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Sherdog's live UFC Shanghai coverage will begin Saturday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 286. Round 1 Welterweights kick off festivities at UFC Shanghai, as Ding (35-10, 0-1 UFC) squares off with Nelson (7-1, 0-0 UFC) at 170 pounds. Matt Wynne polices the proceedings. Customary glove touch gets them started. Ding switches stances early and often, pawing with his lead hand from both sides. He counters a leg kick with an overhand right, then resets. Ding jabs at the body and gets off a body kick. Nelson answers with a low kick, then another. Raucous crowd already. Hard leg kick from Ding followed by a straight left. Strong start from the Colin Oyama protégé. They trade in the center of the cage before they exchange leg kicks. Nelson circles on the outside. Two minutes to go in the round. Nelson changes levels, ducks into a takedown and lands in side control. A short burst of significant ground-and-pound ensues from the Niagara Top Team rep.…

Ready for his second career UFC main event 🤩@UNmgdv | 135.5 lbs

[ #UFCShanghai | AUG 29 | 6amET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/RFPDW49s5b

— UFC (@ufc) August 28, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to China is set following the UFC Shanghai weigh-ins, although three fighters came in overweight.

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Bantamweight contenders Umar Nurmagomedov and Yadong Song will clash atop the 13-fight card. Both headliners had no issue making weight. However, several prelim fighters weren't as professional. Andre Lima missed weight for his flyweight fight against Namsrai Batbayar by 1 pound and will be fined 20 percent of his purse as a result. Meanwhile, both Jingnan Xiong and Julia Polastri failed to make the strawweight limit for their bout, with Xiong coming in 1 pound overweight and Polastri weighing 2.5 pounds over the limit.

Nurmagomedov (20-1) has bounced back from his first career defeat to Merab Dvalishvili wi…

The Professional Fighters League continues to build its upcoming event, scheduled for Oct. 16 in Chicago.

The card will be headlined by an undisputed women’s flyweight title fight between Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop. The bout is a rematch of the 2025 PFL women’s flyweight tournament final, which Carmouche won by knockout.

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Earlier this week, the promotion added a heavyweight matchup between Denis Goltsov and Maxwell Djantou Nana. An intriguing bantamweight contest has now joined the lineup.Sarvarjon Khamidov faces Rafael do Nascimento at PFL ChicagoPromotion officials confirmed to Sherdog that Sarvarjon Khamidov (17-1) will face Rafael do Nascimento (13-3).

Khamidov is coming off a second-round submission victory over PFL tournament finalist Justin Wetzell in June. The contest marked Khamidov’s first appearance of 2026.

A veteran of Bellator MMA and the PFL, Khamidov has steadily advanced through the bantamweight division.

Do Nascimen…

Joe Lopez has seen major improvements in Mauricio Ruffy's grappling since the Brazilian joined Alexander Volkanovski's team.

Ruffy is preparing for the biggest test of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career when he faces Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan's wrestling prowess is a key factor in the matchup, but Lopez believes his fighter has made significant strides in that area.

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Mauricio Ruffy’s defensive wrestling improves ahead of Arman Tsarukyan fight at UFC 331 Ruffy made the move from the Brazilian gym Fighting Nerds after losing to Benoit St. Denis in September 2025, joining Volkanovski’s team in Australia. Speaking to Submission Radio, Volkanovski’s head coach Lopez said Ruffy's development has been particularly noticeable in defensive wrestling and his ability to escape dangerous positions.

“Well, it’s just chalk and cheese,” Lopez said. “You can just see how he’s improving, you know?”<…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has added four more Meta Apex events to its 2026 schedule.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has approved permits for UFC events on Sept. 29, Oct. 10, Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 at its venue. The Sept. 29 and Nov. 7 cards already have main events, with the headliners for the two October cards yet to be announced.

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Rosas Jr.-Barcelos and Brady-Bonfim are set to headline two upcoming UFC Fight Nights Raoni Barcelos is set to face Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC Fight Night 289 on Sept. 29. The matchup pits an MMA veteran against one of the brightest up-and-coming prospects in the sport.

