Martial Arts News

Raoni Barcelos’ first gold medal came when he was 8 years in 1994. | 📷: Marcelo Alonso

Raoni Barcelos has provided a positive update after a frightening conclusion to his Ultimate Fighting Championship main event clash against Raul Rosas Jr.

Barcelos was stopped in the fifth round on Saturday at Meta Apex after appearing to go limp during an exchange with Rosas Jr. in the UFC Vegas 121 headliner. He was subsequently removed from the Octagon on a stretcher and transported to a hospital for evaluation. It was later reported that Barcelos was conscious, and the UFC subsequently confirmed that he was stable, alert and responsive.

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The Brazilian veteran has now addressed fans directly.Raoni Barcelos addresses fans after his UFC Vegas 121 loss to Raul Rosas Jr. Barcelos provided an update in the comments section of a post on the UFC Brazil Instagram account.

“Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you that I'm really fine and as soo…

Josh Hokit isn’t buying Tom Aspinall’s claims regarding his eye issues.

Aspinall hasn’t fought since his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest in October 2025. The Englishman was unable to continue after Gane poked him in both eyes in the first round. Aspinall recently vacated the title amid further issues with his right eye. Hokit, however, claims the former champ is faking his injury in an attempt to leave the UFC.

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Josh Hokit claims Tom Aspinall is exaggerating his eye injury to get out of his UFC contract Hokit claims Aspinall is exaggerating the seriousness of his eye injury. The undefeated American suggested that Aspinall is looking for a way out of his UFC contract and speculated that he could be pursuing a lucrative move to boxing instead.

“Honestly, I don’t even think that sh*t’s real,” Hokit told Ariel Helwani. “I think he has his teammates farting on his pillow, then he goes to s…

Chris Curtis isn’t looking to bury the hatchet with Luis Hernandez.

The beef between Curtis (32-13) and Hernandez (9-0) started at a Tuff-N-Uff card last year. Hernandez defeated Curtis’ Xtreme Couture teammate Miles Hunsinger. “The Stache” then proceeded to mock Curtis and Sean Strickland, who were cornering Hunsinger. Both Curtis and Strickland entered the cage before security intervened to stop an all-out brawl.

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Chris Curtis reveals conversations with UFC matchmakers as he campaigns for Luis Hernandez fight Hernandez earned his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this month. Curtis claims he called the UFC matchmakers immediately after, asking for a fight against the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputy.

However, the matchmakers allegedly told Curtis that Hernandez was still too green to fight him. Hernandez then made a 10-day turnaround for his UFC debut and submitted Sedriques Dumas on two days’ notice at …

Former world title challenger Hank Lundy will make his bare-knuckle boxing debut Nov. 20 when BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing holds its first event in Delaware.

Lundy is scheduled to compete at Bally’s Fightnight by BKB at the Rollins Center at Bally’s Dover Casino Resort. His opponent was not announced.

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Hank Lundy will make his BKB debut Nov. 20 at the promotion’s first Delaware event The Philadelphia native signed with BKB in July after a professional boxing career spanning nearly two decades. Lundy compiled a 32-14-1 record with 14 knockouts and challenged Terence Crawford for the WBO super lightweight championship in 2016.

Lundy also held several regional titles, including the WBO NABO and NABF lightweight championships and WBC Silver titles at lightweight and super lightweight.

“We knew when we signed Hank that his style and mentality were made for BKB, and now we finally get to see him inside the Trigon,” said David Tetreault, CEO of BKB Bare Kn…

Dana White’s Contender Series returns on Sept. 29 for Week 8 of Season 10.

The Week 8 lineup features fights across the lightweight, heavyweight, featherweight and women’s strawweight divisions.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 Week 8 official weights: Aieza Ramos Bertolso (115.5) vs. Camila Reynoso (115)Loai Abushaar (155.5) vs. George Staines (155.5)Zaurbek Sabanov (262.5) vs. Adama Diop (261.5)Ian Escuza (144) vs. Luca Borando (145.5)Ilias Bulaid (146) vs. Erick Visconde (146)

The fighters of Week 8 of #DWCS Season 10 have weighed in ahead of tomorrow's action at Meta APEX.

Check out their official weights below ⬇️https://t.co/Wd3EyoIyBk

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 28, 2026

Henry Cejudo and Tony Ferguson picked up victories at Misfits Boxing on Sept. 26 in Miami.

Cejudo edged Javon Walton by split decision, while Ferguson stopped Mahmoud Sebie in the second round after surviving a knockdown. It marked Cejudo’s professional boxing debut and Ferguson’s third win under the Misfits banner.

Tony Ferguson moves to 3-0 in Misfits as Henry Cejudo earns split decision Cejudo went the distance in his professional boxing debut, with the judges scoring the bout 39-37, 37-39 and 39-37 in his favor. The former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder found his timing as the fight progressed and did enough to edge Walton after four rounds.

Ferguson had a more dramatic night, defending his Misfits middleweight championship with a second-round technical knockout of Sebie at the 42-second mark. Sebie dropped the former interim UFC champ early in the second round, but Ferguson quickly recovered and responded with a barrage of punches that for…

Justin Gaethje has shut down a particular narrative that emerged after his win over Ilia Topuria.

