UFC star Mackenzie Dern has explained how playing poker, in her mind, has helped her to become a better mixed martial artist.
On Saturday night, Mackenzie Dern will get the chance of a lifetime. She will go head to head with Virna Jandiroba as the two battle it out for the UFC strawweight championship. This will be the second time that they fight one another in the UFC, and when they first met five years ago, it was Dern who managed to get her hand raised.
While there will undoubtedly be some changes that both women implement heading into the rematch, Mackenzie Dern is bound to be feeling confident. She is just one big performance and win away from cementing her legacy as a UFC champion, something that she’s been striving for ever since she first entered the promotion.
In a recent interview, Dern revealed that there’s something pretty interesting that she believes has been helping her in the last twelve months – poker.
Mackenzie Dern explains positive impact of playing poker
“Poker’s helped me control my emotions. I’m very impulsive, but in poker, you have to learn patience — folding, reading people, waiting for the right moment. It’s helped me become a better fighter, to be honest. I started playing about a year ago, and since then, I’m on a two-fight win streak. I think there’s a correlation there.”
Dern knows the size of the task that lies ahead of her, but if she’s able to stay calm under pressure, she’ll be well on her way to the title.
UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakic has spoken about how he’s mixed things up heading into his UFC 321 bout with Azamat Murzakanov.
On Saturday night, Aleksandar Rakic will make his return to the cage when he locks horns with Azamat Murzakanov. In his last three fights, Rakic has suffered defeats at the hands of Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev. If he’s serious about one day becoming a world champion in the UFC, he can’t afford too many losses – especially against a surging challenger like Murzakanov.
Aleksandar Rakic has always been pretty highly thought of by mixed martial arts fans, but whether it be due to injuries or stumbling on the big stage, he hasn’t quite been able to reach that next level. If he can hand Murzakanov his first ever professional loss in the sport, and do so convincingly, it could go a long way to repairing his reputation.
In a recent interview, Rakic had the following to say about what he’s changed as we get closer and closer to fight night in Abu Dhabi.
Aleksandar Rakic discusses changes ahead of UFC 321
“I changed teams. I changed my whole team. I have a new head coach, training in Serbia full-time, and yeah, it took me like one year exactly now from the last fight to digest everything and to work with the new team and to get clicked. And I believe you will see on Saturday night the full potential of Alexander Rakic.”
Can he turn things around? We’ll have to wait and see.
UFC veteran Marlon Vera has revealed what his team has told him to work on in the wake of his controversial defeat to Aiemann Zahabi.
On Saturday night, Marlon Vera suffered a narrow loss at the hands of Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Vancouver. As we look ahead to the future, many have already started to question what kind of future he has in the division – whereas others are busy suggesting that ‘Chito’ was actually robbed of a victory by the judges.
Marlon Vera is the kind of fighter who will be able to bounce back from this latest disappointment but at the same time, a win here could’ve really vaulted him back into contention. In an interview after the event, Vera had the following to say.
Marlon Vera reveals advice from team after UFC Vancouver
“After the fight, I was hurt but didn’t want to celebrate. I went back to my room, showered, and stayed there with my team talking for hours. We talked about pushing faster in the first round. Life gives you hurdles and obstacles, you jump them or go around them. It’s part of the road and it’s okay.”
Vera needs to get back to being the kind of explosive, dominant fighter that he was once upon a time – and if he’s able to do that, then perhaps he can start to string a bit of a run together. Either way, you’d have to imagine he’ll fancy a second showdown with Zahabi at some point in the future.
UFC star Mackenzie Dern has opened up on a potential fight against Zhang Weili, who recently vacated the UFC strawweight championship.
As we know, Mackenzie Dern will battle Virna Jandiroba for the vacant UFC strawweight title on Saturday night. She will do so in the main event of UFC 321, and in Jandiroba, she’ll be facing an opponent that she’s already fought and beaten once before.
Of course, this is going to be a very different fight given that it’s been five years since their first meeting. For Mackenzie Dern, though, it’s all about staying humble, and keeping her feet on the ground.
With that in mind, it’s pretty interesting to hear her thoughts on how a fight between her and Zhang Weili would’ve played out at this stage in her career.
Mackenzie Dern’s view on possible Zhang Weili fight
“I definitely think that if Weili was champion right now of our division, and I mean, obviously, I wouldn’t say no to a title shot, but I don’t think I’d be ready to fight Weili right now at this moment of my career, you know what I mean?,” Dern told MMA Fighting. “But I do think that if I do win the belt, and then whatever — if we were to fight like at the White House or something in June — I feel like I’d be way more ready and prepared to fight her.
