Deiveson Figueiredo finally finds himself back in the win column, and he does so in front of a native crowd, as he defeated Montel Jackson in the co-main event of UFC Rio.
Figueiredo managed to get Jackson down early in the opening round, where he threatened both a guillotine choke and a rear-naked choke before Jackson got back to his feet and got the fight back standing. Figueiredo tagged Jackson in the closing seconds of the first, and he then scored another easy takedowns seconds into the second round.
The former champion worked his way easily into full mount and threatened an arm-triangle choke at one point. While Jackson escaped and started to get into things with exchanges during the second round, Figueiredo continued to control the action as a whole.
One judge somehow scored the bout 29-28 for Jackson, but the other scored the fight 29-28 for Figueiredo, giving him the split decision win.
Deiveson Figueiredo Gets Judges’ Nod Over Montel Jackson At UFC Rio
Figgy won this fight with class. There are levels to this and Deiveson Figueiredo being a huge underdog against the #15 ranked Montel Jackson shows just how out of touch the oddsmakers are. The judge who scored the fight for Montel should be held accountable.#UFCRio
People accused Figueiredo of being a weight bully for his entire career so he went up a weight class and beat the biggest guy in the division years after his athletic prime ended. Like it or not, he’s one of the greats
Figueiredo rebounds from a pair of losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen over the past year. The former two-time flyweight champion had started his bantamweight run with three straight victories.
Jackson sees a six-fight win streak snapped in this bout. This is his first loss since dropping a decision to Brett Johns in 2020.
Jose Aldo appeared during the main card of UFC Rio, as the UFC granted him the ability to make one more entrance into the Octagon as he laid the gloves down in the center.
This formalized the retirement of Aldo, who entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023 before a three-fight comeback between 2024 and 2025.
Aldo was joined by his family in the Octagon.
The King of Rio lays them down in front of the home crowd 👑🇧🇷
i love Jose Aldo. all my friends love Jose Aldo. what the UFC did to this man in terms of matchmaking when he went to BW is disgusting. this man could have been a two time champion 🐐
Aldo made his professional MMA debut in 2004, winning his first seven fights in a row. After a loss in 2005, Aldo would go on a longer win streak, collecting 18 consecutive victories between May 2006 and December 2015.
Aldo defeated Mike Brown at WEC 44 for the WEC featherweight title, going on to defend the belt against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan. Aldo then joined the UFC following the WEC merger, starting out his time in the UFC as the inaugural UFC featherweight champion.
Aldo defended the UFC title seven consecutive times, defeating the likes of Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung-Jung, before losing the title to Conor McGregor at UFC 196. He’d then defeat Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the interim championship before being promoted back to undisputed champion — only to lose the belt to Max Holloway at UFC 212.
Aldo then dropped to bantamweight and fought Petr Yan for the then-vacant title at UFC 251, getting finished in the fifth round. Aldo’s career seemed to end after a loss to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278.
In 2023, Aldo fought in a pair of boxing bouts, battling Jeremy Stephens to a draw and scoring a finish of Esteban Gabriel Espindola. Aldo then fought three times for the UFC, defeating Jonathan Martinez before losses to Mario Bautista and Aiemann Zahabi.
Kaan Ofli may have scored the victory at UFC Rio, defeating Ricardo Ramos, but it didn’t come without much controversy following several missed fence grab calls.
Just seconds into the fight, Ricardo Ramos had Kaan Ofli against the fence, threatening a kneebar. Ofli’s defenses, however, saw him grab the fence multiple times. None of the fence grabs, however, were penalized, or even seemingly noticed, by veteran referee Marc Goddard.
Ofli would then work his way out of Ramos’ submission attempts before getting to the back in a backpack position. That’s where Ofli managed to lock up a choke to score the tapout, to the boos of the Brazilian crowd that rained down.
Kaan Ofli Scores Controversial First-Round Submission Of Ricardo Ramos At UFC Rio
Kaan Ofli chokes Ramos for the finish.
Grabbed the fence multiple times though, as he was defending the leg lock, adjusting his position, and toes in the fence when he had the back.
Ofli now scores the first win in his UFC career after losses to Mairon Santos and Muhammad Naimov, the former coming in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter season 32.
