MMA News

Author: Kyle Dimond

  • Rafael Fiziev Discusses Potential Opponents For His Return: ‘A Miracle If I Fight With Dustin’

    Rafael Fiziev Discusses Potential Opponents For His Return: ‘A Miracle If I Fight With Dustin’

    The #11-ranked UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev recently took to social media to announce that he has already been accepting fights and dates for his return. “Ataman” has been out of action since September last year where his main event clash at the Apex with Mateusz Gamrot unfortunately ended when he suffered a leg injury in the second round.

    With his manager reportedly stating that he had agreed a fight for the promotion’s return to Saudi Arabia in February, many fans hoped that this would mean a match-up with Dustin Poirier who has also spoken about wanting to fight early on in 2025 in one of his final Octagon appearances.

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Fiziev said that though it would be an honor for him to share the cage with “The Diamond”, he doesn’t think that it is likely to happen.

    “Many people talking something about Dustin like I see some in internet but it’s good. If I fight Dustin, of course it’s good. He’s a legend, he’s a former champion. Yeah for me, it’s like a miracle if I fight with Dustin but I’m not sure with this.”

    Fiziev said in the interview that he has will accept any date that the UFC offer him and would be open to fighting anybody up or down the rankings to get back in the mix. However, he did have one preferred opponent.

    “After my last loss against Gamrot, like after I get surgery, I talk with my manager and I tell him ‘Bro, I want to fight this guy.’ I want a rematch because I still want to feel this pressure, like wrestling pressure and grappling pressure. I still want to fight with elite grappler like him and I still want to check myself against wrestlers like him.”

  • Irish Retailer Delists Drinks Associated With Conor McGregor After Verdict In Sexual Assault Civil Case

    Irish Retailer Delists Drinks Associated With Conor McGregor After Verdict In Sexual Assault Civil Case

    Irish retail giant Musgrave are the latest company to distance themselves from UFC star Conor McGregor following the recent verdict of his sexual assault civil case. Nikita Hand won her case on Friday after claiming that “The Notorious” had sexually assaulted her at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December of 2018.

    IO Interactive were the first company to announce that as a result, they would be ceasing their collaboration with McGregor who had appeared in the popular video game series, Hitman. They stated that they would be removing all content features the Irishman after he was recently added into the game this month.

    The Musgrave-group, which owns Irish brands Supervalu, Centra and Donnybook Fair, have since followed suit. The Currency reported the news, stating that though there hasn’t been an official statement produced by Musgrave, a notice listed several products as being “delisted”.

    Away from the Octagon, McGregor has achieved a lot of success via his varies ties to the alcohol industry. Proximo Spirits purchased the majority stake in his Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey for roughly $600 million back in 2021.

    McGregor has since turned his attention to growing Forged Irish Stout which has also gone on to be a huge brand that is available in major retailors and regularly appears as a sponsor for combat sports events. It remains to be seen whether other major retailers or companies with ties to McGregor will also decide to withdraw the products and collaborations that are associated with the former UFC champ-champ.

  • Daiane Silva, Fighter Hospitalized After Bellator Weight Cut, Out Of Coma

    Daiane Silva, Fighter Hospitalized After Bellator Weight Cut, Out Of Coma

    After a long space of time with no updates, there is finally some positive news regarding the health of Daiane Silva who was hospitalized following a weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut in London on September 14 but the fight was cancelled after Silva was unable to make featherweight, which would have been her first time competing at this weight class.

    It was later reported that she was placed into in an induced coma in London after suffering from kidney failure and some time later, PFL founder Donn Davis spoke about it for the first time as he explained that the PFL’s decision to not speak on the matter was to give Silva and her loved ones some privacy at this time.

    After staying in London for over a month, Silva’s manager Alex Davis recently relayed the latest update to Ariel Helwani who forwarded the news during Monday’s edition of The Ariel Helwani Show. He said that Silva is back in Brazil where she has spending time at a rehabilitation center where she is able to walk and talk.

    Davis also told Uncrowned’s Helwani that there were major concerns that Silva would be on dialysis for the rest of her life but she has since made some positive steps even if it remains unclear whether she will ever make a full MMA return. Davis thanked the PFL, Mike Kogan and Eduardo Lima in particular, for their help during this difficult period.

    He said that the doctors believe that she will make a full recovery.

  • European Champion Ready To Make History As First Father & Daughter To Compete In The UFC

    European Champion Ready To Make History As First Father & Daughter To Compete In The UFC

    England has a new female champion that is ready to compete on the big show following the Cage Warriors event that took place in Newcastle on Saturday night. CW 181 saw the promotion crown Kennedy Freeman as the new women’s bantamweight champion after she stopped Mafalda Carmona.

    Due to the sheer size of the talent pool that is available, Cage Warriors isn’t a promotion that regularly has female champions. In fact, Freeman is the first since Molly McCann departed the roster to sign with the UFC in 2018 but like McCann, there is something special about Freeman.

    Her exciting striking style and finishing ability has meant that she’s been on the radar for some time but after taking a five-year break between 2018-2023, the 6-0 bantamweight didn’t feel ready for whatever the next step would be even when offers came in. In a post-fight interview with the promotion after putting on a dominant performance that saw Carmona withdraw from the fight in the fourth round, her mentality has changed.

    “Whatever offers come, I’m ready for them now. It’s my birthday on Tuesday and I’m 28, I’m getting on now and I think I proved to myself that I can go nearly five rounds. I was ready for a fifth round there. I felt fit, I felt ready. Yeah, I’m ready for the next step.”  

