MMA News

Author: Kyle Dimond

  • Ilia Topuria’s Training Partner Says He’s Even More Confident Away From Interviews

    Ilia Topuria’s Training Partner Says He’s Even More Confident Away From Interviews

    Since Ilia Topuria arrived in the UFC, he’s become a somewhat divisive character despite the fact that he backs up what he says inside the Octagon. The current featherweight champion has always carried himself with supreme self confidence.

    Though it’s clearly a major asset of his, it does lead to some fans reading this as arrogance, especially when he’s going up against long-time fan favorites like Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Topuria said multiple times before his fight with Volkanovski that it was already written for him to become the champion and though he respected “The Great”, it was no longer his time to sit at the top of the 145-pound division.

    In the lead up to his first title defense against Holloway this weekend at UFC 308, “El Matador” has been his usual confident self, claiming that he will be the first man to knock the former champion out. Some might say that this is Topuria just trying to sell the fight or that he’s playing up his own confidence just because there’s a microphone in front of him.

    A training partner of his in Spain says that this is completely the opposite to an act that Topuria puts on for the cameras. In a recent interview with The Scrap, Miguel Navarro gave his insight into the fight as someone who knows the champion well.

    Navarro trained with the champ at Climent Club in Alicante but has continued to make the trip to Madrid to train with him now that Topuria has moved. He says that his fellow Spaniard is always extremely self-assured, claiming that if anything, he tones it down for interviews rather than amplifying it.

    “Yeah, he’s always like that. That’s not like a role or something. Personal treatment, he’s like that and I think even more than in the interviews, even more. If you know all his people, everyone thinks like him. Everyone doesn’t have like piece of doubt, any piece of doubt.”

  • Ciryl Gane Explains Positive Impact Jon Jones Loss Has Had On His Career

    Ciryl Gane Explains Positive Impact Jon Jones Loss Has Had On His Career

    In the biggest fight of his career to date, Ciryl Gane suffered his biggest setback when he was submitted by Jon Jones at UFC 285. “Bon Gamin” has come back from adversity in the past but he recently revealed how this one defeat affected him.

    Gane’s only other loss came to Francis Ngannou in a closely contested fight before he rebounded with a win over Tai Tuivasa. With the task of welcoming Jones back the Octagon for his highly anticipated heavyweight debut, the pressure was on.

    After lots of talk about how “Bones” would look at heavyweight and deal with the elusive footwork and speed of the Frenchman, the fight lasted just over two minutes.

    A simple mistake from Gane was all it took for Jones to lock up a guillotine choke and stand tall at the top of the heavyweight division. In a recent video posted on the UFC’s YouTube channel, the former interim champion spoke about the aftermath of that fight.

    He said that suffering a significant loss in that way really set him back but it allowed him to come back even stronger with a rejuvenated motivation to improve. Fighters and coaches often say that you learn much more from a loss than you do a win and this proved to be the case for the 34-year old.

    Gane says the difficult defeat has pushed him to work harder and place more emphasis on the finer details.

    “After the fight with Jon Jones, I felt that people turn really crazy… [The loss] has helped me to grow a little bit more. At first, because in my sport, to loss like that, this is too much pain. And with the people, the media and everything, it was really hard. But I stay strong. I kept my positivity every time. I work hard but I was flawless, like, win after win, win after win and something like that [the loss], ‘Okay, I must train harder than that. I must do more.’ Now, I’m focused on the little things [that are] really important to grow up.”

  • UFC 308 Backup Fighter Diego Lopes Predicts Topuria vs. Holloway

    UFC 308 Backup Fighter Diego Lopes Predicts Topuria vs. Holloway

    The UFC 308 main event is one of the biggest fights of the year between featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and his first challenger, Max Holloway. As is often the case with a fight of this magnitude, there is a backup fighter on standby in case either man is unable to compete on Saturday night.

    #3-ranked Diego Lopes is in Abu Dhabi and will make weight on Friday knowing that he could be asked to step in and fight if anything happens to the main event. The Brazilian is coming off of a big win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 but won’t likely be the next title challenger given Alexander Volkanovski’s current position.

    Topuria vs Holloway is a fascinating contest but in the case that the fight falls apart at some stage on fight week, having a top contender and fan favorite ready and waiting would soften the blow.

    In an interview with Submission Radio, Lopes gave his prediction for the headline attraction at the Etihad Arena on October 26. He’s previously stated that fighting Holloway would be his dream fight because he’s been watching him for a long time.

    Despite the adoration that he has for the BMF titleholder, Lopes named the defending champion as his pick for the main event. A victory for “El Matador” on Saturday will surely lead to him bringing the belt back to Spain in the near future and this is something that the Brazilian contender also has his eye on.

    “I hope, bro, I don’t know it’s crazy but Ilia mention my name. UFC have plans for UFC in Spain, UFC need the guy who speaks Spanish for the promotion for the fight. I don’t know, maybe Ilia wins, I win too. Maybe we go Spain, I speak Spanish for the promotion for UFC in Spain, it’s good.”

  • Raquel Pennington Calls For Rethink Into Scoring Criteria After Controversial UFC 307 Loss

    Raquel Pennington Calls For Rethink Into Scoring Criteria After Controversial UFC 307 Loss

    In the co-main event of UFC 307, Raquel Pennington narrowly lost the bantamweight title to Julianna Peña via split decision. A lot of people had “Rocky” winning the fight at the end of the fifth round, including the media scores and the commentators.