Ramos has now lost four of his last five and is 3-6 in his last nine fights.
A fight that has long been rumored for UFC 323 appears to now have been confirmed, leaked by, of all people, a fighter who competed on the UFC Rio card.
During his post-fight interview, Michael Aswell Jr. advocated to compete next on UFC 323, which was recently confirmed for December 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Aswell cited a desire to compete on the same card as his teammate, Joshua Van. And that was when Aswell said Van would be challenging Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight championship on the card.
Van has been pegged as the next title challenger after his short-notice victory over former title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June, and the fight had been rumored to take place in December.
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van For Flyweight Title Now Confirmed For UFC 323?
Van is 15-2 in MMA, including a 8-1 record. Since his knockout loss to Charles Johnson, Van has won five straight, which includes a finish of Bruno Silva at UFC 316, just four weeks before his win over Royval.
This fight would mark Pantoja’s fifth flyweight title defense attempt. Pantoja, who has won eight straight, defeated Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 for the title. Since then, he’s defended the belt against Royval at UFC 296, Steve Erceg at UFC 301, Kai Asakura at UFC 310, and Kai Kara-France at UFC 317.
Michael Aswell Jr. made things look to easy in the featured preliminary bout of UFC Rio, as the Texas native quickly took out Lucas Almeida.
Aswell cracked Almeida seconds into the fight with a right hand before laying in some flurries to try and get the quick finish. Almeida tried to fight back, but Aswell continued to lay in with his striking.
Another right hand slumped Almeida against the fence, where Aswell laid in some more punches before the fight was finally stopped.
Michael Aswell Jr. Finishes Lucas Almeida In Under A Minute At UFC Rio
Jafel Filho continues to show how dangerous he is on the ground, as he took out Clayton Carpenter during the UFC Rio preliminary card.
Filho landed a crisp right hand early that seemed to wobble Carpenter, allowing Filho to score the trip and take the back quickly. Filho then locked in a body triangle as he searched for a rear-naked choke.
Though he was unable to get the choke, Filho transitioned into a kimura attempt, scoring it and getting the submission in the final minute of round one.
Perhaps Vitor Petrino has found a new home for himself at heavyweight, as he capped off his second performance in the weight class with a highlight finish in front of a native crowd at UFC Rio.
Petersen looked to use his wrestling to his advantage during the opening two rounds. He was, however, repeatedly stuffed and stopped by Petrino, who laid in some damaging strikes. Petrino’s power, in fact, led him to score a knockdown on Petersen during the first round.
Fatigue would set in for both men as the third round kicked in. Just 26 seconds into the round, however, Petrino caught Petersen coming forward with a strong uppercut and hook, with the combination causing Petersen to faceplant for the KO.
Petrino then called out Marcin Tybura in his post-fight interview.
Vitor Petrino Puts Thomas Petersen Out Cold At UFC Rio
Having already accomplished so much in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Bia Mesquita now is set on dominating the MMA world in the same way she dominated Irina Alekseeva in her Octagon debut during the UFC Rio preliminary card.
After about a minute of feeling out, Alekseeva clipped Mesquita with a punch. But Mesquita kept herself composed and scored a takedown, landing right into full mount. Mesquita landed ground-and-pound for about two-and-a-half minutes, completely controlling and dominating the action, busting Alekseeva up and nearly getting her out of the fight in the first round’s closing seconds.
Mesquita scored a takedown about a minute into the second round and quickly worked her way into full mount again before locking up a rear-naked choke for the submission win.
Bia Mesquita, “Lady GOAT,” Thrashes Irina Alekseeva In Impressive UFC Debut At UFC Rio
Man! Women's BW needs excitement BADLY, and Bia Mesquita is certainly that much-needed shot in the arm. #UFCRio
BJJ legend Bia Mesquita puts on a dominant UFC debut, as advertised. Totally one-way, finish-first traffic for a second-round RNC of Irina Alekseeva. Scary #UFCRio
Bia Mesquita is phenomenal on the ground, and utilized all her tools. I think she could surge quite quick at 135, maybe a super fight with Kayla in the future. #UFCRio
Mesquita, known as “The Lady GOAT,” is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and a former ADCC champion. She entered tonight 5-0 in her MMA career, including a finish of Sierra Dinwoodie to capture the LFA women’s bantamweight title at LFA 211 in June.
