Martial Arts News

Josh Hokit believes Alex Pereira’s defeat dented his stardom.

Pereira was one of the biggest stars in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he vacated his light heavyweight title and moved up to heavyweight. The Brazilian looked to become the first-ever three-division champ in UFC history when he challenged Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 this past June.

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However, Gane knocked out Pereira in the second round and Hokit now wants to fight “Poatan” after the latter returns to winning ways.Josh Hokit says Alex Pereira needs to rebuild momentum before a potential matchup Pereira’s coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, recently suggested that “Poatan” should fight Hokit next to regain momentum. However, Hokit believes Pereira’s stock has dropped considerably with the loss to Gane.

Hokit wants an incentive if he fights Pereira next. “The Incredible Hok” notes that UFC CEO Dana White had said that Pereira would be the greates…

Reinier de Ridder doesn’t want to have to go through Robert Whittaker again.

The Dutchman is scheduled to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento on Aug. 22. Meanwhile, de Ridder’s former foe Whittaker also recently moved up to light heavyweight and the former One Championship two-weight titleholder doesn’t want to run it back with the former UFC champ anytime soon.

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Reinier de Ridder explains why his win over Robert Whittaker took so much out of him While de Ridder edged a narrow split decision win over Whittaker at middleweight last year, it wasn’t an easy outing for “The Dutch Knight.” He says he was surprised by Whittaker’s speed, especially with the jab-cross, and admits that the fight took a lot out of him, forcing him to dig deep to get the win.

“I hope that they don’t propose that [rematch] for now,” de Ridder said at UFC Sacramento media day. “[Whittaker] is still so f*cking q…

Sean Brady didn’t take his first professional loss lightly.

Brady was a highly touted, undefeated welterweight prospect with five wins in the Ultimate Fighting Championship going into his clash against Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 in 2022. Muhammad tagged Brady late in the second round and followed up with a barrage of shots, eventually forcing the referee to step in.

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Sean Brady details the emotional toll of his UFC 280 loss to Belal Muhammad Brady recently revealed that he was mentally broken after his loss to Muhammad. He admits that his identity was built around his undefeated record, with the thought of losing never crossing his mind. Brady hired a mental health coach as he was an absolute mess. He even claims that he used to randomly start crying while driving.

“I thought I was going to retire undefeated,” Brady told Daniel Cormier. “I really truly thought I was never going to lose and then obviously, I did lose. My whole identity was wrapped up…

Namo Fazil says he was jumped by a group inside his hotel room leading up to his loss at Dana White’s Contender Series.

Fazil suffered a brutal knockout loss against Kaik Brito in the main event of Week 2 of DWCS 2026 on Tuesday. Fazil claims his performance was affected due to an altercation during his weight cut.

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Namo Fazil details alleged confrontation during weight cut before Kaik Brito fight According to Fazil, he was already drained, with just a few pounds left to cut, when he heard a knock on his hotel door. As his coach opened the door, around 15 Chechens allegedly entered the room and confronted Fazil.

He claims one of them slapped him, trying to provoke him to fight. Fazil eventually reacted after he was slapped a second time. His coaches then intervened and tried to de-escalate the situation before the cops showed up.

“While cutting weight for my Dana White’s Contender Series fight, about 15 Chechens showed up at the hotel room wh…

The Professional Fighters League will return to Chicago in October.

Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop will meet in a rematch for the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight title in the main event at PFL Chicago on Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena. This is the first new title to be introduced since the PFL’s merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

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PFL CEO previews promotion’s upcoming trip to Chicago Carmouche (26-8) stopped Bishop (11-3) in the third round of their first bout last August. Bishop has rebounded from that loss with first-round stoppage wins over Borena Tsertsvadze and Ariane Lipski da Silva. Meanwhile, Carmouche has since scored a submission win over Viviane Araujo this past June, to extend her winning streak to four.

Cris Cyborg’s final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“Chicago has become an important market for PFL, and we're excited to return with another championship event for our fans,” PFL CE…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s fourth edition of Noche UFC reportedly has a new main event.

Jean Silva was originally scheduled to face Yair Rodriguez in the main event at Noche UFC 4 on Sept. 12 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. However, per a new report by Guilherme Cruz, Rodriguez has pulled out for unknown reasons and will now be replaced by Jose Delgado.

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Jose Delgado replaces Yair Rodriguez in Jean Silva’s Noche UFC 4 main event Delgado (12-2) is 4-0 in the UFC since making his Octagon debut in 2024. Coming off decision wins over Andre Fili and Austin Bashi, he will face his biggest step up in competition by far against Silva (17-3).

Meanwhile, Silva is coming off a decision win over Arnold Allen, rebounding from his lone UFC loss to Diego Lopes. “Lord” had finished all five of his previous UFC opponents before losing to Lopes. The Brazilian reacted to the change of opponent on X.

