Martial Arts News

Ilia Topuria vows to have a “pure striking fight” against Justin Gaethje. 

Topuria (17-0) puts his lightweight title on the line against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) at UFC White House on June 14. While Topuria hails from a wrestling background, “El Matador” has established himself as a lethal knockout artist over the years. 

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Topuria claims he chooses striking over wrestling to entertain fans. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard defended his featherweight title by handing Max Holloway his only knockout loss ever in 2024. Topuria believes he could have had his way with Holloway on the ground if he wanted. However, Topuria believes a submission win over Holloway wouldn’t have been as exciting as knocking him out cold was. Topuria had even used Holloway’s iconic point down, inviting him to a slugfest in the opening seconds of the fight. However, “Blessed” declined the offer, perhaps wisely. In the Name of Entertainment Topuria believes th…

Movsar Evloev has indicated that he will receive a featherweight title shot this summer. | Getty/UFC

Movsar Evloev has seemingly secured a UFC featherweight title shot. 

Despite having long been the most deserving title contender, Evloev (20-0) has been denied a title shot so far. The undefeated Russian now appears to be confident about fighting for the title at the end of this summer.

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“I am back, end of the summer, and new Inshallah,” Evloev wrote on X.

I am back, end of the summer, and new Inshallah.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) May 27, 2026 The Waiting Game Alexander Volkanovski had already acknowledged Evloev as the most deserving title contender when “The Great” won the title for the second time against Diego Lopes last year. Evloev had already defeated Lopes, who gave him a tough test in a short-notice debut in 2023. However, Lopes surprising leapfrogged ahead of Evloev and challenged Volkanovsk…

Ryan Gandra earned a quick victory in his UFC debut. | Getty/UFC

The UFC 329 card is up to 12 confirmed fights following the addition of a middleweight contest between Ryan Gandra and Zachary Reese.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the lineup for its International Fight Week event in a release on Tuesday. UFC 329 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway. In the co-main event, Benoit St. Denis will lock horns with Paddy Pimblett at lightweight. The card will air in its entirety on Paramount+.

After earning a promotional contract on UFC in August 2025, Gandra enjoyed a successful Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 268, where he scored a 41-second stoppage of Jose Medina on Feb. 28. “Problema” has won nine of his 10 professional outings overall, finishing seven of those inside the distance.

Reese, who is also a Contender Series alum, is coming off a split-dec…

Nate Diaz is feeling motivated on the heels of his first mixed martial arts appearance in nearly four years.

The Stockton, California, native squared off against Mike Perry in the Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" co-headliner, losing via corner stoppage after two rounds on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Diaz wasn’t especially competitive, as he was bloodied and battered by Perry for as long as the contest lasted. It was his first fight in MMA since a fourth-round submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 on Sept. 10, 2022.

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Diaz shut down retirement talk at the event’s post-fight press conference, and the popular veteran maintained that sentiment while expressing renewed enthusiasm for a Perry rematch in a recent statement released via social media.‘Hunting Season’ “I didn’t like my lack of activity because of lack of opponents,” Diaz wrote on Instagram. “I know it was easier to get up to fight me for this fight but now I be…

Usman Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his lightweight belt for a third time at PFL New York. | PFL MMA

Two of Professional Fighters League’s top stars will be in action when the organization debuts in the Empire State this summer.

PFL New York will be headlined by a lightweight tilt tilt pitting reigning champion Usman Nurmagomedov against Archie Colgan, while Dakota Ditcheva will return from injury to face Denise Kielholtz in the evening’s co-main event. The promotion announced the bookings on Tuesday. PFL New York takes place at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, Long Island and airs on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in 22 professional outings, with his lone blemish coming as a result of a failed drug test at Bellator 300. The 28-year-old Dagestani captured PFL lightweight gold with a majority decision over Paul Hughes in January 2025. He has since defended the belt with a unanimous verdict against Hughe…

Deiveson Figueiredo hopes to fight in Brazil after UFC Macau. | Getty/UFC

After losing three of his last four fights, former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo will look to get back on track against Yadong Song in the UFC Macau headliner on Saturday.

After having fought in Macau in 2024, the Brazilian veteran is a little more prepared this time around.

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“I fought Petr Yan here in 2024, but I arrived too late and a little heavy, I felt the jet lag quite a bit (there's a 12-hour difference) and had a tough weight cut,” Figueiredo told Sherdog.com. “This time I made sure to come with my family earlier and arrive in China lighter. Today is Monday and I weighed 67 kilgrams (147 pounds).

“Daico” also revealed that one of the advantages for this fight with Song was the fact that he split his training camp between The Fighting Nerds and Pitbull Brothers.

“I spent two weeks in each one,” he said. “I had an excellent experience with Jean…

Dana White is getting some mainstream coverage as the UFC White House event draws near.

