Martial Arts News

Alexander Gustafsson has resumed training and hasn’t closed the door on a return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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The Swedish standout continues to work at his longtime home, the Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden. While Gustafsson has primarily resumed training to stay in shape and close to the sport he loves, the former two-time UFC title challenger isn’t opposed to competing again.

“I’m going to be here much more now and focus a little bit on myself and my own training and mainly get back in shape. I don’t think about the competing part so much. If it comes, it comes, so time will tell," he told Frontkick Online.

“I’m focusing on myself and getting back in shape, and also I love this game. I love to train and be around the guys and do some grappling, do some wrestling, hit some pads and do some light sparring. I’ve been doing this my whole career, so I’m glad to be back and do what I love to do.”

Gustafsson last fo…

Sean O'Malley believes Conor McGregor isn’t the same fighter after his recent years of yacht life during his prime.

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McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in a trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Despite McGregor having gone 1-3 in his last four bouts, the Irishman’s return to the Octagon remains highly anticipated.

After months of teasing a return fight with Michael Chandler, McGregor recently announced that he will be fighting the former Bellator MMA champ during the International Fight Week on June 29. O’Malley believes the former UFC two-division champion isn’t as good as he was during his heyday. However, O’Malley also believes “Notorious” still has it in him to put on a show if he is really “dialed in.”

“I’m a huge fan of Conor and I would be very excited to watch him come back and compete. He’s looking good, he’s posting little videos here and there training, looks like he’s grappling a lot. S…

Trevor Peek wants to show the world that “scousers” get knocked out by squaring off with surging UFC star Paddy Pimblett.

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Unbeaten since 2018 — including five wins under the UFC banner — Pimblett has quickly emerged as one of the promotion’s most recognizable talents. Peek knows that Pimblett’s career trajectory certainly looks promising at the moment.

“I think Paddy is on a good career path. I think [the UFC] is going to take care of him and going to match him smartly,” Peek said on his YouTube channel. “I think they are going to let him develop his skills. Is he capable of beating a Top 15? Probably, man. Anyone can beat anyone in this game; it only takes one. Skill-wise, I don’t know if he’s up to par with all them guys, but I think he’s probably better than one or two of those guys in the Top 15 truly.”

Pimblett’s momentum is exactly what makes him a lucrative potential opponent for Peek, who believes he can beat the Liverpudlian. After …

Ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will square off against Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator bout at UFC 300.

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UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking on Sunday night. The winner of the 155-pound contest will be next in line to face Islam Makhachev, who White revealed is recovering from an injury. UFC 300 takes place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also includes a light heavyweight showdown pitting Jiri Prochazka against Aleksandar Rakic and a featherweight scrap between Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar.

Oliveira is coming off a first-round technical knockout victory over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 this past June. That triumph earned “Do Bronx” a title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, but the Brazilian suffered a cut in training that forced him to withdraw from the October bout. Oliveira has won 12 of his last 13 promotional outings, with his lone defeat during that stretch coming via second-round submission …

Dustin Poirier will lock horns with Benoit St. Denis in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 299.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the lightweight pairing late Sunday evening. UFC 299 takes place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and will see Sean O'Malley defend his bantamweight crown against Marlon Vera in the evening’s main event.

A two-time lightweight title challenger, Poirier has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. In his lone bout of 2023, “The Diamond” suffered a second-round knockout loss in a rematch against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 on July 29. The 34-year-old Poirier has bested the likes of Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

After suffering a lopsided loss against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in a short-notice promotional debut at 170 pounds, St. Denis has reeled off five consecutive triumphs unde…

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UFC commentator Laura Sanko would rather see fighters scuffle than get personal with their trash talk.

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Sean Strickland is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis in the main-event at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. Things turned ugly between the two during a seasonal 2024 press conference where “Stillknocks” brought up the champ’s abusive childhood.

Strickland latter admitted that he was definitely triggered by the comments, which led to him attacking the South African while attending UFC 296 the next day. Strickland was seen leaping over chairs and throwing punches Du Plessis before being separated by police and escorted out of the T-Mobile Arena. Sanko admittedly prefers the physical scuffle between the two at UFC 296, as it saves ugly trash talk potentially involving the fighters’ families.

“I realize what game we’re in. I actually prefer guys have physical fights than do this s—t, if I’m bein…

Belal Muhammad is planning to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team for a potential upcoming title fight against Leon Edwards.