Alekseeva has now lost four of her last six, including three straight UFC losses. She won her UFC debut over Stephanie Eggar in April 2023 but missed weight.
UFC Fight Night took place tonight from the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!
In the main event, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira faced Mateusz Gamrot. In the co-main event, former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo continued his bantamweight campaign against Montel Jackson.
UFC Fight Night Results: Main Card
Lightweight bout: Charles Oliveira def. Mateusz Gamrot via submission: R2, 2.48
Bantamweight bout: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Montel Jackson via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Welterweight bout: Joel Alvarez def. Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (30-26×3)
Heavyweight bout: Mario Pinto def. Jhonata Diniz via TKO: R2, 4.10
UFC Rio is almost here, and we here at MMA News are here to provide you the latest on betting odds for the card.
The card takes place from the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, October 11. The main card portion of the event will start at 7PM ET/4PM PT, with preliminary action starting at 4PM ET/1PM PT.
The main event will see a lightweight battle featuring former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot.
The co-main event will see bantamweight action as former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo faces Montel Jackson.
The UFC Perth main card will also feature Vicente Luque meeting Joel Alvarez, Jhonata Diniz squaring off with Mario Pinto, Ricardo Ramos taking on Kaan Ofli, and Lucas Almeida going toe-to-toe with Michael Aswell Jr.
UFC Rio: Oliveira vs. Gamrot Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC Rio as of October 11 (fight day) at 11 am ET, courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (-108) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (-112)
Bantamweight: Deiveson Figueiredo (+270) vs. Montel Jackson (-340)
Welterweight: Vicente Luque (+400) vs. Joel Alvarez (-535)
Heavyweight: Jhonata Diniz (-120) vs. Mario Pinto (+100)
Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos (-205) vs. Kaan Ofli (+170)
Featherweight: Lucas Almeida (+210) vs. Michael Aswell Jr. (-258)
Preliminary Card:
Flyweight: Jafel Filho (-130) vs. Clayton Carpenter (+110)
Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (-290) vs. Thomas Petersen (+235)
Women’s Bantamweight: Bia Mesquita (-600) vs. Irina Alekseeva (+440)
Flyweight: Lucas Rocha (-115) vs. Stewart Nicoll (-105)
Women’s Strawweight: Julia Polastri (-550) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz(+410)
Bantamweight: Luan Lacerda (-360) vs. Saimon Oliveira (+285)
UFC light heavyweight star Jiri Prochazka has spoken about his incredible comeback win over Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 320.
Last weekend, Jiri Prochazka knocked out Khalil Rountree Jr in the third round of their epic battle at UFC 320. It was clear for many to see that Rountree Jr was winning the fight but against the odds, Jiri rallied in the final round and managed to get Khalil out of there with a nasty knockout win.
It was the kind of victory that has come to define the career of Jiri Prochazka, and it’s one of the many reasons why he’s such a fan favorite. Now, he’s once again in a position where it’s realistic to consider the possibility of him competing for the UFC light heavyweight championship again.
In a recent interview, the Czech sensation spoke candidly about what he was thinking heading into the final round.
Jiri Prochazka on his iconic UFC 320 comeback win
“I believed. I believed. I really believed and before the third round, my coaches told me, ‘You have to knock him out. You have to knock him out. You have to find a way.’ And that was what I did. So, and I’m really happy that I found, I found a way. And sometimes it gives me time to realize what’s the best tactic for the opponent. But I will find a way every time.”
Regardless of what’s next for Jiri, there’s no doubt that he’ll go down in history as an absolute legend in mixed martial arts.
UFC veteran Deiveson Figueiredo has made it crystal clear that he does not plan on losing in front of the Brazilian people tonight.
Later this evening, Deiveson Figueiredo will go head to head with Montel Jackson as he attempts to get himself back into the mix as a contender in the bantamweight division. While he’s a former UFC flyweight champion, he’s had his fair share of setbacks and injuries in the last few years.
