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Professional Fighters League made groundbreaking news in 2023 when it signed former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou to a contract.

After signing with PFL and the nearly unprecedented career flexibility it offered, Ngannou competed in two high-level marquee boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before making his mark inside and outside of the SmartCage.

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Helping launch the PFL Africa brand, which has given opportunities to top talent on the continent, Ngannou served as chairman. Now, after setting the table for a new generation, PFL and Ngannou are headed separate ways.

On Friday morning, PFL released a statement announcing it has released Ngannou, who competed once for the league, picking up a first-round technical knockout of Renan Ferreira:

“The Professional Fighters League has made the decision to part ways with Francis Ngannou,” a PFL representative said in a release. “We have great respect f…

A matchup of former UFC talents has been added to the PFL Brussels card.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that Taylor Lapilus will take on Jake Hadley in a bantamweight matchup on May 23 at ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium. PFL Brussels is headlined by a lightweight showdown pitting undefeated Belgian prospect Patrick Habirora against ex-UFC kingpin Benson Henderson.

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Continuing One Streak, Ending Another Lapilus boasts a five-bout winning streak that dates back to his UFC tenure. The 33-year-old Frenchman has been victorious in his first three Professional Fighters League appearances, notably ending a multi-fight decision streak with a third-round TKO of Kasum Kasumov in his last outing at PFL Dubai. Lapilus went 6-2 across two separate UFC stints.

England’s Hadley split a pair of PFL bouts last year, submitting Matheus Mattos with a twister in April before dropping a unanimous verdict against Macirley Alves in June. Prior to that, the Dana Wh…

Mauricio Ruffy is hinting that the UFC has big plans in store for him. | Getty/UFC

A month after his important victory over Rafael Fiziev, Mauricio Ruffy provided some insight into his UFC future.

Ruffy revealed that his next fight, while still under negotiation, should guarantee his spot as the next challenger for the belt.

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“If it’s not at the White House, it will be five rounds,” Ruffy told Sherdog.com.

Ruffy added that he has already returned to physical training following his win over Fiziev at UFC 325 on Jan. 31.

“I had surgery on my right hand after the fight, but it’s already fine,” he said. “I’ll go back to [punching] next week, but in the meantime, I’m keeping in shape and preparing the rest of my body. [Alexander] Volkanovski told me a lot not to stop training, and we’ll see each other again soon,” said the Brazilian, who made a point of praising all the treatment he received in Australia.

"It was really cool how Vol…

Mike Malott will get his first headlining opportunity at UFC Winnipeg. | Getty/UFC

The UFC Winnipeg lineup is gradually taking shape.

The Las Vegas-based promotion on Wednesday confirmed eight bouts for the event, many of which have been previously announced or reported. UFC Winnipeg — also known as UFC Fight Night 273 — takes place on April 18 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and is headlined by welterweight tilt pitting Gilbert Burns against Mike Malott. In the co-main event, Jasmine Jasudavicius will meet Karine Silva in a women’s flyweight encounter. In another newly announced fight, Tanner Boser will return for the first time since 2023 to face Bellator veteran Gokhan Saricam in a heavyweight clash.

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The preliminary draw begins at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT, while the main card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT — all on Paramount+.

A former welterweight title challenger, Burns is in the midst of a four-bout skid tha…

Carlos Prates understands why Conor McGregor might not want to fight him. | Getty/UFC

While there was no formal fight offered to him by the UFC, Carlos Prates believes there may have been talks within the promotion about showdown with Conor McGregor.

Last month, McGregor revealed that he had been offered a “no name” for his next fight in a since-deleted post on social media.

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‘I Wouldn’t Accept That Fight Either’ "I believe they did offer my name to McGregor and then he chickened out and ran away because I'm a tough matchup, man," Prates told Laerte Viana in a translated interview (via Championship Rounds). "The guy's been inactive for five years, and it's not even in his weight class.

