Another UFC headliner has fallen through just weeks on from the promotion’s late scramble to find a new main event for its first pay-per-view this year.
The opening numbered event of 2025, UFC 311, received a major change late in the day when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his title challenge against lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev on just 24 hours’ notice.
Renato Moicano subsequently stepped in, but that didn’t stop the disappointment of those excited to witness the Dagestani and Armenian rivals run it back.
No event is ever safe from cancellations, but the organization might be cursing its luck after losing another headliner in the first quarter of this year.
Former flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval took to Instagram Wednesday to reveal he’s been forced to pull out of his UFC Fight Night main event against Manel Kape at the Apex on March 1 due to injury.
“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight, I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans,” Royval wrote. “I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division but as of right now competing month has been ill advised. Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”
It remains to be seen whether the promotion will seek a replacement opponent for Kape or reschedule that bout for a later date.
In terms of a new headline matchup, the event’s current lineup is devoid of options. With a middleweight clash between Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez set for the co-main event, the promotion will likely need to put together a new high-profile bout to close the show in Las Vegas on March 1.
Yoel Romero recently made a surprising claim about the lasting impact of his fight against Lyoto Machida.
Once a top contender who faced many of MMA’s elite, Romero suggested that his 2015 knockout victory over Machida had severe consequences for “The Dragon.”
Speaking on Mike Perry’s OverDogs Podcast, Romero alleged that Machida “wasn’t the same” after their fight, claiming the former UFC champion suffered “brutal damage” and even went into a coma. Romero said he was so concerned that he reached out to Machida’s management team for updates on his condition. He used the alleged incident to highlight the extreme risks fighters take inside the cage.
However, Machida quickly refuted Romero’s claims, telling MMA Fighting that the story was entirely inaccurate.
“I heard about [Romero’s comments], but I didn’t watch [the video],” Machida said. “But that’s not true at all. What happened was I broke my nose in that fight and had surgery. But there was no coma or anything like that. That never happened.”
Machida dismissed the idea that he suffered serious long-term damage, pointing to his extensive fighting career after the Romero bout.
“It makes no sense that a fighter would get in a coma and then fight like 20 times after that,” Machida laughed. “I had nose surgery because I broke my nose. I had to stay in Miami for a week — because I lived in Los Angeles and couldn’t fly with the nasal packing. That’s basically what happened. It’s normal stuff for us that fight, right?”
After his loss to Romero, Machida competed nine more times as a professional, winning four of those bouts. He eventually retired from MMA in 2022 after a knockout loss to Fabian Edwards in Bellator.
Alex Pereira has extra incentive to support Sean Strickland in his upcoming fight at UFC 312, where Strickland will challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title in a rematch.
Leading up to the fight, Strickland has revealed that Pereira harbors a strong dislike for Du Plessis. This tension comes after both fighters previously expressed interest in facing each other, with each willing to change weight classes to make the bout happen.
Although Du Plessis has recently spoken positively about Pereira and his accomplishments, he has also expressed his own ambitions of becoming a two-division champion like “Poatan.” However, according to Strickland, Pereira’s feelings toward Du Plessis are far from neutral.
“I think Alex is an angry motherf*cker,” Strickland said in an interview with the UFC. “Like, Alex is angry, and for some reason, dude, he hates Dricus. Like, I don’t know what you did to him, but he f*cking hates you, dude.
“So, it’s like, the way he looks at Dricus sometimes, I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m fighting him, dawg. Like, it’s me, dude.’ But yeah, no, Alex, he just has that hate in his heart, and he’s a good dude, so he’s out there, and I was like, ‘Let’s come on, let’s get it in.’”
“I wouldn't want to f****** fight me either.”
Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) hopes to put on a show for fans as he looks to settle his score with Dricus Du Plessis and get the belt back. #UFC312
Former fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen thinks the UFC has a big decision to make regarding lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev’s future.
Makhachev started his year on the right foot last month, becoming the first champion at 155 pounds to record four consecutive defenses. The Dagestani did so at the expense of late-notice replacement opponent Renato Moicano, whom he submitted in the first round at UFC 311.
Moving forward, the 33-year-old has expressed his desire to achieve two-division glory. And it would appear that the timeframe on that coming to fruition could be short, with Makhachev’s coach suggesting late last year that the Russian could look to depart the sport on top soon enough.
In the eyes of Sonnen, such an event would only be brought about if the UFC forces the champ to remain at 155 pounds — a factor he also saw as the leading cause of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement as titleholder back in 2020.
“Khabib did not retire because he didn’t want to fight Conor (McGregor) a second time. The UFC showed him the wrong numbers,” Sonnen said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “Every time they had a meeting, they showed more commas and more zeros, but it was the wrong number. If they had made the weight class 170 (pounds), they would have caught Khabib for one more fight.
“The number one reason any combat athlete retires is that they don’t want to make that weight anymore. Sooner or later, it bites everybody in the ass,” Sonnen continued. “Islam can either retire like Khabib did. Khabib didn’t want to tell anybody he didn’t want to make the weight, and no combat athlete will ever admit that. … So, they can either eventually part ways with Islam and watch him retire and talk about what could have been, or they can move him out of the goddamn weight class. That’s the truth.”
It remains to be seen what lies in the future of Makhachev, but in Sonnen’s eyes, a continued stay at lightweight will soon signal the end of the champ’s career.