    Not to mention the fact that Pennington said the UFC had already gathered her family so they could join her in the Octagon after assuming she had won the fight before the cards were read out by Bruce Buffer.

    In the end, it was the opening round that proved to be the difference in the split verdict as Sal D’Amato and Mike Bell scored it in Peña’s favor. This is something that Pennington has had a hard time coming to terms with in the aftermath of the fight.

    She told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that she was incredibly confident that she had done enough to win the fight when the final bell went. After attempting to analyze where she lost the opening round, Pennington was left with more questions than answers.

    In her opinion, though Peña out landed her in the first stanza, her shots did far more damage which is outlined as the primary scoring criteria. Pennington told MMA Junkie that in this case, the criteria needs to be clearer and stuck to after feeling like she won the round in terms of damage.

    “I’m still really frustrated with it because for me, it’s like what are you guys really looking for, you know? And they say damaging strikes but you just said everything right there so it’s like okay, some of the scorecards said she out struck me by four strikes but what were her four strikes doing? She was shadow boxing a little bit more, she wasn’t landing actual punches so that’s where it becomes really frustrating because I feel like the lines are not clear and it just robs so many athletes of opportunities… We need to be able to distinguish exactly what’s being looked for and I mean that needs to be honoured.”

  • Ian Garry Claims Usman Turned Down UFC Tampa Fight: ‘You & Colby Are More Similar Than I Thought…’

    Ian Garry Claims Usman Turned Down UFC Tampa Fight: ‘You & Colby Are More Similar Than I Thought…’

    Undefeated welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry has spent a lot of this year campaigning for a fight with former interim champion Colby Covington. Given the build up alone, the fight would be huge but it seems unlikely that we will see it happen.

    The Irishman wanted the match-up at UFC 303 in June but ended up facing and beating Michael “Venom” Page instead. Now occupying the #7-spot in the rankings, Garry is looking for a main event slot in order to get him closer to a title shot.

    There aren’t too many opponents ahead of Garry that make sense for him right now. The likes of Sean Brady and Jack Della Maddalena would be great fights but of course, defeating a former champion would be a great scalp to have on his record.

    According to a recent social media post, it looks like he may have been offered a former rival of Covington’s who has been out for a over a year at this point in time.

    Kamaru Usman posted a short message on social media to suggest that is ready to return to action in the near future to snap his current losing streak. It didn’t take long before Garry responded, claiming that Usman turned a fight with him down for December 14 which is set to take place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.

    With Belal Muhammad set to make the first defense of his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov the week before at UFC 310, a potential title eliminator taking place seven days later would make a lot of sense.

    “Ready? Really? I thought you were built different, but turns out you and Colby are more similar than I thought. Say YES see you December 14th!”

  • Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Says Khamzat Chimaev Will Be ‘Out Of His League’ Against Robert Whittaker

    Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Says Khamzat Chimaev Will Be ‘Out Of His League’ Against Robert Whittaker

    Despite having fought seven times inside the Octagon, the potential of Khamzat Chimaev still has some question marks hanging over it. Listen to anyone that trains with the middleweight contender and they will tell you that he’s the champion in waiting.

    However, his recent performances and issues with staying active have significantly pumped the breaks on what was once the biggest hype train in the entire sport.

    We will find out this weekend at UFC 308 where Chimaev ranks amongst the rest of the middleweight division when he faces former champion Robert Whittaker. “The Reaper” has fought many of the top contenders and has only lost at 185-pounds to two champions in Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.

    Even in a win that looks great on paper over Kamaru Usman last time out, there was some doubters due to how close the fight was despite Usman stepping up a weight class as a short notice replacement for Paulo Costa. This won’t be the same for a victory against someone that is as highly regarded and proven as Whittaker.

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Du Plessis’ coach Morne Visser weighed in with his thoughts on the fight. Having spent time preparing his fighter to face Whittaker in the past, he knows how good the former champion is.

    He believes that Whittaker won’t just get the win on Saturday night, he will show that Chimaev isn’t ready to compete with the best guys in the weight class.

    “That fight against Usman, who’s a genuine welterweight, was way too close for me. His stand-up is, in my opinion, suspect. His wrestling, he couldn’t do anything with Usman and Rob’s stand-up is phenomenal, his wrestling and his ground work’s awesome so I honestly think Khamzat’s out of his league here. He’s gotta go back to welter where he maybe stands a chance to become something or become a champion. At this stage, I honestly think Rob beats Khamzat and I don’t think it’s gonna be on points, he’s going to grind him. Rob’s a tough dude and he’s smart and he’s got a smart team behind him.”

  • Former Opponent Picks Out Changes In Max Holloway’s Style That Could Be Crucial At UFC 308

    Former Opponent Picks Out Changes In Max Holloway’s Style That Could Be Crucial At UFC 308

    UFC fans have watched Max Holloway grow up in the promotion and evolve into the elite level competitor that we now see today. The incredible success that he has achieved hasn’t been without some adjustments along the way and a former opponent of his found that out first hand.

    At UFC 308 this Saturday, Holloway will challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title in his return to 145-pounds. “Blessed” has faced his fair share of heavy hitters in the past but seeing how he deals with the boxing and power of the champion is a massive factor in this fight.

    When top-10 ranked featherweight Arnold Allen faced Holloway over five rounds in April last year, the Brit was surprised by the way that the former champion fought him.

