MMA News

Author: Thomas Albano

  • Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van To Headline UFC 323 On December 6

    Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van To Headline UFC 323 On December 6

    The UFC will close out it’s 2025 pay-per-view schedule, as well as its era of ESPN+ pay-per-views, with UFC 323, which will take place on December 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and feature two title fights.

    In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili will get his wish — an opportunity to become the first UFC champion to successfully defend his title four times in a calendar year. To accomplish this, he will need to get through former champion Petr Yan.

    Dvalishvili and Yan previously met in the main event of UFC Las Vegas in March 2024, with Dvalishvili picking up a unanimous decision win.

    Since then, Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306, and he has successfully retained the gold against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, O’Malley at UFC 316, and, recently, Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320.

    Yan has won three straight, scoring decisions over Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee. Yan won the bantamweight title with a finish of Jose Aldo at UFC 251 but lost the title on an infamous disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling. He’d win the interim title by defeating Sandhagen but lost an undisputed title rematch with Sterling.

    UFC 323 To Be Headlined By Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van

    As spoiled days ago at UFC Rio, the flyweight title will be on the line in the co-main event, as Alexandre Pantoja defends against Joshua Van.

    Since winning the flyweight title from Brandon Moreno at UFC 290, Pantoja has retained the gold against Brandon Royval at UFC 296, Steve Erceg at UFC 301, Kai Asakura at UFC 310, and Kai Kara-France at UFC 317. Van, who is 8-1 since joining the UFC, has had a major climb up the UFC’s flyweight ranks in 2025. Van defeated Rei Tsuruya at UFC 313, finished Bruno Silva at UFC 316, and won a short-notice war with Royval at UFC 317 to earn the title shot.

    UFC 323 will also feature Moreno in action against Tatsuro Taira, in a bout that could have implications on the challenger of the Pantoja vs. Van winner.

    UFC 323 will also see former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo in action against Payton Talbott and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz taking on Bogdan Guskov.

    All of the announced fights for UFC 323 so far can be found below:

    • Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan
    • Flyweight Championship: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
    • Flyweight: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
    • Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
    • Light Heavyweight: Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
    • Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
    • Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
    • Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli
    • Lightweight: Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
    • Lightweight: Fares Ziam vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Editorial: Harsher Penalties Needed For Weight Misses In MMA

    Editorial: Harsher Penalties Needed For Weight Misses In MMA

    It’s unfortunately not uncommon for an MMA card to feature a fighter who missed weight for their bout. UFC Rio, however, presented us with a truly ridiculous case.

    The opening bout of the evening saw Luan Lacerda taking on Saimon Oliveira — a fighter who missed weight by eight pounds. The bout ended up contested at 144 pounds, making it more like a featherweight contest than a bantamweight one. Oliveira also had to weigh in under a certain amount for the fight to even go on.

    Lacerda won the fight anyway, avoiding the controversial idea of a fighter missing weight on purpose to get an advantage in the fight — as well as fighter pay issues in circumstances such as these. Oliveira, in fact, looked terrible and drained, and his UFC future is probably in doubt.

    ufc mma
    Photo By Tim Wheaton

    But that doesn’t get us away from the debate over how weight misses in MMA should be handled. Oliveira ended up forfeiting 50 percent of his fight purse, which means he didn’t make a lot of money for this loss. Traditionally, commissions penalize MMA fighters 20-30 percent of their purse for such weight misses, so this kind of fine is a good statement.

    Perhaps that could set a precedent for other potential penalties that could be “perfect” solutions for these kinds of issues.

    Percentage Increase For Fines With Each Weight Miss

    This idea is based off of the bigger fines for bigger weight misses in MMA — and the extreme case in the case of Oliveira from UFC Rio.

    Essentially, in this scenario, a second (or later) weight miss after an initial one results in an increased set minimum of fine for the fighter that misses weight. While, as discussed, most circumstances see an MMA fighter get fined a minimum of 20 percent of their fight purse for a weight miss, a second weight miss would mean the fighter’s minimum fine gets increased to 25 percent.

    Let’s use Charles Oliveira as an example. The weight miss for his 2012 bout with Cub Swanson would have resulted in the normal 20 percent purse fine. But his second weight miss, which came against Jeremy Stephens, would see a minimum of a 25 percent purse fine with this rule, and a minimum 30 percent for his weight miss against Myles Jury. That said, an extreme case — such as Oliveira’s 10-pound miss against Ricardo Lamas — could result in a percentage fine that is more than the minimum.

    This rule can also apply to just a certain timespan, such as 12-18 months. In a case like this, Charles Oliveira’s weight miss against Stephens would still just be a 20 percent minimum, since it came two years after the Swanson fight. But the weight miss against Jury would see the bump up in minimum since it came a year later.

    Forcing Fighters To Move Up After Two Weight Misses

    If weight cutting isn’t going to go away in this sport, since MMA fighters and their teams love to have the size advantage in a fight, then perhaps we need to more strictly come down on fighters who can’t keep up on the weight cutting responsibility to maintain such advantages.

    In this circumstance, a second weight miss results in the fighter being mandated to move up in weight class. There are no exceptions. Whether it’s a fighter who is fighting on the undercard, or a fighter who was nearing a title shot in a weight class, a second weight miss means their run in that division is over. They must move up in weight or they will not be permitted a license to fight.

    It sounds harsh. But the intention is to fight back against the harm done to one’s body during a weight cut — and to fight back against a fighter who might willingly miss on purpose (like Yana Santos accused Macy Chiasson of doing recently). The California State Athletic Commission, in fact, has rules in place that can force fighters to move up depending on how much weight they are cutting and rehydrating to, or fight cancelations depending on the extremity of an MMA fighter’s weight miss.

    But with this case, it’s not just fighters and state athletic commissions who have to take responsibility, it would also be on the promotions to be required to follow such measures.

    UFC 322 Card Heats Up With Massive Lightweight Clash On Nov. 15
    Image: UFC/Facebook

    Automatic One-Point Deduction On The Scorecards

    This is perhaps the harshest of all circumstances, but I believe it is one that might be necessary to get improvements moving — and it is the one I most support.

    In this circumstance, a fighter who misses weight is brought to the center of the cage right away and issued a one-point deduction immediately as the fight starts. This means that this fighter can only earn a maximum of nine points for the opening round and essentially must sweep three rounds on two judges’ scorecards to get a decision win. Losing a round would mean a fight that goes to the scorecards sees that fighter only able to earn a draw at best.

    The PFL did something like this when using its regular season-playoff format. A fighter who missed weight lost one point in the standings, and that later saw a change where that fighter was unable to earn any points in the standings. There was also the controversial losing one point implementation in PFL Europe’s tournament format. Regardless of what you think of the PFL’s usage of these created ideas, I think they were getting somewhere with how hard you need to come down on fighters for this circumstance.

    Making weight is a matter of professionalism. And if we can’t get rid of it in MMA, then we have to come down harshly on it for the respect of those fighters who are responsible with their weight cutting and for those MMA fighters who hold making weight in necessary regard.

    Who knows if any of these ideas actually get implemented in the future? But hopefully we as an MMA community can discuss these ideas to bring about necessary change for the sake of the fighters and the sport as a whole.

    UFC
    Photo By Tim Wheaton
  • 6 Hits And 3 Misses Of UFC Rio: Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot

    6 Hits And 3 Misses Of UFC Rio: Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot

    The UFC returned to one of the biggest cities in South America last night, as UFC Rio took place from the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    This event marked the first time the UFC has touched down in Rio since it hosted UFC 301 in May 2024, an event that saw Alexandre Pantoja hold off Steve Erceg to retain the UFC flyweight title. It was also the first Fight Night card in Rio de Janeiro since March 2015, which saw Demian Maia score a decision win over Ryan LaFlare in the main event.

    This night’s main event featured the popular former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, as he took on Mateusz Gamrot. Oliveira had traded losses and wins since losing the UFC lightweight title three years ago, and this was his first fight since getting knocked out by Ilia Topuria for the belt at UFC 317 in June. Gamrot took this fight on short notice after Rafael Fiziev fell out due to injury. Gamrot had won four of his last five, most recently scoring a decision over L’udovit Klein at UFC Vegas 107 in May.

