Martial Arts News

Aleksandre Topuria, the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Ilia Topuria, knows exactly what Justin Gaethje will bring to the table.

Undefeated wrecking machine Ilia (17-0), 29, is scheduled to defend his UFC 155-pound title against interim beltholder Gaethje (27-5) at the UFC White House card on June 14. Aleksandre, who has always been a vital part of Ilia’s camp, recently joined him in Miami for the next phase of his brother’s training.

In a thorough video on Ilia’s YouTube channel, the elder brother—by a year—Aleksandre broke down Gaethje’s style and approach. According to the bantamweight who is now 2-0 in the UFC, Gaethje can become predictable and also leaves himself open when engaging. The specific methods of Gaethje’s offense were also analyzed by the fighter, who remarked that Gaethje tends to load up and give foes opportunities to beat him to the punch.

“Justin Gaethje picks his shots when you stand in front of him,” the 30-year-…

Even after the dramatic happenings of the UFC Perth headliner, there remains a logjam in the welterweight title picture.

In an effort to separate himself from the crowded pack of contenders at 170 pounds, Prates annihilated former champ Jack Della Maddalena in the third round of a fairly one-sided beating. “The Nightmare” dropped the Aussie once in the second round and twice in the third to complete his rout, one that saw him outland his foe by 46 to 1 in the last round of their collision.

The victor wants nothing else than a Ultimate Fighting Championship championship pairing, but he might have to wait. Rumors are swirling, with Prates the originator of at least one, that Ian Garry will be challenging Islam Makhachev for the belt at UFC 330 in August. Additional options for contention include Michael Morales, Sean Brady, Ilia Topuria should he get past Justin Gaethje in June. Kamaru Usman was even floated as a potential option to face Makhachev next.

While Mor…

Sean Strickland believes he can get up if he is taken down by Khamzat Chimaev.

Strickland is scheduled to challenge Chimaev for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While Chimaev is known for his suffocating brand of wrestling, Strickland has elite takedown defense.

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Fans and pundits are divided about how the UFC 328 headliner might play out. While some expect complete domination from Chimaev, who is the favorite, others believe Strickland might be the only answer to the undefeated Chechen-born champion.

Having trained together in the past, Strickland believes Chimaev knows that he can’t keep him on the ground for long. Strickland believes he can counter-wrestle Chimaev and get top control. Strickland predicts that “Borz” might even resort to a stand-up battle if he fails on multiple takedown attempts. If the fight stays on the feet, Strickland believes he will be able to have his w…

UFC 328 fight week will have a promotional press conference for UFC White House: Freedom 250.

The UFC White House card, billed as Freedom Fights 250, is a one-of-a-kind event celebrating America’s 250th year of Independence. The event will go down on President Donald J. Trump’s 80th birthday, June 14, at the South Lawn of the White House.

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The card is a star-studded affair including some of the biggest names in the sport. Ilia Topuria will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje in the main event. Meanwhile, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will clash for the interim heavyweight title in the co-headliner. The bill also includes Sean O’Malley, Diego Lopes, Derrick Lewis, Josh Hokit and others.

The UFC is hosting a press conference with all the fighters on the White House card on Friday, May 8 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The presser will begin at 4:30 pm ET and will be open to the public. The event will…

Tom Aspinall’s recovery is going well.

Aspinall underwent multiple eye procedures after being poked in the eye by Ciryl Gane in his first heavyweight title defense at UFC 320 last year. Aspinall recently revealed that he is recovering. While Aspinall previously couldn’t move his right eye, things have since improved. The UFC heavyweight champ is pleased with the results from his latest checkup. According to “Honey Badger,” he will be ready for contact training soon if things keep going well. While Aspinall isn’t sparring yet, he is back in the gym.

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Meanwhile, Gane and Aspinall are scheduled to fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14. Aspinall claims the UFC has guaranteed that he will fight the winner.

“I had a scan and things are progressing fuc*ing nicely, which I’m very happy about,” Aspinall said on his official YouTube channel. “They’re saying, pretty soon; things keep moving in the right direction, I…

Several Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and Zuffa boxers recently bonded over a game of paintball.

UFC fighters Alexander Volkov, Andre Fili, Mingyang Zhang, Johnny Walker and Michel Pereira took on team Zuffa, comprising of Robert Meriwether III, Floyd Diaz, Mark Magsayo and Jamar Talley in a game of paintball.

While the official scores were never announced, Fili proudly claimed that team UFC had won.

While there is no animosity between the athletes of both organizations, UFC fighters have complained about the disparity in pay. Zuffa recently signed Conor Benn for $15 million for a single fight. UFC fighters were unhappy with the signing as most don’t even make a fraction of what Benn made, despite bringing in the lion’s share of the revenue for the parent company.

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Jacob Malkoun believes he wasn’t his usual self on Saturday.

