Welcome to Bloody Elbow’s daily round-up of combat sports news as our week of no fights is almost at its end.
This is your one-stop shop for the top five stories from February 16, 2026. With UFC Houston on the horizon this weekend, our wait for top level action is almost over.
Our week got off to a good start, particularly if you’re a boxing fan as Tyson Fury officially marked his return to the big time with a massive London press conference. Jorge Masvidal also had a major announcement about a new bare-knuckle MMA tournament.
ON THIS DAY: Mirko Cro Cop avenged his final UFC loss before a stroke ended his career
Tyson Fury makes headlines at first Netflix press conference
The build for Tyson Fury’s return to the ring kicked off in earnest today as he headed to London with his dad John Fury to face off with Arslanbek Makhmudov. News lines abounded as he tickled his rival, before making a big announcement about his future.
The two-time heavyweight champion also declared that he won’t be working with a trainer for this bout. He has split with the Kronk Gym’s Sugarhill Steward after five years together, and insists he is going to be ‘like Clubber Lang’.
His dad also couldn’t resist making himself the center of attention as he took aim at Carl Froch and Lennox Lewis, who were a part of the Netflix broadcast.
Nate Diaz lists potential opponents including Conor McGregor
Over the past few days, legendary former lightweight title contender Nate Diaz declared that he would like to return on the UFC White House event that is scheduled for this coming June. His last fight in the promotion was almost four years ago when he defeated Tony Ferguson on the way out.
Since then, he has fought Jake Paul and Jorge Masvidal in the boxing ring and is now looking to make his MMA return. He had been offered a rematch with Paul in PFL, but has always insisted that he only wants to fight in the UFC if he isn’t boxing.
“I would like to fight somebody, I’m ready to get back into real action, I want to fight either McGregor (trilogy), I want to fight maybe Dustin Poirier if he stops being such a p—- and then maybe Mike Perry, we’ll see what happens in the future, though,” Diaz told TMZ Sports.
Paddy Pimblett balloons by 35lb after UFC 324
Paddy Pimblett’s routine weight gain after fighting continued as he posted a new YouTube video in which he claimed to now be tipping the scales at 190lb. ‘The…
2026-02-17 04:00:00
