AnalysisThe long read
How the calf kick changed elite MMA
The low attack was changing fights years before Poirier-McGregor II. Its history explains both its power and the counters it invites.
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UFC 334 loses Sadykhov-Nascimento bout, adds Alatengheili for injured Yanez
Nazim Sadykhov's lightweight bout with Jefferson Nascimento was scrapped and Adrian Yanez was replaced by Alatengheili days before UFC 334, while the rest of the Nov. 14 Madison Square Garden card stays intact.
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LFA books two vacant-title fights for its December 18 Las Vegas card
Davi Costa meets Mason Hartshorn for the flyweight title, and Shealor Ladd faces Wildemar Santos for the light heavyweight title, at the Pearl Theater inside Palms Casino Resort.
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ONE revives Rodtang-Nong-O Hama's scrapped title fight as a Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix quarterfinal
The matchup that collapsed during fight week a year ago now opens an eight-man bracket chasing a shot at Asadula Imangazaliev's belt.
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Igor Severino stops unbeaten Max Holzer in 54 seconds to defend Oktagon's bantamweight title in Hannover
Severino needed less than a minute to end Holzer's 12-0 record in front of a sold-out home crowd, his first clean defense of the bantamweight belt he won in March.
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Israel Adesanya booked against Sharabutdin Magomedov to headline UFC's December Riyadh card
The two-time former middleweight champion, on a four-fight losing streak, returns against an unbeaten-in-the-UFC contender on December 5, with Ian Garry vs. Yaroslav Amosov set as the co-main event.
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Tony Laramie survives an early knockdown to take Rizin's flyweight title from Makoto Takahashi
Laramie, a Windsor, Ontario native fighting on a three-fight win streak, got dropped early at Rizin 55 before rallying to a split decision and his first major championship.
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Stephen Thompson confirms his November 14 fight with Charles Radtke will end his UFC career
The two-time welterweight title challenger says the final bout on his UFC contract, against Charles Radtke at UFC 334 in New York, will be his retirement fight.
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Yair Rodriguez ends 20-month layoff against Steve Garcia at UFC 335
The featherweights meet December 12 in Las Vegas, Garcia's first fight since a June knockout loss and Rodriguez's first since April 2025.
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Andrew Tackett's fifth welterweight title defense headlines UFC BJJ 14 in December
UFC's grappling card also puts the women's featherweight belt on the line, as inaugural champion Aurelie Le Vern gets a shot at reclaiming the title she lost seven months ago.
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Johan Ghazali gets his rematch with Johan Estupinan at ONE's The Inner Circle 42
ONE Championship has booked the flyweight Muay Thai rematch for December 11 in Bangkok, nearly two years after Estupinan handed Ghazali a decision loss at ONE 170.
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Tye Ruotolo submits Christian Lee to become ONE's first two-sport world champion
Ruotolo finished the two-division champion in the first round at The Inner Circle 37, adding the ONE lightweight MMA title to the grappling championship he already held.
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Johnny Walker stops Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the third round to win UFC Vegas 124's short-notice main event
Walker survived an early knockdown and heavy pressure before a head kick and follow-up strikes finished the fight, earning Fight of the Night in a heavyweight headliner that only came together after an injury scrapped the original welterweight main event.
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Joselyne Edwards reportedly named backup fighter for Harrison-Nunes title bout at UFC 334
The No. 2-ranked bantamweight would step in if Kayla Harrison or Amanda Nunes cannot compete on Nov. 14, multiple outlets report, as Harrison makes her first title defense since beating Julianna Pena.
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UFC adds Cavalcanti-Montague and Motta-Fan to its Qatar card
Two new matchups join the November 21 Doha lineup, officially confirming bookings that had circulated for weeks ahead of the UFC's second visit to Qatar.
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William Tackett wins a vacant UFC BJJ title, joining brother Andrew as a champion
Tackett submitted Jay Rodriguez in the first round to claim the vacant middleweight belt, and Jalen Fonacier won a decision over Kleber Barboza for the bantamweight title Mikey Musumeci had given up.
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Ansar Khamzaev submits Juliano Prescendo to win LFA's vacant lightweight title
The unbeaten prospect finished Juliano Prescendo by first-round submission at LFA 245 on Oct. 30 in Niagara Falls, New York, filling a belt that had sat open since the promotion's previous two lightweight champions each left to sign with the UFC.
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Dakota Ditcheva says she is medically cleared, wants PFL flyweight title rematch with Jena Bishop
Ditcheva, who broke both hands in her July win over Denise Kielholtz, says surgery and recovery are behind her and she wants the next shot at Bishop's new title. Bishop has separately said she wants the rematch too, though PFL has not booked it.
