Earlier this year, Ramazan Kuramagomedov had claimed welterweight gold against Shamil Musaev, but after Kuramagomedov retired immediately after the fight, Musaev was granted a second shot at gold. That was to have come against Jean at PFL Washington on Saturday, but complications with Musaev’s weight cut took him out of the right.

As a result, Ernesto Rodriguez stepped into the title fight on short notice, despite having just a single fight under the PFL banner. Timing is everything in MMA, and Rodriguez had a chance to show that on Saturday.

Light heavyweights Tyson Pedro and Rafael Xavier served as the night’s co-headliner.

Where to Watch PFL Washington

Saturday, July 25, 2026 found the Professional Fighters League setting up shop at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. The card airs live on ESPN and the ESPN App, with prelims starting at 8PM ET, 5PM ET and the main card expected to kick off at 10ET/7PT. Full results from the event can be found below.

PFL Washington: Jean vs. Rodriguez Results

Main Card

Thad Jean def. Ernesto Rodriguez by TKO, Round 3, 2:44 – for the vacant PFL welterweight championship
Rafael Xavier def. Tyson Pedro by TKO, Round 1, 4:59
Rasul Magomedov def. Sullivan Cauley by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Eliezer Kubanza def. Chris Mixan by submission (D’arce choke), Round 2, 2:34

Preliminary Card

Bryce Meredith def. Michael Cyr by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nkosi Ndebele def. Brandon Davis by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Coby Bradford def. Chad Yard by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:57
Noah Hermosillo def. Jacob Pais by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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The headliner played out between Bolivian fighter Carlos Tardio and Macksom Lee of Brazil, fighting at 140lbs (Tardio weighed in at 142.4).

The co-main event was a lightweight scrap featuring Kegan Gennrich taking on Jose Mendez; ahead of that one, Mendez came in a pound heavy. Felipe Martinez (151.6) and Dylan Smerillo (149.4) both came in heavy for a featherweight prelim, meanwhile.

Where to Watch LFA 237

LFA 237 takes place at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Friday, July 24, 2026. The main card airs live on Vice TV following select prelims on Spectation Sports. Internationally, a free stream of the main card is available on Youtube. Main card action kicks off at 9PM ET, 6PM PT.

LFA 237: Lee vs. Tardio Results

Main Card

Macksom Lee def. Carlos Tardio by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kegan Gennrich def. Jose Mendez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Preston LaGrange def. Dylan Diebitz by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:54
James Martin vs. Joey Hart by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ray Hayes def. Nathan Trepagnier by TKO, Round 1, 2:18
Luther Egerson III def. Ezayah Gomez by TKO (Doctor Stoppage), Round 2, 5:00

Preliminary Card

Cara Greenwell def. Jaida Harshman by TKO, Round 2, 4:18
Oscar Jurado Sánchez def. Aupuni Pagaoa by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:44
Dylan Smerillo def. Felipe Martinez by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 2:39
Kendall Whited def. Tysen Herken by unanimous decision
Jeremy Landowski def. Tremaine Jackson by TKO, Round 1, 2:29
Reed Parrish def. Jainer Ruiz by TKO, Round 1, 2:06
Edward Montes def. Alex Zapata by TKO (Doctor Stoppage), Round 3, 0:11

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At UFC Abu Dhabi, where things will hopefully go smoother, Fortune (18-3) gets another tough test in Rizvan Kuniev, a former Eagle FC heavyweight champ. Fortune is being thrown into the fire early in his UFC run, in other words, but it’s a situation he’s prepared for.

“I feel like that was kind of my way into the UFC. With my record already coming in, I made the high rankings in Bellator, my previous organization, so I feel like that was what my path was going to be from the start anyway, and I love it,” Fortune stated during this the UFC Abu Dhabi media day. “I think it makes sense. I’m not afraid of these guys, and I think I fit right here at the top of the division anyway. It’s easier for me to prove that now, just being at the beginning.”

For over half a decade now, Fortune, a former USA Wrestling standout who in 2012 flatlined and was pronounced dead during a weight cut, has trained alongside fellow UFC contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta. With that in mind, that’s the one fight Tyrell Fortune does not want.

“I wouldn’t want to fight the training partner I’ve had for the last six years. I think there’s plenty of other guys for us to fight, and the money I’m making, it doesn’t make sense for me to lose my training partner.”

