Blog

Justin Gaethje doesn’t regret fighting Max Holloway instead of waiting for a title shot that will now go to Dustin Poirier.

Advertisement

Gaethje defeated Poirier via a vicious head-kick KO last year to earn the BMF title and bolster his relevance in the lightweight title picture. Poirier bounced back from the loss with a highlight-reel knockout win over surging contender Benoit St. Denis at UFC 299 last month, making a case for the next title shot.

While Gaethje would also have a legitimate claim to the next lightweight gold bid, “The Highlight” put his BMF strap in the line against Max Holloway at UFC 300 earlier this month. With champ Islam Makhachev adamant on defending his title this summer, the turnaround would be unlikely for the winner of that fight.

Gaethje admits that he ruled himself out of the next title shot by accepting the UFC 300 booking against Holloway. Makhachev will now defend his title against Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 on Ju…

Welcome to the League in 2025, @paulhughesmma 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/P4vAyHHpaC

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 20, 2024

The Professional Fighters League has signed top prospect Paul Hughes (11-1).

PFL president Ray Sefo was recently asked if there was any truth to reports of the promotion courting free agents Hughes and Salahdine Parnasse. Sefo replied in the affirmative while revealing that they had already secured the Hughes signing. The report was also officially confirmed by the PFL via social media.

Hughes exhausted his Cage Warriors contract with a first-round knockout win over Fabiano Silva earlier this month, extending his winning streak to five — a run which includes a win over UFC prospect Morgan Charriere. The former CW featherweight champ had teased a UFC clash against Paddy Pimblett while a free agent. However, “Big News” had also clarified that he would chose the promotion which valued him the most instead of limiting himself to …

[embedded content] Brendan Loughnane had to adapt and overcome some mental hurdles after suffering the first stoppage loss of his career.

In the 2023 regular season, the Brit was lumped up in 94 seconds by Jesus Pinedo, with a defeat that left Loughnane with five playoff points—and not enough for the featherweight top four in the playoffs. This put the 34-year-old on ice until April, when he returned for the 2024 Professional Fighters League 145-pound tourney. On Friday, Loughnane (27-5) bounced back in style at PFL Chicago, drumming out Pedro Carvalho in 86 seconds to get back in the win column.

Advertisement

While his first fight of 2024 went his way, Loughnane explained in the post-fight press conference that the loss to Pinedo haunted him. Loughnane mentioned that he even considered leaving the sport behind after the crushing defeat.

“That was the best Brendan Loughnane,” he said during the post-fight press conference. “I don’t make excuses for fights, but t…

A bantamweight clash pitting two promising competitors has been added to UFC Fight Night 241.

China’s Heili Alateng (16-9-2) will take on Brazil’s Kleydson Rodrigues (8-3) in a three-round meeting on a Fight Night card scheduled to go down on May. 18 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The news was first announced by Alateng’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). Rodrigues confirmed news of this pairing on his Instagram shortly after its announcement.

Rodrigues will hope to make his way back to the win column, coming off a submission loss against Farid Basharat in September last year. “K.R” has gone 1-2 in his first three Octagon outings, including a loss to C.J. Vergara and a first-round knockout victory over Shannon Ross.

Meanwhile, Alateng will enter the contest on the heels of a unanimous decision loss against Chris Gutierrez that snapped a three-fight undefeated streak. The Chinese national has wins over the likes of Chad Anh…

Magomed Umalatov has been one of the Professional Fighters League’s best-kept secrets for the last three years, but few will overlook him after ragdolling former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov for three rounds Friday night.

Umalatov (15-0) cruised to a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the PFL 3: 2024 Regular Season main event at Wintrust Center in Chicago. Despite taking Koreshkov down in the first round, Umalatov’s inactivity cost him the round on the judges' scorecards. “Prince” wouldn’t make that mistake again. Over the next 10 minutes, Koreshkov dominated Koreshkov on the mat while smothering all his potential offense. Although the two had 23 knockouts between them coming into the fight, Umalatov wisely decided to turn the fight into a wrestling match. With the win, Umalatov picked up three points in the welterweight standings but trails Murad Ramazanov and Don Madge, who each earned six points in the 2024 PFL Welterweight Regular Season…

The Professional Fighters League’s regular season marches on with the final event of the first leg of the 2024 Regular Season. The card is primed for an enthralling display on April 19 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, where featherweights and welterweights will battle it out for their stab at fame and glory with $1 million prize money elevating the stakes. Sherdog brings live coverage and play-by-play updates as the action unfolds live at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Business picks up at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN with the main card. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:

Advertisement

Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tyler Treese scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is building up its card for International Fight Week one large brick at a time.

The organization announced on Friday the addition of a major light heavyweight collision on UFC 303. Former champ Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 NC) will look to get back in the win column against the surging Khalil Rountree (13-5, 1 NC), with the latter riding a career-long win streak. The two will do battle on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and they will likely be seated on the main card.

