Martial Arts News

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Markus “Maluko” Perez has reportedly been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for more than a month while his immigration case proceeds.

According to Brazilian outlet Recorte da Luta, Perez was detained July 15 while visiting relatives in Salt Lake City. The outlet reported that he has since been transferred between detention facilities and is currently being held in California.

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Markus Perez was reportedly detained July 15 while visiting relatives in Salt Lake City A fundraiser shared through Perez’s official Instagram account is seeking $25,000 to help cover legal fees and other expenses related to the proceedings.

According to the fundraiser, Perez had been pursuing an EB-1 visa, and his request for bond was denied.

Perez, 36, competed seven times in the UFC from 2017 to 2021, compiling a 2-5 record. He later competed in several combat sports, including Karate Combat.

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Daniel Marcos didn’t take long to find a new home in the Professional Fighters League after being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Marcos (18-1) was surprisingly released from the UFC this past May despite scoring a submission win in his last bout in November. “Soncora” went 5-1 in the UFC, with his only career loss coming against Montel Jackson. Marcos says he was surprised by his UFC release and still doesn’t know why his exit came about.

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Daniel Marcos targets PFL champion Sergio Pettis after surprising UFC exit Despite his shocking UFC departure, Marcos is grateful to the UFC for providing him with a platform to showcase his skills at the highest level.

“More than anything, I was surprised,” Marcos told MMA Fighting. “I asked myself, ‘Why? Why did this happen?’ I had only lost once in my entire career, so I didn’t understand what was going on. I can’t control what other people decide to do. But I’m still grateful to the UFC for…

Roman Dolidze believes his light heavyweight bout against Reinier de Ridder is an intriguing clash of styles.

Dolidze is moving up to 205 pounds after spending most of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career at middleweight. The Georgian said the division suits him physically, particularly after years of dealing with the demands of making 185 pounds.

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Roman Dolidze expects his grappling and physicality to be tested against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Sacramento Both Dolidze and de Ridder are primarily known for their grappling, and the former is excited by the matchup and opportunity to prove he’s better.

“I think stylistically this fight is very interesting because he's also a very good grappler,” Dolidze said at UFC Sacramento media day. “Tall, strong guy and not bad in striking. But I think I'm much more powerful and we'll compete, compare our grappling, let's see.”

Dolidze previously called for a fight against de Ridder when they were middlew…

Reinier de Ridder believes his light heavyweight move puts the fun back into fighting.

He’s competed at middleweight during his Ultimate Fighting Championship run so far. However, following back-to-back losses at 185 pounds, de Ridder committed to the 205-pound division after enduring six weight cuts in just over a year.

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Reinier de Ridder explains why he left middleweight ahead of his Roman Dolidze fight at UFC Sacramento Ahead of his UFC light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento, de Ridder opened up about the difficult weight cuts at middleweight that made the overall experience unenjoyable.

“It took all the fun out of fighting,” de Ridder said at UFC Sacramento media day. “I was basically dieting year-round, struggling to get close year-round, so it was time.”

The Dutchman said his body began showing the effects of repeated cuts, particularly after his first-round fight with Brendan Allen left him exhausted.

“I think …

Shanelle Dyer believes Elise Reed's striking style could leave her vulnerable when the two Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweights clash.

Dyer (7-1) returns to action at UFC Sacramento on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center against Reed (8-5), looking to build on her successful Octagon debut earlier this year. The British prospect stopped Ravena Oliveira in her UFC debut, earning a third-round technical knockout in March in London.

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Shanelle Dyer explains why Elise Reed’s striking style could create finishing opportunities at UFC Sacramento In an interview ahead of their clash, Dyer explained why she believes Reed's style could lead to a knockout.

“Stylistically, this is a part of the matchup for me… My opponent, she has a low guard taekwondo style,” Dyer said. “She is a kicker, but I am a better kicker. I have been working so much. I don’t want to give up a lot of my game plan away. But she’s very susceptible to a knockout.”

Dyer added that she has…

Michael Page and Alexander Shlemenko will share the mat in their Real American Freestyle debuts.

The promotion recently announced that the two former Bellator fighters will meet at RAF 14 on Oct. 3 in Las Vegas.

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Michael Page faces Alexander Shlemenko in his Real American Freestyle debut at RAF 14 Page is 4-1 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship since joining the promotion in 2024, with his lone loss coming via decision against Ian Garry. The British fighter previously spent much of his career with Bellator MMA, where he scored a series of highlight-reel knockouts and challenged for interim welterweight gold.

“Venom” is riding a three-fight win streak and is booked to compete at UFC Paris on Sept. 5 against Nursulton Ruziboev. Page has yet to find a finish inside the Octagon.

Meanwhile, Shlemenko brings extensive combat sports experience into his RAF debut. The 42-year-old has competed 87 times professionally, earning 35 knockout victories a…

Anthony Hernandez is firing on all cylinders ahead of his return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Hernandez will headline UFC Sacramento opposite Gregory Rodrigues in his home state. “Fluffy” was finished by Sean Strickland earlier this year and he’s desperate for his next bout to not go the distance.