Fortune and Waldo have discussed the situation, and Tyrell added that “at the end it’s a business thing. If I’m going to lose my number one training partner that I’ve been with six years, then it better make sense on the other end.” Financially, in other words. “That’s what makes sense, but I don’t see a point for us to fight when we have plenty of other options for us to get our way to the championship without fighting each other.”

His path might not go through WCA, but Fortune does plan to be a UFC champion. “I’ll be a champion. I’ll be the champion of this division as soon as I can. As long as the opportunities keep coming, I’ll keep knocking them down.”

Watch the full UFC Abu Dhabi media day appearance by Tyrell Fortune above.

The post UFC Abu Dhabi: Tyrell Fortune Explains Why He Won’t Fight Cortes-Acosta appeared first on Cageside Press.

Three straight losses (including the one to Pantoja) had him in a rough spot, but more recently, “Astro Boy” has bouced back, earning decision victories over Ode’ Osbourne and Tim Elliott.

This Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi, Erceg gets Ramazan Temirov, an unranked Uzbek who is 2-0 in the UFC thus far. The pair serve as the night’s co-main event, which has Erceg excited.

“I’m always excited to be put higher and higher on the card. I want to be exciting enough and compelling enough that I’m the main event consistently,” Erceg explained during this week’s UFC Abu Dhabi media day. “So I’m going to keep working towards that.”

As far as what fans can expect from the fight, Erceg, who had a 12-1 run to start his career that took him to a UFC title fight, noted that “I think I’m very technical. I’m going to use all my skills and I’m going to be looking for the finish. So it’s going to be exciting. He’s going to try to take my head off, and I’m going to try to take his off. Hopefully people enjoy.”

Temirov, he added, “hits very hard, he strikes wild, but he covers distance really well. If you do force him backwards, he has deceptively good footwork and timing. It’s going to be a puzzle, but I think that I have all the skills to navigate the danger and take him out.”

The question becomes what a win over Temirov really does for Steve Erceg, should the result go his way at UFC Abu Dhabi. Temirov is not ranked, Erceg sits at #10 or #13, depending on whether you favor the UFC’s AI-generated META rankings, or the human voted ones. Either way, Erceg is fighting down on Saturday.

“It’s just another step forward towards my ultimate goal, becoming a world champion,” Erceg said on what the fight might mean. “I guess beyond that, validating everything I’ve been doing in training.”

Watch the full UFC Abu Dhabi media day appearance by Steve Erceg above.

The post UFC Abu Dhabi: Steve Erceg Wants to Be Exciting Enough to Consistently Be Main Event appeared first on Cageside Press.

That saw longtime Thai star Sam-A Gaiyanghadao face off against Malaysia’s Aliff Sor Dechapan with the vacant interim belt on the line.

Pompet Pongsuphan PK took on Myanmar’s Nat Khat Min in the card’s other main event. As always a $100,000 U.S. ONE Championship contract was up for grabs for one unsigned fighter.

Where to Watch ONE Championship

ONE Friday Fights 163 takes place on Friday, July 24, 2026 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Inner Circle fights are available via the ONE Championship website, while the main card streams live on Youtube for western fight fans. Full results from the event can be found below; the action gets underway at 7:30AM ET, 4:30AM PT.

ONE Friday Fights 163 Results

Pompet PongSuphan PK def. Nat Khat Min by TKO, Round 3, 2:34 – Muay Thai
Mongkoldetlek Por Pim-on def. Utkirzhon Khamidov by TKO, Round 2, 2:00 – Muay Thai
Grippen Rachanon def. Brazil Aekmuangnon by unanimous decision – Muay Thai
Petsuphan Lookmuangpet def. Petsamart Muangphaphum by TKO, Round 2, 1:53 – Muay Thai
Zhao Zhengdong def. Eduard Markarian by unanimous decision – Muay Thai
O’Neal Thompson def. Jason Chen by unanimous decision – MMA 
Mahesuan Aekmuangnon def. YodUdon K Tongtalingchan by KO, Round 2, 1:07 – Muay Thai
Nakee Siriluckmuaythai def. Petbancha Hongthongmuaythai by KO, Round 1, 2:58 – Muay Thai
Myke Ohura def. Jay De Villa by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:22 – MMA

