MMA News

Author: Kyle Dimond

  • Stipe Miocic Insists He Would Have Returned With Or Without Jon Jones

    Stipe Miocic Insists He Would Have Returned With Or Without Jon Jones

    For many fight fans, a defining trait of the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night is activity. Whilst the defending heavyweight champion Jon Jones has only has one fight in well over four years, Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought since March of 2021.

    Not to mention the fact that in that fight, following his testing trilogy with Daniel Cormier that took three years to complete, Miocic was knocked out in devastating fashion by Francis Ngannou in their rematch at UFC 260.

    The former two-time heavyweight champion is ready to return after his match-up with Jones was pushed back a year from UFC 295 due to Jones’ injury which only added to the talk about whether this will be a major factor at Madison Square Garden. For Miocic, he’s confident that the time away hasn’t had a negative impact on his ability.

    He believes that he’s been able to let his body heal during this period and though he wasn’t dead-set on stepping back inside the Octagon, it was always an option for him after the Ngannou defeat. Miocic has said before that he pushed for a trilogy with his last opponent but when that didn’t happen, things went quiet on his end for quite some time.

    In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN MMA, the returning challenger said that making a return after his most recent fight was always an option on the table even if it wasn’t an absolute must for him.

    “No I was always gonna fight man, I love fighting. I love what I do but I mean, I’m also okay with if it didn’t happen, I was okay with walking away.”

    Later on in the interview, Miocic was asked whether he would have made his way back to the Octagon eventually if it wasn’t for this fight. If there was ever a reason to come back after a tough loss followed by a long break, a legacy defining fight against Jones where Miocic could recapture the heavyweight belt and become the first man to beat “Bones” at the same time would surely be the one.

    He cut straight to the point, simply stating that he would have come back regardless of whether it was for this fight with Jones or something else.

  • UFC Invites Key Personnel To First ‘Brain Health Education Summit’ Amid Growing CTE Concerns

    UFC Invites Key Personnel To First ‘Brain Health Education Summit’ Amid Growing CTE Concerns

    Mixed martial arts is a combat sport and when you’re training and competing in it, it’s impossible to avoid withstanding a degree of physical damage by it’s very nature. That being said, with more knowledge and technology at our disposal, there are a lot of ways that the sport can be made safer than ever before.

    One of the biggest health developments across sports as a whole is the greater understanding of CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is one of the biggest concerns for combat sports athletes because of the constant risk of head injuries and concussions which can have a negative affect on the brain.

    The awareness of this has grown massively in recent years which is especially important in a time where the health and future of former fighters has been a big talking point this year amidst the ongoing Le v. Zuffa lawsuit. In a recent development, the UFC are also taking matters into their own hands in order to provide greater education on how to prevent damage being done to the brain.

    In a recent message that was sent out to key personnel in the MMA world, the UFC’s Performance Institute invited people to attend the MMA leader’s first “Brain Health Education Summit”, as seen below.

    The invite was posted on social media by combat sports lawyer Eric Magraken.

    “Hello UFC athletes, managers, and coaches, UFCPI is thrilled to announce it’s first-ever Brain Health Education Summit! Don’t miss this incredibly opportunity to hear directly from top researchers and the UFCPI team on the latest insights and practices to boost brain health, manage concussions and elevate performance.”

  • Replacement Fighter Confirmed For UFC 309 After Late Withdrawal

    Replacement Fighter Confirmed For UFC 309 After Late Withdrawal

    It was reported last week that UFC 309 this Saturday would be down a fight unless a replacement opponent could be found on short notice. David Onama was set to face Lucas Almeida on the prelims at Madison Square Garden.

    This would have been Almeida’s fifth appearance in the Octagon following a win last time out in June over Timmy Cuamba via a unanimous decision. Unfortunately, Almeida withdrew from the fight and the UFC started looking for someone else to face Onama.

    Fans were getting concerned after not hearing anything for close to a week until it was announced, just days out from fight night, that Mexico’s Roberto Romero will be stepping in to make his UFC debut. Romero’s management Iridium Sports Agency made the new official via their social media channels.

    At 24-years old, Romero has built a pro record of 8-3-1. His last eight fights all came under the Combate Global banner where he won six fights in a row, with one draw in between, before suffering a decision loss to Ireland’s Patrick Lehane last December. He went on to rebound with a first round submission win over Takahiro Ashida this past July.

    He will now face Uganda’s Onama on November 16 as the 30-year old looks to build on his back-to-back wins inside the Octagon, including a bonus-winning knockout over Gabriel Santos last year. This now puts the card at a total of 13 fights for the promotion’s return to the world’s most famous arena following a few changes in opponents and a cancelled fight.

  • Only UFC Fighter to Beat Magomed Ankalaev on What Could Cost Him in a Fight With Alex Pereira

    Only UFC Fighter to Beat Magomed Ankalaev on What Could Cost Him in a Fight With Alex Pereira

    At UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev seemingly cemented his status as the next man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. Aside from one draw and a no contest, the Russian contender has won eleven fights in a row inside the Octagon and has waited a long time for his opportunity.

    In his latest win in Abu Dhabi last month, he stuck to his word by standing and striking with Aleksandar Rakić for three rounds in order to prove a point about his well-rounded skill set. Ankalaev’s striking has certainly improved during his time in the UFC but there’s no denying that his grappling is still his strongest attribute, even if he doesn’t use it much.