Now, though, he’s ready to try and get back to the dominant and vicious Deiveson Figueiredo that many of us remember. It certainly isn’t going to be easy, but he’s certainly motivated to go in there and make a statement.
In a recent interview, Figueiredo had the following to say about competing in his home country at UFC Rio.
Deiveson Figueiredo refuses to lose in Rio
“To fight in Rio de Janeiro, there’s no question, it’s an honor. Fighting under the Brazilian sun, with the crowd cheering and shouting our name, you can be sure that’s going to motivate me even more to go in there, put on a show, and come out with the win in the name of Jesus, to bring happiness to all us Brazilians.”
Deiveson is the kind of fighter who is always willing to put it on the line in the name of victory, and in the name of entertaining the fans – and you can bet that’s exactly what he’s going to do against Montel Jackson who, in his own right, wants this to be the biggest night of his life.
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on why he firmly believes Alex Pereira actually wants to fight Jon Jones.
Alex Pereira is once again the UFC light heavyweight champion after he knocked out Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 320. In the aftermath of the event, he let the masses know that he’s very interested in the idea of battling Jon Jones at some point in the future.
In a recent video, Chael Sonnen highlighted why he believes Pereira genuinely wants to fight Jones, as opposed to those who have called him out even if they don’t actually want to fight him.
Chael Sonnen on Alex Pereira wanting to fight Jon Jones
“I don’t believe anybody’s ever wanted to fight Jon Jones. You’ll find a couple of people that said it. I don’t believe them. I think Alex Pereira might be the first person to ever call out Jon Jones where I actually think they want to fight Jon. This isn’t about a main event. This isn’t about Madison Square Garden. This isn’t about pay-per-view points and legacy. They actually want to fight Jon Jones. X’s and O’s, my skills versus your skills—just so we know, just so we can go on through this journey known as life and have the answer to this question: Can I beat you or can you beat me? I mean, it is extremely honorable.”
“Don’t tell me money. Pereira’s rich. Pereira has the number one contract in the UFC. I don’t count Conor because Conor is not currently licensed. Just so you know, Pereira has the number one contract. Before Pereira had that, the highest paid fighter was Israel Adesanya. And within that mix is Khabib. The most beautiful contract was, aside from McGregor, then came Khabib, and then Pereira got in the mix and here we are.
“So, we move money out. Everybody wants money and you want more money. I get it. But let’s just move money out. Whatever Pereira does next—and by the way, fighting Jon Jones collectively compared to whatever else Pereira can do, it’s not as substantial as one might think. So, let’s move money out. He’s going to get money either way.”
“A legit, true competitor who legitimately, behind the fame and the money and the cameras, wants to know: Am I better than you or are you better than me? I can live with the outcome. I don’t want to have to live with the wonder; was it you or was it me? Life moves on either way. But I don’t want to be under contract with you at the same time in this era with an ability to get to the ring—whatever that ability is.
“If it means I’ve got to come to your weight class, if it means you’re coming to mine, if it means there’s no belt or I’ve got to put up my belt, whatever the stakes, let’s get this to the ring. And it is such an honorable thing. It is where this sport started.”
UFC star Carlos Ulberg has explained why he seemingly doesn’t believe he’ll end up fight Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight championship.
As we know, Carlos Ulberg has been on the rise for quite some time now in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He has been on a great win streak and in his last outing, he knocked Dominick Reyes out cold to make a real statement about what the future holds for him at 205 pounds. Then, at UFC 320, he was cageside to watch Alex Pereira recapture the UFC light heavyweight crown.
Carlos Ulberg, understandably, is considered to be one of the frontrunners in the ‘who gets to fight Pereira’ stakes. It would make a lot of sense given his win streak, but ‘Poatan’ may well have other plans, including a possible heavyweight move or even a third showdown with Jiri Prochazka.
In a recent interview, Carlos Ulberg gave his thoughts on what Pereira is likely to do next in his career.
Carlos Ulberg discusses Alex Pereira’s future
“If Pereira gets that win, I believe he wants to move up to heavyweight and go for three belts in different divisions. That would be huge, especially as he’s getting older and likely planning to move on from fighting eventually— but wanting to grab that heavyweight title first.”
Ulberg is a realistic guy and he knows that there are a lot of different directions this could go in. Either way, though, it’d be surprising if he isn’t fighting for the belt next.