"Even though his last fights were at 170 [pounds], he's not a natural 170-pounder. I'm coming in with all the hype, knocking everyone out, so if I were in his position, I wouldn't accept that fight either – no way. I think he probably wants to fight, I …

Petr Yan wasn’t impressed with Merab Dvalishvili’s title reign. 

Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley in 2024. “The Machine” then defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov, submitted O’Malley in a rematch, and defended his title a third time against Cory Sandhagen — all within a year. Dvalishvili then put his title on the line for the fourth time last year against Yan at UFC 323 in December. Yan completely shut down Dvalishvili’s game in every aspect and battered him down to earn a unanimous decision win. 

Yan wasn’t very impressed with Dvalishvili’s title reign, considering he fought O’Malley twice within that span. The bantamweight champion believes Dvalishvili didn’t even need to prepare for his rematch against “Suga.”

Easy Money “Two of those four fights were against Sean O’Malley,” Yan said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “One time, he basically mauled him, and the other time he choked him out with one arm. So does it count as…

Alexander Volkanovski believes Max Holloway is on the cusp of a lightweight title shot. 

Holloway is scheduled to put his BMF title on the line against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. Volkanovski believes Oliveira has to finish Holloway early or he’ll get stopped in the later rounds by “Blessed.”

“I’m gonna go with a finish for Max,” Volkanovski said on YouTube. “It’s either Charles lands and gets a finish early, or he gets finished in the later rounds… I’m leaning more towards a finish than a decision for Max.”

Volkanovski also believes Holloway, whom he has beaten thrice, deserves a lightweight title shot with a win over Oliveira. Volkanovski argues that Holloway has recently beaten the interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje and former perennial contender Dustin Poirier, while only losing to the champion Ilia Topuria.

An Impressive Run “He’s taken out Gaethje, who is the interim champ. He’s taken out Dustin Poirier, who’s fought …

Dricus Du Plessis was certain that he would defeat Khamzat Chimaev until the final seconds of their UFC 319 clash last year. 

Du Plessis put his middleweight title on the line against Chimaev in the main event at UFC 319 in August 2026. Chimaev dominantly controlled “Stillknocks” on the ground for nearly 22 minutes out of 25 total to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

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However, Du Plessis thought he was winning that fight until he heard the final 10-second warning clap. The South African claims that he was confident that he would either knock out Chimaev or submit him in the final round. When Du Plessis was briefly on top of Chimaev in the final round, he says he felt that “Borz” didn’t want to be there. Du Plessis is still confident that he can beat Chimaev in a potential rematch.'He Didn't Want to Be There Anymore' “He was not tougher than I expected him to be,” Du Plessis said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I was honestly thinking I was w…

Petr Yan wants to avenge his loss against Sean O'Malley. 

Yan suffered a controversial split-decision loss against O’Malley (19-3) in their first outing in 2022. O’Malley went on to win the bantamweight title in his next outing and defended it only once before losing it to Merab Dvalishvili. Meanwhile, Yan went through the trenches for a chance to reclaim his title and dethroned Dvalishvili at UFC 323 this past December. 

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Dvalishvili claims he has been guaranteed an immediate rematch against Yan. While Yan acknowledges that Dvalishvili is likely to get the next title shot, he isn’t counting out O’Malley, who recently returned to the win column with a victory over Yadong Song. 

Yan believes he was robbed in his first loss against O’Malley. “No Mercy” wants a chance to avenge his loss at the White House in June. Yan suggests that “Suga” should color his hair like the American flag to better his chances for a spot on the White House car…

Reinier de Ridder believes he hasn’t strayed too far away from the UFC middleweight title picture. 

De Ridder was on the cusp of title contention with four straight UFC wins, including one over former champion Robert Whittaker. De Ridder was then scheduled to fight Anthony Hernandez in October 2025. However, Brendan Allen replaced an injured Hernandez on short notice against de Ridder. “All in” brutally beat down de Ridder, forcing the Dutchman’s corner to throw in the towel before the fifth round. 

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De Ridder is now scheduled to fight Caio Borralho at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Dutch Knight” believes the winner of his fight against Borralho gets right back into title contention with an impressive performance.

