Martial Arts News

Dakota Bush made a 34-second statement in his PFL debut. | 📷: PFL MMA

Fresh off a 34-second knockout victory in his PFL debut earlier this year, lightweight Dakota Bush will return to action at PFL Tampa, where he’ll take on Morquez Forest in a showcase bout. Bush will look to build on his momentum. Having previously competed in Legacy Fighting Alliance and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bush feels he has found a home in Professional Fighters League. His arrival comes as the company merges with Most Valuable Promotions and opportunities emerge throughout the roster.

In an interview with Sherdog.com, Bush discussed his arrival in the PFL, his future in a fast-moving division and the timing of his opportunity.

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Dakota Bush targets Morquez Forest and the PFL lightweight rankings after his explosive promotional debut “It’s been amazing, man,” Bush said about his arrival to the PFL. “It just kind of validated what everyone around me…

7 pounds?!

😳😳😳

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Chute Boxe ⭐️ style…We don’t care.

Porrada

See you tomorrow @ketlenvieiramma pic.twitter.com/30ohmH1ki2 — CrisCy₿org.com Aug22 on ESPN (@criscyborg) August 21, 2026 Cristiane Justino's PFL featherweight world championship won't be on the line in her retirement fight after her opponent unprofessionally missed weight.

PFL Tampa is now headlined by a non-title fight due to Ketlen Vieira unprofessionally coming in 7.2 pounds over the featherweight limit. The fight will move forward, although Vieira will be fined a percentage of her purse and won't be able to win Justino's title. "Cyborg" responded to the weight miss by saying, "Chute Boxe style. We don't care. Porrada. See you tomorrow."

One of the greatest women's mixed martial artists of all-time, Justino enters what might be her final MMA fight with a professional record of 29-2. The Brazilian is 8-0 inside Bellator and PFL and previously…

186lbs for Fluffy!

Anthony Hernandez is on weight for his hometown main event!

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[ #UFCSacramento is LIVE AUG 22 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/z8cJ3PU9iR — UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Sacramento is now official following the UFC Fight Night 285 weigh-ins.

The main event of UFC Sacramento will see middleweight contender Anthony Hernandez take on tested veteran Gregory Rodrigues. Both men had no issue making weight for the five-round fight. In fact, all 26 fighters on the card successfully hit their marks.

Hernandez (15-3, 1 NC) is looking to bounce back after a deflating TKO defeat to Sean Strickland earlier this year. The setback derailed an impressive eight-fight win streak for "Fluffy." The American is just 32, so he'll look to grow from the defeat to the now-champion. Hernandez weighed in at 186 pounds on the dot.

Rodrigues (19-6) is the older …

Alexandre Pantoja believes his accolades warrant more respect than he receives.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder will have an opportunity to reclaim the title against Joshua Van at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He suffered an arm injury early in their first meeting in December last year and has been focused on recovery and his Octagon return ever since.

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Alexandre Pantoja says an early arm injury defines his view of first Joshua Van fight Pantoja believes his title loss is sometimes portrayed as though Van simply beat him, which the Brazilian disputes.

“He not beat me, you know?” Pantoja said in a recent interview. “I know like an athlete, I lose the fight, I know I lose my belt, I'm not my champion anymore, but it's not someone beat me.”

Pantoja also pointed to his strength of schedule at 125 pounds, noting that he has faced much of the division's elite, defeated some opponents multiple times and put togethe…

Mauricio Ruffy is not shying away from the biggest challenge of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Ruffy will face Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 331 five-round co-main event on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan is widely regarded as one of the lightweight division’s elite wrestlers, making Ruffy’s ability to keep the fight standing one of the matchup’s central questions.

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Mauricio Ruffy expects Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling to test his preparation at UFC 331

Ruffy has emphasized that he wants his actions to do the talking when he faces Tsarukyan.

“Talking, anyone can talk, but I like to walk, the actions do the talking,” Ruffy told UFC on Paramount.

Ruffy said he had already been training extensively before the matchup was finalized, including a stint in Thailand following UFC Freedom 250.

The Brazilian expects Tsarukyan’s wrestling to be a major factor but believes his preparation will speak for itself.

“…

Jon Jones is exploring additional stem cell treatment as he looks to regain some of the mobility he has lost over the years.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight and heavyweight champion recently revealed plans for additional treatment after speaking with Joe Rogan, who told him about his own experience with the therapy. He also revealed that depending on the result, a return to fighting could be in the cards.

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Jon Jones says Francis Ngannou's callout and the heavyweight landscape have reignited his desire to fight Jones said Rogan introduced him to Ways2Well and told him he had experienced improved movement after receiving stem cell treatment there.

“You never know what’s going to happen in life. I just talked to Joe Rogan the other day, and he’s like, ‘I’ve got some friends out at a place called Ways2Well, who gave me some initial stem cells and I have been moving around way better than I used to’,” Jones told Sporf.

