Martial Arts News

Bellator vet Christian Edwards will make his UFC debut on Saturday. | Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan

The UFC Vegas 117 bill has undergone some more changes ahead of Saturday’s event.

The promotion announced on Tuesday that Rodolfo Bellato has been “removed” from a proposed light heavyweight clash against Modestas Bukauskas. As a result, Christian Edwards will step in and face Bukauskas in a 215-pound catchweight affair.

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Down One Fight Additionally, Nicolas Dalby has been pulled from a welterweight matchup with Jeremiah Wells, and that bout has been canceled. Those changes are in addition to a previously reported change that saw Artur Miniev replace Thomas Gantt in a lightweight contest.

UFC Vegas 117 — also known as UFC Fight Night 276 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight scrap between Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa. The event airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.…

Khamzat Chimaev wants another shot at Sean Strickland. | Getty/UFC

Khamzat Chimaev may not be headed to the light heavyweight division just yet.

A statement from Chimaev’s team provided to ESPN on Tuesday revealed that the Chechen standout is instead focused on a return date with Sean Strickland. Entering UFC 328 as a heavy favorite, “Borz” relinquished his middleweight crown to Strickland in a surprising split-decision defeat.

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"The rematch with Sean Strickland is the only fight that Khamzat wants, he is obsessed with it," the statement read. "That's the only fight he will accept right now.”

That’s a shift from what UFC CEO Dana White indicated shortly after Saturday’s main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. At the post-fight press conference, White revealed that Chimaev told him that UFC 328 was his last bout at 185 pounds. However, Chimaev also tweeted “See you soon again” to Strickland, perhaps hinting that he …

Marvin Vettori will be back in action this summer. | Getty/UFC

The UFC Baku lineup continues to take shape.

The Las Vegas-based promotion on Tuesday confirmed a handful of matchups for the event, including a pair of intriguing middleweight tilts: Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev and Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk.

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Other announced pairings, some of which have been previously reported include: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo at lightweight; Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson at flyweight and Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev at middleweight.

UFC Baku takes place at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 27 and is headlined by a lightweight clash pitting Rafael Fiziev against Manuel Torres. The card will air in its entirety on Paramount+.

Middleweight Mania A middleweight title challenger in 2021, Vettori will look to snap a four-bout losing streak when he squares off against Naurdiev. “The Italian…

Zabit Magomedsharipov holds the UFC partially responsible for his premature retirement. 

Magomedsharipov (18-1) is one of the biggest “what ifs” in MMA history. From elite striking to grappling, the Dagestani standout could seemingly do it all. However, Magomedsharipov fought for the last time in 2019 and officially retired in 2022 to pursue a career in medicine. 

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Magomedsharipov recently opened up about his premature retirement. Magomedsharipov blames multiple fight cancellations, which eventually took a toll on him. Magomedsharipov particularly notes that he had multiple fights against fellow featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez canceled. After going through multiple training camps and weight cuts, only to have Rodriguez pull out at the last minute, Magomedsharipov had enough. 

Rodriguez was even briefly released from the UFC after allegedly refusing to fight Magomedsharipov. While Rodriguez was supposed to fight  Magomedsha…

Nassourdine Imavov admits that he takes certain things personally.

Sean Strickland dethroned Khamzat Chimaev in a shocking upset to win the middleweight title via a closely-contested split decision at UFC 328 last weekend in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland had insulted Chimaev’s race, ethnicity and religion in the lead-up to the fight. However, the two showed mutual respect after the fight, and Strickland apologized for going too far with the trash talk. Strickland justified his words saying he was trying hard to sell the fight.

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Strickland has since expressed interest in defending his title against Imavov, who vows to knockout the newly-crowned middleweight champion. Responding to Imavov’s comments, Strickland said that he can’t avoid racism. However, Imavov warns Strickland that he has certain boundaries when it comes to trash talk. The Frenchman says that targeting his religion, family and nation won’t be forgiven as a marketing gimmick. Unlike the n…

Nate Diaz isn't a fan of artificial beef in combat sports. | Noah Red & Alexis Contreras

Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev have raised questions about fake rivalry. 

Strickland dethroned Chimaev via split decision to win the middleweight title at UFC 328 last weekend. While there appeared to be serious bad blood between the two leading up to the fight, it didn’t reflect in the bout. Strickland and Chimaev also quashed their beef after the fight, hugging it out inside the Octagon. Strickland further admitted to crossing boundaries with his trash talk to sell the fight and apologized to Chimaev for the same. 

Nate Diaz isn’t impressed by how things played out between Strickland and Chimaev. Diaz (21-13) is set to return to MMA against Mike Perry (14-8) at Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. While Diaz admits that he is not best friends with Perry, he refuses to build up a fak…

Yaroslav Amosov’s UFC 328 camp was going too perfectly, until it wasn’t. 

