Blog

Vitor Belfort recently interacted with larger-than-life figure from another sport for the second time.

Advertisement

Having lived in Florida with his family for more than 10 years, the former UFC champion was in attendance at UFC 314 in Miami earlier this month.

In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Belfort commented on his meeting with basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, praised The Fighting Nerds and advised former opponent Jon Jones to not face Tom Aspinall.

“In this video I made with Shaquille, he remembered the day we met 29 years ago. It was at my debut at Super Brawl 2 in Hawaii in 1996. I was 18 years old and he went to the event with the entire Los Angeles Lakers team,” Belfort told Sherdog.com. “If I'm not mistaken, the next day would be Kobe Bryant’s debut with the Lakers. In this meeting, I told him, remember I told you that you would fall in love with this sport. It was so nice to meet him again, [with both of us] in attendance as MMA…

🚨 Nassourdine Imavov on why he isn't interested in the Caio Borralho fight:

"He'll get KOed. He'll sleep. Then they're gonna say 'It's normal. He was [ranked] #1, you see'.

Advertisement

That's their way of managing their careers. Falling forwards. It's better to fall forwards than… pic.twitter.com/t1s5b8dg6i — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 21, 2025

Nassourdine Imavov believes losing to him would be Caio Borralho’s biggest claim to fame.

Borralho was rallying for a matchup against Imavov until recently. However, Imavov explained why the matchup didn’t make sense for him. The UFC middleweight contender has no doubt that he would knock Borralho out. However, the Frenchman believes Borralho’s team would then claim that it was expected that he would lose to the top contender.

"He'll get KO’ed. He'll sleep,” Imavov said. “Then they're gonna say 'It's normal. He was [ranked] No. 1, you see.’ That's their way of managin…

Arman Tsarukyan defends Islam Makhachev's stance of not fighting Ilia Topuria.🤝

"Islam doesn't want to fight him because if he beats Topuria, people gonna say 'You again beat a 145-pound fighter.' And if Islam beats me, I think he's done with this division."

Advertisement

🎥 @JaxxonPodcast pic.twitter.com/CL4Y9W8qCL — Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 21, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan understands why Islam Makhachev doesn’t want to fight Ilia Topuria.

Topuria recently vacated his featherweight title and is rallying for a lightweight gold bid against Makhachev. However, Makhachev isn’t willing to fight “La Leyenda” immediately, as he claims he has little to gain from the matchup.

Makhachev has defended his title twice against two-time featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who was once the No. 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter. Regardless, many undermined those wins, saying Makhachev beat a smaller opponent. Hence, Makhachev doesn’t …

Tagir Ulanbekov once decided to obey Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and certainly doesn’t regret it.

Advertisement

The late Abdulmanap, father of former UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, is regarded as a pioneer of Russian MMA who trained a legion of elite fighters. Ulanbekov is one the fighters who benefitted from the tutelage of Abdulmanap since his early career.

Back in 2006, Ulanbekov joined his cousins, who were going to join Abdulmanap’s gym. Abdulmanap summoned Ulanbekov and one of his cousins — both of whom had long hair — and asked them to shorten it by the next day. Ulanbekov decided to obey and there was no looking back.

“So we’re in the gym, I had longer hair back then,” Ulanbekov told Red Corner MMA. “Both me and one of my cousins. So he looked at us and said, ‘You two, where are you from?’ And I said, ‘We came here to train.’ He took my hair like this [grabbed] pulled me out of the line-up and said, ‘I’ll grab your hair and throw a knee. Cut it off by…

Nazim Sadykhov will get a homecoming when he meets Nikolas Motta at UFC Baku.

Both fighters confirmed the lightweight booking following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 21 and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Khalil Rountree and Jamahal Hill.