“I know it’s like, OK, it’s just like what? Like six months or eight months difference. How much better do you think you’re going to get in 8 months? But I think just winning the bell, there’s a confidence part that you get from that, and it’s just more training and more time. She was just so dominant in the strawweight division.”
UFC star Manon Fiorot is eager to stay active in the wake of her dominant win over Jasmine Jasudavicius at UFC Vancouver.
After her disappointing loss to Valentina Shevchenko when she attempted to claim the UFC women’s flyweight title, some questioned what would be next for Manon Fiorot. On Saturday night, she answered that question, and she did so in fairly dominant fashion, establishing herself as a legitimate title contender once again.
Of course, there’s still a notable road back to the gold for her, but Fiorot seems as confident as she’s ever been – which is a great sign given the loss she suffered at the hands of one of the greatest female fighters of all time.
After the win, Manon Fiorot made it known that she wants to get back in there as quickly as possible.
Manon Fiorot’s post-UFC Vancouver plans
“I made a lot of adjustments in my training camp, my training partners and my coach, but yeah, absolutely it was a perfect scenario for me,” Fiorot said speaking to reporters at the UFC Fight Night 262 post-fight press conference.
“I’m very disappointed every time I lose, but I think I made a good change and a good adjustment in my life and training camp. Tonight is a result of a good change,” Fiorot said.
“To be honest, I don’t care. I just want to fight as soon as possible,” Fiorort said when asked about any specific opponents. “Whoever the UFC chooses for me, I’ll take the fight.”
UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has once again made it clear that he is interested in heading up to light heavyweight to battle Alex Pereira for a second world title.
Following his dominant win over Dricus du Plessis, Khamzat Chimaev has made it clear that he wants to stay fairly active. There are a handful of potential challengers for him in the middleweight division, but given what we all know about ‘Borz’, it certainly feels like his preference is to venture up to 205 pounds in order to try and win a second belt.
While that may be an interesting idea, the current champ Alex Pereira doesn’t seem overly interested in this. Instead, he wants to battle it out with Jon Jones in the heavyweight division, and he wants to do it at next summer’s history UFC White House event.
In a recent podcast appearance, Khamzat Chimaev had the following to say about a potential collision with Pereira.
Khamzat Chimaev wants Alex Pereira fight
“I would love to fight for the second belt,” Chimaev said on the Badaev Podcast. “It’s no secret, the guy who’s got the belt at 205 pounds [Pereira] now is a very good matchup for me.”
“They say he has a lot of power, but I’ve never been edged out in that area. He used to fight at 185, too, and then moved up to 205. So I would like to fight at light heavyweight.”
Tom Aspinall‘s father and head coach Andy isn’t too concerned about Ciryl Gane heading into the UFC 321 main event this weekend.
On Saturday night, Tom Aspinall will defend his UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in the main event of the evening over in Abu Dhabi. While many are expecting the Englishman to successfully retain his belt, there’s always a chance that Gane can provide some kind of upset. After all, he’s a dynamic striker, and he’s been in there against some of the best in the heavyweight division.
Tom Aspinall is incredibly talented but as we know, he hasn’t gone beyond the first round a whole lot in his mixed martial arts career. If Gane can take him there on Saturday, who knows what could happen?
Either way, Aspinall’s father doesn’t seem too worried about what Gane can offer as a challenger.
Tom Aspinall's dad isn't too worried about Ciryl Gane 🤷♂️
"He's a good point fighter… he takes a lot of shots to finish people. Tom's a lot more clinical. I don't think his skill set will cause [Tom] issues at all." #UFC321pic.twitter.com/u4rdBta6lq
“Ciryl Gane, he’s a good point fighter for me. He’s a kickbox, flicker, and toucher. He finishes fights but he takes a lot of shots to finish people. Tom is a lot more clinical. I don’t think his skill set will cause him issues at all.”
Aspinall has the ability to take people down, but Gane knows that’s also been a weak part of his game historically. Who knows, maybe instead of a striking affair, we wind up with some interesting grappling exchanges.
Whatever happens, there will be plenty of eyes on this main event from around the division.
UFC star Islam Makhachev has joked about needing new haters in the wake of receiving praise from former opponent Dan Hooker.
At UFC 322 next month, Islam Makhachev will move up to welterweight in order to challenge for his second UFC title. He will do so against Jack Della Maddalena, and while many believe that Islam has what it takes to get the job done, it’s also been noted that the size difference could prove to be a problem for him – especially after what JDM was able to do in his title fight with Belal Muhammad, who is also a wrestle-heavy kind of fighter.
