Author: mmafighting
Ilia Topuria is ready to make history at UFC 298. Dreams of headlining a UFC event in Spain have already been one of Topuria’s most-desired goals as he’s climbed the featherweight ladder. Wrap a UFC title around the 26-year-old’s waist and surely that dream will come true sooner rather than later. The undefeated 14-0 Topuria has looked as good as any top contender on Earth as 2024 gets off the ground running. “El Matador’s” biggest fight yet comes in his upcoming bout when he’ll challenge for UFC gold against the reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in Los Angeles…
Dustin Poirier makes his long awaited return to action when he clashes with rising star Benoit Saint Denis in the five-round co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9 from Miami. UFC CEO Dana White announced the pairing on Sunday night while revealing that both fighters asked for a five-round fight so he granted their request. Poirier makes his first appearance since suffering a head kick knockout loss to Justin Gaethje this past July, which put him at 4-2 overall in his past six fights. Of course, Poirier scored a pair of wins over Conor McGregor in 2021 and later…
Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan are putting it all on the line at one of the year’s biggest shows. UFC CEO Dana White announced Sunday that Oliveira faces Tsarukyan in a lightweight bout at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He added that the winner of the April 13 bout will become the No. 1 contender for champion Islam Makhachev, who White expects to return in the summer after recovering from an injury. Oliveira was originally set to fight Makhachev at UFC 294 this past October, but a last-minute cut suffered in training forced him out of that…
Despite the ugly scene it cause, Laura Sanko wasn’t offended when Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis brawled at the T-Mobile Arena during UFC 296. The trash talk that started it all? She could do without that. “I’m not some prude … I realize what game we’re in, right?”’ Sanko said on the Believe You Me video podcast hosted by ex-UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping. “I actually prefer guys have physical fights than do this s*** if I’m being honest, because that way the family doesn’t get dragged into it. And that way there’s not statements and altered photographs that…
With his 39th birthday just a few months away, Josh Emmett acknowledges time is likely running out to realize his lifelong dream of becoming UFC champion. He came close in February when he battled Yair Rodriguez for the interim featherweight title, but he came up short. He then suffered a second straight loss, falling to Ilia Topuria by decision in June. But he bounced back in a big way at UFC 296 after he went scorched earth on Bryce Mitchell, delivering one of the most devastating knockouts in the history of the sport. In the wake of that jaw-dropping win,…
Arman Tsarukyan is open to fighting Dustin Poirier next, even though they currently both train at American Top Team. Tsarukyan scored the biggest win of his career to close out 2023, knocking out Beneil Dariush in 64 seconds in the main event of UFC Austin. The lightweight title picture is currently log-jammed, with both Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje waiting for a crack at champion Islam Makhachev, but Tsarukyan hopes that his win over Dariush was so good, he might skip to the front of the line. “Islam had same situation,” Tsarukyan said on The MMA Hour. “He never beat…
Paige VanZant signed with the UFC as a teenager, but after nine fights and over six years with the promotion, she knew she was ready to move on. Back in the pandemic year in 2020, VanZant was booked for a fight at UFC 251, which served as the final bout on her contract. She ultimately lost by submission to Amanda Ribas, but she was still a commodity the UFC wanted to keep on the roster. After reaching free agency, VanZant received an offer to return to the UFC, and the easy decision would have been to ink the deal to…
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is an avid fan of Conor McGregor, and he thinks the former two-division champ can pull off “the greatest comeback in sports history” when he returns in June. But there is one caveat. “He’s very skilled, but I think what sets people apart is obviously the mindset,” O’Malley told UFC.com in an interview this past November in New York City. “I think if he can get back on that. You’re not going to be as good as you were if you were training and grinding for years, and you’re living on a yacht and doing…
Referee Tony Weeks has become a boxing storyline for the wrong reasons once again. Weeks was the official for the Virgil Oritz vs. Frederick Lawson boxing match on Saturday night in Las Vegas, which served as the first fight for Ortiz since August 2022. Ortiz would pick up a first-round TKO win over Lawson, but the stoppage seemed to be way too early — even including the play-by-play commentator asking after Weeks stopped the fight, ‘and that is it?’ Check out video of the stoppage below. Ortiz looked to have had Lawson in trouble before throwing a barrage in the…
Belal Muhammad knows a lot can change in three years. That’s likely how much time will have passed between fights when Muhammad hopes to get his chance to settle some unfinished business with UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Their last encounter ended in disappointing fashion after Muhammad replaced Khamzat Chimaev on short notice but then took a thumb to the eye at the start of the second round that left him unable to continue with the bout being declared a no contest. Neither man has tasted defeat since then but Muhammad believes he’s evolved so much following that initial fight…