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Levi Rodrigues' recent Contender Series victory has been overturned. | Getty/UFC

Former Dana White's Contender Series winner Levi Rodrigues will have to wait to make his Octagon debut.

Rodrigues was suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday after testing positive for metabolite of nandrolone, which is a banned anabolic steroid. He was also fined $1,000.60. Rodrigues will be eligible to return on July 14.

The 29-year-old Brazilian earned a UFC contract thanks to a first-round stoppage of Freddy Vidal on the Contender Series on Oct. 14. Rodrigues’ drug test was flagged after the bout. He had not been booked for a UFC debut prior to the NSAC’s sanctions. It’s currently unclear if Rodrigues will remain on the UFC roster.

Injury Recovery? As a result of the failed drug test, Rodrigues’ victory against Vidal has been overturned to a no contest. Rodrigues’ management revealed to MMAjunkie.com that the fighter used nandrolone…

Gable Steveson has finished all three MMA opponents in short order. | Mexico Fight League

Gable Steveson will be staying active between mixed martial arts bouts.

The heavyweight prospect has inked a multi-match deal with Real American Freestyle, according to Yahoo! Sports. The organization announced that Steveson’s debut will come at RAF 9 in Dallas on May 30. An opponent was not revealed.

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An Olympic gold medalist in 2020 and a two-time NCAA national champion, Steveson is one of the top prospects in all of MMA. The 25-year-old, who has worked extensively with former UFC two-division champion Jon Jones, is 3-0 in MMA bouts — finishing all of his opponents inside of a round. Prior to focusing on fighting, Steveson tried his hand at both professonal wrestling and the NFL.

As for RAF, a rematch with Wyatt Henrickson, who defeated Steveson for the 2025 NCAA national championship, is reportedly a possibility down the road — though not for …

Junior dos Santos is looking forward to competing on the first MMA card broadcast by Netflix. | Getty/UFC

Junior dos Santos will face a tall task — literally — when he meets the 6-foot-7 Robelis Despaigne on the Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano” card on May 16.

“Cigano” recently spoke with Sherdog.com about the challenges presented by the Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist and current Karate Combat heavyweight champion.

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“Robelis is a good fight and a great challenge. He comes from taekwondo, he’s very fast, has dangerous kicks, straight punches and I have my background in boxing, so it´s going to be an interesting clash of styles,” dos Santos said.

Dos Santos revealed that 6-foot-8 former Professional Fighters League champion Renan Ferreira has been a primary training partner in preparation for Despaigne.

“The training sessions are intense here with Renan ‘Problema,’ who is even taller than Despaigne. He should also …

The PFL Belfast card has taken a significant hit.

Paul Hughes announced on Wednesday that a knee injury has forced him to withdraw from his main event bout against Jay-Jay Wilson. As a result, Darragh Kelly will step in and face Wilson in the new PFL Belfast headliner, the promotion confirmed. Additionally, Pedro Carvalho will step in to face Kelly’s original opponent, Sergio Cossio.

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PFL Belfast takes place on April 16 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Recent signee Rhys McKee is expected to compete in the co-main event against an opponent that will be announced next week.

𝙋𝙁𝙇 𝘽𝙀𝙇𝙁𝘼𝙎𝙏 𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀 🚨

Paul Hughes is OUT of PFL Belfast due to injury. We wish Paul well in his recovery.

Undefeated lightweight Darragh Kelly⁸ steps in to face New Zealand’s Jay Jay Wilson⁶ in the lightweight main event.

Rhys McKee’s opponent will be… pic.twitter.com/SMNG3nyNpT

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) March 25, 2026 Surgery …

Francis Ngannou didn’t want his relationship with the Professional Fighters League to end in the way it did. 

PFL suddenly announced earlier this month that Ngannou was no longer a part of the promotion. Days later, it was announced that Ngannou was booked to fight Philipe Lins on May 16 on a Netflix card under the banner of Most Valuable Promotions. 