Hill vied for his old belt—one he vacated due to injury, and not because he suffered a loss—against Alex Pereira in the UFC 300 headliner, and he came out on the wrong end of a first-round knockout. That defeat put an end to a four-fight win streak that culminated with him capturing the vacant 205-pound throne against Glover Teixeira in a one-sided five-round effort. On his way up, the Dana White's Contender Series graduate wrecked Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and T…

Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship star Nate Diaz will be going to court after all.

In April 2023, Diaz was arrested in New Orleans for second-degree battery. Multiple videos showed Diaz choking Logan Paul impersonator and amateur MMA fighter Rodney Petersen Jr. unconscious in the midst of a violent incident on Bourbon Street. Diaz and his team claimed he acted in self-defense, with Petersen allegedly pursuing him to fight. Charges from the Orleans Parish District Attorney were later dropped in September. On Thursday night, news broke that Petersen had filed a lawsuit against Diaz for the damage he sustained during the altercation.

According to initial reports, Petersen stated he suffered physical and emotional damage from the fracas. Of note, Petersen seeks compensation for damages and trauma, including a loss of income and his medical expenses. His wife, Bobbi Petersen, is also on the suit, where she seeks damages for loss of consortium—or the lack of love and suppo…

Some people knew Alexandre Pantoja was going all the way to the top when he was just a youngling.

Pantoja, the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion, defends his title on May 4 in his home country of Brazil. “The Cannibal” lived part of his life in Copacabana and later in Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently residing in Florida to train at American Top Team, Pantoja will compete in Brazil for the first time since 2013 when he faces surging contender Steve Erceg in the UFC 301 main event.

Advertisement

Pantoja's first coach, Petterson Melo, taught in the beach town of Arraial do Cabo. He highlighted that his pupil already showed signs of a promising future from his first steps inside the Luiz Alves Training Center, which to this day remains a staging ground for the formation of new talents in the Lakes Region. Melo spoke to Sherdog about his student’s past, and others that trained with him over the years.

“The boy was pure bravery,” …

Avazbek Kholmirzaev outclassed Zayundin Suleymanov on the feet and on the ground before recording a third-round technical knockout in their ONE Friday Fights 59 catchweight feature on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Kholmirzaev (6-1, 2-0 ONE) finished the 128-pound clash 16 seconds into Round 3.

Kholmirzaev, the taller fighter, came out light on his feet and attempted to pick his opponent off from the outside, occasionally blitzing with punching combinations. A minute and a half into the first frame, Suleymanov managed to get a body lock and slam Kholmirzaev to the mat, eventually securing mount. However, the Uzbekistani managed to make it back to his feet after offering his opponent his back and instead shot in for a takedown of his own. Once Kholmirzaev trapped his opponent against the ropes with back control, the 23-year-old unleashed a barrage of knees before the Russian managed to break away and avoid extensive damage. Despite the shots sustaine…

📣 #Yogibo presents #RIZIN47💥💥 Matchup Announcement 💥💥

RIZIN MMA Rules 61.0kg

Advertisement

🟥 #KyojiHoriguchi / @kyoji1012First-ever RIZIN Flyweight Championーーー🆚ーーー🟦 #SergioPettis / @sergiopettisFormer Bellator World Bantamweight Champion

🏟️ Yoyogi National Gymnasium,… pic.twitter.com/SnFB3SvWAu

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) April 19, 2024 Rizin Fighting Federation is not messing around with its trip to Tokyo this June.

The organization broke the news on Friday morning, announcing a trio of noteworthy pairings for Rizin 47 on June 9. The event will be held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. The main attraction will come at the bantamweight division, when Sergio Pettis (23-6) and Kyoji Horiguchi (32-5, 1 NC) run back a thrilling encounter in 2021.

Horiguchi and Pettis first met atop Bellator 272, with Pettis defending his Bellator MMA bantamweight throne against his Japanese counterpart. The America…

While Pedro Carvalho believes one aspect of the Professional Fighters League ruleset will take some adjusting to, he also sees an upside to it.

The former Bellator MMA featherweight is scheduled to make his PFL debut against former champ Brendan Loughnane (26-5) in the co-main event at PFL 3 on April 19 (Tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET for the main card.) Along with its unique season format, PFL also follows the unified rules of mixed martial arts, with some exceptions. PFL doesn’t allow any elbow strikes, significantly affecting ground and clinch exchanges. While Carvalho is mostly concerned about adapting to elbows being banned, he also sees an upside in not standing the threat of getting elbowed himself.

Advertisement

“Well, clearly the biggest one that I have to mention is the elbows, you know, we can’t elbow,” the 28-year-old said during PFL Chicago media day. “But I prefer to think that I’m not going to get elbowed, you know, I prefer to think the …

[embedded content] Bellator MMA has retained the services of a high-flying, hard-swinging Brazilian.

