Martial Arts News

Israel Adesanya is rooting for his former foe to become a three-division champ. | Getty/UFC

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have shared one of the healthiest rivalries in combat sports history. 

Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Adesanya is backing his former foe Pereira to defeat Gane. While Adesanya knows that Gane has elite movement, he believes “Poatan” can shut the Frenchman’s lights out. 

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“I hope Alex wins,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “Gane’s no joke. Gane can dance around, Gane’s slick. But I think Alex can knock him out.”A Storied Rivalry Pereira (13-3) defeated Adesanya (24-5) twice in Glory Kickboxing, even handing him his only kickboxing knockout loss. While Adesanya transitioned to MMA and went on to become the UFC middleweight champion, Pereira’s career became somewhat stagnant. However, …

Charles Oliveira advises Dan Hooker to focus on his own career. 

Oliveira won the BMF title with a dominant unanimous decision against Max Holloway at UFC 326 on Saturday. “Do Bronx” then teared up inside the Octagon with his parents, who attended his fight in the U.S. for the first time.

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However, Hooker thought Oliveira’s emotional outburst was not befitting of the title of the BMF.

“Crying while receiving the BMF is gay,” Hooker wrote on social media in a pair of since-deleted tweets.

“BMF doesn't exist anymore, it died with those bitch ass tears”

Focus on Your Own Career Responding to Hooker, Oliveira joked that “The Hangman” is probably in love with him. Oliveira accused the Kiwi of constantly taking digs at him and trying to find content related to him. Oliveira advises Hooker to focus on fighting instead.

“I think Dan Hooker’s in love with me, I truly do,” Oliveira said at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference. “He’s always …

Sean O'Malley was specifically embarrassed about one thing in his two losses against Merab Dvalishvili. 

O’Malley recently appeared as a guest on the podcast of YouTuber Matan Even, who is known for riling people up with his weirdness. Matan questioned the point of the 5’11” O’Malley’s height advantage if he lost against a shorter fighter like Dvalishvili. O’Malley admitted that one of the most embarrassing parts of his losses against Dvalishvili was that the Georgian was significantly shorter. However, O’Malley also acknowledged that “The Machine” is extremely strong.

Strength vs. Height “One of the most embarrassing parts about losing is when they're f—-ing under 5'5"... Merab is a strong f——er,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley (19-3) won the bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling and defended it only once against Marlon Vera before losing it to Dvalishvili (21-5). While Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley via an emphatic decision in their first meeting in 2024, he made …

A planned booking between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria reportedly fell through at the last minute. 

Interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will fight the champion Ilia Topuria in the main event at the UFC White House card, also billed as Freedom Fights 250, on June 14. According to the latest rumors, the original plan was for Topuria to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event. 

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Irati Prat of Marca reported that the UFC received information at the last minute that Makhachev wouldn’t fight at the White House. Prat notes that Dana White had mentioned a fight falling through, and UFC matchmakers suddenly had long faces at the UFC 326 ceremonial weigh-ins amid hushed whispers. Prat further noted that even Gaethje acknowledged that he was originally told that he would not fight at the White House.

“On Friday night, it was announced that Islam would NOT fight. Dana White's comments about a fight falling …

Max Holloway was rewarded for showing incredible submission defense against Charles Oliveira.

Holloway put his BMF title on the line against Oliveira in the main event at UFC 326 on Saturday. “Blessed” was dominated by Oliveira on the ground for over 20 minutes en route to a unanimous decision loss.

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Silver Linings However, Holloway received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt later that night for showing incredible submission defense against a specialist like “Do Bronx.”

Holloway’s grappling coach, Pedro Sauer, a former student of the legendary Rickson Gracie, wrote on Instagram: “Our new black belt, after demonstrating an incredible defense at [UFC 326].

The BMF title fight at UFC 326 received mixed reactions from fans and pundits. While some praised Oliveira’s dominant win, others questioned if it was a performance befitting the BMF title. 

There will be a sizeable weight discrepancy between the two main event grapplers at Hype FC. 

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan will grapple former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev in the main event at Hype FC on March 11 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. 

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Controversial Histories Tsarukyan (23-3) has been active in grappling tournaments as he remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture. Tsarukyan most recently competed in freestyle wrestling against social media grappling star Georgio Poullas, who seemingly committed multiple fouls during the match at RAF 6. Tsarukyan won the bout and punched Poullas, leading to absolute chaos in the arena. Tsarukyan was originally matched up in a submission grappling rematch against Poullas at Hype FC on March 11. However, the bout fell through soon after as Poullas pulled out, citing his preference to compete under RAF. Tsarukyan and Poullas are now scheduled to meet in a r…

Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk engaged in a clash for the ages at UFC 248. | Getty/UFC

A clash that is widely regarded as the greatest women’s fight of all time will be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday that the first meeting between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing” as part of a ceremony this summer. It’s the first-ever women’s bout to enter the UFC Hall of Fame.

