Day: 3. September 2026

Tom Aspinall’s Octagon return will have to wait.

Eddie Hearn recently hinted that the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder isn’t ready to return to action yet. Hearn claims that Aspinall is still not medically cleared to compete after suffering an eye injury in his last bout against Ciryl Gane.

Eddie Hearn says Tom Aspinall is not medically cleared to fight after his Ciryl Gane bout While Aspinall still isn't cleared to return to action, the head of Matchroom Boxing assured fans that he is “motivated” and eager to return as soon as he is permitted.

“The only thing that we have to look at is when Tom Aspinall will be ready to return,” Hearn said in a recent press scrum captured by Bloody Elbow. “And that’s not from a mindset perspective; that’s from a commission perspective in terms of his injury. And that shows you what he has been through because if the commission won’t let him fight, you know how serious the injuries were… He’s motivated. I can’t gi…

Anthony Smith is set to return to competition amidst his legal troubles.

Smith is set to fight Jordan Heiderman in the main event of Gamebred Bare-Knuckle MMA 12 on Oct. 2 in the Dominican Republic. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight was arrested in Sarpy County, Nebraska, in July following an alleged altercation with his wife. Smith is currently out on bail and faces four felony charges.

Gamebred FC explains decision to book Anthony Smith against Jordan Heiderman Smith’s wife came out in his support soon after the arrest. Meanwhile, the former UFC title challenger recently issued a statement, promising to tell his version of the story soon. Gamebred FC also released a statement, explaining their stance.

While Gamebred FC isn’t undermining the charges against Smith, they consider him innocent until proven otherwise. Gamebred FC also wants to allow Smith to continue to earn while he deals with his legal issues.

“As we announce Anthony Smi…

Gregory Rodrigues sees openings he can exploit against Dricus Du Plessis.

Rodrigues called out du Plessis after his recent victory over Anthony Hernandez, which extended his win streak to four straight. The Brazilian views the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion as the “most logical matchup” for his next bout.

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Gregory Rodrigues explains why Dricus Du Plessis is the matchup he wants next With Khamzat Chimaev’s future uncertain, and Brendan Allen and Joe Pyfer already booked, Rodrigues claims the time is right for the du Plessis matchup.

“That’s the fight that makes the most sense,” Rodrigues told Sherdog. “I don’t know what’s going on with Chimaev and I think Brendan Allen and Pyfer already have fights booked, so DDP seems like the most logical matchup.”

Rodrigues remains open to other matchups but is confident he can beat du Plessis, eyeing holes in the South African’s game.

“Dricus is very strong and tough and h…

Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns are set to collide once again, this time on the wrestling mat at Real American Freestyle.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder and the former welterweight title challenger will meet at RAF 13 on Sept. 18 at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. The pair previously faced off at UFC 273, where Chimaev edged Burns via decision.

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Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will meet at RAF 13 four years after their UFC 273 classic The RAF matchup comes over four years after Chimaev and Burns squared off in one of UFC's most memorable bouts of 2022, which earned Fight of the Night honors.

Chimaev already has another RAF assignment locked in before the Burns match. “Borz” is scheduled to face former UFC champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of RAF Moscow on Sept. 5. He made his RAF debut earlier this year against Dillon Danis.

Meanwhile, Burns announced his retirement from mixed martial art…

Justin Gaethje has revealed that a showdown with Conor McGregor is his top choice for his next bout.

Gaethje, who won the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title by beating Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250, prefers the McGregor matchup over getting revenge against Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.

Justin Gaethje favors Conor McGregor over rematches with Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira In a recent interview, Gaethje explained why he has little interest in revisiting fights with Holloway and Oliveira, who previously finished him in title bouts. Holloway scored a buzzer-beater KO against Gaethje at UFC 300 to win the BMF title, while Oliveira submitted him in his second attempt at undisputed lightweight gold.

Nevertheless, with Topuria finishing both “Blessed” and “do Bronxs,” Gaethje isn’t interested in rematches. Rather, he’s eyeing a bout with former two-division champ McGregor.

“Damn, there’s really no one,” Gaethje said. “It would have been Oliveira…

Eddie Hearn is standing firm amid the ongoing Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua saga.

Hearn has pushed back after Dana White recently addressed the ongoing discourse surrounding the heavyweight matchup. The head of Matchroom Boxing discussed the involvement of the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and Zuffa Boxing in putting together the fight and clarified Joshua’s stance on the same.

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Anthony Joshua's stance on Dana White and Zuffa Boxing complicates Tyson Fury fight talks Hearn was asked about the highly anticipated Fury-Joshua bout after the Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili press conference in Dublin, Ireland, and reiterated that, as per Joshua’s contract, there’s no need for Zuffa to get involved.

“No, or else there will be no fight and we’ll just keep going,” Hearn said at a media scrum captured by Bloody Elbow. “You have to understand, right? AJ is one of my closest friends; AJ is a shareholder of Matchroom. So, I know the narrative run by Tyson Fury is,…

Salahdine Parnasse believes Dan Hooker is the “perfect” matchup for his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Parnasse will make his Octagon debut against Hooker in the UFC Paris main event on Sept. 5. The former two-division KSW champion claims the UFC veteran is the ideal opponent to showcase his skills against.

