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Shanelle Dyer, who made a spectacular debut at UFC London, used to initially hate MMA. 

Dyer was in love with the striking arts, having trained in muay thai since the age of 8. While Dyer still loves muay thai, she understood at some point that there was not much money to be made in the sport. Dyer had to choose between transitioning to boxing or MMA, and chose MMA as she didn’t want to give up kicking. 

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Dyer admits that she initially found the grappling part of MMA a little “fruity.” However, she started appreciating the nuances of grappling once she started learning the art.Gaining an Appreciation “I used to hate MMA,” Dyer said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I’ve done muay thai for so long, and I love muay thai. Muay thai is beautiful, muay thai is amazing. Unfortunately, you can’t make money in muay thai. So I transitioned to MMA when I was 17-18. It was either boxing or MMA. But I love kicking too much to do boxing. So I chose MMA at th…

Alexander Volkanovski clearly considers Movsar Evloev to be the most deserving title contender. 

Volkanovski (28-4) has long been calling Evloev (20-0) the No. 1 featherweight title contender. However, Evloev has yet to get a title shot, while his fallen opponent, Diego Lopes, has challenged Volkanovski for the title twice. While Volkanovski was ready to fight Evloev last year, Lerone Murphy entered the title picture with a knockout win over Aaron Pico. 

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Volkanovski was expecting to fight either Evloev or Murphy, but was matched up for the second consecutive time against Lopes at UFC 325 this past January. Volkanovski defeated Lopes the second time as well. 

Meanwhile, Evloev and Murphy clashed at UFC London last weekend, in what was considered a clear title eliminator. However, despite Evloev earning a majority decision win over Murphy, the title picture remains hazy. Jean Silva has now entered the fray, rallying for the next title…

Junior dos Santos expects Alex Pereira to have great success in his heavyweight debut. | Getty/UFC

Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had his final Octagon appearance against Ciryl Gane at UFC 256 in December 2020.

With fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira scheduled to face Gane in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14, dos Santos offered some insight as to what fans can expect in the interim heavyweight title bout.

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“First of all, I would advise ‘Poatan’ to the take care with the illegal blows,” joked dos Santos, who complained about Gane an illegal elbow to the back of his head following their bout.

As for the fight itself, “Cigano” believes the Pereira will have advantage.

“There couldn't have been a better fight for ‘Poatan´s’ debut at heavyweight,” he said. “Ciryl Gane will be a great challenge, as he is very fast and skilled for a heavyweight. But I think ‘Poatan’s' style will confuse him. ‘Poatan’ goes on th…

Michael Chiesa has a new opponent at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

The six-bout main card for UFC Seattle is set — with a late update.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the lineup over the weekend. The one noteworthy change will see Niko Price replace Carlston Harris in a welterweight bout against Michael Chiesa. The fight is slated to be a farewell for “Maverick,” a Washington native.

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Chiesa has been victorious in three straight Octagon appearances and is coming off a three-round verdict over Court McGee at UFC on ESPN 69 in June 2025.

Price, meanwhile, has lost five of his last six outings. Most recently “The Hybrid” suffered a first-round knockout loss against Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC Fight Night 266 on Feb. 7.

UFC Seattle -- also known as UFC Fight Night 271 — takes place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and is headlined by a middleweight duel pitting ex-champ Israel Adesanya against Joe Pyfer. The card airs in its en…

In his post-fight interview, Lerone Murphy said that his “hip popped” late in the UFC London main event.

Now, “The Iceman” knows the extent of his injury. In a post on his Instagram Stories on Monday, Murphy revealed that he suffered a torn hip flexor in Round 4 of his majority decision loss to Movsar Evloev on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.

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🚨 Lerone Murphy reveals he tore his hip flexor in round 4 pic.twitter.com/dl7ydoJQhg

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) March 23, 2026

Murphy started well in the featherweight title elliminator, but Evloev pulled away down the stretch by effectively mixing his striking and wrestling. However, the majority of media scorecards on MMADecisions.com either scored the fight a draw or 48-46 in favor of Murphy.

