Martial Arts News

Tensions continue to rise between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje just days ahead of their matchup at UFC White House: Freedom 250.

Topuria (17-0) puts his lightweight title on the line against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) in the main event on June 14. Both Topuria and Gaethje are known to be respectful towards their opponents, hardly even engaging in trash talk. While things were initially the same in the lead-up to their upcoming fight, Topuria and Gaethje are now going at each other.

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It started with Gaethje’s father calling Topuria a short guy. Topuria responded by promising to knock Gaethje out in front of his father. Gaethje hit back by taking a dig at Topuria’s recent divorce, which the Georgian-Spaniard took personally. After a heated exchange on X, Topuria and Gaethje recently traded barbs over a video call on Pat McAfee’s talk show.

While Topuria is oozing with confidence going into the fight, Gaethje promises to make him look human. Read more

Sean Strickland claims he isn’t upset about not being invited to the UFC Freedom 250 card.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s June 14 event at the White House has been the talk of the sport for months, with countless fighters jockeying for the chance to fight on the card, then once the lineup was finalized, for a spot in the very limited on-site seating. According to rumor, UFC middleweight champ Strickland (31-7), who is well known for voicing his unfiltered opinions, recent rumors suggested that the reigning middleweight champion has been barred from the event, potentially due to incendiary remarks he made last week about Israel and its longtime leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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However, UFC CEO Dana White dismissed the rumors, acknowledging Strickland’s penchant for controversy but maintaining that nobody had been banned and that attendance was constrained by space and seating. White also pointed out that Strickland had already voiced …

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin is trying to build a brand that is not dependent on a single fighter.

PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0) will look to defend his title against fellow undefeated fighter Archie Colgan (13-0) on July 31 at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York. This is the last fight on the current contract of Nurmagomedov.

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Martin recently revealed that the PFL hasn’t talked to Nurmagomedov yet about the renewal of his contract. Martin wants to see how things play out after Nurmagomedov’s fight against Colgan. While Martin would love for Nurmagomedov to continue with the PFL, he is not too bothered about the concept of a longtime lightweight champion going elsewhere. Martin believes that, like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PFL should prioritise its brand over any single athlete. Martin is looking to build a system where they can build multiple stars under the PFL brand.

“For Nurmagomedov, his legacy is …

Ilia Topuria is expecting an easy night at the office if Justin Gaethje sticks to his game plan.

Topuria (17-0) will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) in the UFC White House: Freedom 250 main event on June 14. Topuria is coming off consecutive knockouts over legends in Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. Gaethje believes all three veterans made the mistake of going on their back foot against Topuria. Gaethje claims he will try to move forward, even at the cost of absorbing damage.

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Topuria believes half the job is already done if Gaethje tries to move forward. “El Matador” claims all he needs to knock someone out is for them to stay stagnant and start trading shots. If Gaethje moves forward, Topuria believes he won’t take more than a couple of minutes to knock out “The Highlight.”

“If he’s gonna do what he has been saying, that he is gonna try to move forward and all that, that’s all I…

Sean O'Malley recently revealed which was the hardest strike he’s ever taken—and it came just when things seemed to be going well.

The former bantamweight titleholder, who faces Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday at the White House, said that current champ Petr Yan hit him with the hardest shot of his career. O’Malley, still a rising contender at the time, faced Yan at UFC 280 in 2022 in his biggest step up in competition to that point in his career. Early in Round 2, O’Malley hurt Yan with a huge uppercut, leaving “No Mercy” on wobbly legs. As O’Malley gave chase, smelling blood, Yan turned the tables with a straight left that rocked “Suga.” O’Malley admits that Yan’s left hand was the hardest shot he has eaten so far. O’Malley said on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast:

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“Petr Yan, the guy that’s the champ right now. When I fought him in Abu Dhabi, second round, I came out, cracked him hard, rocked him, hit him with a right hand, dropped him.…

Michael Chandler claims he asked for a booking against Benoit St. Denis.

St. Denis is scheduled to fight Paddy Pimblett at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Chandler takes on Mauricio Ruffy at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14.

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Chandler recently revealed that he almost had a booking against St. Denis secured for the White House card. While Chandler believes it would have delivered fireworks, the matchup eventually didn’t come to fruition.

“I was actually supposed to fight BSD on this card,” Chandler told UFC on TNT Sports. “I asked for him. I told Hunter Campbell, ‘Name a better fight that you can put on the White House than me vs. BSD. He’s a hard-nosed, fast-paced brawler, fought for his country in the military. I’m a red, white, and blue-blooded American, passionate, come forward, get in your face.’ It would have been a chaotic fight. And then obviously we pivoted to Ruffy.”

While St. Denis is a slight favo…

Dricus Du Plessis claims he put pen to paper for his next fight a while ago, and that the delay is down to his fellow former champ.