For Islam Makhachev, winning over critics hasn’t always been the easiest thing, but it’s also never really been his primary objective. He goes out there to put on a show, and now, he’s planning on making history by joining an exclusive group of fighters who have been able to win a UFC title in two different weight classes.
After Dan Hooker recently praised Makhachev for his eagerness to step up to this kind of challenge, Islam couldn’t help but respond on social media.
After Islam Makhachev read about Dan Hooker praising him, he came to X to share his feelings on witnessing an old foe become a fan in the most Islam Makhachev way possible. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0zSLQu0W7y
Islam Makhachev responds to Dan Hooker praising him
“Need new haters, the old ones are starting to like me [sunglasses emoji]”.
Makhachev knows that there’s a real risk associated with facing someone like JDM, but if he can win the fight and do so convincingly, it’ll be pretty hard to argue against him being the number one pound for pound fighter in the sport.
UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria appears set to defend his title against Paddy Pimblett in January 2026, according to Shem Rock, a training partner of the Liverpool contender who spoke recently about the potential matchup.
Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett in 2026
Rock, who trains alongside Pimblett at Next Generation Liverpool, offered insight into his teammate’s preparation and the likelihood of the bout materializing. The newly-signed UFC fighter shared his perspective on what would mark the first UFC event of 2026 and the inaugural numbered card under the promotion’s new Paramount broadcast deal. Speaking to Kyle Diamond of Bloody Elbow, Shem Rock explained:
”What I think and what’s really happening might be two different things, but to me, Paddy versus Ilia makes sense,” Rock said. “He’s a big star; Ilia’s a big star. First pay-per-view of the year should be that. And look — Paddy’s training twice a week sparring, twice a week lifting, every week getting massages. He’s not doing that for fun. He’s training for a reason.”
The matchup has gained momentum following reports that the UFC originally planned to grant Justin Gaethje the next lightweight title shot. However, multiple sources indicate the promotion pivoted to Topuria-Pimblett to maximize viewership for their first Paramount event, a fight expected to capture more attention given the heated history between the two fighters.
Topuria captured the vacant UFC lightweight championship in June at UFC 317 with a first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira. The Georgian-Spanish fighter, who holds a perfect 17-0 record, became just the tenth fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes after previously reigning as featherweight champion. Following his victory, Topuria immediately called out Pimblett, leading to a confrontation inside the octagon where the champion shoved his rival and the two exchanged heated words.
Pimblett has positioned himself for a title shot after dominating Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April, securing a third-round technical knockout that extended his UFC record to 7-0. The Liverpool fighter climbed to number 10 in the lightweight rankings following the victory and has been vocal about wanting to face Topuria next.
The rivalry between Topuria and Pimblett dates back to March 2022, when they clashed physically at the fighters’ hotel during a UFC event in London. The confrontation stemmed from a social media post by Pimblett in early 2021 that referenced the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, which Topuria found deeply offensive as several people he knew had died in the conflict. During the London altercation, Pimblett threw a hand sanitizer bottle at Topuria, who retaliated before being restrained by his team.
Since then, the animosity has remained constant across social media and UFC events. The two fighters were placed on the same card again at UFC 282 in December 2022, where tensions nearly boiled over at the pre-fight press conference. Security intervened to prevent another physical confrontation as Topuria attempted to approach Pimblett during the media obligations.
UFC 324 on Paramount
UFC president Dana White has indicated that Topuria is a possibility to headline the first major UFC card on Paramount in January 2026. The promotion signed a broadcast rights deal with Paramount worth $7.7 billion over seven years, set to begin on January 1, 2026. While White has not officially confirmed the matchup, he told reporters after the Contender Series that matchmaking for the inaugural Paramount card began in mid-October.
The fight would likely take place at UFC 324 in Los Angeles on January 10, though the UFC has not made an official announcement. Topuria addressed the possibility during a press conference in Georgia, describing his participation in the January card as “very possible.” When asked about potential opponents, he left little doubt about his preference for facing Pimblett, citing their history and the demand from fans.
Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has maintained that his client deserves the title shot based on his ranking and experience in the division. However, the UFC appears to have prioritized the more marketable and combustible matchup between Topuria and Pimblett for the high-profile Paramount debut.
Pimblett has publicly stated he believes the fight will happen soon, recently suggesting on social media that he has already signed his contract while claiming Topuria has not yet done so. The Liverpool fighter has been open about his training focus, acknowledging that his striking timing needs improvement if he faces Topuria but expressing confidence in his grappling abilities.