UFC legend Charles Oliveira doesn’t care about his change in opponent as he prepares to battle Mateusz Gamrot tonight.
In the main event of UFC Rio, Charles Oliveira returns home to Brazil. He will go head to head with Mateusz Gamrot as he attempts to get back in the win column following his devastating knockout loss at the hands of Ilia Topuria. Originally, though, the plan was for him to face off against Rafael Fiziev, only for him to pull out of the bout.
Now, Gamrot is stepping up to the plate in an attempt to secure the biggest win of his career thus far. For Charles Oliveira, this is all about proving that he still has what it takes to mix it up with the very best at 155 pounds. If he loses again, and decisively, questions will start to be asked about his long-term future in mixed martial arts.
Ahead of the fight later tonight, Charles Oliveira made it known that the change in opponent isn’t going to impact him or his preparation.
The opponent doesn’t matter for Charles Oliveira
“It’s a completely different fight, but it doesn’t matter who it is. What matters is how happy I am, how ready I am, and how motivated I am for this fight.”
‘Do Bronx’ is the definition of a fan favorite and over the years, he’s done some incredible things in the sport – which includes being a former UFC lightweight champion. Who knows, maybe he’s got one more run in him.
Former boxing champion George Groves had a lot to say about the likes of Jake Paul, a sweet science centred Netflix project, and BBC getting involved with the world of boxing again.
In an interview with Poker Strategy, Groves initially touched on his thoughts regarding how he feels like Jake Paul steals a lot of mannerisms from things that he has seen prior fighters do.
This was something that Groves observed about Paul during a recent Gervonta Davis interactions, as Groves said,
“I like the clips where Gervonta Davis is sort of standing there like this, and then Jake Paul’s doing the MMA stuff. Everything about him, he’s just seen on TV or something, he’s just seen somewhere else. It’s all stolen!”
George Groves talks Netflix and BBC boxing projects
The former WBA champion also spoke on how he felt like the recent documentary on Matchroom boxing kind of tinkered with reality a bit. When expressing his thoughts regarding that Netflix project featuring the Hearns, George Groves stated,
“I came in halfway through the third episode. It’s called The Greatest Showmen, which I like because Eddie and Barry are the showmen. But if you watch the Greatest Showman, the movie with Hugh Jackman, it’s a bit of a con, isn’t it? It’s quite deceptive.”
“When Conor Benn is calling up while Eddie and Frank Smith are on the golf course and Connor Benn’s sitting there in his Versace dressing-gown and he says, “I spent every penny I’ve got to clear my name”, maybe he bought that Versace dressing-gown first…”
Also of note, with the sweet science making a comeback on BBC, the 37-year-old could not contain his elation for how it can help grow fighters in the sport, as George Groves quipped,
“This is awesome. I can’t believe that it’s on BBC 2, which I think is great. I don’t know what the deal on setup is, but it’s a good fight and it’s on terrestrial. I’m very excited.”
“Ben Shalom and his stable of fighters, a couple of them are potential future stars. I hope that they can match up the cost to get these guys on a show and get it on the BBC.”
The BRAVE CF Interim super welterweight is one of the coveted centerpieces on the line at the looming BRAVE 100 card.
November 7th in Isa Town, Bahrain,at Khalifa Sports City, the current BRAVE CF middleweight champion and newly minted BRAVE Hall of Famer Mohammad Fakhreddine who battles the number two ranked super welterweight contender Alex Lohoré.
As the BRAVE middleweight titleholder addressed the next contender for his belt, Mohammad Fakhreddine, stated:
“This is bigger than just another fight for me. I’ve dedicated my career to BRAVE CF, and to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and then step inside the cage to chase a third World Title is a dream come true.”
“Alex Lohoré is tough, but I’m going to show why I am the face of this organization.”
As the BRAVE title challenger expressed his thoughts vcoming in to this huge career moment, Alex Lohoré stated,
“I respect everything Moe Fakhreddine has achieved, but this is my time. I didn’t come to BRAVE CF to be a spectator; I came here to take over. On November 7, I will win that belt and prove that I am one of the best in the division.”