Malkoun (10-3) downed Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight outing in front of a home crowd at UFC Perth, but he needed three full rounds to get it done. While Malkoun closed as an overwhelming -1400 betting favorite going in, the fight didn’t reflect the odds. Malkoun chose to grapple in the first round against the submission savant, who managed to control the round. Even as Malkoun bounced back in the later rounds, he could not establish the dominance expected of him. The Australian eventually earned a lukewarm unanimous decision win, one that did not earn his satisfaction.

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“Mamba” isn’t certain about what was off, and he plans to go back to the drawing board with his team. Malkoun said in his post-fight interview:

“It wasn’t the performance I was hoping to do,” the Aussie remarked with frustration. “You learn from your losses. You gotta learn as much as you do with a win like that. You’…

Wesley Schultz never had any doubt that he would pull off the victory on Saturday.

Making his promotional debut against Schultz at UFC Perth, Ben Johnston (5-3) gave his all and won the first two rounds on the scorecards. The defending Schultz had no answer on the ground, with his submission attempts for the first 10 minutes unable to land. However, when Round 3 struck, “Party Time” turned the tables courtesy of a slick guillotine choke.

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The submission danger forced Johnston to spit out his mouthpiece so he could continue breathing. As referee Rich Mitchell returned Johnston’s mouthpiece, Schultz redoubled his effort on his guillotine. The Aussie could hold on no longer, surrendering to give Schultz an impressive come-from-behind win. Schultz admits that he didn’t listen to his coaches in the early rounds, as he wanted to ease into the fight. “Party Time” was confident that he would catch his opponent eventually, but he just needed to find the right …

All Louie Sutherland had to do was listen to his team.

Sutherland took on heavyweight veteran Tai Tuivasa in hostile territory at UFC Perth on Saturday. “The Vanilla Gorilla” outgrappled Tuivasa for three rounds amidst a sea of boos to earn a unanimous decision win. The Englishman revealed that his victory over Tuivasa was the first time that he paid heed to his corner mid-fight in quite some time.

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The bulky Brit Sutherland stated that he lost his composure and ignored his training partners in his recent last knockout loss to Brando Pericic. While Sutherland knows that he can brawl when he wants to, it was crucial to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory. Sutherland admitted in his post-fight interview:

“It’s the first time I’ve listened to my coaches is probably about six fights,” Sutherland said sheepishly. “And that’s the result. Against Brando, I lost my composure, didn’t listen to the corner. My corner’s like, ‘Look, we know y…

Brando Pericic wants everyone to know that he is a company man through and through.

Pericic battled on Shamil Gaziev in a titanic heavyweight tilt at UFC Perth on Saturday. While Pericic hurt Gaziev early, the Bahraini refused to hit the canvas. When Pericic gain the advantage, Gaziev fired back with a vengeance, leading to a brutal slugfest. Pericic kept inflicting punishment, and Gaziev finally went down in the second round. Both fighters walked home with $100K “Fight of the Night” checks for their efforts.

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Pericic made sure to express his gratitude to the promotion as much as he could. He credited both the sport and this organization for changing his life, which inspires him to put on a show for fans every time he steps inside the Octagon. Pericic notes that he is calm and collected when he fights, as he believes he has already won tougher battles in life. Pericic expressed in his post-fight interview:

“I’m very thankful to this company,” the Au…

Marwan Rahiki always knew that his style would shine under the bright lights.

Rahiki was originally scheduled to face Jack Jenkins at UFC Perth on Saturday. However, an injured Jenkins was replaced on four days’ notice by Hungarian debutant Oliver Schmid. Rahiki dropped Schmid with a left hook in the first round, and a few follow-up shots were needed for referee Mike Beltran to step in.

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While this served as Rahiki’s sophomore UFC outing, he was the third fight on the main card at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Rahiki also debuted on a main card, appearing opposite Harry Hardwick in March and breaking Hardwick’s jaw in the process. Although Rahiki respects the competitors on the prelims, he never saw himself opening a fight card. The Moroccan-Australian always felt that his action-first style would earn him high bout order placements. Rahiki boasted in his post-fight interview:

“This is what I imagined coming into the UFC,” Rahiki said confident…

Steve Erceg had fun while he took on veteran Tim Elliott.

Erceg battled on Elliott in front of his home crowd at UFC Perth on Saturday, where he picked up a hard-fought decision. Mid-match, Elliott could be heard shouting after landing a takedown. Erceg recently revealed his mid-fight exchange with Elliott. Elliott was grinding his chin on Erceg’s eye after taking him down. As Erceg tried to get separation, Elliott accused the Australian of poking him in the eye. When Erceg accused Elliott of the same, the 39-year-old playfully proffered to him that grinding with his chin is not a foul—under the Unified Rules, an illegal eye gouge can occur from the fingers, elbow or chin. Erceg remarked in his post-fight interview:

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“He took me down in the first round. He's putting his chin in my eye,” Erceg rehashed. “I’m trying to get his chin off my eye cause it f---ing hurt. And he goes, ‘He’s poking me in the eye.’ I’m like, ‘You’re f---ing poking me in the eye.…