Martial Arts News

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t like the new, polite version Sean O'Malley.

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Dvalishvili took O’Malley’s bantamweight title via a dominant unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024. The two seemingly had some bad blood leading up to the fight, although no one crossed any limits. Dvalishvili also openly voiced his dislike for O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, even calling him out for barking instructions to “The Machine” mid-fight.

However, O’Malley and his corner have seemingly buried the hatchet with Dvalishvili. O’Malley recently called Dvalishvili a “nice guy” while expressing gratitude for making him a better fighter and human being by defeating him.

“Merab’s a nice guy, he really is… I’ll forever be grateful for Merab in the sense that he beat me, made me become not just a better fighter, a better human,” O’Malley said. “Losing is a weird thing.”

However, Dvalishvili would rather have “Suga” trash talking like old times as they head into…

Movsar Evloev is determined to return next month, regardless of who his opponent is.

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Evloev recently revealed that his next fight will potentially be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 17. The Russian claims to have waited for a matchup against Brian Ortega for three months, but that fight didn’t come to fruition for unknown reasons. However, Evloev has seemingly been offered a new opponent now, and he is willing to fight anyone on the May 17 card.

“Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17,” Evloev wrote on X. “I have been waiting for Ortega for three months. I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17 against anyone.”

Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17th.

I have been waiting for Ortega for 3 months I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17th against anyone.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) April 4…

Elite flyweights are set to trade leather at UFC 317.

Manel Kape (21-7) and Brandon Royval (17-7) are slated to fight at UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Laerte Viana. Kape and Royval were initially scheduled to meet on March 1 before Royval withdrew due to multiple concussions.

Kape has finished 18 of his 21 pro wins so far. “Starboy” is 6-3 in the UFC, though all of his losses came against elite competition. The Angolan is coming off consecutive finishes over Bruno Silva and Asu Almabayev that saw him rebound from a loss against Muhammad Mokaev.

Meanwhile, Royval is 7-3 in the UFC and has only lost to former champ Brandon Royval and reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja. “Raw Dawg” dropped a title bid against Pantoja at UFC 296 in 2023 and has since rebounded with back-to-back split decision wins over Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.

First to weigh-in! ⚖️@JoshEmmettUFC hits the scale at 146lbs

[ #UFCVegas105 | Live SAT on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/EcQrAp0L4o

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off a relatively light April schedule with its return to Las Vegas after two international events. The 12-fight card is now official after the UFC Vegas 105 weigh-ins took place, although one fight has been removed from the event.

Headlining the card is a key featherweight fight between Josh Emmett and the undefeated Lerone Murphy. Both main event fighters had no issue making weight, as both came in under 146 pounds. Also classified as a featherweight is Cortavious Romious, who missed the bantamweight limit by 3.5 pounds for his fight against Chang Ho Lee. As a result of the weight miss, Romious will be fined 20% of his purse that will go to Lee. Additionally, Daniel Santos was not medically cleared and could not weigh in, so his fight…

In the world of competitive sports, Jason Jackson proved Jamaica has more than just a bobsled team.

The main 2025 season of Professional Fighters League is officially underway, with semifinalists for featherweights and welterweights on the books. The evening concluded with the sole remaining seat at 170 pounds up for grabs, with former Bellator MMA champs colliding in this new single-elimination tourney. Jackson (19-5, 2-0 PFL) tangled with Andrey Koreshkov (28-6, 1-2 PFL) for the next slot on the bracket, and Jackson proved to be too much for the Russian. A combination of takedowns and varied striking from “The Ass-Kicking Machine” put Koreshkov on the defensive early, welting up Koreshkov all over his body and taking little damage on the comeback in the first round.

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Midway through Round 2, still in the driver’s seat, Jackson hacked down with three illegal strikes to shred open a sizeable cut on the crown of Koreshkov’s dome. Referee Keith Peterson d…

According to his coach, Patricio Freire’s next two victories are money in the bank.

Currently in Miami preparing for Freire’s highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 314, coach Eric Albarracin spoke with Sherdog about his fighter. The wrestler known as “Captain Americas” mentioned, among other things, the high expectations set for “Pitbull” when he sets foot in the Octagon against former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. He also touched on what could lie ahead for the Brazilian if he prevails on April 12, including facing the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes headlining that same show.

