Martial Arts News

Alexandre Pantoja believes his accolades warrant more respect than he receives.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder will have an opportunity to reclaim the title against Joshua Van at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He suffered an arm injury early in their first meeting in December last year and has been focused on recovery and his Octagon return ever since.

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Alexandre Pantoja says an early arm injury defines his view of first Joshua Van fight Pantoja believes his title loss is sometimes portrayed as though Van simply beat him, which the Brazilian disputes.

“He not beat me, you know?” Pantoja said in a recent interview. “I know like an athlete, I lose the fight, I know I lose my belt, I'm not my champion anymore, but it's not someone beat me.”

Pantoja also pointed to his strength of schedule at 125 pounds, noting that he has faced much of the division's elite, defeated some opponents multiple times and put togethe…

Mauricio Ruffy is not shying away from the biggest challenge of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Ruffy will face Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 331 five-round co-main event on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan is widely regarded as one of the lightweight division’s elite wrestlers, making Ruffy’s ability to keep the fight standing one of the matchup’s central questions.

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Mauricio Ruffy expects Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling to test his preparation at UFC 331

Ruffy has emphasized that he wants his actions to do the talking when he faces Tsarukyan.

“Talking, anyone can talk, but I like to walk, the actions do the talking,” Ruffy told UFC on Paramount.

Ruffy said he had already been training extensively before the matchup was finalized, including a stint in Thailand following UFC Freedom 250.

The Brazilian expects Tsarukyan’s wrestling to be a major factor but believes his preparation will speak for itself.

“…

Jon Jones is exploring additional stem cell treatment as he looks to regain some of the mobility he has lost over the years.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight and heavyweight champion recently revealed plans for additional treatment after speaking with Joe Rogan, who told him about his own experience with the therapy. He also revealed that depending on the result, a return to fighting could be in the cards.

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Jon Jones says Francis Ngannou's callout and the heavyweight landscape have reignited his desire to fight Jones said Rogan introduced him to Ways2Well and told him he had experienced improved movement after receiving stem cell treatment there.

“You never know what’s going to happen in life. I just talked to Joe Rogan the other day, and he’s like, ‘I’ve got some friends out at a place called Ways2Well, who gave me some initial stem cells and I have been moving around way better than I used to’,” Jones told Sporf.

Jon…

Paddy Pimblett wants to fight Arman Tsarukyan or Ilia Topuria next 👀 pic.twitter.com/ycHj3RRzRr

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) August 20, 2026

Paddy Pimblett has weighed in on fellow top-ranked lightweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Pimblett recently discussed the lightweight title picture on the “Green Light” podcast, explaining that his approach to trash talk depends on his opponent. While he’ll remain respectful towards UFC veterans, the Liverpool native recently vowed to “terrorize” Topuria or Tsarukyan should he get matched up against either one.Paddy Pimblett explains why Ilia Topuria and Arman Tsarukyan get a different kind of trash talk Pimblett has nothing but respect for the likes of Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway. “The Baddy” claims his venomous trash talk is only directed at those he genuinely dislikes.

“If I fight Ilia or Arman, I’m gonna absolutely rinse their lives. I’m gonna ab…

Criticism of Din Thomas isn’t slowing down.

Thomas announced his retirement from cornering following his fighter Gillian Robertson’s failed Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title bid against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330. He did so on the post-show on live television, drawing significant backlash from both fans and fighters. While he’s since apologized for his handling of the situation, Thomas is still catching strays.

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Din Thomas confirms he will corner Sean Brady after retiring from cornering Another fighter Thomas mentors, Sean Brady, is scheduled to take on Gabriel Bonfim in the main event of a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. While speaking about Brady on the “Deep Waters” podcast, Dustin Poirier jokingly reminded Thomas that he is retired from cornering.

“Well, he doesn’t corner anyone anymore,” Poirier said.

Chris Weidman then asked Thomas if he would be in Brady’s corner on Nov. 7. Thomas confirmed that he will…

Rolando Romero and Teofimo Lopez are set to trade leather on Aug. 22.Rolando Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez streams Aug. 22 on DAZN PPVHere’s a brief rundown for those who intend to watch the event:How to watch Romero vs. Lopez in the United States The Romero vs. Lopez card can be streamed on DAZN pay-per-view on Aug. 22 at 8 p.m.ET/5 p.m. PT in the U.S. The headliners are expected to make their ring walks at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. The event is also available with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription plan.

“Rolly” puts his WBA welterweight title on the line against Lopez in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Romero (17-2) is coming off a massive unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia from last year. Meanwhile, Lopez (22-2) is moving up to welterweight after losing his WBO super lightweight title to Shakur Stevenson this past January. Lopez won the vacant title in 2022 and defended it five times before falling to Stevenson.

