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Javier Mendez recently explained why he believes Khabib Nurmagomedov is the greatest MMA fighter of all time over Jon Jones. 

Nurmagomedov’s longtime coach, Mendez, recently picked him as the MMA GOAT. Mendez also explained that he would have certainly picked Jones as the GOAT if not for the multiple PED violations. Mendez notes that several Olympic medallists have had their medals taken away after they were found cheating. According to Mendez, Jones can’t be considered the GOAT if the same logic applies to MMA.

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Transgressions Should Be Punished “The GOAT for me is Khabib, and I would put Jon Jones in that category, but I can’t,” Mendez said on the Ahmed Mahmood show. “If you’re caught doing something you shouldn’t have been doing, how can you be considered at the top of the league? This is a true sport, and in a true sport you cannot put that person ahead. How many people have won Olympic gold medals and then they find out they cheated one way o…

Usman Nurmagomedov vowed to make referee Kerry Hatley’s night at PFL Road to Dubai a little easier. 

Nurmagomedov (21-0) put his lightweight title on the line against Davis in the main event at PFL Dubai on Saturday. The undefeated Dagestani looked nearly flawless while putting Davis to sleep with a reverse arm-triangle in the third round. 

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Recent footage has surfaced of Nurmagomedov taking pre-fight instructions from referee Hatley. Hatley was explaining that if Nurmagomedov was in the bottom position and wanted to be stood up, he had to stall the action. However, Nurmagomedov wasn’t very keen on listening to the rest of the instructions as he was confident that he would finish Davis.A Man of His Word “I’m gonna finish him,” Nurmagomedov said.

Hatley replied: “Yeah, good, make my job easy.”

However, Hatley did his duty by imparting the complete set of instructions to Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov kept his promise by finishing Davis to…

Mario Bautista had no trouble getting past Vinicius Oliveira. | Getty/UFC

Mario Bautista believes cutting excess weight made Vinicius Oliveira slow in their fight on Saturday. 

Bautista took on an up-and-coming Oliveira in the main event at UFC Vegas 113 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. While some were counting Bautista out, he absolutely walked through Oliveira en route to a second-round submission win. 

While it was Oliveira’s first five-rounder, “LokDog” started looking sluggish early in the second round. Bautista revealed that he initially thought that Oliveira was playing possum to try to lure him into a knockout shot. However, Oliveira was just too slow for Bautista, who saw everything coming his way. Bautista believes that Oliveira weighing 165 pounds during fight week and cutting to bantamweight might have had something to do with his lack of speed.

Experience Pays Off “I wasn't sure if he was messing around, kind of trying to …

Daniil Donchenko has learned a lesson despite his win over Alex Morono on Saturday. 

Donchenko took on the battle-tested veteran in a welterweight matchup at UFC Vegas 113 on Saturday. The Ukrainian came out all guns blazing and started beating down Morono from the onset. However, Morono, sometimes considered too tough for his own good, refused to go down. While Donchenko eventually earned a unanimous decision win, he also suffered some damage from Morono. 

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While some fighters only learn from their losses, Donchenko has learned a lesson from his win against Morono. Donchenko found his performance “stupid” and vows not to repeat it in the future. While Donchenko doesn’t mind a brutal fight, he believes he could have been much smarter about it. The 24-year-old guarantees a brutal but smarter version of himself going forward.A Smart and Brutal Future “I learned a lot,” Donchenko said at his post-fight press conference. “Some people only learn …

Arman Tsarukyan has shared his pick for the UFC 326 headliner, whom he eventually wants to fight. 

Max Holloway will put his BMF belt on the line in a rematch against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas. Tsarukyan is backing his former foe Oliveira to beat Holloway. While Tsarukyan thinks Oliveira isn’t the most technical sometimes, he believes “do Bronx” outperforms himself on good nights. Tsarukyan earned a split decision win over Oliveira in their matchup in 2024. However, Tsarukyan claims the scorecards didn’t do justice as he beat Oliveira convincingly. “Ahalkalakets” wants Oliveira to beat Holloway so that he can run it back with the Brazilian and show that he has always been better.