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“Stillknocks” is widely rumored to be facing former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18. However, the UFC has yet to announce the fight officially. Du Plessis recently accused his upcoming opponent of stalling things on their part. Du Plessis claimed that Usman’s slowness in signing the bout agreement indicates a lack of confidence in his chances of winning, writing on Instagram:

“So apparently a little someone agreed to a fight but actually signing the dotted line isn’t that easy when you know you’re just signing for a show purse. Smart-Yes Scared- Definitely Sorry people the announcement is taking longer than expected but from my side it’s been signed and sealed for a while.”

Du Plessis (23-3) won the title against Sean Strickland in 2024, then defended it twice, against Israel Ad…

Brazilian fans have always lamented the disproportion between the number of Brazilian fighters and Brazilian referees in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Even though Brazil has the second most athletes on the promotion’s roster, behind only the United States, after Mario Yamasaki withdrew from refereeing panels there was a period of several years during which no Brazilian referees were being used by American athletic commissions.

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That changed in 2024 when former Shooto and Cage Rage champion, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, began to get the call more frequently. Thanks to his excellent performances and high accuracy, the black belt under Andre Pederneiras was chosen to referee the title fight between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event of UFC 328.

In an interview with Sherdog a month after the fight, Ribeiro commented on his decision to stop the fight at 1 minute and 32 seconds of the fifth round, giving the TKO win to Van. “It was a ver…

Alex Pereira has a date with history on Sunday, and if things go as planned, he will be on to the next challenge immediately.

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Pereira (13-3) faces Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday in Washington, D.C. If he prevails, he will be the first fighter to win UFC titles in three different weight classes, a feat that would bolster his already legendary résumé.

An interim title win would also set up a unification bout with Tom Aspinall, who has been out of action since his title defense against Gane ended in a no contest due to an inadvertent eye poke by the challenger. However, in light of Aspinall’s long recovery, which has reportedly required surgery and may again, “Poatan” claims to be unwilling to wait.

Pereira, who turns 39 in July, wants to fight as soon as possible and he doesn’t think Aspinall will be an option, telling UFC on TNT Sports:

“I don’t think that Tom is going to be ready. I don’t thi…

Justin Gaethje’s former opponent, Eddie Alvarez, recently shared insight on what makes him tick.

Interim champion Gaethje (27-5) challenges Ilia Topuria (17-0) for the lightweight title in the UFC White House: Freedom 250 main event on June 14. Alvarez advised Gaethje to rely on his signature leg kicks. Alvarez also believes Gaethje’s best chance at knocking out Topuria is in between exchanges. According to Alvarez, Topuria’s eyesight is too sharp for Gaethje to land flush while leading the attack. Meanwhile, Alvarez also sees holes in Gaethje’s defense. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion notes that Gaethje takes his eyes off his opponents, which is a recipe for getting knocked out. Alvarez also doesn’t like Gaethje’s defensive style of shelling up instead of moving and cutting angles.:

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“The calf kicks is what he would have to do,” Alvarez said on the Full Send podcast. “And then I would also want him to punch with Ilia. …

Darren Till may or may not be done competing in mixed martial arts for good, but he is definitely losing interest in following it these days.

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Till (18-5-1), a longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight and middleweight contender who parted ways with the promotion in 2022, is aware of the UFC Freedom 250 card taking place on Sunday at the White House, but claims he couldn’t care less about it. In a conversation this week with Ariel Helwani, “The Gorilla” shared his views on what he sees as declining overall interest in the industry leader. Nonetheless, he was careful to separate his criticisms of the company from those of its CEO, Dana White. Till’s disappointment with White started when the UFC honcho said he didn’t care about criticism regarding the UFC’s use of artificial intelligence in promotional videos.

“Not interested [in the White House card],” the 33-year-old Englishman said. “As a fan, I just don't think there's that much hype…

Diego Lopes believes we might see a massive upset in the UFC Freedom 250 main event—and he is willing to explain why.

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As Ilia Topuria (17-0) looks to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5) in the headliner of the UFC White House card on June 14, he figures to enter the Octagon as a 5-to-1 favorite or greater. Lopes initially favored Topuria, but claims he has changed his mind recently and is pulling for Gaethje to pull off the upset he feels is more of a possibility than most observers will admit. Lopes, who is scheduled to open up the event in a featherweight tilt with Steve Garcia, told Ariel Helwani:

“99% of the people think Topuria takes the win, I thought so before too. But now I jumped to Gaethje’s side. Because this is like a car crash. In a car crash there 50-50 [chance]. Gaethje has heavy hands. I hope Justin Gaethje surprises everyone and me too.”

Lopes also believes Topuria has yet to face a kn…