Rock’s comments about Pimblett’s consistent training regimen align with the fighter’s known dedication during camp periods. Despite gaining significant weight between fights, Pimblett has successfully made the 155-pound lightweight limit for all his UFC appearances, including a documented 40-pound cut for UFC 314.
As the first numbered event under the new Paramount deal, UFC 324 represents a critical moment for the promotion to establish its partnership with a new broadcast platform. The organization appears to be banking on Topuria and Pimblett’s star power and genuine animosity to deliver a memorable main event that sets the tone for future Paramount cards.
Topuria enters as the favorite based on his status as the reigning champion and number one pound-for-pound fighter. His rise through two divisions has been marked by dominant victories over elite competition, including knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Oliveira. This bout would mark only his second fight at lightweight, but the 28-year-old has already proven he belongs among the division’s best.
Pimblett remains undefeated in the UFC since joining from Cage Warriors over four years ago, building a reputation for dramatic finishes and pre-fight entertainment. While bookmakers and analysts are expected to install him as a significant underdog, the British fighter has consistently exceeded expectations and remains confident he can shock the world.
As Rock observed from his position training alongside Pimblett at Next Generation Liverpool, the signs point to a fight happening sooner rather than later. Whether the matchup receives official confirmation in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but the pieces appear to be falling into place for one of the most anticipated grudge matches in recent UFC history.
Despite taking this fight on short notice after an injury to Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, Brendan Allen lived up to his promise to break Reinier De Ridder, forcing the corner of the two-division ONE champion to throw in the towel after four rounds to give him the win in the main event of UFC Vancouver.
De Ridder looked to use his size early, quickly locking up Allen in a clinch battle seconds into the bout. RDR managed to land a takedown about a minute later, with de Ridder searching for an arm-triangle choke. When Allen defended that, de Ridder looked to transition to the back. RDR worked the rest of the first from the back, landing punches and searching for the rear-naked choke and a late armbar attempt.
Allen looked to apply striking pressure to start the second round, but RDR quickly pinned him against the fence and scored a takedown. Halfway through the round, however, Allen managed to reverse the position, doing well with his striking from up top. De Ridder quickly brought the fight back to the ground in the third, getting right into top control on the back. Allen, however, again managed to reverse to top position, and by the end of the round, RDR appeared to be struggling to just get to his stool.
Allen scored a takedown to start the fourth, though De Ridder tried to score a choke from the bottom. Allen’s relenting pressure was too much, and referee Jason Herzog warned RDR after the round he needed to get to his corner or risk losing the fight. In the corner, the cornermen of a spent RDR threw in the towel, giving Allen the TKO win.
Brendan Allen Stops Reinier De Ridder At UFC Vancouver
Wow. Short notice upset. Brendan Allen went out there and broke RDR. That was an Alan Belcher-Rousimar Palhares-esque performance. Showed no fear in playing with fire, and it worked out. Coincidentally, they share that name, huh.
Allen has now won two straight and nine of 11, entering tonight off a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori at UFC 318.
RDR was 4-0 in the UFC entering tonight, scoring finishes of Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and Bo Nickal before a win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi. This was his first loss since dropping the ONE middleweight title in March 2024.
In what might have been one of the more bizarre fights of recent time, Mike Malott pulled off perhaps the biggest win of his UFC career so far, defeating Kevin Holland in front of a native Canadian crowd in the co-main event of UFC Vancouver.
After a quiet start, Holland managed to catch a kick from Malott and dropped him with a right hand. Malott, however, managed to grab a leg and sweep, getting on top with grappling pressure. Back on the feet, Malott landed a pair of accidental low blows on Holland in a short timespan, the latter being a knee to the groin that clearly hurt Holland. Holland took the full five minutes and continued despite appearing to still be in pain, but nothing significant was landed following that. Despite this and Drew Dober’s point deduction earlier in the evening, Malott was not deducted a point.
After a bizarre sequence of events to check on Holland’s condition, Malott seemed to find success in the second round with technical striking, including a combination and knee to the body that appeared to hurt Holland. Holland seemed to not pour out as much as he should have in the third, and a slam takedown and an arm-triangle attempt helped to secure Malott the decision victory.
Mike Malott Bests Kevin Holland At UFC Vancouver
In any just world, that's a 28-28 draw. But Dan Miragliotta is horrendous as his job so Mike Malott wins.
