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A matchup of top welterweights will serve as the featured bout for UFC Perth.

Former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena will square off against Carlos Prates in the evening’s headliner at the RAC Arena on May 2 in Perth, Australia. ESPN Brasil was first to report the 170-pound booking, which was later confirmed by the UFC on social media.

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Della Maddalena is coming off a lopsided five-round unanimous decision defeat to Islam Makhachev in his first title defense at UFC 322 this past November. That snapped an 18-fight professional winning streak for the Aussie, who claimed welterweight gold by outpointing Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

Prates has been victorious in six of seven Octagon appearances — with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Ian Garry in April 2025. “The Nightmare” has since rebounded to post back-to-back knockout victories over Geoff Neal and Leon Edwards. Prates has finished all six of his UFC triumphs via knockout.

Contende…

Jiri Prochazka will get another shot at light heavyweight gold at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

With Alex Pereira likely moving to heavyweight, a new 205-pound champion will be crowned in Miami this spring.

Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg will vie for the vacant light heavyweight crown in the UFC 327 headliner, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced Friday night. UFC 327 takes place on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and will also see Joshua Van defend the flyweight strap against Tatsuro Taira in the evening’s co-main event. There was no mention of Pereira’s next move, though the popular Brazilian has been linked to fights against the likes of Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane for months now.

A handful of new fights were also confirmed on Friday, including Beneil Dariush vs. Manuel Torres at lightweight; Patricio Freire vs. Aaron Pico at featherweight; Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics at lightweight and Kelvin Gastelum vs. Vicente Luque at middleweight.

Read more about Vacant light heavyweight title at stake in UFC 327 main event

Max Holloway says fans shouldn’t count him out in grappling against Charles Oliveira.

Holloway puts his BMF title on the line in a rematch against Oliveira at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. A volume puncher, Holloway believes fans might be undermining his ground game leading up to his clash against Oliveira, who is a feared submission artist. “Blessed” admits that even his coaches don’t take him too seriously when he talks about the possibility of a submission win over Oliveira. However, Holloway believes both he and Oliveira can hold their own anywhere the fight goes,. The BMF champion says submitting a submission artist like “do Bronx” would really do justice to his title.

‘Never Say Never’ “The narrative is for this fight – If we can keep it on the feet, it’s me, and if we go to the ground, it’s like 200% [Oliveira]. Which is crazy,” Holloway told ESPN. “I feel like we both fought at the highest levels… Never say never. My coaches just keep seeing interviews of me t…

Being Max Holloway’s coach must be tough during the last 10 seconds of his fights. 

Although he was already winning the fight, Holloway iconically pointed down to the ground for a slugfest in the final seconds of his BMF title fight against Justin Gaethje in 2024. “Blessed” knocked out Gaethje exactly at the final bell in one of the greatest spectacles in modern MMA. Holloway’s inviting his opponents for a slugfest in the final seconds has since become a ritual.  However, Holloway recently revealed that his coaches are absolutely against the idea. While his coaches constantly urge to avoid a brawl, Holloway wants his final 10 seconds after sticking to their game plan for the whole fight.

'They Hate It'“They hate it,” he said in an interview on Freestylebender. “They tell me not to ever do that. They tell me to run away… I’m like, ‘Coaches, I love you guys, but you came up with the game plan. You made me fight this way the whole fight - just give me these 10 sec…

Ilia Topuria’s top three preferred matchups include Conor McGregor. 

Topuria recently revealed that his top three preferred opponents are Islam Makhachev, McGregor, and Paddy Pimblett. Topuria added that he would love to hand Pimblett the first knockout loss of his career.

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“Islam, Conor, and Paddy,” Topuria told Adin Ross on a Kick stream. “… I’d love to do that - to be the first one [to KO Paddy]. If someone else did it, I can do it too. And if no one did it, I can always be the first to do it.”High-Profile Foes Topuria (17-0) was the featherweight champion when he started rallying for a double champ bid against then-lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. However, that matchup never came to fruition as Makhachev moved up and won the welterweight title. Meanwhile, Topuria moved up and became the lightweight champion. While both parties continue to tease the matchup, Makhachev is unwilling to move down to lightweight. 

Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’…

Colby Covington wants to settle the score with Kamaru Usman, but in wrestling. 

Covington recently called out Usman for a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle. While Usman is currently rallying for a UFC welterweight title shot, Covington is ready to wrestle him if he can't secure the gold bid. Covington believes Usman would be interested in the proposition, despite having beaten him twice in the UFC. “Chaos” disputes his title losses against Usman – the first one as an early stoppage, and the rematch as a decision robbery.

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'It's a Huge Matchup' “I’d like to see Usman in Real American Freestyle,” Covington recently told Bloody Elbow. “We need to settle the trilogy in RAF. If Usman doesn’t get the title fight, come see daddy at Real American Freestyle and let’s do this trilogy, bitch… I think he would take the challenge - he’s a competitor, he likes to compete. He still has that fire and drive; he wants these title fights, he wants these bi…

Max Holloway’s pointing down at the ground in the final 10 seconds of his fights started with one of his former opponents taunting him. 

Holloway inviting his opponents to a slugfest in the final 10 seconds of the fight has gained a cult following in MMA now. “Blessed” recently revealed that his iconic move originated in his fight against Ricardo Lamas in 2016. 

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Holloway felt that he was comfortably winning the fight and planned to remain defensively sound in the last round. However, Lamas threw his hands up in the air in the final seconds, hinting that Holloway was coasting. Holloway initially couldn’t understand why Lamas was taunting him when he was winning. However, when Lamas did it a third time, Holloway threw caution to the wind and invited him to a brutal brawl. Holloway respects Lamas for honoring the invitation and letting his hands go.‘He Threw Down’ “It all started because I fought Ricardo Lamas… I felt like I was handling that f…

Rafael do Nascimento established himself as a bantamweight to watch after emerging victorious in the LFA 227 main event.

Legacy Fighting Alliance's final event of February saw the promotion pit two of its top bantamweights against one another. While Shuya Kamikubo attempted to make a name for himself in the three-round fight, the night was do Nascimento's instead. Early on, Kamikubo (16-3-1) repeatedly tried to take the fight to the ground, but the takedown defense of "Mulisha" was able to keep it mainly on the feet. Kamikubo repeatedly got his opponent down as the fight went on and looked for submissions, but both men were bloodied up. Late in the third round, do Nascimento (12-3) would land a spinning elbow that almost led to a finish. However, the Japanese fighter survived a rear-naked choke attempt to make it to the bell. After 15 minutes, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 for do Nascimento.

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The co-main event was marred by a weight mis…

Sometimes these things happen in boxing.

The Ring announced on Friday that Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his heavyweight crown on May 23. He will be squaring off with kickboxing all-time great Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO Box; 66-10, 21 KOs KB) at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The event titled “Glory of Giza: Undefeated Icons” will put up for grabs Usyk’s WBC belt, despite the heavyweight serving as the unified champion across all major sanctioning bodies. The boxing showcase will air on Dazn.

Unbeaten after 24 walks to the ring as a pro, Usyk appeared just once in 2025, where he mollywhopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth round to hold onto his titles while securing the IBF’s as well. Several of his recent outings the last few years have taken place in Saudi Arabia, where he squared off with names like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. In his last six bouts, he has beaten those three aforementioned boxers twice each.

In a statement provided to ESPN, Usyk gu…

Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship talent Melquizael Costa believes he has his division figured out.

Now a ranked 145-pounder after becoming the first man to stop Dan Ige as a pro, Costa took a long look at the rest of his division. While he currently rides a six-fight win streak, the man known as “The Dalmation” knows he still has some work to do to get to the top of the ladder. The next crack at Alexander Volkanovski’s throne may go to the upcoming victor of Lerone Murphy vs. Movsar Evloev, and after that, it remains to be seen. Costa spoke to Sherdog on Monday after his victory, where he broke down the future of his weight class.

