MMA News

Author: Kyle Dimond

  • Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg Official For UFC Mexico City Main Event

    Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg Official For UFC Mexico City Main Event

    Brandon Moreno is heading back to Mexico City, where he will take on Steve Erceg in the main event.

    MMA Mania (following initial posts from Kevin K on X) reported that the UFC had put together a new headliner for their rematch to Arena CDMZ on March 29, with the former two-time flyweight champion topping the bill.

    The UFC officially confirmed the booking during Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view broadcast.

    The original main event was reported to be a featherweight contest between Mexico’s Yair Rodríguez and Brazil’s Diego Lopes.

    Moreno previously fought in Mexico City last February where he suffered a split decision loss to Brandon Royval before deciding to take some long overdue time off. He returned in Edmonton last November where “The Assassin Baby” looked back to his best, convincingly beating Amir Albazi to bring his opponent’s winning streak to an end.

    Whilst the Tijuana born contender is sure to receive another incredible reception from his home fans, March 29 is a huge opportunity for his opponent. Erceg currently finds himself coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

    “Astroboy” was catapulted into a flyweight title shot off the back of a three-fight winning streak inside the Octagon and though he put on a good performance against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301, he was unable to leave Brazil with the gold. Erceg’s attempt to bounce back in front of his home crowd in Perth came to a sudden halt when he was stopped by Kai Kara-France in the first round at UFC 305 in August.

    The 29-year old was originally booked to take on the #8-ranked Asu Almabayev on March 1 until the promotion seemingly changed their plans around in order to book a fitting main event for the Mexican fans. Rather than fighting an opponent that was one spot above him in the rankings, Erceg will now take on the #2-ranked contender.

  • Sean Strickland To Dricus Du Plessis: ‘You’re A Wrecking Ball, I’m A F**king Scalpel’

    Sean Strickland To Dricus Du Plessis: ‘You’re A Wrecking Ball, I’m A F**king Scalpel’

    Sean Strickland is confident that he can improve upon his performance at UFC 297 in order to reclaim the middleweight title. After shocking the world by beating Israel Adesanya for the belt at UFC 293, Strickland’s first title defence came in January last year against Dricus Du Plessis.

    The fight came right down to the wire with the judges scoring the fight in favor of the challenger, seeing Du Plessis become the new champion via a split decision. Strickland has developed a trademark style in recent years which has led to many questioning what he can do differently in his rematch with the South African at UFC 312 on February 8.

    Whilst “Stillknocks” has a wide variety of attacks at his disposal, Strickland is very much the opposite with the former champ utilizing a fairly straight forward approach that relies heavily on defense and pressure. He recognizes that Du Plessis is a good opponent but he believes that the two men simply have different approaches, rather than one having the advantage over the other.

    In an interview with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie, the challenger spoke about what he expects from his main event clash in Australia.

    “It comes down to what I said [before about] f***ing Dricus [du Plessis] on that short bus. I respect him for it. He goes f***ing full send… But you know, you’re a wrecking ball, I’m a f***ing scalpel. It just comes down to who’s better.”

    The big question heading into the title fight rematch is whether Strickland can make small adjustments to his game plan in order to make it more effective the second time around. Having had his moments in their first encounter, he’s clearly confident that he will get his hand raised at the second time of asking.

    ”Last time I think I was better. This time, I think I’m gonna f***ing piece you apart. Your face will look the exact same after (as last fight) if not worse.”

  • Former Teammate Describes Experience Training With Khamzat Chimaev 

    Former Teammate Describes Experience Training With Khamzat Chimaev 

    It seems like everybody who trains with Khamzat Chimaev has got nothing but great things to say about him. When “Borz” first arrived in the UFC, there was an unmatched aura around him.

    The undefeated contender was dominating opponents without taking any damage whilst competing at both welterweight and middleweight. His run of being ready to take on and run straight through anyone in the world encountered some speed bumps along the way but despite this, Chimaev is finally in the middleweight title picture after debuting inside the Octagon back in 2020.

    For all of his health issues that have prevented him from being overly active, no one has been able to solve the unique puzzle that he brings to the table as of yet and his latest win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 showed just how dangerous Chimaev still is. A huge part of the boogeyman atmosphere surrounding him in the early days of his UFC career were the stories that you heard from training partners.

    In a recent interview with Dylan Bowker, Matěj Peňáz gave his insight on what it is like to train alongside a man who fight fans still have so many questions about. Peňáz is a very dangerous striker who currently competes in OKTAGON with the only loss of his pro career coming on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2022 where he was submitted by Sedriques Dumas.

    Unsurprisingly, the Czech athlete had glowing reviews for Chimaev as he spoke about his experience working with him on the mats in Sweden.

    “Oh with Khamzat [Chimaev], we train together in Allstars gym in Sweden. Yeah, Khamzat is a really hard worker. He’s like; he’s the guy who is like first in the gym and last. So yeah, it was very good experience for me. His wrestling is amazing. He’s like really; I never met anybody with wrestling like this.

    “He is so fast and so; he has like such good skills in the wrestling. He’s really good fighter and I’m always looking for his fights. How he can dominate his opponents and he [does] not [make] mistake[s].”

  • GFL Founder Explains Announcing Fighters Who Hadn’t Actually Signed: ‘If You Look At The History Of Drafts…’

    GFL Founder Explains Announcing Fighters Who Hadn’t Actually Signed: ‘If You Look At The History Of Drafts…’

    There appears to be a new confusing conversation surrounding the GFL at each turn. When the Global Fight League first started announcing a huge list of athletes that would be entering into their draft which took place last Friday, there were a lot of questions.

    It quickly became apparent that all of those names wouldn’t actually be signed to the promotion, only the fighters that were picked up by one of the six teams but things haven’t been that simple. We now know the teams and which fighters were picked but there is still an on-going debate around the legitimacy of the draft following the news that some fighters didn’t agree to be taking part in it.