‘We Have a History’ “Sometimes Oliveira fights so bad, but sometimes he's unreal,” Tsarukyan said on Telegram. “You never know with him. I still lean towards him to win. I hope Oliveira wins, we have a history. We can rematch. People say I won via split decision, b…

Manoel Sousa earned a UFC deal on the Contender Series last year. | Getty/UFC

Mauricio Ruffy’s former opponent might have a shortcut to rise up the rankings if he is successful in his UFC debut.

Ruffy suffered his only professional loss outside the UFC against Manoel Sousa via knockout in 2019. Sousa (13-1) earned his UFC contract with a knockout win on Dana White's Contender Series last year. “Manumito” is now scheduled to make his Octagon debut against Bolaji Oki (10-3) at UFC Fight Night 269 on March 14 at the Apex in Las Vegas. Ag.Fight was first to report the booking. 

Sousa has finished 11 of his 13 career wins so far, while only losing Archie Colgan in 2024. Meanwhile, Oki is 2-2 in the UFC since his debut in 2024 and will look to rebound from a knockout loss against Mason Jones. 

Ruffy (13-2) made his UFC debut in 2024 and quickly attained stardom with a three-fight winning streak before losing to Benoit St. Denis last year. Th…

Only in MMA.

On Saturday, a custom rules bout between Vaclav Mikulasek and Pavol Vasko at Clash MMA in Brno, Czech Republic, devolved into chaos when Vasko attempted to defend a takedown by biting his opponent’s ear. Mikulasek immediately clutched his ear and screamed out in pain while Vasko exited the cage.

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Though some security did its best to escort Vasko out of the arena, the disgraced fighter had to dodge drinks, chairs and punches while under attack on his way backstage. The video of the melee (courtesy of Happy Punch) can be viewed below:

MMA fighter got jumped by the crowd after nearly biting his opponent’s ear off 😳 pic.twitter.com/BIG2r9BGQs

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 8, 2026

Later, Mikulasek shared a video of himself on social media with his ear bandaged.

He also shared another photo on Instagram Stories of his ear without any covering.

Chaos in Czech Republic

Kyoji Horiguchi was in prime form against Amir Albazi. | Getty/UFC

More than 10 years ago, Kyoji Horiguchi wasn’t ready to become UFC champion.

The Japanese standout squared off against pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186, falling to “Mighty Mouse” via armbar in the fifth round of their April 2015 championship bout. Horiguchi would win three more UFC bouts before parting ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2016. He enjoyed plenty of success in Rizin and Bellator before returning to the UFC late last year. On Saturday, he earned his second consecutive victory in the Octagon, as he cruised past Amir Albazi in the UFC Fight Night 266 co-main event.

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“I’m better at everything,” Horiguchi said of the difference between now and then at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Fighting fear, scared, everything, I learn. That’s why I’m strong right now.”

At 35 years old, Horiguchi appears to still be at the peak of his…

Vinicius Oliveira had a rough time in the UFC Vegas 113 main event. | Getty/UFC

Vinicius Oliveira took a step up in competition on Saturday, and things didn’t go as planned for the Brazilian prospect.

Oliveira was outclassed in the UFC Vegas 113 main event, as he fell to Mario Bautista via second-round submission at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. That snapped a four-bout promotional winning streak for “LokDog,” who had an opportunity to enter the upper echelon of the bantamweight division with a victory over the battle-tested Bautista.

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In the aftermath of his first UFC, defeat Oliveira revealed that he suffered multiple injuries leading up to the fight.

"Well, earthlings, things went wrong again," Oliveira wrote on Instagram. "I've lost count of how many times I've lost in my life, but every time I've gotten up and moved on. I'm sad for my team and for everyone who was cheering for me, but anyway, no sad stories, let's move on to anothe…

Jon Jones believes the best version of himself doesn’t involve competing in MMA. 