    Rather than bringing his usual brand of forward pressure and high output, the BMF titleholder was happy to counter strike and showed a different side to his game. We saw the same thing in his last fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 where aside from the final few seconds, Holloway didn’t need to put himself in harm’s way to be effective.

    Allen highlighted this during his breakdown video for the main event on October 26. “Almighty” spoke about some of the changes that he has noticed from “Blessed” in recent times.

    “Max Holloway kind of reinvigorated his style since fighting me. He made some adjustments. He started breaking distance, coming in and out, kicking more, being a little bit smarter like not taking so many shots. Not being in the pocket and just trying to out-will you. I do think one of things when I fought him that we or I didn’t respect enough is his fight IQ.”

    Allen also spoke about how Holloway is still able to pressure his opponents without constantly being in their faces. This ability to control the distance without trading with “El Matador” could be a massive factor in his attempt to reclaim the featherweight gold.

    “One of the things I really like that he’s done since making some adjustments is he disengages but he keeps the pressure on and there’s definitely an art to it. He’ll leave the danger but he’s still in the range for pressure, it’s hard to explain.”  

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPoXra01qwc&t=734s
  • Muhammad Mokaev Claims UFC Has Blocked Raul Rosas Jr. From Grappling Him

    Muhammad Mokaev Claims UFC Has Blocked Raul Rosas Jr. From Grappling Him

    Muhammad Mokaev was set to make his competition return this weekend at the ADXC 6 grappling event in Abu Dhabi. “The Punisher” was announced last week to be headlining the card against UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr.

    The contest certainly would have attracted lots of attention with Mokaev returning for the first time since his UFC departure. Not to mention that the event would be taking place the day before UFC 308 goes down at the Etihad Arena.

    Unfortunately, their meeting on October 25 appears to be cancelled and Mokaev is pointing the finger as to why he will no longer be in action against Rosas Jr.

    In a post on X, the undefeated flyweight announced the news and stated that it is the UFC that are to blame after they prevented Rosas Jr. from making the walk at the Mubadala Arena.

    UFC fighters taking grappling matches in other promotions isn’t anything new but given the narrative surrounding Mokaev, it makes sense why the MMA leader may have put their foot down if what he’s saying is true.

    The event is set to feature several other UFC fighters who still appear to be on the card, including Umar Nurmagomedov. ADXC said in their post that a new main event will be announced for the card.

  • ‘They Wanted Ferreira To Die In There’ – Fans & Fighters React As Francis Ngannou Lands Scary KO In MMA Return, PFL Debut

    ‘They Wanted Ferreira To Die In There’ – Fans & Fighters React As Francis Ngannou Lands Scary KO In MMA Return, PFL Debut

    After everything that he has been through this year, Francis Ngannou’s MMA return was a triumphant one as he stopped Renan Ferreira in the first round.

    The main event of PFL Battle Of The Giants ended up on the ground early on after the former UFC champion secured the takedown.

    His Brazilian opponent was able to threaten with a triangle choke, but once “The Predator” made his way out, he positioned himself to unload strikes.

    Several unanswered ground and pound strikes — too many, in fact — laid Ferreira flat out on the canvas, leaving an emotional Ngannou to share a touching embrace with his coaches.

    Ngannou spoke in his post-fight interview about how he was confident that he wouldn’t have lost a step during his time away but dealing with his emotions on fight week following the tragic passing of his son earlier this year was very difficult for him to overcome.

    MMA Fans React To Successful MMA Return Of Francis Ngannou In PFL PPV Headliner

    MMA fans and fighters on social media reacted to the emotional scenes as the Cameroonian did what he does best and delivered a scary knockout.

    The post-fight comments also spoke about the stoppage of the fight, with Ferreira seemingly being knocked out only for him to be hit with several more big shots before referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in.

    https://twitter.com/TomTaylorWrites/status/1847776629013242224
    https://twitter.com/GotMyBucksUp/status/1847776840930517016
    https://twitter.com/aj8262489/status/1847776814933905850
    https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1847774459110858959
  • ‘Belal’d Leon Edwards’ Brother’ – Fans React As Johnny Eblen Retains Bellator Title At PFL Super Fights Event

    ‘Belal’d Leon Edwards’ Brother’ – Fans React As Johnny Eblen Retains Bellator Title At PFL Super Fights Event

    Johnny Eblen retained the Bellator middleweight title at PFL‘s Battle Of The Giants pay-per-view by beating Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision.

    The champion was largely dominant throughout the first four rounds, consistently landing his takedowns without landing too much significant damage.

    Edwards tried to turn the tide in the fifth frame, which was by far his best of the fight as he kept the fight standing and put the pressure on the American, Unfortunately for him, it was too little, too late.

    Eblen got the stoppage the first time they met in Dublin, and though he was unable to put Edwards away the second time around, the result wasn’t in doubt at the end of the five rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    MMA Fans React To A Slow, Grueling Bellator Middleweight Title Rematch

    MMA fans reacted on social media to the Eblen vs. Edwards rematch that took place as the first of three title fights on the PFL’s second PPV event of the year.