“I think it goes for both of us,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “Whoever wins this one and does it in spectacular fashion, gets right back in the title mix. There’s a lot of cool fights out there and all I have to do is put him…

The rematch between Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas has reportedly fallen out. 

Tsarukyan and Poullas initially competed in a wrestling match at RAF 6 last weekend. Tsarukyan accused Poullas of repeatedly fouling by attempting to slap him, poke his eyes and grab his fingers. Poullas was penalized and Tsarukyan won the bout via points. Tsarukyan then took down Poullas and punched him, which led to a massive brawl involving several members of both teams. 

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Tsarukyan and Poullas were recently booked for a rematch in submission only grappling under Hype FC on March 11 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein claims Poullas is withdrawing from the rematch against Tsarukyan. According to Bronstein, Poullas wants the rematch to happen at RAF.Unfinished Business“RAF06 created one of the biggest moments in combat sports this year,” Bronstein stated on social media. “Now everyone wants the rematch. But…

Petr Yan claims a UFC staff member tried to take his original championship belt and replace it with a replica. 

Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch at UFC 323 this past December to win the bantamweight title for the second time. “No Mercy” claims a UFC employee approached him after the post-fight press conference and asked him to hand over his belt. The staff member allegedly handed Yan a replica instead, saying he already had an original belt from his first title reign. However, Yan refused to hand over the fruits of his hard earned victory. The Russian was disappointed with the whole affair, regardless of whoever was responsible for it.

A New History “I got the real, original championship belt, I had it over my shoulder,” Yan said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “We went and did the press conference and as soon as I was coming off the press conference stage, one of the UFC employees says, ‘I gotta get that belt and I’m gonna give you this one.’ And I said, ‘…

Ateba Abega Gautier has won his first four UFC appearances. | Getty/UFC

UFC 328 has a date, location — and a couple of fights.

The card will take place on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., a consistent destination for the Las Vegas-based promotion over the years. Additionally, two middleweight bouts have been reported for UFC 328: Roman Kopylov vs. Marco Tulio and Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Osman Diaz. ESPN Brasil was first to report the UFC 328 location and Kopylov vs. Tulio, while Marcel Dorff initially brought word of Gautier vs. Diaz — which was initially scheduled for UFC 320.

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Kopylov is coming off back-to-back decision losses to Gregory Rodrigues and Paulo Costa to close out his 2025 UFC campaign. Prior to that, the 33-year-old Russian had gone 6-1 in the Octagon from September 2022 to January 2025.

A two-time winner on Dana White's Contender Series, Tulio finished his first two Octagon opponents before suffering a …

Conor McGregor continues to tease his UFC return. | Getty/UFC

The timeline may have shifted yet again for Conor McGregor’s proposed Octagon return.

The Irish star once claimed that fighting on the UFC White House card was a "done deal,” but that no longer seems to be the primary target.

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"I am in negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship about the bout, either the White House or thereabouts," McGregor told Drink Litt. "Sometime in the summer, McGregor will return.”

🚨 Conor McGregor says he’s in negotiations with the UFC to fight this summer 👀

“I am in negotiations with the UFC about the bout, either the White House or thereabouts. Sometime in the summer, McGregor will return.”

(via IG / drinklitt) pic.twitter.com/VFS4jaVCiL

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 3, 2026 Same Story, Different Date Last month in a tweet he later deleted, McGregor claimed that he had been offered a d…

Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas are going to run it back — under a slightly different rule set.

Hype FC announced on Tuesday that Tsarukyan and Poullas will meet in a submission-only grappling match on March 11 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The match will be contested over 10 minutes. Tsarukyan had already been confirmed for the event but was awaiting an opponent. The card will also see Jorge Masvidal face Sharabutdin Magomedov in another grappling match, while UFC featherweight Jean Silva is also expected to compete on the card.