    The most vocal of those names was Rashad Evans who claimed on social media that he didn’t consent to being in the GFL draft after already being picked as a member of the Los Angeles team. GFL founder Darren Owen looked to explain this during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

    Owen said that out of the 120 fighters who were selected, only a “couple” of them hadn’t signed their contracts before the drafts took place which could be for multiple reasons. He specifically mentioned that in the case of Evans, they had already been told by his management that they had the all clear to put Evans in.

    He stated that the GFL doesn’t want to sign fighters that don’t want to be there so every member of the roster had the option to part ways with the promotion after being drafted. With that in mind, Owen believes that this is just like any other draft where there are some final boxes to tick before the Global Fight League gets underway in April.

    “We’ll see. Literally the day before the draft I’m like, ‘Ali, we’re good to put him in?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes brother, yes brother, we’re good to put him in.’ So we put him in and obviously Rashad came out afterwards and said like, ‘Hey I didn’t sign.’ I think if you look at the history of drafts, are any of those athletes signed before they get drafted to the team? No… There’s a lot of examples of thing that happen post-draft and this is just similar format to that.”

  • Shara Magomedov Reveals Encouragement From Cristiano Ronaldo During Meeting Ahead Of UFC Saudi Arabia

    Shara Magomedov Reveals Encouragement From Cristiano Ronaldo During Meeting Ahead Of UFC Saudi Arabia

    Shara Magomedov has received a tip of the hat from one of the biggest sporting stars in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. The undefeated middleweight contender is back for his fifth appearance inside the Octagon this Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

    The 30-year old was always going to turn heads due to his look and fighting style but he has backed that up with his performances since joining the UFC in 2023. He’s recorded three consecutive bonuses in his recent outings and his matchup in Riyadh on February 1 promises to be another fan friendly watch as he takes on fellow striking specialist and former welterweight, Michael “Venom” Page.

    With the #14-ranking next to his name, Magomedov could seemingly find himself in the title picture if he is able to string together two more wins. His upcoming clash with “MVP” may not be the most difficult test for him stylistically, because both men prefer to keep the fight standing, but they have a track record for winning in style.

    Some of the biggest fights in combat sports have taken place in Riyadh in recent years and they always end up having a star-studded front row. Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, has become a regular audience member and it looks like that will be the case for the Octagon’s return this weekend.

    A recent video posted by Ronaldo’s club showed the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star meeting up with “Bullet” where they got to briefly meet each other during fight week. In an interview with Michael Bisping, Magomedov revealed what was said between them as he was given the seal of approval from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

    “I met the whole team but with Ronaldo specifically, I spoke with him for about half an hour. He knows a whole bunch about the UFC, he’s a huge fan, he said he’s gonna be at the fight and he said that I have potential to be the champ.”

  • Sean Strickland Praises Opponent-Turned-Friend Alex Pereira’s Journey: ‘The American Dream’

    Sean Strickland Praises Opponent-Turned-Friend Alex Pereira’s Journey: ‘The American Dream’

    Sean Strickland is going to have one of his former opponents in his corner once again when he returns at UFC 312. The former middleweight champion has struck up a great relationship with Alex Pereira ever since the two men faced each other inside the Octagon at UFC 276 in 2022.

    Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, recently confirmed that “Poatan” will be a part of his coaching staff on February 8 in Australia when he takes on Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch for the 185-pound gold. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Strickland told Mike Bohn that having Pereira step in was his idea.

    “Alex was out there and I asked him like, ‘You’re out there, if you’re free, come on through’. I asked Eric as well and he said he’s down. He’s a good f****** dude. He has a tough fight coming up with Ankalaev and if he needs me for that to help, I’ll be out there helping him so it kind of goes mutual.”

    The most surprising element of this is that whilst Pereira has cornered Strickland in the past, he has his own huge fight coming up the following month at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. His opponent on that night, Magomed Ankalaev, has also spent some time training with Strickland at Xtreme Couture in the fight capital but this hasn’t been the case for his recent camps.

    Strickland said that with that in mind, there isn’t a conflict of interests when it comes to choosing which guy to help out.

    “Alex has gone out of his way to help me. Me and Ankalaev, we have this mutual respect in the same place and Ankalaev’s a great guy but if Alex needs me after this fight, I’ll be going to Connecticut to give him some work.”

    When asked about what Pereira brings to the table as a cornerman for his upcoming title fight, Strickland spoke more about the character of the light heavyweight champion than anything else. He values the Brazilian as someone that he would fight alongside in the street and having those kinds of people make the walk with him is an asset.

    Strickland stated that the friendship between him and Pereira doesn’t even run that deep but there is a lot of respect between them. He spoke about how it’s impossible to not be impressed and inspired by what “Poatan” has been able to accomplish after turning his life around to become a huge star in combat sports after finding himself in a rough spot.

    “Dude, we’re not even that close. We don’t even speak the same language, he doesn’t speak English. It’s more of like and you got to have respect for Alex. Like dude, where did that man come from? A tire shop, dude. He came from literally nothing and has made a life for himself. As an American, Alex is kind of the American dream. Likes guns. You know, as an American, you have to have respect for someone with that kind of drive and dedication.”

  • Chris Weidman Would Have Retired In The Octagon If It Wasn’t For UFC’s Card Placement: ‘A Champion Being Put On The Prelims…’

    Chris Weidman Would Have Retired In The Octagon If It Wasn’t For UFC’s Card Placement: ‘A Champion Being Put On The Prelims…’

    Chris Weidman’s announcement that he has retired from the UFC was relatively low-key for a former champion. After competing 20 times in the Octagon, including three consecutive middleweight title defenses after he brought the legendary reign of Anderson Silva to an end, “The All-American” stated that he would no longer be fighting for the promotion during the weigh-in show ahead of UFC 311 earlier this month.

