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Conor McGregor’s manager claims fans will see more of “Notorious” in the near future. 

McGregor (22-6) is scheduled to return to action in a welterweight matchup against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This will mark McGregor’s return to action for the first time since breaking his leg in a trilogy loss against Dustin Poirier in 2021. According to Audie Attar, McGregor plans to stay active after his return this summer. Attar claims the former UFC double-champion plans to fight again within a year. However, Attar also clarifies that they are not looking too far ahead.

One Step at a Time “He is definitely looking to stay active,” Attar told MMAjunkie.com. “Next fight, we’re not gonna wait a year, that’s for sure. We’ll see what happens from there. I don’t think we’re looking too far ahead at things. We’re just taking it one step at a time.”

While McGregor recovered from his leg injury within a year, he did not return to s…

Khamzat Chimaev believes he lost to Sean Strickland because of his nationality. 

Chimaev (15-1)was a massive favorite when he put his middleweight title on the line against Strickland (30-7) at UFC 328 earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey. However, Chimaev seemingly gassed out early and dropped a closely-contested split decision despite a valiant effort. 

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While Chimaev admits it was a close fight, he believes the scorecards swayed against him as he is not American.

“All judges are Americans, the organization is American, the opponent is American, and one is Chechen. It's a close fight. Who do you think will win?” Chimaev wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

“No excuses I [just want to] f—k him up. This s—t trying to run away.”

Khamzat Chimaev suggested in a now-deleted tweet that he was robbed against Sean Strickland because he’s not American

“No excuses I just wanna f*ck him up. This sh*t trying to run awa…

Nassourdine Imavov is adamant on avenging his loss against Sean Strickland. 

Imavov suffered his last UFC loss against Strickland in 2023. The Frenchman has since racked up a series of impressive wins to establish himself as the No.1 middleweight contender. Meanwhile, Strickland recently dethroned Khamzat Chimaev to win the middleweight title for the second time. Strickland has since acknowledged Imavov as the next deserving title contender. 

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Strickland on the Brain Imavov recently posted a skit of himself going to therapy to deal with his loss against Strickland. The therapist asks Imavov:“Are you okay, Nassourdine? It’s still him? Another bad dream recently?”

Imavov (17-4) says that everything is going well with him and he has been fishing and doing yoga for his mental well being. However, “The Sniper” simultaneously keeps texting Strickland (30-7), sending him emojis of coffins. Imavov refuses to answer when the therapist asks him who …

Conor McGregor returning at the White House was seemingly not financially viable for the UFC. 

McGregor (22-6) was originally rallying for a spot on the UFC White House card on June 14. However, “Notorious” is now set to return against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor’s manager Audie Attar recently explained why McGregor’s return during International Fight Week made more sense for the UFC financially. 

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The UFC White House card will not have any tickets on sale for the general public. According to Dana White, 4,300 people, mostly members of the military, will be seated on the South Lawn. Meanwhile, 85,000 tickets will be made available for free to the public to watch the event at the nearby Ellipse Park. Attar notes that the UFC is sacrificing a huge amount of gate revenue at the White House event. With McGregor being arguably the biggest star in the history of the sport, the UFC would l…

Tom Aspinall believes the winner of the bout between Rico Verhoeven and Oleksandr Usyk was decided beforehand. 

Aspinall’s longtime training partner, Verhoeven, challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title on Saturday in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven shocked the world by taking the lead in the early rounds and appeared to be on his way to one of the greatest upset wins in boxing history. However, Usyk dropped Verhoeven in the final seconds of the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk chased him with a barrage of unanswered shots. Referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight with a second left in the 11th round, declaring it a stoppage win for Usyk. 

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Aspinall deems it an unfair stoppage. Aspinall believes the officiating was biased towards Usyk, as they did not want a kickboxer, to win the WBC title. The UFC heavyweight champion believes boxing doesn’t like other combat sports, and the world of pugilism is closed …

Dana White lost a wager at the Brand Risk 14 influencer fight event. 

Influencer Bob Menery was knocked out in the first round by former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel at the event. White had bet $10,000 on Menery not to show up at all. White claims he had wholeheartedly believed that Menery wouldn’t show up until he stepped inside the ring. In case of Menery showing up, White had expected the fight to go exactly the way it did. Despite losing the wager, White gives Menery his flowers for showing up.

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“Menery showed up,” White told Fred Talks Fighting. “And the fight went the way I had expected if he did show up… I did [lose $10,000]. And I didn’t believe it until he actually stepped inside the ring. So he did it. I absolutely positively did not think he would show up, and he did. Much respect to Bob for showing up.”Poorly Prepared to FightWhite also confirmed that he is not interested in watching Menery fight ever again. The UFC head honcho cla…

Sean Strickland claims he isn’t earning even a fraction of what Jake Paul earns. 