The Inner Circle

Aliff Sor Dechapan def. Sam-A Gaiyanghadao by KO, Round 5, 1:09 – for the ONE interim strawweight Muay Thai championship
Panpayak Jitmuangnon def. Anuar Cisneros by unanimous decision – Kickboxing
Michel Dirlenbach def. Mahan Fotouhi by unanimous decision – Muay Thai
Ryujin Nasukawa def. Thongpoon PK Saenchai by TKO, Round 2, 2:00 – Kickboxing
Liu Junchao def. Yoshida Kosei by unanimous decision – Kickboxing

The post ONE Friday Fights 163 & The Inner Circle 23 Live Stream and Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

After back-to-back fights with Alex Pereira that saw him win, then lose, the UFC’s light heavyweight title, Ankalaev is looking to return to the mix in a division suddenly wide open following “Poatan” moving to heavyweight, and Carlos Ulberg claiming 205lb gold. The only snag, the Dagestani was expected to face a former title challenger in Khalil Rountree Jr, only for injury to see his opponent switched to Bogdan Guskov.

As for Guskov, he dropped out of a rematch with Jan Blachowicz (the pair fought to a draw back in December) in favor of a bigger opportunity at UFC Abu Dhabi: a main event, against an opponent ranked higher up in the weight class.

Weigh-in results for UFC Abu Dhabi can be found below.

UFC Abu Dhabi: Ankalaev vs. Guskov Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev (205.5) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205.5)
Flyweight: Steve Erceg (126) vs. Ramazan Temirov (126)
Welterweight: Islam Dulatov (171) vs. Wellington Turman (170)
Lightweight: Magomed Zaynukov (155.5) vs. Damian Rzepecki
Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune
Welterweight: Abubakar Vagaev vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Valter Walker (248) vs. Thomas Petersen (245)
Light Heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby (205) vs. Muhammad Said (206)
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio (171) vs. Sam Patterson (170.5)
Lightweight: Ismael Bonfim (155.5) vs. Axel Sola (155.5)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Tuchalov (205.5) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (206)
Lightweight: Nurullo Aliev (156) vs. Mike Davis (156)
Bantamweight: Cody Gibson (136) vs. Abdul Hussein (135.5)

The post UFC Abu Dhabi: Ankalaev vs. Guskov Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

The journey to get to the fight had a few twists and turns, and interestingly enough, the UFC’s new AI-driven rankings system played a role.

“What happened was, because of these continuous changes, I ended up having to have such a long layoff period, which I wasn’t really happy about. I was willing to fight sooner than that,” Guskov (18-3-1) said during this week’s UFC Abu Dhabi media day. The Uzbek fighter had expected the rematch with Blachowicz after the pair fought to a draw last October.

“About 10 days ago, we heard that [Khalil] Rountree got injured and my manager called me and said that there’s an opportunity to fight in Abu Dhabi instead,” he continued.

Factoring into Guskov’s decision was the new UFC META rankings, an AI-driven rankings panel that is currently used in addition to media voted rankings. In the META rankings, Blachowicz is ranked behind Guskov. Fellow ex-champ Ankalaev is ranked ahead of them both. After discussing it with his manager, Guskov agreed to think on switching fights for 24 hours.

“I hung up the phone, thought about it for about 15 seconds and immediately accepted the fight. I called him back, said ‘there’s nothing to think about, we’re definitely doing it.'”

The way Guskov looks at it, little has changed, and it’s not really a short-notice fight. “I went through the full camp, I was ready, I was happy to fight in Serbia but here the only thing that changed was it’s a week earlier, and that the opponent’s stance switched from orthodox to left hand. Other than that, everything is the same for me. I’m ready to go.”

Later, Guskov would touch on the steady climb he has made up the light heavyweight division. One that has consistently seen him in the role of the underdog.

“If you look at my career in general, every single opponent that I got was exponentially stronger than the one before him. Every time it was guys from the top and every time it was basically a test for me,” stated Guskov. “I was an underdog in every single fight, every single time it was me against somebody that was supposedly stronger than me, and I kept on going through my opponents. So obviously with Ankalaev, he’s now the most dangerous guy that I can fight. There’s no way that I’m underestimating him in any way.”