    Weidman debuted for the UFC back in 2011 and whilst his recent run has lead to people calling for him to retire, including Dana White himself, many would have expected this to come in his loss to Eryk Anders at UFC 310 in December. Rather than getting some time on the mic at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to say goodbye to the fans, a social media post was the final parting moment before the 40-year old was announced to be fighting for the GFL during the promotion’s draft last Friday.

    Weidman appeared on The Ariel Helwani show on January 28 to talk about his UFC departure and decision to sign with the GFL. He explained how he wanted to have a big send off in the cage but he didn’t want it to be on the prelims of the card which is where his rescheduled bout with Anders ended up taking place.

    “I kind of was thinking I would announce that I’m retiring and put down my gloves and it would be pretty cool. But honestly, the UFC, they’re like, ‘Chris, we’re going to put you on the prelims again. We can’t put you on main cards’. It kind of sucks to see. A champion like that being put on the prelims all the time. Like, what am I doing?”

    Despite having some regrets about the way that his UFC career came to an end, Weidman also stated that he understands why the main card slots would be offered to other fighters.

    “All these up-and-comers, guys who were in my position like I was years and years ago coming up, they gotta make new stars out of these guys. And these former champions like myself that are not doing great, losing fights…you go from riches to rags basically inside the UFC and it’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s just business.”

  • GFL Founder: We Can Make Fights ‘People Want To See’, Like Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis

    GFL Founder: We Can Make Fights ‘People Want To See’, Like Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis

    The GFL is confident that they can deliver bouts that the fans are going to want to tune in for. With the promotion set to host their first event in April, the first few weeks/months for the promotion have not been plain sailing in terms of the general reception to what they’re trying to do.

    Whilst the Global Fight League is confident that their team-based format will bring a new and exciting element to MMA which will draw upon the appeal of other mainstream sports, the response from a lot of fans has been sceptical to say the least. This certainly hasn’t been helped by the names that were announced for the draft with many of the top names being fighters that are well past their peaks.

    The teams are now drawn up following the draft that took place last Friday, although there is still some concerns that have been raised as to which fighters actually agreed to fighting for the GFL before being drafted. The GFL may have a distinct format but founder Darren Owen has made it clear that this won’t stop them from putting on the fights that make the most sense.

    This is something that Owen spoke about during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show where he spoke about the results and reaction from the draft. Owen named several fights that we could potentially see in the promotion in the near future now that we actually know, on paper at least, who will be competing for the promotion in 2025.

    One of those fights that he mentioned was a bout between a UFC legend who holds the record for the most consecutive losses in the promotion having not won a fight in his last eight outings against another big name who also hasn’t won a fight since 2019, having previously been disqualified in a boxing match with Logan Paul.

    “We can make the fights that people want to see, and we’re listening to everybody. Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis, that may be something that will come to fruition.”

    The two other matchups that Owen named were rematches between established names with Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber 3 and Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman 2 being on the table. For reference, the last encounters between these men took place 10 and 11 years ago.

  • VIDEO: Paul Hughes Distances Himself From Conor McGregor During In-Cage Conversation With Khabib

    VIDEO: Paul Hughes Distances Himself From Conor McGregor During In-Cage Conversation With Khabib

    It doesn’t look like the PFL will be drawing a link between Paul Hughes and Conor McGregor going forward. In the build-up to Hughes’ title fight against Usman Nurmagomedov this past weekend, the promotion used the prior history between Dagestan and Ireland to promote the fight.

    With the Bellator lightweight champion being cornered by his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Hughes had even mentioned having McGregor with him at one stage but any plans for this to happen quickly fell apart for multiple reasons, including the former UFC star’s civil assault case and his commitments with BKFC.

    Following an incredible fight at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, video footage shows Hughes sharing a quick word with Khabib where there is a clear mutual respect between them. The challenger can be seen referencing “The Notorious” and how they are not the same person in a short clip from Will Harris’ “Anatomy Of A Fighter”.

    “I’m not like this other guy, I’m my own man. I’m not like this other guy.”

    Once the clip was posted on social media, it quickly caught the attention of McGregor who has exchanged compliments with Hughes on multiple occasions. That being said, the public opinion surrounding “The Mac” has changed a lot in recent times and his previous actions shouldn’t influence the way that “Big News” is perceived.

    McGregor hit back at Hughes in a series of now deleted posts which took a swipe at the Irish pride of the 27-year old rising star.

    Hughes posted a short response to some of the comments made by McGregor in reaction to the video footage. He makes it clear that he has always given his fellow Irishman respect for what he has achieved in the sport.

  • Islam Makhachev Teases Change Of Stance On Fighting ‘Friend’ Belal Muhammad: ‘We Will See How The (Rakhmonov) Fight Goes…’

    Islam Makhachev Teases Change Of Stance On Fighting ‘Friend’ Belal Muhammad: ‘We Will See How The (Rakhmonov) Fight Goes…’

    Islam Makhachev has made it very clear in recent times that his goal is to become a two-weight world champion by moving up to welterweight. He’s already tied for the second longest win streak in UFC history, meaning that isn’t exactly a whole queue of new and exciting opponents for him to face at lightweight.

    It would be a shame if we don’t get to see the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today get the opportunity to really test himself and in some ways, now might be the right time to pull the trigger. However, there is one issue with that plan.

    Belal Muhammad has previously spent time training with Makhachev and the rest of their team before he won the 170-pound title at UFC 304 in July last year. Even if they both agreed to face each other, Muhammad already has his next title challenger lined up after Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Ian Garry at UFC 310 when the champion withdrew due to an injury.

    In the following video, originally posted by Ushatayka, the 155-pound king talks about the options for his next fight where he suggests that two-weight supremacy will be his next challenge.

    “I don’t see a lot of work to do in my division, I beat almost everybody. I think about moving up to 170 and I can stay there.”

    There is, of course, the small matter of his former training partner being the current champion at welterweight but Makhachev has made comments both before and after UFC 311 which suggest that he isn’t against the idea of challenging Muhammad if it means getting his hands on a second belt. He said that whilst he isn’t going to say anything for sure, there are conversations that need to happen in the near future.