    Freeman moving up to the UFC would be a big moment for her and her family because of their history with the promotion. Her father and coach, Ian Freeman, was the first British fighter to ever step inside the Octagon.

    Making his debut in March of 2000, “The Machine” went on to fight six times in the UFC which included a signature first-round finish over Frank Mir at UFC 38 in 2002 where Matt Hughes defended his welterweight title against Carlos Newton in the main event. During her post-fight interview, Freeman was joined by her father who said that he’s looking forward to watching his daughter tread new ground in the UFC just like he did over two decades ago.

    “I think we’re the only father and daughter in Cage Warriors, who’ve fought on Cage Warriors. I was the first ever British fighter in the UFC and I think the UFC are going to come knocking and when they do, we will be the first ever father and daughter in the UFC so I mean, we’re breaking history every single time.”  

  • PFL Finalist Admits He Nearly Retired Before Fighting For His Second World Championship Win

    PFL Finalist Admits He Nearly Retired Before Fighting For His Second World Championship Win

    This Friday night in Riyadh, Brendan Loughnane looks to become a two-time PFL champion at featherweight. The Brit’s 2024 campaign comes to an end when he faces the undefeated Timur Khizriev in the main event in a fascinating match-up.

    Loughnane’s run in the regular season has consisted of back-to-back finishes against Pedro Carvalho and Justin Gonzales which were followed by a split decision win over Kai Kamaka III. However, what makes his journey to the finals this year so impressive is what happened in 2023.

    After defeating the likes of Bubba Jenkins and Chris Wade in 2022 to become the champion, Loughnane looked to do it again for the second time in a row. Having already beaten the top names in his division, he would have been a big favorite to do just that at the start of the next season.

    After stopping Marlon Moraes in his first bout, the 35-fight veteran was finished for the first time in his career when he was knocked out by Jesus Pinedo in the opening round with Pinedo going on to win the world championship. After taking the rest of 2023 off, the former champion has since returned with a rejuvenated drive.

    Ahead of his return on November 29, Loughnane revealed in a recent interview with Mirror Fighting that after his loss to Pinedo, he contemplated retirement having already set himself and his family up financially by winning the 2022 season. Now, he has the chance to double that by becoming the first of 18 men to beat Khizriev.

    “It was difficult. I didn’t really want to do it again,” he said. “I thought ‘I’m done with this sport. I’ve been knocked out, I’ve got way over $1million in my account. What am I doing this for?’ I had to reassess everything, but I’ve come back and I’ve shown tenacity in the champion that I am. I’ve come back and shown everyone that sometimes you get knocked down in life, or knocked out in my case and you’ve got to come back stronger.”

  • Jon Jones’ Coach Says They’ve Solved More Complex Problems Than Tom Aspinall Before

    Jon Jones’ Coach Says They’ve Solved More Complex Problems Than Tom Aspinall Before

    With Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall both recently claiming that they’ve been speaking to the UFC about what’s next, the conversation regarding the promotion’s two heavyweight champions isn’t going anywhere just yet. The debate as to whether Jones is avoiding a title unification with the interim champion dominated the talking points both before and after UFC 309.

    For many fans, the key reason that they want to see this fight instead of Jones against Alex Pereira, which is certainly the direction that “Bones” has been leaning, is because of the match-up itself. Whilst the heavyweight champion taking on the light heavyweight champion would be a huge fight, Aspinall presents different problems.

    Pereira is an incredibly dangerous striker but as Dana White said himself, going up to heavyweight to face an elite grappler like Jones is a huge ask even for “Poatan” who has defied expectations throughout his entire run in the UFC. In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, Jones’s coach Brandon Gibson spoke about the match-up with Aspinall.

    He believes that Aspinall’s greatest strength, his ability to finish fights so quickly, also creates question marks which may not have existed with previous opponents that they have beaten in the past. Those same unanswered questions aren’t there with Pereira, even if a fight between him and Jones would create other problems instead.

    “He’s had a great heavyweight career so far. I think there’s still a lot of unknowns which could be a benefit to Tom but also a lot of those unknowns could be a big benefit to us like how is he going to do in deep water? How is he going to do in later rounds? There’ll probably be a lot of pressure on him to try to start fast so with all that said, Tom’s not a match-up, like we have respect for all of these great opponents and champions but I think Jon has solved a lot more complex problems.” 

  • VIDEO: IShowSpeed Heads To City Kickboxing, Gets Battered By UFC’s Dan Hooker

    VIDEO: IShowSpeed Heads To City Kickboxing, Gets Battered By UFC’s Dan Hooker

    UFC fighters beating up streamers and social media stars is a trend that has continued to be a talking point throughout 2024. Whilst New Zealand’s Dan Hooker may be one of the kinder fighters to dish out one of these beatings, it can’t be forgotten that “The Hangman” is a trained killer that makes his living inside the Octagon.

    When looking at reoccurring viral patterns, streamer IShowSpeed tends to take things to new levels by taking what others do and elevating them to even more outrageous standards. This meant that during his recent trip to New Zealand, his “IRL stream” wouldn’t have been complete without a stop off at the home of some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet, Auckland’s City Kickboxing.

    A social media clip taken from his stream shows Speed boxing with the UFC lightweight contender who in a real contest, would have forced the referee to step in multiple times even if he was taking it easy.