Former UFC lightweight Kevin Lee’s preparation for his return to action this year recently took a painful turn in the form of a full-power right hand from a sparring partner.
Lee, who unsuccessfully challenged for interim gold in the UFC back in 2017, has struggled in recent years. He’s won just two fights since 2019, both of which came away from the Octagon.
As a result, Lee has sought a different opportunity, and that landed him in the inaugural Global Fight League draft last month. The 32-year-old was picked by New York City, joining Sidney Outlaw as the team’s two lightweights.
With that, “The Motown Phenom” is putting the work in at Kill Cliff FC in Florida ahead of his new venture. But it would seem that not everything has been going to plan for the veteran fighter on the mats.
Footage emerged this week showing Lee suffer a bad knockdown in training. After throwing a flying knee, the ex-UFC fighter’s sparring partner landed a full-strength right hand that briefly put the Michigan native down.
Overseeing the session was former UFC champion Robbie Lawler, who sported a concerned face as he helped an unsteady Lee back to his feet.
The video was recorded and posted to Instagram by undefeated Azerbaijani fighter Maggeram Gasanzade.
It’s believed the punch was thrown by Mirali Huseynov, another Azerbaijani athlete who has a 9-3 record as a professional. His last two wins have come under the banner of Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat. Huseynov appeared in the comments section of a repost to request the video be taken down.
The clip drew plenty of reactions online, with the community surprisingly split on who was to blame. While many slammed Huseynov for throwing at full capacity, others criticized Lee for the flying knee attempt.
Homie didn’t have to hit him like that lol but keep those hands up on the flying knee and that doesn’t happen https://t.co/Dzptlw3iuG
That shit is stupid all around. Lee is stupid for throwing that flying knee, and the other brother is stupid for putting that much behind a punch when y'all are just sparring. This is really where these mfs be takin all the damage in their careers from and for no reason lol 😂 https://t.co/T3O4rDX4a5
Self-proclaimed hardcore American Sean Strickland is not new to controversies. As much as he is known for his uniquely defensive and puzzling fighting style, he is also notorious for his tendency to walk into trouble by making outrageous and unfiltered claims on almost any topic.
This time around, the former UFC middleweight champion captured the media’s attention with his bold take on UFC’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
During the UFC 312 Media Day in Australia, Strickland could not hold back when asked about Dana White comparing the UFC championship to a master key that opens a lot of doors. Here’s what the 32-year-old had to say on the importance of being a UFC champ:
“You know what it is. If you’re a f****g shill. If you’re not, if you’re a f****g c***, like my boy Izzy and you want to go suck off the China government and you don’t have one ounce of freedom of speech or dignity, it opens up a lot of f****g doors.”
The controversial rant did not stop there as he went on to say:
“I mean, hell, like, you know how many uh, what, like the UFC’s buddy buddy with Saudi Arabia now. I shouldn’t say this dude, but I mean, look at my boy Vivic. How many, like, I could be wrong when I say this, weren’t like a significant amount of like the 9/11 guys Saudi, do they have Saudi passports is that what it was?”
Unsurprisingly, Strickland flipped the script in no time and also praised the Saudi people for their wealth as fighters get handsome paychecks when UFC returns to the region with a couple of events each year.
“That is, that are you backing them up? I think that’s what it was, and then the crazy thing about that Saudi Arabia. You know they seem like a real great people, and you gave us a lot of money, so thank you. I’m sure you lined my paycheck, and I appreciate that, but they get off a plane, and they go, and they randomly run into a guy from, like, the intelligence agency, and they go and stay with him.”
This is not the first time Strickland has had Saudi Arabia on his radar. Earlier, when his potential matchup with Khamzat Chimaev was making headlines, he dismissed the idea of traveling to Saudi Arabia and taking on the fight due to apparent cultural differences.
Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ disdain for Belal Muhammad hasn’t appeared to dissipate in the months on from their title showdown in Manchester.
Edwards and Muhammad ran their rivalry back last July in England, sharing the Octagon again three years on from a UFC Fight Night headliner at the Apex that ended in a disappointing no contest.
With animosity from that clash continuing to build, there was certainly no love lost between the pair when “Remember the Name” challenged for “Rocky’s” 170-pound gold at UFC 304 inside the Co-op Live.
The Jamaica-born Brit has repeatedly expressed his desire to exact revenge on Muhammad, and he expects to earn the chance to do so by defeating Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC Fight Night London main event next month.
Despite how their second bout unfolded, Edwards still doesn’t have much respect for the champ’s skillset, believing he’ll make a quick return to the throne.
During an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Edwards was asked the old-age question of who he perceives to be the greatest fighter. This time, however, the topic also strayed to the worst, providing “Rocky” with the chance to take a jab at his arch-nemisis.
“For me, I would say Jon Jones,” Edwards said when discussing the best fighter of all time. “My second best is Anderson Silva.
“(Worst?) Belal… I’d love to run it back,” Edwards continued. “Normal time. I’d love to run it back again (in 2025).”
“Rocky” will look to prove that as the key factor in last year’s result by working his way back to the top and levelling the score with Muhammad in their ongoing feud.
For the time being, Edwards will need to have full focus on the dangerous Della Maddalena. Muhammad, meanwhile, is expected to figure in a rearranged showdown with Shavkat Rakhmonov for his delayed first title defense.
Dana White has reiterated his stance on free speech following Bryce Mitchell’s controversial podcast comments, in which the UFC featherweight praised Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust.
