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Coach: Alexander Volkanovski Nearly Withdrew from UFC 325 Main Event

Alexander Volkanovski appeared to be in peak form at UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

There was a point during Alexander Volkanovski’s training camp for UFC 325 where it looked like the featherweight champ wasn’t going to make it to fight night.

That’s according to coach Joe Lopez, who revealed on Daniel Cormier's YouTube channel that Volkanovski injured his shoulder about a month before facing Diego Lopes this past Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

"To be fair, Alex, four weeks ago, we didn't think he was going to fight," Lopez said. (transcription via MMAjunkie.com) "He pulled his shoulder out, really. He's been compromised for the last four weeks with a busted shoulder."The Old Volk While Volkanovski might not have been 100 percent, that didn’t prevent the Aussie from securing a relatively clear-cut unanimous decision triumph over Lopes in their rematch. “The Great” also defeated Lopes via unanimous decision at UFC 314. The coa…

Ruffy Realized He Knew ‚Nothing About Grappling‘ After Training with UFC Champ

A change of scenery did Mauricio Ruffy some good ahead of UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

After rebounding from a loss to Benoit St. Denis with a impressive TKO win over Rafael Fiziev last Saturday at UFC 325, Mauricio Ruffy revealed how important it was for him to spend two months training with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in Australia.

"In my mind I had a very good takedown defense — at least that what I´ve always heard. But after my last fight, I decided to go after improvement. Those two months in Australia were really important. Training with Volkanovski, I found out that I know nothing about grappling,” Ruffy told Laerte Viana.

Ruffy also praised the UFC for having confidence in him after his first loss within the promotion.

"They trusted in my potential and gave me a more difficult opponent than the previous one,” he said.

An Illness Scare After beating Fiziev and winning a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bous, Ruf…

Featherweight Title Eliminator Headlines UFC London on March 21

Lerone Murphy will fight on home soil with a potential title shot on the line in March. | Getty/UFC

Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy will have to go head-to-head to earn a shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight crown.

Evloev and Murphy will square off in a potential title eliminator atop the UFC London card on March 21, the promotion announced Monday. Both athletes were regarded as top two contenders in the division, but the latest title shot went to Diego Lopes, who dropped a unanimous decision to Volkanovski in a championship rematch at UFC 325 this past Saturday.

UFC London takes place at the O2 Arena and will also see Michael Page return to 170 pounds to face Sam Patterson in another featured contest. In the official co-main event, Luke Riley will meet Sam Asell at lightweight. The main card airs on Paramount+ beginning at 4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m.. PT, while prelims kick off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Evloev is undefeated in 19 pro…

UFC, Venum Come to Terms With Ranked 145er on Specific Shorts Color Options

Editor's note: The article has been updated to reflect some good news announced by the fighter in question.

One Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite just proved that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

On Thursday, Dan Ige—who is currently the No. 14 featherweight on the UFC’s Official Rankings—posted on social media that he was disallowed to wear red shorts for his upcoming tussle with Melquizael Costa at UFC Houston in February. According to the Hawaiian, his request for shorts is limited to the locales he is permitted to represent.

The man once known as “Dynamite” posted a segment of a message from UFC or Venum staff, who explained that he is only allowed to represent the U.S. or “universal,” meaning no country, when he walks out on Feb. 21. This obstacle hearkens back to the bizarre situation that middleweight Anthony Hernandez faced where he was allegedly forced to prove his family lineage to rep Mexico. Ige claimed that the promotion …

PFL Champ Cris Cyborg Sets End Goal for Combat Sports Career

A champion across several major MMA organizations, the legendary Cristiane Justino knows her remaining time as a fighter is limited.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship, Strikeforce, Bellator MMA and Invicta Fighting Championships beltholder has done what no one else has in mixed martial arts: win titles across five major promotions. Currently serving as PFL’s featherweight champ, she claimed that throne by trumping Larissa Pacheco in 2024 across five rounds, and defended it by mollywhopping Sara Collins at the end of 2025. At the age of 40, “Cris Cyborg” wants one more MMA match, and she has already made her thoughts known.

The Brazilian traveled to Rio de Janeiro recently and appeared on the Wednesday edition of Combate’s “Mundo da Luta” podcast. There, the longtime veteran confirmed that 2026 would be the last year she steps into a cage or a ring as a pro. “Cris Cyborg” solidified her plan to compete just once more in MMA, and only one more time…

Ketlen Souza to Train Alongside Ranked Strawweight Ahead of UFC Vegas 113

Ultimate Fighting Championship 115-pounder Ketlen Souza has her back against the wall, and she is changing things up accordingly.

Souza (15-6) will be facing fellow countrywoman Bruna Brasil (11-5-1) on Saturday at UFC Vegas 113, also known as UFC Fight Night 266. The two Brazilians will collide at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas as part of the preliminaries. Souza, 31, spoke to Sherdog recently, where she discussed her new training regimen away from her traditional team of the Carioca Academy.

Seeking her third victory inside the organization, Souza enters the matchup at a pivotal moment in her UFC career following two consecutive losses. In preparation for the Feb. 7 fight, the Amazonian athlete joined the Ribas Family team in Varginha, Minas Gerais. The striker by trade completed her entire training camp alongside established UFC fighters like top-ranked strawweight Amanda Ribas and Alexia Thainara.Looking for Evolution According to Souza, the move was m…

Two PFL Talents Face Ex-UFC Opposition at PFL Pittsburgh

A pair of de facto Professional Fighters League vs. Ultimate Fighting Championship matchups are headed to Steel City.

