Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is abandoning “opinion” in its upcoming new rankings system.

The announcement was made during the UFC Vegas 118 broadcast Saturday at The Apex in Las Vegas. The new system will be based on “measurable performance instead of opinion or popularity.” The UFC stated:

“Based on measurable performance instead of opinion or popularity. Designed to reward performance & reflect results inside the Octagon.”

The current UFC rankings are decided by votes from media members from all platforms. UFC head honcho has previously expressed his disagreement with the current rankings system while hailing Jon Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter. It remains to be seen whether media members will have any say in the new rankings system.

Josh Hokit believes Tom Aspinall should be stripped of his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title.

Aspinall (15-3) hasn’t fought since his first title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest due to a double eye poke by Gane at UFC 320 last October. Gane (13-2) is now scheduled to fight Alex Pereira (13-3) for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14. Hokit (9-0) is also booked to trade leather in a heavyweight tilt against Derrick Lewis (29-13.)

Hokit believes Gane and Pereira should be fighting for the undisputed title instead of an interim one. Having recently instigated a one-sided beef with Pereira, Hokit wants to fight the Brazilian next. Considering Aspinall’s claims of being unable to drive due to the seriousness of his eye injury, Hokit doubts the Englishman will return anytime soon. “The Incredible Hok” accuses Aspinall of holding up the division with his “theatrics.”

“To get the division moving again,…

While Islam Makhachev has had several dominant wins, they are not the ones he cherishes the most.

Makhachev (28-1) recently admitted that winning his second Ultimate Fighting Championship title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Jack Della Maddalena last year was an emotional moment for him. However, that is not the fight that Makhachev rewatches most frequently. Makhachev revealed that his lightweight title defense against Dustin Poirier (30-10) at UFC 302 in 2024 was the most enjoyable performance of his career. What adds to the pleasure is that Makhachev was able to finish Poirier despite throwing caution to the wind.

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“Winning the championship was very emotional,” Makhachev told RedCorner MMA. “But the fight I keep rewatching is the Poirier fight. We fought as if it was a street fight. Plus, I managed to finish him. I really enjoyed this fight.”

Poirier made his third and final UFC lightweight title bid against Makhachev at UFC 302. “T…

While Sean Strickland isn’t satisfied with Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter pay, he doesn’t think it will change anytime soon.

Strickland (31-7) recently accused the UFC of being predatory in terms of fighter pay. While Dana White claims UFC fighters are making more after the new Paramount+ deal, Strickland disagrees. Strickland recently reiterated the fact that the UFC isn’t close to any major sporting league in terms of the revenue share paid to athletic talent. However, Strickland doesn’t think that it will change for the better any time soon. Strickland notes that there will be always be struggling fighters who will be willing to compete for a lesser amount. According to Strickland, fighter pay is the reason behind the decline in the number of American fighters on the UFC roster.

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“No one is getting paid more… As far as the payscale, you compare it to any other sporting event, the UFC is the most f**ked up,” Strickland told Complex. “If you…

Sean O’Malley claims to have heard that the date for UFC White House: Freedom 250 could change.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hosting a historic fight card at the White House on June 14. Billed as UFC Freedom 250, to celebrate America’s 250th year of independence, the card also coincides with President Donald J. Trump’s 80th birthday. The Octagon will be set up on the South Lawn with only limited members of the military in attendance.

O’Malley (19-3) is scheduled to trade leather in a bantamweight matchup against Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) on the card. Apart from unforeseen issues like insects in an outdoor event, O’Malley recently revealed that there several uncertainties about timing for the event. According to O’Malley, the weigh ins for the fight will begin at 11 am, which is two hours later than the usual slot for UFC weigh ins. “Suga” also revealed that there is no official walkout time for fighters. O’Malley even claims to have heard that the card could eve…

Josh Hokit believes a potential win over Derrick Lewis holds little value for him.

Hokit is scheduled to meet Lewis in a heavyweight matchup at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14. Alex Pereria and Ciryl Gane will clash for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event. Hokit is more interested in a future clash against Pereira than his upcoming matchup against Lewis. “The Incredible Hok” believes he is stepping down in competition by fighting Lewis. However, Hokit is sure that fighting on the iconic White House card adds to his stock, for a potential matchup against Pereira in the future. Hokit told UFC on Paramount+:

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“I would say [I’m more interested in fighting] Alex Pereira , for sure… I think I'm going down in competition from my last fight. Me beating Derrick Lewis doesn't bring no value to me, I don't think. But me fighting at the White House does. I think that's going to propel to a fight with Alex Pereira.”

Hokit (9-0) has won all…

Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones won’t wrestle him, even for a seven-figure payday.

Cormier (22-3) and Jones (28-1) starred as rival coaches on the last season of ALF Reality, also known as the Russian version of “The Ultimate Fighter.” ALF boss Alfredo Auditore recently announced that they have almost finalized a wrestling match between Cormier and Jones.

