Martial Arts News

This past week, Alex Pereira made it clear that he was not happy with what transpired in the UFC White House co-main event.

“Poatan” came up short in his bid to become a three-division champion when he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Ciryl Gane on June 14 in Washington, D.C. After the event, Pereira expressed his frustration that veteran official Herb Dean failed to acknowledge that illegal strikes that Gane landed to the back of the Brazilian’s head during the finishing sequence.

Advertisement

White discussed the situation during the UFC Fight Night 279 post-fight press conference on Saturday. While the UFC CEO didn’t necessarily fault Dean, he recognized Pereira’s anger as legitimate.

"If you watch the fight it's undeniable that he got hit with some strikes to the back of the head, but in the middle of the action, when it's going on and guys are rolling around trying to get out of it," White said (transcription via MMAjunkie.com) "Sometim…

Justin Gaethje doesn't think Ilia Topuria will ever be the same after their UFC White House fight. | Getty/UFC

Justin Gaethje doesn’t sound like he’s ready to call it a career.

But when he is ready to return to the Octagon, it likely won’t be against Ilia Topuria — at least not until “El Matador” picks up another victory.

Advertisement

“Right now I’m planning on [continuing],” Gaethje said recently on ”The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast podcast. “There’s not something natural in me that feels like it’s over. I can’t say that I have a name. [Ilia] doesn’t get a rematch. He can try but he doesn’t get one. He quit on the stool, I stopped him twice, what else do I have to f—ing do?

“His next challenge can’t be me. He needs to fight Paddy [Pimblett] or someone like that.”

Gaethje entered UFC White House as a significant underdog against Topuria, the undisputed lightweight champion. While Topuria enjoyed a strong second round, the rest of the bout …

Kyoji Horiguchi's title hopes took a hit on Saturday. | Getty/UFC

Kyoji Horiguchi’s hopes at making a late career run at UFC flyweight gold hit a serious speed bump on Saturday night.

The American Top Team product suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to Manel Kape in the UFC Fight Night 279 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Things were going well for Horiguchi in the first two frames before Kape flashed his formidable power during the decisive sequence 2:42 into the third stanza.

Advertisement

The Dream Doesn't Die Horiguchi, who defeated Kape in Rizin Fighting Federation in 2017, initially challenged for the UFC flyweight title in April 2015, when he suffered a fifth-round submission loss to Demetrious Johnson. The 35-year-old reflected on the loss in a brief statement on social media.

“Thank you all for your support,” Horiguchi wrote on X (via Translate). “I got spectacularly knocked out. I’m truly sorry. Kape …

Umar Nurmagomedov is excited for a potential fight against Yadong Song. 

Nurmagomedov was originally scheduled to fight David Martinez at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. However, the booking has fallen off as Martinez is forced out with an injury. Nurmagomedov has been rumored to face Song at a later date. 

Advertisement

Nurmagomedov recently admitted that he is interested in the matchup against Song because he considers the Chinese fighter to be a “punching bag.” Nurmagomedov was not impressed by the one-sided beatdown that Song suffered against Sean O’Malley earlier this year. Nurmagomedov doesn’t rank Song among the best fighters in the division.Not in the Same League “Of course, I’m interested,” Nurmagomedov told told Adam Zubayraev. “ [Song] is a punching bag. How did he do against O’Malley? He was dead by the third round. Fourth round, he was taking knees to the face (Song vs. O’Malley was three rounds)…I don’t consider him a top-class fighter, honestly.…

Islam Makhachev believes teammate Usman Nurmagomedov will have to compromise on his salary if he moves to the UFC from the Professional Fighters League. 

Nurmagomedov (20-1) is considered one of the best lightweights in the world, regardless of promotion. Nurmagomedov’s current PFL contract will expire after he puts his lightweight title on the line against Archie Colgan at PFL New York on July 31 at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York. 

There has been speculation about Nurmagomedov potentially signing with the UFC after his current PFL contract expires. Makhachev (28-1) believes Nurmagomedov needs to move to the UFC to fully realize his potential against a higher caliber of opponents. However, Makhachev claims that Nurmagomedov is getting a hefty payday in the PFL, which the UFC is unlikely to pay. According to Makhachev, Nurmagomedov still has ample time to sign another PFL contract and move to the UFC later in his career to build his legacy. The UFC …

Murtazali Magomedov had help from a UFC veteran for his spectacular debut on Saturday. 

Magomedov (11-0) made his promotional debut against Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-4) at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. While Baghdasaryan landed some powerful strikes early, Magomedov took him down quickly and started looking for a rear-naked choke. As Baghdasaryan tried to turn into Magomedov, the Kyrgyz prospect locked in a modified twister to secure a submission win at 1:17 of the opening round. Magomedov scored the fourth twister submission in UFC history in his debut in the promotion. 

Advertisement

Magomedov subsequently said that he had been specifically training the twister in the gym for a long time. The undefeated featherweight prospect further revealed that he learned the move from former UFC flyweight, Askar Askarov.

“I work this technique long time,” Magomedov said. “My brother, Askar Askarov teach me this technique.” 