The main events for the UFC Fight Night on Oct. 10 and the UFC Fight Night on Oct. 31 haven’t been announced as yet, but multiple undercard fights on the cards have been revealed.

Some of the fights scheduled for the Oct. 10 card include Andre Fili vs. Kai Kamaka III, Lupita Godinez vs. Ketlen Souza, Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Otari Tanzilovi and Matheu…

Claressa Shields has revealed why a boxing bout against Cris Cyborg fell through.

During a recent interview, Shields discussed a previous offer for the proposed Cyborg fight, which the Brazilian allegedly turned down.

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Shields says a sparring session changed her relationship with Cris Cyborg Shields claims Cyborg turned down a $2 million offer to box her, despite them being on good terms.

“But as far as Cris, she turned $2 million already back when a guy from Saudi had $3 million for her,” Shields told TMZ Sports. “Well, $3 million for me and $2 million for her and we could [do that at] 154 [pounds]. She turned it down and that's back when we were cool.”

The American now claims that they aren’t on good terms, speculating that the bad blood stems from a previous training session, which Shields claims to have dominated.

“Right now, she got all this, ‘Oh, she don't like me,’” Shields added. “I think she don't like me because I whooped her a*…

Alex Apodaca has little time to celebrate the biggest win of her career.

Apodaca pulled off the biggest upset in Dana White’s Contender Series history on Aug. 25, earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract after defeating heavily favored Bella Mir over three rounds. When asked how she plans to celebrate the major victory, Apodaca said that she has a day job obligation scheduled for the next morning.

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Alex Apodaca plans to keep accounting job after upsetting Bella Mir on DWCS Despite beating Mir and pulling off the biggest upset in DWCS history, the 32-year-old bantamweight won't be stepping away from her day job just yet. Apodaca revealed after the fight that she had an early morning commitment at her accounting firm.

“I am gonna party my *ss off, but I have work in the morning. I have a call at like 7:30 a.m.,” Apodaca said at the post-fight presser following Week 3 of DWCS Season 10.

Apodaca works full-time as a consultant at an ac…

Alejandra Lara has been suspended and fined by the Nevada Athletic Commission after reportedly testing positive for a cocaine metabolite.

The commission recently announced that Lara settled for a nine-month suspension stemming from a positive test for benzoylecgonine. She was also fined $412.50 and ordered to pay $250.60 in legal fees.

Alejandra Lara reportedly tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine Lara will become eligible to return on Jan. 24, 2027. The 32-year-old Colombian reportedly tested positive in connection with her April 24 bout at Tuff-N-Uff 153. Lara lost the fight to Jaleen Robledo via third-round guillotine.

The defeat dropped Lara's record to 12-10 and she’s gone 3-3 since departing Bellator in 2023.

Lara spent much of her Bellator tenure competing in the promotion's women's flyweight division. She went 3-6 inside the organization and challenged Ilima-Lei Macfarlane for the Bellator women's flyweight title in June 2018. Lara lost t…

Merab Dvalishvili has clarified that he has no bad blood with Islam Makhachev despite what the latter believes.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder addressed recent comments from Makhachev after the welterweight champ appeared to accuse Dvalishvili of being unhappy with his success after he defended his title against Ian Garry at UFC 330.

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Merab Dvalishvili explains what really upset him after Islam Makhachev's UFC 330 win Dvalishvili explained on social media that his frustration with Makhachev's victory at UFC 330 was directed at the latter's team bringing a Russian flag into the Octagon, rather than at the champion himself.

“I like Islam Makhachev,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “I think he’s a great and humble champion. I respect all the hard work he has put into his career, I have nothing but respect for him. But when I saw his team bring the Russian flag into the Octagon, I was upset. And the reason I reacted that way …

Tyson Fury has admitted he did not take Francis Ngannou seriously, a mindset that nearly cost him the fight.

Fury faced Ngannou in October 2023 in the latter's professional boxing debut. Despite being knocked down by a powerful punch in the third round, Fury recovered to edge Ngannou by split decision over 10 rounds.

