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Khamzat Chimaev is still focused on a rematch with Sean Strickland. | Getty/UFC

Khamzat Chimaev is applying the pressure for a middleweight championship rematch against Sean Strickland.

Chimaev targeted Strickland in a social media post on Monday. “Borz” relinquished the 185-pound strap to Strickland in a split-decision defeat at UFC 328 on May 9. It was Chimaev’s first loss in 16 professional outings.

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“Accept the fight, don't run. I'll beat you anyway,” Chimaev wrote on X. “The sooner this happens, the easier it will be to breathe.”

Accept the fight, don't run, I'll beat you anyway, The sooner this happens, the easier it will be to breathe 😁@SStricklandMMA

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) June 29, 2026 Change in Plans and Another Worthy Contender While Chimaev initially indicated he would move to light heavyweight following the loss to Strickland, his focus quickly shifted to a rematch shortly thereafter. A …

Macksom Lee hopes to prove himself to UFC matchmakers with an emphatic win at LFA 237. | Getty/DWCS

After suffering his first defeat in 10 MMA fights against Hecher Sosa on Dana White's Contender Series last September, Macksom Lee will return to the cage on July 24 against Carlos Tardio (12-2) in the main event of LFA 237 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

“The best choice I made was to come to the USA to do a camp coordinated by master Roberto “Facada” Neves. It’s the first time I’ve done a camp totally focused on me with sparring emulating my opponent’s style,” Macksom told Sherdog.com.

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Tragedy Strikes The son of Markine Santos—an athlete on the Brazilian national Sanda team— Lee literally grew up in a dojo.

"When I was 5, my father separated from my mother and took me to live with him at his gym. So, I literally grew up on the mats. I started training Sanda between the ages of 8 and 9, competed for the first time at 10, and haven't stopped …

Jon Jones didn’t hesitate while picking between Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria. 

Jones, Tsarukyan, Petr Yan and Alexander Volkov were all recently in attendance for an International Boxing Association card in Moscow, Russia. Jones was asked who would win a fight between Tsarukyan and Topuria.

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“You already know, Arman all day,” Jones replied.

Tsarukyan then joked that he would have wrestled “Bones” if the latter had picked Topuria. 

Missed Connection Tsarukyan (23-3) should have ideally fought Topuria (17-1) when “El Matador” moved up to lightweight. However, Tsarukyan had fallen out of the UFC’s favor after pulling out of a scheduled title fight against Islam Makhachev. Topuria went on to beat Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title instead. While Tsarukyan subsequently started calling for a shot against Topuria, the Georgian-Spaniard expressed interest in fighting Paddy Pimblett instead. However, Pimblett went on to los…

Yair Rodriguez is apparently moving up to lightweight. 

Rodriguez (20-5) and Belal Muhammad are teammates at Valle Flow Striking in Bensenville, Illinois. Muhammad recently claimed that “El Pantera” is moving up to lightweight from featherweight. 

Rafael Fiziev knocked out Manuel Torres via a highlight-reel spinning back kick in front of his home fans at UFC Baku last weekend. Muhammad subsequently suggested a matchup between Fiziev and Rodriguez. When a fan noted that Rodriguez is a featherweight, Muhammad Said that the Mexican is moving up to lightweight. Muhammad also revealed that Rodriguez underwent surgery on his wrist after his last win over Patricio Freire. 

Fizev and Yair would be fire

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) June 27, 2026 ’ Shifting Gears and Injury Recovery Rodriguez has had an illustrious career at featherweight, only losing to top talents like Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski and Bria…

Sharabutdin Magomedov believes Sean Strickland is afraid of fighting outside the U.S. 

Magomedov (17-1) scored a come-from-behind victory over Strickland’s teammate Michel Pereira at UFC Baku last weekend. Strickland had even mimicked “Shara Bullet” while helping Pereira prepare for the fight. 

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Magomedov has since labeled Strickland (31-7) a “domestic champion.” Magomedov accuses Strickland of not leaving America because he is scared. According to Magomedov, Strickland just acts like a hero in his own gym. Magomedov believes Strickland would ask for additional security if had to go to Abu Dhabi to fight. While Magomedov wants to Strickland in the future, he believes it won’t be anytime soon. ‘Just a Windbag’ “He’s just a windbag,” Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “His time will come and we’ll meet in the Octagon. There’s where we’ll find out. Even if he keeps talking trash what should I do? Go to America to chose him? He’s like a domestic…

Alex Pereira has gained two allies in his crusade against Herb Dean: Tom Aspinall and Renato "Moicano" Carneiro.