Paul entered the Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes for 2026. “The Problem Child” is ranked 23rd on the list with a total earnings of $70 million. When Strickland heard the news, the UFC middleweight champion joked about terminating his contract with the promotion to go fight Paul. Strickland claims even a fraction of Paul’s earnings is more than he is earning in the UFC. Strickland is absolutely confident that he would school Paul if they met in the squared circle.

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“I gotta leave the UFC and go beat up Jake Paul. That’s it,” Strickland told Nina Marie-Daniele at a recent MMA event. “Leave my contract with the UFC. It’s time for me to leave. If I made even a fraction of that I would be making more than the UFC is paying me. I would beat the s—t out of Jake Paul.” Rare Air for MMA Athletes The only other combat sports athlete to make it to the list is Saul A…

According to Dana White, the announcement of the UFC 329 headliner had nothing to do with the Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" main card.

The Conor McGregor-Max Holloway rematch was confirmed on July 16 — just as Francis Ngannou was making his walk to the cage to face Philipe Lins at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The announcement came during a relatively nondescript UFC Fight Night 276 card, which only fueled speculation that it was made at that time to take attention away from Most Valuable Promotion’s first-ever MMA card.

Doing His Own ThingWhite claims the timing of the McGregor-Holloway announcement coincided with the bout being finalized.

"Not a coincidence," White told Fred Talks Fighting. "I had a f—king fight here that night. Anybody who thinks that I gave a s—t what was going on anywhere else is out of their f—ing minds.

"We announced it as soon as we got it done, and we were in the middle of our event. (I don't) give a f—k what those guy…

Sherdog's live PFL Dubai coverage will begin Sunday at 9 a.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Roun…

🔥🇹🇳 MEHDI SAADI L'EMPORTE À LA DÉCISION PARTAGÉE DANS CE MAIN EVENT !!

🤩 Grâce à cette victoire, il se qualifie en demi-finale du tournoi des -66kg du PFL MENA ! pic.twitter.com/cjeP7zXSXn

— RMC Sport Combat (@RMCSportCombat) May 24, 2026 The Professional Fighters League MENA returned on Sunday, as fights in the lightweight and featherweight tournaments took center stage.

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The PFL MENA 9 main event was a featherweight quarterfinal fight between Mohammad Yahya and Mehdi Saadi. Both men came out looking to strike, with Saadi (7-2) landing hard leg kicks and Yahya (12-7) using his longer reach to find success at distance. The legs of "The UAE Warrior" were heavily damaged as the fight went on, but Yahya never stopped coming forward and throwing punches. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth striking, the judges preferred the work of Saadi, who took a split decision with scores of 30-27, 27-30 and 29-28. With the victory, th…

Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Ilia Topuria’s defense is impenetrable. 

Gaethje will challenge Topuria for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC White House on June 14. Gaethje is a +385 underdog going into the fight against Topuria, a -500 favorite. 

Topuria is coming off three consecutive knockouts against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. However, Gaethje saw at least two of his fellow veterans find success against Topuria. While Topuria had dominant wins over all three, Gaethje, on closer inspection, saw Oliveira and Holloway winning some exchanges against “El Matador.” However, Gaethje believes Oliveira and Holloway even made some mistakes, which he knows he can’t afford against a precise technician like Topuria.

Upon Further Review“It’s very important for me to use my head for position and put my head in his chest, push him backwards, put him in a dog fight,” Gaethje told Grind City Media. “We’ve seen him getting hit…

Punahele Soriano’s plans for his next fight have been temporarily ruined due to an accident. 

Soriano recently revealed that he is currently recovering from a car accident. While Soriano originally planned to fight in July, the Hawaiian was involved in a car accident. Soriano claims his car was very slow when it was hit by an “old man” near a red light. Soriano suffered a mild concussion and injuries to his neck.

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‘I Was Kind of Embarrassed’ “I was like, I’m gonna look for a fight in July. I’m gonna start getting healthy; I’m gonna start training hard, but I got into a car accident,” Soriano told Home of Fight. “Some old man hit me. I got a mild concussion, my neck was jacked up. I was kind of embarrassed, actually because we were going slow, we were off a red light and just kind of T-bones me. I didn’t see it. I was so confused. It kind of messed me up.”

While Soriano (13-4) started his UFC journey as a highly-touted finisher, he dropped four …

Paulo Costa is no longer interested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev.