Guskov knows that he’s going to be the underdog once again at UFC Abu Dhabi. “He’s going to be the one that everybody’s going to be looked at as a winner, and it’s going to be up to me to test myself and to prove myself against somebody that’s the strongest next challenge in my career.”

Bogdan Guskov faces Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi this Saturday, July 25, 2026 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

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That didn’t stop the Dagestani from responding to questions about Alex Pereira, arguably Ankalaev’s biggest rival, this week. The pair are 1-1 in their career series, both bouts being title fights. Pereira moved to heavyweight earlier this year, vacating his 205lb title, and he recently asked whether Ankalaev was “still alive” when the subject of a third fight between the two was brought up.

Ankalaev (20-2-1, 1NC) responded during Wednesday’s UFC Abu Dhabi media day. “Alex Pereira must have been sleeping for a long time, because I believe that he was put to sleep pretty hard. So he must have just woken up and he must have forgotten that I’m alive still.”

Pereira was finished by Giryl Gane at the UFC Freedom 250 card on the White House grounds last month. “I’m alive and well, and I’m waiting to see what he can show,” Ankalaev added, before later suggesting that while light heavyweight is his immediate focus, he’d be game for a third fight with Pereira at heavyweight.

Magomed Ankalaev has not fought since losing his title to Pereira back in October, and believes that the loss had a silver lining.

“A defeat effects different fighters different ways. I think a defeat for me was beneficial because it got me more motivated, it got me training harder, it gave me a reason to come back and to show that I belong here. I think it’s going to be a good fight, and I’m excited to show what I worked on.”

He also responded on Wednesday to criticism that he’s too nice, that his kindness might hold him back as a fighter.

“How are people going to know what I am or what I have inside?” Ankalaev questioned. “It’s just that, I’m a professional fighter, I like to keep my emotions inside and if there’s no crossing of a specific line, then I come out here and I come out as a professional. But if somebody crosses that line or kind of toes the line, then I’m sure I can show my character as well. Other than that, I like to keep my emotions in, my head cool, and go in and do my job.”

Magomed Ankalaev headlines UFC Abu Dhabi opposite Bogdan Guskov on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

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Ribeiro has been charged following an alleged altercation with his wife in Varzea Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil that is reported to have left her with a broken nose and facial swelling.

GLOBO was first to report the news (h/t MMA Fighting). The incident transpired on Wednesday, with Ribeiro arrested after his wife contacted the police.

Ribeiro’s wife was later transported to hospital, where she was diagnosed with a broken nose, treated, and released.

According to the report by GLOBO, the fighter has claimed that he was acting in self defense.

Ribeiro’s wife was frequently seen and heard at his fights. The Brazilian middleweight went 1-3 in the UFC in 2023-24 after winning his way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. His lone victory was a TKO finish of Joseph Holmes, though he does boast a 100% knockout rate through his 13 career victories.

After posting a 13-6 record in MMA including some regional fights following his UFC stint, Ribeiro transitioned to Karate Combat. Joining the promotion in 2025, he’s now put together a 3-0 record with three finishes. Most recently, he finished fellow UFC vet Curtis Millender this past May.

The post Karate Combat, Former UFC Fighter Claudio Ribeiro Arrested for Domestic Violence appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Monday, promotion officials announced that September 12 would be the date of this year’s Noche UFC event, which celebrates Mexican independence. The card will be hosted at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

While the date had previously been known, it’s now official, and a number of fights have been announced along with it.

That includes a women’s flyweight showdown between former champion Alexa Grasso (17-5-1) of Mexico, and French contender/former title challenger Manon Fiorot (13-2). Another former champion, Brandon Moreno (23-10-2), who held gold at 125lbs twice, will also return, taking on The Ultimate Fighter season 33 winner Joseph Morales (14-2).

Grasso’s involvement in the card was previously reported by Heavy.com.

In addition to the two former champs, heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Waldo Cortes-Acosta are set to face off. Cortes-Acosta is ranked #5 in the weight class, and Blaydes #7, putting the winner closer to the title while UFC fans wait for Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane 2.

Also announced for Noche UFC in Glendale, AZ on September 12, 2026 are the following match-ups:

• Tim Elliott vs. Edgar Chairez
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Yousri Belgaroui
• JJ Aldrich vs. Regina Tarin

No main event has been announced for the card, which happens to fall on the same day as the Zuffa-boxing promoted Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn.

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