    Many were critical of Eblen’s performance despite his dominant victory to retain the title. Others compared it to the manner in which Fabian’s brother, UFC star Leon Edwards, was dethroned by Belal Muhammad in Manchester this past July.

    https://twitter.com/Percy2mac/status/1847760654934909437
  • PFL Fighter In Coma Over 1 Month On From Botched Bellator London Weight Cut

    PFL Fighter In Coma Over 1 Month On From Botched Bellator London Weight Cut

    Brazilian MMA promotion Nacão Cyborg has revealed on social media that a fighter formerly on its roster is currently in a coma after a botched weigh-in attempt for her Bellator debut last month

    Daiana Silva was set to compete against Eman Almudhaf at the Bellator Champions Series event that took place at the OVO Arena Wembley in London on September 14.

    The fight was canceled after Silva, who is undefeated at 3-0, couldn’t make the featherweight limit, which would’ve been her first time competing in this weight class.

    The 29-year old previously fought at lightweight and, as reported by her former promotion, which is led by Cris Cyborg, is currently still in a coma in London, England.

    The PFL, which acquired the Bellator brand last year, has yet to address the situation, making the following Instagram post the first that many had heard about the tragic news.

    “The Cyborg Nation Team, comes to the public to extend its solidarity with CM System MMA Team Athlete Daiane “Leidy Dai” Silva, who would be making her debut at the Bellator in London on 09/14/2024, however suffered complications during her weight cut and has since been hospitalized in serious condition in the Capital of England.
    We at the Cyborg Nation Event, which launched the athlete, are committed to going deep to identify and hold the culprits accountable who allowed this to happen, we will bring you more information in the coming weeks.”

    With the news now hitting social media, more information has come to light on the current situation and why there have been little updates about it.

    Uncrowned Combat’s Drake Riggs posted the following update on X.

  • Chael Sonnen Says Dustin Poirier & Others Flirt With Retirement To Receive Praise

    Chael Sonnen Says Dustin Poirier & Others Flirt With Retirement To Receive Praise

    Dustin Poirier recently confirmed that he will indeed fight in the UFC again despite contemplating retirement after his loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. “The Diamond” wants to plan his exit from the sport by going out in front of his home fans in Louisiana.

    MMA retirements never tend to last too long, just look at Donald Cerrone’s recent comments, and this likely isn’t going to change as the sport continues to age.

    During a recent episode of ESPN MMA’s Good Guy / Bad Guy show with Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen, Cormier said that he was never convinced that Poirier would step away. He said that the former interim champions ability to still compete at the highest level meant that he wouldn’t ride off into the sunset just yet, even if he was suggesting that this was more than likely.

    Sonnen followed this point up by referencing something that he would do in his childhood in order to receive words or praise and encouragement from his peers. He said that in art class, which he was hit and miss at, he would parade his best pieces of work around and say how bad they were in order to draw compliments.

    Sonnen believes that fighters do a similar thing in order to hear the kind of appreciation that makes them feel validated.

    “I did this when I was a little kid. Daniel, as I became an adult, I still did little things like that, I just did it fewer and further between and I swear, I do feel that some of these guys just so that we’ll pat them on the head and tell them, ‘No you’re so great’, I swear they’ll say like something bad about themselves to get the rest of us to go, ‘No, hey, you’ve got more.’ I do feel that way sometimes.”

    Sonnen then spoke specifically about Poirier and his decision to make the walk one or two more times.

    “I imagine it is hard to go and physically, Dustin has it. Mentally, Dustin has it but he’s got that little kid in him somewhere that wants us to constantly tell him, ‘Hey Dustin, you still got it.’ Well, I’ll buy in. Dustin, you still got it.”

  • Former UFC Champion Recalls How Max Holloway Beat Him At His Own Game: ‘That’s What That Feels Like!’

    Former UFC Champion Recalls How Max Holloway Beat Him At His Own Game: ‘That’s What That Feels Like!’

    With how long fight fans have been watching Max Holloway compete at the highest level, it can be easy to forget that he’s still only 32-years old. “Blessed” is looking to reclaim the featherweight title later this month at UFC 308 when he faces Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi.

    The first time that he got his hands on UFC gold was all the way back in 2016 at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada where he faced Anthony Pettis for the interim title. A former lightweight champion, Pettis had recently moved down to 145-pounds where he submitted Charles Oliveira in his previous fight.

    Holloway earned the tenth win of his current streak in this fight, stopping Pettis in the third round after hurting him to the body to close out another great performance from “Blessed”. He would then go on to unify the belts against José Aldo in Brazil the following year.

    In a recent appearance on the MightyCast with Demetrious Johnson, Pettis reflected on his experience fighting Holloway eight years ago. At his peak, “Showtime” was known for his devastating striking, including a body kick finish over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone from back in 2013.

    He said that after Holloway hit him with a body kick of his own, he finally understood what he had been putting opponents through all those years.

    “He’s a beast bro like fighting that dude, like you have to be on your A-game. First time I ever got finished in a fight was Max Holloway. TKO. He hit me with a body kick, first time I was like, ‘That’s what that feels like…’ He hit me and I was like, ‘Oh s***!,’ and then he teed off on me and he got the title and like big up to him man, great fighter.”

  • Anthony Pettis Breaks Down How He Became The First Man To Knock Out Stephen Thompson: ‘Karate vs Taekwondo’

    Anthony Pettis Breaks Down How He Became The First Man To Knock Out Stephen Thompson: ‘Karate vs Taekwondo’

    Anthony Pettis achieved a lot in his career and despite becoming a UFC champion, for many fans, what made him immortal was the iconic showtime kick that he produced in the WEC against Benson Henderson.