Gaethje captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250, where Topuria’s corner called for a stoppage before the final round. While many fans and fighters later claimed that “El Matador” quit on the stool after the fourth round, Gaethje disagrees.

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Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria’s corner made the decision to stop the UFC title fight Gaethje pushed back on that narrative during a podcast appearance, saying the former two-division champion was unable to continue because of his condition and that his corner made the right call.

“He didn’t quit on the stool,” Gaethje said on the “One Night with Steiny” podcast. “His body was too compromised to continue fighting. He didn’t make the call; his coaches made the call because they’re there to protect him. My coaches are in my corner to protect me in those times.”

Topuria …

Rinya Nakamura doesn’t want to relive what he went through against Brady Hiestand.

Nakamura (10-2) was a heavy -325 favorite going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight fight against Hiestand at UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 26 in Las Vegas. However, Hiestand’s wrestling proved to be too much for Nakamura, who was controlled before being forced to tap to a rear-naked choke in the second round.

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Rinya Nakamura reacts to submission loss against Brady Hiestand at UFC Vegas 121 Nakamura vowed to bounce back in a social media post. The 31-year-old said he refuses to experience the feeling of another loss like the one he suffered against Hiestand.

“I will return having forged a martial arts style that is purer, more righteous, more beautiful, and stronger,” Nakamura wrote on Instagram. “Thank you, UFC, for the ultimate stage. I refuse to ever experience a feeling like this again.”

Nakamura was a highly touted undefeated prospect when he won…

Kevin Vallejos believes Ailin Perez beat Norma Dumont fair and square.

Perez (14-2) and Dumont (13-4) had plenty of bad blood heading into their Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight clash at UFC Vegas 121. However, the fight turned out to be a lackluster affair featuring plenty of clinching and stray jabs. Perez eventually earned a controversial decision victory, while Dumont expressed disbelief at the scorecards.

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Kevin Vallejos backs Ailin Perez’s decision over Norma Dumont and calls for a UFC title shot While many later criticized the judges’ decision, Vallejos believes Perez did enough to get her hand raised. When Uruguayan fighter Gaston Reyno defended Perez’s victory, Vallejos agreed on social media. He scored the fight 29-28 for Perez, as did all three judges. The UFC featherweight also called for a title shot for his fellow Argentine.

“I agree, I saw the fight 29-28 for Ailin,” Vallejos posted on X. “Impossible that it was a robbery.…

Former Bellator fighter Heather Hardy has sued Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions over her 2023 boxing rematch against Amanda Serrano.

Hardy, who competed under the Bellator banner from 2017 to 2019, went 2-2 in mixed martial arts during her stint with the promotion. The 24-3 boxer is now suing MVP over alleged post-fight medical complications following her defeat to Serrano.

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Heather Hardy alleges Amanda Serrano rematch caused permanent neurological damage Hardy’s lawsuit stems from her rematch with Serrano, which took place in August 2023 on the Paul-Nate Diaz card. Hardy claims she experienced blurred vision for several days after the fight. She later withdrew from a 2024 BKFC bout because of worsening vision issues and said doctors had warned that further head injuries could permanently affect her eyesight.

The bout was staged by Paul’s MVP, which has now been accused of “exploiting” Hardy’s difficult financial position to book an unsafe and…

Ailin Perez and Norma Dumont’s rivalry further escalated after their clash on Saturday.

Perez secured a unanimous decision over Dumont at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Sept. 26, with all three judges scoring the bout 29-28 in her favor. The decision drew criticism online, with many arguing that Dumont deserved the nod.

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Ailin Perez and Norma Dumont keep their bitter rivalry alive after UFC Vegas 121 The animosity was palpable going into the fight and continued after the final horn. They previously traded barbs online, with Perez instigating some pre-fight drama by roping in Dumont's boyfriend, Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Marco Tulio. Dumont then threw condoms and money at Perez during the pre-fight faceoff ahead of UFC Vegas 121.

Following her decision win, Perez took another shot at Dumont on Instagram.

“Thanks for the condoms [Norma Dumont], but I did not need to use them to f*ck you,” Perez wrote on her Instagram stories. “Also, …

Tyson Fury has grown increasingly frustrated with the ongoing saga surrounding his bout against Anthony Joshua.

Disagreements over the promotional side of the event have once again threatened to derail the matchup. Fury insists he has done everything possible to make the fight happen. “The Gypsy King” has now slammed Joshua and Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn over their stance regarding Dana White’s involvement.

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Dana White’s involvement becomes the latest flashpoint in Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua Fury took aim at Joshua and Hearn in an interview with FurociTV, claiming that he has remained flexible throughout the negotiation process.

“I’ve been moving the goalpost all the time,” Fury said. “There’s nothing that I haven’t agreed to. Nothing. I’ll even tie concrete blocks to my boots to make this fight happen. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do to make this fight happen.”

He then turned his attention to Hearn, who has repeatedly stated that Whi…