Martial Arts News

Sean Strickland doesn’t like Justin Gaethje’s manager. 

Strickland (30-7) recently launched an unwarranted tirade on Gaethje (28-5). The UFC middleweight champion claims to like Gaethje, but not his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Strickland referenced Abdelaziz’s alleged arrest, followed by allegations of snitching. Strickland says he will never sign up with Abdelaziz’s management, regardless of how lucrative the deal is.

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Strickland Unleashed “Let me tell you why Goythje is a bitch,  and it pains me because I like him,” Strickland wrote on X. “His manager Ali was arrested for being a f—-ing terrorist then snitched on his terrorist boys He could offer me a billion dollars to manage me and [I’d] tell him to get f—ed because I'm an American.”

Let me tell you why Goythje is a bitch, and it pains me because I like him.

His manager Ali was arrested for being a fucking terrorist then snitched on his terrorist boys

He c…

Josh Hokit believes Ilia Topuria’s first professional loss was a result of beating up his teammates. 

Topuria was a massive favorite when he put his lightweight title on the line against Justin Gaethje earlier this month at UFC White House. However, Gaethje brutally beat down Topuria, forcing his corner to throw in the towel at the end of the fourth round. Hokit, who knocked out Derrick Lewis on the same card, recently shared his theory for the reason behind Topuria’s upset loss. 

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Hokit believes Topuria goes too hard on his teammates in training. According to Hokit, Topuria’s teammates are scared of getting hard to the point where they don’t challenge “El Matador.” Hokit believes Topuria couldn’t perfect his distance management and timing as his teammates don’t pose him any threat in training.Healthy Balance Needed   “Topuria makes the mistake of, maybe a trains a little to hard in the sense of, he beats up his teammates, and so now th…

Ketlen Vieira ended her UFC tenure on a high note. | Getty/UFC

Professional Fighters League continues to bolster the talent pool in its women’s divisons.

Former UFC bantamweight talent Ketlen Vieira announced on Tuesday that she has signed with the PFL. A debut date has yet to be determined, but it’s likely that Vieira will compete at featherweight since the promotion doesn’t currently have a 135-pound division.

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Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and I can only thank God for pouring countless blessings into it!" Vieira wrote on Instagram. "Every day, I experience the truth of the verse that says: “All things work together for the good of those who love God.”

Vieira went 10-5 in the Octagon before being released from the UFC earlier this year. “Fenomeno” last appeared at UFC Fight Night 276, where she ended the…

Dustin Poirier exhibited threatening behavior during his arrest for public intoxication this past Sunday.

In a video from the Atlanta Police Department obtained by TMZ Sports, Poirier is seen being argumentative and threatening to fight a police officer before being arrested.

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🚨 Dustin Poirier was unhinged during his arrest this week in a totally chaotic scene

🎥: Atlanta Police Department pic.twitter.com/DKCBQBLR81

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 23, 2026 The retired UFC veteran initially became agitated after he was pulled off a plane at the Atlanta airport. An officer wearing a body cam responded to the scene after Poirier was hostile toward gate agents.

The officer recognizes Poirier, which only serves to agitate the Louisiana native even further. That’s when Poirier removes his backpack, and threatens to fight the officer.

“I’ll fight you right now,” Poirier says. “I’ll go with you right now. Let’s go…

Kamaru Usman is headed to middleweight at UFC Oklahoma City. | Getty/UFC

If Dricus Du Plessis is to be believed, Kamaru Usman took some convincing to accept a matchup against the former UFC middleweight champion.

"He didn't want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact. I spoke to the UFC and they said, 'We finally convinced him to sign.' If you need convincing to sign, that's a problem, but I can't blame him,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “I also wouldn't want to fight me right now. It would be the smart move not to sign the fight, but let's go.”

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Du Plessis and Usman will square off in the UFC Oklahoma City headliner on July 18 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It’s Du Plessis’ first Octagon appearance since relinquishing the middleweight strap to Khamzat Chimaev in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at UFC 319 last August. Usman, a former welterweight rule, will return to 185 …

Bo Nickal won’t be resting on his laurels.

After a quick finish of Kyle Daukaus at UFC White House, Bo Nickal will face 2026 NCAA national champion wrestler Max McEnelly at RAF 12 in Cleveland on Aug. 22. The wrestling organization recently announced the match. The event will also include a showdown between ex-UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and current Octagon competitor Joaquin Buckley.

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A three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Nickal was one of the most-highly touted MMA prospect in recent memory. He has largely delivered on that promise, winning nine of his first 10 professional outings. That includes a 6-1 UFC record, where he has finished all but one of his triumphs inside the distance. Nickal defeated Jacob Cardenas via decision at RAF 1 and was later expected to face Yoel Romero but the pairing was cancelled when “Soldier of God” missed weight.

McEnelly, meanwhile, was an All-American as a freshman at the U…

Beatriz Mesquita is quickly making a name for herself in the UFC.