    Ankalaev’s one and only loss in the UFC came on his debut with the promotion where he faced Scotland’s Paul Craig in London. “Bearjew” was coming off of consecutive knockout losses at the time so needed a win in order to keep his UFC dream alive.

    Despite being moments away from losing the fight, he incredibly pulled off a buzzer beater submission with just one second left on the clock, catching Ankalaev in a triangle choke. Ahead of his return at UFC 309 this weekend where he faces Bo Nickal at middleweight, Craig gave his thoughts on Ankalaev’s chances of becoming the champion in a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA.

    Craig believes that his former foe is in a good position to dethrone “Poatan” but he cannot afford to go into this fight with the same stubbornness that will see him strike with the champion rather than utilizing his grappling.

    “When you bring in someone like the Dagestanis who have incredible wrestling pressure and work ethic, it’s tough. Do I think Ankalaev can beat Pereira? I do believe he can. I believe he’s got all the credentials as long as he doesn’t go into this thing where he believes he’s a striker. You stand in front of someone with a kickboxing pedigree that Pereira has and I believe it can be a 50:50 lottery sometimes. Ankalaev, if he plays his skill set well and uses his wrestling and uses his striking to get in deep and out wrestle, I believe that’s how he can get that victory.”   

  • Tyron Woodley Claims Georges St-Pierre Turned Down Up To $7 Million To Fight Him Last Year

    Tyron Woodley Claims Georges St-Pierre Turned Down Up To $7 Million To Fight Him Last Year

    From July of 2016 to March in 2019, Tyron Woodley reigned as the UFC welterweight champion and defended the title three times. After a draw in his first defense against Stephen Thompson, “The Chosen One” would go on to beat Thompson in a rematch followed by victories over Demian Maia and Darren Till.

    Despite the seven-fight unbeaten streak that he went on, Woodley never felt like he got the credit or respect that he deserved from the fans or even from the UFC at points. His fighting style didn’t make for the most exciting watches but it was undeniably effective at shutting opponents down.

    One fight that would have instantly legitimatized his run as the champion was a super fight that despite it being spoken about a lot, never did materialize. In November of 2017, several months after Woodley’s decision win over Maia, the former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre made his return to the Octagon to face Michael Bisping for the middleweight belt at UFC 217.

    After beating Bisping at Madison Square Garden, the greatest welterweight of all time decided to vacate the title and go back into retirement, closing this chapter of his life for good.

    Woodley was outspoken about St-Pierre returning at the weight class above at the time and in a recent interview, said that “GSP” has turned down fights with him on several occasions. He told Plejmo.com in a recent interview that over the past few years, there have been multiple offers on the table that St-Pierre has declined.

    “Georges St-Pierre never wanted to fight me, I’ve asked Georges to fight me several times. I had an opportunity to fight him last year and the year before. It was a five to seven million dollar purse and he said no. In MMA. My middle east investor wanted the fight, seven million, but he said no. I would have beat his brains in. “

  • VIDEO: Usman Nurmagomedov & Paul Hughes Faceoff Fuels Rumors Of Bellator Title Fight

    VIDEO: Usman Nurmagomedov & Paul Hughes Faceoff Fuels Rumors Of Bellator Title Fight

    At the PFL’s Battle of the Giants event last month, one of the biggest talking points was the emphatic victory produced by Paul Hughes. The Irish lightweight was one of the most exciting prospects around when the PFL signed him earlier this year but no one expected that within the same year, he’d be in the title picture.

    After a debut win on the Bellator Champions Series in June, Hughes was matched up with one of the top names on the roster in former champion AJ McKee. Many assumed that this would be too much of a step for “Big News” at this stage in his career but he proved a lot of people wrong by beating McKee in Riyadh, even if the fight was controversially scored as a split decision.

    He immediately called to face Bellator’s lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov who is another one of the promotion’s most highly regarded talents. The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov has an unbeaten record of 18-0 with one no contest and recently defended his title in San Diego with a decision win over Alexander Shabliy.

    Whilst drawing comparisons between this fight and the biggest clash in the history of the sport between “The Eagle” and Conor McGregor, Hughes said that it was time for another instalment of Russia vs Ireland and it seems that he may have already been granted his wish.

    A video on social media shows the two men facing off with one another whilst cameramen in PFL clothing film the stare down for what is likely going to be used as promotional material in the build up. No official timeframe for the fight has been announced but it’s undoubtedly one of the biggest contests that the promotion could put on right now.

  • Kai Asakura’s Last Opponent Analyzes How He Will Fair At Flyweight    

    Kai Asakura’s Last Opponent Analyzes How He Will Fair At Flyweight    

    In the build up to UFC 310 on December 7, a lot of fights fans are going to get introduced to Kai Asakura for the very first time. The Japanese star is set to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title on his debut with the promotion after signing to the UFC from RIZIN.

    Alongside fighting in Las Vegas for the first time, this massive opportunity for Asakura also comes with a change in weight class. During his career in RIZIN, the 31-year old competed mostly at bantamweight against the likes of Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.

    In his last outing in Japan before making the switch to his new home, Asakura defeated former Bellator champion Juan Archuleta to win the bantamweight title. He secured the second round finish on New Year’s Eve to cap off his run in style.