Speaking to Piers Morgan, White made it clear that while he finds Mitchell’s views abhorrent, he stands by the principle of free speech.
“What I said was, what he said was disgusting,” White stated. “You have to be an absolute moron to think that Adolf Hitler was a good guy. You look at World War II and how many people were killed, how many civilians were killed because of Adolf Hitler. The fact that he tried to annihilate an entire group of people is disgusting for anybody to speak remotely good about Hitler. But I do believe in free speech, and even though I don’t like what he said, and even though what he said makes me sick, free speech is real. It lives and exists, and we have to protect free speech.”
White emphasized that free speech is a core principle within the UFC, which manages a roster of hundreds of fighters. According to him, free speech cannot be applied selectively.
“I think probably the most important free speech to protect is hate speech,” White said. “Because when a government or a certain person can come out and determine, ‘This is hate speech,’ it’s a very slippery slope, and it’s dangerous, in my opinion. Listen, I’m American. I was born and grew up in America. I believe in the American dream, I believe in free speech, I believe in all these things. You can’t just say it and not live it.”
White’s stance on free speech has come under fire due to past instances of media members being denied credentials to cover events due to their coverage of the promotion.
The UFC CEO made it clear that UFC fighters are not subject to termination, fines, or other forms of punishment based solely on their speech — no matter how offensive it may be.
“You’ve got guys that pop up like Bryce Mitchell that say ignorant, stupid things, and I will exercise my right to free speech and say I don’t agree with what he said,” White said. “But he can say what he wants to say. We don’t have to agree with it or believe in what he says, but he has the right to say it. It’s the disgusting, despicable things like what he said that truly define what free speech is.”
The defeat marked Adesanya’s third consecutive defeat and has sparked widespread speculation about his future. According to Brown, having lost four of his last five fights, Adesanya may need to reconsider his championship aspirations in the UFC.
“He’s got to be thirsty again,” Brown explained on the latest episode of MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer. “He’s got to go back to getting up at 5 a.m. on your silk sheets and not going out on Saturday night. You’ve got to go back to those things you did as a youth.
“That’s a hard thing to do. It’s not easy. He’s comfortable. He’s had an amazing career. That’s hard to forget all that and go back to training, going back to those day-one things. Should he retire? I think that’s the big question. That’s going to be up to himself, but I would have to agree that he’s probably not getting back to title fights any time soon. Probably never again.”
Adesanya must make adjustments if he hopes to contend for a championship again. However, the middleweight division, unlike some others in the UFC, lacks an abundance of established stars.
This raises questions about Adesanya’s long-term goals, as Brown suggests.
“He’ll have to decide for himself if he wants to retire because he’s held the title for so long. It’s like, do you want to keep fighting middle-of-the-road fights or whatever?” Brown said. “I was trying to think of some fun fights that would just be fun for him. Nothing really came up in my head. I’m sure there are always options out there that would be fun. The other option, if the UFC would let him do it — I know we would all love to see him in some influencer boxing stuff. I’d love to see him fight Jake Paul or something.
“But what’s he going to do in the UFC? What are you going to do? How excited are you going to get to just fight [random] guys? If you’re not working towards a goal, working towards the title, you’re just putting yourself at risk all the time. Now if he needs the money, that’s a different thing. I’m hoping he doesn’t.”
As Adesanya approaches his 36th birthday, he may need to reinvent his fighting style. Brown points out that Adesanya’s current approach relies heavily on quick reactions, precise striking, and impeccable timing — attributes that will naturally decline with age.
Dmitry Menshikov has competed under the ONE Championship banner since June 2023. Following victories in organizations such as Glory, the Russian debuted in the Asian promotion at ONE Fight Night 11 in Bangkok, Thailand.
He arrived straight into a title shot, challenging the lightweight Muay Thai rule of Regian Eersel. Menshikov’s first taste of ONE action was quick, with “The Immortal” landing a knockout blow in just 46 seconds.
Since then, the 27-year-old has won three straight, most recently stopping fellow former title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE Fight Night 22 last April. Though he’s been away from the ring for 10 months, that’s seemingly not without trying.
A press release via Menshikov and his manager this week revealed major frustration at his layoff. They claim that numerous requests to fight were ignored and met with silence by the ONE Championship matchmakers.
The Russian is now approaching his return at ONE Friday Fights 97 later this month, but that booking would appear to have come too little, too late. The 27-year-old has served the organization with legal papers citing an alleged failure to fulfil contractual obligations and outlined his plan to enter free agency following his upcoming bout.
“I had some great fights with ONE, but a single bout per year is not a sustainable calendar for a competitive athlete and is a clear breach of the understanding between the fighter and the organization when we entered into a promotional contract,” Menshikov said. “For this reason, I will be entering free agency after the upcoming February 14th bout.
“I find it strange that all my wins are by KO or TKO, yet ONE chose to rebook the fighters I KO’d rather than myself. Maybe they were cheaper, I don’t know. It’s hard to know anything that’s going on at ONE – our attempts throughout 2024 to reach the matchmakers were met by deafening silence,” Menshikov continued. “Several fighters have left recently because of being frustrated, like Sage Northcutt and Reinier de Ridder, and I think that’s the best solution for me as well. My contract only has a few months left on it anyway. At this point it’s probably easier for us all to go our separate ways.”