Jones (28-1) recently revealed that he might finally be done fighting. Jones believes he is still fit enough to hold his own with some of the best fighters in the world. However, Jones, widely considered the greatest of all time, is only used to competing with top competition. Jones wants to retire with his legacy intact instead of continuing to a point where he takes unnecessary damage and some losses.

‘My Best Self Is On Its Way’   “I think my best self is on its way, and that’s a person without fighting, and I’m excited to forge this guy…I think I could be done,” Jones told Helen Yee. “I know I am young enough to compete with some of the best fighters in the world, I’m healthy enough to compete with some of the best fighters in the world, but I’ve always been used to competing with the best in the world. That’s a really high standard to uphold. Maybe it's just about doing it rig…

Umar Nurmagomedov believes he won’t be matched up against Sean O'Malley. 

Nurmagomedov and O’Malley are currently on the cusp of title contention, with a win likely to seal a title shot for either of them. However, former bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been guaranteed a chance to reclaim his title against Petr Yan next. 

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Nurmagomedov (20-1) is willing to fight anyone in the meantime, preferably O’Malley (19-3) in Abu Dhabi this summer. However, Nurmagomedov doubts the matchup will come to fruition as neither O’Malley nor the UFC will want it. Nurmagomedov believes that if Yan defends his title, O’Malley will get the next title shot, considering his previous split-decision win over the champion. However, Nurmagomedov believes he will secure the next title shot if Dvalishvili reclaims the title against Yan. While Nurmagomedov has lost once to Dvalishvili, O’Malley has lost two title fights against the Georgian, including a stoppa…

Alfie Davis shared a lighthearted moment with Islam Makhachev after his loss to Usman Nurmagoedov at PFL Road to Dubai.

Davis challenged Nurmagomedov for the Professional Fighters League lightweight title on Saturday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Nurmagomedov choked out Davis with a reverse arm-triangle late in the third round to successfully defend his title. 

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Davis revealed that he thought he could just survive the round when he heard his corner say that there were only 30 seconds left. However, the next thing the Englishman knew was that he was regaining consciousness. When Davis came to his senses, he saw Usman’s cousin and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in his face. Davis says that the entire team was very respectful toward him after the fight. Davis also revealed that Makhachev couldn’t resist one of his signature humorous one-liners. Makhachev reminded Davis that he is now 1-1 against their team after “The Axe Man” beat their teammate Ga…

Movsar Evloev believes it’s not a good idea for Ilia Topuria to fight Islam Makhachev at welterweight. 

Lightweight champion Topuria has long been eyeing a clash against welterweight champion Makhachev. Topuria is currently expected to fight interim champion Justin Gaethje in a title unifier. While Evloev was impressed with Gaethje’s interim title win over Paddy Pimblett last month, he believes “The Highlight” is highly susceptible to a knockout against Topuria. However, Evloev believes Topuria stands no chance at welterweight against Makhachev, who is visibly bigger and on a different level.

Another Level “It's a stupid move,” Evloev told Submission Radio. “I think if Ilia does this, he will lose everything. But he has the power to fight at lightweight, and I don’t think it’s going to be a good fight for Gaethje if they fight. Gaethje’s fight [against Pimblett] was so good, but he missed a lot of punches. That’s not a good idea with Ilia. If [Ilia] touches [Justin],…

Javid Basharat underwent a brutal weight cut only to see his opponent, Gianni Vazquez, miss weight. 

Basharat was originally scheduled to fight Said Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night 266 at the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. However, Nurmagomedov pulled out due to visa issues and was replaced by Vazquez on two days’ notice. While Basharat successfully made weight, Vazquez came in at 141 pounds, missing the non-title bantamweight limit by a whopping five pounds. 

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Basharat dropped Vazquez early and came close to finishing the fight in the first round. However, Vazquez survived the onslaught and turned the tables by dropping Basharat in the second round. Basharat weathered the storm and controlled Vazquez for most of the third round to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision win. The Struggle is Real Basharat subsequently revealed that he had a taxing weight cut as he was sick throughout fight week. After finally making weight, “The Snow Leop…

Alex Pereira was glad to see a former kickboxing opponent’s skills successfully translate inside the Octagon on Saturday. 

