Martial Arts News

Jon Jones believes his legendary career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship could have been even greater if he had better control over his alcohol use.

The former two-division champion reflected on his career during a recent interview, admitting that his partying lifestyle during his prime contributed to many of the setbacks he experienced outside of the Octagon.

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Jon Jones reflects on UFC career setbacks and how alcohol affected his MMA legacy Jones, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, recently reflected on his antics outside the Octagon, which he believes caused several major career setbacks.

“I became a little bit of a party boy when I was young,” Jones said in an interview with Ring Magazine when asked what he would change about his career. “And sometimes I ask myself, ‘Jon, how much farther would you have been if you would have never started with the alcohol?’”

Jones won titles at both light heavyweig…

Joe Lauzon's long-awaited return to competition now has an opponent.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight announced on Instagram that he will face Braeden Kuykendall in a welterweight bout at BKFC 92, which takes place Aug. 29 at Fenway Park in Boston. This marks Lauzon's bare-knuckle debut as well as his first combat sports appearance in nearly six years.

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Joe Lauzon returns to combat sports against Braeden Kuykendall at BKFC 92 Lauzon took to Instagram to announce his upcoming fight at BKFC 92 slated for Fenway Park.

“Absolutely pumped to announce that I’ll be fighting for BKFC at Fenway Park on Aug. 29,” the Massachusetts native wrote on Instagram. “Fenway is one of the most iconic venues in the world, and getting to fight there in Boston is something I’m really excited about. This is going to be a crazy night, and I’d love to see a ton of familiar faces there.”

He returns against Kuykendall, who is yet to bag a victory und…

RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein remains confident that a matchup between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad will come to fruition.

Covington and Muhammad are booked to meet in the co-main event of RAF 12 on Aug. 22 in Cleveland after both earned victories at RAF 11. However, Covington later revealed that he would no longer entertain the matchup after an aggressive exchange at the post-event press conference.

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Real American Freestyle keeps Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad alive after controversy Following the announcement of Covington vs. Muhammad for the next RAF event, the pair collided at the post-event press conference. A war of words quickly escalated before Muhammad threw a kick towards Covington. Security had to intervene to stop the incident from turning into an all-out brawl.

“I thought there was going to be severe trash talk between the two of them,” Bronstein told MMA Fighting. “They don’t like each other. But I didn’t think there was going…

Dana White believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger because the promotion refused to stop evolving.

The UFC CEO reflected on the organization's response when the sporting world came to a standstill in the spring of 2020. While many organizations were forced to suspend operations, White said the UFC's priority was finding a way to continue staging events despite widespread shutdowns and travel restrictions.

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The UFC CEO recalls creating Fight Island after pandemic shutdowns threatened events During his recent appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, White said that the promotion had three priorities as they entered the pandemic. They wanted to keep every employee on payroll, fulfill their contractual obligations to fighters and continue delivering events for their broadcast partner, ESPN.

“I talked to the governor and told him I could put on fights,” White recalled, reflecting on the obstacles they faced. “I j…

Dustin Poirier is no longer associated with Bud Light following his arrest for public drunkenness.

After starring in commercials and publicly representing the company, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship interim lightweight titleholder revealed that Bud Light cut ties with him after his arrest at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Poirier believes it was for the better and that he didn’t need the “poison” in his life, having committed to sobriety long-term.

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The former UFC interim lightweight champion details the financial fallout from his arrest and commitment to quitting alcohol Poirier recently opened up about Bud Light, the alcoholic beverage company he previously represented as a brand ambassador, cutting ties with him following his arrest. The American got into an altercation with a police officer, who he threatened to fight and hurled a racial slur at, and was subsequently released on bail.

“They terminated my contract im…

Valter Walker isn't buying the hype surrounding fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights Josh Hokit and Gable Steveson.

The Brazilian contender, who is set to collide with Thomas Petersen at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25, dismissed both rising heavyweights in a recent interview, asserting that neither fighter has done enough in their careers to convince him that they are serious threats.

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Valter Walker says Josh Hokit fight could headline a UFC card Walker, who has won four of his past five fights, told MMA Fighting he would gladly take on either Hokit or Steveson next after his upcoming fight.

“I don’t think he’s a tough fight for me,” Walker said when asked about Hokit. “Honestly, I don’t think he’s the fighter people are making him out to be. Come on, he’s small. I’m not intimidated by that guy at all. Gable Steveson, Josh Hokit. People say, ‘He’s a monster, an Olympic wrestling champion.’ Man, I watched Gable’s debut, and I wasn’t that imp…

Logan Paul wants to pursue a Conor McGregor match. | 📷: Amanda Westcott/Showtime

Logan Paul believes Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor's recent injury could pave the way for a clash between the two, as he now considers the Irishman “incapable of fighting.”

