Martial Arts News

Not everyone counted Sean Strickland out against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Strickland (30-7) challenged Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 328 earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland was a massive +450 underdog going into the bout. While Chimaev controlled Strickland on the ground in the first round, the tide turned in the second round. Strickland completely took over in the third round, and Chimaev failed to mount a comeback despite a valiant effort in the championship rounds. Strickland earned a split decision victory in one of the biggest upsets in recent UFC title fight history. 

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Faith in Strickland Paid Off While most expected Chimaev to dominate on the ground, many considered Strickland the biggest threat to “Borz.” Among the latter was UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone. “Cowboy” revealed he won $45,000 after betting $10,000 on Strickland to win.

“Yeah, I won $45,000,” Cerrone told The Schmo. “I put $10,000 on Sean.”

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Michael Bisping is not impressed with Alex Pereira’s latest sparring footage.

Pereira (13-3) is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14. Having started his MMA career at middleweight, the jump is massive for Pereira. 

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Pereira recently uploaded a sparring video with UFC heavyweight Tallison Teixeira. Bisping is concerned about Pereira’s heavyweight move after watching the footage. Bisping notes that Pereira doesn’t have much output and also gets clipped by “Xicao.” While Bisping gives Teixeira due credit, “The Count” doesn’t think he is on the same level as Gane. Bisping expects Pereira to have his way with Teixeira if he is preparing to fight Gane. Bisping also expects Gane to have a speed advantage over Pereira.Analyzing the Tape “Tallison Teixeira is a good fighter; he’s got a big fight coming up… But for Alex Pereira going up against Ciryl Gane, you would think that he would be having his …

Conor McGregor will return to action at UFC 329 on July 11. | Getty/UFC

Everything is in place for Conor McGregor to make his first Octagon appearance since July 2021.

McGregor will face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While their first meeting was contested at 145 pounds, the return date will take place in the welterweight division. Perhaps most importantly, the Irish star is happy with the financial terms that led to his UFC return.

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"It's like a musical – music to my ears, it is. I'm out so long, five years,” McGregor told Mac Energy (via Championship Rounds). “My body's fresh. My mind is sharp. I'm ready to come back. I've got a great opponent. I've got a great deal off the UFC. I'm very, very happy, They honored me, finally.

"July 11, and the opponent is a man I've beaten before in Max Holloway. He's an established fighter, an accomplished fighter, former UFC world champion, mul…

Aleksandar Rakic has lost four straight UFC outings. | Getty/UFC

Aleksandar Rakic is officially headed to the big man’s division.

The former light heavyweight contender will square off against Marcin Tybura at UFC Belgrade, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday. UFC Belgrade takes place on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, and is headlined by a welteweight showdown between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez. A middleweight tilt pitting Dusko Todorovic against Robert Valentin was also confirmed for the card.

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Time for a Change Rakic, 34, has lost his last four Octagon appearances at 205 pounds. In his lone appearance of 2025, “Rocket” suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321 this past October. The Austrian fighter won six of his first seven outings to emerge as a contender in the light heavyweight division before his current skid, which also includes setbacks to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka …

If career transition is one of the biggest concerns for MMA athletes after fighting, Renato "Moicano" Carneiro has reason to celebrate.

As far as MMA goes, the 37-year-old “Moicano” showed he still has plenty of fight left in him on April 4 by submitting American Top Team training partner Chris Duncan in the main event of UFC Fight Night 272.

Thanks to the resounding success of his YouTube channel, the ATT athlete already has an excellent career transition guaranteed when he decides to retire. Last Saturday, almost a month after being awarded best influencer in Brasilia at the Brazilian internet Oscars (iBEST), “Moicano” took another step towards this successful transition. He once again used his well-known sense of humor to innovate and achieve success, this time as the promoter of Money Moicano MMA, an event with 10 MMA fights held in São Paulo last Saturday at the Cornerman Academy.

With a dwarf as the announcer, fights between amateurs registered on his channel…

Joe Schilling's first MMA fight since 2019 ended in controversy. | PFL MMA

Joe Schilling’s first mixed martial arts appearance in more than six years ended in unusual fashion at PFL Brussels.

Schilling was on his back during a light heavyweight matchup against Donegi Abena when his opponent headbutted him while inside guard. “Stitch ‘Em Up” was visibly angry as the bout was halted due to the foul. The fight appeared ready to resume after referee Mike Beltran took a point from Abena, but Schilling decided to call it quits when the fighters were repositioned on the canvas. As a result, Schilling suffered a technical knockout loss due to retirement at the 36-second mark of Round 1.

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😱 C'EST DU JAMAIS VU !