“Hunter took care of everything, w…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and champs have weighed in on whether Islam Makhachev has earned GOAT status.

The Russian defended his welterweight title for the first time at UFC 330, picking up his fifth defense overall in the UFC after a dominant run at lightweight. His latest win, a decision victory over Ian Garry, served as a record-breaker, with Makhachev now the leader for most consecutive wins in promotional history.

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Chris Weidman, Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal have offered their takes on where he stands among the sport's greatest fighters.Chris Weidman questions Islam Makhachev's title defenses as Dustin Poirier backs Jon Jones for UFC GOAT In the latest episode of “Deep Waters,” Weidman, Poirier and Masvidal shared their thoughts on whether Makhachev has earned the right to be called the greatest fighter in UFC history. “I am not saying that yet,” Weidman said, responding to the question about Makhachev being the GOAT now…

Carlos Prates has clapped back at claims that he is scared of a fellow 170-pound contender.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight responded to Michael Morales after the Ecuadorian allegedly suggested that Prates was avoiding a fight with him. The Brazilian insists he has no issue facing Morales but believes his position as the higher-ranked contender warrants a title shot next.

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Carlos Prates denies ducking Michael Morales and predicts a first-round knockout Shortly after Morales allegedly claimed that Prates was afraid to fight him, “The Nightmare” responded in a video posted online.

“If the guy has two arms and two legs like me, bro, I can fight him,” Prates said.

Prates then addressed Morales directly, making it clear that he would welcome the matchup if the UFC offered it.

“You say I am scared to fight you. I am not scared of a fight with you… I am the No. 1 contender, so I want to fight for the belt,” Prates said. “The UFC never…

Arman Tsarukyan believes fighters without exciting fighting styles need to somehow find a way to draw attention.

Tsarukyan recently emphasized the importance of building a profile outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship for fighters who are unable to find regular finishes or have control-heavy styles.

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Arman Tsarukyan discusses controversy, UFC promotion and building a profile outside the cage Tsarukyan, who returns to the Octagon on Sept. 19 against Mauricio Ruffy in the UFC 331 co-main event, believes controversy can help fighters who don't naturally attract fans with their performances.

“If you’re a boring fighter inside the cage, controversies are important for you,” Tsarukyan said in an interview with Russian YouTube channel Vpiska. “Because if you’re not here, you’re not there; you get cut from the game fast. But if you’re a great fighter and you knock people out and show that, you don’t even need to talk English.”

The Armenian lightw…

Gillian Robertson has addressed her recent defeat and comments from longtime coach and mentor, Din Thomas.

Robertson suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight queen Mackenzie Dern in her failed title bid at UFC 330 in Philadelphia.

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Thomas later announced on the UFC 330 post-fight show that he’s stepping away from cornering fighters, saying he had taken Robertson as far as he believes she can go. The timing of the announcement subsequently drew criticism from both fans and fighters. Robertson has now finally weighed in on the same.Gillian Robertson says Din Thomas’ comments made her question his apology Robertson, giving a statement to Ariel Helwani, says she had no indication before the post-show broadcast that Thomas planned to make the announcement. “Prior to the broadcast, I didn’t see any sign of what was to be said,” Robertson said. “After the broadcast, he had said, ‘I will address this in the morning,’ fo…

Week 2 of the 10th Season of Dana White’s Contender Series exceeded expectations.Historic night in DWCS history as UFC signs six new fighters, including one in defeat Roman Puga (6-1) and Taner Trembley (7-1) kicked off the card in a featherweight clash. It was one of the most memorable fights in DWCS history, with both fighters repeatedly rocking each other. While Puga walked away with a unanimous decision victory, Trembley’s toughness was on full display.

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Dana White was walking out to award Puga an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract when Sean Shelby insisted that Trembley be given one as well.

“It takes two to make a great fight,” White said while awarding both Puga and Trembley UFC contracts. “And this fight was absolutely incredible. And because it was such a great fight, I got to see so much well-roundedness and toughness from both guys. As soon as this fight was over, I said, ‘Send both these guys to the hospital right now.’ So Puga -- it’s …

Joshua Van hasn't forgotten the night Charles Johnson handed him the first loss of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Over two years after being stopped by Johnson, Van has gone from prospect to UFC flyweight champion. The 24-year-old will return to the Octagon on Sept. 19, when he rematches former champion Alexandre Pantoja in the UFC 331 main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

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Joshua Van details how KO loss to Charles Johnson ‘humbled’ him Van was stopped by Johnson via a third-round knockout in July 2024, a setback that remains the second and most recent loss of his professional career. He has since won seven straight fights and captured the flyweight championship from Pantoja before defending it against Tatsuro Taira.

Speaking to Paramount+, Van explained how the defeat changed his approach to training and discipline.

“Oh, for sure. I want to stay active,” Van said. “Like I say, that loss kind of humbled me in a way. So, I …