    “I don’t want to make any statements, we will see how the fight goes. I have not spoken to the UFC since my last fight, we need to sit and talk these moments.”

  • Dan Hooker Clears Up Misconception Fans Have About Israel Adesanya

    Dan Hooker Clears Up Misconception Fans Have About Israel Adesanya

    New Zealand’s Dan Hooker has been a staple of the UFC roster ever since he made his debut back in 2014. The Octagon has been graced by some great and iconic fighters from Oceania and “The Hangman” was a big part of the new wave that would take MMA in the region to new heights entirely.

    One of those moments that is now looked back on as a pivotal moment in the history of the sport is when Hooker was joined on the roster by a fellow countryman of his and teammate at Auckland’s City Kickboxing. Israel Adesanya arrived in the UFC four years after his long-time gym mate and the two men have produced some incredible moments in front of both home and away crowds.

    They’ve been through a lot together and as someone that knows “The Last Stylebender” better than most, Hooker believes that there is a common misconception about their dynamic. Adesanya has been a superstar from his very first year in the promotion where he racked up four consecutive wins to climb to the top of the 185-pound division.

    As a result, there is a lot that is said or presumed about the former two-time middleweight champion who makes his return this weekend to face Nassourdine Imavov in his first non-title main event since 2019. Hooker recently spoke in an interview with Dom Harvey about the character of his teammate and why people get them the wrong way round.

    Hooker has shown on multiple occasions that he’s a kill or be killed fighter and whilst we have seen that from Adesanya in the past as well, “The Hangman” swears that you won’t find a better person outside of the cage.

    “Without a shadow of a doubt like goes back to the day we die. It’s not one of those friendships where you have to message each other every day…we go through like a lot of the the similar things obviously, I don’t tell the levels that he’s at like the levels of fame that he’s at is absolutely wild and we are very different people.

    “The funny part about it is people think he’s the bad one and I’m the nice one and I’m just like thinking, ‘what the heck?’. Israel’s like one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. He is actually like a really nice heartfelt dude and I’m just not…Israel Like there’s no malice in it, it’s a competitive sport and he’s got no malicious intent like when he fights.”

  • Khamzat Chimaev Makes A Promise For His UFC Career In 2025

    Khamzat Chimaev Makes A Promise For His UFC Career In 2025

    Many fight fans have believed for some time that the question has been when will Khamzat Chimaev become the UFC middleweight champion rather than will he claim the top spot at 185-pounds. If there’s one thing that has significantly hurt his progress in recent years, it has been his lack of activity.

    In both 2023 and 2024, “Borz” only stepped foot inside the Octagon on one occasion but he has remained undefeated meaning that whilst his momentum does feel a lot more muted than it once was, he’s becoming more undeniable with each performance. This is especially true for his one fight this past year where he submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round at UFC 308 to pick up his biggest and most terrifying win to date.

    Chimaev was seemingly the favorite to challenge the champion Dricus Du Plessis in what will be the titleholder’s second title defense but the UFC went with the Sean Strickland rematch that will take place at UFC 312 next month. With Chimaev holding the #3-spot in the rankings, it still seems likely that he will face the winner unless Israel Adesanya is able to get back into the win column this past weekend with a Strickland rematch for the title making a lot of sense if the reign of Du Plessis comes to an end in Australia.

    The 30-year old boogeyman of the division seemingly doesn’t care who he faces for the belt once his opportunity finally arrives. Chimaev posted on social media to make his intentions crystal clear for the year ahead. He wants this to be the year that he goes from undeniable to undisputed.

    “2025 I will take this belt InShAllah, and no one can stop it”

  • Karate Combat President Takes Aim At PFL Founder Donn Davis: ‘Can The Guy Throw Up A Triangle?’

    Karate Combat President Takes Aim At PFL Founder Donn Davis: ‘Can The Guy Throw Up A Triangle?’

    Karate Combat president Asim Zaidi isn’t sure that Donn Davis is the right person to be a spokesperson for the PFL, specifically when it comes to talking about combat sports. Davis is the founder, chairman and co-owner of the promotion and that means that he tends to face criticism when complaints are raised regarding the PFL.

    The entrepreneur tends to be at the center of this more than the PFL’s other leading men in Peter Murray and Ray Sefo because he’s the most vocal especially when it comes to their business decisions which has been a big talking point following the recent departures and issues regarding some of the Bellator fighters on the roster. Zaidi, who is also known as “President Awesome”, takes a very different approach when he’s talking about his promotion.

    As a jiu-jitsu and judo black belt, Zaidi is also the owner and one of the coaches at the Goat Shed gym in Miami, Florida. This gives him the viewpoint that a combat sports promotion should be headed up by someone who has first-hand experience of what it is like to be an active participant in the sport itself.

    He spoke about this in a recent interview with MMA Junkie where he voiced his opinions without wanting to personally criticize Davis.

    “Honestly, I hate saying this because he seems like a nice guy – I would love to sit with him and just understand,” Zaidi told MMA Junkie. “Maybe I’m misunderstanding him. I don’t think he understands anything about combat sports. And I don’t think that – if you’re not in this sh*t, if you can’t roll on the mats with me, I don’t think you should be part of it, you know what I mean?

    “He’s never trained martial arts in his life. I’m saying this ignorantly, I don’t know if he has, but there’s no way, right? Can the guy throw up a triangle? How is he going to understand what it’s like for fighters to do certain things, or when Patricio ‘Pitbull’ hasn’t fought in so long and is begging for a fight in the prime years of his career? He doesn’t understand that.”

    Zaidi continued, making the case that Davis may well be a valuable asset to the promotion but he believes that there are others who could be a more effective leading man.

    “He comes from a finance background, which is wonderful, but stay in the background then and put Ray Sefo in front,” Zaidi said. “Imagine this for a moment: Imagine if Ray Sefo was president? It would be really respectable. It would be unbelievable. How can you say anything bad about Ray Sefo?