    Many years down the line in his career, towards the end of his UFC tenure, “Showtime” would produce another instant classic moment for his highlight reel that is sure to be shown in UFC compilations for many years to come.

    In 2019, he went up to welterweight to face off with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in a fun match-up that looked to be a difficult fight for him to win. Thompson had a lot of success in the fight until, in the second round, he was knocked out for the first time in his MMA career.

    Pettis stopped the elite kickboxer in stunning fashion, landing a superman punch right as the second round came to an end to flip the script on it’s head. In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on the MightyCast, he reflected on this fight.

    Pettis said it was his call to fight Thompson and his confidence in the match-up came from the coaches that he has worked with throughout his career. His head coach, Duke Roufus and his brother Rick are both pioneering strikers who would be able to pass their own experiences competing at the highest level on to their fighter.

    “Showtime” revealed how this clash of traditional striking styles and the knowledge he gained from his coaches led to him stopping “Wonderboy” in emphatic fashion.

    “I’m like, I think I could beat him, karate vs taekwondo, I knew his range, I knew how to beat him because of Duke. That was one of those camps where I gave it all to Duke, like he knew how to beat him because of what happened to Rick Rufus. It was like the story was writing again, the karate guy, he’s like, ‘We have to, every time he kicks, low kick the same leg.’ I’m like, ‘For real? It’s that easy?’ It was that easy bro. Obviously I got punched in the face and s*** but once I started eating him up, when his stance goes from wide base to smaller cuz you’re beating those legs up, that’s when you can punch him but when he’s wide, he’s so far.”

  • VIDEO: Jon Anik References Leon Edwards’ Title-Winning Knockout On Kamaru Usman’s Podcast

    VIDEO: Jon Anik References Leon Edwards’ Title-Winning Knockout On Kamaru Usman’s Podcast

    UFC commentator Jon Anik recently graced the Pound 4 Pound podcast with his presence as the modern day voice of the MMA leader covered a whole host of topics alongside former champion Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman.

    At one point in the episode, the topic of Anik’s top three knockouts that he has called in his career was brought up where his usual answers for this specific question weren’t necessarily going to cut it considering the company he was in.

    The commentator kicked off his list with a pick for Usman that in fairness, is deserving of being on the list considering the knockout and the magnitude of his victory over Jorge Masvidal back in 2021.

    “Can I just go number three, Kamaru Usman against Jorge Masvidal. If anybody knows the circumstances surrounding that and certainly the pedestal that we all put ‘Gamebred’ on as far as his boxing is concerned, we’ll put that top three.”

    Anik also said that Cejudo’s knockout over TJ Dillashaw could enter at the second spot but this is where his efforts to play to the crowd came to an end. Anik paused for a moment before revealing what would usually take top billing in his list.

    Anyone who has heard him talk about his favorite moments sat cage side will know that Leon Edwards’ head kick knockout over Usman at UFC 278 is the gold standard. He made reference to that and how he would avoid picking it on this occasion, despite Usman agreeing with him.

    “On these airwaves, I don’t know that I go Leon Edwards over Kamaru Usman in the top slot…”

    In the end, Anik eventually went with a different shocking title win to cap off his list by giving a shout out to the two biggest victories over Rose Namajunas’ career.

    “I think number one, it’s gotta be ‘Thug’ Rose against Joanna Jędrzejczyk and then she f****** head kicked Zhang Weili too.”

    Check out the full podcast below:

  • Irene Aldana: UFC 306 Cut Was ‘Poorly Managed’ By Cutman, Cageside Doctor

    Irene Aldana: UFC 306 Cut Was ‘Poorly Managed’ By Cutman, Cageside Doctor

    Irene Aldana has always been known as an incredibly tough competitor in the UFC’s bantamweight division but she took that to another level at UFC 306. In her three-round war with Norma Dumont, the Mexican fighter suffered one of the worst cuts in UFC history.

    The cut stemmed from an accidental headbutt in the second round and with how big it was, no one would have been surprised to see the doctor wave the fight off before Aldana went out for the third and final round.

    That didn’t happen and the former title challenger has got some issues with the way that she was treated in that moment when she looks back at her September outing. In an exclusive Spanish interview with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura, Aldana says that in her opinion, the doctor and cutman didn’t do their jobs effectively.

    “I’ve seen fights stopped for smaller cuts, at least for the doctor to get called to check the cut to see if the fighter should continue,” Aldana said. “Honestly, I thought the approach from the cutman and the commission in the corner was very strange.

    “I don’t remember the doctor checking on the cut, and I didn’t get Vaseline. The cutman was putting his weight onto the cut, and I feel like that opened it more. I remember having to posture firmly so I wouldn’t go back because his body weight was on me. I do think it would’ve been best to check the replay and have the doctor check on the cut. On that aspect, I do think it was poorly managed.”

    Aldana went on to express that overall, she has mixed feelings on the whole situation and the way it was handled. She is happy that she got the opportunity to continue fighting but also can’t help but weigh up what the potential risks could have been as a result.

    “It was risky to continue after seeing he cut and the videos, I mean you could basically see my skull. It was a risk, I could’ve gotten a facial paralysis or had big consequences of it, but that’s how things played out, and fortunately, I’m OK. I do hang on to the fact that I got a small chance to go finish the fight. I’m happy with that. But on the way things were handled by the commission, I do have my doubts.”