Image: ONE Championship
The exact details of Menshikov’s ONE Championship contract and any potential breaches are unknown, but the kickboxing and Muay Thai fighter’s manager is seemingly confident about the claim.
“Clearly if you sign a fighter to an exclusive contract, the intention is not for him to compete just once a year,” Andrey Busygin said. “We struggled all year to get clear answers from ONE’s matchmakers. In fact most of the time we couldn’t get an answer at all.
“When 2024 ended with just a single bout, our legal team determined that ONE Championship had failed to perform its duties under the contract and informed ONE accordingly. We have taken this short-notice ONE bout on February 14th because Menshikov needs a fight, but after that he will be entering free agency and returning to a full competitive schedule.”
Menshikov marks the latest fighter to express displeasure at the current situation in ONE, which has largely centered around a perceived abandonment of mixed martial arts as a focus.
Both Reinier de Ridder and Sage Northcutt departed in 2024, with the former joining the UFC and the latter briefly signing with the PFL before entering the inaugural GFL draft last month.
More recently, flyweight MMA fighter Reece McLaren publicly requested his release in an open letter to ONE Championship on social media. Like Menshikov, the Australian cited an alleged “ghosting” from the matchmaking team regarding his desire to fight.
Chael Sonnen believes that Khamzat Chimaev will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 312 main event on Saturday night, where Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland.
Sonnen’s reasoning stems from the UFC 311 event, which lost its main event at the last minute. Given that UFC 312 only features one middleweight bout, the former title contender suspects the promotion wouldn’t risk another title fight cancellation.
“I think Chimaev’s the backup fighter,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t believe that Chimaev is just the No. 1 contender. I don’t believe that the proximity of this fight is something that you would not book Chimaev, who allegedly has Western travel issues.”
Chimaev, who recently secured citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, is coming off a dominant first-round submission victory over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last October. This further solidifies Sonnen’s belief that Chimaev will be involved in some capacity at UFC 312.
“I don’t think you would do that without bringing him. I’m confident that Chimaev will be there, I’m confident he will be in attendance, so why, if you’re flying him out, would you not put him on the scale the day before? I’m asking. I don’t know that answer.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland evidently wasn’t too impressed by how rival Dricus Du Plessis had his hand raised at the expense of Israel Adesanya last year.
Strickland and Du Plessis are renewing hostilities this week in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll run it back 13 months on from the South African’s title-winning victory over “Tarzan” in Canada.
With that in mind, “Stillknocks” has been touting his evolution as a fighter across the past 12 months, claiming to have grown more as an athlete than Strickland since they last collided.
During a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, the polaziring American responded to those remarks. Suffice to say, he does not agree…
“I don’t know about that,” Strickland said. “Dude, you fought Izzy, and Izzy was beating you in striking. I dog walked Izzy. Don’t get too excited, Izzy. I mean that in a striking sense. Maybe you (Du Plessis) might wrestle a little bit more.
“It was good dude…he took the guy down again. He took the coward’s way out, real bad,” Strickland continued. “He’s supposed to be a strong South African, but wants to wrestle him. Real bad, dude. At the end of the day, he fought well, but you’re gonna let the Chinaman beat you in striking, which we all remember. … I don’t like to wrestle. I’m a grown ass man. I do the right things. I stand and strike.”
Those comments are not surprising given the lead-up to Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view, which has seen the challenger lay down a striking-only challenge to Du Plessis.
Given how quick the South African was to shut that down, Strickland’s takedown defense could be tested come fight night at Qudos Bank Arena.
One ranked UFC contender thinks they know the reasoning behind the decision to cut heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik from his contract.
Rozenstruik arrived in Saudi Arabia last week off the back of consecutive victories inside the Octagon and with an opportunity to climb into title contention with a victory over a top five contender in Sergei Pavlovich.
Instead, “Bigi Boy” exited the anb Arena with a loss added to his record and his UFC tenure over.
After a decision defeat in a lackluster three-round contest with the Russian former interim title challenger, Rozenstruik was quickly released by the UFC. That decision came shortly after Dana White had described the fight as “horrible” during his post-fight press conference.
While the Surinamese heavyweight has long faced criticism for a safe and gun-shy style, the decision to cut him still turned plenty of surprised heads in the community.
Recent lightweight title challenger Renato Moicano appeared on X to give his two cents, suggesting that the promotion may be using Rozenstruik as an opportunity to send a message to the entire heavyweight roster.
That’s crazy they cut Jairzinho! 2 losses on the last 5 fights! I think UFC is trying to send a message to heavyweights!
He’ll look to bring his usual entertaining style back to the cage in 2025, be it in a long-awaited unification showdown with Jon Jones or a title defense against a top contender.
Israel Adesanya isn’t finished with his UFC career just yet — at least, that’s the belief of a UFC Hall of Famer.
Once revered as one of the most dominant UFC middleweight champions, “The Last Stylebender” now finds himself in a turbulent chapter of his career, enduring one of the roughest stretches of his professional run with three consecutive setbacks.
Several fans and analysts are now speculating that the 35-year-old Nigerian-born Kiwi has surpassed his peak and should consider hanging up the gloves. However, former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier isn’t ready to write him off just yet, believing Adesanya still has more fights left in him.
During a recent video on his YouTube channel, “DC” offered a candid assessment of Adesanya’s future in the Octagon while breaking down the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner.