    Speaking in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Archuleta gave his thoughts on Asakura signing to the UFC and how he believes he will compete at the top of the flyweight division. Having remained in contact with his former opponent since their fight in December, he was able to share some first-hand impressions of what the UFC’s new arrival will look like at 125-pounds.

    “I think he’s very explosive. It seems like he’s really getting his body in tune. Last time I seen him when I was in Japan, he was a lot smaller than when we fought and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re doing well’. I reached out to him last night actually because he was posting some Instagram pictures. I was like, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ He’s like, ‘Oh I’m so ready, I’m so excited,’ and this is a new venture for him, this is something that he wanted and wanted to do going forward and I’m super excited.

    “I mean, and it’s a title fight right off the bat like not many guys get a title right in the UFC right off the bat and so it’s like go get it man. You have the tools and the athleticism to go get it done and I think he’s well prepared now. I think he got down to a weight class, Japanese guys aren’t very dense in their muscles but they’re very explosive.”   

  • Jon Jones’ Coach Predicts Stipe Miocic’s Approach For UFC 309

    Jon Jones’ Coach Predicts Stipe Miocic’s Approach For UFC 309

    Jon Jones returns in the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night for what is just his second outing as a heavyweight. During his incredible light heavyweight title run, “Bones” was always one of the hardest fighters to predict or prepare for because he’s so good everywhere.

    Opponents could watch as much tape as humanly possible but ultimately, there’s no way to experience what it’s like to share the Octagon with the consensus greatest of all time other than physically being in there with him. This is even more true since he moved to heavyweight because of the lack of footage that is out there of him.

    His heavyweight debut at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane ended in just over two minutes so we still don’t really know how good Jones is at heavyweight. This creates a problem for Stipe Miocic and his team when it comes to strategizing for November 16.

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Jones’ long-time striking coach Brandon Gibson spoke about what he would do if he found himself in their opposition’s shoes and had to plan for a fight against the heavyweight champion. Suffice to say that Gibson is glad that he’s on this side of the Octagon rather than the other.

    “That team at Strong Style, obviously they’ve built a lot of great fighters and built Stipe into an incredible champ so I’m not gonna presume what I believe their game plan would be. I think through Jon’s 16 championship fights and 27 fights total that you could definitely plot little elements here and there of when Jon has been hit or hit clean. I think it’s very hard to replicate and to duplicate.

    “You know if I were them, I would just be training Stipe to be the best Stipe out there. We’re anticipating him to come out aggressive like he has shown in the past and on the other hand, if I were to coach against Jon Jones, I think that’s the hardest puzzle as a coach in this entire sport to solve. Nobody has solved it yet and I think they’re the ones with their hands full.”     

  • UFC Announces Return To London For A Fight Night On March 22

    UFC Announces Return To London For A Fight Night On March 22

    The Octagon is returning to London, England in 2025 for a Fight Night event that will take place at the O2 Arena on March 22. Crucially, as was stated in the announcement via UFC Europe, the event will take place at prime time in the UK unlike UFC 304 that was held earlier this year.

    In July, the promotion hosted an event as the new Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester and due to it being a PPV card, the fights took place throughout Saturday night and well into the early hours of Sunday morning in order to cater for the US audience.

    The fact that this card will be a Fight Night event rather than a PPV card means that the English fans will have to wait a bit longer before the interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall returns on home soil after successfully defending his belt in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes earlier this year.

    London’s last UFC event was also headlined by Aspinall in his return from injury where he faced Marcin Tybura and finished him in the first round. The event in July of 2023 also featured the likes of Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood, Paul Craig and Lerone Murphy.

    When looking at potential main events for this card, several Brits are all in position for big fights in the near future.

    Both Arnold Allen and Murphy have their eyes on the featherweight top 10 as well as welterweights like Michael “Venom” Page or a returning Leon Edwards being potential candidates. Paddy Pimblett would undoubtedly sell the Arena out all by himself but it seems likely that his next outing will be on PPV once again.

    The UFC isn’t going to be hard pressed to fill this card with home crowd favorites as is often the case when the Octagon makes the trip across the pond.

  • Khabib’s Coach Picks Paddy Pimblett To Beat Conor McGregor

    Khabib’s Coach Picks Paddy Pimblett To Beat Conor McGregor

    There aren’t many fighters that are able to arrive in the UFC and make an immediate impact by being loved or hated. Even fewer are able to then back it up inside the Octagon in order to make a real name for themselves in the sport.

    Two fighters that have done that and continue to produce regular talking points are the biggest star in the history of the sport, Conor McGregor, and one of the most high profile names to follow on from “The Notorious”, Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett. Pimblett has been openly critical of “The Mac” in the past but the two men ever meeting inside the Octagon seems unlikely.

    That being said, Pimblett is continuing to defy expectations with his six-fight win streak in the UFC’s lightweight division which McGregor was formally the champion of. Given the huge profile’s of both men, there’s no denying that a fight between them would be absolutely huge if it even came close to happening.

    Though both men have got their critics, it’s hard to argue with what McGregor has done in the sport as the UFC’s first-ever two-weight champion but that was a long time ago at this stage. As a result, a very experienced coach believes that Pimblett would have the advantage over the Irishman as of right now.