  • Muhammad Mokaev Set To Grapple UFC Fighter In Abu Dhabi One Day Before UFC 308

    Muhammad Mokaev Set To Grapple UFC Fighter In Abu Dhabi One Day Before UFC 308

    After departing the UFC following his win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 in July, Muhammad Mokaev is set to make his return to competition later this month. “The Punisher” was announced to have re-signed with BRAVE CF where he previously fought before making his way to the Octagon.

    However, Mokaev’s next outing will not see him return to MMA just yet as instead, a grappling match against a well known name is just around the corner.

    Just one day before UFC 308 takes place at the Etihad Arena, Mokaev is set to compete against Raul Rosas Jr. on October 25 at ADXC 6. After several rumours and teases from both parties, the match-up was confirmed by Red Corner MMA.

    Mokaev won seven fights in a row after signing with the UFC and likely would have been next to fight for the flyweight title had the promotion chosen to re-sign him. Instead, in the immediate aftermath of UFC 304, Dana White announced that they would be cutting ties with Mokaev for several reasons.

    Despite his clear talent, the 24-year old was involved in several confrontations outside of the cage that made certain figures at the UFC less than fond of working with him.

    As for Rosas Jr., he made history on his UFC debut by becoming the youngest fighter to have ever competed inside the Octagon at just 18 years old. After winning his spot on the roster via the Contender Series, he’s won his last three in a row at bantamweight to rebound from a loss to Christian Rodriguez.

    ADXC 6 is set to take place at the Mubadala Arena on Friday, October 25.

  • Former Champion Files Lawsuit Against PFL-Owned Bellator Shortly After His Release

    Former Champion Files Lawsuit Against PFL-Owned Bellator Shortly After His Release

    Former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi has filed a complaint against the promotion, and the PFL, after being released from his contract in May.

    The 39-year old was granted his release earlier this year after he spoke incredibly negatively of the promotion in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. In that interview, he said that if it was up to him, he would like to just leave and move on with his career but his team wanted to pursue legal action after the way he had been treated.

    The breakdown in relationship between the two parties stems from Mousasi’s Bellator contract and the PFL being unhappy to honor it after they acquired the promotion and it’s roster last year. This is explained in the documents, including several interactions between Mousasi’s team and the PFL regarding his expensive contract.

    This saga appeared to have come to an end when PFL’s Mike Kogan, who previously worked with Mousasi at Bellator, announced that he had been released, writing: “We wish him all the best fighting in his next chapter.”

    However, as Mousasi stated back in May, his team wanted to progress things even further with John S. Nash reporting that the complaint alleges a breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, a claim for relief for Monopsonizaton.

    The detailed complaint provides lots of information about Mousasi’s Bellator contract and how the PFL did not want to pay him that much money to fight considering that he wasn’t a champion or a PPV draw.

    It also goes into the other issues, including a claim that Mousasi was misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee.

    All of the information, including the conversation back and forth from Mousasi’s management and the PFL can be found via Nash’s X account below:

  • Demetrious Johnson Analyzes Whether UFC Or ONE Championship Got The Better Of His Trade

    Demetrious Johnson Analyzes Whether UFC Or ONE Championship Got The Better Of His Trade

    In October of 2018, a first of it’s kind deal would take place in the MMA landscape that would see two major names in the sport swap promotion. After losing his UFC flyweight title to Henry Cejudo, Demetrious Johnson was traded to ONE Championship.

    Former ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren went the other way in a switch that defined the final stages in the career of both men. Now that he is officially retired from MMA, announcing his decision at ONE 168 last month, Johnson reflected on this in a recent interview.

    “Mighty Mouse” would go on to fight seven-times in ONE Championship’s flyweight division where he won the flyweight World Grand Prix and became the champion, defending his title once to close out his trilogy with Adriano Moraes before retiring.

    He also competed in a first of it’s kind mixed-rules fight against Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon at the promotion’s historic ONE X card back in 2022 which Johnson won via submission.

    Askren, on the other hand, fought just three times in the UFC but produced two incredibly memorable moments when he submitting Robbie Lawler and was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal.

    Johnson had always been underappreciated by the UFC in a lot of people’s eyes so despite the fact that he was still one of, if not, the best in the world, the move made sense for him at the time.

    During his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Johnson gave his detailed thoughts on which party got the better of the trade. He makes the case for why in some ways, both the UFC and ONE Championship got what they wanted out of the trade.

    “I mean, it’s no doubt, you look at your boy, I was a f****** working horse. Working horse, the best in the world. Probably pound-for-pound if you didn’t count Jon Jones for skipping me and then, you know, I think Ben Askren was out, he was retired, and me and Ben Askren, we had him on the MightyCast, it’ll drop soon, and we talked about it. But I think when you look at like just money-wise, I think the UFC won because of how much more money they were able to generate and quote unquote from Dana White and those guys, I wasn’t making them any money. But, I think the sheer of just the f****** horse that ONE Championship got, I mean, if I wanted to, I could still fight.

    “I don’t think Ben Askren could still fight. I could still fight if I truly wanted to, he can’t, and you look at the fights I was able to produce, the knockouts, the buzz that I was able to produce for ONE Championship, I mean it’s easy clear that they got the better athlete, the better fighter, but when it comes down to the money aspect of it, they probably won. But it’s what are you looking for? Are you looking to generate more money or are you looking to have the best athletes in the world? You want to have the best athletes in the world? They got my black a**.”  

