Martial Arts News

Beatriz Mesquita’s otherworldly ground skills were there when she needed them most.

The undefeated American Top Team star remained unbeaten and continued her climb in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division, as she disposed of Melissa Mullins with an armbar in the first round of a featured UFC Fight Night 279 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Mesquita (8-0, 3-0 UFC) drew the curtain 3:16 into Round 1.

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Mullins (7-3, 2-3 UFC) nearly sprang the upset. She dazed Mesquita with a left hook, then closed in on the 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with follow-up punches. Putting the icing on the cake proved problematic. The resourceful Mesquita lured her opponent into her venomous guard, cleared the cobwebs and snatched the armbar. Mullins fought briefly to free herself but had no choice but to tap.

Meanwhile, ex-Inka Fighting Championship titleholder Kevin Borjas outstruck the heavily favored and previous…

Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov fought to a majority draw in their first meeting. | Getty/UFC

Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov have a little bit of unfinished business to handle.

The light heavyweights will square off in a rematch at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1, the promotion recently announced. Blachowicz and Guskov initially battled to a majority draw at UFC 325 this past December. A rematch was slated for UFC 328 on May 9, but Blachowicz was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury.

UFC Belgrade — also known as UFC Fight Night 283 — takes place at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, and is headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting Uros Medic against Daniel Rodriguez. The card will air in its entirety on Paramount+.

A Difficult Road A former light heavyweight champion, Blachowicz is just 1-3-2 in his last six Octagon appearances dating back to October 2021. However, the 43-year-old Pole has squared off against only the division’s best during tha…

Jean Silva believes he will jump the queue ahead of Movsar Evloev for the next UFC featherweight title shot. 

Silva considers himself next in line for a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. However, standing in his way is Evloev, who has long been the top contender at 145 pounds. Volkanovski has also repeatedly acknowledged the undefeated Russian as the most deserving title contender. However, Silva doesn’t think Evloev will get the next title shot. While Silva is eyeing a title shot next, he is willing to take one more fight if he needs to.

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“I’m the next one in line for the title,” Silva told MMAjunkie.com. “I’m the next one that’s gonna get that belt. I’m taking that belt back to Brazil. Hunter’s helping me with that. My manager Ivan is helping me out with that. Dana as well… They’re giving me the path to that… I think the chances of Evloev fighting Volkanovski by the end of the year are slim. And if Volk wants to fight somebody, I’ll be …

Don’t expect to see Justin Gaethje in the Octagon again this year. 

Gaethje (28-5) recently dethroned Ilia Topuria in a massive upset at UFC White House to win the undisputed lightweight title. “The Highlight” had previously won the interim title against Paddy Pimblett this past January. Gaethje notes that it is already a rarity to see him compete twice in a year. Gaethje revealed that it is highly unlikely for him to compete again in 2026.

Hiatus Loading“I already fought twice this year,” Gaethje said on "The Pat McAfee Show.”. “Very, very rarely do you get me twice in one year. So there’s very, very, very small chance that I would ever consider fighting this year again.”

Gaethje has never fought more than twice a year in the UFC. The newly-crowned lightweight champion had competed only once each in 2024 and 2025. Gaethje’s win over Topuria marked his third bid for the undisputed title. There was speculation about the 37-year-old retiring if he had lost against…

Khabib Nurmagomedov is supporting an underdog in the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

Nurmagomedov (29-0) recently shared his predictions for the ongoing soccer World Cup in North America. While Nurmagomedov isn’t supporting Germany, he believes the former four-time champions will lift the trophy again in 2026. “Eagle” believes the Netherlands will end up as the runner-up, with Spain following in third place.

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“Who will win the World Cup? Germany. I am not rooting for them, but I think Germany is the number one favorite,” Nurmagomedov told Okko Sport (translation via Red Corner MMA). “I would put the Netherlands in second. And Spain in third.”Talking Futbol However, Nurmagomedov doesn’t think any of the top goal scorers will be from Germany. The former UFC lightweight champion’s top five goal scorers include France’s Kylian Mbappe, Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez, Brazil’s Vinicius Jr., Portugal’s Joao Felix and England’s Harry Kane.

“Let me give you my Top …

Sean O'Malley believes Aleksandre Topuria doesn’t like him. 

O’Malley (20-3) defeated Aiemann Zahabi via a second-round knockout at UFC White House earlier this month. Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria lost his lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in a massive upset on the same card. Ilia’s elder brother, UFC bantamweight Aleksandre, cornered his brother at the White House. 

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O’Malley came across Topuria and his team backstage at the White House. While O’Malley and Ilia have traded barbs in the past, “Suga” believes there are no hard feeling between them. However, O’Malley believes Aleksandre doesn’t like him. O’Malley claims that while he shook hands with Ilia’s entire team, Aleksandre refused to acknowledge him.Lingering Animosity “If Ilia’s heard me talk about him, he knows I think he is one of the greatest of all time,” O’Malley said on Tim Welche’s YouTube channel. “I made a couple of short jokes, he’s made fun of me, like, ‘Ugly tattoo.’... But h…

Professional Fighters League featherweight Alexei Pergande has accused Ian Garry of lying. 