    AKA head coach Javier Mendez previously cornered against McGregor in the biggest UFC fight of all time where he returned to face Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a recent interview with Canada Casino, Mendez stated that he isn’t confident that “The Notorious” is the same guy that produced some of the most memorable moments in UFC history anymore.

    “Paddy and McGregor would be a great fight not just in England but the US too. It’d be a great fight, and I’d favor Paddy because he’s more of a fighter now and I’m not sure if McGregor is anymore. He may come back and prove us wrong but I favor Paddy because of where his state of mind is with fighting. We don’t know if he’s in or out. He might be fantastic in camp but I’m betting not based on what I hear in the inner circles, I’m betting he’s not taking it seriously.”

  • Charles Oliveira Welcomes BMF Title Fight vs. Max Holloway: ‘I’m About Legacy’

    Charles Oliveira Welcomes BMF Title Fight vs. Max Holloway: ‘I’m About Legacy’

    Charles Oliveira has already built an incredible legacy during his time in the UFC which is sure to endure long after he retires from the sport. That being said, the 35-year old is confident that he still has much more to give and he could enter a new phase of his career on Saturday night.

    At UFC 309, “Do Bronx” returns in a rematch of one of the most important fights of his entire 45-fight career. He finished Michael Chandler in the second round back in 2021 to win the vacant lightweight title and now they will run it back over five rounds in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden.

    Before his incredible lightweight winning streak that led to him beating Chandler and going on a great run as the champion, Oliveira suffered some fairly substantial setbacks along the way. One of those came to an elite competitor that has recently announced that lightweight will be his long-term home going forward.

    BMF Champion Max Holloway is ready to leave featherweight behind for good following his recent loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last month. His performance earlier this year against Justin Gaethje proved once and for all that he can hang with the best 155-pounders in the division.

    Though Oliveira is focused on beating Chandler for a second time, he’s also open to the idea of meeting Holloway in a rematch.

    The two fan favorites met back in 2015 where “Blessed” got the first round finish due to an injury that the Brazilian suffered. He told MMA Fighting in a recent interview that fighting Holloway for the BMF belt is a fight that interests him due to the stakes attached.

    “I’m about legacy. That’d be great. Why not? As I’m talking about [legacy], I mean, being the BMF champ would be gigantic for that.”

  • Stipe Miocic Responds To Health Concern Rumors Ahead Of UFC 309 Return

    Stipe Miocic Responds To Health Concern Rumors Ahead Of UFC 309 Return

    It has been well over three years since fight fans last saw Stipe Miocic step inside the Octagon but that all changes on Saturday night. At UFC 309, he will return to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden.

    Miocic’s time away from competition, not to mention the fact that his last outing was a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, is why many are finding it difficult to predict what we can expect from the former champion. Over three years off is going to impact any fighter, especially a 42-year old fighter who will be taking on arguably the best to ever do it.

    How this will impact the fight is even more of a grey area because Miocic is a very private individual who is rarely in the limelight, especially when he isn’t fighting. He believes that the time away has had positive benefits rather than drawbacks on his current physical and mental sharpness, as he spoke about in a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri.

    “Definitely, recharging my whole body. My mind, my body, just making sure I’m healed up and feeling good and just, you know, I’m good.”

    Another cause for concern came around following rumors that during his attendance at UFC 295 when he was originally scheduled to face Jones last November, Miocic was walking with a limp. He clarified that this wasn’t an issue and that he was simply walking to his seat with his wife whilst holding her hand which meant that he was walking a bit slower because she was behind him.

    “Yeah I was doing that. Yeah, I don’t know what limp I was having but yeah, whatever they want to think I mean it’s fine. Yeah, I saw that too. It was nice, thanks for pointing it out.”

  • Deontay Wilder Welcomes Francis Ngannou Clash After Dismissing Retirement Calls

    Deontay Wilder Welcomes Francis Ngannou Clash After Dismissing Retirement Calls

    Following his successful return to MMA last month, it isn’t clear yet what Francis Ngannou’s next step will be. There was a lot of pressure and emotion surrounding his long awaited PFL debut against Renan Ferreira.

    Not only was Ngannou coming off his first knockout loss where he was stopped by Anthony Joshua in his second boxing match, the former UFC heavyweight champion was motivated to return to competition in the memory of his late son Kobe. Getting his hand raised in the PFL by any means neccesary was his primary focus but after dominating Ferreira and finishing him in the first round, there isn’t a clear next challenge for him in MMA.

    Even with a record of 0-2, there are still some big fights left for Ngannou in the boxing world and though it might not be on the same level as his fights with Tyson Fury or Joshua, a meeting with Deontay Wilder would still be a big draw even if both men are coming off of knockout losses in the ring.

    Wilder was finished in the fifth round by Zhilei Zhang in June in what looked like could be the final outing of his 48-fight career. “The Bronze Bomber” recently revealed in an interview with TMZ that he’s working towards a return after taking some time off.

    “The best is yet to come, I always say that. We’re still going, we’re still here, you know what I mean we just getting things together man. I’m just handling a lot of things, I had a lot of outside distractions that I had to get rid of.”

    Wilder also spoke about the potential of facing Ngannou next time out, sending his potential opponent a message of support after the difficult year he has gone through.

    “Even since I’ve been off and stuff like that, it’s been a lot of offers coming in, a lot of things, different countries and stuff like that and even with Francis, what’s up brother. I hope everything’s going good for you man and I’m sorry for your loss. I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a child man, I never hope to even feel that feeling of it but I wish, I hope life is going beautifully for you bro and yeah, that’s a conversation I’m still looking to getting in the mix and talk about.”