Mike Malott is genuinely so bad lmao kneed Holland’s balls into his stomach and still couldn’t even finish the guy. Holy fuck what a fraud this guy is. pic.twitter.com/2XppDS1zrH
#UFCVancouver going down as one of the weirdest cards of the year…
1. Malott kicks Holland’s nuts, he’s fine after 1 minute 2. Malott knees Holland’s nuts, waits the full five minutes, then decides to continue fighting 3. Holland clearly in pain still as the doctor asks if he… pic.twitter.com/Hk7puxohGO
Malott has now won three straight and is now 6-1 in the UFC since his 2021 appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. He entered tonight off a knockout of Charles Radtke at UFC 315.
Holland has now lost four of his last six, coming into tonight off a loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 318.
Aiemann Zahabi continues to make his climb up the bantamweight rankings, as he came away with a decision victory over former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC Vancouver.
Vera pressed the action early, opening up a cut on Zahabi’s nose, though Zahabi had his fair share of moments, appearing to out-strike Vera in the opening frame. Vera then pressured Zahabi during the second round, which included a jab in particular that appeared to rock Zahabi. The Canadian, however, managed to survive the second round and rallied in the third, digging with crisp combinations and leg kicks.
All three judges scored the bout 29-28, with Zahabi getting two judges’ nods to score the split decision win.
Aiemann Zahabi Gets Split Decision Nod Over Marlon Vera At UFC Vancouver
I think there was a missed opportunity there for Chito when he had him hurt. #UFCVancouver
Why is Chito Vera acting so pissed off? You had the guy in the 2nd round, and you chose to stall it. Zahabi was much better after stumbling, and it is ironic.#ufcfightnight
Manon Fiorot took many in the MMA community by surprise with just how quickly she disposed of Jasmine Jasudavicius, needing just over a minute to score the victory at UFC Vancouver.
Fiorot worked her jab early, landing flush on Jasudavicius from the very beginning. Fiorot landed a one-two about a minute into the fight, which rocked Jasudavicius. Fiorot then landed a pair of knees on the Canadian before raining down a barrage of blows that would force a referee’s stoppage.
Manon Fiorot Makes Easy Work Of Canada’s Jasmine Jasudavicius At UFC Vancouver
What a left hand from Fiorot! Expected a win from her but not like that!
Manon Fiorot wobbled Jasmine Jasudavicius and closed it out quickly. Massive finish for Fiorot but super tough for Jas in Canada. What a wild finish #UFCVancouver
Fiorot will win the title if she gets her rematch. She clearly folded under the lights last time. What a statement! #UFCVancouverhttps://t.co/SEgnG5ZX2x
This was Fiorot’s first fight since unsuccessfully challenging Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women’s flyweight championship at UFC 315 in May. That loss marked just the second of Fiorot’s career.
Jasudavicius sees a five-fight win streak snapped with this defeat.
In front of a native Canadian crowd, Charles Jourdain scored another highlight finish, putting away Davey Grant at UFC Vancouver.
Both men came out swinging from the opening bell, with Grant focused on leg kicks, while Jourdain fired back with sharp combinations. Grant looked for his signature flying knee, and after several explosive exchanges, he landed one.
Jourdain then took advantage of a busted-up Grant and landed some strong ground-and-pound. He then locked up a guillotine to score the submission win.
Charles Jourdain Submits Davey Grant At UFC Vancouver
Kyle Nelson came away with the win at UFC Vancouver, but it wasn’t the kind of victory that he could have gotten — and a simple mistake by referee Dan Miragliotta is to blame.
Late in the first round, Nelson was controlling opponent Matt Frevola on the ground, and he executed ground-and-pound that appeared to earn him the finish. Referee Dan Miragliotta appeared to step in with three seconds left in the first round, and Nelson celebrated as if he had scored the win.
Miragliotta, however, then informed Nelson that the fight was not over. Miragliotta appeared to claim he heard the horn that signaled the end of the round, but video replays on the UFC Vancouver broadcast seemed to show no sound of a horn.
Nelson admitted his gas tank was a bit compromised following that, but he managed to outwork Frevola over the next 10 minutes to score the unanimous decision win.
Referee Dan Miragliotta Criticized For Mistake That Robbed Kyle Nelson Of UFC Vancouver Finish
I do not say this lightly, Dan Miragliotta should never be allowed to referee again. #UFCVancouver
🤔 #UFCVancouver What happened here? With 3 seconds left in the round one, the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. … round two starts… ?!?! pic.twitter.com/7WXArFS34d
What happened at the end of the first round of Nelson vs. Frevola is one of many reasons as to why nobody takes MMA seriously. It’s a stain on the sport and it just continually makes the entire sport look like a joke. Dan Miragliotta should be fired and there should be a massive… pic.twitter.com/POfdF9MfyP
Dan Miragliotta clearly waves the fight off with 3 seconds left in Round 1. Kyle Nelson should’ve been credited with a TKO victory. After this the fight continued and Frevola was cornered in a neutral corner instead of the blue corner. WILD. #UFCVancouverpic.twitter.com/T1ANgxcgZj
Talk about not needing to break a sweat. Aori Qileng didn’t need much to get a win at UFC Vancouver, as he put away Cody Gibson in just 21 seconds during the preliminary card portion of the event.