    The bantamweight co-main event also featured a former Brazilian UFC champion, as former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo took on Montel Jackson. Figueiredo had lost two straight, and this was Figueiredo’s first fight since getting stopped by recent title challenger Cory Sandhagen at UFC Des Moines in May. Jackson had won six straight, having most recently defeated Daniel Marcos at UFC Des Moines.

    Who showed out in Rio? Who fell short of expectation? Let’s go into it all with the Hits and Misses of UFC Rio!

    Miss: Eight-Pound Weight Difference Is Inexcusable

    I don’t want to take away the credit from Luan Lacerda. He wanted to fight, he wanted the opportunity to earn his win bonus, and he got it. But that doesn’t take away from how inexcusable it was for a fighter, Saimon Oliveira in this case, to miss weight by eight pounds and put the bout’s status in jeopardy until the day of the fight.

    Oliveira’s weight was closer to featherweight than it was to bantamweight. There are some commissions that might have scrapped the fight then and there. And if that was the case, it would have been highway robbery for Lacerda.

    Yes, weight cutting is a dangerous aspect of combat sports that needs to still be addressed. Yes, the pay structure of the sport is something that needs to be addressed. But this kind of weight miss is something that can universally be shamed, and should bring about ideas for not just commissions, but also promotions, to address on how such actions should be penalized more harshly.

    Hit: “Lady GOAT” Bia Mesquita One To Watch

    Bia Mesquita is a legend of jiu-jitsu. And while she may just be an MMA rookie, her run thus far has been impressive, leading to a highly successful UFC debut at UFC Rio.

    Mesquita flat out dominated Irina Alekseeva, taking her down early in the first round and dominating from full mount with ground-and-pound and top pressure. That continued into the second round, where she quickly locked up a rear-naked choke to score the submission win.

    There’s no guarantee that Mesquita becomes the top dog at women’s bantamweight, but she still presents, as one MMA media mentioned on social media, a needed shot in the arm for women’s 135. And maybe one day, whether for a belt or not, we get a fantastic jiu-jitsu vs. judo battle between her and current champion Kayla Harrison.

    Hit: Heavyweight Vitor Petrino

    Vitor Petrino was on an impressive run at light heavyweight before suffering the first two losses of his career last year to Anthony Smith and and Dustin Jacoby. But his victory over Thomas Petersen may have shown that he may have more opportunities of success competing at heavyweight.

    Petrino dropped Petersen during the first round and completely nullified his attempts to wrestle. Petrino’s striking appeared to be on point until he started to fatigue in the later portions of round two. Fortunately for him, he needed mere seconds of round three to land a two-punch combination to drop Petersen out cold for the victory.

    Petrino obviously needs to work on his gas tank, but with how weak heavyweight is right now in the UFC, he might find himself in the rankings of that division sooner than later.

    Hit: Jafel Filho’s Future At Flyweight Bright?

    Known as “The Pastor,” Jafel Filho has put his own kind of blessings on the Octagon. And he did so in emphatic fashion in front of a native crowd at UFC Rio, needing just under one full round to finish Clayton Carpenter.

    Filho wobbled Carpenter early before scoring a takedown, controlling all of the fight with his top-pressure grappling. Filho worked his way to the back and tried to sink in a rear-naked choke. When he couldn’t do that, Filho transitioned successfully into a nasty kimura lock for the win.

    Filho moves to 17-4 as a pro. Though he’s just 3-2 in the UFC, one of his wins has come against Ode’ Osbourne, his DWCS win came against Roybert Echeverria, and his only two Octagon losses have come to Muhammad Mokaev and Allan Nascimento. I’d call that a strong resume, and I wouldn’t mind Filho’s next fight or two coming against lower-ranked flyweights to give him an opportunity to earn a number next to his name.

    Hit: Michael Aswell Jr. Silences Brazil Crowd

    Talk about leaving people speechless. The Brazilian crowd and their support was no match for the talent of Michael Aswell Jr., who quickly put away Lucas Almeida.

    Aswell cracked Almeida in the opening seconds and didn’t let up with striking pressure, going for the win almost immediately. Almeida tried to fight back but ended up seated and slumped against the fence, where Aswell finished him off.

    This was Aswell’s first win after dropping his UFC debut to Bolaji Oki, and he looked quite impressive. Hopefully he gets the chance to compete on UFC 323 — even if he did seem to spoil the confirmation of Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van.

    Miss: Horrid Officiating Yet Again

    Every week there seems to be at least one bad case of bad officiating by a referee involved in the action. And this week, we were “blessed” to have two such instances.

    The first came in Kaan Ofli’s win over Ricardo Ramos that opened up the UFC Rio main card. Ramos pressured Ofli to the fence quickly and appeared to be searching for a tight leg lock. But during those attempts, Ofli used the fence to gain leverage and help himself escape. None of the fence grabs appeared to be warned, let alone noticed, by a veteran referee like Marc Goddard. Ofli would go on to find Ramos’ back and score a rear-naked choke.

    Then came Joel Alvarez’s victory over Vicente Luque. During the opening round, Alvarez connected with a left hand that did damage to Luque’s eye. Luque went down in pain and claimed that he was eye poked. The referee confirmed the shot was a legal blow and appeared to wave the fight off.

    Then, the doctor entered the Octagon. And somehow Luque was given the timeout as though he was actually eye poked. This is all despite the referee’s initial ruling being the correct one — with a fight-pausing/ending sequence actually coming as the result of a legal blow being ruled a TKO. This was made worse by the way when Luque was saying he was done right before the third round, with his corner having to convince him to go out there — which, again, on the ref noticing should have been a TKO ruling.

    Fortunately for Alvarez, he managed to win the fight. But when referees are making mistakes like this, it just continues to flabbergast me how we don’t have real-time corrections and accountability for match officials in this sport.

    Miss: A Bleak Future For Vicente Luque?

    Speaking of Luque vs. Alvarez, man, have things been rough for Vicente Luque.

    This loss now marks his fifth loss in his last seven fights. And while the losses haven’t come to necessarily bad competition, it really is disappointing when you consider that Luque was once in the mix for a potential welterweight title shot just a couple of years ago.

    And this fight may have been Luque’s worst performance yet. If he’s lucky to get another fight, he may have fallen so far that he could fighting for his UFC future. It’s a sad sight to see.

    Hit: Deiveson Figueiredo Finds Victory Again

    It feels weird to say, but Deiveson Figueiredo hadn’t tasted victory in a little over a year when he entered UFC Rio. Fortunately, Figueiredo managed to dig deep and pull off the performance he needed in front of a native crowd to score a decision win.

    Figueiredo scored an early takedown of Jackson and threatened to make it a quick night with multiple submission attempts. The former flyweight champ then controlled the action on the feet and threatened a tight arm-triangle, going on to score a decision win (arguably one that should have been unanimous).

    Figueiredo had come into this bout off losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. And now that he’s back in the win column here, perhaps we wait to see how Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista and (if true) Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong play out before selecting one of those names as a next opponent for him.

    Hit: Charles Oliveira Sends Brazil Into A Frenzy

    Talk about a needed win. It wasn’t one where Charles Oliveira needed to win to show he was still relevant, but after some struggles following losing the lightweight title on the scales a few years ago, Oliveira must have felt like a God after coming out on top in front of a native crowd.

    Oliveira controlled Mateusz Gamrot with grappling throughout the first round, threatening both an Omoplata and a choke. Oliveira then pressured Gamrot with both striking and grappling during the second round, where he proceeded to end things with a choke.

    This was Oliveira’s first fight since getting knocked out by Ilia Topuria at UFC 317, and Oliveira still has his sights on gold — but not the one you think of. Oliveira sent out the challenge to Max Holloway for a BMF title fight, and it appears Holloway accepted. And if I can speak for plenty of the UFC fans, I think this is a fight we’d love to see happen.

  • “Another One” – Max Holloway, Aljamain Sterling, And Other Fighters And Fans React To Charles Oliveira Dominating Mateusz Gamrot With Grappling, Calling Out Max Holloway

    “Another One” – Max Holloway, Aljamain Sterling, And Other Fighters And Fans React To Charles Oliveira Dominating Mateusz Gamrot With Grappling, Calling Out Max Holloway

    The homecoming of Charles Oliveira is a highly successful one, as he showed off his grappling en route to scoring a victory over Mateusz Gamrot in the main event of UFC Rio.