  • Jon Jones’ Coach Claims Tom Aspinall Has Been On The Radar Since Before Heavyweight Move

    Jon Jones’ Coach Claims Tom Aspinall Has Been On The Radar Since Before Heavyweight Move

    UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is sure to be one of the most talked about fighters of the week despite the fact that he isn’t set to compete at UFC 309 on Saturday night. Many believe that it should be him facing Jon Jones in a title unification clash at Madison Square Garden rather than Stipe Miocic.

    During his time away from the Octagon due to the injury he suffered ahead of UFC 295 last November, Jones has been very outspoken about Aspinall and a potential fight with him. It’s been a huge talking point throughout this year with some accusing the champion of ducking the interim titleholder.

    Whilst Jones has recently stated that he doesn’t believe that the Brit has accomplished anything significant enough to make him interested in the fight, that isn’t to say that Aspinall hasn’t been someone that he’s known about for a long time. This is something that Jones’ long-time striking coach Brandon Gibson recently spoke about in an interview with Submission Radio.

    Gibson revealed that Aspinall’s rise to the top of the heavyweight division isn’t surprising because he’s a fighter that the team have had their eyes on for some time now, dating back to when Jones was planning his move to heavyweight during his long hiatus after vacating the light heavyweight belt.

    “No, no surprise at all. You know back in the day when Jon was originally making his move up to heavyweight, we thought Francis was going to be the opponent and we were studying the heavyweight landscape. Aspinall was a guy that we’ve always had our eye on, for years now. He’s very smooth, great takedowns, he’s a finisher and in heavyweight, that’s a powerful thing. He has incredible footwork and defense so Aspinall’s been a guy that we’ve already had an eye on for sure.”

  • Watch Tom Aspinall Trade Kicks In Dead-Leg Contest With Kickboxing Champion

    Watch Tom Aspinall Trade Kicks In Dead-Leg Contest With Kickboxing Champion

    UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been able to build a perfect training regime around him in England where he only works with other large bodies. His specifically tailored training has been a huge benefit to the Brit but it also doesn’t stop him from travelling from time to time to work with some other specialist partners.

    A long-time friend and training partner of his is none other than “The King of Kickboxing”, Rico Verhoeven. The Dutch striker is the long-reigning heavyweight champion in GLORY and with his next title defense scheduled for GLORY Collision 7 on December 7, he recently got some sparring rounds in with one of the best heavyweights in MMA.

    Though he didn’t show what could be PPV quality sparring rounds between the two lethal strikers, Aspinall did put up a YouTube video that featured the elite kickboxer. As well as their conversation regarding a potential crossover fight between Verhoeven and Francis Ngannou, the interim heavyweight champion invited him on the channel for a “dead leg challenge” which guests have featured on in the past.

    Here, both competitors will take turns throwing leg kicks that start at very low percent power and slowly build. However, usually these guests are not fighters so Aspinall is teaching them the technique and then getting them to do it to him which has little impact on him.

    This time around, in his own words, he is the beginner when he’s in the company of Verhoeven who is one of the best leg kickers in the sport. Given that both of them are very effective kickers, they chose to start right from the 70% mark, going up 10% each time for a total of three kicks each.

    Though Aspinall is able to take the punishment and dish it back out, Verhoeven seems to be enjoying himself more and more with each kick that he takes. His incredible durability is one of his biggest strengths, especially when it comes to competing in Grand Prix tournaments and it’s clear to see why in this video.

  • Michael Chandler On What’s Changed Since First Charles Oliveira Fight: ‘A Star Was Born That Night’

    Michael Chandler On What’s Changed Since First Charles Oliveira Fight: ‘A Star Was Born That Night’

    Michael Chandler is out for revenge at UFC 309 when he faces Charles Oliveira in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden. The two men first met back at UFC 262 where only one of two storybook moments could happen.

    Either the former Bellator star was going to finally make his way into the UFC and in two fights, become the lightweight champion or “Do Bronx” would finally win the big one after years of being on the roster. Chandler is happy to admit that it was Oliveira’s night back in 2021 where his dream of winning the gold was temporarily shattered.

    Though he didn’t get the Conor McGregor fight that he waited so long for, this opportunity to avenge his loss to the former champion and get himself back in the title picture was the kind of chance that he knew he has to grab with both hands. In a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Chandler spoke about what has changed since his first encounter with Oliveira.

    He believes that for all of the experience that he accumulated outside of the UFC, he’s a far different competitor now compared to the one that was making just his second appearance inside the Octagon.

    “I was extremely green, extremely early at that point when I fought Charles and yes, I had been fighting for years, I was 34-years old, had 20-something fights but at that point in time, I had only competed in the Octagon for a little over two minutes. I had just beaten Dan Hooker, knocked him out in two and a half minutes… I was inexperienced. Charles, I think a star was born that night. That was really the night, whenever Charles became champion, and then he went on the run and he beat Gaethje, he beat Poirier, and he really became the champion and really solidified himself.”

