Martial Arts News

Josh Hokit is making a name for himself in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Josh Hokit’s most recent performance has earned him some respect in the eyes of oddsmakers.

According to BetOnline.ag, Hokit is currently a -300 favorite against Derrick Lewis in their heavyweight clash at the UFC White House card. Lewis, meanwhile, checks in as a +250 underdog. The odds are subject to change as the fight approaches.

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Hokit emerged as a star at UFC 327, where he took a unanimous decision triumph over Curtis Blaydes in a “Fight of the Year” candidate. “The Incredible Hok” is 9-0 as a professional — including three triumphs under the UFC banner.

The booking against Lewis came together as the UFC 327 card took place. UFC CEO Dana White revealed that President Donald Trump, who was seated cageside, asked why Lewis wasn’t part of the White House event. After Hokit’s standout effort against Blaydes, booking the upstart prospect against the UFC’s all-time knockou…

Max Griffin boasts a wealth of UFC experience. | Getty/UFC

There will be a significant gap in big-fight experience when Max Griffin and Victor Valenzuela lock horns on April 25.

Griffin, an 18-time Octagon veteran, and Valenzuela, a promotional newcomer, will meet in a welterweight contest at UFC Fight Night 274. The bout was first reported by MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 274 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight scrap pitting Aljamain Sterling against Youssef Zalal.

Veteran vs. Rookie Griffin has last three of his last four outings. Most recently, the 40-year-old Californian dropped a split verdict to Chris Curtis at UFC on ESPN 70 on July 12. Griffin is 8-10 during his UFC tenure, with notable wins over the likes of Tim Means, Carlos Condit and Mike Perry.

Valenzuela, meanwhile, suffered a second-round TKO loss to Michael Oliveira on Dana White’s Contender Series last October. He has since rebounded with a stopp…

Most Valuable Promotions could be in it for the long haul when it comes to staging mixed martial arts events.

Of course, much will hinge on the company’s May 16 debut: a Netflix card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. MVP’s MMA debut also features a number of notable names such as Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, Junior dos Santos and Muhammad Mokaev, to name a few.

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MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian recently discussed the organization’s future in an interview with the Sports Business Journal and admitted that the promotion is interested in MMA beyond one-off events.

“I think a lot of it depends on May 16, right?” Bidarian said. “We’re putting a lot of fire power, star power, distribution to the event. If it works, and I’m very confident it will work, yes -- MVP will be involved in MMA over the long term.”

Netflix will provide MVP will a significant platform for its debut event. The Jake Paul vs. Mi…

Paulo Costa was impressive in his move up to light heavyweight. | Getty/UFC

Two-time “Coach of the Year” honoree Rafael Cordeiro was impressed by Paulo Costa´s performance at UFC 327.

According to Kings MMA founder, Costa should stay in the light heavyweight division following his third-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Azamat Murzakanov this past Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

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“‘Borrachinha’ is a guy that, love him or hate him, you will like to see his fights. And give me three names of the division that sell fights like him,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com.

Based on his performance last Saturday, where he knocked out Murzakanov with a head kick in the third round, the former Chute Boxer believes that Costa would also beat Jiri Prochazka if he was fighting for the interim title. Prochazka suffered a first-round knockout loss to Carlos Ulberg in clash for the vacant light heavyweight strap at UFC 327. However, Ulberg co…

Fares Ziam has won six straight in UFC competition. | Getty/UFC

Two lightweights looking to make a statement will square off at UFC Fight Night 278.

Fares Ziam will lock horns with Tom Nolan in an intriguing 155-pound matchup on June 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMA Odds Breaker. UFC Fight Night 278 is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

On a Roll Ziam has been victorious in six consecutive Octagon appearances. The 29-year-old Frenchman is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2025 in which he defeated Mike Davis via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 250 and scored a second-round TKO over Nazim Sadykhov at UFC 323. The Frenchman known as “Smile Killer” is 8-2 in the Las Vegas-based promotion overall.

Australia’s Nolan has won four straight contests since dropping his UFC debut against Nikol…

Curtis Blaydes gave everything he had against Josh Hokit at UFC 327, but ultimately it wasn’t enough.

The 35-year-old heavyweight veteran dropped a unanimous decision to Hokit in a “Fight of the Year” contender on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. After nearly being finished early by his upstart opponent, Blaydes rallied for a strong finish in Round 1. However, Hokit gradually took control over the final 10 minutes to capture a unanimous decision triumph in a memorable slugfest.

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Blaydes paid tribute to his opponent in a brief statement on social media.

“Emptied the clip, threw the gun,” Blaydes wrote on Instagram. “That SOB is tougher to kill than he looks.”

