Martial Arts News

Cory Sandhagen has a tongue-in-cheek theory as to why Sean O'Malley doesn’t want to fight him. 

Sandhagen believed O’Malley was not deserving of an immediate rematch after losing his title against Merab Dvalishvili. However, O’Malley waited for his turn and failed to reclaim his title against Dvalishvili at UFC 316 last year. Dvalishvili then went on to defend his title against Sandhagen at UFC 320 last October. Sandhagen has since been calling for a matchup against O’Malley at the White House in June. 

Advertisement

Sandhagen believes O’Malley doesn’t want to fight him as his ginger hair resembles that of “Suga’s” longtime coach and friend, Tim Welch. Sandhagen also jokes that the former bantamweight champion could be sexually attracted to him.Calling Out ‘Suga’ “Me and Sean O’Malley should absolutely fight at the White House,” Sandhagen says. “There is literally no reason not to. Why does this dude not really want to fight me? Is he scared of me? I’m li…

Tai Tuivasa came up short against Tallison Teixeira at UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

Even after a hiatus that lasted more than a year, Tai Tuivasa’s slump continued at UFC 325.

The popular Aussie heavyweight struggled to remain upright, dropping a unanimous decision to Tallison Teixeira in a featured bout this past Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. It was Tuivasa’s sixth consecutive defeat within the Octagon, a skid that dates back to September 2022.

Advertisement

“Bam Bam” expressed disappointment in the defeat in a statement released on his Instagram account.Hurts the Soul “That hurts the soul more than any punches,” Tuivasa wrote. “I tried I had a great camp looking forward to getting back in camp with the boys at Tripl3 MMA so much to work on. Always big love to my supporters especially the Aussie fans/crowd always cheering me on. I’m sorry for falling short again. F—king s—t feeling.

“My poor boy has watched me get a hiding a few too many times n…

Asu Almabayev is 6-1 in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Asu Almabayev has been forced to withdraw from the UFC Mexico City headliner a little more than three weeks before the event.

Almabayev revealed that he suffered a hand injury in a post on Instagram, confirming an Ag.Fight report that the Kazakh fighter had been forced to withdraw from a proposed flyweight booking against ex-UFC champion Brandon Moreno. It is currently unclear if Moreno, a Mexico native, will remain on the Feb. 28 card against a replacement opponent.

Advertisement

'Many Interesting Battles Ahead' “The situation is like this: I injured my hand two days before our flight,” Almabayev wrote on Instagram (via Google Translate). “I don't want to talk about the injury, I've never refused a fight, no matter who I fight, no matter what the situation, the preparation is at a good level, it's done, no matter how much you kick, I can't change it.

“I still have five fights left in this [organization]…

Daniel Cormier never wanted to fight Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez (14-3) was on the cusp of UFC heavyweight title contention when Cormier joined him at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, in 2009. Cormier saw Velasquez as the definition of a teammate and never wanted to fight him. After joining the UFC in 2013, Cormier decided to move down to light heavyweight after his sophomore outing in the promotion. “DC” recently revealed that Velasquez never saw him as a threat when he joined AKA. When Cormier started rising up the UFC rankings, he felt compelled to avoid Velasquez.

Advertisement

‘He Uplifted Me’ “I went to AKA to train. I walked in as an Olympian and a heavyweight, and Cain Velasquez was the champion at the time,” Cormier told the UFC. “He never saw me as a potential opponent down the line, and because of that, when it was time, when I worked myself up to No. 2 in the world, I said, I'm gonna go to 205 pounds because he set the standard f…

Kamaru Usman believes Khamzat Chimaev might have outgrown his current weight class. 

Chimaev dominantly won the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in August 2025. While Chimaev is yet to defend his title, he is now calling for a light heavyweight title shot against Alex Pereira. Usman believes Chimaev’s call for a light heavyweight title shot might not be fueled just by double championship aspirations. Usman believes “Borz” is struggling to cut down to middleweight. Considering Chimaev’s size, “The Nigerian Nightmare” finds it ridiculous that the undefeated Chechen-born used to cut down to welterweight at one point. Usman also conjectures that Chimaev wouldn’t mind opening the door at middleweight for Nassourdine Imavov by moving up to light heavyweight.

Advertisement

Too Big for Middleweight? “For Khamzat Chimaev to continue to call [Pereira] out, I think Khamzat potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s like, ‘L…

Justin Gaethje doesn’t celebrate every win with a backflip. 

While Gaethje (27-5) rarely lands perfectly, his backflip celebrations after his wins have become a part of MMA lore. However, Gaethje didn’t do a backflip after winning the interim lightweight title with a beatdown of Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 last month. 

Advertisement

Gaethje recently revealed that his backflip celebrations are only reserved for knockout wins. Gaethje has only broken his policy once and celebrated with a backflip without knocking someone out. Gaethje explains that a knockout gives him a surge of emotions that he needs to vent with a backflip. Gaethje is now expected to fight lightweight champion Ilia Topuria in a title unifier. “The Highlight” hopes to fight Topuria at the White House in June and backflip on the White House lawn after knocking him out.A Rush of Emotions “It’s pretty much my only rule – I’ve only done it once outside of knocking somebody out,” Gaethje told Mar…

Lerone Murphy is not confident about earning the next featherweight title shot even if he beats Movsar Evloev. 