As Gibson tried to start out the fight with leg kicks, Qileng dropped him with a major right hand. He then landed a couple of ground-and-pounds shot before the referee stepped in and stopped the bout.
Aori Qileng Makes Quick Work Of Cody Gibson At UFC Vancouver
The UFC debut of former GLORY Kickboxing title challenger Yousri Belgaroui ends in major success, as he scored an upset of Azamat Bekoev during the UFC Vancouver prelims.
Bekoev constantly tried to push the pace and pressure Belgaroui, but he paid the price for it. Belgaroui’s kickboxing experience was on full display as he delivered with his striking, which helped to open up a cut on the Russian’s head. Belgaroui dictated the pace in the first two rounds through his usage of his strikes, playing into the significant reach advantage he had.
Belgaroui then needed less than a minute in the third round to pour on one more barrage of damaging strikes on an already drained Bekoev, earning the early third-round TKO victory in his UFC debut.
Yousri Belgaroui Stops Azamat Bekoev In Octagon Debut At UFC Vancouver
Belgaroui went 27-7 in kickboxing, unsuccessfully challenging for the GLORY middleweight title on three occasions, two of which have come against current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Belgaroui also fell short in a GLORY Middleweight Tournament appearance, losing to former UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
Belgaroui competed in UAE Warriors and Levels Fight League, along with two appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series, before making his Octagon debut tonight.
Bekoev, the former LFA middleweight champion, had won eight straight and nine of 10 entering tonight’s bout. Bekoev had won both his appearance in the UFC so far, knocking out Zachary Reese at UFC 311 and finishing Ryan Loder at UFC Des Moines in May.
UFC Fight Night took place tonight from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!
In the main event, former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder took on Brendan Allen in a middleweight bout. In the co-main event, Kevin Holland faced off with Mike Malott in a welterweight matchup.
UFC Fight Night Results: Main Card
Middleweight bout: Brendan Allen def. Reinier de Ridder via TKO: R4, 5.00
Welterweight bout: Mike Malott def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Bantamweight bout: Aiemann Zahabi def. Marlon Vera via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
The PFL has arrived to Rwanda as it presents PFL Africa 3 — and MMA News has you covered with all the action.
The PFL’s expansion efforts began a couple of years ago with the launch of PFL Europe, followed by the establishment of PFL MENA last year. Now, as was once promised when the PFL signed Francis Ngannou in 2023, the PFL has officially launched PFL Africa this year.
The third-ever PFL Africa event will focus on the promotion’s semifinals of their weight division tournaments in this inaugural season.
The evening’s main event will feature combatants in the bantamweight tournament, as Nkoski Ndebele takes on Simbarashe Hokonya. Ndebele, the former Brave CF bantamweight champion, scored a first-round finish of Mahmoud Atef in their first-round matchup. Hokonya, who is 5-0, fought in EFC Africa for his first four bouts before upsetting Frans Mlambo in July.
The co-main event of the evening will be a welterweight semifinal that sees Shido Esperanca take on Ayinda Octave. Esperanca scored a 34-second submission of Ibrahima Mane in their first-round matchup in August. Octave, meanwhile, put away British Boloyoang in under two minutes in their first-round tournament battle.
PFL Africa 3 actions begins at 12pm ET/9am PT on the PFL App. If you can’t watch the action, MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights below.
Tension continues to rise in between Round 1 & 2 between Guinea’s Mohamqd Camara and Cameroon’s Alain Majorique 👀🗣️#PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/N4snMB6XOY
Cameroon’s Alain Majorique takes the momentum in the third!
The action continues in Rwanda! #PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/y2Qdfvk3Ph
Abdoulayne Kane absolutely turns off the lights with a vicious head kick! #PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/2wDpYW6ioD
Wasi Adeshina gets the W as he books his ticket to the PFL Africa Featherweight Finals!