The spat started with Pergande posting a video of a training session where he took Garry down. Garry unfollowed Pergande on Instagram after the clip went viral. Replying to a fan, Garry said that he unfollowed Pergande because “Russian DNA” had filmed their training session without consent. Garry also accused Pergande of continuing to film even after he was asked not to.

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“Because he filmed me without permission, then secretly kept filming me after I asked him to stop and has been editing and reposting the same session for four years,” Garry wrote. “I liked the kid but respect when someone says no to filming you.” 

However, Pergande (8-0) completely denies Garry’s accusations. Pergande says his fiancée was filming the session in the presence of Garry’s wife and UFC middleweight Chris Curtis. According to Pergande, he was never asked to stop filming …

Merab Dvalishvili believes all fighters deserve respect. | Getty/UFC

Merab Dvalishvili believes fighters shouldn’t be disrespected regardless of wins and losses. 

Dvalishvili (21-5) recently lashed out on social media against “s—t talk” toward fighters. While Dvalishvili didn’t clarify the target of his rant, he issued an open challenge to talk trash to his face.

“You disrespect the dedication and hard work to the sport that every fighter puts in when you talk s--t,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “Win or lose we are all warriors and deserve respect. F--k anyone talking what they don’t know - come say it to my face.”

You disrespect the dedication and hardwork to the sport that every fighter puts in when you talk sh!t. Win or lose we are all warriors and deserve respect. F*^k anyone talking what they don’t know - come say it to my face.

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) June 19, 2026 Standing Up for a Fri…

Ronda Rousey and Jake Paul are mocking the viewership numbers for UFC White House card. 

The UFC hosted a one-of-a-kind event at the White House earlier this month. Billed as UFC Freedom 250, the card featured two of the promotion’s biggest stars in Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, alongside other big names like Justin Gaethje, Sean O’Malley and Ciryl Gane. The event had 7 million average viewership in the United States. 

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Despite the magnitude of the card, it failed to beat the viewership numbers for Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" last month, which reportedly did 9.3 million in the U.S. MVP co-founder, Jake Paul, has now declared himself the biggest MMA promoter.

“As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter,” Paul wrote on X.

As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 19, 2026 Rousey Tar…

Zabit Magomedsharipov is set to return to action after nearly seven years. 

Magomedsharipov (18-1) is set to face Raul Rosas Jr. in a no-gi grappling match at ACBJJ 21 on July 5 in Moscow, Russia. The matchup will be in the 70 kg (154 pounds) weight category. 

UFC Past and Present Collide Magomedsharipov is considered to be one of the biggest “what ifs” in MMA history. The exceptionally well-rounded featherweight prospect won four bonuses in his six UFC wins. Magomedsharipov last competed in 2019, when he beat Calvin Kattar via a unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Night” clash. Magomedsharipov then surprisingly retired in 2022 to pursue a career in medicine. 

Meanwhile, Rosas Jr. is currently riding a five-fight winning streak in the UFC. The 21-year-old is coming off his biggest career win against Rob Font. 

Japan’s own 🇯🇵@Kyoji1012 | 125 lbs

[ #UFCVegas119 | SAT JUNE 20 | 8pmET LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/f0MYUyBKXT

— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2026 A key flyweight rematch with Ultimate Fighting Championship title implications is now official following the UFC Vegas 119 weigh-ins.

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The main event of UFC Fight Night 279 sees Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape clash for a second time. Both men made weight for the rematch, which comes nearly a decade after the two met during the 2017 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight with the exception of Kevin Borjas, who will be fined 20 percent of his purse for coming 3 pounds overweight for his flyweight bout against Andre Lima.

Horiguchi (36-5, 1 NC) won the initial fight, submitting "Starboy" with an arm-triangle choke in the third round. "Karate Kid" enters the rematch on an eight-fight unbeaten streak and is 2-0 since returning to…

Meet Pedro Valente Jr., the only person in attendance at both UFC 1 and UFC White House: Freedom 250.

The eldest son of one of Helio Gracie's most respected disciples, Pedro Valente (1938-2016), Pedro Valente Jr. can declare that he is the only eyewitness who was at the first UFC event in 1993 in Denver and at UFC at the White House in 2026.

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“It was a unique emotion to see where this sport has come,” Valente told Sherdog. “I couldn't help but remember the tribute that Rorion [Gracie] paid to his father in the center of the Octagon at UFC 1. The old man would certainly be very emotional to see where it has come.”

Along with his brothers, Joaquim and Guilherme, Valente leads the Valente Brothers Jiu-Jitsu academy in Miami, which counts among its students children and grandchildren of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

“We ended up creating a bond of friendship beyond the mats, which is why we were invited,” Valente said.

According to him, the ide…