A fighter billed as one of the more talented featherweight prospects of Brazilian MMA, Jonas Bilharinho (11-2-1) will make his Bellator debut on May 17 against Frenchman Yves Landu (20-9). The 33-year-old first made a splash on the big stage in the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series. While he won by spinning wheel kick, he was not signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bilharinho spoke to Sherdog about this new fight, where he discussed his expectations of competing in a major organization and about the fight at Bellator Paris itself.

Advertisement

“I’m very anxious for that debut and it will be against a Frenchman in Paris,” Bilharinho told Sherdog. “It just recalled my debut in Jungle Fight where I fought a local from Sao Paulo in his homeland with all the cheering against me. But I really love to fight in that position because I like to use that…

Did they really give her Smelling Salts #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/q7nYsp1VO1

— D H (@diegomayra) April 14, 2024

Xiaonan Yan has issued a clarification about the chaotic end of the first round of her UFC 300 clash against Weili Zhang.

Advertisement

Yan (18-4) challenged her compatriot for the strawweight title in UFC 300 co-main event last weekend. “Fury” showed an immense display of grit en route to an emphatic unanimous decision loss against the champ. Yan was caught in a deep rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the opening frame and appeared to have passed out as the clock expired. She was visibly struggling while walking back to her corner but managed to gather herself and go hard for four more rounds. The Chinese standout admits that she had almost passed out but not quite.

“I think since she took my back and she got the rear-naked choke position very quickly. But I still believe I can defend that,” the 34-year-old said on …

Alex Pereira appears to have ruled himself out of competing again in a few weeks.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king prevailed at UFC 300, punching out Jamahal Hill to defend his throne. After the victory, “Poatan” expressed that he would like to make a short-notice turnaround for the May 4 pay-per-view event in Rio de Janeiro. On Wednesday, however, Pereira spoke with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, where he discussed another injury sustained during the bout that will likely keep him out of action for the near future.

Advertisement

“I broke the toe of the right foot 15 days before the fight,” Pereira explained. “It was during my penultimate sparring [session], so it didn’t affect my preparation at all. The problem is when it occurs at the beginning of the camp. But during the fight, I broke my left toe as well, when I kicked his leg the second time.”

With two broken toes, Pereira believes he would not be medically cleared, and could ri…

According to Logan Storley, the vast experience of competing in high-level wrestling tournaments for most of his life will offer him an upper hand in the Professional Fighters League season format.

Storley (15-2) is set to make his PFL debut against undefeated Russian prospect Shamil Musaev (14-0-1) at PFL 3: 2024 Regular Season on April 19 (tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET for the main card.) Like most Bellator MMA fighters making the switch to PFL, Storley will also have to adjust to the season format, which requires them to compete at a much higher frequency.

Advertisement

However, “Storm” believes his impressive wrestling pedigree will help him adapt well to the PFL’s tournament structure. An accomplished wrestler, Storley was a six-time South Dakota High School Activities Association title holder and a four-time NCAA All-American at the University of Minnesota. Storley believes his experience of competing in back-to-back grappling matches, while havi…

Having not won a title despite being one of the most highly touted Professional Fighters League welterweights, Magomed Umalatov has changed things going into his third season with the PFL.

Umalatov (14-0) was 9-0 with all stoppage wins when he started his PFL journey in 2021. Despite picking up consecutive wins over Kyron Bowen and Leandro Silva, Umalatov wasn’t featured in the playoffs that year.

Advertisement

“Prince” scored a knockout win over Jarrah Al-Silawi in July 2022 to earn the last playoff spot for the PFL 2022 season. However, visa issues forced Umalatov out of a scheduled booking against Rory McDonald. Umalatov scored back-to-back wins over Dilano Taylor and Nayib Lopez in PFL’s 2023 regular season but withdrew from a bout against Magomed Magomedkerimov due to undisclosed reasons.

Umalatov is now slated to start his PFL 2024 season against former Bellator MMA champ Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) at PFL 3 on April 19 (tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. …

Two more bouts have been added to the UFC 303 lineup, as Joe Pyfer will face Marc-Andre Barriault at middleweight, while Michelle Waterson-Gomez will meet Gillian Robertson at strawweight.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the pairing on Wednesday. UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler.

After winning his first three Octagon appearances inside the distance, Pyfer suffered his first promotional defeat at UFC Fight Night 236, where he dropped a five-round verdict to Jack Hermansson in the evening’s headliner on Feb. 10. That defeat ended a five-bout winning streak overall for the Dana White's Contender Series alum.

Barriault was unsuccessful in his first outing of 2024, as he fell to Chris Curtis via split decision at UFC 297 on Jan. 20. The Canadian known as “Power Bar” was coming off a 2-0 campaign the previous year, w…

Brendan Loughnane is one who embraces the grind of the Professional Fighters League season.