    Oliveira landed a solid one-two to start, and Gamrot responded with a takedown. Oliveira’s submission game then came into play, threatening an Omoplata and an armbar before an escape by Gamrot. Oliveira then got to Gamrot’s back on a scramble threatening chokes until the end of the round.

    Oliveira and Gamrot then did plenty of exchanging in the second round, with Oliveira trying to back Gamrot up with pressure. A couple of minutes into the second round, Oliveira shot in and lifted Gamrot before getting the fight back on the ground. There, Oliveira locked up a rear-naked choke and submitted Gamrot.

    Following the match, after causing an absolute frenzy in Rio, Oliveira called out Max Holloway for a rematch from their 2015 encounter that Holloway won — this time with the BMF title on the line.

    Charles Oliveira Submits Mateusz Gamrot In UFC Rio Main Event

    This was Oliveira’s first fight since being knocked out by Ilia Topuria in their UFC 317 lightweight title fight. He has consistently traded wins and losses since dropping the lightweight title in 2022.

    Gamrot, who took this fight on short notice, is 4-2 in his last six. He came into this fight off a win over L’udovit Klein at UFC Vegas 107 in May.

  • “Levels To This” – Fans And Fighters React To Deiveson Figueiredo Outworking Montel Jackson To Score First Win In 14 Months At UFC Rio

    Deiveson Figueiredo finally finds himself back in the win column, and he does so in front of a native crowd, as he defeated Montel Jackson in the co-main event of UFC Rio.

    Figueiredo managed to get Jackson down early in the opening round, where he threatened both a guillotine choke and a rear-naked choke before Jackson got back to his feet and got the fight back standing. Figueiredo tagged Jackson in the closing seconds of the first, and he then scored another easy takedowns seconds into the second round.

    The former champion worked his way easily into full mount and threatened an arm-triangle choke at one point. While Jackson escaped and started to get into things with exchanges during the second round, Figueiredo continued to control the action as a whole.

    One judge somehow scored the bout 29-28 for Jackson, but the other scored the fight 29-28 for Figueiredo, giving him the split decision win.

    Deiveson Figueiredo Gets Judges’ Nod Over Montel Jackson At UFC Rio

    https://twitter.com/BDr6136/status/1977178025570812345

    Figueiredo rebounds from a pair of losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen over the past year. The former two-time flyweight champion had started his bantamweight run with three straight victories.

    Jackson sees a six-fight win streak snapped in this bout. This is his first loss since dropping a decision to Brett Johns in 2020.

  • “Legend” – Fans And Fighters React As Jose Aldo Lays Gloves Down At UFC Rio

    “Legend” – Fans And Fighters React As Jose Aldo Lays Gloves Down At UFC Rio

    Jose Aldo appeared during the main card of UFC Rio, as the UFC granted him the ability to make one more entrance into the Octagon as he laid the gloves down in the center.

    This formalized the retirement of Aldo, who entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023 before a three-fight comeback between 2024 and 2025.

    Aldo was joined by his family in the Octagon.

    Jose Aldo Lays Gloves Down In Octagon At UFC Rio To Formalize Retirement

    https://twitter.com/MartialMind1/status/1977155233211191595

    Aldo made his professional MMA debut in 2004, winning his first seven fights in a row. After a loss in 2005, Aldo would go on a longer win streak, collecting 18 consecutive victories between May 2006 and December 2015.

    Aldo defeated Mike Brown at WEC 44 for the WEC featherweight title, going on to defend the belt against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan. Aldo then joined the UFC following the WEC merger, starting out his time in the UFC as the inaugural UFC featherweight champion.

    Aldo defended the UFC title seven consecutive times, defeating the likes of Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung-Jung, before losing the title to Conor McGregor at UFC 196. He’d then defeat Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the interim championship before being promoted back to undisputed champion — only to lose the belt to Max Holloway at UFC 212.

    Aldo then dropped to bantamweight and fought Petr Yan for the then-vacant title at UFC 251, getting finished in the fifth round. Aldo’s career seemed to end after a loss to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278.

    In 2023, Aldo fought in a pair of boxing bouts, battling Jeremy Stephens to a draw and scoring a finish of Esteban Gabriel Espindola. Aldo then fought three times for the UFC, defeating Jonathan Martinez before losses to Mario Bautista and Aiemann Zahabi.

  • “Horrible Job By The Ref” – Referee Marc Goddard Blasted For Missing Fence Grabs As Kaan Ofli Goes On To Submit Ricardo Ramos At UFC Rio

    “Horrible Job By The Ref” – Referee Marc Goddard Blasted For Missing Fence Grabs As Kaan Ofli Goes On To Submit Ricardo Ramos At UFC Rio

    Kaan Ofli may have scored the victory at UFC Rio, defeating Ricardo Ramos, but it didn’t come without much controversy following several missed fence grab calls.

    Just seconds into the fight, Ricardo Ramos had Kaan Ofli against the fence, threatening a kneebar. Ofli’s defenses, however, saw him grab the fence multiple times. None of the fence grabs, however, were penalized, or even seemingly noticed, by veteran referee Marc Goddard.

    Ofli would then work his way out of Ramos’ submission attempts before getting to the back in a backpack position. That’s where Ofli managed to lock up a choke to score the tapout, to the boos of the Brazilian crowd that rained down.

    Kaan Ofli Scores Controversial First-Round Submission Of Ricardo Ramos At UFC Rio

    Ofli now scores the first win in his UFC career after losses to Mairon Santos and Muhammad Naimov, the former coming in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter season 32.

    Ramos has now lost four of his last five and is 3-6 in his last nine fights.

  • UFC Rio Fighter Seems To Leak Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van Flyweight Title Fight Confirmation For UFC 323

    UFC Rio Fighter Seems To Leak Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van Flyweight Title Fight Confirmation For UFC 323

    A fight that has long been rumored for UFC 323 appears to now have been confirmed, leaked by, of all people, a fighter who competed on the UFC Rio card.

    During his post-fight interview, Michael Aswell Jr. advocated to compete next on UFC 323, which was recently confirmed for December 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Aswell cited a desire to compete on the same card as his teammate, Joshua Van. And that was when Aswell said Van would be challenging Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight championship on the card.

    Van has been pegged as the next title challenger after his short-notice victory over former title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June, and the fight had been rumored to take place in December.

    Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van For Flyweight Title Now Confirmed For UFC 323?

    Van is 15-2 in MMA, including a 8-1 record. Since his knockout loss to Charles Johnson, Van has won five straight, which includes a finish of Bruno Silva at UFC 316, just four weeks before his win over Royval.

    This fight would mark Pantoja’s fifth flyweight title defense attempt. Pantoja, who has won eight straight, defeated Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 for the title. Since then, he’s defended the belt against Royval at UFC 296, Steve Erceg at UFC 301, Kai Asakura at UFC 310, and Kai Kara-France at UFC 317.

    Aswell, meanwhile, made quick work of Lucas Almeida in the featured prelim of UFC Rio.

    UFC 323 will mark the last pay-per-view event of the UFC’s ESPN era, with the final Fight Night card happening the next week.

  • VIDEO: Michael Aswell Jr. Lays Beatdown In On Lucas Almeida At UFC Rio

    VIDEO: Michael Aswell Jr. Lays Beatdown In On Lucas Almeida At UFC Rio

    Michael Aswell Jr. made things look to easy in the featured preliminary bout of UFC Rio, as the Texas native quickly took out Lucas Almeida.

    Aswell cracked Almeida seconds into the fight with a right hand before laying in some flurries to try and get the quick finish. Almeida tried to fight back, but Aswell continued to lay in with his striking.

    Another right hand slumped Almeida against the fence, where Aswell laid in some more punches before the fight was finally stopped.

    Michael Aswell Jr. Finishes Lucas Almeida In Under A Minute At UFC Rio

    This was Aswell’s first UFC victory after dropping his promotional debut to Bolaji Oki at UFC Vegas 107 in May.

    Almeida has now lost four of five and is just 2-4 in the UFC.

  • VIDEO: Jafel Filho Locks Up Nasty Kimura Lock To Submit Clayton Carpenter At UFC Rio

    VIDEO: Jafel Filho Locks Up Nasty Kimura Lock To Submit Clayton Carpenter At UFC Rio

    Jafel Filho continues to show how dangerous he is on the ground, as he took out Clayton Carpenter during the UFC Rio preliminary card.