Here’s a look at the complete Romero vs.…

Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has sought emergency custody of his teenage daughter, alleging that his ex-wife, Heidi Liddell, took the child from his home.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Liddell asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court this week to order the return of 14-year-old Guinevere and award him temporary sole physical custody of her and 13-year-old Charlie.

Former UFC champion files for temporary sole physical custody amid dispute over teenage daughter Liddell alleges that Heidi took Guinevere during his scheduled custodial time and has no intention of returning her. He further claims she moved the teenager to Orange County despite existing custody orders. Liddell said an earlier effort to obtain court approval to relocate both children to Newport Beach had failed.

The former UFC champion also accused his ex-wife of violating other custody arrangements, including failing to use their required co-parenting applicat…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to California on Aug. 22.Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues headlines the Aug. 22 UFC eventHere’s a brief rundown for those who want to watch UFC Sacramento:

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How to watch UFC Sacramento in the United States The event goes down on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. U.S. fans can watch it on Paramount+, with the prelims starting at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PDT, followed by the main card at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PDT.

UFC Sacramento will be headlined by a middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues. Hernandez (15-3) was riding a stellar eight-fight winning streak, with six finishes, that saw him leave the likes of Roman Kopylov, Michel Pereira, Brendan Allen and Roman Dolidze in his wake.

However, his run ended with a stoppage loss against Sean Strickland this past February. Meanwhile, Rodrigues (19-6) is on a three-fight winning streak with two first-round knockouts. “Ro…

Khabib Nurmagomedov says Ali Abdelaziz incites strong feelings in people, one way or the other.

While Nurmagomedov was managed by Abdelaziz throughout his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, their relationship extends beyond fighter and manager. Abdelaziz manages all Dagestani fighters from Nurmagomedov’s camp and shares a strong personal relationship with everyone. Furthermore, the UFC Hall of Famer’s successor, Islam Makhachev’s favorite person to prank is the Dominance MMA founder.

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Nurmagomedov says getting to know Abdelaziz reveals the loyalty he values most Nurmagomedov recently said that people inevitably have strong feelings about Abdelaziz, whether good or bad. According to “The Eagle,” one can’t feel neutral towards the veteran manager. He believes people either strongly love Abdelaziz or hate him with equal fervor.

Nurmagomedov claims one needs to get to know Abdelaziz to appreciate him and that he’s incredibly loyal.

“Ali has on…

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s toughest fight wasn't entirely because of the opponent he faced.

Nurmagomedov recently revealed that the most challenging bout of his career was against Justin Gaethje in 2020. The Russian successfully defended his lightweight title by putting Gaethje to sleep with a triangle choke in the second round. While Nurmagomedov says he has never been pushed to his limits in a fight, he admits Gaethje came close.

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Khabib explains why Justin Gaethje presented the toughest challenge of his undefeated career The fight was the toughest for Nurmagomedov due to several factors leading up to it. Most importantly, “The Eagle” lost his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, to Covid-19 before the bout. He claims it was difficult to stay composed after losing the person he was fighting for in the first place.

The training camp was also hard, as Nurmagomedov battled several injuries. However, the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer managed to …

Anthony Hernandez believes his loss to Sean Strickland showed him exactly what needs to change.

Hernandez will look to rebound Saturday when he headlines UFC Sacramento against Gregory Rodrigues at Golden 1 Center.

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Anthony Hernandez details the changes he made after losing to Sean Strickland The middleweight contender spent part of his training camp at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, where he worked to address the issues exposed in the loss.

“I had to make some adjustments, as simple as that,” Hernandez said in a recent interview. “If you f*ck up, you're probably going to get f*cked up. So, it lays it right out for you nice and perfectly, what you got to adjust and fix.”

Hernandez, whose loss against Strickland came after eight straight wins, said he spent the summer away from his family to focus entirely on training, working alongside larger middleweights and sharpening his game.

“I moved away from my family for the full summer,”…

Gregory Rodrigues has an Ultimate Fighting Championship main event ahead of him, but the Brazilian has a deeper reason to appreciate the moment.

“Robocop” will headline UFC Sacramento against Anthony Hernandez on Aug. 22, marking his second time topping a UFC card. For Rodrigues, simply reaching this stage is the fulfillment of a dream that began a generation ago.

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Gregory Rodrigues reflects on his father’s influence ahead of UFC Sacramento In a recent interview, Rodrigues opened up about the significance of his upcoming bout.

“I started very young in this journey through my father,” Rodrigues told. “Like I always said, that was my father’s dream and then it became my dream and I made this dream become true. So yeah, that’s fantastic, and I’m excited. One more fight in the UFC, I’m in my second main event. Oh man, I'm just happy.”

Rodrigues has made a conscious effort to appreciate these moments rather than become consumed by the pressures that…