“UFC is looking for exciting fights,” Costa noted. “In the papers, the winner of Evloev and Murphy might get the title shot, but I believe Jean Silva provides much more excitement, as he showed on his last fights, and I think he will cut that line.”

Of all the men in the top 15 at 145 pounds, Costa points to the Fighting Nerd Silva as …

Here’s one you never saw coming: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Jorge Masvidal, with a twist.

Russian quasi-MMA league Hype FC released the news on Friday that it would be holding an event on March 11 in Rio de Janeiro. The top of that card will see a submission-only grappling match between “Shara Bullet” Magomedov against Masvidal, with the two tangling for five-to-10 minutes at the Farmasi Arena in Brazil’s second-largest city—Sao Paulo holds the top spot. A previous big-name grappling bout held by Hype FC between Arman Tsarukyan and the aforementioned Magomedov resulted in a draw last year.

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Hype FC, the target of at least one police raid in Moscow due to a myriad of charges ranging from drug trafficking to fight fixing, has been flagged by Sherdog Fight Finder for its illegitimacy. While the league purports to run MMA matches, it does so with modified rules including limited grappling time with automatic standups/separations. It also put together a re…

The lineup for one of Professional Fighters League’s April shows is starting to come together.

The promotion released a trio of matchups for its PFL Chicago event on April 11, one that will be capped off by a Sergio Pettis-Mitchell McKee main attraction. The three fights will take place inside of the Wintrust Arena in the Windy City. Each of the new pairings will see a PFL-ranked fighter take on an unranked adversary.

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First among those new tilts is a featherweight contest as Gabriel Braga (16-3) faces the debuting Mehdi Baydulaev (19-2). Since making his PFL debut on the 2023 installment of the Challenger Series, Braga has served as one of the best 145ers to not win a tourney. In his three attempts to claim a tournament title, Braga has been knocked out in the playoffs each time, with two of those three defeats coming to Jesus Pinedo. On the other side of the equation, Chechnya’s Baydulaev has won his last 13 outings, nine by submission, dating bac…

The Professional Fighters League has given undefeated Darragh Kelly his next challenge.

Per the organization on Friday, Kelly (9-0) will be squaring off with Mexico’s Sergio Cossio (19-11-1) at PFL Belfast on April 16. The two will tangle at lightweight on a lineup currently headlined by another 155-pound clash pitting Paul Hughes against Jay-Jay Wilson.

A Mauler from MovilleThe “Moville Mauler” has mauled his competition since making his pro debut in 2022, racking up seven stoppages across his nine victories to date. The 27-year-old from Moville, Ireland, has made all but one of his pro walks to either a Bellator MMA or PFL cage, with a lone stop off at Clan Wars in 2023 to land a second-round brabo choke. Kelly is coming into 2026 with a banner year last year, notching subs of Mike Hamel and Bakhtiyar Abdulloev to establish himself as a threat in his division.

While it has been nothing but green grass and high tides for Kelly, his foe is entering this match on his …

Brandon Moreno weighing in at 125.5lbs 🇲🇽

[ #UFCMexico | SAT FEB 28 | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/P7X7Mu9fHm

— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Mexico for the first time in 2026 this weekend.

Headlining the UFC Mexico card is a fight between former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and Lone'er Kavanagh. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round main event without any issue. All other fighters on the card also made weight, so it was an uneventful weigh-in for those looking for drama.

"The Assassin Baby" enters the fight looking to rebound from a TKO defeat to Tatsuro Taira. Prior to the setback, Moreno (23-9-2) had put together back-to-back wins against Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi. Just 32, the Mexican fighter will look to show that he has plenty left in the tank while impressing the fans in his home country. Moreno officially weighed 125.5 pounds for the fight.

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Two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Diego Lopes is looking for a new lease on life at lightweight.