Chimaev lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland in a massive upset at UFC 328 earlier this month. Costa had initially called for a matchup against Chimaev after he lost to Strickland. 

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However, Costa (16-4) has now changed his mind. “Borrachinha” believes Chimaev won’t be able to recover from the loss anytime soon. Meanwhile, Costa wants to be back in action as early as July or August. The Brazilian is willing to fight at middleweight, light heavyweight or even heavyweight. Costa gave his fans three potential opponents to choose from: Sean Strickland, Josh Hokit, or Mike Perry.Weighing His Options “I know many of you guys want to have me facing Gourmet Chen Chen Chimaev next,” Costa said in a since-deleted post on Instagram. “I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Why? Because he broke; I think he’s done, I don’t think he’ll be back. And even he can grow and be back, it will not be…

Rico Verhoeven believes the scorecards did the talking in his clash against Oleksandr Usyk.

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, on Saturday. Going in as a +1400 underdog, Verhoeven shocked the world by dominating the early rounds against Usyk, even stunning the unified heavyweight champion. However, Usyk gradually started landing in the later rounds and dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the 11th. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk cornered him with another barrage of shots. Referee Mark Lyson then unexpectedly stopped the fight with a second left in the 11th round, declaring a stoppage win for Usyk. The controversial stoppage is facing widespread backlash in the world of combat sports. 

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Verhoeven says the lesson he learned from his fight is never to get comfortable and always stay focused.

“Never get comfortable,” Verhoeven told Boxing King Media. “Stay focused, stay switc…

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Francis Ngannou slightly disagree on Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Rico Verhoeven. 

Usyk put his WBC heavyweight title on the line against former kickboxing champion Verhoeven in front of the Pyramids in Egypt on Saturday. A +1400 underdog going into the fight, Verhoeven surprised everyone by dominating the early rounds. While Verhoeven appeared to be en route to one of the biggest upset wins in boxing history, Usyk dropped him with an uppercut in the 11th round. Verhoeven returned to his feet but immediately found himself on the receiving end of a flurry from Usyk. While Verhoeven was still on his feet, referee Mark Lyson bizarrely stopped the fight with a second left in the round. 

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Difference of Opinion While the stoppage is facing massive backlash from fans and pundits, Canelo thinks it was fair. The former multiple-division world champion believes the referee saved Verhoeven from a vicious knockout.

“Very good fig…

Patrick Habirora showed no respect to one of his most accomplished elders.

“The Belgian Bomber” stepped up his ascent in the Professional Fighters League and blew away onetime Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Benson Henderson with punches in the first round of their PFL Brussels welterweight main event on Saturday at ING Arena in Belgium. Henderson (30-13, 0-1 PFL) met his end just 20 seconds into Round 1.

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Habirora (9-0, 5-0 PFL) intercepted the MMA Lab cornerstone with a left hook and backed it up with a right hook that sent the John Crouch protégé into a nosedive. Prone and badly hurt, the 42-year-old Henderson ate a series of right hands before referee Mike Beltran could arrive on the scene to rescue him.

Meanwhile, former Ares Fighting Championship and TKO Major League MMA titleholder Taylor Lapilus cruised to a clear-cut unanimous decision over Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jake Hadley in their t…

Sherdog's live PFL Brussels coverage will begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

An elite and undefeated welterweight prospect headlines PFL Brussels against a former UFC champ: Tune in Saturday, May 23 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scor…

The UFC White House event is just around the corner, and the promotion has provided some insight into how things will look come June 14 in the nation’s capital.

The UFC on Saturday released renderings of both the setup for the UFC White House and the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest, which will include a number of fight week events as well as a watch party on fight night.

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History in the making 👀

New visuals for #UFCWhiteHouse and the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest are here!

[ Presented by @Cryptocom & @RamTrucks ] pic.twitter.com/PQP7dut7fE

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2026

UFC White House is headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will vie for interim heavywight gold in the co-main event. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

UFC White House Card Ilia Topuria vs. Justin GaethjeAlex Pereira vs.…

Former Bellator president Scott Coker has big plans for his new organization. | Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA

If one thing is inevitable about any Scott Coker-led MMA promotion it’s this: There will be a tournament.

Earlier this week, Coker announced his return as the head of an as-yet-to-be-named organization that will launch next year behind a team of investors and familiar faces from the entertainment industry. At the time, details were scarce, but the former Strikeforce and Bellator MMA leader has since offered some more insight into the fledgling promotion in an interview with the New York Post.