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Ngannou claims the PFL announced his release to stay ahead of the narrative, which the former UFC heavyweight champion understands. However, Ngannou claims that the decision to part ways was not his. “The Predator” wanted the PFL to come up with a nicer story to explain his release. Ngannou also revealed that he had originally left the PFL in January. Ngannou claims he had no prior knowledge that the PFL would publicly announce his release before they did.Caught Off Guard “They wanted to get ahead of the story, which is what every organization would do,” Ngannou said on "The Ariel Helwani Sh…

Israel Adesanya says he was the last active UFC middleweight champion. 

Adesanya notes that the current middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, once fought twice within 10 days early in his UFC career. However, Chimaev won the title in August 2025 and will now defend it against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9. Adesanya sees the division slowing down without him as the champion.

The Last Active Champion “Look at the middleweight division now — Khamzat was a very active guy coming up, smoking everybody, fighting multiple times, I think twice in a month, even at one point,” Adesanya told ESPN. “And now that he’s champion, I’m sure what the deal is – is it visa issues? Is it injuries? I’m not sure… The last active champion was me. The last guy who put it all on the line regardless, every time calling out the best, was me. So that’s one thing that I would say people didn’t appreciate, even I didn’t appreciate. Now that I’m here watching it, I’m like, damn, this game …

Jean Silva is ready to risk everything to get the next title shot. 

Silva (17-3) is rallying for a featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. However, perennial contender Movsar Evloev recently maintained his undefeated record by handing Lerone Murphy his only professional loss at UFC London last weekend. That did not deter Silva, who was in attendance at UFC London, from walking up to UFC executiveHunter Campbell with a contract. 

Meanwhile, Volkanovski has clearly expressed his preference to defend his title against Evloev rather than Silva. Volkanovski notes that he has two wins over Diego Lopes, who defeated Silva via a technical knockout last year. Volkanovski believes Silva is yet to prove himself, and a win over the Brazilian won’t add much to his legacy compared to a win over Evloev. 

However, Silva hasn’t given up hope of earning the next title shot. Silva argues that the division will stall if Evloev becomes the champion, gi…

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya might have one of the healthiest rivalries in UFC history. 

Adesanya (24-5) is scheduled to fight Joe Pyfer (15-3) in the main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday. Pereira recently posted a video of himself getting knocked out by Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 287 in 2023. “Poatan” also wished Adesanya luck for his upcoming fight while expressing his gratitude for sharing the Octagon with him. 

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‘We Keep Evolving’ “Saturday is fight night once again,” Pereira wrote on Instagram while tagging Adesanya in the post. “Much respect to Israel Adesanya — we’ve shared the Octagon and moments that became part of my journey. That loss taught me a lot; it pushed me to evolve not only as a fighter, but as a man. I grew, matured, and used it as fuel to reach a higher level in the sport and in life. Regardless of rivalry, I know what it means to step in there — the years of work, the pressure, the sacrifice. That’s why I w…

Joe Pyfer is a changed man going into the biggest fight of his career to date.

Pyfer is scheduled to headline UFC Seattle against Israel Adesanya on Saturday. While performing media obligations, Pyfer is evidently different than his former self. While Pyfer would burst out with emotions back in the day, “Bodybagz” can be seen calm and collected ahead of UFC Seattle. Pyfer reveals that the change is due to his newfound faith in God.

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“I feel like I’ve had a complete resurgence, a complete 360, as far as my faith and God and Jesus Christ,” Pyfer told Full Send MMA. “I feel I’ve had an outer body experience with something, where I was able to see who I was and I was pretty disappointed. And I feel God gave me direction and a chance to change my life. And it’s the craziest presence I’ve ever felt in my life.”

Pyfer credits his soon-to-be wife, Ashlyn, for introducing him to God. Planning to have a family soon, Pyfer can now finally see life beyond fight…

Israel Adesanya partially blames an eye poke for his loss against Nassourdine Imavov. 

Adesanya headlined UFC Saudi Arabia against Imavov in February 2025. “The Last Stylebender” was going toe-to-toe against Imavov before abruptly getting finished early in the second round. Adesanya was poked in the eye moments before Imavov landed the finishing sequence. However, the former middleweight champion brushed it aside and immediately resumed the action. 

