Blog

FROM MANCHESTER TO LONDON 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿@LeroneMurphy comes in at 145lbs!

[ #UFCLondon | TOMORROW 4pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/AUhcuok8Jo

— UFC (@ufc) March 20, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's featherweight title eliminator is now set following the UFC London weigh-ins, which also featured a fighter missing weight by 8 pounds.

Advertisement

Headlining the UFC's return to London is a No. 1 contender bout between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. The winner will be in pole position for a shot at Alexander Volkanovski's championship later this year. All other fighters successfully made weight for the 14-fight card, with the glaring exception of Luana Carolina. The Brazilian unprofessionally missed the bantamweight mark by 8 pounds and came in at 144 pounds for her fight against Melissa Mullins, which has been canceled as a result.

The undefeated Evloev is 9-0 inside the promotion. Recent wins over Diego Lopes, Arnold…

The gruesome, heartbreaking ordeal of Aniah Blanchard, stepdaughter of former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Walt Harris, is about to come to a close.

Earlier in March, the trial of Ibraheem Yazeed, the man suspected of killing Blanchard in 2019, began. On Thursday afternoon, the jury came back with two verdicts of guilty for the charges of murder and felony murder—that is, the unlawful killing of a person during the commission of a felony like kidnapping or robbery. Both Class A felonies come with sentences no less than 10 years imprisonment with a maximum of life in prison. The verdict of capital murder, which would have made Yazeed eligible for the death penalty in Alabama, was not guilty.

Advertisement

The sentencing hearing will take place on May 7—Yazeed has six weeks to appeal the verdict—and the prosecutors are seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole. Per local outlet WSFA, Yazeed elected not to testify during the trial, and his …

The first pair of bouts booked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Azerbaijan share a common theme.

Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight broke the news on Thursday about the first two matches set for UFC Baku, which will be held at the Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan’s capital city on June 27. Both fights will be held at 185 pounds, featuring one Brazilian against a Russian adversary. The first will see Michel Pereira (32-14, 2 NC) take on Sharabutdin Magomedov (16-1) in a collision that may have rankings implications at 185 pounds. Pereira confirmed this fight by sharing an AI-generated video of him in pirate captain garb forcing Magomedov to walk the proverbial plank.

“Demolidor” put a three-fight skid behind him by claiming a split decision in a bloody thriller with Zachary Reese at UFC Houston in February. Before getting his hand raised, the high-flying Brazilian had succumbed to strikes from Anthony Hernandez and Kyle Daukaus that bookend a decision defeat …

At the tender age of 42, “Stitch ‘em Up” Joe Schilling is going to test himself in the confines of the Professional Fighters League in May.

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

Advertisement

After over six years away from the sport of MMA, former Glory kickboxing standout Schilling (4-6) will be coming back to compete in a cage again. The PFL released the news of his next fight on Thursday, which will take place at PFL Brussels on May 23. There, he will square off inside of the ING Arena with fellow former kickboxer Donegi Abena, who will be making his professional debut.

The one-time welterweight will be taking this match in Brussels, Belgium, at 205 pounds, in what will be his first MMA bout since October 2019. At Bellator 229, Schilling saw his lone career win streak come to a crashing halt when Tony Johnson put him away with one punch. This also spelled the end to his time with Bellator MMA, a…

⚖️ #PFLMadrid Official Weigh Ins are underway

PFL Middleweight World Title is official! 🏆

Advertisement

🇪🇸Costello van Steenis: 184.7 lbs🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Fabian Edwards: 184.7 lbs

PFL Madrid is streaming LIVE on the ESPN app this Friday, March 20th#PFLMadrid | Fri, March 20th | 📍Palacio Vistalegre… pic.twitter.com/7aTOpSW8AZ

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 19, 2026 A Middleweight World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET. The Professional Fighters League's middleweight championship will be on the line tomorrow, as the PFL Madrid card is now official following the weigh-ins.