After suffering his second championship defeat to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 325, Lopes took the opportunity to spend three weeks with his family in Manaus, Brazil. On Wednesday, Lopes spoke with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, where he broke down his unsuccessful jaunt for the belt while giving the Aussie his laurels.

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“We did everything in our power and it wasn’t enough,” a resigned Lopes admitted. “I just have to admit that he is better. He moves well to the left and right. I’m not the first person to lose twice to him in a title fight, so I’m quite calm about it.”

After his failed second try for the 145-pound throne, rumors spread that the Brazilian by way of Mexico damaged one or both feet during the match. Lopes shed light on the injuries he sustained against Volkanovski, where there were no outright breaks but some min…

The Zuffa Boxing signing of Conor Benn has been a controversial topic this past week.

Benn reportedly received a $15 million contract for one fight, which is significantly more than most — if not all — UFC athletes earn on a per fight basis. Since Dana White is the head of both the UFC and Zuffa Boxing, that sparked plenty of criticism from fighters who go to work inside the Octagon. Former bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley was in disbelief that Benn would be paid that much, while Michael Page expressed disappointment that White would place such value on someone outside of the promotion where he “built his reputation.”

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However, during a quarterly financial call on Wednesday, TKO Group Holdings (the parent company of the UFC and Zuffa Boxing) president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro attempted to quell some of that controversy by revealing that Benn’s signing was entirely funded by the company’s partners in Saudia Arabia, which includes ente…

A 21-year-old prospect with a 7-0 record will make her Octagon debut on less than a week’s notice at UFC Mexico City.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed on Wednesday that Regina Tarin will replace the injured Sofia Montenegro and face Ernesta Kareckaite in a 130-pound catchweight bout this Saturday. UFC Mexico City — also known as UFC Fight Night 268 — takes place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico and is headlined by a 125-pound scrap pitting Brandon Moreno against Lone’er Kavanagh. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+, beginning with prelims at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT before moving on to the main draw at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

🚨OFICIAL🚨 Regina Tarín hace su debut en corto aviso en #UFCMexico

Talento del programa del UFC PI 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/MYHkOhdZHW

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) February 25, 2026 A Dual Threat Tarin, who is nicknamed “Kill Bill,” has made her name on the regional circuit in Mexico, winning the Budo Sento…

Carlos Leal outdueled Chidi Njokuani at UFC Houston. | Getty/UFC

When he entered the Octagon this past Saturday to face Chidi Njokuani on the last fight of his UFC contract, Carlos Leal knew there was only one possible path: to win, and in a convincing way.

“I knew that my future depended on my performance, so I entered that Octagon thinking, no matter what happens, I can bleed, break myself, but I will keep moving forward in search of the knockout,” Leal told Sherdog.com.

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Leal, who defeated Njokuani via unanimous decision in their welterweight bout at UFC Houston, revealed that he broke his hand during the fight.

“It was right at the beginning of the second round. I was sure I had broken it when I landed a second punch to his head that got him dizzy,” Leal said. “Even in a lot of pain, I kept punching him with the broken hand. I fought like I was fighting for my life, and it was worth it.”

The Brazilian left the Octagon certain…

Joshua Van admittedly didn’t know that one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time was in the UFC. 

Van (16-2) won the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja via a freak injury at UFC 323 this past December. “The Fearless” had sparked controversy in the lead-up to the fight by labellng Pantoja the greatest flyweight of all time. Fans instantly brought up Demetrious Johnson (25-4), who is widely considered not only the greatest flyweight, but arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Van later explained that he hadn’t watched much of Johnson’s fights and grew up watching Pantoja. 

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Not a Historian Van recently revealed that he wasn’t even aware that Johnson was in the UFC. The UFC flyweight champion only knew of “Mighty Mouse” from highlights of his viral flyweight knee knockout over Adriano Moraes.

