Welcome to Bloody Elbow’s every day round-up of MMA news during yet one more week with out a UFC fight.
That is your one-stop shop for the highest five stories from February 14, 2026. After six weeks of silence between the top of 2025 and 2026, we were spoiled with consecutive UFC events and now have one other bye week.
Nonetheless, there was still news happening throughout the game, with Karate Combat’s fallout continuing and one BJJ legend even explaining how one might beat Islam Makhachev or Khamzat Chimaev.
- Who’s Islam Makhachev? Step contained in the lifetime of the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet
Valter Walker and Johnny Walker’s confrontation continues
On Friday night at Karate Combat 59, UFC heavyweight Valter Walker had a grappling match with bantamweight Zion Clark, who in consequence of being born with no legs couldn’t turn out to be the newest victim of a heel hook.
The bout ended as expected, with the much larger grappling expert winning easily in two-and-a-half minutes. Nonetheless, what was even weirder than the match was Walker’s post-fight interview where he called out his own brother; light-heavyweight Johnny Walker.
Johnny has now spoken out, insisting that he’s ‘ashamed’ of his brother and claiming he’s actually ‘not a Walker’ after disrespecting his brother’s wife. Valter wanted the pair to fight, but each men are booked in the approaching weeks so no talks can occur just yet.
Gordon Ryan claims to know the technique that can defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fighters
Gordon Ryan has spoken out on Mike Perry’s podcast Overdogs, insisting that he knows the key to finally stop the Russian dominance within the UFC. Ryan is a BJJ icon, but other grapplers have tried and didn’t nullify the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and now Islam Makhachev.
Ryan believes that the ‘Granby roll’ is essential to avoiding the high-pressure attacks from Russian fighters, noting that its temporary uses against the likes of Nurmagomedov or Khamzat Chimaev have been effective prior to now.
The manoeuvre involves diving onto one shoulder, rolling across the shoulder blades, and coming back to the knees or feet to face your opponent.
Ryan Garcia hit with $5,000 effective ahead of title fight
It wouldn’t be a Ryan Garcia build-up without some drama right as fight week is about to start. The controversial star has been slapped with a $5,000 effective for failing to fulfill the deadline for a WBC-mandated weight check.
The favored American missed the 140lb weight by 143.2lb for his crowning victory over Devin Haney back in 2024, and has since moved as much as welterweight where he can weigh 147lb. He claimed to be within the low 150s during a recent interview.
Garcia was required to supply video proof that he was inside five percent above the contracted limit of 147 kilos for his title clash with Barrios by February 7. The Californian was reportedly notified of a $5,000 effective by the WBC on February 10 after missing the deadline.
Dricus Du Plessis predicts Sean Strickland’s fight at UFC Houston
Luckily, we’re away from the octagon for under every week as the most important promotion on this planet returns with UFC Houston next Saturday. Sean Strickland will headline against Anthony Hernandez in a high-stakes middleweight clash that might have title implications.
Dricus Du Plessis has battled through ten rounds with Strickland, marking just below an hour of world championship competition within the octagon. And he’s backing his once bitter rival to get the job done in a large most important event that might establish a brand new divisional contender.