Majorique vs Adeshina is your PFL Africa Featherweight Final! #PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/R8yoOBTgXt
Yabna N’Tchalá defeats Emilos Dassi as he advances to the PFL Welterweight Finals! #PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/R6Bnsyf4L1
Karim Henniene hits a jumping knee KO to book his ticket to the PFL Africa Bantamweight Finals!#PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/QOuS5tqBaf
Abraham Bably gets the ground and pound finish in the First Round to secure his spot in the PFL Africa Heavyweight Finals! #PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/wBu9J8QqzK
Ocheme and Sankara laying it all on the line inside the SmartCage!
The action continues LIVE from Rwanda!#PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/QtfZNDZ4kB
South Africa’s own gets the W as Nana is unable to continue!
Justin Clarke vs Abraham Bably will be your PFL Africa Heavyweight Final!#PFLRwanda | LIVE NOW | BK Arena, Kigali Live on SuperSport & Canal+ | 🇺🇸 Live on The PFL App pic.twitter.com/6dSGTB8Zvq
UFC star Mackenzie Dern believes her five round experience will help her significantly heading into her UFC 321 title fight.
In the co-main event of UFC 321, Mackenzie Dern will battle Virna Jandiroba for the vacant UFC strawweight championship. This has been a long time coming for Dern and after fighting for years to try and get her way to a title shot, the opportunity has finally arrived – and she’s as prepared as one could ever hope to be.
Mackenzie Dern is a great fighter but she’s certainly faced a few setbacks in her time. Alas, her experience has worked wonders for her career, and a lot of that has come in five round fights as a result of her headline slots on fight night cards.
In a recent interview, Mackenzie Dern explained why that’s going to be really important for her heading into this bout.
Mackenzie Dern recognizes her five-round experience
“I’ve had about four or five five-round fights in the last five years. It changes the game a bit compared to three rounds—you have some rounds where you can feel out and see how your opponent is fighting, find your timing. Three rounds go by so fast; you don’t want to fall behind. But in five rounds, you have 25 minutes to really figure out your opponent and see.”
“We’ve been training hard to make sure we don’t run out of cardio, keep the pace the whole time, but also to have a champion mindset—be able to take time and play smart in the strawweight division.”
Ilia Topuria has stated that he believes Merab Dvalishvili would be able to defeat Alexander Volkanovski if he challenged for the UFC featherweight championship.
Right now, Merab Dvalishvili is on top of the world. He has already achieved some incredible things in the sport of mixed martial arts and this year alone, he has successfully defended the UFC bantamweight championship three times. Later this year, he will attempt to make it four when he goes head to head with Petr Yan for the second time.
Merab Dvalishvili is known as ‘The Machine’, and for good reason. He is well on his way to being viewed as the consensus greatest bantamweight of all time, and it’s hard to see how many would be able to argue against that if he’s able to get the win over Yan in December.
In a recent appearance, Ilia Topuria gave his thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili’s chances if he opted to make the shift up to 145 pounds to face Alexander Volkanovski.
Ilia Topuria believes Merab Dvalishvili has everything it takes to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski and become a two-division champ ⚔️
"I’ve already told Merab once that he needs to change weight class because he has a 100% chance of winning a second belt. As for Merab’s potential… pic.twitter.com/HpdWvOLIzF
“On that note, I’d like to wish good luck to Merab, as he just had yet another fight scheduled. That man is not normal. He’s an awesome guy, salt of the earth. I haven’t met many good people like him.
“I’ve already told Merab once that he needs to change weight class because he has a 100% chance of winning a second belt. As for Merab’s potential fight with Volkanovski, I have no doubt that Merab will end up winning.”
Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman has some pretty big goals for his last two fights in mixed martial arts.
As we know, Kamaru Usman is a true legend of the sport. He has achieved some wonderful things throughout the course of his tenure as a fighter, and he is often considered to be one of the greatest welterweights of all time. Now, though, many believe that he is in the final farewell portion of his run.
While he did beat Joaquin Buckley in his last outing, Kamaru Usman is still not considered to be a frontrunner in the chase for the world title. With that being said, it would make sense if the promotion wanted to vault him into a championship opportunity off the back of what he’s already done in MMA.
In a recent interview, Kamaru Usman made it clear that he wants to win two world titles before retiring.
Kamaru Usman has just two UFC fights left in his "dream scenario"
"Next fight, win the welterweight title. Vacate. Win the middleweight title. Retire. You can't top that." 👀
“In this part of my career, the dream scenario is next fight, win the welterweight title. Vacate. Win the middleweight title, retire. Yeah. Just boom boom, one two, and then we’re done. You can’t top that. It’s like, what else do I wanna do?”
Many will say that this is unrealistic but at the very least, it’s not impossible for Usman to get back to a title shot, even if he has to beat one more contender in order to do it. Regardless of what you think of him, this is the kind of thought pattern that makes you great.