Joe Schilling met fin au combat après avoir pris un coup de tête de son adversaire, parce qu'il n'est pas d'accord avec la position pour reprendre l'action ! pic.twitter.com/hggZdvQlsU

— RMC Sport Combat…

Daniel Rodriguez has won his last three UFC appearances. | Getty/UFC

Daniel Rodriguez is going from Mexican prison to the main event of the UFC’s first ever card in Serbia.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that Rodriguez will face Uros Medic in the UFC Belgrade headliner on Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Also known as UFC Fight Night 283, the card is also expected to include a heavyweight tilt pitting former 205-pound talent Johnny Walker against Ante Delija.

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Quite the Turn of Events Rodriguez will return to action for the first time since July 2025, when he extended his promotional winning streak to three with a unanimous decision triumph over Kevin Holland at UFC 318. Shortly after that victory, Rodriguez was arrested for attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with marijuana, and he spent approximately eight months in Mexican prison as a result of that transgression. The 39-year-old’s current winni…

Sean Strickland lashed out at the influencer community after attending Adin Ross’ boxing event. 

Ross hosted the Brand Risk 14 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sunday. The card featured renowned personalities like musician Ray J, former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel, and former NBA players Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson. Meanwhile, it also had bizarre matchups like dwarves fighting each other in MMA. Strickland, fellow UFC fighter Arman Tsarukyan and UFC head honcho Dana White were in attendance at the event. 

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However, Strickland (30-7) regretted attending the event and vented as soon as it ended. The UFC middleweight champion claims he feels “less of a man” after being a part of the event.

“I have never been a part of anything so shameful in my life,” Strickland said on his Instagram Stories. “And I hate myself and I feel like less of a man after being here. Oh God, why did I agree to this? I'm sick to my stomach.”

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Conor McGregor’s manager claims fans will see more of “Notorious” in the near future. 

McGregor (22-6) is scheduled to return to action in a welterweight matchup against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This will mark McGregor’s return to action for the first time since breaking his leg in a trilogy loss against Dustin Poirier in 2021. According to Audie Attar, McGregor plans to stay active after his return this summer. Attar claims the former UFC double-champion plans to fight again within a year. However, Attar also clarifies that they are not looking too far ahead.

One Step at a Time “He is definitely looking to stay active,” Attar told MMAjunkie.com. “Next fight, we’re not gonna wait a year, that’s for sure. We’ll see what happens from there. I don’t think we’re looking too far ahead at things. We’re just taking it one step at a time.”

While McGregor recovered from his leg injury within a year, he did not return to s…

Khamzat Chimaev believes he lost to Sean Strickland because of his nationality. 

Chimaev (15-1)was a massive favorite when he put his middleweight title on the line against Strickland (30-7) at UFC 328 earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey. However, Chimaev seemingly gassed out early and dropped a closely-contested split decision despite a valiant effort. 

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While Chimaev admits it was a close fight, he believes the scorecards swayed against him as he is not American.

“All judges are Americans, the organization is American, the opponent is American, and one is Chechen. It's a close fight. Who do you think will win?” Chimaev wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

“No excuses I [just want to] f—k him up. This s—t trying to run away.”

Khamzat Chimaev suggested in a now-deleted tweet that he was robbed against Sean Strickland because he’s not American

“No excuses I just wanna f*ck him up. This sh*t trying to run awa…

Nassourdine Imavov is adamant on avenging his loss against Sean Strickland. 

Imavov suffered his last UFC loss against Strickland in 2023. The Frenchman has since racked up a series of impressive wins to establish himself as the No.1 middleweight contender. Meanwhile, Strickland recently dethroned Khamzat Chimaev to win the middleweight title for the second time. Strickland has since acknowledged Imavov as the next deserving title contender. 

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Strickland on the Brain Imavov recently posted a skit of himself going to therapy to deal with his loss against Strickland. The therapist asks Imavov:“Are you okay, Nassourdine? It’s still him? Another bad dream recently?”

Imavov (17-4) says that everything is going well with him and he has been fishing and doing yoga for his mental well being. However, “The Sniper” simultaneously keeps texting Strickland (30-7), sending him emojis of coffins. Imavov refuses to answer when the therapist asks him who …

Conor McGregor returning at the White House was seemingly not financially viable for the UFC. 

McGregor (22-6) was originally rallying for a spot on the UFC White House card on June 14. However, “Notorious” is now set to return against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor’s manager Audie Attar recently explained why McGregor’s return during International Fight Week made more sense for the UFC financially. 

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The UFC White House card will not have any tickets on sale for the general public. According to Dana White, 4,300 people, mostly members of the military, will be seated on the South Lawn. Meanwhile, 85,000 tickets will be made available for free to the public to watch the event at the nearby Ellipse Park. Attar notes that the UFC is sacrificing a huge amount of gate revenue at the White House event. With McGregor being arguably the biggest star in the history of the sport, the UFC would l…