headed to middleweight at UFC Oklahoma City. | Getty/UFC

If Dricus Du Plessis is to be believed, Kamaru Usman took some convincing to accept a matchup against the former UFC middleweight champion.

"He didn't want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact. I spoke to the UFC and they said, 'We finally convinced him to sign.' If you need convincing to sign, that's a problem, but I can't blame him,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “I also wouldn't want to fight me right now. It would be the smart move not to sign the fight, but let's go.”

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Du Plessis and Usman will square off in the UFC Oklahoma City headliner on July 18 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It’s Du Plessis’ first Octagon appearance since relinquishing the middleweight strap to Khamzat Chimaev in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at UFC 319 last August. Usman, a former welterweight rule, will return to 185 …

Bo Nickal won’t be resting on his laurels.

After a quick finish of Kyle Daukaus at UFC White House, Bo Nickal will face 2026 NCAA national champion wrestler Max McEnelly at RAF 12 in Cleveland on Aug. 22. The wrestling organization recently announced the match. The event will also include a showdown between ex-UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and current Octagon competitor Joaquin Buckley.

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A three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Nickal was one of the most-highly touted MMA prospect in recent memory. He has largely delivered on that promise, winning nine of his first 10 professional outings. That includes a 6-1 UFC record, where he has finished all but one of his triumphs inside the distance. Nickal defeated Jacob Cardenas via decision at RAF 1 and was later expected to face Yoel Romero but the pairing was cancelled when “Soldier of God” missed weight.

McEnelly, meanwhile, was an All-American as a freshman at the U…

Beatriz Mesquita is quickly making a name for herself in the UFC.

After finishing Melissa Mullins in her third Octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 279, the 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion now boasts an 8-0 record in MMA. As she climbs the bantamweight rankings, “Lady GOAT” wasted no time calling out her next foe, surging Argentinian contender Ailin Perez.

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“I came to be the champion of the division, the new face of Brazil in women's MMA,” Mesquita said. “I want to finish the rankings as [high] as possible because I want to fight for the belt in 2027.”A Natural Rivalry Shortly after leaving the Octagon, Mesquita explaned her callout In an interview with UFC Brazil reporter Evelyn Rodrigues.

"I find Ailin disrespectful and it could be a perfect match, since Brazil and Argentina already has a normal rivalry,” Mesquita said. “The Octagon is no place to be twerking and showing your butt. I'm ready to face her and show the ‘Lady GOAT’ mentality.”<…

Myktybek Orolbai has won three straight UFC fights. | Getty UFC

The UFC 330 lineup will include a welterweight looking to make a statement.

Surging contender Myktybek Orolbai will lock horns with Jeremiah Wells in a 170-pound affair. Orolbai announced the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC 330 takes place at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and is headlined by a welterweight title tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Ian Garry.

On a Roll Orolbai has won three straight outings and five of six UFC appearances overall. The 28-year-old Kyrgyzstan native kicked off his 2026 campaign with a three-round verdict over Chris Curtis at UFC Fight Night 269 on March 14. His current streak also includes finishes of Jack Hermansson and Tofiq Musayev.

Wells, 39, is 5-2 in UFC competition. Most recently, he snapped a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision triumph against Themba Gorimbo at UFC Fight Night 263 this past Novembe…

Charles Oliveira got the better of Justin Gaethje in 2022. | Getty/UFC

After Justin Gaethje shocked the world by stopping Ilia Topuria to unify the lightweight belt in the UFC White House main event, the debate began in earnest regarding his next opponent.

Candidates include top contender Arman Tsarukyan, the winner of the UFC 329 main event between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor and reigning BMF champion Charles Oliveira. An immediate rematch with Topuria is also a possibility, though Gaethje himself has dismissed the notion.

Unfinished Business Oliveira has already begun to campaign for the title shot. In an interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana on Monday, “do Bronxs” did not mince words.

“The world knows what happened in our first fight when there was the ‘scale robbery case.’ I got the submission win but got my title stripped,” Oliveira said. “Gaethje also said he suffered an accident before the fight, so let's make that rematch. That's t…

Patrick "Patchy" Mix will look to end a three-fight losing streak when he squares off against Shoko Sato at Rizin 54.

The Japanese promotion recently announced a handful of bouts for the Aug. 11 event. Rizin 54 takes place at Toyota Arena Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan, and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Kleber Koike Erbst and Kyomo Akimoto.

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A former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, Mix was victorious in 20 of his first 21 professional outings prior to signing with the UFC. The 32-year-old New York native dropped a pair of lackluster decision against Mario Bautista and Jakub Wiklacz before being released from the Las Vegas-based promotion. “Patchy” moved to 145 pounds at Rizin 52, where he suffered his third consecutive setback in a second-round stoppage loss to Kyoma Akimoto. He will return to 135 pounds against Sato.

