Day: 4. Juni 2025

[embedded content]

While Maycee Barber can recall some of what happened leading up to her last-minute withdrawal from the UFC Vegas 107 headliner last weekend, the exact cause remains a mystery.

“I hate going back and being like we have no answers but we’re not entirely sure what happened. Obviously, there was a medical emergency,” Barber recently told ESPN. “We’re not quite sure what it was, what it is but there was something that happened. I don’t exactly remember everything but there was an event that happened in the back when I was warming up and the doctor, the commissioners, everybody saw it and the commissioners, I guess they were asking me if I was OK and I was saying I was.

“They didn’t think that I was and so they kept asking the coaches — and again, I’m not entirely sure because it’s hard for me to remember everything that happened — but from what I was told, the coaches were like ‘we’re not quite sure.’ So they were trying to figure it out and they ended up…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Kris Moutinho will return to the Octagon for the first time in more than three years.

Advertisement

The former CES MMA standout will square off against Malcolm Wellmaker at UFC Atlanta — also known as UFC on ESPN 69 — on June 14. Multiple outlets confirmed the bantamweight pairing following an initial report from MMA Mania.

UFC Atlanta takes place at the State Farm Arena and is headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting Kamaru Usman against Joaquin Buckley.

Moutinho gained a small measure of fame for his showdown with Sean O’Malley in July 2021, when he absorbed a large amount of punishment en route to a third-round TKO defeat at UFC 264. He parted ways with the promotion on the heels of a loss to Guido Cannetti but has since righted the ship with five consecutive triumphs on the regional circuit.

After earning a contract with a first-round knockout of Adam Bramhald on Dana Wh…

Professional Fighters League lightweight Alexandr Shabliy has accepted a six-month suspension for a failed drug test, USADA announced on Wednesday.

Shabliy tested positive recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 19. EPO is a synthetic hormone that increases the body’s production of red blood cells, which as a result improves oxygen transport and aerobic power. It’s the same substance that former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw tested positive for in 2019, which resulted in him serving a two-year suspension.

Shabliy’s suspension is retroactive to the date of his positive test, so he will be eligible to return to action on Sept. 19. The 32-year-old Russian was slated to face Brent Primus in the opening round of the PFL lightweight tournament before the failed drug test.

Shabliy’s last appearance came at Bellator Champions Series San Diego, where he dropped a five-round verdict against Usman Nurmagomedov in a lightwe…

👀⚡️Merab Dvalishvili wants to fight Cory Sandhagen next in New York:

"Looks like a Cory Sandhagen is ready for me… He’s a great contender. He beat a lot of guy in our division.

Advertisement

I don’t mind to take another quick turnaround and fight one more time this year in either New York… pic.twitter.com/5umWQpWCM1 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 3, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili is already eyeing his next target going into his UFC 316 title defense. 

Dvalishvili puts his bantamweight title on the line in a rematch against Sean O'Malley at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, this weekend. “The Machine” recently said that he would like to fight Cory Sandhagen next if he beats O’Malley at UFC 316. 

Dvalishvili considers “The Sandman” a legitimate contender who has paid his dues coming up the rankings. The Georgian champ would prefer a quick turnaround and would like take on Sandhagen when the UFC returns t…

😲😲Jon Jones calls Colby Covington the most overrated fighter in the UFC without taking his name "His initials are C,C."

"I could say his name, but it's really just because I don't like him. And saying his name gives him clout, which I also don't want to do. His initials are… pic.twitter.com/2cl9dG0v5B

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 29, 2025

Jon Jones is so unimpressed with one UFC fighter that he doesn’t want to speak his name.

Jones was recently asked whom he considers the most overrated UFC fighter. His response: a fighter with the initials “C.C.” While he didn’t want to give the fighter in question any more clout by speaking his full name, “Bones” added that anyone who follows the sport should easily guess the name.