Alex Pereira isn’t interested in hearing about any Magomed Ankalaev injuries following their battle at UFC 320.
As we know, Alex Pereira defeated Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 320 to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion. He did so in pretty impressive fashion, finishing him via TKO within 80 seconds of the fight getting underway.
It’s safe to assume that we won’t be seeing a trilogy fight anytime soon as a result of how dominant the rematch was. Still, Alex Pereira did lose their first meeting, and after noting that he was dealing with some injuries, Ankalaev did the same thing following the rematch, raising a few eyebrows about just how compromised he may have been.
In a recent interview, Alex Pereira had the following to say about any injury worries that Ankalaev was having.
Alex Pereira reacts to reports of Magomed Ankalaev's rib injury:
"Bro, if you saw my injuries right now… he'd feel like sh*t. He wouldn't even come back to fight again…
I'll show you my medical results. What I've got versus what you've got. I doubt this guy has dealt with… pic.twitter.com/rOiOU3IbfK
“I’ve always been injured and injuries man, it’s all the same. Now, Ankalaev is talking about a broken rib or whatever he had. Bro, if you saw my injuries right now, me, fighting him today, he’d feel like s***. He wouldn’t even come back to fight again.
“He’d be like ‘damn, what am I even doing in this organization?’. He’d quit, man. I’m not even gonna say anything. I’ll bet him though, I’ll show you my medical results. What I’ve got versus what you’ve got. I doubt this guy has dealt with the things I’ve dealt with, man.”
Ilia Topuria has teased Islam Makhachev ahead of his upcoming title fight against Jack Della Maddalena.
As we know, Islam Makhachev is one of the best fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He has proven himself time and time again, and as we look ahead to the future, it certainly feels like he has a lot of gas left in the tank. In his next outing at UFC 322, he will attempt to become a two-weight world champion when he locks horns with Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight championship.
There’s no denying that this is one of the toughest tests of Islam Makhachev’s career. In equal measure, his sheer dominance at 155 pounds means that many people are feeling pretty confident about his chances of dethroning JDM – rightly or wrongly.
In a recent interview, Ilia Topuria spoke about the possibility of him locking horns with Islam Makhachev one day.
Ilia Topuria was asked if he’d still fight Islam Makhachev if he lost to JDM at #UFC322
“If Islam loses, he can go back to Dagestan to his farm and continue herding his sheep.” 😭
“Sorry, I couldn’t remember the word. If Islam loses, he can go back to Dagestan to his farm and continue shepherding his sheep. That’s the word, right? But if he wins, I’ll definitely move up. Definitely. 100%.”
There is obviously a lot of intrigue behind this fight and what exactly it would look like. Regardless of who you would favor, though, nobody can look past the fact that it would be one of the biggest fights in the recent history of the sport, and that it has the potential to be fight of the year.
UFC Vancouver 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 Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday, October 18. 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 middleweight title eliminator featuring Reinier de Ridder and Brendan Allen.
The co-main event will see welterweight action as Kevin Holland faces Mike Malott.
The main card will also feature Marlon “Chito” Vera facing Aiemann Zahabi, Manon Fiorot fighting Jasmine Jasudavicius, Cody Gibson taking on Aori Qileng, and Kyle Nelson in action against Matt Frevola.
UFC Vancouver: De Ridder vs. Allen Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC Vancouver as of October 17 at 9:15 pm ET, courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Middleweight: Reinier de Ridder (-198) vs Brendan Allen (+164)
Welterweight: Kevin Holland (-105) vs Mike Malott (-115)
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (+110) vs Aiemann Zahabi (-130)
Women’s Flyweight: Manon Fiorot (-230) vs Jasmine Jasudavicius (+190)
Bantamweight: Cody Gibson (-185) vs Aoriqileng (+154)
Lightweight: Kyle Nelson (+102) vs Matt Frevola (-122)
Preliminary Card:
Bantamweight: Charles Jourdain (-180) vs Davey Grant (+150)
Flyweight: Bruno Silva (+200) vs HyunSung Park (-245)
Middleweight: Danny Barlow (-278) vs Djorden Santos (+225)
Lightweight: Kyle Prepolec (+300) vs Drew Dober (-380)
Women’s Strawweight: Stephanie Luciano (-298) vs Ravena Oliveira (+240)
Middleweight: Azamat Bekoev (-298) vs Yousri Belgaroui (+240)
Women’s Bantamweight: Melissa Croden (-130) vs Tainara Lisboa (+110)