McGregor returned to action following a five-year hiatus at UFC 329, headlining opposite former featherweight champion Max Holloway. However, their rematch only lasted 69 seconds after McGregor suffered a knee injury throwing his first kick.

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With McGregor far removed from his fighting prime, Paul wants to take him on.Logan Paul wants WWE to capitalize on Conor McGregor's fighting future During a recent episode of the "Impaulsive" podcast, Paul discussed the irony of McGregor’s slump after the Irish superstar previously took shots at professional wrestling and its biggest stars.

“Something I find so funny, he definitely has roasted the WWE and WWE superstars in th…

Brandon Royval once missed out on a main event spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship due to his social media following.

Royval was scheduled to fight Askar Askarov in October 2022 in Las Vegas. Despite being a high-ranked flyweight contender, he wasn’t given the headliner spot on the card. Alexa Grasso headlined the card instead, with the Mexican taking on Viviane Araujo.

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Brandon Royval explains UFC matchmaking decision involving Alexa Grasso Royval recently revealed that the UFC told him Grasso had jumped ahead of him to take the main event spot because she had substantially more social media followers. He was livid at losing out on a headlining role, although it eventually didn’t matter as Askarov pulled out due to weight cut issues.

“Having followers is such a big deal,” Royval told Ariel Helwani. “I remember they didn't book me as the main event, and their reasoning was, I think it was Alexa Grasso, who they boosted in front of me. They we…

Axel Sola considers his last defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship an “alpha loss.”

Sola put his perfect record on the line in a lightweight tilt against Mason Jones at UFC London this past March. Sola and Jones put on a back-and-forth slugfest for 15 minutes that stole the show. While the French lightweight suffered a decision loss, both fighters walked home with an extra $100k each after earning Fight of the Night honors.

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Sola has now outlined the positives of his last bout.Axel Sola explains the impact of his Mason Jones loss before UFC Abu Dhabi Despite losing his undefeated record, Sola believes it made him a better fighter. The Frenchman also claims that the loss earned him more stardom and money than his past 11 wins.

“Great experience,” he said in a recent interview when asked about his last fight. “It definitely made me a better fighter. In one loss, I had more gain in visibility and money than in 11 wins. So, it was an alpha loss,…

Mike Davis needs to win at UFC Abu Dhabi to take the next leap in his career.

Davis is scheduled to fight Nurullo Aliev in a lightweight matchup on July 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He wants to secure a win so he can use the money to move to Las Vegas, considered the home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Mike Davis explains why Las Vegas move could boost his UFC career Davis claims moving to Las Vegas is the ideal next step to advance his career. Considering Meta Apex and T-Mobile Arena are the UFC’s most frequented venues in recent years, the 155-pounder believes it’ll allow him to stay more active.

Davis regularly visits Las Vegas, where he trains at the UFC Performance Institute, known for its state-of-the-art facilities. Having been injury-ridden throughout his career, he believes he will be healthier if he regularly visits the UFC PI.

“After this win, I plan to use the funds to move to Vegas,” Davis said in a recent interview.…

The Professional Fighters League and Rizin Fighting Federation are set to make history with a fight that will have two titles on the line.

PFL and Rizin just announced a cross-promotional championship fight for Super Rizin 5 on Sept. 10 at Kyosera Dome Osaka in Japan.

Rajabali Shaidullaev and A.J. McKee will fight for both the PFL and Rizin featherweight championships in Osaka Rizin Featherweight Champion Rajabali Shaidullaev (19-0) will face A.J. McKee (25-2) with both the Rizin and PFL featherweight titles on the line. Shaidullaev has finished all 19 of his career wins so far, 13 of them in the first round. The undefeated Kyrgyz champion has won and defended his title thrice in less than a year. Meanwhile, McKee is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

“There have been several occasions in the past when a fighter has entered another organization and challenged for that promotion’s championship,” Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said in a statement. “This time…

Thad Jean is confident that he can land a fight-ending blow in his upcoming bout against Shamil Musaev on July 25.

The undefeated 2025 Professional Fighters League welterweight tournament champion will challenge former tourney winner Musaev for the vacant PFL welterweight championship in the main event of PFL Washington D.C. at CareFirst Arena.

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Thad Jean discusses his strategy against Shamil Musaev ahead of the PFL welterweight championship bout Jean enters the title fight with an unblemished 11-0 record, while Musaev has an 18-1-1 slate and captured the 2024 PFL welterweight tournament before falling short in his bid for the inaugural divisional crown earlier this year. Ahead of their championship bout, Jean explained how he plans to make a statement against Musaev.

When asked if he has a prediction for the bout, Jean claimed he’ll take advantage of the fact that Musaev is coming off his first pro defeat.

“I think after his last loss, he wi…