Amosov took on Joel Alvarez in a welterweight booking at UFC 328 last weekend in Newark, New Jersey. Amosov barely broke a sweat while dominating Alvarez on the ground before submitting him in the second round. The Ukrainian star also earned a $100,000 performance bonus for his win. 

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Amosov recently revealed that he had suffered a massive black eye in sparring just a couple of weeks before UFC 328. While Amosov usually suffers minor cuts and bruises during fight camp, this one was going so well that it almost had him worried. Amosov was assured that everything was in place when he suffered a black eye just two weeks before fight night.No Such Thing as Perfect “If this video gets posted, it will be after the fight,” Amosov said on social media. “There’s no perfect camp, every time I’m in camp, something happens to me always: a minor cut, a minor injury. Something that d…

Thomas Gantt will make his UFC debut on Saturday. | Getty Images/DWCS

Undefeated debutants will trade leather at UFC Fight Night 276. 

Contender Series graduate Thomas Gantt was originally scheduled to fight Trey Ogden at UFC Fight Night 276 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. However, Ogden was forced out with an injury just five days before the fight. The UFC has found a replacement in Artur Minev, who will now take on Gantt. Marcel Dorff was first to report the new booking.

A Penchant for Finishing Gantt (11-0) has finished 10 of his 11 pro wins so far with an equal number of knockouts and submissions. The undefeated 33-year-old earned his contract with a first-round submission win on the Contender Series in September 2025. 

Meanwhile, Minev (7-0) has finished six of his seven pro wins so far. The undefeated Ukrainian last fought in a 165-pound catchweight bout under the Fury Fighting Championship banner ib Jan. 18.

Luke Rockhold believes Khamzat Chimaev would dominate most fighters at light heavyweight. 

Chimaev (15-1) put his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland (31-7) in the main event at UFC 328 last weekend. While Chimaev was a massive favorite, Strickland scored an upset win via split decision, handing the Chechen-born fighter his first professional loss. 

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Chimaev abandoned his wrestling after a desperate takedown attempt failed in the second round. “Borz” was also visibly drained during the weigh-ins, with many accusing him of even failing to make weight. Dana White said that Chimaev allegedly told him after the fight that he wants to move up to light heavyweight. Right the Wrong Rockhold, who trains with Chimaev, was backing “Borz” to dominate Strickland. Rockhold believes Chimaev will dominate most light heavyweights with his wrestling. However, Rockhold doesn’t want Chimaev to move up without avenging his loss against St…

In official parlance, he’s the UFC’s chief business officer. In more informal settings, he’s often referred to as the UFC’s lawyer.

For Ronda Rousey, Hunter Campbell might as well be public enemy No. 1. During an appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show” on Monday, Rousey recalled her dealings with Campbell as the UFC considered booking a fight between the former bantamweight queen and Gina Carano.

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Ultimately, Rousey and Carano will lead Most Valuable Promotions first MMA foray on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The card, which includes a number of notable names in addition to Rousey and Carano, will air on Netflix. While Ronda Rousey maintains a good relationship with Dana White even after negotiations with the UFC fell apart, the same can’t be said for Campbell.

"It wasn't personal. Well, with Hunter it was personal because he was just a f—ing asshole about it. He was just being such a chauvinist prick,” Rousey said. “He was being so d…

Jake Paul is still recovering from his fight against Anthony Joshua. | Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

Fighting Anthony Joshua could have long-term ramifications for Jake Paul.

The YouTube personality turned boxer squared off against Joshua on Dec. 19, when he suffered a broken jaw during a sixth-round knockout loss. Paul agreed to face the British heavyweight, a much larger opponent, when a fight against Gervonta Davis fell through.

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While Paul has been front and center as his company enters the MMA business with this Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" card, news about his own fighting career has been put on hold for the time being. In an interview on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Paul revealed that his jaw is still healing.

“I'm getting some new scans here in a couple of days of the jaw to get an update on the healing process. We'll see what my doctors say,” Paul said. “I think I'll be able to get a more accurate timeframe …

Charles Oliveira has hinted that a Brazilian UFC event is in the works for later this year. | Getty/UFC

Charles Oliveira made an interesting statement while giving a backstage interview at UFC 328.

Speaking to UFC Brasil reporter Evelyn Rodrigues, the BMF title holder hinted that the promotion could return to Brazil before the end of 2026.

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"I still don’t know when it will be my return,” Oliveira said. “It can be August, September or even in October when I was told that UFC is planning an event in Sao Paulo. If they need me to fill up the house, I´ll be ready.”Nothing Official The interview drew an immediate reaction on social media from Brazilian fans, since the UFC has not yet announced plans for an event in the country this year. Sherdog.com spoke to UFC sources in Brazil who did not officially confirm Oliveira´s statement.     

“Do Bronxs” finished the interview by correctly predicting the outcome of the UFC 328 mai…