    Unlike some of the other instances of this trend that seemingly generated more negativity than anything else, the reaction to this clip was slightly different. That’s partly down to Hooker clearly not being someone that is doing this to try and really hurt his opponent and because Speed, across multiple sports, has shown a lot of courage and natural athletic ability which often leaves people impressed rather than scratching their heads.

    Fans reacted via social media with many giving Speed some compliments even if he was totally outclassed as you would expect.

    “Speed doesn’t even look that bad for someone with zero training”

    https://twitter.com/ElonovMMA/status/1860872577364926549

    “Let’s be honest Dan Hooker was taking it easy on him. But props to speed”

    https://twitter.com/sugacoatedwave/status/1860868616042029356

    “That kid has superior physical genetics and if he trained in anything for a year he would give these guys a run for their money.”

    The full stream can be found via Speed’s YouTube channel below:

  • Jamahal Hill Looks Forward To Jiří Procházka Clash: ‘It’s Been A Long Time Coming’

    Jamahal Hill Looks Forward To Jiří Procházka Clash: ‘It’s Been A Long Time Coming’

    A clash between two former UFC light heavyweight champions was recently announced during the post-fight show following the Fight Night event in Macau. After the fact that Jamahal Hill will be facing Jiří Procházka at UFC 311 was seemingly accidently said on the broadcast, it was later reported all over social media.

    With Magomed Ankalaev finally being in position to face Alex Pereira for the title, that leaves the #2 and #3-ranked contenders in the division free to settle a score that has existed for a long time. On January 18 in California, Hill and Procházka will finally put this chapter of their careers behind them.

    When Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to become champion, it was because Procházka had vacated the title due to a significant injury. With Hill defending his title against the returning champion set to be the next fight, the same pattern repeated itself with “Sweet Dreams” giving the title up which was then won by Alex Pereira at UFC 295 last November.

    Since then, “Poatan” has finished both men in consecutive fights meaning that a long-awaited match-up between them makes total sense for the division right now. With the news coming out sooner that expected, Hill did not confirm in his recent interview with Inside Fighting that this would be his next fight though he has teased it multiple times.

    “Yeah we should, there’s gonna be an announcement soon. It’s gonna be announced soon, it’s a good one, it’s a good one.”

    When Hill was asked whether he could provide any hints as to which fight it might be, he said that this contest is long overdue which essentially gives the game away without saying the name of his next opponent.

    “It’s been a long time, it’s been a long time coming.”

    Hill was then asked whether the fight he’s signed for is the one that all the fans expect it to be and though the former champion didn’t want to sign off on this, he made it pretty clear that it’s a big, highly anticipated bout.

    “I don’t know which fight y’all think it’s going to be but I know y’all won’t be disappointed by it.”

  • Henry Cejudo Ranks The Standout Brazilian Stars From The Fighting Nerds

    Henry Cejudo Ranks The Standout Brazilian Stars From The Fighting Nerds

    The Fighting Nerds team out of Brazil has been one of the most exciting stables of fighters to really announce their arrival in 2024. With one fighter signing to the UFC several years ago and proving himself to be a top contender in his division, three other stand outs have made huge impacts inside the Octagon after featuring on last year’s season of the Contender Series.

    With an overall record of 11-0 with nine finishes in the UFC this year, Henry Cejudo recently ranked the four Fighting Nerds competitors that have put their team on the map. Unsurprisingly, he gave top billing to the squad’s unofficial team captain, Caio Borralho.

    Borralho has won seven fights in a row at middleweight to earn himself the #6-ranking with wins over the likes of Jared Cannonier, Paul Craig and Abus Magomedov setting him up for a huge match-up next time out. Cejudo has been particularly impressed with his wrestling and consistency.

    “I got to go with Borralho. His takedown entries are no joke. I wasn’t too sure if he was going to get tired but man, he’s special so I think he’s the first one to lead. Other than him being the first one to lead, I’m going to have to go with Jean Silva.”

    Since producing an upset on Contender Series, Silva has won three fights in a row this year at both featherweight and lightweight. His latest win over Drew Dober earned him a performance of the night bonus and though Cejudo wants to see him, and the following names, get tested against a high-level wrestler, he’s very impressed with what he has seen thus far.

    A fighter that will certainly be in the conversation for breakthrough fighter of the year is Carlos Prates who has finished all four of his opponents this year. A first round knockout against Neil Magny in his first main event at the start of this month saw him enter the welterweight rankings at #13.

    “He’s one that I really want to know how good he really is and I do want to see him get tested in that wrestling department. Does Carlos Prates have that threshold of having somebody like a Shavkat or somebody that’s going to wrestle, a Kamaru Usman, someone that’s going to bring that heavy wrestling feel. How is it that he can handle all of that?”

    Last but not least is the member of the four who fought the most recently, Mauricio Ruffy. A spectacular debut against Jamie Mullarkey opened his UFC account in style but his performance at UFC 309 where he faced James Llontop wasn’t as impressive after he secured a decision win as a massive favorite coming in.

    “He just fought this weekend. Very creative, very dangerous on what he does and I do feel like he is special.”    

  • Billy Quarantillo Says Former Opponent Will Corner Him For Cub Swanson Fight In Tampa

    Billy Quarantillo Says Former Opponent Will Corner Him For Cub Swanson Fight In Tampa

    At the UFC’s upcoming return to Tampa on December 14, Billy Quarantillo is looking to get back in the win column when he takes on a veteran of the featherweight division. In what will be the 25th fight of his UFC tenure, “Killer” Cub Swanson will also look to bounce back.