Advertisement

The format isn’t for everyone, but the 34-year-old Manchester native keeps coming back. He’ll begin his fourth season with the promotion when he faces Pedro Carvalho at PFL 3 on Friday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

“I am a fighter to my core,” Loughnane said during a PFL media event on Wednesday. “I love fighting. I love cutting weight. I love, I love training. I love competition. iIt's what gets me up in the morning — it's the spark, and that means more to me than money or any belt.

“[It] gives me purpose, and I absolutely love this s—t. I choose to do this. I made some good investments, now got a belt [but] I am choosing to be here and still fight the best guys in the world in the hardest tournament in the world because I love it.”

One thing that stands out among Loughnane’s comments is his enjoyment of cutting weight, a process that is typic…

Andrey Koreshkov and Magomed Umalatov may come from the same country, but this won’t be a friendly sparring match.

Advertisement

Koreshkov and Umalatov will square off in the evening’s featured bout at PFL 3 on Friday at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Friday night. The Russian athletes will be vying for points in the regular season standings at welterweight, and Koreshkov is expecting an intense confrontation in the cage as a result.

“I would say that there will be no compromises in this fight, even though we both come from Russia, but it doesn't mean that we will feel sorry for each other in the fight,” Koreshkov said through a translator during a PFL media event on Wednesday. “We are going to fight like we are going to fight anybody else, so it's going to be a very spectacular, very brutal, very exciting fight — so don't blink.”

A former Bellator MMA champion, Koreshkov has 31 bouts of professional experience to his credit. Meanwhile, the undefeated Uma…

For the first time in almost 13 years, we’re headed back to The ‘Ville. We’ll see you on June 8th for #UFCLouisville. @ufc pic.twitter.com/ogIMo5nYbY

— KFC Yum! Center (@kfc_yumcenter) April 17, 2024

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will venture outside the confines of the UFC Apex for its June 8 event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that UFC Fight Night card will take place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. It will be the UFC’s first trip to the city since March 3, 2011.

The promotion’s last card at the venue was UFC Live 3, which saw Diego Sanchez take a controversial unanimous decision win against Martin Kampmann in the evening’s headliner. The event also saw the likes of Chris Weidman, Mark Munoz and Rousimar Palhares earn victories.

The upcoming UFC Fight Night event doesn’t currently have a headliner, but multiple bouts have been announced or reported. This includes the likes of Ra…

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Lyman Good, and his partner, Micka Nugent, were involved in a car accident on Saturday.

Advertisement

While Good is reportedly recovering well from a few sustained injuries, Nugent is still critical and currently in a medically-induced coma. The news was first announced on the official Instagram page of Team Tiger Schulmann, where Good is an instructor.

Any messages or wishes for Good and Nugent are to be directed to the fighter-turned-coach.

“If you would like somewhere to direct your love and support, you can send a dm to [Good] and any messages meant for Micka he will read to her, as he is by her side,” read a statement on the Team Tiger Schulmann Instagram page. “He is not in a place to be bombarded with questions and might not respond anytime soon but he will surely appreciate the prayers and well wishes.”

Good kicked off his professional mixed martial arts career with a 10-fight winning streak befor…

[embedded content]

French light heavyweight standout Oumar Sy is set to make his debut on the big stage against Rodolfo Bellato in May.

Advertisement

Sy (9-0) will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Bellato (12-2) at UFC Fight Night 241 on May 18 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The matchup was reported by Eurosports_Nl’s Marcel Dorff in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). Sy later confirmed the booking on social media.

Sy will be making his promotional debut almost seven months after his UFC signing in October 2023. The French prospect sports a perfect 9-0 record which includes seven stoppage wins. The Bulgarian Top Team representative last competed in June 2023, when he stopped Brazilian UFC alum Ildemar Alcantara in the first round at King of Fighters 1 .

The Frenchman will face a huge step up in competition in Bellato, who is riding a four-fight winning streak that includes three finishes. “Trator” got his first Dana White’s Contend…

Weili Zhang took a potentially difficult moment and turned it into a positive at UFC 300.

Advertisement

While it appeared that Zhang had rendered opponent Xiaonan Yan unconscious with a rear-naked choke before the end of the opening round in their strawweight title fight, the bout was allowed to continue. The fight ultimately went the full 25 minutes, but Zhang was able to persevere — even surviving a knockdown in Round 3 — to emerge with a relatively clear-cut unanimous decision triumph.

Zhang came away impressed with Yan’s ability to recover, but outside of that, she claims to not have much memory of the rest of the fight.

“I really thought that she was out, and I did not know how the referee was going to handle that. But she bounced back very quickly in the second round,” Zhang said through a translator at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“I felt like I was in a dream. I blanked out during the fight. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

The UFC…