Martial Arts News

In a span of three weeks this August, Brazilian MMA fans will have the oportunity to see four UFC champions in action in national soil — but under diferent rules.

Shortly after Spaten announced that a boxing match between ex-UFC champs Mauricio Rua and Glover Teixeira would headline its third event on Aug. 29, Rafael Cordeiro told Sherdog.com that former heavyweight title holders Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos will square off in a grappling match in the featured attraction at Kings Championship 2 on Aug. 8.

According to Cordeiro, the event will be promoted in Florianópolis Santa Catarina with the full support of local governor. The Kings MMA leader plans to announce the full card, which will also include MMA fights, in the near future.

Finishing the TrilogyDos Santos and Werdum initially squared off at UFC 90 in October 2008, with “Cigano” winning via first-round TKO. Their paths crossed again at Gamebred Bareknuckle 5, where dos Santos defeated Werdu…

Bassil Hafez won't be able to fight until March 2027. | Getty/UFC

Bassil Hafez has been suspended for one year after failing an out-of-competition drug test earlier this year.

UFC anti-doping partner Combat Sports Anti-Doping announced the sanction on Wednesday. The welterweight fighter tested positive for ipamorelin, a prohibited peptide hormone, in a sample collected on March 20 in Las Vegas.

Advertisement

“During CSAD’s investigation, Hafez provided full and complete cooperation as defined under the UFC ADP,” the statement read. “His cooperation included identifying and introducing CSAD to a wellness clinic he had used to obtain substances he believed were permitted for injury recovery purposes. Hafez has not competed since November 2024 due to injury and did not have a bout scheduled at the time the sample was collected. 

“Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that, although Hafez claimed he was unaware that a product provi…

A.J. McKee will get top billing at PFL San Diego. | PFL MMA

The lineup is complete for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming trip to San Diego.

PFL San Diego takes place on June 27 at Pechanga Arena and is headlined by a featherweight clash pitting ex-Bellator champ A.J. McKee against Salamat Isbulaev. In the co-main event, 2025 tournament champion Liz Carmouche will meet Viviane Araujo at flyweight.

Advertisement

Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The promotion confirmed four new preliminary bouts for the event on Wednesday: Justin Wetzell vs. Sarvarjon Khamidov at bantamweight; Gamid Khizriev vs. Lorenzo Parente at lightweight; Shannon Clark vs. Ilara Joanne at women’s flyweight and Cobey Fehr vs. Daniel Bzdigian at bantamweight.

The PFL San Diego main card airs on ESPN2 beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims will be broadcast on the ESPN app at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.<…

Ex-UFC champ Glover Teixeira will lace up the boxing gloves on Aug. 29. | Getty/UFC

Spaten Fight Night is once again bringing the star power for its third event.

After having Chael Sonnen vs, Anderson Silva in the organization’s debut and Wanderlei Silva vs. Acelino Popo Freitas in its sophomore edition, Spaten Fight Night 3 will be headlined by a boxing match between former UFC light heavyweight champions Glover Teixeira and Mauricio Rua.

The first edition was heavily criticized for the excessive respect between Sonnen and “The Spider,” which resulted in a fight lacking both action and emotion. The second event made headlines for the opposite reason due to the excessive animosity between Wanderlei and Popo, which ended with the former Pride Fighting Championships standout being knocked out in a post-fight melee. In this third edition, the promoters took care to invite two champions who, while being extremely competitive, have a deep respect for each o…

Rico Verhoeven believes the scorecards were odd in his controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven dictated most of the fight before he was dropped by Usyk late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven got back up, Usyk followed up with a flurry, which was enough for the referee to stop the fight with a second left in the round. 

Advertisement

Apart from the controversial stoppage, the scorecards also felt “fishy” to Verhoeven. The bout had open scoring, where the scorecards were revealed to the fighters after every four rounds. Despite evidently leading in the early rounds, Verhoeven was slightly surprised to find out that the scorecards were even after the first four rounds. When the scorecards read as even after eight rounds, Verhoeven felt something was off. Verhoeven believes the open scoring even affected his performance. With the scorecards being even after eig…

Tallison Teixeira returns to action at UFC Macau. | Getty/UFC

Tallison Teixeira will have a chance to make a significant move in the heavyweight divison is he defeat Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Macau on Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 Brazilian has won two of his first three appearances in the promotion, but he faces a tall task against Pavlovich, who is third in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings. With 11 fights in the UFC and only three losses — to Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall — Pavlovich is a strong betting favorite at -650. That underdog status does not worry the Brazilian, who did his entire camp with Glover Teixeira and Alex Pereira.