“I believe that Adesanya is done fighting for titles, but what I do not believe is that Adesanya is done as a fighter,” Cormier said. “What I saw in round one was enough for me to believe that he could still compete. What I do believe, though, is that Israel Adesanya has earned the right to fight lesser competition right now but also less rounds.”
“He could fight on co-main events and would still add value to a pay-per-view. It doesn’t always have to be in those five-round main events. But when you saw what he did last weekend, Saudi Arabia, sold out, big gate, now you know why Adesanya is still being put in those positions. But in that first round I saw enough to say he can still compete. He looked fast, he looked sharp, but it’s not the speed that’s gone from Adesanya. It’s the ability to see things coming, that quickness, the vision, and when you get hit as you get older, you go down.”
Adesanya has competed in 12 title fights, securing an 8-4 record across his total of 18 UFC appearances. “The Last Stylebender” first relinquished his middleweight title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281, only to reclaim it in a dramatic rematch at UFC 287. However, his reign was short-lived, as he lost the belt once more to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
Following Michael Page’s victory over Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, Michael Bisping has suggested that Page might be better suited for the middleweight division.
Despite the Brit’s stated intention to return to welterweight, Bisping believes the 185-pound weight class offers more favorable matchups for “MVP.”
The former UFC middleweight champion shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel, highlighting the abundance of wrestlers in the welterweight division as a potential challenge for Page.
“Of course, you’ve got Belal Muhammad, you’ve got Shavkat Rakhmonov that you’d think would definitely wrestle ‘MVP’ if he was to fight him. There’s Kamaru Usman and many, many others.”
Bisping also analyzed Page’s performance against Magomedov, acknowledging his dominance in the fight.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for (Magomedov), but I’ve got to call it like I see it. ‘MVP’ was by far the better man tonight,” Bisping said. “He was the better striker, he was in control, he was dominant, and he was owning the octagon. More importantly, he was frustrating Shara ‘Bullet.’ Shara is a really good striker. He’s very aggressive, and he’s got really fast kicks, but he’s kind of conventional.
“That is why ‘MVP’ probably called him out because he’s seen that style a thousand times. ‘MVP,’ with the traditional sport karate background, with the hands low, with the precision striking, with the one-shot kind of power — ‘MVP’ has seen that style many, many times. But Shara ‘Bullet’ hasn’t seen that style. And not many people who have that style can deliver it and execute it with the precision that Michael ‘Venom’ Page can.”
Page has primarily competed at welterweight throughout his career. While his overall record is impressive, his record at 170 pounds in the UFC stands at 1-1.
He secured a decision victory over Kevin Holland on debut at UFC 299 but later lost to Ian Garry by decision at UFC 303.
Dricus Du Plessis has revealed that he walks around 230 lbs when not in training camp, which is shocking, considering that he fights in the UFC middleweight division that has an upper limit of 185 lbs.
It is normal for combat sports athletes to experiment a little and choose a weight division in which they feel agile, durable, and powerful. You might not notice it as a fan, but weight cutting, over the years, has become a very complex and integral part of the sport.
From Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov to Yoel Romero and Deiveson Figueiredo, some of the biggest names out there have faced significant weight-cut complications throughout their career. Most of the times, fights are canceled due to weight misses and fines are imposed on the fighter who weighs in over the limit.
The South African understands the importance of weight cutting well and has a proper team to help him fight in middleweight without health and fitness-related worries. In a recent interview with Mark Bouris ahead of UFC 312 in Australia, “Stillknocks” revealed his walk-in weight:
“Around 102 -105 kgs. That’s me, like, I would say three weeks after a fight, four weeks after a fight. Then you’re training, eating whatever you didn’t eat in the last 12 weeks. You’re eating whatever you want, drinking a lot of beer and enjoying life a little for that period because you have to do that. You have to unwind and also, I love this sport more than anything. So, you also have that break.”
Since Du Plessis fights at 185lbs (approximately 83.9 kg), he cuts 15 to 20 kgs in the fight camp to make it to the weigh-in. However, it is important to note that fighters get a couple of days to rehydrate before the actual fight which is why they look different on fight day compared to weigh-in day.
Du Plessis also recalled the days when he used to compete at 170lbs:
“When I was 25 , 26 you know my body just became heavier and bigger, so to make that weight, my body fat was like 3%. and I made the weight, but every shot I would take feels like somebody’s hitting me with a baseball bat and that’s It. I said no I’m not doing this anymore because I’m going to lose unnecessary fights and it took the joy out of sport because my diet had to, I had one week off in terms of just diet and then I’d start dieting for the next fight because I would go up from 77 getting in the cage at around 92. A week later, I’m a 100 kilos again so then the whole process start all over and that’s not healthy.”
Along with the weight cut, Du Plessis highlighted why proper rehydration is a big deal for fighters who’re expected to take a lot of damage in every outing:
“We need to get punched in the face, you need to be able to perform for the timing, it’s I mean you have to be able to perform at the highest level on earth, you know cardio wise, muscle endurance all of that I mean whole body is consist of water so if your brain, I mean the shots you take so you have to all that in consideration when you’re cutting this weight and do it in such a manner where it doesn’t negatively affect your fights.”
Based on the numbers stated above, it is safe to say that Du Plessis is a huge middleweight like Alex Pereira, who currently holds light heavyweight gold in the UFC.
After taking on a couple more contenders at middleweight like Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov, the middleweight kingpin can definitely consider moving up a weight class as his physique is suited to compete in two weight divisions.