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“The fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang at UFC 248 is one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen,” said U CEO Dana White in a release. “This fight was incredible. You had two talented savages that wanted the strawweight title more than anything and neither one of them backed down during this fight. I knew this was going to be a badass fight and it absolutely delivered. Congrats to Joanna and Weili on a fight that will always be remembered!”An In…

Tom Aspinall is looking forward to facing Ciryl Gane or Alex Pereira down the road. | Getty/UFC

Tom Aspinall remains on the mend following eye surgery, but he’ll be an interested observer when Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane square off for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14.

Aspinall made his first title defense against Gane at UFC 321 this past October, but the bout was halted in the first stanza after Gane poked the reigning champ in both eyes. It has been a lengthy ordeal for Aspinall to recover from the fouls, despite skepticism that he was looking for a way out of the fight. At the moment, Aspinall understands why the promotion booked Pereira and Gane for an interim belt.

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"I mean, who else is going to fight? The division's on its ass," Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. "There's not many big fights to make, is there? So they've got to do what they've got to do.”Waiting for Clearance While the last update reg…

Jon Jones was left out of the UFC White House festivities. | Getty/UFC

While the rumor mill may have indicated otherwise, Dana White claims Jon Jones was never truly considered for a spot on the UFC White House card.

”Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys 100,000 times was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White said at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference. “First of all, I’ve told you why I wouldn’t do it, and No. 2, some guy with Meta glasses on filmed him talking about his hips, that his hips are so bad and I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones, he retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently doctors say he should have hip replacements.”

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The promotion announced the six-bout lineup for the UFC White House card on Saturday night, which included an interim heavyweight title tilt between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. After Jon…

Conor McGregor wasn’t impressed with Charles Oliveira’s performance at UFC 326. 

Oliveira challenged Max Holloway for the BMF title in the main event at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. While Holloway was a sizeable favoorite, Oliveira took the BMF champion down with ease in his very first attempt. Oliveira controlled Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes, constantly threatening submissions, to earn a dominant unanimous decision win. While Holloway showed impressive submission defencs against a feared specialist, Oliveira was also apparently winning the striking battle.  

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‘Shockingly Bad Fight’ However, McGregor wasn’t impressed with the fight overall. “Notorious” slammed Oliveira’s performance while also taking a dig at Daniel Cormier’s commentary. 

“DC on Max on top ‘he should stall’ lol,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted tweet on X. “He should have elbowed all the open targets. Payback. ‘Stall’ lol f—k off. Shockingly …

Caio Borralho knows that he needs another win before he can call for a title shot. 

Borralho (18-2) took on Reinier de Ridder in the co-main event at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Natural” displayed a well-rounded skillset while completely outclassing De Ridder on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win. 

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Borralho called out Dricus Du Plessis in his post-fight Octagon interview. Borralho notes that while he called out Du Plessis a while back, the South African wanted him to get a few more wins. Having racked up his eighth UFC win, Borralho now wants the former champion to show up. Borralho believes a win over Du Plessis guarantees him a middleweight title shot. The Brazilian would also like to avenge his last loss against Nassourdine Imavov in a title fight.A Long-Desired Matchup “I been calling this guy out since my second fight in the UFC,” Borralho said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I think I called him out thr…

Eddie Hearn believes Tom Aspinall can do without the UFC. 

Aspinall (15-3) has had a minor falling out with the UFC since his no contest in his first heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane last year. Aspinall decided not to continue after a double eye poke from Gane in the first round. While Aspinall has since undergone multiple surgeries, Dana White hinted that the heavyweight champion’s injury wasn’t as severe as he made it seem. 

Aspinall recently made headlines by signing with the management of Eddie Hearn, who isn’t exactly an ally of White. Hearn has since said Aspinall’s purses surprised him. According to the Matchroom Boxing chairman, Aspinall would have earned 10 times as much in boxing. Hearn believes the Aspinall doesn’t need the UFC as much as the promotion needs him right now. According to Hearn, the UFC requires heavyweight stars right now.

‘They Need Heavyweight Stars’“When I walked through Tom Aspinall’s purses, I nearly fell off th…