7+ hour, 28+ min ago (132+ words) The UFC's first ever trip to Qatar and fifth trip this year to the Middle East featured a bunch of fun, important fights with UFC Qatar topped by a pair of potential number one contender bouts. The main card was off to a hot start as Volkan Oezdemir, Myktybek Orolbai, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Kyoji Horiguchi all scored impressive finishes on our way to our top two fights. In the main and co-main events, Arman Tsarukyan and Ian Machado Garry both called for title shots after their wins. With UFC Qatar now in the books, let's look at what's next for the winners. Tsarukyan's next fight: Title shot Machado Garry's next fight: Kamaru Usman Orolbai's next fight: Chidi Njokuani Horiguchi's next fight: Amir Albazi...

7+ hour, 34+ min ago (589+ words) Arman Tsarukyan battered and submitted Dan Hooker in the second round of their fight in the main event on Saturday. With the loss, Dan now falls to 14-9 under the UFC banner. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for Hooker which included a body kick finish to Claudio Puelles and a pair of split decisions opposite of Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot. Hooker's next fight: Renato Moicano" This is one that could go either way. Belal could draw a lot of different fighters in his next bout. Two of the most likely would-be #11 Gabriel Bonfim or #13 Colby Covington. It's doubtful that Belal draws a name like #8 Kamaru Usman or #4 Shavkat Rakhmonov. There aren't many fighters that Covington doesn't have bad blood with and Belal is no exception. With their similar fight styles and the proper buildup/hype this fight could…...

23+ hour, 11+ min ago (258+ words) Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson continues to turn heads in his young MMA career. The 25-year old heavyweight entered the cage for the second time on Sunday, as part of the impromptu main event of Anthony Pettis FC 21. Headlining over a title fight that had previously topped the marquee, Steveson was paired up with Kevin Hein, a 2-1 heavyweight to start the night with an undefeated amateur record. Steveson, incorrectly billed as Stevenson on the APFC 21 broadcast, didn't take long to get the job done. Just 24 seconds, in fact, as he clobbered Hein with a left hand, transitioned seamlessly into a takedown, then added one more ground strike to seal the deal. Hein honestly looked out of it after the initial blow, but Steveson showed some killer instincts in the sequence. " FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) November 24, 2025 With the win, Gable Steveson…...

1+ day, 1+ hour ago (249+ words) Dakota Ditcheva and Denise Kielholtz are set to collide in a showdown at PFL: Road to Dubai on February 7, 2026, a matchup that brings two of the sport's most dynamic strikers to the Coca-Cola Arena for a bout with major implications in the women's flyweight landscape. The rising PFL star and the seasoned Bellator veteran now meet on one of the promotion's largest international stages, promising a stylistic clash tailor-made for fireworks in Dubai. The fight was announced by PFL CEO John Martin on Monday morning. Ditcheva (15-0) extended her perfect professional record with a win over Sumiko Inaba at PFL Africa 1 in July. The 2024 PFL Tournament champion has steadily evolved into one of the promotion's premier stars, turning back every challenger placed in front of her so far. Kielholtz (8-5) will make her official PFL debut against Ditcheva, returning to action for…...

2+ day, 10+ hour ago (183+ words) The UFC staff and security team were quick to separate two of the promotion's biggest stars backstage following UFC Qatar on Saturday. The promotion's debut in Doha featured Ian Machado Garry in its co-main event, a fight that saw the Irish welterweight earn a unanimous decision win over ex-champ Belal Muhammad. Also on hand in Doha was middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, who happened to be cornering headliner Arman Tsarukyan. Managing any number of brash personalities is what fight promotions do, but Chimaev shoving Garry prior to the post-fight press conference was a little out of left field. "That's just childish. You're supposed to be a champion in this sport," Garry can be heard telling Chimaev immediately after the shove. Garry later posted footage of the incident on social media. Garry also addressed the altercation during his post-fight press conference appearance....