  • Javier Mendez Snubs Khabib & Makhachev While Naming Best Fighter He’s Trained

    Javier Mendez Snubs Khabib & Makhachev While Naming Best Fighter He’s Trained

    Javier Mendez has had some of the best fighters in the history of MMA walk through his doors at AKA and has had a front row seat to some of the all-time greats at work. In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, one of the most successful coaches in the game was asked to pick who, of all the great champions he’s worked with, takes the top spot.

    Mendez has got a lot of options to pick from his earlier champions like Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold and Daniel Cormier to more recent examples. Many would assume that Khabib Nurmagomedov or his lightweight heir, the current pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, would also be in the conversation.

    However, Mendez subverted expectations by naming the cousin of “The Eagle” who is the reigning Bellator lightweight champion. At 18-0 with one no contest, Usman Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters that isn’t currently signed to the UFC.

    His recent comments suggested that he hopes to move across to the Octagon once his teammate, Makhachev, has finished his run at the 155-pound champion so that he can take over in his absence which would be one of the UFC’s biggest signings in some time. Mendez said that whilst Nurmagomedov may not have the same list of accomplishments as the other fighters in the gym, he’s the most talented and is still improving as 26-years old.

    “I see Usman [Nurmagomedov] as being pound-for-pound the greatest fighter myself, he’s got all the attributes. He’s the most talented I’ve ever trained… If at one point he never goes [to the UFC], great. He’s still gonna be regarded as one of the great ones… what he does in that cage is like nobody. I’ve never seen anybody do the transitions, the movement that he does. He’s unbelievable and he’s only 26, he’s only getting better.”

  • Bo Nickal Explains The Hardest Part Of Transitioning To MMA, Which Aspects Came Easy To Him

    Bo Nickal Explains The Hardest Part Of Transitioning To MMA, Which Aspects Came Easy To Him

    At UFC 309, Bo Nickal looks to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder by earning just the seventh win of his professional career. It’s not normal for a fighter with this much experience to be competing against a seasoned contender like Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden.

    Nickal’s highly credentialed wrestling background singled him out as a super prospect from the moment he decided to begin training in MMA. His grappling gives him a huge advantage over many opponents but of course, developing the rest of his skillset is crucial to his success.

    That will be put to the test in his fight against Scotland’s Craig who is an incredibly dangerous submission threat, specifically off his back. With Nickal making it clear that he won’t hesitate to test his own jiu-jitsu skills, this might be the first fight where we see him need to utilize his whole arsenal to get the victory.

    During a recent podcast interview with Demetrious Johnson on The MightyCast, Nickal spoke about which aspects of the sport have been the easiest to pick up and which have taken him more time to get up to speed with.

    “It’s interesting, I picked up jiu-jitsu pretty quick. Obviously still learning, still growing, trying to improve that area of my game but the jiu-jitsu came pretty fast. I always had a wrestling style that I think fit just because I was rolling on my back a lot. Like if I had to roll to my back to give up a couple points or to get the pin or to get some points, I was never afraid to do that and you mentioned earlier like I wrestled predominantly folk style but as a kid, I wrestled tons of freestyle and Greco, almost just as much as I had wrestled folk style and so just those different styles and I think my experience with scrambling and different things like that, I was really comfortable with that.”

    Nickal then spoke about the aspect of the sport have been the hardest for him to pick up. Unsurprisingly, it’s an element of his striking that has taken him the most time to get used to given his grappling background.

    “The hardest thing for me to learn honestly like kicks. Calf kicks, body kicks, throwing kicks, checking kicks. It’s like such a different thing and you have to be so loose. I noticed like at first when I’m throwing kicks and stuff, I can throw like three or four kicks and I’m gassed out.”

  • Former Opponent On Brandon Moreno’s Win: ‘This Is What I Want To See’

    Former Opponent On Brandon Moreno’s Win: ‘This Is What I Want To See’

    #1-Ranked flyweight contender Brandon Royval was watching closely this past weekend as the UFC returned to Edmonton for a Fight Night event. In the main event, former champion Brandon Moreno reminded everyone just how good he can be.

    The Mexican star put on a dominant performance to hand Amir Albazi his first loss inside the Octagon, looking back to his best after suffering consecutive losses in his last two outings. His boxing skills and speed have always been two of his best attributes but it’s been a while since we really saw him control a fight from start to finish.

    Earlier this year, Moreno faced Royval in a rematch in Mexico City where after losing a split decision, he announced that he would be taking some time off. Though Moreno didn’t stay away from the gym for too long, the time with his family clearly led to him coming back revitalized and Royval enjoyed seeing that from him.

    The result seemingly worked out in favor of “Raw Dawg” who could have found himself waiting behind Albazi in line for a title shot if he had got his hand raised given his winning streak in the division.

    In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Royval said though he’s happy Moreno won because of the impact it has on his standing in the current title picture, he was excited to see his former foe looking dialled in and on point in Canada.

    “I thought he looked sick bro, I had such a good time watching him. I liked the look in his eye when he walked out like the moment he walked out, I was like alright cool, this is what I want to see. It was like a p***** off Brandon Moreno ready to go and he fought with the f****** attitude and a chip on his shoulder and I love that, I love to see that.”

  • Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’

    Chael Sonnen Highlights UFC 309 Prelim Fighter: ‘A Bit Of A Triple Threat’

    At UFC 309 on November 16, one fighter will make a childhood dream come true when he makes the walk at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. 2024 has been a year of bucket list moments for Oban Elliott who has earned back-to-back wins inside the Octagon.