The 38-year-old Sato is a veteran of 58 pro fights dating back to 2008. The former ONE Championship and Shooto competit…

Dana White will have no room to complain about the UFC's new rankings system. | Getty/UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s new rankings system is now live.

The Las Vegas-based promotion, in partnership with Meta, officially introduced its Meta UFC rankings on Monday. The rankings are described as “a new athlete evaluation system transforming how fighters are assessed; offering fans, athletes and media, an objective, data-driven view of the sport's competitive landscape.”

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These polls, which are supposedly “determined entirely by fight data,” mark a departure from the previous rankings that were voted on by members of the media. UFC CEO Dana White has consistently voiced his displeasure with the previous rankings, a sentiment he echoed in Monday’s press release. UFC.com visitors can still toggle between Meta and media-based rankings.

“I’ve been unhappy with the rankings and always believed there had to be a better way,” White stated…

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships is heading to an interesting new venue later this summer.

The organization announced on Monday that BKFC 92 will take place on Aug. 29 at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox. In the evening’s main event, BKFC featherweight title holder will square off against Massachusetts native Harry Gigliotti.

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A Historic Venue Billed as “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” on MLB.com, Fenway officially opened on April 20, 1912. The seating capacity is nearly 38,000, though it is unclear how much of that space will be utilized for BKFC 92.

“We’re beyond excited to announce this unprecedented event at Fenway Park on Saturday, August 29,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a press release. “The team at Fenway Park has been outstanding to collaborate with in what is truly a can’t miss event on the national combat sports calendar.”

BKFC 92 will also mark the first regulated bare-knuckle boxing event in the state. More bo…

Retired UFC fan favorite Dustin Poirier was arrested in Georgia on Sunday for public drunkenness, according to TMZ Sports.

Poirier was booked at approximately 6:38 p.m. local time and released shortly after 10 p.m. The circumstances surrounding the fighter’s arrest are currently unclear. Poirier made a court appearance on Monday morning. Public drunkenness is categorized as a misdemeanor in Georgia and carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

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‘Working on Myself ‘ Poirier hasn’t directly addressed the incident. However, a recent post on his Instagram Stories could be related.

“Love you all. I’m working on myself,” Poirier wrote.

Ben Askren has since added some more details to the alleged incident. The UFC, Bellator and ONE Championship veteran shared a brief video, claiming that Poirier was wrestling at the Atlanta airport.

He was having a good time at the airport. Wrestled some of …

After the welterweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry was confirmed as the UFC 330 headliner, everything indicates that the organizaiton will soon announce the fight that determines the next No. 1 contender in the division.

After spending six weeks celebrating his technical knockout victory over Jack Della Maddalena, Carlos Prates authored a mysterious Instagram post on Sunday, sharing images of training and indicating that he has already begun preparations for his next camp.

Chapters of the Next Season“Time to start writing the chapters of the next season, which will be called: ‘UFC Champion,’” Prates wrote.

After knocking out two former champions in Della Maddalena in Leon Edwards, The Fighting Nerds standout has made it clear that he feels he deserves to face the Makhachev-Garry winner next. However, he also recently told Sherdog.com that if the UFC were to decide on a different fight, a matchup with fellow contender Michael Morales would make se…

Ian Garry wants to prove a point against Islam Makhachev. 

Garry is scheduled to challenge Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Garry believes his rangy movement will pose Makhachev problems that he has never faced before. While Garry went to wrestling camp in Georgia, Makhachev recently said that wrestling cannot be learned in a few months. However, Garry hopes that Makhachev takes him down so that he can prove a point. The Irishman vows to defeat Makhachev in wrestling, which is the Dagestani champion’s bread and butter.

‘I’m Going to Bounce Him on His Skull’ “He’s never fought someone as long and tall as me,” Garry said on Instagram. “He’s not fought someone as fast as me. He’s never fought someone that has the distance management, the boxing capability, the head movement that I do. And also takedown defense. He might get me down, I hope he does. Because I want to prove to the wor…

Sharabutdin Magomedov wants his fans to wonder if he could dethrone Sean Strickland. 

Magomedov (16-1) is scheduled to fight Michel Pereira (32-14) at UFC Baku on June 27 at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Pereira’s training partner, Strickland, was recently seen helping by trying to imitate Magomedov’s flashy style in sparring. 

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While Magomedov thinks it was somewhat of an imitation, he doesn’t think Strickland came very close. Magomedov calls Strickland an “interesting” fighter, whose title win over Khamzat Chimaev came as a surprise to “Shara Bullet.”‘A Pale Imitation’ “I don’t think he can do it like me,” Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “But it was kind of an imitation. A pale imitation, though. It would be very different in an actual fight… Sean Strickland is actually a very interesting fighter. I always get surprised when fighters like him become champions. But he is a hard worker, a native talent. I just want to ask …