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Adesanya recently revealed that his focus was compromised after getting eye poked. The Nigerian-born Kiwi admits that he should have taken his allotted to compose himself before continuing.Live and Learn “The last fight, I got eye poked,” Adesanya told ESPN. “I should have taken my time and reset properly. But I wanted to carry on the work I was doing and not let him get any time to rest. And focus, it just wavers. No matter what level you are, you can never master it. I should have just locked i…

Francis Ngannou wanted to fight out his contract with the Professional Fighters League. 

PFL announced its split with Ngannou earlier this month. This was immediately followed by the announcement of Ngannou’s booking against Philipe Lins on May 16 on MVP’s first MMA card in collaboration with Netflix. 

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Ngannou claims he still had a fight left on his PFL contract, which he wanted to exhaust. However, the PFL allegedly told Ngannou for a year that they were working on it. Ngannou also believes the major changes in the PFL leadership led to a delay in proceedings. While Ngannou used to previously discuss fight-related matters with former CEO Peter Murray, he was replaced by John Martin last year.Slow Negotiations “I think I had one fight left, and I was hoping to have that fight since last year,” Ngannou said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I’ve been asking for the fight, but they keep telling me they are working on it… At the same time, a lot o…

Pat Sabatini is 8-2 in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Battle-tested featherweights will trade leather at UFC 328. 

Pat Sabatini and William Gomis will share the Octagon at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Home of Fight was first to report the pairing. Khamzat Chimaev puts his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland in the main event at UFC 328.

While Sabatini is past the prospect phase, the 35-year-old has been through the trenches at featherweight and mostly come out victorious. Sabatini is 8-2 in the UFC and has only lost to Damon Jackson and Diego Lopes, while beating the likes of Jamall Emmers, Lucas Almeida, Joanderson Brito and Jose Mariscal. 

Meanwhile, Gomis has only suffered a narrow split-decision loss against top prospect Hyder Amil in six UFC outings. The Frenchman has since rebounded with a win over Robert Ruchala last September. 

The UFC and Jorge Masvidal might be destined for a reunion. | Getty/UFC.

It appears that Jorge Masvidal’s return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship could be imminent.

On the "Death Row MMA” podcast, “Gambred” revealed that he was offered a fight on the Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano” card but ultimately decided not to accept it because of talks he had with UFC brass.

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"I got offered to fight on this [Netflix] card,” Masvidal said (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). "I had a very good, nice offer from Netflix, but UFC had other plans for me. I was talking to Nakisa [Bidarian]. I get along very well with Nakisa and nothing but love for him for even thinking of me and calling me up, but it just didn't work out.

"I had the first offer before they gave it to Nate [Diaz]. It was me, and I desperately wanted to take the fight, but the UFC has a good, good plan for me, and they told me the plan. I like it, and we're g…

Georges St. Pierre's life story is getting the Hollywood treatment. | Getty/UFC

The life story of Georges St. Pierre is headed to the big screen.

According to Variety, a movie about the UFC Hall of Famer and two-division champion is in development. The biopic will be directed by Quebec-based director Thomas Soto and is expected to chronicle everything from St. Pierre’s formative years in Isidore Quebec to his journey to the top of the UFC. The report states that filmakers want to “reveal Georges, the man.”

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“We have been considering telling my story for a moment now, and when we found this team it was clear to us that we wanted this to be told in a new creative way,” St Pierre said in a statement.

St. Pierre is one of a handful of athletes in the running for greatest mixed martial artist of all-time. He had two reigns as UFC welterweight champion and also captured middleweight gold before calling it a career in 2018.

A Privilege an…

Horiguchi got the better of Kape in their first meeting. | Rizin FF

A couple of former Rizin Fighting Federation standouts are going to run it back in a potential flyweight title eliminator.

Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape will headline a UFC Fight Night event on June 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the 125-pound booking. Horiguchi defeated Kape via third-round submission in a Rizin bantamweight grand prix semifinal on Dec. 31, 2017.