BRAVE CF 100 title bout overview
The first fighter to concurrently hold BRAVE titles with middleweight and light heavyweight gold, Fakhreddine now eyes three division champ status. ‘The Latest’ will also be inducted into the BRAVE CF Hall of Fame during fight week.
Lohoré is undefeated in the BRAVE CF cage and has enough momentum to aim to unseat the prolific and hugely dominant HOF BRAVE warrior. ‘Da Killa King’ has also cut his teeth on circuits like KSW as well as with Oktagon MMA. The well travelled competitor has also fought for Cage Warriors and BAMMA with his refinement path leading Lohoré to a shot at BRAVE championship hardware.
Big names like Alexandr Romanov, Mason Parris, Helen Maroulis, Kyle Dake, and Nathan Tomasello are but a few of the athletes locked in for competition at the Bryce Jordan Center on October 25th in Tampa, Florida. Real American Freestyle has formally rolled out the entire fight card for RAF02 which is set to broadcast on FOX Nation. The promotion’s inaugural effort in Cleveland earlier this year, Real American Freestyle is coming out swinign with the sophomore effort and the full card reads as followed,
Real American Freestyle and a closer look at RAF 02
Chief Operation Officer as well as Co-Founder of Real American Freestyle Izzy Martinez commented on this RAF02 reveal when he said,
“RAF02 will build on the foundation created with RAF01, and give audiences the excitement they’ve been looking for with freestyle wrestling.”
“We’ve got new and returning champions vying and protecting the title, and have created a lineup of the best athletes in the sport that cannot be missed.”
Real American Freestyle has a deep roster of pedigreed champions from NCAA, Olympic, and world championship levels. Featured standouts such as Bo Nickal, Darrion Caldwell, Wyatt Hendrickson, Jacob Cardenas, Beau Bartlett, Kennedy Blades, Matt Ramos, Mikey Caliendo, Sarah Hildebrandt, Audrey Jimenez, Zeltzin Hernandez, Lucía Guzman, Zahid Valencia, Trent Hidlay, Seth Gross, Kyle Snyder, Aaron Brooks, Austin Gomez, Real Woods, Will Lewan, and Parker Keckeisen are among a few of the standouts who have competed in RAF so far.
Nathan Tomasello puts his Bantamweight title on the line against Penn State alumni, Roman Bravo-Young. Helen Maroulis vs. Samantha Stewart is as high level of a matchup as you can make in the game of wrestling and encapsulates what RAF seems to want to embody.
Daniel Dubois is potentially looking at his next in-ring assignment after losing his hold on the IBF heavyweight championship in his last outing. What seems to be his next bout will put him in prime position to contend for that crown again though as Dubois will take on Frank Sanchez in a looming IBF title eliminator bout. This consequential contest came about after several key heavyweights turned down offers from the IBF to take on this Sanchez boxing bout.
Some of those names who were said to have said “no” to that opportunity include Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic, and Efe Ajagba. The deal deadline is October 22nd to see if the confirmation is official for the high stakes bout.
Oleksandr Usyk currently holds the IBF crown and captured that from Dubois himself with an emphatic knockout during their July rematch. Dubois’ booking in this bout makes sense because of his proximity to the belt but some have scratched their head with Sanchez being in this position. His last outing came against a .500 journeyman caliber boxer with Sanchez last truly testing himself against Agit Kabayel last year which saw him sustain a noticeable beating.
Daniel Dubois’ path back to the IBF strap
Daniel Dubois has changed up his coaching dynamics leading into this targeted bounce back bout as he is no longer under the pugilistic purview of Don Charles. Some wonder how things will play out with this looming bout and Oleksandr Usyk‘s current career plans. It seems like the Ukrainian standout is more focused on big money matchups as he enters the twilight of his career. In that sense, the idea that he could vacate one of his multiple heavyweight crowns to pursue a bigger name fight instead of fighting one of his mandatory contenders could lead to the IBF throne being opened up.
The idea of a third Usyk vs. Dubois fight would presumably not be of interest to the former as there was some controversy in the first fight but Oleksandr Usyk won so emphatically in the sequel clash that a trilogy bout seems quite unlikely when factored into this broader context.
Former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian has sadly passed away.
