Martial Arts News

Professional Fighters League is bringing a lightweight showcase bout to PFL New York in Long Island with a bit of hometown cooking. The promotion has confirmed to Sherdog that undefeated Longo’s MMA product Levan Khabalaev (5-0) will lock horns with fellow New Yorker Ryan Gerena (4-1).

Russia’s Khabalaev has had his last three fights in recognizable promotions Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Legacy Fighting Alliance, picking up finishes in two of those three wins.

Gerena has spent his entire professional career fighting for Flex Fight Series, and after losing his professional debut, he has won four fights in a row, leading him to get the call from the PFL. Of his four victories, three of them have come by way of stoppage, while he’s also gotten one victory by way of decision.

PFL New York will be headlined by a lightweight title fight pitting champ Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0) against Archie Colgan (13-0). Also on the card, superstar Dakota Ditcheva …

Erin Blanchfield is 8-1 in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

A pair of flyweights looking climb into title contention will square off at UFC 330.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that Erin Blanchfield will meet Jasmine Jasudavicius in a 125-pound clash at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. UFC 330 is headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry, while Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight crown against Gillian Robertson in the evening’s co-main event.

A Common Foil Blanchfield has been victorious in eight of her nine Octagon appearances. That lone defeat, a unanimous decision setback against Manon Fiorot in the UFC on ESPN 54 headliner in March 2024, has kept “Cold Blooded’ on the outskirts of a title shot. The 27-year-old New Jersey native has since rebounded to post back-to-back triumphs over Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez.

Jasudavicius has also had her momentum halted by Fiorot. After winnin…

Jamahal Hill's light heavyweight tenure was highlighted by a title victory over Glover Teixeira. | Getty/UFC

Jamahal Hill is leaving the light heavyweight division.

The former UFC champ announced plans to move to heavyweight on his YouTube channel. The 35-year-old known as “Sweet Dreams” hasn’t competed since June 2025, when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Khalil Rountree in the UFC on ABC 8 main event. Hill has been sidelined by a knee injury since then.

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"I'm going to go ahead and say it now: I'm going to heavyweight," Hill said. "That's the announcement, breaking news. So, I'm officially going to say it: I'm going to heavyweight. It's been something I've been working on now for a few months, putting on the necessary weight and putting on the muscle and everything like that to move up.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better if I came back and went and won the heavyweight title? I think that means more than winning the light heavyweig…

The day after recording a video for his channel criticizing Herb Dean's refereeing in his UFC White House fight with Ciryl Gane, Alex Pereira spoke with fellow Brazilian Renato "Moicano" on his YouTube channel.

In a nearly 30-minute conversation, Poatan reacted to the video posted by Dean explaining exactly where the area where strikes are prohibited is located, clarifying his decision.

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"This video is a joke. The guy puts a coin and says here you can't hit, but there's an area around it where you put a limit. The fact is that if he signaled during the fight, my opponent would certainly think about the possibility of the fight being stopped there," said Pereira, reiterating his desire to see the referee penalized. "Something needs to happen. Dana doesn't fire fighters, why not referees?”No More DeanThe Brazilian did not mention appealing to the athletic commission to change the fight result to no contest, but made it clear that he will no longer acce…

Islam Makhachev will make his first welterweight title defense at UFC 330. | Getty/UFC

Some championship hardware will be at stake when the Octagon touches down in the City of Brotherly Love later this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed that UFC 330 will be headlined by a welterweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry, while Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight crown against Gillian Robertson in the evening’s co-main event. Both matchups have been rumored for quite some time but had not been officially announced by the UFC until Wednesday. UFC 330 takes place on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

After a successful reign at 155 pounds that included four successful title defenses, Makhachev moved up to welterweight at UFC 322, where he claimed that division’s belt with a dominant five-round verdict against Jack Della Maddalena this past November. The 34-year-old Dagest…

A Professional Fighters League event slated for Friday in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia has been postponed just days before the event.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that PFL MENA 10 has been “postponed until further notice.” The PFL is evaluating future dates for the event and will provide an update as soon as more information is available.

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

“The decision is based on internal operational and event readiness considerations, as we continue to ensure the highest standards of delivery,” the release states. “We remain committed to hosting PFL MENA in Jeddah and look forward to welcoming fans for what promises to be another exciting night of world-class mixed martial arts action."

PFL MENA 10 was scheduled to be headlined by Hattan Alsaif making her professional MMA debut against Dania Ouhachi in a 110-pound catchweight clash. The event was also expected…

Conor McGregor believes the UFC didn’t want him to return to competition at welterweight. 

McGregor (22-6) returns from a five-year hiatus in a welterweight tilt against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There were brief rumors of McGregor potentially returning against surging welterweight contender Carlos Prates.