    Filho landed a crisp right hand early that seemed to wobble Carpenter, allowing Filho to score the trip and take the back quickly. Filho then locked in a body triangle as he searched for a rear-naked choke.

    Though he was unable to get the choke, Filho transitioned into a kimura attempt, scoring it and getting the submission in the final minute of round one.

    Jafel Filho Submits Clayton Carpenter At UFC Rio

    Filho is now 3-2 in the UFC, rebounding from a May loss to Allan Nascimento. Filho’s only other loss came against Muhammad Mokaev.

    Carpenter is now 2-2 in the UFC and has lost two straight after starting his MMA career 8-0.

  • VIDEO: Vitor Petrino Flattens Thomas Petersen With Jaw-Dropping Faceplant Knockout

    VIDEO: Vitor Petrino Flattens Thomas Petersen With Jaw-Dropping Faceplant Knockout

    Perhaps Vitor Petrino has found a new home for himself at heavyweight, as he capped off his second performance in the weight class with a highlight finish in front of a native crowd at UFC Rio.

    Petersen looked to use his wrestling to his advantage during the opening two rounds. He was, however, repeatedly stuffed and stopped by Petrino, who laid in some damaging strikes. Petrino’s power, in fact, led him to score a knockdown on Petersen during the first round.

    Fatigue would set in for both men as the third round kicked in. Just 26 seconds into the round, however, Petrino caught Petersen coming forward with a strong uppercut and hook, with the combination causing Petersen to faceplant for the KO.

    Petrino then called out Marcin Tybura in his post-fight interview.

    Vitor Petrino Puts Thomas Petersen Out Cold At UFC Rio

    Petrino made his heavyweight debut at UFC Nashville in July, scoring a first-round submission of Austen Lane.

    Petersen is now 2-3 in his last five after starting his MMA career 8-1.

  • “Much-Needed Shot In The Arm” – BJJ Legend Bia Mesquita Sends Statement To Women’s Bantamweight Division With Dominating Finish In UFC Debut At UFC Rio

    “Much-Needed Shot In The Arm” – BJJ Legend Bia Mesquita Sends Statement To Women’s Bantamweight Division With Dominating Finish In UFC Debut At UFC Rio

    Having already accomplished so much in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Bia Mesquita now is set on dominating the MMA world in the same way she dominated Irina Alekseeva in her Octagon debut during the UFC Rio preliminary card.

    After about a minute of feeling out, Alekseeva clipped Mesquita with a punch. But Mesquita kept herself composed and scored a takedown, landing right into full mount. Mesquita landed ground-and-pound for about two-and-a-half minutes, completely controlling and dominating the action, busting Alekseeva up and nearly getting her out of the fight in the first round’s closing seconds.

    Mesquita scored a takedown about a minute into the second round and quickly worked her way into full mount again before locking up a rear-naked choke for the submission win.

    Bia Mesquita, “Lady GOAT,” Thrashes Irina Alekseeva In Impressive UFC Debut At UFC Rio

    Mesquita, known as “The Lady GOAT,” is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and a former ADCC champion. She entered tonight 5-0 in her MMA career, including a finish of Sierra Dinwoodie to capture the LFA women’s bantamweight title at LFA 211 in June.

    Alekseeva has now lost four of her last six, including three straight UFC losses. She won her UFC debut over Stephanie Eggar in April 2023 but missed weight.

  • UFC Rio Betting Odds: Current Favorites For Oliveira vs. Gamrot, Figueiredo vs. Jackson, And More

    UFC Rio Betting Odds: Current Favorites For Oliveira vs. Gamrot, Figueiredo vs. Jackson, And More

    UFC Rio is almost here, and we here at MMA News are here to provide you the latest on betting odds for the card.

    The card takes place from the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, October 11. The main card portion of the event will start at 7PM ET/4PM PT, with preliminary action starting at 4PM ET/1PM PT.

    The main event will see a lightweight battle featuring former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot.

    The co-main event will see bantamweight action as former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo faces Montel Jackson.

    The UFC Perth main card will also feature Vicente Luque meeting Joel Alvarez, Jhonata Diniz squaring off with Mario Pinto, Ricardo Ramos taking on Kaan Ofli, and Lucas Almeida going toe-to-toe with Michael Aswell Jr.

    UFC Rio: Oliveira vs. Gamrot Betting Odds

    Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC Rio as of October 11 (fight day) at 11 am ET, courtesy of DraftKings.

    Main Card:

    • Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (-108) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (-112)
    • Bantamweight: Deiveson Figueiredo (+270) vs. Montel Jackson (-340)
    • Welterweight: Vicente Luque (+400) vs. Joel Alvarez (-535)
    • Heavyweight: Jhonata Diniz (-120) vs. Mario Pinto (+100)
    • Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos (-205) vs. Kaan Ofli (+170)
    • Featherweight: Lucas Almeida (+210) vs. Michael Aswell Jr. (-258)

    Preliminary Card:

    • Flyweight: Jafel Filho (-130) vs. Clayton Carpenter (+110)
    • Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (-290) vs. Thomas Petersen (+235)
    • Women’s Bantamweight: Bia Mesquita (-600) vs. Irina Alekseeva (+440)
    • Flyweight: Lucas Rocha (-115) vs. Stewart Nicoll (-105)
    • Women’s Strawweight: Julia Polastri (-550) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz(+410)
    • Bantamweight: Luan Lacerda (-360) vs. Saimon Oliveira (+285)
  • Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9, Episode 9 Highlights As 6 Awarded UFC Contracts

    Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9, Episode 9 Highlights As 6 Awarded UFC Contracts

    The latest season of Dana White’s Contender Series continued with one of the best episodes in the show’s history tonight in Las Vegas.

    DWCS began in 2017 and has produced a notable number of fighters currently on the UFC’s roster. Since the show’s inception in 2017, a couple have even gone on to claim UFC championships. Known as “The ultimate job interview,” DWCS features five fights weekly, over the course of 10 weeks, as combatants compete to impress UFC CEO and President Dana White and earn a UFC contract.

    Last year’s edition saw 42 fighters earn a contract with the world’s leading MMA organization across 10 events, slightly down from the 46 handed out in 2023. Episode nine of season nine this week saw six prospects earn the opportunity to taste the Octagon’s bright lights.

    Luke Fernandez made a statement to open the action, scoring one of the fastest knockouts in the history of Dana White’s Contender Series. In mere seconds, he landed a left jab and a right hand that cracked Rafael Pergentino on the jaw. A few follow-up shots later, and Fernandez earned the win and a UFC contract.

    Luis Felipe Dias continued the finishes with a submission win over Donavon Hedrick. Dias quickly worked his way to Hedrick’s back to start the fight and seemed to get the better of the striking exchanges early in the first round. Hedrick worked his way back in, but Dias appeared to briefly stun him late in the round. Hedrick scored a takedown during the second round, and did some damage with ground-and-pound. But Dias scored his own takedown and controlled the action in a dominant position, landing ground-and-pound and threatening a couple of chokes.

    Dias would finally sink in a rear-naked choke with less than 30 seconds left in the second round to score the tapout win and a UFC deal.

    The Ultimate Fighter season 33 participant Imanol Rodriguez then made the most of his second opportunity at a UFC contract, scoring a first-round finish of Roque Conceicao. Rodriguez had a wrestling-based focus, but it was his striking that got the job done. After surviving a knockdown on a right hand by Conceicao, Rodriguez tagged Conceicao multiple times, starting with a right hand after blocking a high kick attempt. Rodriguez then rocked Conceicao with a knee and scored a couple of knockdowns and unleashed flurries, ending with a left-right combo that slept Conceicao.

    In the evening’s co-main event Adrian Luna Martinetti and Mark Vologdin produced one of the greatest fights of 2025, let alone of the greatest fights in the history of Dana White’s Contender Series, both earning contracts as well as — in a Dana White first — $25,000 bonuses. Vologdin stayed on the outside, but Martinetti managed to work his reach advantage by tagging him and putting him to the fence. But Vologdin not only fought out of it, but he proceeded to trade with Martinetti blow for blow, creating a violent, all-out action fight. In the second round, however, Martinetti’s pressure and clinch knees seemed to get the better of Vologdin, but again, he managed to clip Martinetti and get back right into things.

