Martial Arts News

Israel Adesanya believes Conor McGregor might’ve entered his last bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship injured.

McGregor's comeback ended after just 69 seconds when he appeared to suffer a knee injury early in the opening round, resulting in a loss to Max Holloway in their rematch at UFC 329. There’s growing discourse surrounding whether the Irishman was carrying an injury into the bout, as he did in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier, which also ended in anticlimactic fashion.

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The former UFC middleweight champion pointed to footage from the pre-fight inspection, saying McGregor appeared reluctant to put weight on his right leg before stepping into the Octagon.Israel Adesanya discusses Conor McGregor’s right leg concerns before UFC 329 loss to Max Holloway Speaking on his "Precision with Mighty & Izzy" podcast alongside former UFC star Demetrious Johnson, Adesanya emphasized that McGregor was clearly dealing with some leg-related iss…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Jon Jones would consider competing against Oleksandr Usyk, but not in boxing.

Usyk vacated his IBA, WBC and WBA heavyweight boxing titles last month. However, the Ukrainian legend isn’t hanging up his gloves just yet. Usyk’s advisor, Sergey Lapin, subsequently revealed that they are considering Jon Jones and Deontay Wilder as potential opponents for one last fight.

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Jon Jones explains why an MMA fight with Oleksandr Usyk interests him more than boxing While Jones (28-1) isn’t interested in boxing Usyk, he’s open to an MMA bout. "Bones" notes that wrestling is an important part of Usyk’s training regimen and that he’d gladly share the cage with him.

Jones doesn’t want to limit his arsenal by entering the squared circle against Usyk. While he doesn’t consider himself an elite boxer, he also doesn’t think of Usyk as a complete fighter. The American then claimed that he would definitely come out on top if t…

Bogdan Guskov is now used to the chaotic package that is Valter Walker.

Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters Guskov and Walker are training partners at Gor MMA under head coach Gor Azizyan. The latter has a loud personality and rarely hesitates to pull off embarrassing pranks in public, and the former was his latest victim.

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Bogdan Guskov reacts to Valter Walker prank ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi In his latest prank, the Brazilian bizarrely touched Guskov’s manhood on camera. However, Guskov has learned to be unfazed by Walter’s antics.

Guskov believes Walker has chaos inside his head. While Guskov doesn’t understand Walker, he considers “The Foot Hunter” a friend. The Uzbek fighter neither took the incident seriously in any way nor tried to stop Walker from posting it on social media.

“He is a f*cking moron. A fool. A f*cking idiot. I didn’t expect that. I don’t understand him at all,” Guskov told Red Corner MMA. “He’s got chaos in his head. We’…

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Jon Jones believes Ciryl Gane’s confidence will play a key role in a rematch against Tom Aspinall.

Gane (14-2) challenged Aspinall (15-3) for the heavyweight title in their first meeting at UFC 321 last October. However, the fight ended in an unfortunate no-contest after a double eye poke by Gane in the first round rendered Aspinall unable to continue.

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While Aspinall subsequently underwent eye surgery, Gane defeated Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250. "Bon Gamin" is now expected to challenge Aspinall in a title unification bout next and Jones believes the Frenchman will come out on top.Why Jon Jones believes Ciryl Gane has the edge over Tom Aspinall According to Jones, Gane’s confidence is soaring after his win over Pereira. The former champion also notes that Aspinall was looking invincible until he faced Gane at UFC 321. Notably, many, including UFC CEO Dana White, opined that…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship nearly beat its record set a few weeks ago.

Per a release from the UFC’s broadcast partner of Paramount+, the official viewership numbers for UFC 329 are now out. According to the release, viewers in the U.S. and Latin America combined for a whopping 15.9 million total viewers. The breakdown for the U.S. totaled 14.3 million while the other countries combined for 1.6 million on the streaming service. This total does not eclipse the 17 million reached by the UFC White House card

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Even as it brought in an average of 6.5 million average viewers, that tally falls far short of the number on the June 14 spectacle show. The UFC White House event saw 8.2 million average viewers—it has since corrected the number previously submitted of seven million—throughout that Sunday night, one where the event started late due to a weather delay.UFC 329 beat UFC White House in one major metricWhile the UFC White House show largely su…

Jake Paul believes a mixed martial arts debut could be in his future once he returns from the jaw injury that has sidelined him since losing to Anthony Joshua.

Paul recently revealed that he expects to be medically cleared for full-contact sparring within the next few weeks as he continues recovering from the broken jaw he suffered against Joshua last December. Apart from his return to boxing, "The Problem Child” said that he also plans to make his MMA debut under the Most Valuable Promotions banner.

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Paul says the proposed Nate Diaz matchup remains a possibility as MVP expands into MMA. Now weeks away from getting cleared for full-contact sparring, Paul has revealed that he is planning a switch to the cage, with Nate Diaz as the likely opponent. Notably, Diaz has already fought under MVP, losing to Mike Perry at the promotion’s inaugural MMA event.