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Capitalizing on the Heat Tsarukyan and Poullas initialy squared off in a chippy wrestling match at Real American Freestyle 6 this past Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. While Tsarukyan emerged victorious, the real drama began after the conclusion of the match, when the UFC lightweight tackled his foe to the mat and threw a punch. That led to a full-scale melee in the arena, as Tsarukyan and Poullas were seperated during t…

It's been more than a decade since Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira first squared off. | Josh Schaefer/Sherdog.com

Since their first fight in 2015, Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway have followed parallel paths in different divisions.

While Holloway continued his winning streak at featherweight, defeating Jose Aldo by technical knockout at UFC 212 to take the belt from the fighter considered to be the GOAT of the division, Charles migrated to Chute Boxe, moved up to lightweight, restarted his career and after a sequence of eight victories, won the division’s belt by knocking out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in 2021.

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In 2026, the two legends will face each other again in the UFC 326 headliner, disputing the BMF belt that the Hawaiian has held since 2024 after beating Justin Gaethje and Dusin Poirier. Holloway has been pointed out as a slight favorite in the odds, but the only certainty is a very exciting fight. At least that is the opini…

Arman Tsarukyan believes the UFC shouldn’t be disappointed about his brawl with Georgio Poullas. 

Tsarukyan has been accused of unruly behavior more than once. The UFC lightweight contender faced Poullas in a wrestling match at RAF 6 last weekend. Poullas tried to slap Tsarukyan, poke his eyes, and grab his fingers, all of which are considered illegal moves. Tsarukyan eventually beat Poullas by points and landed one clean punch on the ground. The entire place erupted in absolute chaos as members of both teams flooded the mats. While security was quick to intervene, the brawl took a while to subside. 

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While the UFC has accused Tsarukyan of poor discipline in the past, “Ahalkalakets” believes they won’t be unhappy about the RAF brawl. Tsarukyan argues that he maintained his calm throughout the match while Poullas repeatedly tried to provoke him. Tsarukyan believes the UFC should be happy that he refused to get beaten up by a freestyle wrestle…

Paulo Costa is ready to fight Khamzat Chimaev in any weight class. 

Costa (15-4) will face Azamat Murzakanov (16-0) in a light heavyweight clash at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. While Costa is unsure whether he will continue at light heavyweight, “Borrachinha” is confident that he can still make middleweight whenever he wants.  

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Costa believes he can call for a middleweight title shot against Chimaev with a convincing win over undefeated Murzakanov. The former middleweight title challenger also doesn’t mind waiting for Chimaev at light heavyweight.‘I Can Fight Him in Both Divisions’ “[Khamzat] is the champion right now,” Costa said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I think after a good victory against Azamat on April 11, I get back at middleweight to be in line to fight him. Or I can wait for him at 205. I can fight him in both divisions.” 

Chimaev dominantly defeated Dricus Du Plessis to win the middleweight tit…

Merab Dvalishvili is determined to fight Petr Yan next, regardless of how long it takes. 

Dvalishvili (21-5) put his bantamweight title on the line for the fourth time in a year in a rematch against Yan (20-5) at UFC 323 this past December. Yan outclassed Dvalishvili in every aspect to earn a huge upset win via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili claims the UFC has guaranteed him a trilogy fight against Yan. However, Yan underwent lumbar surgery this past January, and his return timeline currently remains uncertain. 

Dvalishvili defeated Yan in their first outing in 2023. Dvalishvili is now 1-1 head-to-head against “No Mercy” after losing his title in their rematch. Dvalishvili wants to settle the trilogy against Yan in his next outing, no matter when the champion might return. “The Machine” believes the matchup is worth the wait and doesn’t want to fight anyone else in the meantime.

‘It’s Worth the Wait’ “I’m waiting for Petr Yan because this fight makes se…

Jiri Prochazka ideally wouldn’t have fought so close to the expected date of the birth of his first baby. 

Prochazka is set to fight Carlos Ulberg for the light heavyweight title in the main event at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Meanwhile, Prochazka and his girlfriend are expected to have their first baby, a girl, between April 13 and April 15. 