    Martinetti had already broken the DWCS bantamweight record for most significant strikes in a fight in just two rounds; he landed 213 in total by the fight’s end. But Vologdin rushed Martinetti, appearing to hurt him in the first minute of the final round, before Martinetti scored a takedown. After another action packed war, Martinetti scored the decision win 29-28 on all three scorecards.

    In the main event, Magomed Zaynukov made a statement with a one-sided beatdown of Lucas Caldas. Zaynukov had to endure an early knockdown and multiple eye pokes in the fight, resulting in a one-point deduction for Caldas. But Zaynukov poured on the pressure and striking, setting a new DWCS lightweight record for significant strikes (making it two straight fights on the night to set division DWCS records in significant strikes) with 248. In fact, if the fight had taken place in the UFC, it would have set the record there, too.

    Zaynukov scored the unanimous decision 30-26 on all three cards.

    Luke Fernandez vs Rafael Pergentino

    Luis Felipe Dias vs Donavon Hedrick

    Imanol Rodriguez vs Roque Conceicao

    Adrian Luna Martinetti vs Mark Vologdin

    Lucas Caldas vs Magomed Zaynukov

  • “DWCS Version Of Lawler vs. MacDonald 2” – Fans & Fighters React As Adrian Luna Martinetti And Mark Vologdin Earn UFC Contracts, $25K In Fight Of The Year Contender On Dana White’s Contender Series

    “DWCS Version Of Lawler vs. MacDonald 2” – Fans & Fighters React As Adrian Luna Martinetti And Mark Vologdin Earn UFC Contracts, $25K In Fight Of The Year Contender On Dana White’s Contender Series

    In what will go down as one of the greatest fights in MMA — let alone of the greatest fights of 2025 and perhaps the greatest fight to ever happen on Dana White’s Contender Series — Adrian Luna Martinetti and Mark Vologdin both earned UFC contracts and $25,000 bonuses from UFC CEO and President Dana White.

    Vologdin took early control in the opening round, landing some crisp boxing and working combinations on Martinetti, including a counter shot that dropped Martinetti. Martinetti would not be deterred, however, landing his own combinations, and he stormed back in the second round with barrages of blows. In fact, through two rounds, Martinetti set a new record for significant strikes by a bantamweight in DWCS history.

    Martinetti seemed to trouble Vologdin in the second round with plenty of clinch knees, leaving his mark literally on Vologdin, but the Russian battled back and produced more trading between the two. Martinetti then scored a takedown in round three and did plenty of damage with ground-and-pound to bring a fantastic slugfest to an epic conclusion.

    Martinetti won the fight with 29-28 scores on all three judges’ scorecards.

    DWCS Fighters Earn UFC Contracts And $25K Bonus After Critically Acclaimed Slugfest

    Martinetti, a former champion on the regional circuit, has now won 15 straight fights, with his sole loss coming in the third pro bout of his career.

    Vologdin sees a seven-fight win streak snapped with this loss — though the contract and financial bonus certainly have to make up for it.

  • UFC Rankings Report: UFC 320 Brings Plenty Of Shakeup

    UFC Rankings Report: UFC 320 Brings Plenty Of Shakeup

    The latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the UFC rankings toward contention and others fall away.

    And in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC 320, MMA News has you covered with this week’s complete updates.

    Men’s Pound-For-Pound: As a result of regaining the UFC light heavyweight title, Alex Pereira moves up four spots to No. 6. The now-former champion, Magomed Ankalaev, falls four spots to No. 11.

    Consequently, these moves also result in Alexander Volkanovski falling one spot to No. 7 and Dricus Du Plessis moving up one spot to No. 10.

    Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes.

    Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

    Women’s Flyweight: No changes.

    Women’s Bantamweight: As a result of her win, Yana Santos moves up five spots to No. 5. The woman she beat, Macy Chiasson, falls two spots to No. 7.

    Ailin Perez consequently falls one spot to No. 8, while Mayra Bueno Silva falls two spots to No. 10.

    Flyweight: As a result of his suspension, Ramazan Temirov has been removed from UFC rankings eligibility.

    As a result, Bruno Silva moves up one spot to No. 14, while Rafael Estevam joins the rankings at No. 15.

    Bantamweight: Petr Yan moves up one spot, tying Umar Nurmagomedov for the No. 2 position. Montel Jackson enters the rankings at No. 15, while Marcus McGhee falls off the rankings.

    Cory Sandhagen remains at No. 4 after his title fight loss at UFC 320.

    Featherweight: Following his UFC 320 win, Youssef Zalal moves up two spots to No. 7. The man he beat, Josh Emmett, falls one spot to No. 9.

    Subsequently, Brian Ortega falls one spot to No. 8.

    Lightweight: No changes.

    Welterweight: No changes.

    Middleweight: Following his UFC 320 win, Joe Pyfer joins the rankings at No. 15, while Ikram Aliskerov falls out of the rankings.

    Light Heavyweight: Following UFC 320, Alex Pereira takes the champion spot, while Magomed Ankalaev falls to the No. 1 contender position. Ankalaev shares this position now with Jiri Prochazka, who moved up one spot following his win at UFC 320.

    The man Prochazka beat, Khalil Rountree Jr., falls one spot to No. 5, swapping places with Jan Blachowicz (now No. 4).

    Heavyweight: No changes.

    You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

  • What’s Next After UFC 320? Full Confirmed UFC 321 Main Card For Abu Dhabi On October 25

    What’s Next After UFC 320? Full Confirmed UFC 321 Main Card For Abu Dhabi On October 25

    UFC 320 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

    The promotion was in Las Vegas last week, where the T-Mobile Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its nine numbered event of the year. Of note were headline wins for Alex Pereira and Merab Dvalishvili, as well as important victories for Jiri Prochazka, Youssef Zalal, and Joe Pyfer.

    While the aftermath of the October 4 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the light heavyweight and bantamweight championship title pictures to the heavyweight and women’s strawweight championship conversations.

    At UFC 321, which takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 25, Tom Aspinall will defend the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane.

    This will mark Aspinall’s first defense of the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship. He had been promoted from interim to undisputed champion during the UFC Baku post-fight press conference back on June 21 — the result of a long, drawn-out negotiation process involving him, the UFC, and Jon Jones. Aspinall defeated Serghei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 295 and retained the interim belt against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.

    Gane is 13-2 and has won three of his last five. He comes into this bout off a split decision win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 310. Gane defeated Derrick Lewis to become an interim UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 265 in 2021. He has challenged for the heavyweight title twice since, losing to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 and to Jon Jones at UFC 285.

    Stakes will also be high in the co-main event, as a vacant women’s strawweight championship will be on the line, thanks to Weili Zhang moving up to challenge Valentina Shevchenko at women’s flyweight. UFC 321 will see Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern scrap in a rematch to determine the new champion. Dern previously scored a decision win over Jandiroba at UFC 256. Jandiroba enters this fight on a five-fight win streak, most recently scoring a decision over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314. Dern, meanwhile, has won three of her last five, most recently submitting Amanda Ribas in a rematch that headlined UFC Vegas 101 in January.

    Nurmagomedov, Volkov, Rakic Set The Stage For Heavyweight Title Headliner At UFC 321

    Before Aspinall, Gane, Jandiroba, and Dern make their way out for their title fights, several names will look to make their own statements on the main card for UFC 321.

    This includes Umar Nurmagomedov, who will be doing battle with Mario Bautista. This will be Nurmagomedov’s first fight since coming just short of capturing the UFC bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311, suffering the first loss of his MMA career in the process. Bautista, meanwhile, has won eight straight, which includes defeating UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo at UFC 307 and former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix at UFC 316.

    A heavyweight title eliminator will also be featured on this card, as Alexander Volkov takes on Jailton Almeida. Volkov will be looking to rebound from the previously mentioned split decision loss to Gane, a fight that snapped a four-fight win streak for Volkov. Almeida, meanwhile, has won two straight and 17 of 18, coming into this bout off a performance bonus-earning finish of Serghei Spivac at UFC 311.

    The main card is scheduled to open with Aleksandar Rakic taking on Azamat Murzakanov. Rakic has lost three straight, most recently dropping a decision to now-former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 308, which was last year’s Abu Dhabi pay-per-view card. Murzakanov is undefeated at 15-0, most recently finishing Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 316 in June.