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According to Coker, the debut date is expected for January 2027 and will be highlighted by “a gauntlet of events that we produce in the first half of the year.” This includes a tournament that will feature a field “way north of eight” fighters. Coker, of course, was well known for producing tournaments during both his Strikeforce and Bellator t…

Sergio Pettis suffered an upset loss to Mitchell McKee at PFL Chicago. | PFL MMA

Sergio Pettis will face another up-and-coming talent in the PFL Austin co-headliner.

The former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion will square off against Lewis McGrillen-Evans on July 18 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The bout was announced during the PFL Brussels broadcast on Saturday. PFL Austin is headlined by a middleweight title rematch between Costello van Steenis and Johnny Eblen.

Looking to Rebound Pettis had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing at PFL Chicago, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to undefeated newcomer Mitchell McKee on April 11. Prior to that, “The Phenom” had earned consecutive triumphs over Magomed Magomedov and Raufeon Stotts. Pettis claimed Bellator gold with a victory over Juan Archuleta and defended the crown against Kyoji Horiguchi and Patricio Freire before relinquishing the strap to Patrick Mix at Bellator 30…

PFL MENA 9 is now official, but the card did undergo one significant change during Saturday’s weigh-ins.

According to a video posted by PFL MENA on social media, Zakaria Bichi did not make weight for his lightweight tournament bout against Basel Ahmed Shalaan. As a result Shalaan (155.6 pounds) will lock horns with Abdullah Saleem (155.6). Shalaan vs. Saleem was originally supposed to be a showcase bout at PFL MENA 9 before the card underwent other changes. Now it will be part of the 155-pound bracket.

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Bichi’s weight was not revealed. In the aforementioned video, a promotion official simply stated that he was “way heavier” and “cannot fight in the lightweight division.”

🚨 تحديث جديد على بطولة اللايت ويت

بعد سلسلة تغييرات في آخر لحظة… باسل شعلان أصبح رسميًا داخل البطولة وسيواجه عبدالله سليم في ربع النهائي

الفيديو يوثق لحظة إبلاغه بالخبر من فريق عمليات النزالات 📋

[#PFLMENA9 | الأحد، ٢٤ مايو | كوكاكولا أرينا، دبي | …

Absolute chaos between Khamzat Abaev and Luca Poclit at the #PFLBrussels weigh-ins on Friday! pic.twitter.com/McCxfBtsw1

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) May 22, 2026 While Professional Fighters League's early PFL Brussels weigh-ins proved relatively uneventful, the ceremonials had a bit of a brouhaha.

Headlining the Belgian event is a welterweight fight between mixed martial arts legend Benson Henderson and undefeated rising star Patrick Habirora. Both men had no issue making weight for the five-round main event. There was also one late adjustment to the card as Movsar Ibragimov will no longer face Youssouf Binate at bantamweight and will now take on Shane Campbell in a 140-pound catchweight fight.

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During the ceremonial weigh-ins, Khamzat Abaev and Luca Poclit squared off despite bad blood practically boiling over between the two. Earlier in the week during the faceoffs, the welterweights nearly engaged in fisticuffs. This…

World Boxing Council heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk will be the lighter man in his championship defense against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven.

Both heavyweights weighed in on Friday ahead of tomorrow's championship clash. Ukraine's Usyk is the much smaller man, as he only weighed 233.3 pounds, while the challenger came in at 258.7 pounds. That's a 25-pound difference in favor of Verhoeven. All other boxers on the card successfully made weight.

The undefeated Usyk (24-0) is widely considered the best heavyweight in boxing and is coming off recent wins over Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, each of whom he defeated twice. Also a former cruiserweight standout, he's one of the few boxers to have become undisputed in multiple weight classes. Meanwhile, Verhoeven is just 1-0 as a professional boxer and is 12 years removed from his debut. The former Glory heavyweight champion is considered one of the best kickboxers of all-time and has an impressive 66-…

Keweny “Leao” Lopes was born into deep poverty in the interior of Brazil. It’s not a rare scenario, but through hard work, belief in a higher power and maybe a little luck, the fighter finds himself in the Professional Fighters League with a chance to impress fans around the world.

He shared his personal history with Sherdog.com:

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“I’ve had every kind of job, except for trafficking or selling my body. I’ve never experimented with my health by taking drugs. I’ve been a cook, did laundry, was a janitor, a juice vendor, a stone smith, mechanic and factory worker. Thankfully I met some people who broadened my horizons and, through studies, I was able to improve my standard of living. It’s necessary to understand logistics and prepare well, so every mission can be accomplished.”

By age 20, Lopes moved to Rio de Janeiro to join the world-famous Nova Uniao team.

“I lived there until 2022. That’s when I moved to Zurich, Switzerland, to live with my son…