According to the PFL on Thursday, its upcoming event in Pittsburgh has just added two matchups with newly ranked participants. The organization released its own official rankings on Tuesday, and all combatants booked have numbers next to their names. At flyweight, Sumiko Inaba (8-2) will square off with Ariane Lipski da Silva (17-11), with the two ladies toeing the line at the UPMC Events Center in the second-largest city in Pennsylvania on March 28.

Inaba, 34, will be looking to bounce back from a one-sided decision defeat to Dakota Ditcheva that some considered a “Beatdown of the Year” candidate. That loss to the British striker ended a two-fight win streak for the Hawaiian, who took a win on the scorecards against Saray Orozco and stopped Mackenzie Stiller with strikes. The former Bellator MMA player has never competed outside of…

‘Patchy’ Mix Booked for Rizin 52 Following Unceremonious UFC Release

"Patchy" Mix didn't last long in the UFC. | Bellator MMA

Patrick "Patchy" Mix was regarded as one of the top bantamweights in the sport when he signed with the UFC.

Two fights — and two losses later — Mix is headed to Rizin Fighting Federation. The former Bellator MMA champion will move to 145 pounds for a matchup against 19-year-old prospect Kyoma Akimoto at Rizin 52, the Japanese promotion announced on Wednesday. Rizin 52 takes place on March 7 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Veteran vs. Prospect Mix entered the UFC on a seven-fight winning streak, and with just one loss in 21 professional appearances overall. “Patchy” dropped a lackluster unanimous verdict to Mario Bautista inhis Octagon debut at UFC 316, and he didn’t look much better in fallling to Jakub Wiklacz via split decision at UFC 320. The 32-year-old New York native was then released from his contract, according to MMAjunkie.com.

Akimoto, meanwhile, has compiled 11-1 mark sin…

Manager Releases Statement on Controversial Fight Cancellation at UFC 324

Michael Johnson has been on the UFC roster since 2010. | Getty/UFC

Michael Johnson’s manager has released a statement regarding the cancellation of his fighter’s bout at UFC 324.

Johnson was scheduled to face Alexander Hernandez on Jan. 31 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, the lightweight contest was scrapped a few hours before the event when online oddsmakers flagged the bout for irregular betting patterns. Both UFC athletes have been quiet since then, but Dave Martin released a statement to Yahoo! Sports on Johnson’s behalf. The manager did not specifiy what might have caused the fight to garner that type of attention.

Hoping to Be Rebooked "We were obviously disappointed by the cancellation, as Michael had an outstanding training camp and was fully prepared to compete,” Martin stated. “That said, we understand and respect the UFC’s responsibility to protect the integrity of the sport. In today’s environment, particularly w…

Glover Teixeira: ‚Poatan‘ Would KO Khamzat Chimaev Within Three Rounds

Former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira was in Las Vegas last Saturday, where he attended UFC 324 alongside Alex Pereira.

During a visit to the UFC Performance Institue, Teixeira met ex-lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. A video that went viral on social media and left many fans curious shows the two former champions doing a grappling training session. But according to the Brazilian, it wasn't a training session.

“Khabib is an idol of the sport. Everyone wants to be like him, Anderson, Jon Jones, ‘Poatan’ — they are all great idols. When I saw him there at the PI leading a training session for his students, I took the opportunity to ask him about a takedown he does by grabbing one leg,” Teixeira said. “Then he grabbed my arm and said come here and showed me, and we joked around a bit and he gave me some pointers. Obviously, all with great respect, because when Khabib speaks, we stop to listen.”

Texeira didn't give details of wh…

Yoel Romero Withdraws From BKFC Knucklemania 6 Co-Main Event

A strong case of the flu has knocked Yoel Romero out of BKFC Knucklemania 6. | PFL MMA

Former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero won’t be competing at one of BKFC’s signature events as originally planned.

“The Soldier of God” has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Lorenzo Hunt at BKFC Knucklemania 6 after contracting a “strong strain of the flu.” As a result, BKFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, David Mundell, will step in to face Hunt in a 199-pound catchweight affair.

Rebooking in the Works “Unfortunately I have to withdraw from my scheduled fight against Lorenzo Hunt at KM6 due to a very strong strain of the flu,” read a statement from Romero released through BKFC. “During my weight cut for RAF I felt my immune system was low, and I was feeling very weak. A few days after my Jan. 10 RAF match I started to experience severe flu symptoms.

“I am extremely disappointed but I’ve been unable to train and I need to make …

Viewership Figures Announced for UFC 324 on Paramount+

The UFC’s debut on Paramount drew a significant amount of eyeballs.

According to a release, the UFC 324 reached a live-minute average audience of 4.96 million and 7.18 million global households, a record for a live event on the streaming platform. Citing Adobe Analytics and Nielsen Media, the release also states that “UFC 324 also reached more homes than any other live UFC event in nearly a decade across linear, broadcast and streaming.” The viewership figures do not included co-viewing or delayed viewing.

“As is the industry norm, we don’t disclose subscriber data for individual events, but suffice to say the first live event exceeded expectations against all major benchmarks,” the release stated.

UFC 324 took place this past Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and saw Justin Gaethje capture the interim lightweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett in the evening’s main event. The event marked the beginning of the se…