    Those pairings have currently gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the likes of Ikram Aliskerov, Mateusz Rebecki, and Nathaniel Wood, all of whom are expected to be featured players on the event’s preliminary card.

    See below for the UFC 321 lineup, as it stands.

    Main Card:

    • Heavyweight Championship: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane
    • Women’s Strawweight Championship: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern
    • Bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista
    • Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida
    • Light Heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov

    Preliminary Card (Order TBA):

    • Middleweight: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Jun-yong Park
    • Lightweight: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Matheus Camilo
    • Heavyweight: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett
    • Flyweight: Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo
    • Women’s Strawweight: Jacqueline Amorim vs. Mizuki
    • Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki vs. L’udovit Klein
    • Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Delgado
  • GFL Announces Plans For 2026 Start, Announces Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold

    GFL Announces Plans For 2026 Start, Announces Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold

    The Global Fight League is doing take two and has announced plans to restart operations in 2026.

    The GFL announced their intention to finally get events started through a statement on social media — the promotion’s first statement since the spring.

    “To the athletes, fans and partners, thank you for your patience and support. We’ve been hard at work and look forward to sharing what’s next,” the GLF’s statement said. “Stay tuned, more to come on our plans for 2026.”

    The GFL also announced a rematch between former UFC middleweight champions Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold, which the GFL also promoted through a social media post. No information about an event date or location has been revealed, however.

    GFL Planning To Resume Operations In 2026

    The GFL was formally launched in late 2024, intending to re-introduce the team-based format that was seen with the IFL in the mid-2000s. The plan was to have six teams be formed, based in London, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York, with a points-based system and events held throughout the year at each of the various locations and a champion team crowned at the end of the year.

    The league promoted various different benefits from fighters not seen in other MMA promotions, including revenue share, retirement benefits, and insurance coverage.

    A draft was held in January but was blasted for promoting it as “live” after its results were leaked out. Plans were then for a pair of events to be held in Los Angeles in May before they were canceled and operations paused, with founder Darren Owen claiming a missed financial commitment from a key investor.

  • UFC Planning Massive Paramount Debut Event, Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Likely Headliner

    UFC Planning Massive Paramount Debut Event, Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Likely Headliner

    It’s been assumed that the UFC will want a massive event for its Paramount premiere, and while UFC CEO and President Dana White has planned such, a new report hints at what potentially could be the headliner for that first card.

    Per a new report from Alvaro Colmenero, Ilia Topuria is expected to make his first defense of the UFC lightweight championship in January, with the most likely opponent being former interim champion Justin Gaethje.

    Colmenero reportedly told EuroSport Network that this is the matchup the UFC is looking for to open its contract with Paramount. He adds that the premiere UFC event with Paramount will take place in Los Angeles, though it was not directly stated if this would be at the Intuit Dome or the Crypto.com Arena.

    Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Lightweight Title Fight For UFC’s First Event With Paramount?

    In August, the UFC signed a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount to be the new U.S. broadcasting partner of the UFC. Beginning in January 2026, UFC cards will air on the Paramount+ streaming service, with select cards to be simulcasted on local CBS stations.

    During the UFC 320 post-fight press conference, White did not name a particular headliner for any January event — numbered or Fight Night. He, however, did tease a massive card for the first UFC event on Paramount before shifting focus to the White House card later that summer.

    “We’re about to go on a new network, on Paramount, and we need to deliver a massive, incredible card in January,” White said. “And then in February, we’ll start looking at building the White House card, which I will right now tell you will be the greatest fight card ever assembled in the history of of of definitely this company.”

    Topuria had won the UFC featherweight title with a finish of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. After retaining with a finish of Max Holloway at UFC 308, Topuria vacated that title to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight championship at UFC 317. Topuria won the belt with a first-round knockout of the former champion.

    Gaethje would enter this title fight off winning a rematch with Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in March. Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title at UFC 249 but fell short in fights with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and Oliveira at UFC 274. Gaethje is also a former BMF champion, defeating Dustin Poirier for the title at UFC 291 before losing to Holloway at UFC 300.

    Paramount also recently signed a new deal with Zuffa Boxing, which will fully launch in 2026 after serving as the promoter for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford.

  • “Nothing Is Done Yet” – Dana White Disputes Conor McGregor’s Claims About Being Signed For UFC White House Card

    “Nothing Is Done Yet” – Dana White Disputes Conor McGregor’s Claims About Being Signed For UFC White House Card

    UFC CEO and President Dana White is telling the world to hold their horses in regards to Conor McGregor’s claims that he is locked in for the UFC White House event in June.

    At the UFC 320 post-fight press conference, White was asked about recent claims made by McGregor, who has gone around various media outlets to promote the UFC White House event and seemingly confirming his participation in it.

    While White has previously teased McGregor fighting at the event, he says that nothing is set in stone. In fact, he isn’t even thinking about laying out a full card with participants just yet.

    “We’re still talking about the production and how everything is going to work at the White House,” White said. “We have not started negotiating any fights for the White House yet. That won’t even start till February.

    “I made it clear: Conor wants to fight on that card, and you can clearly see Conor is fired up to fight on that card, but nothing is done yet.”

    Dana White Says Conor McGregor Isn’t Signed For UFC White House Yet

    Though not everyone believes in what he says, McGregor has appeared on various mainstream programs over the last week or so, claiming that a deal for him to return to the Octagon in Washington, D.C. is “signed and delivered.”

    McGregor, in fact, doubled down on his claims and says that he is communicating and negotiating directly with U.S. President Donald Trump and the United States government to appear at the event.

    This has led to plenty of skepticism about his claims, and White pushed back against this as well in his remarks.

    “No fights are being negotiated with the White House,” White said.

    McGregor has previously posted what seemed to be his demands to compete on the card — $100 million and 100 of the new “Gold Cards” Trump is introducing.

    McGregor has not fought since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264; however, he re-entered the UFC’s drug-testing pool earlier this year.

  • 8 Hits And 4 Misses Of UFC 320: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2

    8 Hits And 4 Misses Of UFC 320: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2

    The eyes of the combat world were locked in on Las Vegas last night, as UFC 320 and its two title fights went down at the T-Mobile Arena in the UFC home of Las Vegas, Nevada.

    The main event saw the UFC light heavyweight championship on the line in a rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. Ankalaev won the belt from Pereira at UFC 313 in March, making Ankalaev 12-0-1 (1 NC) since dropping his 2018 UFC debut. Pereira had originally claimed the light heavyweight title at UFC 295 and defended the title against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree Jr. during 2024.

    The co-main event featured Merab Dvalishvili defending the UFC bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili won the title from Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306 last year before retaining the title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January and in a rematch with O’Malley at UFC 316 in June. Sandhagen had won four of his last five, earning the title shot with a finish of former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueriedo at UFC Des Moines in May.

    Who showed out in Las Vegas? Who flopped? Find out as we go through the hits and misses of UFC 320!

    Hit: Underdog? No Way, Says Ramiz Brahimaj

    Facing off against a notable name and former Bellator title challenger in Austin Vanderford, Ramiz Brahimaj was considered a notable underdog among sportsbooks. Brahimaj’s performance, however, showed that sometimes numbers can indeed lie.

    Vanderford had control in the opening round thanks to his grappling. But things shifted when Brahimaj pressured with an offensive flurry in the second round. Brahimaj landed a head kick that stunned Vanderford, then, on the ground, locked a guillotine choke in to score a submission victory.

    This makes it three in a row for Brahimaj, who is now 5-3 in the UFC. And after besting a former Bellator title challenger, and with his losses coming against a few veteran names in the Octagon, perhaps Brahimaj’s next fight is a test against someone else who has been a known, notable face in the Octagon.

    Speaking of former Bellator names and titles…

    Miss: Patchy Mix Unimpressive, Falls To 0-2 in UFC

    Man, remember when people were hyped about Patchy Mix’s UFC debut? The former Bellator bantamweight champion’s run has been anything but spectacular, as demonstrated in his split-decision loss to Jakub Wiklacz during the preliminary card.

    Wiklacz, a former KSW bantamweight champion, overwhelmed Mix with his own grappling pressure during the opening frame. Mix looked to pressure back in the second round, but he still struggled, thanks to Wiklacz’s body shots. Mix finally got the better of Wiklacz in the third, but it wasn’t enough, as the judges gave the fight to Wiklacz on a split decision.