    In a recent interview with James Lynch for Fight Bananas, Quarantillo provided an interesting key point about his preparations for his next fight that in turn, will bring a significant change to his corner for this particular contest. The 35-year old has spent a large amount of 2024 training alongside PFL and ex-UFC fighter, Shane Burgos.

    The two men faced off inside the Octagon three years ago at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden where they put on one of the best fights of the year. Unfortunately, they had the tough task of following the undisputed fight of the year between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler which opened the main card.

    During Burgos’ time in the UFC, he fought and defeated Swanson via split decision in May of 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Quarantillo said that the time that he has spent training with Burgos and the fact that he has experience sharing the cage with Swanson made him the right man to have in his corner for this fight.

    “We’re locked in. We got Shane Burgos, my old nemesis, he’s actually going to be in my corner which is pretty cool. He has a win over Cub Swanson and he moved down here to Tampa about six months ago and we just hit it off right away. He’s been at my gym pretty much every week helping me out with different aspects of my game, he obviously knows Cub’s game really well and he has some things that he knows will work well on him so I invited him out to my corner.”   

  • Israel Adesanya Reflects On Settling The Feud With Dricus Du Plessis

    Israel Adesanya Reflects On Settling The Feud With Dricus Du Plessis

    We’ve seen it happen time and time again where the tension that exists pre-fight between two competitors is put to bed once they meet inside the Octagon. This was certainly the case in the main event of UFC 305 in August where Israel Adesanya returned to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title.

    The feud dated back over a year and reached boiling point following Du Plessis’ win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 where in his post-fight interview, he was joined in the cage by Adesanya for a heated exchange. Unfortunately, “Stillknocks” wasn’t able to make the quick turn around to fight the champion at UFC 293 but with Adesanya losing the title only for Du Plessis to win it from Sean Strickland at UFC 297, the match-up came back around.

    After Du Plessis submitted “The Last Stylebender” in the fourth round to defend the title in Perth, they shared a brief but respectful exchange in the immediate aftermath. Footage later came out on social media of one final meeting between them backstage where they pleasantly parted ways.

    In a recent appearance on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast, Adesanya spoke about putting the rivalry with Du Plessis to bed.

    “Yeah we’re cool. After the fight, we had a nice discussion, yeah it was cool. Just like a moment and then at the end he said, ‘If you’re ever in South Africa, you know, tap in’ and I was like ‘yeah sure’ and I said when I see you again, I’ll try and kill you and he goes ‘I’ll try and kill you too’ and we just hugged.”

    He said that despite the animosity that previously existed between them, it’s normal for fighters to shake hands and put the past behind them after competing against one another.

    “That’s how most fighters are, there’s only some who take it to that place and then like keep it like that after the fight but nah, we’re all on the same journey and again, he’s achieved his dream now.”  

  • Carlos Ulberg Comments On The Recent Success Of Kickboxers In MMA: ‘It’s A Universal Language’

    Carlos Ulberg Comments On The Recent Success Of Kickboxers In MMA: ‘It’s A Universal Language’

    City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg looks to earn his seventh win in a row inside the Octagon this weekend when he returns in Macau to face former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. The #10-ranked contender at light heavyweight is one of many fighters from his gym and on the UFC roster as a whole that came into the sport with a background in kickboxing.

    Kickboxing has always been a well represented skill set in MMA but for a long time, a lot of these specialist strikers tended to have a cap on their capabilities. It was only the ones that were able to really improve their overall game who achieved a lot of success at the highest level.

    The likes of Ulberg’s teammate Israel Adesanya and the champion of his weight class, Alex Pereira, have shown what is possible for elite level strikers that are able to adapt their games for the Octagon. In a recent interview with Kevin Iole ahead of his return this weekend, Ulberg spoke about the growing number of kickboxers and the success they have in MMA.

    He believes that the main difference is that there is far more emphasis now on creating a skillset for MMA, rather than being a striker with some wrestling and jiu-jitsu added on. This can also be seen with Adesanya saying that other kickboxers from his gym like Navajo Stirling are more well-rounded than he is because they’ve adopted this approach earlier on.

    “A lot more attention is going to MMA in particular. There is not one particular where everyone’s just got a few more tricks now to present themselves with and I feel like if you don’t have the full package then you’re not going to go very far in the division.

    “It’s a universal language when it comes to MMA right now where you kind of have to build all of your skill set in terms of your grappling as well as your stand up game.”

  • Kai Asakura Reveals UFC’s Original Plan For Him Fell Through

    Kai Asakura Reveals UFC’s Original Plan For Him Fell Through

    Fight fans were very surprised to see that Kai Asakura would be fighting for the UFC flyweight title on his Octagon debut at UFC 310. The former RIZIN bantamweight champion is a big star in Japan so it would make sense why the UFC would want to showcase him.

    That being said, plenty of big signings have arrived in the promotion before and not gone straight into a title shot. Fighters like Michael Chandler, Jiří Procházka, Kayla Harrison and Michael “Venom” Page all entered the UFC and went straight into a fight within the top 15 rankings of their divisions.

    When it was announced that Asakura has signed with the MMA leader, it was reported that he would be jumping right into the top five of the flyweight division after deciding to move down from bantamweight which he plans on returning to in the future. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the title challenger was asked whether his discussions with the UFC always involved him facing Alexandre Pantoja for the gold.