  • Alexander Volkanovski Intends To Have Staredown With UFC 308 Winner Inside The Octagon

    Alexander Volkanovski Intends To Have Staredown With UFC 308 Winner Inside The Octagon

    The main event of UFC 308 is shaping up to be one of the biggest fights of the year with fight fans counting down the days until October 26. Undefeated featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will be defending his belt for the first time against the former titleholder, Max Holloway.

    This fight has all the makings of a must watch when you look back at the recent performances that we have seen from both men. One set of eyes that are sure to be paying close attention belong to the former 145-pound king, Alexander Volkanovski.

    Volkanovski could have campaigned for an immediate rematch with Topuria after losing the title to “El Matador” in February but instead, he chose to take some time to recover. After what Holloway did at UFC 300, it was clear that he’d be next for Topuria if he wanted to move back down to featherweight which is what materialized.

    In the mean time, Volkanovski has had no problem with sitting out and watching everything play out in front of him before he gets his deserved rematch to try and reclaim the title. A potential fight with Diego Lopes has been spoken about but the Aussie’s main focus is on taking back the belt.

    “The Great” is planning to be in attendance at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi where he hopes to build towards a fight in Sydney, Australia at UFC 312 next February. He recently told Submission Radio that he intends to get inside the Octagon and face off with the winner of the main event before UFC 308 comes to an end.

    “Of course, that’s the best way to build up your next fight, especially when you’re pretty much guaranteed. There’s only very little things that could get in the way. I doubt that that happens so get me in there, let’s amp it up and call the date here in February as well.” 

  • Former UFC Champion Names MMA Mount Rushmore With No Conor McGregor, Khabib Or Jon Jones

    Former UFC Champion Names MMA Mount Rushmore With No Conor McGregor, Khabib Or Jon Jones

    There’s always going to be talk of who the greatest MMA fighters of all time are but this year more than most, it has been a particularly relevant conversation. Whether it’s due to the discourse surrounding Jon Jones and the pound-for-pound rankings or the retirement of Demetrious Johnson, it’s been a consistent topic in recent months.

    One of the latest fighters to weigh in with his own take on the discussion is the former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway. “Blessed” not only comes in with a fairly unique Mount Rushmore list but explains why they all deserve their spots.

    In an interview with Stake ahead of his huge main event clash with Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, Holloway left out some big names but justified why that is the case.

    “I would say Demetrious (Johnson) is definitely up there, Anderson Silva is there too, GSP and then you have to give it to Forrest Griffin because he helped put the UFC on the map. That TUF Finale on Spike TV was huge for the UFC, so those are my guys for sure. Those four guys are absolute animals.”

    Holloway went on to talk about how, in his opinion, Johnson does not get the respect that he deserves just because he reigned supreme in the smallest of the men’s weight classes.

    “When you talk about Demetrious Johnson, it seems insane to me how he is viewed just because he fought at 125 lbs. This 125-er would absolutely whoop your ass. A lot of bigger guys think they can hang with him, you get these influencers and social media personalities who go around screaming, ‘I’m 260 bro, he’s 125lbs. Brother, Demetrious Johnson would take your ACL and your arm home and then he would come back and cut your head off if he wanted to. You could do nothing about it, he’s such a beast.”

    The BMF titleholder added that he has a lot of respect for the greatest welterweight and middleweight of all time, both of which made his list.

    “I wish I was fighting during the time that GSP was around, I would have loved to have shared the Octagon with him. He’s one of the greats, as was Anderson Silva – he was such a beast.”

    Holloway signed off by explaining the reasoning behind his picks, detailing his own specific criteria and why that eliminates his long time rival, Daniel Cormier.

    “Some people might disagree with my Mount Rushmore, but I’m looking at the way these fighters carried themselves inside and outside of the Octagon, how they were ambassadors for the sport and for the company as well. ‘DC’ is probably going to be mad that he’s not on my Mount Rushmore of MMA, but I don’t like the way he carries himself out of the UFC. He thinks he’s the ‘Daddest Man on the Planet’, he is delusional.”

  • Brandon Royval Explains How Pantoja Title Fight Announcement Aided Him vs. Taira

    Brandon Royval Explains How Pantoja Title Fight Announcement Aided Him vs. Taira

    Brandon Royval came into his recent fight against Tatsuro Taira in a bit of a difficult position regarding the flyweight title picture. The former title challenger has already beaten many of the top contenders but hadn’t been able to defeat the current champion, Alexandre Pantoja.

    This led to some confusion regarding the stakes of his main event clash with Taira. Whilst a win for the rising Japanese contender could have earned him a title shot, that wasn’t necessarily the same case for Royval.

    The idea of either man being next to challenge Pantoja was dispelled on the day of the fight when it was announced that recent signing Kai Asakura will face the champion on his UFC debut in December.

    Royval has already said that the former RIZIN fighter getting the title shot straight off the bat doesn’t bother him because a reshuffle of the division suits him well. He also told Ariel Helwani in a recent interview that this announcement didn’t negatively impact him when it happened on the day he was fighting.

    “Raw Dawg” said that he already knew this fight would be next so it actually helped give him something to aim for going into what ended up being a great fight against Taira that he won via split decision.

    The next title fight coming together gave him a clearer sense of direction so that he could focus on securing the win and moving on to face the winner of Pantoja and Asakura.

