Martial Arts News

A planned booking between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria reportedly fell through at the last minute. 

Interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will fight the champion Ilia Topuria in the main event at the UFC White House card, also billed as Freedom Fights 250, on June 14. According to the latest rumors, the original plan was for Topuria to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event. 

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Irati Prat of Marca reported that the UFC received information at the last minute that Makhachev wouldn’t fight at the White House. Prat notes that Dana White had mentioned a fight falling through, and UFC matchmakers suddenly had long faces at the UFC 326 ceremonial weigh-ins amid hushed whispers. Prat further noted that even Gaethje acknowledged that he was originally told that he would not fight at the White House.

“On Friday night, it was announced that Islam would NOT fight. Dana White's comments about a fight falling …

Max Holloway was rewarded for showing incredible submission defense against Charles Oliveira.

Holloway put his BMF title on the line against Oliveira in the main event at UFC 326 on Saturday. “Blessed” was dominated by Oliveira on the ground for over 20 minutes en route to a unanimous decision loss.

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Silver Linings However, Holloway received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt later that night for showing incredible submission defense against a specialist like “Do Bronx.”

Holloway’s grappling coach, Pedro Sauer, a former student of the legendary Rickson Gracie, wrote on Instagram: “Our new black belt, after demonstrating an incredible defense at [UFC 326].

The BMF title fight at UFC 326 received mixed reactions from fans and pundits. While some praised Oliveira’s dominant win, others questioned if it was a performance befitting the BMF title. 

There will be a sizeable weight discrepancy between the two main event grapplers at Hype FC. 

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan will grapple former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev in the main event at Hype FC on March 11 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. 

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Controversial Histories Tsarukyan (23-3) has been active in grappling tournaments as he remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture. Tsarukyan most recently competed in freestyle wrestling against social media grappling star Georgio Poullas, who seemingly committed multiple fouls during the match at RAF 6. Tsarukyan won the bout and punched Poullas, leading to absolute chaos in the arena. Tsarukyan was originally matched up in a submission grappling rematch against Poullas at Hype FC on March 11. However, the bout fell through soon after as Poullas pulled out, citing his preference to compete under RAF. Tsarukyan and Poullas are now scheduled to meet in a r…

Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk engaged in a clash for the ages at UFC 248. | Getty/UFC

A clash that is widely regarded as the greatest women’s fight of all time will be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday that the first meeting between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing” as part of a ceremony this summer. It’s the first-ever women’s bout to enter the UFC Hall of Fame.

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“The fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang at UFC 248 is one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen,” said U CEO Dana White in a release. “This fight was incredible. You had two talented savages that wanted the strawweight title more than anything and neither one of them backed down during this fight. I knew this was going to be a badass fight and it absolutely delivered. Congrats to Joanna and Weili on a fight that will always be remembered!”An In…

Tom Aspinall is looking forward to facing Ciryl Gane or Alex Pereira down the road. | Getty/UFC

Tom Aspinall remains on the mend following eye surgery, but he’ll be an interested observer when Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane square off for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14.

Aspinall made his first title defense against Gane at UFC 321 this past October, but the bout was halted in the first stanza after Gane poked the reigning champ in both eyes. It has been a lengthy ordeal for Aspinall to recover from the fouls, despite skepticism that he was looking for a way out of the fight. At the moment, Aspinall understands why the promotion booked Pereira and Gane for an interim belt.

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"I mean, who else is going to fight? The division's on its ass," Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. "There's not many big fights to make, is there? So they've got to do what they've got to do.”Waiting for Clearance While the last update reg…

Jon Jones was left out of the UFC White House festivities. | Getty/UFC

While the rumor mill may have indicated otherwise, Dana White claims Jon Jones was never truly considered for a spot on the UFC White House card.

”Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys 100,000 times was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White said at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference. “First of all, I’ve told you why I wouldn’t do it, and No. 2, some guy with Meta glasses on filmed him talking about his hips, that his hips are so bad and I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones, he retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently doctors say he should have hip replacements.”

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The promotion announced the six-bout lineup for the UFC White House card on Saturday night, which included an interim heavyweight title tilt between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. After Jon…

Conor McGregor wasn’t impressed with Charles Oliveira’s performance at UFC 326. 

Oliveira challenged Max Holloway for the BMF title in the main event at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. While Holloway was a sizeable favoorite, Oliveira took the BMF champion down with ease in his very first attempt. Oliveira controlled Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes, constantly threatening submissions, to earn a dominant unanimous decision win. While Holloway showed impressive submission defencs against a feared specialist, Oliveira was also apparently winning the striking battle.  

