Author: mmafighting

Bogdan Guskov is making sure fans can’t blink when he’s fighting. In a light heavyweight bout at UFC Vegas 86 on Saturday, Guskov added another first-round finish to his résumé with a blistering combination that left Zac Pauga down and dazed on the canvas. Watch Guskov’s fiery knockout win below. Though Pauga did his best to mix up his attacks and keep Guskov from finding a rhythm, he couldn’t avoid Guskov’s power shots for long, and the action shifted dramatically when Pauga was caught with a crisp one-two combination. More hard head shots followed, causing Pauga to crumble, and when…

Umar Nurmagomedov is back, but he’ll be facing a UFC newcomer in his return. The undefeated bantamweight, who many believe will follow in his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov’s footsteps and become a UFC champion, didn’t have any luck securing another top-15 opponent, so 17-1 pro Bekzat Almakhan answered the call for the upcoming UFC Fight Night card scheduled on March 2 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Saturday following an initial report from Frontkicked. The matchup comes together after Nurmagomedov was last scheduled to clash…

Brazilian striker Carlos Prates makes his UFC debut on Saturday against 12-time octagon veteran Trevin Giles in a welterweight contest at UFC Vegas 86. The fight comes more than a decade after Prates came close to leaving MMA for good. Prates joined the UFC after knocking out Mitch Ramirez on the promotion’s Contender Series in August 2023. With an extensive career in Muay Thai and kickboxing, Prates sees his tough road as proof that he’s meant to be under the bright lights in Las Vegas. “There was a time when I tried to walk away from MMA and only fight…

UFC 300 is expected to deliver a loaded lineup for the promotion’s historic April event. Following one of the most chaotic years in recent memory, the UFC will bring UFC 300 to its home base of Las Vegas on April 13. UFC CEO Dana White has promised one of the most stacked, and perhaps, unpredictable lineups in company history. With four title fights already on the books for the first quarter of the year, including Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title, and Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Raquel Pennington for the vacant women’s bantamweight title at UFC…

Dricus du Plessis claimed the UFC middleweight title with a win over Sean Strickland, but Gregory Rodrigues doesn’t consider him to be the best 185-pounder on the planet. Rodrigues, who faces longtime octagon veteran Brad Tavares in the main card of UFC Vegas 86 on Saturday in Las Vegas, said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that today’s best middleweight is likely to be crowned on Feb. 24, when PFL champion Impa Kasanganay battles undefeated Bellator titleholder Johnny Eblen in Saudi Arabia. “I respect Dricus, but I don’t see him holding that belt for a long time,” Rodrigues said. “And…

Sean Strickland just can’t help himself. On Friday, mere hours after the former UFC middleweight champion bloodied a YouTube streamer in a viral sparring match then sent death threats to Jake Paul, Strickland found himself in another spat, this time with Grammy nominated musician Machine Gun Kelly. In a video captured by Inside Fighting, Strickland can be seen confronting MGK at a Power Slap event at Durango Casino & Resort in Las Vegas. Although it’s unclear what exactly was said, the former champ can be heard calling MGK “weird” and a “weirdo,” and insulting his outfit. As he walks away,…

Ilia Topuria isn’t interested in settling old grudges anymore. Later this month, Topuria faces Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in the main event of UFC 298. It’s a big step up in competition for Topuria, but one he feels exceedingly confident about because he believes he’s the best fighter in the world at both featherweight and lightweight. “It’s inevitable. I’m going to win this fight,” Topuria said on The MMA Hour. “It’s my destiny. It always was my destiny. I was born a fighter. I was born as a UFC world champion. I know my level, I know myself,…

Felice Herrig is hanging up the gloves, for good. On Friday, the 39-year-old UFC vet announced via her Instagram that she is officially done with combat sports. “Man what an honor. After 20 years of competing in combat sports. Competing professionally In boxing , kickboxing , Muay Thai and MMA. I have officially decided to retire. “I have so many fond memories of this sport. From competing on the first All female fighting reality show , Fight Girls to the first all female season of [The Ultimate Fighter]. I’ve fought in Thailand and Japan. Competed in Chuck Norris’s World Combat…

Dustin Poirier is growing increasingly resolved to the idea that his 2018 faceoff with Nate Diaz will be the closest he gets to throwing hands with the Stockton slap artist. Diaz wasn’t among the list of opponents pitched to Poirier during UFC talks that ended with him booked — and unbooked, and later rebooked — against Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299. Every time Poirier has tried to coax Diaz into a fight, he’s been let down. “We spoke about Nate a little bit, but I don’t think they’re bringing him back. I’m not sure…I don’t want to get into…

It’s time for one of the middleweight-iest cards in UFC history. Get pumped! Four — count ‘em, four — middleweight fights are scheduled for Saturday’s UFC Vegas 86 card, including a headliner between longtime contender Jack Hermansson and the headline-grabbing Joe Pyfer. This is a classic litmus test fight. Is Hermansson too big a step up for Pyfer right now, or is Pyfer about to score a finish that will set the tone for his 2024 campaign? In the co-main event, featherweight veterans Dan Ige and Andre Fili square off with Ige looking to hold on to his spot in…