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Francis Ngannou knocked Fury down after the heavyweight dismissed the bout as an exhibition In a recent interview with ALF Global, Fury admitted he was underprepared for his bout with Ngannou. He explained that he viewed the matchup more as an exhibition than a serious fight.

“No, I didn’t train for him because I didn’t think he was a good fighter,” Fury said. “I knew he was a good fighter, but to me it’s levels to boxing.”

Fury explained that he viewed the matchup differently because the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ doesn’t have any boxing credentials or accolades. The Englishman also discussed Ngannou’s mindset g…

Rafael dos Anjos claims multiple surgeries forced his long hiatus.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder returns to the Octagon after nearly two years against Alexander Hernandez at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Brazilian suffered a 90-second stoppage loss after injuring his left knee in his last outing against Geoff Neal in October 2024.

Rafael dos Anjos details the knee surgeries that threatened his UFC career In a recent interview, dos Anjos revealed that he has since undergone three surgeries on his left knee. A doctor in Brazil initially stitched up his meniscus, which apparently was a big mistake. He again tore his meniscus after a few months and underwent surgery in Austin, Texas, in the U.S.

However, the American doctor allegedly left some stitches inside dos Anjos’ knee, which subsequently led to inflammation. The former champ then went under the knife for the third time earlier this year. He admits that t…

Sean Brady claims Carlos Prates doesn’t have the tools to deal with Islam Makhachev’s wrestling.

Michael Morales (19-0) and Prates (24-7) are the leading contenders for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot against Makhachev (29-1). Brady believes Morales will give Makhachev a harder time than Prates will, citing how the Ecuadorian is more of an unknown and his grappling hasn’t been put to the test in the UFC.

Sean Brady explains why Michael Morales poses a tougher test for Islam Makhachev While Brady (19-2) acknowledges Prates’ dangerous knockout power, he believes Makhachev will have his way against the Brazilian on the ground. Brady notes that we’re yet to see Morales get challenged on the ground, hence making him more of a puzzle for the UFC welterweight champ.

“I think Prates can knock anybody out, for sure,” Brady told Ariel Helwani. “Out of Prates and Morales, everyone’s gonna say I’m biased because I lost to Morales, but I think Morale…

Ronald Humphrey doesn't have any shortage of confidence when it comes to his appetite for violence.

Humphrey, who recently beat Alexis Miranda on Dana White’s Contender Series via submission to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, grabbed fans’ attention for his killer instinct. He has since claimed that he “embodies violence a lot in a healthy way.”

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Ronald Humphrey explains why he says he 'embodies violence' after earning a UFC contract When asked about the criticism of Ian Garry's performance in the recent welterweight title fight and UFC CEO Dana White’s comments about the Irishman’s lack of killer instinct, Humphrey offered a very different perspective, explaining that violence is a central part of how he approaches life.

“Yeah, I embody violence. I love it,” Humphrey said. “Literally, I'll walk into like a Whole Foods sometimes, and I just see all the people that can't fight. I'm like, man, I could really f*ck all y'all up, and th…

Bella Mir is taking her first professional mixed martial arts loss well.

Mir, the daughter of former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Frank Mir, was one of the most highly touted prospects going into her Dana White’s Contender Series clash against Alex Apodaca. She was a -6000 favorite, the biggest in DWCS history, ahead of the fight.

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However, Apodaca edged out a hard-fought unanimous decision over Mir in the biggest upset in DWCS history. The latter has now taken to social media to address her defeat.Bella Mir vows to rebound after Alex Apodaca hands her first professional MMA defeat Mir (4-1) has since issued her first statement in the aftermath of her first professional MMA loss. She says that this is not the first time she has handled a defeat, albeit this was under the biggest spotlight. Mir vows to bounce back stronger, as she has from all of her previous setbacks.

“I’ve lost so many times,” Mir wrote on Instagram. “Big or small, e…

Jose Delgado believes Jean Silva is hiding his real personality.

Delgado (12-2) and Silva (17-3) will headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s fourth edition of Noche UFC on Sept. 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Silva was originally scheduled to fight Yair Rodriguez, who pulled out due to an injury. Following Rodriguez’s withdrawal, Delgado stepped up and recently slammed his upcoming opponent, calling his persona inauthentic.

