Martial Arts News

Arnold Allen wants to make sure we don’t forget him in the featherweight title discussion, but Melquizael Costa didn’t do his stock too much harm either.

Advertisement

In the main event of UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday at the Meta Apex, Allen faced Costa, with some prime space in the featherweight pecking order up for grabs, and gave a quietly impressive accounting of his intelligence, conditioning and well-rounded skills. Both men wasted little time in bringing their best weapons to bear, as Costa landed a solid spinning back kick to the midsection in the early going, while Allen stunned the “Dalmatian” with a short right hand, then spent the next minute or so keeping him in all sorts of trouble on the floor. Costa recovered, however, and turned the tables on Allen midway through the first frame, sweeping to top position and smashing the Englishman with a couple of hard ground punches. Costa tried to press his advantage and take Allen’s neck while he was hurt, but t…

Getty Images/UFC

Ivan Erslan did it about how they must have drawn it up in camp.

Advertisement

In a light heavyweight clash atop the seven-fight undercard of UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday at the Meta Apex, the 34-year-old Croatian faced George Tokkos. It was a clash of styles of the kind that has characterized mixed martial arts for three decades and counting, as kickboxing convert Erslan faced submission specialist “Tuco.” Despite Tokkos’ obvious need to get the action to the mat at any cost, the fight was competitive in the early going, as Erslan was clearly uncomfortable with Tokkos’ constant encroachment on the feet.

Erslan may have won a competitive Round 1 anyway, but definitely found his groove in the second frame. Tokkos looked slow and suddenly tired on the feet, wading in from well outside with badly telegraphed takedown attempts. These attempts Erslan punished with accurate, solid counters in the pocket. When the action did go to the groun…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 117 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 276. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tyler Treese s…

Sherdog's live Most Valuable Promotions' MVP “Rousey vs. Carano” coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the …

Kuberski with a devastating punch! 🔥 Can anyone stop him?! 🤯

XTB #KSW118 | 🇵🇱 @CANALPLUS_SPORT | 🌍 KSWTV pic.twitter.com/m4laxraIKm

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) May 16, 2026

Advertisement

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki fans have a compelling 185-pound title fight to look forward to, as reigning champion Pawel Pawlak is expected to meet Piotr Kuberski in a middleweight title unification bout.

In the KSW 118 main event, Kuberski (18-1, 6-0 KSW) retained the interim middleweight title in emphatic fashion, stopping Michal Michalski (14-6, 8-4 KSW) in Round 1. The fighters spent a few seconds studying each other before both men shifted gears and went to work. Michalski came forward aggressively, but Kuberski timed him perfectly, countering with a straight left that sent “Cukier” to the canvas. “Qbear” applied further pressure and was clinical with ground-and-pound action once Michalski turtled up. Referee Lukasz Bosacki had no choice but to step in…

Ibraheem Yazeed has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder and abduction of Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of former UFC heavyweight Walt Harris.

Earlier this year, Yazeed was found guilty on charges of murder and felony murder in relation to the abduction and death of Blanchard in 2019. Yazeed was officially given two life sentences without the possibility of parole, the most severe penalty possible based on his conviction. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for Yazeed.

Advertisement

“Today, justice has been served. I am gratified that the court imposed the maximum allowable sentence for the senseless and brutal murder of Aniah Blanchard, life in prison. It is the sentence that the weight of this crime demanded, and one that Aniah’s family has long deserved,” Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall stated in a release.

“My deepest sympathies remain with Aniah’s family and all who loved her. No verdict can undo their unimaginable loss, …

Arman Tsarukyan claims Khamzat Chimaev made weight for UFC 328. 

Chimaev lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 328 earlier this month. It is no secret that Chimaev had a terrible weight cut, which also likely affected his performance. 

Advertisement

Chimaev looked visibly drained during the official weigh-ins, which did not go down without controversy. Chimaev was only on the scale for a few moments before the official called 185 pounds. Fans and pundits noticed that the scale hadn’t even settled before Chimaev stepped down. Strickland, Bryce Mitchell, Bobby Green and others have accused Chimaev of failing to make weight. Nothing Amiss However, Chimaev’s close friend, Tsarukyan, claims “Borz” couldn’t possibly have missed weight at the official weigh-ins. According to Tsarukyan, the UFC confirms a fighter’s weight on an automatic scale backstage before letting them proceed to the official manual scale.