Back with a Vengeance Murphy, who had a nine-bout UFC winning streak snapped, reacted to the loss in a separate post on Instagram.

“Loved every second of the fight,” he…

Arman Tsarukyan believes Georgio Poullas can’t be trusted to stand his ground. 

Tsarukyan and Poullas are scheduled to wrestle in a grudge rematch at RAF 7 on March 28. The two have a lot of bad blood spilled over from their first meeting at RAF 6 last month. Poullas was accused of multiple fouls and penalized on points. Tsarukyan eventually won the match and punched Poullas, leading to an all-out brawl. 

Tsarukyan is wary of hitting Poullas going into their rematch at RAF 7. “Ahalkalakets” says Poullas is not a man of his word and might make an excuse to pull out of the bout or even sue him. However, the UFC lightweight doesn’t guarantee that there won’t be any trouble in the rematch. Tsarukyan also warns that as a UFC fighter, he won’t have any trouble seriously hurting the social-media wrestler.

‘A Tricky Guy’ “If Georgio was a man, I would have a problem with the guy, but with these guys I'm never gonna have problems because he's not a man of his word…

Joel Alvarez felt the difference in power after moving up to welterweight. 

Alvarez (23-3) moved up from lightweight to welterweight, replacing Santiago Ponzinnibbio on short notice against Vicente Luque (23-12) at UFC Rio in October 2025. Alvarez reveals that Luque is the hardest puncher he has ever faced, surprising him twice with his power.

Size Matters “Speaking of the power of hitting – Vicente Luque,” Alvarez said on ZZEN Talks. “He surprised me twice when he hit me. I said, ‘Holy s—t, this is the punching power of welterweights.’” 

Alvarez’s bout against Luque didn’t go down without some controversy. Alvarez caught Luque in the eye socket with what appeared to be a punch in the first round. Referee Osiris Maia called a stop to the contest, declaring a technical knockout win for Alvarez as Luque dropped to his knees in agony. However, the doctors were later brought in to check on Luque, and the fight was bizarrely resumed again. Alvarez eventually earne…

Khabib Nurmagomedov has unwavering support for Movsar Evloev. 

Evloev defeated Lerone Murphy via a majority decision in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Nurmagomedov congratulated the fellow Russian on his win via social media.

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“Congratulations brother,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram Stories.

While Evloev (20-0) doesn’t train Nurmagomedov’s team, he has always shared a close bond with the entire Dagestani brigade. “The Eagle” has previously raised his voice in support of Evloev, accusing the UFC of denying him a title shot. 

Waiting on a Title Shot Evloev’s clash against the previously undefeated Murphy was widely considered the featherweight title eliminator. Evloev is now on a 10-fight winning streak in the UFC, the second highest among active UFC fighters, only behind Nurmagomedov’s successor, Islam Makhachev. Following his win, Evloev called for a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, who had no qualms accepting imm…

Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotion and Netflix are seemingly coughing up big bucks to break into the MMA space.

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will headline MVP’s first MMA cardon Netflix on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. The card also features former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou against fellow UFC alum Philipe Lins.

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Meanwhile, Nate Diaz will also make his MMA return on the card against Mike Perry. During a recent episode of the JRE podcast, former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub said that he heard that Diaz is making $10 million for the fight against Perry. Meanwhile, UFC commentator Joe Rogan then claimed to have heard that Diaz is getting paid even more. Money to Burn The upcoming Netflix MMA card is being considered a counter to the UFC’s dominance in MMA. Rousey, around whom the card is built, has been going off on the UFC brass since the card was announced. However, MVP and Netflix might be offering massive pa…

Arman Tsarukyan might be considering a change in weight classes. | Getty/UFC

Arman Tsarukyan is teasing a move to featherweight. 

Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy clashed in a featherweight title eliminator in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. The fight turned out to be a highly technical affair, with nothing resembling domination from any either side. Despite getting deducted a point due to a low blow, Evloev walked away with a unanimous decision win. 

