Blog

Movsar Evloev has his sight fixed on Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title. 

Evloev handed Lerone Murphy his lone pro loss via a majority decision in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Currently unbeaten in 10 UFC outings, Evloev is now considered the frontrunner for the next title shot against Volkanovski.

Advertisement

“Took London, coming for Sydney,” Evloev wrote.

Took London, coming for Sydney. #ufc pic.twitter.com/FkojJWqzql

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) March 22, 2026 While Evloev is known for his elite grappling, the Russian also held his own on the feet against Murphy. Evloev sincerely believes that he won’t need wrestling to beat Volkanovski.

“I’ll listen to your interview, and one thing about me, I’ll never make excuses,” Evloev wrote. “I truly don’t believe I need wrestling to beat you. You’re a great champion, and I respect you, but it would be something special to take your throne. Big respect see you…

Lerone Murphy suffered his first defeat at UFC London. | Getty/UFC

Lerone Murphy took a slight dig at the scorecards following his loss to Movsar Evloev. 

Murphy (17-1-1) and Evloev (20-0) put their undefeated records on the line in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. The fight was a technical masterclass, which had fans and pundits divided on how to score it. Evloev eventually earned a majority decision win despite getting penalized a point in the fourth round due to a low blow. 

Advertisement

Murphy congratulated Evloev in his post-fight Octagon interview, while also calling for the Russian to get the next featherweight title shot. However, Murphy is seemingly having second thoughts after rewatching the fight. Not one to talk much, the Englishman posted a laughter emoji upon rewatching the fight.A Jab at the Judges? “Just watched the fight back,” Murphy wrote on X. “Congrats to [Evloev] either way.”

Just wat…

Mauricio Ruffy will have to figure out his corner situation for his next fight. | Getty/UFC

The fact that Jean Silva was invited to attend UFC London was viewed by some as a way to pressure Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy to finish their title eliminator before the fifth round.

That didn’t happen, however, as the Russian won a majority decision after 25 competitive minutes. That result kept Jean Silva’s hopes alive of getting the next featherweight title shot and greatly reduced Mauricio Ruffy’s chances of doing his training camp at The Fighting Nerds.

Advertisement

In an interview with Brazilian journalist Diego Ribas published on Ag.Fight’s YouTube channel last Thursday, Pablo Sucupira revealed details of his last conversation with Ruffy about his problems with Silva and the possibility of doing his camp for Michael Chandler at The Fighting Nerds. Sucupira said he wouldn't have any problem training Ruffy at Cornerman's facilities, which are often…

Movsar Evloev hasn’t been guaranteed a title shot despite his win over Lerone Murphy at UFC London. 

Evloev and Murphy (17-1) put their undefeated records on the line in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Despite getting penalized due to a low blow, Evloev earned a majority decision win over Murphy. While the fight was widely considered a featherweight title eliminator, Dana White hasn’t guaranteed the next featherweight title shot to Evloev.

“Possibly, yes,” White said about Evloev potentially fighting for the title next. “Again, I’m not even thinking about that; the fight just ended.”

No Promises Meanwhile, fellow contender Jean Silva was also in attendance at UFC London. “Lord” previously claimed that he was flying to London to sign the contract for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Silva also walked up to executive Hunter Campbell at UFC London and seemingly handed him a contract. White did not outright dismiss the idea of Silva fig…

Mason Jones is a completely different fighter from his forgettable first UFC stint. 

Jones (18-2) took on previously undefeated French prospect Alex Sola in a lightweight bout at UFC London on Saturday. While Sola dropped Jones early with a spinning-back elbow, the Welsh fighter showed impressive grit in recovering quickly. Jones came from behind and put on a slugfest to earn a unanimous decision win, handing Sola (11-1) his only career loss. The brutal war also earned the “Fight of the Night” honors. 