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Jose Delgado attacks Jean Silva’s persona ahead of Noche UFC 4 Delgado is high in confidence going into Noche UFC 4. He recently claimed that beating Silva puts him in title contention, setting him up for the winner of UFC 333’s featherweight championship main event between current champ Alexander Volkanovski and unbeaten challenger Movsar Evloev.

“I expect violence. I expect to break this guy,” Delgado told Ariel Helwani. “I expect a freaking stunner of a KO… If Jean Silva took out Yair Rodriguez, he’…

Sean Brady believes Din Thomas could’ve handled his retirement from cornering better.

Thomas announced his retirement from cornering live on air after his fighter Gillian Robertson made a failed Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title bid against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330. The former fighter faced severe backlash for stealing the moment right after his fighter lost the biggest fight of her life and subsequently issued an apology to Robertson.

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While Brady doesn’t approve of Thomas’ public comments about Robertson, he’s still open to having the UFC analyst in his corner.Sean Brady discusses Din Thomas after Gillian Robertson’s UFC 330 title loss On the “Deep Waters” podcast, Thomas hinted that he will be in Brady’s (19-2) corner in his upcoming clash against Gabriel Bonfim (20-1) on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However, Brady didn’t confirm if Thomas will be in his corner on Nov. 7. While he didn’t like Thomas announcing his retirement af…

Aspen Ladd will debut for BKB on Saturday in Miami. Aspen Ladd believes the next year will be great for women’s mixed martial arts.

Ladd recently weighed in on the merger between the Professional Fighters League and Most Valuable Promotions. She’s slightly skeptical about the merger, considering things didn’t play out as expected with PFL’s acquisition of Bellator in 2023, but remains optimistic.

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Aspen Ladd discussed MVP-PFL merger, critiques UFC’s handling of women’s MMA Ladd also notes that women’s boxing under MVP and bare-knuckle boxing under BKFC are rising in the meantime. With former Bellator president Scott Coker set to launch his own promotion next year, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete believes it’ll be a bright year ahead for women’s MMA.

“Because with the merger between, or supposed to be a merger, right, with PFL and Bellator, you thought, oh, it'd be great,” Ladd told Sherdog's Sean Sheehan. “They're absorbi…

Following a 52-second win, Denis Goltsov already has his next PFL matchup booked.| 📷: PFL MMA

The Professional Fighters League has added a heavyweight matchup to its upcoming event in Chicago.

Promotion officials confirmed to Sherdog on Wednesday that 2024 PFL heavyweight tournament champion Denis Goltsov will return against Maxwell Djantou Nana on Oct. 16. The matchup features two ranked contenders in the division.

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2024 PFL heavyweight tournament champion Denis Goltsov faces Maxwell Djantou Nana on Oct. 16 Goltsov most recently competed at PFL Charlotte, where he stopped Hasan Mezhiev via technical knockout in just 52 seconds in his first appearance of 2026.

Before that victory, Goltsov suffered a loss to Corey Anderson in July 2025. The Russian entered that bout on a four-fight winning streak that included his run to the 2024 PFL heavyweight tournament championship.

Djantou Nana has emerged as one of PFL Africa’s success st…

Islam Makhachev has revealed how many fights he has left in him before he hangs up his gloves.

Makhachev (29-1) recently defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330. The win over Garry saw Makhachev break Anderson Silva’s record for the longest winning streak in UFC history, having won 17 straight. The Dagestani wants to extend his win streak to 20 before walking away from the sport.

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Makhachev eyes three more UFC fights while chasing a 20-fight winning streak Makhachev knows there’s one record that he isn’t likely to break: most title fight wins in UFC history. With seven title wins, Makhachev is still far behind the record holder Jon Jones, who has 16. However, Makhachev notes that he got to fight for a title much later in his UFC career than Jones.

Makhachev revealed that he expects to fight at least three more times before calling it a career. With the logjam of elite contenders in the welterweight…

Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series saw the biggest upset in the history of the show.