    He revealed that the original plan that was put in place was for him to face a top three guy in the division in his debut. Asakura said that once it became clear that this wasn’t happening, an offer he couldn’t refuse landed on his lap instead.

    “We as a team had discussed with them about fighting somebody in the top three and they had agreed to provide a top three challenger for me and we had a fight. It unfortunately fell through and then after that fight fell through, I was given this opportunity to fight for the title and of course, we took it right away.”  

    The proposed fight that Asakura may be referring to was a match-up with Brandon Royval that “Raw Dawg” said he was offered for UFC 305 this past August. Royval instead went on to face Asakura’s fellow Japanese standout, Tatsuro Taira, in October.

  • Muhammad Mokaev’s First Fight Since UFC Departure Announced

    Muhammad Mokaev’s First Fight Since UFC Departure Announced

    The MMA return of the undefeated flyweight Muhammad Mokaev has been confirmed for BRAVE CF 91 on December 13. In his return to the promotion where he made his pro debut, “The Punisher” will face Luthando Biko at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Bahrain.

    Mokaev was announced to have re-signed with the promotion shortly after his parting of ways with the UFC opened up a lot of questions about his future. He initially left BRAVE with a record of 5-0 before going on to make his UFC debut in March of 2022 in London.

    After submitting Cody Durden in less than a minute of being inside the Octagon, it was clear that this incredibly accomplished amateur was going to be one to watch. Subsequent wins over Charles Johnson, Malcolm Gorden, Jafel Filho and Tim Elliott only added to that.

    Beating Alex Perez and Manel Kape via decision put him right into the flyweight title picture even if both fights weren’t the most entertaining but his conduct inside the Octagon wasn’t why his UFC career ended as it was still getting started. Dana White announced in his UFC 304 post-fight press conference that the promotion would not be re-signing Mokaev after he fought out of his contract due to the issues he has created outside of the cage.

    His next opponent, Biko, will also be making his BRAVE debut having fought the majority of his career in South African promotion, EFC. The 34-year old has a record of 12-3 and is a former EFC flyweight and bantamweight champion.

    After leaving that promotion, he has earned back-to-back wins on UAE Warriors and French promotion ARES FC before stepping into the biggest fight of his career to date. BRAVE CF 91 will be the first event in a double-header for the promotion with two events taking place in Bahrain within a few days of one another.

    Bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele is set to return in the main event on December 13 to defend his title against Nicholas Hwende. Ndebele recently won back-to-back fights against former UFC fighter Jose “Shorty” Torres to close out their trilogy for the 135-pound title.

  • Deiveson Figueiredo Says Petr Yan ‘Won’t Even Compare’ To Him In One Area

    Deiveson Figueiredo Says Petr Yan ‘Won’t Even Compare’ To Him In One Area

    Top five bantamweights meet for the first time in this weekend’s UFC Macau main event in what should be a fascinating clash of styles. When it comes to fighters who are always exciting to watch, former UFC champions Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo have to be on that list.

    Both men are very well-rounded competitors but it’s no secret that they prefer to keep the fight standing the majority of the time. The idea of seeing Yan’s incredible combinations going up against the one-punch power of Figueiredo is enough to get fight fans tuning in from all over the world but the former flyweight king believes that he holds a huge advantage over his next opponent in one specific area.

    Since moving up to bantamweight following the conclusion of his four fights with Brandon Moreno, Figueiredo has beaten Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera. Though he chose to grapple against Garbrandt, where he secured the submission win at UFC 300, “Deus da Guerra” is usually happy to stand and strike because of the power he possesses and the speed advantage he has at 135-pounds.

    In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, the Brazilian was asked about Yan’s lack of finishes in his recent fights. Figueiredo responded by saying, via translator Fabiano Buskei, that he respects the striking of “No Mercy” and is looking forward to testing him there even though, in his opinion, he is levels above him in the grappling.

    “I did see the flaws and he poses a threat there on the kickboxing side but I mean, I won’t even compare his grappling to mine because I just think I’m so much better. I mean I’m a threat at grappling, he does not want to grapple with me. He’d get taken down and finished in that but I want to use my punching power and I want to knock him out in this fight.”    

  • UFC Analyst Believes Colby Covington Was Pushed Into Buckley Fight: ‘You Got To Step Up!’

    UFC Analyst Believes Colby Covington Was Pushed Into Buckley Fight: ‘You Got To Step Up!’

    Following the major reshuffling of the cards that took place at welterweight, the former interim champion Colby Covington is set to return next month to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa.

    “Chaos” replaced Ian Machado Garry who in turn, replaced Belal Muhammad in order to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. Covington and Garry have been going back-and-forth at several points throughout the year with the Irishman accusing, both before and after this fight was announced, the #6-ranked contender of ducking him.

    In three of Covington’s last five appearances inside the Octagon, three of them have been in welterweight title fights. He rebounded from both losses to Kamaru Usman by beating Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal before challenging Leon Edwards in his latest outing at UFC 296 last year where he was convincingly beaten over five rounds.

    Some fans weren’t happy to see Covington got the title shot against Edwards having not fought since his win over Masvidal in March of 2022 and that only increased following his disappointing performance against “Rocky”. When UFC analyst and fellow welterweight Michael Chiesa broke down this fight in an interview with Sportskeeda, he said that Buckley’s hunger is what wins him this fight.

    Chiesa believes that Covington was likely persuaded to take this fight by the UFC rather than it being an opportunity that he was biting their hand off for.