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Cormier confirms that they have been approached by ALF regarding a wrestling match, with a seven-figure payday offered. However, “DC” believes his longtime rival, Jones, won’t wrestle him. According to Cormier, both parties know that he will beat Jones 10-0 in a wrestling match. Cormier said on social media:

“Jones and I, that is a 10-0 match every single time. I know it, and he knows it… You don’t have to goad me into this wrestling match. I will beat him 10-0 at 47 years old. Here’s the problem -- I know I’m gonna beat him 10-0, he also knows that I’m going to beat him 10-0. That’s why he won’t…

Tom Aspinall’s immediate professional future is looking murkier by the day.

Aspinall’s new manager, Eddie Hearn, has been vehemently criticising his current Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Hearn now claims that he won’t let the UFC heavyweight champion fight under such terms.

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While Aspinall (15-3) is sidelined with an eye injury, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will compete for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14. The winner of that fight is expected to meet Aspinall in a title unifier. However, Hearn claims he will try his best not to let Aspinall accept that fight unless a new deal is reached. Hearn claims Aspinall’s current UFC contract would earn him 1/50th of the amount of money he would generate in a title unifier against Pereira or Gane.

“I’m not gonna let Tom Aspinall fight for the kind of money that’s in his contract,” Hearn told Bloody Elbow. “To be involved in a fight against Pereira or Gane, fo…

In a rematch nearly two years in the making, Makoto Takahashi avenged a past loss and defeated mentor-turned-rival Hiromasa Ougikubo Saturday at Rizin Fighting Federation: “Landmark Vol. 14.” Competing in front of his hometown fans in Sendai, Japan, Takahashi took a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over Ougikubo in the main event to become the new Rizin flyweight champion.

Takahashi (23-5-1, 1 NC; 9-4 Rizin) ducked under a wild left hand and took Ougikubo (30-9-2, 12-6 Rizin) down into back control during the opening minute of the fight. He kneeled against the cage and punched the side of Ougikubo’s head while also elbowing his ribs. Ougikubo scrambled up to his feet as the round entered its final minute and he knocked ‘Shinryu’ off-balance with a calf kick. Ougikubo got past Takahashi’s jab and landed a nice combination in the second frame, but he soon found himself on the ground again after a Takahashi trip takedown. Ougikubo stood up and he landed a series…

Derrick Lewis has been dealing with a health issue for a long time.

Lewis is coming off a second-round stoppage loss against Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 324 this past January. “The Black Beast” was seemingly just out of the fight after a lousy slip while Cortes-Acosta rained down a barrage of shots, forcing the referee to step in. Lewis recently revealed that he was dealing with back issues during the fight. While Lewis weighed in at 263.5 pounds, he went up to 296 pounds on fight night, which triggered his persistent back issues. Lewis also revealed that his problem has forced him to pull out of fights at the last moment multiple times. Lewis told UFC on Paramount+:

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“One of my downfalls I’ve had my whole career is always my back. I’ve been having back issues; I believe that it really got down, down, down. My last fight I cut a lot of weight. I didn’t walk around to where I usually fight at. Right after I made weight, I went all the way back up to 296 …

Making it look easy 😮‍💨@bullyb170 weighs in at 170.5lbs ahead of #UFCVegas118

[ JUNE 6 | 8pmET | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ME9K8LlrZy

— UFC (@ufc) June 5, 2026 Every fighter ahead of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship card in June eventually made weight.

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The UFC Vegas 118 main event sees former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad return to the Octagon against rising contender Gabriel Bonfim. Both men made weight without issue for the five-round headliner. Junior Tafa, briefly checked in half a pound over the light heavyweight limit for his fight against Iwo Baraniewski, but he came back within the extra one-hour window to hit 206 pounds.

After back-to-back defeats, "Remember the Name" will look to rebound and get his first victory in nearly two years. Muhammad (24-5, 1 NC) is still one of the world's best at 170, having only lost to Jack Della Maddalena and Ian Garry since 2019. The 37-year-ol…

The main Ultimate Fighting Championship promoter is doing a bit of promoting ahead of the upcoming tentpole event.

UFC President and CEO Dana White has often stated that he feels Jon Jones is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He has stuck to that notion so strongly that he has tried on multiple occasions to get Jones’ disqualification loss to Matt Hamill overturned to a no contest. His reasoning is that Jones should have finished the fight before the illegal strikes landed, and that referee Steve Mazzagatti failed to intervene when he should have stepped in. The argument was also made that since 12-to-6 elbows have been legalized, past fights ending via those strikes should be changed ex post facto.

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The top spot on White’s MMA all-timer pedestal may be changing depending on upcoming events, according to him in an interview with Forbes on Friday. The organizer went on to declare that should Alex Pereira beat Ciryl Gane to claim the inter…