The UFC CEO is on the cover of the latest Time Magazine, which was revealed on Monday along with the headline: “How Dana White took the UFC from the fringes to the White House.”

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TIME’s new cover: Dana White helped turn MMA from a fringe blood sport into a global empire through the rise of the UFC. Now, he’s bringing it to the White House’s South Lawn.

“There are some nights, I’ll get up at the end and go, ‘What the f-ck do I do for a living?’”… pic.twitter.com/qXosIuWSUW

— TIME (@TIME) May 26, 2026 Missing Out The in-depth feature includes White’s history with the UFC, his relationship with President Donald Trump and how the White House card came together. One noteworthy revelation in the piece is that White apparently wanted to book a women’s strawweight title fight between Mackenzie Dern and Weili Zhang for the event. The th…

Jack Della Maddalena didn’t stop responding to Carlos Prates despite being on the losing end of their fight. 

Prates (24-7) took on Maddalena (18-4) in enemy territory at UFC Perth earlier this month. Prates picked apart the former welterweight champion before finishing him in the third round. Prates recently revealed that he kept talking to Maddalena during the fight. 

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When Maddalena shot for a takedown in the opening round, Prates taunted him with Nate Diaz’s famous quote, “So you’re a wrestler now?” Maddalena responded by proclaiming himself a well-rounded fighter. When Prates started dominating Maddalena, he apologized to the Australian, explaining that he was only a hurdle on the way to a title shot. Maddalena urged Prates to go with him until the final bell. Prates was impressed with Maddalena’s toughness.A Little In-Fight Banter “I started to talk with him, like, ‘Ah, you become a grappler now? You’re a wrestler?’ And then he goes, ‘N…

Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling must be given credit when it is praised by one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time. 

Abdulrashid Sadulaev recently heaped praise on Tsarukyan’s wrestling. Sadulaev says Tsarukyan often trains in their camp and with other elite Russian wrestlers. Sadulaev also notes that Tsarukyan trains with one of the most respected coaches, Vladimir Modosyan. According to the two-time Olympic gold medalist, Tsarukyan would land in the Top 5 if he competed in the Russian wrestling championship.

High Praise “Arman frequently joined us in camps,” Sadulaev told Red Corner MMA. “He trained with the best wrestlers. Also he always worked with one of our best coaches, it’s one of Russia’s honored coaches — Vladimir Modosyan. I think his wrestling skills are above average. For example, if he competed at the Russian championships he could’ve made it in Top 5.”

Tsarukyan (23-3) remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture despite being wi…

Referee Mark Lyson allegedly admitted to making a mistake in Rico Verhoeven’s controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Lyson was the third man inside the ring when Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. A massive underdog, Verhoeven landed the more significant strikes for the most part. Verhoeven appeared to be on the way to a monumental upset win when Usyk dropped him late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of unanswered shots. Lyson abruptly stepped in and called a stop to the contest with officially a second left in the 11th round. 

If the official stoppage wasn’t already controversial enough, some rumors suggest that Lyson stopped the bout after the bell went off. The make matters worse, there was no fight clock for viewers on the live broadcast. Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury claims Lyson was travelling with him on the same fli…

Sean Strickland is completely unhinged. 

Strickland recently uploaded a video of himself teaching kids “valuable” skills. Strickland can be seen teaching kids how to load a belt-fed machine gun. The UFC middleweight champion compares the feeling to that of an African rebel teaching young kids the same skill.

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Role Model? “I’m teaching the youth valuable skills… I would imagine this is how an African rebel feels, teaching kids how to load a belt-fed machine gun,” Strickland said.

“Passing on valuable skills to the youth. Pay it forward,” he added in the caption.

Strickland has faced backlash in the past over his controversial stance on gun control. Himself an owner of a large collection of guns, Strickland also encourages others to exercise their rights. Strickland had also slammed the Australian government over gun laws ahead of his rematch against Dricus Du Plessis in Sydney last year. Australia had banned guns following Martin Bryant’s …

Not everyone counted Sean Strickland out against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Strickland (30-7) challenged Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 328 earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland was a massive +450 underdog going into the bout. While Chimaev controlled Strickland on the ground in the first round, the tide turned in the second round. Strickland completely took over in the third round, and Chimaev failed to mount a comeback despite a valiant effort in the championship rounds. Strickland earned a split decision victory in one of the biggest upsets in recent UFC title fight history. 

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Faith in Strickland Paid Off While most expected Chimaev to dominate on the ground, many considered Strickland the biggest threat to “Borz.” Among the latter was UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone. “Cowboy” revealed he won $45,000 after betting $10,000 on Strickland to win.

“Yeah, I won $45,000,” Cerrone told The Schmo. “I put $10,000 on Sean.”

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