Martial Arts News

The Professional Fighters League has finalized the lineup for its Aug. 22 event in Tampa, Florida.

PFL Tampa takes place at Benchmark International Arena, with mixed martial arts legend Cris Cyborg defending the women's featherweight championship against fellow Brazilian Ketlen Vieira in what is expected to be her final fight.

Advertisement

Cris Cyborg vs. Ketlen Vieira tops finalized PFL Tampa lineup Apart from Cyborg’s featherweight title defense, the PFL Tampa lineup also features former PFL lightweight champion Gadzhi Rabadanov (27-5-1) facing promotion newcomer Tracy Reeder (12-5).

Also on the main card, Gustavo Oliveira (13-2) will take on 2025 PFL world tournament champion Marcirley Alves (15-5) at bantamweight, while England's Luke Trainer (10-1), who has a five-fight winning streak, will face undefeated PFL newcomer Roland Dunlap (7-0) at light heavyweight.

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

While Mackenzie Dern is a strong, independent woman, she prefers her man running the show.

Dern puts her Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title on the line against Gillian Robertson in the co-main event of UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Ahead of the event, Dern addressed headliner Ian Garry’s recent comments about women running the world.

Advertisement

Mackenzie Dern discusses traditional relationships before her UFC 330 title defense Garry recently drew a variety of reactions from fans and fellow fighters for saying that the world would be a better place if women ran everything. However, the UFC women’s strawweight champion disagrees with Garry. Dern says that while women in her family are strong, she comes from a traditional background. Dern likes being protected and cared for by her man, though she wouldn’t hesitate to go to war alongside him if needed.

“I come from a little bit more traditional upbringing,” Dern said at…

Ian Garry believes Islam Makhachev is significantly shorter than he is, despite the minimal height difference at their first face-off.

Garry (17-1) is set to challenge Makhachev (28-1) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. At 6-foot-3 tall, Garry officially has a 5-inch height advantage over Makhachev. However, they were nearly eye-to-eye when they faced off for the first time in front of the iconic Rocky statue in Philly.

Advertisement

Ian Garry addresses lack of height difference in first face-off with Islam Makhachev Garry claims Makhachev was wearing high heels to nullify the height difference. The Irishman is sure that he’ll be significantly taller during the ceremonial weigh-in face-offs, where they both have to wear the same type of shoes.

“He was wearing high heels,” Garry said in an interview with Paramount+. “He was wearing stilettos. Wait till you see Friday night when …

Ian Garry felt like Islam Makhachev didn’t want to be at their first face-off.

Makhachev (28-1) defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Garry (17-1) at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Makhachev and Garry recently faced off for the first time in front of the iconic Rocky statue in Philly, where the challenger perceived nerves on the champ’s part.

Advertisement

Ian Garry on face-off with Islam Makhachev: ‘He didn’t want to be there’ Garry claims to have felt some “nervous energy” from the Dagestani champion. However, he also admitted that it was an unofficial face-off and the one that actually matters is the official one at the ceremonial weigh-ins, after they’ve made weight.

“I just kind of felt like yesterday he didn’t want to be there,” Garry said at UFC 330 media day. “He didn’t want to be at the face-off. I sensed a little bit of nervous energy from him. But they are face-offs; they are fake, they are …

Carlos Prates believes Mauricio Ruffy's loss to Benoit St. Denis doesn’t accurately reflect his teammate's ability.

Ruffy is set to face Arman Tsarukyan next and is currently a sizeable underdog. However, Prates is confident in his countryman and recently addressed his lone defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Advertisement

Carlos Prates praises former teammate Mauricio Ruffy, claims BSD loss was an outlier Speaking on AgFight's “Direto de Vegas” podcast, Prates recalled being present during fight week for Ruffy's bout with St. Denis. He claims he witnessed circumstances surrounding the loss that he won't publicly discuss.

“I was there the week of the fight with BSD and I saw what happened, but since Ruffy hasn’t talked about it, I’m not going to talk about it either,” Prates said. “I can only guarantee that wasn’t Ruffy in that Octagon.”

Prates says Ruffy’s takedown defense is the best at the Fighting Nerds gym, insisting that if his former team…

Dana White believes many NFL players could find success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship if they transitioned to mixed martial arts.

Yet another former NFL player recently earned a UFC contract. Former New York Jets linebacker Anthony Wint headlined Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series 2026 against Matthew Adams. Wint made quick work of Adams, finishing him with ground-and-pound in just 34 seconds to earn a UFC contract. As Wint refuses to leave Las Vegas until his first UFC fight is booked, White is looking to put him on the UFC Sacramento card on Aug. 22.