    Even if you want to argue a decision for Mix, how he’s looked in the Octagon is far from what he looked like in the Bellator cage while chasing and reigning in their bantamweight division. And when you’re already drawing comparisons to Will Brooks’ jump to the UFC about a decade ago, that’s not a good look for you.

    One more loss, and maybe it’s time to admit Mix’s best days are behind him and he has to consider avenues outside the UFC.

    Hit: Don’t Mess With Daniel Santos

    Daniel Santos got frustrated by Yoo Joo-sang in their prelim bout, but he wasn’t to be deterred until he got a finish and — in his words — respect on his name.

    Yoo showed off some strong striking in the first round, frustrating and confusing Santos by mixing things up with his arsenal. Joo-sang added with a little trolling while using his footwork, demonstrating how Santos was doing a lot of missing.

    Unfortunately for him, Santos didn’t miss in the second round. While moving backward to avoid a flurry, Joo-sang left his chin open, allowing Santos to tag him with a hard left hand that dropped him. A little ground-and-pound later, and Herb Dean waved off the fight.

    Santos, a teammate to Charles Oliveira, has now won four straight since dropping his UFC debut. Another victory like the one he’s had tonight, and perhaps it’s time to bring him some better competition.

    Miss: Yoo Joo-sang Taunting Might Land Him In Viral Infamy

    Well, as some people have pointed out, Yoo Joo-sang’s actions might have consequences. He’ll now probably be brought up in those compilations that show fighters taunting and displaying some overconfidence before getting tagged and knocked out in the end.

    “Zombie Jr.” just saw his undefeated record go away in this fight. And this comes after an impressive Octagon debut at UFC 316, in which he only needed 28 seconds to put away Jeka Saragih.

    Hopefully, Joo-sang can impress in his next fight and make this performance one he can push off to the side.

    Hit: Ateba Gautier Is Scary

    They don’t call him “middleweight Francis Ngannou” for nothing. Ateba Gautier put his frightening power on display once again in the featured prelim of the evening, putting away short-notice opponent Tre’ston Vines in under two minutes.

    Vines stayed on the outside, looking to avoid the power while seeking the opportunity for a takedown. Though that chance seemed to come, he paid a dear price. Gautier landed a knee on Vines. Then, while in a clinch against the fence, Gautier landed a pair of defensive elbows that rocked Vines, leading to an easy toss to the ground, where Gautier finished with a bit of brutal ground strikes for the quick finish.

    “The Silent Assassin” is now 3-0 in the UFC since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. And with three first-round finishes, perhaps it’s time to find a little more experienced of a name for him to face off with (or at least re-book him with Ozzy Diaz, the original opponent for last night).

    Hit: Believe In Joe Pyfer

    It wasn’t an intentional strategy from Joe Pyfer, and it was a risky one. But it paid off for him, as his unintended gameplan helped lead him to a finish of Abus Magomedov that kicked off the main card action.

    Pyfer found himself in some trouble during round one, getting caught in Magomedov’s grasp and grappling prowess, spending a lot of time on the defensive end and fighting off submission attempts. But Pyfer noticed Magomedov gassed during the second round, and he took full advantage. Pyfer dropped Magomedov with a right hand, busted him open with an elbow, and threatened his own submissions before putting Magomedov away with a choke.

    Pyfer is now 6-1 in the UFC with four performance bonuses, and his sole loss in that span came against Jack Hermansson. If you didn’t believe in Joe Pyfer, it’s time to say his name and believe. And it’s time for Dana White to give Pyfer a step up in competition again — perhaps against someone in the lower portion of the middleweight rankings.

    Be like Joe Pyfer.

    Miss: Abus Magomedov’s Gas Tank Is Kryptonite

    For all the hype Abus Magomedov gets as a fighter, he won’t be able to go very far with the gas tank he’s got on him.

    Yes, losses to Pyfer, Caio Borralho, and Sean Strickland are far from terrible losses. But when you look at the guys Magomedov has beat, they aren’t the kind to offer Magomedov much trouble and/or opportunities to improve his cardio and stamina. And for that, Magomedov doesn’t have a lot of credibility for someone White once proclaimed no one was willing to fight before Strickland offered to step up.

    If Magomedov doesn’t work his area of need, which people have pointed out for nearly his entire UFC tenure now, he’s not going to make any progress as a fighter.

    Hit: Youssef Zalal Makes His Case For A Top-Ranked Opponent

    Don’t let the boos from the Las Vegas crowd at the end of the fight fool you; Youssef Zalal put on one of the best performances of the evening — and probably the best of his career — with his first-round submission of veteran and former interim featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett.

    Despite Emmett’s attempts to stalk and flash his power, Zalal barely needed any time to perfectly time a takedown and wrap Emmett up in trouble. Zalal quickly worked his way into an armbar, scoring a verbal submission from Emmett to secure the win.

    Zalal asked for a fight with Lerone Murphy next. While that may not happen, given the expectation Murphy will challenge Alexander Volkanovski next after his highlight knockout of Aaron Pico, Zalal has surely made his case now to face a top featherweight contender. The next best options for him should be Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev — and surely if he beat one of them, he could get the Volkanovski-Murphy winner.

    Hit: Jiri Prochazka’s Comeback KO Over Khalil Rountree

    Jiri Prochazka put a scare into all of his fanbase during his fight with Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320. But the third round truly presented the action-packed fight we expected, and it was where Prochazka came from behind to drop Rountree out cold for a victory.

    Rountree started strong, landing a rocking left hand to stun Prochazka and punishing his body with kicks and combinations. Prochazka tried a jumping knee but struggled to find rhythm, as he appeared to be sliding around and off-balance throughout the fight.

    Prochazka, however, turned the tide in the third round by pressuring Rountree and landing punches to damage one of Rountree’s eyes. With Rountree’s energy fading thanks to his striking, Prochazka was able to land one more flurry, which included a left hand that brought Rountree timbering down for the knockout.

    Prochazka’s only losses in the UFC have come against Alex Pereira. And now that “Poatan” is UFC light heavyweight champion once again, perhaps a trilogy is next? Or if Magomed Ankalev gets a trilogy bout, perhaps he and Carlos Ulberg battle it out to determine the true No. 1 contender? Or if Ulberg gets the next title shot, perhaps Prochazka battles Ankalaev for the right to secure a trilogy bout?

    Hit: Merab Dvalishvili’s Record-Breaking Performance In Title Defense

    Talk about a legendary performance. Merab Dvalishvili did that and then some as he set both personal bests and UFC bests while successfully retaining the UFC bantamweight championship against Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event.

    Though Sandhagen took the first round with sharp striking and takedown defense, Dvalishvili’s constant pressure and wrestling took over. Sandhagen managed to survive getting rocked and nearly ground-and-pounded into a finish in the second round, but he was simply no match for Dvalishvili’s attacks. It was takedown after takedown and a complete smothering for Dvalishvili en route to an easy unanimous decision win.

    Dvalishvili took down Sandhagen 20 times throughout the 25 minutes. In addition to setting a new personal best for him in a UFC fight, Dvalishvili also set a new record for most takedowns in a UFC title fight and became the first UFC fighter to ever score 100 takedowns in their UFC career. He also joins a select few UFC champions in history to retain their title successfully three times in a calendar year — and now the talks are he might try to become the first for four with a potential quick turnaround to compete in December.

    As others have said, even while champion, Dvalishvili continues to get better and better in each fight. This makes him one of the most dangerous fighters, let alone champions, on the UFC’s roster. A December title defense might risk status of locking up Fighter of the Year already by this point, but that’s only a might. And either way, Dvalishvili’s footprint in the Octagon’s history books continues to grow with each fight he’s in.

    Hit: Champ Chama Again — Alex Pereira Regains

    Concerns over a potential demise of Alex Pereira’s time on top in the UFC were quickly exaggerated. “Poatan” needed to prove that in only about 80 seconds, as he quickly took the UFC light heavyweight championship back from Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event.

    Pereira tried to bring forward pressure as the two felt each other out in the first minute. And all it took was one right hand on the side of the head to hurt Ankalaev. Pereira easily took him down and finished the fight with some vicious ground-and-pound, including a few 12-6 elbows, to force the referee stoppage victory.