One for the Record Books When all was said and done, Blaydes (177) and Hokit (174) combined to land 351 significant strikes, the most ever for a three-round UFC heavyweight fight. They also set a record for most combined significant strikes attempted (595). The bout took its toll on Bla…

Daniel Rodriguez is ready to resume his career after spending eight months in Mexican jail. | Getty/UFC

UFC welterweight Daniel Rodriguez paid dearly for attempting to take marijuana into Mexico.

Shortly after defeating Kevin Holland at UFC 318 last July, Rodriguez planned a vacation to Rosarito, Mexico, to celebrate his victory. However, “D-Rod” was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border for possession of weed, and he ended up spending the past eight months in Mexican prison. The 39-year-old Californian was finally released last week. During an appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show,” Rodriguez detailed his experience.

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“This is my first time in Mexican jail and I can tell you one thing for sure, it’s the worst possible situation,” Rodriguez said. “Fortunately, I was able to make the best of it. I was able to pull a couple of strings and get a little bit of workout equipment there and I was able to work out and try and stay in shape, but i…

Cub Swanson enjoyed a memorable farewell at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

Cub Swanson went out on a high note.

The 42-year-old Palm Springs, California, native wrapped up a 22-year mixed martial arts career at UFC 327, where he defeated Nate Landwehr via technical knockout 4:06 into Round 1 of their featherweight clash at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday night. Swanson made it look easy against the former M-1 Global champion, dropping him twice en route to earning the stoppage.

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“I wasn't expecting that,” Swanson told the UFC. “I was really worried about him picking up the pace late in the fight. And I was expecting him to to come after me a little bit more. And I was trying to calm it down. And so once I kind of realized that he wasn't having a lot of success, I was like, all right, I need to I need to start pulling the trigger.”

Farewell fights don’t always go as planned, but with his family in attendance, Swanson couldn’t have scripted …

Plenty eyes will be on Gable Steveson at UFC 329. | Mexico Fight League

Gable Steveson isn’t doing anything to temper the hype ahead of his highly-anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Steveson has signed to make his first Octagon foray at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. An heavyweight opponent for Steveson is expected to be announced at a later date.

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Ready for the Next Step "Man, I feel amazing," Steveson told the UFC after his signing was annoucned. "This is going to be the biggest debut on earth and I'm ready. The butterflies, the jitters, it's all part of the game, and I'm ready to take that big step to the UFC and do what I need to do. Man, I think International Fight Week is going to be crazy. You know, maybe a crazy headliner that might come back that you guys might know so, who knows?”

As for the “crazy headiner,” Steveson is likely referencing the re…

Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker was a forgettable affair. | Getty/UFC

While Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker seemed like a surefire candidate to deliver a spectacular finish, the light heavyweight bout did not meet expectations.

Reyes defeated Walker in a forgettable split decision on the UFC 327 main card on Saturday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The contest drew boos from a restless audience as both fighters offered llittle in the way of meaningful offense over the course of the 15-minute affair.

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Reyes’ last three UFC victories had all come via knockout or technical knockout, but the former 205-pound title challenger defended his performance, citing his opponent’s finishing potential.Money Over Entertainment "He's super dangerous, so if I go crazy, I'm going to run into something," Reyes said at a post-fight media scrum (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). "I did get a concussion less than six months ago. I probably shouldn't h…

It was an unforgettable night for Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

Carlos Ulberg may have essentially been fighting on one leg in the UFC 327 main event, but that didn’t prevent him from achieving his goal.

Despite being hobbled with an apparent right knee injury, “Black Jag” dropped Jiri Prochazka with a left hook and finished his opponent with follow-up punches at the 3:45 mark of Round 1 to claim the vacant light heavyweight crown on Saturday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

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“The whole thing was, nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to stop me when I was in that Octagon,” Ulberg said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Although we knew we had this issue with the leg, I knew that nothing was going to stop me from getting that win.”

There was no immediate prognosis for the injury, though speculation was that Ulberg might have suffered a torn ACL.

“We don't know yet what's wrong with it,” he said. “I think …

Paulo Costa vanquished the previously undefeated Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

There’s been a theme to Paulo Costa’s recent victories in the UFC.

After an impressive knockout over Azamat Murzakanov in the UFC 327 co-main event, his second victory over a Russian opponent in 10 months (he also defeated Roman Kopylov at UFC 318), Costa revealed to Ag.Fight’s Diego Ribas that he would love to face a third “Russian” next.

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“Two Russians, two southpaws in a row, and I would be glad if UFC had a third one to offer me,” Costa said in a video interview. “[Khamzat] Chimaev. Actually he is a Gourmet Chechen, not Russian. But it doesn’t matter. The UFC knows how much I want to face him.”

When asked about his post-fight conversation with U.S. President Donalt Trump, Costa said it was a private talk about a “friend in common” — likely former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro or his son, Flavio Bolsonaro, who will be running in next nat…