    The Welsh fighter secured his UFC contract on the Contender Series and will now look to make it three wins in a row at welterweight when he faces off with Bassil Hafez on the prelims. Elliott is a big pro wrestling fans and therefore, it’s no surprise that his MMA idol growing up was none other than “The Bad Guy”, Chael Sonnen.

    They’ve been in communication for many years but at Elliott’s debut at UFC 298 in February, they finally got to meet in person. Though this was clearly a full-circle moment for “The Welsh Gangster”, it was also a great interaction for Sonnen, as he spoke about in a recent video on his YouTube channel.

    Sonnen gave some insight into Elliott’s life and career so far and how he feels privileged that the rising talent would take him along for each step of the journey.

    “It’s a bit of a triple threat from Oban. He’s got the skills, came with the DNA and the grit. Little boy that had a dream and never lost sight of it, right. All discipline is is remembering what your goal is. That’s all it is but it’s a very hard thing to do and he embraced social media, he was a smart guy… when he did the whole thing, he stayed nice. He’s a real triple threat.”

    Elliott’s personality and mentality is what Sonnen wanted to draw the most attention to. He went on to compare him to Anthony Smith who Sonnen believes is another fighter that doesn’t just know how to fight and play the game, he’s a strong individual outside the cage too.

    “He never got somewhere and forgot how he got there and that’s a special kind of person. The fighter, yeah man, this guy can squabble. He’s about to fight at Madison Square Garden. He went from a railroad with a guy with a dream thanking Lord in heaven above that he got airtime on Ariel Helwani’s show, he’s going to be fighting at Madison Square Garden so it’s quite a story and there’s a lot more to it. I’m just getting started but moving forward, learn the name.”

  • UFC Exec Provides Response To Calls For Second Sphere Show: ‘Dana Is Pretty Intent…’ 

    UFC Exec Provides Response To Calls For Second Sphere Show: ‘Dana Is Pretty Intent…’ 

    UFC 306 had a lot to live up to after the hype that Dana White and the UFC had created around the event. There was criticism of the card on paper but all of that changed once the event got underway.

    The MMA leader’s use of the ground-breaking Las Vegas Sphere made for an incredible spectacle that we’ve never seen before and seemingly, won’t again for some time. White was very clear that their decision to run the Sphere was because the T-Mobile Arena was already booked for the night that they wanted to do the second annual Noche UFC.

    Since the event took place, both fans and fighters have called for the promotion to do it again but there hasn’t been any movement on this since. Endeavour President Mark Shapiro recently spoke about this in a recent statement, making it clear once again that White wants to double down on it being a one of a kind show.

    “We do not intend to do another event at the Sphere. That was a one and done, I think we’ve signalled that to the market. Of course, anything can change like rock bands do their farewell tours and seem to stick around for another 20 years but Dana is pretty intent that this is a one and done, that’s why we spent so much, that’s why we made so much out of it.”

    Shapiro added that though the Vegas Sphere has already been ticked off the bucket list, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t do another event like this in a different location much further down the line.

    “By the way, last time I checked, the Sphere is launching in Abu Dhabi. Dana did say no more events at the Sphere in Vegas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to Abu Dhabi. So, I’m looking forward to pursuing that when that gets built, probably two decades from now.”

  • ONE Championship Star Rodtang Stripped Of Muay Thai Title After Weight Miss

    ONE Championship Star Rodtang Stripped Of Muay Thai Title After Weight Miss

    One of the biggest cards of the year for ONE Championship goes down this weekend with ONE 169 on November 8 but things haven’t been plain sailing in the lead up to fight night. The weigh-ins took place earlier today in Bangkok, Thailand where one of the promotion’s biggest names was stripped of his title.

    Rodtang Jitmuangnon has been able to transcend Muay Thai and become a global combat sports star via his exciting fighting style that has earned him the nickname of “The Iron Man.” The long reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion was set to be in action at Lumpinee Stadium this Friday in one of three title fights that was originally set to take place in Atlanta before the card was moved.

    His scheduled rematch with Jacob Smith will now take place at a catchweight after Rodtang failed to make weight and was stripped of the belt on the scales. As a result, Smith will be the only one who is able to win the title.

    Early on in the promotion’s recently changed weigh-in process, he missed weight by just half a pound but had failed to pass his hydration test which is in place to prevent fighters from cutting lots of weight before their fights.

    After he failed his hydration test and declined to check his weight on the scales, the elite striker still had just under an hour to hit the mark but wasn’t giving off the best body language. Smith will also receive a percentage of his opponent’s purse which is a big payday for him considering that the Thai star makes around 10 million baht per fight (just under $300,000).

    The former champion posted the following message on social media before he was officially stripped of the title which warned fans that he was not going to make weight for the fight. Since winning the flyweight title back in 2019, this isn’t the first time that he has had issues during weigh-in day.

  • Colby Covington: ‘Weight Bully’ Makhachev’s Champ-Champ Plans ‘All Talk’ Like Khabib

    Colby Covington: ‘Weight Bully’ Makhachev’s Champ-Champ Plans ‘All Talk’ Like Khabib

    With Belal Muhammad now reigning as the welterweight champion and his next challenger already lined up for the first quarter of 2025, it doesn’t look like Islam Makhachev will be making the jump to 170-pounds anytime soon. The pound-for-pound number one has spoken about wanting to challenge himself up a weight class many times.

