Martial Arts News

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor has chimed in on the struggles former opponent Dustin Poirier is facing, but not like most may have expected.

During a Thursday appearance on Smash Cast with hosts Chael Sonnen and Ian Parker, McGregor appeared to discuss a litany of subject. In the show, he discusses topics like how he feels competing back at welterweight, whether he will ever meet Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring again and his former opponents. Notably, the subject of Poirier came up, a man McGregor faced three times and ended up losing the trilogy match to in 2021.

Poirier, now retired, has been open with his struggles keeping himself focused and on task now that he is no longer training to prepare for mutual unarmed combat. In an oft-discussed video, Poirier was filmed heavily intoxicated at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta in late June and arrested for the misdemeanor of public drunkenness.

I hope he comes out right Sonnen asked Mc…

Hang on tight.

Manager Jorge Nojikoski posted on social media Friday morning announcing that ex-Professional Fighters League athlete Bruce Souto had been shot Thursday reportedly following a disagreement involving the sport of soccer. Per the manager, Souto was struck in the buttocks by two of the six rounds fired by the shooter while running away.

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Souto was rushed to the Joao XXIII Hospital in his home city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he has been treated and is in stable condition. He is expected to be discharged soon and his representatives have already posted on social media calling out the alleged shooter.Bruce is fineA member of his team posted a statement on Souto’s Instagram Stories after the shooting, where they confirmed his non-life-threatening status in the hospital while declaring that they knew who the shooter was. “Folks, Bruce is fine, thank God. He's out of danger,” the post wrote in Portuguese, as translated by She…

📸 لقطات من أول ظهور احترافي لهتان السيف

ليلة بدأت بها فصلًا جديدًا في مسيرتها#PFLMENA10 | مباشر الآن | المسرح العالمي، بوليفارد سيتي، الرياض | تابعوا مباشرة عبر STARZPLAY pic.twitter.com/L8vl0IAoFn

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) July 10, 2026

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Hattan Alsaif's pro debut headlines historic night at PFL MENA 10 in Saudi Arabia PFL MENA 10 took place on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the 2026 Professional Fighters League featherweight and welterweight tournaments continued on.

History was made in the main event as rising star Hattan Alsaif squared off against Dania Ouhachi in the main event, the first ever female headliner in Saudi Arabia.

Half of the 10-fight card ended before the final bell, none bigger than Alsaif, who picked up the second-round technical knockout over Ouhachi, sending the Saudi Arabian crowd into a frenzy. Alsaif has been under the spotlight since her arrival in the company, winning all four of her a…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship sees the return of its biggest star this weekend.

Conor McGregor successfully made weight at the UFC 329 weigh-ins. A rematch 13 years in the making against Max Holloway is now set. All other fighters on the 13-fight card successfully made weight, as well.

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This is the first fight for McGregor (22-6) since 2021, which saw "Notorious" lose two fights to Dustin Poirier. Questions abound if he'll be the same fighter after a nasty leg break and five controversial years away from the sport. The electric Irish striker's last win came against Donald Cerrone in 2020, which took only 40 seconds. The 37-year-old Irish fighter weighed 170.5 pounds for his anticipated return.

Holloway (27-9) looks to get revenge on his fellow mixed martial arts icon after losing a clear-cut decision back in 2013. Since then, "Blessed" has held the featherweight title and scored one of the most legendary knockouts ever over …

Ultimate Fighting Championship great Alex Pereira is the type of guy to give someone else a present on his birthday.

Two weeks before her title defense at Karate Combat 62—scheduled for July 24 in Miami against Juliana Velasquez—Aline Pereira was surprised by her brother, “Poatan,” with one of the biggest gifts she has ever received. On his birthday of July 7, per sources close to the situation, the current UFC heavyweight gave his younger sister a house in Connecticut, near their training camp of Teixeira MMA & Fitness.

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Gifts that change a life On a since-deleted Instagram Stories post, the Karate Combat champ wrote, “There are gifts that change a life. Today, you gave me one of them. Thank you, little brother, for so much love and generosity. May God repay you twofold for everything you do for me. Happy birthday! I love you.”

The 35-year-old flyweight has bounced back and forth between kickboxing, Karate Combat and MMA since debuting in the LF…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Israel Adesanya is going in a new direction.

Posting a video on his personal YouTube channel on Thursday titled “I’m Leaving CKB,” Adesanya explained that he was doing just that: departing the confines of Auckland, New Zealand-based camp City Kickboxing. The 36-year-old ex-kickboxer has fallen on hard times as of late, dropping four straight, although two of his last four outings were for his old middleweight title.

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The split came effective May 20, per “The Last Stylebender,” who does so a little under two months after losing to Joe Pyfer by knockout in the UFC Seattle headliner. Per the fighter, he needed a fresh start, and most importantly, personalized training instead of being in a room full of top-ranked athletes who all vie for attention from the coaches. Adesanya claimed it had been brewing for a while, and that he still mourns the absence of the team as a main part of his life.I am not c…

Hattan Alsaif (left, 109.2) and Dania Ouhachi (right, 109.8). | 📷: PFL MMA

Professional Fighters League MENA is set to return to action for the first time since May, with the featherweight and welterweight tournaments taking center stage.