Considered one of Brazil's biggest MMA influencers, “Moicano” published a video on his Youtube channel criticizing Dean's failure to deduct points from Sharabutdin Magomedov after the Russian repeatedly grabbed Michel Pereira’s hair during their bout at UFC Baku.

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"Three weeks in a row where Herb Dean has interfered with results: first at UFC White House, then in the 'Lok Dog' vs. Andre Fili fight fight last week, and now in the Michel vs. Shara fight. The truth is this guy manipulates results. How does he not deduct a point? The Russian committed an eye poke and grabbed Michel's hair three times, yet he did nothing. If he had punished [Magomedov for the infractions], the result would have been a draw. Once again, he made a huge mistake and interfered with a fight's outcome,” Carneiro said.United in Criticism Tom Aspinall—who the previous w…

Alex Pereira seemingly doesn’t deserve the backlash that he is facing for his recent seminar during his United Kingdom tour. 

Pereira (13-3) recently faced criticism for allegedly refusing photographs during a paid meet-and-greet session at a seminar in Keighley, England. However, the organizers for the event, Joyagear, recently issued a statement defending Pereira. As per Joyagear, Pereira was only informed about a one-hour seminar, which he delivered. The organizers claim that “Poatan” was not informed about autograph signings or individual photographs after the session. The organizers promise to fully refund the meet-and-greet ticket holders.

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😲Alex Pereira is getting called out after his seminar in London

Attendees claim he REFUSED to take photos, even the pre paid ones

He refused to sign merch

Also he cut the seminar time pic.twitter.com/eFuFWhw2N7

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) June 28, 2026 In Defense of…

Terence Crawford believes he is a smarter boxer than Jaron “Boots” Ennis. 

Ennis (36-0) challenged Xander Zayas for the WBO and WBA junior middleweight titles on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York. Ennis scored three knockdowns en route to a seventh-round stoppage win over Zayas. Fans have since started plotting a matchup between “Boots” and Crawford, who retired last December. 

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However, Crawford confirms that he won’t come back from retirement to fight Ennis. Crawford lauded Ennis in every aspect, labelling him a threat to anyone. However, Crawford believes he would outsmart Ennis.Nothing to Prove “I don’t worry about coming back to prove anything,” Crawford told “The Porter Way Podcast.” “… To credit ‘Boots,’ he is a tremendous talent and he’s no walk in the park for no one. He is a threat to anyone that he steps a foot in the ring with. He got tremendous speed, he got great power, defense, reflexes. But the only thing that I can say is, I’m 1…

Ariane Lipski da Silva competed for the PFL, UFC and KSW over the course of a 30-fight pro tenure. | PFL/MMA

The woman known as “The Queen of Violence” has decided to call it a career.

Ariane Lipski da Silva announced her retirement via social media following a first-round submission loss to Jena Bishop at PFL San Diego on Saturday night. Lipski da Silva went 1-1 under the Professional Fighters Leaguebanner but exits the sport having lost four of her last five professional outings.

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"Officially retired from MMA,” Lipski da Silva wrote on Instagram. “Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yesterday was the last time I stepped into the cage, bringing to a close a journey of nearly 13 years as a professional MMA fighter, with the privilege of competing in the biggest organizations in the world. I'm grateful for everything this sport has given me; for every opportunity, every lesson, and every door it opened along the way. I gav…

Rafael Fiziev was struggling with his vision moments before he put the decisive finishing sequence in motion in the UFC Baku headliner.

“Ataman” rocked and dropped Manuel Torres with a spinning wheel kick, then put his reeling foe away with a barrage of punches 15 seconds into Round 2 of their lightweight clash on Saturday at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Fiziev’s spectacular finish seems even better considering the fact that he was dealing with extenuating circumstances in that moment.

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SPINNING HEEL KICK INTO GNP 🤯

Rafael Fiziev blows the roof off of #UFCBaku 👏

[ LIVE ON @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/3kGbvxosLJ — UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) June 27, 2026

“This guy is strong, he [has] reach, long hands, power,” Fiziev said in an interview with the UFC. “…[His] last jab on my eye, I didn't see anything when I opened my both eyes, but when I closed my left eye, I see good.

“Begi…

Conor McGregor is set to fight for the first time in nearly five years. | Getty/UFC

The full fight card and bout order are set for UFC 329.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the full lineup over the weekend. UFC 329 takes place on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Conor McGregor against Max Holloway. McGregor hasn’t competed since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The former two-division champion defeated Max Holloway via unanimous decision in a featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 26 on Aug. 17, 2013.

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The UFC 329 main card airs on Paramount+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event kicks off with the early prelims at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT, highlighted by a featured flyweight tilt between Tracy Cortez and Cong Wang. The preliminary draw continues at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. with four more contests, which include the Octagon debut of Gable Steveson and Rob…

Featherweight prospect Salamat Isbulaev saw his undefeated run come to an end in the PFL San Diego headliner.