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“Obviously, the UFC would not make it easy for the Bellator GOAT to make his debut,” the coach remarked. “In my opinion, Yair is a tougher opponent than Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. In addition to being tall, he has an unpredictable game based on taekwondo.”

To prepare for such a dynamic threat, Albarracin and the Pitbull Brother…

𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗙𝗟 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦! 🔥

🇩🇪 Alex Luster (9-2)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dean Garnett (12-3-1)🇵🇱 Jan Ciepłowski (8-0)🇫🇷 Julien Lopez (7-4-1)🇫🇷 Mahio Campanella (7-1)🇱🇻 Matiss Zaharovs (7-3)🇫🇷 Anas Azizoun (5-1)🇵🇹 Gustavo Oliveira (10-2)… pic.twitter.com/7qgnpPHQdT

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 4, 2025 The second of two Professional Fighters League Europe tournament brackets is now a matter of record.

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On Friday, the PFL put out the entirety of its 135-pound division for the upcoming Europe tournament. The winner of each weight class—bantamweight and lightweight—will take home a $100,000 check along with a chance to graduate to the World Tournament next year. All opening round pairings will take place at PFL Europe 2, which will be held on May 24 at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The frontrunner to win it all may come from the matchup between Dean Garnett (12-3-1) and Alexander Luster (9-2). The former battled Lewis McGr…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 1 coverage will begin Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pet…

The only heavyweight bout on the UFC’s fight card this weekend has changed days before it was set to go down.

Per the organization on Thursday, Kennedy Nzechukwu has sustained an injury that has ejected him from UFC Vegas 105, also known as UFC on ESPN 65. In Nzechukwu’s stead will be the debuting Uran Satybaldiev (8-0), who meet Martin Buday (14-2) above 206 pounds.

Slovakia’s Buday competed once in 2024, putting his first knockout loss behind him by swiping a split decision over ex-champ Andrei Arlovski. Before losing to Shamil Gaziev in the Octagon, Buday had racked up a 12-fight win streak that included names like Josh Parisian and Chris Barnett, with four in the Octagon including his 2022 debut. Buday made his way to the Las Vegas-based league courtesy of a knee-based knockout of Lorenzo Hood on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Satybaldiev, who fights out of the Uulu Kyrgyz Team in Kyrgyzstan, made the jump stateside in 2023 when he appea…

The 2025 #PFLWorldTournament keeps rolling!

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗛 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚‼️🏆

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For more information 👇https://t.co/eCMG4faqPw pic.twitter.com/f0N3QMNDoy — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 3, 2025 When all is said and done, the 2025 Professional Fighters League will conclude in four and a half months.

The promotion released the locations and dates for its three Finals events to conclude its World Tournament series this year. While the dates were already rumored to be Aug. 1, Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, the league confirmed them on Thursday. The first finals event will be held at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey; the second takes place at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina; the season ultimately concludes at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In the first of three shows, the Aug. 1 card will feature the five-round tournament finals matches for the welterweight and f…

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The stage has been set for the debut of Professional Fighters League’s new tournament format.

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The lineups have changed slightly after Wednesday’s weigh-ins, when Magomed Umalatov checked in for his first-round matchup with Logan Storley (171) at 173.6 pounds — more than two pounds over the welterweight limit. As a result, Umalatov will be replaced by Joseph Luciano, who tipped the scales at 170.4 pounds. Everyone else on the card hit their contracted marks without issue.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

PFL World Tournament 1 takes place on Thursday at Universal Studios Florida and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Jason Jackson (170.8) and Andrey Koreshkov (171). The event will feature tournament bouts at welterweight and featherweight. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. PT. Read more

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Sean O'Malley is well aware of the fact that some in the MMA community are less than pleased that he’s been granted an immediate rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

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“Suga” lost the bantamweight title to Dvalishvili via clear-cut unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past September. O’Malley has been sidelined since then as he recovers from a hip surgery he underwent after that bout. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili successfully defended the strap against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

On Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that the Dvalishvili-O’Malley 2 would headline UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersay on June 7.

“The rematch is official,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “‘Suga’ Sean vs. Merab 2 is happening, and I don’t think people are going to be too happy about it.”

While the booking was met with a lukewarm reception, O’Malley expects to be at full capacity now that the issues with his hip have been addressed.

“Las…