Murphy (17-0) and Evloev (19-0) are scheduled to headline UFC London on March 21 at the O2 Arena. Either Murphy or Evloev were originally expected to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the title in his last fight. However, Volkanovski successfully defended the title in a rematch against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 last weekend in Australia. Considering Volkanovski acknowledges Murphy and Evloev as the most deserving contenders, the UFC London headliner in March should be guaranteed title eliminator. 

Advertisement

‘Nothing’s Concrete’ However, Murphy doesn’t think a title shot is neccessarily guaranteed with a potential win over Evloev.

“At this point, words are wind, innit?” Murphy said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “It’s like, the division’s forever changing and it’s a performance-based company, someone’s gotta go out there and put on a good fi…

Carlos Prates is pure class inside and outside of the Octagon. 

Prates (23-7) was recently attending a promotional Q&A session alongside flyweight champion Joshua Van ahead of UFC 325. A fan asked Prates an indecent question about his former foe Ian Garry’s wife.

“How many times do you reckon you’ve f---ed Ian Garry’s wife?” the fan asked.

Prates refused to entertain the vulgar question, warning the fan that disrespecting someone’s family can prove fatal where he comes from. Prates clarified that he and Garry have immense mutual respect even though they are fierce rivals inside the Octagon.

A Taboo Topic “I’m the kind of guy, where I come from, you can’t say bad things about somebody’s wife and family,” Prates said. “They can literally kill you if you say something about the family. We are big rivals inside the cage, but outside of the cage, we have respect for each other.”

Prates made his UFC debut in 2024 and quickly rose to stardom with four st…

Robert Whittaker is almost certain about moving up to light heavyweight for his next fight. 

Whittaker (26-9) has long been a perennial UFC middleweight contender, even when he hasn’t held the title. However, “The Reaper” revealed that his last two weight cuts to make 185 pounds left him weak by the end of the camp. Whittaker is now considering a move up to light heavyweight, where he believes he can outclass some opponents with his style. While Whittaker admits that he can still be convinced against moving up, he is 90% sure that he will fight at light heavyweight next.

Advertisement

‘The Division is Open’ “The last couple of cuts have been hard … I feel like the division is open,” Whittaker said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I feel like there are a lot of guys that my skill set can prevail on. I’m at a point where I could be convinced out of [moving up] but… I feel so weak by the end of the 185 pound camp. It takes a lot of fun out of it… I’m 90% there [tow…

Umar Nurmagomedov believes having Khabib Nurmagomedov in the corner is a bonus advantage. 

According to Umar, his cousin’s presence is mental warfare on his opponents by itself. Throughout his career, Umar has seen his opponents feeling the pressure of Khabib being in his corner.

Advertisement

It’s In the Eyes “Khabib's influence puts more pressure on your opponents,” Umar ssaid in a recent interview with mr.kingsman (via Red Corner MMA). “I felt that throughout my career. I always saw it in my opponents’ eyes. That pressure when Khabib is there with our team. It’s like a bonus advantage.”

Khabib is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. “The Eagle” defended the UFC lightweight title thrice before retiring as the undefeated champion in 2020, following the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Khabib’s teammates, Umar, Usman Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and others were all originally honed by Abdulmanap. …

Lerone Murphy kept wondering what he would have done instead of Diego Lopes as he watched the Brazilian lose to Alexander Volkanovski last weekend. 

Murphy and Movsar Evloev, even according to Volkanovski, are the most deserving featherweight title contenders. However, Volkanovski was scheduled to defend his title in a rematch against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 on Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Volkanovski displayed exemplary footwork in outclassing Lopes to earn a unanimous decision win. 

Advertisement

Murphy saw some improvements in Lopes since he lost to Volkanovski in their first encounter last year. However, Murphy believes everyone knew how the rematch would eventually play out. Murphy believes Father Time catches up with everyone, and Volkanovski is no exception. While “The Iceman” means no disrespect to Volkanovski, he believes he could have dethroned the champion if given an opportunity at UFC 325.Volk Has His Number “I think everybody knew what was…

Niko Price will fight on less than one week's notice at UFC Fight Night 266. | Getty/UFC

The UFC Fight Night 266 lineup has undergone a change with less than a week to go before the event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Monday that Niko Price will replace Jose Henrique and face Nikolay Veretennikov at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. UFC Fight Night 266 is headlined by a bantamweight clash pitting Mario Bautista against Vinicius Oliveira and airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

In Need of a Win The 36-year-old Price has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances. In his lone outing of 2025, “The Hybrid” suffered a second-round submission defeat to Jacobe Smith at UFC 317 on June 28. Price debuted with the organization at UFC 207 in December 2016 and has compiled an 8-9 mark with two no contests during his tenure.

Veretennikov, meanwhile, has lost three of his four UFC bouts, with his lone victory coming against Francisco Prado last Ju…