A native of Baku, Sadykhov is 3-0-1 in his first four Octagon appearances — with a draw against Viacheslav Borshchev the only blemish on his ledger thus far. In his last outing, the Longo-Weidman MMA representative scored a first-round doctor stoppage win against Ismael Bonfim at UFC Vegas 102 on Feb. 15.

Brazil’s Motta will be competing for the first time this year. The 32-year-old is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2024 that saw him saw him defeat Tom Nolan via first-round TKO and take a three-round verdict over Maheshate Hayisaer.

🏆🔥Carlos Prates says a win over Ian Garry puts him one fight away from the title:

"I want to fight twice this year and then fight for the belt in 2026."

Advertisement

🎥 YT Nicolas Henrique▫️ pic.twitter.com/zdRj1QHgSf — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 20, 2025

Carlos Prates thinks he is on the cusp of getting a UFC title shot.

Prates is scheduled to headline UFC Kansas City -- also known as UFC on ESPN 66 -- against Ian Garry on Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. “The Nightmare” believes a win over Garry puts him just one more win away from a UFC welterweight title shot. While Prates has been unusually active since his UFC debut last year, the Brazilian is in no rush to fight again this year. Prates is looking at two fights this year and expecting a title shot by next year if he wins.

“I believe that if I beat Ian Garry, I’ll fight one more time and then I will fight for the title,” Prates tol…

😳Khamzat Chimaev shares a photo of him submitting Caio Borralho

📸 @KChimaev ▫️ pic.twitter.com/acLZpwkM1u

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 21, 2025

Advertisement

Khamzat Chimaev is flexing about his sparring session with Caio Borralho amid rumors of a matchup between the two.

Borralho recently claimed that Chimaev has accepted a matchup with him, potentially for an interim middleweight title. “The Natural” also believes it’ll be a bigger draw than Chimaev fighting champ Dricus Du Plessis for the title.

“Khamzat said yes! The only thing that makes sense is the Interim belt!” Borralho wrote on X. “This fight is gonna be bigger than him vs Dricus! Mark my words.”

Khamzat said yes!

The only thing that makes sense is the Interim belt!

This fight is gonna be bigger than him vs Dricus! Marks my words

— Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) April 20, 2025

While Chimaev didn’t refute rumors of the …

A trio of women’s fights have been officially announced for UFC Vegas 106 on May 17.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed two strawweight bouts — Tecia Pennington vs. Luana Pinheiro and Denise Gomes vs. Elise Reed — and one bantamweight contest — Luana Santos vs. Tainara Lisboa — in a recent post on social media.

UFC Vegas 106 — also known as UFC Fight Night 256 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Gilbert Burns against Michael Morales.

Pennington snapped a two-bout skid in her last outing, when she outpointed former 115-pound queen Carla Esparza at UFC 307 this past October.

Pinheiro is looking to end a three-fight losing streak that includes losses to Amanda Ribas, Angela Hill and Gillian Robertson. Her last victory came in April 2023, when she took a split verdict over Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC 287.

Gomez has won four of her last five Octagon appearances and is coming of…

Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada’s UFC debut has been put on hold after he was arrested on two felony charges over the weekend.

Advertisement

According to Sacramento County Main Jail records, Hassanzada has been charged with a lewd or lavicious act with a child under 14 and a lewd act on a child/victim aged 14 or 15 where the defendant is 10 or more years older than the victim. Bail has been set at $400,000, and Hassanzada’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. Ag.Fight was first to report the news.

Hassanzada was slated to make his first Octagon foray against Evan Elder at UFC Kansas City on Saturday. Without mentioning the arrest, the promotion announced that Gauge Young will now face Elder on the card, which is also known as UFC on ESPN 66.

A native of Kabul, Afghanistan, Hassanzada made his second appearance on Dana White's Contender Series this past September, where he earned a UFC contract with a third-round submission of Dylan Mantello. The 28-y…

Le retour du Guv'nor! Gavin Tucker faces JeongYeong Lee at #UFC315!