Also returning to the PFL MENA spotlight is Hattan Alsaif, who will be making her professional debut in a catchweight bout in the main event.

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This will be the first round of action for the PFL MENA’s welterweight and featherweight tournaments. Outside of the catchweight main event, all fighters made their respective weights and were on point for the 10-bout event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.PFL MENA 10 weigh-in results: Hattan Alsaif (109.2) vs. Dania Ouhachi (109.8)Hassan Shaaban (170) vs. Hazem Kayyali (170.6)Malik Basahel (125.6) vs. Imad El Azami (125.8)Badreddine Diani (169.6) vs. Yousef Adel (170.2)Wissame Akhmouch (170) vs. Abdelkrim Zouad (170.4)Shadi Kabbani (145.8) vs. Ahmed Tarek …

We now have a date for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next Noche UFC show.

Per MMA Junkie on Tuesday, the organization is putting together a top-10 heavyweight contest pitting Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-3) against Curtis Blaydes (19-6, 1 NC). The two will tangle at Noche UFC 4, possibly also UFC 331, on Sept. 19 at a destination still to be determined. This pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

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Details still loom regarding UFC 331, Noche UFC dates and locations There remains ample confusion as to the scheduling of this Noche UFC 4 card, as the date of Sept. 19 is also reported to be UFC 331. It is possible that fights on this billing and/or the Sept. 12 show slated for Arizona could shift around depending on the nature of the Noche UFC 4 celebration. Early reports indicated this event could be held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, but that has yet to be confirmed. Only one other bout is set for this billing, a bantamweigh…

Sherdog.com betting analyst Sean Sheehan has released his best bets for the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

UFC 329, headlined by the long-awaited return of Conor McGregor in a rematch against Max Holloway, features several pivotal matchups across multiple divisions, including Benoit St. Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett in the co-headliner, Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista and Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh.

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McGregor returns, but this analyst is picking Holloway to finish him With UFC 329 fast approaching, there are multiple bouts to look forward to, including the headliner, McGregor vs. Holloway 2. Sheehan is backing Holloway to win inside the distance (+107), believing the former featherweight champion can overwhelm McGregor, who returns to the Octagon after a five-year hiatus.

He also believes there’s a good chance Benoit Saint-Denis (-122) defeats Paddy Pimblett. Sheehan picks Bautista (+125) to pull off an upset against Sandhagen…

Conor Benn has taken a shot at Ryan Garcia ahead of their proposed showdown in September.

Benn further escalated his war of words with Garcia via a taunt about his 2023 knockout loss to Gervonta Davis. The back-and-forth between the two continues to grow as rumors of a confirmed bout gather steam.

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Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia continue feud ahead of September fight Benn mocked Garcia by reminding him of one of the most painful moments of the latter’s career. The Brit posted a photo of Garcia’s knockout loss to Davis, in which he can be seen kneeling on one knee after a body shot from “Tank.”

Alongside the photo from Garcia's loss to Davis, Benn wrote on X, “One on One… you quit! I stand and fight, proven! Hope you’re ready to dig in deep kid.” This came in response to Garcia’s earlier X post targeting Benn, where he wrote, “Boxing is one-on-one, the reason I started boxing, no one to lean on. I’m ending you.”

The start of the pair’s online feud stem…

Ketlen Vieira (right) will toe the line with Cris Cyborg in the PFL. | 📷: Getty/UFC

Ketlen Vieira’s head coach, Andre Pederneiras, believes that she is up for one of the toughest tests of her career and is confident his pupil is preparing the right way.

Vieira faces Cris Cyborg on Aug. 22 in the Professional Fighters League. This fight serves as a retirement bout for the 40-year-old Cyborg. However, Pederneiras isn’t overlooking the former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder and mixed martial arts legend.

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Andre Pederneiras previews Ketlen Vieira vs Cris Cyborg matchup Pederneiras spoke to Sherdog's Marcelo Alonso ahead of the August 22 clash between Vieira and Cyborg.

“It will be a very tough fight for both; Cris' history speaks for itself -- she is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time,” he said, before disclosing details of Vieira’s training camp. “I've had Ketlen training with some highly skilled talents from the gy…

Merab Dvalishvili has shared his predictions for the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card.

The former bantamweight champion weighed in on the upcoming fights in a recent clip posted on X, giving his picks for four of the five UFC 329 main card bouts, including the main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway and the co-main event between Benoit St. Denis and Paddy Pimblett.

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In a recent video posted by UFC on Paramount+ on X, Dvalishvili made predictions for several key matchups at UFC 329.

Picking between flyweights Brandon Royval and Lone’er Kavanagh, Dvalishvili sided with Royval. For Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista, the former champion said, “It’s gonna be a great fight between Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista, but I have to go with Cory Sandhagen.” For the co-main event, the Georgian picked St. Denis to beat Pimblett.

“The Machine” was then asked about McGregor’s long-awaited return to the Octagon, which will be a …