Making…

Vinicius Oliveira wants a ranked opponent next after his successful debut at featherweight. 

Oliveira (24-4) made his featherweight debut against Andre Fili (25-14) at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Oliveira survived some heavy kicks to the body from Fili in the first round. However, “LokDog” hurt Fili with a 1-2 before unleashing a brutal barrage of shots to secure a stoppage win late in the second round. 

Advertisement

Eager to Climb Oliveira subsequently called for a matchup against Josh Emmett, who is No. 15 in the official UFC featherweight rankings. However, the Brazilian would ideally prefer a higher-ranked opponent as he himself was ranked higher at bantamweight.

“If the UFC want to give me Josh Emmett, Top 15, I’ll be ready to fight with him,” Oliveira said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “But I hope the UFC give me a Top 12 opponent, but I don’t know who. In my former division, bantamweight, I was Top 1…

Navajo Stirling had to face adversity like never before against Ion Cutelaba. 

Stirling arguably faced his biggest step up in competition against Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Cutelaba caught Stirling in a standing guillotine early on, eventually dragging him to the ground. While Cutelaba’s guillotine seemed seriously threatening at one point, Stirling managed to pull his head out. Both fighters were going back and forth in the second round before Stirling reversed a takedown and unleashed lethal ground-and-pound on a seated Cutelaba to secure a stoppage win. 

Advertisement

Stirling subsequently revealed that he had never faced adversity like he did when Cutelaba jumped the guillotine. The undefeated Kiwi believes the experience of surviving that adversity will add to his mental arsenal. However, Stirling notes that while he faced such a threat in a fight for the first time, he regularly drills being in stressful positions at …

Christian Rodriguez’s late coach, Duke Roufus, taught him the move that helped him finish Hyder Amil. 

Rodriguez (13-4) took on Amil (11-3) in a featherweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday in Las Vegas. “CeeRod” dropped Amil with a flush shin-to-chin head kick in the opening round. While Amil miraculously remained conscious, Rodriguez immediately choked him out cold with a guillotine. 

Advertisement

Rodriguez revealed that the head kick was always a staple move while training under his late coach.

“My coach who passed away in October, his name was Duke Roufus, he was a kickboxing legend,” Rodriguez said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “He was known for head kicks… When people kind of start defending like a boxer, the head kick will always be there. And it worked out perfectly. It’s something that he passed on to me, and I still have that knowledge. So, that’s something we capitalized on.”

Feeling Rejuventated Rodriguez’s win ov…

Beatriz Mesquita wants to bring the iconic Brazil-Argentina rivalry to the Octagon. 

Mesquita (8-0) took on Melissa Mullins (7-3) in a women’s bantamweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Mullins rocked Mesquita in the opening round and surprisingly chose to take the fight to the canvas. As Mullins postured up to drop an elbow, “Bia” locked up an armbar to earn a quick tap. 

Advertisement

Mesquita subsequently aimed high with a callout of Ailin Perez. Explaining her callout, Mesquita said that he wants to jump up the UFC.com rankings, where Perez is currently at No. 5. The undefeated Brazilian also said that she doesn’t like the attitude of Perez, who is known for celebrating her wins by twerking. Mesquita further believes that it’ll be an interesting matchup against the Argentinian to translate the age old Brazil-Argentina soccer rivalry into the Octagon.‘I Don’t Like Her Attitude’ “Honestly, I want to end up in the Top 10, Top …

Herb Dean is again involved in a controversy regarding illegal shots. 

Dean was the third man in the Octagon when Andre Fili (25-14) welcomed Vinicius Oliveira (24-4) to the featherweight division at UFC Fight Night 279 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Oliveira managed to survive the first round despite being visibly hurt by body kicks from Fili. “LokDog” went all guns blazing late in the second round after stunning Fili. Oliveira rained a vicious barrage of shots on Fili, forcing Dean to step in just before the bell in the second round. 

Advertisement

Uh oh… Herb Dean has another fight where the fighter was hitting the back of the head and then he stopped it… Fili bleeding like hell on the back of his head! #UFCVegas119 pic.twitter.com/QwrV0YUpc5

— John (@MrJohnnytokes) June 21, 2026 Controversy Strikes Again However, some of the shots landed by Oliveira in the finishing sequence appeared to be on the back of the head, which is …

Manel Kape took home an extra $100K on Saturday night. | Getty/UFC Manel Kape has his revenge, and he’s also $100,000 richer for his efforts.

“Starboy” secured a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his third-round stoppage of Kyoji Horiguchi in the UFC Vegas 119 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Kape put his foe on wobbly legs with a counter right, then unleashed a barrage on his grounded adversary — including a vicious uppercut from behind — that brought a halt tot he contest 2:42 into Round 3. Kape avenged a 2017 submission loss to Horiguchi that occurred under the Rizin banner.

An Impressive Debut Elsewhere, promotional newcomer Murtazali Magomedov earned a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” check after making short work of Melsik Baghdasaryan in a featured featherweight affair. Magomedov elicited a tapout 1:17 into the opening stanza with a twister, only the fourth such submission in UFC history.

Finally, Vinicius Oliveira and …