🇨🇦 Gavin Tucker vs JeongYeong Lee 🇰🇷

Advertisement

Tickets On Sale Now | Billets En Vente Maintenant pic.twitter.com/8MpI9DnOGv — UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 17, 2025

A featherweight tilt pitting Gavin Tucker against Jeong Yeong Lee has been added to the UFC 315 lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced the booking. UFC 315 takes place on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will defend the flyweight crown against Manon Fiorot.

Tucker will be back in action for the first time since August 2023, when he suffered a first-round submission loss to recent title challenger Diego Lopes at UFC on ESPN 50. The 38-year-old Canadian won four of his first five Octagon appearances before drop…

Fabian Edwards closes the show with a KO!

Big moment. Big finish. Big statement at 185!

Advertisement

[ #PFLWorldTournament LIVE NOW | ESPN & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/eUCezByXQ4 — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 19, 2025 The Professional Fighters League's middleweight and lightweight divisions were on display as 16 of its top fighters competed to move on to the 2025 World Tournament semifinals.

The PFL World Tournament 3 main event was highly anticipated as Impa Kasanganay and Fabian Edwards clashed to determine the middleweight frontrunner. Kasanganay (18-6) and Edwards (14-4) were initially locked in a stalemate as neither fighter could take the other down. However, Edwards was able to sneak in several clean punches and elbows that cut the 2023 PFL Middleweight Champion.

The second round saw the hard-hitting Kasanganay land a heavy right hand that rocked his British opponent. Edwards would recover well, as he was the far more techni…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 3 coverage will begin Friday at 5 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.

Advertisement

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

It might come as a surprise that the Ultimate Fighting Championship has not booked this matchup before.

The UFC made official a short list of matches on Friday for UFC 316 on June 7. The promotion confirmed several bouts already reported, including its headliner of Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 and the co-main of Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison. One new fight not previously on the books takes place at 170 pounds, in the form of a banger between Vicente Luque (23-10-1) and Kevin Holland (27-13, 1 NC). The two contenders will throw down inside of the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, likely as part of the main card.

Although he has lost three out of five dating back to 2022, things are not entirely grim for the well-traveled Luque. In his last three outings, Luque took a decision over Rafael dos Anjos in a five-rounder, succumbed to strikes from Joaquin Buckley and rebounded in December by throttling Themba Gorimbo with an anaconda choke. The submission,…

[embedded content] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles Oliveira does not care who stands across the Octagon with him as long as gold is on the line.

Celebrating a whopping eight million followers on his Instagram page, Brazil’s Charles Oliveira is the most popular mixed martial arts fighter from that country, even surpassing Alex Pereira’s 6.8 million. The next fight for the jiu-jitsu ace is bound to be a significant one, if it is entirely up to Oliveira. “Do Bronxs” spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday, anxious about his next opponent and hopeful that he will be vying for a belt of some kind—even if it is of the “BMF” variety—in that next outing.

Advertisement

“For me, what makes sense is to fight for the title,” Oliveira evaluated. “I talked a lot about BMF because Islam [Makhachev] said that he just wants to return in October, and October is too much time [out of the cage]. I want to fight [on International Fight Week in June]. But later, Islam said he…

⚖️ PFL World Tournament 3 Weigh Ins are underway!

Middleweight Main Event is official!

Advertisement

Impa Kasanganay: 185.6 lbsFabian Edwards: 185.6 lbs

[ #PFLWorldTournament | Friday, April 18th | 📺 7PM EST | ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/xFALeW9xDq

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 17, 2025 The Professional Fighters League's 2025 World Tournament continues on Friday, as the first round of the men's lightweight and middleweight tournaments begins.

The PFL World Tournament 3 main event will see middleweights Impa Kasanganay and Fabian Edwards clash. Both men came in under the 186-pound limit for the three-round fight. All 16 tournament fighters successfully made weight for the card.