Advertisement

Jones made his UFC debut in 2021 and went 1-2 with one no contest in the promotion, suffering his only career losses. “The Dragon” fought out his UFC contract in 2022 and decided not to renew it. Jones then racked up four consecutive wins in Cage Warriors to earn his second UFC opportunity. The 30-year-old has racked up three consecutive wins since starting his second UFC stint last year. Jones revealed that he never felt that he belonged i…

Danny Silva wants to avenge his loss against Kevin Vallejos. 

Silva (11-2)) knocked out Kurtis Campbell in the second round of their featherweight matchup at UFC London. The win saw Silva rebound from a closely-contested unanimous decision loss against Vallejos (18-1), who has since become a highly-touted prospect. 

Advertisement

Silva believes Vallejos’s stardom was partly built on his lone career loss against Jean Silva, who is now on the cusp of bursting into the UFC featherweight title picture. While Silva doesn’t want to build himself based on his loss against Vallejos, he will continue chasing the Argentinian. Silva believes his loss to Vallejos was controversial, with many of his supporters thinking he had done enough to secure the victory.Willing to Fight Anybody “I do want to bounce back,” Silva said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I lost to Vallejos; he kind of built his name off of Jean Silva. I don’t want to build my name off of [Va…

Michael Page isn’t happy with his win over Sam Patterson. 

Page took on former training partner Patterson in a welterweight matchup at UFC London on Saturday. The two Englishmen failed to impress the London crowd as the feeling-out process never seemed to end. Despite referee Rich Mitchell urging for more action, Page and Patterson just continued to occasionally touch each other from a distance. While Page earned a unanimous decision win in a bout filled with inactivity, London’s O2 Arena showered him with boos. 

Page admits that it was a frustrating night at the office for him. “MVP” accuses his opponent of coasting for most of the fight. Page says it’s difficult to track even lesser fighters when they are unwilling to engage. Page also believes Patterson knew when to avoid him from their past experience training together. What Page can’t comprehend is whether Patterson had a winning strategy at all. Page feeld that Patterson was just happy to go the distan…

Luke Riley lauded Michael Aswell’s toughness after their UFC London bout. 

Riley (13-0) and Aswell (11-4) traded leather in a featherweight matchup in the co-main event at UFC London on Saturday. Riley outclassed Aswell on the feet, clearly landing the more damaging shots. However, Aswell put on an impressive display of grit in refusing to go down. Riley earned a unanimous decision victory after fifteen minutes. 

Advertisement

Riley says that he knew Aswell was a tough customer going into the fight. And “The Texas Kid” lived up to his reputation against Riley. Riley believes he could have put some more power behind his shots to dispatch Aswell. However, the Liverpudlian admits that his hands and arms already hurt a bit from punching Aswell’s head.A Solid Head “I’ll be honest. He’s never been finished before,” Riley said in his post-fight interview. “People were saying he was tough, but yeah, he is tough. I feel like I wasn’t sitting down on me shots as m…

The next UFC featherweight title fight has seemingly been decided. 

Movsar Evloev (20-0) and Lerone Murphy (17-1) put their undefeated records on the line in a featherweight title eliminator in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Evloev displayed his superiority on the ground while also holding his own in the striking against the Englishman. Despite a point deduction due to a low blow in the fourth round, Evloev earned a majority decision victory. 

Evloev lost no time in calling for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, who was listening to the Russian live. Evloev preferably wants to make a quick turnaround to challenge Volkanovski in May.

“He’s waiting for me for a really long time,” Evloev said on the UFC London post-fight show. “And before he gets too old let’s make it happen… May, I’m ready. And if Alex is ready, let’s dance.” 

A Few Tricks Up His SleeveVolkanovski has been acknowledging Evloev as a deserving contender for a…

Dana White has doubled down on his stance about Jon Jones never being a part of the White House plan. 

Jones is not fighting at the UFC White House card in June despite having tried for a spot ever since the event was first mentioned. Jones recently claimed that he was willing to fight Alex Pereira for much less than he had demanded to fight Tom Aspinall last year. However, the UFC was allegedly not willing to offer more than $15 million to Jones, who didn’t think it was enough.