The 11-fight card will be headlined by middleweight champion Costello van Steenis, looking to defend his belt against Fabian Edwards. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight. Two competitors came in heavy for the PFL's first European event of 2026: Kevin Cordero (136.6), who clocked in .6 pounds above the bant…

This seemingly insignificant detail will be crucial in the operation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s fight card at the White House.

On Monday, the promotion encountered a major regulatory snafu when the District of Columbia Combat Sports Commission weighed in on the fight card. As the UFC White House: Freedom 250 event is to be held on federal land and not under a state’s jurisdiction, the UFC can technically serve as its own commission in running it—a la the upcoming UFC Macau show, for example.

The drama all came down to a $100 permit that at the time the UFC was refusing to acquire. The D.C. commission and its head, Andrew Huff, stated that any fight card run without this permit would be considered unsanctioned and may not be eligible for records. Huff’s overarching concern is that any other event would receive this same permit that would allow the commission to be involved in the regulatory process, including the use of commission medical staff.

This c…

Lerone Murphy thought he'd clinched a title shot by knocking out Aaron Pico. | Getty/UFC

Last summer in Chicago, Lerone Murphy thought a title shot was all but inevitable.

After all, he had just knocked out highly-regarded Bellator MMA signee Aaron Pico with a spinning back elbow in the first round at UFC 319. Not only was it a “Knockout of the Year” candidate, but it extended the Englishman’s promotional winning streak to nine. The performance also caught the attention of reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Advertisement

However, Murphy did not get the championship opportunity he anticipated. Instead, it went to Diego Lopes, who only needed to earn one victory to earn a rematch with Volkanovski at UFC 325.

“To be completely honest, it was rough,” Murphy told the UFC. “After the fight in Chicago, I thought I’d done enough. Everyone thought I’d done enough. I go out there, co-main event, step in on short notice and get a KO…

Colby Covington says he's been iced out by the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Colby Covington’s most recent layoff might not have been completely by choice.

During a recent Q&A session with streamer N3on, Covington addressed the UFC’s negotiating tactics. According to “Chaos,” the promotion plays hardball when it comes to matchmaking.

Advertisement

“You have no say,” Covington said (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “Hunter Campbell, who is like the UFC lawyer, he kind of just tells you what direction they’re going to go, and it’s either you take it or leave it. So, you don’t really get a choice what you want to do. They just leave you. They ice you. They won’t give you fights. They’ll just let you sit out there. They’ll say, ‘Hey, you turned down this fight, now you’re not going to fight for the year. You’re not going to make money.’ They’ll freeze you out.

“Even if it’s not a good move, and you’re not getting paid what you think you deserve, it doesn’t …

Charles Oliveira's coach was defiant when discussing the Brazilian's dominance at UFC 326. | Getty/UFC

Two weeks after Charles Oliveira's BMF belt win over Max Holloway at UFC 326, Sherdog.com spoke with Chute Boxe leader Diego Lima about his athlete's next steps.

"Actually, Charles is returning from Las Vegas with his whole family this Wednesday. Four days after the fight, he gave a seminar in Germany and another in the Netherlands, returned to Vegas, and flew to São Paulo yesterday,” Lima said.

Advertisement

According to the Chute Boxe head coach, Charles' first option would be to make himself available to the UFC as a reserve for the main event fight at the UFC White House.

"Hoping that neither of them gets injured, because it will be a great fight, but we have already offered Charles as an option to be the reserve for this fight at the White House," Lima said. “Charles wants the belt, so he could take the winner of Topuria and Gaethje, or if…

Vitor Petrino is building momentum at heavyweight. | Getty/UFC

After watching Vitor Petrino's third consecutive victory over Steven Asplund in the heavyweight division last Saturday, Valter Walker challenged his countryman on social media.

"You're complaining about the ranking, so let's fight in June to see if you enter the rankings. I'm in the top 14," Walker said in a comment right after the fight (Petrino would enter the UFC rankings at 15th on Tuesday).