Kasanganay (18-5) reached the finals last year, where he lost to Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov via knockout. "Tshilobo" will look to rebound and get back to his winning ways as he's won nine of his last 11 fights. Just 31, the Kill Cliff FC product stepped on th…

Can we fast forward to Friday Night 👀🔜

2024 PFL Lightweight World Champion Gadzhi Rabadanov and Marc Diakiese wasted no time in letting each other know how they feel in their first faceoff ahead of Friday 🍿

[ #PFLWorldTournament | Friday, April 18th | 📺 7PM EST | ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/8f1ivtHE7W — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 16, 2025

There will be no shortage of fireworks heading into the Professional Fighters League lightweight and middleweight tournaments this weekend, two of the most anticipated divisions in this year’s tournament. In one of the premier lightweight tournament matchups, 2024 PFL lightweight champion Gadzhi Rabadanov will face Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Marc Diakiese, who signed with the promotion last year and made his debut with a victory over Tim Wilde at Bellator Champions Series.

Ahead of their first-round matchup this Friday in Orlando, Florida, the two met face-to-face for the first time and there w…

While the Cain Velasquez murder trial may have reached its conclusion, there are still other matters to resolve regarding the case.

Advertisement

On Wednesday, judge Elizabeth C. Peterson granted a continuance of a restitution setting hearing, which will now take place on June 3. Velasquez was sentence to five years in prison in March after pleading no contest to attempted murder, felony assault and additional gun charges stemming from a February 2022 incident in which the former fighter fired a gun at a truck containing multiple people. During a high-speed chase, Velasquez shot at the vehicle containing Harry Goularte, who was accused of molesting Velasquez’s son. One of the shots hit and injured Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender.

Though Velasquez is currently in the midst of his sentence — which includes 1,283 days of credit for time served — the ex-UFC heavyweight champion will still be required to pay restitution, which is when “a convicted offender may be…

今日、5/31(土)に韓国・仁川にあるカジノリゾートホテルPARADISE CITYにて開催するRIZIN WORLD SERIES in KOREAの対戦カード発表記者会見を実施しました！いきなり11試合を発表しましたが、ビビって、たじろいでませんか？… pic.twitter.com/5zf4lEMe41

— 榊󠄀原信行 Nobuyuki Sakakibara (@nobu_sakakibara) April 16, 2025

Rizin Fighting Federation will hold what is shaping up to be a primarily Japan vs. Korea-themed card in South Korea next month.

Advertisement

The Japanese promotion recently announced the event, entitled “World Series in Korea,” at a press conference. The event will take place at Paradise City in Incheon, South Korea on May 31. Not every bout on the card follows the country vs. country theme, as the evening’s featured pairing will see Rizin lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi de Souza lock horns with Gladiator lightweight king Won Bin Ki. However, the majority of the lineup does follow the aforementioned format.

Other MMA bouts confirme…

Movsar Evloev isn’t letting anyone jump the featherweight title queue ahead of him.

Advertisement

Evloev is riding a nine-fight winning streak in the UFC with wins over the likes of Dan Ige, Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes and Aljamain Sterling. However, Evloev is still not the most obvious contender at 145 pounds, which he thinks is due to lack of finishes on his resume.

Meanwhile, the featherweight title picture changed drastically at UFC 314 last weekend when Alexander Volkanovski won the vacant title against Diego Lopes in the main event. Evloev has no doubt that Volkanovski will agree to fight him, which the champ has already admitted. However, the undefeated Russian isn’t sure if the UFC wants the matchup.

Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez is calling for a title shot after foiling Patricio Freire’s promotional debut at UFC 314. Previously unranked Jean Silva is also rallying for a gold bid after five straight finishes in the UFC. While Evloev is unsure of his tit…

[embedded content]

Khabib Nurmagomedov prefers that Islam Makhachev fights Arman Tsarukyan instead of Ilia Topuria.