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Anthony Hernandez targets a finish against Gregory Rodrigues after his loss to Sean Strickland Hernandez compiled an eight-fight win streak before meeting Strickland in February. The former champion secured the stoppage against Hernandez in the third round at UFC Houston, halting the latter’s momentum. He’s now ready to put the loss behind him and make a statement in his Octagon return.

“I want to hurt somebody, man,” Hernandez said in a recent interview with UFC on Paramount Plus. “I want to finish somebody. I want to f*cking make somebody hate their f*cking life. I am not here to f*cking get a decision.”

Notably, Hernandez (1…

The Professional Fighters League’s upcoming event in Florida has undergone a late change.Nkosi Ndebele replaces Gustavo Oliveira against Marcirley Alves on Aug. 22Gustavo Oliveira is out of his scheduled bantamweight matchup with Marcirley Alves at PFL Tampa, with Nkosi Ndebele stepping in as the replacement. The card is scheduled to air live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.

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Alves (15-5) will now face Ndebele (13-3) on Aug. 22 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. The promotion did not provide a reason for Oliveira's withdrawal in its announcement. Alves was originally slated to face Oliveira after winning the 2025 PFL bantamweight world tournament. He will now meet Ndebele on short notice.

PFL Tampa is headlined by Cris Cyborg's women's featherweight championship defense against Ketlen Vieira.

Cris Cyborg’s final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: New #PFLTampa Matchup…

Namo Fazil is at the center of several controversies after his failed bid at an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Coming off a win on the inaugural Most Valuable Promotions MMA card, Fazil had a lot of hype going into his Dana White’s Contender Series outing against Kaik Brito. Fazil had also trash-talked quite a bit in the lead-up to the bout, in which Brito put him to sleep in the final round.

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Robert Valentin alleges Namo Fazil tried to choke him during a confrontation in 2023 Fazil has since claimed that his performance was affected by an assault during his weight cut. He was allegedly confronted by 15 Chechens in his hotel room while cutting weight. The alleged attack was seemingly triggered by Fazil’s comments against Chechnya ahead of his win over Chechen fighter Yakub Sulimanov last year.

UFC middleweight Robert Valentin has since accused Fazil of attacking him in Thailand in 2023. Valentin had allegedly pushed away one of Fazil’s …

Henry Cejudo is set to compete in his third combat sport after accruing several accolades in wrestling and mixed martial arts.

The former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship champion is set to make his professional boxing debut against streamer Nurideen “Deen the Great” Shabazz on Sept. 26 in Miami, Misfits Boxing recently announced. The event will stream live on DAZN Boxing.

Henry Cejudo will face Deen the Great five weeks after his scheduled wrestling rematch with Merab Dvalishvili Cejudo's professional boxing debut comes just weeks after his latest scheduled wrestling appearance under the Real American Freestyle banner.

The 39-year-old is scheduled to face Merab Dvalishvili in a wrestling rematch at RAF 12 on Aug. 22 in Cleveland. If he comes out uninjured, “Triple C” will have only five weeks to lock in for his professional boxing debut.

The Olympic gold medalist retired from MMA for a second time after losing to Payton Talbott in December 2025. He su…

Kevin Vallejos claims he’s one win away from entering the featherweight title mix in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after the recent change to Noche UFC 4’s main event.

Jean Silva was originally scheduled to headline the fourth edition of Noche UFC against Yair Rodriguez on Sept. 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. However, Jose Delgado will now replace Rodriguez, who pulled out for undisclosed reasons.

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Yair Rodriguez's withdrawal changes the stakes surrounding Jean Silva's next fight The matchup between Silva and Rodriguez was seemingly an unofficial featherweight title eliminator, with both top-ranked 145-pounders coming off wins in their last outings.

However, Delgado is still green in the UFC with a 4-0 Octagon record. Despite Silva’s ascent in the promotion, a win over Delgado doesn’t carry as much weight as beating the former interim champ. Vallejos recently hinted that he is expecting the next featherweight title shot with …

Jon Jones has fired back at Daniel Cormier after his longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship rival once again excluded him from the GOAT debate.

Cormier recently argued that Jones' history with performance-enhancing drugs prevents him from claiming the sport's top honor. Instead, “DC” pointed to former undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, citing the Russian's spotless record and lack of major controversies. Jones attributed this claim to “jealousy.”

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Daniel Cormier cites Jones' PED history while making the case for Khabib Nurmagomedov After Cormier argued that Jones doesn’t belong in the GOAT conversation and brought up his lone defeat, a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in a fight he was dominating, “Bones” took to social media to respond to his former foe.

“I started in the UFC so early that I didn't even know what the rules were,” Jones wrote. “The night I fought Matt was the first night I had ever even heard the term '12-…