Title Shot at Stake? Horiguchi went 7-1 during his first Octagon stint, coming up short against Demetrious Johnson in a flyweight title bout at UFC 186. After a successful run in Rizin, the American Top Team standout has returned to the Las Vegas-based promotion to post back-to-back triumphs over Tagir Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi.

Kape, meanwhile, has been victorious in seven of his last eight Octagon appearances — with his lone defeat coming against Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304. “Starboy” has…

Muhammad Mokaev is among a slew of notables set to compete on MVP's first MMA card. | Getty/UFC

While some of the names may be past their primes, Most Valuable Promotions has nonetheless put together one of the most intriguing fight cards in the first half of 2026.

MVP on Tuesday announced the full lineup for its "Rousey vs. Carano” event, which takes place on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and airs on Netflix. Among those scheduled to compete are former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, undefeated ex-UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev, ex-Bellator MMAwelterweight kingpin Jason Jackson, longtime KSW standout Saladhine Parnasse and former ONE Championship title holder Adriano Moraes.

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The full fight card for Saturday May 16th is set! Live globally on Netflix from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, CA🌎

🇺🇸 Rousey vs 🇺🇸 Carano🇺🇸 Diaz vs 🇺🇸 Perry🇨🇲 Ngannou vs 🇧🇷 Lins🇫🇷 Parnasse vs 🇺🇸 Cross🇧🇷 Dos San…

Sergio Pettis will get top billing at PFL Chicago. | PFL MMA

The card for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming trip to the Windy City is now complete.

The promotion on Tuesday announced the full lineup for PFL Chicago, which takes place on April 11 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and is headlined by a bantamweight tilt pitting Sergio Pettis against Mitchell McKee. In the evening’s co-main event, Joshua Silveira will square off against Jordan Newman at middleweight. PFL Chicago kicks off with prelims on the ESPN app at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT before the shifting to the main card on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

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A high stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

Two main card pairings were officially confirmed on Tuesday: Raufeon Stots vs. Renat Khavalov at bantamweight and Gabriel Braga vs. Cheyden Leialoha at featherweight. Leialoha is a replacement for Mahdi Bayd…

Michel Pereira has lost three of his last four UFC appearances. | Ben Duffy/Sherdog.com

With three losses in his last four UFC bouts, Michel Pereira is well aware that his fight with Sharabutdin Magomedov on June 27 will decide his future within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

In an interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, Michel confirmed that his victory over Zachary Reese on Feb. 21 was the last fight of his contract and the UFC chose not to renew it.

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“Mick Maynard offered me a fight in April, but it was too close because I still had some injuries to heal, so I refused and he offered me this fight with "The Pirate" and I accepted,” Pereira said. “Then Mick told me to do this fight and then we'll talk about the contract.”High Risk, High Reward Pereira is aware of the risk, but he guarantees that the stakes will not impact his fighting style.

The secret of the success is run the risk,” he said. “I like to put on a show and t…

Jorge Masvidal is riding the Kevin Vallejos hype train. 

Masvidal says he hasn’t been as excited for a prospect in a while as he is for Vallejos (18-1). “Gamebred” was extremely impressed with Vallejos’ dominant knockout win over Josh Emmett at UFC Vegas 114 earlier this month. Masvidal is confident that Vallejos is destined for championship glory in the featherweight division.

Destined for Big Things? “That dude is the truth,” Masvidal said on the "Death Row MMA” podcast. “I haven’t been excited about a motherf——r in a minute… He made it look like Emmett brought fists, and he pulled out a gun and started shooting… I’m very high on this guy. I think this guy’s gonna do big things at 145 [pounds]. If this guy doesn’t become champ, I don’t know s—t about the sport.”

Vallejos suffered his lone professional loss in his first Dana White's Contender Series opportunity in 2023 against Jean Silva, who is now on the cusp of featherweight title contention. A couple of wins…

Michael Page wanted to make a statement with his walkout song at UFC London. 

Page (25-3) faced fellow Englishman Sam Patterson (14-3) in front of their home fans in the O2 Arena in London last weekend. Page walked out to Michael Jackson’s iconic “They Don’t Care About Us,” which was admittedly a message against the disrespect he felt.