Advertisement

Petrino’s coach, Cristiano Marcello, told Sherdog.com that the challenge was not only accepted but also taken to the UFC.Challenge Accepted "Challenge accepted,” Marcello said, adding that the preference is that the fight takes place in July. “Our manager has already taken it to the UFC and we are just waiting for the answer. Valter is a good fight for Petrino. Now it's up there and we'll see which shield breaks through first.”

Walker has won four straight UFC appearances since dr…

Carlos Prates is eyeing a title shot with a potential win over Jack Della Maddalena. 

Prates is scheduled to fight Maddalena in the main event at UFC Perth on May 2. “The Nightmare” is confident that he will knock out Maddalena in front of the latter’s home fans. Prates notes that he will have knocked out two former welterweight champions if he starches Maddalena at UFC Perth. The Brazilian believes a win over Maddalena will make the next welterweight title shot undeniable for him.

Advertisement

Who Deserves It More? “I will knock JDM out,” Prates said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If we talk about media, I have a lot of media [presence] A lot of people like me, and I have a lot of fans. There’s talk about whether I deserve it or not. I think I deserve it. Of course, I will knock JDM out, and then I will have knocked out two former champions. So who deserves it more than me?”

While Prates (23-7) can already make a legitimate case for a title shot, the welte…

The BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira failed to impress many, including UFC boss Dana White. 

Holloway (27-9) put his BMF title on the line against Oliveira (37-11) in the main event at UFC 326earlier this month. Oliveira dominated Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes to earn a unanimous decision victory. Despite Oliveira’s dominant performance, some didn’t find it befitting of the BMF title. 

Not ImpressedJoe Rogan recently revealed that White also wasn’t impressed with the BMF title fight. Rogan was pitching the idea of muay thai and kickboxing fights to White when the UFC head honcho told him that he didn’t like fight between Holloway and Oliveira.

“The fights on [ONE Championship] are amazing, especially the muay thai fights,” Rogan said on his podcast. “I was trying to pitch this to Dana. So I started sending Dana all these high level muay thai fights and high level kickboxing fights. And they are f—-ing phenomenal. He did…

Islam Makhachev denies ever weighing 190 pounds on fight night. 

UFC welterweight champion Makhachev seems to be at least the same size, if not bigger than, most fighters in his weight class. Makhachev amazingly also had a dominant title reign at lightweight. 

Advertisement

Dustin Poirier, who made a failed lightweight title bid against Makhachev in 2024, recently made a surprising claim. According to Poirier, the UFC keeps a record of every fighter’s weight on fight night. Poirier claims UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell told him that Makhachev weighed around 190 pounds on fight night for their lightweight matchup. Which means Makhachev allegedly gained around 35 pounds after weighing in at 155 pounds. Meanwhile, Poirier claims he himself weighed only 176 pounds.He Said, He Said “Hunter, I was in his office not too long ago,” Poirier said on "The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “And they keep record of all the weights on fight night. They don’t release them…

The ALF Reality Series, also known as the Russian “TUF,” is proving to be too much for Daniel Cormier. 

Cormier and Jones are currently in Thailand, starring as rival coaches for ALF, where things often get out of control. While brawls are pretty commonplace, someone recently pulled out a knife on the show. That was enough for “DC” to consider leaving the show and flying back to America.

Advertisement

“Brother, I need to go home,” Cormier said. “I might give them their money back to stay at home. I can’t handle this. Someone’s gonna get hurt bad, like bad. I didn’t know it was like this. This is crazy, bro, like knives, everything.” 

While they are known for their bitter rivalry, Jones pleaded with Cormier not to leave the show.

“Please, we all really need you bro,” Jones said.

Not Worth Losing Your LifeJones then gave everyone a speech, explaining that a TV show isn’t worth risking their lives. “Bones” also admitted that even he didn’t want t…

Mike Perry is set to earn the biggest paycheck of his fighting career. 

Perry is scheduled to fight fellow UFC alum Nate Diaz on Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. The event, which will be broadcast on Netflix, also features fights like Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano and Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins. 