Jon…

Paddy Pimblett wants to fight Arman Tsarukyan or Ilia Topuria next 👀 pic.twitter.com/ycHj3RRzRr

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) August 20, 2026

Paddy Pimblett has weighed in on fellow top-ranked lightweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Pimblett recently discussed the lightweight title picture on the “Green Light” podcast, explaining that his approach to trash talk depends on his opponent. While he’ll remain respectful towards UFC veterans, the Liverpool native recently vowed to “terrorize” Topuria or Tsarukyan should he get matched up against either one.Paddy Pimblett explains why Ilia Topuria and Arman Tsarukyan get a different kind of trash talk Pimblett has nothing but respect for the likes of Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway. “The Baddy” claims his venomous trash talk is only directed at those he genuinely dislikes.

“If I fight Ilia or Arman, I’m gonna absolutely rinse their lives. I’m gonna ab…

Criticism of Din Thomas isn’t slowing down.

Thomas announced his retirement from cornering following his fighter Gillian Robertson’s failed Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title bid against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330. He did so on the post-show on live television, drawing significant backlash from both fans and fighters. While he’s since apologized for his handling of the situation, Thomas is still catching strays.

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Din Thomas confirms he will corner Sean Brady after retiring from cornering Another fighter Thomas mentors, Sean Brady, is scheduled to take on Gabriel Bonfim in the main event of a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. While speaking about Brady on the “Deep Waters” podcast, Dustin Poirier jokingly reminded Thomas that he is retired from cornering.

“Well, he doesn’t corner anyone anymore,” Poirier said.

Chris Weidman then asked Thomas if he would be in Brady’s corner on Nov. 7. Thomas confirmed that he will…

Rolando Romero and Teofimo Lopez are set to trade leather on Aug. 22.Rolando Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez streams Aug. 22 on DAZN PPVHere’s a brief rundown for those who intend to watch the event:How to watch Romero vs. Lopez in the United States The Romero vs. Lopez card can be streamed on DAZN pay-per-view on Aug. 22 at 8 p.m.ET/5 p.m. PT in the U.S. The headliners are expected to make their ring walks at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. The event is also available with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription plan.

“Rolly” puts his WBA welterweight title on the line against Lopez in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Romero (17-2) is coming off a massive unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia from last year. Meanwhile, Lopez (22-2) is moving up to welterweight after losing his WBO super lightweight title to Shakur Stevenson this past January. Lopez won the vacant title in 2022 and defended it five times before falling to Stevenson.

Here’s a look at the complete Romero vs.…

Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has sought emergency custody of his teenage daughter, alleging that his ex-wife, Heidi Liddell, took the child from his home.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Liddell asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court this week to order the return of 14-year-old Guinevere and award him temporary sole physical custody of her and 13-year-old Charlie.

Former UFC champion files for temporary sole physical custody amid dispute over teenage daughter Liddell alleges that Heidi took Guinevere during his scheduled custodial time and has no intention of returning her. He further claims she moved the teenager to Orange County despite existing custody orders. Liddell said an earlier effort to obtain court approval to relocate both children to Newport Beach had failed.

The former UFC champion also accused his ex-wife of violating other custody arrangements, including failing to use their required co-parenting applicat…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to California on Aug. 22.Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues headlines the Aug. 22 UFC eventHere’s a brief rundown for those who want to watch UFC Sacramento:

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How to watch UFC Sacramento in the United States The event goes down on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. U.S. fans can watch it on Paramount+, with the prelims starting at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PDT, followed by the main card at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PDT.

UFC Sacramento will be headlined by a middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues. Hernandez (15-3) was riding a stellar eight-fight winning streak, with six finishes, that saw him leave the likes of Roman Kopylov, Michel Pereira, Brendan Allen and Roman Dolidze in his wake.

However, his run ended with a stoppage loss against Sean Strickland this past February. Meanwhile, Rodrigues (19-6) is on a three-fight winning streak with two first-round knockouts. “Ro…

Khabib Nurmagomedov says Ali Abdelaziz incites strong feelings in people, one way or the other.

While Nurmagomedov was managed by Abdelaziz throughout his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, their relationship extends beyond fighter and manager. Abdelaziz manages all Dagestani fighters from Nurmagomedov’s camp and shares a strong personal relationship with everyone. Furthermore, the UFC Hall of Famer’s successor, Islam Makhachev’s favorite person to prank is the Dominance MMA founder.

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Nurmagomedov says getting to know Abdelaziz reveals the loyalty he values most Nurmagomedov recently said that people inevitably have strong feelings about Abdelaziz, whether good or bad. According to “The Eagle,” one can’t feel neutral towards the veteran manager. He believes people either strongly love Abdelaziz or hate him with equal fervor.

Nurmagomedov claims one needs to get to know Abdelaziz to appreciate him and that he’s incredibly loyal.

“Ali has on…