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Muhammad has grown close with Nurmagomedov’s contingent since the former lightweight king’s active days, as they had the same manager in Ali Abdelaziz. Muhammad is now planning to travel to Dagestan to prepare for Edwards.

“I’m planning for sure to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels,” Muhammad told MMAjunkie.com. “Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds. That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish and I plan to do the same thing.”

The late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov is credited with setting up a training system that has produced numerous world class fighters from the region over the years with his son and current UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev leading the way. While he is alw…

Yadong Song found Sean Strickland’s recent comments about China to be “baseless.”

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Strickland is notorious for his unhinged takes on a wide range of topics, so it did not come as surprise to most fight fans when Strickland randomly suggested that China’s biggest exports are plastic and COVID-19.

China's biggest exports..... Plastic and Covid....

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) January 5, 2024 Song seemingly took offense at Strickland’s comments about his country, which according to him are “baseless stereotypes.”

“Hey champ, I respect your skills as a fighter, but we should be talking facts, not baseless stereotypes,” Song wrote on X. “As athletes, we ought to focus on what we know best and avoid making unfounded comments. Let’s set a good example, alright?”

Hey champ, I respect your skills as a fighter, but we should be talking facts, not baseless stereotypes. As athletes, we ought to focus…

Themba Gorimbo gave Kiefer Crosbie a piece of his mind after the latter was forced out of their upcoming bout due to an injury.

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Gorimbo was scheduled to take on the Irish welterweight contender on Feb. 3 at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After an initial report from MMA Mania, Gorimbo confirmed that “BDK” is out of the bout with an injury. While Gorimbo has already found a short-notice replacement opponent in Pete Rodriguez, “The Answer” did not move on without taking a dig a Crosbie.

However, Gorimbo’s dig at Crosbie wasn’t completely unprovoked as the Irishman had touched upon a relatively sensitive topic while trash talking. After Gorimbo revealed that he had $6 left in his bank account after his first UFC victory last year, WWE and Hollywood superstar Dwayne Johnson empathized so deeply with his story that he bought the South African a new house.

“It's official, 10 weeks time I make my real debut with the [UFC}. Full cam…

When Conor McGregor revealed that his long-awaited bout against Michael Chandler would be contested at middleweight, it raised eyebrows throught the mixed martial arts community.

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After all, neither McGregor nor Chandler has competed at 185 pounds during their respective careers. Chandler has a theory on why the Irish superstar chose that weight class.

"In his mind, he can't fight at 170 [pounds], because I called him out at 170," Chandler told ESPN. "He had to say 185. ... He always wants to establish dominance, to make people think that I am less than him, and that's fine. I'll take that all day long, because I'm confident in myself, and I don't have an ego.

"I have no problem with what people say. I have no problem with people's opinions. Everybody's got an opinion, and who cares? ... I'll take that 'back seat' to him the entire time, and if he thinks he's taking a fight against a lesser man, then so be it. He'll find out on June 29.”

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Perhaps Stipe Miocic won’t be riding off into the sunset following his heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones after all.

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The ex-UFC champion responded to a series of posts from current interim king Tom Aspinall on social media by suggesting that he’d be willing to face the Englishman in a title unification bout down the road. That, of course, would only become a viable option should Miocic defeat Jones when they square off at some point in 2024. The date for the bout is currently unknown, as Jones is still recovering from a torn pectoral that forced him to withdraw from the UFC 295 main event against Miocic.

“I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight,” Miocic wrote in response to Aspinall. “Tom, once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.”

I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight.⁰⁰Tom, once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.

— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) January 5, 2024

In recent week…

Raul Rosas Jr., the Ultimate Fighting Championship's youngest competitor, is set to return to the Octagon against Ricky Turcios at UFC Mexico City.

Rosas announced the matchup in an interview with the promotion’s Spanish social media account. UFC Fight Night 237 takes place on Feb. 24 at Mexico City Arena and is headlined by a flyweight clash between former champion Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi. The co-main event will feature a rematch between former interim champion Yair Rodriguez and two-time title contender Brian Ortega.

Rosas Jr.is coming off a 54-second Round 1 technical knockout victory against Terrence Mitchell at UFC Fight Night 227 this past September. Prior to that, Rosas Jr. sustained the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 via unanimous decision.

After winning Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Turcios has gone 1-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 30-year-old will enter the …