Advertisement

Next is Always Best Perry revealed that the Diaz fight will be the biggest payday of his fighting career. The former UFC fighter answered in the affirmative when Ariel Helwani asked him if it would be the biggest paycheck of his career so far.

“The next one’s always the best one. This is the next one,” Perry said. “I’ve been saying this for 20 years.” 

Perry fought in the UFC welterweight division from 2016 to 2021, going 7-8. Perry parted ways with the promotion in 2021 and joined Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where he found the proverbial second wind of his …

Carlos Prates has a lot of respect for Ian Garry. | Getty/UFC

Carlos Prates believes Ian Garry has the tools to beat Islam Makhachev. 

Garry is currently among the frontrunners for the next welterweight title shot against Islam Makhachev. Prates believes that while it’ll be an uphill task, Garry has certain skills needed to beat Makhachev. However, if Prates has to put his money on someone, he is certainly picking Makhachev. But Prates really wants Garry to win so that he can avenge his loss against the Irishman in a title fight, hopefully in Brazil.

Advertisement

“I think [Garry can beat Makhachev]. It’s hard, but I think he has some skills needed to beat Islam,” Prates said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If I need to bet my money, of course Islam. But I really want Ian to get the belt, and then we do a rematch in Brazil for the title.” Mutual Respect Prates suffered his only loss in the UFC against Garry last year. For “The Nightmare,” av…

Daniel Cormier is an athletic specimen. 

A former Olympic wrestler, Cormier, joined the American Kickboxing Academy in 2009 to start training MMA. Luke Rockhold was already an accomplished fighter at AKA by then. Rockhold recalls that Cormier could do backflips while weighing around 260 pounds and standing 5’10” tall. According to Rockhold, Cormier’s wrestling skills at heavyweight allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the sport. 

A Certain Confidence “‘DC’ was a freak man,” Rockhold said on "the Jaxxon Podcast.”. “‘DC’ walked into the gym 260 pounds, 5’10”, and he could do a backflip. This big fat motherf—-er’s doing backflips. He had a certain confidence and athleticism… Being able to have that wrestling at heavyweight, he could dictate a lot of what’s going on. He always was just very athletic, he had some wrestling and he could throw some hands.” 

Cormier was already 30 when he had his first MMA fight. “DC” joined the UFC in 2013 and went on to becom…

Youssef Zalal will be keenly watching the upcoming UFC London main event. 

Undefeated featherweight contenders Movsar Evloev and Leron Murphy will meet in the main event at UFC Fight Night 270 on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, England. Zalal believes the key to victory for both fighters will be to deal with their opponent’s strong suits. Zalal picks Evloev to defeat Murphy eventually.

Advertisement

'His Wrestling is Insane' “I’m interested to see how Lerone deals with the wrestling of Movsar and how Movsar deals with the striking of Lerone,” Zalal told Home of Fight. “… Whoever solves that puzzle first wins that fight… I think Movsar gets it done, his wrestling is insane.”

Evloev (19-0) has nine UFC victories to his name, the last four coming against elite opponents like Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen and Aljamain Sterling. Murphy (17-0) also has nine UFC wins, most notably against Ige, Edson Barboza, Josh Emmett and Aaron Pico. 

Meanwhi…

Ronda Rousey is favored against Gina Carano. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

There a couple significant betting favorites for Most Valuable Promotions’ first-ever MMA card.

The May 16 event takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is headlined by a women’s featherweight clash pitting Ronda Rousey against Gina Carano. According to online oddsmaker BetOnline, Rousey is listed as a considerable -500 favorite, while Carano checks in as a +375 underdog. Rousey hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Amanda Nunes in December 2016, while the 43-year-old Carano has been inactive since August 2009, when she suffered a TKO loss to Cristiane Justino under the Strikeforce banner.