    “Put Donn Davis in the background, he handles whatever back there. He’s a finance guy. Great. But hearing him talk about fighters and fighting, it doesn’t even sound like he watches fights. So, I’m not impressed by him. I’m not impressed by what he says. Dana White is an absolute G with everything he says, and I truly agree with him: I don’t think PFL has it.”

  • MMA Fighter Jailed For Years After Abusing Partner Who Initially Put His Aggression Down To Weight Cut

    MMA Fighter Jailed For Years After Abusing Partner Who Initially Put His Aggression Down To Weight Cut

    A 32-year old Latvian MMA fighter has been jailed for five and a half years after pleading guilty to multiple offences regarding the abuse of his former partner. Dundalk Circuit Court in Ireland and Judge Dara Hayes sentenced the unnamed individual after hearing how he continuously committed violent and threatening acts before being handed an imposed sentence of six years in total which will be backdated to January of 2023.

    The man had no previous convictions to his name but his actions certainly became increasingly serious over a short period of time with his partner blaming his temperament on his weight cut for an upcoming fight at one stage. In total, he plead guilty to serious assault, coercive control, criminal damage, theft and animal cruelty.

    One of the first instances came from when he kicked his partner’s dog across the room after it urinated on the floor and when his partner looked to protect the dog, he kicked her hand which broke a finger on her left hand. This appears to be the start of a downward spiral that only gets more violent from this point.

    He later physically assaulted the woman by choking her and kicking her before doing the same less than two weeks later, punching her arms and legs in her own apartment. Several weeks after that, he attempted to stab his former partner with a wife only to break her car keys in half, steal her phone and punch her in the face just three days later when the women met him in a public car park to try and give him back some of his possessions.

    Once again, the violence and control continued from this point on after the woman let the man back into her life after she fell pregnant. The man physically and verbally abused her and when the victim suffered a miscarriage, the case was investigated under a breach of a safety order where Irish gardaí found the man attempting to hide under the victim’s bed.

    He was released on bail only to break into her apartment where he allegedly told the victim “I can kill you now and the guards cannot protect you”. The defendant claimed that after serving his sentence and being released from prison, he intends on returning to his home country of Latvia.

  • Usman Nurmagomedov Believes Brother Umar ‘Won The First Three Rounds’ vs. Merab Dvalishvili 

    Usman Nurmagomedov Believes Brother Umar ‘Won The First Three Rounds’ vs. Merab Dvalishvili 

    Umar Nurmagomedov was pretty clear that he thought he did enough to win the bantamweight title at UFC 311. All three judges had the fight scored in favor of the defending champion, Merab Dvalishvili, but Umar’s own brother disputes this.

    A lot of fight fans, and two of the three judges, had the challenger winning the first two rounds of the fight where he was able to successfully implement his striking whilst defending takedowns from the champion. The most significant round of the fight ended up being the third where all of a sudden, the tide appeared to be turning.

    Whilst the round was competitive, the consensus opinion was that Dvalishvili was able to change the momentum of the contest in this period by starting to have more success with his constant pressure and output which started to wear on his opponent. Usman Nurmagomedov believes that the Georgian’s success in this round was not enough for him to get a 10 next to his name on the scorecards.

    The undefeated Bellator lightweight champion returns this weekend to face Paul Hughes in Dubai following an incredibly busy few weeks for his team and family. Nurmagomedov spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about how from his point of view, “The Machine” needed a finish in the championship rounds to keep hold of the title.

    “Honestly, I was a little surprised because I thought Umar won the first three rounds,” Usman said. “When they said ‘and still,’ I thought they were going to say ‘and still undefeated.’ But anyway, Alhamdulillah. Of course, this has some effect on me, but I try to keep it inside of me. I don’t want to talk about that with people.”

    Despite this, Nurmagomedov is confident that his older brother will bounce back and that this just another chapter in his journey.

    “It’s just one step back for the streak, you know, Inshallah. All good Alhamdulillah for everything, we’re always thankful for God, and this time the same thing. Nothing changes.

  • Cory Sandhagen: ‘I Have The Style That Will Beat Merab Dvalishvili’

    Cory Sandhagen: ‘I Have The Style That Will Beat Merab Dvalishvili’

    Cory Sandhagen is one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division but several key losses have stopped him from claiming UFC gold to this point. He’s been beaten by the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling in the past but “The Sandman” is always circling the title picture meaning that he’s never too far away from getting the next shot.

    In a recent YouTube video on his channel, Sandhagen looked to breakdown the recent bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and his former opponent, Nurmagomedov. The current titleholder is one of the few top names at 135-pounds that Sandhagen is yet to meet inside the Octagon and despite the incredible performance that “The Machine” delivered this past weekend at UFC 311, it’s obviously a fight that intrigues the #4-ranked contender.

    “Umar’s definitely a really good fighter,” Sandhagen said on his YouTube channel. “He beat me. He’s better than I am stylistically. That being said, styles make fights. If you’re going to be a guy that fights against Merab, you have to have really, really, really good footwork and be able to defend the takedowns in an energy efficient way. Merab has fought O’Malley, beat him pretty decisively. Yan, beat him pretty decisively. Umar, beat him pretty decisively. Those are the three guys that are ahead of me. I should be next in line.”

    With that analysis in mind and his position in the division, Sandhagen believes that he would be an interesting matchup for the reigning champion because of the clash of styles. He acknowledged that it would be a “tough sell” and he’s not going to call out Dvalishvili but nevertheless, “The Sandman” believes that he might be the man to dethrone the Georgian.

    “I do think that if there is a style that beats Merab, it’s one that can control the space the best. And say whatever you want about my style, what you have to say about it is I probably have the best footwork in the division. If not the best, way, way up there. I hold space, keep space, close it, open it better than anyone else in the division in my opinion. That’s what’s going to beat Merab. So when I get to fight him, I’m really excited to see how that gets to look like.”