“Maybe I'll do some MMA. We've got a lot of stuff with MVP coming soon, big promotions getting more i…

Scott Coker's new global mixed martial arts promotion has further strengthened its leadership team ahead of its planned 2027 launch.

The organization recently announced that longtime sports media executive Steve Bornstein has joined its advisory board. Bornstein will advise the promotion on media strategy, distribution, technology, fan engagement and commercial development as the league continues preparations for its inaugural season.

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Steve Bornstein joins Scott Coker's new MMA promotion According to a press release, Bornstein has joined an advisory group assembled to help guide the promotion's global rollout.

“Steve Bornstein is one of the great builders in the history of sports media," Coker said in the release. “His experience connecting fans to premium live sports is invaluable as we continue to build.”

Bornstein previously served as the youngest president and CEO in ESPN history. He later worked as president and CEO of NFL Network and execu…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's light heavyweight division is reportedly set to welcome an accomplished regional champion.

Reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance light heavyweight titleholder Lucas Fernando has signed with the promotion and is scheduled to make his Octagon debut against Rafael Tobias at UFC 330 on Aug. 15.

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Lucas Fernando gets second shot at UFC following Contender Series setback, per report Fernando (13-3), who featured on Dana White’s Contender Series three years ago, will finally get to fight in the famed Octagon, as reported by Guilherme Cruz.

He suffered a decision loss to Cesar Almeida on DWCS in 2023 and lost his next bout on LFA as well. The Brazilian then bounced back with four consecutive wins, with his last two bouts ending in finishes.

Meanwhile, Fernando’s opponent, Tobias (14-2), will be looking to notch his first UFC win at the next numbered event. He earned a UFC contract with a submission victory over Jair d…

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Alex Pereira’s criticism of referee Herb Dean hasn’t ceased following Michel Pereira’s UFC exit.

"Poatan" suggested that the officiating in his compatriot's unanimous decision loss to Sharabutdin Magomedov contributed to his departure from the promotion. The UFC Baku bout had its share of controversies, with Magomedov grabbing his opponent's hair without receiving a point deduction.

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Notably, Pereira previously slammed Dean over his loss to Ciryl Gane.Alex Pereira criticizes Herb Dean’s officiating after Michel Pereira’s UFC departure Michel had fought out his previous contract with the UFC and was offered a one-fight deal to take on Magomedov in the UFC Baku co-headliner, which he lost. Dean’s inaction towards the Russian’s repeated fouls has drawn the ire of the former two-division champion, who voiced his frustration in a lengthy Instagram post.

“They could have released him earlier, and maybe that would have …

Sports medicine physician Brian Sutterer believes there are early signs suggesting Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor's knee injury may not be as severe as initially feared.

McGregor injured his knee while throwing the first strike of his rematch with Max Holloway at UFC 329. The Irishman then struggled to stay upright and repeatedly fell over, prompting a referee stoppage over a minute into the bout. Dr. Sutterer, who has not treated or evaluated McGregor in person, has now shared his assessment.

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Brian Sutterer breaks down Conor McGregor’s UFC 329 knee injury signs, ACL concerns and possible recovery outlook The initial suspicion was that McGregor blew out his ACL at UFC 329. The commentators speculated an ACL injury and UFC CEO Dana White did the same at the post-fight presser.

McGregor recently shared a video of himself addressing fans, drawing a reaction from Dr. Sutterer on X. The latter noted that the former two-division cham…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt suffered a defeat at UFC 329, which he recently addressed on social media.

"No Love" shared an encouraging message on Instagram after picking up his third loss in four outings.

Cody Garbrandt addresses UFC 329 defeat against Adrian Yanez after latest MMA setbackGarbrandt broke his silence days after his loss at UFC 329 to Adrian Yanez via an Instagram post, in which he reflected on overcoming difficult moments rather than dwelling on the result.

“There are moments in life when hope fades, and the weight of endless problems makes the path unclear,” Garbrandt wrote in all caps. “But remember this -- you only lose when you choose to give up. Let your struggles be your fuel, not your downfall. Don't let the storm break you. Let it strengthen your will to rise and keep fighting.”

Garbrandt held the UFC bantamweight title from December 2016 to November 2017 but did not record a successful titl…

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Justin Gaethje isn't interested in running it back with Paddy Pimblett.

"The Baddy" emerged as one of the biggest winners at UFC 329 in Las Vegas and the Brit subsequently made it clear he’s keen on a rematch with Gaethje, who beat him earlier this year. However, "The Highlight" is seemingly eyeing other matchups.

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Justin Gaethje explains why he does not want a Paddy Pimblett rematch Pimblett rebounded from the first loss of his UFC career by submitting Benoit St. Denis in just 52 seconds. In his post-fight interview, he name-dropped several top-ranked lightweights for his next bout, and Gaethje was among his call-outs. The former BMF champion was asked about the same during his recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“Destined for each other, like, to fight again? No. No, no, no," Gaethje said.

Gaethje previously teased a potential fight against Conor McGregor if the Irishman emerged vi…