Advertisement

Dana White weighs in on NFL players in the UFC after Anthony Wint wins contract on DWCS White believes a lot of NFL players could have achieved the pinnacle of success in the UFC if they had trained MMA since childhood. The UFC CEO particularly mentioned Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, who he’s friends with. White is confident that Crosby could have been a UFC champion if he…

Only one victor didn’t impress Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers on Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series 2026.Joseph Kropschot, Tom Pagliarulo, Bilal Hasan and Anthony Wint earn UFC contracts at DWCS 2026 Week 1Joseph Kropschot (9-3) opened the action in a middleweight outing against Jonathan Kunneman (10-1). Kropschot dislocated Kunneman’s elbow with an armbar in the final seconds of the fight. He earned a unanimous decision win after his opponent refused to tap. Kropschot’s intent to finish was enough for White to give him a UFC contract.

Advertisement

“When he got that armbar, I said, ‘I’m gonna give him a shot.’ 31 years old, he went for the finish. I’m always looking for guys to finish,” White said. “That fight should have been finished… Joseph, you went for it and you swayed me and changed my mind. Congratulations.”

Tom Pagliarulo (11-2) was the second fighter to earn a contract on Week 1. The featherweight prospect finished Anan…

One of Alexandre Pantoja’s coaches is excited about the former champ’s Octagon return.

Nearly eight months after losing his Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title to Joshua Van due to an arm injury in the opening minute of their UFC 323 matchup, Pantoja will have an opportunity to reclaim the belt when the two meet again in the UFC 331 main event on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Advertisement

According to American Top Team strength and conditioning coach Everton Oliveira, the injury hasn’t impeded Pantoja's development.Everton Oliveira details Alexandre Pantoja's recovery ahead of returnPantoja was a dominant champion going into his title defense against Van last year. However, after the challenger caught his kick, “The Cannibal” used his forearm as a frame while falling to the canvas. An awkward landing saw Pantoja immediately indicate that his arm was injured, prompting the referee to step in.

“It was an extremely positive surprise th…

Craig Jones has laid out how Ian Machado Garry can avoid getting smothered by Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev (28-1) and Garry (17-1) square off on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, where the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title will be on the line in the UFC 330 main event. The Russian champion is a massive betting favorite owing to his grappling prowess and Jones recently broke down how the Irish challenger should deal with the wrestling offense coming his way.

Advertisement

Craig Jones points out the key to handling Islam Makhachev’s takedowns In a recent video posted to the B-Team YouTube channel, Jones dissected how defensive positioning is the key to stuffing Makhachev’s takedowns. In a technical breakdown of the matchup, the Australian focused on the champion's single-leg entries and the importance of what happens when he gets hold of an opponent's leg.

Jones claims that rather than simply wrapping up a single leg and driving forwar…

Jamahal Hill isn't interested in easing his way into the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

The former light heavyweight champion plans to move up to heavyweight later this year, targeting the most polarizing fighter in the division, Josh Hokit. “Sweet Dreams” wants to break into the top tier of the division rather than work his way up the rankings as he did at 205 pounds.

Advertisement

Jamahal Hill wants a Top 5 test as he begins his UFC heavyweight run Hill (12-4) revealed earlier this year that he’s committing to the heavyweight division after a bittersweet run a division below. While he went on to win the 205-pound belt by defeating Glover Teixeira, injuries and a three-fight losing streak soon followed. He now wants to earn a spot in the heavyweight division that puts him close to a title shot.

“Top 5 – I'd love to fight the Top 5,” Hill said told media outlets (via MMA Junkie). “I feel as though even if I continued fighting at light heavy…

Dana White has been closely involved in Bella Mir's development for years.

The daughter of former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Frank Mir is set to compete on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series 2026. White recently addressed her career progression and aspirations.

Advertisement

Dana White hypes up ‘special’ Bella Mir ahead of her DWCS bout Bella (4-0) will fight for a UFC contract on DWCS on Aug. 25, against Alex Apodaca (3-1), with the two bantamweights set to headline the card. White was recently asked about the former and had nothing but praise, revealing that he’s been closely monitoring her career for four years.

“Yeah, I'm very excited about Bella,” White said at the DWCS 2026 Week 1 post-fight press conference. “I've been very involved in her life the last four years.”

Bella has previously revealed that she hopes to become the first UFC fighter to compete in the Olympics while also pursuing championships across multi…

Ian Garry has a “burning desire” to prove himself against the best fighters in the world.

The Irish welterweight contender, who challenges Islam Makhachev for the Ultimate Fighting Championship 170-pound title in the UFC 330 main event, recently opened up about what drives him.

Advertisement

Ian Garry channels fighting Irish spirit before first UFC title shot Ahead of his title clash on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Garry discussed his motivation in a pre-fight promotional video shared by Paramount+.

“I just have a burning desire inside my soul to prove to myself and the world that I am the best ever,” Garry said. “This is a vicious, violent game. And it’s beautiful. You’ve got to be insane mentally to be able to go out and do this.”

He added that his country’s fighting spirit is embedded deep within him.

“I’m a fighter at heart,” Garry added. “I’m born and bred in Dublin, Ireland. We’re called the fighting Irish for a reason. It's…