Martial Arts News

Dillon Danis was involved in another altercation after his latest wrestling match.

Danis faced Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of RAF 14 on Oct. 23 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Tsarukyan won the one-sided contest by technical fall, 10-0.

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Arman Tsarukyan defeats Dillon Danis 10-0 at RAF 14 before apparent spectator incident Footage shared by Red Corner MMA appears to show a spectator kicking Danis as he left the mat. Security personnel restrained Danis and intervened.

Danis rose to prominence as Conor McGregor’s jiu-jitsu training partner. He was also involved in the brawl between McGregor’s and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teams after UFC 229.

Tensions between Danis and Tsarukyan escalated before their RAF 14 matchup. At Thursday’s prefight press conference, Danis displayed a T-shirt mocking Tsarukyan’s friend and training partner, Khamzat Chimaev. Tsarukyan then lunged at Danis and appeared to swing at him before security intervened.

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Joaquin Buckley plans to retire after one more fight, citing the toll his latest knockout loss took on his family.

Buckley (21-9) suffered his third consecutive defeat when Mike Malott knocked him out with a knee in the second round of their UFC Edmonton main event on Oct. 17. The loss followed decision defeats to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady.

Mike Malott knockout and third straight UFC loss prompt Joaquin Buckley's retirement decision Buckley said the knockout particularly affected his grandmother, who urged him to retire. After taking time to consider her advice, “New Mansa” decided to step away from the sport, but he wants one final opportunity to end his career with a victory. The 32-year-old announced his plans on social media:

“That fight right there, that was devastating. And it really affected my family, alright. Listening to my grandmother speak and listening to her pray over the phone and really being upset. And her telling me to retire and get away from fighti…

Jorge Masvidal still has confidence in Ilia Topuria.

Topuria (17-1) was a heavy favorite when he put his UFC lightweight title on the line against then-interim champion Justin Gaethje (28-5) at the White House in June. However, Gaethje rallied to win a back-and-forth fight when Topuria’s corner stopped the bout after the fourth round.

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Masvidal praised his former training partner long before Topuria became a two-division champion. “Gamebred” still favors Topuria in a rematch, pointing to his body-shot knockdown of Gaethje as evidence that he could reverse the result. Masvidal said on the “Double Coverage” podcast:

“He dropped Gaethje. Gaethje is the current champion. He dropped him with a body shot. Maybe, had he not gone for the submission, his mind was a little clouded, maybe could have got stopped. I would bet the house on Ilia in a rematch.”

Topuria entered the matchup after consecutive knockout victories over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Hol…

Nothing new for The Champ 👑 @AlexVolkanovski weighs in at 144.5 lbs! @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi [ #UFC333 | LIVE OCT 24 at 2pmET on @ParamountPlus ] https://t.co/JsoLPWZSAt

— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2026 Two Ultimate Fighting Championship title fights are now official following the UFC 333 weigh-ins.

The UFC pay-per-view, which takes place in Abu Dhabi, is headlined by a featherweight championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. Both men made weight, as did the co-main event rematch between champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili, who are fighting for a third time. All other fighters also made weight, with the exception of Nicolle Caliari, who came in 4.5 pounds overweight for her strawweight fight against Iasmin Lucindo. The fight will move forward with Caliari being fined a percentage of her purse.

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Alexander Volkanovski looks to add another title defense to his impressive legacy i…

Cody East plans to spoil the retirement party for Ike LIVE OCT 23 at 7 PM CT | 🎟️ Get tickets at https://t.co/GBzGgysTnE https://t.co/7AXsRdV6X6

— BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing (@bkbbareknuckle) October 22, 2026

Cody “Freight Train” East expects an explosive encounter when he faces Ike Villanueva at BKB Bally’s Fightnight in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the veteran mixed martial artist-turned-bare-knuckle boxer does not anticipate needing all five rounds to settle the contest.

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“I can knock him out. My goal is to stop him. We're two big boys fighting bare-knuckle. I don't see it going five rounds.”

East, a 6-foot-3 fighter from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is preparing to compete at 225 pounds. The 38-year-old brings two decades of combat sports experience into the matchup, along with a training camp he says has left him stronger, better conditioned and more comfortable with his weight.

His opponent, Villanueva, is another exper…

PFL AFRICA IS BACK IN KIGALI! 🇷🇼🔥 Dec 12 | BK Arena | 2026 Season Finals 🥊 WELTERWEIGHT: 🇦🇴 Shido Esperança vs 🇳🇬 David Samuel 🥊 LIGHTWEIGHT: 🇳🇬 Patrick Ocheme vs 🇸🇳 Demba Seck 🥊 BANTAMWEIGHT: 🇱🇷 Dwight Joseph vs 🇳🇬 Raphael Uchegbu 💰 $100K per division 🔥 Kigali Fight Week + 12 days of activations at Zaria Court! 🎟️Secure your seats now on TiCQet: https://t.co/oXiHGhKLe2 #PFLRwanda| Saturday, December 12 | BK Arena | Kigali, Rwanda 🎟️https://t.co/oXiHGhKLe2

— PFL Africa (@PFLAfrica) October 22, 2026

The Professional Fighters League will crown three PFL Africa tournament champions Dec. 12 at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with title fights scheduled in the welterweight, lightweight and bantamweight divisions.