  • Johnny Walker Explains Decision To Leave John Kavanagh’s SBG Ireland: ‘Environment Wasn’t Perfect For MMA’ 

    Johnny Walker Explains Decision To Leave John Kavanagh’s SBG Ireland: ‘Environment Wasn’t Perfect For MMA’ 

    Johnny Walker put a lot into his scheduled return at UFC 311 following some big changes that have taken place in his life and career. Unfortunately, the light heavyweight contender was unable to reap the rewards of his hard work after a rib injury forced him to withdraw from his prelim bout against Bogdan Guskov.

    The Brazilian is currently coming off of consecutive losses following an up and down trajectory in recent years. During that time frame, he was training out of SBG Dublin under John Kavanagh and Walker is very grateful of this experience. However, there were some key areas that he didn’t feel like he was fulfilling in his preparations whilst being based out of Ireland in recent times.

    After spending some time at different gyms, his led him to moving his entire life to Las Vegas where in the combat sports capital of the world, he has everything he could possibly need at his finger tips. Walker gave two specific examples during a recent interview with MMA Junkie regarding holes in his training camp that had recently appeared.

    The 32-year old believes that his last defeat inside the Octagon came about because of one specific reason with another key factor being his lack of training partners. Walker did have a small stable of guys to work with at one point whilst he was training in Dublin but that hasn’t been the case as time has gone on and finding bodies to work with at Xtreme Couture is not exactly difficult.

    “We had the best coach there. John was a very high-level coach,” Walker said. “He did the best for me. He improved my game a lot, but I just had one or two training partners. The last fight against (Volkan) Oezdemir, I was adapting myself to get ready as best as I could for the fight. I was doing boxing sparring in the ring. … In the fight, you can see I brought him close to the fence, which was wrong because I was sparring in the ring. You can’t spar in the ring and fight in the octagon. It’s totally different. In the octagon, if you step close to the fence, the guy is going to take you down, or the guy is going to knock you out because when you’re close to the fence, it’s the worst place to be. The guy (Oezdemir) knocked me out because I brought him to the fence.

    “This is the worst thing you can do in MMA. The environment wasn’t perfect for MMA. At SBG, I had just one training partner. Here in Vegas, I have the UFC PI for strength and conditioning, for nutrition, for recovery. At Xtreme Couture, I have high-level guys between top 10 and top 15. Light heavyweight and heavyweight, and Sean Strickland. Every day I have a high-level guy to train with. You need challenges, and now at Xtreme, I have that challenge. …I have everything now for recovery, for nutrition, for training, coaching. Now the light heavyweights are in trouble. Now you’re going to have the best version of Johnny Walker because I’m just going to be better. Now my career is going to fly.”

  • ‘Hope He Has Good People Around Him’ – Fans React To Anthony Smith Revealing Request To Compete In Power Slap After UFC Retirement

    ‘Hope He Has Good People Around Him’ – Fans React To Anthony Smith Revealing Request To Compete In Power Slap After UFC Retirement

    Following his second consecutive loss at UFC 310 last month, Anthony Smith suggested that it may be the final time that he steps inside the Octagon. “Lionheart” was incredibly emotional in that moment but the decision to put a full stop on his career is something that fans have expected for some time with Dana White even saying after the event that he hoped it would be the end of the line.

    It was clear from his walk out in Las Vegas on December 7 that the former light heavyweight title challenger wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be competing following the loss of a very close friend and former cornerman. He was stopped by Dominick Reyes in the second round but after having some time to reflect on the fight, he recently announced on The Ariel Helwani Show that he has a fight scheduled for April that will allow him to go out on his own terms.

    “Yeah, it’s one more. Win, lose, or draw, that’s going to be it.”

    During the same interview, Smith also said that he had inquired about the possibility of competing in a different arena once he lays the gloves down. Rather than swapping them for boxing gloves like several high-profile names have in recent times, the 36-year old was interesting in abandoning them for good by stepping into Power Slap.

    Smith said that after posing the question to the UFC’s Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, his request was denied. Considering that he he will have 59 pro MMA bouts under his belt by the end of April, this could be to stop other fighters who are at the end of their careers from taking more damage.

    “Dude, I tried. They told me no, straight up. I asked Hunter, he told me no. He wouldn’t even bring it to Dana.”

    Fight fans reacted on social media to Smith’s statement with a lot of messages from people who want the best for him.

    “I sincerely hope he’s okay. I was worried about him after his last fight.”

    “No one wants to see that :(“

    “no plz… he got kids and family”

    https://twitter.com/ChopDewey/status/1881835276743704827

    “Glad the UFC is looking out for him because doing Power Slap would be horrible for him. He already has his next job in the media secured.”

    “On and off paper, this is for the best”

    “I hope he has good people around him. He seems extremely troubled.”

  • Former Bellator Champ Vadim Nemkov Outlines What PFL Must Do To Keep Him

    Former Bellator Champ Vadim Nemkov Outlines What PFL Must Do To Keep Him

    Vadim Nemkov isn’t entirely satisfied with how he has been treated since becoming a PFL fighter but he isn’t looking for the exit door either. In fact, despite having the last fight on his current contract this weekend, he is happy to stay with the promotion if they’re able to give him what he was initially promised.

    The Russian is one of the big names and talents that the PFL acquired when they bought Bellator towards the end of 2023 but embedding that huge influx of new fighters have been far less than seamless. Several fighters have been very vocal about this with major names like Gegard Mousasi and Patrício Pitbull being granted their releases from their contracts as a result.

    The promotion is seemingly looking to address this in 2025 by re-shaping their format and Nemkov is seemingly optimistic about the future. One problem did arise when he wasn’t happy with the way that the promotion went about announcing a fight between him and Corey Anderson, who he beat in 2022, without him agreeing to this matchup.