Week 3 of the 10th season of DWCS went down at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 25. All five winners on the card walked away with Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

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Alex Apodaca defeats the -6000 favorite to cap DWCS 2026 Week 3 The main event of the card saw the biggest upset in the history of DWCS. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s daughter Bella Mir (4-1) was a -6000 favorite going into her bantamweight clash against Alex Apodaca (5-1). Apodaca outclassed Mir on the feet while holding her own in wrestling exchanges to earn a unanimous decision win.

White admits that while he is mostly unbiased in fights, he was heavily biased towards Mir, having been a mentor to her. White notes that Michael Bisping had correctly expected Apodaca’s experience to play a factor in the fight.

“Alex, what you had to face tonight… Now I’m very proud of mysel…

Abubakar Nurmagomedov is set to return to competition after a three-year absence.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight will face David Zawada in an 84-kilogram (185-pound) wrestling rematch under the AIGA banner in Istanbul, Turkey. The match is scheduled for ORA Arena on Sept. 20 as part of the Global Grappling Series 2026.

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Abubakar Nurmagomedov faces former UFC opponent David Zawada in Istanbul They previously met in the Octagon in November 2019 at UFC Moscow, where Zawada submitted Nurmagomedov via first-round triangle choke.

Nurmagomedov went 2-2 during his UFC tenure. His most recent MMA appearance came back in June 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.

Zawada, meanwhile, will look to repeat the result of their first meeting. The German veteran went 1-4 in the UFC, with his lone victory in the promotion coming against the Dagestani in Russia. He’s also competed in Oktagon MMA, the Profes…

Bilal Hasan's Ultimate Fighting Championship debut feels written in the stars.

The undefeated prospect will make his Octagon debut against fellow promotional newcomer Nilson Rojas at UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, with the significance of the date not lost on Hasan.

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Bilal Hasan plans a special walkout for his UFC Shanghai fight against Nilson Rojas Hasan takes on Rojas on Michael Jackson's birthday, a coincidence he described as almost prophetic.

“It still feels so surreal to be halfway across the world fighting in China on August 29th on Michael Jackson's birthday,” Hasan said in a recent interview. “Sounds like something out of like a prophecy or something like that. It still doesn't feel real.”

Hasan, a big fan of “The King of Pop,” plans to make the occasion memorable with his walkout.

“I have a sick walkout planned,” he added.

The matchup will open the UFC Shanghai main card, giving Hasan his first opportunity to compete since earning h…

Yadong Song has left no stone unturned in preparation for his upcoming bout against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Song claims to be well-equipped to deal with Nurmagomedov’s grappling prowess ahead of their Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight clash at UFC Shanghai. The Chinese 135-pounder even worked with Georgian wrestlers who are familiar with the wrestling system used by Nurmagomedov’s team.

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Yadong Song trained with Olympic and world champions ahead of UFC Shanghai While Song is a competent grappler, he’s well aware of the challenge Nurmagomedov presents and is confident should the fight hit the mat.

“Umar is a very tough guy,” Song said in a recent interview. “Even everybody knows he's a very good grappler. So, I just prefer to use striking... But if you want to grapple, let's grapple. Doesn't matter.”

Song further revealed that he traveled to Georgia before beginning his latest training camp, where he worked with Olympic and world champion…

Kai Asakura wants to showcase improvement in his next bout.

The former Rizin Fighting Federation champ endured a disappointing start in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, getting finished in his first two appearances. He then secured a win after moving up to bantamweight and is set to meet Qileng Aori next at UFC Shanghai.

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Kai Asakura targets Qileng Aori knockout after successful move to bantamweight Asakura recorded his first win in the UFC against Cameron Smotherman earlier this year. He claims he’s settled in nicely at bantamweight and vowed to finish Aori when they clash on Aug. 29 to extend his win streak. However, he isn’t just looking for a win, stating that he wants to show off some new moves as well en route to finding the knockout.

“I will knock him out and I will show a new combination this Saturday,” Asakura said at UFC Shanghai media day.

The Japanese fighter also revealed that he wants to stay active and compete again before …