“I swear to God, I didn’t know he was in the UFC,” Van said on the "Jaxxon Podcast.” “I saw him fighting in ONE Championship. His hig…

Carlos Prates doesn’t think he is the ideal return fight for Conor McGregor. 

McGregor has been teasing a return to competition once again, this time at the White House in June. Prates’ name has somehow been brought up in rumors as a welcome back matchup for McGregor. 

Prates clarified that he has yet to hear anything from the UFC about a potential fight against McGregor. While Prates would be honored to fight the former UFC double champion, he doubts that the matchup will come to fruition. Prates notes that McGregor hasn’t fought since 2021 and is likely retired from MMA. Prates believes McGregor wouldn’t be inclined to return against a dangerous welterweight like him. Prates doesn’t doubt that he would inflict serious damage on McGregor and believes “Notorious” ideally shouldn’t return against him.

A Bad Idea for a Comeback Fight “A lot you guys have been asking me about the Conor McGregor fight,” Prates said on Instagram. “And I didn’t get anything fro…

Israel Adesanya wants harsh laws for sucker punches in New Zealand. 

Adesanya’s teammate, Liufau Vake, popularly called Fau, was killed by a sucker punch in 2021. Vake and his brother Ika were attacked by four men outside a bar on Symonds Street in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 16, 2021. The 25-year-old Vake was punched on the side of the head by Daniel Havili when he wasn’t alert. Vake was unable to break the fall and hit his head on the side of the road, leading to a skull fracture and brain bleeding. Vake couldn’t recover despite undergoing surgery and passed away nine days later. 

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Havili pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Meanwhile, another assailant, Ofa He Mooni Folau, pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months’ home detention. 

Adesanya has since been working on making the laws harsher so people hesitate before punching someone. Adesanya further notes that one…

Logan Storley is undefeated in South Dakota. | PFL MMA

Logan Storley is headed home for his next Professional Fighters League appearance.

Storley will face Florim Zendeli in a featured welterweight attraction at PFL Sioux Falls on May 2, the promotion announced on Wednesday. The card takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and will also see former Legacy Fighting Alliance champ Cheyanne Bowers make her PFL debut against Sabrina de Sousa in a women’s flyweight encounter. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes in the United States beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims kick off on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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A South Dakota native, Storley reached the finals of PFL’s 2025 welterweight tournament, where he lost a unanimous decision to Thad Jean last August. Storley is a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and an ex-Bellator MMA interim welterweight champion who owns notable triumphs over the li…

Charles Oliveira was scared that his career was over after a mysterious injury in his first fight against Max Holloway. 

Holloway (27-8) will put his BMF title on the line in a rematch against Oliveira (36-11) in the main event at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. The two lightweights had met for the first time more than a decade ago in a featherweight matchup in 2015. Oliveira was in visible agony after an attempted takedown in the opening round. While “do Bronx” got back to his feet, he kept holding his neck in pain, forcing the referee to step in. 

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Back then the injury was deemed to be an esophageal tear. However, Oliveira believes most people couldn’t explain his injury. The Brazilian recently revealed that he lost sensation on his left side following the injury, leading to talks of paralysis. Oliveira couldn't even feel the IV drip on his left arm inside the ambulance. The future lightweight champion admits being s…

Nassourdine Imavov hasn’t been guaranteed a title shot against Khamzat Chimaev. 

Imavov recently revealed that the UFC brass originally wanted to match him against Chimaev in December 2025. The potential timeline was later postponed to this past February, but Chimaev was injured. Imavov says that although matchmaker Mick Maynard recently reiterated his interest in the matchup, nothing has been confirmed yet.

Multiple Delays “No final news yet, no contract signed,” Imavov told MMAFighting.com. “One of the last discussions I had with Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard in Qatar – They told me that they wanted to schedule the fight against Khamzat for December, then for February. But Khamzat got injured. We spoke recently with Mick Maynard, and they want to see the fight happen, but we don’t have final approval.”

Imavov (17-4) is widely considered the most deserving middleweight title contender with wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen, Israel Adesany…