    Having fought and defeated Alexander Volkanovski, who was the featherweight champion at the time, on two occasions, Makhachev wanted his opportunity to try and win a second belt. Instead, he’s now gearing up for a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan in the near future.

    One fighter that was very outspoken about the idea of Makhachev moving up was the former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington. Given his trash talking public persona, a fight between him and the lightweight king would’ve been a huge fight.

    He recently criticized Makhachev for going back on his plans during a recent interview with Submission Radio where he accused the champion, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, of being weight bullies who don’t commit to anything they say.

    “Not really, you know. We saw the same thing with Khabib. He talked a big game his whole career, ‘Oh I’m going to go to 170, I’m going to stop cutting all this weight,’ because both those guys are legitimately cutting chromosomes off their bodies. Those guys are huge lightweights. I mean they’re bigger than me and I’m a weight class up so those guys are walking around at 190 plus, probably closer to 200. So, you know, they’re just weight bullies and that’s what they do best.

    “They talk a big game like they’re going to come up to welterweight but they’ve never actually done it so if he wanted to come up and look for big fights, look no further than me. USA versus Russia, this is the biggest fight you could possibly get. I mean it’s a mega blockbuster fight but I think Islam’s all talk just like Khabib. They’re never actually going to come up to welterweight, they’re just going to stay at lightweight and throw stones from the lightweight division.”

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach Breaks Down How He Would Game Plan For Jon Jones

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach Breaks Down How He Would Game Plan For Jon Jones

    Unfortunately, it looks like the biggest fight in the heavyweight division across MMA may never happen. The prospect of seeing Jon Jones move up to heavyweight to face Francis Ngannou was one of the most talked about fights that we didn’t get to see when both men were in the UFC.

    Unfortunately, Jones debuting in his new weight class saw him win the vacant title that was left behind when Ngannou departed the promotion and signed to the PFL. Though this super fight between champions is something that the PFL is very keen on, it seems incredibly unlikely that a deal will ever take place between the two promotions.

    It’s still going to be used as a talking point for fans for many years to come and in a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Ngannou’s coach spoke about how he would have tried to approach the fight if it had happened inside the Octagon. Eric Nicksick broke down where he believes they would have had success in the fight.

    Like many would assume, competing against the consensus greatest of all time in a technical back-and-forth would not have been the desired strategy for the Xtreme Couture head coach.

    “I definitely think you had to put Jon on his back foot, you had to put pressure on him, you had to put him up against the corner post and you couldn’t get in a technical fight with Jon and you couldn’t allow him to dictate the hand play right, where he starts to occupy your hands and that’s a slow paced type of fight where Jon is very technical there and he starts to pick you apart with elbows and the clinch and the knees and the things that he does so well.

    “For me, I thought we got to get this guy on his back foot and we got to apply pressure right away and make it an ugly fight, don’t make it a technical fight. You’re going to have to make this grimy and try to get out of there, try to get him out of there in the first two-three rounds. I think the longer a fight would have gone between him and Francis, it would have favored more Jon and that was where I felt like if we put a game plan on him, we were going to have to put the pace on him.”

  • Chris Weidman Doesn’t Plan On Ever Laying His Gloves Down Inside The Octagon

    Chris Weidman Doesn’t Plan On Ever Laying His Gloves Down Inside The Octagon

    At 40 years old, no one would have been surprised or complained if Chris Weidman made the decision to retire and step away from the UFC. The New York native has already achieved some great things in his career as a former middleweight champion.

    He’s also overcome some tough losses and in recent times, some devastating injuries that would have been the end for many fighters. Losing his return fight in August last year against Brad Tavares didn’t discourage him from continuing to compete.

    In his last fight, he returned to the win column and though it was a fight that carried a lot of controversy with it, Weidman did look good in the fight. Unfortunately, a lot of the praise for him was undone by the multiple eye pokes that Bruno Silva suffered which ultimately led to the fight being stopped and changed from a TKO to a decision verdict due to the injury.

    Weidman is now set to return to face Eryk Anders at UFC 309 and though his luck when fighting at Madison Square Garden has been less than ideal with two knockout losses, it would make a lot of sense to wrap things up in front of a home crowd at the world’s most famous arena.

    In an interview with MMA Fighting, the former champion revealed that is very unlikely to be the case on November 9. Instead, he’s choosing to take each fight as it comes and will decide whether or not he wants to continue after the fact rather than before or during his time in the Octagon.

    “Honestly, I’m still taking it fight by fight to see how I feel, to see how I perform. Right now in the gym my body, I feel good and I’m doing great in the gym but I’ve got to be able to perform under the lights. So that’s all just fight to fight at this point at my age and everything. We’ll see how I feel and we’ll just play it from there.

    “I’m pretty much taking it fight by fight, I’ll make my decision after the fight. I’m not planning on putting my gloves down or anything like that either win or lose. But I’m planning to just not make any rushed decisions. Right now, I still feel great. I’m excited. I love training. I love being in camps. I love just the whole discipline of it and how it keeps you on routine. It’s really addictive. I’m super competitive so it’s just like the ultimate best thing for me to be doing. But obviously you can’t do it forever. So that’s why I’ve got to take it fight by fight and kind of just weigh the pros and cons of everything and see where we’re at.”