Martial Arts News

Ibraheem Yazeed has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder and abduction of Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of former UFC heavyweight Walt Harris.

Earlier this year, Yazeed was found guilty on charges of murder and felony murder in relation to the abduction and death of Blanchard in 2019. Yazeed was officially given two life sentences without the possibility of parole, the most severe penalty possible based on his conviction. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for Yazeed.

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“Today, justice has been served. I am gratified that the court imposed the maximum allowable sentence for the senseless and brutal murder of Aniah Blanchard, life in prison. It is the sentence that the weight of this crime demanded, and one that Aniah’s family has long deserved,” Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall stated in a release.

“My deepest sympathies remain with Aniah’s family and all who loved her. No verdict can undo their unimaginable loss, …

Arman Tsarukyan claims Khamzat Chimaev made weight for UFC 328. 

Chimaev lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 328 earlier this month. It is no secret that Chimaev had a terrible weight cut, which also likely affected his performance. 

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Chimaev looked visibly drained during the official weigh-ins, which did not go down without controversy. Chimaev was only on the scale for a few moments before the official called 185 pounds. Fans and pundits noticed that the scale hadn’t even settled before Chimaev stepped down. Strickland, Bryce Mitchell, Bobby Green and others have accused Chimaev of failing to make weight. Nothing Amiss However, Chimaev’s close friend, Tsarukyan, claims “Borz” couldn’t possibly have missed weight at the official weigh-ins. According to Tsarukyan, the UFC confirms a fighter’s weight on an automatic scale backstage before letting them proceed to the official manual scale.

“He made w…

Roy Jones Jr. doesn’t see a need for boxing to follow the UFC’s model. 

The UFC’s parent company, TKO Group, has entered the world of pugilism with Zuffa boxing. UFC head honcho Dana White and Zuffa are currently pushing for revisions to the Muhammad Ali Act, enacted in 2000 to protect fighters from exploitation. White aims to create a Unified Boxing Organization that would bring boxing under a central banner, akin to the UFC for MMA. 

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However, the likes of Nico Ali Walsh, Oscar De La Hoya and Jones Jr. are actively lobbying against White’s proposal. Jones argues that Zuffa’s structure will eventually kill fighters’ individuality and earning power.

“If they do what they are doing right now, our sport is over in this country,” Jones told FightHype. “You don’t have no more personality. You don’t have no more style. You don’t have no more individualism. You can’t be an individual no more. You belong. You’re just a sheep.”

Time to Wake Up…

Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano FULL AM WEIGH IN - BOTH MAKE WEIGHT!" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions puts on its first mixed martial arts card tomorrow, which is now set following the official Rousey vs. Carano weigh-ins.

MVP's debut MMA event is headlined by a highly anticipated fight between former Olympian and Ultimate Fighting Championship women's bantamweight titleholder Ronda Rousey and former EliteXC and Strikeforce star Gina Carano. Both women successfully hit their marks for their first fights in 10 and 17 years, respectively. In total, all 22 fighters for the event made their contracted weight.

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A pair of title fight knockout losses ended the career of Rousey (12-2). Prior to a shocking head kick defeat to Holly Holm, Rousey was seen as the most do…

Almighty @Arnoldbfa💪

He weighs in at 145.5 lbs

[ #UFCVegas117 | MAY 16 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/hyNEpJL60m

— UFC (@ufc) May 15, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns this weekend in one of the rare moments where they won't have the biggest mixed martial arts card going on that day, and now its UFC Vegas 117 card is official following the weigh-ins.

Headlining the 13-fight event is a featherweight scrap between contenders Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round main event. The rest of the card also hit their contracted weights, so there was no drama at the weigh-ins.

This is a must-win fight for Allen (20-4) if he hopes to stay a relevant factor near the top of 145 pounds. "Almighty" has come up short in three of his last four fights, as he dropped decisions to Max Holloway, Movsar Evloev and Jean Silva. While a win over Giga Chikadze showed he is…

In the famous words of Rocky Balboa, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

Philipe Lins is like that. A native of Brazil’s arid northeast, the now 40-year-old is mere days away from the most important fight of his career -- facing Francis Ngannou on Netflix at Most Valuable Promotions’s inaugural card.

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In his native Portuguese, Lins shared some of the challenges as well as the stubborn drive that brought him to this pivotal moment.

“I had an excellent start to my MMA career in Brazil. I went 7-0 there. That’s when I caught the attention of my first international MMA organization -- Bellator. I debuted there in 2014. At Bellator, I went 3-3. It wasn’t great, but I was able to show my talent, skills and aggression.”