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However, the win was seemingly not enough to convince everyone that Evloev is getting the next featherweight title shot. Jean Silva, who was in attendance at UFC London, claims he is signing a contract for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, lightweight contender Tsarukyan is also fancying his chances for a featherweight title shot.

“UFC fans, is it time for me to save the featherweight division?” Tsarukyan wrote on Threads.

Tsarukyan a…

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t agree with the scorecards of the UFC London main event between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. 

Evloev (20-0) and Murphy (17-0) traded leather in a featherweight title eliminator at UFC London on Saturday. It was a closely-contested affair, and Evloev won Rounds 1, 3, and 5 on two of the judges’ scorecards. Meanwhile, one judge gave Murphy the first round, and all three gave him the second round. Despite getting deducted a point in Round 4, Evloev earned a majority decision victory. 

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#UFCLondon Official Result: Movsar Evloev (48-46, 48-46, 47-47 | @MovsarUFC) defeats Lerone Murphy via Majority Decision.

Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/hXnMr9XkMa

Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/icLfg0ppXx pic.twitter.com/IChg6zKI9P — UFC News (@UFCNews) March 21, 2026

Sterling has voiced his doubts about the scoring criteria following Evloev’s win. Sterling posted a screenshot…

Movsar Evloev has his sight fixed on Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title. 

Evloev handed Lerone Murphy his lone pro loss via a majority decision in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Currently unbeaten in 10 UFC outings, Evloev is now considered the frontrunner for the next title shot against Volkanovski.

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“Took London, coming for Sydney,” Evloev wrote.

Took London, coming for Sydney. #ufc pic.twitter.com/FkojJWqzql

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) March 22, 2026 While Evloev is known for his elite grappling, the Russian also held his own on the feet against Murphy. Evloev sincerely believes that he won’t need wrestling to beat Volkanovski.

“I’ll listen to your interview, and one thing about me, I’ll never make excuses,” Evloev wrote. “I truly don’t believe I need wrestling to beat you. You’re a great champion, and I respect you, but it would be something special to take your throne. Big respect see you…

Lerone Murphy suffered his first defeat at UFC London. | Getty/UFC

Lerone Murphy took a slight dig at the scorecards following his loss to Movsar Evloev. 

Murphy (17-1-1) and Evloev (20-0) put their undefeated records on the line in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. The fight was a technical masterclass, which had fans and pundits divided on how to score it. Evloev eventually earned a majority decision win despite getting penalized a point in the fourth round due to a low blow. 

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Murphy congratulated Evloev in his post-fight Octagon interview, while also calling for the Russian to get the next featherweight title shot. However, Murphy is seemingly having second thoughts after rewatching the fight. Not one to talk much, the Englishman posted a laughter emoji upon rewatching the fight.A Jab at the Judges? “Just watched the fight back,” Murphy wrote on X. “Congrats to [Evloev] either way.”

Just wat…

Mauricio Ruffy will have to figure out his corner situation for his next fight. | Getty/UFC

The fact that Jean Silva was invited to attend UFC London was viewed by some as a way to pressure Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy to finish their title eliminator before the fifth round.

That didn’t happen, however, as the Russian won a majority decision after 25 competitive minutes. That result kept Jean Silva’s hopes alive of getting the next featherweight title shot and greatly reduced Mauricio Ruffy’s chances of doing his training camp at The Fighting Nerds.

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In an interview with Brazilian journalist Diego Ribas published on Ag.Fight’s YouTube channel last Thursday, Pablo Sucupira revealed details of his last conversation with Ruffy about his problems with Silva and the possibility of doing his camp for Michael Chandler at The Fighting Nerds. Sucupira said he wouldn't have any problem training Ruffy at Cornerman's facilities, which are often…

Movsar Evloev hasn’t been guaranteed a title shot despite his win over Lerone Murphy at UFC London. 