    “I knew about that a long time ago. It just gave me a way to aim, you know what I’m saying, and that’s what I wanted. I wanted a direction to go because I’m like, ‘F***, I’m about call out three, four different people, but now that it’s, okay, there’s a title shot. Okay, I got the winner’, and it’s like, I think whoever the winner is, there are certain advantages either way. It’s just like I could go fight in Brazil or I could go fight in Japan and I think if Asakura wins, a fight in Japan would be almost a mandatory I think.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hIB2-YRrqc&t=948s
  • Diego Lopes Responds To Alexander Volkanovski Proposing Interim Title Fight In Australia

    Diego Lopes Responds To Alexander Volkanovski Proposing Interim Title Fight In Australia

    The UFC announced on October 16 that it will be returning to Sydney, Australia on February 8 for UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena. Following the announcement, one of the biggest names from this region spoke to the press about bringing the Octagon back down under.

    Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has been biding his time and taking some well deserved rest in recent months ahead of the upcoming title fight at UFC 308.

    After losing his belt to Ilia Topuria in February, “The Great” is waiting to get a rematch once “El Matador” faces Max Holloway later this month in his first title defense. Speaking to the media in an interview published by Submission Radio, Volkanovski said that he could be interested in other fights if this doesn’t materialize in time for Sydney.

    He said that an interim title fight against the #3-ranked contender Diego Lopes would interest him if it means fighting in front of his home fans once again.

    “Anything with gold with it, I’ll be happy. That’ll just lock me in for whoever it is that wins that anyway. So even if it’s interim, that’s still a big one. I’d say it’d be an exciting one with Lopes, if that was going to happen. If not, it’s Max or Ilia.”    

    Via a post on social media, Lopes also signed off on the idea of stepping inside the Octagon in Sydney next time out. The Brazilian called for a fight with Volkanovski following his latest win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 in September.

    It seems unlikely that the UFC will put an interim title on the line in this division but with Volkanovski only wanting to compete for gold, this clash taking place in Australia could justify it. Lopes’ response was perfectly to the point.

  • Robert Whittaker Says Khamzat Chimaev Isn’t His Toughest Opponent But Is The ‘Most Pressing’

    Robert Whittaker Says Khamzat Chimaev Isn’t His Toughest Opponent But Is The ‘Most Pressing’

    When it comes to fighters that have been put through the ringer at the very highest level, it’s hard to find someone that is more experienced than Robert Whittaker. The former middleweight champion has been facing the very best at 185-pounds for the best part of seven years at this stage in his career.

    With 22 Octagon appearances under his belt, there’s not much that you can throw at “The Reaper” which he won’t have encountered in the past. That being said, his next challenge is somewhat of an enigma.

    The undefeated Khamzat Chimaev has gone from being talked about as a guaranteed future UFC champion to someone that might struggle against the top names in his division. His progress has been significantly halted by two major concerns, his reoccurring health issues and an inability to fight in the United States.

    Despite the fact that he has beaten the likes of Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, one of those wins came when he was fighting at welterweight and his contest with Usman was a close fight that saw the former 170-pound champion step in at middleweight on short notice.

    We will truly find out how good Chimaev is when he faces Whittaker who has already proven his level against the majority of the top contenders to come through the division in the last seven years.

    In an interview with TalkSPORT MMA ahead of their co-main event clash at UFC 308, Whittaker was asked whether Chimaev is his toughest fight to date after all of the top opposition that he has squared off with.

    “No, like I’ve fought the best of the best. I think it’s the most pressing test because it’s unwritten and I think there’s a lot of gravity to this fight because it’s the unknown like as of right now but like, I’ve won a lot of hard fights and I’ve lost a lot of hard fights, I’ve been tested.”

    Though Whittaker doesn’t believe that Chimaev is his most difficult opponent, he does think that this fight will require him to be at his best because he doesn’t fully know what to expect from his opponent.

    “Right now, it’s obviously Chimaev right because it’s unknown, it’s ground that hasn’t been trodden yet. I respect the task at hand and I’m just looking forward to it.”  

  • José Aldo Reacts To Sean O’Malley’s Interest In Future Fight

    José Aldo Reacts To Sean O’Malley’s Interest In Future Fight

    Whether he’s coming off of a win or not, the name of MMA legend José Aldo is always going to carry significant weight in the UFC. His recent loss to Mario Bautista at UFC 307 didn’t seem to hurt the stock of the Brazilian icon at all, partly due to the controversial outcome.

    Aldo is always going to be a big draw, especially at home in Brazil, and that makes it easy for him to jump right into big fights even when his last two opponents have been Bautista and Jonathan Martinez.

    During his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley expressed some interest in facing off with “The King of Rio”. His main focus right now is on securing a rematch with the champion Merab Dvalishvili so he can try to avenge his loss from UFC 306 in September.

    However, “Suga” also stated that if this fight doesn’t materialize, getting to share the Octagon with a legend like Aldo would be “f****** crazy”. There is ten spots in the bantamweight rankings between them but given their name value and the match-up, O’Malley vs. Aldo would be a fight that a lot of people would pay to see.

    Reacting to an article posted by MMA News about O’Malley’s comments, Aldo made it clear in very few characters that he’s also open to this match-up.

    The former featherweight king posted on X, quoting the article and adding two simple emojis to let his fans know what he thinks about the idea of standing across the cage from O’Malley once the former champ is fully recovered from his recent surgery.