Darren Till has come to Israel Adesanya’s defense following the former two-time champ’s latest loss.
The defeat in the main event of UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia marked Adesanya’s third consecutive setback and has led to some criticism from corners of the fanbase. Having lost four of his last five fights, Adesanya faces increased scrutiny. Till, who also endured a losing streak before exiting the UFC, has dismissed any negative talk about “The Last Stylebender” as unwarranted.
In a passionate social media post, Till responded to claims that Adesanya’s supposed “downfall” should be analyzed, expressing frustration with his lack of appreciation for Adesanya’s accomplishments.
“I have just read a comment on an MMA page saying the downfall of Israel Adesanya needs to be studied!!!!!!!!! Can everyone on here who is not an absolute moron understand that statement!!!!!! I am trying so hard to understand it but can’t… I’m so confused… What downfall????”
Till acknowledged that his career didn’t meet expectations but strongly disagreed with applying the same narrative to Adesanya.
“I’ve seen people comment about downfalls, studies, etc.… all that sh*t like ‘the downfall of Darren Till needs to be studied.’ I get that. I should have excelled more in the UFC than I did, but some certain factors didn’t let me… But now, I swear I cannot even fathom that I have just seen a comment saying Israel Adesanya’s downfall needs to be studied. Me and Izzy aren’t friends, I wouldn’t even say I’m his biggest fan outside of the octagon, but that’s got f*ck all to do with what that man has achieved in this sport. He was a f*cking wrecking machine at middleweight. No one could beat him. At one stage, he looked unbeatable in his title reign. He made Paulo Costa look like a baby—who, by the way, had a war with Yoel Romero. He absolutely bodied Robert Whittaker. IZZY was an absolute wrecking machine in his day. He is without a doubt one of the middleweight GOATs, and it’s not even up for debate. In fact, he could lose his next five fights, and it wouldn’t change a f*cking thing about his GOAT status.”
Till also criticized modern MMA fans, arguing that they let personal biases affect their opinions of fighters.
“But these MMA fans today are so f*cking dumb. IQ of about 10. I just look and think, oh my f*cking god. Hope is lost. A man like IZZY should be worshipped among MMA fans and the UFC. He’s literally one of the all-time greats. You don’t have to like him. No one gives a f*ck, in fact. But we pay to watch fighting, and if it’s fighting we are talking about—MMA as per se—Izzy was one of the best.”
Till also pointed to Colby Covington as another example of a fighter whose skills are often overlooked due to his polarizing personality.
“Problems nowadays are all these dumb c*nts on here let their emotions take over the facts. So if someone doesn’t like a fighter’s personality, they say they’re sh*t. Prime example: Colby Covington. You all hate him, so you all say he’s sh*t. He’s this, he’s that. Colby Covington is a top-tier f*cking division wrestler. The motherfcker runs up mountains. He lives and breathes the sport. He’s an absolute savage. Cardio for days like I’ve never seen. But because he acts like a complete fool, everyone likes to say he’s sh*t, acting on their own personal emotions towards him. Use are all f*cking dumb. Dumb as fck. Over and out!”
I have just read a comment on an MMA page saying the downfall of Israel Adesanya needs to be studied!!!!!!!!! Can everyone on here who is not absolute moron actually understand that statement!!!!!! I am trying so hard to understand it but can’t… I’m so confused… What…
Heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s display in the Middle East this past weekend was enough to signal the end of his UFC journey.
Rozenstruik featured on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, sharing the Octagon with a fellow power-puncher in Sergei Pavlovich. While that left many predicting a knockout one way or the other, fans inside Riyadh’s anb Arena instead witnessed three rounds of lackluster action.
The Russian ultimately had his hand raised after getting the nod on all three scorecards, but neither man has been exempt from criticism in the aftermath.
For “Bigi Boy,” the bout marked his latest gun-shy performance. The Surinamese behemoth has produced plenty of highlights inside the Octagon, knocking out the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, and Chris Daukaus. But he’s also frequently been criticized for a perceived safe approach in other outings.
And the UFC evidently shares the frustration of the fanbase.
Just days on from the Feb. 1 event in Saudi Arabia, Rozenstruik has been released from his contract. After the @UFCRosterWatch account on X first flagged his removal from the roster, MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin confirmed the release.
Rozenstruik departs having gone 9-6 under the UFC banner. The 36-year-old featured in six main events and collected three Performance of the Night bonuses.
It remains to be seen what will come next for “Bigi Boy,” but fans are already speculating about a potential move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in the coming weeks and months.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, has been following Alex Pereira’s career closely for years and thinks he is easily one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in the world.
The South African is set to defend his title for the second time at UFC 312 against a familiar opponent he faced last year, Sean Strickland. The bad blood between the two fighters is yet to be settled, and they’re promising another back-and-forth war to fans worldwide.
At UFC 297, “Stillknocks” had clinched the UFC middleweight title via a split decision. However, his first title defense against two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was definitely more promising as he became the first athelete to submit “The Last Stylebender”.
On the other hand, Strickland is coming off a much less exciting but dominant win over Paulo Costa.
Interestingly, in the first fight, the American had Pereira in his corner and the UFC light heavyweight champion will be in his corner at UFC 312 as well. Du Plessis considers the Brazilian a potential opponent and in a recent interview with Mark Bouris, he sent a chilling message to “Poatan”.
“How’s it going to feel to be in Sean Strickland’s corner losing again…One day when we fight, he’ll be zero and 2.”