“He made w…

Roy Jones Jr. doesn’t see a need for boxing to follow the UFC’s model. 

The UFC’s parent company, TKO Group, has entered the world of pugilism with Zuffa boxing. UFC head honcho Dana White and Zuffa are currently pushing for revisions to the Muhammad Ali Act, enacted in 2000 to protect fighters from exploitation. White aims to create a Unified Boxing Organization that would bring boxing under a central banner, akin to the UFC for MMA. 

Advertisement

However, the likes of Nico Ali Walsh, Oscar De La Hoya and Jones Jr. are actively lobbying against White’s proposal. Jones argues that Zuffa’s structure will eventually kill fighters’ individuality and earning power.

“If they do what they are doing right now, our sport is over in this country,” Jones told FightHype. “You don’t have no more personality. You don’t have no more style. You don’t have no more individualism. You can’t be an individual no more. You belong. You’re just a sheep.”

Time to Wake Up…

Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano FULL AM WEIGH IN - BOTH MAKE WEIGHT!" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions puts on its first mixed martial arts card tomorrow, which is now set following the official Rousey vs. Carano weigh-ins.

MVP's debut MMA event is headlined by a highly anticipated fight between former Olympian and Ultimate Fighting Championship women's bantamweight titleholder Ronda Rousey and former EliteXC and Strikeforce star Gina Carano. Both women successfully hit their marks for their first fights in 10 and 17 years, respectively. In total, all 22 fighters for the event made their contracted weight.

Advertisement

A pair of title fight knockout losses ended the career of Rousey (12-2). Prior to a shocking head kick defeat to Holly Holm, Rousey was seen as the most do…

Almighty @Arnoldbfa💪

He weighs in at 145.5 lbs

[ #UFCVegas117 | MAY 16 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/hyNEpJL60m

— UFC (@ufc) May 15, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns this weekend in one of the rare moments where they won't have the biggest mixed martial arts card going on that day, and now its UFC Vegas 117 card is official following the weigh-ins.

Headlining the 13-fight event is a featherweight scrap between contenders Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round main event. The rest of the card also hit their contracted weights, so there was no drama at the weigh-ins.

This is a must-win fight for Allen (20-4) if he hopes to stay a relevant factor near the top of 145 pounds. "Almighty" has come up short in three of his last four fights, as he dropped decisions to Max Holloway, Movsar Evloev and Jean Silva. While a win over Giga Chikadze showed he is…

In the famous words of Rocky Balboa, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

Philipe Lins is like that. A native of Brazil’s arid northeast, the now 40-year-old is mere days away from the most important fight of his career -- facing Francis Ngannou on Netflix at Most Valuable Promotions’s inaugural card.

Advertisement

In his native Portuguese, Lins shared some of the challenges as well as the stubborn drive that brought him to this pivotal moment.

“I had an excellent start to my MMA career in Brazil. I went 7-0 there. That’s when I caught the attention of my first international MMA organization -- Bellator. I debuted there in 2014. At Bellator, I went 3-3. It wasn’t great, but I was able to show my talent, skills and aggression.”

Lins’ last appearance at Bellator MMA couldn’t have gone worse -- a knockout loss in the first round to current Professional Fighters League champion Vadim Nemkov. But even in…

Liz Carmouche knows Ronda Rousey well, having broken ground with her in the first ever women’s fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a match that the latter would win by first-round submission. Ten years after her last professional mixed martial arts bout where she lost to Amanda Nunes, Rousey is back in action, taking on another pioneer in Gina Carano. The women square off for the first ever Most Valuable Promotions MMA event, being broadcasted on Netflix, where Carmouche will be watching.

As Carmouche prepares for her next fight in the Professional Fighters League on June 27 at PFL San Diego, she spoke with Sherdog.com and provided her predictions for MVP “Rousey vs. Carano,” hoping to see the unexpected.

Advertisement

“It’s funny because prior to me starting my career and getting into fighting, I was a huge Gina Carano fan, a huge [Cris Cyborg] fan, I watched both of them. So I got to see her career and then the end of her career where she retired, a…