MMA & BJJ Weekly Roundup: UFC London, PFL Madrid

What a week for combat sports. UFC London delivered a controversial main event, a Polish wrecking ball continued his reign of terror in just 28 seconds, and the biggest combat sports card of 2026 just got even more ridiculous. Let’s break it all down.

Evloev Edges Murphy in Controversial UFC London Main Event

Movsar Evloev is now 20-0 in his professional career, and he didn’t exactly make it look easy. The Dagestani featherweight outpointed hometown favorite Lerone Murphy via majority decision (48-46, 48-46, 47-47) at The O2 Arena on Saturday night, but this one had the internet in a meltdown.

The scorecards raised eyebrows everywhere. Murphy appeared to land the cleaner shots for stretches of the fight, and even the commentary team seemed to favor the Englishman’s output. One judge scored it a draw. Social media was split right down the middle, with plenty of fans crying robbery.

But here’s the thing — Evloev survived a point deduction and still came away with the win. That takes a different kind of mental toughness. The 20-0 record doesn’t lie. He immediately called for a featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, and honestly, what else is there for him? The man has beaten everyone the UFC has put in front of him.

Volkanovski responded quickly on social media, indicating he’s ready. That fight would be fireworks. As we covered in our detailed UFC London results breakdown, the featherweight division is absolutely stacked right now.

Baraniewski Destroys Austen Lane in 28 Seconds — Banks $100K Bonus

If you blinked, you missed it. Polish light heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski walked straight through former NFL defensive end Austen Lane and finished him in 28 seconds flat. A vicious TKO that earned him a well-deserved $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

This kid is the real deal. After a barnburner in his UFC debut, Baraniewski showed he can end things in a hurry too. The O2 crowd went absolutely berserk. When Michael Bisping interviewed him in the octagon afterward, the Polish bomber humbly noted he’d have liked to show off his judo and grappling base — but a knockout is a knockout.

At this rate, Baraniewski is going to find himself ranked before the year is out. The full highlight from MMA Junkie is worth watching on repeat. The light heavyweight division just got a whole lot more interesting.

Here’s the full ESPN MMA highlight reel from the Evloev vs. Murphy main event:

Dana White Trashes MVP’s Performance — Rogan Calls It “Crazy Bad”

Michael “Venom” Page picked up a decision win over former training partner Sam Patterson at UFC London, but you wouldn’t know it was a victory from the reaction it got. The O2 crowd booed mercilessly throughout the fight, and the post-fight fallout was even worse.

Dana White didn’t mince words at the post-fight press conference, making it clear he was unimpressed. Then Joe Rogan piled on during his podcast, calling the fight “crazy bad” and partially blaming the matchmakers for putting two fighters with similar styles against each other.

Look, MVP has always been a polarizing figure. The flashy knockouts make him a highlight reel machine, but when opponents refuse to engage, we get… whatever that was in London. Page needs a banger in his next outing or his UFC tenure is going to get very short, very fast.

Jon Jones Turned Down $15 Million for White House Superfight

The Jon Jones pay saga continues to be the most fascinating contract drama in MMA. This week, Jones revealed that the UFC offered him $15 million to fight Alex Pereira at the upcoming UFC White House card in June. His response? Not enough.

For context, Jones was reportedly offered $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall — a fight that also didn’t happen. He indicated he’d accept less than the Aspinall figure but $15 million was too much of a drop. As he posted on X: “Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up.”

Meanwhile, Dana White insists Jones was never going to be on the card. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But $15 million being a “lowball” in MMA is a sign of how far fighter pay has come — and how far it still has to go. Eddie Hearn recently called Aspinall’s UFC contract “a f*cking disgrace,” so the pay conversation isn’t going away anytime soon.

PFL Madrid: Van Steenis Brutally Defends Title with Elbow KO

While UFC London grabbed the headlines on Saturday, PFL Madrid on Friday night delivered arguably the more exciting card. Costello van Steenis successfully defended his PFL middleweight title against Fabian Edwards with a devastating third-round TKO via ground-and-pound elbows at the 1:48 mark.

Edwards (Leon Edwards’ brother) is now 0-3 in world title fights, which has to be one of the most heartbreaking records in MMA. He reportedly came in with a “crazy” game plan that backfired spectacularly. Van Steenis, meanwhile, moves to 18-3 and cements himself as the clear top middleweight outside the UFC.

The PFL card also featured A.J. McKee picking up a unanimous decision win over Adam Borics at featherweight. PFL is quietly building a solid roster, and their European expansion events are consistently delivering.

Rousey vs. Carano Gets Diaz vs. Perry — The Card Gets Even Crazier

Most Valuable Promotions keeps stacking the May 16 Netflix card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, and this week they added the fight we didn’t know we needed: Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry in MMA.

Diaz returns to MMA for the first time in nearly four years, while Perry brings over his bare-knuckle violence from BKFC. Perry has openly said this will be the biggest payday of his career, and Diaz probably isn’t doing it for cheap either. The card also features Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins, plus the headliner of Rousey vs. Carano at 145 pounds — with Jason Jackson vs. Lorenz Larkin recently added as well.

This is shaping up to be the combat sports event of the year, and it’s not even happening in the UFC. Jake Paul’s MVP promotion is making serious moves, and a live Netflix stream means this could reach an audience that traditional MMA events can only dream of. We covered the recent wave of MMA comebacks including Anthony Pettis, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.

IBJJF Pans 2026 Preview: The Second Biggest BJJ Tournament Kicks Off This Week

While the MMA world chews over London results and Netflix superfights, the jiu-jitsu community has its eyes locked on Kissimmee, Florida. The 2026 IBJJF Pan Championship runs March 25-29 at the Silver Spurs Arena, and it’s shaping up to be one of the best Pans brackets in recent memory.

The Pans is the second stop on the IBJJF Grand Slam schedule, following January’s European Championship. Every serious black belt competitor uses this as their proving ground before Worlds in May. The field at Pans has grown from a couple hundred athletes in the late ’90s to thousands of competitors across all belt levels.

For those wondering about the intersection of grappling and professional competition, the Pans is where careers are made and reputations are built. The adult black belt divisions run Saturday and Sunday (March 28-29), so mark your calendars.

You can catch all the action live on FloGrappling. The matchups at the top of the weight classes should be absolutely fire.

The Week Ahead: What to Watch For

Here’s what’s on our radar for the next seven days:

• IBJJF Pans (March 25-29) — The biggest BJJ tournament of the spring. Black belt finals on Sunday.
• UFC Vegas 115 buildup — The UFC machine never stops. Fight week starts for the next card.
• MVP MMA card developments — More fights expected to be announced for the May 16 Netflix event.
• Jon Jones contract drama — This one isn’t over. Expect more social media fireworks.
• Chuck Norris tributes continue — As we noted in our tribute to Chuck Norris, the martial arts world lost a true legend this week. Expect more stories about his impact on karate and martial arts culture to emerge.

It’s a great time to be a combat sports fan. Between the UFC’s relentless schedule, PFL’s European expansion, MVP’s Netflix gambit, and the IBJJF competition circuit, there’s literally something for everyone. Strap in — 2026 is just getting started.