    Pereira now avenges his UFC 313 loss to Ankalaev and starts a third run as a UFC champion, also becoming one of a few UFC fighters to regain their championship after losing it. The win has made some consider Pereira’s status among UFC greats, and whatever may come next — a title defense or a move up to heavyweight — the combat sports world is Pereira’s oyster.

    Chama.

    Miss: What Now For Magomed Ankalaev?

    I have to admit I feel a little for Magomed Ankalev here. He seemed to get the cold shoulder from the UFC for the longest time, and then he goes and beats one of the biggest stars in the sport to finally become champion. And now, it’s over just like that in just over a minute.

    Those are the breaks in this sport, however. But in the immediate aftermath of the loss, everyone has begun to talk about if Alex Pereira will now face either Carlos Ulberg or Jiri Prochazka next.

    What about an immediate rematch for Ankalaev? Unfortunately for him, it’s unlikely. The aforementioned Ulberg and Prochazka had some impressive performances over the past week. It seems Ankalaev was taking on a compromised Pereira back in March. And a trilogy fight isn’t always guaranteed (Julianna Pena will certainly let you know, guaranteed [Cris Cyborg will also let you know how it feels to not get a rematch despite a number of title defenses and a legendary name after getting run through]).

    The worst part? Ankalaev arguably should have been light heavyweight champion after UFC 282, at which he and Jan Blachowicz fought to a lackluster, but controversial, draw. Even Blachowicz said at the time that Ankalaev deserved the gold.

    In worst-case scenario, perhaps Ankalaev needs to show another title fight is warranted with a win over whoever doesn’t challenge for the title next between Ulberg and Prochazka.

  • “In The Top 5 UFC Fighters Of All-Time” – Henry Cejudo, Terrance McKinney, Jon Jones, And Others React To Alex Pereira Running Through Magomed Ankalaev To Regain Light Heavyweight Title At UFC 320

    “In The Top 5 UFC Fighters Of All-Time” – Henry Cejudo, Terrance McKinney, Jon Jones, And Others React To Alex Pereira Running Through Magomed Ankalaev To Regain Light Heavyweight Title At UFC 320

    Chama is champ once again.

    After his offense was completely neutralized in their first meeting, Alex Pereira went all out and finished Magomed Ankalaev in just 80 seconds to regain the UFC light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 320.

    Pereira looked to pressure Ankalaev right away, and it paid off. Pereira landed a right hook that landed on the side of the head, rocking him. Pereira easily took Ankalaev to the ground and landed a series of punches and elbows before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.

    Alex Pereira Wins Back UFC Light Heavyweight Title At UFC 320

    Pereira, also a former UFC middleweight champion, originally won the UFC’s 205-pound gold with a finish of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. He retained the title three times before losing to Ankalaev, finishing Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, Prochazka at UFC 303, and Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307.

    Ankalaev entered tonight 12-0-1 (1 NC) in his last 14 fights. This marked his first fight since winning the light heavyweight title from Pereira at UFC 313 in March.

  • “Getting Better Each Fight” – Belal Muhammad, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, And Other Fighters & Fans React To Merab Dvalishvili’s Record-Breaking Performance To Retain Bantamweight Title Over Cory Sandhagen At UFC 320

    “Getting Better Each Fight” – Belal Muhammad, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, And Other Fighters & Fans React To Merab Dvalishvili’s Record-Breaking Performance To Retain Bantamweight Title Over Cory Sandhagen At UFC 320

    Despite a hearty effort from Cory Sandhagen, Merab Dvalishvili put on a masterclass showing in the Octagon, scoring a unanimous decision win to retain the UFC bantamweight championship in the co-main event of UFC 320.

    The opening round saw plenty of exchanges, with Sandhagen seemingly getting the better of Dvalishvili in terms of the more effective strikes. Even as Dvalishvili came forward, Sandhagen mixed things up well and showed strong defense against a couple of Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts.

    Dvalishvili, however, came back with relentless pressure and a strong offense. After Sandhagen made his way back up off a takedown, Dvalishvili delivered a flurry of strikes near the fence, nearly putting Sandhagen out with a knee and a barrage of punches. Dvalishvili’s dominance was on full display in the second round, having taken Sandhagen down nine times by the end of the round — this made Dvalishvili the first fighter in UFC history to score 100+ takedowns in their UFC career.

    Dvalishvili continued to control the action in a quiet third round, making use of his grappling pressure once again. Sandhagen looked to find his range in the fourth round, but Dvalishvili threatened a late D’Arce choke before the horn. That fourth round also saw Dvalishvili’s 14th takedown in the fight, setting a new personal best.

    Dvalishvili’s grappling was again on full display in the fifth round, scoring 20 takedowns by the fight’s end — setting a new UFC record for most takedowns in a UFC title fight. Sandhagen landed a strong punch in the closing seconds but was unable to follow up on the damage.

    All three judges scored the bout for Dvalishvili, with two 49-45s and a 49-46.

    Merab Dvalishvili Retains UFC Bantamweight Title Over Cory Sandhagen At UFC 320

    https://twitter.com/HenryCejudo/status/1974691787873898965

    Dvalishvili claimed the UFC bantamweight title with a win over Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306 in September 2024. He had since retained the title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January and in a rematch with O’Malley at UFC 316 in June.

    Sandhagen, who entered tonight with four wins in his last five, earned the title shot off a finish of Deiveson Figueriedo at UFC Des Moines in May.

  • “Jiri vs. Rountree Is Why We Love This Sport” – Michael Chandler, Belal Muhammad, And Other Fighters & Fans React To Jiri Prochazka’s Wild Comeback KO Of Khalil Rountree Jr. At UFC 320

    “Jiri vs. Rountree Is Why We Love This Sport” – Michael Chandler, Belal Muhammad, And Other Fighters & Fans React To Jiri Prochazka’s Wild Comeback KO Of Khalil Rountree Jr. At UFC 320

    Despite a slow, concerning start, Jiri Prochazka came from behind to produce a wild third round with Khalil Rountree Jr., where he scored a wild knockout at UFC 320.

    The two opened the fight cautiously, very well aware of the power the other possesses, especially when it comes to kicks. A couple of minutes into the fight, Rountree briefly stunned Prochazka with a left hand before starting to target the body and work leg kicks. Prochazka tagged Rountree with a jumping knee, only for Rountree to answer with a couple of wild punches. Rountree tagged Prochazka with another combination before the end of the first. The two went back at it in the second round, with Prochazka seemingly still off balance and lacking in his usual movement. Rountree continued to flash his power, getting Prochazka to react, even if not all of his shots landed.

    The two swung away in the third round, with Prochazka trying to bring pressure against Rountree’s punches. Prochazka managed to land his punches well on Rountree, busting up one of Rountree’s eyes and gassing him out. Rountree attempted to recover with some clinching, but it wasn’t enough, as Prochazka dropped Rountree with a left hand to put him out cold and score the comeback knockout victory with just under two minutes left in the fight.

    Jiri Prochazka Scores Come-From-Behind KO Of Khalil Rountree Jr.

    https://twitter.com/acdmma_/status/1974678302377034068

    Both men entered this fight off victories over Jamahal Hill, both coming after unsuccessful title shots against Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight title.

    Prochazka finished Hill at UFC 311 in January, while Rountree won a one-sided decision at UFC Baku in June.

    Should Magomed Ankalaev retain against Pereira later tonight, it’s possible this win could lead to Prochazka scoring another crack at the UFC light heavyweight title.

  • “Zalal Is A Monster” – Fans & Fighters React To Youssef Zalal’s Lightning Quick Submission Win Over Josh Emmett At UFC 320

    “Zalal Is A Monster” – Fans & Fighters React To Youssef Zalal’s Lightning Quick Submission Win Over Josh Emmett At UFC 320

    Youssef Zalal has now scored perhaps the biggest and most impressive win of his UFC career, needing just 98 seconds to put away former interim title challenger Josh Emmett at UFC 320.

    Emmett attempted to pressure and flash his power, but Zalal showed off his speed and managed to score a quick takedown in on Emmett. Zalal quickly worked his way to wrap himself up on Emmett. Zalal transitioned quickly into an armbar, locking it in and scoring a verbal submission victory.

    Youssef Zalal Scores Verbal Submission Of Josh Emmett At UFC 320

    Zalal, who is currently in his second UFC run, now sees his win streak increase to eight. Before tonight, he most recently defeating Calvin Kattar in February.

    Emmett now has four losses in his last five fights.