Oscar Nascimento is the MMA news editor at AgentMMA. He covers UFC fight announcements, fighter news, injuries, rankings moves and event updates, and pairs every story with verified fighter records and stats from the AgentMMA database.
AgentMMA combines public fight announcements and fighter statements with structured MMA data — fighter records, rankings and fight history from the AgentMMA database. Stories are drafted with AI assistance and reviewed editorially before publication, and every article links to the fighters and events it covers. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Islam Makhachev has stated he wants to fight again before February 2027, citing his age of 34 and the absence of significant injuries as reasons to return quickly. The champion revealed he had agreed to a White House fight against Ilia Topuria earlier this year before being told the following day that the bout was off. With Arman Tsarukyan reportedly willing to challenge for the title in December, a Makhachev–Tsarukyan lightweight title fight could materialise this winter.
Carlos Prates has outlined his fight plans, stating he intends to fight Islam Makhachev first to claim the belt before taking on Michael Morales. When approached about a December bout with Morales, Prates made clear December is reserved for Makhachev, with a Morales fight penciled in around April.
Following his UFC 330 victory, Islam Makhachev stated in a post-fight studio interview that he believes Renato Moicano Prates has a stronger claim to a lightweight title shot than Morales. The comment signals Makhachev's preference for his next challenger.
Azamat Murzakanov (6-1 in UFC) will face Dominick Reyes (10-5 in UFC) on October 24 at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. The light heavyweight matchup adds a high-profile contest to the card.
Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan will meet for a third time at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. The trilogy bout was officially announced by the UFC, with tickets going on sale Monday.
UFC 333 takes place October 24 in Abu Dhabi and features two title bouts alongside a stacked undercard. Confirmed matchups include Kavana vs. Temirov, Volkov vs. Kuniev, Allen vs. Pico, Krylov vs. Yakhyaev, Magomedov vs. Rouston, and Dawson vs. Aliev. The card currently stands at nine announced bouts with more fights expected to be added.
Treshon Gore defeated Vicente Luque by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC 330, winning his second fight in a row. The back-and-forth contest saw Luque stagger Gore in the second round and nearly finish him with a D'Arce choke, while both fighters exchanged heavily throughout. Gore improves to 7-4, while Luque drops to 24-13-1 and has now lost three of his last four bouts, unable to string together consecutive wins since 2021.
Sayfullah Dzhabrailov opened ACA 206 with a first-round finish of Enrique Barzola, stopping him inside the two-minute mark. The victory improves Dzhabrailov to 19-3 and avenges the loss that snapped his nine-fight winning streak. Barzola falls to 23-11-2, suffering his second consecutive defeat.
Samandar Murodov snapped a two-year layoff with a unanimous decision victory over Christian Turner (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 159. The win pushes Murodov's professional record to a perfect 12-0, with two of those victories having come on the Road to UFC series.
Former world Greco-Roman wrestling champion Amir Aliakbari meets Alikhan Vakhaev for the ASA heavyweight title at ASA 206 in Moscow. Aliakbari, who transitioned to MMA after a lifetime doping ban from wrestling, is competing for the top prize in Russia's most competitive MMA league. Vakhaev, 22, has suffered losses only to Ruslan Khaskahanov, Yevgeny Goncharov, and Volkan Oezdemir, the latter of whom defeated him by decision before quickly earning a UFC contract.
Gilbert Burns has become the first active UFC fighter to take on a managerial role, guiding Rafael Tobias at UFC 330. Ali Abdelaziz praised the move, saying Burns is "better than 99.9% of the managers right now" because he has lived the fighter experience firsthand.
Ali Bagov has encountered health problems that prevented him from attending the official weigh-in and press conference for his scheduled fight against Ali Abdulkhalikov. The bout remains in serious doubt, with the possibility of it proceeding considered slim.
Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry each weighed in at 77.11 kg, clearing the scales for their UFC 330 main event bout. The fight is officially on, with the card set to begin at 00:30 Moscow time on August 16.
Islam Makhachev told Daniel Cormier that Ian Garry can no longer be considered Irish, arguing that Garry speaks Portuguese, trains in Brazil, and has his family based there. Makhachev said the upcoming bout should be framed as Russia vs. Brazil — just like his fight with Charles Oliveira — rather than Russia vs. Ireland. He also quipped that if Garry taps out quickly, at least he won't have to break his arm or his neck, adding that the young welterweight can go on to become champion after Makhachev eventually retires.
Aljamain Sterling revealed during a Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show appearance that Aaron Pico has been booked to fight Youssef Zalal in the UFC featherweight division. Sterling disclosed the matchup while discussing the options the UFC had floated to him as potential next opponents, noting Pico was already spoken for. The revelation came alongside mentions of Kevin Vallejos as another name the promotion pitched to Sterling for his next outing.
At a UFC press conference, Islam Makhachev was asked what his late father Abdulmanap would say about his career progress and his pursuit of GOAT status. Ian Garry repeatedly interrupted Makhachev's answer to praise him, prompting Makhachev to tell Garry he was losing fans by the second and to shut up. Makhachev also stated that Ian Garry is his next target and that after reaching a 20-fight win streak he would revisit the GOAT conversation.