Pereira’s former Glory kickboxing foe, Dustin Jacoby, took on Julius Walker in a light heavyweight matchup at UFC Vegas 113 on Saturday. Walker took down his former training partner, Jacoby, multiple times in the first round. However, Jacoby dropped Walker in the second round and followed up with precise ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to step in. 

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The Glory Days Pereira was nostalgic while watching the fight and congratulated Jacoby on his win. “Poatan” also called for his former foe to be placed in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings.

“Incredible work [Dustin Jacoby] put some respect on his name and place him in the rankings!” Pereira wrote on Instagram.. “Nostalgia from the Glory days, would love to see him in the rankings to show the evolution that has occured in a different Sport! Chama.”

Per…

Jon Jones didn’t want the whole world to know that he has arthritis. 

A recent conversation recorded on Meta glasses revealed Jones talking about his arthritis. The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion was asked about a potential wrestling match against archrival Daniel Cormier. However, Jones dismissed the idea while revealing that he has severe arthritis in his left hip. Jones claimed that he has even qualified for a hip replacement surgery. “Bones” said that he wants to preserve the remainder of his good hip to play with his 3-year old son. 

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Jones has now slammed the guy who leaked the conversation, which was meant to be confidential. Jones also admits that he indeed has severe arthritis. However, Jones knows that it comes with a lifetime of being an athlete and he has no regrets about it.Comes with the Territory “The kid who leaked that was an absolute asshole,” Jones told the Schmo. “I was talking to some guys in confid…

Jakub Wiklacz earned an improbable victory on Saturday. | Getty/UFC

Jakub Wiklacz was one second from sweating out the scorecards in his second UFC bout. Instead, he’s 2-0 in the Octagon and $100,000 richer.

The former KSW champion earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his last-second submission of Muin Gafurov in a preliminary bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 113 on Saturday night. Gafurov seemed to be doing well in the final stanza when Wiklacz locked in a guillotine choke following an ill-advised takedown attempt, rolled into mount and forced a tapout at the 4:59 mark of Round 3.

Meanwhile, Mario Bautista captured the card’s other $100,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a masterful win over Vinicius Oliveira in the evening’s main event. The MMA Lab product trapped his foe in a crucifix and threatened with a kimura before locking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke to elicit at tapout at the 4:46 mark of Round 2.

Finally, Michal Oleks…

Mario Bautista slammed the door on Vinicius Oliveira’s ascent in the bantamweight division.

The MMA Lab product rebounded from a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov this past October, as he submitted Oliveira (23-4, 4-1 UFC) with a rear-naked choke in the UFC Vegas 113 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Bautista (17-3, 11-3 UFC) elicited a tap from his Brazilian foe at the 4:46 mark of Round 2, ending Oliverira’s six-fight professional winning streak in the process. Bautista has been victorious in nine of his last 10 promotional appeances.

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The finishing sequence was a thing of beauty. Bautista swept into top position following an Oliveira takedown attempt and quickly trapped his foe in a crucifix, where he dropped a series of elbows on his flailing adversary. From there, Bautista briefly threatened with a kimura before transitioning to a rear-naked choke. The fight-ending maneuver was secured so quickly that it was only a matter of secon…

Daniil Donchenko passed a stern veteran test in his sophomore Octagon appearance.

“The Ultimate Fighter 33” winner pushed Alex Morono to the brink of the defeat early, but ultimately emerged with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory in the featured prelim at UFC Vegas 113 at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. Judges scored the welterweight bout 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 for the Ukrainian prospect. The 35-year-old Morono (24-13, 13-10, 1 NC UFC) has lost his last four UFC bouts.

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Donchenko (13-2, 2-0 UFC) nearly made it a short night at the office. The 24-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative dropped Morno with a left hook near the fence in Round 1, and proceeded to batter his reeling foe with punches, elbows and hammerfists on the ground. Somehow, Morono made it to the horn.