Despite the cold trash talk, Du Plessis also praised his fellow UFC champ by saying:
“I think he is one of the greatest combat athletes to ever live. He is a phenomenal athlete. to go in a short period of time from a different sport and not just a different sport, kickboxing, which is not a great base for MMA. It helps, but if that’s the only thing you know, not a great base if you want to go up against these wrestling guys. He came in and just went through everyone after being one of the greatest K1 kickboxers to ever live. I mean in multiple titles at the highest level comes in a short period of time and just becomes a two, like middle weight champion, goes to light heavyweight, becomes champion and being one of the biggest names, always, like always ready to fight.”
After acknolweding Pereira’s impressive and quick rise in MMA after a massively successful kickboxing career, he explained why the UFC light heavyweight kingpin is a special combat sports athelete:
“I have the world’s respect for him as a fighter, I think and you know, as a person even I think. We are rivals, but, you know, I have the utmost respect for what he’s achieved in the sport and he’s truly one of the goats to ever. Not [just] MMA or in the UFC , in combat sports. I think, probably, the most acheived combat sports athlete the world’s ever seen.”
As of now, Du Plessis is locked in for what could be another slugfest with Strickland on Saturday at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although the middlweight division is stacked with contenders like Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho, the champion might show interest in moving up for a superfight against Pereira.
After being one of the most dominant UFC champions ever, Israel Adesanya has now lost four of his last five fights in the promotion. While the losses to Alex Pereira, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland came in title fights, Nassourdine Imavov became the first fighter to beat “The Last Stylebender” in a non-title fight.
Unsurprisingly, Adesanya dominated the first round with a tactical approach. Using his reach advantage and feints, the former UFC middleweight champion landed a few heavy kicks on the body and limbs, keeping his opponent unsettled.
Izzy, who usually starts slow and relies on counter-striking, could be seen putting the pressure on Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia. “The Sniper” only landed a solid uppercut in the first round and failed to secure any takedowns.
Things took a sudden turn in the second round, though. Adesanya started with a high pace yet again but suffered an eye poke 20 seconds into the round. Marc Goddard stepped in to check if the former champ wanted time to recover but was asked to let the fight continue.
To everyone’s surprise, Imavov knocked down Adesanya in the very next exchange after the eye poke and got the TKO win. After the fight, fans could not help but draw parallels to Pereira’s UFC 300 main event against Jamahal Hill. The challenger hit “Poatan” in the groin which led to Herb Dean stepping in like Marc Goddard to check on the affected fighter.
Just like Izzy, Pereira shrugged away the referee and in the very next exchange, knocked out Hill with a left hook to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship. Considering “Poatan” and “The Last Stylebender” are long-time rivals, it was interesting for many fans how both of them stopped the referee from intervening but got completely opposite results right away.
The tweets embedded below show just two of the many fans who believe that Izzy failed to recreate Pereira’s iconic UFC 300 KO win:
As usual, Adesanya has no excuses for his KO loss to Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia. And of course, he wasn’t trying to copy his former rival by not allowing Goddard to stop the action during his fight. However, considering his long history with Pereira, it’s nonetheless amusing how their stories were intertwined yet again.
It’s no secret what Bellator Bantamweight Champion Patchy Mix wants from the Professional Fighters League in 2025. He wants out.
While the PFL ended last year with some strong championship events, things outside the cage didn’t exactly go smoothly for the organization.
Numerous fighters who came over as part of the PFL’s acquisition of Bellator MMA expressed their discontent, with legendary champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire leading the way with his public criticism of his new employer.
Another Bellator titleholder who has demanded to be let go in recent months is Mix, who won the bantamweight belt in April 2023 with a knockout of Raufeon Stots.
Frustrated with canceled fights that left him with just one title defense in 2024, “No Love” joined Freire in targeting free agency. But while the Bellator legend is now free from his contract and pushing for a UFC signing, Mix remains part of the PFL.
And he recently surfaced again on Instagram to make a fresh plea for a release, citing the new uncertainty surrounding his status as a champ after the PFL eliminated the Bellator brand from its plans moving forward.
“Right now im 31 years of age. In the prime of my career. I spent my last 6 years of my life fully dedicated to @bellatormma. I worked extremely hard and sacrificed everything to win the grand prix and become a (3) multi time world champion. Now with the promotion gone I’m exactly champion of what?
“I’ve always showed up to put it on the line have never turned down a single fight. Right now in perspective as a healthy world champion I fought just once going on 15 months now. All my momentum in my career has been lost, As this is the longest layoff of my 31 fights I’ve had between amateur and pro.
“I’m 20-1 now close to 5 years undefeated. I’ve finished my last 13/15 opponents and am legitimately one round removed from a perfect 21-0. Not boring entertainer either since I have an 80 percent finish rate. I KNOW I’m the best in the world at bantamweight and I want to prove this.
“I ask this with the upmost respect and urgency from @dscct@pflmma PLEASE RELEASE ‼️ me from my contract so I can perform to make money and do what I have to do to support my family. I’m in the prime of my career and I’m the BEST. I should be able to compete against the other best fighters In the world and not be on the shelf. If the sky was the limit I’m on the moon right now skill wise and there should be only one octagon I display my skill set in. Plus the ambassador for @pflmma is @francisngannou I mean I’m a world champion out of the same gym and you personally see how hard I work and try to be a leader for this team. This is no way to treat a champion. RELEASE patchy mix ‼️”
Given Mix’s status as one of the top bantamweights in the world, in addition to his relatively young age of 31, it remains to be seen whether the PFL higher-ups will oblige like they did Freire’s request for a release last month.