    His bout at this weekend’s Road to Dubai event was then changed to be a clash with Tim Johnson who Nemkov believes is a viable opponent for him as he continues to progress as a heavyweight having previously been the Bellator light heavyweight champion. With this settled, the former titleholder’s main complaint, as he detailed in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, is the same issue that the other fighters have had and that’s activity.

    Nemkov says that having not fought since February last year where he submitted Bruno Cappelozza, he’s open to the idea of committing his future to the PFL if they’re going to honor their claims of how many fights he will be offered over a set amount of time. At 32-years old, he just wants to be able to regularly compete.

    “It’s the last fight on my contract,” Nemkov said through an interpreter. “I was supposed to have four fights during the two years, and I only had one. This is going to be the second fight. … Honestly speaking, I’m OK with the PFL. The thing is I’m at the peak of my fighting career. I feel great. If they’re able to provide what we were supposed to do from the beginning, with three or four fights a year, I would be fine with that. But as of right now, I’m just concentrating on this fight.”

  • Timeline Revealed For Umar Nurmagomedov’s Return Following UFC 311 Loss

    Timeline Revealed For Umar Nurmagomedov’s Return Following UFC 311 Loss

    It will be at least a good few months until we see Umar Nurmagomedov step back inside the Octagon following UFC 311 this past weekend. The bantamweight title challenger may have suffered the first loss of his career in the co-main event but there were a lot of positives for him take from this fight.

    For a start, his highly anticipated clash with Merab Dvalishvili ended up producing one of the best title fights in some time, earning both men a fight of the night bonus at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Nurmagomedov also won the first two rounds on two of the scorecards with the relentless cardio of the defending champion seeing him take over from this point on as the tide began to turn in his favor.

    What makes the challenger’s display even more impressive is that immediately after the bout in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, the 29-year old said that he believed he had broken his hand in the first round. Dvalishvili also came into the fight in less than ideal condition but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from either of their performances and that’s a huge credit to both of them.

    Following the confirmation of Nurmagomedov’s hand injury, his manager has since posted a timeframe for his return as the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov looks to get back in the mix. Ali Abdelaziz posted the following message on X to state that after taking some time off to recover, his fighter will be ready to go again in several months time.

    Given that Nurmagomedov is yet to face many of the top contenders at 135-pounds, as Dvalishvili remarked throughout the build up to January 18, there are a lot of exciting options for him even after suffering a defeat.

    “@UNmgdv getting a surgery tomorrow on his hand, he will be back in the cage mid or late summer”

  • Update Provided On Nick Diaz’s Status Following Concerning Video & Canceled UFC Return

    Update Provided On Nick Diaz’s Status Following Concerning Video & Canceled UFC Return

    Following a surprise announcement last year, fight fans learned that Stockton’s own Nick Diaz was gearing up for another Octagon return that would take place against Vicente Luque. The matchup was initially set for the UFC’s Abu Dhabi event on August 3 before it was pushed back to UFC 310 which took place in Las Vegas last month.

    The last time that Diaz made a comeback was in 2021 where both before and after his loss to Robbie Lawler, there were serious concerns regarding his health. This was the same in the lead up to his bout with Luque which ended up being removed from the card with Luque going on to face and submit Themba Gorimbo in the final PPV card of 2024.

    A video that went viral on social media several days after the news that Diaz would be in action on December 7 prompted further worries as the former welterweight title challenger appeared to be trying to light grass on fire whilst being shirtless at the side of a road. Having not won a fight since 2011, many were critical of him returning in 2021 from a competition point of view alone.

    Following this period of concern, a close friend of Diaz’s gave a promising update about his current situation. His long-time training partner Jake Shields recently stated that this has been a difficult period for both the 41-year old and his loved ones.

    However, Shields is optimistic that things are now on the up for the fan favorite who has been dealing with “some stuff” behind the scenes.

    “He’s doing a lot better,” Shields said on The Overdogs podcast. “I’m not going to get into anything personal with him. But he had some stuff that’s been going on for a little while and he’s finally heading in the right direction. “So, I’m hopeful for Nick because he’s like a brother of mine, one of my best friends.

    “Life’s tough sometimes, ups and downs, and things can happen. Nick was dealing with something, and I think he’s headed in the right direction. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I finally feel a lot better about that situation. We’ll see, time will tell. I’m so close to him so it’s painful watching you know someone struggle with some things. But I think he’s going to be finally better.”

  • VIDEO: Alex Pereira Sharpens Grappling Skills Ahead Of Magomed Ankalaev Title Defense

    VIDEO: Alex Pereira Sharpens Grappling Skills Ahead Of Magomed Ankalaev Title Defense

    Alex Pereira is smartly not taking Magomed Ankalaev’s previous comments as total fact. The two men are set to finally meet in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 in Las Vegas in what many believe will be the defending champion’s toughest test to date.

    In recent times, Ankalaev has largely relied on his striking and whilst he hasn’t had a reason to abandon this approach because it has been working, everyone knows that he is a talented grappler even if he hasn’t shown that inside the Octagon for some time. In pursuing this fight with “Poatan”, the challenger has claimed that he is only going to stand and strike with Pereira which would seemingly put him at a disadvantage.

    Pereira has accomplished incredible things since signing with the UFC in 2021 but what makes his success even more impressive is that he’s still playing catch-up to the opponents that he faces who will have vastly more experience than him both in the cage and in the MMA gym. In a recent clip posted on social media, fans got to see some insight into the evolution of the 205-pound champion.

    The former Glory kickboxer recently spent some time training in Brazil alongside the Fighting Nerds team who have got some serious momentum behind them right now following star-making years for the likes of Jean Silva and Carlos Prates. The gym’s Instagram page posted a video of Pereira doing some grappling arounds alongside Geovanis Palacios who is a former Olympic wrestler for Cuba who has 7 MMA bouts under his belt.

    Pereira is already a master striker so it makes sense that he would be continuing to put himself through the grappling ringer just in case Ankalaev decides to flip the script that he has wrote himself in Las Vegas.