Prochazka recently revealed that the originally expected date for him to fight was on May 11. However, Prochazka’s girlfriend gave him permission to fight on that date only for a massive matchup. Prochazka then started negotiating with the UFC for a title fight, which is now scheduled even closer to the expected date of the birth of his girl.

It Has to Be a Big Fight “I would like to rather fight later, in June or whenever,” Prochazka said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “One month after the birth [of my baby] will be the best. My girlfriend told me, ‘If you have the title fight 11th of …

Ben Askren didn’t mince his words while reacting to Georgio Poullas’ wrestling match against Arman Tsarukyan. 

Poullas is a former collegiate wrestler who rose to fame by offering random people $1,000 to take him down. Poullas faced Tsarukyan, who is considered among the best wrestlers in the UFC, in a freestyle wrestling match at RAF 6 last weekend. 

Poullas started slapping Tsarukyan, poking his eyes, and grabbing his fingers from the beginning of the match. Askren, a former Olympian, expressed his thoughts while watching the match live. Askren thinks Poullas is an average wrestler who was afraid of getting exposed against Tsarukyan. “Funky” predicted that Poullas’ best chance to win was to make Tsarukyan angry enough to get him disqualified.Average at Best “Georgio is a very average wrestler,” Askren said. “If you look at his college record, it’s not very good. And I think he’s afraid of getting exposed. And I think his best way to win is to get Arman mad a…

Ian Garry is taking shots at Islam Makhachev and his team. 

Garry is considered to be among the frontrunners for the next welterweight title shot against Islam Makhachev. However, Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently claimed that the UFC is considering another massive matchup for the champion not involving Garry.

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“This is, I can tell you, the UFC working on a big fight Islam Makhachev  and [Ian’s]  name is not involved,” Abdelaziz wrote on X. “Much bigger. One of the biggest fight in the UFC right now they can make. Stay tuned.”

This is, I can tell you, the UFC working on a big fight Islam Makhachev and ian name is not involved. Much bigger. One of the biggest fight in the UFC right now they can make. Stay tuned.😉

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) March 2, 2026 Garry refuted Abdelaziz’s statement. 

“No they’re not.”

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Abdelaziz then slightly changed tune, saying Garry is st…

Khamzat Chimaev was allegedly ready to back up Arman Tsarukyan on a moment’s notice after the brawl at RAF 6.  

Chimaev and Tsarukyan have long been training partners and friends. Tsarukyan faced Georgio Poullas in a wrestling match at RAF 6 last weekend. Tsarukyan repeatedly accused Poullas of playing dirty, and the social media wrestling star was even penalized on points. Tsarukyan defeated Poullas by points and proceeded to punch him, which led to a brawl on the mats. Chimaev, who was watching the match on television, was seen quietly smiling as the arena erupted in chaos. 

Tsarukyan revealed that Chimaev immediately called him and offered to fly to Tempe, Arizona, to back him up. However, Tsarukyan turned down the idea and urged Chimaev to calm down. Tsarukyan admits that he and Chimaev together in a brawl is a bad idea. Tsarukyan claims “Borz” is the crazier of the two. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Chimaev is not seen engaging in brawls, as people are mo…

Arman Tsarukyan was disappointed with the overall officiating at RAF 6. 

Tsarukyan faced Georgia Poullas in the co-main event at RAF 6 last weekend. Tsarukyan repeatedly accused the social media wrestling star of using dirty tactics. While the referee penalized Poullas on points, he wasn’t disqualified. Tsarukyan eventually defeated Poullas and punched him, leading to a massive brawl. 

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Tsarukyan was not only disappointed with the refereeing in his fight, but also with the judges. “Ahalkalakets” says the judges did a terrible job throughout the night, especially in the matchup between Mahamedkhabib “Kadik” Kadzimahamedau and Evan Wick. A four-time Division I All-American, Wick defeated the Belarusian Olympic silver medalist via tech fall (13-2). Tsarukyan accuses the judges of awarding Wick points unfairly.

“Maybe 20 times he was trying to poke my eyes, break my fingers, and I showed it to the referee, the referee shouldn’t do that,” Tsaruk…