    “Buck, Buck all day. I think Joaquin Buckley is an incredible athlete, tremendous power, very, very hungry and that is the most important part in this match-up between Colby and Joaquin. Buckley is war more hungry than Colby Covington, I can tell you that much, like Buckley is chomping at the bit to fight anybody and everybody. 

    “I think that Colby, I don’t know, I have a feeling, I haven’t heard anything but I have a feeling that the UFC was like, ‘You have to take this fight. At some point, you got to step up.’ I know you kind of got to sweeten the pot with Colby to get him into the Octagon and get him competing but it’s got to the point where it’s like you fought for the title three times, you don’t get the extra flavor to your dish for taking a fight. It’s like you have to just start fighting if you want to get to a title. You can’t have any guarantees.”   

  • Gordon Ryan Describes ‘Inspiring’ Experience In Jon Jones’ UFC 309 Camp & Corner

    Gordon Ryan Describes ‘Inspiring’ Experience In Jon Jones’ UFC 309 Camp & Corner

    Alongside the former Olympic gold medallist wrestler Gable Steveson, another elite grappler joined Jon Jones’ team for his return to the Octagon at UFC 309. When it comes to heavyweight MMA, there is still some debate over who the very best is even after Jones defended the title in dominant fashion this past weekend.

    The same cannot be said in no-gi grappling where Gordon Ryan is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, like Jones is in mixed martial arts. “The King” will have been an invaluable training partner for the heavyweight champion and the short footage of them training together during the UFC’s Countdown episode for the card was interesting enough let alone getting to watch full sessions.

    After Jones retained the gold at Madison Square Garden, Ryan posted on his Instagram to reflect on the time that he was able to spend alongside Jones and his closely knit team.

    “It is very inspiring to be around greatness. As a fan, I want to see him continue because he’s as exciting as they come and never loses. As a coach, I want to see him continue because despite being better than everyone else, there is so much more for him to learn. As a friend, I want to see him to whatever his heart desires. I want him to press forward if he wants or to leave the sport on top after being on top since the very beginning. I want to see him happy regardless of what he decides to do next.

    “I can’t take credit for any part of Jon’s career, but I am very thankful to be a small part of such an amazing legacy. Thank you for choosing me to help you, and thank you for your friendship. Enjoy this time off that you deserve, and don’t let anyone tell you what to do. Not the fans, not the fighters, only you. You’re the one and only.”

    Last but not least, Ryan gave thanks to several other parties that played a role in this invaluable experience for him including the UFC staff, the rest of Jones’ team and the man that “Bones” stood across from in the Octagon, the great Stipe Miocic who retired after the fight.

    “Also, big thanks to the @ufc for making my experience at the event smooth as ever, as always. Thank you to the rest of the coaches in the camp, all the drilling partners, and all of the pieces that completed the puzzle that is Jon Jones. Being a legend and first responder, I think we were all a little sad to see @stipemiocic lose and retire, but that’s the game. Thank you, legend, for an amazing career. I’ve always been a fan, and I can’t wait to see you at your HOF induction.”

  • Paul Hughes Looks To Secure Revenge For Ireland Against Dagestan: ‘I’ll Find Out Where Islam’s At’

    Paul Hughes Looks To Secure Revenge For Ireland Against Dagestan: ‘I’ll Find Out Where Islam’s At’

    At the PFL’s Battle of the Giants event, Paul Hughes was one of the biggest stories of the night following his great performance. The Irish lightweight was considered to be one of the brightest rising talents in the sport but in a huge step-up against AJ McKee, he showed that he’s the present as well as the future by beating him via the scorecards.

    Just like he wanted to face McKee so that he could make a statement, Hughes knew exactly who was in his sights after getting his hand raised. “Big News” called for a fight with Bellator lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, which has since been confirmed for January 25 in Dubai in one of the best match-ups that the promotion could possibly put together.

    The challenger also did a lot of the heavy lifting for the PFL when it comes to marketing this fight after on the mic, he pitched it as Dagestan vs Ireland 2. The promotion has ran with that tagline when the fight was announced yesterday, setting it up as the second chapter to the biggest fight in MMA history between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

    In a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, Hughes said that evening the score by getting some revenge for “The Notorious” by beating Khabib’s cousin next time out is a big source of motivation for him. He doesn’t see this being the decider either, teasing the potential of a trilogy bout with the UFC’s lightweight king, Islam Makhachev further down the line.

    “Yeah 100%, I’m going to make it 1-1 for the boys definitely and maybe in the future, make it 2-1. I’ll find out where Islam’s at and maybe do that in the future but I’ll not get ahead of myself now. Usman’s an incredibly, incredibly dangerous fighter that I have to be on my game to beat.”

  • Israel Adesanya Details Lapse In Concentration That Cost Him At UFC 305

    Israel Adesanya Details Lapse In Concentration That Cost Him At UFC 305

    In his return to the Octagon at UFC 305, there were a lot of positives to take from Israel Adesanya’s middleweight title fight with Dricus Du Plessis even if he was defeated. “The Last Stylebender” failed to capture the 185-pound gold for a third time but it was clear that his time away from the spotlight had produced some benefits.

    Heading into the championship rounds, the challenger appeared to be in the ascendancy but eventually, in the fourth round, the unwavering persistence of “Stillknocks” paid off and he was able to catch Adesanya, take him down and secure the rear-naked choke. The former champion said in the aftermath of the fight that he was happy with his performance but he made some crucial mistakes that cost him.

    During a recent appearance on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast, Adesanya spoke more in detail about the mistake that he made right at the end of the fight.