Advertisement

While Tsarukyan is the No. 1 lightweight contender, former featherweight champ Topuria recently vacated his belt to move up to lightweight. Topuria is calling for an immediate title shot at 155 pounds, but Makhachev doesn’t think he deserves the opportunity yet. Nurmagomedov believes Tsarukyan is a more competitive matchup than Topuria for his prodigy.

“In my opinion, not necessarily dangerous, let’s say more competitive, I think it’s Tsarukyan,” Nurmagomedov told Adam Zubayrav. “I think Arman is a more serious fighter than Topuria. Topuria is a good fighter at 145, but we haven’t seen him at 155. I believe Arman is more competitive for Islam.”

Nurmagomedov further explained why a matchup against Topuria isn’t very tempting for Makhachev. Makhachev has already defended his lightweight title twice against Alexander Volkanovski whi…

With Amanda Nunes’ comeback all but official, the former two-division champion will likely be the most interested of all observers when the women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs in June.

Advertisement

Nunes was in attendance at UFC 314 in Miami, where it was announced that “Lioness” would be enshrined in the promotion’s Hall of Fame this summer. Nunes gave multiple interviews during the weekend, and she often indicated that her UFC return was imminent.

If all goes as planned, Nunes will face the winner of the Julianna Pena-Kayla Harrison championship clash slated for UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. Nunes already has history with Pena, but a fight with Harrison might be even more intriguing for the Brazilian.

“Kayla or Julianna, I want my belt back, and I’ll fight for it,” Nunes said on UFC Fight Pass Brasil (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I’m driven by challenges. I like to fight for something. Kayla is strong as hell, that’s the one I wa…

The UFC 316 lineup continues to grow, as a couple more bouts were made official for the June 7 event.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Tuesday that Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista will square off at bantamweight, while Johnny Walker will face Azamat Murzakanov on the upcoming card. UFC 316 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and is headlined by a bantamweight championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. Vera vs. Bautista was originally scheduled for UFC Des Moines on May 3, but it is unclear why the booking was moved.

Vera has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, he dropped a unanimous verdict against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ABC 7 this past August. Prior to that, he fell to Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 299.

Bautista, meanwhile, will take a seven-bout promotional winning streak into the match with Vera. He is coming o…

Marvin Vettori is mourning the death of his younger brother following his death in a fire in Italy.

According to a report from TGCom24, a fire broke out at Patrick Vettori’s apartment in Mezzocorona, which is in the northern Italian province of Trento. Patrick died of smoke inhalation before firefighters could arrive on the scene. He was 30 years old.

You were and always will be [No. 1] my little brother! You left a void that cannot be filled, I will love you until my last breath,” Marvin Vettori wrote on Instagram. “I don’t think I’ll be the same after today because maybe I never told you but you’ve always been my strength. You were the smartest and smartest of the [two], you were creating a wonderful future for yourself and I can’t get over it.

“It is said that Jesus calls back the most beautiful souls prematurely to have them with him in heaven and then I hope that you are there with him looking and watching over us with that goodness that has always …

😳Jean Silva said he can KO Volkanovski in 2 rounds:

"I like him very, very much, but I think this would be a good fight for me. I could probably go for a knockout in the 1st or 2nd round."

Advertisement

🎥 @arielhelwani ▫️ pic.twitter.com/nCNw9IHKO9 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 14, 2025

Rising Brazilian standout Jean Silva is the latest to join the list of aspiring title contenders at featherweight.

While Silva isn’t among the most highly-ranked featherweights just yet, “Lord” is aiming for the stars by calling for a title shot next. The Brazilian now wants to challenge Alexander Volkanovski, whom he admittedly likes a lot.

“I actually believe that between me and Volkanovski, we would have a fantastic fight,” he told Ariel Helwani. "I like him very, very much, but I think this would be a good fight for me. I could probably go for a knockout in the first or second round.”

Silva submitted Bryce Mitchell in th…