‘Thank God He Didn’t Connect’ “He is third in the heavyweight rankings, but I trained with Alex, who is one of the greatest in the sport, which gave me a lot of confidence for this fight,” “Xicão” said in an appearance on the "Overdogs Brasil” podcast. “Glover has always been a reference for me in grappli…

Ilia Topuria almost let the nerves get the better of him ahead of his first professional fight. 

Topuria (17-0) recently admitted that he was really scared going into his first professional fight in 2015. While “El Matador” started questioning his career choices, he was also motivated at the same time. Topuria claims that even the thought of not showing up to the fight at all crossed his mind. While Topuria was only 18 years old, his opponent was already a seven-fight veteran by then.

‘I Went Through Hell’ “I was so scared for my first professional fight,’ Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “I was like, ‘Why didn’t I study? What am I doing here?’ I was so scared but at the same time so motivated… It was so weird. I went through hell, I remember, that day. I was about to stay in the backstage. I had that thought. And he had way more experience than me. I was 18 years old at that time.” 

Topuria won his first fight against Francisco Aspirilla in the first …

Stephen Thompson believes Ian Garry has the best shot at dethroning Islam Makhachev. 

The UFC welterweight division is currently teeming with contenders. While Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are in the race, Garry is widely considered the frontrunner for the next title shot against Makhachev. 

Advertisement

Thompson believes Garry poses the biggest threat to Makhachev out of all the contenders. According to Thompson, Garry won’t hesitate to use his wrestling against an elite grappler like Makhachev. “Wonderboy” believes Garry’s well-rounded skills and lanky frame can give Makhachev serious trouble if they fight.Not Afraid to Wrestle “I think Ian Garry would give him a hard time,” Thompson told Full Mount Media. “Ian Garry is not afraid to use his wrestling. You actually see more of his wrestling than [Morales and Prates’]. He’s very crafty; he puts his hands and feet together very well. But he’s not afraid to go out there and wrestle. I do believe tha…

Ilia Topuria would like to make his boxing debut against someone like Shakur Stevenson. 

While Topuria (17-0) acknowledges Stevenson as a good boxer, he believes the four-division world champion has an issue with him. Topuria believes he can hold his own against the best boxers in the world today. While it is not a dream for Topuria, the UFC lightweight champion would like to compete in boxing someday. Topuria would especially like to transition to boxing to fight someone like Stevenson, who, he says, runs his mouth too much.

Advertisement

“[Shakur Stevenson] is a good fighter,” Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “The only bad thing about him, he talks too much. He has some hate towards me… Honestly, I really feel that I can go to boxing and really face the best fighters in the world currently. It’s not like a dream, but if it happens I will be happy. And specifically, if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson, who talks too much.”MMA vs. Boxing Revi…

Stephen Thompson believes the best version of Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t present at UFC 328. 

Chimaev (15-1) put his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 earlier this month. Strickland handed Chimaev his first professional loss via a split decision in a massive upset. 

Advertisement

Thompson questions Chimaev’s training going into the fight against Strickland. Thompson recalls Chimaev had trained in the small village of Kislovodsk, Russia, when he challenged Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 last year. Chimaev had ragdolled Du Plessis for five rounds to earn a dominant decision victory. However, “Wonderboy” is surprised that Chimaev didn’t spent as much time in the same camp going into his first title defense. 

“I remember when Khamzat was preparing for Du Plessis,” Thompson told Full Mount MMA. “I think he did a lot of training in [near Dagestan]. I don't think he did a whole a lot for this one. Which surprised me.”

Read more

Rico Verhoeven only wants the concerned parties to admit that they made a mistake in his controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven clearly outclassed Usyk for most of the fight and appeared to be on his way to shock the world with a massive upset. However, Usyk dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the final seconds of the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of shots, which was enough for referee Mark Lyson to step in with a second left in the round. 

Advertisement

If the last-second stoppage wasn’t controversial enough, rumors also suggest that Lyson stopped the fight after the bell. Verhoeven’s coach, Peter Fury, claims Lyson even admitted his mistake on their flight back home. Verhoeven believes that to err is human. However, he wants Lyson to merely admit his mistake and apologize.&nb…

Ilia Topuria vows to have a “pure striking fight” against Justin Gaethje. 

Topuria (17-0) puts his lightweight title on the line against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) at UFC White House on June 14. While Topuria hails from a wrestling background, “El Matador” has established himself as a lethal knockout artist over the years. 

Advertisement

Topuria claims he chooses striking over wrestling to entertain fans. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard defended his featherweight title by handing Max Holloway his only knockout loss ever in 2024. Topuria believes he could have had his way with Holloway on the ground if he wanted. However, Topuria believes a submission win over Holloway wouldn’t have been as exciting as knocking him out cold was. Topuria had even used Holloway’s iconic point down, inviting him to a slugfest in the opening seconds of the fight. However, “Blessed” declined the offer, perhaps wisely. In the Name of Entertainment Topuria believes th…