    “The mistake was just a lapse in focus cuz I tripped, bad footwork, and I tripped and then that was when he was kind of throwing at me and people thought like ‘Oh! You hurt him’ and I got up and I was like (points) the ground.”

    He said that though some may have thought he was pointing to the ground to beckon Du Plessis on, he was instead trying to make the point that he had tripped rather than stumbling due to any damage that he had taken. He went on to say that in his previous fights, you never see him lose concentration for a single second.

    The one instance that the City Kickboxing fighter referenced where he did take his eyes off his opponent was during his fight with Derek Brunson where he gestured towards the referee because Brunson grabbed his shorts multiple times. Adesanya believes that this one moment swung the fight against Du Plessis in the defending champion’s favor with the finish quickly following it.

    “Even that moment right there, I shouldn’t have. Just stay focused on the task at hand cuz you need 30 minutes of focus while you’re in there so you can’t even have just a lapse in judgment for a split second because if not, people can jump on you and capitalize and I’ve done that to people as well but this time, it got done to me.”

  • UFC’s 2025 Plans For Mexico Reported, Including Noche UFC In Guadalajara

    UFC’s 2025 Plans For Mexico Reported, Including Noche UFC In Guadalajara

    The UFC appears to be returning to Mexico City early next year as the first quarter of 2025 continues to take shape. A recent report from Claro Sports’ Alfredo Bush detailed the promotion’s plans for a Fight Night event on March 29 which could be followed up later in the year with a much bigger show.

    Early next year, Mexico is set to have it’s second-largest arena be completed with a new 20,000 capacity venue for live events. Arena Guadalajara unfortunately won’t be available to the UFC in the early part of 2025 hence why Mexico City is the planned destination for March.

    Bush reports that offers have already been received for that particular date which would likely see the promotion return to Arena CDMX which previously hosted the Fight Night event that was headlined by the rematch between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval this past February.

    The recent news stated that Arena Guadalajara will instead be the target for the third annual instalment of Noche UFC in September which has previously been hosted at the T-Mobile Arena and Sphere, both in Las Vegas. This new arena presents a lot of exciting options for the UFC with a hungry fanbase waiting for the Octagon to arrive in the home of the former flyweight champion, Alexa Grasso.

    Guadalajara also makes logistical sense due to the elevation not being quite so steep as it is in Mexico City though it still would be a factor in any event that takes place there.
    Rodrigo Del Campo González posted the key details of the UFC’s plans for Mexico on X where he pointed out that this would be the second time that the promotion has hosted two events in Mexico in the same year.

    The last time around, in 2015, Cain Velasquez defended his heavyweight title against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188 whilst later on in the year, Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum headlined a Fight Night event in Monterrey which failed to become a regular destination for the promotion for a variety of reasons.

  • Former UFC Champion Wants To Fight ‘Fake’ Israel Adesanya If He Ever Returns

    Former UFC Champion Wants To Fight ‘Fake’ Israel Adesanya If He Ever Returns

    In 2021, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley departed the UFC to explore the next phase of his career. Four consecutive losses inside the Octagon brought an end to his 16-fight run with the promotion which saw him win the title at 170-pounds and record three title defenses, four if you count the draw in his first fight with Stephen Thompson.

    “The Chosen One” then went into boxing where he became the second major name from MMA to face Jake Paul in the ring. After losing a split decision in their first encounter, he was then knocked out in a rematch in December of 2018.

    Woodley has not returned to competition since then but he has spoken about substantial offers that he has regularly received to dust off the gloves for one last dance. In a recent interview with Plejmo, the former champion spoke about who he would want to share the Octagon with if he did ever make a return to the UFC.

    The 42-year old said that there’s one current star in the promotion in particular who is in and around his weight class that he would like to lock horns with. Woodley went on to voice his opinions regarding the former two-time UFC champion Israel Adesanya who he believes is “fake”.

    “I never thought about going back, but now when I look at the UFC, there’s not that many stars. Alex Pereira is a beast. He’s a big-ass 205 pounder, so I can’t see myself getting in there with him. Israel Adesanya is a fighter I would definitely fight. I’m not a huge fan of his. I just don’t like people that are just fake. He was conveniently African. Before that he was UK. Before then, he was like an avatar breakdancing guy.  The UFC needs some star power in there. There’s a lot of fighters that are kind of in my class of fighting that’s still fighting in the UFC. Some of those fights would be kind of cool.”

  • Former UFC Fighter’s Opponent For Boxing Debut ‘Bails’ Over Reported Pay Dispute Day Of The Fight

    Former UFC Fighter’s Opponent For Boxing Debut ‘Bails’ Over Reported Pay Dispute Day Of The Fight

    Former UFC light heavyweight Tyson Pedro has long been planning to make his boxing debut after stepping away from MMA earlier this year. In March, the 33-year old announced his retirement following a loss to Vitor Petrino at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

    He then planned to step through the ropes and booked a pro boxing debut against Kris Terzievski for June 12 in Australia that was cancelled after Pedro pulled out of the fight in May due to an injury. Terzievski is a 12-1 pro who has competed exclusively in Australia since making his debut back in 2016.

    The match-up was then rescheduled to take place on November 20 where the WBC International and Australasian bridgerweight titles would be on the line. On the day of the fight, the bout was cancelled with reports that there was a pay dispute on Terzievski’s side which led to him flying home, as seen below:

    Pedro gave his side of the story in an interview with the event’s broadcaster, Stan Sport.