“I could say his name, but it's really just because I don't like him,” Jones said in a recent appearance on the DeepCut podcast. “And saying his name gives him clout, which I also don't want to do. His in…

[embedded content]

Sean O'Malley didn’t avoid social media or quit smoking to have a better training camp for UFC 316. 

Advertisement

O’Malley lost his bantamweight title via unanimous decision against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last year. Usually a big presence on social media, “Suga” drastically dropped appearances. Previously a big marijuana advocate, O’Malley has also stopped smoking since. 

Many believe these lifestyle changes are O’Malley’s attempt to train better for the rematch against Dvalishvili in the main event at UFC 316 this weekend. However, O’Malley says that is not the case. O’Malley doesn’t think his social media usage or smoking habits adversely affected his training camp for his previous encounter against Dvalishvili. While the former champ expects those changes to perhaps positively affect his performance, that was not the initial intention. O’Malley claims to have brought about these drastic changes for inner peace.

“I feel…

[embedded content]

Valentina Shevchenko is rooting for former foe Julianna Pena in her next title fight. 

Advertisement

Pena will put her women’s bantamweight title on the line against Kayla Harrison in the co-main event at UFC 316 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. For flyweight champ Shevchenko, the fight is as good as the main event of the night. 

While Harrison is a massive favorite, Shevchenko warns that a title fight is different territory. Shevchenko cited the example of her own successful title defense against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 last month. “Bullet” believes the Frenchwoman, riding a 12-fight winning streak, was in uncharted territory in a championship fight.

“If you see my previous fight against Manon, she was 12 wins without [a loss], and she was thinking that championship fight was going to be the same. But championship fight is not the same,” Shevchenko told ESPN. “You will face different challenges, and I…

While not everyone was thrilled to see Sean O'Malley get an immediate title shot after losing the belt last September, Merab Dvalishvili believes a rematch was the best possible option.

Advertisement

“No, I wasn’t surprised because right now, Sean is the clear contender,” Dvalishvili told Stake. “Cory Sandhagen just won, [Petr] Yan maybe, but I already beat him. The UFC gave me this decision, and I think Sean will make some adjustments and this will be a really tough fight. I respect him a lot, but I am ready to do my job.”

Dvalishvili will give O’Malley a rematch in the UFC 316 headliner on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. “The Machine” claimed the 135-pound belt with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory against “Suga” at UFC 306. While O’Malley has been sidelined since then, Dvalishvili made a successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

It took Dvalishvili, who has been victorious in 12 consecutive …

Patricio Freire will fight Dan Ige at UFC 318">UFC 318 on July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Leo Guimaraes first reported the bout. The card will be headlined by Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight in a trilogy against Max Holloway.

Friere made his promotional debut against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 this past April, when “Pitbull” was dropped and thoroughly dominated en route to a unanimous decision loss. The former Bellator featherweight champ has now dropped three of his last four, with the other two losses coming against Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis.

Meanwhile, Ige is 1-2 in his last three, though one of those losses came against future title contender Diego Lopes when “50K” stepped up on four hours’ notice. After dropping another unanimous decision against Lerone Murphy, Ige returned to the win column with a finish of Sean Woodson at UFC 314.

First welterweight fight in the books ✔️

[ #TUF33 | TUES on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/yLDTiilrLX

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) June 4, 2025

Advertisement

Daniel Donchenko is the first welterweight to advance to the semifinals on “The Ultimate Fighter 33.”

The Team Cormier representative took a hard-fought decison victory over Team Sonnen’s Richard Martins in a 170-pound quarterfinal pairing on Episode 2, as he relied on a more consistent offensive attack to get the nod from the judges in the two-round affair.

The 23-year-old Ukraine native had his most memorable moment in the opening stanza, when he rattled Martins with a right hand within the first 30 seconds and swarmed with offense against the fence. That onslaught prompted referee Herb Dean to take a close look, but Martins was able to regain his bearings and avoid a stoppage.

The Brazilian wasn’t in serious danger from that point forward, but Don…