Evloev and Murphy (17-1) put their undefeated records on the line in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Despite getting penalized due to a low blow, Evloev earned a majority decision win over Murphy. While the fight was widely considered a featherweight title eliminator, Dana White hasn’t guaranteed the next featherweight title shot to Evloev.

“Possibly, yes,” White said about Evloev potentially fighting for the title next. “Again, I’m not even thinking about that; the fight just ended.”

No Promises Meanwhile, fellow contender Jean Silva was also in attendance at UFC London. “Lord” previously claimed that he was flying to London to sign the contract for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Silva also walked up to executive Hunter Campbell at UFC London and seemingly handed him a contract. White did not outright dismiss the idea of Silva fig…

Mason Jones is a completely different fighter from his forgettable first UFC stint. 

Jones (18-2) took on previously undefeated French prospect Alex Sola in a lightweight bout at UFC London on Saturday. While Sola dropped Jones early with a spinning-back elbow, the Welsh fighter showed impressive grit in recovering quickly. Jones came from behind and put on a slugfest to earn a unanimous decision win, handing Sola (11-1) his only career loss. The brutal war also earned the “Fight of the Night” honors. 

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Jones made his UFC debut in 2021 and went 1-2 with one no contest in the promotion, suffering his only career losses. “The Dragon” fought out his UFC contract in 2022 and decided not to renew it. Jones then racked up four consecutive wins in Cage Warriors to earn his second UFC opportunity. The 30-year-old has racked up three consecutive wins since starting his second UFC stint last year. Jones revealed that he never felt that he belonged i…

Danny Silva wants to avenge his loss against Kevin Vallejos. 

Silva (11-2)) knocked out Kurtis Campbell in the second round of their featherweight matchup at UFC London. The win saw Silva rebound from a closely-contested unanimous decision loss against Vallejos (18-1), who has since become a highly-touted prospect. 

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Silva believes Vallejos’s stardom was partly built on his lone career loss against Jean Silva, who is now on the cusp of bursting into the UFC featherweight title picture. While Silva doesn’t want to build himself based on his loss against Vallejos, he will continue chasing the Argentinian. Silva believes his loss to Vallejos was controversial, with many of his supporters thinking he had done enough to secure the victory.Willing to Fight Anybody “I do want to bounce back,” Silva said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I lost to Vallejos; he kind of built his name off of Jean Silva. I don’t want to build my name off of [Va…

Michael Page isn’t happy with his win over Sam Patterson. 

Page took on former training partner Patterson in a welterweight matchup at UFC London on Saturday. The two Englishmen failed to impress the London crowd as the feeling-out process never seemed to end. Despite referee Rich Mitchell urging for more action, Page and Patterson just continued to occasionally touch each other from a distance. While Page earned a unanimous decision win in a bout filled with inactivity, London’s O2 Arena showered him with boos. 

Page admits that it was a frustrating night at the office for him. “MVP” accuses his opponent of coasting for most of the fight. Page says it’s difficult to track even lesser fighters when they are unwilling to engage. Page also believes Patterson knew when to avoid him from their past experience training together. What Page can’t comprehend is whether Patterson had a winning strategy at all. Page feeld that Patterson was just happy to go the distan…

Luke Riley lauded Michael Aswell’s toughness after their UFC London bout. 

Riley (13-0) and Aswell (11-4) traded leather in a featherweight matchup in the co-main event at UFC London on Saturday. Riley outclassed Aswell on the feet, clearly landing the more damaging shots. However, Aswell put on an impressive display of grit in refusing to go down. Riley earned a unanimous decision victory after fifteen minutes. 

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Riley says that he knew Aswell was a tough customer going into the fight. And “The Texas Kid” lived up to his reputation against Riley. Riley believes he could have put some more power behind his shots to dispatch Aswell. However, the Liverpudlian admits that his hands and arms already hurt a bit from punching Aswell’s head.A Solid Head “I’ll be honest. He’s never been finished before,” Riley said in his post-fight interview. “People were saying he was tough, but yeah, he is tough. I feel like I wasn’t sitting down on me shots as m…

The next UFC featherweight title fight has seemingly been decided. 