Lins’ last appearance at Bellator MMA couldn’t have gone worse -- a knockout loss in the first round to current Professional Fighters League champion Vadim Nemkov. But even in…

Liz Carmouche knows Ronda Rousey well, having broken ground with her in the first ever women’s fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a match that the latter would win by first-round submission. Ten years after her last professional mixed martial arts bout where she lost to Amanda Nunes, Rousey is back in action, taking on another pioneer in Gina Carano. The women square off for the first ever Most Valuable Promotions MMA event, being broadcasted on Netflix, where Carmouche will be watching.

As Carmouche prepares for her next fight in the Professional Fighters League on June 27 at PFL San Diego, she spoke with Sherdog.com and provided her predictions for MVP “Rousey vs. Carano,” hoping to see the unexpected.

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“It’s funny because prior to me starting my career and getting into fighting, I was a huge Gina Carano fan, a huge [Cris Cyborg] fan, I watched both of them. So I got to see her career and then the end of her career where she retired, a…

Now that he resides atop the Rizin Fighting Federation mountain, Luiz Gustavo is not about to forget who helped him get there.

Last Sunday, Brazil's Gustavo won the Rizin lightweight title in Japan by knocking out Ilhom Nazimov at 2:08 of the first round. The emotion of the disciple of former Chute boxer Andre Dida caught the attention of Japanese fans. Upon receiving the belt from Rizin head Nobuyuki Sakakibara, he cried profusely and made a point of dedicating the title to his late father and the former Pride Fighting Championships great Wanderlei Silva.

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Back in his home state of Curitiba on Wednesday, “Killer” spoke to Sherdog about the victory and explained the importance of these two figures in his career.

“My father passed away when I was 12 years old, and the last thing he did for me, the week before his death, was to enroll me in a Karate academy,” Gustavo explained.

Karate training was essential for the boy to work through the trauma o…

The mixed martial arts world will see a new product this weekend with the launch of Most Valuable Promotions’ MVP “Rousey vs. Carano” as Jake Paul puts his brand in a showcase event on Netflix, featuring the return of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.

Both women have openly talked about their optimism to open new doors in the sport, working with MVP to create another place for fighters to get the most out of their careers. One name that will be watching this weekend is one who has shared the cage with Rousey in first ever women’s fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Liz Carmouche, the 2025 Professional Fighters League flyweight tournament winner.

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Paul has shown that he is open to new opportunities and challenges with his promotion, searching for ways to elevate the sport between multiple companies. During an appearance on ‘Undefeated & Undisputed’ with Chael Sonnen and Ian Parker on Smash Cast Media, Paul talked about the future of MVP, go…

Now fans in Japan can see what all the hype was about.

On Friday, “The Smashing Machine” premiered in theaters in Japan. The focus of the biopic, Mark Kerr, spent several years competing at the highest level in Pride Fighting Championships. While doing publicity before the movie’s release, Kerr sat down for an interview with “Gong Kakutogi Magazine,” known for its history of martial arts coverage dating back to 1986.

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In the interview, Kerr discussed his evolution from wrestler to mixed martial artist, trials and tribulations that he endured during his fighting career, controversies with Pride FC and ultimately overcoming an addiction to steroids and opioids that nearly destroyed his life. He also pulled back the curtain on some lesser-known stories from his time in Pride FC, including about a planned bout against Royce Gracie that had been set to go ahead at Pride 2 but failed to materialize for multiple reasons.

Though he spoke glowingly about fig…

Having worked with so many Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters before, coach Marcos da Matta firmly has his finger on the pulse of the sport.

After injuring his arm and losing his belt to Joshua Van, Alexandre Pantoja became one of the most interested men watching the co-main event of UFC 328. Not surprisingly, the Brazilian and his coach “Parrumpa” da Matta watched the event from the front row. Da Matta spoke with Sherdog about the future of his athlete, the successes of a newly minted champion and a whether being a backup fighter is a good idea.

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“I particularly wanted Van to win because I really wanted this rematch,” explained to Sherdog.

In the opinion of the American Top Team coach, Van vs. Tatsuro Taira provided excellent material for study.

“We were able to see a lot in these almost five rounds,” the coach analyzed. “Both exposed themselves a lot, showing both strengths and weaknesses. I liked what I saw.”

Waiting in the wings, Pan…

Adriano Moraes may not yet be a household name in the U.S., but he’s looking forward to changing that in impressive fashion.

As the only man to defeat legendary flyweight Demetrious Johnson via knockout, the Brasilia, Brazil, native looks to prove that lightning can indeed strike twice.

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Not long ago, the 37-year-old spoke to Sherdog.com in his native Portuguese about exploring free agency after an 11-year stint at One Championship. Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions signed him up almost immediately:

“Everything happened quickly,” Moraes said. “Right after I gave interviews letting people know I was a free agent, the opportunity came up, to be on the MVP card. It’s going to be a great fight. Like every fighter, I too have the dream of being in the UFC one day. But since this great opportunity materialized as I was coming off a loss, it’s my chance to show that I do belong among the best. I think that my opponent presents an excellent opportunity to…