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Salahdine Parnasse expects his aggressive style to mesh with Dan Hooker at UFC Paris Parnasse (23-2) enters the UFC with a ton of hype. While he sees his upcoming opponent as a “big challenge,” given Hooker’s 12-year run in the UFC, the French fighter likes the stylistic matchup, especially considering his Kiwi counterpart’s aggressive fighting style.

“Dan Hooker is very strong, very experienced,” Parnasse said at UFC Paris media day. “That's why he is at the top of the UFC and I think he is a big challenge and I love this challenge. I think he is a very explosive guy who likes to do a lot in his fights. And I think that with me, it's a…

Aline Pereira could join her brother, Alex Pereira, in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Pereira is reportedly set to face Smilla Sundell in a bantamweight matchup on the final episode of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 on Oct. 13 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

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Aline Pereira reportedly draws Smilla Sundell for DWCS Week 10 Aline, 35, is the younger sister of Alex, a former two-division UFC champion. In her last outing, she defeated Jade Masson-Wong at Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural mixed martial arts event. Although Aline (3-2) has limited professional MMA experience, she has established herself in kickboxing (6-2) and Karate Combat (3-0).

Meanwhile, Sundell (2-0) has recorded both her pro MMA victories via technical knockout under the Tuff-N-Uff banner. The 21-year-old Swede was previously a standout in One Championship, where she won and defended the muay thai strawweight title.

The matchup, slated for Week 10 of DWCS 2026, wa…

Andre Lima has addressed Bilal Hasan’s callout, slamming the new Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight.

Hasan recently earned a UFC contract with a 45-second knockout win on Dana White’s Contender Series. He made an 18-day turnaround for his UFC debut in Shanghai, China, where he knocked out Nilson Rojas in the second round.

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Hasan then called out Lima, who picked up a third-round submission win over Namsrai Batbayar at UFC Shanghai, after beating Rojas.Andre Lima fires back at Bilal Hasan after their UFC Shanghai wins In his post-fight interview, Hasan said he wasn’t impressed with Lima’s performance while watching the fight in the locker room ahead of his bout. Responding to Hasan, Lima says the Indonesian-American only called him out once he had the microphone. Lima claims Hasan didn’t make eye contact with him whenever they crossed each other at the fighter hotel.

“Some clown called me out after his fight,” Lima wrote on X. “I responded, an…

Sean Sharaf questions the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s selective promotion of fighters.

Sharaf (4-2) is scheduled to fight Gable Steveson (4-0) at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Steveson recently did a collaboration on Instagram with UFC content creator Nina Marie Daniele, aka Nina Drama, drawing the ire of his upcoming foe.

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Sean Sharaf questions UFC treatment ahead of Gable Steveson fight Sharaf questioned the UFC over the influencer’s repeated collaborations with Steveson. Sharaf, an ex-Marine, wonders if he’s unworthy of promotion and slammed the organization for allegedly pushing Steveson, who has been accused of sexual assault.

“This is like the 4th collab they do with him, what’s up with that UFC guess Marines aren’t worthy of interviews just r**ists,” Sharaf wrote in the comments section of Nina Drama’s video.

Steveson and his teammate Dylan Martinez were arrested on charges of sexual assault in 2019. Howev…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual Madison Square Garden card is taking shape.

Nazim Sadykhov is set to square off against Jefferson Nascimento in a lightweight bout at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at MSG in New York City. While the UFC has yet to officially announce the bout, Sadykhov took to Instagram to reveal the booking. They last competed on the same card earlier this year.

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Nazim Sadykhov says he will face Jefferson Nascimento at UFC 334 in New York Nascimento (13-1) was a highly touted undefeated prospect going into his UFC debut against fellow promotional debutant Tahir Abdullayev this past June at UFC Baku. However, he was booed in enemy territory for coasting throughout the first two rounds.

Abdullayev finally hurt Nascimento late in the third round and referee Jim Perdios called a highly questionable stop to the contest. While Nascimento made his UFC debut at welterweight, the former LFA lightweight champ will drop back down to 155 pound…

Chute Boxe is honoring Allan Nascimento.

Nascimento (22-7) died in his sleep in early August, reportedly due to a cardiac arrest. The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight’s coach has now paid tribute to his late friend and pupil.

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Diego Lima renames his institute after longtime student and UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento Chute Boxe head coach Diego Lima recently revealed that the Diego Lima Institute has now been renamed the Allan Nascimento Institute in honor of “Puro Osso.”

“Allan has been my student since he was 14 years old,” Lima told MMA Fighting while tearing up. “So, we have been together for 20 years. It’s almost been a month. There hasn’t been a single day when I haven’t cried. Our institute today, the Diego Lima Institute, is not going to be called the Diego Lim Institute anymore. It’s going to be called the Allan Nascimento Institute. As long as I live, I will honor his name. As long as I live, I will say his name because he was my s…