Martial Arts News

Josh Hokit is trying to set himself up for a heavyweight title shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Heavyweight king Tom Aspinall has been sidelined due to an eye injury suffered in his first title defense against Ciryl Gane last October, which ended in a no contest. Gane then won the interim title with his technical knockout victory over Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, and Hokit has now addressed all the aforementioned heavyweights.

Advertisement

Gane’s win over Pereira wasn’t without controversy, as yet another foul from the Frenchman became a talking point in the aftermath. “Poatan” alleges strikes to the back of his head played a key role in the finishing sequence and has since repeatedly berated veteran referee Herb Dean for his handling of the situation.

Hokit has now taken to social media to mock Pereira’s complaints. He also recommended that the UFC cut Aspinall from the roster. The unbeaten heavyweight believes Gane made Aspinall quit and that …

Max Holloway avoided wrestling in high school for a hilarious reason.

While Holloway is considered one of the best strikers in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, “Blessed” isn’t known for his wrestling. He recently disclosed why he didn’t take to wrestling as a teen and the humorous irony behind it.

Advertisement

Max Holloway’s Reason for Avoiding Wrestling is Absolutely Classic Holloway recently revealed that he didn’t learn wrestling in high school because he didn’t want to wear a singlet.

However, considering Holloway now fights in packed arenas wearing just tight shorts, the Hawaiian believes he should have just done the needful to learn wrestling.

“A bunch of my friends were trying to get me into wrestling. But I wasn’t about to be caught dead in a singlet. Are you crazy? At first, I thought that was crazy,” Holloway told UFC reporter Megan Olivi. “But now look at me. I’m 30-something years old; I use tights to fight. Like, what the hell? I shoul…

Sean Strickland sincerely promotes his training partners.

Strickland occasionally trains with Professional Fighters League middleweight Johnny Eblen (17-1) at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Eblen is scheduled to fight Impa Kasanganay (20-6) for the interim PFL middleweight title on July 18 at PFL Austin and the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ is backing his compatriot to come out on top.

Advertisement

Sean Strickland wants to see Johnny Eblen in the UFC Strickland believes Eblen will go on to win the PFL middleweight title. While it’s hard to decipher when the polarizing champion is joking around and when he’s serious, Strickland claims he’ll then take on Eblen for the UFC title.

“This guy’s a savage. This guy’s gonna win the [PFL] belt, go to the UFC, he’s gonna get one fight, and then we’re gonna fight for the belt,” Strickland said on Instagram Stories. “I don’t know who’s gonna f**king win, but we’re gonna f**king fight.” Read more

Sean Strickland is humble in defeat, at least inside the gym.

Strickland recently trained with fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Kayla Harrison at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he got a first-hand feel for the Olympian’s grappling ability.

Advertisement

Kayla Harrison’s Judo Skills Impress Sean Strickland at American Top Team After training with Strickland, Harrison uploaded a video on her Instagram Stories, wherein she asked the reigning middleweight champion: “Who f**ked you up?”

Strickland (31-7) then admitted that Harrison (19-1) made him tap out multiple times. “[Kayla] tapped me out like 20 times. She did some Japanese throws I can’t pronounce because I'm American.”

Harrison made her UFC debut in 2024 before dethroning Julianna Pena to win the bantamweight title in her third promotional outing. The two-time Olympic gold medallist judoka was scheduled to defend her title against Amanda Nunes earlier this year at U…

Gillian Robertson is not completely off of marijuana even during her fight camps.

Robertson is a known advocate of marijuana and a regular consumer. She is scheduled to challenge Mackenzie Dern for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s women’s strawweight title at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Advertisement

Robertson recently discussed her marijuana consumption habits leading up to her first UFC title shot. While UFC has removed marijuana from its list of banned substances, some athletic commissions still don’t allow athletes to compete under the active influence of cannabis. If an athletic commission allows marijuana, Robertson smokes until the day of the weigh-ins.

However, the Canadian doesn’t like to smoke on fight night. Marijuana sparked a massive debate after Nick Diaz’s win over Takanori Gomi was overturned because he tested positive for cannabis.

Gillian Robertson Reveals She Still Uses Marijuana During UFC Fight Camps “4…

Rafael Fiziev believes Magomed Zaynukov would make for an exciting matchup in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Zaynukov has gained substantial fame as Islam Makhachev’s teammate even before making his UFC debut. Makhachev recently suggested a future clash between Zaynukov and Fiziev, both being exciting strikers.

Advertisement

Rafael Fiziev on potential fight against Islam Makhachev’s teammate: ‘It would be spectacular’ While Zaynukov is yet to make his UFC debut, Fiziev, a seasoned veteran, is not shutting down the idea of a potential matchup against “Wild Chanco.” The ranked lightweight remembers the Russian from their amateur days and acknowledges him as a good fighter.

Fiziev also recalls Zaynukov winning the muay thai world championship in Sweden. “I know him from my muay thai days; he is a very good fighter,” He told Red Corner MMA. “I even remember his amateur fights. We fought at the same world championships in Sweden. He’s really good; he became cham…

Conor McGregor will end a five-year hiatus from the Octagon on July 11 at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, and his rumored kit for the bout has been mocked by fans.