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Two injury withdrawals reshape Oktagon 96's top fights before Munich card
Jessin Ayari replaces an injured Felix Klinkhammer in the promotion's vacant welterweight title fight against Amiran Gogoladze, and Rene Runge steps in against Gokhan Aksu, after Oktagon confirmed two withdrawals days before its Oct. 31 SAP Garden event.
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PFL confirms full Dubai card: Vadim Nemkov defends heavyweight title against training partner
The November 14 Coca-Cola Arena show is PFL's first Dubai date since merging with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, with champion Vadim Nemkov making his first heavyweight title defense against Sergei Bilostenniy, who trains alongside him under Fedor Emelianenko.
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Nico Carrillo to defend featherweight muay thai title against the man who knocked him out
ONE Championship books a rematch of the fight that cost Nico Carrillo his unbeaten run at the top, putting his featherweight muay thai crown on the line against Nabil Anane on December 18 in Bangkok.
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UFC confirms January 16 return to Dallas, its first visit since 2022
A Fight Night card is set for American Airlines Center, the arena where UFC 277 set the promotion's Dallas attendance record, though no fighters have been announced yet.
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Julian Erosa ends his UFC career with a first-round knockout, exactly as he said he would
Erosa dropped JeongYeong Lee with a right hand 1:31 into the opening round of his announced retirement fight, earning a Performance of the Night bonus and the win he said days earlier he wanted no matter what came next.
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Kade Ruotolo booked against former champion Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Fight Night 50
The unbeaten grappling champion's MMA push continues on a December 18 Lumpinee Stadium card that also adds prospects Maurice Abevi and Dzhabir Dzhabrailov, weeks after Christian Lee defends his lightweight title against Kade's twin brother Tye.
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Dominick Reyes knocks out Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick at UFC 333
The two-time former light heavyweight title challenger stopped the No. 7-ranked Murzakanov in the first round, handing him a second straight loss by head kick and extending Reyes's own win streak to two.
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Lone'er Kavanagh bounces back with first-round TKO of Ramazan Temirov at UFC 333
The British flyweight earned a Performance of the Night bonus by stopping Temirov, who was fighting for just the second time since a one-year doping suspension.
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Unbeaten Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev stops Nikita Krylov in the first round at UFC 333
The Chechen-born prospect improved to 11-0 with a first-round TKO in Abu Dhabi, handing the longtime UFC light heavyweight a third loss in his last four fights.
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Petr Yan retains bantamweight title, outlasting Dvalishvili's record 56 takedown attempts at UFC 333
Yan swept the final three rounds for a unanimous decision in the trilogy decider, taking a 2-1 series lead after Dvalishvili dominated the opening two rounds.
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Volkanovski stops previously unbeaten Evloev, passes Aldo for featherweight title wins
Alexander Volkanovski retained his belt with a second-round TKO of Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, while Petr Yan edged Merab Dvalishvili by decision to keep the bantamweight title.
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PFL sets three Africa tournament finals for Kigali's BK Arena on December 12
David Samuel, Shido Boris Esperanca and four other finalists will fight for welterweight, lightweight and bantamweight titles as the Professional Fighters League returns to Rwanda.
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Joaquin Buckley says his next fight will be his last
The UFC welterweight, on a three-fight skid capped by a brutal knockout loss to Mike Malott, told fans one more run in the Octagon will close out his career.
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Magomed Magomedov wins split decision over Lucas Gabriel in ONE Fight Night 49 main event despite missing weight
Magomedov, who came in 5.4 pounds over the lightweight limit and forfeited part of his purse, outpointed Lucas Gabriel on the scorecards in Bangkok to win his ONE debut at a catchweight.
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Iasmin Lucindo sweeps the cards against Nicolle Caliari in their UFC 333 catchweight bout
Lucindo won every round on every scorecard against Caliari, who had forfeited 30 percent of her purse after missing the non-title strawweight limit by 4.5 pounds, as the pair opened UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi at catchweight.
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Scott Coker's Ki MMA formally asks California to allow grounded head knees
The new ring based promotion wants a PRIDE style strike added to the Unified Rules, with the state commission set to discuss the request in December.
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Natalia Silva isn't ready to hand Jasmine Jasudavicius the next flyweight title shot
The new UFC champion told Ag. Fight that Alexa Grasso's recent form also makes a case for her first defense, and that matchmaking is the promotion's call, not hers.
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UFC 336 returns to Toronto on January 30, first numbered Canadian card on Paramount+
Scotiabank Arena will host the promotion's first Toronto event since 2024, headlined by a flyweight title defense and an interim welterweight title fight.
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Dricus du Plessis's coach says he turned down a UFC light heavyweight tournament
Morne Visser says the UFC pitched a one-night, four-man 205-pound grand prix including Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev, but du Plessis chose to keep chasing a middleweight title shot first.
