New Winners and Changes in Fighting Sports

May 13, 2026, 13:40
EuropeSports

Introduction

Many fighters in mixed martial arts have new titles. Some fighters moved up in the rankings.

Main Body

Joshua Van is now number nine because he won a big fight. Islam Makhachev won another title and has sixteen wins. Ilia Topuria is the new lightweight champion. Tom Aspinall is the new heavyweight champion because Jon Jones stopped fighting. Petr Yan won his title back. Alex Pereira wants a new title in a different weight class. Valentina Shevchenko is the best female fighter again. Mackenzie Dern is the new strawweight champion. Cris Cyborg won a title in the PFL. Muhammad Mokaev will fight Jorge Calvo in Spain. He cannot fight in another event because of travel papers.

Conclusion

Many fighters have new belts and new positions in the sport.

Learning

⚡ The 'Now' Pattern

In this text, we see how to describe a current status or a change. To get to A2, you need to master the word "now" and the word "new".

1. The 'Now' Shift

  • Example: "Joshua Van is now number nine."
  • What it means: Before, he was a different number. Today, he is number nine.
  • Pattern: [Person] + [is/are] + now + [Status].

2. The 'New' Label

  • Example: "Ilia Topuria is the new lightweight champion."
  • What it means: He wasn't the champion yesterday, but he is today.
  • Pattern: [Person] + [is] + the new + [Role].

Quick Vocabulary Map

  • Won → Past action (It already happened)
  • Wants → Current desire (It is happening in the head now)
  • Cannot → No possibility (Stop sign 🛑)

Simple Logic: If someone won (Past) →\rightarrow they are now the new champion (Present).

Vocabulary Learning

many (adv.)
A large number of
Example:Many people attended the event.
fighters (n.)
People who fight
Example:The fighters trained hard.
new (adj.)
Recently made or introduced
Example:She bought a new car.
titles (n.)
Names or positions of honor
Example:He earned several titles.
some (det.)
An unspecified number
Example:Some books were missing.
moved (verb)
Changed position
Example:They moved to a new house.
up (adv.)
Higher or toward a higher place
Example:He climbed up the ladder.
rankings (n.)
Ordered list of positions
Example:The rankings were updated.
number (n.)
A numerical value
Example:The number is five.
because (conj.)
For the reason that
Example:I left early because I was tired.
he (pron.)
Male person
Example:He likes to read.
won (verb)
Achieved victory
Example:She won the contest.
big (adj.)
Large in size
Example:It was a big house.
fight (n.)
A physical contest
Example:The fight lasted two rounds.
another (det.)
One more
Example:I need another cup of tea.
has (verb)
Possesses
Example:He has a dog.
sixteen (num.)
The number 16
Example:She is sixteen years old.
wins (n.)
Victories
Example:He has many wins.
lightweight (adj.)
Lower weight category
Example:She competes in lightweight.
champion (n.)
Winner of a competition
Example:He is the champion.
heavyweight (adj.)
Higher weight category
Example:He fights in heavyweight.
stopped (verb)
Ceased
Example:The train stopped.
fighting (verb)
Engaging in combat
Example:He is fighting in a match.
wants (verb)
Desires
Example:She wants a new book.
different (adj.)
Not the same
Example:They have different ideas.
weight (n.)
Mass
Example:The weight is 70 kilograms.
class (n.)
Category
Example:This is a science class.
best (adj.)
Highest quality
Example:This is the best cake.
female (adj.)
Woman
Example:She is a female athlete.
strawweight (adj.)
Lightest weight category
Example:He fights in strawweight.
again (adv.)
Once more
Example:Try again tomorrow.
event (n.)
Occurrence
Example:The event was exciting.
travel (verb)
Move from one place to another
Example:They travel to Spain.
papers (n.)
Documents
Example:She needs her papers.
conclusion (n.)
Final part
Example:The conclusion was clear.
belts (n.)
Straps
Example:He wore a belt.
positions (n.)
Places or roles
Example:She holds two positions.
sport (n.)
Physical activity
Example:He likes the sport.