2+ day, 13+ hour ago (215+ words) Out of action since UFC 300 after he pulled out of a title fight this past January, Arman Tsarukyan finally returned in the main event of UFC Qatar, where he took on Dan Hooker. Tsarukyan was to have faced Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, only to pull out of the fight during Fight Week due to a back injury. He would serve as the back-up fighter at UFC 317, but his services were not required. Near the midway mark, Hooker jumped a guillotine, but didn't have it and wound up with Tsarukyan on top, in side control. In the final seconds of the round, still on top, Tsarukyan would sneak in some ground n' pound, while sandpapering Hooker with his elbow. Hooker was showing some swelling around one eye after the opening round, likely from the knee he ate midway through round one....

2+ day, 14+ hour ago (368+ words) A welterweight matchup between two fighters either entering the division for the first time or returning to it at UFC Qatar had fight fans interested in this battle between Jack Hermansson and Myktybek Orolbai. Hermansson (24-9) was recently knocked out at 185-pounds by Gregory Rodrigues, and was moving down in weight for this contest, making [] The post UFC Qatar: Myktybek Orolbai Knocks Out Jack Hermansson As Both Fighters Change Weight Class appeared first on Cageside Press. A welterweight matchup between two fighters either entering the division for the first time or returning to it at UFC Qatar had fight fans interested in this battle between Jack Hermansson and Myktybek Orolbai. Hermansson (24-9) was recently knocked out at 185-pounds by Gregory Rodrigues, and was moving down in weight for this contest, making welterweight for the first time. Orolbai (14-2) was coming off a submission…...

2+ day, 15+ hour ago (273+ words) As the UFC's ESPN era draws to a close, there has been a noticeable lack of Fight of the Night bonuses awarded, with the promotion instead selecting Performance bonuses more often than not. For the fourth consecutive event, that was the case on Saturday, with four Performance of the Night bonuses instead handed out at UFC Qatar. Among the winners, the returning Kyoji Horiguchi, and short-notice heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta. A former flyweight title challenger, Horiguchi left the UFC in 2016 off a three-fight win streak, instead opting to compete for RIZIN in his native Japan. The American Top Team fighter, who does reside in Florida when in camp, would go on to simultaneously hold bantamweight gold in both RIZIN and Bellator MMA, an unprecedented feat. While injury would see him vacate both those titles, Horiguchi would later become RIZIN's inaugural flyweight…...

2+ day, 16+ hour ago (476+ words) Former title challenger Alex Perez returns to action at UFC Qatar on Saturday in a pivotal flyweight showdown against surging contender Asu Almabayev, a matchup that could reshape the division's immediate future. Perez (25-9) entered the matchup looking to rebound from his 2024 loss to Tatsuro Taira, making his long-awaited return to the Octagon in Qatar. Almabayev (22-3) entered the fight coming off a decision win over Jose Ochoa in July. A victory over Perez would mark two straight and give him real momentum heading into 2026. Round 1 " Perez took the center of the Octagon early, while Almabayev circled on the outside looking for reads. Perez surged forward with flurries, but Almabayev stayed composed, unfazed by the early pressure. Perez continued walking him down, mixing punches with low kicks to disrupt Almabayev's rhythm. But it didn't take long for Almabayev to adjust, timing his…...

2+ day, 17+ hour ago (216+ words) Contender Series winner Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev made his octagon debut at UFC Qatar on Saturday, making it in style against Rafael Cerqueria in a light heavyweight fight. Style points had to be given for this one, with Yakhyaev getting the job done in little more than 30 seconds. That, after having an equally quick night at the office when he won his way into the UFC on'Dana White's Contender Series. As for Cerqueria, he'd won three straight, and had his back against the wall in Doha, Qatar. Yakhyaev opened the fight and ended it, as noted, in style. He came out with a spinning wheel kick that barely missed. All in sync, he threw a series of punches to a roundhouse that landed on the chin, dropping the Brazilian. Yakhyaev mat returned him to his butt and took the back and…...