McGregor has been keeping fans updated in recent weeks, regularly posting training clips online. In a recent post, he was seen sporting an eye-catching pair of shorts that featured $100 U.S. bills. While custom shorts in the UFC have become more common lately, the Irishman’s green money-inspired kit has drawn the ire of fans.

Advertisement

Fans Roast Conor McGregor’s Green Shorts Ahead Of UFC Comeback McGregor’s green shorts did not impress mixed martial arts fans. The former two-division champion took to Instagram to share a series of photos of his training sessions, and his post’s comments section was swarmed by users mocking him.

“Tacky,” one user wrote. “Trash,” another user remarked. Yet another user added, “It looks like he got those in a multi-pack of boxer shorts that were on a clearance sale.”

Whi…

After retired Ultimate Fighting Championship star Dustin Poirier was arrested in Atlanta, fellow UFC veteran Matt Brown has come to his defense.

Poirier was arrested on a misdemeanour charge of public drunkenness, and videos of his interactions with a cop have surfaced online. Brown, however, says the public “can’t let one night define Dustin Poirier.”

Advertisement

Brown defended Poirier in the latest episode of “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” stating, “I’ll say this about theDustin Poirier situation, I don’t know Dustin personally, but from what I know of him in the public eye and experiences that I hear from others — we can’t let one night define Dustin Poirier.Matt Brown reacts to Dustin Poirier's Atlanta airport arrest “Dustin is in the public eye and he’s known as a good guy so we see that and it’s just so out of character for him. So, we start questioning what his mental health is? I think he’s perfectly fine,” the 45-year-old said. “He recognized the proble…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Ilia Topuria lost to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, sustaining quite a bit of facial damage.

Over two weeks after the bout, the extent to the bruising on his face have been revealed. A Georgian reporter has shared an image of the former two-division champion posing for a photograph with a young fan.

Advertisement

New Photo Reveals How Ilia Topuria Looks Two Weeks After His Title Loss As seen in a recent photo alongside a fan, Topuria’s face looks far better now than it did following his defeat to Gaethje. Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili shared the photo on X, wherein the swelling around the fighter’s eyes had significantly reduced, along with the bruising. Furthermore, cuts he sustained at the historic White House fight also appear to have healed well.

🚨 Ilia Topuria’s new photo with fans 📸

It’s really nice to see that just two weeks after the fight, everything is gett…

Anthony Hernandez is training with Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ Sean Strickland ahead of his headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 285. Hernandez will be looking to return to victorious ways after his win streak was snapped by Strickland in February 2026.

While Strickland went on to claim UFC gold in his next fight against Khamzat Chimaev, Hernandez is scheduled to lock horns with Gregory Rodrigues in Sacramento, California, in August.

Advertisement

Anthony Hernandez gets “tips and tricks” from Sean Strickland Hernandez posted a photo on Instagram following his training session with Strickland. He captioned his post, “Thank you guys for welcoming me in. Appreciate the tips and tricks.”

Strickland then acknowledged the post with a comment, which read, “6 weeks of fun!”

Hernandez’s eight-fight win streak came to a screeching halt earlier this year in Houston, where he was finished in the third round via TKO. Despite the pre-fight tension b…

Trey Waters (right) has signed with the PFL. | 📷: Zuffa/Getty

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Trey Waters has signed with Professional Fighters League and will debut in the SmartCage on Aug. 7, in Charlotte, North Carolina, for one of the company’s upcoming Summer Series events, sources tell Sherdog.com.

Homegrown talent Trukon Carson will take on Waters in a welterweight tilt.

Waters (9-2) will join the PFL after a 2-1 tenure in the UFC, where he also competed in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, losing to Gabriel Bonfim by submission.

Carson, 6-1, known as “The Carolina Gamedog,” has had five of his six professional wins come by way of first-round stoppage, has went the distance just once in his career, with his most recent win coming in Fury FC. Having fought last in March, Carson will get the biggest step up in competition in taking on Waters, while also getting an opportunity to breakthrough in the PFL’s welterweight division.<…

Cobey Fehr was overwhelmed with emotions after his successful Professional Fighters League debut.

Fehr (4-0) took on Daniel Bzdigian in a bantamweight tilt at PFL San Diego last weekend. Fehr took just two minutes to take Bzdigian down and earn a submission win with a vrabo choke in his PFL debut. 

Advertisement

“The Don” subsequently explained why he was emotionally shouting inside the cage, celebrating his win. Fehr revealed that he hasn’t been to his home in Ohio in six years. The 31-year-old further revealed that he used to be an opioid addict, although he never informed his family about his addiction. Fehr was in withdrawal from his addiction when he came to Las Vegas from Ohio with $4. Having now become someone for his parents to be proud of means a lot to Fehr.Turning His Life Around “I haven’t been home in six years,” Fehr said in a post-fight interview (via Home of Fight). “I came to Vegas with $4 in my wallet. I’ve never told anyone in my family th…