The always entertaining Matthew Semelsberger will no longer be plying his trade under the UFC banner.
Semelsberger debuted for the mixed martial arts leader in 2020 after a knockout under the Art of War Cage Fighting banner moved him to 6-2 as a professional.
“Semi the Jedi” went on to compete 11 times inside the Octagon, going 5-6. The 32-year-old delivered plenty of highlights, including thunderous knockouts of Jason Witt and Martin Sano Jr. that both came in under 20 seconds.
He’s struggled in recent years, though, having not had his hand raised since 2022. And four defeats on the bounce was all she wrote for Semelsberger’s time in the UFC, as he revealed in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Giving an honest assessment of his most recent years in the Octagon, “Semi the Jedi” admitted that he no longer deserves a place on the UFC roster.
“Officially released from the UFC. Par for the course, I don’t deserve to be there with the best of the best and ive shown that these last few fights in particular,” Semelsberger wrote. “Everyone hits plateaus & filters in life and in their careers. It’s happened many times in my life and I’ve tasted the pain of both discipline and regret in succeeding or failing to climb levels. The whole you either die a hero or live to become the enemy rings true to me because life is a serious of metaphorical deaths and rebirths.
“You can’t stay the same, you gotta grow and let go of your old self to evolve a stronger heart and spirit. Letting go has been difficult for me the last few years but ya know I’ve found that eventually, often late, God gets the truth through to me and I respond accordingly. Everything that’s happening is setting me up for greatness, I got faith on that. It is up to me to answer the call to adventure though. So I’ll BRB, gonna go die and be reborn from the ashes right quick.. Really think you’ll like the new guy 😉”
The momentum shifted early in the second round when Adesanya protested an eye poke but chose not to take a timeout. Before he could properly reset, Imavov capitalized, landing a devastating right hand. Seconds later, a barrage of ground-and-pound forced the referee to step in and stop the fight.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Adesanya’s striking coach, Mike Angove, praised Imavov for executing a thoughtful game plan and capitalizing on the moment to claim the victory.
He also highlighted that the former UFC middleweight champion’s decision to forgo the timeout after the eye poke prevented him from resetting, which eventually led to the knockout.
“The name of the game, particularly in small gloves: You can’t make mistakes,” Angove said. “We made a mistake. Nassourdine, I would say, with his team, recognized when we made that mistake and they jumped on it – which means they have to have planned. So you’ve got to congratulate them for that. Izzy got poked in the eye. There was a break. Izzy didn’t want to take the break – was just keen on getting on with it. But in doing that, he didn’t reset as you normally would and create some space.
“That means you’re still in the firing zone, and then you want him to keep the pressure on. It’s just one of those things. It just happens. He felt he was doing well in the fight and wanted to keep that pressure on, and Nassourdine caught him switching – beautiful right hand that resonated around the stadium and he couldn’t recover from that. It was right on the button, and then he followed up with a left hook against the cage and the referee came and stopped it.”
Adesanya’s reign as the 185-pound champion came to an end when he lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in September 2023. He then suffered another setback in his attempt to regain the title, falling short against the reigning champion, Dricus Du Plessis, at UFC 305 this past August
More recently, McGregor’s latest tirade against longtime rival and ex-opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov drew backlash due to his use of racial slurs. The social media post marked one of many verbal attacks on the Dagestani, who submitted him to retain the lightweight title at UFC 229 in 2018.
While it’s long been clear that McGregor isn’t over his feud with Khabib and his team, if anyone doubted that, footage showing what happens at the mere mention of “The Eagle’s” name in his presence should prove as much.
A video emerged this week showing an individual shouting, “Let’s go Khabib,” at McGregor, who was attending some sort of function. The Dubliner can be seen turning around and approaching the man, before shockingly spitting in his face.
“I spit in your face, what’d you do? Nothing,” the UFC star says to the individual in the clip, which was originally posted to TikTok by @jgomez9.
Conor McGregor spit in this guys face after he yelled “Let’s go Khabib” 😬
Topping the lineup will be reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis, who is tasked with getting the better of a familiar foe in Sean Strickland if he’s to record a second successful title defense.
Also set to make the walk on Saturday will be the likes of heavyweight Justin Tafa, featherweight Jack Jenkins, and bantamweight Aleksandre Topuria, brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria.
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC 312 (as of 2/3), courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Dricus Du Plessis (-198) vs. Sean Strickland (+164)
Zhang Weili (+102) vs. Tatiana Suarez (-122)
Justin Tafa (+120) vs. Tallison Teixeira (-142)
Jimmy Crute (+136) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (-162)
Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
Preliminary Card:
Jack Jenkins (+185) vs. Gabriel Santos (-225)
Tom Nolan (+120) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (-142)
Wang Cong (-485) vs. Bruna Brasil (+370)
Colby Thicknesse (+330) vs. Aleksandre Topuria (-425)
Early Preliminary Card:
Rongzhu (+200) vs. Kody Steele (-245)
Kevin Jousset (-245) vs. Jonathan Micallef (+200)
Quillan Salkilld (-550) vs. Anshul Jubli (+410)
HyunSung Park (-218) vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (+180)