Advertisement

“Was ready, willing and physically able to step in,” Jones wrote on X. “I was willing to take substantially less than the Aspinall ask but they wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m. I felt like our fight was worth more.”

was ready, willing and physically able to step in. I was willing to take substantially less than the Aspinall ask but they wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m. I felt like our fight was worth more. https://t.co/u9ISd2bD07

— Jo…

Iwo Baraniewski was prepared for Austen Lane’s towering physique. 

Baraniewski made his sophomore UFC appearance in a light heavyweight matchup against Lane at UFC London on Saturday. Baraniewski took less than half a minute to drop Lane with an overhand right and followed up with vicious ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to step in. The undefeated Polish prospect earned a $100,000 “Performance of the Night “bonus for his win over Lane. 

Advertisement

Baraniewski later revealed that he didn’t expect to make such quick work of Lane. With Lane having a six-inch height advantage, Baraniewski was prepared to go the distance for the first time in his career. While Baraniewski had an easy night at the office, it was likely due to his hard training camp. “Rudy” revealed that he travelled to Poznan, Poland, to train with multiple fighters whose physiques were similar to Lane’s. Baraniewski also trained with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowi…

Mason Jones and Axel Sola left it all in the Octagon at UFC London.

The lightweights earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $100,000 apiece for their preliminary slugfest at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. Sola had early momentum by dropping his foe with a spinning backfist, but Jones gradually took control, outdueling his game adversary with a versatile attack that included punches, kicks and knees in close quarters. Ultimately, Jones emerged with a unanimous decision triumph.

Advertisement

WHAT A FIGHT!

📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/5qOliudV9q

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) March 21, 2026 Baraniewski, Dyer Get Rewarded Elsewhere, Iwo Baraniewski extended his first-round finishing streak against Austen Lane, securing a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. The Pole dropped his opponent with a two-punch combination, then sealed his victory with follow-up shots 28 seconds into Round 1.

Finall…

By hook or by crook, Movsar Evloev is now the last man standing.

Posting a clean 20 wins opposite zero defeats, with 10 of those coming inside the Octagon—all 10 by decision—Evloev (20-0, 10-0 UFC) kept his unblemished record intact by spoiling Lerone Murphy’s (17-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC). The two engaged in a competitive bout where judges and scoring media members largely diverged in their assessments. The Russian likely cemented his place for a crack at Alexander Volkanovski’s throne in their Ultimate Fighting Championship’s de facto featherweight title eliminator.

Advertisement

The UFC Fight Night 270 fight card, one where the betting line for the headliner to go to decision closed at -250 on some books, ended up needing its entirety to play out. As if he wished to prove a point—or perhaps out of fear of the UFC’s recent stance of cutting successful smothering grapplers—Evloev came out in the first round without completing a single takedown. It has been a long time sinc…

Sherdog's live UFC London coverage will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 270. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Dyer (-450); Oliveira (+350)Round 1 Lucasz Bosacki is the referee. Oliveira opens up with a lead hook-right hand combination. Oliveira blitzes forward and Dyer stumbles as she circles away. Dyer is targeting the lead leg of her foe early. Oliveira is aggressive, lunging forward with heavy punches but largely missing the mark. Dyer fires out a jab. Dyer continues to probe with her jab, mixing in low kicks. Dyer with a front kick. Oliveira tries to counter a low kick but Dyer has her guard up. The Brit lands a front kick to the face. Lots of swings and misses for Oliveira. Dyer continues to land periodic jabs, low kicks and front kicks, but it’s a relatively conservative beginning overall. Oliveira shoots and the strawweights clinch, battling for position against the fence. Dyer with some knees in close. Dyer connects w…

Mason Jones and Axel Sola produced more spins than a washing machine.

Serving as the preliminary headliner in the easiest call for “Fight of the Night” in recent memory, Jones and Sola (11-1-1, 1-1 UFC) collided in an absolute rip-snorter for three bloody, tantalizing rounds. The two threw caution to the wind across 15 violent minutes in their featured UFC Fight Night 270 prelim on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Jones (18-2, 1 NC; 4-2, 1 NC UFC) took home the grizzly victory with one score of 30-27 and a pair of 29-28 tallies, all in his favor, in a back-and-forth battle that will be remembered for some time.