    “I’ve come from the biggest promotion, the UFC, in the world and I picked the best bridgerweight in the country and he bailed on me so I expected him to run in the ring but I didn’t expect him to run in the sea.”

    Pedro detailed how he was told that the fight might not go ahead before it was clear that he would no longer be headlining the card.

    “I got a call saying that he might be, I won’t go into details, the truth will come out of everything that’s happened but yeah, I just got a call, maybe it was off, maybe it was on and I didn’t understand it and then I found out that he was on a plane so.”   

    Having been booked against the same opponent twice already, the former UFC light heavyweight who fought 11 times inside the Octagon isn’t too confident about trying to run this fight one more time.

    “If you leave me standing at the aisle, how can you ask me to marry you again?”

  • UFC Analyst References Training Footage To Break Down Rakhmonov vs. Garry

    UFC Analyst References Training Footage To Break Down Rakhmonov vs. Garry

    The co-main event of UFC 310 next month may be a replacement match-up but as far as a stand-in fights go, they don’t get much better than this one. One undefeated streak will come to an end in Las Vegas as Shavkat Rakhmonov faces Ian Machado Garry over five rounds.

    Though there isn’t an interim title on the line following Belal Muhammad’s withdrawal from the card like many expected there would be, both men know what is at stake in this top level clash in the welterweight division. In fact, the two competitors also know a bit about each other already due to the period of time where they were both training out of Kill Cliff FC in Florida.

    Following the fight announcement, a video of the opponents sparring some light rounds with one another went out on social media and though there wasn’t much to gain from this footage, it did show that both men have squared off in the past.

    As a result, UFC analyst and fellow welterweight contender Michael Chiesa believes that this familiarity will show in the fight. He spoke in a recent interview with Sportskeeda about his thoughts on the bout that will take place the same night as his return against Max Griffin.

    Chiesa believes that the element of surprise could decide this fight because of how skilled both fighters are as well as the element of already experiencing each other’s games first-hand.

    “I’ll keep it short. There’s some sparring footage that came out of Ian Garry and Shavkat. I think that they’re both gonna be very familiar with each other and I will go out on a limb and say I think this fight goes to a decision. I think these guys are familiar with each other enough to where they’re going to negate a few of the attacks and it’s going to be a matter of who can come in there and throw a new wrinkle into their game to throw off the opponent.”  

  • Cédric Doumbé Hints At Baki Rematch In A Huge Stadium In France Next Year: ‘I Won’t Say More…’

    Cédric Doumbé Hints At Baki Rematch In A Huge Stadium In France Next Year: ‘I Won’t Say More…’

    Cédric Doumbé is still hoping to avenge the one and loss on his MMA record following one of the most controversial endings to a fight in recent times. After winning his PFL debut in just 9 seconds, the French superstar received a step-up for his next test.

    The striking specialist faced off with the undefeated Baysangur Chamsoudinov, or Baki for short, in March this year where their main event at the Accor Arena in Paris became a huge talking point. The fight was waved off by referee Marc Goddard in the third round after Doumbé wanted to pause the action due to a splinter that was in his foot.

    It wasn’t clear whether Baki would re-sign to the promotion following some negative comments that he made about the PFL but in June, it was announced that he had put pen to paper on a new multi-fight deal that would seemingly set up the rematch for the near future.

    Doumbé spoke about this in a recent interview with RMC Sport where he said that the rematch is definitely on the cards now that they’re both back under the same banner.

    “The return match will definitely take place. If the PFL, the organization in which I fight, decided to sign Baki, it is only for this revenge that the whole world is waiting for after the frustration of this famous thorn that is very notorious today.”

    He went on to say that he thinks the fight will happen later on in 2025, suggesting that the PFL has other plans for him early next year. He added that he thinks the fight will take place in a stadium in France but did not share any specific details.

    “In the second quarter of 2025. In France, undeniably, the French public must see this. There will probably be a stadium bigger than Bercy. A stadium that looks like the Parc, I won’t say more.”

  • Bellator Title Contender Announces Free Agency: ‘Who Wants An Exciting Welterweight?’

    Bellator Title Contender Announces Free Agency: ‘Who Wants An Exciting Welterweight?’

    Former Bellator title contender Lorenz Larkin has announced that he is currently a free agent after fighting out his contract. “The Monsoon” had recently said in interviews that he would be in talks with the PFL about re-signing but his latest statement seems to suggest that he is exploring all options right now.

    The final fight of his contract was listed as a welterweight title eliminator at the Bellator Champions Series event in San Diego this past September. After stopping Levan Chokheli in the first round, it seemed clear that he would go on to challenge the undefeated Ramazan Kuramagomedov who won the title by beating Jason Jackson in June.

    After competing both in Strikeforce and the UFC, Larkin signed with Bellator in 2017 after securing back-to-back wins in the Octagon over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny making his switch a fairly substantial acquisition. This showed in his debut as he jumped right into a welterweight title shot where he lost a decision to Douglas Lima.

    If this is the end of Larkin’s run with Bellator, he departs having fought 12 times with the promotion with one additional appearance on a PFL card this past June. The 38-year old posted a video on his Instagram story to talk about the next stage of his career.

    “Hey, so just wanted to keep everybody updated who’s interested, your boy is officially a free agent. Me and my team can officially start talking to other promotions. I’m excited, this is another part of the career that we gotta do so I’m pumped, excited for what the future brings and excited to see who wants an exciting welterweight to come in so let’s see.”