From there, it was a more measured approach from Donchenko, who repeatedly chopped away at Morono’s leg and opened a gash near his adversary’ mouth with a wicked spinning elbow. W…

Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov secured his first stoppage win in nearly three years after submitting Alfie Davis via arm triangle in the third round (4:41) of Saturday’s PFL Dubai main event at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Nurmagomedov (21-0, 3-0 PFL) entered as a massive favorite against the PFL Tournament champion, but showed respect early for The Axe Man’s diverse striking background. Davis (20-6-1, 3-2 PFL) fought loose against the undefeated kingpin from Dagestan. The Englishman cracked smiles and fired off axe kicks as Davis hoped to catch Nurmagomedov with a spectacular shot, but the champ wasn’t having it. Nurmagomedov fought aggressively but calculated, blasting Davis with leg and body kicks to make him circle around the ring nonstop. Nurmagomedov would put Davis out of his misery late in the third round, securing a double leg near the fence, where he would eventually climb to Davis’ back and finish him …

Sherdog's live PFL Dubai coverage will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. ET.

Two World Title Fights headline PFL Road to Dubai! Tune in LIVE Saturday, Feb. 7 at 12 p.m. ET.

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Round 1 Light heavyweights are next to the stage, where the unbeaten Nabiev (11-0, 0-0 PFL) makes his promotional debut opposite Sami (12-4, 1-0 PFL). Reda once again officiates. They touch gloves and get down to it. Sami steps forward behind punches and draws the Russian into the clinch, securing double underhooks. They jockey for position. Nabiev feeds the Egyptian a knee to the body, then another. He snatches the Thai clinch but eats a few punches upstairs. The drift toward the center of the cage. Nabiev reverses position and presses his opponent into the fence. Knees from Sami, followed by an uppercut. Nabiev responds with knees to the body and inner thigh. He continues to lean on Sami. Midway through the round. Nabiev stays glued to his counterpart, scoring with knees and shoulder st…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 113 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 266. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Sygula (-140); Cachoeira (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gafurov (-115); Wiklacz (-105)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Dayne Fox scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores …

Movsar Evloev allegedly contracted coronavirus ahead of his scheduled fight against Aaron Pico last year. 

Evloev was scheduled to welcome former Bellator MMA star Aaron Pico to the UFC last August at UFC 319. However, Evloev pulled out of the matchup with hardly over two weeks to go before fight night. Evloev recently revealed that he was forced out of the fight due to coronavirus, the same virus responsible for the worldwide lockdown in 2020-21. Evloev claims he was affected by the virus in Thailand and decided to pull out when even easy exercises made him feel terrible.

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Struggling to Train “Last time I pulled out because of some type of coronavirus in Thailand,” Evloev told Submission Radio. “I was ready to fight, but two weeks before the fight I started feeling so bad — even doing easy exercises made me feel so bad, so I decided to pull out.”

Evloev (19-0) was replaced on short notice by Lerone Murphy (17-0), who knocked out Pico with a h…

Daniel Cormier became more serious about MMA after being schooled by Cain Velasquez in his early days. 

Cormier (22-3) had just transitioned from wrestling to MMA and was juggling his training between Oklahoma and California. Cormier began experimenting with a southpaw stance while sparring with Velasquez at the American Kickboxing Academy in 2010. That was the last time “DC” went southpaw, as Velasquez wrecked his nose with a head kick. Cormier turned his back to Velasquez, who decided to show mercy. Cormier was in agony and knew that Velasquez could have knocked him out if he wanted to. The lesson was enough for Cormier to permanently shift his base to AKA in San Jose, California.

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Lesson Learned “I was going back and forth between Oklahoma and California when I started my career,” Cormier told Y’all Street TV. “And I’m sparring Cain… I’m trying to be cute, and I’m fighting southpaw, which, by the way, 2010 was the last time I’d ever in my life…