After finishing Melissa Mullins in her third Octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 279, the 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion now boasts an 8-0 record in MMA. As she climbs the bantamweight rankings, “Lady GOAT” wasted no time calling out her next foe, surging Argentinian contender Ailin Perez.

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“I came to be the champion of the division, the new face of Brazil in women's MMA,” Mesquita said. “I want to finish the rankings as [high] as possible because I want to fight for the belt in 2027.”A Natural Rivalry Shortly after leaving the Octagon, Mesquita explaned her callout In an interview with UFC Brazil reporter Evelyn Rodrigues.

"I find Ailin disrespectful and it could be a perfect match, since Brazil and Argentina already has a normal rivalry,” Mesquita said. “The Octagon is no place to be twerking and showing your butt. I'm ready to face her and show the ‘Lady GOAT’ mentality.”<…

Myktybek Orolbai has won three straight UFC fights. | Getty UFC

The UFC 330 lineup will include a welterweight looking to make a statement.

Surging contender Myktybek Orolbai will lock horns with Jeremiah Wells in a 170-pound affair. Orolbai announced the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC 330 takes place at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and is headlined by a welterweight title tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Ian Garry.

On a Roll Orolbai has won three straight outings and five of six UFC appearances overall. The 28-year-old Kyrgyzstan native kicked off his 2026 campaign with a three-round verdict over Chris Curtis at UFC Fight Night 269 on March 14. His current streak also includes finishes of Jack Hermansson and Tofiq Musayev.

Wells, 39, is 5-2 in UFC competition. Most recently, he snapped a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision triumph against Themba Gorimbo at UFC Fight Night 263 this past Novembe…

Charles Oliveira got the better of Justin Gaethje in 2022. | Getty/UFC

After Justin Gaethje shocked the world by stopping Ilia Topuria to unify the lightweight belt in the UFC White House main event, the debate began in earnest regarding his next opponent.

Candidates include top contender Arman Tsarukyan, the winner of the UFC 329 main event between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor and reigning BMF champion Charles Oliveira. An immediate rematch with Topuria is also a possibility, though Gaethje himself has dismissed the notion.

Unfinished Business Oliveira has already begun to campaign for the title shot. In an interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana on Monday, “do Bronxs” did not mince words.

“The world knows what happened in our first fight when there was the ‘scale robbery case.’ I got the submission win but got my title stripped,” Oliveira said. “Gaethje also said he suffered an accident before the fight, so let's make that rematch. That's t…

Patrick "Patchy" Mix will look to end a three-fight losing streak when he squares off against Shoko Sato at Rizin 54.

The Japanese promotion recently announced a handful of bouts for the Aug. 11 event. Rizin 54 takes place at Toyota Arena Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan, and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Kleber Koike Erbst and Kyomo Akimoto.

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A former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, Mix was victorious in 20 of his first 21 professional outings prior to signing with the UFC. The 32-year-old New York native dropped a pair of lackluster decision against Mario Bautista and Jakub Wiklacz before being released from the Las Vegas-based promotion. “Patchy” moved to 145 pounds at Rizin 52, where he suffered his third consecutive setback in a second-round stoppage loss to Kyoma Akimoto. He will return to 135 pounds against Sato.

The 38-year-old Sato is a veteran of 58 pro fights dating back to 2008. The former ONE Championship and Shooto competit…

Dana White will have no room to complain about the UFC's new rankings system. | Getty/UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s new rankings system is now live.

The Las Vegas-based promotion, in partnership with Meta, officially introduced its Meta UFC rankings on Monday. The rankings are described as “a new athlete evaluation system transforming how fighters are assessed; offering fans, athletes and media, an objective, data-driven view of the sport's competitive landscape.”

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These polls, which are supposedly “determined entirely by fight data,” mark a departure from the previous rankings that were voted on by members of the media. UFC CEO Dana White has consistently voiced his displeasure with the previous rankings, a sentiment he echoed in Monday’s press release. UFC.com visitors can still toggle between Meta and media-based rankings.

“I’ve been unhappy with the rankings and always believed there had to be a better way,” White stated…

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships is heading to an interesting new venue later this summer.

The organization announced on Monday that BKFC 92 will take place on Aug. 29 at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox. In the evening’s main event, BKFC featherweight title holder will square off against Massachusetts native Harry Gigliotti.

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A Historic Venue Billed as “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” on MLB.com, Fenway officially opened on April 20, 1912. The seating capacity is nearly 38,000, though it is unclear how much of that space will be utilized for BKFC 92.

“We’re beyond excited to announce this unprecedented event at Fenway Park on Saturday, August 29,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a press release. “The team at Fenway Park has been outstanding to collaborate with in what is truly a can’t miss event on the national combat sports calendar.”

BKFC 92 will also mark the first regulated bare-knuckle boxing event in the state. More bo…