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Shido Boris Esperanca vs. David Samuel headlines PFL Africa 2026 Finals in Rwanda Angola's Shido Boris Esperanca (13-2) will face undefeated Nigerian David Samuel (7-0) in the 170-pound welterweight final, which …

No one has more wins in the Trigon than Cub Hawkins 😤 Cub is looking for another this Saturday. Watch BKB 56 at The NOVO in Los Angeles 🎟️ Get your tickets at https://t.co/644ThInv0h #BKB56 #BKB #BareKnuckle https://t.co/JdK4KaXNn4

— BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing (@bkbbareknuckle) July 15, 2026

Cub Hawkins has more wins inside BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing’s Trigon than any other fighter. The 28-year-old Chicago native, one of 13 children, has captured championships at 175 and 185 pounds, most recently beating Professional Fighters League and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jesse Ronson.

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Hawkins, nicknamed The Savage, holds a bare-knuckle boxing record of 10-1, with nine victories by knockout or technical knockout.Cub Hawkins discusses Rowdy Legend Montgomery matchup and his usual training approach for BKB Biloxi His next challenge is Rowdy Legend Montgomery. At 6-foot-2, Montgomery has a 6-inch height advantage over the …

Fight night here we come 🔜 LIVE OCT 23 at 7 PM CT | 🎟️ Get tickets at https://t.co/GBzGgysTnE https://t.co/HrDtfD0SrY

— BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing (@bkbbareknuckle) October 23, 2026

Former BKB lightweight world champion Jarod "Kid Gatti" Grant and Pantera Guerrero made weight Thursday ahead of their super lightweight main event Friday at Bally's Fightnight by BKB at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi.

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Grant weighed 140.3 pounds, while Guerrero tipped the scales at 139.8 pounds.

Grant is seeking a victory that could move him closer to another world title opportunity.

"My goal is to get back into the title picture, and that starts with an impressive win on Friday night," Grant said.

Cub Hawkins and Rowdy Montgomery make weight for BKB Biloxi co-main event In the middleweight co-main event, reigning BKB light heavyweight world champion Cub "The Savage" Hawkins drops down a division to face undefeated Rowdy Mo…

Farmasi Arena, which has hosted numerous UFC events in Rio de Janeiro, will welcome ACBJJ 23 on Nov. 13. The Russian promotion unveiled the lineup Wednesday, featuring several prominent names from grappling and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In the main event, Rousimar Palhares will face Andre Galvao in a rematch of their 2011 ADCC under-88-kilogram final, which Galvao won 9-4 in Nottingham, England. This time, the two will compete at 100 kilograms under combat jiu-jitsu rules.

In the co-main event, UFC middleweights Kelvin Gastelum and Rodolfo Vieira will meet at 88 kilograms under grappling rules. Another UFC veteran expected to appear on the card, though not yet officially announced, is Edson Barboza, according to information obtained by Sherdog.Rousimar Palhares and Andre Galvao revisit 2011 ADCC final under combat jiu-jitsu rules at ACBJJ 23The rematch between Galvao and Palhares brings together two accomplished Brazilian grapplers. Palhares, known as Toquinh…

Former IBF featherweight world champion Lee "Lightning" Selby will face undefeated Ollie "The Death" Sentance in the super lightweight main event of BKB 61 on Nov. 14 at indigo at The O2 in London.

Selby (1-0, 1 KO) returns to bare-knuckle competition against Sentance (2-0, 2 KOs), who has recorded knockouts in both professional bare-knuckle appearances.

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Lee Selby faces unbeaten Ollie Sentance as Marko Martinjak defends BKB title against Matty Askin The co-main event features BKB bridgerweight world champion Marko "Marvelous" Martinjak (13-2, 13 KOs) defending his title against former British cruiserweight boxing champion Matty "The Assassin" Askin (1-0, 1 KO).

Two welterweight bouts also highlight the card. Undefeated Ashley "Bash" Devenport (3-0, 1 KO) meets Kallum Skhane (2-3, 2 KOs), while Aaron "The Baron" McCallum (9-6-1, 7 KOs) faces Simey "The Smoke from Stoke" Doherty (10-2-1, 3 KOs) in a rematch.

Additional main-card bouts include Da…

Merab Dvalishvili is eager to reclaim the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title.

The former champion will challenge Petr Yan in a trilogy bout at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He’s looking to avenge his December 2025 loss to the Russian and recapture the 135-pound championship.

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Merab Dvalishvili aims to reclaim UFC bantamweight title in Petr Yan trilogy at UFC 333 Dvalishvili was attempting his fourth successful title defense of 2025 when he lost his rematch with Yan. “The Machine” says he feels healthy and refreshed ahead of their third meeting.

“I’m really hungry now this time,” Dvalishvili said in a prefight interview. “My body is fine, and I’m good… Even when I was busy, I never complained because I’m a fighter and even if something bothers me, I’m gonna show up and I’m gonna fight.”

Both previous meetings ended in unanimous decisions, with Dvalishvili dominating their first encounter in 2023 and Yan winnin…

Virna Jandiroba expects a high-level grappling battle against Tatiana Suarez.

The two Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweights are scheduled to meet at UFC Vegas 124 on Nov. 7. Jandiroba hopes to build a winning streak and return to title contention, targeting a third meeting with reigning 115-pound champion Mackenzie Dern.

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Virna Jandiroba calls Tatiana Suarez grappling matchup a 'clash of titans' ahead of UFC Vegas 124 Jandiroba (23-4) said she has completed two training camps in preparation for Suarez (12-1).

Suarez’s wrestling presents a compelling test for Jandiroba’s jiu-jitsu. The Brazilian believes their contrasting grappling backgrounds could produce a memorable matchup.

“I was part of the previous training camp with Demian [Maia], who faced some great wrestlers throughout his career, and he gave me some valuable insights. I usually say it will be a clash of titans,” Jandiroba told Sherdog.

Jandiroba lost to Dern by unanimou…