Movsar Evloev (20-0) and Lerone Murphy (17-1) put their undefeated records on the line in a featherweight title eliminator in the main event at UFC London on Saturday. Evloev displayed his superiority on the ground while also holding his own in the striking against the Englishman. Despite a point deduction due to a low blow in the fourth round, Evloev earned a majority decision victory. 

Evloev lost no time in calling for the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, who was listening to the Russian live. Evloev preferably wants to make a quick turnaround to challenge Volkanovski in May.

“He’s waiting for me for a really long time,” Evloev said on the UFC London post-fight show. “And before he gets too old let’s make it happen… May, I’m ready. And if Alex is ready, let’s dance.” 

A Few Tricks Up His SleeveVolkanovski has been acknowledging Evloev as a deserving contender for a…

Dana White has doubled down on his stance about Jon Jones never being a part of the White House plan. 

Jones is not fighting at the UFC White House card in June despite having tried for a spot ever since the event was first mentioned. Jones recently claimed that he was willing to fight Alex Pereira for much less than he had demanded to fight Tom Aspinall last year. However, the UFC was allegedly not willing to offer more than $15 million to Jones, who didn’t think it was enough.

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“Was ready, willing and physically able to step in,” Jones wrote on X. “I was willing to take substantially less than the Aspinall ask but they wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m. I felt like our fight was worth more.”

was ready, willing and physically able to step in. I was willing to take substantially less than the Aspinall ask but they wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m. I felt like our fight was worth more. https://t.co/u9ISd2bD07

— Jo…

Iwo Baraniewski was prepared for Austen Lane’s towering physique. 

Baraniewski made his sophomore UFC appearance in a light heavyweight matchup against Lane at UFC London on Saturday. Baraniewski took less than half a minute to drop Lane with an overhand right and followed up with vicious ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to step in. The undefeated Polish prospect earned a $100,000 “Performance of the Night “bonus for his win over Lane. 

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Baraniewski later revealed that he didn’t expect to make such quick work of Lane. With Lane having a six-inch height advantage, Baraniewski was prepared to go the distance for the first time in his career. While Baraniewski had an easy night at the office, it was likely due to his hard training camp. “Rudy” revealed that he travelled to Poznan, Poland, to train with multiple fighters whose physiques were similar to Lane’s. Baraniewski also trained with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowi…

Mason Jones and Axel Sola left it all in the Octagon at UFC London.

The lightweights earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $100,000 apiece for their preliminary slugfest at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. Sola had early momentum by dropping his foe with a spinning backfist, but Jones gradually took control, outdueling his game adversary with a versatile attack that included punches, kicks and knees in close quarters. Ultimately, Jones emerged with a unanimous decision triumph.

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WHAT A FIGHT!

📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/5qOliudV9q

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) March 21, 2026 Baraniewski, Dyer Get Rewarded Elsewhere, Iwo Baraniewski extended his first-round finishing streak against Austen Lane, securing a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. The Pole dropped his opponent with a two-punch combination, then sealed his victory with follow-up shots 28 seconds into Round 1.

Finall…

By hook or by crook, Movsar Evloev is now the last man standing.

Posting a clean 20 wins opposite zero defeats, with 10 of those coming inside the Octagon—all 10 by decision—Evloev (20-0, 10-0 UFC) kept his unblemished record intact by spoiling Lerone Murphy’s (17-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC). The two engaged in a competitive bout where judges and scoring media members largely diverged in their assessments. The Russian likely cemented his place for a crack at Alexander Volkanovski’s throne in their Ultimate Fighting Championship’s de facto featherweight title eliminator.

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The UFC Fight Night 270 fight card, one where the betting line for the headliner to go to decision closed at -250 on some books, ended up needing its entirety to play out. As if he wished to prove a point—or perhaps out of fear of the UFC’s recent stance of cutting successful smothering grapplers—Evloev came out in the first round without completing a single takedown. It has been a long time sinc…