On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph first reported that Mokhtarian was shot dead in Riverstone, New South Wales, Sydney, around 6 P.M. local time, suffering gunshot wounds to the upper torso. Emergency responders arrived at the scene and tried to save him, but tragically, he could not be revived.
#BREAKING – A man has been shot dead in a broad daylight attack in Riverstone, in Sydney’s northwest.
According to reports, Mokhtarian was out for an evening walk when bystanders heard multiple gunshots fired from a red Audi. New South Wales police are investigating the incident and remain on the lookout for the shooter, with authorities suggesting the attack may have been targeted or linked to gang activity.
Tragically, this was not the first time the late 33-year-old fighter’s life was threatened. In February 2024, a gunman, disguised as a delivery worker, allegedly tried to shoot Mokhtarian outside Australian Top Team in Wentworthville, firing at close range while children’s classes were underway.
Additionally, in April, authorities in New South Wales canceled the inaugural event of the upstart Dark Matter Fighting Championship, where Suman Mokhtarian was scheduled to coach multiple fighters, due to concerns over a possible gang-related attack.
Image: @Suman_att/X
What Was Suman Mokhtarian’s MMA Record?
Suman Mokhtarian competed in Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter as a member of Team Miocic in the featherweight division. Although he lost his opening bout against Ricky Steele via unanimous decision, the UFC still saw enough potential to offer him a contract.
Mokhtarian made his Octagon debut at UFC Adelaide in December 2018, suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Sodiq Yusuff. The Australian returned a year later at UFC Busan, where he faced SeungWoo Choi and lost via unanimous decision, which ultimately became the final fight of his MMA career.
Mokhtarian held a professional MMA record of 8-2, with six of those victories coming by submission.
UFC star Sean Strickland has gone after UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in his most recent rant.
We all know that Sean Strickland is a pretty controversial character. He says and does things that rub people the wrong way more often than not, but given that he’s a former world champion himself, it’s hard to discredit him too much. Right now, it’s Khamzat Chimaev that’s at the top of the middleweight division, and it certainly seems as if that bothers Sean just a little bit.
A fight between these two would be interesting, and that goes without saying. Sean Strickland has trained with Khamzat in the past, and given where they’re both at in their respective careers, it’s not that hard to imagine it happening at some point in the future.
If it does, we imagine Sean Strickland will have more than a few things to say, especially given the contents of this interview.
Sean Strickland goes after Khamzat Chimaev
“Yeah, dude. F*** Chimaev, dude. Made me realize I should wrestle, dude. You know, dude, that little f***ing pussy, dude. I can’t stand f***ing Chimaev. You son of a bitch. You know, I think what annoys me about Chimaev, there’s nobody that could beat him.
“You know, like I’ve trained with all the guys he’s going to fight, like I’ve trained with Chimaev, dude, for one round, the guy could grapple for one round, dude. Once you—once you get over that one round of scramble, he just quits. It just turns into a kickboxing match like what he did with the 155er or the 170er or what’s his name? Gilbert.”
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has speculated that Conor McGregor may have intentionally avoided his planned drug tests.
As we know, Conor McGregor has accepted a backdated 18-month suspension for violating the UFC anti-doping policy. While this does mean that he’ll be eligible to return in time for the UFC White House card, which has been his plan for a while now, it certainly raised a few eyebrows.
Conor McGregor knows how to keep the mixed martial arts world on their toes, and that much is an understatement. Nobody really knows what his next move is going to be and because of that, there’s often a lot of speculation when he does do something.
In a recent video, Chael Sonnen had the following to say about McGregor’s most recent controversy.
Chael Sonnen’s view on Conor McGregor’s ban
“Once he gets three, the way that’s going to be handled is before that is made public to any of you, they are going to reach resolution. And this is the part where I must tell you I am stuck: the conversation of Conor being booked for next year’s White House event would not have been a conversation if this information was known.”
“I believe he was likely where they went. I believe he was on the other side of the door. I believe he willfully didn’t answer that door. I don’t have evidence of any of that, but if somebody’s asking me the question— is this an elaborate way to avoid a fight?—while I lean towards no, there are only a few possibilities.”