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McGregor recently confirmed that Prates had indeed been suggested to him as an opponent. “Notorious” claims he verbally accepted a matchup against Prates. However, McGregor claims he didn’t receive any contract after accepting the booking. McGregor believes the UFC wanted him to return at lightweight. According to McGregor, the UFC brass was suggesting tough matchups for him to scare him away from the welterweight division.Ready and Willing “They said to me about [Prates],” McGregor said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I said, ‘Yeah, no problem. Send the contract.’ So I’m saying yeah for about …

Israel Adesanya believes Arman Tsarukyan needs to be more dialed in to reach the pinnacle of the sport.  

Tsarukyan (23-3) is among the most popular stars in the UFC today, partly due to his regular appearances with social media inlfuencers like Sneako, N3on, and Nina Marie-Daniele. Adesanya believes Tsarukyan needs to spend more time training instead of hanging out with streamers if he wants to reach the very top of the sport. Adesanya admits that Tsarukyan’s popularity has skyrocketed due to his social media. However, the former middleweight champion believes Tsarukyan might find himself sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture yet again.

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Choosing Priorities “[Arman’s] streaming… Look, he knows how to train, he knows what to do but, to be at the top-top of the game, you can't be hanging out with Sneako and N3on on the regular,” Adesanya said on "The Mightycast.” “You gotta be in the gym… You gotta be at least as active as possible…

Not everyone counted out Justin Gaethje ahead of his fight against Ilia Topuria. 

Gaethje (28-5) challenged Topuria (17-1) for the undisputed lightweight title in the main event at UFC White House last weekend at the White House. Gaethje was as big as a +500 underdog on some sportsbooks going into the fight. 

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However, Francis Ngannou thought the oddsmakers were being unfair to Gaethje. The former UFC heavyweight champion couldn’t fathom why Gaethje was such a massive underdog, considering “The Highlight” always put on a show even in his losses. Ngannou put his money on Gaethje, who made Topuria’s corner throw in the towel at the end of the fourth round. Gaethje finally won the much deserved undisputed title in his third attempt. Ngannou thanked the newly crowned lightweight champion for making his week.A Beautiful Week“I bet on Gaethje,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “I saw these odds and I’m like, ‘Something’s wrong with these bookmakers.’ Lik…

Dalton Rosta is 2-2 under the PFL banner. | PFL MMA

A middleweight bout pitting Bryan Battle against Dalton Rosta will headline PFL Charlotte on Aug. 7.

Professional Fighters League announced the pairing on Wednesday. The event takes place at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, and also includes two other confirmed 185-pound pairings: Joshua Silveira vs. Aaron Jeffery and Josh Fremd vs. Jhony Gregory. The PFL Charlotte main card airs on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

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

Battle signed with PFL last year following a UFC stint where he went 7-1 with one no contest but was plagued by issues making weight. “The Butcher” faced former middleweight champ Johnny Eblen in his organizational debut, falling via first-round submission at PFL Pittsburgh on March 28.

Anchored at American Top Team, Rosta has split four PFL appearanc…

Youssef Zalal is eyeing a matchup against Kevin Vallejos. 

Zalal recently called out Vallejos for his previous comments. “The Moroccan Devil” believes he will give Vallejos a reality check if they meet inside the Octagon.

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“Let that guy talk, I hope they give me his name,” Zalal told Home of Fight. “I want to see that contract. I’ll show him the ‘kid that runs, the kid that circles, and is not fun to fight’... I can’t wait to give him a reality check and show him there’s levels to this.”On a Collison Course? Zalal’s (18-6) first UFC run ended in 2022 after going winless in four straight outings. However, Zalal returned to the UFC in 2024 after three consecutive first-round finishes on the regional circuit. Zalal went undefeated in five straight outings, with four finishes, in his second UFC stint. Zalal’s impressive run ended with a lopsided decision loss against Aljamain Sterling this past April.

Vallejos was rooting for Sterling to defeat Zal…

Alex Pereira wasn’t expecting the reaction that Jon Jones had to his loss against Ciryl Gane. 

Pereira faced Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House last weekend. Gane hurt Pereira in the second round and finished him on the feet, albeit not without the controversy of some illegal blows. 

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Jones reacted to Pereira’s loss by posting a video of himself wearing a GOAT necklace, signifying the greatest fighter of all time. Pereira was admittedly surprised by Jones’ reaction to his loss. Pereira doesn’t understand why Jones chose to kick him while he was down. Pereira also notes that he had never shown anything but respect towards “Bones.” Despite the reaction, “Poatan” claims he will continue being a fan of Jones.A Confusing Reaction “To be honest, I was very surprised,” Pereira said on YouTube. “If I was one of the guys that provoked him, then lose, and then he goes and says something, I’d understand. But I’ve never spoken bad…