  • Tom Aspinall Reacts To Dana White ‘Jumping Ship’ From Jon Jones To Islam Makhachev In P4P Debate

    Tom Aspinall Reacts To Dana White ‘Jumping Ship’ From Jon Jones To Islam Makhachev In P4P Debate

    Tom Aspinall, like many fans and fellow fighters, tuned into UFC 311 to watch a man that many believe is at the very top of the sport right now. Islam Makhachev may have undergone a change to his opponent literally the day before fight night but this didn’t affect him one bit.

    The lightweight champion still went out there like it was business as usual and submitted Renato Moicano in the first round. It may not have been the Arman Tsarukyan rematch that people have wanted to see for such a long time but it once again showed that when Makhachev says it doesn’t matter who you put him in there with, he means it.

    At 33-years old, he’s now the record holder for the most consecutive lightweight title defenses with four and by earning his 15th consecutive win inside the Octagon, he is tied at second with Kamaru Usman for the longest winning streak in UFC history with one spot to go until he draws level with Anderson Silva.

    Another Makhachev win meant more people making the case for why he is the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the sport today. Whilst some may argue that the accomplishments of Jon Jones speak for themselves, others might state that “Bones” hasn’t been overly active or facing the same level of opposition.

    It was only a matter of time before Dana White was once again asked about this topic having been very vocal in the past that it’s Jones with no room for debate. After seeing the UFC boss change his answer, Aspinall commented on this during a video on his YouTube channel.

    “Now we’re seeing Dana White coming out and saying that he’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 in the world, Islam Makhachev,” Aspinall said. “As we all know, to me, pound-for-pound is a lot of made-up stuff. I don’t look into that. But it’s just funny that he’s kind of jumped ship now from Jon Jones to Islam.”

    Regardless of whether or not Makhachev was able to convince anyone else that he is the best fighter in the sport today, Aspinall was happy to see him go out there and get the win. In many ways, it felt like a fairly routine outing for the 155-pound king but that doesn’t bother the Brit one bit.

    “Islam did what he was supposed to do: went out there, fought whoever was put in front of him, which is what a champion is supposed to do. Fought a guy that the UFC told him to fight, got the win, and he’s levels above anybody else in that division. He’s going to hold the belt for a long, long time, and that is something that I’m very excited for because I’m a massive Islam Makhachev fan.”

  • Estonian Hitman Sentenced For Murder Of Former MMA Fighter & K-1 Kickboxer

    Estonian Hitman Sentenced For Murder Of Former MMA Fighter & K-1 Kickboxer

    An Estonian hitman has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of a Lithuanian MMA fighter and the attempted murder of one other individual. Imre Arakas was sentenced in a Lithuanian court on Monday after the 66-year old initially pleaded guilty last September.

    Arakas, who is nicknamed “The Butcher”, claimed that he was offered €50,000 by an associate of his, Tomas Helinas, on behalf of two other man to kill 34-year old Remigijus Morkevičius. After failing at the first attempt as Morkevičius got away due to the gun jamming, he was later shot seven times with an assault rifle outside of his home address in Kaunas.

    Morkevičius was a former MMA and kickboxing competitor who last fought in 2010 with many of his bouts coming under the Japanese K-1 or ZST banners. Prosecutor Zdzislav Tulisevski said that the man that hired Arakas only paid him 5,000 euros in total.

    Arakas also claims that he was offered €25,000 to murder Gija Zabachidze, also by Helinas.He attempted to murder Zabachidze but he survived and appeared in court to testify as a witness, leading the court to sentence Arakas for both murder and attempted murder.

    Arakas was also found to be in illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives. Compensation was awarded to both victims with Arakas expressing sorrow and regret for his actions. His sentence is set to be backdated to the original date of when he was taken into custody and whilst he will likely serve his sentence in Lithuania under the prosecutors own comments, there could be an option for him to be transferred to Estonia if the defendant requests it.

  • Jamahal Hill Posts Video Drinking With Jiří Procházka Alongside First Statement On UFC 311 Loss

    Jamahal Hill Posts Video Drinking With Jiří Procházka Alongside First Statement On UFC 311 Loss

    Jamahal Hill appears to be in good spirits following UFC 311 this past weekend where he was defeated by Jiří Procházka in a fantastic light heavyweight contest. The former champion is currently coming off of back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career after facing two of the most dangerous knockout artists in the sport in consecutive outings.

    “Sweet Dreams” certainly had his moments in the fight, specifically in the second round where he appeared to swing the momentum back in his favor by starting to land more effective strikes on his opponent. After seemingly being hurt to the body in that round, Procházka bounced back in the third and was able to finish Hill to get himself back in the win column.

    Whilst there are certainly positives for Hill to take from this fight, this was a big moment for him in his career but he isn’t letting that keep him down for too long. There was tension between the two men in the build-up to the fight following some comments that Hill made but this has since been put to rest in the aftermath of their long-awaited fight.

    The Chicago native posted a video on his Instagram which shows the two men sharing a drink with one another in Los Angeles after putting on a great back-and-forth battle for the fans inside the Intuit Dome. The mutual respect shown in this video was also echoed by Hill in the caption as he reflected on the fight for the first time.

    He gave props to his opponent whilst being grateful for the position he’s in right now with plenty of hunger to get back to winning ways in the near future.

    “First of congratulations to @jirkaprochazka you made great adjustments and gave me a hell of a fight!!! I want to thank everybody that reached out with love and support I truly appreciate you all!!! My fire has never burned hotter or brighter for my future and growth!! Fighting against the elite of the elite is an honor and blessing that I don’t take for granted and yes it comes with some hard lessons but this is my journey and I’m going to set the course back right!!! Negative and hate are from those that know where they stand beneath you and want to bring you down to their level!! My head is high my heart is full and I can’t wait for my time to shine again Sweet Dreams Nation we move forward and onward!!!”