“Who knew that Conor had this coming? Once there’s three hits, there isn’t a defense to that. You will have a hearing and you could raise your excuse, your reason, but in the history of drug testing, there’s never been somebody that’s attempted to defend that, that’s attempted to come in and say, ‘I was there. They didn’t knock loud enough.’”
UFC middleweight contender Joe Pyfer has made it known that he’d be interested in a dream fight against Paulo Costa for his next outing.
In recent years, Joe Pyfer has been seen as a real prospect in the UFC’s middleweight division. While there have been a few hiccups along the way, he’s still one of the biggest power punchers at 185 pounds – and on Saturday night, he even proved his grappling prowess when he was able to submit Abus Magomedov at UFC 320.
While he didn’t have a great first round, it doesn’t matter. Joe Pyfer picked up the victory and now, he’s setting his sights on even greater things. Of course, at middleweight, things are a bit up in the air right now in the wake of Khamzat Chimaev winning the belt from Dricus du Plessis.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Joe Pyfer had the following to say about his immediate future and what he wants next.
Joe Pyfer calls for Paulo Costa showdown
“Paulo Costa would be a dream fight, but he’s so inactive—he’s fought once or twice in two years. I’d rather face hungry, active guys like Marvin Vettori, Jared Cannonier, or Roman Dolidze. One more finish in the top 15, and I can fight anyone in the top 10.”
Pyfer still has a long way to go before he’s viewed as a legitimate title threat, but at this moment in time, there aren’t too many better middleweight prospects out there – and that should be reassuring for him.
Arman Tsarukyan believes that Justin Gaethje turned down the opportunity to battle him in a number one contender fight.
Right now, Justin Gaethje is at a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career. It’s been well documented that he believes he deserves a shot at Ilia Topuria and the UFC lightweight championship, but as of this writing, nothing has been set in stone. Of course, Arman Tsarukyan also felt as if he should’ve gotten the call for a title shot, but instead, he’ll be facing Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar.
Justin Gaethje vs Arman Tsarukyan would be a whole lot of fun and that much goes without saying. In equal measure, ‘The Highlight’ is one of the most devastating strikers in the lightweight division, and he poses a different kind of threat to Ilia Topuria if the two do wind up squaring off at some point in the future.
In a recent interview, Tsarukyan had the following to say about Justin Gaethje – and Dan Hooker.
Arman Tsarukyan says Justin Gaethje turned down a fight against him at #UFCQatar
"I heard Gaethje said no and Hooker said yes… Gaethje would be better but for me doesn't matter. Both of them are easy money for me.
Arman Tsarukyan believes Justin Gaethje avoided him
“I heard Gaethje said no and Hooker said yes… Gaethje would be better but for me doesn’t matter. Both of them are easy money for me.
“[Gaethje] knows he could lose to me.”
Tsarukyan and Gaethje have different styles, but either way, Ilia Topuria is the one to beat right now. Hopefully, we get some kind of answer soon, because ‘El Matador’ is on an absolute tear right now – and this may be Gaethje’s last chance at undisputed gold.
Arman Tsarukyan has said that he knows he can defeat UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria as he prepares to collide with Dan Hooker.
As we know, Ilia Topuria is the current king of the lightweight division. He earned that title by knocking out Charles Oliveira, which came on the heels of him doing the same thing to Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. In short, ‘El Matador’ is putting together the kind of run that could one day lead to him being viewed as one of the greatest of all time.
Of course, there are always going to be contenders who are ready to step up – and this time, it’s Arman Tsarukyan. Well, he’d like it to be him, but before he can try and dethrone Ilia Topuria, he first needs to try and get through Dan Hooker. While this may seem like a one-sided fight to some, Hooker has been on a real roll lately and seems to have one last title push left in him.
In a recent interview, Tsarukyan had the following to say about a possible collision with Ilia Topuria.
Arman Tsarukyan goes after Ilia Topuria
“Only I can beat Ilia Topuria in our division. Everybody knows that—that’s why the UFC tries to keep us apart. But if I perform and finish Hooker, they can’t avoid me anymore.”
Tsarukyan is certainly confident in his abilities and that much is clear for everyone to see. In equal measure, Topuria has looked like an absolute machine since entering the UFC.