While Page is a considerable star at home, he was neither in the co-main nor the main event. Page also admits that he felt disrespected being matched up with a former training partner, Patterson, whom “MVP” doesn’t consider as big a star as himself. While Page failed to deliver with a lackluster unanimous decision win, he believes the O2 Arena was originally there to see him. Filmed in the Santa Marta Favela in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, “They Don’t Care About Us” sends a powerful social message against injustice. Page also added that his song was a statement against the general cruelty going on worldwide.

‘It Was a Bit of Annoyanc…

Lerone Murphy and Diego Lopes could be on a collision course. 

Murphy suffered a majority decision loss against Movsar Evloev at UFC London last weekend. Lopes, who has also lost to Evloev, slammed the fight as a boring affair. Lopes also separated himself from Murphy despite their losses against the same opponent.

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“No, Lerone, we are not the same,” Lopes wrote on X. “Never do that again.”

Murphy responded by slamming Lopes’ performance against Evloev. The Englishman also called out Lopes for his next fight.

“I didn’t lay on my back in guard for 3 rounds bro,” Murphy wrote. “Let’s fight next?”

Same Opponent, Same Result Murphy (17-1) suffered his first career loss against Evloev. Meanwhile, Lopes came up short against Evloev in his short-notice UFC debut in 2023. Lopes then scored five consecutive wins to earn a title shot at the vacant title, where he lost to Alexander Volkanovski. Lopes (27-8) rebounded by finishing Jean Silva to ear…

Bryan Battle will risk it all to make a statement in his Professional Fighters League debut. 

Battle is scheduled to make his debut against Johnny Eblen at PFL Pittsburgh on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While Eblen has never been knocked out before, Battle warns that he has previously handed other fighters their first-ever knockout losses. Battle isn’t just content with winning in his PFL debut, as winning isn’t enough to sell tickets. While Battle knows that Eblen can try to control him on the ground, “The Butches” promises to leave it all inside the cage to make it a “kill or be killed” kind of fight.

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Willing to Risk it All “Winning being the name of the game is just pretty lame,” Battle told MMAjunkie.com. “Winning being the name of the game does not sell tickets. Nah, I’m coming in to knock him out. There’s a lot of guys that I’ve fought that hadn’t been knocked out before I fought them. I’m not looking ju…

Adrian Yanez won’t throw caution to the wind for an extra paycheck. 

Yanez is scheduled to fight Ricky Simon at UFC Seattle on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. While the UFC has raised the bonuses for the Paramount era, Yanez won’t be hunting for a finish against Simon. Yanez learned an important lesson in Michael Bisping’s middleweight title win over Luke Rockhold in 2016. While Rockhold was vowing to knock out Bisping, “The Count” dethroned dethroned him with a knockout in the first round. As much as Yanez would like an extra paycheck, he knows that his opponent is also lured by the same idea. While Yanez has earned his fair share of bonuses in the UFC, he wishes it was in the Paramount era instead of ESPN era.

Don't Force It “I do want a third check night, but at the same time, I got someone in front of me who’s gonna be looking for the same thing,” Yanez told MMAjunkie.com. “So sometimes you just gotta take a smarter approach… When M…

Michael Page has lofty goals despite nearing the end of his current UFC contract.

Page (25-3) had finished 16 of his 20 career wins when he signed with the UFC in December 2023. While “MVP” is known for his flashy striking, his fan-friendly style didn’t translate well into the UFC. Page has since scored four lukewarm decision wins, while suffering a loss against Ian Garry. The Englishman most recently earned a lackluster decision win against Sam Patterson at UFC London last weekend. Page seemed content to poke at his opponent from a distance without landing anything significant. Dana White admitted that it was a “bad” fight.

Page has since revealed that he has one fight left on his current UFC contract. Despite an illustrious career at Bellator MMA, Page had always dreamed of being in the UFC. While Page doesn’t shy away from voicing his complaints with the UFC, he clarifies that he is extremely grateful to be part of the promotion. The 38-year-old still aims to beco…