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Jasmine Jasudavicius upsets Erin Blanchfield, calls for a flyweight title shot at Natalia Silva
A unanimous decision win over a top contender in Edmonton puts Jasudavicius in the flyweight title conversation, with the fighter requesting a rematch against the champion who beat her in 2022.
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Jonathan Haggerty stops Hiroki Akimoto to retain ONE bantamweight kickboxing title in Tokyo
Haggerty won by corner stoppage in round three at ONE SAMURAI 4, his third defense of the belt, turning back a former champion on Akimoto's home turf in Japan.
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UFC strawweight Jaqueline Amorim suspended six months after positive ostarine test
Combat Sports Anti-Doping says contamination, not intentional use, explains two positive samples collected in July and August; Amorim is eligible to return in February.
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UFC signs unbeaten Russian light heavyweight Ivan Gnizditskiy after Contender Series visa miss
Manager Ali Askarov confirmed the 7-0 prospect agreed to a UFC contract after a visa problem kept him off Dana White's Contender Series, with a December debut expected but no opponent or event set yet.
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Quentin Pasley, compared to Jon Jones by Dana White, gets UFC 335 debut
Unbeaten light heavyweight Quentin Pasley, who impressed UFC CEO Dana White with a Contender Series knockout, will make his promotional debut against Junior Tafa on the December 12 card.
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Bo Nickal says his UFC 335 fight with Joe Pyfer is moving to a February Cleveland headliner
Nickal announced the change at a campaign rally in Ohio, but UFC's own card for the December 12 pay-per-view still lists the middleweight bout unchanged.
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Jena Bishop upsets Liz Carmouche to become PFL's first women's flyweight champion
Bishop survived a battering first round, then controlled the next four largely through wrestling to win a unanimous decision and reverse her August 2025 knockout loss to Carmouche at PFL Chicago.
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Maycee Barber returns against Carli Judice at UFC 335
Barber is booked for her first fight since a March knockout loss, facing four-fight win streaker Carli Judice on the December 12 card at T-Mobile Arena.
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Dana White rules out moving UFC 333 from Abu Dhabi despite Saudi attacks
Asked about contingency plans for the October 24 card, UFC's CEO said the promotion is not reconsidering Abu Dhabi, even as Houthi missile and drone strikes have repeatedly hit Riyadh's main airport in neighboring Saudi Arabia this month.
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Contender Series season finale ties UFC contract record at 46
Dana White's Contender Series closed its tenth season on October 13 by signing four more prospects, including former ONE Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell, matching the show's single-season record of 46 UFC contracts.
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Anthony Romero gets three-day-notice UFC debut after Sopaj pulls out of UFC 332
UFC confirmed Bernardo Sopaj withdrew from his bantamweight bout with Marcus McGhee due to injury, with newcomer Anthony Romero stepping in on three days' notice in a featherweight matchup on the October 3 card in Salt Lake City.
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Four prospects earn UFC contracts as illegal knee mars Contender Series win
Dana White's Contender Series awarded four new UFC contracts on September 29, but the promotion's president said Ian Escuza's featherweight win should have been ruled a no contest after an illegal knee the referee missed.
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UFC 332 adds Jacobe Smith against newcomer Bruce Whitehead
UFC has added a welterweight bout pairing unbeaten prospect Jacobe Smith with promotional newcomer Bruce Whitehead to the October 3 card in Salt Lake City, after Smith's planned step-up fight with Kevin Holland collapsed earlier this year.
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UFC books Quillan Salkilld against Benoit Saint Denis to headline Fight Night Sydney
The February 7, 2027 Afterpay Arena card has grown further: light heavyweights Robert Whittaker and Bogdan Guskov co-headline, and featherweights Marwan Rahiki and Joo Sang Yoo have reportedly been added.
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Illegal knee hands Ilimbek Akylbek the Ultimate Fighter 34 bantamweight title
A blatant knee to a downed opponent ended the TUF 34 bantamweight final by disqualification, a first for the show, and made Akylbek the first fighter from Kyrgyzstan to win the competition.
Analysis
How the calf kick changed elite MMA
The low attack was changing fights years before Poirier-McGregor II. Its history explains both its power and the counters it invites.
Explainers
How MMA scoring works: damage, control and the 10-8 round
What matters after the final horn: effective offense, the size of each round, and why control time alone does not explain a close fight.
Analysis
UFC rankings explain the division. They do not book the next title fight.
The 2026 Meta rankings change, two very different championship paths, and how to distinguish a contender argument from a confirmed booking.
Good questions.
Clear sources.
We connect developments to the bigger sporting story, show where our reporting comes from and correct the record when it changes.How we work