Advertisement

Sola dazzled early with a spinning back fist that put the Welshman down but not out, and although Jones recovered to rip open a gash on Sola’s cheek, he had plenty of ground to reclaim. Jones put forth a full-throated effort, even launching a tornado kick to the body where he ended up in too close range. Jones constant attacks transformed t…

Gilbert Burns suffered some serious damage in his loss against Michael Morales. 

Burns suffered a first-round knockout loss against Morales in May last year. While Burns’s head was swollen from the impact, it went down within a couple of days. “Durinho” was briefly doing fine until he boarded a flight to Las Vegas during the International Fight Week at the end of June. Burns has terrible headache during the flight and decided to rush to the UFC Performance Institute once he landed. Tests revealed that Burns still had a concussion from his loss against Morales. The former welterweight title challenger had to go through another month of recovery routine before he returned to training.

‘My Head Was Exploding’ “The Michael Morales fight was the weird one, because I fell,” Burns told MMAjunkie.com. “I wasn’t out, but I fell and [my head] got swollen very big, next day bigger. And then the swelling went off and I was good for a week or so… And then, I think it was Internat…

Chase Hooper believes the UFC is trying to set Sean O’Malley up for a win. 

There were originally talks of a potential matchup between O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen, who Hooper recently trained with. However, O’Malley is now booked to fight Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14. 

Advertisement

Hooper believes the UFC has given O’Malley a “layup” with the Zahabi matchup. Hooper notes that the Canadian is shorter than O’Malley and a striker, stylistically perfect for “Suga.” While Zahabi has some wrestling, Hooper believes it’s not on the same level as elite wrestlers like Merab Dvalishvili, who beat O’Malley twice. Hooper would have rather preferred a matchup between O’Malley and Sandhagen.A Favorable Style “I think they are trying to give Sean as much of a layup as they can give him,” Hooper told Home of Fight. “Shorter guy that will strike a little bit. [Zahabi] wrestles a little bit, but not the same level as Merab, who [O’Malley] just lost to tw…

Eddie Hearn claims Tom Aspinall is not getting the money he deserves. 

Aspinall recently joined the management of Hearn, who is considered a longtime rival of UFC boss Dana White. Hearn claims Aspinall’s UFC contract has him in disbelief. According to Hearn, Aspinall barely has anything left after paying his taxes and his team. Hearn wouldn’t even have considered fighting if he were in Aspinall’s shoes. However, Hearn says that the UFC heavyweight champion is keen to return.

No Point in Fighting“I represent the UFC world heavyweight champion… His contract is a f—-ing disgrace, a disgrace,” Hearn said at a recent press conference (via Pro Boxing Fans). “And I cannot believe the money that he is on. When you look at the commercial revenue that his fight would generate against a Pereira or against a Gane in a rematch. Honestly, if I’m Tom Aspinall, I’m looking at that contract, I’ll go, ‘I don’t think you should even f—-ing bother me.’ But he wants to come back… By th…

It appears the author of the “Showtime” kick is making a comeback. 

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is scheduled to return against Adil Boranbayev at OGF 01 on June 6 at the Almaty Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This will mark Pettis’ return to MMA for the first time in nearly four years. 

An Unexpected PairingPettis (25-14) was the WEC lightweight champion when the UFC took over the promotion. “Showtime” fought in the UFC for a decade before parting ways with the promotion in 2020. Pettis went 1-4 in the Professional Fighters League and hasn’t fought in MMA since consecutive losses to Steven Ray in 2022. Pettis has since defeated Roy Jones Jr. in boxing, Benson Henderson at Karate Combat, and suffered a boxing loss against Chris Avila. 

Meanwhile, Boranbayev (22-13) has been fighting for nearly two decades, having made his professional debut in 2007. The Kazakh veteran is currently in a two-fight slump. 

…

Chase Hooper doesn’t like the matchup between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.