The biggest favorite among the MVP card’s three featured bouts is Francis Ngannou, who will take on Philipe Lins in the evening’s co-headliner. The former UFC heavyweight king is a -1200 favorite over Lins, who is a +800 underdog. “The Predator” will be making his first MMA appearance…

During his prime, Alistair Overeem was part of a talented group of MMA heavyweights. | Glory Kickboxing

Heavyweight has never been the deepest division in MMA, but at its peak, the weight class featured a number of top talents across multiple promotions.

One of those skilled heavyweights was Alistair Overeem, a former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 champion. The Dutchman also challenged for heavyweight gold in the UFC. His last Octagon appearance came in 2021, and his last combat sports fight came under the Glory Kickboxing banner in 2022. He officially announced his retirement in 2023.

Advertisement

Over the course of his UFC tenure alone Overeem earned victories against the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar.

Overeem admits that one would be hard-pressed to find that type of star power in the heavyweight division today.

“It’s no secret that there is a decline, unfortuna…

Noksi Ndebele will headline PFL Africa on April 10. | PFL MMA

The fight card for PFL Africa 1 is now official.

The promotion on Tuesday confirmed the full lineup for the April 10 event, which takes place at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa and marks the launch of the second season of PFL Africa.

Advertisement

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

PFL Africa is headlined by a bantamweight clash between Nkosi Ndebele and Michele Clemente, while Justin Clarke will lock horns with Abdoulaye Kane in the heavyweight co-main event. The card will also feature first-round tournament bouts at welterweight and a number of other showcase fights in various weight classes.

PFL Africa airs on the PFL app in the United States.

PFL Africa Card Bantamweight Showcase: Nkosi Ndebele vs. Michele ClementeHeavyweight Showcase: Justin Clarke vs. Abdoulaye KaneWelterweight Tournament First Round…

Adriano Moraes wants to be free of constraints.

The three-time ONE Championship flyweight titleholder claims his contract with the Singapore-based organization expired in March, though he admits a few more details need to be ironed out before he takes his talent to another promotion. If this does turn out to be the end of Moraes’ tenure with One, it will have included 12 victories in 18 appearances and a career-defining trilogy with the great Demetrious Johnson.

Advertisement

“Unfortunately, I lost the final fight [with Johnson] by points at a great event in Colorado,” he told Sherdog.com. “They offered to renew me [and] I accepted, but from that point on, they greatly reduced their number of MMA bouts. Things were very slow, especially after Demetrious retired.”

Moraes, now 36, has not fought since he suffered a technical knockout loss to Yuya Wakamatsu in the first round of their One 172 encounter on March 23, 2025. Nearly a year has passed since.

“I expe…

A decision win will be like a loss for Sean O'Malley in his upcoming fight. 

O’Malley is scheduled to fight Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) at UFC White House on June 14 at the White House. “Suga” vows to look for a finish like there is no other option. The former UFC bantamweight champion is ready to give up his spot in the rankings if he goes the distance against Zahabi.

‘Take Me Out of the Rankings’“I got to have a f—-ng beautiful KO,” O’Malley said on YouTube. “It’s just like there is no other option. Winning a decision is a loss. If I win a decision, take me out of the rankings. I need a f——ing finish here.”

O’Malley (19-3) has finished six of his 11 UFC wins so far. While he is known for being a sniper on the feet, O’Malley’s last stoppage win was in 2023, when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the bantamweight title. O’Malley defended his title just once against Marlon Vera before falling to Merab Dvalishvili in 2024. O’Malley failed to reclaim the title in a…

Alex Pereira hasn’t lost hope of fighting Jon Jones at some point. 

Pereira (13-3) first called out Jones (28-1) after reclaiming his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 this past October. Jones, who was eyeing a return after his retirement in June, expressed interest in fighting Pereira. The booking was being anticipated for the UFC White House card in June. 

However, the card was officially announced earlier this month, and Jones is surprisingly not a part of it. Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Pereira believes he can still fight Jones in the future as long as he defeats Gane next.

“I believe so [there is a chance that the Jones fight happens]. As long as I win this fight [against Gane]. Otherwise, it doesn’t make much sense,” Pereira said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.”

Not Going Anywhere Jones retired last year after stalling the …