Given that his opponent was A.J. McKee, that result wasn’t especially surprising. However, Isbulaev’s purse was: The 29-year-old Kazakhstan native took home just $10,000 for his work. The California State Athletic Commission initially released salary figures from the event to MMAFighting.com on Saturday. McKee, meanwhile, earned a flat rate of $100,000 in victory.

Crowd LOVING this main event!! #PFLSanDiego | LIVE NOW on ESPN 2 for MAIN CARD pic.twitter.com/lLzyj5Imkg

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 28, 2026

McKee and Liz Carmouche, who garnered $100,000 for a submission victory over Viviane Araujo ($20,000) in the evening’s co-main event, where the card’s high earners. The next highest salary was Alexandr Shabliy, who took home $50,000 for a unanimous decision triump over Alfie Davis ($20,000).

Note: The disclosed purses reported b…

Ikram Aliskerov wants to make some noise in his next fight. 

Aliskerov took on Brunno Ferreira (15-4) in a middleweight bout at UFC Baku on Saturday. Aliskerov dominated Ferreira on the ground while holding his own on the feet to score a unanimous decision win. 

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Aliskerov wants an opponent with a big name in his next fight. Aliskerov wants to fight again in October, when the UFC usually hosts its annual Abu Dhabi card.Planning Ahead “Next what I need is big loud fight, a big name,” Aliskerov said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “At least one fight at the end of the year. So, I’m thinking Abu Dhabi for me, in October, works perfectly. I need one good fight, one big name… The choice is not for me. The choice is for Mick [Maynard], for Hunter [Campbell]. If they give me a good name, I’m happy to fight anybody they suggest.”

Aliskerov (18-2) had only lost to Khamzat Chimaev before making his UFC debut in 2023. Chimaev had once acknowl…

Fans should not blink when Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev steps into the Octagon again. 

Yakhyaev was the biggest favourite on the card when he took on Julius Walker in a light heavyweight tilt at UFC Baku on Saturday. Yakhyaev justified the odds by dropping Walker with a right hand and finishing him in 8 seconds. Yakhyaev also earned a $100,000 performance bonus for his highlight-reel victory. 

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Despite scoring one of the quickest finishes in UFC history, Yakhyaev promises an even quicker finish in his next fight. The undefeated Turkish prospect believes he is already prepared for top-tier opponents.Ready to Move Up“Next time fight will be more short,” Yakhyaev said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Be ready guys. I think I’m ready for Top 10, Top 5, doesn’t matter. I will sit with my coach, my team, we’ll talk about that and let the UFC know.”

Yakhayaev has finished nine of his 10 career wins so far, eight of them in the first round. The …

Abus Magomedov is eyeing Israel Adesanya. 

Magomedov took on Michal Oleksiejczuk in a middleweight matchup at UFC Baku on Saturday. Magomedov dropped Oleksiejczuk with a brutal elbow before choking him out with a guillotine in the opening round. 

Magomedov subsequently for a matchup against Adesanya next. Magomedov accuses Adesanya of “talking s—t” about him in the past. However, Magomedov also admits that he respects Adesanya, having grown up watching the former champion.

‘Now It’s My Time’ “Only one guy, Adesanya,” Magomedov said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Back in the day, some conversation, he talked little bit s—t about me. And now it’s time I think. I hope we gonna fight one day. A lot of respect for Adesanya. He was champion, I was growing up with his fights. But now it’s my time.”

Magomedov’s respectful feud with Adesanya could stems from an interview where “The Last Stylebender” couldn’t remember his name while discussing Sean Stric…

Jon Jones recently shared his prediction for the upcoming UFC welterweight title fight.

Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend his welterweight title against Ian Garry at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jones is picking Makhachev to successfully defend his title against Garry. “Bones” believes Makhachev’s elite wrestling will give him an advantage over Garry. Jones also considers Makhachev one of the greatest fighters of all time alongside himself.

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Wrestling Over Everything “I'm going with Islam because he has a wrestling background, and it's very hard to beat wrestlers,” Jones told Sport24ru. “He may just be one of the greatest fighters in the world. Right now, it's me and maybe him. So, I encourage him to keep going.”

Makhachev (28-1) defended the lightweight title four times, the most in the division’s history, before moving up to welterweight. Makhachev dominantly dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to w…

A.J. McKee was in peak form at PFL San Diego.

A.J. McKee has the look of a man ready to make another championship run.