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‘Shockingly Bad Fight’ However, McGregor wasn’t impressed with the fight overall. “Notorious” slammed Oliveira’s performance while also taking a dig at Daniel Cormier’s commentary. 

“DC on Max on top ‘he should stall’ lol,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted tweet on X. “He should have elbowed all the open targets. Payback. ‘Stall’ lol f—k off. Shockingly …

Caio Borralho knows that he needs another win before he can call for a title shot. 

Borralho (18-2) took on Reinier de Ridder in the co-main event at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Natural” displayed a well-rounded skillset while completely outclassing De Ridder on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win. 

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Borralho called out Dricus Du Plessis in his post-fight Octagon interview. Borralho notes that while he called out Du Plessis a while back, the South African wanted him to get a few more wins. Having racked up his eighth UFC win, Borralho now wants the former champion to show up. Borralho believes a win over Du Plessis guarantees him a middleweight title shot. The Brazilian would also like to avenge his last loss against Nassourdine Imavov in a title fight.A Long-Desired Matchup “I been calling this guy out since my second fight in the UFC,” Borralho said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I think I called him out thr…

Eddie Hearn believes Tom Aspinall can do without the UFC. 

Aspinall (15-3) has had a minor falling out with the UFC since his no contest in his first heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane last year. Aspinall decided not to continue after a double eye poke from Gane in the first round. While Aspinall has since undergone multiple surgeries, Dana White hinted that the heavyweight champion’s injury wasn’t as severe as he made it seem. 

Aspinall recently made headlines by signing with the management of Eddie Hearn, who isn’t exactly an ally of White. Hearn has since said Aspinall’s purses surprised him. According to the Matchroom Boxing chairman, Aspinall would have earned 10 times as much in boxing. Hearn believes the Aspinall doesn’t need the UFC as much as the promotion needs him right now. According to Hearn, the UFC requires heavyweight stars right now.

‘They Need Heavyweight Stars’“When I walked through Tom Aspinall’s purses, I nearly fell off th…

Gregory Rodrigues avenged a previous loss in his rematch with Brunno Ferreira at UFC 326.

Rodrigues (19-6) suffered a first-round knockout loss in his first meeting against Ferreira (15-3) in 2023. “RoboCop” got an opportunity to avenge his loss after three years in their rematch at UFC 326 on Saturday. Rodrigues returned the favor by knocking out Ferreira in less than two minutes. 

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Enjoying the Process Rodrigues is glad to prove to himself that he is a different fighter since the first meeting with Rodrigues. The 34-year-old explains that he more patient and enjoys his time inside the Octagon more.

“I just proved to myself I’m a different fighter since then,” Rodrigues said in a post fight interview with the UFC. “… My patience, I was enjoying the fight, took my time. I love being inside the Octagon. When the doors lock and it’s just me and the other guy and I have 15 minutes to play and do what I love to do, what I choose to do. I started en…

Donte Johnson isn’t satisfied with his performance against Cody Brundage at UFC 326. 

Johnson (8-0) was a massive favorite going into his sophomore UFC outing against middleweight veteran Brundage (11-9) at UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. While Johnson came out all guns blazing, Brundage took him down in the opening seconds and controlled him for most of the first round. Brundage showed composure in going toe-to-toe against the aggressive Johnson for three rounds. Johnson eventually earned a narrow split-decision victory, going to the judges' scorecards for the first time in his career. Johnson had finished all seven of his previous wins, going past the first round only in his UFC debut against Sedriques Dumas last year. 

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Plenty of Work to Do Johnson subsequently admitted that he was disappointed with his performance despite getting his hand raised. The 27-year-old notes that Brundage had a significant advantage over him in terms of expe…

Arman Tsarukyan isn’t taking Georgio Poullas and Paulo Costa’s joint callout to him and Khamzat Chimaev seriously. 

Poullas and Tsarukyan have definite bad blood between them stemming from their wrestling match at RAF 6 last month. After multiple fouls, Poullas suffered a loss against Tsarukyan, who then exacted revenge by punching him, leading to a massive brawl. 

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Poullas and Tsarukyan are now scheduled to meet in a rematch at RAF 7 on March 28 in Tampa. Poullas is training with Paulo Costa for his upcoming rematch against Tsarukyan. Costa, who has a long-standing beef with Chimaev, issued a joint callout to “Borz” and Tsarukyan.Tag Team Match? “I’m here with the beast, Georgio,” Costa said. “We train with the best. And be ready, because we look for you guys. You know who we’re talking about, right? [Arman, Khamzat,] no chance for you motherf—-ers.”

Tsarukyan responded, dismissing both Poullas and Costa as “bodybuilders.”

Tsaru…