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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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.

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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.

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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.

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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! 🏆

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🇪🇸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.

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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.

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“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.

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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).

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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“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…