Competing in his native California, the 31-year-old Team Bodyshop representative handed Kazakh prospect Salamat Isbulaev his first career defeat, taking home a unanimous decision triumph in the PFL San Diego headliner at Pechanga Arena on Saturday night. McKee (25-2, 4-1 PFL), who enjoyed a brief reign as Bellator MMA featherweight champion in 2021, is 3-0 since returning to the division where he made his name.

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Early exchanges were fraught with tension, and Isbulaev (10-1, 1-1 PFL) appeared more than eager to engage with his veteran adversary. However, McKee was able to weather the initial burst and drag his finish-minded foe, who had only once gone beyond the first round, into deep waters. “Mercenary” was especially effective with his grappling, landing takedowns in each frame and scrambling effectively to dominant pos…

Standout finishers ruled the day at UFC Baku.

Main event winner Rafael Fiziev was one of four fighters to earn a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” award on Saturday at National Gymnastic Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. “Ataman” vanquished Manuel Torres with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches 15 seconds into Round 2 of their lightweight headliner.

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Chasing History Elsewhere, Asu Almabayev garnered $100,000 for a late submission triumph against Charles Johnson in a flyweight scrap. “Zulfikhar” tapped Johnson with a kneebar 3:33 into the third stanza to secure his third consecutive UFC triumph.

Meanwhile, Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev was an easy choice for a “Performance of the Night” check, as he made short work of Julius Walker at light heavyweight. Yakhyaev knocked out Walker eight seconds into Round 1, tying him for the second fastest finish ever at 205 pounds and seventh in the UFC overall.

Finally, Daniil Donchenko received the card’s final…

Rafael Fiziev tapped into one of his most trusted weapons at the right time.

The Tiger Muay Thai standout held his ground in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, as he cut down Manuel Torres with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 280 main event on Saturday at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Torres (17-4, 5-2 UFC) checked out 15 seconds into Round 2.

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Fiziev (14-5, 8-5 UFC) was the aggressor from the start and tore into the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with punishing leg kicks throughout much of the first round. Torres countered sporadically and managed to get his counterpart’s attention with a stiff jab, but he failed to make real headway. Early in the second round, Fiziev sat down the Entram Gym product with a perfectly placed wheel kick and dropped him again with a crushing right cross. Hammerfists followed and sealed Torres’ fate.

Read more about Rafael Fiziev wheel kick downs Manuel Torres in UFC Baku headliner

Sherdog's live UFC Baku coverage will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 280. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Abdullaev (-120); Nascimento (+100)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Matsumoto (-160); Almakhan (+135)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:The Official R…

The line of Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights who want to test Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev figures to grow even shorter given his latest performance.

The fast-rising Turkish contender kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in sensational fashion, as he wiped out Julius Walker with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 280 prelim on Saturday at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Yakhyaev (10-0, 3-0 UFC) slammed the door just eight seconds into Round 1, authoring the second-fastest finish in the history of the 205-pound weight class.

Walker (7-3, 1-3 UFC) never stood a chance. Yakhyaev felled the Xtreme Couture rep with a devastating overhand right on the counter, pounced with follow-up punches and drew the curtain with an almost dismissive disdain.

Meanwhile, American Top Team’s Nursulton Ruziboev put Andrey Pulyaev to sleep with a vicelike rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight enc…

Sherdog's live PFL San Diego coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay …

Anthony Hernandez will attempt to return to the win column at UFC Sacramento. | Getty/UFC

Battle-tested middleweights are set to trade leather at UFC Sacramento. 

Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues are scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 22 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Connected MMA was first to report the booking, which was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com.

Looking to Bounce Back Hernandez (15-3) was on an eight-fight winning streak with six finishes leading up to his last matchup against Sean Strickland. While “Fluffy” was a sizeable favorite going into the fight, Strickland neutralized his wrestling and picked him apart on the feet to score a third-round stoppage win. Hernandez is currently training with Strickland for his upcoming fight against Rodrigues (19-6). 

Meanwhile, Rodrigues is 10-3 in the UFC and currently on a three-fight winning streak. “RoboCop” has gone through the trenches of the …

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin believes the promotion needs to focus on brand building. 

While the PFL is arguably the second-biggest MMA promotion in the world, it remains well behind industry leader UFC in terms of popularity. Martin believes the focus of the PFL has shifted multiple times since its inception in 2017, hindering its growth as a brand. Martin notes that the acquisition of Bellator in 2023 also came with a lot of issues. 

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Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Martin, who joined as the CEO of PFL last year, believes the promotion is more important than individual fighters. Martin is now trying to build the brand of PFL.

Brand Over Everything “The PFL’s seven years old,” Martin told Home of Fight. “But within that seven years, the focus and emphasis of the PFL has changed many number of times. There was a world tournament. Then they bought Bellator,…