Interim lightweight champion Gaethje will challenge the undisputed champion Topuria in a title unification bout at UFC White House on June 14. Hooper ideally wants Gaethje to win the undisputed title and put a fairytale ending to his glorious career. However, considering the run that Topuria has been on, Hooper doesn’t see that happening. Hooper notes that “El Matador” has made a habit of putting legends like Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira to sleep. Hooper claims he was depressed when Topuria fought Oliveira and immediately turned off the television after the knockout. “The Dream” would have rather preferred a matchup between Topuria and Islam Makhachev, which was allegedly the original plan for the White House. However, Hooper is now prepared to be depressed, just like he was in the matchup between Topuria and Oliveira.

“I love Justin and I want him to win. I want…

Jon Jones remains confident in his abilities. | Getty/UFC

Jon Jones is not to be counted out because of his arthritis. 

Jones recently reminded fans that while arthritis is painful, it hasn’t robbed him of his skills. Widely considered the greatest of all time, Jones believes he still runs through most fighters.

Advertisement

“Random thought: Arthritis hurts, it doesn’t make you cripple,” Jones wrote on X. “I’m still smashing 99.47% of you out there.”

Random thought: Arthritis hurts, it doesn’t make you cripple. I’m still smashing 99.47% of you out there.

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) March 20, 2026 Shattered Dreams Jones stalled the heavyweight division for over a year before retiring last year. However, “Bones” returned to the drug testing pool within weeks of his retirement after UFC White House plans were revealed. But Jones failed to land a spot on the card despite his best efforts. 

While there were talks …

The champ is here: Fresh off winning the Professional Fighters League middleweight title via a last-minute comeback, Costello van Steenis established himself as a true champion with a technical knockout of Fabian Edwards in the third round (1:48) on Friday at the Vistalegre Arena Palace in Madrid, Spain.

With his countrymen supporting him, van Steenis controlled the bout early at PFL Madrid and outstuck the dangerous Englishmen. As van Steenis (18-3, 3-0 PFL) established his leg kick, Edwards surprisingly looked to clinch and takedown the champion along the fence. With Edwards stuffed and van Steenis dropping his weight on top of his back, the Spaniard dropped elbows to the side of The Assassin’s head until Edwards body went limp and was saved by referee Blake Grice.

Advertisement

For Edwards the loss is devastating; van Steenis was the first fighter to beat Edwards nearly six years ago and revenge was on his mind. Edwards won the 2025 PFL middleweight tournament…

Sherdog's live PFL Madrid coverage will begin Friday at 1 p.m. ET.

A Middleweight World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET.

Round 1 For the first time, a major MMA league will be planting its flag on Spanish soil. The PFL beat the UFC and other heavies to the punch with a fight card that is appropriately headlined by a local champion. Before we get there, a bunch of fighters from the European region will battle it out over the next few hours. The action starts in a catchweight affair that was scheduled at featherweight. Spain’s “Nacho” Campos (6-2, 0-1 PFL) made his proper marks, but the same could not be said for Frenchman Duragrin (4-2, 1-1 PFL), who eclipsed the limit by a half pound. The two will meet with referee Juan Villar watching on, and they share a fist bump to get things going.

Advertisement

Campos introduces himself with a few slapping low kicks, putting Duragrin on his back foot early. He chambers and fire…

Before today, rumor had it that Death once had a near-Chuck Norris experience.

Famed martial arts black belt and former Air Force Airman first class Norris was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday, where he was treated for an unknown medical emergency. TMZ stated that Norris was still conscious at the time and that he was reportedly in “good spirits.” A day earlier, Norris was working out on the island of Kaua’i in Hawaii, where a friend of his said he was joking around and having a good time. He had even posted a video on Instagram days before, showing the 86-year-old hitting pads on his birthday.

Advertisement

In his final video, Norris riffed, “I don’t age. I level up.” He continued, writing, “I’m 86 today! Nothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young. I’m grateful for another year, good health and the chance to keep doing what I love. Thank you for all being the best fans in the world. Your support through the years has meant more to m…